Far surpassing any personal expectations, I finished third today in the 800m finals in a new personal best of 2:57.91. The race evolved much like yesterday in which I went out faster than most of the runners and hung on to secure my place. The two Runners who beat me are both seasoned senior and Masters runners. Gary Patton, the winner, is probably the most outstanding senior runner in the US for the last 10 years. He is an automatic whenever wherever he goes. Today he set a new senior record for the 70-74 category 800m.
Me and Gary Patton after race.
I feel very tired this evening I believe more from the heat than from the race itself. It was a very hot and humid afternoon, and we ran our race at about 12:45 p.m. I tried to do a post-race cool down but I was just getting hotter by the second so I could only complete a half mile. Eventually I had to put some ice packs on my head and neck just to feel as though I was back to normal. Tomorrow I plan a different strategy. Rather than waiting around for my race all morning in the heat, I’m going to stay in the air-conditioned Samford University Library until the last moment and jog over to the starting line. I think it will give me an edge.
It has been a very successful weekend so far, and I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but I don’t think it’s important and I am very relaxed about the whole situation. Still goin for second though! LOL
Up and dressed and packed to leave for track. Quite surprised by how nervous I am. But, I always told my athletes that it was a good sign, that you only get nervous when you are trying to accomplish something that is important to you. Be confident in your preparation and your courage.??
Waiting-
As I sit in the shade waiting for my race, that old feeling is coming back. I guess that’s the reason why I do this, because ultimately it feels like high school again. Doing a slow steady warm up, adding in my pickups as I go along. Tying up my spikes. Running those final pre-race strides with my legs feeling like they’re floating on air. I am ready!???
Very happy and excited to report that my race was a success. I stuck to my strategy and it worked very well. I finished third in my heat and qualified 5th out of two heats for the final. My time was a seventeen second personal best for me; 3:00.9 . The finals are tomorrow.???
After a long day of flying to Chicago and Birmingham yesterday, I am settled in my Airbnb home in Birmingham about a quarter mile from Samford University. Tomorrow at about noon I will run the 800-meter trials. Over at the track today it was quite warm in the Alabama sunshine. I have done a lot of walking around this neighborhood since I arrived yesterday evening. I am quite surprised at the amount of hilly roads there are in this neighborhood. Walking was more of a chore than I anticipated and probably more than I needed the day before my race. I had a good night’s sleep on a comfortable bed, my heart rate was about 52 beats per minute this a.m. and my weight remains about 150 lbs. So I guess I am ready as I’m ever going to be for this event. I am still quite nervous about the speed in the 800m trials, but I will test myself for the first 600m and make a determination of how to finish.
Samford University is quite impressive, stately and much larger than I thought it was. They are currently celebrating 175 years in existence, founded in 1841. I plan to try to do more research about the origins of this University while I am here.
With all the nickels in the bank I did a full warm up this afternoon down at the Liberty track. Everything with my body seemed in order after a recovery day yesterday. Twenty minutes of easy running will be my workout plan for the rest of the week until Friday when I line up for the 800m trials
Back on the Liberty High School track today my legs felt very springy. I began with the 6 step 1.5 mile warm up that I plan to do pre-race. My plan was to basically do that warm up and sign off for the day. Yet I felt so good that I decided to try a few 400m to see if I could run anything close to race pace since the day seemed so opportune. I ran pretty comfortably 2 x 400m both under 1:40. That is about 6:40 pace by myself on a deserted track without spikes. Will I run faster in a race or even be able to hold that pace for a full 1500 meters? I don’t know. But two years ago in Minneapolis I ran in my race faster than I had ever run during any practice session. So we’re going to have to find out what happens in Birmingham. Two things I know; I am going to run the best I can and enjoy every minute of it.?
Today I decided that it was time to find out if I can run 6 minute pace for a mile. Now I’ve never run a 6:00 mile or even close to it. It would be great if I could run 6:30 at the Nationals which would translate to a 1500M below 6:10. So the plan was to run some 200m intervals at 45 seconds per each 200m. I began with my complete warm-up which is a mile and half with 6 pickups ranging from 50 to 100 strides. After that I put on my spikes and set out to run 3 X 200m. The times were :50, :48 & :46. I think the effort level was comfortable and commensurate with what might be appropriate for an 800m run. I stopped after 3 just to be careful. Hopefully my calves will respond better to this workout then they did to the first time with spikes last week. I am convinced that I need one more track workout before my race next Friday. Rich Refi and I discussed a few approaches tonight, and I believe we have come up with a solid plan for the next 9 days. Maintain fitness and don’t get hurt! I am starting to get pretty excited about racing in Birmingham.
Stats –
I-Mad = 0
I-Mid = 1.5
a.m.HR =54BPM
Weight = #147.8 after workout! ??
Sleep= 8.5 hours
Workout = 2.5 miles with 6 strides + 3 × 200m @ :50, :48, :46.
Looking to keep my legs and feet fresh and safe, I designed today as a recovery day. Although I have been avoiding any fast work, I have continued to add miles to my workouts. So my legs are, predictably, a bit sore. Today was spent in the pool for 35 minutes. Brief swim, 30 minutes of running with some surges and 5 more swim. Followed up with 20 in the hot whirlpool. Feeling on course. And stable stats.
4 miles in 49:00. Nice easy run on a pretty afternoon in Jackson. Returned to the first out and back route I did almost 5 years ago when we moved to Jackson. Good recovery!
On a beautiful Memorial Day Weekend Sunday I setout to the cinder track to start the final push to the Nationals. The last week has been filled with distractions and uncertainties. After a quality workout 7 days ago I had sore legs, spent a few days on necessary house work, developed muscle soreness throughout my entire body, made week efforts to push my sorry body, then spent two days on my feet working at the sectionals in Hillsborough. The goal for today was to attempt to reach inside and find whatever remnants remain of that Monsta that I have been trying to build over the last few months. I am happy to say that after about 30 minutes of walking jogging and stretching that old feeling began to return. In the end I covered five miles managing to insert two 10 minute miles in the middle. I finished feeling confident that I could have done more but resisted out of caution.
