Bike interval sprints, running test on turf, WMAC

Cooler today, 70ºs by evening.  Got the bike out to campus to do the 400m sprint intervals.  Hard workout and not as fast as usual.  I even failed to remain standing for the full 400m on the bike.  Did go hard though. 

4x400m bike sprints w/ 2:30 rest

top speed: 27.6, 26.1, 26.0, 26.2

Max HR -164

Interesting that again, max HR recorded after reps, not during. 

At the track, did my usual warmup and stretches.  Then put the offloader brace on for some run testing.  Started with some drills and high knee running on turf.  Then accelerated out of the high knee drill cautiously for short distances, 20m of actual running.  Felt fine.  Did it again.  Felt real good in fact.  So I did the same thing one final time and accelerated to sprint speed and held it for about 40 yds.  It was awesome!   Felt zero pain for the first time running in a while.  I really wanted to do more but I shut it down.  

Hopefully, and cautiously, more running to come.   However, my return to running is going to be super slow, especially as I enter concert season.  I'm thinking once every 2 weeks or so, maybe something like 4x50m on turf w/ 30 sec rest to test the waters.  Then ramp up slowly.  

Ate REALLY poorly last night, carbs.  It put me down into a very sound nap, I woke up at 9pm, made tea (gave up my caffeine fast), and practiced for 3+ hrs.  Then at 1:30am, went to the Cathedral to play my program, got home at 3:30 am, finally got to sleep about 5am.   Musicians lifestyle not real healthy.  Got to fight that.  It was my first test of the high strung guitar in All Saints.  I'll post some video on my other blog at some point.  

Just a day of poor eating and I gained a few lbs,  was about 145 when I woke up.  

WMAC:

I've heard people saying that if more former elites were involved in Masters track, people like myself wouldn't be winning championships.   Probably true, but here's an interesting data point: 

This year's WMAC M60 400m champion, Tim M. was an elite, part of the World Championship 4x400m relay team for the Bahamas, and Bronze medalist Olympian.  His winning time in Daegu was 56.24 at age 60.  I ran 56.23 at age 61.   Just saying.... 

Biking in the heat wave, WMAC

Did my usual 2.5 mile bike sprint course today and yesterday, not all out but hard.  The heat index briefly hit 101º today when the temp spiked to 94º hottest since July 3.  

Yesterday's seated bike sprint 

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 10:38

Avg speed - 12.9 mph

Max HR - 171

Avg HR - 155 (inc 1 min recovery at end) 

HR over 156 - 6:37

HR over 170 - 0:04

Today's bike sprint with a little standing 

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 10:11

Avg speed - 13.4 mph

Max HR - 164

Avg HR - 152 (inc 1 min recovery at end) 

HR over 156 - 4:12

HR over 170 - 0:00

It was well over 90º heat index but it didn't feel like it on my shady road.   

Been eating carbs again.  Had a paella yesterday and quinoa today.  Was over 144 lbs today for the first time in a while.   

Heat wave is supposed to continue and peak on Friday or so.   Temps in the mid 100ºs in Murfreesboro, could reach the mid 90ºs here.  I like the heat.  Maybe I'll do a bike climb during the hottest part of the day Friday.  

Last two tests came in, ApoB high 127, Lp(a) low <10.   About what I expected.   May test homocysteine on Thurs to see if my coffee / tea abstinence had any effect.  

WMAC Daegu

My age group 400m finals were as expected,  WR holder John W. ran alone winning in 57.71.   Second was Richard W. in 60.07 and Christian S in 3rd with 61.46.   If I had recovered as I had hoped, easily would have medaled considering I was running 62 with just 6 weeks of training 10 mo ago.  

Bike climb

Sunday, cooler weather, in the 70s, did another seated bike climb, the usual...  up Roark's Cove rd.  Was amazed that it was more than a minute faster than last time and with less effort.  HR over 170 - 5:58 min compared with 9:17 last time.  Avg HR was the same.  

Roark's Cove bike climb  

Total time - 23:38  

Avg speed - 6.0 mph  

Max HR - 182  

HR over 170 - 5:58 

HR over 180 - 0:32  

Avg HR - 160

Felt fine afterwards, rode some more with Roya, stopped at Greens View.

Watching the results come in from World Masters in Daegu.  Miss being there with my colleagues.  It's a magnificent stadium.  

I remember having to park there on the morning of my 400m world indoor final in 2017, because the normal route to the indoor track was closed due to the marathon.  What an intense time that was.  I was lucky to find a bus ride and a good samaritan to get within a half mile of the stadium, so I didn't have to walk 2 miles to my race.  I got there an hour before race time.  during my warmup, I remember texting with a friend who had just successfully beaten bladder cancer.   And what a race it was.  55.17 for Silver, and Benoit beat me in final 40m finishing in 54.39, faster than his M55 national outdoor record which still stands.  I went out in 25.5 in that race.  Probably the peak of my speed as a masters.  Ran 3 rounds of the 200m there, 2 of them in 24.84 and 24.82.  

Looking at it from afar, it just doesn't seem as important as it used to.  Especially with the juxtaposition of seeing videos of the races in that 95% empty stadium.  (Stadium holds 64,000... there might be 1000 in attendance for the WMAC).   John W is unbeatable, at age 67 set another WR in the 100m at 12.03.   I wonder how long he'll be doing it.  He knee was strapped with a ton of K-tape.  

Another friend of mine is 69 and just ran a 5k race in 23 min just 11 mo post op from a total knee replacement.  Too soon imo.  He's really overzealous, I hope he doesn't mess it up.  (I beat him at nationals in the 800m back in '21).  

Today I did a short 20m test run up a hill on my walk.  Felt fine.  Will wait 4 more weeks before I try to run at all.  

141.4 lbs 

 

 

Lesley

Watching the Masters Indoor World Championships, one story of particular note.  Lesley, age 67, won the 800m World Title in the W65 age group.  The time wasn't massively special (2:53) but here's the kicker:

Leslie is racing on a Total Knee Replacement

My dad and Lesley's husband, Dr. Tom, met at my first Nationals win in IN in 2012.   I saw them at Hayward in 2022 when Lesley had to pull out of the Masters 800m Exhibition race.  She told me then she had decided to have a TKR.  Tom told me that her rehab was "double" what is prescribed for a typical TKR surgery and he owns one of those Alter G zero gravity running treadmills (like $40k).  

There is one at a facility in Chattanooga that I could book a session on for $10.  Maybe I'll consider it in July.   Anyway, I think this story could be inspiring for people who are struggling with knee replacements and shows that TKR isn't necessarily the end of the story.  I recently had communication with the M65 WR holder in the 5k who just had a hip replacement at age 69.  He fully intends to return to elite level and challenge the M70 WRs.  

I did a few new PT exercises today and will ramp up hopefully to full regime by next weekend.  Just living and walking around is actually PT.  This is just day one of post crutches and it feels weak and vulnerable.  Still put the soft brace on when carrying firewood upstairs and doing an errand.  Any kind of stress or accident now would be a huge mistake so part of this is just being super careful.  So far so good.  Noticeable improvement in a week.

Alter G zero gravity running machine:

still not ready to run, bike sprints, WMAC concludes.

Went to the new track and did my standard warmup including a ginger 100m jog on the turf.  Thought I might be ready to run, but no.  Can't even support my body weight on the ball of my right foot without significant pain, let alone run on it.  So, it may be a while.  8 days prior, I did my second consecutive hike in the Alps with not really well cushioned shoes (Hoka Rincons) and just 4 days prior, had run some 150s on the track in Chamonix.  So, I need more recovery.  I may try again on Mon or Tues.   May wait til late next week.  No rush, but eager to get back in it.

On the bike yesterday, I did something different which I may begin doing more of.  Level sprints.  I did 4 sprints on the level were I accelerated to 27.5 mph but sustained it for only a very brief time.  I really felt the pump and it pushed my HR to 170+.   This may be better or at least a good supplement to the bike climbs I've been doing.  

World Masters Championships in Sweden have ended.

And the level keeps getting higher.  I remember running a WL M60 400m time of 56.23 in '21.  All three medalists in M60 this year were faster.  Bernardo (Denmark) 55.56,  Francois (USA) 55.40,  and astonishingly, Roland (Germany) with the second fastest M60 400m in history at an amazing 53.93, fastest since Ralph Romain set the WR at 53.88 29 yrs ago.  All those guys were a few yrs younger than I except Peter (Germany) who finished 5th in 56.90 at near age 64 (not sure of his birthdate).   

I was more interested in the M65 age group which I'll be going into.  John W (Australia) WR holder in the indoor 200m, was the class of the field winning all 3 sprints.  56.22 in the 400m.  Gerhard (Germany), whom I narrowly beat in Lyon in '15, got silver running 58.24 at age 68!  Ron, my chief competition in the USA, won the bronze in 58.69.   

I really hope my body can adapt to the training as I was doing in Jan of this year when I ran 58.84 early in the indoor season.  Even with the injury on 2/2, I still ran a 57.9 time trial in early March.   

It's worrying that the host (Mt. Sacs) has withdrawn from hosting the '25 USATF outdoor Masters Nationals.  If by some really bad turn of events, that they decide to have it earlier than usual, beginning before my birthday in early July, I'd be out of luck and still barely in M60 age group.  Unlikely but possible.   Masters National Outdoor '25 is my primary goal right now and it's unusual to not have that date firm at this time.

Weight is starting to get down 145.4 this morning.

Poland photos, travel chronicles

Planning this trip, I looked for an interesting and unique place to stay, the best city to fly into, the best rates on rental cars etc...  this being my 6th world meet, seems like I always get it right when it comes to such details.  

I rented a standard Kia Sportage small SUV.   It was a 6 speed.  Didn't take long to get used to the stick.  I picked it up in Gdansk and drove 90min to Torun.  Amazingly, this was the 14th country that I've operated a vehicle in.   

Most everyone seemed to come into Warsaw, which made no sense to me since it was twice as far away from the meet compared with Gdansk.   The closest airport Bydgoszcz was too small and too expensive to fly into.   As soon as I arrived in Gdansk, I went to an ATM and got $150 in Polish Zloty (currency).  1 Polish Zloty = about 23 cents in USD.  It was more than enough to pay for my food through the whole week, including trips to the grocery and a fancy dinner on the last night.  Food is cheap in Poland!  Gas, however is not, at about $5/ gal.  

On the drive to Torun, I noticed lots of wind turbines and stopped for a photo.  I was pretty tired and grubby by this point, having been on 3 planes for 12 hrs.  I noticed on the highway, there was virtually no police presence.  I was going about 90 mph and people were passing me very quickly.  

My hotel, Palac Romantycyzny - translates to 'Romantic Palace,' was not expensive by American standards.  About $110/ night for a room with a full kitchen.  It was about 10 miles out in the flat farmland NE of Torun.  Seemed kind of out of place in an area with modest homes and farmland, seeing this grand estate surrounded by an iron fence.  The 19th century palace was visited by Frederick Chopin and a statue of him sits in the garden.   My room was first floor.  You can see my window on the extreme right side of the building on the end.

The weather was generally pretty bleak through most of my time there.  Generally in the 40ºs and raining.  It snowed a little on Monday morning and on Sunday morning the day I left.  

One thing you don't see in the US are these dangerous tree lined roads, not the best when coming toward a wide oncoming truck or bus.   

You can see the flat farmland where near Truzno, where the hotel was.

My room was pretty simple with big windows, high ceilings, antique furniture and a kitchen.  It felt completely safe and quiet, I slept some nights with the window cracked open.  

I was totally at the mercy of my GPS and Waze program to find my way around.  I first drove from the airport to the track to pick up my credentials, and connect with some friends, then back to the hotel to sleep.  I really didn't sleep well the entire time I was there, no more than 3 hrs consecutive, waking up a lot.  I didn't come in 2 days before my race, just the day before.

I also stopped in the local village church and cemetery.  The cemetery was really dense, old, and gaudily decorated.  So much catholic iconography.  

After 3 rounds of the 400m, and missing the podium, I was pretty tired and depressed.  All these 'if I had only'...  'woulda shoulda' type feelings.  I stayed in bed most of the day and only in the late afternoon did I get out to see a little of the historic town.   One indelible part of the history of this area was the WWII Nazi occupation and the concentration camps.  I wish I had taken the time to visit one, Chelmno was just 40 min north.  Some of my teammates, Alan and his family visited Auschwitz where his grandparents were killed.  That must have been incredibly moving.  I drove into Torun from my hotel past a Nazi Stalag (prison camp), with it's characteristic concrete bowed fencing, same type you see at most all the concentration camps.  

The town was quite beautiful and I stuck my head into the Torun Cathedral during mass.  This is a seriously old world catholic nation.

I ate out 3 times and ate in my room as well.  Usually eating the food that I brought (nut bars and stuff) but also eating fish and baguettes, with orange juice.   Mornings, I had instant coffee with milk and raw sugar.

The three times I ate out, I went with Stephen, M65 sprinter.  First night it was a seafood restaurant where I had the local trout.  It was just $13.   Second night, I had the local dish, venison stew.  It was good.  Afterward, we went out for a decaf cappuccino in a really nice relaxed coffee house. 

The last night, I had to spend some money so we went to a nice but small and intimate restaurant with a piano player.  We played name that tune, it was quite fun.  

I had a herring appetizer, a large salad, and a fish main course.  I had a beer, and cheese cake for dessert, which I could not finish til later that night in my room.  It was my most expensive meal there and amounted to about $37.   Overall, the food was excellent quality everywhere.  The only thing I didn't care for was the hotel breakfast which wasn't super cheap by Polish standards at $14.  Reason being is that the only meat they had was pork, which I don't eat.   But, their excellent super automatic coffee machine made up for it.

The lifestyle here in Torun felt relaxed and civilized.  Almost no police presence, and a lively evening scene in the town where lots of people were out.  

Now that I let my guard down on my diet, I've gained about 3 or 4 lbs.  And I hope to get rid of that in the coming week as I resume workouts on Sunday after a week off from running.  I think the week of racing, 8 races, took more of a toll on me than I realized.  At least I'm not feeling the groin strain that I had after the 200m final.  After my last race, I seriously could not walk without a tad bit of pain.  I think just about everyone was in that boat, judging by the way my colleagues were running by Saturday on the relays.  

The trip back wasn't so great.  I had to get up at 6:30 am to leave at 7:30.   I got there on time, gassed the car, and as I entered the Gdansk airport, I looked at the screen and my flight said "CANCELLED"  

So, I waited, got a hotel and 2 meal voucher and walked across the street to the the Hampton Hilton Inn.  Fortunately within walking distance.  This really sucked as I was hoping to use my Monday to recover from the trip before I went to work on Tuesday.  But, I didn't get home til Monday night, had to work Tues.  

It was cool that I met Sean in the Gdansk airport who was on my flight to Frankfort.  He's an elite M40 from Atlanta.  I thought we'd be on the same flight to Atlanta but his flight left sooner.  

I flew out of Gdansk on Lufthanza to Frankfort.  Lufthanza could not give me boarding passes for my next flights on Delta, so I had to wait in line in Frankfort.  And... for what ever reason, even after going through security, I got flagged and totally shaken down by the German border police.  They took me into a room and the first thing they asked me was to remove all my shoes from the suitcase.  I said, "You're kidding?"  I had 3 pairs of racing spikes and a pair of trainers buried in the bottom of my suitcase.  So, I pulled them out, two pairs of Maxflys and a pair of Adidas Prime SP2s, along with my Adidas trainers.  They looked at my protein powder and my massage stick and asked me about it.  They said something about athletics in German, and that was it,  "Have a nice day."  This was the 3rd time I had to repack this suitcase.  

When looking to board my flight to Atlanta, I had a moment of terror.   I thought I had lost my phone, which, without a boarding pass yet issued, I had no proof of my flight to get through passport control.   I even sought out lost and found until I realized I stashed it in my back pack.   So thankful.   

It was an arduously long flight to Atlanta.  9.5 hours.  When I got there, the customs was ridiculoiusly crowded.  It took 45 min to get through... zig zag lines.   The customs officials warned me not to take photos after I took this one.  LOL.   

So, after the long customs line I got to wait 90 min to board my 29 min flight to Chattanooga.  Made it home by dusk.  Happy to see no damage despite the previous week's severe weather.  

I got my act together, and got through an ensemble concert this week, and now, just 2 more weeks of school and summer vacation.  

After all the activity, my failure to win a medal in the 400m, and some incredibly dismal weather in Sewanee this weekend, it's been a little depressing.  I also got  a cold, but I tested negative twice for covid.  Going to CVS today to be tested just to make sure.  

I do feel better than I did last night,  One of my competitors, Stuart from the UK did get covid at the meet, so I just want to be sure.   

After a week off, and not achieving my goals in Poland, it's going to be really hard to start training again.  But, as I've always said, it's about the journey.  I feel like I've represented myself as a top competitor, making the finals in 2 events in a selective field, where in indoor, only 6 make it.  I guess it could have been worse.  I only made the 200m final by 0.16 seconds over Darren.  So, at least there's that.  I guess I should be satisfied by being #6 in the world and #1 in the US in the M60 200 and 400, but it's not enough.  I really wanted that medal.  But, I'll keep on doing it, as long as my body holds up.  If all I had was teaching and music, I just wouldn't feel complete.  Same can be said about athletics.  It's a balance, a wonderful and satisfying balance at that ... and I've traveled the world to do it, and made friends from everywhere, and we all know each other on a first name basis.   Awesome time and a great life.  

Happy to be back on the foggy mountain.  It's wildflower season.

 

WMACi reflections

It was a great experience.  The 400m for me was a big disappointment but didn't negate the positive experience.  Still, the thought of losing my last best chance of an individual medal, maybe ever.... stings.   I went and competed at the highest levels with the world's best in the finals of my individual events.  As is the nature of the sport, I observed triumph and heart break.  Not all goes as planned.  Just some of the heartbreaking episodes...

We all saw Derek set the world record in the semifinals of the M55 60mH in the semifinal round.  In the finals, he was leading easily but hit the last hurdle and went down, missing a medal.

The M55 4x200m relay team apparently won gold and broke the WR (and my team's 2016 American Record).   Walking off in triumph only to find later that their leadoff runner stepped on the line and caused a DQ.  This had to be devastating for that runner.  

Many people missed a medal by hundredths and even thousands of a second.  That's the nature of the sport.  

Don seemed to finish 3rd in the 60mH but was given fourth with the same time as the third finisher.  He walked off the track devastated.   After further review, it was apparently an exact tie so they awarded 2 people the bronze.  

A guy in my age group, Andreas is a former Olympian, longtime holder of the Austrian Nat'l 100m record ran a prelim in the 200m just 0.04 faster than me but was DQ'd for repeatedly stepping on the line (photo), on both turns.  I was told that despite all his experience, he gets really nervous.  

The interesting thing about this meet, is that all the policing of lanes was done by technology, cameras from above, not by officials on the track.  Probably better and more accurate that way.  The rule is:  if you step on the line once, you get a warning for the next round if you advance.  Step on the line more than once or over the line, DQ. 

  

I'm sure there were many other examples of miss steps and close losses, but these are just a few I observed.  

My nephew asked me how I did in the 200m final, I told him I was a loser.  He replied, 'At least you're a loser on a world class level'.   

I guess there's that.   ; )

When I get time, I'll post more photos of Torun... off the track.

Still feeling the groin strain slightly.  Still a tad sore after the week in Torun and still a bit over weight but within striking range of optimum at about 143 after morning coffee and bread.   With rain coming Friday and Sat., it may be Sunday before I do my next track workout.  

On the bike today. WMACi photos and indoor season wrap

As suspected, I gained a great deal of weight while in Poland after the events concluded.  The last dinner, desserts, plane food, etc....   The more I eat the more I want to eat.  So, with a little time today, I did a bike climb up the mountain to burn some calories.  I weighed close to 147 lbs at bedtime but after a lot of sleep, I was just 143.5 this morning.  I really feel like I've lost a lot of fitness.  

Mid 60ºs and humid late this morning.  Did the bike climb in under 23 min.  

I'm going to just cut n paste my post on FB about the WMACi:

The great thing about this event are my fellow athletes. We're all on the same journey together.  The level of class and sportsmanship among these athletes is what makes this like a family.  Although we fiercely compete, these guys offer advice to help me be a better athlete. I love this attitude and am happy to be a part of it.  When you're helping your competition to run faster, THAT is being a great sportsman.

Photo: 200m Final - worlds fastest men over 60

My indoor season wrap for 2023: 

Finished the indoor season with the #1 rank in the USA M60 age group in the 200m and 400m, and World Rank of #6 in the 400m and 200m. Only USA competitor to make the finals in M60 in the 200m at the World Masters Indoor Championships, but not happy with my individual event performances. I never seemed to get it just right in the 400m. Getting the 'dreaded lane 1’ in the 200m final, I finished 6th with a strained adductor, but went on to anchor both Team USA 4x200m relays (mens and mixed) to Silver and Gold medals. Next up, outdoor season and Penn Relays at the end of the month. I hope to do all masters events, the 4x400 and 4x100m relays and the 100m.

WMACi photos:

1, 2) M60 4x200m medalists

3) After the mixed 4x200m

4, 5) 200m final - call room

6) with Durran (ATL Braves 'the Freeze')

7) Silver and Gold relay medals

8) USA lady sprinters

9) with Rox in the Nomatech

10) with Ulo, Mike, Pat

11) with Sean after our 200m final

WMACI World Masters Championships, 4x200m Relays

Time.  I have plenty of time now to update my blog... my flight out of Poland was canceled and I'm stuck in Gdansk for an extra day.  REALLY SUCKS!   I was sooo looking forward to Monday, a free day at home to relax and decompress, and get ready for some guitar playing as I am teaching Tues and Wed, and performing Wed night with my students.  So, instead of getting home just after midnight Sunday night, I won't be getting home til Monday night, and will have to work the next day.  So, I'm in a hotel in Gdansk all day Sunday and tonight.   

The relays went quite well.   My adductor was definitely strained and I felt vulnerable to injury.  Didn't matter, many were in the same situation but it was time, had to bring it.   

M60 4x200m Relay World Championship

Everyone expected that the Brits would blow us away.  Well, they won, but was a lot closer than everyone expected.  Alan texted me afterward, if we had a faster guy on 3rd leg, we could've won.  If he was on third leg, we definitely would've won.  (He was M60 World Champion in the 60 meters).

Marcus kept telling me in the call room that we could win.  Pointing out the Brits anchor wasn't that fast and they front loaded their team.   We were competing with Britain, Germany, France, Poland, Netherlands, Spain, and Finland.  We had the faster heat with Britain.  

Rob led off and did a good job against WR holder John W. from Britain.  He gave up only about 10m at most.   Second leg was Marcus, and he ran a stunning leg.  I did not expect that since he was injured, but at least he was fairly fresh.  Unfortunately, hard to see what his split was due to the camera coverage, but i believe it to be sub 26.    He actually made up about 5 meters on the Brit, Pat L.   That, I didn't expect.  It was a race.   Reggie took the baton just 5m behind Brit, Mike V.   This is where the race was decided.  Mike lengthened the lead to 7m at the top of the backstretch and kept widening the gap.  Reggie's last 50m was particularly slow and Mike extended his lead to 23m by the time he handed off to Peter.  Peter took a 23m lead into the back stretch and I fiercely chased him (photo #1)

Over the next 100m, by the time he reached the top of the home stretch, I had cut half of his lead to about 13m.  (Photo #2)

But he had too big of a lead.  I couldn't get him.  They won by about 10m.  

Although we had the faster heat with Britain, the Bronze medalists - Spain, came from heat 1.  We ran 1:45.08, avg 26.27, respectable.  I regret a little that I coasted the last few strides after Peter won the race, maybe we could have got under 1:45.  I would have regretted it a lot more if Spain had beat us on time, but they were 3 sec behind.  I was surprised that the Brits set a European record with their effort in 1:43.66.   Still 2 seconds slower than the WR set by a USA team with Bill Collins in 1:41.53.  

TEAM USA's approximate splits, M60 4x200m relay:

1) Rob - 26.70

2) Marcus - 25.60 

3) Reggie -  26.90   

4) Me - 25.90

Average: 26.27 

The thing about these relays at World Championships, they are usually made up of the fastest members of each national team and by the time they are run, these sprinters have already competed in many rounds of races.  No telling what these teams could do if they were fresh.

So, after the 4x200m races, it set up a logistical nightmare.  We had to receive our medals in the ceremony, which was running late, and then get back down to the warmup area to get ready and report for the mixed 4x200m relays.   Rob had to catch a train and couldn't attend so I collected his medal for him.  By the time India had collected her medal, our top woman on the mixed 4x200 team, it was about time to report to the call room.  I saw her as I was packing up after my all too brief (and painful) warmup.  She said, "I warmed up running down here!"  

 

Mixed 4x200m Relay World Championship

Knowing that the Brits were using their men's B team on this relay, and that we had the strongest women, we were clear favorites to win this.  The only thing that would prevent it would be an injury or a DQ.  We'd be so far ahead that even a baton drop would affect the result.  It went according to plan.   

These mixed relays are crowd favorites because the teams can configure them in any order.  Personally, I think it's a mistake to do it any other way but male, female, female, male.  But some teams found out the hard way by putting a woman on anchor, like the the USA X65 team.  (... and that is the designation for mixed: "X").   Fortunately, all X60 teams did it the same - M, F, F, M.   

Rob led off and gave Shemayne a 10m lead, which she widened to 15m+ by the break.  It was pretty much over at that point.  By the time India, our top woman got the stick, she had 20m+.   India widened the lead to 35m+ by the time she handed to me.  First time I ever received the baton from a woman.  And... since mens relay members aren't used to working with women, and we had not time to practice, we decided to not use blind handoffs.   

I got the stick about just a few meters into the zone so my leg was about 207 meters.  My actual 200m split was about 26.12.  Not bad for my 5th 200m race, after three 400s.  

By the time I finished, I had a lead of at least 70m.  If you look carefully at this photo, you can see Stuart, British athlete, starting the far turn as I'm coming down the home stretch.  

TEAM USA's approximate splits, X60 4x200m mixed relay:

1) Rob - 27.40

2) Shemayne - 30.00

3) India - 29.80

4) Me - 26.12 

Everyone knew that the Gold Medalists in this event would, by default, set a masters world record in this event since this was the fist time it was contested.  By the time of these relays, the stands were pretty full with fellow teammates and competitors as this was the week's final event.  A lot of yelling and cheering, good ole team spirit.  Walking off the track, we got a huge ovation, and stopped for a photo.  

The medal ceremony was nice and the ladies sung loudly.  Rob was unable to attend so I collected his medal.  While I don't regard relay Championships and medals on the same level as individual medals, it was nice to get them, and the $200 in prize money that will come with it.  That more than paid for my food for the week.  Also, it was an honor to be selected to anchor both relays as top USA M60 sprinter.

Yea, that last 200m hurt, but a groin injury is just a soreness, not a mechanical disability like a hamstring tear.   At this level, injuries make or break champions.  Talking with Marcus, we both agreed if we had Damon or certainly Allan on the M60 team, we could've won.  Damon is injured and Allan doesn't like to run 200s unless he's trained for it.  

I'm definitely going to need a break to heal this groin issue.  A break from sprinting, not a break from training.  I'll be back on the bike, and doing some hiking in the spring wildflowers.  I wanted to race in some local college meets but that's probably not wise if I want to run at Penn Relays.  

Actually, I'm a little worried about getting sick.  All week I've been crammed in tight spaces with other athletes, lots of them.  Not a situation I usually like to encounter.  Call rooms, medal ceremonies, warmups, etc... I really hope I don't get covid.  

Afterward, I met up with Stephen and we went to eat at a local top rated restaurant.  I've definitely gained weight.  Food is super cheap here.  Gas isn't.  I wanted to do more sight seeing while here, but I was so depressed on my day off after the 400m, I stayed in bed most of the day.  I did get out a little toward evening.  

More on the visit outside of the track in a future post.  

WMACI World Masters Championships, 200m Final

With the most competitive field ever assembled for an M60 200m World Championship Indoor Final, and being the slowest qualifier in lane one, I decided I'm not going to risk injury by really going after this one since on Saturday, Team USA is depending on me to anchor both M60 mens and mixed relay teams where we have a decent chance at Silver.  No one is going to beat the Brits.  

This 200m final was truly historic.  John Wright set the world record in 24.28, breaking masters legend Bill Collins' record which stood for 12 years.  I believe this was faster than any M60 200m since then, including outdoors.   It was 0.17 faster than Pat's outdoor World Championship in Finland last year.  John won by nearly a second over Pat who was Silver in 25.22, and Jorgen 25.35.   Everyone else ran over 26.  I finished last in 26.66, quite slow but not ridiculous.  Lane one was tough.  I had a sore quad coming in and my L adductor was sore afterward.  

John Wright is now becoming a master track legend.  One of the greatest athletes over 60 in history, and he is a smart trainer and hasn't ever been seriously injured.  The thing is, he's a year older than me so he will be ever present in my age group and unbeatable.   The only time he leaves my age group is when I am at the end (i.e. ... like 64).  He will set the standard for years to come and everyone else will be competing for Silver and Bronze.  He is generally a long sprinter but has 100m speed, and has broken 12 last year.  And get this... he never uses starting blocks!

You want to see one of the greatest sprinters in Masters history, watch this.   Notice John's perfect form, beautiful upright and smooth running style, looks effortless.  Here's the race, (notice the judge comes over and tells me my left hand is touching the start line, it really wasn't...sheesh!):   

https://www.youtube.com/live/83M_QYqwBVw?feature=share&t=21321

It's great to have been a part of history and to have participated with these great athletes and great people.  John is a soft spoken classy guy, very nice dude.   I am envious of people like John.  He certainly doesn't need to work as hard to be great.  People like me with no talent have to work their ass off to even be in the same race, 20m behind.  

Anyway, off to the relays today.   After pissing away my last best chance to medal at a worlds in an individual event, maybe we'll get a souvenir today ... with a little help from my friends.   Our mens team isn't particularly strong, Marcus is running injured, and we may have competition from France and Germany for the medals.  Our mixed team is stronger because of the women, India who medaled in the 200m, and Shemayne who was like me the last qualifying finalist.  That is our best relay.  We might even have a shot at Gold depending on what the Brits put up.   Being the top US male, I was selected to anchor both relays.  Hope I can get through with no injuries.  

 

WMACI World Masters Championships, 200m Semi final

I've been very lucky in my lane draws in these first 5 races, always having 5 or 6.  It's a huge disadvantage to have 1 or 2.   This Semi I drew lane 5 with Jorgen from Sweden in 6 to my outside.  He ran the fastest M60 indoor 200m in the world in 9 yrs this season.  He was world #1 until John W. bested him in the heat before.   

Martin from Trinidad was a no show in lane 4 so it was basically between me and Jorgen.   I stayed with him pretty closely until the top of the final turn about 140m.  He had 2 steps on me at that point but increased his lead to several meters by the end, running his fastest race of the meet in 25.19.   I hadn't run that fast in 6 yrs since S Korea.   I ran almost what I ran in round 1, just 26.11,  0.01 slower.  My last 50m was pretty slow.  

Anyway, it got me into the final later tonight as slowest qualifier, lane 1.  Finally, a terrible lane.  With no real chance to medal I decided at that point I'd run the final but not so hard that I would injure myself, because the M60 relay teams were depending on me for Saturday.   Since I'm the top USA M60 200m man, I'll be anchoring both the mens 4x200m and the mixed 4x200m relay.   It's a lot.  

It's nuts... 3 rounds of the 400m, 3 rounds of the 200m, and 2 4x200m relays.  I wonder if anyone else at this meet is doing this.  I rather doubt it.  

I'll do a separate post on the M60 200m final later.  Got to sleep.  Only slept about 3.5 hrs last night.