Watch more video of 2011 Music City Distance Carnival on flotrack.org

Watch more video of 2011 Music City Distance Carnival on flotrack.org

Clay's Race Summary

Lisa, Macklin and I drove from Cleveland to Cincinnati Friday night (8pm-12pm) and then finished the trip to Nashville (830am-1230pm). We grabbed lunch at Jason's Deli, then chilled in the hotel room for most of the afternoon. The temperature was soaring, high 90s with high humidity. We planned to go to Brueggers Bagels for an early dinner so I could get my fix of race day raw meat (salmon) but it was closed, so we settled for Panera. We returned to the hotel room and geared up to leave for Lisa's race. When we arrived the track was already buzzing. The meet was underway with a bunch of 'open' races in the heat of the early evening. Lisa was scheduled to run at 9pm, but the meet was behind schedule... she ran around 9:15 or a bit later. Mac and I did a warmup after Lisa's race. I ran about 15 uninterrupted minutes, then hit the bathroom and did some strides.

The 1 mile start is a pain. I was on the far outside and, of course, the waterfall start into the curve is difficult to navigate. I found my way to the back of the pack. I knew I was the slowest seed time in the race, so I was OK with trailing. I hit the 200 @ 31, 400 @ 62. Feeling Good. I hit the 600 @ 1:31 or 1:32, then the 800 @ 2:03. Perfect Pace to hit 4:06! I hit the 1,000 @ 2:33 and the 1,200 @ 3:05 or 3:06... Great! By this time, I was far out of touch with the race, but I was trailing another runner. He was a complete mess. He skipped from the inside to the outside, to the line in Lane 1. I attempted to make a pass with about 390m left and failed miserably, I lost nearly all of my momentum and broke stride worse than I had all season. He still led going into 1,400m... I believe I was 3:38/39 at 1,400m... I didn't have the final kick that I used so well at Allegheny and North Central... I labored an acceleration with about 125m left, kicked as best as I could down the home stretch and did not catch the runner I was trailing. I thought my last lap may have been about a 62 or 63, but it was a 65... basically a tragedy.

I ran an awesome race for 3 laps. My move with less than a quarter mile to go sealed the deal, I had to try to make the move, but the runner moved out for no apparent reason, so I had to settle back into the rail and then I slowly fell apart.

All in all, it was an OK race. I know I could have held a 62 had I had not been behind a complete disaster of a runner. I feel like I am in 4:06-4:08 shape, but I haven't proven it.

Next time I am in a BIG race, with some heavy hitters, I'm going to attempt to go with them instead of running my own race. The thrill of being in the race just might lead me to some huge PR's when I get back on the track.

Workout:15:00
Goal Pace: <7:15
Actual Pace: 7:00
Warm up: NA
Warm down: NA
Extra: AI Stretch (Zone1+2)

Workout Mileage: 2.15
Mileage This Week: 22.45
Total Weekly Target: 35

Workout Mileage: 2.05
Mileage This Week: 29.1
Total Weekly Target: 35

TOD: 9:30pm
Goal Pace: <18:00

Race Results: 17:30.95, 6th of 33

Splits: 82, 82, 82, 82, 81, 81, 83, 85, 88, 88, 85, 85, 42

View Results >

Warm up: 22 min an hour prior to race
Warm down: 1.0

Workout Mileage: 7.0
Mileage This Week: 35.87
Total Weekly Target: 35

RACE SUMMARY:

I was both excited and nervous in the hours leading up to this race.  I have ran many 5Ks but never one the track. I have been racing 1500m all Spring