Why Track Repeats Are Great For Beginners

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This summer I fell in love with track repeats. I’d done intervals before on the road, running faster for a quarter or half a mile, and then recovering.

But it’s not the track. Nothing’s like the track.

It’s a spiritual feeling when you walk onto the track. Every time I’m there, I remember the laps I’ve run before. It’s as if all the time in between track repeats fades away, and all that exists, all that’s important, is me and the track.

It feels like a sanctuary. I know when I enter that I’m about to work hard, lay it all down, feel the burn, leave feeling accomplished. I know when I’m at the track, it’s because I’m going to run hard enough to think of nothing else but the running. No blog posts will be born. No meals planned. No to-do lists prioritized. I will run, I will burn, I will BECOME running, because there will be no room for anything else.

The track has a magical quality of making me run harder, faster, longer. There are no excuses. No stop lights, no hills, nothing but cushy, uninterrupted track and the calmness of knowing that if I push too hard, I am never more than an eighth of a mile from the gate. That security, knowing I can quit at any time and not be too far from home, keeps me from quitting. I have my safety net, and it makes me fly.

I wish I had used the track when I first started running. I was too nervous, I felt too fraudulent. The track was for RUNNERS, and I was just starting the couch to 5k. I felt queasy and sweaty and like I was going to get yelled at for trespassing the first time I stepped onto the track. (One it’s ok for me to use, by the way.)

It took some time, but the track has become a surface I’ve run too many times not to belong. I absolutely leave the inside lanes for other, faster runners when they’re there. I don’t worry at all what they think when they run by me, because I’m THERE, and that’s what matters to me.

The track is a beautiful place for beginners because it’s a flat, cushioned surface that reduces impact and strain when you’re first learning to run, and because it’s a great place to work on your speed or up your distance knowing that you can slow down or stop at any time without being further from home than you wanted.

If you want to run between four and 6 miles, making the last two of those miles track repeats means you can stop exactly when you want to, without needing to use a treadmill. That’s pretty fantastic if you’re adding distance for the first time.

The track is where I ran my fastest mile (7:45, what’s up NOW!). It’s where I ran my fastest quarter mile, half mile, and three quarter mile. It’s where I’ve found the power to work hard for just a LITTLE longer, never worried that I’ll do too much, because I’m always so close to the gate home.

You know how you can eat an entire bowl of popcorn just by doing it a little at a time? Well the track is like that. Just one lap at a time, manageable, manageable, manageable… and then you add it up and realize that shoot… you’re awesome.

Check out this beginner’s guide to track workouts from Runner’s World to get started! If you aren’t up to their recommended mileage base, you can use the track to add distance or work on your base, first.

www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/beginners-guide

 

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4 comments

  1. Hi, I’m a poster from CoolRunnings. It never occurred to me to run on a track. I’ll have to call our local high school and see if they allow it.

    Happy belated birthday. Mine is next Wednesday.

    1. A lot of high schools do as long as you run when the school isn’t in session! Colleges are great, too, many allow the public to use theirs. Thanks for the birthday wishes, and Happy Birthday to you also! I love having a fall birthday, it feels like I start a new year with each school year, and growing up that was fun 🙂

      1. I figured I couldn’t run during school hours. The high school my daughter goes to said I could use their track after school until 8:00 pm (unless they’ve having an event at the track) and on weekends from 8-noon. Not too shabby.

        1. That’s great! I’m lucky enough to live in a town with both a college track and a high school track, which tend to be free at complementary hours. (The college track is easy to use at 9 a.m, unlike the high school track!)

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