June 8th, Thursday

Soft landing, starting line in sight……?

After a long day of flying to Chicago and Birmingham yesterday, I am settled in my Airbnb home in Birmingham about a quarter mile from Samford University. Tomorrow at about noon I will run the 800-meter trials. Over at the track today it was quite warm in the Alabama sunshine. I have done a lot of walking around this neighborhood since I arrived yesterday evening. I am quite surprised at the amount of hilly roads there are in this neighborhood. Walking was more of a chore than I anticipated and probably more than I needed the day before my race.  I had a good night’s sleep on a comfortable bed, my heart rate was about 52 beats per minute this a.m. and my weight remains about 150 lbs. So I guess I am ready as I’m ever going to be for this event. I am still quite nervous about the speed in the 800m trials, but I will test myself for the first 600m and make a determination of how to finish.

Samford University is quite impressive, stately and much larger than I thought it was. They are currently celebrating 175 years in existence, founded in 1841. I plan to try to do more research about the origins of this University while I am here.