Track and Field Blogs - Luke Humphrey

Have you ever seen a 140 pound Grizzly Bear rolling down a hill? Well, if you would have been doing our workout a week ago, you would have been in for a treat.

In our Boston prep, we spend 4 weeks of doing our typical workouts, but on a primarily downhill (but rolling) dirt road. Today was 6x1.5 miles at 10 seconds faster than pace. In early March the roads are unpredictable, and on top of Drahner Hill, the road was ok, except around Dead-Man's curve. In this little spot there was one tire track width of dry road.

We had all made it through five of the intervals with no casualties, but that 6th one always seems to get you! I thought, for some unknown reason, that I had tank treads for feet and could run anywhere on the road and went to the right of the above mentioned tire track of dry road. Well, wouldn't you know it, that's when the levy broke! It started with the typical windmilling of the arms and instinctively loud cursing, and ended up with me thinking that the pile of ice would be a much softer place to crash than the gravel road.

What I found out, was that I was running up the side of the ice instead of through it. Then, my efforts to stay upright were in vain and said, "You're going down, don't fight it." So, I followed the first rule of a known fall- Tuck and Roll, cover your nugget of a head, and protect the vitals.

Now mind you, this was all slow motion to me. I had somehow crafted a wonderfully stupid plan of falling. Instead, what really happened was a 6 foot tall, 140 pound Grizzly Bear, in half tights barrelled roll down Drahner. I ended up face up wondering if I was paralyzed, dead, or even awake. I realized I was ok, but now, just really grumpy. I stood up on the sheet of ice, fell down again, and then finally got up just in time to have Keith slowly drive up to me.

"Keith, this one's gonna be a little slow."

"Are you ok, wanna ride?"

"No, I'll finish it. I need the mileage."

As I said, this was in slow motion, an I figured the whole group was already done. But, I slowly started jogging again and reached the first half in 2:47, but could see the last guys of the group. "Screw it, let's see what you can do." So, taking off, I caught one guy, just after the mile mark and had 4 others in my sites. Barrelling down the road in reckless abandon, I caught my original group and ran 7:19 for the 1.5, 4:32 ish for the mile.

Now, was this smart; probably not. But grumpy grizzly bears don't think about being smart!

Good luck to everyone running Boston!