I ran the 5000m and the 1500m at the Tri-State Games in Rahway, New Jersey this past weekend, running the 5000m in 22:52.09 and the 1500m in 6:59.59.
This was my second time competing at this meet. I ran it for the first time two years ago and had a great time, so I decided to return and see if I could better my national record for the 5000m (the 22:31 that I ran at this meet two years ago) and get close to my national record for the 1500m (the 6:19 that I ran in August 2024 at a USATF Masters meet).
Ten days out from the meet, the weather was looking great for long distance running - 50s and overcast. But as the dates grew closer, it became clear that this was going to be a dreary weather weekend, with steady rain and wind accompanying the cool temperatures. That was certainly going to make it a bit harder to accomplish my goals, but it was worth a shot anyway.
I had originally planned to take the train up to MetroPark - a few miles from Rahway - and then rely on cabs or rideshare to get around. But the forecast meant that I a) was going to want a car at the race to serve as a warm, dry retreat and b) would need to pack more clothing than I had originally planned. So, I cancelled my train reservation (fully refundable) and filled my car up.
About the need for more clothing: when I get cold, my muscles get tight and it is very hard for me to run fast. If I can't run fast then I don't warm up - it's a vicious circle that destroys races. The answer, of course, is not to get cold. Standing around in wet clothes between races is a great way to get cold.
Since I had two races that would be separated by about two hours per the race schedule, I packed two complete racing outfits, including two each of sports bra, shorts, singlet, longsleeve, and hat, plus two pairs of socks. The only parts of my racing outfit that I didn't double pack were a) gloves (they were waterproof), b) a headband (I forgot) and c) racing shoes (I only had one pair).
In addition to the above, I packed a running raincoat, a swim parka (useful for wearing if I didn't have enough time to change into dry clothes), and a set of non-running dry clothes for the drive home. Finally, I packed a big jar of Vaseline to coat my legs and a pair of loose sweatpants to wear over my Vaseline-coated legs so that I didn't grease my car's interior.
About the Vaseline: I've always coated my face with Vaseline before rainy, windy, or very cold runs to protect the skin and keep my face a bit warmer. I've also learned from multiple rainy runs that, no matter how cold it is, shorts are always a better choice than tights if it's raining steadily. Nothing is colder than wet tights.
So...putting those two facts together, I decided to try wearing shorts and coating my legs with Vaseline to see if that would keep my legs sufficiently warm.
With all that packed, I left for New Jersey on Saturday morning. The drive up was uneventful, other than noting how (relatively) well behaved the other drivers were as soon as I crossed the state line from Maryland into Delaware.
I arrived, checked into my hotel, and then organized everything for the next day - one collection of the clothes I would wear for warming up and the first race, plus the Vaseline, the sweatpants, and the running raincoat. I put my dry change of racing clothes into one packing cube and my dry clothes for the drive home in a second cube. I supplemented this with an old spike bag that I would use to hold my wet clothing - when I arrived home, I would dump this straight into the washing machine.
The ambulatory heat of the 5000m was scheduled for 7:40 am, so I arrived at the race around 6:30 am and started warming up around 7. It was windy and raining, and so I wanted to time my warm-up to minimize my time standing around. I went with my standard warm-up - 15 minutes of jogging, then 3 minutes at tempo effort, 4x30 seconds a bit faster, and 4x10 second strides.
I had debated between singlet or longsleeve for my torso (plus Vaseline underneath, of course). Since it was in the low 50s, I decided to warm-up in the longsleeve under my raincoat (which only partially stopped the rain). It only took a few minutes to confirm that a longsleeve was the right choice this morning. If I wasn't too warm in longsleeve + raincoat, I was certainly going to be too cold in a singlet.
***
Just as I was finishing around 7:30 am, a race official approached - I was the only runner in the ambulatory heat due to the other runner scratching. So that I wouldn't have to run alone, they were going to combine my heat with the wheelchair heat of the 5000m, and I'd start with them at 8:20 am.
I had several concerns about this.
- First of all, I had timed my warm-up for a 7:40 start, and 40 minutes was enough of a gap that I would have to redo my warm-up.
- Second, even with a raincoat on, I was soaked. I wasn't chilled yet, but I certainly would be if I had to wear wet clothes for another 40 minutes (as noted before, I did have a dry outfit in the car, but I was saving that for the 1500 later that morning). I didn't want to get cold and essentially end my race before it started.
- Third, there were some fast wheelchair racers in the wheelchair heat, and 5000m was long enough that they would be lapping me at least twice. That seemed bit unsafe in good weather. On a wet track with visibility reduced by the rain? It felt really sketchy to me.
So, I explained to the race official that I would much prefer to do a solo time trial, if I had that option. Having wheelchair racers on the track at the same time wouldn't make the race any easier, mentally, so if that was the primary justification for combining the heats, there was no need to do so.
I felt a bit bad about this, as pushing for a solo heat meant that the race officials would also be standing outside for at least 20 minutes more, but I didn't feel like I had a choice, especially given the late notice.
The official seemed surprised that I preferred a solo time trial to a combined heat, but didn't argue, and so we were set. I peeled off my raincoat, pinned a bib on my chest and back with the help of others (my hands were already not working too well), and then headed to the start line. After a few moments delay while the starter fiddled with the gun through a plastic bag, we (meaning I) were (was) off and running.
***
I actually really enjoyed the solo time trial, though at times it would have helped to have someone ahead to focus on. I was able to ease into a rhythm over the first 200, and then steadily build with each lap. The wind was an ally also, as odd as that may sound. When doing a long run on the track, I've found that windy conditions make the run into a fartlek, with part of the run working against the wind and part of the run being assisted. The laps went by surprisingly fast (though also endlessly long at the same time, as is the norm when on a track). With 400 to go, I started an extended kick (or as close as I get to one) and ran just over 7:00 pace (1:45 lap) to finish the 5000m.
When I had entered this race, I had hoped to run close to 22 minutes. But I wasn't disappointed with being almost a minute over - the wet and windy conditions had almost certainly slowed me down. I was about 20 seconds off of my record, which was a bummer. But sometimes you get a weather lemon. I'd just have to take another shot later this summer.
***
The 5000m done, I hustled back to my car, draped a coat over a window to create the illusion of privacy, and changed into my second racing outfit of the day. Fresh sports bra, shorts, longsleeve, socks, and hat. My racing shoes were still soaked, but hopefully that wouldn't be too miserable if everything else was dry.
After changing, I fortified myself against the elements with the swim parka, the sweatpants, and an umbrella, and walked back over to the track to check stuff out.
I stood for a bit, chatting with others and watching the second warm-up (they had warm-up sessions before and after the 5000m). But I soon realized that I was getting cold even in dry clothes and rain gear. Since the 1500m had an estimated start time of 10:15 am (90 minutes away), I decided to go back to my car and run the engine. The race had live timing, so I could just track the heats on my phone and use that to time my second warm-up.
***
Around 9:40 I concluded that it was time to warm-up again, so I stepped out into the rain and headed for the track. I took a quick bathroom break and then chatted with a friend for 30 seconds before starting my jog. Only to hear them calling the first heat of the 1500m - my heat - to the start box.
Ooops! This was certainly much earlier than scheduled (though the race had made it clear that the meet was running on a rolling basis and the start times were just estimates.) I hoped that they were calling us well ahead of the actual heat start, and I could quickly get my hip and shoulder number sticker-thingees and then at least do some strides before starting.
I was wrong on both counts. A) they were NOT calling us well ahead of the start. B) the number-sticker things were all impossible to peel off of their backing - probably because of the cold and wet conditions. It took what felt like an eternity (and was probably about 3 minutes) to get the stickers on me, which meant no time for strides.
We (me and four male runners) were walked to the start by another official who would not allow me to jog to the start. It's a weird rule that I've only experienced at para-athlete meets -- I'm guessing that it's because there are a lot of children at the meet, and they are trying to keep everybody from wandering off. But it was unfortunate for me, because that was my last chance to loosen up my legs. Instead, I tried to do some drills at a walking pace (call it a funny walk) in hopes that would do something.
***
As we lined up, I reminded myself that I had just run a 5000m a bit over an hour ago, and that would be good enough. And then we started, and I confirmed that the earlier 5000m had helped some but not quite enough. My legs weren't awful, but they weren't ready for a mile.
You do what you can with what you have, so I went to work. I spent the first 700m trying just to loosen up and lock into a rhythm and then started to track down those ahead of me. I made up some of the gap over the third lap, and then a fair bit of the gap on the fourth lap, but still finished about 30 seconds behind them, and also at least 30 seconds slower than I thought I was capable of running.
I was disappointed, and also pretty angry at myself for not keeping better track of where the meet was. But whatever, my meet was over. And if I hadn't had the day I wanted, at least I knew my fitness was trending upwards. And I also learned a good lesson.
***
Brian and I had concert plans for that evening, so I couldn't stay too long after the 1500m. I said a few good-byes and then headed back to my car change into some dry clothes for the drive home. I may have Parkinsons, but I was still able to completely change clothes in the back seat and then climb over things to get in the driver's seat without issue. And for some reason I was obscenely proud of that. Perhaps lacking in class, but the agility is still there.
Other notes:
- I checked the weather afterwards - 52-54 degrees for the two races with light to steady rain. The wind reportedly was 17 mph, but it honestly didn't feel quite that strong.
- Officially, my splits for the 5000m were 57 seconds for the first 200, and then 1600 splits of 7:26, 7:17, and 7:11 - pretty happy with that. The 1500m splits were 1:26 for the first 300m, and then 1:54, 1:52, and 1:48. So they trended the right direction, at least.
- It was impossible to remove my lane number sticker from my longsleeve when I got home - I think the rain sealed the sticker to the shirt. I tried freezing the shirt (no luck). Goo Gone eventually did the trick, but I then had to wash the shirt three times to remove the Goo Gone smell.
- Despite this unfortunate weather, the organizers did a really good job with the meet. Huge respect to them for putting on such a great event in lousy weather.
- Driving the New Jersey Turnpike was a reminder that not all interstate highways are tryouts for Mad Max extras. Maryland/DMV - I'm looking at you.
