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Despite what you might think, my best workouts aren’t in the gym.
They happen on the track when it’s just me, my watch, and the unending loop.
It’s both madness and bliss. The track is my happy place.
Unfortunately, I developed a mysterious foot condition earlier this year, where I had frequent shooting pain in the balls of my feet. Although the condition has nothing to do with running, it prevented me from running, or being on my feet much at all. Kaiser couldn’t figure it out, so I was on my own.
I’ve experienced all sorts of injuries from weightlifting and sports over the years, and some of them were bad. But none were as scary as losing the ability to walk freely and without struggle.
Movement and mobility is a blessing. You don’t realize what you have until it’s gone.
Fortunately, after many months of experimentation, I have made significant progress on my foot condition. It continues to get better every day. To celebrate, I hit the track for the first time in many months. It feels great to be back.
This is my track workout
For the un initiated, one lap around a standard track is 400 meters, which is also one-quarter of a mile.
I used to be a competitive sprinter, and the 400 meter sprint is also the most insane distance to run because it’s both speed and endurance. It is a grueling physical and mental battle. It takes cajones.
I used to hate doing them. I still hate doing them. I will always hate doing them. But the 400 meter sprint is the best all around distance you can run to improve BOTH speed and endurance. Life is better with 400 meter sprints. Around here we do 400 meter sprints.
Here is the foundation of my track workout, and I recommend the same to anyone getting started.
Warm up with dynamic stretching
400 meters x 3-4
100 meters x 3-4
Cool down with static stretching
Remember this is not long distance, these are sprints! Accordingly, you can rest as much time as you need. For me that is usually 3-4 minutes between runs, but more time is okay if needed. You do you. The goal is to get as close to your maximum sprint capacity as possible. Quality, not quantity.
For a workout like this, the most important variable is time. It is crucial to get a watch. Record your times and watch them drop as you get faster.
Happy running!