Cross Blog Week 6
THE BEAVAAAAA!!! Maybe Smith does have a heart after all, as on Monday we had initially set our sights on Dipsey Hills, but when raindrops the size of golf balls starting hurtling down from the sky, he decided it was too good of an opportunity to miss. Some of you may know of Mascenic’s tradition of running through the lusciously filthy bacteria pool that is Beaver Pond (It’s got a beaver dam in the middle). There are several important requisites that go into a perfect Beaver Pond Run. For instance, there’s the ‘Collecting of the Beaver Stick’, and ‘The Mud Bath’.
The next day the team had a fairly lackadaisical long run. Not much to report. Oh but don’t worry, we’re not getting soft over here at Mascenic. The next day was everyone’s favorite workout: the infamous, invigorating, soulcrushing, teethclenching Torture 1200’s. If you couldn’t tell by the name, they’re no walk in the park. Luckily, the conditions were just about perfect; no wind, not too hot, and let’s just say Logan had a little extra motivation to hit his times and number of repeats. There’s nothing quite like running around that beautiful, one-of-a-kind dirt track, coming around on your third lap, and coming the closest you ever will to quitting cross.
I think everyone was a little heartbroken, myself included, when we showed up for practice on Thursday, expecting a 40 minute easy run, and instead going out for a 5070 minute long run, as the next day the team would head up to the Shattuck Golf Course for Conant’s home meet. I won’t lie though, that was definitely one of the better and more efficient long runs we’ve had this season.
On Friday we kicked off the weekend by using the race as an increasing effort tempo workout. Everyone was assigned their time for the first mile (around 6 or 6 ½ minutes depending on the runner) and then instructed to pick it up the next two miles. Zina better be glad I ran the first mile in 5:59, one second off the assigned time. And in an unrelated topic, the team was a little speechless when we found ourselves taking pictures with two New England Patriot cheerleaders (YES!). I know it doesn’t make sense, but why question it? These weeks seem to be flying by pretty fast. Soon it’ll be ride or die, and we’ll get to find out our true potential. But until then, it’s more meets, more workouts, and more running. Doesn’t sound too bad, if you ask me.
“I’m not a smart man, but I know what tempo is.”
