I just learned that the inner most ring of a track is 400 meters. (I knew it was a 1/4 mile but never did the conversion). My last run from Beach Chalet was 7 miles. I knew this because the coach had pre-mapped it with his podometer. Yet, my Nike+ iPod gear said I ran 8.94 miles (yeah right! i wish). So obviously something was a little off. 
Tuesdays are Buddy Run days but I ran late and didn't make it to the Embarcadero by the group start time so I decided to go to the track and calibrate my iPod.
It still fascinates me that there is a whole counter culture of athletes among us. Before this whole marathon training thing, on an average Tuesday or Thursday night I might be doing laundry, cooking dinner or meeting a friend for drinks never once aware that there was a whole portion of the community that was t-r-a-i-n-i-n-g. Maybe they were doing a 5K, a 10K, a half or full marathon, a triathalon, speed trials, or just trying to stay in shape. But their Tuesday or Thursday involved meeting at the track and working it. UP and DOWN the stairs, around and around the track, leg lunges, side stepping across the field, and on and on and on. I just looked around in awe. The placed was packed. The solo (white) guy doing Tai Chi in the corner, the pairs of girls who came together to casually run the track, the teams preparing together, the running groups focusing on speed -- all levels, all ages, all focused.
It still fascinates me that there is a whole counter culture of athletes among us. Before this whole marathon training thing, on an average Tuesday or Thursday night I might be doing laundry, cooking dinner or meeting a friend for drinks never once aware that there was a whole portion of the community that was t-r-a-i-n-i-n-g. Maybe they were doing a 5K, a 10K, a half or full marathon, a triathalon, speed trials, or just trying to stay in shape. But their Tuesday or Thursday involved meeting at the track and working it. UP and DOWN the stairs, around and around the track, leg lunges, side stepping across the field, and on and on and on. I just looked around in awe. The placed was packed. The solo (white) guy doing Tai Chi in the corner, the pairs of girls who came together to casually run the track, the teams preparing together, the running groups focusing on speed -- all levels, all ages, all focused.
I calibrated my iPod and became one with the counter culture.
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