Penn Relays

 Overall this was a blast. I had a great time racing! It's taken a long time to get to this point but I am truly starting to enjoy racing. I have always loved the process and everything about being an athlete, but competing can be very stressful. It's losing some of it's stress and be replaced with absolute joy.

The race went OK. I ran 1.49 split which is not the greatest time, but isn't the worst time either. I had a lot left in the tank. I received the baton on no man's land. I was out of contention with the front but had a Kenyan in front of me to chase. I closed very well on him. It was really hard to gauge how fast I was going.

There was some drama though, as I was passing the baton the Kenyan who was right in front of me stopped dead after passing his baton and I ran directly into him and bounced off. I got the baton away alright. I hit the track and have two skinned knees. I think I might be a bit sore tomorrow after it all. It was another great experience and a lot of fun to be a part of.

I fly back to Arizona tomorrow and go straight up to Flagstaff! Thanks for all the support this week!

Penn Relays

 After yesterdays flight from hell I think I can muster up some slightly happier words regarding this trip. At the meet hotel I can't walk anywhere without bumping into someone that I either have raced or someone I recognize from watching the Olympics or races on youtube. I got on the elevator and there were 2 Olympic Gold medalists on it this morning. It's great to be in great company! I am going to be at the track today for a warm up.. I will do my best to get some video up of it and will get some video tomorrow for sure. Last year there were 38,000 people in the stadium. If it's anywhere near that this year it should be cool on video from the infield.

Arrived in Philly after a Nightmare of a Flight

Today's travel, for whatever reason might have been the worst experience ever. It started at security; I got through check-in quick and got to security where I refused the body X-RAY. That is a whole other story as to why I refuse the body X-RAY but I do and they didn't like that. They ran my bag through the bag X-RAY 3 times. 3 times. 3 times. I said that three times to make a point, it's not necessary, than they searched every piece for my bag. Than after they realized I'm not a terrorist I was free to go, but not without a stink eye. I think they really wanted to find something they could scorn me for. I boarded my plan to see I was not only at the back but seated next to a 400+ lbs man and 4 children. There was a child in every direction. If I looked North, East, South, or West... child. This was not starting well. Children shouldn't fly or they should have mandatory duct-taped mouths.
It went just how you can imagine, croawded space and screaming for 4 hours. When I finally got off the plane we waited for 45 minutes to get our bags. That was my day! It was not fun. I am here now and getting ready for bed. I hope the children on my plane are still screaming and keeping their parents awake, and Mr. 400 is exercising!
Going to the track tomorrow. Will post more post workout!!

Leaving for Philly Soon! and straight razors

I am heading to Penn Relays in 2 days! I am feeling ready for a trip. We have been here in the same house now for three weeks. I am going to be flying back right up to Flagstaff, which is bitter sweet. The drive up to Flagstaff is a beautiful and familiar one, but it is also 2 hours+. So flying won't be so bad.

Penn Relays is the bee's knees. All the athletes are on the turf in the middle of the track, and races are going all the time. The crowds are massive and the stadium is such that you feel like they are on top of you. They get anywhere from 30 to 40 thousand people. It's a rush to run in front of that many people! So I am starting to get amped for that.

I was at a mall last night and there is a place to get an old fashioned shave with a straight razor. I am considering a little pampering and having it done. It scares the sh*t out of me though... Your letting someone play, essential with a sharp knife on your face. What if his wife left him the night before, what if his dog died. I wouldn't want someone with a knife in either of those states playing anywhere near my throat. Is it appropriate to ask? "Hey, how was your night last night? You feeling okay?" I think that might be a bit odd. Than again if he said "My wife divorced me, thanks for asking". I'd be outta there p-r-e-t-t-y quick.
I'm still on the fence about it. Sweeney Todd, has really made this hard on me.

Post Race Recap

Yesterdays race went very good. It had a lot of really positive aspects and 2 negative ones. First the good stuff. I raced the the race, that sounds silly but is very relevant. There's a lot of times when I go out and essential time trial, I might as well be out there alone cause I am not responding to the other racers. This race I responded well. I got out fast and dropped into 3rd place in the first 200m and very relaxed, rolled through 400m. Going around from 400m to 500m I went by the 2nd place runner. Now it gets weird, going down the backstretch, from 500m to 600m the lead runner moved out very wide so to get around him I would have to go even wider... I decided to pass him on the inside, when I moved up on him he immediately moved back in and got me caught up stuck just inside him. So at the 200m mark I had go back a step and get behind him and pass him on the outside. This might have effected my time a little but that's racing. I took the lead with 200m to go and kept moving well.
Now the 2 negatives. First at 20m to the finish line I looked over my shoulder... This is a big No No. Its only makes you open your hips up and it shouldn't add anything, even if I see someone I should be running full out. I didn't see anyone.. The second negative, Andrew Ellerton was there, and he passed me in the last 10m and ran about 2 tenths of a second faster.
These were rookie mistakes. It's the first race of the season and is the time to work out these kinks. It still makes me mad. All in all it was truly a fun race and I am now getting seriously excited to run at Penn Relays next weekend.