Monday, February 17, 2014

Millrose Recap and a Look Ahead at USA Champs

Another weekend, another record attempt.  This time, unfortunately, there were no records run...in my event anyway.  I ran the 1000 meter race at the Millrose Games in New York City.  Leading up to the event, there was a lot of talk of breaking the American Record of 2:17.86 and there were several guys that lined up on Saturday, with the talent to eclipse that mark.

Everything felt good leading up to the race.  Legs...check, mind...check.  It was all about having fun and chasing the American Record.  When the gun went off, I moved into a position that I was comfortable in, around 4th place.  At the 200 meter split, I noticed that we were off pace but I felt comfortable.  Heading into the 400 meter split, I knew that I needed to move up as a gap was forming between 2nd and 3rd place.  I made the move and committed to it.  The pace started to pick up as I sat in the 2nd position.  We hit the bell lap, and even though our split was slow, I felt my energy draining from my legs unexpectedly.  I pushed through the last lap but ended up placing 4th and running 2:19.

Immediately after the race, I was confused.  Something didn't seem right.  But as I look back on the race now, I think I simply just didn't have it.  No need for excuses or any of that, my body was just not up to the challenge that night.  It could have been one thing or another, but an important thing that I have learned is that there are times to reflect and analyze a race, and there are times to move on from it.  Today I chose the latter.  There are bigger events on the horizon.

That being said...the USATF Championships are this week in Albuquerque, New Mexico!  It will be my second trip to race at altitude, the last time being in 2012.  There are always a lot of questions about racing middle distance events at altitude and how it affects the athletes.  For me, I find that I don't notice the altitude difference during the race.  The 800 meters hurts whether it's at sea level or not!  So I'm not worried about the altitude.  It should be a fun event all around as the top two athletes with the World 'A' Standard qualify for the World Track and Field Championships in Poland!  We will taper a little bit this week, to keep our legs fresh for the race.  Make sure to keep an eye on usatf.org for all results!  I will be racing on Saturday, Feb. 22 and Sunday, Feb 23 in the 800 meters!

Here is my training log from last week...



February 10- February 16

Monday
Morning-
8 mile recovery run
Tuesday
Morning Workout-
5x1000
4x100 hard stride
3x200 (26 sec)
Afternoon-
Weight Session
Total Mileage: 9


Wednesday
8 mile recovery run

Thursday
Afternoon-
7x400 w/ 1min rest
1x300 at 800 race pace
Total Mileage: 8


Friday
Morning-
6 mile run plus drills/strides
Saturday
Morning-
10 minute shake-out
Afternoon-
Millrose Games 1000m

Sunday
11 mile long run

Total Weekly Mileage: 62

For questions, comments, or suggestions, feel free to post below or email me directly at mikeruttrunning@gmail.com!

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