It is always fun to look back over the year, to not only see what was accomplished, but also to help set my goals for the upcoming year. Here is a recap of some of my highlights for 2003:
March - The snowstorms in February cancelled a couple of weekends of racing, but more importantly for me, it took away some valuable training workouts. With no access to a clear track, and having to be extremely careful on the icy bike paths on some of my long runs, the intensity of my runs decreased significantly over those 2 weeks. I went into the Spring season not as sharp as I have been in the past, but was determined to run as strong as I could in a couple of key meets.
First, in early March, was the Virginia Master's Indoor Champs and I did win my age group in the 3000 meters (setting a meet record for the distance for 40-44 age group), and finished 2nd in my age group in the 1500 meter run. Mid-March was the Potomac Valley Association Master's Indoor Champs, and I was 1st in Mile and the 2-mile. The last weekend in March was the National Master's Indoor Champs in Boston. I was not sharp enough to run the mile, so I only ran the 3000M, and finished 7th in the nation in the 40-44 age group, and only 9 seconds off my PR, running a time of 9:34.
April/May - A week after Nationals, I accomplished something I never would have thought was possible. In my favorite road race, the Cherry Blossom 10 miler, I came in first in my age group (40-44) with a time of 56:29! I have run this race every year since I moved to the DC area (1986), so to win an award at the best race in the DC area (in my opinion) was such a thrill.
And in the first week in May, I accomplished another feat that still has my head spinning...I ran the most races in my career in one day (7) and in one weekend (10). This started off on May 3rd with three 5Ks (8:00 AM in Mount Vernon, VA, 9:00 AM in Alexandria VA, and 10:00 AM in Silver Spring MD). The last two were close calls, but I made it to the starting line in the nick of time. In 9.3 miles of racing, I ended up with two wins and a 3rd place. The next day, May 4th, was a total of seven races (4 5Ks, 2 3Ks, and a mile, which totals 17.1 miles). It was not as hectic as the day before, but it made for a long day of driving. The day began at 8:00 AM in Bethesda, MD, then 9:00 AM in Greenbelt, MD, followed by a track meet in McLean, VA at 10:00 AM and Noon. Columbia, MD was my next stop at 2:00 PM, followed by a 5:30 PM and 6:00 PM races in Chantilly, VA. I was fortunate enough to win three races, finish 2nd place in two, and two 4th places. My pace for the weekend (26.4 miles, just slightly over a Marathon) was 15 seconds per mile faster than my Marathon PR mile pace, which was interesting. A week later, I ran my best performance of the year at the Sallie Mae 10K, running 33:58.
July - There were a couple of records I set this month, which I could not believe were possible, but the perfect schedule was in place to make it all happen. First, in the longest stretch of racing in my career, I raced on 27 consecutive days from July 8 to August 3. In that stretch, I ran my fastest 4 miler and 8K of the year, my 2nd fastest mile and 5K, and my 3rd fastest 1500 meters, which was great prep for August. That is what is so amazing about this area, the number of running clubs and organizations that hold races have to be highest in the nation, and I managed to run with almost every running club that put on an event during that period. And since most of the events were track meets, which had two and even sometimes three distance events, for the month of July, I ran a total of 52 races, also an all-time high for me for one month.
August - The National Master's Outdoor Champs were being held in Eugene, OR. The opportunity to run at Hayward Field, where Steve Prefontaine ran, where Hicham El Guerrouj ran the fastest mile on US soil, and where Alan Webb ran the fastest US High School mile was going to make the experience memorable. I had a full schedule on tap, beginning with a 5000M on Thursday.
Getting excited on my first race on this historic track, I went out a little too fast, and had trouble holding the pace in the last mile. My time was 16:26 (my fastest 5K of the year and 15 seconds off PR) and I came in 9th in the Nation for the 40-44 age group. Friday was double duty. In the morning was the 1500M preliminary heat. To qualify for the final, they took the 12 fastest times from two heats, and by the random draw, I was in the first heat. I learned my lesson from the day before, and ran a very even paced race, coming in at 4:24.74 (equal to a 4:44.0 mile). It was my fastest 1500M in three years, and I was 7th in my heat. So I had to wait for the 2nd heat to see if I was in the final or would I be knocked out. After the first lap, 7 were in contention to beat my time, and by the half, 6 were still on pace. But the next lap knocked down two people, and with one lap to go, there would be only 3 that would beat my time. I made the final as the 10th fastest seed out of 12!
That evening was the Steeplechase. This 3000M race with hurdles and the dreaded water jump showed that I have no technique getting over the barriers, but I actually could make up time in between the hurdles. It turned out to be my only PR of the year, and the time put me 5th in the nation for my age group, so I considered the day a real success. Saturday was the 10000 meters, and bolstered by yesterday's great efforts, I went out too fast again, and faded in the last two miles. I came within seven seconds off my PR (so a smarter paced race would have made a difference) and finished 5th in my age group for the distance.
Finally, Sunday held two events. First was a non-championship 8K road race. We ran outside the stadium, and most of the run was held on the trails that Pre used in his training. After the first mile, I had a shot to win the race overall, so I opened up a gap by mile 2 and held it to the end. I was awarded a championship Gold medal (even though it was listed as a non-championship event), so that medal has a special place in on my mantle.
But the 1500M final was the last event for me for this meet, and it was going to be held 30 minutes after the 8K finished. Needless to say, my legs were trash at this point, so it was going to a brave effort to just hold on at this race. And sure enough, I was blown away at the start, having no energy left to put together a decent race. I finished dead last, but because there were two no-shows, I still finished 10th overall, so I'll take it! I did get an applause from the crowd, as I finished the last straightaway (every one was in by then), and I wanted to yell out that I had just run an 8K and was totally exhausted, and did not need the consolation applause. But I just soaked in the crowd's warm thanks, and knew that I had run a wonderful meet at a great venue. This was my highlight of the year!
December - After the nationals and the effort I had put out, I was too mentally and physically drained to try to reach another peak for the rest of the year. And seeing that I was so far ahead of pace for my best totals for races in a year (239) and wins in a year (127), I decided to focus on beating these records, and putting them so far out there, that I would not want to go after them again. So the last four months of the year were now being defined by quantity versus quality, and the end result will be records that I will not attempt to beat again in my lifetime.
I finished the year with 337 races, of which 158 were wins (total of top 3 finishes was 251). The biggest challenge in setting these records was definitely the logistics in trying to keep track of which races were being held and making sure that I could get from one race to another with time to spare. Also, staying healthy and getting in the miles of training to stay in shape all year was also key. Scheduling in rest days was critical, as I did approach getting burned out a few times, but never felt that I had crossed the line. And through it all, I really enjoyed competing in almost every event I did, and that is what held me together throughout the year. The great shape I was in, the friendships I developed, the enjoyment of running in mega-events as well as low-key runs, and pure thrill of challenging myself to see how much I could do all made this year a success in my book. But my days of setting race records by quantity are now over. My focus for 2004 and beyond will be to run much better quality of times, peaking for my goal events, and running much faster times across all distances. And to always have fun while racing!
Ted
PRs - 3000m Steeplechase 11:48
Lifetime bests: 10th fastest 1500 meters ever at the National Master's Champs in Eugene, OR - 4:24.74; 9th fastest 12K ever at Custis (43:29)
Met All-American standards at the Mile and 3000 meters for 40-44 Age Group
2952 Lifetime Races, 893 Lifetime Wins (1611 total Top 3 finishes)
Upcoming 2004 Milestones - 3000th Lifetime race (Spring) and 20th anniversary of my 1st race (7/15/84)