In it for the long run

Rise up so early in the morning...

July 10

Today was the first weekend early morning group run/workout. Meeting time is 7a.m. at Lloyd Hall. Even though I'm an early riser, getting out the door and somewhere specific by 7 a.m. is a logistical challenge. I tend to move slowly through my routines in the morning. I simply like the idea of getting up early so that I'll have extra time for my particular pace of life. However, I chose this group complete with its 7 a.m. weekend runs--decided that it would be a good way to learn to pull it together faster in the a.m. Of course, there's also the desire to run faster, but you knew that.

Checking the transit schedules from my apartment to Lloyd Hall, I found that I could get a trolley at 5:40 a.m. that would get me to 69th Street at 5:47, which would make it possible (with a stop at the coffee shop at 69th St., and a 15-20 min. ride on the el) to get me within walking/bus/reasonable taxi distance to Lloyd Hall by 6:30ish (the el does not run very frequently at that time of the day, especially not on weekends). Missing that early trolley would involve a walk or run to 69th Street, about a mile--since the next one, 6:27, would be much too late. So with that in mind, I set out my running clothes, then set the alarm for 4:40. Between its incessant beeping and my cat grabbing my fingertips with her claws, I was gently persuaded by around 5:00 that it was time to get up. Ready just in time to catch trolley, running for it. This will take some getting used to, I think, but now I'm on my way.

Reach Lloyd Hall by 6:45 and see Tom. We are the only ones there. The rest rooms are closed, he tells me. The main door has a grate covering it. Um...no access to the locker room. So I will need to ask Dave if his car can be the locker. Rest room problem solved in time, but the locker room remains shut.

Fortunately, Dave is willing not only to take my bag in his car, but also me and a few others of us whose pace is a bit slower than that of the others. The idea is for the group to go to Belmont Plateau, run 3x6 mins. hard, 3 mins. rest, then some form drills, then return to Lloyd Hall. Those of us who are currently ... speed challenged ... ride with Dave so as to warm up on Belmont Plateau itself, rather than get too far behind. He handles this well, I think. The goal is to have everyone do the workout together all pretty much equally warmed up. I want one of these days to be fast enough to keep up with the faster people, but I am not there yet. If I were there for the ego trip, I'd be in trouble, but I've come to learn. I'll get the speed as I go along. I see a rabbit as we pull up to Belmont Plateau. "That's good luck," I tell the others. "I've just decided that it is."

The warm-up around Belmont Plateau (2x the outside mile) is a foot wetting grass running affair that gets me used to the surface on which we'll be running the workout. I find myself huffing and puffing on the first hill, even though the pace isn't too fast, and then I realize there are still a few people behind me, so I don't have to stay right up with Dave and Tom. I relax a little, just allow myself to enjoy the rhythm, do my two laps, and feel ready to start when the others arrive.

We are separated into three groups to run the 6 min. repeats on nearly the same course some of us had run for our warm-up. My group consists of Rick, myself, Tom, Rebecca, and Patty. We start in inverse order of speed, with our group starting first. To my surprise, I find myself taking the lead, but that doesn't last long. Within about fifty yards, the first hill begins to have its way with me, and Rick passes me. It is to be the pattern. I come back and nearly catch him the first repeat, but each one takes him further ahead. Still, that one sweet moment of being in the lead is so hard to resist--even if it is followed by The Hill, where my mantra becomes, just pick them up and put them down. Just keep doing that. This uphill does end!

I am deliciously tired after the last one, and Dave is saying it's time to go back. But someone reminds him that we haven't done the bounding drills yet. Some might say that this is equivalent to the kid at school who reminds the teacher that s/he hasn't assigned homework. But when Dave asks if we're still up for it, a bunch of us say yes. We're a long way from the school kids who want to do the least amount of work. This is an enthusiastic bunch.

We head for a short but moderately steep rise, where Dave starts us off with the skips that we did Tuesday evening. These I do reasonably right, if not beautifully, and mostly manage to keep up. The next exercise is a side-to-side bound that looks a little like an Irish jig. But it's been so long since I went to the Commodore Barry Club and embarrassed my ethnic group with my attempts at 7s and 3s that I had a bit of difficulty. I could do it if I followed Dave and watched him, but not otherwise. I was reminded of t'ai chi, looking over my shoulder to watch Joe. Dave, however, was patient, and I got the idea before we finished all four sets.

After this, we set off to return to Lloyd Hall. This time, I ran, falling in with Rebecca after a bit. A Penn professor, Rebecca told me that she found a flyer in the Penn gym and decided it was "now or never." She wanted to bump up her running and increase her fitness, and this seemed to be the ideal opportunity. We both agreed that the setting was lovely for the effort, and having West River Drive closed on weekends made it all the better. I spot another rabbit.

Reaching Lloyd Hall once again, we did a series of stretches wherein I was reminded of how very tight my muscles have become. Oops! Where is that once flexible body? But that's what I'm here for, I again remind myself.

Dave reminds me to work on coordination, balance, flexibility. He thinks the t'ai chi class is a good idea for that reason.

Afterward, I head up the hill to catch one of those Phlash buses, but notice the gazebo behind the Art Museum. It's a perfect day to take in the view, so I stop there, watch a while, write in my journal as the breeze cools my sweaty self. I see Dave heading back from the new section of the bike path where he'd gone to look for his girlfriend. (He may or may not have seen me.) Watching below, I see the river, the Waterworks, the boathouses, people running, cycling, walking. And having participated in the parade, I enjoy the outlook all the more.

posted by DPMcManus @ 11:51 AM