Since my debut at Outdoor Nationals in Charlotte 06 the 4x800m has become almost a rite of passage if you like
In 06 it proved to be my first ever medal at Nationals and was also my first Gold,a year later in Orono I came into Nationals w/ 97 career medals,following my gold at 800m and silver in the 1,500m we won the 4x800m to give me medal #100,a year later in Spokane we{Greater Philadelphia Track Club} didn't have enough team members for a 4x800m so I went non club/ad hoc and thanks to Rob Van Cleve,Francis Burdett and Scott Pesch another gold at 4x800m so you can see why I was keen to run the 4x800m again this year.
Up until 2 days b4 Sacramento it looked like GPTC would have 2 4x800m teams,myself,Nick,Joe and Bob, in the M40 and Chuck,Sean,Mark and Joel in the M50 however Bob had only planned to run the 3,000m s/c on Friday and scheduled his flight home on Saturday which in turn meant Joe opted out as he was only prepared to travel to Sacramento to help out w/ the 4x800m.
I began to think about an ad hoc relay but clearly my 5,000m and 800m races needed my full focus,w/ them out of the way I had 3 hours to find three other M40 runners to form a non club 4x800m b4 the deadline for entries closed.
Team mate Nick Berra was an obvious choice but I wasn't sure if Nick wanted to run a relay,unlike me he had run a prelim in the 800m 2 days ago and still had a 1,500m so I would've understood if he said thanks but no thanks but he said he was down w/ it and frankly when you go recruiting for a 4x800m and you tell them Nick is going to anchor it's not hard to get people on board!!
Francis Burdett who had ran ad hoc w/ me in Spokane said yes and Tom Fitzpatrick who had ran on the b team at The Armory in December when Scott,Bob Mc,myself and Nick set the world record also said yes,done deal.
Given there were only 4 non club 4x800m teams maybe they could have ran club and non club together,I forget how many club teams lined up,w/ no disrespect meant to the other non club 4x800 it might've been a more competitive race for us,at M40 we were the youngest team and after the first lap of the lead off leg{Francis} it was over as a contest,but after 4 days of racing you never know what might happen but Tom who was the freshest of the four of us having only ran the 1,500m handed off to me.
I ran a 2.07 leg,{I must find out from Armondo what the other splits were},I handed off to Nick who promptly brought us home in first and gave me my 4th Outdoor Nationals 4x800m Gold and brought the curtain down on my Sacramento 10 Nationals.
I'm not sure I'll make it to Albuquerque for Indoor Nationals in March so it could be Berea Ohio next July for Outdoor Nationals when I next meet up w/ the clans again,I'm looking forward to it already.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Hay Ho,Silver
One final crack at an individual gold this year at Nationals.
I knew ahead of time Mike Blackmore wasn't going to run but there was still the three pronged threat of Francis Burdett,Pete Magill and Jeff Mann to deal w/,shades of the 5,000m all over again,at least w/ the 1,500m I have more race experience under my belt than the 5,000m.
Much has been made of the heat in Sacramento,the 5,000m went off at 10.45am,the 800m went off at 1.45pm and now the 1,500m was going off at 9.06am,others had it far worse than me that's for sure.
From the gun I think it was Jeff who hit the front,Tom Fitzpatrick tucked in behind him and Francis and Pete shadowed them w/ me in 5th always w/in a stride or two of the leaders.
Much like the 5,000m I was oblivious to the clock or the 400m splits but when the time keeper called out 71 at 400m Francis opted to inject some pace into the race and I moved by Pete to take 4th b4 passing Tom at 700m.
I thought I saw 2.02 at 700m but I could be wrong,ditto for 3.06 at 1,100m in some respects time was immaterial you only get one crack a year at a National title per distance,two if you run indoors and while a fast time moves you up the rankings in fairness a one off race is often the better forum for time at Nationals it's about making it to the podium{what was up w/ the lack of podium in Sacramento? don't get me wrong finishing in the top three and earning your medal is kind of what you work for but there's something special about an award ceremony and taking your place on the podium over just picking up your medal from the awards table}
Down the back straight w/ 250m to go Jeff struck for home,I gave chase in the hope I could catch him but I didn't have that explosive burst of speed that I so often use in my mile and 1,000m repeats.
Carl Lewis once said"I just wanted to know I left it all out there on the track" and for the weekend I know I can say that,I chased Jeff up the home straight oblivious to the fact Pete Magill was closing in on me as Jeff took gold in 4.13.9. I took silver in 4.14.4 and Pete took bronze in 4.15.1.
Am I disappointed I don't have an individual gold to my credit? yes but I can hardly complain about 3 medals in three races in 4 days period to go w/ the 3 medals in 3 races in 3 days from Boston at Indoor Nationals,after my injury last summer I couldn't have dreamt a season like the one I'm having{I'm not done yet,Track Pentathlon,5th Avenue Mile and Masters 5k Road Race still to come}
I also said I'd let my running do the talking after the fall out from Penn Relays and I feel I've done that,I stand by the comments I made in April and rather than take this as an opportunity to answer my critic let's just leave it at actions speaking louder than words.
The final roll call for M45 at Sacramento over 800m,1,500m and 5,000m reads as follows:
Mike Blackmore Gold 5,000m Gold 800m
Jeff Mann Gold 1,500m Bronze 800m
Pete Magill Silver 5,000m Bronze 1,500m
Awesome Possum Silver 800m Silver 1,500m Bronze 5,000m.
I knew ahead of time Mike Blackmore wasn't going to run but there was still the three pronged threat of Francis Burdett,Pete Magill and Jeff Mann to deal w/,shades of the 5,000m all over again,at least w/ the 1,500m I have more race experience under my belt than the 5,000m.
Much has been made of the heat in Sacramento,the 5,000m went off at 10.45am,the 800m went off at 1.45pm and now the 1,500m was going off at 9.06am,others had it far worse than me that's for sure.
From the gun I think it was Jeff who hit the front,Tom Fitzpatrick tucked in behind him and Francis and Pete shadowed them w/ me in 5th always w/in a stride or two of the leaders.
Much like the 5,000m I was oblivious to the clock or the 400m splits but when the time keeper called out 71 at 400m Francis opted to inject some pace into the race and I moved by Pete to take 4th b4 passing Tom at 700m.
I thought I saw 2.02 at 700m but I could be wrong,ditto for 3.06 at 1,100m in some respects time was immaterial you only get one crack a year at a National title per distance,two if you run indoors and while a fast time moves you up the rankings in fairness a one off race is often the better forum for time at Nationals it's about making it to the podium{what was up w/ the lack of podium in Sacramento? don't get me wrong finishing in the top three and earning your medal is kind of what you work for but there's something special about an award ceremony and taking your place on the podium over just picking up your medal from the awards table}
Down the back straight w/ 250m to go Jeff struck for home,I gave chase in the hope I could catch him but I didn't have that explosive burst of speed that I so often use in my mile and 1,000m repeats.
Carl Lewis once said"I just wanted to know I left it all out there on the track" and for the weekend I know I can say that,I chased Jeff up the home straight oblivious to the fact Pete Magill was closing in on me as Jeff took gold in 4.13.9. I took silver in 4.14.4 and Pete took bronze in 4.15.1.
Am I disappointed I don't have an individual gold to my credit? yes but I can hardly complain about 3 medals in three races in 4 days period to go w/ the 3 medals in 3 races in 3 days from Boston at Indoor Nationals,after my injury last summer I couldn't have dreamt a season like the one I'm having{I'm not done yet,Track Pentathlon,5th Avenue Mile and Masters 5k Road Race still to come}
I also said I'd let my running do the talking after the fall out from Penn Relays and I feel I've done that,I stand by the comments I made in April and rather than take this as an opportunity to answer my critic let's just leave it at actions speaking louder than words.
The final roll call for M45 at Sacramento over 800m,1,500m and 5,000m reads as follows:
Mike Blackmore Gold 5,000m Gold 800m
Jeff Mann Gold 1,500m Bronze 800m
Pete Magill Silver 5,000m Bronze 1,500m
Awesome Possum Silver 800m Silver 1,500m Bronze 5,000m.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Deja Vu All Over Again
The fact I was lining up for the 800m final was remarkable in it's self,following December's World Reecord in the 4x800m I'd steered clear of the 800m{not because my opening lap of 26 seconds had mentally scared me I hasten to add!!!}I always said this season was time to step outside of my comfort zone so I moved up to 3,000m indoors w/ a view to moving up to 5,000m outdoors w/ no intention of racing 800m at Nationals..............and then on May 29th I ran 5x1,000m repeats in 3.02.9. 3.05.5. 3.05.3. 3.09.7. 3.05.3. and started to believe I still had wheels for the 800m and on June 14th went:3.02.0. 3.03.5. 3.01.3. 3.02.4. 2.57.8.,I hastily rescheduled my final pre Nationals race from a 3,000m to a 800m where I logged a 2.03.7. and entered the 800m hoping there wouldn't be prelims as they'd fall right after the 5,000m,a roll of the dice that paid off only 10 of us in the M45 800m and we were rolled to a final.....
Only 6 of the 10 runners declared,two notable scratches Pete Magill and Kevin Paulk so a 6 man final,I forget the exact lane assignments other than yours truly being in lane 1,my guess is that's a reward for the fastest seed time,frankly I'd like to see an Olympic/World Championships system in place where the fastest seed times/qualifiers get the middle lanes because what happens is in an 8 man race,7 runners are collapsing into lane 1 at the top of the back straight so unless you time it right you're not in front.
My reaction to the gun wasn't great I will confess,I've had better starts this season,but I've also had worse and by the time I made up the stagger as we broke at the top of the back straight I found myself at the rear of the field,not phased by this I made sure to move out into lane 2 to at least give myself a clear run....however the field was tightly bunched so much so that you could've thrown a blanket over the leader and covered the entire field,I was almost out in lane 3 coming up the home straight,tactically I wasn't having a good day and w/ hindsight maybe not having ran many 800s since my indoor season last year was coming back to bite me.
62 seconds at the bell,I was looking for 61 so at least that was going to plan,the problem was I was still at the back of the field and having witnessed first hand the closing speed of Mike Blackmore in the 5,000m I knew if he made a move I may be too far back to counter it......IF I could have a do over in the 800m it would be to have stuck to my pre race plan of sitting till 200m to go then kicking,instead I made my move w/ 300m to going from 6th to 1st in meters and shaking up the race.
Coming off the final turn I tried to find another gear...I didn't have it,my knee lift wasn't where I wanted it to be and I almost felt like I was running in sand,I sensed someone coming up on my outside and tried everything I had to hold him off................
30 meters from the finish Mike Blackmore went by me I tried to get him but I just couldn't,who knows how different the outcome would've been if I'd waited till 200m to go to kick,a question that will be asked over and over this summer,fall and winter,as I said when Neil Fitzgerald caught me in almost the same spot in Spokane in 08 when I kicked at 300m to go"live by the sword,die by the sword"
How close was the finish? Mike Blackmore 2.02.1. me 2.02.4. Jeff Mann 2.02.5......wow.
Am I disappointed I just missed the gold?hell yeah,that said given my lack of 800m races,5 in the last 16 months including Decembers 4x800m World Record I think Silver in 2.02.4.{5th fastest time of all time} is impressive and w/ a little more attention to detail and a few more 800m races under my belt I may get it right next time a title is on the line,lest we forget it took the great Seb Coe 8 years to finally win a major 800m title 1986's European C'ships after close calls in Prague 78,Moscow 80,Athens 82,Los Angeles 84 over 800m
Only 6 of the 10 runners declared,two notable scratches Pete Magill and Kevin Paulk so a 6 man final,I forget the exact lane assignments other than yours truly being in lane 1,my guess is that's a reward for the fastest seed time,frankly I'd like to see an Olympic/World Championships system in place where the fastest seed times/qualifiers get the middle lanes because what happens is in an 8 man race,7 runners are collapsing into lane 1 at the top of the back straight so unless you time it right you're not in front.
My reaction to the gun wasn't great I will confess,I've had better starts this season,but I've also had worse and by the time I made up the stagger as we broke at the top of the back straight I found myself at the rear of the field,not phased by this I made sure to move out into lane 2 to at least give myself a clear run....however the field was tightly bunched so much so that you could've thrown a blanket over the leader and covered the entire field,I was almost out in lane 3 coming up the home straight,tactically I wasn't having a good day and w/ hindsight maybe not having ran many 800s since my indoor season last year was coming back to bite me.
62 seconds at the bell,I was looking for 61 so at least that was going to plan,the problem was I was still at the back of the field and having witnessed first hand the closing speed of Mike Blackmore in the 5,000m I knew if he made a move I may be too far back to counter it......IF I could have a do over in the 800m it would be to have stuck to my pre race plan of sitting till 200m to go then kicking,instead I made my move w/ 300m to going from 6th to 1st in meters and shaking up the race.
Coming off the final turn I tried to find another gear...I didn't have it,my knee lift wasn't where I wanted it to be and I almost felt like I was running in sand,I sensed someone coming up on my outside and tried everything I had to hold him off................
30 meters from the finish Mike Blackmore went by me I tried to get him but I just couldn't,who knows how different the outcome would've been if I'd waited till 200m to go to kick,a question that will be asked over and over this summer,fall and winter,as I said when Neil Fitzgerald caught me in almost the same spot in Spokane in 08 when I kicked at 300m to go"live by the sword,die by the sword"
How close was the finish? Mike Blackmore 2.02.1. me 2.02.4. Jeff Mann 2.02.5......wow.
Am I disappointed I just missed the gold?hell yeah,that said given my lack of 800m races,5 in the last 16 months including Decembers 4x800m World Record I think Silver in 2.02.4.{5th fastest time of all time} is impressive and w/ a little more attention to detail and a few more 800m races under my belt I may get it right next time a title is on the line,lest we forget it took the great Seb Coe 8 years to finally win a major 800m title 1986's European C'ships after close calls in Prague 78,Moscow 80,Athens 82,Los Angeles 84 over 800m
Thursday, July 29, 2010
20 Second PR
The 5,000m at Nationals was the one race I thought I might come away from empty handed,while my trio of 5ks on the track in April,May and June had seen me run 15.57.7. 15.56.5 15.59.6 which in recent years would have probably been good enough for gold this year I found myself behind the likes of Francis Burdett{15.23}Mike Blackmore{15.48} and Pete Magill who despite his NT {no time} was still a force to be reckoned w/ as I laboured to a 17.16.7 last October in Syracuse at the Masters 5k Road Race C'ships Pete was running a 14.59.1....... so you can see why I wasn't as confident of a medal over 12.5 laps as I was over 2 laps and 3.75 laps,however that's why you run the races isn't it?
For all the horror stories about"the heat and the California sun" I have to say when the gun went off at 10.45am it was the least of my worries.....taking on these three 5,000m giants was enough to concern myself w/ thank you very much.
Remembering what my former coach had said to me prior to Spokane in 08 about not allowing anyone in between me and my targets I made sure to move up into 4th after the opening 200m and tucked in behind Pete,Francis and Mike.
I was so focused on the back of Mike's Bowerman Track Club vest that I was oblivious to the clock at the start and subsequently missed my opening 400m split and ditto for the clock at the finish though I kept hearing splits of 74/75 each time the four of us came through a lap on the bottom turn.
I think I saw 4.56 at the first mile,to be honest my main concern was staying in touch w/ these guys,I don't think I ever allowed more than 10 meters between Mike and myself,if they went all Young MC on me and"Bust A Move" I had to be close enough to respond.
W/ 4 and a half laps to go the race broke open,Pete made his move past Francis and Mike followed him,I had two choices tuck in behind Francis and hope to out duel him for the bronze or give chase and hope if Francis launched an attack I could repel him.....rather than play safe,I went for broke and struck my claim for bronze.
I still wasn't paying attention to the clock which may've been to my advantage,w/1,100m to go I felt my first pang of discomfort but at that stage of a 5,000m that's about right,Pete and Mike were a decent distance ahead of me but to be honest at this stage I was more concerned about"holding onto bronze"I had no clue where Francis was but I also had to recall how he reeled me in over the 3,000m in Boston over the closing laps b4 my blistering final 200m took me from 4th to 2nd and allowed me to past him coming up the home straight.
I know I looked at the clock as I went through the bell but have no idea what it said all I could think about was running the final lap as quick as I could and hoping it'd be enough to win the bronze,going into the final turn I had the birds eye view of Mike making his move to overtake Pete for the gold and made a note of Mike's finishing speed,I'd heard Pete say prior to the gun going off he was going to scratch the 800m and suddenly Mike Blackmore had become a bigger threat in the 800m in 2 days time.
Mike won in 15.25.7. w/ Pete 2 seconds back in 15.27.4. and me in third.......oblivious to my time and the fact Francis was further back than I realized,bronze not bad for a rookie at 5,000m if I say so myself.....
When I saw my time I couldn't believe it,15.36.8.......................a 20 second pr,in my last 5,000m I bitched about the fact there were no clocks and no one calling splits as I ran 15.59.6. and began to think I'd plateaued at 15.50s and began to write off my plans of running the 5,000m next year at Worlds,todays time would've gotten me bronze last summer in Finland and suddenly the 5,000m next summer seems very much on,who knows how much more time I can shave off of the 5,000m??
For all the horror stories about"the heat and the California sun" I have to say when the gun went off at 10.45am it was the least of my worries.....taking on these three 5,000m giants was enough to concern myself w/ thank you very much.
Remembering what my former coach had said to me prior to Spokane in 08 about not allowing anyone in between me and my targets I made sure to move up into 4th after the opening 200m and tucked in behind Pete,Francis and Mike.
I was so focused on the back of Mike's Bowerman Track Club vest that I was oblivious to the clock at the start and subsequently missed my opening 400m split and ditto for the clock at the finish though I kept hearing splits of 74/75 each time the four of us came through a lap on the bottom turn.
I think I saw 4.56 at the first mile,to be honest my main concern was staying in touch w/ these guys,I don't think I ever allowed more than 10 meters between Mike and myself,if they went all Young MC on me and"Bust A Move" I had to be close enough to respond.
W/ 4 and a half laps to go the race broke open,Pete made his move past Francis and Mike followed him,I had two choices tuck in behind Francis and hope to out duel him for the bronze or give chase and hope if Francis launched an attack I could repel him.....rather than play safe,I went for broke and struck my claim for bronze.
I still wasn't paying attention to the clock which may've been to my advantage,w/1,100m to go I felt my first pang of discomfort but at that stage of a 5,000m that's about right,Pete and Mike were a decent distance ahead of me but to be honest at this stage I was more concerned about"holding onto bronze"I had no clue where Francis was but I also had to recall how he reeled me in over the 3,000m in Boston over the closing laps b4 my blistering final 200m took me from 4th to 2nd and allowed me to past him coming up the home straight.
I know I looked at the clock as I went through the bell but have no idea what it said all I could think about was running the final lap as quick as I could and hoping it'd be enough to win the bronze,going into the final turn I had the birds eye view of Mike making his move to overtake Pete for the gold and made a note of Mike's finishing speed,I'd heard Pete say prior to the gun going off he was going to scratch the 800m and suddenly Mike Blackmore had become a bigger threat in the 800m in 2 days time.
Mike won in 15.25.7. w/ Pete 2 seconds back in 15.27.4. and me in third.......oblivious to my time and the fact Francis was further back than I realized,bronze not bad for a rookie at 5,000m if I say so myself.....
When I saw my time I couldn't believe it,15.36.8.......................a 20 second pr,in my last 5,000m I bitched about the fact there were no clocks and no one calling splits as I ran 15.59.6. and began to think I'd plateaued at 15.50s and began to write off my plans of running the 5,000m next year at Worlds,todays time would've gotten me bronze last summer in Finland and suddenly the 5,000m next summer seems very much on,who knows how much more time I can shave off of the 5,000m??
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Four Words That Sum It All Up
B4 I go into depth and detail about my individual races last weekend at Nationals I wanted to share some overall thoughts on Sacramento 10.I've often likened Outdoor Nationals to"track camp for grown ups"and the fact that thanks my achilles injury last year I was unable to go to Oshkosh made my 5 days in Sacramento that much more enjoyable.
Sadly the heat and lack of shade made watching other races this year difficult,one of the things I've enjoyed at Charlotte 06,Orono 07 and Spokane 08 was watching my friends Sid Howard,Frank Condon and Nolan Shaheed run their races,this year I sought the limited shade until I was due to report to the clerk tent 10 mins b4 each race,lets hope next year at Worlds there'll be more shade.
Aside from my personal highlights I want to give a shout out to my good friend and Celtic brother Sean Harbison for his break through performance in the 800m heat shaving seconds off his 800m pr to advance to the final and help Greater Philadelphia Track Club make up three of the eight finalists,no mean feat if I say so myself.
On the subject of my club,we only sent 8 athletes to Sacramento and yet we scored 77 points,kudos to Chuck,Sean,Mark,Joel,Nick,Bob and Cheryl for all their performances"the little engine that could"indeed.
Two final thoughts,thank you to all the fellow athletes who came up to me on Sunday and congratulated me on my races,it's flattering to know my fellow athletes appreciated my"leave it all out there on the track" approach to racing,in running as is in life w/ me it's all or nothing.
As is my won't upon my return home to Philly the first person I called was my mother Eileen,asides from being my #1 fan she's provided emotional and financial support for me the last few years as I've chased my dream of National titles and medals so when the final thing she said on Tuesday was"I'm proud of you" it made the seven months of hard work all worth while.
Beginning tomorrow a race by race account of Sacramento 10 kicking off w/ the 5,000m.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Who Says You Can't Come Home?
Greetings sports fans,I arrived home a few hours ago from my exploits in Sacramento this weekend,when more time allows I'll blog my races and also what it means to me to make the yearly journey to where ever Outdoor Nationals are held.
The cliff notes version of this years Nationals is:
5,000m 3rd 15.36.8
800m 2nd 2.02.4
1,500m 2nd 4.14.4
4x800m relay 1st 8.57.8.
For now I'm gonna unpack my bag,hang up my medals,catch up on the 2 Spurs games from Red Bull Arena while I was away and enjoy my first pizza and ice cream since the end of April.
Over the next day or two I'll blog my races,for as great a weekend as it was{and believe me it was a great weekend!}it's good to be home.
The cliff notes version of this years Nationals is:
5,000m 3rd 15.36.8
800m 2nd 2.02.4
1,500m 2nd 4.14.4
4x800m relay 1st 8.57.8.
For now I'm gonna unpack my bag,hang up my medals,catch up on the 2 Spurs games from Red Bull Arena while I was away and enjoy my first pizza and ice cream since the end of April.
Over the next day or two I'll blog my races,for as great a weekend as it was{and believe me it was a great weekend!}it's good to be home.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Going To California
"Made up my mind to make a new start,going to California w/ an aching in my heart
Somedoby told me there's a girl out there w/ love in her eyes and flowers in her hair
Took my chances on a big jet plane,never let them tell you that they're all the same
The sea was red and the sky was grey,wondered how tomorrow could ever follow today
The mountains and the canyons started to tremble and shake as the children of the sun began to awake"
Going To California-Led Zeppelin
I'm two plane rides away from my 4th Outdoor Nationals since my 06 debut in Charlotte North Carolina.
After missing out last year at Oshkosh due to my achilles injury I'm eager to return to what I consider the high point of not only the summer but also my entire season,four days of competition,friends,team mates and great memories and this year the added ingredient,Sacramento is the host to next years Worlds so this is somewhat of a recon mission,to get used to the track,the stadium,downtown Sacramento etc.
It isn't lost on me that this time last year I was counting down the days to my return to training following my achilles injury,Monday July 27th,I can still recall my tentative first steps on the track that day hoping I could get through my mile warm up,mile, and mile cool down w/out pain and now a year later I'm about to tackle the 5,000m,800m,1,500m and 4x800m in four days.
I'm not sure if I'll have internet access while I'm in Sacramento,if I can post daily updates like I did in Boston I will,if not when I return next Monday I'll write a short entry b4 going into more detail next Tuesday.
Here's to Nationals and here's to my first west coast trip ever....I hope both are ready for me!
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