Track and Field Blogs - Yolanda Flamino

All of the women on the Hansons-Brooks team are currently training for the marathon trails in April. This week we headed south to get a reprieve from the winter weather, which, as of late, has not been on short order in southeastern Michigan. Here’s a recap of the trip, thus far.

We woke up around 5:00 am on Sunday to head out for a few miles before our flight, but didn’t even make it 200m before we realized the impossibility of getting in a run, especially with a specified time window due to the flight. Thanks to some freezing rain, the ground was covered in a layer of ice that was as slick as oil, so we quickly grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the treadmills at Life Time Fitness. We squeezed in a quick run, bundled back up, and headed off to the airport. When our plane touched down in Savannah, GA it was 71º and sunny. A welcome change.

From Georgia we headed to Hilton Head, SC to meet up with Kevin (Hanson), his family, and his high school runners, who were taking advantage of their spring break, also getting in some warm weather running. After unpacking, we headed out for a 10 banger, exploring the area and thrilled to have some snow and ice-free footing. The next day we drove to the local high school track to do a workout (8 x 1 mile)…only to be greeted by a tall fence laced with two rows of barbed wire at the top. Think Prison Break. Dot’s wire cutters were confiscated at airport security the day before, so Plan B unfolded. However, Plan B worked out beautifully…there was a 1 mile loop around the track and school buildings that we used. The footing was good (after the last few weeks, all we talk about is the footing…we’ll be knee deep in August complaining about the humidity, but someone will say, “yeah, but the footing was great” and all will be made right), the temperature was great, and everyone comfortably hit their times.

After the workout, we passed most of the day on the porch of our housing unit telling stories and cracking jokes. The next day we ran (12 miles) and then headed south to St. Augustine, FL for the remainder of the week. This ride was a replay of the previous day on the porch, only with even more laughter, which made the ride pass rather quickly. Once checked into our hotel rooms, we headed out for an easy 4 to stretch out the old bones, headed off to a tasty Mexican dinner, and then checked out the beach under the light of the full moon. That was my Valentine’s Day present to my teammates. Not the dinner, they were on their own for that. Just the full moon casting his light on the waves as they danced to the shoreline. Yeah, I get it done.

This morning our run was on some trails at a park just a short drive from the hotel. It was nice to get off the pavement and “into some nature”. Last year we were down here and saw a few wild pigs, so it was dubbed “the pig farm”. We were on the lookout at the farm, but turned up empty handed. This afternoon we have another short run, before our workout tomorrow morning, 3 x 3 miles. WeatherChannel.com is providing a good looking weather report…63º, partly cloudy, and, best of all, clear footing.