Sprinting At 60

 Tuesday, July 22, 2025 (This is my 60th post to this blog!) USATF Masters National Championship Meet in Huntsville, Alabama Here is a photo of me starting off in the 400 meter preliminary race: What an amazing experience! I had a great time at the meet. Best news--it's over, and I did NOT re-injure myself, nor did I get a new injury! I ran the 400 meter prelim on Thursday, and I took second in the heat, running 59.60 (a tad slower than my PR at Indoor worlds in March). Behind me in the picture above is David Jones, an excellent, experienced sprinter who just aged up into the 60-64 group. He won the heat (and, spoiler alert, he won the final, finishing in 57.87). I felt good in the prelim race. The next day, Friday, we had the final. I took second! My first individual medal at a big meet. Plus, I ran a new PR, crossing the line at 58.93. I was thrilled. So happy I could give it my best. Again, the race felt smooth, and my legs got a little lactic the last 20 meters, but not so bad....

Friday, July 11, 2025 After my run in Vancouver! It has been 2 weeks and 2 days since my last post. I will recap my training since then: Thursday the 26th I had my last Pilates lesson with Megan for a while. I ran to and from the studio and visited the gym. On Friday the 27th, I wanted to use the Penn track to do a 500 meter workout, but alas, they had an event and I couldn't use it. So I went to the Penn field next to the river. It was a rainy day, and the field is very uneven (one side up about 5 feet on an incline!) with long grass and big sections of marsh and puddles. I used my watch to measure out (more or less) 500 meters. 5 x 500, 4 minute rests: 2:26, 2:14, 2:12, 2:10, 2:04. Was supposed to be shooting for about a 1:51 . . . but given the conditions and all, this was a good effort.  Saturday and Sunday we drove to the lake in Minnesota. On Tuesday, July 1, I did a workout on the Piquot Lakes High School track. 3 x 500 m @ 800 pace, 5 minutes between. My intervals: 1:32, 1:...