Summer Track WK #4

Running in the summer time there is no getting around the heat. Yesterday, at our local summer track meet at Myers Park the temperature was easily in the mid nineties.

Any sane person would have probably skipped running a bunch of track events. I just cannot count myself among them. I was present at the starting line and ready to run.

Over the course of the evening I found myself swinging between highs and lows. Some events, I felt good and ran well. Other events, I didn’t have it and of course, I ran slower.

The turnout was probably the lowest of the three previous weeks which meant the events went faster than usual.

My 100 meter time was 17.46 which is pretty much on par with my previous weeks.

I ran the first mile in 5:09.43. Keeping with my plan, I pulled in behind Cory. My problem was with my legs. They just didn’t want to cooperate. Cory was already opening a gap on me by the end of the first lap. Then, a couple of more runners came through. John came powering through.

The gap grew over the first 3 laps. Cory came back a little over the last lap but the distance was too great for me to overcome. Next week is my final week so I may just try to bury myself to stay with him on the first three laps. Who knows what might happen on the forth lap.

I barely had time turn in my 6 place finisher card for mile 1 when they were already calling us back to the line for the second mile.

Strange as it may seem, the second mile seem so much easier. Albeit I was running slower. My legs felt better. They responded with a solid second mile in 5:38.21

The 400 meter came right up and to my surprise, I ran 73.50 which was my fastest 400 yet during the series.

I basically took the 800 off running 2:38.17. When I came by for the first lap, I could already tell my time was going to be slower. Truth be known, I could have jumped in the 2:30 and below heat of the 800, but I like to honor the breakdown. Thus, by running the slower heat I didn’t push myself as much to maintain contact.

Following the 800 was the 200. With no real explanation, I ran my fastest 200 of the series. Like I said, my legs bounced back and forth between feeling well and bad.

Usually by the time, the 3200 arrives my legs are ready for the evening to end. This time, however, rather than let my legs languish, I tried to push them through the first few laps. They responded well enough to give me a nice 11:26.08 time.

Overall I am pleased with my runs this week. I thought I might be able to run the mile a little faster but it was still a solid effort. The rest of the events, I just hope to survive.

Next is week of Summer Track is Championship week. This is where they crown the champions in each of the events. This will also be my final tune up before heading to the Ultimate Runner Competition. My plan will continue to be using the Summer Track series gauntlet of events to complete my preparation.

Wish me luck,

 

Sharing one thought at time,

The Cool Down Runner