Disappointing for sure

Sunday, 2/24/13

I made my way to Widener U. for the last pf the Phila Masters developmental meets.  My plan was to do the 55m as warm up for the 800.  I arrived at about 8:45, early enough for a good, thorough warm-up and stretch. I wouldn't run until a little over an hour later.

Periformis syndrome dampened my spring and my flexibility, of course.  Such is life as I know it.  I managed to get in a few practice starts, which weren't so great.  I did get better after each effort, though.  Despite my 7.2 (ht) seed for the 55, I managed to land in lane 1 of the fast heat.  (I think the clerk accepted my 7.2 as a FAT, not hand timed).  When the gun went off, I stumbled out of my blocks and could not recover.  I got last in my heat by a long shot, although all of the guys were 24 and under!  Those young whippersnappers!  I posted 7.40 FAT even with the botched start.  I could've run 7.30 perhaps.  My time would up beating all but one of the times (Wayne's 7.30+)  in the subsequent heats.

I cooled down, hung out and got ready for the 800.  I asked Wayne to yell out my splits.  My hope was to average 25 seconds per lap en route to 2:05.  Fat chance.  One, I saw from the entries that I had the top seed at 2:09 and that only one or two other runners submitted a time under 2:15.  Two, Widener's track is not conducive to a season's best.  Three, I am not as well conditioned as I should be at this point in the season.  There, I admitted it.  These factors made my goal a pipe dream. 

There were only three of us in the fast heat.  When the gun went off, I shot out and established presence. I wore my watch so that I could monitor my pace if something happened to Wayne's watch/phone. He yelled out :25 (last year I saw :24 at lap 1).  I noted to myself that I was already a second off.  Wayne yelled :51 at the end of the second lap (I saw :49 at lap 2 last year).  I was a little annoyed now and tried not to decelerate.  At the end of the third lap, he said 1:14.  However, that couldn't have been accurate.  I know I did not drop a 23 second third lap.  I sort of diregarded the time, assuming Wayne had erred and that the real time was probably 1:17.  I don't remember hearing my time at the end of lap 4, but I knew I was holding steady since the youngster from Penn's track club was being egged on by his teammates.  In fact, he tried to pass me on the outside at least twice and I held him off.  Going into the final lap, I held position, knowing that he was charging.  I felt smooth...the whole way. I ran the last lap with a bit of relaxed confidence, as I ended in 2:11.81.  Disappointing for sure.  Unlike last year, when I raced to a 2:10 and won the race by 10 seconds and broke into a jog afterwards, this year my muscles were tight and sore.  What's more, while I wanted to run better and faster, I didn't have that greed, as I did last year, for 2:07-2:08.  Perhaps this would have been possible with stronger competition, I could not have done it running solo.

:25
:51 (26)
1:17 (26)
1:44 (27)
2:11 (27)

I have some work to do, though, between now and the National Championships. Mid-Atlantic Championships is next week.  I'm not sure how much I can do to prepare for this.  Thus, my sights are on Nationals in just about a month.

Saturday, 2/23/13--Swarthmore Board meeting.  I took off the day, giving my legs a little break.