didn't feel like I was quick-stepping

Sat, 1/23-Blizzard.  No way, and nowhere, to run!

Friday, 1/22- After a slew of texts from Bruce, I learned at 2:45 that the Ursinus meet scheduled for Saturday had been rescheduled for TODAY, beginning at 3:00-something!  OMG!  The Ursinus coach had been sending us emails about the meeting, in anticipation of the monstrous snowstorm predicted.  Little did I realize he had changed the day.  I left work early at just before 3:00, raced home, left at 3:20, and made my way to Ursinus!

Knowing the meet would likely run ahead at 4:15, I arrived, saw Bruce and Dave R., paid my fee, and began to warm up almost immediately.  As I stretched, I learned that men would race before women.  This gave me less time!  Argh!  I scarcely got in my large muscle stretched before we were called.  I ran a few pick-ups on the backstretch to get pace.

Unfortunately, I was assigned lane 1 in heat 8 of 8 with Bruce, Dave, and Andrew in lanes 2, 4, and 5 (I think.).  There were two other guys in lanes 3 and 6.  I got out okay when the gun went off, with no starting blocks to propel me.  I made up the stagger on lane 2 by the 100 meter mark.  Coming into the homestretch I got confused.  I thought for a second that I was in the wrong lane.  There were cones between all the lanes.  Because there was no cone to my left to separate my lane from the infield, I thought what was lane 1 was actually an interior lane.  So, I wound up running wide and into lane 2, breaking the cone there unnecessarily.  The guy in the far lane was way out, probably 15 meters ahead at this point.  Another guy and I fought for position at the 200 meter mark, reaching it in 25-high/26-low.  He beat me to it.  I tried to hold onto him to no avail.  Coming up the stretch I tightened, as I looked at the clock tick up 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55.... I thought I had run 55-high or 56-low.  My official time was 56.10.  Not a total disappointment, I was more miffed that my spikes kept shifting as I ran the turns.  As it turns out, the Haverford College guy who won my heat posted the fastest time of the night, 50.50.  (I learned that Bruce pulled up during the race, on account of a bad right calf.  He needs a couple of weeks to nurse it back to good health.  He has to heal up smartly, so as not to place his winter season in jeopardy.)

I jogged a bit and readied myself for the 200, checking outside to make sure the weather was still cooperating.  I swapped out my newer spikes for an older pair, a set that bitters my feet at times, though.

I was assigned lane 1 AGAIN in heat 7 of 8.  All lanes were filled.  At least I was able to use starting blocks.  I got a good start out of the blocks but then stumbled midway into the turn.  This cost me a little momentum.  I got back into the groove, but didn't feel like I was quick-stepping.  I got last in my heat, running a pedestrian 25.79.

Body-wise, I felt good.  All things considered, particularly being discombobulated, I did okay.  Because there are a number of factors that affect racing and race times, I won't let the fact that my times, on their face, have slowed over three meets get me down.