The more things stay the same..

A high school friend recently reminded me of the efforts that we used to make to get our workouts in during inclement weather. This seems especially poignant given the recent conditions that runners have experienced in the mid-atlantic.

While actually in school, our coaches had a good hold on us. They did exactly what they should have to help keep us safe. When it was icy, we’d run the hallways of the school (something not allowed anymore) and do circuits of weighted jump rope, push ups, lunges and the like. We’d get in the gym before the basketball teams started up and get in some sprints, followed by a devilish wall-sit routine. Some snowy weeks we had to sacrifice a little mileage for the sake of safety.

The days when we were out of school, off days brought on by dumping snow and hazardous driving conditions, were the special ones. These were the days when we “proved” our dedication to each other and our sport. We used to meet at a rarely used parking garage central to all parties. This meant that everyone had to drive a distance to meet up. Our parents told us we were crazy or that we were being stupid. However, we were young, fit and invincible (don’t forget incredibly lucky that no one got stuck or hurt while getting there). The standard parking garage workout was a fartlek of hard loop, easy loop. It would go on until all parties were satisfactorily tired. We would stretch, talk a little smack and return home, not remembering the arguments we’d had with our folks in order to get ourselves out there. What these workouts did from an athletic perspective was very limited. What they allowed from a mental perspective was the actual benefit. Not only did we gel more easily as a team but we were able to convince ourselves that no one else was as hardcore as us, training in these conditions. It formed a sense of strength in each of us that was invaluable to our performances later in the season.

As I said, I had forgotten our winter storm workouts until my friend brought them up. During the recent winter storms, I realized that my mindset had never changed. I’ve run on ice, driven to neighborhoods where streets were cleared, worked out in the basement of a parking garage, run on the treadmill, even run on a trampoline! It has been nearly twenty years and I’m still trying to gain a little edge. I’m not even competitive anymore, but I feel a compulsion to get workouts completed during the poor weather. Feel free to call me crazy, it’s not like I’ve never heard it before. The more things change…

BE SURE TO WATCH THE U.S. INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS ON ESPN2 SUNDAY 7-9PM!