Track rats

I'll be heading over to the Reggie Lewis Center again this afternoon for a Bay State meet. I was just there last night for a track workout. I'll be there again on Saturday for the Boston Indoor Games. Sunday is the McIntyre Elite Relays.

Last Sunday I spent much of the day at the Harvard track for the Greater Boston Track Club meet. I know a bunch of people running Saturday at the Terrier Classic at BU -- maybe I should drop in to watch them.

In basketball, they are called "gym rats," those kids who are always hanging around the gym, shooting hoops or watching games. They never seem to leave. They spend more time at the gym than at their own houses. By this time of the winter, I feel like a track rat. I spend so much time at Reggie that i should have my mail delivered there. I've become such a familiar face to the staff that they no longer bother swiping my card, but just wave me in.

Whether it's watching a meet, running a race, or doing yet another interval workout, my life seems to revolve around my trips to and from the indoor track. I feel i could use a change of pace, but what's a runner to do in the middle of winter? I can't very well run 400s outdoors at night in this weather. Plus everyone else is at the track, and the camaraderie is one of the things that gets us through the hardships of the season.

I've come to appreciate the different mood of Reggie on different nights. Once the high school meets clear out, the adults take over. Tuesday night is a circus, with dozens of groups careening around the track in what seems like a non-stop orgy of anaerobic excess. Wednesday night is quietly efficient, with the BAA runners swiftly circling the track with effortless speed. Thursday is busier, but not crazy like Tuesday. The GBTC folks are there, along with several colleges. Everybody knows everybody. Somehow the distance runners and sprinters manage to share the six lanes of blue tartan without mishap.

After running, you would think we would want to get out of there as fast as possible, but no, we linger. We talk about races run and races to come. We talk about who looks good and who's injured. We reminisce. If they didn't turn the lights out, we might never leave.