My last race at Indoor Nationals was just over three years ago at Bloomington Indiana on St Paddy's Day in the M45-49 Mile,I finsihed 3rd to capture my 3rd Indoor Nationals Mile bronze medal to go w/ the 2009 & 2010 Landover and Boston bronzes I'd previously won.
Coming into Winston Salem 2015 I felt confident of at the very least getting on the podium once again,sure I'd take another bronze rather than not make it to the podium......but I hadn't settled on just bronze.
Based on "legit"* seed times{to be explained!} I had the 4th fastest time coming into the race:Chris Chisolm 4.45,Connor O Driscoll 4.46,Francis Burdett 4.47 and me at 4.50 so it wasn't an unreasonable expectation to think I'd "be in the mix" as it was Chris Chisolm was a no show but Dave Matherne whom I'd last raced in Boston 2010 when he won the silver was here.
Common sense prevailed w/ over 24 enties for the M50 mile and two heats were sellected,seeded and unseeded although only 6 of the 12 entrants in the seeded heat looked to have shown up.....untill Morris Carter arrived at the final second......
According to his seed time he was a 4.35.00 runner....impressive considering the M55 World Record is 4.34...so while he had the the #1 seed time the validity of it was questionable so much so I didn't consider him a threat...people lie about their seed times all the time it's one of my pet peeves in Masters track and this was one of those times and frankly his performance in the race proved me correct to discount him,not only did I lap him on the 7th lap he finished dead last in ....5.44...YEAH so much for your 4.35.00 seed time!!!
Yet again I got cut off at the start of the race by a runner to my right,my gun reaction this Indoor season has been for shit and when the field merged at the top of the back straight I was 7th and dead last b4 moving slowly into 4th as the lead three of Burdett,O Driscoll and Matherne lead the field.
I was surprized to see 40 seconds for the opening 200m,Francis had the 3,000m the previous evening which may explain the pedestrian pace,1.15 at 400m meant we were on pace for a 2.30 800m/5 minute mile unless someone picked it up.
I didn't look at the clock at 800m but by now I'd pulled up to the leaders and was now the caboose to that engine
W/ hindsight I wish I'd sat back another lap or two rather than hit the front when I did on the 5th lap,maybe the distant memory of Francis Burdett outkicking me on the final lap in Bloomington three years ago to snatch away the silver medal or the recent memory of Connor O Driscoll leaving me for dead w/ three laps to go at The Armory in my final warm up race on route to his 4.46 struck the fear of God into me,glass half empty my move could've cost me the gold,glass half full it put me on the podium?
I wasn't paying attention to the clocks at either end of the straightaways all I was thinking about was getting to the finishline in 1st place and coming through the bell it was all going to plan......
Just after the bell Dave Matherne made his move,I couldn't cover it, I knew it was coming as I was painfully aware someone was hard on my heals w/ two laps to go but he'd bided his time till the bell b4 he struck for gold,having waited five years for his chance it's hard to begrudge him the gold....I just hope having now won silver finally I too don't have to wait five years to turn silver into gold!
While delighted w/ my silver and having gotten on the podium I'd be lying if I said NOT winning the gold wasn't a disappointment I made my move too soon and paid the price for it that said I'd put six seconds between myself and Francis Burdett and sixteen between myself and Connor O Driscoll,live by the sword,die by the sword.
One down,one to go!
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