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After Triple Hump I stopped by the Cornell track since it was on the way home. That way I could keep my options open for the tarmac challenge.
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I love having the Cornell outdoor track open to the public in a convenient location. It’s barely out of the way on the drive from downtown out to Ellis Hollow Creek Road to finish off the Tough Tarmac Challenge. Stopping at Schoellkopf for four laps was quick and easy — no locked gates, no one else on the track.
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In honor of being at the National Linear Accelerator, I ran around an oval at constant velocity. I’m at SLAC for a Department of Energy workshop, and I decided to get my final easy miles for the week by exploring the Stanford campus. I took a detour for a Sweet 1600 on the fine but nothing special Stanford Track before making my way to a campus greasy spoon, where I got a burrito bigger than many newborn babies. The final three miles back to the hotel were…interesting.
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Do you mean constant velocity or constant speed? Maintaining constant velocity is impossible as you are changing direction on an ovular track, unless perhaps your course was outside the Euclidean plane 
Sarcasm aside, that looks like a really cool place to run!
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A Very Challenging Sweet 1600!
So, my Tough Tarmac Challenge plan was to run a Sweet 1600 at Cornell after starting with Triple Hump. I got to Cornell during lunch time but everything about the track said ‘Go Away’ - no one was using the track, the tall gates were closed, and all the nearby parking lots needed permits. For a few seconds, I thought about running two laps around the horse track on the Fall Creek Trails course, but I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to park there and didn’t want to run the Fall Creek Trails course just yet today. 
I really had not thought through the prospects of finding an open track on a school day. Then Plan B emerged - do Black Diamond at the Gorge end and run the Sweet 1600 at the Trumansburg school track in the evening - then stop at the Ice Cream Bar to celebrate the completion of this Challenge! Unfortunately, there was an awards ceremony still in progress at the track at 7 PM. Further, one small rain cell on the radar map was dropping over the track when I pulled into the lot.
So, I decided to rethink my options while enjoying some ice cream
Google Maps showed a track in Seneca Falls, if I went home that route. It looked like any possible track at Ithaca College was under construction. I was still doubtful about Cornell. I had time to drive home and do it at the Cicero-North Syracuse track closest to my home, but what if I encountered a delay on the drive? Who would fail at a Tough Tarmac Challenge for lack of a Sweet 1600! So, I decided to go with the reliable Dryden Lions HS track. Go Lions!
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I ran the 1600 at FLRC’s own Sunset Circuits meet yesterday. I had no time goals, I just wanted to race and beat as many people as I could.
The start list looked deep so I expected everyone to start fast (fast for me, at least). We did. I’m pretty sure I was in last place after the first curve, and that was en route to a quick 1:11 first lap.
I spent most of lap 2 trying to get in touch with a pack ahead of me. There was a small gap and I wanted to be sure that I closed it before it was time to kick. It felt hard, but I got there. I made it halfway in 2:23 (I think).
Lap 3 was a waiting game. I just had to hang on until the kicking started. I don’t remember my lap 3 split, but I’m guessing it was a little slower.
As I rounded the curve and hit the back stretch for the final time I counted four people that I thought I might be able to catch (of course the really fast guys were already on the final turn). With 300 meters to go I quickened the pace and started passing people. I caught all four guys and sealed the deal with an extra gear change in the final 100. I finished 4th in 4:43.
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