GBTC Invitational

In December, I ran 5:16 at the Alden Invitational, so clearly my goal in the mile was to run faster than that. I went out in 36, not far behind Anna King, who was leading. Alan said to take the next lap to reel her in, which I did, running the second lap in 37. I actually had no idea what my times were -- I figured I had gone out in a reasonable 77 or 78. Well, on the third lap Anna got away from me a little, and I couldn't get her back. So I slowed down a little, and went through the 800 in 2:35.

Well, then my legs decided that they would rather not run quite so fast. I started to struggle, and people caught up to me and passed me. It was not pretty. I kicked in the last lap hard and was ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED to see the clock going 5:18, 5:19, 5:20. How could I run as hard as I possibly could, and not run a PR? Not a fun realization. I ran 5:20.61, which is my second-fastest mile, but not what I wanted. Bah humbug. (results).


Here are people passing me after I slowed down in the mile.

I doubled back in the 800. Sometimes, when I run an unsatisfying mile, I come back and run a great 800 and save the day (as last year, when I tanked a 5:35 for the mile and then ran a 2:33 PR in the 800). The plan for the 800 was to go out just like the mile and then kick the last two laps. I did this, but was unable to run the last two laps fast enough, and ran 73 + 78 for the 400s. Again, I was shocked to see the clock say 2:30 as I finished. I ran 2:31.09, again my second-fastest 800 (by 0.6 seconds). (results)

And my legs hurt a lot for the next few days. This race was on Sunday, and my next race was on Friday, and my leg fatigue was such that I didn't do any track workouts in between. Such is the effect of racing hard, twice in the same day.

First race of 2010

We went down to BU for their open meet on January 2. My goal was to run 10:15 in the 3k, which would qualify me for New Balance Boston. All sections of the 3k are mixed gender, so I was only worried about three people in my section: Leslie Hocking (who I expected to be well ahead of me) and Renee Knapp (who I expected to be near me).

I went out behind Leslie and just behind Renee. After a few laps, she slowed down, so I passed her and led. I went through the 1600 in 5:29, just one second off of the pace. But then I slowed down. With three laps to go, Renee passed me, and I did not stay with her. I gave up the ghost and ran my last lap in about 42, for a final time of 10:22.25. I would have been really mad if Renee had broken 10:15, but she didn't; she ran 10:17. So it goes. At least it was a 10-second PR. (results)

2009 wrapup

I wrote an extensive summary of my 2009 running and racing here. I have copied it below for your viewing pleasure. To see a graph of my weekly mileage, click on the above link.

I ran every day in 2009.
Total mileage: 2907 miles
Minimum daily mileage: 2 miles
Maximum daily mileage: 32.1 miles
Number of races run: 35
Personal records set: 19 (two in the 800m, one in the 1k, three in the mile, one in the 3k, five in the 5k, one in the 6k, three in the 5-mile, two in the 10k, one in the half marathon). Here are what my PR's are now.
Total spent on race entry fees: $505
Total prize money won in races: $467
Other things won in races: Two pairs of shoes (1 Merrell, 1 Reebok), a pair of Red Sox tickets, four medals, a trophy, a plaque, two canvas tote bags (one pink, one pink and white), a beach towel, an aluminum water bottle, two pairs of running gloves (one of which says "Run the Rivah"), a bluetooth hands-free set, a six-pack of water, a freezable six-pack cooler, a pint glass, a Pilsner glass, a picture frame, and a spork.
T-shirts obtained: 17 (9 cotton, 8 synthetic).
Profit or loss on the season? Profit.

Mile PR progression: (5:30), 5:26, 5:22, 5:16.
5k PR progression: (19:50), 19:24, 19:11, 19:07, 18:58, 18:26.
5-mile PR progression: (33:50), 32:33, 32:21, 31:24, 31:20. 30:16. (Includes 5-mile splits during 5.7 and 10k races.)
10k PR progression: (41:59), 40:36, 37:53.

Alden Invitational

The first track race of the indoor season! Six of my math grad student friends from the department came to watch (Jackie, Li-Mei, Tom, Matt, Jonah, Mehmet), as did my friend Melissa. And Alan, of course. And two of my calculus students were on the Brown team, so they were helping out with the meet and watching the races. Lots of spectators!

The mile went out in 37. I was in fourth, behind two Brown runners and a girl in purple. After a few laps, the Brown girls took off, and I didn't go with them. I passed the purple girl but basically ran by myself for a few laps. As I heard the bell and was coming up on one lap to go, I realized that one of the Brown girls had fallen off the pace and was within reach. I kicked hard and passed her just past the start/finish line, then kicked it for all I was worth to make sure she didn't pass me back. I ran the last lap in 36, and needn't have worried, as she finished well behind me. That was a 6-second PR for me, very exciting start to the season. (mile results)

Then I doubled back in the 1000. I had never raced the 1000 meters before, though I raced many 1000 yards in the cage at Exeter in high school. I was in the second section of three. I planned to go out in the back and then pick people off. However, it went out slower than the mile -- 38 for the first lap, of only five! So I took the lead, or maybe second place. I ended up leading a few laps, and they rang the bell for me! However, I got passed at the end and ended up second in the section. Very frustrating for it to go out so slow! I think I could have certainly run a lot faster. I ran 3:12.32, which was an automatic PR considering that I had never raced the distance before. (1000 results)