1:52.33, there I said
it. I’m owning it. My first race in the 2014 season was my
slowest in years. As much as I wanted to
step off just before the finish line to not get those results, I knew it was
something I needed to accomplish. Plus, with Athletics Toronto tweeting it,
well I guess I can’t hide from it anyways. Ha
In the end I am glad I did it. The inferno itself was a fantastic meet. Plenty of athletes, fans in the stands, and
an announcer who knew about the sport and let the audience know what was going on.
It was great. I’m not sure what I expected with my performance, but I know I
wanted to go faster. I really wanted to
break 1:50 for the 800m. It was this
benchmark I had setup for myself. So I
attacked the race like a race! Sub 53
seconds at 400m (good), 1:19 at 600m (good). All I would have to do is close in
a 30 second 200m which should be relatively easy. NOPE! About 150m left in the race my entire body
seized up. I started my signature Stevie Wonder head swing, with arms like I’m
steering a bus, and gritting my teeth so hard you could see my pearly whites
from the 100m mark. :P. Yes, I know none
of these running mechanics help you run fast!
I've been coaching athletes young and old for the past 4
years, and I tell them to just lay it on the line and see what happens. That
they’ll never regret a race when you run like that. So I'm glad I wasn't a hypocrite. I’m glad I did finish. A coach wrote me after and said “the journey always begins somewhere. There’s still lots of season to lay
down fast times”. And he’s right. Each workout and each race gets me a little stronger
and a little fitter. I’ve got a fantastic
training group that is all ready to go fast.
I just got to hop on the train each week and hang on and lay it all out
there!
