Fun at the track

Today I went over to the track to do some speedwork, but just didn't have the requisite "oomph" to do the mile repeats which I had planned. I ran two miles and then fizzled out and turned sluglike. Could I rescue this workout from its profound oomphlessness?

Inspired by some ideas which I had read long ago from Coach Neil Cook, I decided to mix it up a bit for several walking laps.

I walked normally around the curves (so as not to tweak my touchy knees), and on the straightaways I did all sorts of 100-yard sets of stuff like:

• Giant steps
• Sideways steps (50 yards left. 50 yards right)
• Grapevine (50 yards left, 50 yards right)
• Skipping
• Knee-high marching
• Butt kicks
• Wide steps
• Backwards walking
• etc.

It ended up being quite a good workout! I woke up several long-forgotten muscles, mostly those lateral ones that don't get a lot of attention in straight-line running and cycling. It certainly elicited some strange stares from the nearby tennis players and construction workers, but I didn't care.

My butt is already incredibly sore, and I hold Neil Cook responsible.