Been reluctant to make this post since I must report the fact that I ran my worst 400m race of the season at the worst possible time - when it mattered the most, in the 400m M55 semifinals. Good thing I don't make my living doing this! It took Don's best 400m of his season and my worst (of 7 I raced this year outdoor) for him to beat my at the tape by few inches or 0.07 sec and eliminate me from the final. I was nervous, not relaxed and I completely rigged up in the end, went out too fast, a stupid race. I ran the prelim easy... 57.00 while slowing up and looking around all the way down the stretch. All I had to do to make the final was to do the same thing again. I ran 57.54 my worst time of the season. A mere 57.47 would have got me into the final. Needless to say, I was devastated. I really let myself down. After all that painful work, I just threw it all away. Wasted.
Still, my easy 57.00 prelim was the fastest time at the meet by any US M55 400m racer. But it would have taken a sub 56 to win a medal, which I think I could have done if I executed perfectly, but that obviously didn't happen. Don who beat me in the semi, completely collapsed in the final and ran 59.88.
I was so pissed that night I could not sleep. I stayed up til 4am and guess what I was doing... booking arrangements to go to Poland to race the WMACi Indoor in March. I stopped short of buying a plane ticket, but I think I'm going to go. Might as well, already have the request for time off approved. Ending the season in good shape, no serious injuries. I may even race the district Senior Games... which start in 2 weeks.
So, I ended up having 3 days off unexpectedly in Spain... went to Cordoba, Ronda, and had a great time. I really have enjoyed being here.
I'm looking forward to some consolation medals in our relays. I should be on both the 4x100m and the 4x400m. The initial listing had Marcus ranked above me and me as an alternate, but that was a mistake and if I hadn't pointed it out, they may have gone with it. When choosing 4x100m relay members, you have to look at 200m times when guys haven't run the 100m, or the most recent 100m a guy has run even if it's last year. If they go by the numbers, there is no issue. So, I hope they correct it by tomorrow. If not, I'll be going to Robert and Marcus directly. I don't want a repeat of the Daegu situation where I got pulled off a relay at the last minute and someone's friend or roommate got put on instead. As of tonight, they still haven't fixed it.
One more free day in Spain. Thinking about Granada.
wasn't a waste...you have to look at the entire experience as a whole.
ReplyDelete