NYU FastTrack Invitational 3k

AM: 3 miles
PM: 2 mile w/u + strides
3k race in 9:58
2 mile c/d
Total: 6.5-7 miles

Despite being pummeled with what would later be described as the "4th biggest snow in NYC in 141 years," the NYU FastTrack Invitational proceeded as scheduled today. I arrived at the Armory around 2pm with the QU crew and was surprised at the number of athletes who'd braved the storm to show up to the meet. There were a few scratches in each event, but overall there were plenty of bodies to fill out the fields.

Unfortunately for me, the 3000 was scheduled as the second-to-last event of the meet. This meant I probably wouldn't be racing until around 9pm, which most of you know is dangerously close to my bedtime. I could've stayed at the hotel this afternoon and ventured to the Armory later in the day, but there's only so much E! News that one person can watch and still feel good about herself. Plus, I wanted to support my teammates in their last-chance attempts to qualify for Nationals.

First up was Simon in the mile. When we were here three weeks ago he ran 4:09.24, just an eyelash away from the auto time of 4:09.00, and he needed to dip below that standard to punch his ticket to ABQ. He ran brilliantly and crossed the line in 4:07.6, a huge PR and well within the qualifying standards. Maraya followed next in the women's 800. She won her heat with ease, but the pace lagged too much at the start; her 2:18 was about five seconds shy of what she needed. Nelson, on the other hand, absolutely rocked his 800; his time of 1:52.5 is half a second short of the auto time but should put him high enough on the list to ensure his trip to the big meet.

Slowly but surely the hours and minutes ticked away, and by 8pm it was finally time for me to warm up. Maraya had offered (read: been instructed by Simmons) to pace me through the mile, which meant I had a companion for my warmup in the hallway. Yes, that's right, I ran two miles in the hallway. For the first time since I've been to the Armory, running outside was simply not an option. Finally, just before 9, it was go time. I was seeded in the faster of the two heats, and my plan was to pass through the mile at 5:15 or faster and then go from there. Seeing as I've never run a mile in 5:15 before I wasn't sure how that would feel, but I suppose it's always good to have a plan.

From the gun, I could tell things felt a bit off. I got stuck behind a few slowpokes on the first several laps, which meant by 800 meters in I was way off the back of the leader. Maraya, bless her heart, had never paced anyone before and didn't realize that the pacer is supposed to run in front of the pace-ee. Instead, she sort of danced around me in lane 2, not really slowing the pace but not pushing it either. Ultimately her legs would be too fatigued from her earlier race to make it to the mile; I think she dropped out around 1k. I definitely appreciated her effort regardless of the outcome though.

At this point, I should mention that I had no idea what the pace was. The race officials and the announcer did a crappy job of calling out times at any of the sensible markers (e.g., 1k, mile, 2k, etc.). I also learned afterward that the jumbo-tron time was also off--apparently they hadn't started the clock until we were halfway through our first lap, which meant the time it showed was 20 seconds faster than we were actually running. So the clock was telling me one thing but I could hear Simmons yelling out something different, which made for a very bizarre overall race experience. It didn't help that I was behind the leader but a good 10 seconds ahead of the next person, so I essentially ran in no-man's land for the entire race. Not ideal, but I'm not one for excuses either; I should've been able to lock into pace regardless. Actually, I did lock into pace...just not the pace I wanted to run. Apparently I came through the mile in 5:17 (a PR! Woohoo!) and then locked into 80-point for the rest of the race. The leader started coming back with about three laps to go, and I did my best to gain on her, but in the end I needed one more lap to reel her in. I finished in 9:58, well short of my goal of 9:50.

In looking at the positives, I set a substantial 3k PR and ran 25 seconds faster than the 3k at ETSU last month. I also finished 8 seconds faster than I went through the 3k in my 5k several weeks ago. And let's not forget that mile PR either. I also feel good about how easily I locked into 40-second laps; if I have someone to run with, I'm confident I can maintain that pace for 5k. I should also mention that Madeleine braved downed trees and power lines and Becky gave up part of her rare snow day to come cheer me on! So, all in all, this race wasn't a total wash. It's just frustrating because I know where my fitness is right now and I don't think this effort was an accurate representation of that. Let's hope I can make up for it at Nationals.


Simon and Nelson rabbiting the last race of the evening, the men's 5k.
Futsum would go on to win in 14:35, while Alex set a PR of 14:51.