58.50 - 400m / 25.97 - 200m
I had good experience at the impressive new Norton Center track in Louisville. The facility is nothing short of incredible, world class. And so needed. There are so few such tracks in America and now it's great there's another one within driving distance. Brand-spankin' new banked Mondo! I found a spot in the far right corner of the track area where I home based, warmed up, and hung out. I was never in close proximity with others and every was masked up until the the starter gave the command to remove the masks. I felt it was quite a safe environment, not a big meet or a lot of people for such a huge space.
Although these times aren't as good as I had hoped, I did achieve my goals as there are both presently world leading. And... the circumstances of the races tell me I can really improve on these times. Huge credit goes to Tim King, president of the KYTCCCA, for hosting so many meets open to masters and all ages. I am going back there to race the next 2 weekends!
This was my first time running exclusively against high school age kids. I took second in my heats and it seems to be a good match, as I can usually only beat a lesser percentage of college athletes, I'm right in the mix with high school.
400m - This was one of the weirdest 400m races I've run. In lane 4, right out of the blocks, the kid in lane 5 crossed over and ran nearly the entire first lap ahead of me in my lane. Looking at the results, seems like he was never officially DQd. I guess the official didn't notice 2 runners in the same lane at the break point. He was ahead of me and didn't impede me but the kid in lane 6 did. I was afraid this would happen. He got way out in front and died around the 280m mark on the back stretch. I caught him just before the turn and had to slow up, he really started slowing down. I really had little choice but to pass him on the turn in lane 2. It probably cost me at least a half second. I ran a relatively conservative race, hitting the 200m split around 26.9. I didn't rig at all in the end and felt as if I could have run faster if I risked a little more at the beginning and wasn't impeded. I really wasn't that tired afterward. I found a video of this race and here is a shot where I caught the kid on the back stretch and had to slow down. The last shot is of the finish, me crossing in lane 2. I should have been credited for winning the heat because of the cheater in front.
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| 60 yr old beats 18 yr olds - 400m |
200m - Being a relatively small meet with just 4-5 heats, there was only one event - the 800, between the 200 and 400, so I didn't get full recovery, only about 45 min from the end of the 400m to the start of the 200m. I think I could shave off a few tenths if I were fresh. I got lane 4 which wasn't the fastest lane, but at least better than 2 and 3. Here's the finish line photo from the 200m. I'm in lane 4, edged out the kid in lane 2 by .01. He's 15, 1/4 my age.
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| Just one of the boys... 2nd in my heat of the 200m |
I really wish this timer wouldn't use lanes 1 and 2 for the long sprints. It's a gamble whether or not I get a decent lane. That's why I registered for both the 200 and 400 in both Sat and Sunday meets this coming weekend. I plan to chose the races where I have the best lanes. I'm hoping the 200m on Sat, and I just may run all 3 sprints on Sunday for a workout.
It was a good start to the season. I was watching carefully the times at the AAU Masters Championship in VA Beach going on at the same time. Ron, the guy who beat me in my last indoor 400m at Nationals in '18, only ran a 60.32 and 26.56. I bettered my '18 nationals time by a few hundredths although that was a much slower flat track.
The only problem with running every weekend is the lack of opportunity to do hard training cycles. I may try to do consecutive days today and tomorrow although I may need to do some on the turf.
Great to be in Sewanee with spring on the doorstep.
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