Monday, February 23, 2009

I Hate The Track

I hate the track. Or rather, my ass hates the track. But I’ll get back to this later.


I had a three miler on the schedule today. The weather forecast was –7C (19F) and snow in the afternoon. I was sitting in a meeting at about 11 am and my coworker looks out the window and comments on the amount of snow coming down. It was almost like whiteout conditions. The meeting finished up and I hummed and hawed about whether I really wanted to go out or not. The sidewalks were looking pretty gross and I just was not up for it. So, the treadmill after work it would be.


I was ready to go all Brad Pitt on the treadmill in Burn After Reading. I had my playlist loaded with up T-Pain and Beyonce, and thanks to all of you guys, I realized that I was missing Britney Spears. I rectified that situation before heading out, so now I’d be able to hear Britney tell her to give her more while I was running on the treadmill.


As soon as I pulled into the parking lot at the Y I knew the treadmill situation would be tough. It was full… And indeed, all of the treadmills were taken. Bummer, I would have to start out on the track. I just wanted to get this run over and done with. I could do anything for 45 laps, right? As soon as I started running around the highly banked track my piriformis was hurting. These were going to be 45 long laps if it was going to feel like I had a fork jabbed right in middle of my piriformis the entire time. The first mile clicked off in 9:43, which at the time I was disappointed about. I had kind of thought I was going to be faster. Just then I noticed that a treadmill had opened up, thank goodness! I ran over there to snag it. Who would have ever thought I would be so excited about an empty treadmill?


I wound up next to some body builder guy who was just about to get started on his run, just as soon as he got off of his cell phone to make plans to meet his buddies at the bar later. I’m guessing he was a body builder because he was wearing his weight lifting gloves. On the treadmill. If you read Missy’s blog, all of a sudden I thought I was a part of this episode. I had my Disney Marathon shirt on and cranked the treadmill up to 6.5. Maybe a little fast, but like I mentioned, I was a little disappointed that my first mile was a bit slow and I was ready to make up for it.

As I got going I looked over at Mr. Bodybuilder next to me. He was running at a 5.0 pace. Nothing wrong with that. He kept glancing over at my treadmill though, to see what I was doing. It was almost like he didn’t want to get chicked on the treadmill. He was running along, but every once in awhile he would grab on to the bars on the side. Then he glanced over at my treadmill and pumped it up to 6.0. Now he’s running, reaching for the bars, catching up, then trying to hang on to the console in front of him. He looks over at me and bumps the treadmill up to 6.5. He’s struggling and dropping back. Next thing I know he’s gone off the back. He gets back on the treadmill but shortly after that he calls it a day. 6 minutes in. Poor guy.


The rest of my run was uneventful. I finished it up and spent a good amount of time stretching it out, but my piriformis still hurts. Sigh…time for some more ART I think…

23 comments:

Road Warrior said...

Hysterical!

I'm with you on the track. I couldn't make it more than one lap around the track without getting bored!

Badgergirl said...

That would have been amusing to run next to.

And at this point? I think I would attempt a track over the treadmill. I'm that ready for non-freezing temperatures so I can run outside. Yes, I'm a wuss when it comes to winter outdoor running. :)

audgepodge said...

Never seen that trailer before - Brad Pitt is hilarious on the treadmill!

And how AWESOME is it that you are now at the point that a 9:43 mile seems slow? Go Leana Go!

Angry Runner said...

That guy was a cad. No lie, men will attempt to outdo the pretty gal next to them in some sort of performance that can be considered a mating ritual. I think you ruined his ego.

Run For Life said...

Hahahaha! I totally have this image of a steroid-hopped up massive guy lumbering along for dear life and then just sliding off the treadmill Loony Tunes style.

I hope your piriformis starts behaving soon.

Iron Greg said...

You should all come run in Maui - it's warm here!! :)

Missy said...

Thanks for the shout out!!! Yes, THAT GUY. I hate it. A track or dreadmill...the worst BUT better than breaking your arse on the snow or ice!

Ryan said...

I love the treadmill competitions...whatever you are running I am .1 faster than you!

HA!

TNTcoach Ken said...

You almost killed a body-builder guy? You should be ashamed of yourself.......Ha, I love the dreadmill challenge...

Mel-2nd Chances said...

lol, he totally got chicked! that's hysterical!!!

Wes said...

hahahaha... stoopid muscle man ;-)

Rainmaker said...

Nicely done on the treadmill!

Guys do it to other guys as well, so it's not just a guy-girl thing.

Marlene said...

I've always thought a track would be less boring than the treadmill. Then again, I have never tried it.

Way to kick that bodybuilder's butt on the treadmill... not that it's a competition or anything. :)

ShirleyPerly said...

Oh yes, small steeply banked tracks can be dangerous to the piriformis!

Funny about the bodybuilder guy. Few people dare to run next to me at the gym :-)

Deb said...

OMG, that's awesome! How did you keep a straight face? Or did you turn away in hysterics? Stupid bodybuilder!! :)

RunToTheFinish said...

45 laps, nope couldn't mentally handle that I don't think.

ok i've been dying to see burn after reading, but still haven't!! I must find it somewhere

Judi said...

thos body builder guys hate cardio. they usually run a mile and that's it. pussies.

Aron said...

hahaha thats hilarious :) glad a treadmill opened up for you!

Richelle Love said...

So funny! But please be careful with any pain you have - as we know what happens when you ignore pain.....

Meg said...

LOL!! I love the gym for reasons just like this. I find the Y is the best of all gyms for people watching. My faves are the wanna-be-meatheads in jeans and Lugz boots.

I think I'm also going to start dropping "You got chicked" into my daily vocab.

Run Mommy said...

This really made my laugh! I work in the industry and have seen my fair share of Alpha Males. Thanfully, my company is a little more family friendly so the real beasts tend to look a place with more testasterone. I hope you enjoyed beating him down. :)

Trihardist said...

Judi said it. Those bodybuilders are obnoxious. He should have gone over to the stair-stepper with the other weight-glovers.

I am totally judgmental about the wannabe, douche-tastic body-builders. They're obnoxious to have around a gym. And they don't put all their massive weights away.

P.O.M. said...

Ha! That's hilarious. Men, eh?