Finding The Rhythm

Back to the Track

I try to spend most of my runs off the track, but this evening I jogged over to West High School, a few blocks down from my house to use the old track behind the school. Rusting football sleds abandoned to the elements, sagging tennis court nets that gave an air of defeat, and tall grass growing unchecked out of the cracks of the old track indicated athletics had ceased to be a priority at the school a long time ago. A lone student was there, school now out of session at this time of day, kicking a soccer ball against one of the walls. I had come here to figure out a specific pace for training. As I get closer to the marathon, I have focused my training plan. This includes a few easy days a week where I need to keep a moderate pace. The best way to find that pace would be making laps on the track and I spent the next half-hour trying to sort it out and build the muscle memory so I could run the same pace off the track. Lap after lap, sometimes speeding up, sometimes slowing down I circled. By the end of the workout, I’d found the right rhythm and left the dilapidated oval to jog back home for the night.