I know the highlight of the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler is supposed to the actual blossoms, but I don't think I've ever noticed them while running. Ditto for the monuments. I guess I'll have to wait until the 700 emails about marathonfoto shots so I can check the race photos and see all that stuff thoughtfully framed in the background . Of course last year's best shot was of me checking my watch, as if to say 'am I done yet?'
The best part of Cherry Blossom for me is the history and the fast folks up front setting records and running mind-boggling quick paces for a significant distance. Allan Kiprono ran the second fastest 10 miler on American soil (and 'the fastest 10 miler ever on a record-worthy course' as they announced at the start) last year and Janet Cherobon-Bawcom set the US women's solo record this year.
The week leading up to the race was pretty typical. I ran fairly long on the previous Sunday, Tuesday was a nice track workout of 400s and 800s. Then I took off two consecutive days Friday and Saturday (first consecutive days off in 2013). I almost wonder if I should have not done that. But I felt as good at the start as I have for any race this year. And as a result the first mile was relaxed and still at an acceptable pace. Then I seemed to LOSE MY FREAKING MIND or so I thought.
Next two miles were 6 flat and 5:57. A year ago my best 5k (post 20) was 19:06. Cherry Blossom marks 5k and 10k and I was (minus a few seconds for gun time) right about there. It seemed to be around the same spot where I knew I needed to settle last year, however last year was because I was trying to make up for a lousy start from the second corral. The next two miles were 6:05 and 6:09, and the garmin was starting to beep before I reached the markers (this is expected, I was not running the optimum tangents for the sake of running space and avoiding water stops, and so forth). The garmin splits add up to 30:33, plus an extra 20 seconds means 30:53. Like last year, faster than Celtic Solstice with another 5 to run. But I was getting heavy legs and already started to think about what my time would be with varying degrees of fade.
Through 10k, my split was 38:43 probably the fastest I've covered that distance. I was knocked back with the Hains Point wind (probably 10-15 seconds for those two miles) but manged to hang until the turn where the pace dropped back to 6:20 with no wind, or the wind at my back. I felt like I was crawling, but really the pace was quite fine. If I had held the first mile pace a few miles further, it would have been those 6:20 just in a different pace. I felt like it was a massive positive split, but in actuality it was 1:25. I can live with that for a race over an hour. Second half garmin splits were 6:17, 6:27, 6:32 (wind miles), 6:23, and 6:22. Plus the extra .1 was 38 seconds. I split that between the two halfs, for 30:53 and 32:20.
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What does the mean for the marathon in a 4 weeks? Well, i'm certainly confident about my ability to BQ with a 3:10 (since I'm turning 35 on Friday this is my qualifying time, hooray for getting old!). I'm throwing the actual CB time out as it will not compare to the course in Cincinnati. But the other races this year, particularly the club challenge 1:05 and Caesar Rodney 1:27, project closer to 3:05. So do I go out with the 3:05 pace group? I'm leaning towards yes.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
That Was Unexpected...
Went back home to run Francie's Family 5k over the weekend. I did this race last year (and then did another race later in the day) because it's back in my hometown and it honors a former teammate from high school who passed tragically. I think I was eighth in something like 20:50 in 2012, finishing behind a 12 year-old girl. This year I finished behind no one. Apparently there was a high school meet that conflicted this year, and the kids that finished at the front last year were not there (I checked and my time would have been 4th last year).
The course is not particularly flat, with a hill around mile one and a mini Hereford 'dip' right at mile two. I have less-than-fond memories of doing hill workouts on that spot back in my salad days. As a result, I think the 18:35 time is in-line with my shamrock time, combined with the fact I ran a brisk paced 8 on Friday night through hillier parts of Baltimore which capped a 65 mile week.
The race itself was not that interesting. A few folks went out quick and I was sitting back in 3rd or 4th until the first hill. I held the 5:50 pace past mile one and that was too much for them. My pace dropped above 6 minute pace by the end but overall it was enough to finish in front. My first win since 1996, maybe longer? On to the next one.
The course is not particularly flat, with a hill around mile one and a mini Hereford 'dip' right at mile two. I have less-than-fond memories of doing hill workouts on that spot back in my salad days. As a result, I think the 18:35 time is in-line with my shamrock time, combined with the fact I ran a brisk paced 8 on Friday night through hillier parts of Baltimore which capped a 65 mile week.
The race itself was not that interesting. A few folks went out quick and I was sitting back in 3rd or 4th until the first hill. I held the 5:50 pace past mile one and that was too much for them. My pace dropped above 6 minute pace by the end but overall it was enough to finish in front. My first win since 1996, maybe longer? On to the next one.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Dela-who? Dela-what? Delaware.
Finally did away with my soft half marathon PR up in Wilmington. With a 1:34 that really was more like a 1:32 (Octoberlauffest half in Pennypack Park in Philadelphia), it was time to keep lucky 2013 rolling up north again. I consider Wilmington like a cute little Baltimore, with it's waterfront and similar fall line topography. And i'm quite familiar with the town since I spent a summer post graduation doing field work up there. Not much of the course was going to be a surprise. Although that didn't make the hills on the back half any easier.
The half is an odd distance to me (probably other folks, too?). I like to say I don't respect it, which is maybe not the best way to put it, but that's never stopped me before. It requires patience and a strategy which are not parts of my running repertoire. I have done several now, going out at what feels like a comfortable pace and dying way early, somewhere around mile 6. This time I was determined to not really start racing until around there, possibly even posting a negative split on a course where it would be an impressive feat.
Caesar Rodney is a historic race that draws a quick crowd. Top 100 looked to be around 1:28 studying the past results. It's not a mega race with 10,000 plus, and it's not piggybacked on a big marathon. In short, it's a real race. Weather is probably an issue from year-to-year, but it was pj weather this year. The car thermometer said 36 degrees when I arrived, and pretty much 36 degrees when I departed several hours later. No complaints there, but the wind I could have done without.
After a brief warm-up, I lined up at the start, where they read proclamations (it was a half-mile marathon!) and sang the anthem (O!). And we were off. People went out quick, and I was content to let them go, trying to stick with the plan. Not in the plan was my failure to start the watch, which threw off all my splits. But I shouldn't have been that concerned with splits anyway. I even looked down at least twice in the first half mile, but I was just checking pace and didn't notice all the zeros. When I finally realized it was maybe 2:30 in the race. There was a ton of clocks on course, so I had a pretty good idea of my progress regardless.
At the beginning they introduced the course record holder (from something like '83) and for a while I was running behind him. I didn't feel great, but the course was flat and I was hoping I would loosen up after several miles. There was also a guy surging and dying every 100 feet or so, which was supremely annoying. I surged to get past him, only to have him come surging back a minute later. I surged again and then that was the last I had to deal with him. At some point my shoelace worked its way loose and I had to stop somewhere around 4 to tie it. An inauspicious start for sure.
By the time we reached mile 5 either the legs loosened or the folks in front of me were already dying. I started passing people 3 and 4 at a time. According to the (imperfect) garmin splits I kept a rather steady pace, so I think I actually picked it up a bit. The hills were gradual at first, and then after 7 they were rather steep. I passed the area where my company has an office (along the Brandywine) and I was still passing people, but it was down to one by one. Sometimes folks surged back and I let them go. I don't think anyone stayed ahead of me except maybe one person that passed up the hill to the finish.
The hills turned to flat and I had rested a bit on the last of the large ups. Garmin shows pace had dipped to 6:50 or so, acceptable if I was then able to pick it up. So I left the folks around me behind and tried to get back on 6:30 pace. There were a lot of turns on the course, probably not my favorite thing. An out and back from mile 10 to 11 was probably the worst part. But it was nice to see the field in front of me so completely. With the benefit of the hills that I had just climbed, I managed a garmin recorded mile at 6:21. The clock at mile 12 had a shade over 1:20 and I though I might have a chance at sub 1:27. But the final hill killed that and I was passing under the finish line clock at 1:27:35. With a couple of seconds from gun time, 1:27:31 was the official time. Some 6 minutes and change faster than October. But pretty much inline with the races i've had so far in 2013. If anything, even a little off from Club Challange.
You were mostly kind to me Wilmington and I enjoyed a post race soft pretzel. Maybe someday i'll stop calling you a smaller, cuter version of Baltimore. But probably not.
The next races on the schedule are the fast Cherry Blossom 10 miler, and the even faster Main Street Mile. Times from those will not equate to anything since they are flat and fast or net downhill and even faster. So I have my 10 mile and half marathon times, which point towards being able to BQ at Flying Pig with a 3:10 or faster. Both Club Challenge and Caesar Rodney are hilly courses, so I don't feel like i'm making a huge assumption for May 5 using those times. And i'll have a group running my actual goal pace for the first time. And probably the last time.
The half is an odd distance to me (probably other folks, too?). I like to say I don't respect it, which is maybe not the best way to put it, but that's never stopped me before. It requires patience and a strategy which are not parts of my running repertoire. I have done several now, going out at what feels like a comfortable pace and dying way early, somewhere around mile 6. This time I was determined to not really start racing until around there, possibly even posting a negative split on a course where it would be an impressive feat.
Caesar Rodney is a historic race that draws a quick crowd. Top 100 looked to be around 1:28 studying the past results. It's not a mega race with 10,000 plus, and it's not piggybacked on a big marathon. In short, it's a real race. Weather is probably an issue from year-to-year, but it was pj weather this year. The car thermometer said 36 degrees when I arrived, and pretty much 36 degrees when I departed several hours later. No complaints there, but the wind I could have done without.
After a brief warm-up, I lined up at the start, where they read proclamations (it was a half-mile marathon!) and sang the anthem (O!). And we were off. People went out quick, and I was content to let them go, trying to stick with the plan. Not in the plan was my failure to start the watch, which threw off all my splits. But I shouldn't have been that concerned with splits anyway. I even looked down at least twice in the first half mile, but I was just checking pace and didn't notice all the zeros. When I finally realized it was maybe 2:30 in the race. There was a ton of clocks on course, so I had a pretty good idea of my progress regardless.
At the beginning they introduced the course record holder (from something like '83) and for a while I was running behind him. I didn't feel great, but the course was flat and I was hoping I would loosen up after several miles. There was also a guy surging and dying every 100 feet or so, which was supremely annoying. I surged to get past him, only to have him come surging back a minute later. I surged again and then that was the last I had to deal with him. At some point my shoelace worked its way loose and I had to stop somewhere around 4 to tie it. An inauspicious start for sure.
By the time we reached mile 5 either the legs loosened or the folks in front of me were already dying. I started passing people 3 and 4 at a time. According to the (imperfect) garmin splits I kept a rather steady pace, so I think I actually picked it up a bit. The hills were gradual at first, and then after 7 they were rather steep. I passed the area where my company has an office (along the Brandywine) and I was still passing people, but it was down to one by one. Sometimes folks surged back and I let them go. I don't think anyone stayed ahead of me except maybe one person that passed up the hill to the finish.
The hills turned to flat and I had rested a bit on the last of the large ups. Garmin shows pace had dipped to 6:50 or so, acceptable if I was then able to pick it up. So I left the folks around me behind and tried to get back on 6:30 pace. There were a lot of turns on the course, probably not my favorite thing. An out and back from mile 10 to 11 was probably the worst part. But it was nice to see the field in front of me so completely. With the benefit of the hills that I had just climbed, I managed a garmin recorded mile at 6:21. The clock at mile 12 had a shade over 1:20 and I though I might have a chance at sub 1:27. But the final hill killed that and I was passing under the finish line clock at 1:27:35. With a couple of seconds from gun time, 1:27:31 was the official time. Some 6 minutes and change faster than October. But pretty much inline with the races i've had so far in 2013. If anything, even a little off from Club Challange.
You were mostly kind to me Wilmington and I enjoyed a post race soft pretzel. Maybe someday i'll stop calling you a smaller, cuter version of Baltimore. But probably not.
The next races on the schedule are the fast Cherry Blossom 10 miler, and the even faster Main Street Mile. Times from those will not equate to anything since they are flat and fast or net downhill and even faster. So I have my 10 mile and half marathon times, which point towards being able to BQ at Flying Pig with a 3:10 or faster. Both Club Challenge and Caesar Rodney are hilly courses, so I don't feel like i'm making a huge assumption for May 5 using those times. And i'll have a group running my actual goal pace for the first time. And probably the last time.
Monday, February 25, 2013
The Challenge of Clubs
I never ran Club Challenge when I was 13. I did want to participate as a Steeplechaser, but I think a combination of the distance and the time of year meant I never was able to run. My first experience was last year running for Team TWSS, aka Falls Road Racing. While my 1:12 finish was probably about what I should have expected to run, I have it down as an off race, along with MCVET 10K, a couple of those random 5Ks, and, of course, Grandma's. I had visions of drastic improvement as I worked through 2012, upping my miles and hitting the track as many weeks that was humanly possible.
As 2012 turned to lucky 2013 I saw the signs that Club Challenge was going to be a bit of a breakthrough. Track workouts were fast and furious. I did the club challenge course workout with the team and was almost hanging with our fastest ladies (last year I was bringing up the rear). I decided to mini-taper and take it easy with house stuff the day before so I was not sore and primed for my best performance.
For the race last year I went out a tad hard, settled in by 3, and died on the hill at 6. Time was 1:12, with a place over 200. For perspective I ran 1:09 at Cherry Blossom about six weeks later, which is a flatter course, combined with slightly better shape. The field was a little smaller this year (but still really stacked at the front--winner ran 51 on those hills). Mostly missing was some folks from my team that were hurt, or in NOLA (running PRs and finishing in the top 20 of the half with people named Flannigan, Goucher, and Defar). My 1:05 put me in 90th place. I checked and that time would have placed 110 last year.
First miles I tried to not go out to fast (this is me in every race ever) and the downhill helped so I was 6:17, 6:17, and 6:22. I found myself running with teammates who I knew were going to finish faster than me so that helped keep the pace under control. Feeling good, when one surged a bit I went along and wound up a bit ahead for about a mile. She passed me back and kept going, but I could see her and through at least mile 6 which was a good sign.
Next miles were the hilliest part back in the neighborhood, and the pace slowed slightly for that reason. But I was still going quick and feeling good: 6:24, 6:22, 6:36. My time at the halfway was officially 31:43, which was faster than the 5 miler I did back in December a few weeks after my marathon. That hill on six was almost as bad as I remembered, but I pushed the whole way up and then rested a bit on the downhill and got out of the neighborhood portion in one piece.
The course does still climb from there, and consequently the pace dipped further--6:33, 6:48, 6:40. 6:48 meant I lost the chance at sub 65 in that mile 8. I was doing the math in my head in case I could only manage 7 minute miles and if that put my under 66 (which was my goal at the start).
But the lure of the finish was strong and I came back a bit and ran 6:30 for the final mile (plus those extra 5 seconds for imperfect tangents, which is expected). A guy kicked and tried to pass me right at the finish but I held on by a few tenths (they didn't do chip time, just gun time). I was not anywhere near scoring for Falls Road, but in the coed scoring they keep everybody in and I displaced 3 ladies from the second place team versus just 2 for us. So I contributed a point for us. It doesn't sound like much, but we only won by 2. Weirdly we lost both men's and women's individual team titles, but the displacers did our job just good enough to pull it out overall.
For the race I was awarded the prestigious Purple Drink Award for the team. I am humbled to be honored in the company of such special athletes. I would like the thank my agent, the academy, my TNT friends, and anyone who actually read all that post...
As 2012 turned to lucky 2013 I saw the signs that Club Challenge was going to be a bit of a breakthrough. Track workouts were fast and furious. I did the club challenge course workout with the team and was almost hanging with our fastest ladies (last year I was bringing up the rear). I decided to mini-taper and take it easy with house stuff the day before so I was not sore and primed for my best performance.
For the race last year I went out a tad hard, settled in by 3, and died on the hill at 6. Time was 1:12, with a place over 200. For perspective I ran 1:09 at Cherry Blossom about six weeks later, which is a flatter course, combined with slightly better shape. The field was a little smaller this year (but still really stacked at the front--winner ran 51 on those hills). Mostly missing was some folks from my team that were hurt, or in NOLA (running PRs and finishing in the top 20 of the half with people named Flannigan, Goucher, and Defar). My 1:05 put me in 90th place. I checked and that time would have placed 110 last year.
First miles I tried to not go out to fast (this is me in every race ever) and the downhill helped so I was 6:17, 6:17, and 6:22. I found myself running with teammates who I knew were going to finish faster than me so that helped keep the pace under control. Feeling good, when one surged a bit I went along and wound up a bit ahead for about a mile. She passed me back and kept going, but I could see her and through at least mile 6 which was a good sign.
Next miles were the hilliest part back in the neighborhood, and the pace slowed slightly for that reason. But I was still going quick and feeling good: 6:24, 6:22, 6:36. My time at the halfway was officially 31:43, which was faster than the 5 miler I did back in December a few weeks after my marathon. That hill on six was almost as bad as I remembered, but I pushed the whole way up and then rested a bit on the downhill and got out of the neighborhood portion in one piece.
The course does still climb from there, and consequently the pace dipped further--6:33, 6:48, 6:40. 6:48 meant I lost the chance at sub 65 in that mile 8. I was doing the math in my head in case I could only manage 7 minute miles and if that put my under 66 (which was my goal at the start).
But the lure of the finish was strong and I came back a bit and ran 6:30 for the final mile (plus those extra 5 seconds for imperfect tangents, which is expected). A guy kicked and tried to pass me right at the finish but I held on by a few tenths (they didn't do chip time, just gun time). I was not anywhere near scoring for Falls Road, but in the coed scoring they keep everybody in and I displaced 3 ladies from the second place team versus just 2 for us. So I contributed a point for us. It doesn't sound like much, but we only won by 2. Weirdly we lost both men's and women's individual team titles, but the displacers did our job just good enough to pull it out overall.
For the race I was awarded the prestigious Purple Drink Award for the team. I am humbled to be honored in the company of such special athletes. I would like the thank my agent, the academy, my TNT friends, and anyone who actually read all that post...
Monday, February 18, 2013
Market Street Memories
Found this while going through some old stuff. Only ran about 50 seconds faster in 2012 then when I was 7. I held the record for the oddly small age group until the mid 90's when it was broken.
1985 Market Street Mile. First place 6-7 Age Group, 6:24 (record).
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
13 is my lucky number
Started off 2013 right with a fairly quick 5k in Patterson Park. The Resolution Run is a pretty low-key race with a lot of walkers. I guess the point is to get out and run if that's your New Year's Resolution. I've never been that kind of person. A bunch of friends talked about doing it, so I decided I would jump in and race it.
The race itself was a pretty standard affair. Quick first mile around 6 flat. Decent hill in the second mile and the pace dropped to 6:22. Finished up with a bit of downhill and mostly flat with a 6:07 third mile. Got a bit of a boost from my friend Melissa M in mile three as she passed me on her way to first overall female w. Probably would have flirted with sub 19 on a flatter course (but where's the fun in that?). Thought I might have a shot at an age group award but 3rd in 30-39 was 18:49, so I am not quite there yet. 19th male overall, 19:25.
I am declaring yesterday the official start of my Marathon Training. Flying Pig is 17 1/2 weeks away, a little longer than I probably really need, but the first couple of weeks I have modest mile totals penciled in. I'd love to BQ, but I'm not sure how realistic that is at this point. Probably will have a better shot at that in the fall, even though that means I wouldn't be able to run it until 2015...
The race itself was a pretty standard affair. Quick first mile around 6 flat. Decent hill in the second mile and the pace dropped to 6:22. Finished up with a bit of downhill and mostly flat with a 6:07 third mile. Got a bit of a boost from my friend Melissa M in mile three as she passed me on her way to first overall female w. Probably would have flirted with sub 19 on a flatter course (but where's the fun in that?). Thought I might have a shot at an age group award but 3rd in 30-39 was 18:49, so I am not quite there yet. 19th male overall, 19:25.
I am declaring yesterday the official start of my Marathon Training. Flying Pig is 17 1/2 weeks away, a little longer than I probably really need, but the first couple of weeks I have modest mile totals penciled in. I'd love to BQ, but I'm not sure how realistic that is at this point. Probably will have a better shot at that in the fall, even though that means I wouldn't be able to run it until 2015...
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
An Embarassing Story
I decided a while ago to never tell my walk-on cross country story unless I had a lot to drink because I felt it was an embarrassment. Since I had a lot to drink over the weekend and attempted it, I realize that trying to tell a story when you are that far gone, one cannot tell the story effectively. File that under Catch-22, I guess.
I was an above-average runner most of my young life. I have some impressive sounding accomplishments in my Knight Strider days. But when it came to the time that matters I was decidedly mid-pack. I lettered all 4 years in all 3 running sports. But my best finish was 25th at States in XC, and I was mainly doing the 2 mile relay in my last 2 years in anything past regionals. I was not good enough to get any college attention above the coach at HJC giving me his card. Thus, I was determined to go where I wanted for school based on other factors and I followed a bit of family tradition going to Penn State. With an incoming freshman class of thousands and being that main school in one of the bigger states for cross country I now wonder if there were 100 kids stepping on campus with more of a right to try and walk on than me. But I still had some hope that I would find something and would turn into someone that could compete.
I had to go up for placement testing at some point during the summer and along with my mother went to see Coach Groves. I had a line about not being able to run off campus during high school (due to the tragic story of Paul Condon) and he wound up letting me know that had a 2 mile race for folks trying to walk on. He agreed to let me run and gave me advice to introduce myself to a weight room. I found out later from a kid who was in the geography department that Coach Groves had a soft spot for walk-ons so that's the only way I can figure he even gave me the chance. At some point, however, I got my dates mixed up and I showed up where I thought was the right place on the right day and it was the meeting for athletes who had actually successfully made their respective teams. I sat through and then went back to Coach Groves yet again and asked to have another chance. He agreed, telling me to come to practice the next week on a Tuesday. Soft spot for walk-ons, for sure.
I was told to meet at the track, which I took to meant the outdoor track. I was there for about 10 minutes when a van pulled up and folks in official gear get out. It didn't take me long to realize it was the basketball team (It was hard to miss Phil 'Sweet Pea' Williams from Thomas Johnson high school) and I literally ran away. I figured out it was the indoor track and by the time I got there I was almost half an hour late. One of the assistant coaches asked me 'what do you do' and I misunderstood and replied 'push-ups?' thinking he was about to dole out some punishment for tardiness. I think he was asking me what event I did, maybe if I was a track guy there to stay in shape for the future season. Anyway, the universe was repeatedly telling me to give up and I was too stupid to notice.
The practice was something like simple like 3 x mile repeats and we ran down to the park where they took place. The instructions went something like 'anyone who runs 4:20 should be running x, all the rest of you--shrug.' Maybe it wasn't quite that bad but that's how it came across to me. I had run 4:50 a couple of times and never really focused on that event, but if I had I am of the opinion that I could have maybe broken 4:40 if I had a really good day. If you McMillian my 800 pr (open) of 2:07 it sorta would back this up. Still not anywhere close to everyone else that was doing repeats. I think I managed to hang with the rear of the pack for the first one, past 800 meters for the second, but fading fast. The third one I was in the weeds. I went home and can't remember ever being that tired. And I used to come from indoor meets where I ran 4 events and would get Charley Horses from putting so much effort into the races.
Maybe I should have become acquainted with a weight room. Oh, well.
I was an above-average runner most of my young life. I have some impressive sounding accomplishments in my Knight Strider days. But when it came to the time that matters I was decidedly mid-pack. I lettered all 4 years in all 3 running sports. But my best finish was 25th at States in XC, and I was mainly doing the 2 mile relay in my last 2 years in anything past regionals. I was not good enough to get any college attention above the coach at HJC giving me his card. Thus, I was determined to go where I wanted for school based on other factors and I followed a bit of family tradition going to Penn State. With an incoming freshman class of thousands and being that main school in one of the bigger states for cross country I now wonder if there were 100 kids stepping on campus with more of a right to try and walk on than me. But I still had some hope that I would find something and would turn into someone that could compete.
I had to go up for placement testing at some point during the summer and along with my mother went to see Coach Groves. I had a line about not being able to run off campus during high school (due to the tragic story of Paul Condon) and he wound up letting me know that had a 2 mile race for folks trying to walk on. He agreed to let me run and gave me advice to introduce myself to a weight room. I found out later from a kid who was in the geography department that Coach Groves had a soft spot for walk-ons so that's the only way I can figure he even gave me the chance. At some point, however, I got my dates mixed up and I showed up where I thought was the right place on the right day and it was the meeting for athletes who had actually successfully made their respective teams. I sat through and then went back to Coach Groves yet again and asked to have another chance. He agreed, telling me to come to practice the next week on a Tuesday. Soft spot for walk-ons, for sure.
I was told to meet at the track, which I took to meant the outdoor track. I was there for about 10 minutes when a van pulled up and folks in official gear get out. It didn't take me long to realize it was the basketball team (It was hard to miss Phil 'Sweet Pea' Williams from Thomas Johnson high school) and I literally ran away. I figured out it was the indoor track and by the time I got there I was almost half an hour late. One of the assistant coaches asked me 'what do you do' and I misunderstood and replied 'push-ups?' thinking he was about to dole out some punishment for tardiness. I think he was asking me what event I did, maybe if I was a track guy there to stay in shape for the future season. Anyway, the universe was repeatedly telling me to give up and I was too stupid to notice.
The practice was something like simple like 3 x mile repeats and we ran down to the park where they took place. The instructions went something like 'anyone who runs 4:20 should be running x, all the rest of you--shrug.' Maybe it wasn't quite that bad but that's how it came across to me. I had run 4:50 a couple of times and never really focused on that event, but if I had I am of the opinion that I could have maybe broken 4:40 if I had a really good day. If you McMillian my 800 pr (open) of 2:07 it sorta would back this up. Still not anywhere close to everyone else that was doing repeats. I think I managed to hang with the rear of the pack for the first one, past 800 meters for the second, but fading fast. The third one I was in the weeds. I went home and can't remember ever being that tired. And I used to come from indoor meets where I ran 4 events and would get Charley Horses from putting so much effort into the races.
Maybe I should have become acquainted with a weight room. Oh, well.
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