I'd like to think I'm generally a pretty calm, composed person. There are three things that give me anxiety in this life:
1. Running late for something
2. Attempting to tie my shoes when running late for something
3. disorganization
The University of Maryland Kehoe Twilight Invitational checked off everything on my list.
While the meet gave me more anxiety than any other in living memory from their straying front he event schedule to the incredibly difficult to hear recorded gun that sounded like someone coughing, I'd say it was a decent step in the right direction on the track.
In a lot of ways having my first outdoor race in May feels bizarre. This time last year I was getting ready to peak performance wise, like all the girls in my section of the 1500 last night. It's been roughly a month since getting back into training and over three since I raced so the phrase "It's not what you've got, it's what you make" nicely sums up how I planned to race. Going in I knew I wasn't in shape to run a PR and I was not trying to peak like the rest of the field, I just wanted to see what I could piece together from the past month's training and use that as a gauge to move forward.
7:00 am
Like any good race day the morning started with some stretching and easy yoga before rolling out on the foam roller and talking my morning iron with some oj
8:00 am
Nice little walk over to my favorite coffee/ study spot for a lavender latte I've been eyeing. Since my race wasn't scheduled until 7:50pm I staggered my breakfast and lunch in accordance. I sipped my latte, did some work for class, checked emails, and journaled
9:30 am
Breakfast: baby arugula and romaine salad with some leftover sriracha and peanut butter tofu scramble, a fired egg, crumbled goats cheese, sauteed zucchini, chopped up onion, and tomato. Naturally this was followed by excessive amounts of water and many trips to the bathroom because everyone knows that's just the way the cookie crumbles on race day 🤷
Lethargic might be an understatement to how I approach race day, especially when it's so late. Most of the day is spent with Netflix or a book alternating putting my feet up, stretching out, and rolling when the inspiration strikes me. Staying off my feet as much as possible is the goal.
1:00 pm
Some good ol' Salmon Poke bowl a la UberEats delivery that I picked on until 4:00ish
4:30 pm
depart for meet #dctraffic
5:30 pm
arrive, bib pickup and guzzle down some more water and coconut water
6:50 pm
warm up, strides, prepare for death
7:40 pm
out of breath from a hard stride (that typically happens 15-10 minutes out from kick off ) anxiously attempt to tie my spikes tight while running late to the start line because they've decided to move ahead of schedule without notifying the field (8/10 unnerved)
When my coach asked what I'd run, I guessed that in my current shape I'd run 4:25ish and it turns out I was right. What I was wrong about was how much 4:26 was going to hurt folks, because after half way my body was asking me-"why do we do this again?" and as we all know the only reply is gutting it out and finishing even though you know it's not what you're fully capable of, but it's all you've got that given day. For me last night that was 4:26.73 to be exact.
It feels good to be back racing and on track (pun intended)
8:45 pm
4x fun
Next time you catch me on the track I'll be back to two laps and fingers crossed faster times
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