183.4 or Under the Wire

Growing up, no one looked to me for math help. I decided as a youth that fun trumped math every time. I was not the sharpest compass in the desk drawer.  On Monday I used every bit of math skills I could recall from years long gone. The story problem this wannabe Ironman was asking himself was: How many times does Jason have to run around the Y's running track to complete his month's half-marathon? Here is what I knew; the track at the Y requires 14 laps on the outside lane to equal a mile and a half-marathon is 13.1 miles. My brain struggled with the puzzle. I decided a calculator could solve my problem, so I grabbed my iPod. I decided that if 14 laps = 1 mile, I could multiply 14 by 13.1 and get an answer to my story problem.

14 x 13.1 = 183.4

With this information tattooed to my brain, I took off for the Y. In one pocket was my trusty Ipod, in the other was the lap counter I use in the pool. It looks like a mini watch for your index finger.  In my hand was a 32 oz bottle filled with endurance fuel, orange flavored. In the lobby of the YMCA, I ran into one of my friends, Reese. I asked him what he was doing there, he replied "Racquetball." Reese is an awesome racquetball player, so good, when we play we don't need to keep score. He asked what I was doing there and I explained my plan. "How many laps is that?" "183.4." I replied. He asked me if I was off work on Tuesday. I said that I was, but this needed to be done in February, Not March! He looked at me as if I were crazy and then wished me luck.

I won't bore you with all the details, I finished and it was not fun! The track is shaped like a bean and has one really sharp turn. After 183 of these turns, certain parts of the body become quite irritated. The knees, the ankles, and the toes to name a few. I ran for nearly two hours, the group of runners surrounding me rotated out three or four or five times in that period. For about 20 laps I reversed directions when it was only me and one other woman on the track, that felt real nice. I watched my lap times fall from 34 seconds to 42 seconds in that two hours.

I have a goal to complete a half-marathon every month leading up to my Ironman attempt, so far I am two for two. This one was just under the wire since I am still recovering from an illness. Other than a sore knee, I have to say that I am feeling much better and am very pleased to be working out again. It was a full week I was off and I was starting to go a little crazy!

Here is a fun video that my triathlete friends and I enjoy very much, skip it if strong language offends you. I recommend watching it and laughing!