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May 4, 2019 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Run

Comments:
First and last Draper. A good day.

I showed up at school at 11:15, only to find two whole spots in the entire lot. Then Sophie and I walked over, almost got hit by a car(ahem), and waited to get on the bus. I ate on the bus- sandwich was good today. When we showed up at Draper, we got right into warmups and what I must say was the worst stretching circle I've ever been in. Then I sat for several hours, watched the various PR's go by, and caught a nicely run Freshman mile. The meet ran ahead, so Satola and I started an early warmup that turned out not to be so early.

When we walked onto the track, Joyce had started her race, so we watched her before starting striders. I felt surprisingly good on the striders, and was inspired by the PR's from everyone else. A few minutes before the race, I wandered over to the line to desweat, and as I did so, Anthony gave me a nice little pep talk. Once I was done with that, it was time to go. I walked to the line, and saw my competition. I had looked at the heat sheet the night before and found that I would have people to run with. Taking a page out of Matt Simonson's book, I decided to run each lap for a past Captain of mine.

Lap 1- Matt I
I was seeded six, usually a bad spot for me, being easily box-outtable and all. This time was a little different, and after going to the back, I bounced up to the middle of the first pack. At the 200, I was solidly in 5th or 6th, and remembered to think about Matt I, my first captain, who I've always thought of as a model for the appropriate behavior of a leader on this team. I finished the lap in 75.4, right about where I wanted to be.

Lap 2- Will Beal
I don't remember a ton about this lap. I moved past a couple of guys at about the 500 mark, and headed towards the onetime fastest man in DC, Doug Cobb. I tried to think about Will, one of my all time GDS running favorites at the 200, but ended up thinking about that time that Jackson fell asleep during one of Anthony's speeches. Nonetheless, I picked it up there. The lap finished in 78.9- I was right where I wanted to be.

Lap 3- Class of 2018
I knew this lap was going to make or break my race- I had been unable to sustain my pace in the last couple of miles I had run, so I knew this one was important. I passed the boys I had been running with, and began leading a pack of 2 others, and passed a coach who said we were sub 5. That wasn't so right, but I felt really good there. I thought about last year's seniors, who I am so very grateful for, for bringing me into this sport, and for showing me what it all means, for hundreds of hours of lively discourse, and for modeling what I try and do with the team now. This lap was another 78.9.

Lap 4- Myself
I knew going in that I was running this last lap for myself- a little indulgence if you will. I'm pretty sure that my pack started to pass me with 300? to go. I clanked along, and when I got to the end of the straightaway I saw the clock at 4:55. I knew that I was going to PR again! Nonetheless, I got passed by two kids in the last hundred, but it was all worth it. This lap was 79.1 for a total time of 5:12.1- another 4 second PR.

I'm pretty sure that I've now PR'ed by more time in the mile these last 6 weeks than I had in the entire time from May of 2016 to April of 2019. A little crazy. And I was happy with this one. After the race, I sat down, hugged Anthony, and let my shins unclench. Then Satola and I went to cool down. We jogged with John-John a bit, and talked with him some about running next year, and then returned to our stuff, ate smore's cookies and finished up for the day. I spent some time with my grandchildren, studied a bit for AP gov, read some about my favorite, LBJ, and talked a bit about a potty-humor 400 time. It seemed like most people had great days- so that's exciting. Also, enjoyed wearing our new jackets! I think this might be the best gear we've ever bought. Hopefully I ran myself into MAC's- we shall see.