Wish I had more time to write about this race, but due to school and other responsibilities, I've fallen behind on the blog.
Warmed up about 2 miles with Clayton and McMillan. Felt a lot more loose this time around then yesterday. After reviewing yesterday's race, I seem to figure out that the problem with the race for me was I was so outcome orientated. I wanted top-3 and thought I'd worked for it, was in great shape, and I expected that the execution process would take care of itself without the effort that was necessary in the qualifying races. Well, after realizing this, I told myself at the start line that I needed to enjoy the race and be ready for everything. At the start line I told myself that there was no where else I'd rather be than on the start line for this race.
The gun went off and I got out well. The 3k is easier to prep for because you know that it's fast and hard, and that pacing isn't really something I do. I just run hard in the 3k, and let what happens happen. At 150m we came across the cut in(I was on teh outside waterfall start) and I let instincts kick in. I took the front from Clayton. He said, "Have some fun out there Mantz." and I decided to push. I tried to keep pushing the pace, but I could feel that it wasn't there. I heard a Coach yelling that we were running 32 seconds per lap. This was frustrating, but I just kept pushing. Around 1600m Robert Brandt passed me. There was a fall while I was leading it and Clayton, who was still right behind me, yelled at me to keep going (I had looked back when it happened) and then I sped up. As the race went on McDonald made his move, and with 300m to go, I was in the top-5 pack. The sad thing was I felt like I was all out kicking to keep up at this point; however, I felt great. Until 150m to go. Then I booty locked, got passed by 2 people, almost 3, and I just dug enough to make it to the finish. Last 400m was 58.2, which is one of my best kicks. I was so relieved to finish 7th. I had the goal of top-8 in this race because it seemed realistic and out there.
After the race, Clayton, McMillan and I went on a long cool down. It was a good weekend for us, and with just the 3 of us, we finished 13th at nationals, which was fun. Clayton led the team, finishing 3rd and 6th, McMillan finished 4th and 11th, and I finished 10th and 7th. While this weekend was slightly disappointing, I learned a lot, and I'm excited for outdoor track season. During our cool down, Clayton jokingly said that he would race us to the end of a road. The road was about 400m long, and sprinting it hurt! But it was fun.
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