Doing (speed) work at the McCarren Park Track
Week 4, Day 3 of NYC Marathon Training: A total of 4.97 fast (for me!) miles
Speed work is something that is obviously important if you want to be a faster runner. But I don’t do as much of it as I should.
I recently decided to rectify that. A few weeks ago, I was at the Brooklyn Running Company store, and I saw that they, along with Tracksmith, were sponsoring free Wednesday night speed work sessions at Brooklyn’s McCarren Park Track in Williamsburg. This is connected with the upcoming BKLYN MILE on August 5.
So while I’m not doing the Brooklyn Mile, I figured I would go to the July 27 training session and see what’s what.
I showed up last Wednesday night for the event and, as usual, nearly every person I saw was younger (a lot younger!) than me. There was one guy who appeared to be in the same age cohort as me (more on him in a bit) but most people at the track workout appeared to be in their 20s or 30s.
Which I am actually okay with. I begin with the end in the mind, as Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People would say. And the important thing was to get a track workout, coached by experts. Who cares if I’m older and slower?
So I mostly enjoyed running on the track, doing “400s”, as they say, (roughly 1/4 of a mile) followed by rest in between.
I also liked trying out a pair of Hoka carbon-plated running shoes and then having post-race beers at Brooklyn Running Company, also courtesy of Hoka. Not to mention putting my tired legs after running in the Normatec sleeves, thanks to The Finish Line, a physical therapy company in Manhattan. Hoka even had their own beer, for us to drink afterwards. And every sponsor was super-friendly. It was a great time!
I ran about 3.5 miles on the track, and then warmup and cooldown running miles.
One of the coaches explained at the workout how the numbering worked on the track, and why the numbers didn’t line up in the same line at the start — something I never understood until that evening! So I felt like I got a lot out of this just from that one tidbit of knowledge.
The only two issues I had with the event was not with the people who ran it, but with other things beyond their control.
The first was the fact that two separate random guys standing on the track and watching us were waving around metal ropes like they were lassos, and I was worried I would be decapitated. Yikes! Very strange! Is this some Brooklyn thing I’m not aware of?
The second was the aforementioned older guy running with the group. An aside: I have noticed that, generally speaking, the most negative comments I have received as a back of the packer are *not* from the super-fast runners. To name just one example, my friend Chris is a local legend, super-fast, but he has always treated me with kindness and respect.
Instead, the few negative comments I have gotten are usually from those not quite of that level, who are insecure about their place in the community.
And so it went with this older runner who had multiple, unsolicited things to say about my running.
He seemed to think I was alternately not working hard enough, or was about to pass out from running too hard. First thing he said was “Are you alright?”
Wow! Way to make me feel awesome! What kind of question is that?
(An aside: I have had sweepers ask me this in races more than once, and my response is always something like: “I’m fine. I’m just very slow!”)
About 15 minutes later, this guy then basically accused me of not working hard enough, and told me to push harder. And I was like, “Buddy, I’m a slow runner! I’m already working as hard as I can!”
(Another aside: If I call you “Buddy” or “Dude” while talking to you, chances are that I’m a little irritated with you. Consider that a helpful hint.)
Anyhow, I’m not exactly having a party while running. I’m running as fast as I can. Again, I’m just not very fast!
It’s not like I’m deciding to slack off, but can somehow rattle off a 7-minute mile if I only applied myself. Dude, this is the best I can do!
While I could intellectually understand why this guy said these things that made me uncomfortable, I didn’t like this, either. I don’t remember asking for your opinion, buddy.
Overall, though, the event was great, and I met a few fellow runners who have also been doing the Prospect Park Track Club’s Al Goldstein Summer Series as well. Very cool!