We are now approaching one of my favorite seasons...track and field season! My college kids have already finished their indoor seasons and are headed outdoors; my high school junior has indoor meets tonight and Saturday before tackling outdoor next week. The weather is looking like it will cooperate, which makes it that much better. I have done track seasons by many different avenues...athlete, spectator, coach's wife and mom. Track mom is a pretty awesome role and I've been enjoying that one for at least 10 years not counting the Community Ed track programs when the kids were in elementary school. Being a track mom sounds like a passive activity, but I can assure you that parents can get quite a workout, especially if you have a kid or kids doing both running events plus field events. There is also strategy involved in making sure you are properly situated to view each event without being obtrusive. Can't be the embarrassing parent who doesn't know where to stand! Depending on the meet, parents might also be in charge of measuring field event distances and taking times during races. Last Saturday, I proposed wearing this costume to my daughter's meet: Of course, this would have been in the embarrassing category. My daughter is delightfully easy-going about many things and her reply was that I should also wear a coat! Apparently she has not been reading the blog or she would have known that I have indeed gone out in public wearing Star Wars fleece pants and the idea of wearing these might have seemed ok to me. My Saturday run was a mere 2:20 after a couple of weeks in the 2:45-3:00 range. There were 5 race pace miles included and I am happy to report that I hit them all spot-on! I'm not yet sure that 7:55 miles really are my race pace, but it was pretty exhilarating to hit those paces at miles 3, 5, 7 and 10. There are 4 weeks left in my heart rate training and I'm getting pretty excited to see how it plays out in a race. This morning, I ran one mile at 7:55 and 3 more 8:15-8:25 which was another pretty aggressive workout--my former pace for daily runs was in the 9:00 range. Even if the race does't result in a PR, it has been fun to try a completely different style of training. I love this sentiment, but, to be clear, this runner is NOT dressed for winter! If you get the chance, stop by a local track meet and soak up the enthusiasm of athletes who are out there for the love of the sport. It is a rare track meet that is crowded; they are almost always free admission, and extra spectators are always welcome. Here are my favorite teams this season: Hope you are off to a good start on the week. Happy running! Missee
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AuthorMissee and Stephanie are two Minnesota sisters and moms who love to run. We are not experts in running, parenting or anything else, but we do have years of experiences that may be helpful or entertaining to others. Archives
May 2020
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