First Night Nerves

Because I chose to play the fool in a six piece band,first night nerves every one night stand
I should be glad to be so inclined,what a waste,what a waste but the world don't mind

What A Waste-Ian Dury & The Blockheads

Ah yes, the always testing first race of the season where you find out where you really are as compared to where you think you are,a bit like practice and theory being a horse of a different colour.
Arrived at The Armory w/ time to spare which always helps,after "decamping" off to the end of the track I was able to stretch b4 a mile and a half warm up on the famed track......it felt good to be on a track again for the first time since August's Track Pentathlon outside of recent repeats.

Seeding is always an issue especially on the season opener,I was torn between 4.45 and 4.50......w/ hindsight maybe I should've gone w/ 4.50 but opted for 4.45,post race I was left to ponder that choice but hindsight they say is a wonderful thing.
4.45 put me in heat three of seven.....just!
18 runners per heat I was drawn 18th which put me on the outside of lane 8 on the second line at the start,at least I'd have a clear run the the 50m mark where we were allowed to cut in,got a good reaction to the gun and worked my way down the back straight in lane two as the field jockeyed for position.
35 seconds at 200m,couldn't tell you my position w/in the field but nearer the front than the rear I would guess.

Reeled off splits of 35,35,35,36 for a 2.21 at 800m,after that it becomes some what of a blur,I don't even remember my split at the bell.
11th in 4.52.44 a 2.21/2.31 split which is a little frustrating but at least now I know where I'm at as opposed to guessing.
Maybe 36 second splits would've been better but it's all academic after the fact,the bottom line is w/ my first race of the season under my belt I can look ahead to the next race next Saturday over a mile at Cornell knowing I'm closer to 4.50 pace than 4.45.
Yes I made some mental errors during this race,after longer xc races over 8k,10k and 15k I need to get my head around 200m laps and be 100% focused but that's what this race was about finding out where I'm at and working out what I need to do to get where I want to be.

4.52 right now but w/ 9 weeks till Indoor Nationals I have time to shave hopefully 7 seconds off my time to get down to 4.45,a second a week would put me at 4.43 which while right now might seem like wishful thinking is a doable goal,let's see what Saturdays race at Cornell produces,it's an Ivy League college so maybe I need to be a little smarter about my race plan!