Double Dippin' At Widener

First things first an easy 8 miler this morning to put the seal on another 40 mile week,w/ another race on tap come Tuesday there seemed little or no point going long{14 miles} today.
And so to yesterdays double at the Mid Atlantic championships in Widener,as I mentioned earlier in the week I hadn't competed at Mids since 08 which is probably when I lasted doubled.
I'm not big on doubling I don't think you ever get the best out of the second race unless you hold back on the first and if that's the case why run two races if you're not going all out?
So why the u turn on the double yesterday by yours truly?after going to Swarthmore flatter than a pancake almost a month ago I needed a confidence boost over two laps as I look to reestablish myself at both 800m and 1,500m.

1,500m first,11 of us toed the starting line,I'm guessing I got the 11th spot on the outside as I had the fastest seed time{4.20}and quickly got to the front of the field down the back straight,I love the 1,500m for that reason you have the whole of the back straight to get clear,over 800m and the mile you're going right into a turn which can be a fustercluck at the best of times.
The pre race plan if I had to make the pace myself was to try and go:70.70,70,50 for 4.20 so imagine my surprise to go through the opening 400m in 65.
Glass half empty I'd gone out too fast,glass half full it's good to know I can get out fast in the opening lap for upcoming races.
2.17 at 800m a 72 second split,I knew my team mate Brent Wright wasn't too far adrift so there'd be no mailing it in today which suited me,this was always about running as hard and as fast as I could.
3.31 at 1,200m a 74 second split,I'd need a 48 second closing 300m to get under 4.20 but had to settle for a 52 second split to record a 4.23.7 finish.

Four hours later it was time to do it all over again but this time at 800m,after all the upheavals last season w/ the anemia which forced me into running the 5,000m at Worlds and then the 10,000m at Nationals this was like the 1,500m my first meaningful 800m in almost two years....minus the "brain fart" I had at Swarthmore.
I lucked out and drew lane 6 which suited me,I much prefer to run the opening turn in lanes in a 800m race and being on the outside meant come the brake line I was well positioned to hit the front.....an objective the runner in lane 7 also shared!!!
As we duked it out along the back straight drifting in from the outside I gained the psychological and physical advantage by not only getting to the rail first but also going into the second turn in the lead.
30 seconds at 200m on route to 62 seconds at the bell,w/ James S right on my heals I knew I was going to have to work this all the way to the finish.
Between 400m and 450m around the top turn I began to put a little daylight between myself at James,w/300m to go it was time to go "repeat mode"
1.35 at 600m thanks to a 33 second split I now kicked for home w/ 200m to go and closed in 34 seconds,almost par for the course on the "Death Cage" 6x600m repeats that have become the backbone of my training since mid April.
2.09.7. again like the 1,500m 3 seconds off my seed time and an improvement on the 2.11.7.I ran at Swarthmore but the confidence booster I was looking for going into the race phase of my season.

Hopefully running fresh on Tuesday nite on a fast track in New York at Icahn Stadium I can not only improve on this time but also post a decent seed time for Nationals in Lisle Illinois in eight weeks time.
It was nice to get two victories under my belt not to mention add two medals to my collection but we all know in order to win medals at Nationals I have to run faster....the good thing is I believe I can!