2016 US Indoor Nationals (Day 2) and more marathon training

This morning, I needed to do a short, hard run. Following Thursday's 2 hour tempo, today had 'difficult' written all over it. Especially with a forecast of rain and high winds.

At 0600: no rain, no wind. Time to get after it before Mother Nature changes her mind. Of course, she did, and very quickly. But not until I was a half mile into it. Heck, I'm warm enough. Just wet.

2 miles at a pace slightly faster than race pace, then a short recovery, then another mile substantially faster. 7 miles total, and it felt pretty good once I was fully warmed up. Down the east bank of the Willamette, past the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, and across that funky new bridge to the south waterfront.

Did I mention the rain?

Down to breakfast (Doubletree by Hilton, near Lloyd Center in Portland). Huge breakfast and lots of war stories from Chief Umpire Sue. She worked at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and never wanted to do another one. Bad experience? No, she just couldn't see anything topping that.

And she remembered sitting on the track in Atlanta and thinking that this was the greatest thing a track fan could do. I can dig it....hopefully my chance comes in 2024 if Los Angeles gets the Olympic bid.

Sue told me I'm on my way to becoming a chief umpire, since there is a critical shortage of qualified backups. Meanwhile, the coordinator of officials asked me if I wanted to train this year as referee for running events (umpires report to the referee). Wow, it's nice to be wanted!

Another long time umpire Diane also told many stories. I mentioned that I love hearing the 'behind the scenes' stuff, and she said she'll send me some of her books from the golden years of track. Yes, I do believe I'm onboard with that.

Back to work...



Oregon Convention Center, site of USATF Indoor Nationals and IAAF World Indoor Championships

The warmup 'track' is nothing more than a thin sheet of all-weather turf from a patio:



the indoor track from the back side

Schlepping around the festivities before my shift starts...

Five minutes later....Super Umpire!

After I changed my clothes, I realized my legs were still sore from the last run. But I brought my magic potion...

That stuff is gold. GOLD, I tell you! And since I wore shorts on the track, I could cryo-freeze my legs without gumming up a pair of pants.

I think of everything....except when I don't.

Speaking of that 'thinking of everything' part: we were told we could not have gear bags with supplies or rations on the track. Normally, I'd bring a water bottle and maybe a newspaper to read in between events (not really). But I have this nifty 'Rain Writer' waterproof clipboard that is great for track meets in Oregon. And it was raining the whole time I was here....(but yes, it WAS an indoor meet). Anyhow, I stuffed everything I could into this; the left side is a Velcro strip that opens to release spring tension. The right side is the top, and you can see the clear plastic front. You can open it, then hold it up in a rain storm and write inside the plastic so your stuff doesn't get soaked. Too many times, I've written up fouls without cover and have had the paper turn into oatmeal before I sign my name.

 Ah, yes: activities other than track meets were in town...

Speaking of track, I guess I should include some notes about Day 2's events...

Setting up for the 60m hurdles, men's running events referee Fred Newhouse greets me. The man has silver and gold from the 1976 Montreal Olympics, and I enjoy talking to him. I ask if he ran many indoor meets back in the day. He replied in the affirmative, even remembering that as a young buck he once ran at an indoor meet in Portland. So I asked if he arrived at the track via horse and buggy.

It's neat to get punched by an Olympian. Just sayin'.

Ever had your cones stolen by a thrower? No, that's not a jailhouse euphemism....I had stashed my mini cones for the 400m break line off to the side. Next thing I know, Olympic Hammer Throw Silver Medalist (and facility director) Lance Deal had unknowingly picked them up and used them near the long jump. Got them back, though...you'll see why in a minute.

Men's 3000m race walk; I don't like watching the walks, because they go faster than I currently run! Sure enough: first mile in 6:10, and the finish in 11:37. Makes me sick to my stomach.

Former International track star Lewis Johnson, now a key track and field interviewer, is putting on makeup near the finish line. He's probably 6'4", big stud of a guy, and now he has a tiny compact mirror in his hand like the one my mom had 40 years ago. Very strange sight...

High Schooler Vasthi Cunningham, daughter of former NFL QB Randall, sets a World Junior record and world's best jump of 2016 with a ridiculous 6'6" (1.99m). A high schooler!!

I look at the official program being handed out. There's a picture of pole vaulter Sam Kendricks, except the caption says Ryan Whiting. Uh, they are most definitely NOT the same people...

Here's the picture of Kendricks...

And this is shot putter Ryan Whiting, all 300 pounds of him. He's not getting that body over a pole vault crossbar any time soon.

Only a track geek like me would have noticed that!

Laura Roesler gets second in the 800 final, and I hope she also doesn't get skin cancer, because she's been spending lots of time in a tanning bed.

Oy...the women's 1500m. Here's a pre-emptive mea culpa, but it sure wasn't my fault; I just happened to be there:

The chief umpire was told it was a single waterfall start; one curved starting line with all competitors shoulder to shoulder, and they all break for lane one at the gun. Instead, the starters set it up as a two alley start: meaning that the outer alley's runners stay in lanes 4-6 through the first turn before breaking in. This means that the first turn has to have cones for 50 meters on the line between lanes 3 and 4 to segregate the two alleys.

Because the chief umpire wasn't told about the change, we didn't have enough cones at that end of the track when the runners were lined up. I had 5 cones from the 400m race immediately prior, but we needed 15-20 to cover the turn. And I just happened to be 30 yards away from the starters with my lousy 5 cones when we needed three times as many! We frantically begged, borrowed, and stole what we needed, and the race was underway.

The starters (and TV people) were torqued at the delay. Bad communication. We figured out how to prevent it again. And the integrity of the race was preserved, though a bit inefficiently.

Incidentally, I think someone in the stands yelled at me by name! I'll say it again: IT WASN'T MY FAULT!!!!

Sandi Morris cleared 16' for her first trip over that height, a big pole vault milestone. Then she went another 3" higher and beat 1) the reigning US Indoor Champ  2) the reigning Olympic Champ  3) the reigning indoor world record holder.  Okay, so #'s 2 and 3 are the same person: the way I wrote it looks more impressive!

The meet ended without incident. Afterward, 8 of us jumped on the train and went to Jake's Seafood Bar in the city. Yes, I'll have the Ahi tuna, please.

So good. And Diane next to me had an amazing sole filet that I also tried. I love seafood!

Later, the exhausted crew got back on the train for the hotel just as our free transit passes expired at midnight. Left to right: Reggie from NYC, Doug from Michigan (light blue jacket), Ned (partially obscured, from Minnesota), Ron (Bethesda), Diane (Chicago), Karen (KC), and Chief Umpire Sue (not pictured).

Since I didn't have enough cash for dinner, I ran to the nearest grocery store on Sunday morning and got some bills off my debit card. The two energy bars I bought had to be stuffed inside my sleeves, because I was also getting yet another rain-soaked run done. 4 miles later, I'm back at the hotel with legs feeling loose.

Good meet. Great time...and we get to repeat it in a week when the World Championships happen on the very same track!






2016 US Indoor Nationals (Day 1) and more marathon training...

Know what I love?

Being on a training plan while traveling. It's pretty cool to do a long run in an unfamiliar city; nice dash of variety while churning out the miles.

This week brought US Indoor Nationals to Portland, and I was picked to work the meet as an umpire. This week is Nationals, and next week is Worlds. So off to the big city I go!

I landed in the city around 2pm, and our briefing wasn't until 7. Plenty of time to get my run in, except that my room wasn't yet ready. So I stashed my gear in a friend's room (he had already checked in), and got after my workout.

Today was 13 miles total, with 9 miles in Zone 2, somewhere near marathon effort. All of these runs have been 'mildly annoying' in terms of exertion, and I figured today would be no different. Especially since I blew out the carbon 2 days ago with some harsh treadmill half mile repeats, fast enough so that I nearly lost form and fell off the belt!

Only seven weeks until I qualify for Boston. It's been lots and lots of miles on the treadmill this winter (alongside Olympic Trials marathoner/beasts Renee Baillie and Max King).

The weather was pretty rainy on the trip in to the city, but upon starting my run, the clouds parted and the angels sang. Perfect for a workout....the plan was multiple loops between the Steel Bridge and the Hawthorne Bridge, about 2.5 miles per circuit, so I got into my zone and let 'er rip. Did my 9 miles in 7:32 pace and was very happy with that, since my goal race pace is 7:49. My last tempo run was 8 miles at around 7:43 pace: I've never executed such a progressive training plan with this consistency! Lots of recovery seems to help.

Of course, my legs were pretty sore that night and next morning. I did think to bring a six pound bag of Epsom salts...and my compression socks....and a resistance band...and lots of Clif Bars. Just sayin'...

That night, I get to see the venue. And it's so cool...

This indoor stadium was literally built on the Convention Center floor in 8 days: the track, the stands, all the support equipment, everything!



Weight throw

My post will be at the top of the homestretch, a busy place; the 400m runners have a two turn stagger and will be converging on the rail at my post. One of my jobs will be to place cones at the break line, and then quickly remove them before the field comes past again as they circle the 200m track. At top speed, the guys make a circuit in about 22 seconds, so I have to hustle. Here's my break line...

First event on the track: the women's 60m hurdles. The 60m events are in the middle of the track in their own lanes. Since an indoor track is pretty small to begin with, space is at a premium. With the long jump/triple jump pit behind me, there are maybe 6 feet between those events and the sprint lanes. The female triple jumpers and I are all sitting in a very long row, with them facing one way and me facing in the opposite direction. They might jump farther than me, but I win in body fat percentage.

Announcer: "The US women's hurdle events are a notoriously strong event."  People, the word 'notorious' has a negative connotation, like a criminal or a virus. "Notoriously strong" is an oxymoron unless you're talking alligator jaw strength.

After the 60m finish line, the sprinter run across the curved track and slam up against a thickly padded cushion. Last year, Ashton Eaton hit the pad a little high and did a disappearing act worthy of Houdini....

When I get heat sheets for a meet, the first thing I do is look for breaks, because eventually I'll need to find a bathroom. Typically, the schedule is packed one race after another. But you can find scraps of time here and there. Like today, there is no men's 60m hurdle prelim heat, because there were 8 or fewer entrants, so all racers are automatically advanced to the final. Voila, there's 30 minutes saved right there!

Women's 60m sprint. Former Oregon Duck (and current Puma-ite) Jenna Prandini has yet another lousy start. As she passes the halfway point, she turns on those ridiculous jets of hers and blows thru the rest of the turf. Girl has an amazing close.

In an effort to increase interest in track, the meet organizers came up with a neat way to introduce the competitors; each athlete enters solo down a runway to the track. Reminds me of American Gladiators or something.

Carlin Isles, in the men's 60m, is introduced as 'the fastest man in rugby.' Huh? Watch the videos... And Marquis Goodwin of the Buffalo Bills. We have some serious cross training going on here.

Ryan Bailey gets a false start DQ for his second consecutive national  championship. Guy has an itchy trigger finger.

While warming up for the long jump, world record holder Ashton Eaton walks to the side of the pole vault pit to get some instruction from his coach across the track. AE is a little too close to the pit: a vaulter knocks off the bar and sends it crashing down, opening a nice gash on the Olympic champion's forehead. He heads to Medical, then returns with a mummy wrap of gauze around his forehead.

Sam Kendricks clears 19'4" for the pole vault victory, coming pretty close to the world record. And also coming close to the 26' lights hanging from the convention center ceiling.

In the women's 3000m, Emily Infeld leads for the first half, and she looks like she's straining compared to buttery smooth Marielle Hall in second place. Then again, which of the two has a World Championship bronze medal? Infeld. So what the heck do I know? Later, after getting kicked from behind and stumbling badly, Infeld ends up on the Infield, while Shannon Rowbury lights the burners in the final 800m and runs away with another championship.

Before the men's 3k, I turn around and see Alberto Salazar glaring at me. Not my fault that his guy Rupp didn't qualify for Worlds: then again, Galen did just win the Olympic Trials marathon, but I guess a month's training isn't enough time to get track speed into the legs. But Bernard Lagat set yet another age group world record while running with the big boys, and breaks the previous record by a day or two. Amazing longevity.

After the last event, I see American mile record holder Alan Webb and his two adorable kids. It'll be awhile until someone takes down Webb's 9 year old standard of 3:46.91. A retired trackster and current triathlete, he looks very, very content.

Meanwhile...



one happy boy...

I love track!

2016 Millrose Games

After my sweet 18 miler this morning, I cleaned myself up and headed down to Recharge for some TLC on my somewhat unhappy legs.

The timing was deliberate: at 1pm, the Millrose Games from NYC were on television. So i set up shop with some Normatec compression boots and relaxed for a couple of hours.

Of course, some silly college basketball game was running overtime, so the track meet telecast was delayed. Really? There are approximately 4 billion basketball games on TV every year, and maybe a dozen track meets. The ball game was a full month before March Madness, so the network could have given track its due (and a little love). But no...

When i become emperor, things are going to change.

Finally, the meet came on:

Women's 60m. Allyson Felix wins a tight race, with former UO Duck Jenna Prandini in a solid third. Really strange seeing JP in Puma and not Nike...I can't believe the folks in Beaverton let her slip away.

Men's 60m. China's Su Bingtian gets a close 2nd. I said it at the 2014 World Junior Championships, when i saw lots of Chinese and Japanese runners getting top results: Asian is coming like a freight train, and with lots of depth.

Women's 5000m. Molly Huddle wants a record, but has to settle for second. Her consolation is a ridiculous early-season time of 14:57 or so, and on an indoor track. For comparison, she ran a 15:13 at the last Olympic Trials for second place, in the infamous Kim Conley race. The thing that really bugged me about today's race was that the lapped runners were sticking hard to the inside lane, instead of giving the leaders the pole. As a result, the last two laps were a mess of slow bodies getting in the way of the fast bodies. One of the unintentional miscreants was Jordan Hasay, another former UO runner. She made the 2008 Olympic Trials 1500m final as a high school junior, running a HS record 4:14. But in college, she never lived up to that potential...i think that her college workouts just sapped her strength, and her slight frame just couldn't keep up. But what do i know? Meanwhile, former ASU Sun Devil Shelby Houlihan runs 5th in a sweet 15:06; very smooth runner with an NCAA 1500m crown in her trophy case. She's going to be a good one.

Bottom line: lapped runners, get the heck out of the way!

Decathlon WR holder and defending Olympic Champ Ashton Eaton did both the long jump and the 60m hurdles, finishing 2nd or 3rd in the latter event. The guy is a stud.

Women's 400m. Natasha Hastings in a romp. This woman has a career with Maybelline waiting; her makeup is perfect, and her dreadlocks probably took hours to install. Or are those extensions? I don't know, but she got them perfect. And purple, too.

Pole Vault. Demi Payne, single mom, has a pole that was painted like a disco ball or an American flag.

Men's 3000. Ryan Hill wins with a furious push over the last lap. Good guy Eric Jenkins a solid third in 7:39, finally beating former teammate Edward Cheserek. Nice to see Eric getting a great result after finishing 2nd so many times in college. And abandoning his clean-shaven pate is Lopez Lomong, who was sporting hair on his head for the first time in years; i honestly didn't recognize him.

There's a British guy doing the play by play. He's good, but isn't there an American who can do a telecast? The same guy also did the US Olympic Marathon Trials a week ago...seriously, call me! No one knows track trivia like i do.

Wanamaker Mile: Centro wins in a very fast 3:50, and that's another smokin' time for this early in the season. The pending Olympic year means everyone gets sharp sooner and with more urgency.

And that means there will be lots of great track to watch this year! Nice to know that I'll be in the front row for most of it.

2015-16 Winter Training

ok, it's been awhile...time to get back on the horse, as it were.

My last race was the 2015 Eugene Marathon. I targeted that event with high hopes of finally getting my Boston Qualifying time, and my training was going well.

Until...

About a month out, I did a road trip to Seattle that forced me to sit in the car for awhile. On the ride back, my back stiffened up pretty well. 'Well' as in harsh. Lots of squirming...remnants from two back surgeries. An emergency massage helped a bit.

What didn't help was a workout of 16 x 400 a few days later. During warmups, I gave myself permission to bail out after a couple of reps if needed. But i loosened up nicely, took the first reps slow, and felt better quickly.

A couple of days later? Something deep in the top of my right quad was angry and strained. It got to the point where i couldn't put any running stress on it without pain. Some frantic physical therapy and lots of time in the Alter-G Anti-Gravity treadmill didn't do much except separate me from $500 in co-pays.

Lesson learned: when any kind of trauma appears, DO NOT schedule any hard core workouts until the problem has been gone for 3-4 days. It's obvious that my tight back caused the connective tissue strain, and I didn't give enough time to recuperate from 'A' before 'B' happened.

I went to the race hopeful that things would hold together. The leg felt ok by that point. The problem was that at about 3 miles, i already knew i was working way too hard to maintain pace. By 7 miles, I knew it wasn't going to happen. So i had a choice: struggle through another 19 miles and risk substantial damage, or take the bypass, finish the half marathon, and chalk it up to experience.

Fairly easy decision.

Afterward, i put away my running shoes for the summer. Got back into cycling, a little swimming, and tried to clear my head. I'd been targeting a BQ for what? 3-4 years now? I'm tired of falling short. So it's time to get away and reboot.

Come September, I'm feeling good again. So i start with 2-3 runs per week, a couple miles. Everything checks out.

Gradually increasing the distance, things are still good. But after a long run, i have some pain in my left shoulder. As in left ventricle. And my cholesterol is high. And a basic EKG shows a funny blip.

uh oh.

This is potentially bad. The left ventricle is basically the section of the heart that pumps the blood out. Discomfort on the left side could mean a pumping problem or a bad artery. The Left Anterior Descending artery is commonly known as 'the Widow Maker,' and it seems to be one of the most critical blood vessels.

The doctor schedules a treadmill EKG with an echocardiogram. Again, a blip on the EKG....sidebar: you get the echo pictures at rest, then you run on the treadmill, then IMMEDIATELY jump (literally) back on the table within 30 seconds to get another set of echo shots.

The toughest part is trying to hold your breath for 10-15 seconds to get a clear picture right after maxing your heart rate. Ugh.

The techs call for the on-call cardiologist, citing the EKG blip. Breathe, Campbell.

The doc comes in, a slight little guy who looks about as bored as my daughter when i tell her to clean her room. Pretty sure the doc was still chewing his lunch, and he clearly didn't want to be there. He looks at the echo shots for about 5-10 seconds, and says...

'Normal.'

Huh? What about the EKG?

He says that the echo takes precedence over the EKG. No issues.

uh, thanks, Doc.

BIG load off my mind. Back to training, and I sign up for the May 1st Eugene Marathon in hopes of finally getting it right.

With that, I schedule my first-ever VO2 Max/threshold test at the college. This test will give me the exertion zones i should target for my training. The idea is that there are several physiological effort ranges, all of which need to be utilized in order to maximize fitness.

The only downside about training for a spring marathon in Oregon is that the winter weather doesn't really permit solid workouts outside. I don't mind the cold, but i won't risk running on black ice and potentially injuring myself. So i buy a membership to a small gym where i can run on high-end treadmills for as long as i need.

If i have to run inside, it's kinda nice running next to:
Max King, Olympic Trials Finalist and World Ultra Road/Trail Champion
Stephanie Howe, Western States 100 Champion
Jesse Thomas, Ironman Wales and 5x Wildflower Triathlon Champion
Lauren Fleshman, gazillion-time NCAA Champion and multiple Olympic Trials finalist
Renee Baillie, 2:27 marathoner in her first attempt

Even so...ever run 2 hours inside? it gets OLD. Thank goodness for The Nerdist podcasts; interviews with actors spanning all generations. Chris Hardwick, you're a genius...

My workouts tend to be in the range of 'mildly to moderately annoying.' Not hard enough to destroy me, not easy enough to be completely pleasant. It's not really fun, but it's what i need. My effort level stays steady while my paces continue to get faster. Good trends.

Now i'm at the point where i have the pace locked in: i simply need to extend the duration. A faster cadence helps a TON...while my engineering mind says there's nothing magical about 180 steps per minute (other than it's a nice round 3 steps per second), the faster cadence allows me to shorten my stride and expend less energy per step. It helps a lot; my form improves and becomes more economical, while my foot contact time decreases dramatically.

Today was very solid: 18 miles, 65 seconds per mile slower than race pace, and all in Zone 1 (my easiest zone). 15 seconds per mile faster than the 16 miler from two weeks ago, and roughly the same heart rate. Nice to know that i had more in the tank today. And it was at the end of my biggest mileage week of this training cycle. Things are coming around.

Other important factors:

I decided to use swimming as cross-training, with one big change from years past. Instead of swimming the entire 75 minute workout with the masters swim team, i would simply do 30 minutes of easy lap swimming before getting out. In previous years, I'd be so tired that I'd start to miss running workouts, and that told me that my 'off' days just needed to be easier. Now, an easy 30 minutes feels refreshing...I also added 1-2 days per week of yoga; the stretching and strengthening seems perfect for what i need.

While this training plan is definitely intense, it's working. The only downside is that my legs typically don't feel as fresh as I'd like, but that's to be expected during a build phase. About 7-8 more hard weeks until i taper...

Good to know that I'm training smarter.

2016 Indoor/Outdoor Track

When i first became a track umpire in 2009, i thought it would be amazing if someday i could work at the Olympic Trials.

But that's a tall order....there are something like 8000 officials nationwide, with one of the largest subsets being the umpire group.

Umpires are the officials who work the running events; we look for thrown elbows, runners cutting off other runners, dropped relay baton passes, and the like. Some of the other officials include starters (the gunslingers), throwing events, jumping events, and whatever else there is.

Over the years, I've worked more and more meets: NCAA Championships, Prefontaine Classic (international meet). And i eat this up; since i was 10 years old, I've been a track and field nut, reading deep into the history of the sport.

And i thought I'd make a lousy official, because I'd have to put aside my fan tendencies in order to do my job out there. But i quickly found out that i simply need to pay attention for the 5 seconds or so that the field is in my sector, and then the next umpire down the track picks them up. Then i can become a fan again.

My other concern was that I'd hate to hold an athlete's career aspirations in jeopardy, whether or not they deserved it with an unintentional foul. The good news is that an umpire doesn't disqualify anyone...we simply write up the infractions and give them to the referee, who is the one to decide whether a runner gets the booth. So it's not on my shoulders at all.

I'm good with that. In fact, after 9 years, I'm now to the point where i'd have no qualms about making the final call. And i quickly was recognized as an up and coming umpire; very knowledgeable about the rules, eager to learn, and always willing to ask questions. And since i like to write, it's no problem for me to add lots of paper to the referee's workload.

Then things began to happen: in 2014, i was selected to be one of 12 umpires to work at the Junior World Championships. A great honor and a tremendous experience....after the final event concluded, i sought out the gentleman who organizes all the officials. I'd spoken few words to him over the years, acutely aware of my place in the pecking order. Anyhow, I found Dennis and thanked him for the opportunity.

He floored me by saying that people at the highest levels have their eye on me as a Chief Umpire in years ahead.

Wow. I can most certainly dig it.

In late 2015, I applied for the 2016 championship meets. US Indoor Nationals, World Indoor Championships, and the Olympic Trials. I was told that there would only be 5 umpires picked for those first two meets, and probably 12 for the Trials. Slim pickings.

I was picked for all three. Including the US freakin' Olympic Trials! If i couldn't make the Trials as a runner (my childhood goal), being an umpire with the best seat in the house is pretty cool, too.

This is going to be a tremendous year.

And oh by the way...Los Angeles is bidding for the 2024 Olympics. With the vast majority of officials being in their 60s and older, there will be lots of attrition in the ranks over the next 8 years. Which means that if Los Angeles wins the bid, there is an amazing chance that i could get picked to work at the Olympic Games.

Stay tuned...

A day at Elk Lake...

just some pix...

2015 Outdoor Nationals: Day 4

Did I mention that it's been hot here?

I was looking forward to Saturday's shorter day; while it was only about 10 hours on the track, the temperature peaked near 100. Took advantage of the girls' 200m semi cancellation to run back to the dorm and stand under the shower yet again. The other officials thought I was nuts, but I didn't care.

First up; a Sunday morning jog thru Hendricks Park. It's not flat. At all.

I wound thru the park and ended up at Pre's Rock. Good place to take a break and think about why we all do this...



On the way back to the dorm, I rolled downhill to Market of Choice for the morning sports section. Eugene's Register-Guard does an outstanding job reporting on track and field. Of course, when I dumped the classifieds and inserts in the store's garbage can outside, I also dumped my $18 in change. I'm not too proud to go diving...

Then it's a very quick shower and breakfast, because we have to watch over the 20k race walk on Agate Street. 12.4 miles....of walking. Heaven help me!

I gained a new and very healthy appreciation for race walkers. These folks put out the effort; every single one of them was completely drenched after only 20 minutes.

Big thanks to Nick Christie, 2nd place finisher. When he spent 100 yards giving back his breakfast (that must have been lime Gatorade and kiwi fruit), he didn't hit me at all. Of course, I jumped like I was on hot coals. Yes, race walkers put out the effort, all right.

And a spectator/coach was out there, yelling, "Looking STRAWNG, Nick!" With his Jersey accent, I could have sworn I was in my old neighborhood again.

In an effort to avoid the horrific heat, the two 5k races were rescheduled to the morning before the full schedule began. The stands were half-full, and someone commented online that "Hayward just can't pack them in."  Really? Meanwhile, a bunch of youngsters took Shalane to the cleaners with a 2:16 final half mile. However, Ms. Flanagan is a marathoner, so it was a solid tempo workout in preparation for next winter's marathon trials in LA.

Men's 5000m ended with a ridiculous sprint, Galen barely getting that third place. Slow race, furious finish, like the women's 1500.

Maggie Vessey tripped and fell in the 800; must have been those baggy boxer shorts she wore. Ajee got stepped on and lost a shoe with 200 left, but still ended up in the money. I'm guessing she has some blisters today. And Alysia FINALLY ran an evenly-paced race, which gave her a national championship about 11 months after giving birth.

Georganne Moline was running the hurdles well until she clipped the crossbar in the adjacent lane, then demolished her own hurdle and went down hard. Never saw that before; coming up to flight #8 where the hurdles are about a foot or two apart, she was hugging the line too close and had the unfortunate carom. Since she wiped out two lanes worth of hurdles, the woman in lane 2 didn't have to jump; she squeezed into 3rd place after having jumped only 9 of the 10 hurdles. 4th place must be very upset...

And then there was the women's 200m final.

Jenna got her usual ok start, then accelerates coming out of the turn with daylight. With 50m to go, it looks like she's losing ground. One quick glance at the video screen proves otherwise; NATIONAL CHAMPION!!! The crowd was not quiet.

I leave the 200m starting line and am walking clockwise to get to my next post at the finish line. When I get near, she is being interviewed, so I wait. Then the photogs get all their victory shots.

Once that's done, I continue walking. She then starts coming past me toward the podium. As we passed, I said, "good wheels" and she slapped me a low five! But the USATF.tv video cut out a split second right before we slapped hands. Bummer!

Here are the world-class starters: I've learned so much from them.

And my motley crew...

By the way, I did get my three showers on the last day, even with the (slightly) cooler weather. So that's 12 in four days. With about 42 hours on the track, most of it in direct sunlight, I needed every minute I could find under a shower head.

As always, a great experience at Hayward Field! And while I was exhausted on the drive home, I was somehow able to stay awake.

I love track.