Silver Medal - 800m, USATF Masters National Championships

I ran ok today, it was close between 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.   My time was 2:22.02, actually the slowest of five 800m races I've run in the past 2 yrs, but not by much.  Just 0.49 sec slower than I ran at Hayward.   (All 3 of my 800m races last year would have won this race).   The winner, Roger, had never run this fast before and I truly expected him to fold, but he didn't.  He led from beginning to end and won by a convincing margin, 2.5 sec.  I was not expecting him to be in the mix.  I thought it would be Kevin, David and I for the medals.  Oh well.  It was a good training run.  My splits were 69.90 / 72.12.   At Hayward: 70.02 / 71.51.  Pretty darn close.   

All my 800m races have been in a close range: 2:18.74, 2:19.02, 2:19.22, 2:21.53, 2:22.02.   The bottom line is:  NO! I am not moving up to the 800!

I actually find this race a bitch.  The only good things about it, is that it can be tactical, low chance of injury, and it doesn't require much of a warmup.  I don't think this will be my last 800m, but I wouldn't miss it if it were.  

Good news is that I ran it completely injury free, and am good to go for the 4x400m club relay tomorrow.  The GPTC has been exceptionally generous to me over the years, reimbursing me $$ for world and national meets.  Along with the USATF travel grants, I actually brought in a little $ this season.  

It's been great to see friends, had dinner with team members last night and a great seafood dinner tonight with Stephen, a killer Key Lime pie, and hanging out at the local funky coffee house.  I hope I don't gain too much weight now the season is over.

Sprinting makes you young.  We're all over 60....  

3x200 - last workout of the competitive season

Early afternoon, it was quite warm and humid in Sewanee.  Heat index in the low 90ºs on the mountain, near 100º down the mountain.   After biking up Roark's cove again today, I took a brief swim and did some water running. 

After a nap and a rain shower, I went to the track right at sunset.  Was a beautiful sky and some brief light drizzle.  Did a brief workout with 3x200m, trying to get at 800m race pace.  

Hoka trainers on

stretches, bands, 100m

Nike Maxfly spikes on 

3 x 200m - 33, 32.63, 33.65

Was about right on the pace.  Wanted to get the spikes on and work on my stride and pace.  Definitely shouldn't be running any faster than 33-34 for the first 200m.   No problem with the injury, felt ok.  Not completely gone, but not bad.  

I'm hoping to run somewhere around 69 / 71 splits.    Funny, never thought I'd be running an 800m at Nationals as my only race.   Every person in this race that is competitive I think is also running the 1500m.  These are not sprinters, these are distance runners.  I think if I can stay close to the leader, I can out sprint anyone in this race in the last 80m.  The thing is, I shouldn't go out and try to lead the race, especially at the 600m mark.  There's always the danger of rigging up and losing my ending kick if I go too fast.  Anyway, a tactical race will be the way to go and not too fast a first 400m.  Need to reserve for that kick.  I really do hate this race.  It's going to be tough but I should be able to medal if I don't get injured, and barring any surprises.

First Nationals I've ever driven to.  

139.7 lbs after workout.  

600, 300

Tuesday at the track, it was a pleasant 77º early evening, but my usual silence was broke by a high school football team on the field doing a practice.  No problem though, was able to use the track.  Unfortunately, I noticed a bit more ham soreness than last time but got a few quality long sprints in ok.

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 2 x 100m

600m - 1:45.17 (68.47, 36.70)

300m - 47.79

This 600m was about race pace for an 800m.  Assuming a last 200 in 36, that would be 2:21.  

Due to the soreness in the ham, I probably won't do another significant workout before nationals, just a light workout on Thurs.  

139.5 after workout.

On Wed., I did a hard bike climb up Roark's Cove then some water running.   It was very warm.   It may have been my 2nd fastest climb of the year at 21:30.  

Today, Thurs... probably will likely bike, swim, and go to the track late for some warm up and a little running, not much.  Just trying to be careful so I can race on Sat.

Today, the meet starts and there seem to be very few declarations for the M60 400m.  Probably could have won it even with my injury.

600, 2 x 300, 100

Very warm today, but not as hot as Friday.  Partly cloudy, light winds, 84º with a heat index of about 90º at the Sewanee track.  Got a decent 600 in today.  Again, no fast sprinting! 

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 100m

100m - 16.65

600m - 1:45.91 (33.57, 36.27, 36.07 / 69.84, 36.07)

300m - 48.37

300m - 48.29

My 400m split on the 600m was about right for an 800m, and I followed with a 300m without complete rest.  My heart rate was still over 120 when I ran the first 300m, but rested longer before the 2nd.

Very little sign of my injury so I should be ok to race an 800m next weekend.

139.0 lbs after workout.  I expect to be back on the track Tues and Thurs.  

  

600, 300, bike climb, swimming

A little behind in my posting.  Fri and Sat were some of the hottest days of the year with heat indexes in the upper 90ºs.   Friday I did track, Sat ... was swim in the morning, bike climb in the afternoon. Today, Sunday, will be back on the track.  It's been good to get out in the heat to train, but limiting in volume and what I can do.  This is due mostly to the need to get back home by early evening to watch the World Championships from Hayward.  Today is the last day and I'll definitely be going through withdrawl... it's been wonderful.   Easily the greatest track meet ever held on American soil and in the greatest venue.  If you missed it, sorry for you.  What a spectacle ... history being made.  

Friday at 2:20 pm, Sewanee was about 89º, heat index 98º.   Here's Friday...

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 100m

100m - 17.1

600m - 1:49.07 (35.71, 37.26, 36.10 / 72.97, 36.10

300m - 47.59 

The 600m was slow, probably 2:28 pace or so.  I didn't kill myself and ran the 300m afterward with only several min rest.  That was hard.  I just wanted to get the 600m in and complete it despite the heat.  Fortunately, the weather in Lexington for Nationals should be ok, only in the low 80ºs.   

Was 138.5 lbs after workout, but ate quite a bit on Saturday.  Dinner out on Friday night with friends and dinner out Sat. afternoon.  

Saturday, celebrated Roya's birthday and after swimming in the morning, we went out for some Jamaican jerk chicken in the mid afternoon, giving us and small window for biking before the track meet.  So, I climbed up Roark's cove Rd. on the bike.  

If my foot holds up ok, I'll do another 600 this afternoon and hopefully, more.  Should be warm, but not as hot as Friday, heat index about 90º.

4,3,2,3

Y esterday it was very warm, about 86º with a dewpoint in the mid 70ºs yielding a heat index in the mid 90ºs.  One of the warmest workouts I've done this year.  Occasional light S wind and partly sunny.  When it's this warm, the difference between sunny and cloudy is huge.  I ran some of this workout in direct sun and was there earlier than usual, about 4:30pm in order to get back and watch the World Championships.  Tomorrow will be hard, because I will need to be out in the hot part of the day because I have a dinner commitment at 5.  It's forecast to be 91º, heat index probably near 100º.    I think training for middle distance in the heat adds an extra layer of conditioning because it's just that much harder to train in this heat.  For example, I was intending to run a 600 on my first run, and I shut it down after 400m.  

Still nothing faster than 800m pace...

Hoka trainers on

Stretches, drills, 2x100

400m - 71.20

  - 2 1/2 min rest

300m - 53.31

  - 4 min rest 

200m - 31.68

  - 12 min rest

300m - 49.96

A decent amount of volume while not killing myself.  Can still feel the injury, but it's definitely different.  Lower and in a specific muscle.  It is sensitive throughout the muscle from the mid ham.  Doesn't feel like muscle, more like a nerve.  The foot is starting to get sore as I put the volume in.  

Four more workouts before Nationals.  Getting my weight back under control.  139.3 lbs after workout.  Have taken a hiatus from eating bread, that helps.  

Hoping to swim and bike today.  

Sweating is good.

600, 3x200, 100

Nice weather to train today, upper 70ºs, humid, cloudy and calm winds.   I put in some decent volume today and nothing fast.  The injury seems ok, just some slight residual soreness.  Definitely want to keep it every other day on the track.

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 2x100

100m - 14.97

600m - 1:48.50 (32.69, 36.15, 39.66 / 68.84, 39.44)

3 x 200m - 4-5 min rest - 33.56, 32.80, 31.37

I went out a bit too fast in the 600m and it about killed me.  Definitely should not try to run the 800 any faster than 69 first lap.  Definitely need work, not as fit as I was in June.  Will have about 5 more workouts before Nationals.  

140.4 lbs after workout.

Back to the track

First track workout in 17 days and it went well.  Was cautious and wasn't going to run faster than 800m pace, a 17 sec 100.  But I did.  A little.

Very warm in Sewanee at late afternoon.  85º with a heat index of 90º.   It really felt good to get out there and sweat a bit, and run comfortably.  

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 2x100, bands

2 x 200m w/ 50 sec rest - 33.10, 31.90 

400m - 66.53  (31.74, 34.79)

300m - 47.74 (30.78, 16.96)

It felt fine, even my foot felt good.  Amazing what not running for a while can do.  Barely felt my injury.  Really didn't push it or really do any serious conditioning.  But, I now know I can comfortably run fast enough to train for the 800.  Too bad I didn't have more time, I would even try the 400m if I had a month to prepare.  Not in terrible shape.  

My injury felt different from previous tweaks.  I think it was not at the proximal attachment but further down, more toward the myotendinous junction.  Anyway, it's really healed considerably in the past week.  

For a while, I thought about giving up for the season.  I even bought potato chips... a sure sign of surrender.  But, I think I will be 'a reluctant middle distance runner' for the rest of the season.  I'll run the 800m and maybe my team's 4x400 relay at the end.  

Back under 140 finally.  139.8 lbs after workout.  Going to need to not do too much but definitely need those bitchin' 600m workouts.  I'm doing this because I think I can medal in the 800m at Nationals.  Competition is very similar to last year when I won Silver.  It's about the journey.

Not giving up, yet

Went to the track yesterday before my bike climb and it went ok.  I can run slowly without any issues.  So, I'm still considering diving back into 2 more weeks of training in an effort to get ready to race the 800m at Nationals.  It really depends on how the body responds to the training, so I'm still uncertain, but I'll try.  

I've lost some fitness but my weight is starting to come back down, just under 142 this morning.  This evening, planning the big bike climb up Raccoon Mtn.  I'll start every other day track workouts on Friday or Sat.  Nothing fast, probably long intervals from 300s to 600s.  

Yesterday, just did my standard warmup and some 100s on turf, untimed.

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 2 x 100m

4 x 100m on turf w/ 20 sec rest ~ 18-19 

bike climb up Roark's Cove Rd

Really beautiful here and super quiet.  Looking forward to a night on the river and meeting some friends in Chattanooga on Friday.  

Also looking forward to the 10 days of track and field starting Friday as the IAAF World Championships will be airing on NBC and affiliated channels.  Same track I ran on a few weeks ago, Hayward Field.  

Back to the quiet, maybe finished for the season

Such a contrast.  Sewanee seemed so amazingly quiet yesterday.   After last night's full moon then storms,  a beautiful morning fog.

Yesterday, I swam across the lake, did some water running, biked up the mountain, and went to the weight room.  Didn't do much in the weight room but some light leg curls, glute, and abductor machine.   I can still feel the injury much more than expected, now 5 days after the 400m final.  I do think it will improve enough before Nationals to run an 800m, but should I?   I've not been training regularly on the track since before I ran at Hayward on June 26, 17 days ago.   So, I've definitely lost fitness.  I thinking I should probably shut it down for the season.   As a general rule, if I can feel the injury water running, I shouldn't be running on the track.  I also have gained about 2 lbs.  142 lbs this morning.

I'm planning to bike up Raccoon mountain on Thurs and spend the night on the river.  If I'm not running by the weekend without constraints, I'm going to call it a season.  It's been a bittersweet season.  After being #1 in the world in the 400m previous 2 years, it's tough to fall behind, but still may finish the season ranked about 7th in the world, not too bad for my B-game.  I enjoyed the trip to Finland, I knew it would be tough to get a medal, but the highlight of the season was probably running at Hayward.  

Will do a photo dump of Finland in an upcoming post.

Home...

The 400m Final and after

Haven't posted in a while because I've been busy touring and hanging out with friends.  I made it around the track in the World Championship M60 race without injury and watched John W. run the fastest M60 400m in at least a decade, and I think 4th fastest M60 400m ever:  an astonishing 54.92.  

It was absolutely the funnest World Final I've ever run, no pressure.  I snapped this selfie just as I was getting in the blocks in lane 8, seconds before the race.  I said to Michael and John, "come on now, I want to see 55s from you guys."  They were both deep in concentration, not smiling. 

 

I jogged around in about 66, waving to the crowd on the homestretch, about 5 seconds behind the next slowest person (photo below) .  I saw John's winning time flash on the board and was shocked.   I expected John to run 55, but 54.92?  Everyone was blown away, we were in awe.  He was on his knees in total exhaustion.  I kept saying "HO-LY-SHIT ... HO-LY-SHIT!" Everyone's eyes got real big when they saw the time.  We helped him up and everyone hugged and congratulated him... it was the fastest 400m in the world by an M60 guy in 13 years and possibly the fastest ever by a 63 yr old.  I think the 4th fastest M60 400m of all time.   Michael ran great too, 56.41.   So, since the pandemic... John has the fastest M60 400 by a lot, me second in 56.23, and Michael third fastest.  Shunji, who I beat in the prelims, took the bronze in 57.39.  

This meet was postponed from last year due to covid and if it were last year, I would have had a great shot at a medal.  Last year was my year.  If I were healthy, I would've challenged for a medal this year.  

    After the meet, I went to dinner with friends and then took a midnight walk along the water near my hotel where I snapped this photo.  Still daylight.  

Saturday, I watched the 4x100m relays from track level.  It was cool, except the USA didn't fair real well.   I think only 4 Gold out of 20 men and women's relay races.   After the competition, the US team then got in the stands for the team photo. 

Although the competition was super high, higher than in Spain in my events, the crowd was smaller.   Probably due to the war, location, and covid.  Several hundred people can look pretty small in a 20,000 seat stadium.   To put it in perspective, the M60 200m Gold winner in Spain would have finished 5th in this meet.  My Nationals winning time would have won Gold in Spain.  

Sat. evening, I drove to Helsinki... about 100 miles with Dr. Cheryl and visited the old town, a great restaurant, and various landmarks.  I'll put up a post on that later.

Right now, I'm in the Munich airport on a long layover, waiting for my 9 hr flight to DC.    

My injury is still sore and tight so I haven't decided on going to Nationals yet.  If I do, it will be just the 800m.   I have a boating / biking plan for Thursday evening with Bill up Raccoon Mtn., so I'll maybe go out to the track before then and see how it feels.  I'm sure I've gained a few pounds.  

It was great to see another part of the word and another great European city.   This was my 10th trip overseas.  Great to reunite with my track family, meet and chat with people I only know from FB.  It was a great time, but the first of 5 world meets I'm returning from without a medal.   If I had scratched the 400m final, and just ran the 4x400m relay, our team definitely would've earned a medal.   They missed Bronze by less than a second with some really slow members.  The team averaged just 66 sec per leg.  But, I felt it was too risky for me to participate in a relay.  If I got hurt in a relay, it would let the team down.  

Anyway, I made the World Final, something I missed out in last World meet in Spain.   Despite not having my A game this year, I think I will still finish about 7th ranked in the world in the 400m.  This season has been less about racing, more about the journey and lifestyle.  When I initially got hurt in Dec., I knew it could be a season threatening issue.  Fortunately, I was able to train enough to get one respectable race in, go to Hayward, and make the World Final.  Not too bad for a B-game.  

Running in the World Final, but not racing

 I'm definitely not well enough to race for a medal today in the World Championship Final, and I had the worst possible lane draw, lane 8... which is inexplicable, being 6th fastest qualifier.  I

So, the plan is to just run easy, not get hurt, make it all the way around in last place and just enjoy the moment.  If I feel anything bad, I'll just walk it.  It's my birthday today and I want to celebrate by just being there, among the fastest men my age in the world.  I earned a spot in this Final, ahead of 10 semifinalists.  It actually feels good to have no pressure and no need to win a medal.

I did a therapy session last night starting with a warm bath, PT exercises with dumbells, sauna, light stretching, water running, rest, then 2nd set of PT.

Had a great day yesterday.  John and I spent the day hiking around the woods and went up in the old tower above my hotel.  We met another US athlete John, a distance runner from San Fran.  We then went to track and watched the 1500m finals.  Cheryl joined us and we went out to eat at a Lapland restaurant and had pike fish for dinner.  I got back about 7:30pm and commenced my recovery routine.  

It's definitely sore but really don't know what I can do until I warm up pre race.  The race isn't until 3:18 pm local time so I did another PT session this morning after a light breakfast: bath, weights, water running.

So, since I won't be running any relays, I'll have the next 2 days off to enjoy.  It was a pretty expensive trip, but I'm still glad I came, saw a different and beautiful part of the world, renewed friendships and made new ones with my elite athletic colleagues.  

Looking ahead to Nationals, I won't be doing any sprint races but I may still try the 800m if I can continue to train.  

Happy 62 

In the Final, but a bit injured - WMAC World Masters Championships, 400m semis

I knew I was a bit vulnerable today.  There was torrential rain during warmups but it cleared up nicely for our heat.  Today, I felt more soreness before the race than the previous race.   I went out fairly hard but not ridiculous, probably 27.5ish, and about 120m from the end, felt that pain in the butt.  I broke stride for a few steps, assessed the situation for a few strides, didn't feel too much pain so decided to continue to the end, not pressing it.  I hit the straight and Mike and Shunji flew by me.  My last 400m was probably 17.5.   I finished a close fourth in 59.68 to Ulo who set his national age-group record for Estonia.  I'm astounded I beat 10 of the semi-finalists, despite my injury.

Mike V. won the heat, ran spectacularly today, becoming the first M60 to run under 57 besides me since 2019 in 56.62.  Should be a good race between him and John Friday.  To be clear, Mike would have won this heat even if I were not injured.  His time was faster than what I ran at Nationals and only my 2021 WL was faster.  

I've thought about it for a few hours now, and I've decided to go to the start line on Friday.  If I can't finish, so be it.   I'll run a very safe first 200m and see if I can get all the way around.  If I feel any pain, I'll just DNF.  It's ok.  It's my birthday and I'm going to at least start.  

Still happy to be here.  8 of these guys didn't make the final.  

I'm ok. Round one in the books - WMAC World Masters Championships, 400m prelims

Great to be a part of such a well run meet at a great facility, and great to see all my masters track friends and teammates.  

I won my heat of round one in an easy 59.78, and my body held up ok.  Semifinals tomorrow and its a fast heat with my fastest challengers to my inside in lanes 3 and 4, I have 5.  

Weather was OK.  After a period of rain, the wind died down a bit and the temperature was about 68º, so quite pleasant, although the track was wet.  

This heat had Shunji from Japan who pulled even with me on the home stretch.  I ran the first 200m quite easy, probably about 28 high or 29, and when Shunji came along side, I turned it on just to get by him to take the win.  It was certainly not a full effort.  Hope to go a second faster tomorrow.   

This morning I went to the hotel gym and did some PT.  Some RDLs with a kettlebell.  I think it helped.  I was less sore than expected after the race.  After I got back and had a light dinner, I took a walk in the forest preserve behind my hotel.  What a great choice it was to stay here.  A little 'forest bathing'.

With 2 semifinal heats, I should make the final barring injury.  I could probably run the same time tomorrow and make it through, as they take the top 2 then the next 4 on time.  I'm thinking anything under 59.5 will make it through to the final.  

Tomorrow's race is much earlier, 1:50pm local time so I'm trying to get to sleep as it's midnight here, dusk.

Forecast for tomorrow at race time:  rain likely (75%), mid 60ºs.

A little running. First of 3 rounds tomorrow

Went to the Ratina stadium at about 7 this evening.  Did my warmup and easy running.  

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, bands, 2 x 100m on grass

2 x 100m on the turn - 15.3, 14.5

Nike spikes on

2 starts from blocks

I wanted to do more but felt some minor soreness, a reminder that the injury is still there.  

There will be three rounds.  I have heat 4 lane 5 tomorrow.  I have a decent heat with probably only one or 2 guys capable of running under a minute.  It's top 2 finishers and next 6 on time.  The fastest guy is Sunji from Japan who made the 200m final but finished last, he's to my inside in lane 4.  I beat him in Spain in the prelims of the 400m but in the semis, he advanced to the final and I didn't.  So, something about 60-61 sec tomorrow would be fine and likely win the heat barring no surprises.  

It was so cool to be at this wonderful stadium tonight, just a few athletes working out on this magnificent track.  Wide open, no one even checking credentials.  (It's funny when I think of the contrast, being bitched at for training on St. Andrews Sewanee track in Nov. '20 when the campus was closed).  Here, there is no crime, no security, people are cool, well educated, mostly bilingual. Weather was wonderful, low 70ºs, sunny.  I saw and chatted with Brian H., gold medalist in the M60 long jump (He jumped about 17'7").  He'll be high jumping tomorrow.  I saw athletes from everywhere there, Italy, Jamaica, Estonia,  etc... 

Weather for race time tomorrow: fair, windy, 70º.

 

After getting back, I had dinner in my room of bread, canned fish, and peanut butter / preserves, then took a nap.  Got up about 10 pm and took a walk down by the water until about 11:30pm.  The sun had just set and people were still swimming.  

I'll be happy to represent the USA tomorrow but I'm glad I'm here and not there.  I feel more and more that way the more I travel, although I do love my place in Sewanee.  

11:30 pm Pyynikki beach and nature preserve, just outside my hotel.

Finland - first impressions

 I'm here.  The hotel is great.  The Scandic Rosendahl is a lakeside hotel in a forested area just a mile from the Ratina track stadium.  It was a good choice.  The hotel is situated in a park with flower lined forest trails between the hotel and lake.   I slept well last night in 2 shifts, about 8 hrs in all.  Physically, I feel fine.  No soreness in my injury area.  The weird thing is that here, it never gets completely dark this time of year.  Even at 3 am, it still looks like twilight.  

Finland reminds me a bit of Ontario with the pine forests and many lakes.  The city of Tampere is great.  A very high standard of living, great food, very clean.  A very environmentally conscious nation with recycling chambers in every waste basket and no plastic utensils (wood only). 

Anywhere outside the city feels rural.  My drive from the airport felt as if I were in Sharbot Lake, Ontario.  I got a real nice Toyota hybrid Yaris mini SUV to rent, super gas mileage and good thing, gas is $10/ gal here.  I went directly to the stadium to watch all the 200m finals and I had lunch with teammates John C., and Wayne F. from GPTC, and Carlos.  

The track is a super fast Mondo and the 200m final was very fast.  My time at winning time at Nationals last year would not have medaled, I would have been 4th.  Three guys were in the 24.4's, with team mate Alan T. getting nipped at the line and finishing 2nd, by just 0.01.  Patrice C. from France won in 24.43 into a -0.3 headwind, just .43 off the European record.  The class of my age group in all three sprints will likely be Brit, John W.  He's got his A-game, running incredible times for age 63, 11.94 in the 100m, 24.49 in the 200m ... with that level of speed reserve, he should be capable of 56 or better in the 400m.  

I'm planning to go to the stadium this evening to do a little light running and warmup.  With 32 declared and registration open til 5pm, there most certainly will be 3 rounds.  I know Dale won't be running so there would need to be 7 scratches to only run 2 rounds. That is unlikely.  The real test is how my body will survive the first round.  If it were just one of 2 races, I could likely survive, but 3 might be trouble.

The hotel room has everything except an ability to heat water for tea.  I found my European voltage hot water heater that I used in S. Korea, but I foolishly somehow forgot to pack it.  I was so pissed about that when I unpacked.  I got over it when I found that I could get a thermos full of hot water at the bar.  

I went shopping last night and bought some food and got some Euros from the ATM.  This morning I had the free hotel breakfast and it was great.  Typical European resort hotel breakfast.  I had scrambled eggs w/ cheese and mushrooms, yogurt with berries, seed bread with cashew butter, water melon, and great coffee.  I then walked around the park and to the lake.  It was really nice.  There was a brown sand beach and swimming area.  The water was cool but certainly warm enough to swim, probably in the mid 70ºs.  Today might be the last opportunity to swim since the weather is taking a turn to cool and showery for the remainder of the week with temperatures mostly in the 60ºs.   Today, on Monday... I drove down to the boat docks for a stroll.  

Here are the photos I took yesterday and of this morning's walk ...

On my way

In the Nashville airport waiting to start my trip.  There was a glitch with my reservation so I stood at the desk for 30m before they finally sorted it out.  Airport and security is NOT particularly busy as I had expected, just a little more than normal.  Everything seems on time.

Yesterday, did the bike climb up Roark's Cove again, but not as fast, just under 23 min.  Also did some drills and high knee running at the track.  Feels almost 100%, can only feel some minor soreness when I target the area with specific resistance/movement/stretches.    

Didn't want my last workout to be on the bike, but there it is... 

By the time I race in at least 3 days, I should easily be 100%, but... the real test is - will I have more in me than one race?   The ideal scenario is if there are only 2 rounds and 2 days rest in between, but that is unlikely.  The first round is scheduled for 6:40 PM Finland time on Tues., but on the results site it says 8:40.  Seems late but it's daylight until midnight there right now.  The magic number is 24.  If there are more than 24,  which is likely, then 3 rounds.  There are 27 checked in now, I would be 28, there may be more to add.  So, at least 4+ people would have to scratch for there to be 2 rounds.   Possible.  The 200m semi and final are tomorrow, so there may be some scratches after that.  

I'll probably go to the track and do some jogging, stretching on Monday.  

Wish I had slept more last night, woke up just before 4am and stayed up.

My hotel couldn't be in a better location.  I could almost walk to the stadium, it's about a mile. Good thing since gas is $10 / gal there.   Here's where I'll be:

Scandic Rosendahl and Ratina Stadium