June 13, 1997, USATF 10,000m Indianapolis, IN, 4th, 28:49. I had been having problems with my left hamstring (caused by problems in my back) going into this one. It made it difficult to lift and extend my left leg. It was somewhere in the mid 70's for temperature and on the humid side of things. In a move that easily made my weekend, several HS fans from the Bob & Todd "A Step Ahead" camp had painted "LeMay Rules" on their chests. What a night to leave my camera at the hotel! Ruben Reina went straight for the lead when the gun went off, then slowed to a near-crawl as he realized he didn't want it. He wanted the pole, but not the lead (as if it would have killed him for a lap or three). I took the lead just after 200. I wasn't really high with expectations, but I wasn't going to let it go slower than 29:00. 400 in 72, 1600 in 4:36, another two laps and I move out for water. Mike Mykytok takes it through 3200 in 9:12, 5000 in 14:22. To his credit, he would do the rest of the work until 400 to go, then outkick the others (Reina and Julian) for the win. I never felt comfortable with my left leg, but it really started bothering me past 6400. I ended up falling off his lead with about 4 laps to go. I struggled home running 70's to finish 15 seconds off the lead. I let my lunch (burger and fries) go right on the mondo. I wasn't coming back any time soon, and thought I may as well leave my mark. You people in Indianapolis can thank me later. My thoughts on the meet:
-The "Step Ahead" distance camp is the best addition to this meet in a long time. Never in my memory has there been such enthusiasm in the stands.
-I didn't encounter anyone who thought the schedule was good. It was actually a six day meet! Most everyone thought it could have been done in three, with maybe one other day for multis. They could have easily finished up the meet on Saturday evening, but instead ended it at 6 PM, and had two or three races on Sunday. I'm sure some genius with USATF could list some very important reasons why the schedule was so drawn out, but neither I, nor anyone I met, could think of any. Someone had suggested that the reason is that the city of Indianapolis would make more $ if everyone had to stay in the hotels longer. If that's true, then that's pretty sick. 1994 was the last time I had the chance to watch the 1500.
-I won't be going after the 28:10 I need to go to the World Championships in Athens. I was offered a marathon spot, but turned it down. A marathon in Athens in August just doesn't fit into my plans. I'll be taking at least 2 weeks off, and hopefully coming back for some road races at the end of the summer. Most likely, the USA will be sending a one-man 10,000 meter team under the B standard of 28:30, unless two or more attain the A standard.
May 31, 1997, Dedham 5000, 9th, 14:07. This is the 5000 I go to every year looking to prove that I have speed and end up sucking all the time. In 1993, I ran my PR 13:44.1 there, and that was it. I haven't broken 14 in a 5000 on the track since. With my hip problem bothering me, I was just looking to see what I could do. I was in pain right from the gun with it, but I did manage a 3200 split of 8:54 which is not too bad. Then I really pulled the ripcord in the last three laps. I just wasn't competing. It's hard for me to get motivated when there's really nothing on the line. I thought of this as a time trial and it showed. I never really picked my head up to go after people. Well, maybe I did for a straightaway, but it didn't last very long. I'm not a time trialer.
April 24, 1997, Penn Relays 10000m, 3rd, 29:15. I hate Penn. I feel bad about saying that, but I almost never run well there, and this year was no exception. I ran well last year. I suppose I pull off a good one every 5 years or so. I've been bothered the past three weeks by a heavy cough, and woke up last Friday with a pain wrapping around my chest and running behind my left shoulder blade as if I had slept on it funny. This made breathing on the run very painful. With several Advils in me, I went after the 28:10, and hit splits of 4:29, 9:06, and 14:20 for 5. From there on, it sucked. My spondiolysthesis was hurting my left leg, and my coach thought my breathing was off right from the beginning. Those close to me seem to believe I have some sort of lung disease, but I think I'm just a little off right now. I've seen my doctor, and he says it's just allergies, and the coughing is getting lighter. I didn't want to drop out. I figured I'd stay in there and take my lumps. My recommendation for Penn is to move some of the distance races (i.e. the men's 10000) to Friday or Saturday so I don't have to run at midnight (I hate that) and take another day off from work
March 23, 1997, World Cross Country Championships in Turin, Italy (12.3K), 37:42, 85th. I knew that the start would be crucial, and very difficult to negotiate. 270 of the fastest people on earth would be shooting for a path less then 10 meters wide and 300 meters away from the gate. We started in a thoroughbred racehorse style scaffolding that guaranteed that each team gets two people on the starting line. I was in front, and I needed it. When the gun went off (the Moroccan team insisted on false starting twice with no gun being fired "Hey Khalid - there's a new device out there called a starting pistol!") I was out running as fast as Joe LeMay moved, and maybe a little faster. It wasn't enough, as people closed in around me, and I was left in probably worse than 100th place only 400 meters in to the race. The leaders probably went out in 55 or 56 for the 400. The leader split at 2000 was 5:25 (pace for a 27:05 10K with a nasty hill in there). The course was 6 two kilometer loops, with that hill that was good for 30-40 seconds of running. I liked the hill as it was the only place where I could actually get moving and pick up some spots. Other parts of the course had not-so-good footing, jumps and funny turns where I was loosing ground. I am not a very good cross country runner. This was such an intense race. Take a break to 'settle in' for a quarter mile or so, and 10 guys will pass you. It was all rather frustrating, but I kept my head up, and ran hard for the best finish I could get, even though I knew I was no better than, maybe 50th. The finish had people backing up across the line from the chute. I hate that. I actually had to slow down in the final couple of steps which was annoying. I can't believe there are 84 people in this world who can beat me all on the same day. For complete results, check out the IAAF home page.
March 8, 1997, Gate River Run 15K, 43:34, 1st. Believe it or not, this race was a big question mark for me because even though I've been training very hard in the mild Connecticut winter this year, I had been ill for the last two weeks. I didn't feel so good on Monday, 2/24 and called in sick to work. The doctor put me on a course of antibiotics, and I lost 5 pounds in one week because I was tired and not hungry. But the 4 or 5 days prior to this race I had been feeling better and eating like a horse. It was about 70 degrees and only a little humid (I don't know, maybe 50 or 60%) at the start. I went straight to the lead, which didn't last very long because Todd Williams took over very quickly and hit splits of 4:24, 9:0something, and I think about 14:05 at 5K. I hit 4:30, 9:09, and I think about 14:14. It was at that point that I started to focus on Todd and make sure he didn't get too far away before I had a chance to say something about it. He didn't appear visibly distraught to me, but I could tell he wasn't about to just shift gears and take off all of a sudden. I followed, and gained a little, and at about 4.5 miles, and without warning, Todd pulled off the course clutching at a stitch in his right side. It looked as if he was barely able to breathe. At that point I thought I was going to win, but knew I still had over 4 miles of work to do. I hit splits of 18:22 for 5, 23:02 for 5, 32:26 for 7, 37:30 for 8 (big uphill over the Hart Bridge), and about 42:03 for 9 (mostly downhill). Now I'm back in CT, and it's snowing, and my calves are all stiff. Take note that Lynn Jennings and Kristen Beany (Princeton graduates like myself) went 1-2 in the women's race. This is pretty cool. PU always produces well-rounded competitive track teams, but is hardly known as a track powerhouse of national caliber. Potential HS recruits should give that some thought.
February 1, 1997, MAC 3000 Chelsey Piers. 8:22, 1st. Training right through this one, I ran 9 miles the morning of. They've got a new track on the West Side Highway and 23rd street. Quite a setup, but the track has to be narrow enough to fit on the pier, so it was pretty tight, with very high banking. Went out in 2:10, 4:24, rigged to 8:22. For a while some guy passed me with like 4 or 5 to go. Got him in the final 600. That night I went out and was very social.
January 25, 1997, Gasparilla Distance Classic 15K, 44:37, third. I hadn't done much speedwork, what with living in CT during the winter, and all. Gasparilla traditionally has a loaded field - and it is not an American-only prize money race. I have to make an effort to not be in situations where my pay is tied to being the first american across the line. It's not OK to let someone beat you just because he's african. For whatever reason, the field had just suffered a number of cancellations. The favorite, Joe Kimani, was still there. Stephen Nyamu was also there. Stephen isn't much of a warm weather runner. They were using the Champion Chip for the first time in that race. It's a little batman logo shaped device that clips on your shoe and records your start and finish times. I went straight to the lead at the gun, and eased through splits of 4:42, and 9:24. Then I started feeling the humidity as Joe and Stephen just kind of walked right by me. It was looking like a long haul to the finish over 30 minutes away. Charles Mulinga of Zambia pulled up next to me, and I started running with him. I hung on to Charles up until just before 10K (29:35), when I started putting some distance between the two of us. The crowd support from the runners heading out at this point was tremendous in my favor. Thank you. Anyway, it was here that my strength discrepancy between my left and right legs started bothering me. I had to chop my stride a little because my left leg can't lift as well. I kept it going on pace to the finish with only a 4 second margin of victory over fourth place. Kimani won in 43:11, Nyamu second in 43:40 (I think). I got away with something because the elite field was relatively thin. There could have easily been another couple of Africans or Mexicans ahead of me.
January 11, 1997, New Balance Games 5000, 14:07, 1st. I finished a 130 mile week on Saturday with that performance. I hadn't run at the 168th street armory since December, 1984, when I was hoping to qualify for the Milrose HS mile on the awful wooden slats they had there for a track. I was nervous as hell, and ended up with a 4:41. I didn't run at Milrose my senior year in HS. A fellow named Ron Markezich from Buffalo or Rochester ended up winning Milrose. He went to Notre Dame and ended up 11th at the NCAA XC meet in 1988 where I finished 21st. I could kick his ass now, but I digress. I was looking for some speedwork. The plan was to go out in just under 9:00 for 3200, which I did. Then I rigged a bit for the 14:07. The tight turns, as one might imagine, were really killing me. It was like run, run, HARD LEFT, run, run, HARD LEFT, run, pick it up, get your split, HARD LEFT, HARD LEFT. There were only 4 guys in the race, which I find rather disappointing. What's happened to all the healthy young guys who want to compete? There should be so many guys wanting to run, they should have to be saying "no" to people.