PENN RELAYS

1200m start!

Seb Coe 

This weekend I hopped on a plane to Philly for the Penn Relays; USA vs the World.  Was it ever fun!!  Let's paint the picture.  Huge stadium filled with fans screaming their heads off for their favourite people, schools, and countries   It's a constant battle between the U.S.A chant and JAMAICA.  As for the athletes  well it has some of the best athletes in the World, present and past.

Canada had teams in the Men's and Women's 4x100m, 4x400m, Women's 4x800m and Men's Distance Medley (DMR).  I was on the DMR, which is made up of a 1200m, 400m, 800m, and 1600m.

Canada White

I know what you're thinking, I was the 800m leg....WRONG!!!  I moved up a little distance to that 1200m leg.  As I stepped on the line, I looked to my left and there's an Olympian and to my right a 1:43 guy, 2 other Olympians-one of which is a bronze world medalist, and others with much faster Pb's in the 1500m.
Umm.....YUP!

Let's rewind to last year in the same event when I ran the same leg.  I got a little antsy and put the first surge in with 300m to go and started the train to the finish....and with 50m to go....I rigged up and fell apart.  So going into this year, my coach was straight up with the strategy for me; sit in the mix and stay in contact. 

This year would be different.  I felt confident in my training and in my fitness.  So when the gun went off, I got right in the mix.  "Stay relaxed", that's all that went through my mind.  First lap was quick, second lap slowed....Now lap 3.  Last year I went with 300m to go.  I wasn't going to make the same mistake. Then BAM everyone started to ramp it up at 300m....HERE WE GO! I was tucked on the inside lane slightly boxed in and clipping (stepping on the heels) the runner in-front of me.  Gotta go wide...Nope!  Someone else had the same plan and got out just before me, putting me to a halt   Stay relaxed and keep pushing!!!  I came around the turn with about 150m to go and put it all out there.  As I came off the straight away I knew I was still strong.  I ran hard in handed off to my teammate and he took off.  WHACK!!!!  Team GB slammed into me plowing me over sending me straight to the ground.  

My time was 2:53.5.  I handed off in 7th, and 0.1 from 6th place (6th was the Olympian with a Bronze medal from the World Championships).  To put this race in perspective, last year I ran 2 seconds slower handing off in 5th, and in that same race 1st place last year handed off in 2:53. One other note....Team Ethiopia missed the World Record by about a half second this weekend. .......YUP, so I was pretty happy with my performance.

Battle Scars

Our team ran well.  We put it all out there and I'm happy.  I'm back in Flagstaff, and putting in one last cycle before heading to California for a blazing fast race on the 17th.  I'm a little banged up, but hey, chicks dig scars!!!

Battle Scars

If you want to watch the race,

PENN RELAYS

After 3 weeks at Flagstaff and 7000ft I finally get a taste of sea level. Oh it feels great to breathe fully again. And I finally slept through the night without waking.....of course that could be I finally have my own bed again.  Haha. Like I said I'm at sea level again, and why? I'm on the Canadian Distance Relay team (DMR) at the Penn relays.  HELLS YA!!!  The DMR is split up into 1200m, 400m, 800, 1600m. Team Canada's DMR is me on the 1200, Mike Robertson-400m, Geoff Harris-800m and Matt Lincoln for the mile. 

Relays are a blast because anything can happen, and with distance relays, tactics come in to play as well. Rumour has it I'm stepping on the line against a few Olympians with ridiculously fast 1500m times. With two USA teams, Kenya, Morocco, Ethiopio, Australia, Ireland and Great Britain it's going to be fun.

HERE WE GO!!!!

Watch it live on NBC at 2:05pm ETZ

Here we go

Well bets were made, friends snickered about it, and my coach churped me out minutes before starting my first workout real workout since arriving in Flagstaff.  Oh baby!!!   First, let's back-track

Post from May 9th 2011 First year at Flagstaff- Running a 600m 

I pass 400m in a 53.5 sec, and two guys blow right by me.  I hit 450m and my breathing sounds like a train. 3 more go by me.  I reach 550m and I step off the track, bend over and start dry heaving in between the wheezes.  Yup, Altitude training at its best!!  I spend the next 10 minutes repeating the same steps, stand up, walk, cough, kneel, and cough.
May 2012 (second year at Flagstaff)
Basically the same scenario.  I went MIA from blogging but my training log told me 200,600, 500,300.  And to sum it up nicely, I just barely beat what the girls ran for their 300m time.

Ok April 13th 2013
Sedona, AZ.  1km pace.  Second set all 800m pace.

First set went off without a hitch.  It felt good.  But it should, it's only 1km pace stuff, so slower than my race pace.  I de-spiked and went for my walk/jog to loosen my legs preparing for the second set. This next one is the one that's been in my head since I've arrived here.  Am I going to puke?  Will my body just shut down?  Will I be working out with the girls?  Or all of the above?

First rep was perfect pace.  Okay recovery time.  I walk/jog over to the start line.  My breathing is still pretty rapid (probably from the 4000ft we're working out at).  20 seconds left in the rest... finally my heart rate is starting to calm down.  I'm suppose to take the fist 250m of the 500m.  So it's my job to get out and set the pace.  "GO!"  I take off smooth pushing ahead of the group....the split is perfect for the first 200m.  At 300m my teammate takes over I jump right behind.  "Come-on legs!!"  100m to go my teammate surges again...OK HERE WE GO.  I surge with him.  I hold strong until the finish line....65 seconds for the 500m...PERFECT!!!   I finally broke this terrible streak.

I don't care if this was a softer workout that we've done in the past.  It's earlier in the season and I freaking finished it.  But I'm not going to lie, the cool-down jog was almost at a walking pace, but who cares about that.

AE's INSANITY

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

-Albert Einstein-

You would think that I would draw on my 10 years of race experience, or my frustrating last season performances, but I make the same mistake....I wussed out the first 200m in the race, losing the position I needed to run fast.  The races I can get into now allow me to go fast, but only when I'm in the front.  You may hear runners talking about being in a train and getting pulled to a fast time.  The races I'm in are the ones only the top 2-4 go fast....not the whole field.  So when there's a field of 10-12 people, why do I find myself going right to the back of the pack in the first 200m and expect to run fast.....INSANITY.

Last night's race was set up to run well.  Nothing blazing fast, but a solid  season opener.  One that you could fist pump or do your secret high 5 with a teammate after. There were 3 of us from my group in the race. One of my teammates was the pacer and the other one told me his plan; "I'm going to the front".  Perfect, I'll just sit in number 3 position, behind those two.  It'll be like a workout.  Just zone out and sit on them.  But when the gun went off, I found myself in the back of the pack.  I got out well around the turn, but when it came time to "cut-in" and merging to lane 1, I just let the field go by (Insanity move).  So I'm now running in the back pack through 400m.  The field is still in contact with one another (no gaps, just a tight pack).  At 500m the group starts to split a bit so I make sure I stay connected and get around a couple runners so I can still run fast (Smart move).  The rabbit pulls off at 600m and my teammate puts in a slight surge to ensure a fast pace.....wait why isn't the field responding.  We go around the turn and I'm in 4th.  Teammate,...gap.... one guy in front of me and the other on my shoulder slightly in front of me (so I'm boxed in...AGAIN).  100m to go my teammate puts another solid surge in...No response again with the group.  The two in front of me string out so I have a wall in front of me with my teammate slipping away.  I finish up 4th with a very disappointing time.   

I finished tired but not spent.  Like I just did a workout.  I felt like I could have responded and went with my teammate instead of letting him slip away.  There's always negatives and positives to a race. So there's my positive. I have the strength to finish and hold on.  My problem is the first 200m.  I need to nut up and get out harder.  Take MY positioning and run MY time.  In reality it's a difference of running another 40m harder before settling in to a pace.  It sounds easy....and it is.  I jut need to do it.  

I'd like to say I've learned my lesson, but I made this mistake consistently last year.  I ran.... hesitant.  I was unsure.  There isn't much you can control in this race, but you can control your positioning in the first 200m.  After that a lot can happen, but that first 200 you can put yourself anywhere you want to be.  I just need to sac up and do it.

800m season opener

WHAT WHAT season opener happening this weekend!!!

 This weekend I'm racing my event, the 800m.  I'm nervous and excited at the same time.  Do I have enough training in me?  Can I handle the pace?   Will I get to 600m and have another gear to finish well?  All kinds of questions are racing through my mind and only a couple are positive.  You'd think after 10 years of competitive racing would leave me fully ready and confident......But nope.  The nerves and the doubts never fade.

Either way I'm going to do what I always do; Step on that line and RACE!!!


Event 39 Men 800 Meter Run PREMIERE
Lane Name School Seed Time Section 1 of 1 Finals
1 Shaw, Brandon Brooks
2 Smith, Kyle Unattached
3 Waite, Ryan Byu
4 Cook, Jonathan Unattached
5 Reid, Danny Unattached
6 Hedin, Justin Byu
7 Lalang, Boaz Unattached
8 Soucie, Brendan Kansas 9 Ferguson, Quin Unattached
10 Harris, Geoff Unattached
11 Guerrero, Daniel Unattached