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CMLXXXIV

November 4, 2015 (Night)

Exercise Type: Run

Weather: Perfect, colder during the cooldown

Comments:
As you've seen this race occupied such a large space in my mind for so many days that before and during the warmup I was shaking with nerves. Who else but Sarah gave me a pep talk that rivaled one of Anthony's; after catechizing me a bit, she said, "Your life is NOT going to change, no matter what happens. You're going to have dinner at Driscoll, do your homework and then go to bed, like you do every single other day of the week . . ." In other words, just calm down, this is supposed to be fun. Anyone else standing around during that conversation knew I was a mess. As luck and tapering--perhaps unnecessary tapering--would have it, I felt fantastic during the warmup, did all the GDS drills in order to grasp onto to something familiar, and had plenty of time to loosen up, drink some water, and change shoes. Only THEN did I start to feel less anxious. Before heading to the line, I watched Nigel and Greg perform well in the two-mile, jogged a lap on the field, did some striders and put on the hopper headband which completed my GDS ensemble. I dressed that way on the superstitious grounds that because I haven't run well in the Williams uniform, I thought I'd try something different--also the shorts are more comfortable. My final thought before the starting whistle was, "it's a long race, don't get too excited." Given my splits (thanks, Zeke), that did not cause any problems:
81.07
83.37
81.15
80.28 (5:25.86)
79.06
79.89
80.7
80.82 (10:46.33, 5:20.47)
80.59
81.78
82.00
80.36 (16:11.06, 5:24.73)
36.44
For the first mile Jacob, David and I had a pack, but by 2400m Jacob had forged ahead and David dropped off, leaving me quite alone. That didn't stop me from focusing on the middle laps, thinking about form and keeping my head up. While not on my way to some huge PR, I had undoubtedly found the zone during laps 6-9. I kept wondering when I was going to blow up, but somehow didn't, finding more energy to push--making this one of the most enjoyable running experiences in months, and the highlight of an otherwise lame week. To use my earlier phrase, I'd call it a step in the right direction. The next time I run this race, I'll need to find a way to shave off a couple of seconds from the opening mile, but mainly focus my efforts on the middle, because by the end I didn't feel utterly taxed, and quickly recovered. This is an excellent distance and looking back on it now, it felt as though it lasted 2 seconds. I cooled down with Nigel, David and Jacob--Cozy plus a lap on the track.