Race Report: USATF Regional Masters Outdoor Championships, 6/29/2024

I raced the USATF Regional Masters Outdoor Championships (for the eastern and southeastern regions) yesterday, competing in the 1500 and the 800.  Officially, I ran 6:14.91 for the 1500 and 3:18.46 for the 800.

I entered this meet as a final tune-up before the Hartford Nationals in Hoover, Alabama in mid-July, where I'll be running the 5000, the 1500, the 800, and the 400 (over two days, with two races each day).

My goals for this summer include improving my top end speed and running more smoothly when starting from a standstill.  I've focused on this in both my running and my PT and have been using various races to experiment.  The source of my difficulties in these two areas seems to be stiffness and locking legs, which get worse if I try to aggressively accelerate.  Which makes racing, especially shorter distance racing, challenging.  

In turn, the stiffness and locking legs have multiple interlocking causes (pun intended).  One cause is my opposing muscles contracting against each other due to neurotransmitter stuff.  I manage these with medication and stretching.  

Another cause is balance issues. There are three components to balance - vision, vestibular function, and proprioception.   Both my vestibular system and my proprioception are lousy, meaning that I'm never quite sure where the ground is relative to my feet, and that I rely really heavily on my vision to orient myself in space.  

If you've ever gone up or down stairs and encountered a step that's not the same height as the others, then you know how your body stiffens for a second in surprise while you try to calculate where the ground actually is.  That's pretty much what it feels like when running, since my foot regularly makes contact with the ground a microsecond earlier or later than I expect.  And so a lot of my focus is on trying to stay loose even as that happens.  Obviously, I do a lot of work on both my proprioception and my vestibular sense daily, and it's helped some, but it's not a full fix.  I still need to rely on my vision, and to date that hasn't worked so well.  

But recently, while discussing with a PT, we realized that when I ran I was looking generally either at the ground about 60-80m ahead (which sometimes shifted to looking at my feet - bad) or at the runner in front of me.  Either of these would be moving objects - looking at something stationary would be much more helpful.  So, I started picking and using fixed objects ahead (lamp-posts, trees, fences) as focus points.  And it seemed to help substantially - I was looser, which translated to faster running.

After playing with this concept over some runs, I decided to test it this weekend in these two races - keeping my eyes focused on some part of the outside fence of the track, rather than on the track or my competitors. (How would I make sure I didn't collide with anyone?  Peripheral vision.)

***

My races were in the middle of the day, expected to start around 11:50 (the 1500) and 1:15 (the 800).  I arrived at the meet around 9:15 am so I could watch a friend pole vault, and then began warming up around 11 am for my race (the first two miles served double duty as I caught up with an old friend).  I did 3.5 miles in my SL 20s, and then swapped into my Takumi Sen 7s.  There was no stack height restriction for this race, so I could have worn Vaporflies.  However, I wanted to stay familiar with the shoes I'd be wearing at the Hartford Nationals, so TS7s it was.

The meet was running late, with the result that I did 8 or so strides before we were ready to start (with lotsa chatting in between).  Then we lined up.  There were about 10 women, allocated among several different masters age groups. I reminded myself that I did not care about time or place here.  The only thing that mattered was focusing on those external points and running smoothly and relaxed.

The gun went off and I pushed forward for a moment.  Then I remembered, applied some mental brakes, and found my first focal point on the edge of the track.  Around and around I went - passing people as I flowed but trying not to look at them or think too much about them.

Big thanks to Sara Whittingham for the two videos posted here
I should also note in passing that Sara (another T36) flew in for the day
to snag qualifying times for the Paralympic trials in the 100m and 200m. 
And pulled off both.  Pretty darn cool

This worked great until the final lap, when I passed someone who I knew was in my age group.  At that point, I forgot myself for a second and tried to kick.  And that was enough to stiffen up my legs.  She passed me back and I worked my way to the finish line, crossing in 6:14.  I was annoyed with myself, but it was a good lesson learned.  And better here than in Alabama.

***

I had a several hour wait before my next race, the 800.  I hung around and chatted with friends for some time, and then finally decided to go warm-up.  Unfortunately, there wasn't really a good area to do so.  I jogged easily on the asphalt path outside the track, but my TS 7s can sometimes slip a bit on pavement, so I wanted to do my strides on the track or field.  But the field was too soft, and the track was occupied with the 400m hurdles.  I finally found a stretch that would work by the javelin pit, only to be called to the start after one stride.  Oh well, I'd go with this.

We lined up again, and I committed to focusing on my external points the entire race.  Same start as before - the gun went off and I surged before pulling back and focusing.  This time I did manage to keep my focus and stay smooth the entire race.  Like last time I passed someone only to be passed back on the homestretch, but this time it was because she had a kick and I didn't.  The race still felt like a solid step forward. I was surprised that the time wasn't a bit faster (3:18.46 as opposed to 3:19.95 two weeks ago), but I suspect I would have benefited from more strides.

All in all, it was a long day, but also good, fun, and valuable.  You can't ask for more than that (though cloud cover would have been nice).  I stayed to cheer a friend on in her 200m race, then grabbed my medals (2nd of two in my age group for the 1500 and 1st of two in my age group for the 800).

Other points:

• It was a pretty hot day - temperature of 88 F and dew point of 73 F for the 1500, and 90 F/74 F for the 800.  Both those distances are so short that the heat was a non-issue, other than that I probably should have stayed out of the sun more between races.
• One thing about these long days - I don't want to race these short distances on a full stomach, so I end up not eating anything except bananas, dates, and occasional bites of a bagel until I'm done.  Which makes for a massive post-race District Taco order.
• I'm starting to like the Takumi Sen 7s more and more.  I will be sad when it's October and they are no longer legal for para-track meets.
• With my focus on running relaxed and focusing externally, it felt like my cadence was markedly slow for both races.  I checked my cadence on Garmin, and....my cadence was 201 for the 1500 and 202 for the 800.  Yeah, I don't think I need to worry about my cadence being slow.
• When I reviewed the videos of my runs in the 1500 and 800, I noted that I am bending slightly at the waist again and overstriding. (It's very interesting to compare my gait in the 1500 this weekend to my gait during the Fifth Avenue Mile in 2019.)  So I need to fix that.  That's almost certainly costing me a ton of time.

Training log - Week ending 6/23/2024

This week was 39 miles of running, 7 "miles" of pool-running, and 500 yards of swimming -- training log is here.

Once again, a belated catch-up/place holder post.  When you race a lot, it's hard to stay on top of the race reports.  

Monday: 7 "miles" pool-running and streaming yoga. Foam rolling in evening.

Tuesday: 10 miles, with 6x800, 400 in 3:35, 3:36, 3:28, 3:27, 3:25, 3:23, and 1:39.  Recoveries of 2:3x-3:0x after each. Foam rolling in evening.

Wednesday: 6 miles very easy (9:35) + drills, upper body weights/core, 1 mile very easy home (9:50) + strides.

Thursday: 6 very easy on trails (9:48) in the morning; streaming pilates and foam rolling in the evening.

`

Friday: 6 miles on the track, including a 1600 uptempo in 7:09 and 2x200 in 49 and 51.  Foam rolling in evening.

Saturday: Off - travel to Boston.

Sunday:  4 mile warm-up and 10K race in 47:49.  Foam rolling in evening.

Race Report: Boston 10K, June 23, 2024

I ran the Boston 10K last weekend in 47:49, which was good enough for first in my para-athletic division and established a world record for the women's T36 division in the 10K.

I had originally planned to run the half-marathon at Grandma's this year, but then I realized that the Boston 10K on the same weekend offered my para-athlete division. Honestly, I like having the opportunity to compete in that division as well as in my age group and in the open field and it is important to me to support races that offer and support the para-athlete divisions.  Plus running a 10K instead of a half in mid-June was consistent with my focus this summer on shorter stuff - no half-marathon meant no long runs.  I could really just focus on track stuff and let my marathon fitness from the spring carry me over the 10K distance (nobody told me I could do this - I just assumed it would be thus...)

So... it wasn't a hard decision to swap races.  I transferred my Grandma's bib to another runner and my prepaid Duluth hotel room to a teammate, and my flights were either refundable or transferrable, so I didn't waste any money with the switch.  Then I booked my travel to Boston - fly in Saturday morning and out Sunday afternoon.

***

Saturday was mostly uneventful - my flight was smooth and on time (I care more about the latter than the former) and I had no trouble finding my hotel near Government Center (conveniently close to the start/finish line).  

After getting situated, I headed over to Central Square with three goals - Chipotle, a visit to the re-incarnation of Manray, and a plastic rain poncho.  Rain was in the forecast for Sunday morning, and while I normally keep a stash of rain ponchos in a drawer at home, I had discovered on Friday evening that I was out of stock.

The quest for plastic poncho required traipsing back and forth across Massachusetts Avenue to search first a Target, then a CVS, and finally a Walgreens. A quarter century ago I had spent many dusky afternoons wandering Cambridge in search of rare and bootleg CDs, now I was trying to find disposable rain gear.  Middle age is cruel, y'all.

Finally, I uncovered a trove next to some Ghiradelli boxes in the Central Square Walgreens.  Concerned that there might be a developing global plastic poncho shortage, I grabbed several.  

Then it was back to the hotel for some stretching and PT exercises, a phone call with Brian, and an early bedtime.

***

I was in the para-athlete field, which meant we had a dedicated tent near the finish line.  The tent opened at 6:30 am, and we had to check in by 7:00 (our bibs were in the tent).  At 7:30 we would be walked up to the start line; we would start a bit after 8 am (the official order was wheelchairs, men's elite, women's elite, para-athletes, and then waves 1 and 2 of the open race).

This detailed scheduling was a bit different from my previous experiences in the elite field at small and mid-size races or in the American Development Program at Chicago.  At those races, there was no mandatory check-in time.  Just "the tent opens at this time" and "race starts at this time" with an occasional "you need to leave the tent at this time for the start line."  I'm honestly not sure if this variation reflects the difference between a major race and a smaller one or if it is specific to the para-athlete field.  I suspect a bit of both.  Several of the para-athlete divisions have pre-race equipment checks, so a mandatory check-in time makes sense.  

Since I had to be in the tent by 7 am, and I didn't know if I'd be able to jog around after checking in, I started warming up at around 6:15 in Boston Common.  I finished up around 6:50 and then ducked through a metal fence to make my way to the tent.  Once in the tent, I received my bib, my race shirt, and was offered coffee, water, bagels, donuts, and a seat.  Nice.

As it turned out, I was allowed to leave the tent and jog around after checking in, so I did a bit more in a wistful effort to stay loose before returning to the tent to chat with others.  

One big topic of discussion was the weather.  It was extremely humid.  The weather maps all seemed to indicate clear skies, but that was contradicted by the periodic showers that pinged the tent roof. I had brought a hat and debated whether to wear it - I don't like wearing hats when running, but I do prefer it over rain hitting my face and glasses.

I eventually decided on the hat, hoping that wearing it would ward off any further rain.  For the same reason I also grabbed one of my precious ponchos before being walked to the start area.

***

One of the nicest things about being in the Para field was that I was allowed to use the same area as the elites for some final strides - a section of the starting area between the start line and the wave 1 corral.  I've found that doing long lunges seems to open up my hips well before hard running, so I found a stretch of pavement off to the side and began lunging.  Only to have my right foot (the front one for this lunge) slide out from under me on the wet pavement.  This resulted in an unintentional (and awkward) half-split, and my left knee (the back one) hitting the pavement pretty hard.

It took a few seconds to extricate myself from the split, and then I checked out my knee.  There was a tiny scrape with minimal blood, but nothing too concerning.  I walked and then jogged a little bit, and it still felt fine, so I decided I was fine to race.  But...NO MORE LUNGES.  

***

I watched the elite men line up for their start, and on cue the skies opened up, resulting in nervous laughter and groans from the runners and normal laughter and groans from the race staff and audience.  

The men started and then the elite women gamely strode up to the line, since they were seconds away from their start.  The para field had a bit longer, so we huddled under umbrellas held by race staff.  I was incredibly grateful for both hat and poncho.

A few minutes later, it was our turn to line up.  I reluctantly shed my precious plastic poncho and handed it to someone (thank you, whomever you were). There was a 10 second warning, and then the gun.  

***

The 10K started with a gentle uphill in Beacon Hill, which I was excited about (it's easiest for me to run fast on an incline).  Unfortunately, I was stiff enough from standing pre-race that I couldn't take full advantage, and rough pavement (classic Beacon Hill and not at all surprising) slowed me a bit more.  Then we turned left to descend down to the bridge across the Charles River to Cambridge.

My gait was still off here, and I struggled with the descent to the bridge, as well as the descent off of the bridge.  However, I tried some "tricks" I had discussed with one of my physical therapists - forcibly punching my hands forward in sync with my stride while staring at a focal point ahead - and that helped.

I am whining about
my performance, 
but I bought a 
photo anyway.

Once on flat ground, things loosened up and I started to open up my stride.  The rain had eased off, which was great.  However, the moisture would linger in the air for the rest of the race.  I realized pretty quickly that I was running harder than I would be able to hold for 10K, especially given the weather.  Honestly, I was doubting occasionally that I'd be able to finish without walking. So much for marathon fitness from this spring carrying over.  

The rest of the race was just me grinding away.  I struggled some with a section of bridge spans with uneven metal grates that threw off my balance (par for the course for me, and part of the territory of being a T36 para-athlete).  Things improved when we turned towards the Charles to head into Boston about mile 4, and then Murphy's law kicked in with a side stitch that had to be managed. ("managed" means thumb pressed into stomach).  The stitch eased with about a mile to go, and I pushed as best I could into Boston Common and to the finish line.

***

I crossed the line and was greeted by a BAA official who grabbed a medal and a bottle of water for me before escorting me back to the tent.  I had won my para-division which was great, but I felt really sheepish about my performance. More specifically, that I hadn't trained for this distance and had been caught flatfooted by my utter lack of stamina.  Almost immediately I was planning to return next year so I could run better.

My lack of fitness was mistake #1; mistake #2 was booking my return flight way too early in the afternoon.  I didn't realize that ambulatory para-athletes were included in the awards ceremony, and so I had planned on saying my thank yous and good byes and heading back to my hotel about 20 minutes after finishing.  Fortunately the timing worked out, and I was able to accept my award at a really well done awards ceremony and then hustle back to my hotel to shower, check out (made it by 10:58), and get to the security line at Logan by noon (my flight was at 1:15). 

Me and the Men's T35-38 winner,
Cory Gardner.  We have since
 realized that we both clubbed at
Manray back in the 90s...
(big thank you to Rhonda Foulds
for the picture)

During the awards ceremony, they also announced that I had set the 10K World Record for the women's T36 division.  So that was really cool but also made me even more determined to return.  That record should be faster than it is, and I also feel obligated to do the BAA right with a better performance and not rushing away after, given everything that they are doing for para-athletic running.

***

Splits were:

Mile 1: 8:43 (this one was a bit long)
Mile 2: 7:16 (this was a bit short)
Mile 3: 7:44
Mile 4: 7:36
Mile 5-6: 14:57
Last .21 - 1:32

Other notes:

• The official weather was mid-60s, with intermittent rain.  So doesn't seem that bad on pixels, but this was one of those days where it seemed like the laws of science had wavered, and we had exceeded 100% humidity.
• I met some really great people in the para-athlete tent.  Pretty much everybody there is a rock star, in their own way.
• Honestly requires that I disclose that the women's T36 10K World Record was open, and I established the first time for others to chase.  I'm actually not embarrassed by that point.  So much of the competition in these para-divisions is actually making it to the starting line.  And somebody has to go first and set a mark for others to chase. I just hope that the future brings many more T36 women trying to beat my record.  (I also hope that I lower it some myself first.)
• Mistake 3 of the weekend was not making sure that my pre-check number was on my airline ticket. It's been a long time since I've had to take my shoes off and remove my laptop from my bag, and it was less than ideal to have this happen at the same time I was carrying a very nice trophy with me.  So that's three things to fix for next year.
• I was really worried about getting the trophy onto the plane.  My plane was completely sold out, and I was in one of the latter boarding groups.  I couldn't check my backpack (laptop and medication) and I was certain the trophy would be destroyed if I checked it (it was in a cardboard box, but I didn't think that would be sufficient to protect it).  Fortunately, there was enough overhead space that I could tuck the trophy there.  And then set my watch with 3 different alarms so that I didn't forget it when I deplaned.
• My left knee was fine.  Never hurt during the race or after.  Just a bit tender to the touch.

Training log - Week ending 6/16/2024

This week was 56 miles of running, 9 "miles" of pool-running, and 500 yards of swimming -- training log is here.

My workouts this week had a split focus.  Basically, I've found that it's extremely difficult to work on my gait issues AND build my fitness in the same workout.  This is because I work on my gait issues by running in challenging situations (uneven or rough pavement, crowded paths, etc) and when I'm in those situations, it's very rare that I run fast enough to elevate my heart rate to the point where I get a real workout.

So, this week I did a tempo on Wednesday on the track to work on fitness, and then spent Friday and Saturday working on my weaknesses (short distance speed and running fast in busy areas and on uneven pavement).

Saturday's workout had a rule - I had to stay completely relaxed and smooth the whole time - as soon as I felt a hint of tension or locking up I eased off the effort until I was loose again (this is different from my normal practice, which is to try to hold pace while working through things).  

It felt like a productive session, in that I was able to figure out some mental cues that helped remove the tension (mainly thinking "smooth" and not focusing so much on my rhythm).  

Next week is the BAA 10K.  I am very definitely NOT in good 10K shape right now, so this will be interesting.

Monday: 9 "miles" pool-running and streaming yoga. Foam rolling in evening.

Tuesday: 9 miles very easy (10:10) on trails and streaming yoga. Foam rolling in evening.

Wednesday: 9.5 miles on the track, including a tempo workout of 3700m, 3200m in 16:40 (7:19/7:07/2:14) and 13:45 (6:58/6:47) with 2 minutes recovery in between (intended to be 4 miles continuous but my shoe came undone).  Followed with leg strengthwork.  Sports massage in evening.

Thursday: 10.5 miles very easy (9:29) in the morning; streaming pilates and foam rolling in the evening.

`

Friday: 7 miles on the track, including drills and some 200s (50-51 seconds) and 100s (24-25 seconds).  Foam rolling in evening.

Saturday: 9.5 miles, with a workout of 8x3 minutes on, 3 minutes off around the Georgetown waterfront. The on part was focused on picking up the pace while staying completely relaxed and smooth.  Followed with streaming pilates. Foam rolling in evening.

Sunday:  10.5 miles very easy (9:32) followed by drills and 500 yards swimming. Foam rolling in evening.

Training log - Week ending 6/9/2024

This week was 41 miles of running, 9 "miles" of pool-running, and 500 yards of swimming -- training log is here.

This week was a bit low on mileage, both because I raced on Saturday and because I had some weird food poisoning/stomach bug thing on Wednesday morning. I was horribly nauseous for about 2 hours, then totally fine.  No idea what was going on.  My best guess is that snacking on raw chocolate chip cookie dough on Tuesday afternoon was a bad idea.

Saturday was another track meet.  Per my usual, I was stiff and rigid for most of both races - when it takes you 1-3 miles to hit your stride, races shorter than 2 miles are an exercise in frustration.  But I felt like I ran better than the previous meet, and I certainly accelerated off the line a bit better.  And I also figured out that I ran my best in these shorter meets when I wasn't thinking about the meet at all.  That's different from the psychological approach that used to work best for me (which was to ignore times and focus on running the best race I had in me). But times change, I guess.

On Sunday, I decided to ignore my running gait and focus on two things - keeping my shoulders relaxed and running as quietly as possible. The run went very well and I was able to converse and navigate uneven pavement better than my norm.  So perhaps those are key running cues also (of course, being tired from the race also helped -I'm always much more fluid and have better control of everything when my legs are tired).

I also swapped from pre-run stretching and mobilization to pre-run muscle release (massaging out knots and foam rolling) and that seemed to help also.  I may need to switch my schedule up and foam roll before my runs and stretch after.

Monday: 9 "miles" pool-running and upperbody weights/core. Foam rolling in evening.

Tuesday: 10 miles, including 2x(1200, 800, 400) in 5:32, 3:33, 1:43, 5:12, 3:24, 1:40 (recovery was 1 lap jog in 2:1x-2:5x after each.).  Then did some 200s in 49-50 seconds.  Followed with leg strengthwork. Foam rolling in evening.

Wednesday: Nothing in the morning (felt sick). Yoga in the afternoon. Foam rolling in evening.

Thursday: 8 miles very easy (9:29) in the morning; streaming pilates and foam rolling in the evening.

`

Friday: 5 miles on the track, including drills and some 200s (50-51 seconds) and 100s (24-25 seconds).  Foam rolling in evening.

Saturday: 7 miles, including two track races - 3000m in 13:11 and 800m in 3:19.  Followed with 500 yards recovery swimming. Foam rolling in evening.

Sunday:  11 miles easy (9:17) followed by full body strengthwork. Foam rolling in evening.

Race report: PVTC Track Meet, June 8, 2024

I ran the 3000m and the 800m at a PVTC (Potomac Valley Track Club) all comers track meet this morning, running 13:11 and 3:19 by my watch (unofficially).

This was the next episode in my summer of "work on your weaknesses."  In my case, there are three weaknesses I'm focusing on.  The first is a lack of speed altogether, the second is difficulty managing my running gait for the first 1-3 miles of a race, and the third is a tendency to stiffen up any time I get competitive or want to pick up the pace.

All three weaknesses can be managed during longer races, which is probably a lot of the reason why I prefer and am much more competitive at races that are 10 miles or longer.  But my weaknesses limit me even at those distances, so there's a lot to gain by improving here.  Additionally, that majority of para-athletic competitions focus on 5000m or shorter, meaning that I really do need to figure out how to run the short stuff better if I want to compete regularly in my para division.

Finally, it's believed that working on power and speed is extremely good for people with Parkinsons, as it combats the slowing of movements that is one of the hallmarks of the condition. 

So...doing these races is hard on my ego, but good for everything else.

***

I was pretty casual about this meet. I had selected the 3000m and the 800m as the two races I wanted to do, and both were scheduled to run in the middle of the day.  This meant that I could show up around 9 am, register on site, and then get a feel for when I'd be racing.  

The whole meet was on a rolling schedule, which reminded me of my horse showing days (your class went when it went).  As I registered, I ballparked that we were at least an hour away from my first race, which gave me enough time to do my standard 3 mile warm-up on a nearby roadway (15 minutes jogging, 3 minutes at half-marathon effort, 4x30 seconds at 5K effort, and 4x10 second strides) before stopping by my car to grab a bag with my racing shoes (I went with the Takumi Sen 7), sunscreen, and some bottled water, before heading back to the track.

(the bottled water was important, as the area was under a boil-water advisory from a recent burst pipe)

The ad hoc nature of the event did create an additional challenge for me: since I have to take my Parkinsons meds several times a day, I try to plan ahead and time my doses around when I need to feel best (i.e., during the race).  That's easier to do when you know exactly when you'll be racing.  Fortunately, the timing worked out here - I was due for a dose of meds around 10:30 am, so I just took them a little early, at 10:15 am, which ensured that I was right where I needed to be medication-wise when we were called for the 3000m at roughly 10:45 am.

They gave us a first and second call for the 3000m, with enough time between the two that I could do some fast running laps on the infield to get my heart rate up a bit.  At the second call, we lined up at a tent to give our names and numbers for the heat (there were about 10-12 runners in the heat), and then we were walked over to the start line on the far side of the track.  No lane assignments here, just a waterfall start. I placed myself near the outside so that the first curve would be a bit gentler as I cut in towards lane 1.

***

The gun went off and I actually wasn't dropped by everyone this time.  Which was great but also meant that I had to navigate around some people to get myself to lane 1.  I did this surprisingly smoothly (if I do say so myself) and merged into lane 1 with a group ahead.

From there, I could see a group ahead that I wanted to catch up to.  But of course, every time I tried to do so, my gait stiffened up, and I had to back off a little and try to loosen up.  7 laps went by too quickly, and so I was never quite able to reel in the group before the finish line, making me both sad and happy that I was done.  My finishing time was 13:11, meaning that I basically ran a 3000m race at the same pace I raced 10 miles last spring, but heck, that's how things roll for me right now.

***

There was only one event - the 200m - between the 3000m and the 800m.  I got into a conversation with a friend and the 20 minutes between my two events went quickly.  I was a bit surprised when we were called to the line again.

I have to admit I was a bit checked out for the 800m - in a "let's just get this over" mindset.  I was pretty casual and unfocused as I ran the first lap, with my mind wandering all over the place - would I have time to stop by the grocery store after the race, etc.  And then I came through the first lap in 1:38 with plenty of energy in the tank.  

At that point I woke up, focused on the task at hand, and decided to pick it up for the second lap to get below 3:15....and my legs locked up again.  I fought my way to the finish with a second lap that felt much harder but was 3 seconds slower.

About 30 seconds after finishing, as I reflected on my 800m, I realized that while it wasn't a great race, it was a very USEFUL race.

More specifically, I've been trying to manage the "I get stiff whenever I try to accelerate" issue by thinking "tempo" when I race (since I seem to hit faster paces in tempos than in intervals) or focusing internally on my rhythm.  But those haven't worked well in shorter races.  So I need to find another trick - a way to stay very casual and loose and checked out.  Sifan Hassan always looks like she has no idea why she's at a starting line, and it works for her.  So perhaps something to emulate.  Definitely something to play with.

Other notes:

• I wore the Takumi Sen 7 for these races - it worked as well as anything else under 25mm - so I suspect I'll stick with that shoe for the rest of this season.  Some of the track meets I am running do NOT have restrictions on stack height.  However, since the meets I care the most about do have these restrictions, I think I'm just going to stick with the Takumi Sens for all track meets so that I can stay relatively comfortable in them.
  
  
• Even though my 800m was much faster here than at the last meet (3:19 v. 3:43) it is the 3:43 that is still the national record for the T36 division.  This is because national para-athletic records can only be set at meets and races recognized by either Adaptive Track & Field USA (ATFUSA) or World Para-athletics (WPA).  USATF sanctioning is not sufficient, even if I have a classification.
  
  
• It was warm for this meet (low 80s) but not humid, so the weather really wasn't an issue given how short the races were.  The pollen was miserably high, though.
  
  
• One other thing I played with during this meet was noise reducing earplugs.  As I've mentioned before, I've developed an "exaggerated startle reflex" - meaning that my body tends to spontaneously jerk at sudden loud noises, even if I'm expecting them.  It's not a brain/anxiety thing, but a neurological spinal reflex-type thing, similar to touching a hot stove.  I can manage it once I realize it's happening, but the initial (very annoying) jerk happens before I realize it.
  
  Someone noted on a message board that they had found that wearing noise reducing earplugs helped, so I picked up a pair and have been testing them during runs.  So far so good - I can still hear everything I need to hear (conversations, instructions, cars or bikes approaching) but the sharpness of the noise is blunted enough to mostly avoid triggering the reaction.  Meaning it's much easier to run near other people or be passed from behind.  I had very little trouble running near other people during this meet, and the starting pistol wasn't an issue at all.
  
  And yes - noise-reducing ear plugs are totally legal under USATF rules.  Headphones are not, of course, but the language of the rule makes clear that the issue is with "audio, video, or communications devices" (USATF Rule 144.3b).  

Training log - Week ending 6/2/2024

This week was 60 miles of running and 7 "miles" of pool-running -- training log is here.

I was surprisingly tired from the past weekend's track meet, so I skipped the Tuesday track workout.  Wednesday I felt a little fresher, so I hit the track for some minimal tempo work followed by some short speed stuff. I managed to get my 100m time down to 22 seconds - sub 6:00 pace - which felt like an achievement.

Since I struggle with running fast on even slightly uneven terrain, I moved my Friday tempo workout from the track (perfectly smooth and flat) to the Georgetown waterfront (slightly uneven pavement and walkways, plus some slight inclines).  It was challenging, so I think I need to do this some more.

Monday: 9 "miles" pool-running. Foam rolling in evening.

Tuesday: 6 miles very easy to gym (9:50) including two hill sprints.  Upper body weights/core at gym, and then jogged 2 miles very easy home (9:47) plus two strides.  Sports massage at night.  

 

Wednesday: 9 miles on the track, including a mixed workout that started as 2K at tempo (9:08) and then 2x800 slightly faster (3:33 and 3:29).  5 minutes recovery after the 2K and 2:40 between the 800s.  Then swapped shoes into the Takumi Sen 7 and did some 100s and 200s.  The 200s were 47-48 seconds and the 100s were 22-23 seconds. Foam rolling in evening.

Thursday: 9 miles very easy on trails (10:09) in the morning; streaming yoga and foam rolling in the evening.

`

Friday: 10 miles, including a relaxed ~6500m tempo on the Georgetown waterfront (5 loops - splits were 6:18, 6:05, 6:00, 5:53, 5:50), followed by leg strengthwork.  Foam rolling in evening.

Saturday: 9.5 miles very easy (9:19), drills and two strides.  Upperbody weights and core and foam rolling in evening.

Sunday:  14 miles easy to moderate (8:45) followed by leg strengthwork. Foam rolling in evening.

Training log - Week ending 5/26/2024

This week was 44 miles of running and 9 "miles" of pool-running -- training log is here.

Just a placeholder for another race week as I catch up on stuff.

Monday: 9 "miles" pool-running. Foam rolling in evening.

Tuesday: 10 miles, including a track workout of 2x(1600, 800) in 7:15, 3:30, 7:02, 3:25 (recoveries of 3:0x-3:1x between each).  Then did some 200s testing various shoes (all around 52-53 seconds).  Followed with leg strength-work.  

 

Wednesday: 8 miles very easy (9:35). Foam rolling in evening.

Thursday: 6 miles very easy on trails (10:01) and upperbody weights/core.

`

Friday: 4.5 miles testing out shoes on track.  Foam rolling in evening.

Saturday: 5 miles very easy (9:30) Foam rolling in afternoon.

Sunday:  Tri-state Games track meet.  Race report here.  10 miles over the course of the day - ran the 5000 in 23:31, the 1500 in 6:43, and the 800 in 3:43.  Then drove home. Foam rolling in evening.

Race report: Tri-State Games, May 26, 2024

 I ran the 5000m, the 1500m, and the 800m at the Tri-State Games in Rahway New Jersey last weekend.  I ran these with the goals of a) grabbing qualifying times for the "Hartford Nationals" in July - a national para-athletics championship; b) establishing/setting records in my division for those distances; and c) simply getting experience with para-athletic/adaptive athletic meets, which are similar to traditional meets in some ways, and differ in others.

[Yes, this race report is very late.  I have been simply SWAMPED with life/work stuff.]

This was my first time at a para-athletics track meet, and as an adult onset runner I can't say I'm an old hand at track meets either.  Several years ago I did a few local track meets, so I'm somewhat familiar with racing on the track.  But this meet, run under ATFUSA rules, had a few additional requirements to which I needed to adapt (note the pun).  The first two, which I learned pre-race, were:

Requirement 1: My shoes had to have a sole thickness of 25 mm or less (this shifts to 20 mm or less after October).  This is because ATFUSA follows World Para-Athletics rules on shoes, and the WPA in turn follows World Athletics rules.  So no Vaporflies allowed.

In this era of high stack shoes and super foams it is challenging to find shoes that a) aren't spikes and b) fit this requirement.  I picked up a pair of Dragonflies (1/2 off) and gave them a test run before concluding I wasn't ready for them.  

Fortunately, I had a collection of shoes from 7-8 years ago that I had stocked up on, and then never used and never gotten around to selling on Ebay.  I played with a few of those and confirmed that the Adios Boost 4 was the best option.  I also purchased a pair of Adidas Avantis on sale ($40).  Those were delivered on Friday, so I took those as well when I drove up to New Jersey on Saturday.

Requirement 2: GPS watches were banned. Fortunately, I caught this one before I left for New Jersey, which gave me enough time to buy a cheap Timex watch.  

I race by feel, so I didn't need a watch for that reason.  But...I did want my 5000m splits for posterity, and I also wanted to have some way of telling time so that I could know how fast the day was moving (and more importantly, when it was time to take my meds). 

With both these adjustments made, I was feeling very retro and classic when I rolled into Rahway River Park on Sunday morning.

***

I should probably take a few paragraphs to describe this meet at this point. This was called the Tri-State Games because it involved multiple sports spread over 3 days - power-lifting (Friday night), archery (Saturday morning), field events (Saturday all day), and track (Sunday all day).  It was open to children and adults but skewed 25 and younger - at 50 I was one of the oldest athletes on the track on Sunday. 

The track meet was extremely organized and professional - there were at least 6 USATF officials (in uniform) on the track managing the call box, start line, or finish line or standing elsewhere on the track to observe the races.  There was also a large screen display at the finish displaying splits and times.

The meet was for both wheelchair and ambulatory athletes, resulting in some interesting tweaks to the track meet format I'm most familiar with.  Each distance had multiple heats, with the wheelchairs kept separate from the ambulatory athletes. [The latter category included amputees with prosthetics, visually impaired runners, neurologically impaired runners (hi!), and intellectually impaired runners.]  Most heats were also separated by sex, resulting in up to 14 heats for some distances.  For each distance, the wheelchair heats were first, followed by the ambulatory heats.

The meet schedule included breaks through the day.  Some were familiar: "lunch" or "warm-up."  But "compensator setting" was a mystery until a parent explained it to me.  Compensators are automatic steering systems used by wheelchair racers on the track.  You can set your compensator to go straight or to curve around a bend.  But...while straight is the same on every track, the radius of a turn can vary depending on both the track and one's assigned lane on that track.  So...during compensator setting breaks, the wheelchair athletes in the upcoming heats practice the curves of the track in their assigned lane to ensure their compensators are set correctly for their next heat.

There is also an etiquette to wheelchair and ambulatory athletes sharing the track during warm-ups.  Essentially the wheelchairs get lanes 1-4, and the ambulatory athletes get lanes 6-8.  Lane 5 is to be kept empty as a buffer.

All of this was explained to me by wonderful, friendly people who welcomed me and wanted to make sure I was at ease and enjoying the meet.  It was really a great crowd of people.

***

I arrived at the meet pretty early - around 6:30 am.  This was because I was uncertain of how things were going to go, and I wanted to make sure I had sufficient time to figure out everything and warm-up sufficiently (the track closed to all at 7:35).  As it turned out, this was perfect timing.  

I jogged about 2.5 miles in a pair of old Sub-twos (chosen as my jogging/warm-up shoe because it was also legal for the track and could be used in an emergency) and then swapped to the Adios 4 to do my warm-up fartlek (3:00 at HM effort, 4x30 seconds at 5K effort, and 4x10 second strides).  It had rained overnight and the track was still damp and the air really humid. 

I finished my warm-up about 7:30. Which was perfect, since my first race - the 5000m - started at 7:40 am.  There were two heats: one for wheelchair racers and the other for ambulatory runners.  Since adaptive/para racing seems very biased towards the sprints, there were few takers for the 5000m - just one wheelchair racer in the first heat and me and a guy in his 20s for the ambulatory heat.

The rules were that we had to report to the "call room" (actually a tent at one end of the track) when called for our heat - which was generally 10-15 minutes before the first heat of any distance. For each distance the wheelchair racers went first, followed by the ambulatory runners - meaning that I spent a lot of my day in the call room area.

In the call area ambulatory runners were given sticky numbers for hip and chest (the wheelchair racers placed them on their helmets).  Once I had my sticky numbers placed correctly I watched the single wheelchair racer time-trial a sub-16:00 5000m to get his qualifier, and then it was my turn. 

*** 

The other runner and I were escorted across the infield to the 5000m start line.  The sun had emerged from the clouds and was clearing the fog; however, the humidity lingered.  It was steamy, but I was a marathoner from Virginia.  I wasn't that worried about the heat during a ~3 mile track race 200 miles north of home.

Since I had been standing for 20 minutes at this point, I asked if I could do two strides in the long jump runway and was granted permission.  I was stiff during the strides, but much better for them.

Then we lined up.  I had number 1, so I was on the inside, while the other runner started to my right.  As soon as the gun went off our lane assignments were irrelevant. He exploded off the line and I didn't and so he was almost instantly a full 20m ahead of me.

That was fine.  He was in a different division, and what I really cared about was qualifying, setting the national 5000m record for my division, and ideally leaving a little in the tank for later races.  So I eased into a tempo rhythm, noting how odd and awkward the old Adios shoes felt after doing all my track workouts in vaporflies.  As I turned onto the straightaway towards the finish line for the first time, I noted that there was a display counting down laps.  That was nice - I didn't need to keep track myself.

A lap or so later, I began to reel in the other runner.  Pretty soon I was on his shoulder.  He surged and I didn't - both because it was early in the race and I wanted to hold a steady effort and because I really couldn't.  He pulled away but then faded, and I was back next to him.  This happened twice more in the next two laps, and then I was pulling ahead.

From there on, I simply held my rhythm and counted down the laps, trying to ignore how uncomfortable my feet felt.  By the time I hit 6 laps left, I was feeling the heat and humidity and appreciating my conservative start   The last 3 laps were a major slog (so much for that whole "marathoner from Virginia" thing), but I managed to hold pace.  And then I was done and trying to catch my breath.  The trackside clock showed 22:31 - much slower than I had hoped I'd run - but I had hit my qualifying time (sub-27:00, so not a huge reach) and established the national record for the 5000m for my division (Women's T36) so it was all good.  

***

Next up was the 1500m, scheduled for around 10:15 am.  

When I had registered for this meet, I had signed up for the 5000m, 1500m, and 800m.  Since I'm a marathoner runner who gets faster the longer she runs, my hope was that all three distances would go fairly close to each other in time, so that I could knock them all out and be on my way home (I'd treat it like a cutdown track workout).  But no such luck - the 5000m was the first race of the morning, the 1500m was scheduled for 10:15 am, and the 800m for 3:10 pm.  

So I hung out for a while after my race, before jogging a mile plus some strides at 9:50 to loosen up for the 1500m.  According to the heat sheet, I was the only ambulatory woman in the 1500m, so this would be a solo time trial.  Being by myself was fine with me - I've certainly done enough solo workouts, and I wouldn't have to worry about race tactics or similar.

However, after I finished my warm-up, I was told that they had decided to combine the men's and women's heats, meaning that I would be running around 10:45 instead, during the men's ambulatory heat.  I was a bit surprised - I thought the rules required separate heats for the sexes at any distance under 3000m - but I was reassured by the officials that the heat would be legal and any records set during it would be valid.  I honestly would have preferred the earlier heat and running by myself, but it wasn't my call.  And I'm sure that combining the two heats helped the meet stay on schedule.

So, I waited through both the women's and men's wheelchair 1500m heats (3 total) and then headed towards the 1500m start when directed. Since we were crossing the field to the start line I took the opportunity to do a stride on the field, only to get yelled at.  I'm not sure why the stride was allowed for the 5000m but not the 1500m, but oh well.  At least I hadn't been DQed.

We lined up (I was lane 1, again).  There were 6 runners total in this heat - me and 5 males, ranging in age between 14 and 23.  None were in my T36 division - four of the five were T37s (another neurological division - with one bad side instead of two) and the fifth was a T20 (intellectually impaired).  

The starter gave us our final instructions, with a surprise twist.  Because we were effectively running two separate heats for the two sexes simultaneously, there could be no drafting between sexes.  I could not run in the same lane immediately behind any male, and they couldn't run behind me.  Honestly, it was the first I had ever heard of a no-drafting rule anywhere in running, but...this was also my first para-meet, so there you go.

Then the starter stepped back, barked "on your mark," and fired the pistol.

***

Unsurprisingly, I was once again dropped by everyone in the field.  The men all exploded off the line, but then started fading as early as 100m into the race.  This wouldn't have been an issue except for the no-drafting rule, which meant that I couldn't tuck in behind someone on a turn and then swing out wide on the straightaway to pass.  If they were in lane 1, I couldn't be behind them in lane 1.

Since I was running this race primarily for a qualifying time (sub 10:20) and to break the current national record for my division (7:40.40) I really didn't want to be DQed. In a slight excess of caution, I ran most of this race in either lane 2 or 3 to be super careful (I was unclear on exactly what distance between two runners qualified as drafting). 

Running wide, I reeled in 4 of the 5 men over the next three laps (all the T37s) but wasn't ever able to catch the T20 - he beat me by 30 seconds.   But I had achieved what I needed to.  Two races down, one to go.

***

The 800m was several hours away, so I found some shade and had lunch (gluten free bagel, bananas, and some dates - nothing heavy with a race a few hours away).  The track was open for a mid-day break, and so I jogged back over and did some strides in first my Adios 4s and then a brand new pair of Adidas Avanti spikes (without the actual spikes) that had been delivered on Friday afternoon.  The Avantis felt a bit better than the Adios during the strides, so I decided to try them in the 800m.  It was only two laps, so how bad could it be?

Then I hung out for a few more hours (the host team - the North Jersey Navigators - generously invited me to hang out under their tents) before jogging another mile plus some strides in preparation for my last race.

***

There were four heats of the women's 800m, and once again the ambulatory athletes were in the last heat.  Since all heats were ordered to the call box area 15 minutes before the start of the first heat, this meant that I stood (or did leg swings or marched in place to try to stay limber) for about 30 minutes before being called to the start line (WALKING ONLY this time).  My legs felt like they were made of iron, and not in a good way.

But hey, at least I had the Avantis on - perhaps they would be magic.   Only one way to find out.

We took our assigned lanes - the orders were to stay in lane until we ran past some cones.  At that point we could break to the inside lane.  I had been assigned lane 7, which I appreciated - the wider turn would be more comfortable.

Another "on your mark" and then the pistol.  And I lurched off the start line.  I stayed in my lane until I passed the cones, and then I gradually eased my way to the inside lane, hitting it just before the next turn (My coach had warned me not to cut in too quickly - you just add extra distance that way).

Three of the women were ahead of me at that point.  My legs felt utterly awful and clumsy, but even so I managed to pass one woman (a T37) and hang right off the shoulder of another (a T62 - aka a double amputee).  The T62 and I were together for about 500m - I tried to pass her but was honestly doing well just to stay on my feet at this point.  Then we hit the home stretch and she kicked, and I just watched her pull away while I ground my way to the finish, trying not to trip and fall over my Avantis.  

I ran 3:43 for the 800m - literally a slower pace than I had held for the 5000m or 1500m.  I was more amused than upset, though.  I knew the 800m was very much outside my wheelhouse, and I only needed to break 4:50 to qualify for nationals at that distance. As it turned out, the 3:43 was a national record for my division for the 800m as well (too bad they couldn't count one of the middle 800s of my 5000m from that morning), so the race was still a productive one, if ugly.

I was amused, though - post race - by the comments I received post-race on how obviously tired I was from having run the 5000m and 1500m first.  Honestly, fatigue was about 10% responsible for my bad race; the other 90% was having to stand for 30 minutes before running.

Nevertheless, I was done.  Finally.  I walked around a bit to say goodby to various friends I had made, cleaned up as best I could in a park bathroom, ate a belated box lunch (or two), and then jumped in the car for the three and a half hour drive home.  It had been a long day, but a fun and fulfilling one.

***

Splits for the three races, as noted by the timing system:

5000m: - the first 200m was 54 seconds, and then I split 1:49, 1:51, 1:50, 1:49, 1:48, 1:47, 1:47, 1:47, 1:48, 1:48, 1:48, 1:46

1500m: the first 300m was 1:18, and then I split 1:50, 1:47, 1:46

800m: splits were 1:50/1:53.

Other notes:

• The weather was pretty good for a track meet, but definitely warm.  It was 68 degrees with a matching dew point for the 5000m, 75 degrees with a dew point of 70 for the 1500m, and 81 degrees with a dew point of 70 for the 800m.  I felt the weather substantially affected me for the 5000m but wasn't really an issue for the 1500m or the 800m - such are the benefits of shorter races.
  
  
• I was really struck by how well managed this meet was.  Officials were everywhere, including various locations on the track, watching each race carefully for possible infractions. The names of all athletes and their clubs (nearly 100 athletes) were listed in a paper program distributed on race day. Free water and Gatorade were available to everyone and continually restocked.  Announcements and instructions were timely, clear, and easy to follow.  The results from each race were posted within 10 minutes of the race's completion.  It was just a high quality event.
  
  
• I think what I most enjoyed about this meet was how pure it was.  In recent years, it seems that races have become this weird carnival of selfie sticks and influencer meet ups and people printing up bibs with their own names on them and/or bitching about really trivial things like the composition of a race medal or jacket.  The bigger the race, the worse the circus. 
  
  This meet had none of that.  It was simply athletes toeing the line and racing as hard as they could, and then congratulating each other at the finish line, before taking to the sidelines to cheer for others.  No influencing or "inspiration" - just competition in a completely whining-free venue, where everyone was welcomed as an athlete and a fellow competitor.  It was utterly refreshing.