Resting Pulse: Not Recorded
Weight: Not Recorded
Course: See Below
Distance: 4 Miles Total; See Below
Time: See Below
Other Exercises: None
Weather: Overcast, Cool

Comments: Before tonight, I hadn't run in a track meet in over eight years. I felt a little jittery; I really wanted to perform well. The track leaves you no place to hide. If you're running poorly, everyone knows it, and everyone watches you suffer. Running well on a track takes a focus and concentration that you just don't need in a road or trail race. It requires an element of finesse. I love the track, but I knew I wasn't quite ready to perform on it as I desired. I ran anyway.

I started with the Jogger's Mile. The person whose finishing time is closest to his or her predicted time wins the event. Watchers are forbidden. Participants receive their quarter-mile split, but after that it all comes down to pace. I predicted eight minutes flat, but ran 8:11. I purposefully slowed over the final 100 meters because I thought I was going too fast. I guess I should have sped up instead.

But that event was just a warm-up. I really showed up to run the Mile Race, which started about twenty minutes after the Jogger's Mile. I was raring to go by the time they called us to the line. At the crack of the starter's pistol, we were off.

The field was fairly large, so a lot of jostling and shoving happened during the first 100 meters. I managed to position myself where I wanted to be, tucked in behind the lead pack. I felt like I was moving at a dead sprint. When I hit my first quarter-mile split in 78 seconds, I knew I was in trouble. I was working way too hard for such a slow time.

I managed to maintain my pace for the next two laps, crossing the half-mile mark in 2:35 (a 77-second quarter) and the three-quarter mark in 3:53 (a 78-second quarter). But then I ran out of gas. I'd lost contact with the leaders, who'd stretched into more of a line than a pack. I huffed and puffed and watched them get farther ahead of me. I finally staggered over the finish line after a distressing 86-second final quarter. My total time was 5:19, more than 20 seconds off my goal of 4:55. I guess it's time to do some speedwork.

There was a bright note to the evening, however; I got to break in my brand new, $15 spikes. Check these bad boys out:



WARR: T-minus 38 Days  ¶ 10:51 PM