WOULD IT BE WEIRD IF...

At some point I'd like to start doing some interval/speed workouts. Typically these are done at a track because you are doing common track distances like 200m, 400m, 800m, etc. Problem is, the track within running distance from my house is Southridge High School, and that thing is locked down with multiple layers of fencing.

I don't really understand that, it is a public resource, paid for by my tax dollars, but they really lock it off. I've been there twice, once on a quest for water, another time to play tennis, and was not impressed with the accessibility of their facilities. Where I grew up in Tualatin the high school was open to all and any night there were at least a dozen people on the track doing various exercises.

Long story short, I'd basically have to find a track and drive there. That doesn't sound fun. Battle rush hour traffic to get home, change, then drive somewhere to run laps. Shoot me. I could just take off from my house and set my phone to alert me every .25 miles or whatever, but I want a flat surface for speed workouts, and you can't run anywhere near my house without some hills. You need to be able to compare splits and that just wouldn't work.

So I got to thinking. Maybe there is a flat quarter mile loop I can find by my house. What if the roads just happened to form a quarter mile? I could just use that as my track. So I load a map and on my third track like loop I try I hit a home run. I literally trace the sidewalk I'd run on and it comes out to pretty much exactly .25 miles... almost like it was designed that way.

Only problem is, Google Street View didn't journey there. Everywhere else, yes, but that one street, no. They got close (the bend in the upper right) and from the view there the neighborhood looks pretty damn flat. I even ran through it at one point trying to find a 10k route. I think I remember it being flat. So I think I'll investigate that neighborhood very soon to make sure it is flat.

If it is flat... would it be weird to run circles in it? I mean, if I were a home owner and someone came flying by every 90 seconds (oh Thomas, stop flattering yourself) it might be kind of weird. I'd probably run around it 12 times and then come home. My house also happens to be just about exactly a mile from there, so a mile warm up and warm down. It's perfect!

I don't think I'll start intervals until I get my watch though. Maybe I will... we'll see. I want to try and set a new 5k PR and gain some speed in the next couple months.