Notes
Ben's Memorial Mile
Went down to DG to support the efforts for Ben's Memorial Mile. What a great event it was. It was really cool to see the whole community out to support the cause. It was also really cool to see such a large contingent of IL Elite out for the event. Had a good time catching up with people and watching the early races. A thunderstorm was rolling in, so the race start got pushed up, and men's heats 2 and 3 were combined for times sake. Still warmed up with plenty of time. Atmosphere for very relaxed, so had no stress going through drills, just wanted to go out and have fun.
Gun went off, and I got off the line pretty terribly. Was in the back of the heat 3 group for the first 100m or so. Saw Ryan near the lead, so moved up to him on the back stretch. I was surprised how smooth I was feeling, so I decided I'd just keep moving up and try to lead. Declan was leading at the time, and he put in a surge to not let me by, so we ended up running two wide at the pole. He didn't give anything until the 600m mark, when I put in a surge and finally got around him. Continued to lead the race going through 800m. Wanted to try and up the pace, but I could really start to feel my legs getting tired. Just tried to stay relaxed. Kept the lead until about 450 to go, when Jeremy Craven and some DGS kid flew past me. One more high schooler tried to pass me, but I held my ground. Was starting to feel pretty strong and was feeling a good kick, but at 300m Aaron and another guy took off and it left me reeling for a second. Tried to recover and got moving pretty good, but they were gone and I was alone in 5th. Kicked pretty hard, but let off the gas the last 15m or so.
Very happy with the time and result, especially with no workouts and just easy running thus far in my training. Excited to see where I could go from here. Also, walked away with a gift card because most of the guys ahead of me differed the prize. Unexpected, but nice. Afterwards, went to a local bar and hung out with IL Elite. Had a very good time, got me really psyched for GLR!