Notes
Grand Blue Mile. I got out well with the leaders and felt pretty comfortable through 400. Then the next 400 started to hurt a little more and I couldn't tell if we were going faster or I was just pushing too hard. After we started back down the homestretch the rest of my group of 4 ran ahead. I couldn't answer the pace and just felt like my hamstrings were already tightening up with over 400m to go. I was still running well enough though because no one seemed to be catching me, but with about 100m to go one guy blew by me and I had no answer. I was lucky to get to the line when I did because everything was getting tighter near the end. 5th place in 4:25 isn't bad but it is a far cry from 4:18 that I ran last year.
I'm not sure what to think after this race. I'm obviously disappointed and I'm confused with why it felt so hard. I opened the year in 4:23 and it felt easy and since then have not had many good races. I was convinced I should be able to run with the leaders this year and maybe pushed a little too hard to get out with them. I don't think it was too fast I just wasn't able to get settled in to the point that it felt comfortable. The crazy part is that last year I went out in 2:04, 7 seconds faster than this year and I felt great at the halfway point last year. The homestretch was just rough. After they pulled away I lost a lot of motivation, but I don't think my body could have done much even if I had stayed focused. I know I have been training more and that could be making me more tired but it should also be making me more fit than a year ago. I should definitely be racing better than last year. I'm hoping to get in another race or two but right now I just want to start feeling strong again. All this being said, training has been feeling better than it has in years so hopefully the increased workload will start to payoff. Plus I almost feel bad for complaining this much about a 4:25. It is definitely not a bad race, just frustrating to be 7-8 seconds slower than a year ago.