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DCCCXXXIII

April 11, 2015 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Run

Weather: 60s, strong winds, dying down slightly in the afternoon, intense sun

Comments:
Potomac Invitational number three. Anthony said, "Don't hold back for the mile. We'll worry about the two-mile when it's time." For this meet I was READY. 11 hours of sound sleep on Thursday (senior skip) and 7.5 last night enabled me to wake up feeling refreshed and prepared to approach the mile like a three-lap race; I hoped to be aerobically "done" going into the fourth lap and kick from there. I was also supposed to run with people and catch those who went out too fast all the while thinking, "Oh, he looks annoying, I should beat him." I had processed all that and would put it together towards a significant personal best, one, good race to kick my stagnant season into gear: until we got to the meet. The wind blew intensely enough for coach to give his "forget about times" pronouncement, so all I could do was warm up well, and do my damnedest to run a time that would not infuriate me (see entry 591). I needed to run this race hard. I had a pack of four in front of me that I passed on the back stretch of the second lap (I don't do a particularly good job of remembering whom I passed when). During the third lap, I recall approaching two more competitors in front of me, one of whom I passed during the final 300m. Coming into the last lap, I felt confident and was not paying much attention to the clock and thought to myself, "Okay, let's see what you can do." Even TRISTAN said that I "showed some speed." I ran through the line and, given my fatigue, was not unhappy. "Smartly raced, but you look like a guy with a lot of mileage under him." Splits show I somewhat followed the plan: 1:11, 2:26 (75), 3:39 (77), 4:56.3 (73). I thought that after a cooldown jog, some shady sitting and bagel consumption, I would feel adequate, if not fresh for the 3200m. But with the sun so long in my eyes and leg soreness from the mile, I did not feel up to the task. Because the meet was so far behind schedule, we ended up doing two warmups, but after Zeke's motivating words, "Yes, it's your second race, but it's also practice for MACs. I think I took the race seriously, but in the fourth lap needlessly let Kravitz and Jackson get away from me, catching only Kravitz by the end. My splits tell the story:
1:14-Fine.
2:35 (1:21)-Okay, I am tired after all.
3:57 (1:22)-Wait, Noah and Jackson aren't faster than I am. Or are they?
5:18 (1:21)-Don't worry about them, just run.
6:38 (1:20)-Not going to let this slip through my fingers.
8:01 (1:23)-WHAT?
9:23 (1:22)-Just trying not to decelerate.
10:38.1 (1:15)-Enough messing around.
Anthony described this as a "workmanlike effort that didn't disappoint him." I would describe both races--even in the wind--as indices that I am not improving or if I am, not seeing results yet. 4/12/2014: 4:55 1600m, 2/10/2015, 10:22 3200m--which was apparently a tactical race. How does it make sense that in April after much more time on the track, I can run 16 seconds above a winter track race? Maybe this means I need to lower my expectations, or not have any expectations for the brief remainder of my high school running career. But is that settling and not setting high enough expectations? Yet every time I've set a goal for the track, I've been disappointed. I haven't fixated on times too much this year, but from a completely realist perspective, I think (don't hope) I can run 2:07, 4:40, and 9:55. Based on recent workouts and meets, however, those marks just don't seem achievable. Finally, I can't help feel a sneaking suspicion that I am letting down teammate and coach alike with days like this one. But just in case this log has sent a totally negative message, I will not give up.