Sweet 1600 Star Posts (2022)

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This was the last course Amy and I needed, so we saw fit to do it at the same time in Trumansburg. We ran the first course together, too! The heat of the day was abating, yet with tired legs this felt super difficult. Still happy with the day and looking forward to more fast miles!


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Hello from Ottawa! :raised_hand_with_fingers_splayed: And congrats to @amy-dawson and @scottpdawson for finishing the challenge!

After reading about the Canadian adventures of @adamengst and @tonya-engst I felt it was my duty to complete the collection of Canadian tracks with one in Ottawa, so today, my partner and I went running on this one:

It belongs to the Immaculata High School. The funny thing is that there were also a couple of football teams training, so we had to dodge the balls while running… but it was fun!

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After doing our mile on the track, we continued running alongside the Rideau Canal towards Dow’s Lake and the beautiful Arboretum, and we got a “slush puppie” that left my tongue completely green :rofl:

This morning we also went to the Ottawa Farmers’ Market… definitely recommended to the lovers of the Ithaca one!

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I thought that my first Agility & Speed Cornell Wellness workout at Schoelkopf Field, which is a block from my office. I realized just in time that “Jessup Field” is on North Campus, at least a half-mile from my office. I ran over, running a little faster than might be ideal before partaking in this class. The class was so fun! It was taught by a former football player, so he thinks about agility and speed a little differently than a runner. @bobtalda was also there. I was more tired than I’d expected from this excellent workout, but my plan had been to run on the track after class, so I stuck with my plan, despite the rain, which was getting a little heavier.

I ran over to the track. By happy coincidence, I got onto the track after I’d almost run 3 miles so far for this workout adventure, so I jogged a bit to get to 3 miles flat. That way I didn’t have to reset my run to get my mile time. I then put in a real effort (if slightly tired, but certainly warmed up). I think I beat my previous best effort this Challenge season by 1 second, so I was happy with that. It was definitely time to call myself done after that, but I jogged a little while longer to get back to my office. I arrived drenched in sunscreen, sweat, and rain, so I grabbed my stuff and scooted! (I used to shower in Teagle Hall, but I’m still COVID-phobic of the place)

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Right after my run, Adam texted me to ask whether I could pick up our Instacart order from Greenstar, since he has an extra busy work day. I drove to Greenstar on my way home to shower, and I loaded the car with boxes full of kale, carrots, eggs, oat milk, and I don’t know what else because Adam unloaded.

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I found myself with a pocket of time where there was no rain, so I quickly made my way over to the Dryden track to complete my streak keeper. It was still kind of drizzly, and I did get a little warm, but even though there were plenty of cars in the lot, I was alone on the track.

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Not super far-flung, but i stumbled across a decrepit track whilst on a run near Detroit. It is run down and in disrepair, but still in fine enough shape to make the rounds. I can’t say the same for the baseball diamond also pictured below. Some of the trees inside the diamond were taller than me. A few miles later i actually stumbled upon another track just like it. At first i thought maybe i had accidently circled back somehow, but it was indeed an almost identical track, in the same condition, separated by a few miles. I started running that one but a 10ft stretch of it was under a puddle of water, so i cut that one short.



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Urbana High School track, IL

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Went out for a midday workout (not my usual time) and saw @lizhartman walking through campus. The Cornell track was locked for all but one little gate on the north side by the shot put/long jump area. Found one of Big Red’s (or her progeny’s) feathers by the sidewalk and it inspired me to fly as I chased a faster time.

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Heading to the Collegetown Starbucks location to not shop and support the baristas who won a union election and were just told the store is closing (in clear retaliation for their organizing).

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Had an all-day meeting today, so stopped at the Dryden track on the way home to get my streak keeper. The sky looked very angry, but only start to drizzle as I came around the final turn on my last lap.

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Got take out from Crossroads in Lansing for dinner.

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Work this week has been way too hectic to do anything other than streak keepers, so I found myself at the Dryden track yet again tonight. There were some kids on the infield practicing lacrosse. One lost a ball over the fence. Two people were up on the high school roof (looked like adults doing repair work). Not much else to report other than I am looking forward to a good run tomorrow!!

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After we finished the Lansing Center group run, @heathercobb3 and @tonya-engst encouraged me to head over to the Lansing High School track to run the Sweet 1600. I had been planning to save this for later in the summer - when I’ll be more in shape - to run a faster time, but then @tonya-engst reminded me that the average time competition only includes the n fastest times where n = average number of course efforts. So instead, I headed to the track to add on a second course for the day as a cool-down. There was a very stiff wind down the backstretch, and my legs were a little worn out from taking a faster pace than expected on Lansing Center, but I still brought it in in under 10 minutes.

The photographic evidence says there is only one track at Lansing. :wink: @heathercobb3 , the area below it is indeed a baseball diamond, though according to @adamengst it was once a 1/5 mile track??

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Good thing I wasn’t under oath when I claimed there were 2 tracks! :joy:

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went to the Newfield track to run a mile after I checked out the location of the parking lot for the Treman route

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on the way home stopped into Eddydale Produce with the hope of finding cherries -no cherries but lots of beautiful melons! Bought a melon

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Cute little track at a local high school here in Nepean, Ontario, part of Ottawa. It took me way longer to figure out how to post this using my phone than it did to actually run around the track. Still not sure if the photo is going to show up. Glad I got to run this morning as it is going to be a very difficult day.

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The photo is great—looks like a gorgeous day. That’s the roughest track I’ve seen yet—the dirt track at the Brockton Oval in Vancouver’s Stanley Park was a little more groomed.

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I headed to the same school track this morning as I ran on yesterday morning. My thought was to do some interval training as I haven’t done speed work in ages. But as soon as I picked up some speed my right hamstring, which has been bothering me for a while, started complaining loudly again so I decided it was best to listen to my body and not push through the pain. Luckily, running slowly seems to be okay. So I considered heading out into the maze of Nepean, Ontario streets but since my phone failed to charge last night I was worried about getting lost. So instead I stayed on the track and ran 7 miles there! My leg seems to do OK with slow steady and flat. Even though I was really repeating quarter mile laps, I could fool myself into thinking I was on a nice trail given the nature of the gravel track, which I found rather soothing. I Would never have been able to do so many miles on a normal Olympic track as they stress me out. Plus it was fun watching the school come to life in the morning. Tomorrow I’ll head to the Rideau Canal for a more interesting run, if I have time.

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I slept terribly due to the storm, so changed my running plan for this morning last minute to 3 miles on the track: warmup, hard one, cooldown.

Parked at the wildflower preserve because I’m cheap and refuse to pay for parking. I think I saw @mclark leaving just as I was getting there, so maybe had the same idea?

I was aiming for 6:00 flat, but between lack of sleep and the ridiculous wind on the home stretch, I was wrecked. Still, 6:23 is 24 seconds off my previous best this year, so nothing to scoff at.

I’m thinking the heavy increase in training is starting to catch up with me, so it may be time to dial it back a bit…

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Stopped by the mall on my way home to pick up teacher gifts

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Yep - that was me. Did a warmup then a Sweet 16 on the Cornell track. I think you could almost lap me twice with your speeds if we started at the same time. My time today was 8:50 - my fast days are many years in the past. Nice job!

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I ran a mile at today’s track meet in Lansing. I was pretty exhausted after a day of packing and moving boxes, but I still improved my time. My last Sweet 1600 effort on the Ottawa track was 7:14, and today I ran 7:09 (if I heard correctly :rofl:). Next fitness goal: getting back to running a mile under 7 minutes! But most importantly… what a fun meet!!
The highlights were:

  1. seeing so many parents run with their children! So many adorable little scenes, including @Margaret_Frank’s daughter chasing her at the mile race start :heart:;
  2. running the 4x200m relay with @Katie_Gannon, @amalia and Laura (a friend visiting from the Netherlands). I had never run a relay before and it is great! @adamengst I told @tonya-engst that you should consider including a relay in next year’s challenge :wink:
  3. obviously, witnessing the 4 Adams running the 4x200m relay… what a showdown! Gotta practice those baton handoffs though :rofl:
    Thank you so much to the volunteers for putting together such a great event! I am looking forward to seeing the official pics taken by the photographer…


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For dinner we got takeout from New Delhi Diamond’s… greatly recommended!

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Thanks @adamengst and all the volunteers who organized tonight’s track meet! What a great event! So welcoming to all ages, whether you’re one of the littlest kids carrying along your bunny stuffed animal in the 100m, or one of the superstar runners in their 70s, or somewhere in between.

It was my 6-year old’s first meet, and I took him to the track this morning for fun, to practice running the 400m. A bonus this morning was that the water sprinklers were on in the field, so he got to run through those too.

He loves to run, but it was tough to stay focused on the practice lap… he was busy watching sprinklers and the rainbows they make, asking why some arrows on the track point the wrong way, asking if you get to take a break when you get to where it says “BREAK LINE”, etc. He enjoyed running in the meet and hearing his name booming over the loudspeaker as he neared the finish.

For me, it wasn’t my best 1600 tonight but it was fun! And even more fun was the 4x200 relay that @lizhartman (who ran an awesome 1600!) kindly invited me to join. I never run sprints like that, and I gave it all I had!

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Happy 4th of July, everyone! :us:

We are in Ottawa again, visiting my partner’s family. The weather is beautiful! Yesterday I went out on a long run. Today I was in the mood for something shorter, so I took advantage again of the track at the Immaculata High School.

The running gods were on my side, because I was finally able to run a sub-7 min. Sweet 1600, in 6:46!

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We are heading to the Five Lakes Club in Gatineau for a swim and a barbecue, so we went to Whole Foods Market for some grocery shopping. I’m pissing off all the Canadians with my outfit… :rofl:

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