Week in review/week in preparation for Penn

Wed, 4/24—took the day off.


Tues, 4/23—Given that I did not arrive home from the airport until 12:15 AM, I wasn’t about to get up at 4:45 to workout! Instead my plan was to workout at Conestoga after work. One problem, however: there was a track meet. Plan B was to go home and workout at Westtown School. Another problem, though: there was a track meet. I went home, deciding that I would return to the track at about 6:00. I was in luck. The meet was over and it was me time! I settled on 3x100, followed by 3x150. I would use the 100s to warm up for the 150s. I did what has become my usual warm up: mile and a combination of dynamic stretching, drills, and static stretching. I used the first 100s as a pick-up, covering the distance in 13.8 in a slight headwind. The second would be a bit faster, 13.3. The third was supposed to be a relaxed sprint, which I did in 13.0. I was hoping to “relax sprint” to a 12.8.

I moved on to the 150s. The headwind subsided as I launched into the sprint over 19.3 seconds. The wind returned to slow me down a bit for my second one, a 19.7. I topped off the workout with a 100 instead of a 150. I wanted the 12.8, which I got! And I was fairly relaxed, too. This was my last track workout before Penn. I’ll probably go to the gym tomorrow (or just run around the flatter part of my neighborhood) to warm up and then stretch.


Mon, 4/22—Feeling the need to be productive, I emerged at 6:30 from the Comfort Inn, Grinnell, Iowa, and went for a run. I made my way down what was essentially a four lane state route and to the college campus. The run was slightly rolling and over a combination of gravel, grass and dirt. I went for a total of 5.6 miles or so. I covered the distance in 42:00…7:30 pace. I haven’t run that far all season, not that it’s that’s far!


Sunday, 4/21—left early in the morning to catch a plane with my son to Grinnell College in Iowa. Yes, Iowa.


Saturday, 4/20—I arrived at Widener well in advance of my event(s). The 1500 was being contested. I had plenty of time.

I got settled and met up with Bruce and Rob, having also bumped into youngsters Derrick and Lamar. The temperature was low-60s, but the wind, at times gusting, would likely be a factor.

After a little trepidation, I decided I would do the 400 and 200 instead of the 100 and 200. The 100 immediately followed the 400.

I initially felt a little sluggish during the warm up, which I did on the infield, but then I shook it off. I eventually checked in and found that I was in lane 1 in heat 4 of 6, with the heats arranged fastest to slowest.

I did a lot of dynamic stretching and a fair amount of static stretching. Also new to my routine were 70-80 meter accelerations on the turn, 5 of them actually. I did three of them in between the heats of the women’s 400, so they were in close proximity to my race. I have been finding more and more that I have to have an ample warm-up and that during a workout I don’t hit my stride until the 3rd or 4th repeat in a series. Thus, I need to simulate that on the track.

I was finally up. I tried to talk myself into the same game plan as last year, but I could sense that my heart and mind weren’t into it. And perhaps that’s why when the gun went off we were called back for a botched start. Someone has raised their hand to indicate they weren’t ready—and they weren’t seen by the starter. While that was the guy in lane 4, in a sense that was me.

At any rate, the gun went off and, as I made my way around the turn, I imagined myself catching the Lebanon Valley guy in lane 2. He would get second in the race some 40 seconds later, however. So much for that! I felt like I was losing track as early as the 200 mark. As I approached the 200 meter mark, I could sense that I didn’t feel fresh. In terms of physical exertion, I felt like I was at the 250 meter mark. I had passed two guys to my outside. Coming up the homestretch I didn’t feel strong; I got passed by one dude, as the last 40 meters took me about 6 seconds. I know because I was beaming at the clock. Not good, I know.

After a disappointing 54.97, I reconsidered whether I should do the 200. After cooling down with Rob and Bruce, I decided that I would still do it, that is, until Bruce scratched. Like a wimp, I followed suit.

I went home, calling it a day.


Fri, 4/19-I took the day off, figuring that I would be competing at Widener on Saturday.