Two miles on the treadmill in the morning at the Cabot Lodge in Gainesville just to get the kinks out from the drive and sitting around all day Saturday. Watched the boy child run a 4:54 indoor mile on Saturday - strong finish to go by 3 guys for 2nd place in 15-16 age group, but the slow pace of the race hurt his shot at his desired sub 4:50. This afternoon, I did a half mile warming up on the concourse level of Ben Hill Griffin stadium, but the legs never really felt loose and strong. Got a chance to run a few strides on the track about 10 minutes before my race, but didn't really get a feel for the tight circular track. Gun went off for my 200 meter race and before I knew it, I was finished. Never felt at top speed and just about fell out of my lane (lane 1 - ugh) a couple times... haven't raced indoor for 27 years, and I've never raced indoor on a non banked surface. It was pretty cool running in the same heat as Don Drummond (don't think he was an Olympian in his day, but dern close) and Marcus Shute (top 5 US masters athlete for many years), and they both were gracious and shook hands with the slow little white guy at the end. I was hoping to dip under 27 seconds, but came through in 27.34 to grab the 40-49 age group bronze medal (kindly refrain from asking how many guys were in my age group). Did another half mile or so around the stadium and then went out for a nice meal with my adoring fans - wife and kids, as well as the inlaws and my parents - a good day. |