foundation / spectator at SAA meet

Dodging rain showers on a nice spring day, about 60º and breezy at the Sewanee track.  It rained all day yesterday so I went to the weight room and did a brief but focused weight workout.  Today, the track was quiet and all the stuff left over from the SAA conference track meet was gone.

Needed to put in as much volume as I could today.  Not ready to run fast.

Sunday night, the weight room was a ghost ship, no one there:

3 x 15 w/ 80 lbs  - single leg squats/squat jumps  

15 box jumps

Monday on the track:

Hoka trainers on 

400m warmup, stretches, drills 

2 x 600m - 1:49, 1:49.5 

300m - 45.5

This workout was hard but much less painful and hard on the body as my workout on Friday.  I now know not to start a workout with a 61 400m in my present shape and expect to accomplish anything.   I could have done more if my feet could handle it, but it was enough since I expect to be out here again Wed morning.  I remember doing a lot of 600s in my '15 training cycle.  That was a good season, didn't run anything shorter than a 400m for 5 weeks.  (partly due to a hip flexor).  I still haven't had the balls to try a tempo workout yet, but that is coming.

Still heavy, 147.1 lbs after workout.

SAA Championships
The Southern Athletic Conference is a small school DIII NCAA division that includes 8 schools: Rhodes, Sewanee, Milsaps, Hendrix, Berry, Birmingham Southern, Centre, and Ogelthorpe... all small private schools with 100+ yr histories and high academic reputations.  Not exactly hotbeds of athletic prowess.

It was nice to attend a track meet in my hometown.  I hung with my fellow masters track rival and colleague, Marcus who was there with his family.  His amazing daughter Karmin won 4 medals, in the 100, 200, 400, 4x100 and ran the 4 x 400m.  I don't think I've ever seen a college athlete run 5 races in one championship meet.  She won the 200m in 24.26 - the 2nd fastest DIII time in the US after running 3 races.... the 400m in 56.5, the 100m, and the 4x100m.  I can't believe she finished 2nd in the 100m, just 20min after winning the 400m.  It was nice to see Marcus and his whole family.

To me, the most amazing and inspiring race was the men's 400.  It was won by a 5'6" white kid, a freshman from TX who was representing Hendrix.  I was stunned at how Levi Jones held his form and held off his competitors all the way down the stretch, finishing in a PR 48.74.  Wow.  The kid was built a lot like me, except possibly a tad shorter and a bit more muscular.  He weighed 153 lbs.  Definitely did not look like a typical 400m guy, or like any of his competitors.

Also, I saw a kid win the 100m in 10.57 into a slight headwind, very fast on this track.  I think he's the defending DIII champion from Birmingham Southern.  It was the second fastest DIII 100m this yr.  There were a few others that I think will qualify for the DIII Nationals.

Here is a photo of the SAA Championship Award Ceremony.  Rhodes College won the team title.

I love DIII track