Training Log Archive: BigWillyStyle

12x400

73, 74, 75, 74, 76, 75, 76, 76, 77, 75, 75, 73

So there are times when being an incorrigible smartass will get you into trouble; tonight was apparently one of those times.

Story:

The soccer team is practicing on the field, and there's also a running group using the track, of which I'm not a part. Some guy is standing in about the third inside lane, apparently telling everyone to stay on the outside of the track or some such. I'm on my first rep and when I'm nearing he says something about it, not particularly to me but just to all the runners in general earshot. I'm on the inside lane, moving pretty quick right, and I hear him but don't have time to adjust so I end up going by on his inside, which I'm sure he didn't appreciate. So now he's got me marked.

I do the rest of my workout, paying him like a 2-3 lane lip service buffer whenever I go by that side but otherwise staying on the inside lane (as are many of the other runners), and he doesn't pay me any attention or seem worried about it as far as I can tell, so I think no more of it. I've just finished and I'm about to do some warming down on the outside lane, and I see him coming all the way over to me. Oh boy. I'm prepared to accommodate whatever this guy's issue is with people running on his precious track, but then his opening line is something like "Hey, you understand any English?" which doesn't quite endear him to me. I'm a little annoyed now so I give him sort of a surprised smirk, and things don't improve from there. Long story short, I "better run real fast" next time he sees me, because the track "is school district property, not public property" and he is "good friends with the police." I express great appreciation for his encouraging words - trying to run real fast is in fact the sole purpose of my presence!

The good news is I didn't get the track group in trouble (there's actually a Cascade member in this group). Upon our initial discussion he naturally thinks I'm with them, I insist (truthfully) that I'm not, he doesn't believe me so asks the next guy to come by, who confirms that I'm not. Like a true smartass I'm like "Told ya" then walk away. Probably should have left at that point but I had an academic curiosity in whether he had anything more to say, so I jog another lap and come back around. That's when he starts bringing up the police, which I find to be just beautiful. At one point the guy tells me "this is what I get paid to do" which mystifies me because I can't figure out exactly what "this" is. Stop people without express written permission from using the track? Safeguard the life and liberty of the (all male) high school soccer players and coaches from the perils of the general track-running public? Either way I'm stoked our schools have enough money to pay a random dude to stand around power-tripping whenever he feels "disrespected." Anyway, at that point I figure my work is done here, so after he educates me for a while on "how this works" I suggest he continue to do what he's gotta do, and take my leave.

So yeah, I might have to find somewhere else to do track workouts for a while. Sometimes it's not worth the trouble, even if it's fun at the time.

On a more important subject, I've trained pretty normally for the past few days without leg issues. Yay! Time to train frantically for 2+ more weeks, then hope for the best.

C • Mr. Incorrigible 4