Running with the Mammoth Track Club!

Workout: 2K, 1M, 1200m, 800m, 400m with rest in between

               As I sit here on this rock with my legs submerged in the cool gentle moving water that is flowing from the large rushing waterfall behind me, I watch and listen as a little boy learns to fish with his father and his younger brother searches for gold under the rocks and sand. All the while, smiling faces paddle by on kayaks, small boats, and surf boards. My legs thank me for this time to finally relax and enjoy the gorgeous wonders of Mammoth.

            At 5:30 am, I jumped out of bed excited to meet the Mammoth Track team and Coach Andrew Kastor, who was a professional marathon runner and is married to 2004 Olympic marathon bronze medalist Deena Kastor. I arrived early to the track and decided to run some laps to warm up. I did another 2M warm up with the team, where all I heard was chat about upcoming races and “Mooooo” from the cattle that we seemed to be herding along the rocky trail surrounded by weeds, thorn bushes, and colossal mountains.

                “Hello Joanna” Coach Kastor said as I shyly walked up to him with my hand out. He advised me to take it easy on my first couple of weeks to get used to being at 8,000’ elevation. We talked little since we had to do some drills and a workout in time before most people had to go to work. 

I felt nervous, yet excited while lining up at the start line as Coach Kastor stood on the turf with a clip board and timer. At “Go!” we all took off and I stayed less than a second behind three men who looked fit enough to run up the mountain and back. With experience of running 15 x 1000m each week, which is three times farther than today’s workout, I was confident and determined to stay with them. We ran each interval faster and faster. “70, a bit too fast” Coach Kastor spurted out as we passed him. “Nice work” he said the next time around. I took a couple of sips of water when I rested, which is something I will have to get used to because it is essential to stay hydrated in high altitude. I stayed behind the trio of men throughout the workout and on the last 400m, I surged past a man who was trailing only a second behind the lead man. “Good job” he said and we high-fived and exchanged smiles of relief that we were done. I later found out that he is training for a 50K in Sept as we chatted during our 2M cool down. I might have ran little harder than what coach advised, but my legs felt comfortable even at low 5 min pace.

Coach told me that two women will be arriving in Mammoth tomorrow and I will be able to run with them on Thursday. The women are also training for the Chicago marathon and I am quite familiar with who they are since Coach told me their names in an email a while ago. Both women are 2016 Olympic runners, one from Saudi Arabia who ran the marathon, and the other from Greece who ran the 10K. I am thrilled to meet them, run beside them, and learn from them about all there is to know on training as a pro, and hear about the excitement of competing in the Olympics. Now my bottom is feeling sore as I sit on this rock and the water is feeling cooler and rushing faster, and the breeze is feeling a bit chilly. Until my next adventure!