July 2007

Here are the highlights of each of the meets I have attended in some capacity so far this summer!

Paris-

I had always wanted to run the Gaz de France meet in Paris and this year I had the chance- I ran the 5000.  Despite running in a stadium full of 55,000 cheering Parisians and competing in very strong 5000m field the pace dawdled,  starting at around 72 second pace and getting as slow as 80s somewhere in the middle of the race.  I decided to roll with it; I figured it would be fun to see what I could run for the last 400.  However, I knew I was in trouble when my arms started to feel numb with 300 to go.  I ran a respectable 1:40 for the last 600 and finished in 8th place but it fell far below my expectations.  In hindsight, it was a not so subtle reminder to Terrence and myself to incorporate more emphasis on changing pace into the track workouts to prepare for the heats at Worlds in Osaka.  The highlight of the meet was watching Alan Webb accelerate over the last 60 meters to overtake the pre race favorite, Mehdi Baala, and win the 1500.  It was very inspiring!

Rome-

Rome has become one my favorite cities to visit for both sightseeing and racing.  We were only able to squeeze a little trip into the city this time but we managed to visit the Pantheon and go to our favorite coffee place in Rome that’s right nearby.   For the second year in a row, the 5000 in Rome went very well for me.  I placed 4th in 14:58,  just 3 seconds off of my PB.  Breaking 15 minutes for the first time this year was a big boost to my confidence and the workouts really started to improve following the race.  When thinking about it I realized Rome really has been good to me;  I even ran my marathon PB there in 2006-  my most inconsistent event!

Braaschaat-

Braaschaat is a small town outside of Antwerp, Belgium, about an hour drive from our training base in Leuven, Belgium.  The six lane track in Braaschaat is in beautiful setting, nestled in the trees so there was virtually no wind.  Deena, Andrew (Deena’s husband) and I were there as spectators to watch our training partners compete and support Alan Webb in his American record attempt in the mile.  I also did a little commentating; helping Mark Floreani with his flocast broadcast of the mens and womens 1500 and 5000.  It was a great night.  There were fast times by Americans in all of the distance events and the evening culminated with Alan’s American record in the mile.  He made the last solo lap seem effortless and was able to dip under the record by over a second.  My guess is that this small meet will be very popular next year!

Monaco-

The rain was pouring down in Belgium the morning we left for Monaco but when our plane touched down in Nice it was sunny and warm (finally)!  The meet hotel overlooked the Mediterranean and it was just a short walk to several shops and cafes.  The evening of the meet was cool and the flags were still – it was perfect racing conditions.  I had my best race of the season, placing 2nd in the 3000 in a time of 8:35.  It felt great to duplicate in a race what I had been doing in training sessions the past couple of weeks.  We had a very strong American presence in the race with four of us running 8:44 or faster!  We only had a few hours the next morning to relax and enjoy Monte Carlo but Terrence and I have decided our next vacation will definitely be in Southern France or Itlay!

 

Now it is back to work to prepare for the next couple of races and the World Championships in Osaka, Japan at the end of August!