Wednesday, July 22, 2009

First track meet= realizing im not all that "fast"

15 July 2009, Incirlik AB Turkey-

Well I had known about this track meet for a few weeks and was excited to have something competitive to look forward to. So I decided well lets make it a workout and just not a race. So I signed up for every event I could that was not a sprint or Shot Put. Here is the list of events they had at the race:

100M
200M
400M- Raced
800M- Raced
1.5 Mile- Raced
4X400- Raced
4X100

They were in that exact order except between the 400 and 800 they did the sprint finals. So I raced in 4 of the 7 events and well it made for an interesting night!

400- They had 2 heats of 6 people. So when they said heats I thought we would get to have a Final but that was not the case. They just used our times and decided where we placed. So off the start the guy to the inside of me in lane #1 was fast. We came out of turn 2 and he was already even with me, it was a staggered start. So I let him go and stuck even with the other guys till the 200 point. At that point I decided to kick it up and see how the rest of the group held on. Well I bridged myself a gap and put my eyes on the guy in lane 1. I tried to kick it up in the final 75M and could not reel him and realized that with about 30M to go and just backed off since I still had 3 more events. I ended up going 1:03 and that guy went 58secs and took 3rd in the 400 too 2 other runners in the 2nd heat. So I ended up 4th overall with a 1:03.

800- There was only one heat in this event and we had 7 people. So one guy took off and I hung with the second pack which included myself and 2 others. We stayed together and let the leader go and with 50M to go the sprint was on. The 2 of them were side by side and when I went to make my move I passed to late and could not get both of them and ended up losing 2nd by 2/10 of a second. So I placed 3rd in the 800 with a time of 2:13.

1.5 Mile- Well this is the event where I knew for sure we would have the most competition. My legs were shot and sore but figured I would give it my all. Ran really well considering the past 2 events on my legs. Ended up running an 8:48 and taking 3rd place. The winner was the meet organizer and he ran a 7:44, but that was his only event. He is really fast and I wish I could of just raced him heads up in the race but figured just running 1.5 miles would not be enough of a workout for that night so entered 4 events instead of just one.

4X400- We had a squadron team with 1 Senior NCO, 2 SSgt and myself. The "old" guy actually ran quite well and was surprised how they held up considering the competition. My legs were pretty shot so I ran 3rd and with having to pass of the baton I was not able to clock my time. I think I ran right around the same as my first 400 due to the simple fact that it was a team event and I did not want to let our team down. We placed 3rd in this event with a time of 4:27. Good overall time considering all of us had ran multiple events.

So overall it was a great night and fun event. Ended up with 3 podiums, all of which were 3rd place but it was still a great time. Thanks to Seth from the Health and Wellness Center along with the Gym for putting on such a great event.

Below are a few photos from the event:


Coming across the line for the 400.Right before I went to pass the 2 guys in the 800. Should of squeezed the inside instead of going outside.

The start of the 400.


BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!


Last minute decision by my leadership in my squadron has allowed me the opportunity to race Germany 70.3. The race was full but I sent an email to the race organizers explaining my situation with being military and just getting here to Turkey and not being able to register in time for the event. They were kind enough to let me in. So I will be departing for Germany on the 12th of August and racing on the 16th. I will then return to Turkey on the 20th. I am excited about this race as it will give me a good experience with the 70.3 distance and be a good prep for the World Championships. I have 24 days left till race day so my schedule is packed with training. For more information on the race visit: www.ironman703.de. This race will have live tracking so check back for more details on that.