3/15/08 Oxford St. Patrick's Day 4 Mile Road Race 4mi 24:45 (6:11) 3rd Overall/1st in Age Group.
My 4 weeks of preseason training came down to this race, a hometown 4 mile course, half of which on hills. I believe that I overanticipated how difficult the hills were going to be, which means I could've gone a little faster on the flat parts and possibly finished faster. Also, some poor lad showed up to the race 5 minutes late and it turns out his time would've won the race. Also, if I recalled one of the turnaround points correctly, I measured the course to be 3.91 miles, which would make my run 6:19 pace. Even that would probably be my fastest race yet.
Starting off I was in 2nd going up the hill, a random guy in headphones surged in front of me there then Elvis passed me near the top of the hill. So I was in 4th going back down the hill, (okay, it wasn't really Elvis but the guy had some pretty good sideburns going). On the way down from the hill, about 1.25mi in, sideburns moved to 2nd and headphones was 3rd. I passed headphones right after that.
First place was pretty far in front of us at this point so it was basically a race for spots 2-4. I knew I could either try to catch second place or I'd fall back to the guy behind me and race with him, so I went for the guy in second. I was going pretty good and I got within 25m of him then he started to pull away with about a mile and a half left. We hit the hill, which rises about a half mile before a slight decline quarter mile to the finish.
I knew I'd be alright on the hill because of the monster hill I train on. I pushed a little going up. A little bit into the hill I noticed I was getting closer to second, and also there was a new guy on my ass. I wanted to keep third so I pushed and was just about at the limit when I reached the top of the hill. Dogs were loose and barked and ran at the guy in front of me, I was worried for him but I was glad to see they were just surrounding him. When I got to them one of them was stepping on my heels so I just kicked it there to the finish.
I was third overall and first in my age group. Whether the course was an accurate distance or not I really don't care because either way it's probably the best race I've run so far. This just goes to show what hard work can do. It took me just 4 weeks of extending my mileage and I'm already in better shape than ever before. I'm not happy about this race just because it went well, but I'm happy because it marks the beginning of the breakthrough I expect to make in the next few months with my increased mileage training. I'm really looking forward to this outdoor season now. It's great to have such a positive experience to look back at in the next month, until my first meet in the middle of April.
4/16/08 Tantasqua at Oxford 2 mile 11:46 4th, 1 mile 5:32 3rd.
Typical first meet of the season with a PR due to the increase in ability, but also not a full effort given due to the uncertainty of pace.
The 2 mile was 19 seconds faster than my last official PR (although since my indoor 12:05 i've run an 11:57 in practice). The whole 2 mile felt fast for me, due to very little speedwork. I think the closest thing I've had to speedwork since the indoor season (early February) is the 2 mile time trial a couple weeks ago. So that felt uncomfortable but I found some race legs by the end of it.
The first 2 laps of the mile felt pretty bad, then I picked it up and got some adrenaline. I had a fast last lap but still not fast enough. I think my 2 mile was okay but my mile should've been faster. If I'm still on my feet at the finish line, then I didn't go hard enough.
4/21/08 Oxford at Bartlett 3200 11:51 2nd, 1600 6:18 4th.
Ankle still bothersome from last week. Also had awful headache/stomach yesterday/this morning. Warm weather. The '2' took a lot out of me, and with few sprinters in the 100 and hurdles, I had less than 5 minutes between races, responsible for the awful 1 mile time.
I took the lead off the gun. Neil past me at about 300m in and held it the rest of the way. I was in third maybe the first few laps but I took that back before the last mile and drove home hard, tired as I've been in a long time after the finish. When I lined up for the mile, standing on the line I knew it was going to be absolutely terrible, and it was. I could've pushed more but 4th place in 6:02 and 4th place in 6:18 and 4th place in 6:10... they're all just about the same to me.
Ankle really aggravated after the racing, calves cramped up really tight. Felt awful after it so I'm happy with my effort but the times aren't where they need to be and I'm really worried about the ankle. I need it to heal quickly so I can get back to good workouts and racing fast.
4/30/08 Oxford at Grafton 1600 5:38 2nd
Hadn't run the 8 days before the meet due to the ankle. Taped it up pretty good before the race. I could feel pain in my ankle anyway doing warmup laps and strides. I had a limp in my form but I still raced on it because that's the only way I'd know whether or not it was okay to race on; I'd rather not sit it out and wonder if I could've run.
So the gun goes off and I take the lead, stride seems pretty strong, no limp yet. We hit the 3rd lap and I'm in the lead, the Grafton coach yells out to the guy right behind me that we're going 5:30 pace. I know that if it had been before this layoff then that means I'd still have plenty left for the last two laps. But, not the same case after 8 days off. He took the lead on the back straightaway and dropped me. I slowed down a little the last lap and could feel a clear limp in my stride.
Felt pain from walking, this is the worst this injury has been so far. I iced 10min on/10min off for 3 hours when I got home. (Stopped at bedtime).