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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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It was great running the sunset circuit track meet on Tuesday! I was able to PR in this race, coming in at 4:53.56 (Roughly 4:55.25 mile pace). My previous mile PR was 5:06.
Looking forward to the next meet in July:)
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Ran my laps at the tranquil Newfield HS track on this misty Sunday morning. A sporadic light rain fell during my run. It was quite pleasant.
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“Ran” a 1600 around an old dirt and cinder track at Green Lakes in Seattle. Had to avoid a fair number of kids starting summer camps.
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An excellent effort, @sryan004, but @Tristan_Lambert is still in the lead for most far-flung Sweet 1600 this year, given that Palo Alto is a few hundred miles further from Ithaca than Seattle. Who’s going to challenge that distance?
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Because I have to drop a kid at the Tburg school at 7:30 am for driver’s ed, I decided to hit the track for a few miles. 0.5 mile warmup, 1 mile faster-ish pace for me, 0.5 mile cool down, then another mile just because.
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I decided to test a little speed work this morning and all went well so I ended up with 12x400m. The juvenile red tailed hawks that have been nesting nearby were cheering me on from the fence but by the time I finished my workout they had moved on, so sadly no photos.
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The Sweet 1600 is now done and that completes the Challenge for me this season. Finding a track - any track, anywhere - proved to be its own mini challenge. Last weekend I drove up to Lansing to use their HS track and found out it was closed to be resurfaced. No matter. This morning I took the short drive to Cornell’s campus but found that track to be closed as there was a soccer game taking place on the infield. 
Third time’s a charm, right? Dryden HS delivered, with a light pleasant breeze to keep it mild and cool. Challenge now complete.
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Hey, @Challengers!
Thanks to club member @harry_greene, we have a new option for the Sweet 1600: a trail course out on West Hill. We’re informally calling it the Sweetgum 1600, but efforts on it count like any other Sweet 1600 effort on a track.
It has a Google Maps pin and a sign and RunGo directions and even a narrated drone tour, all of which you’ll find on the Sweet 1600 course page. There’s even a bathroom with a composting toilet. Although Harry has done a great job of tilling and flattening and mowing, it’s still a field, so don’t expect the surface to be as smooth as a track. It also has some hills—it won’t host your fastest 1600m times.
Thanks, Harry!
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I decided to get in a speed workout at the Trumansburg track early this morning (well, early for me - 9 am). The heat, humidity, and blazing sun made me feel like this little beauty was outpacing me.
Then, during my cool down, this cutie pie popped up, claimed a spot in lane 1, and refused to move. I think I might have heard some heckling.
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Sweetgum 1600!
Walked this loop with a friend. I saw a beautiful ornamental Queen Anne’s lace flower that was red instead of the usual White!!
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What do you do when you have to drop your kid off at the school at 7:30 am?!? Log a couple of Sweet 1600!!
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Found an open track in Basel and Alec ran with me for the first three laps. He then proceeded to drop me on the final lap.
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Woo! @mdoruska3 has the lead for farthest Sweet 1600 now, at 3,928 miles from Ithaca, beating out @Tristan_Lambert’s 2,418 miles for Stanford.
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I spent today’s lunch break to drive up to Ulysses to check out the Sweetgum 1600. Given the afternoon heat I only had time for two laps. I carried my phone with RunGo on for the first lap in case it wasn’t clear where to go, then dropped it at the car for lap 2. I recommend using it the first time you run the route so you don’t miss the sharp left turn to the upper loop and so you know to stay under the trees for the final 100 meters.
The concept is pretty neat — an even 1 mile on a wide mowed trail, with about 40 feet of uphill per loop. Don’t expect to run faster here on the uneven surface than you would for an equivalent effort on a track.
Harry came out as I was finishing the second loop. He told me he built the course because he needs a good route for his tempo runs. Thank you @harry_greene for making this open and accessible to all of us.
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