Cherry Blossom 10 miler: 50:06, 16th place

This one falls easily into my general running philosophy to always be happy, never be satisfied.  I wanted to run faster, but I'm pleased with how I battled to salvage a decent performance.  I went out exactly how I wanted (4:56) but found myself without anyone around.  I'm too slow to go with the leaders and my ideal pace was a little ahead of the chase pack.  It was windy and sunny and I hated having nobody to help with the pacing / breaking the wind.  I slowed a great bit in the next couple of miles, having a few guys catch me and even surge ahead of me later on, as I was taxed from the early difficulties.  I was hoping to have some GRC guys to run with at this point but found out later there were just a few meters back.  I did have Bert to catch as he gapped me as I was struggling, having let a few negative thoughts in there as my pace slowed.  I was determined to salvage the race though and from 6 miles on I manned up, clicking off miles in the 4:53-4:57 range along Hains Point.  I caught Bert and was in battle mode as I reached the 9 mile point in 45:04.  I thought I had sub-50 in the bag at this point, and despite keeping my foot on the gas, the slight uphill in the last mile did me in, and I managed a 50:06.

I fell short of my goal but was happy to run a decent pace after that looked like it might fade away from me in the middle of the race.  My prep for the race was good but I know I can go a great deal faster, and I'm still very confident I can hit the trials qualifier in the half when I attempt a sub-1:05 at Grandma's Half in mid-June.  I am ready to put in some more work, with high mileage / solid intensity weeks coming up.  The guys did so well at CB that it would take too long to mention everyone that ran well.  I'm very happy to be a part of this team and I know I have a great crew (and coach!) to work with to reach my goals. 

I ran 81 miles in 8 runs last week.

2 days until Cherry Blossom

Cherry Blossom is a big race for me and I’m excited / nervous for it. Although it doesn’t qualify me for anything, it’s a big race for a couple of reasons. This is a team race and I really owe GRC a big performance for all the great things this club has done for me. This race also represents an opportunity for me to show I’m on the right track to make it back to the Olympic Marathon Trials. If the conditions are favorable I’d like run 49:30 and would be happy with anything sub-50. 49:30 is the pace I’d need to run to hit the qualifying mark in the half marathon and running that pace now would give me some confidence that I could hit the time when I run the Grandma’s Half in June. I have never run that fast for that long, but my volume and quality have been solid and I’m ready for a jump.

Besides the camaraderie of being on a team like this, getting back to the Trials is what keeps me going right now. I haven’t talked about this much, but before the trials in November 2007, I had to choke back tears. To those that know how emotional I can be (e.g. wedding and HEPS), that may not come as that big of a surprise, but I was overwhelmed as I stepped out from the staging area onto Rockefeller Center. The bright lights shone down as I found Em and my family and just kinda lost it. I was so thankful for their support. There is a quote I heard from (I believe) Prefontaine that says, “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” I think that quote applies here but not a gift of talent but of support and opportunity from my loved ones. I want to make the most of what my parents, wife, extended family, teammates, and coaches have given me from day 1 in this sport. For every competitive runner, their individual goals vary based on ability, but they just as important to the individual as long as he / she works as hard for it. I want to feel good about what I have done with this opportunity that was so generously given to me. The fun starts two days from now!

Training has gone well. Last week I ran 92 in singles including a 6 x mile workout where I closed the last lap in 58 for a 4:29 (BTW, Sam looked great out there!). This week I continued the run up to CB with a lighter week and nice tune up workout of 2x1K and 4x500m. Can’t wait!