Monday: 7 Miles. Hill workout, 7xPark Ave. Really bored of these and have been exhausted during them recently. Didn't put as much effort in as usual and still felt a great amount of tiredness/pain. Ran one of my slowest average paces ever on the hill. Difficulty: 4/5.
Tuesday: 8 Miles. Pretty tired in the last few miles, but overall an enjoyable out and back to chase hill. Felt good running sub 6:40 pace for most of the run and got in a decent elevation gain.
Wednesday: 6 Miles, track workout. 5x400 at 69s w/90s recovery. Tightened up quickly but was mostly able to complete without too much difficulty. Track had been cleared in lane one halfway around, so the 400s were out-and backs with a slow turnaround. 5 minute break after that, then a 450 with 250 all-out, then the returning 200 at 34s. That last part was hard. Difficulty: 3/5.
Thursday: 6 Miles, another track workout. Wasn't thrilled to have this second one, since it was states coming up and I would prefer to take two easy days rather than one. It was short, but still fast. 6x200 w/90s recovery at 30s. Felt pretty good. Difficulty: 2/5.
Friday: 7 Miles. Recovery run through white rock/springbrook. Felt a little heavy but mostly good. Tried my best to take the pace really easy and mostly succeeded.
Saturday: 4 Miles, State Meet.
Super nervous and waking up with sore hamstrings didn't help. I was able to shake some of the soreness out with warm-ups and stretching but legs certainly not feeling 100%. Not heavy or tight, but perhaps would have preferred to be. Used the bathroom frequently but had trouble eating my breakfast (nervousness?). I had about 2.5 hours before racing from when I got there, but that time passed quickly and again I soon found myself in the nerve-wracking situation of awaiting the call to the start while watching the final events before my race. Only this time, the pressure was unreal. I was expected to PR on a much slower track where I'd possibly have to do much of the pacing myself, all while trying to hold onto 2nd place if not 3rd at the state level. The expectations were actually higher than last year, yet for some reason I wasn't nearly as nervous. It was about 5 minutes before the gun for the 3K went off and a bizarre and crazy situation was created. During previous heats of the 4x200, the gun had misfired many times causing delays, but it was nothing I hadn't seen before. During the second to last heat, the gun was misfired, but a second fire indicating that there was a misfire and that they would restart did not happen and girls ran an entire 200 meters before the race was started again. The 3000 ended up running 15 minutes late and my legs were not benefiting from it.
First Mile
Gun went off and ben drezek took it out and had the lead. I was caught up a little at the start, but got out and ran with him through 400, which was 71. I was surprised DJ wasn't there, but tried to focus on my splits. My coach wanted me to run 35s so I could go through the 1600 in 4:40 and have a chance at PRing. Ben was already running a 36 on lap 2, so I had to pick it up and get the pace down to an even and fast split. Ben stayed right there, but it seemed it was just us. The splits were pretty right on. Soon enough DJ came up with us and started running alongside me. I was feeling pretty good but was concerned that Ben was still right there. Went through 1600 in 4:40 like planned.
Through 2K
Suddenly, I was no longer feeling great and the pace took a significant decrease. I started hitting 36s instead of 35s. I wanted to pick it up but was struggling as I had already pushed through so many laps at 35. I wasn't sure how the rest would play out, but a little off going through 2K at 5:54.
Final K
Without about 5 to go, I hit a wall. I had gone from a little tired to completing dying. It felt like someone had turned on a "feel terrible" switch. My splits were starting to suffer and I felt both extremely weak and terrible. At 800 to left, DJ made a big move to pull away. He succeeded easily and was soon gone. Ben did the same soon after, but pulled away more slowly. I knew I wasn't in for a good time, but was really hoping to hold onto that third, all-state spot. The final three were absolutely brutal, running the slowest splits of the whole race, feeling like the most pain of the entire race, and everything indicated that I would get passed from behind in the final 200m and lose my spot. A repeat of my awful XC state meet where I lost my first-team spot in the final 600 meters of the race. It seemed my chances were slim as someone called out "Max" (freshman Max DiMuccio) right as I passed the finish line with a few to go. The last lap was scary, but someone it didn't happen. I crossed the line in 9:00.68, another horrible time but somehow managing to get the place I wanted. I was simultaneously devastated and ecstatic.
While I had plenty of recovery, the bad time from the 3000 wasn't giving me much motivation for my next event, and I was extremely nervous for the 1K. Distance runners had been having bad days all around, and I definitely didn't see anything happening for me in 1000. I originally had little confidence I could place in the top 6, and now I had none.
1K
There were plenty of fast runners in the 1000. Some fast 2:38 and 2:39 guys struggled in the slow heat, and while still producing fine performances, only one guy broke 2:40 running a 2:39. I knew that if I got top 6 here, it would likely beat that time and get me top 6 overall. From the gun, DJ and Mars pretty much took off right away and I never focused on them after that. I found myself in the chase pack, 6th in our heat, behind Hope's Elijah Akindolie and NK's Ethan Wyllie and Jack Perreault, both of whom I narrowly lost out to the last time I had faced them in the event. I was able to get around Ethan and into 5th place. Coming up on 400, I tried to make a move around Jack but really wasn't feeling strong and couldn't do it. My legs were feeling weak and I was wondering if I'd have another bad race feeling crappy just 400 in. Fortunately it was just my legs and I never felt the awful weakness I experienced in the 3K. Jack and Elijah went back and forth in the third lap, but Elijah eventually came out in front. For a second, it seemed I'd be able to move up but was never able to complete a strong enough move. It was really encouraging to go through 600 in 1:33, where I knew I had a chance at 2:36/2:37. I wasn't really thinking about placement. Elijah started to pull away from Jack in lap 4, and I was able to slip by him as well before hitting that bell lap. Elijah had a really good kick and pulled far away. It looked like I went through 800 in 2:05/2:06, and I definitely thought I had a solid shot at a PR. I felt that I was running strong on the last lap, but Jack passed me back with 120 to go and like last time, I stayed right on him but narrowly missed beating him. 2:38.67. 5th overall. Absolutely thrilled with the place, and at the time just happy not to run poorly again.
To say that I have mixed feelings about my results at the state meet would be an understatement. Place wise, I'm absolutely thrilled to move up to all-state and also score in an event that isn't my best, but time-wise I was way off what I should be capable of and didn't get the 1 to 2 second PR I was hoping for in the 1K.
My 3000s at PCTA this year have all followed a similar pattern- run really well through 1600, but fade badly in the second half, especially in the last 1000 and finish in a disappointing time. I was hoping states would be different, as it was the most important, but the same pattern not only took place, but I faded worse than in any other meet. Overall, my indoor season has been near perfect in the other events, but my 3Ks have been way off, except for my 8:44 at Yale. This entire season I have
been tired and weak in events often, but nothing comes close to the feeling I experienced at the end of the 3000.
Overall, here are my pros and cons of the meet:
Pros
- Made All-State in Track for the first time
- Scored in the state meet for track for the first time
- Was able to hit consecutive 35s while doing the pacing for the group for 8 laps
- Was able to run a successful second race, while many others struggling in the 1000
- Have the option of running an alternate event at New Englands
- Beat out fast 1K runners who have better PRs than me
Cons
- Lost to 3000 runners that I have faster PRs than
- Faded badly in the second half of the 3K
- Did not hang with leaders as they picked it up in the 3K
- Ran 15-20 seconds slower in the 3000 than expected
- Ran progressively slower and slower in the 3000
- Lacked a kick in the 1000 and 3000
- Didn't PR in the 1000
It was a weird day. More than satisfied with place, but not all with times. Normally, it's just the time I care about but states is the one exception where placing is really important. The 1000 wasn't that important, but I'm definitely mostly satisfied with that. It was disappointing to fade so badly in the 3K and be way off on time, but I think my happiness of getting top 3 outweighs that disappointment. The biggest reason why I wish my time was a little faster is that I may not get into the fast heat at new Englands.
I'm glad to have a few weeks off. Right now, I'm not extremely nervous for my two remaining meets: New Englands and Nationals. I'm actually excited for both, as I finally get to get away from PCTA (not that its a bad track, just that I've run there so many times) and run on some quality banked tracks. I want to run around 9:20 at new englands, and I'm really hoping my time can get me into the fast heat of the two-mile. It'll be tough otherwise.
I'm glad to have a few weeks off. Right now, I'm not extremely nervous for my two remaining meets: New Englands and Nationals. I'm actually excited for both, as I finally get to get away from PCTA (not that its a bad track, just that I've run there so many times) and run on some quality banked tracks. I want to run around 9:20 at new englands, and I'm really hoping my time can get me into the fast heat of the two-mile. It'll be tough otherwise.
Sunday: 0. Day off was nice, especially with the four weekend.
Weekly Total: 38 Miles
YTD Total: 310 Miles
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