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).
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