September 8th, Saturday

Passing 400m before I ran down those two guys.

Finishing first in 800m.   3:18

Today’s efforts at the New Jersey Senior Games proved to be better than I anticipated. In the 800 meters I finished first out of the field of 11 runners to win in 3: 18. That was much faster than my projected seed time of 3:40. I am very surprised and gratified that I am able to run that time with such limited running training. I was pretty sure that my aerobics condition was okay but had grave doubts about my legs. But in the 800m I found both aerobic and muscle reserves when I called on them. This is very encouraging and makes me very excited about the possibilities for the Nationals in July.

The 1500 meter race was a completely different story. I guess I have to say that my between races preparation was not very good. But in the race I did not feel strong and my quadricept issues returned so that I just managed to finish in 7:54. Fortunately only two runners showed up for the 75 to 79 year old category. So I finished second and qualified for this event as well. I could clearly feel my lack of conditioning in the second race and I’m glad I did not have to beat anybody. But all in all it was a really good day. The weather was perfect for distance running at about 68 degrees and cloudy. The meet went pretty much on time. So, I move forward with 9 months to train for the Nationals with time to relax and reboot and get all my aches and pains taking care of while I get strong and fast. I am very excited!