My fastest first 400m of the season. Actually, 0.11 faster than I ran in Toronto. But, I would expect good times on this 300m Mondo track, it is about the fastest track* I've ever run on. 56.9 would have been better. 3 years ago I ran a PR 55.11 in this meet on 1/17/15, that year I had raced a Dec. meet which I ran 2+ seconds slower on a flat 200m Mondo. So, improvement is possible.
As a testament of how fast this track is, UTEP's Michael Saruni ran the world's fastest indoor 800m this year in this meet, a facility record 1:45.92 !!
*(Briefly, the reason I think indoor Mondo tracks are better than outdoor Mondos is that they don't weather well outdoors, especially in hot climates. Outdoor Mondos dry out and lose elasticity and get hard, like the track at LSU. Indoor Mondos retain elasticity because they're not subject to weather/temperature extremes).
The race
There were just 4 in my heat. 2 college freshman in lanes 2 and 5, and 70 yr old masters, Grady in 4. I wasn't about to make the same mistake as I made in Toronto and go out too conservatively so, starting blind in lane 6, I pushed it pretty hard at the start. I got passed by the kid in lane 5 at the top of the first turn, and took second position coming off the turn at the break. The other kid passed me easily on the back straight. I stayed with them through the last turn until the final straight where I tied up and they pulled away, finishing in 53 and 54. If I had saved a little, I might have improved my time. Grady finished about 80m behind us and still ran a world leading M70 time of 67. Since it's early in the season, I don't make too much of the fact (...like Grady does on FB) that my time is the fastest in the world by almost 4 seconds. Obviously, many fast people have yet to run. I just hope I can run like Grady when I'm 70.
Was happy to don the 'Rio kit' uniform. Feels great. I did get a few questions about it. Dave the PA announcer was pretty cool, saying stuff like, "that's 57 yr old William Yelverton on the outside" and "let's see if runs his age, and ... yes he does!"
My feet survived pretty well. I will be in the weight room tonight and back on the track tomorrow for a tempo workout. I hope to train M,W,Th this week on the track. Wed looks tough, could be in the teens, but sunny.
Very happy to be able to still race and be just a few seconds back from the college guys. Some photos from the race and with the awesome MTSU team.
As a testament of how fast this track is, UTEP's Michael Saruni ran the world's fastest indoor 800m this year in this meet, a facility record 1:45.92 !!
*(Briefly, the reason I think indoor Mondo tracks are better than outdoor Mondos is that they don't weather well outdoors, especially in hot climates. Outdoor Mondos dry out and lose elasticity and get hard, like the track at LSU. Indoor Mondos retain elasticity because they're not subject to weather/temperature extremes).
The race
There were just 4 in my heat. 2 college freshman in lanes 2 and 5, and 70 yr old masters, Grady in 4. I wasn't about to make the same mistake as I made in Toronto and go out too conservatively so, starting blind in lane 6, I pushed it pretty hard at the start. I got passed by the kid in lane 5 at the top of the first turn, and took second position coming off the turn at the break. The other kid passed me easily on the back straight. I stayed with them through the last turn until the final straight where I tied up and they pulled away, finishing in 53 and 54. If I had saved a little, I might have improved my time. Grady finished about 80m behind us and still ran a world leading M70 time of 67. Since it's early in the season, I don't make too much of the fact (...like Grady does on FB) that my time is the fastest in the world by almost 4 seconds. Obviously, many fast people have yet to run. I just hope I can run like Grady when I'm 70.
Was happy to don the 'Rio kit' uniform. Feels great. I did get a few questions about it. Dave the PA announcer was pretty cool, saying stuff like, "that's 57 yr old William Yelverton on the outside" and "let's see if runs his age, and ... yes he does!"
My feet survived pretty well. I will be in the weight room tonight and back on the track tomorrow for a tempo workout. I hope to train M,W,Th this week on the track. Wed looks tough, could be in the teens, but sunny.
Very happy to be able to still race and be just a few seconds back from the college guys. Some photos from the race and with the awesome MTSU team.
Hello William. For your knowledge.
ReplyDeleteJoaquin JOYAS (59) marked 58.41 last friday in Sabadell-Catalonia (SPAIN)
He is a great 800 m runner (I think he still is european M55 indoor recordman on 800 m)