First Indoor Track Meet

Run 1: 2.5 mile w/u + strides, stretching
3k race in 10:20
1+ mile c/d + stretching
Run 2: 1.5 mile w/u + strides, stretching
800m race in 2:3x?
2 mile c/d
Total: 9.5-10 miles

Well. This was quite the experience. First indoor track meet ever, first track meet since high school (which we all know was a loooong time ago), first time to race the 3k. As I mentioned before, Jeff just wanted me to use this meet as a solid workout effort and an opportunity to get a feel for racing on an indoor track (or, furthermore, for racing at all). I had no idea what to expect and was in equal parts excited and terrified about the whole experience.

The morning started off at the ungodly hour of 5:30am, when Tanya and I awoke in our luxurious room at the Ramada Inn. She was racing the 5k at 8:00 sharp and the crew of morning runners was all leaving the hotel together at 6:30. I was more nervous than I'd expected and was a bit edgy after a restless night's sleep, so it was easier than expected to get up when the alarm went off. We headed over to the meet site and rushed inside to escape from the freezing cold temps and settle in to our spot in the bleachers.

Tanya's race commenced at 8:00 on the nose and she was off and running in her first indoor 5k ever. She did a great job staying with the leaders and held on to finish in third place at 17:21. As soon as she finished, Jess and I headed outside to begin our warmup. We were supposed to run at least three miles but, as I may have mentioned earlier, it was FREEZING outside so we cut it a bit short. Jeff had entered our seed times conservatively on purpose so we could run in the unseeded morning section of the 3k rather than the seeded evening section that was to take place almost 8 hours later. Given that I had no idea what to expect out of my first race, I was completely fine with this turn of events. Jess and I finished our strides and stretching and we were toeing the start line before I knew it. The whole experience seemed a bit surreal to me, and even up until the moment when the gun went off I wasn't completely convinced that I was actually about to run my first collegiate race.

That all changed as soon as the race started and my competitive instincts took over. Unfortunately I made the mistake of going out too slowly and allowing myself to get boxed in; as a result, I spent the first two laps trapped both behind and beside runners who were ambling along a bit more slowly than I'd hoped to go. In hindsight that ended up sealing my fate for the rest of the race, as I went through the first 400 in 82 and was simply unable to switch gears after that. I'm confident that had I gone through in 78 or 80 I would've locked into that rhythm, but instead it was 82s from there on out.

After just over 3/4 of a mile I began to separate myself from the rest of the field. I went through the mile in 5:29--almost 10 seconds slower than I'd hoped--but was well clear of the other runners by then. I tried to focus on Jeff's voice and his instructions each time I passed him along the backstretch, but without anyone to guide off of I was basically out there by myself. I finished in 10:20, a full 20 seconds slower than what I'd hoped, but over 12 seconds ahead of the second place finisher in my heat. I guess in my mind that makes for a mixed result; I was happy to have competed well, but would've liked to run closer to the shape I know I'm in right now. I finished the race tired but by no means spent, which again is neither a completely positive nor completely negative outcome.

Just over two hours later, Jess and I were repeating the motions of our warmup and preparing to run the 800. Neither of us were particularly excited about this prospect, but Jeff just wanted us to get in some miles and a speed workout for the day, so we begrudgingly sacked up and toed the line again. My legs were already sore from the 3k and I was just wanting to get this over with. I'll spare you the gory details, but suffice it to say I went through the quarter in a blazing 71 and died a rather expedient death from there. I'm not even sure what my official time was, as the clock stopped after the first finisher crossed the line, but I'm pretty sure it was slower than 2:30. The amazing part is even at that pedestrian pace I was passing stragglers by the handful on the last lap.

This post is already long enough and full of more details than you care to know, so I'll wrap it up here. In conclusion, I will say that I came away from my first track meet eager to improve. I know the more times I step onto the track, the more prepared and confident I will become, and I'm looking forward to having the opportunity to perform to my potential later in the season. One down, quite a few more to go.