W/ almost 24 hours to let the dust settle on the M50 Mile it was back to the JDL Fast Track Sunday morning for the M50 800m, a second crack at this elusive Indoor Nationals gold medal {outside of 2009s Landover 4x400m relay gold}for those of you keeping score at home Sundays 800m was my 13th attempt at individual gold since my debut at Masters Indoor Nationals in Boston 2007,was threeteenth the charm????????
Based on my first hand experience at M50 it would seem the middle distances at 800m/mile/1,500m{outdoors last summer at nearby Wake Forest} are the most popular age group in last summers Oudoor Nationals the 800m was split into two groups,yesterdays mile had been split into two heats and prior to final call today the 800m was also going to be two heats.....however us old geezers who may've already ran two or three other events tend to be flagging come the final day......the upshot of which was only one heat for the 800m w/ ten runners,which suited me,one less race to watch b4 my turn on the track.
As we were lead to the starting line along the back straight by a race official I told myself "four laps between you and an Indoor National Championship"....obviously I wasn't the only one thinking along such lines......
W/ 12 of us lined up there were eight of us along the startline and four more ahead for a California start,w/ the #2 seed time I was awarded lane 6 w/ nobody outside of me to cut in which has been an issue most of my indoor races,Dave Matherne the winner of the mile and #1 seed was in lane 5.
Cardinal Sin on my part,basing my race on somebody else,even b4 yesterdays mile I figured on Dave Matherne being my biggest threat in the 800m so when he didn't seem to be making a move on the back straight I promply moved into 4th place behind Kerry Sloan,Dan Bergeson and David Bynoe.
I forget what the opening 200m split was I know I looked at the clock as it's as automatic as drawing breath but when you're trying to run all out for just over two minutes things do tend to become somewhat of a blur....
At 350m I made my move w/ hindsight I probably went too soon in the 800m you tend to only get one move,I probably made mine too soon,credit to Kerry Sloan for unselfishly making the early pace but even bigger credit to Dan Bergeson who sat in the "cat bird seat" when both Kerry and I lead.
Couldn't tell you my 400m or 600m splits all I do recall was coming up the home straight at the bell and thinking"one more lap,200m between you and an Indoor National Championship".......
At the top of the back straight Dan made his move w/ 150m to go for the fourth time this season I'd gone into the bell lap in the lead only to be overtaken,in all three 800s this season I've coughed up the lead, in the TNATR #3 John Goldthorpe passed me w/ 50m to go, in the USATFNYC C'ships Peter Kashulines passed me w/ 100m to go and now today w/ 150 to go Dan Bergeson made his one move....
Unlike in the mile where I'd ran a sesons best today I was slightly slower 2.13.19 Dan's winning time of 2.11.64 was a tad quicker than my 2.12.39.
Since I'm laying my soul to bare here I was also guilty of not seeing Dan's 2.14.00 seed time as a creditable threat,an oversight on my part,if I'd overlooked him Indoors at Winston Salem I WON'T make that mistake in Jacksonvile this summer for Outdoor Nationals.
Still two silvers for the weekend isn't too shabby,I'd gotten on the podium twice which was my pre meet goal and it's also my best return on a Indoor Nationals,upping my record to 3 silvers and 6 bronze medals from 13 races......guess I'm head to Alberququre next March for the 2016 Masters Indoor Nationals in search of that first Indoor National Championship gold.....#unfinishedbusiness
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