I have a painting hanging from my wall which is titled "Destiny". I bought it a while back because It looked soothing. It's a painting of a small boat surrounded by a body of water. The other day I was pondering and stumbled upon a quote at the bottom of the picture that reads "The decisions we make not the chances we take determine our destiny." Looking back I've taken more chances rather than making well thought out decisions. Anyhow it's been a while since my last post. A lot has happened over the past couple of weeks. I was putting in all the hard work preparing for the final phase of my training cycle. That mixed with my last few weeks of school and making the transition to a new phase of life.
Two weeks ago I had to make the decision to either race at UNC, or Swarthmore in Pennsylvania. I thought both races would have good 1500 fields so I entered in both and decided last minute to race at Swarthmore. The meet is put on by Villinova and typically attracts some of the best distance runners in the northeast. The meet was held on Monday the 10th and I had two final exams the following morning. I felt fairly confident that I would do well on the exams so Wallid, my mother and I made our way to Pa around noon on Monday. It had been windy the past couple of days and the forecast was calling for windy conditions yet again up and down the east coast. My mom offered to drive me to the race which was really nice for a couple to reasons. The first being we don't spend much time together, and the second being she gets to see me do something that I'm extremely passionate about. She knows how hard I've been working, so her being there meant a lot. When arriving at Swarthmore it was a chilly, breezy afternoon and not many people sitting in the stands. I've come to notice that a lot of the faster meets are at small places like this, that not many people know about. I felt rested since my last workout was some fast 800's from 4 days prior. Looking at the heat sheets I was the 16th fastest seed at a time of 3:45. I couldn't believe that 3;45 might not get me into the faster section. After warming up and doing some drills I went to get my number and was told I'll be in the second of 5 sections. It was almost go time and I didn't get pissed. I told myself I was going to lace up my spikes and run like hell. While doing a few more strides I watched the first section as the rabbits brought the leaders though in 1:57. The winning time ended up being 3:41.99. Next up was my section.
While standing on the line waiting for the starters instructions I told myself I was ready to run fast, no matter what. The gun sounded and I found myself leading the race. Coming through 400 in 59. Feeling smooth I continued to lead through 800 in 2:00. Coming up on the k I was feeling tight but still had my legs, which was nice. I looked up at the clock with a lap to go, 2:45 - 2;46... I though damn I'm slipping a bit. At 1200 I was 3:01 and that's when I started to really tighten up. Around 250 to go some guy went by and a few others tried to do the same. I reacted rather than leaning back falling apart. I even gained some the last 50 but ended up second in a time of 3:47.39. I couldn't be upset. After all it was a 2.5 second pr and I did most of the work. I remember coming down the final straight, seeing the clock click away the seconds, 3:39, 3;40, 3:41 and so on. It was amazing seeing 3:30 anything on the clock and feeling so close to the line. Of course I ran nowhere near that fast but I now know that's a realistic possibility one day. After the race Wally and I did an easy cool down before getting in the car and driving back to Va. Wally ran 3:50.33 which was a good race considering he raced two days ago at UNC. Glad he decided to come along. The journey home was nice although my mom had some starbucks coffee for the first time ever, which led to her talking about anything and everything. She seriously needs to never touch that stuff again. I know she was excited for me and after explaining everything to her she kinda understand it all. I'm lucky to have such a wonderful mother that understands where I'm coming from and respects the decisions I've made, good and not so good.
The following morning I woke after 4 hours of sleep and was ready to get the last two finals OF MY LIFE over and done with. I Graduate on May 22nd although I still have a 6 credit hour internship to do over the summer. It was a great feeling to finally be finished. I should have been racing the night before finals in the past. I don't know what grade i received on each of the finals but my final grades for the semester were 2 A's, 2 B's, and a C in my 1 credit palates class. I couldn't believe she gave me a C although I missed 4 classes due to races, and our class was based on attendance. Guess you can see where my priorities are. Thinking back on it I think I made the right decision to race when I did, missing those classes. Oh well it's over and done with at this point.
Since I raced on Monday my entire schedule was off. I registered for the 1500/5k at a last chance meet at North Carolina A&T which was to be held on Sunday. I had a feeling the 1500 was going to be loaded and didn't want to miss out of an opportunity to crack 3;45. Jimmy was racing in the 5k so we decided to go together. I did 1 workout in between which consisted of tempo and Reps. It was a different workout than I was accustomed to but it seemed to work me, without killing my legs before my race. I did the workout at U of R and after finishing up I talked with coach Taylor from U of R for a bit. Jimmy has been working out with his guys some. We were talking about training and the upcoming meet. He is an extremely nice guy that's passionate about the sport and does a great job with the program over there. We briefly discussed the idea about staring a post-collegiate group in the area. He'son board so i need to get on the ball and make it happen. The day before the meet in Greensboro coach Taylor offered jimmy and I a place to stay after the race Sunday night.
Midday Sunday afternoon we were on our way to Greensboro in hopes of running some fast times. If I would have known how the night was going to go I would have stayed at home and had a few beers. Driving down to the meet took no time at all. We decided to take 360 which is more scenic and less traffic. We arrived at the track around 5pm, where we paid our $30 entry fee, which was shady. After getting fucked we made our way into Greensboro to find a coffee shop and a quick bite to eat. I was racing at 9pm but needed something. Everything was pretty much shut down in the city and it took forever to find a coffee shop. We couldn't find one damn Starbucks in that entire city. We sure as hell passed enough fried chicken joints that would give an entire track team CAD. We soon came across a Carabu coffee shop, or however you spell that. Finally some coffee and a nice chicken wrap from a deli that was open. Once returning to the track we found that all the distance runners were all together on the far side of the stadium. I checked in a while before my race and the lady seemed fucking clueless on what she was doing. She said we would get our number on the start line. I didn't think into too much. I put down a seed time of 3:43 so I would get into the fast section unlike Monday. I went out for a 20 min warm up, returned to the infield to do drills and prepare mentally for the race. The meet was now behind schedule but soon I had my spiked on and a few strides under my belt. Once getting to the starting area the lady started calling off names for the first section. She did not call my name so i instantly knew something was not right. I approached her and she said that I would be racing the the second section. I told her that can not be correct and she said they mixed all the seeds up. Something that would only be done in championship races. Coach Vig came over to see what was going on, and before I knew it all of his guys and the other unattached faster guys from my section were all put in the first section. I was getting fucked right before the race but there was nothing I could do about it. Not only that it had been an hour and a half since I started my warm up. The first section was soon off as i waited to race. A guy from my section offered to rabbit for me since he knew I was getting fucked. Robby Andrews won the first section in 3:42 and a hand full of other guys ran under 3:45. The officials took another 5 min after that section before we were off. We were off and quick as the guy came through the 400, I heard 57 -58. I was thinking shit this is fast, but try to relax. The announcer was calling me by the wrong name, which was the fairly consistent with the direction of this meet. Anyhow we came through the 800 in 1:58 and I was feeling it. The rabbit slowed a lot as he took me through 1000. I came through with a lap to go in 2:46 but i knew the last lap was going to be rough. Nobody was within striking distance, coming through the 1200 in 3:01 just like Monday. The last 300 I was completely lactic and just trying to finish. I won my section in 3:48.33 but was extremely pissed off. After the race they were still announcing me by the wrong name and i blew up on the officials. I drove to this meet to compete with the best. Instead I got fucked while half of the first section ran like shit. I paid $30, drove 3 and a half hours to do what I could have done back home. It's shit like that that test my limits to how much more I can take. It's hard enough and these bastards made it that much harder. There is not a doubt in my mind that I would have run under 3:45 that night. Everyone could tell how frustrated I was, and was entitled to that. People who know me know I like to bitch about things, and they are right. I may complain but at the end of the day I put in the hard work and I busted my balls in that race Sunday night. I left Greensboro knowing that much. There are not too many opportunities to race fast so I'm hoping I'll find the right race and make it happen before my cycle comes to a close. After talking with coach Taylor I calmed down and cheered on Jimmy in the 5k. He looked great for the first 6 laps but died off, running 14:49 which was still a pr. I know he was upset but he will get there. He just needs to keep his head up high and continue putting in the hard work.
That brings me back to decisions. Running is just like anything else in life. It's all about for much your willing to sacrifice to become great. Sunday night was a testimony to that. How many times can you get knocked to the ground, kicked and beaten before things come through. Jimmy and I had a great conversation about this on the way home. It comes down to how badly you want it. If you make the decision to continue with the sport, then give it everything you have. That's what we'll continue to do. I'm extremely fortunate to be given the opportunity to peruse what I love doing, and for that I'm thankful.
