Recap

So the FL relays went halfway decent for the Star Athletics team. We had a lot of runners best their season openers, others weren't so fortunate, but we all took away from it stuff that will help out our training and upcoming races.

I thought it was pretty exciting being my first meet competing as a "professional" or developmental athlete as some say. Although the same teams I've raced in the years past were there and the same pros I've seen over time were at the meet, it felt different for me. Primarily because it was my first meet competing for almost a full year, and the calibur of athletes there was a lot higher than Ive been up against for opening meets the past few years.

The first day was a scorcher, and the sun was out with a vengence on the athletes. It was about 85 and humid, which are not the greatest conditions to run in, but it is good it was hot. We started off right with the women's hurdles finishing in positions 2, 3, and 8. Our two forerunners both had nice races, resulting in great season openers. Next up were our men high hurdlers, one of which finished 3rd competing near his PR while our other was left scrambling for answers and what positive aspects he could salvage from his race. Not to be mistaken though, he came back and ran a solid 13.3 in the hurdle relay the next day to help close out the win.

Following were our male and female 100m runners who both ran season opener bests and had a great lot to show for their hard work over the past 5 months. Afterwards was my event...open 400m Dash! Long story short I was unprepared and ran REALLY slow! First race jitters among other mistakes led me straight to the tail end of competitors. I didn't feel that nervous and I felt like I was in shape, but the race said something different. I usually have a good reaction to the gun, but can definitely work on my drive phase all the way off the first turn. I felt like I didn't have any turnover and by the time I hit the back stretch I found myself behind and exerting way too much energy just to keep up. By the 200 split I was in a good position to make a move if I would have had anything left in the tank. I tied up pretty badly and died with about 120 to go, which is strange for me since I usually don't die so to speak. My finish is usually the strongest part of my race. Unfortunately not today though. Its all good though I just had to readjust and come back in the 4x400 relay which ended up MUCH better than the open.

There were numerous reasons compiled which led to my opening race demise. For example, I worked a 6 hour shift Thursday until 11pm, (1) was on my feet late and the day before the meet) came home hit the sack and was back up a little before 7am. 2)didn't get enough sleep. I don't know what I was thinking, but I ate what seemed wouldn't even feed a small dog for breakfast. 3)didn't eat enough to acquire enough energy to compensate for the duration of the day in the sun until my run time. Then I drove an hour and a half in the car to the meet to sit around in the heat (instead of going somewhere cool to relax) until it was time to warm up.

Thankfully the next day was our relay team ended up running 3:10 in the 4x400 with my 47 split. I prepared for this race much better and had just enough nerves to help get me around the track in a solid time to make up for the open race. Sadly, people don't pay attention to splits and it surly won't be looked at over my open race, but I race again next week in Miami. I've got my pre-race plan ready to put into action so Im expecting a much better open race.

You can catch all of the action on www.Flotrack.org for the results and actual race videos.