Penn Relays was on.

Tues, 5/3/22-Went to Mountainview Park at 6:00 for a 3M run. 24:30.

Mon, 5/2/22-Went to the Y at 5:40AM

8:30 mile warm up

9:00 stretch

7:55 mile

5:00 lift

5:00 plyometrics and other strength work

7:55 mile

left at 6:38...home by 6:45AM

Sun, 5/1/22

Went to GA for a workout with the crew. Rob made the call: 6x300 at 80% of 400 race pace, with a 4:00 rest between efforts. For me, this meant 50/51, based on 56/57 400. I managed 51.5, 51.2, 50.5, 50.9, 50.4, and 46.1. The workout wasn't that bad, actually. I should have just hit 49s for all of them and not dropped the hammer on the last one Alternatively, I could have run 50/51 for all of them, on 3-minutes' rest.

Sat, 4/30/22-

Took off. Spent the day at Penn Relays, arriving at about 11:00 a.m. and leaving at 6:00 p.m. Wound up missing a couple of notable races since the meet was running 10-15 minutes ahead of schedule as we arrived.

Fri, 4/29/22-

Penn Relays...after a 3-year hiatus due to COVID.

For the first time since 2019, Penn Relays was on.

I left work at 1:15 or so to make my way to Philly. Had no problem parking. Met Chuck S. at the hockey rink at 3:05 to get my ticket.

After a few minutes, I made my way to the stadium. I spent time hanging out with teammates in the stands. Given the 65-degree temperature, wind, and shaded seating area, we weren't exactly warm. The meet began to drift late. Our race was scheduled for 7:18 originally. Thinking our race would go off at 7:30 or so, we figured we'd head to the lower fields at just before 6:00, warm-up and stretch for about an hour, and make our way to the check-in area at 7:00. So much for that plan!

We arrived back at the check-in area at 7:00...and were taken to the paddock area at 7:30. We waited an additional 30 minutes to compete, at exactly 8:00. Essentially, we stood in the coolness for an hour. The two GPTC 60s teams were in the race immediately before ours, the 40s team immediately after ours. (Unfortunately, Ray hurt his calf upon the start, sideline the 60s A team.)

For our part, we'd go on to win the M50 race by 18 seconds, extending the lead from 25 meters on the first leg (John Curtis), to 55 meters on the second leg (Nick Damalas), to 85 meters on the third leg (Rob Ciervo), to well over 100 meters on the fourth leg (yours truly). While we did not run especially fast as a team, Rob brought him the fast split...at 57.9. John posted a 58.9, Nick ran 60.5, and I ran 59.5. Disappointed for sure, but I'll take it...for now.

2022 Penn Relays M50 4x400 meter relay (Flotrack)

2022 Penn Relays M50 4x400 meter relay (Nick's recording)