Track Etiquette

Jen and I have been practicing at Reggie Lewis on Tuesdays for maybe six weeks now. Each time we show up, there are a lot of people doing their thing, warming up and what not. After a while it is time to start running fast, and people break into different lanes. The distance runners closer inside and the mid-distance to sprinters heading further out into lanes that have more of a curve to them. Regardless, of everyone else falling into place, there is always this one college team that continues to warm up doing drills sprawling fifteen or so people, in the opposite of a single file, taking up three or four lanes abreast. Why they don’t use the area outside of the track or a portion of the infield is a mystery. This past Tuesday, starting my bout in lane four, I don’t really notice them until about 40 meters in, “Track, Track, and Track!” Booms from fresh lungs and this team of track athletes doesn’t even look back, they just sort of mill around and invariably someone steps into me. I kind of glare at them with disapproval as this track bout’s tracks are halted. A hard 200 meter rep stopped far too prematurely to start again immediately. “You shouldn’t be doing drills in here,” I bark at them and they say… nothing! They didn’t even look that bashful. I am still writhing a little bit for not reaming them out properly, not for my bouts sake but because that can lead to injury for someone else. Guess I just have better etiquette than them.