Year Older,Second Faster

Just leave me w/ the pride that I've worked for now they've taken the reason away,just leave me w/ the pride that I've worked for today

W/ The Pride- Spandau Ballet

What a difference a year makes......last season off the back of a mediocre Indoor season which finished w/a hard fought 4.32.58 1,500m I worked my butt off for 8 weeks for my scheduled Outdoor debut over 1,500m on May 15th only to suffer a groin strain 10 days out,this pushed back my season opener till May 29th upon where I was "all over the place like chicken shit on a farm" w/ my splits that evening:48-70-75-78=4.31.50.......an improvement on that alone would feel like a moral victory thank you very much!

I did consider taking the day off from work prior to the Swarthmore Last Chance Meet but thought better of it,why burn a whole day off for a 25 min train ride from Center City period on top of the fact knowing me from the time I woke up to the time the gun went off I'd probably be obsessed w/ the race so why not go to work and let that serve as distraction........
I would be singing from a different hymn sheet not long after arriving at work however!!!!,NO good ever comes from an 18 wheeler backed onto your dock b4 you arrive at 6.15am muchless when said driver presents his paperwork and the numbers 28 leap off said paperwork....YEP first thing in goddamn morning{on a Monday and raceday no less!!!} 28 skids I A knew fuck all about and B had nowhere to put.....I had a few suggestions.....some were considered inapprorpriate or physically impossible!!!! but I'm getting......wait for it......off track......
Glass half empty it was a fucked up start to my day,glass half full I didn't have time to worry about the race!!! infact it wasn't till I got on the train at University City around 5.15pm on the way to Swarthmore b4 I began to think about it.

According to the revised schedule the mens 1,500s were going off at 7.30pm I figured on being in the slowest and final heat so wasn't shocked to see my name dead last on the entry list of mens 1,500m,I got my stretches in and bided my time w/ my mile warm up on the infield as heat #4 got underway and made my way over to the starting line as heat #6 got underway.
Seeded #15 of 15 allowed me the luxury of being on the outside of the field and from the gun I eased my way over from the outside of lane 8 into lane 3 and into 12th as the field bunched for the opening 400m or so
51 seconds at 300m more or less where I wanted to be and not the suicidal 48 seconds I opened w/ last year in the Twilight Meet at Icahn in New York....older slower or older wiser????
Over the next 100m I was relegated to 14th where I'd stay for the remainder of the race,while finishing 14th of 15 never sits well  this was a predominately college field most of whom I was giving 30 years to  but more importantly as my season opener a chance to see where I was at and a race to gauge how to get to where I want to be in 10 weeks time for Nationals and  14 weeks till Worlds.

Getting somewhat detatched from the field I fell into "no mans land" on lap 2 but clocked 2.03 at 700m a 72 second split for 2.03
A slightly slower split at 1,100m 75 seconds for 3.18 at the bell,I probably wasn't catching the guy ahead of me.......but the runner behind me wasn't catching me either a moral victory for me and my fellow "grey beards"
72 seconds for the closing lap,14th in 4.30.64 a second quicker than lasts years Outdoor debut but a far more satisfying performance w/ consistant splits, 5 seconds behind 13th but 4 seconds ahead of 15th.

To put things in prespective while my 4.30.64 ranks me #1 in M50 over 1,500m and #4 in the world right now it's early days yet there are 10 weeks till Nationals and 14 weeks till Worlds but if I could take 1 second per week off my 4.30.64 I'm looking at a potential 4.20 at Nationals and 4.16 at Worlds which is something to shoot for this early on in the season,next up a road mile on Saturday here in Philly in Manayunk based off of a 4.30 1,500m I should be good for a 4.48 mile........or better!