Baby Steps

I had another solid race last night, with another PB.  But if you were to tell me I would end up with a PB before the race, I would have expected something a little faster.  I was trying to finally break through this 3:58 barrier, and through 1200m I was on 3:55 pace.  In my last 1500m, I came through 1200m at 3:11 and closed in 47.  Yesterday we had some great pacers that brought the entire field through in sub-2:06 with me near the back at 2:05.  I reached the 1200 mark watching the clock turn from 3:07 to 3:08, and knew I was in good shape.  But I lost my legs over the last 300m and closed in 50 to run 3:58.25.  It's 0.02 seconds faster than I ran last time, so I suppose I can't be too disappointed because after all, a PB is a PB.  One of the upsides of yesterday was the fact that I actually managed to split 3:08 in a race.  Now the only thing missing is that extra gear to close in 46-47, which would produce a 3:54-5.  Another upside was that my training buddy Phil (a Junior stud on the Ontario High School circuit) also managed to dip under the 4 minute mark last night, so we're definitely on the right track.  He's been dropping big times all over the place, and it was just a matter of time before he broke 4.  Actually, the funny thing about last night was that he wasn't even supposed to run the 1500.  He was entered in the 800 earlier in the night, but he arrived so late that the race was already over by the time he got to the track.  He always manages to find a way to be late for everything, but I guess this time it was worth it as he came home with another big PB.  I'll be running a 3000m in London on the 6th, where I will be looking to get under that 8:42 mark I set last year.  Also, despite getting a PB, I'm still a little annoyed that I couldn't hang on last night so I may just end up going for 3:55 one last time after my 3000m.  It's getting a little late in the season, but when you're fit, you have to race.  It's as simple as that.  After all, almost all of the great world records were set when guys threw themselves into fast races sometimes only a few days apart, until one day it all came together.  Look at David Rudisha's stretch of great runs last year.  He ran 12 800's during his season, and 4 of them were run in a span of 14 days (2 of which happened to be world records).  Now it's my turn to go after a few more big times.  I'll be back with an update of London next week and a definite plan for the end of the season.

P.S. Gotta give a Happy 144th Birthday shout out to Canada!

Change of Plans

This past weekend went well at 1500m night.  As expected, there were a few big breakthroughs for a handful of guys and girls this year.  Among the notables, Rob Denault managed to run 3:45 mostly on his own, and a bunch of the other high schoolers got down into the low 3:50 range.  I came in with a 3:58.72 PB, and left with a PB of 3:58.27.  We had a pacer who led us through 800 in 2:07, which was a little slow considering we were 28 at the 200 and 61 at the 400, but nonetheless it was good to get someone else to run up front and let me tuck in behind.  I was hoping that I would end up in the 3:56 range, as I am certain that my fitness is way ahead of last year, but at the same time a PB is a PB, and I can't complain about that.  But, my coach and I have decided to change things up a bit.  Originally, the plan was to try and hit the 5000 A standard, and try to snag a ticket to Pan Am Juniors at nationals, however being 31 seconds off the standard with only 2 more weeks left in the qualifying period makes it a little improbable, but not impossible.  Additionally, the 1500m specific work that we've been doing over the past few weeks is another reason to scrap the old plan and go hunting for some PBs. We're aiming at a 1500m on the 30th, a 3000m on the 6th of July, and another 1500m to close out the season on the 13th.  None of this is set in stone quite yet, and it may turn out that I can't even get into a few of these races, but that's the plan.  I also have a series of ball-buster workouts on the horizon, so that should give me a real good idea of how the next few weeks will turn out.  I should probably get back to studying. I have 3 more exams left, and I can't wait to scribble correct answers all over them!

I've been taking some tips from Mr. Bean, I should be fine!

P.S. The video of my 3:58 in London can be found by clicking here

Ready to Rumble

Well, I'm heading out to London tomorrow for 1500m Night and it looks like it will be a great day to race.  There are 127 entries in the men's 1500m so far, and on the lightning fast Western track, you can bet on more than a few blazing times.  I expect that I'll be placed in the 2nd heat tomorrow, with about 12 other guys with PBs of between 3:57 and 3:59.  It's going to be great weather, so there will be no excuses tomorrow.  I had a perfect week of workouts as well, so I'm excited.  Wednesday was the big one where we started the workout off with a 3:08.2 1200m time trial, which is 3:55 pace.  If you recall, in Human Jousting, I was getting excited over a 3:17 1200m, which turned into a 4:03 at Metros.  Clearly I'm in better 1500m shape now, but we'll have to wait see how things go tomorrow night.  In other news I had my last full day of high school today!   It's hard to believe that four years have gone by so quickly, but you know what they say, "time flies when you're having fun".  I have to give a shout out to all my friends at Don Mills C.I. for keeping it real, and for 4 years of awesome memories that I'll never forget!