Notes
Probably my best race ever to date. Weston Twilight Meet. Really excited going into the race, knew the field would be the right level of competition. Goal was to break 4:48 and qualify for D3s. Had a clear plan that I had visualized, assuming that the race would be won in the low-mid 4:40s : Wanted to get out in the middle of the pack and relax, picking up kids if they fell of the leaders. Stay in contact with the leaders, but not stress about being totally up front. Slide up over the first half mile. On the third lap, get myself in position to be in the running for the win by the time there was 500 to go. Then, just compete hard over the last lap.
There was a few unforeseen snags leading up to the race. Just as I began warming up, it began to thunder, and everyone got called into the gym for the next hour and half or so. Once we got outside, it still took some time to set up. I tried to just jog around occasionally to stay loose, and then did my warmups in earnest with Eric (also in my race- both of us seeded at 4:47) when the unseeded two miles before us started going off. Because some kids had left during the delay, the expected three unseeded heats were cut down to two, putting me in the first heat. I barely had time to ditch my clothes and tie my spikes- no time for strides. I was assigned seed 4, a pretty good position I thought. I got to the line and bounced around for a few seconds, then got up on my toes, took a deep breath, and told myself to focus. Z had told me before race two things- one, that on the third lap I would have to decide if I wanted to qualify, and two, that if he told me to pass someone, do it immediately.
I didn't have a great start. I got into lane 1 easily enough, but by the end of the corner I was toward the back of the pack. However, that was somewhat accounted for in my plan. I was able to slide up a bit over the first lap, staying in lane 1 and passing people on the inside. I came through the quarter in about 73, probably in the third quarter of the pack. However, everyone was still bunched up pretty well. I continued to slide up a bit over the next lap. We came through the half in 2:25 (about a 72 second lap). At this point, I was still mid pack, but with some more space. I realized a few things: one, that I was going a little slower than the qualifying pace, and two, that I was having an awesome race. As I entered the third lap I realized that I felt totally relaxed and in control. The race "hurt" as far as I can remember, but I was focused on competing and felt strong. I decided to make a surge, moving up on the back stretch and getting right on the backs of the leaders. Coming off of the corner with about 500 to go, my left spike came untied. I decided to make another move, and surged in lane 2 right up next to the leader. At that point, I decided to just go for it, and took over the lead heading into the bell lap- not sure of my split. Someone came up and got me with 300 to go, and I was finally really starting to hurt. Z yelled at me to make "one last surge", and I put my head down and worked, although I was not gaining much on the leader. With 150 to go, I remembered my own plan, which was to sprint the end as fast as I could, remembering that every second counts. I drove my arms hard, but my head was all over the place. I knew when I crossed that line that I had qualified and was quite excited.
This was an awesome race for me. I wish my shoe hadn't come untied. On a tactical level, I think that I probably should have waited a little longer before taking over the lead, but it was still a good competitive effort. I think that I can definitely duplicate- and improve on- my result today. The key for me is just to focus on competing. I ended up negative splitting the race, going about 2:25-2:21. I think that the lack of a crazy start definitely helped me. At the same time, 2:25 felt really controlled. I think that I could probably go 70-72 for the first half mile and still feel strong going into the second half of the race. Looking forward, I have four more meets this season- two dual meets this week, the League Meet next week, and then states the week after that. I will certainly be running the 800 a few more times, and would love to improve on my time there- ideally running 2:05 and qualifying for states in that as well. Hopefully, in a competitive mile at either the League Meet or DIIIs, I can run another PR, hopefully going close to 4:42. I feel great.