USATF Masters Indoor National Championships

Background:

My husband and I were invited to join the Atlanta Track Club Masters Track and Field team last year. Not because we're fast, or remotely competitive at that level, but because we're both in the 30-34 age bracket (masters track and field starts at age 30, while most masters categories begin at 40), next to no one shows up for those age groups at the national competitions, and the club wants those points for the team totals. 

I didn't do sports as a kid (I opted for everything else, from Future Problem Solvers and Debate Team to musical theater and colorguard). The only sports team I've ever been on was a department intramural volleyball team in college. While I'm pretty athletic now, it's only been about seven years that I've actually been "into this fitness thing". 

All this is to say this was a BRAND NEW experience for me, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I was a little nervous to join a team of elite runners, particularly when I wasn't elite myself. I'm still about 15% shy of making the age-graded qualifying standards... and that's in my fastest road race distance. 

Fortunately, most of my teammates didn't care I was slower than them (despite being less than half their age), and were supportive, encouraging, and appreciative of my being there. I even had a few people take me under their wing, welcome me, teach me some things, and make the experience even better. 

teammates :)

Friday

Did: 2mi warm-up, 400m in 1:15, 1.75mi cool-down = 4.06 @ 9:25/mi avg

Did a 2mi warm-up with one of my teammates around the sports complex, and really enjoyed the instant camaraderie running brings. I was grateful someone else wanted to go warm-up outside too, despite the 35 degrees and 10mph winds. 

Being able to watch six other heats before it was my turn definitely helped calm my nerves. Unlike February's meet, I wasn't very nervous at all on the track. I definitely did NOT feel confident and ready to go, but at least my heart wasn't beating out of my chest this time. I was able to keep up a decent pace (for me), staying in second position the whole time. I saved a kick in case #3 tried to pass me in the last 100m, but never needed to use it.

OMG, OMG. I finally have a picture where I look like I’m running!
video: https://youtu.be/VvQBZ4luSG8

I finished in 1:15, which is about what I expected and the same time as the February meet. With the low turnout for my AG, it earned me my first medal (second place!) and points for the team score. Win!

Got to do a cool-down outside with two teammates afterwards (one of whom has been a huge mentor for me since my first half training program, and instantly welcomed me to "the team"). That easy cool-down with teammates might've been my favorite part of the 400. 

Saturday

Did: 4.2mi biking @ 6mph, lots of warm-ups and cooldowns throughout the day, 1500m in 5:59, 800m in 2:59, 200m in 0:42, several Big 5s

We started the day off with a trip to DC proper, met up with some family, and had a leisurely bike ride around the National Mall to see the sights. After that, we grabbed some IHOP-to-go, jetted to the hotel room to change, and spent the next ten hours at the meet for a LOT of events. 

Woo for easy bike rentals :) 

flat family :) 

1500m

I was most nervous about this race. Especially since I've been battling some soreness in my left arch, speedwork hasn't happened. I was grateful that yesterday's 400m left me feeling fine, but still a bit worried about how to balance ALL of my events while still staying healthy. With a lot of women on our team in the age group just ahead of me, I had warm-up and cool-down buddies for the race, since they were only 1-2 heats off. 

Honestly, I'm blogging about this two days after the race, and don't remember much at all about the actual event. I remember how great it was to have support coming at every corner of the track: Jerry was at one corner, I had teammates warming up and cheering me on at another, the ATC bleacher section at the third, and a coach counting laps for me at the last one. The only part of the race I really remember was coming in the home stretch, seeing 5:50 on the close, and hearing our coach tell me to break 6. 

I've wanted to break (or even just HIT) 6:00 for a mile for the past year+. This wasn't a mile race (it was a "metric mile"-- 100m shorter than a real mile), but that "break 6" shout stirred the same fire within me. I finished in 5:59, and earned my first national championship. 

Hey there, kick. 

it's all who shows up
#natty 

4x800m relay, lead leg (13:33 total)

The relays were DEFINITELY my favorite part of this whole meet. I don't even remember much of this one, but I loved being part of a team for a specific event, where we were all working towards the same goal and our performance all depended on each other. I don't exactly know what my 800m PR is, but I know that this 2:58 was pretty close to it. 

4x200m relay, anchor leg (2:57 total)

Being anchor leg was TOUGH, but so much fun. We had a lot of ground to makeup when I got the baton, and I definitely pushed. Pretty sure this was around a 38s lap for me. Sidenote: it was INCREDIBLE to watch the legit sprinters do this relay. Like, WOW.

I’M ON A SPORTS TEAM!

By the time we got back to our hotel room, I was feeling the effects of so much fast running. My left arch/heel was NOT happy, and I had some soreness in my right achilles. Fortunately, I was able to ice the heck out of them for the rest of the evening, eating Outback takeout my SIL and soon-to-be-brother-in-law provided for us from the comfort of my hotel room bed. 

Sunday

Did: more warm-ups, cooldowns, stretching, and 800m in 3:17, 200m in 0:42, 400m in 1:20

I was SO happy to wake up with both heels/arches and ankles feeling fine. To be safe, I taped up my right achilles (left PF had already been taped all weekend). Today was a day with very little rest between events: around an hour. Considering my first event was at 10:55 and my last one scheduled for 1:50, this made eating a bit difficult. The last thing I wanted to do was run on a full stomach. I opted for a breakfast of leftover yogurt, oats, and banana, and packed a few stinger waffles to tide me over until I could eat my turkey spinach sandwich post-relay.

800m

While there were a handful of runners in my heat, it was just myself and my teammate in the W30-34 age group. With the pressure for earning team points completely off, I had no reason to push myself. It was much better to save it for the 200m, where I’d be going head-to-head with a runner from a different club. I thought I took off at a leisurely pace, but it was only leisurely compared to the paces of the other women in our heat.

When I saw a 0:39 on the clock as I began the closing straightaway on my first lap, I knew I needed to slow the heck down. Splits shook out at: 44, 49, 49, and 48. It felt good to take it easy, but still run fast enough to be proud of what I put out there and “do my job” for the team (i.e. earn points). I finished in 3:17, earning another “national title” (lol).

ATC 800m W30-34 teammates

200m

Ahhh. “Just one lap”, I told myself as I headed down to check in for this race. Of course, just one lap meant that this was more of a sprint than a run, which meant that there were actual sprinters in my heat, who would be finishing about 10s ahead of me. Fortunately, I also had another "non-elite" with me. Over the course of the meet, I’d started seeing a lot of the same faces in the W30-34 events, and it was nice to have made friends with people who were close to my pace.

I was tired by the time this race started, and it showed. I started off in last place, but was able to kick it, and make a pass in the final stretch, finishing fourth and out-earning our closest club team competitor by a point.

When I was running, I felt tired, but still thought of myself as gliding across the track.

this is too accurate

Nope. Jerry shot this video of me, and I was absolutely appalled by how frantic, flail-y, and twist-y I looked during the entire race. I don’t feel like I twist when I run, but, man, do I ever. First step: acknowledging you have a problem. Second step: determining how to fix it. Any tips? It's seriously embarrassing: 200m race

4x400m relay (5:33)

We closed out the meet with an AWESOME 4x400 relay. Our team consisted of: me, one of our under-40s captains (who’s been incredibly welcoming and supportive of me joining the team), one of my first run leaders who helped me through my first half marathon training and has been a continual source of encouragement through pregnant running, motherhood, and this meet, and one of ATC’s total BA runners, who set a new American record for the 1500m at this meet.

Yeah, pretty much the dream team. ;)

I got to start out, but wished I’d run second and let our slower runner begin so we’d know exactly how much time to make up. I wasn’t able to keep pace with our closest competitor’s first runner, and we already had a deficit going into Leg 2. Our third and fourth runners were pretty incredible, but they weren’t able to make up ALL of the ground we’d lost, and we finished second. Still, it was a great experience to run with them, and I’m proud of what we accomplished.

Final Recap:

400m 1:15, 2^nd Place

1500m 5:59,, 1^st Place

4x800m 13:33, 3^rd Place

4x200m 2:57, 3^rd Place

800m 3:17, 1^st Place

200m 0:35, 4^th Place

4x400m 5:38, 2^nd Place

Total Team Points Earned: 39

The team brought me to earn as many points possible.
Mission accomplished.

Closing/Random Thoughts:

• I cannot imagine a better way to spend a weekend. I loved meeting so many new people, doing new things, and being a part of something bigger than myself.
• I’m a little bummed that I didn’t do sports in HS. There’s nothing anyone could have done to convince me to try them back then, and maybe I’m better off for discovering running later in life, but I do wonder what it would have been like to be part of a team earlier than now.
• Being held accountable by someone other than myself for my performance is incredibly motivating. Hearing one of the team coaches tell me “I want you to ______”, whether that was “break 6” on my 1500m or “beat the runner from Club ____” on my 200m, gave me a definite “assignment”, and I get a lot of satisfaction out of completing things I’m supposed to do.
• Traveling with runners is the best. All of us wanted to eat healthy food, so it wasn’t unreasonable to request we go to a Wegman’s grocery and buy our own food to eat/cook in the rooms instead of going to Cracker Barrel or McDonald's. It’s what everyone else wanted to do too!
• We had a lot of long days/nights at the meet, where events ran over, or there was some disorganization/confusion, but being surrounded by good people kept the stress levels to a minimum
• I loved how welcoming our team was. When we came back to the hotel one night and saw a group of ATC runners in the lobby, we were instantly asked to join them, and spent the next hour sharing food/drinks and getting to know each other.
• Watching other athletes was SO inspiring. We saw incredibly fast sprinters, dedicated 100 year olds who were still competing on the track (and literally setting world records every single race just by completing the course), wicked fast relay teams who were double my age and twice as fast, and people of all abilities doing the field events. I loved being surrounded by other athletes all weekend. 
• I wish the field events had been easier to watch. We weren’t allowed on the infield of the track, and all of the MC announcements and big screens only showed what was happening on the track. 
• Jerry and I had incredible support from friends and family in the area, who took time out of their weekend to come cheer us on, shuttle us around, and ensure we were fed. The meet location being near friends and family was a definite bonus.
• While our vacation to Hawaii was great, I think doing this track meet with my husband was, in many ways, a better vacation. We got to cheer each other on and support one another as athletes, challenging ourselves, and that’s something we haven’t gotten to do much of since becoming parents.

being able to do this together was the icing on the cake
("olive oil on the asparagus" might be more relatable these days) 

• Like my first overnight relay, this was a great opportunity to learn more about how to take care of myself. I'm super glad that my feet/ankles held up, and glad I had the foresight to pack KT tape and ice bags in my luggage.
• Thinking about turning 40 has never bothered me, until now, because then I'll age into the actually competitive division, and won't be eligible to compete with the team anymore :'( 
• The only moment I felt remotely out of place was being asked what my normal event was when talking with some other runners. Uh...idk. #10KTuesday? :P 
• This was the first trip where I didn't obsessively/compulsively plan everything, because I didn't have all the information in order to do so. It wasn't as bad as I thought. Maybe letting go and trusting other people isn't always that bad. 
• I didn't have nearly the amount of downtime that I thought I would, and would not qualify this as a relaxing/chill vacation at all. We were barely at the hotel, and, when we did have "downtime" at the meet, I was usually eating, warming up, cooling down, stretching, or cheering on teammates.
• Becoming a runner and getting involved with Atlanta Track Club has been one of the top three things I’ve ever done for myself- so much self-growth, introspection, confidence, etc. It's awesome. 

For having athletes split between the Club's biggest race weekend of the year, the 8K National Championship race, and this meet, a third place team finish was pretty rewarding.

I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of this team for the weekend. Definitely one of the coolest experiences of my life. :)