After a long season of feeling lethargic on grass, it was finally time to feel fast again. Indoor track season came quicker than I was expecting after the conclusion of our cross country season, but needless to say, I’m glad it’s here. I flew into Boston on January 18th and was scheduled to race a mile the next day, Saturday at the BU Multi-Team Meet. After traveling all day Friday, I didn’t feel great, but nonetheless I was excited to start up my season with a rust-buster mile (an off distance for me).
There is nothing that beats the exhilarating anticipation before a race. I wasn’t too nervous for most of the day, considering that the mile isn’t a primary event for me so there wasn’t a whole lot of pressure to perform–although, nerves do strike due to the inevitable suffering that will occur during the race. I was entered in the mile with two other BU Freshmen, John O’Connor and Andrew Trapp; it was their season openers as well. They were both sidelined during cross country due to injuries, so they were more antsy than anyone to start racing again.
The hour before the race went by like a blur and the next thing I knew I was on the starting line. As usual on the starting line, I felt strangely calm as a wave of confidence rushes over me–I’m in shape and ready to race. The gun went off and I got out quick the first few steps to establish my position in the field. By the time we came through the first lap (200m), I was sitting in roughly fifth place. This is an ideal position for me: close enough to the front to cover any moves, but not too high up as to where I would have to expend much energy to get there.
We came through 809m relatively slow in roughly 2:13 and I felt comfortable. With about 600m to go, Andrew got antsy and surged to the front. John and I filed in behind him and at the moment we were 1-3; however Andrew made the move a little early and with 400m to go the real race started to move. Two guys from UMass Lowell blew by us and the race was off. The trio of us pursued, yet the UMass Lowell athletes put a little too much of a lead to cover with their strong closes. We ended up finishing 3-5 with John taking of the front and Andrew the rear. I ran 4:25 and while not a PB (personal best), I was happy with it as it served its purpose: shake off the rust and get ready for the more important races to come.
Charlie's Racing Log 