My last two competitions have taken place in America's heartland of agriculture. The Bellin 10k in Green Bay, WI and the USATF championships in Des Moines, Iowa. Both places are very real hard working places but also brutal with heat and humidity this time of year. The USATF meet did not go all that well but what did I really expect going in. I literally decided the day before the race based of a coin toss (heads stay in Boulder and Tails head to Iowa)to run and jumped into the back seat of a Saturn Sedan and drove 700 miles to Des Moines. Luckily, my friend Scott Naglekerke did the driving with his lovely wife Alicia Williams who competed in the ladies 5000 meter competition.
The race itself was a bit ridiculous. The pace was jogging the first 3k at about 5 min mile pace so I decided to shake the tree a little and throw in a 2:06 800m split at about 4k. It definitly shook the field up but as I stepped towards the outside of lane one to let somenone else take a few laps the pace dwindled back to 72 and everyone was right back in it. I knew where my fitness was at and when we go to about 7 laps to go I was tired and decided to throw one last punch and take the lead again and push it. I was struggling however with 5 laps left and almost just wanted to drop out but I know thats weak sauce and wanted to get the maximum workout in. I believe I finished 8th which is an embarrassment and I need to come stronger than that over the next several road races.
Despite my poor finish, I still managed to get the vest up front and stick my neck out and make it a suffer fest for those around me which is what is need to win the big races later this summer. I also enjoyed myself over the weekend with about 5 hours total sleep for the two post race nights and few pints with old friends. I also got to see Johnny Evans and Dan Green from NB and got to meet Josh Rowe formerly of Nike fame. So all things considered a nice little weekend.
Next up is this weekends Peach tree road race in Hotlanta. I have heard they have been having record heat so it should be brutal. Peach tree once again is serving as the USA 10k road championships and will be a loaded competition. After Peach tree, Im looking forward to getting down to brass tacks and gearing up for the falmouth road race on August 15 and a September Half Marathon.
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