Week 19 - Day 6 (Race Day #1)

Wow. So much to talk about but the lengthy post will go up tomorrow.

The short version:

It was very gusty today but cool and nice. I warmed up well and felt primed to go. I was put in lane 2. I stumbled ever so slightly out of the blocks but ran a fast 100m. I ran well down the backstretch and entered the final curve with slight fatigue in my legs, which is what I wanted to feel. At the 200m mark, I turned it on 100% and powered through the curve. I entered the homestretch in 1st place. Then, the guy in lane 1 cruised up next to me and we were neck and neck with about 80m to go. A guy in the outer lanes was also in play. The wind kicked up hard in our faces down this backstretch and my legs started to fall off. I pumped my arms as hard as I could but lane 1 pulled ahead and my legs couldn't kick any more. I looked up and watched the clock...48, 49...50, 51, 52 and then I crossed. I ended up finished in at or just under 53 seconds (official time to be posted on Tuesday). I honestly don't remember the wind factor, but everyone else was complaining about it. It was right in our faces coming home. That said, it could have kicked up down the backstretch too and helped out there. I dunno.

I have a video of the race, as well as some post-race interviews, haha, which I will post tomorrow. I checked my splits on the race and my 100m, 200m, and 300m times were all fast. It's hard to pin them down, but they were between 11+/23+/36+ and 12/25/37. I dunno it's really hard to tell. This much I know: my last 100m was awful. I felt terrible and I was slow. The wind certainly hurt, but it's possible I went out a tad strong...my legs felt where they should be at the 200m mark, though. Anyway, from looking at my 53, I know in my heart that I can run much faster than that...it was slower than the 52.6 I ran last year. But, my legs wouldn't have believed you. I was spent.

May 30th is my next shot. Oh, and are you ready for this? I partially dislocated my shoulder this afternoon on a defensive bid at pre-season pickup/practice. (And no, I didn't get it.) So, today could have gone better in many ways, but I'm not sure there was a ton I would have done differently. I shall consult Alison on my race strategy/pacing and see if it was sound. The video will be invaluable. Until tomorrow,

Andrew