From bobg@Radix.Net Tue Jul 11 09:02:23 EDT 2000
Article: 224232 of rec.running
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From: bobg@Radix.Net (Robert Grumbine)
Newsgroups: rec.running
Subject: Race report
Date: 10 Jul 2000 11:11:38 -0400
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  Friday 7/7 starting at 7 (pm) we ran our numerologically correct 
Midsummer Night's Mile.  Conditions were almost perfect, including
temperature in the low 80's (rather than the low 90's that are more
typical), a light breeze, low humidity.  And, as this was a mile,
we had the advantage of an english unit track, 440 yards even so
there was no problem with a long first lap.

  The training preparation had gone about as I'd wanted, with a nice
'pace' workout on Tuesday, a light day on Wednesday, and Thursday off.
My continuing 'rest of life' situation, which had been kind of dormant
for a while, chose Thursday and Friday to reactivate.  This is good 
news in the larger scheme of things, but did provide a major increase
to the stress and distractability levels prior to the race.  The track
was also covered with mown grass.  I'm allergic to it, so was concered
about asthma/breathing problems during the race.  Stress also makes
the two worse, so double concern.  Not enough to get me to go the 100m
back to my car for the inhaler, just unproductive what-iffing.  Argh.

  The heats were run from slow to fast, with my goal putting me in 
the 5th of 7.  (My in-hand time put me in the 4th, but I figured I 
have to go for the goal.  Press on and be optimistic.)  I'd arrived
quite early, partly because of the commute, and partly just to get 
into the race presence as it were.  Being in a late heat added to the
delay.  Probably not a good thing as the mental gears were spinning
pretty fast and didn't have much to chew on except the r.o.l. situation,
about which nothing could be done anyhow.  [I'll mix metaphors if I
darn well please!  Word-tender at your service.]  

  My prior observation applied: Regardless of how fast they were, the
people who finished to the back of a heat looked 'slow'.  Considering
that the range of 'last' was 4:55 to somewhere around 8:00, one gets
a reminder of how things can be relative.  Still, there is a range of
details.  In the first heat or two, there were indeed some folks who
looked like they didn't have good form -- bouncing a lot, heels hitting
ahead of them, arms not really being part of the motion.  In the third,
we got to people who weren't doing things that looked obviously wrong.
And in the fourth, we were to people who looked like they were running
_well_.  Good, strong consistent strides.  Distractable as I was, this
served for another.  "Here I am signed up for the next, even faster 
heat and these folks already look like they're running pretty fast!"

  But the 4th heat had a good note for me, even though I wasn't in it.
A friend I'm running with in our track practices was in it.  We'd been
talking some about running the mile, and I'd talked him in to trying
to race it (not that this was difficult).  Also I'd given him my thoughts
about how to prepare and how to race and was his cheering section during
the race.  He did, fortunately, also check out some other sources.  As
he runs ahead of me in practice, I was surprised that he hadn't signed
up for my heat, but confidence is part of the race and he didn't have
much for the mile.  Still, he went out and ran a good race (i.e.,
did what he planned to largely), held his pace, and ran right about
the time I told him he should easily be able to do.  He was amazed
and happy as this was an 18 second PR.

  Finally we're down to my heat.  A friend had arrived a few minutes
earlier with more news about the r.o.l. situation.  I asked him to
hold the information, but knowing that it existed was enough to ratchet
up the stress a couple more notches.  The previous heat had been pretty
crowded and mine even more so -- 18 of us lining up in basically 4 lanes.
I lined up in the back row, towards the outside.  Figured that from
the outside I wouldn't have problems with the pack collapsing on me as
we entered the turn.  

  The g,o word is given and we're off, me with my usual lag of, oh yes,
that means to start moving.  The pack falls to the rail and we're moving
along in a very tight group it seems to me.  The nominal range in our
heat is only 25 seconds from the fast to slow end of the window.  My
goal is on the slow end, so I try to hold to a reasonable 'in the pack
but not pushing the front'.  Side note: We start in the middle of the 
straight rather than the end.  Boy are these guys close to me.  Can I
really drive the arms freely without hitting people?  Am I far enough
ahead of him to pull in without getting kicked?  Something feels wrong
with the stride, not flowing properly.  

  On the far straight, I discover there's a mid-way timer.  Disaster.
I'm already distractable and here's a _second_ source of numbers.  Oh
no, hit that first 220y in X, which is a good 2-3 seconds off what I 
wanted ... why are we running so slowly?  Better put some heat on to
get back towards pace.  Oh no, we're entering the turn and I don't want
to take the extra strides to try to go around outside the next two
guys.  Lay back on them and break between (cleanly) as we come out of
the turn.  Come up and the first lap is back on pace, which means the
second half was a lot faster.  Still not running as smoothly as I want,
but after that burst I'm at least on pace.  Try to get back towards a
steady pace and stride.  Here's that blasted half lap clock again and
the guys I passed a couple hundred yards earlier are passing back.  
Whatever.  Time to drive the pace.  Finish the second lap and am near
the right pace.  Not quite as quick as I wanted, but still a good bit
faster than previous attempts.  

  The breathing has been accelerating rapidly through the first two
laps.  By the end of the second, I'm already on '3 count' breathing, 
which I didn't reach until the end of the 3rd in the 1500 last month.
Starting to lose some contact with folks ahead, but there are still
3-4 no more than 10 m ahead of me and I hear someone behind.  This is
the lap to really put out the effort to pick up pace.  Won't happen,
but to avoid slowing.  Hear my friend in the stands cheering.  Come 
around and ... rats.  Fell back on pace substantially (7 seconds).  Ok, 
push this lap!  Fellow behind me is closing as we enter the next to 
last turn.  Reach to turn it on ...  nothing.  It's becoming a struggle 
even to hold pace.  Keep reaching and driving.  Try to keep the stride 
smooth and keep pushing with whatever there is.  The breathing has gone 
to 'freight train'.  Legs are fine, a bit heavy but no particular strain 
there.  The arms are feeling the effort, but are ok.  The lungs, however, 
are on fire and I practically hear the bronchi closing.  Keep driving, 
it's only another few hundred yards, not even one lap.

  Come around the final turn, well back now of the next to last person.
But regardless of the place and time irrelevance, I'm _going_ to finish
as strong as I possibly can.  May be sluglike, which it certainly feels,
but the effort goes all the way _across_ the line, not just to the point
of determining place.  And ... it's over.  A few seconds back, it turns
out, of my estimate from last month's 1500.  But something approaching 
a full out effort at the time.

  I found out the next day just how full out it was as my legs felt
thoroughly trashed.  This is probably the most wiped out they've 
felt since I started running again.  Whatever I did last night, it was 
_definitely_ a full out effort.


Notes for next time:
  Don't think so darn much during the race!
  Yes, even for something as short as a mile, breathing matters.  Use the
inhaler when there are forewarnings of its merit.
  Practice running in traffic during the club track practices.
   
-- 
Robert Grumbine http://www.radix.net/~bobg/ Science faqs and amateur activities notes and links.
Sagredo (Galileo Galilei) "You present these recondite matters with too much 
evidence and ease; this great facility makes them less appreciated than they 
would be had they been presented in a more abstruse manner." Two New Sciences 


From bobg@Radix.Net Tue Jul 11 09:02:52 EDT 2000
Article: 224239 of rec.running
Path: news1.radix.net!saltmine.radix.net!not-for-mail
From: bobg@Radix.Net (Robert Grumbine)
Newsgroups: rec.running
Subject: Re: Race report
Date: 10 Jul 2000 12:53:18 -0400
Organization: RadixNet
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References: <8kcp3a$s5t$1@saltmine.radix.net>
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Xref: news1.radix.net rec.running:224239
Status: RO

P.S. prompted by email question:

  For picturing the group as we started (that being the last time I
could really look):

  18 of us lined up in more or less two rowss pretty much elbow to elbow.
Ages ranges from about 21 to  57*.  I was towards the middle of that at 
37.  1 woman in the group finished in the middle of our heat, 3rd overall
among women.  As for builds, you name it.  A couple of guys looked like 
they'd wandered in from the weight room.  Height went from about 5'3" to
6'3" among the guys, and similar range for build.  I was on the tall and
light end.  Most wore shirts, some didn't.  Nature of shoes spanned the range,
which made for a colorful batch as we went from beat up old running shoes
to pretty new spikes.  I had my traditional tshirt and shorts, the tshirt
being uncharacteristically colorful, a bright red.

  All the runners got very quiet as we stepped on to the track to start
our line-up.  Very quiet.  Intense bunch for an intense race. 

* Not that I can estimate that accurately, but judging from the results
and trying to make allowance for some overlap between heats.

-- 
Robert Grumbine http://www.radix.net/~bobg/ Science faqs and amateur activities notes and links.
Sagredo (Galileo Galilei) "You present these recondite matters with too much 
evidence and ease; this great facility makes them less appreciated than they 
would be had they been presented in a more abstruse manner." Two New Sciences