Winter Track & Field Classic #2 Race Report

3 years ago I decided to run one of these track and field events (the last time I competed in these types of events was in high school 9 years before!). This event was hosted by a local high school, primarily geared toward high school athletes that want to get some practice racing before the track season officially starts in the Spring. But the races are open to the public, so I decided to participate and see what type of speed I still had in me. I must have forgotten what I wrote in my initial race report because it sounds like I had a terrible time! But since that last race, I have been playing indoor soccer almost every week (which involves a lot of sprinting) and recently, been doing high intensity workouts from the Insanity program. I felt like I would run fairly fast this time around, but was still nervous about having to compete against younger, faster high school runners. I really didn’t know how to tackle the races since I haven’t been training for it. I didn’t want to start too fast and tire out for the rest of the race. But I also didn’t want to start too slow and not have enough distance left after picking up the pace. Here are the official results: 800 meters: 2:20:79, 8/16 overall, 1 mile: 5:20:99, 11/18 overall. I was actually pleasantly surprised at how well I ran, I was definitely tired during and after each event but ran very smart.

The track meet started at 7:30am and had a rolling schedule, which meant that the next running event would not start until the previous one had finished. Since there were a few races before the 800m, I decided to arrive a little later. I got to the track just as they were calling all 800m runners to the field. I hate being rushed so that stressed me out a little bit. But I had enough time to put on my running shoes, use the restroom and do a few stretches before the girl’s 800m started. Each runner was assigned their own lane and once the gun went off, we were allowed to converge to the middle lane. I was able to get a really good start and was actually in 4th place during the first 150 meters. But I eventually settled into a more reasonable pace while a bunch of other runners passed me by the end of the first lap. I wasn’t breathing too hard after the first lap, which was a good sign. I didn’t have too much energy (or I just didn’t want to tire myself out too much for the next race) so I didn’t really have a strong finishing kick. But I was happy with my overall time for the 800 meters. The problem was that the mile race was only 2 events away and I was still really tired after just finishing the 800 meters!

I think I got just enough rest before the mile started. Similar to the 800 meter race, I got off to a good start before settling into my race pace. The 4 laps seem to fly by pretty quickly, which I was happy about. At lap 4, I was able to pick up the pace within the first 200 meters and passed a few runners which helped boost my confidence. I was even able to sprint to the end with a finishing kick, which I got on video! My initial goal time was to run at or under 6:00, so I was able to crush that time! I don’t know how much this race will prepare me for the upcoming Spartan Race, if anything, it helped me overcome a lot of mental obstacles.

Check out some photos and videos from the event.