1st time on athletics track! Boring but ok thanks to Beyonce/Britney/Lady Gaga/David Guetta etc. on my playlist!

[RachelLewes]

Eeek. I joined the local athletics club (never thought I'd type that sentence). Because my son goes to athletics and I thought I should make the most of the facilities while i'm there, rather than watching or just dropping off/picking up!!! So I joined and decided to do Wk8R2 on the track. First challenge was to get over the embarrassment / worry that people would come over and say, 'excuse me, what are you doing and why are you pretending to be a runner??'.

It was nice and springy and obviously mud free, BUT also very dull and nowhere near as fun as running in the hills. I missed the gorgeous views, the sheep and also the easy-peasiness of a downhill slope after the slog of an uphill slope.

However, with cheesy motivating music playing, I was able to keep on going eternally around and around!! I even had one of the instructors give me a tip to swing my arms less high (as for endurance, keeping them too high can make you feel tight). I felt so good at the end that I confess I ran through 2 minutes of the warm down so that i'd completed a full 30 mins! Definitely a buzz and well worth braving the yuck weather for.

[JoolieB1 Graduate]

I tried a running club for a couple of sessions and we used a track (in the dark, no lights). Ran sets of 4 times round (1 mile) and it was timed. On the second set I thought "I am so bored, running in the dark, round and round a track and I don't even care about running faster". Went home and never doing that again! I like my freedom

[KayFitz Graduate]

Is there going to be a Graduation Ceremony to attend??

[Sandraj39 Graduate]

Ooh, that's a lot of times around the track Rachel, but hey, another run closer to graduating! Well done😀

[runswithdogs Graduate]

That's a great resource to use since you're going there anyways. Nothing wrong with mixing up where and how you run.

[Bananabanana3 Graduate]

That's an added bonus, getting a tip from the athletics coach! Well done!

[Curlygurly2 Graduate]

I'd love top have a go on a track, I don't think I'd mind the boredom, I used to be a swimmer - it's got to be better than looking at a tiled pool bottom!

[JoolieB1 Graduate in reply to Curlygurly2]

The running surface is good, grippy and soft - most athletic tracks allow guests, maybe find one as it was an interesting experience but I just hate boredom and repeating circuits!

[misswobble Graduate]

I know what you mean. Humans are meant to do mindless laps, we're not goldfish! Still, like you say, you had Britney and co to keep you motivated. What was she warbling about? Was she Toxic or a put on a show kinda girl? LOL Was Beyonce Surviving? Good tunes to run to!

Well done, keep up the good work! You can still hit the trail when you feel like it, mix things up a bit. The trail runs will more than mitigate the track work

[RachelLewes Graduate]

It was Britney 'Stronger' .. LOVE that when i'm running. And Beyonce 'Girls run the world' .. Also love Rihanna and J-Z 'Run this town' .. which says 'Almost there .. don't give up now ... Victory's within the mile' !!

[groovyforster]

Just a warning...Run both directions on the track if you can. I may have injured my IT Band because I did a lot of track repeats but only in one direction...

[RachelLewes Graduate in reply to groovyforster]

Thanks for the warning! I'll try and avoid One Direction - on the track and in my playlist