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NIRCA T&F Nationals 2018 Day 2

April 15, 2018 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Run

Weather: Cold and rainy, 40s

Comments:
Alright, now it's 1:30am and I'm writing part 2 of the meet! SO MUCH ANTICIPATION! Did the ice bath work? Was not drinking worth it? Was I able to sleep without Paolo by my side? (uuuhhhhhh just kidding, definitely did) Did I ever escape VanPelt ditch? Well find out in the story below!

Before the 1500m (not the 1480): After getting a goodnight sleep without Paolo and the pillow divider, I got up and guess where I went? Waffle House round 2 baby! The workers still remembered me from the night before and I got in and 8 in 15 minutes. Way better than that shitty hotel breakfast! That was wack.

I made it over to the track and of course it was gonna be raining most of the day. Granted, we got lucky it didn't rain all day yesterday, but still SHEEEEEESSSSSSSSH. i got my warmup jog in and did a lot of drills. My legs didn't feel great from the ice bath tbh. They actually felt sore and pretty heavy. Also Coach Diener told me I shouldn't have eaten Waffle House before my race, so I had to prove him wrong! I chewed my run gum and went to the line. My goal was to try and go under the club record of 4:06.7. There was no clock at the finish, so it'd be hard but it was definitely doable! I was in the 2nd fastest heat with Paolo, so I figured I might have a chance.

1500m: I went out for the race conservative and in the mid pack. Paolo ended up leading, which was smart considering he should've straight up been in the fast heat. I went out in my typical 65-66 action and continued to slowly move up until I was in the top 5. I maintained position and came through the 800m in my same ol, same ol 2:12-2:13 split. Coming into the home stretch, I got into third place (Paolo was 4-5 seconds ahead). Lucas yelled at me to stay behind 3rd place until 400m to go which I did. I went hard on the last lap and came into the final 100m battling it out for 2nd place in the heat. I had a strong finish, but 2 Mizzou kids got side by side with me. Unfortunately, they had a little more than I did and barely beat me. 4th place in the heat. The announcer (according to Lucas) did me dirty and said something to the extent of "Guarano wins the heat and VanPelt..... ohhhhh". RIP me. I finished in 4:07.11, which was a small PR and improvement from Spartan Invite. Though I didn't know my time, until later because there was no clock at the finish FUCCCCCCK. You'd think NIRCA could bring a few clocks! All day I had no idea how fast or slow people were going!!!!

I was once again satisfied with my race. A common theme. Not mad, but just not completely fulfilled. I knew Paolo would likely take the club record, but I wanted to at least go under the previous record (shoutout to Paolo for 2 great races btw). I also feel like i keep running the same god damn race. 65-66 first split, then 2:12-2:13 every time! I just to want to reach the next step and drop a few more seconds. I have a few more opportunities this season, so there's still time left. Got some new goals and new ambitions after this race. Stay tuned for later in the season to see if I accomplish any of that.

4x400 meme relay: I honestly didn't give a fuck about this race. I was cold, it was rainy sporadically, and I just wanted to hit the road. Plus Lucas was racing in his itchy and scratchy sweat shirt + poncho, so we didn't give a fuck. Lucas handed off to me and I immediately was not in it. After 200m and realized that i wasn't going to catch Brett, I memed it. I gave Liz, Mackenzie, and Peter my "ehhhhhhhh" face/gesture and did a horrible Nick Symmonds flex down the field. BJ said I split a 59.1, but it felt a lot slower than that lmao. Of course it was still a blast and a good way to the end the relay season.

Afterwards: After the race, I took a picture with the legend and absolute GOAT Quin Todzo. What a fucking dude! The man who predicted I'd get a girlfriend by next year and has been a huge fan of the RVP Watch. He's graduating, so I'm gonna miss seeing him around. We got a pic for the Twitter, so some amazing stuff for sure. We then watched Jack and the women's 4x400 get an award, we headed back to EL. I went back to the same Waffle House for the 3rd and final time. I befriended the dude who I initially offended and shook his hand. Great end to the Waffle House Trilogy.

We then drove back to EL, where it had snowed and ice was everywhere. So yeah, the weather was wack. So that's it. Great job to all of the log boyz today on some stellar performances. I definitely love the Culture III and though the races weren't 100%, we just gotta remember to trust the process and believe in Jack Daniels. If we make sure to have a good summer of training, we will do some incredible things during XC. Well and also there's Hillsdale, so the track SZN isn't fully over.

Also shoutout to Whinnery. Not gonna lie dawg, missed having you in the car on the way back. The ride was simply not as legendary.

With all that being said, that concludes my massive Nats log. Have a good night boyz + Liz and Nicole.