Well it would be if I were getting paid to do this. I think it would be really interesting to be a paid athlete. I am not so sure I would like the fact that my getting old would keep me from getting paid, not to mention that I am old. I wonder if I would get bored training everyday 2,3 times a day. I bet it would get old. I do think it would be fun to be a track coach and watch your athletes grow. I wonder if it is hard to deal with the jealousy aspect?

So today’s run. I decided to head to Cleveland Track for the first time in years. I was looking forward to the run for a variety of reasons, but chief among them was the opportunity to run on their new track. Once I got there I realized the track project has been put on hold and I was going to run on the old one. It does need some work (new surfacing) but it actually isn’t to bad. There is one area where the surfaced ares inside the ring jets out onto the track a bit with a bump that could be stumbled on. I do know a new track is in the plans, just not sure when.

Well as it turns out the answer is a google search away. You can read all about the project here on there website www.clevelandcommunityfield.org. I just called to donate to the project and left a message with the project manager. Looks like they need a significant amount of funding to finish up the track.

I love running on this track. Two years ago I was king of the track, very few people would pass me. I also had the cheerleaders practicing in the mornings. I always felt sort of like an old pervert running while they were cheering. I swear I was running there before they started practicing! These days no cheerleaders (at least when I went today) and I got passed up quite a bit! The fast runners couldn’t put in the miles I did though.

One of my favorite things to do there I call 8-1, 1-8. What that means is I start in the outer lane (lane 8) and each lap around I move in one lane. It helps to keep track of where I am. An 8-1 is two miles, today I added a 1-8 to make it 16 laps or 4 miles on the track. Track running is great cause you don’t have any obstacles (usually, though Saturday morn after a football game is pretty messy) and you can just sort of zone out and focus on your running, foot strike, breathing, arm form, pace, music, etc. I love it. The south end turns into the sun (always run counter-clockwise on tracks unless it is empty) and I just close my eyes and wait until the shade. As I curve along the gentle curve I just crack my eyelids enough to see the blurry lane lines to make sure I keep in my lane. So zen!