Armory's annual Sprint Night...How devilish!

 Thurs, 12/30

Parked at the Y, ran a moderately paced 4M in 31:30, and then went inside the Y for stretching and some strength work, which included push-ups and box jumps.

Wed, 12/29

Met Tim on campus for an easy run. Wound up going 3.42M in 29:00.

Tues, 12/28

Did a recovery workout of mile in 9:00, stretch in 5:00, mile in 8:30, strength work (lifting), .5M in 3:45, and then .5M in 2:20 on the stationary bike.

Mon, 12/27

Wayne picked me up at 3:30 to head to NYC for the Armory's annual Sprint Night. Arriving quite early (4:45), we had plenty of time to putz around. The arena was remarkably empty. It would remain pretty sparse once competition commenced. Was the meet another COVID-19 casualty?

We'd meet ups with some of our teammates, fewer than expected: Ross, Chuck S, John Becker, Scott Burns, Brock Butler, Rob Ciervo, Jacques Lucien, and eventually Nick Damalas. In all, there were about 10 of us. 

After a bit of time, I started warming up, on account of my hamstring needed maximum time to get ready for the heavy load that is the 400.

Wayne, Jacques, and Ross ran well in the 60m, hitting 7.86, 8.01, and 8.06, respectively. 

I learned I was in none other than lane 1 (in heat 3). I'd be joined by John, Scott, and Brock, along with two other fellows. I was surprised with the assignment, thinking the modest seed time of 57.90 I had provided would land me in a heat with masters runners, perhaps even my 50-somethings teammates. Little did I know that this modest seed time I authored would turn out to be a stretch for me. 

At the Armory, lane 1 is a pain. Starting with or without blocks, one if likely to encountered a hiccup, made worse when you have a hamstring injury you're trying to fight through. From the gun, I could feel my hamstring just drag along; there was no pop and very little force I could muster. At the 100, I could see I had gotten way behind. I pulled back, resigning myself to the fact that I could go no faster, at east not without further aggravating my injury. One of the runners cut me off right before the 200m mark, drastically slowing me down. I likely crossed the 200 in 28 seconds, maybe even 29. I sat behind him until the backstretch, where I passed him. I could see coming up with the final stretch that I might not break 60 seconds. And I didn't. I posted a humbling 60.66. How devilish! 

Scott, John, and Brock would go on the break 57.00, and Rob and Nick would go on to break 60. 

https://results.armorytrack.com/meets/11168/events/390088/results