I've been nervous all week about this race. I even threw up on Tuesday. But I manage to eat breakfast and a light lunch and keep it all down today. I head off to the meet at 4:15. Christine says goodbye, but not good luck, as she doesn't want to make me think about it ("I didn't want you to throw up on me," she would say later). The UCTC meet is at a different location because of construction on their track, so the meet is all the way down on 82nd St. It's a good thing I allowed plenty of time, because I have several traffic issues, particularly getting from 290 to Lake Shore Drive. Finally I arrive at Eckersall Stadium at 5:20, and park right by the stadium. But there is a note there that says the meet is canceled and that "an informal meet will be held" at the usual U of C track. Part of me doesn't want to run today anyway, but I know better-this is the day to do it, maybe my only chance. So I use the bathroom there and drive up to 55th St.
It turns out that a series of unfortunate events (not getting permission to use their original replacement choice, not getting USATF to put the paperwork together for Eckersall in time, and delayed construction on their track) actually allowed them to hold the meet on the track I'm used to! Despite not knowing how to get there (I'd always taken the green line), getting turned around, getting stuck in more traffic, and bailing out on a left-turn light that never changed, I actually get to the meet a few minutes before 6:00. Because the 100m is before the mile, I actually have plenty of time to warm up. Then it's time for the mile. They decide to do two heats, and (brilliantly) do the fast heat first "because they have warmed up properly and are ready now." The 10 year streak is on the line right now. Later tonight, I'd write the following email to River to River teammates Kevin Temple and Jeremy Dubow:
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Hi guys,
It didn't look like anybody decent was at the meet up until the gun. Then
a high school kid jumped out and took the lead right away. I let him get
some space on me, but I was still out too fast, :69. I was horribly slow
the next lap (:80!), but with the cushion I was still on pace halfway,
2:29. The third lap was very slow too (:78), so I was 3:47 at the gun
lap. Fortunately, I had another :69 in me, so I finished right where I thought
I could, 4:56.1. YES!
So I made it despite running stupid high-schoolesque splits. The high
school kid faded badly, and I nearly caught him in the homestretch. He
heard me coming and held me off with the lean by about 3-tenths of a
second. But I didn't care about beating him, I was just happy he helped
me get under 5. My streak now stands at a nice round 10 years. I don't
know, I may
consider retiring it. At least now I have plenty of time to decide.
Phil
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I pant and pace around near the finish line, and then a timer comes over and shows me my time. Sub-5-YES!! I feel like giving her a hug. Then I call Christine from the cell phone while lying down in the high jump area. I tell her the good news, and bask for a little bit while watching the little kids run the 400m. Then I get back into conversation with Barry Lee, who I met here in 2002. He's a guy who talks only about running and doesn't know when to stop talking, but he's exactly the kind of guy I want to talk to right now. He ran the mile in 5:55, and also did the 800.
I talk about my race and my splits, including my horrible middle splits. He says, "That's good; that means you can recover at 5:20 mile pace-when I run that pace, I'm calling 9-1-1!" I talk about how my spikes hurt my calf in my last workout on Sunday, and he asks what I did. I tell him 4 quarters around :70, "So I'll have confidence if, say, I'm 3:47 with a lap to go…" He follows me and jumps in right where I wanted him to. "Yeah, you know you have to run a 72 and change." He discusses his disappointment with the numbers at meets like this, and how it's pathetic that a slow guy like himself was 3rd in the mile. He says, "You're lucky the high school kid was here, because otherwise it would have been just me. And I can only go that fast for about 200m, and that's not going to help you very much." He's a coach, so he talks about training. I tell him how I guess I'm not that serious, as I only run 30 miles a week. He gives me his card and tells me, "If you wanted to be serious about it, I could get you to run a 4:20-4:24." I might consider dreaming about that after I get my PhD, but for now I'm happy just to be sub-5. Ten years in a row now…oh yes.
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