States- Weekly Log: May 30 to June 5

And once again, the end of the season is here. Unfortunately, I waited far too late to post this, removing some important from memory and perhaps the quality of post. I was coming off a great race at the Hendricken Invitational (8:57 for 3K, 7 Second PR), so I was hoping to improve upon that time at states. I originally anticipated I would run the 1500 and 3000 at states, but coach ended up dropping me out of 1500. I was confused at first, but the more thought about it, the more it made sense. Overall, I was looking to run 8:52, B goal of PR (8:56 or faster). I wasn't as stressed for States as I was for Hendricken, but I became nervous towards the end of the week. Training was quality before, or at least most of it was.

Monday: 5 Miles, memorial day hill workout. 4xNarragansett: one of the worst hill workouts I've ever done. Felt terrible and immediately wished it to be over. I actually felt strong on the first one, and came just one second off my personal best on the hill (which was disappointing, because I pushed it so hard and thought I got a PR). After that, it was a disaster: I ran them really slow, stopped early on some, and had some serious and sudden digestive problems. I cut the warm-ups and cool-downs short, and this was just an unpleasant, awful run. I'm sure eating poorly had something to do with it, but the low quality of this run was unexpected. Difficulty: 3/5.

Tuesday: 4 Miles, track workout. Was really expecting a normal run, and this brought a much less fun activity. Plans were for 8x400, I did 7x400. About 45s recovery, I was supposed to hit 70s, I ran 69/68/67/66/64/66/66. Extended break  (3-4 mins) inbetween the 4th and 5th. Happy with my splits, but not fun at all and quite difficult. Difficulty: 4/5.

Wednesday: 7 Miles, ran in CT. Felt extremely tight and not so great.

Thursday: 5 Miles, final track workout before states. I'm not exactly sure on this one (writing it 9 days after run), but I think we did 10x200 (35s each/45-60s recovery) before a 5 minute break, then an all-out 400. The 400 was a catch-up game (slowest started first, fastest started last), and I caught about half with a 400 PR of 55.8 Not too bad of a workout, difficulty: 2/5.

Friday: 6 Miles, shakeout. Took it pretty easy, just a couple of loops downtown at a high 6 pace.

Saturday: 5 Miles, 2016 Outdoor State Meet. I usually do a big description of what happened before-race, but I just want to finish this post, so I'll cut it down. I had plenty of time to sleep in (bus at 10:45), bus ride up was comfy, and we got a good waiting spot when we arrived at 11:45. I ran at 5:45, meaning I had to wait a whole six hours before race. It wasn't fun- I stared at my watch constantly hoping time would slow down (I was nervous/stressed out). I got to watch a few good races, did warm-ups, bathroom breaks (again, lack of stalls was annoying). Strides, and we were up. The Brown University track, overall, was good. I liked running on it. It was slightly strange as the straightaway were longer than usual, meaning a shorter curve. I don't know how I feel about that, it was just weird. I was really nervous the hour before, but not quite as much the moments before. It was sad to hear one of the top runners dropped out (who had been having a rough season). Runners, on your mark...(gun fires).

3000
Nearly the whole field ran out hard. The start was chaotic. During the chaos, the position fumbling and bumping into each other caused me to accidentally detach one corner of my bib from my shirt. This was annoying, as it was hitting my hands the rest of the race. The top La Salle runners and a fast Cumberland took the lead positions immediately. We went through 200 meters in 33, 400 in 67. And the pace became more what we should be running. After just 1000 meters, I was tired and not feeling great. I wasn't sure if I could hold on. It went by quicker than I expected. I was in a group, the second chase pack (if two person count as the first chase pack). There was the LaSalle runner leading, small gap, a Cumberland runner and an EG runner, then the pack I was in. I was exchanging positions frequently, but never super comfortable. Eventually I got to the front of this pack, but with about 1000 to go, I was passed by some Hendricken runners. They went quickly, and I tried to go with them but they were moving. The EG runner completely fell off and I passed him. At the end, I was passed by another Hendricken.

Based on how I felt, I figured I would do well- but I had a pretty good race overall. 7th OA, 3-second PR of 8:54 (8:54.02). The top LaSalle ended up dropping out, so the EG runner and I got to move up and take a spot in the New England Championships next Saturday (3200).

States is often regarded as the most important meet of the season, so I was glad to get rid of that stress. It was also nice to continue the pattern of great races (3 in a row now).

Sunday: 5 Miles. Went to watch Dad in Mystic Tri, and decided to get a run in there. Originally planned 8-10, but had little motivation, tight and tired legs/thighs, weakness, and more digestive issues. I cut it very short because of how unpleasant it was. I actually posted it late because I was a little ashamed.

Obviously, the whole week was just about Saturday's race. Obviously, it wasn't perfect, but it was still one of my finer races of the season and I'm pretty happy with the result.

Weekly Total: 37 Miles
YTD Total: 924 Miles