The Best Laid Schemes...

Robert Burns wrote of the best laid schemes of mice and men, saying they go often awry, and Thursday was no exception to that!

We were taking advantage of the fact that we have not run at Northampton Park in recorded history (the course was new in 2006 and revised in 2009) to travel there for a practice on Thursday, ahead of our league meet next Tuesday, and to experience what we seldom experience during the season, after school starts: some serious hill training.

I was able to arrive early and start checking out the course.  I knew there was a ski hill in the second mile, and I had run past it once in the past, but I had not fully experienced the hill.  Seeing it live (rather than on Google Maps) got me quite excited about my planned workout, as its placement was perfect.  The plan (or scheme): some warm-up on the first mile of the course, then dynamic, 2 x 1/2 mile on the second mile, about 5 hill repeats (over 200m a pop), and 2 x 1/2 mile on the third mile (including one last trip up the hill).

The reality: warm-up, dynamic, then noticed some dark and ominous clouds rolling in.  We went ahead with a quick jog and some strides, and got to the line, when the thunder rumbled.  So, it was onto the bus.  After the delay a check of the radar looked promising, so we did a couple of minutes of jogging and a stride before starting the first 1/2 mile.  Just as we finished, another rumble, so it was tempo back to the bus and we had to call it a day.  Not a single hill for anyone (except the coaches who laid out and picked up cones).

The team thinks they dodged a bullet, but now we just have to get creative :-).