13 nov 2012

when i read THIS POST, i knew i had to go there. i mean, the geographical there, not the philosophical there. not that the philosophical there isn't a great place, because it is, but in this case-case, i mean the place-place. i mean, the TRACK.

it was the picture that did it for me. who wouldn't want to go there? wide open! bright views! round-ish red rubber running surface!

when i was in junior high school, i was on the track team. i distinctly remember two things about being on the track team: (1) being on the track team and (2) running the 4x100 relay, once. so, maybe i wasn't actually on the team? but, i distinctly remember being on the team... and there's the reality of the 4x100m NIGHTMARE. oh, you want to hear the story? fine. goes something like this:

the 4x100 relay is 4 people each running 100m. oh, you knew that already? WHO'S TELLING THIS STORY?? okay. 4x100. it's like one loop of the track split between 4 people. coach put me as the anchor leg. woo! fast girl! whatever. by the time my painfully pathetic team managed to accomplish 3/4 circuit of the track, the other teams were all done. that's right, that's what i said - crossed the line, broke the tape, stick a fork in 'em - DONE. so, let's all watch pathetic team's anchor leg run 100m alone! A-L-OWN. and, i did. i swallowed my pride and my tears and i ran.

that's the last time i stepped foot on a track.

okay, not really. i've been on a track here and there. tagging along on other people's workouts. running on a track because it was convenient to someplace else. stepping across a track to get to the soccer field in the middle. but, i've not actually on purpose gone to the track to do a workout myself.

tangentially, remember THAT POST? well, in order to condense this already absurdly long post i have going, please refer to that post and substitute "running" for "swimming". rules, angst, blah, blah, blah. ace is a bundle of issues and cannot go do the simplest thing without turning it into a Really Big Deal. so, the other day, i jogged around the route to get to the track. and, i also drove over there. and, i mapped it. and, i asked someone for directions. good god, woman! and, that's not even to mention the anxiety about what the hell is a 400m and how the hell am i supposed to run 10 of them?!?

what? i didn't explain that part? well - this really great guy helped me out with instructions for an easy workout even i could handle. i only had like, a couple dozen questions (as opposed to my usual couple dozen MILLION) and this time, most of them i managed to keep to myself.

long story short - i got to the track. there were not so many people there that i thought they'd be totally staring at me and pointing and laughing, but there were enough people that i didn't feel like i was in the wrong place. i did the workout, and you know what? oh, you know... you know you know. and, i know you know you know.

what??

it wasn't bad at all. it was actually sort of fun, if you know what i mean. hmm... like, working hard can be fun? right? okay, it was fun like that. and, by the time i got DONE, i sort of halfway felt like maybe i could belong there, on that roundish red rubber running surface. maybe. in the future. if i keep trying.