"Now the time is here for Iron Man to spread his fear,vengeance from the grave kills the people he once saved
Nobody wants him they just turn their heads,nobody helps him now he has his revenge
Heavy boots of lead,fills his victims full of dread
Running as fast as they can Iron Man lives again"
Iron Man- Black Sabbath
When the idea of the Track Pentathlon was first brought to my attention roughly a year ago my feeling was it sounded like a novel idea and something a little different to try as this year went on the thought of being the Iron Man of the track grew on me,in Boston in March at Indoor Nationals I ran 3 races in 3 days{3,000m,mile,800m}and won 3 medals,last month in Sacramento at Outdoor Nationals I ran 4 races in 4 days{5,000m,800m,1,500m,4x800m}and won 4 medals,to truly cement my Iron Man credentials I felt I would have to win yesterdays Track Pentathlon.....you know me,I love a challenge!!!
Five races,3,000m,800m,200m,1,500m,400m w/ 35 minutes recovery between each race,easier said than done and in mid August,here in Philly that can be a train wreck waiting to happen.....mercifully the running{and throwing there was a Throwathon also}and weather Gods smiled upon us,I don't think it ever got above 80 degrees and the fact I never wore my shades tells the story of the sun staying behind the clouds all day.
37 of the 43 runners who'd entered arrived at the Larry Wilson track in Gywnedd Mercy for the 8am start,first up the 3,000m
I felt this race gave me a leg up over some of my rivals for first place,my team mate Nick Berra isn't known for his 3,000m prowess...yet,it's been a running joke all year between Nick and I as he's taken my 800m,1,500m and mile club records that I moved up to the 3,000m and 5,000m in the hope he wouldn't follow suit,after my bronze at Sacramento when I lowered my pr and club record to 15.36.8. Nick joked "you need to cut that shit out.....now I have to run 15.35. to get the club record!!"
Just like he did in the 800m and 1,500m at Nationals Nick went to the front followed by one of the younger runners RJ Every w/ Brian Crowley in third and me in 4th,we clicked off 75 second splits and after 2 laps I moved up behind Nick and RJ to make sure I was in position to cover any surge they may make.
As we came to the bell I made my move,8.00 at the bell I threw in a 67 second closing lap to win in 9.07.1.a good start to the Pentathlon but also a pr/club record.
My 9.11.4. from Boston was the club record and my pr,my plan this summer was to get down to 9.05. at least but I never got the chance to race 3,000m outdoors,the 2 Tuesday Nite Speed Series 3,000s I planned to run fell by the wayside and it didn't look like I'd get the chance at an outdoor 3,000m until today.....sub 9 is coming either indoors or next season outdoors.
After the first event I was in the lead{you can check the point scoring on the age graded system on www.fastcatsports.com}and I was hoping to stay there,next up the 800m.
The seeding for each race was based on each runners 800m time,there was a quartet of good 20 something 800m runners,Daniel Geary,RJ Every,Chris Contino and Mike Pflueger plus Nick,Brian Crowley,myself and one other in heat one,Daniel if I'm not mistaken had a 1.58 seed time and hit the front from the gun,Nick gave chase and I quickly moved into third.
60/61 at the bell I felt comfortable,in order to win this whole event I was going to have to dig in, I held my place,3rd in 2.07.1. and remained in the lead,two down,three to go but after the familiarity of the 3,000m and 800m it was time for the one distance I had no real experience at 200m
One of the unique sides of the Track Pentathlon was to pit sprinters against distance runners,I watched one of my teammates Mark Onwuji a 60m,100m,200m guy dig deep and suck it up in the 3,000m and 1,500m so now it was my turn in the 200m to get taken out of my comfort zone.
The 200m and 400m were each being ran in lanes on the 6 lane track,again based on our 800m times the lane assignments went:Daniel,RJ,Mike,Nick,me and Chris,for once in a lane race I didn't crap out w/ the lane assignment,lane 5 at Delaware in January I drew lane 6 which sucked at least today I had Chris to work off of.
50 meters in and disaster struck,just as he was making up the stagger on my inside I saw Nick pull up,I suspected it was a hamstring which it was,as a runner you hate to see a fellow runner go down but when he's a team mate and friend that's a double whammy,Nick and I spoke via email last nite,he won't know for a few days if his season is done or not,speedy recovery bud.
5th in 27.35 but more importantly I'd finished and was still in the lead.
The 1,500m would've been a lot different had Nick still been in the event but w/ him out of the running I felt I could attack the 1,500m from the gun and probably not have to worry,when I heard Daniel and RJ openly dreading the 1,500m I knew there was only one way to run it,hard from the front,as I hit the front w/in a few strides I heard a "whoa" from behind me,I heard splits of 68,2.18,3.30 at 400m,800m and 1,200m,I came through the bell in 3.13 and closed in 66 seconds to win in 4.19.0.
I felt the hard part was over,a 400m to finish and I still lead,there could be no let up,being drawn in the fast heat was going to help but I didn't want to ease up now.
400m,originally it felt like a cruel way to round off the Pentathlon but I think it was better than the 200m,Nick and Mike had dropped out so it was Daniel in lane 1,RJ in 2,me in 5,Chris in 6.
Down the back straight I made up the stagger on Chris,something I wasn't able to do in the 200m,Daniel had gone by me but I was hell bent on holding on to 2nd,off the final turn I conjured up the mindset of David Gillick Ireland's 400m runner and held onto second in 57.81.
Now I had to watch and see what my two nearest rivals would do in their heats,Brain ran 61 and I think Lorraine Jasper ran a 67......
I did it! I won,430 points,Lorraine had 416,I forget what Brian had,we'd been the top three since the 3,000m,score one for the 45-49 age group!!
The whole event had been a lot of fun,I think it went well and I think next year will see even more people showing up for what is a rare and unique event.
Bragging rights for winning were enough,but the shiny trophy and the $100 didn't go amiss either,on her blog http://dervalorourke.blogspot.com Derval says"I've been lucky to have won some nice shiny medals for running as fast as I can"and it's been a while since I won a trophy so I'm quite pleased w/ that,the $100 will go towards my day at the US Open tennis in New York in 2 weeks time.
Would I do it again?probably,I do think there'll be a 2nd Greater Philadelphia Track Club Track Pentathlon and Throwathon next year.
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