Time to Recover

My track season is done.  I wrapped things up last night with a 1500m at the Toronto International Track and Field Games, and I came away with another mediocre performance, running 4:00.11 for 7th place on a windy night.  It's too bad that I wasn't able to break through and go under 3:58 last night, but I raced well, and closed in 46 seconds so there are a few positives to take away from the race.  Apart from the actual race, the entire day was awesome!  Nike put on a full-day clinic for all the high school runners where we got to chat with some of the Pros before the race, as well as getting decked out in new race gear, and a runnerspace interview! (see below)  Not to mention watching the actual meet, which was great to see in Toronto.  Walter Dix, Perdita Felicien, Dylan Armstrong, and Jared Connaughton highlighted the meet, and numerous fast times and big throws made it really exciting for the fans.  Hopefully the National Track League will continue to grow next year, and help raise the sport of Track and Field in Canada.  So now that my racing is officially over, I will completely shut down for the next few days, and get fully recovered before my build up to the upcoming cross country season.  Also, I only have another 3 weeks until I head up north to Alaska, and begin my University running career!

Click the link below to see my runnerspace interview.
Kevin Rooke - Be A Pro Clinic - Toronto International Track and Field Games 2011

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!