Notes
STEEPLECHASE
Engineer's Cup at home w/ a small field, me Aldous and 3 others. Wanted to win and PR and did both, so pretty happy with the race. It was decent weather, although it was definitely windy. We had a pretty fast start, tucked into 3rd for the first 200+ at a quick pace. At the first water barrier both guys went wide / were bad and I passed them both, led for the rest of the race. Felt strong throughout. Hurdling was pretty solid! Was leading with either leg, albeit more comfortably with the left leg, but no hurdles were particularly bad. All of my water barriers were fine too, had no problem with any except my second to last where I stepped with my right foot and didn't get quite as strong a pushoff. Splits were supposedly something like 3:08/3:18/3:22, so fast 1st K and then more or less settled into 10' pace. Was pretty focused, taking the race one barrier at a time. I definitely let up more than I should have in the second half of the race though, I would catch myself relaxing too much, need to always be making sure I am getting back up to speed after each hurdle. Very helpful to think of physical cues (driving knees/arms etc, quickening stride).
All in all a great first steeple of the season, first ever collegiate win and a 14 second PR! I'll take it. Definitely a lot of room for improvement, no settling here. Next step is to run competitively at LLs and get the ECAC mark (sub 9:40).
Also, have to note that I weighed in at 178.6 this morning - same weight as my 4:30 mile and 8:59 3k! Coincidence?