It,ll Do For Starters

So my first 1,500m race of the season,the first of three on my schedule in my build up to Spokane.
Ray and I arrived at Widner by 8.30am which would allow me ample time to register and warm up and stretch b4 the 1,500m would start,it was my first time at Widner and I have to say I was impressed w/ the track and the facilities,I,ll be back here again in three weeks time for my next track meet the Mid Atlantic C,ships where I,ll again race the 1,500m.
I was seeded 1st in a field of 6 that included two team mates Neil Clark and Chris Carroll,a freshman, a masters runner and Kareem Lanier.
I,ve raced Kareem several times on the track over the past three years,I,ve never beaten him or his brother Kyle,today would see a shift in the landscape.
From the gun Kareem hit the front w/ me just behind him,w/in 150m I decided to run my race not his or anybody elses and promptly took over in the lead,to win a 1,500m from the front is a ballsey move but I wanted to sure of a fast time even if it meant doing the lions share of the pace and potentially getting out kicked at the finish.
I have no idea of my 300m split and frankly the official calling 400m splits was a good 7 seconds off so I wasn,t paying much attention to the splits he called at 400m or 800m,I don,t think he even called a split at 1,200m.
I felt comfortable out there today I also felt comfortable pushing whatever pace I was pushing,hopefully in three weeks time there,ll be a clock at the finish line and more accurate 400m splits being called out.
Never 100% sure where the field behind me was I waited till 200m out to kick,w/ hindsight I could,ve gone earlier and when I crossed the line in 1st in 4.21.39 I was ruing the fact I hadn,t It never hurts to put a tick in the win column and to do so this early in my second non relay race of the outdoor season is pleasing,to only be a second off of the time I was hoping for is also pleasing especially as I had to do it from the front by myself,I know Kareem is coming back from a long term illness and I have to keep that in prespective however I,m pleased that I didn,t allow myself to be psyched out of my game plan by his presence in the race,in order for me to hang w/ and hopefully out run the big dogs at 800m/1,500m/mile I have to have a No Fear attitude going in to each race no matter who I,m taking on.
Post race I did a 5 mile cool down to round out my weekly milage at 30 miles which means I can enjoy a rare rest day tomorrow b4 tackling my 6x600m repeats on Monday.