Date: 2/12/05
Meet: Los Gatos All Comers
Surface: Old All Weather 440y
Weather: Sunny and warm, with the occasional light cool breeze.
Race Time(s): 1:15 PM
Event(s): 800m
Result(s): 2:02.1
Race Comments: I went out in 28-29 and about 59.7-60.0 seconds. On the back stretch it felt like I went to find my last gear and go for it and my whole gearbox fell out.
Reflection: Well, I’m not disapointed with my time, last year I started the season with a 2:08 and I went on to run a 1:56, if I peak this year as well as I did last year I’m going to be hitting 1:52-3 no problem.
1 2221 Mavis, Anders 12 Ric Rojas Runnin, Boulder 1:55.00 _________ ______
2 2654 Palmtag, Mike 11 Tri County Runni, Holliste 1:56.00 _________ ______
3 2430 Chaney-Waller, Sean 11 Speed City, Long Beach C 1:56.00 _________ ______
4 2540 Anderson, Chris 12 Teeva Track, Colorado Spri 1:56.10 _________ ______
Coming into the race ranked second? No problem… pressure never hurt anyone.
Edit: Woah, just checked the rest of the rankings, my teamates are ranked 3rd and 1st in the mile and 2mile respectively… We must have some kind of good program, or something.
I was outkicked in the last 300 by my teammate (he has a monstrous kick, geese…I’ve seen him finish a 2mile with a 43 second 300… Just nuts) Only second place for me
Here’s the link for the simplot entries if anyone’s interested… I almost laughed at the first 60m entrants time… heh
Race Comments: My first 200m of my 800 was 26.4… considering I had over a half second reaction time to the gun, well… I was pretty embarrassed. I sprinted the first 100m to make up for my poor… no shitty, start went from 12th (last) to first place before i got to the second turn of the banked 200m track. Needless to say I ran the rest of my race in perfectly even splits 35’s. I couldn’t kick or anything, I just kind of well… died my last lap. Hips weren’t under me, running on my heels. I had worked hard enough to be hurting, but I wasn’t anywhere near contention so I had a hard time justifying a blistering kick. After the race the first thing that came to my mind were like twenty-three thousand doubts I had about my training program, but by the time I had cleared the track I had managed to push them all away. I didn’t counter my doubts w/logic, I just set them aside. It was only after I talked w/my coach that he was able to point out to me how many things I did wrong, and how many components of my training I have yet to put together, components (anearobic/racepace work) which would enable me to recover from a too-fast start and still be able to run a 2:00 or sub 2:00 race.
The 4x800 was a lot more fun. I started out the race, and well, I just cruised. Settled into 4th-5th place the first lap and went out in about 29.8-30.2. I picked it up a little it every lap (okay, I didn’t really but I pushed a bit harder every lap) and passed 2 guys each lap until I handed off the stick in second place. I wasn’t even winded.
Reflection: Man, if only I hadn’t killed my first 200m of my open 800 I would have made it into the finals. My split 2:04 was quick enough for me to make it into one of the slower heats of the finals, but if I was barely winded when I ran 2:04, I probably could have split sub 2:03 a time which would have carried me into the fast heat of the finals.
Oh well… the girls were cute, and the dance was fun.
I was down at Simplot. Heard there were some killer dancers at the dance, my feet were too sore too go, though, I felt like being lazy. It’s a fun meet, isn’t it?
The dance was the bomb-dizzle… Okay, so I can’t dance for crap, but that didn’t keep me from mackin’ on all the ladies. Err I mean… Uhh… But yah, there was an impromptue breakdance contest thingeymajiger, and everybody "ooohhhhh"ed reall loud when some big ol’ honkey showed up a couple black guys. Good stuff.
Palmtag, been keeping up with your 800m performance…
Question:
When you ran the 1st 200m hard and it caused you to die at the end, In what form was the “hurting” that you described in? Chest burning or legs burning from LA/H+ buildup?
I have yet to run the 800m all out and was wondering how it actually feels to do so, thanks.
Well… have you ever done a pool workout? Yah, the last 200-300 meters of a “all out” 800 feels like you’re swimming, swimming in lactic acid. It’s hard to move your limbs. The pain is pretty intense, though. Lots of lactic burn in pretty much every part of your body. Different people hurt differently to lactic buildup, but it’s pretty common for the head to be pounding, vision to become blurred (or at least a bit unfocused) and in some degree of aching in the chest or gut. In general it feels like an all out 400, you just hit that lactic wall with 300-350 meters of your race left, instead of with 100m to go.
OMG, I’ve done an all out 400, so I know how the last 100m feels, but I can’t imagine being in that type of pain and still running for 300+ meters :eek:
Well, it’s that same “type” of pain. I wouldn’t say that your stumbling and dying for 300m like the last 100m of a 400, but I like to use an anology. A 400 is like stepping into a fire, you’ve got a short while until it heats up and then you’re in agony. A two mile is like stepping into a freezer, it hurts a little bit more at a time until you’re in total agony. An 800 is like being in a microwave set on low… It isn’t like an open flame, but you get smoking and krispy just the same.
Those are some GREAT analogies man. I’ve definitely got a better idea on what it feels like now. I’ve always wanted to run a competitive 800m but never got the guts up to actually try it…
I get the thing where my legs feel like lead blocks and no matter how hard I try to move faster it’s just not happening. I used to get really tight arms too, but I have gotten stronger and thats not so bad anymore.
One thing I have found… it hurts just as much whether you are running fast or slow, so you might as well go fast As someone who runs the 800 ONLY for the multi-events it’s very daunting both physically and mentally. I found that I hurt equally running a 2:26 and a 2:37, but the 2:37 had the extra pain of hurt pride!
Well, I do a lot of tempo. But to be honest, as a short sprinter, I would probably benefit more from doing 400 in competition than 800. Plus, at 5’ 9" 180lbs (82kg), I’d look pretty out of place lined up against dem 800m dudes
You lining up to run an 800, would be just as funny as me lining up for a 100m… Or anchor leg of a 4x100… oh wait, I did anchor a 4x1, and we won Nevermind, Do the 800 scarface, and show up them scrawny distance guys.
Thanks for the vote of confidence bro, but somehow I think that 800m will look a lot different… I’ve had nightmares about losing by more than 50m in a race. As you know, a decent 100m athlete will never lose by more than 10m. But the Idea of struggling to run a 2:10 and getting beat by 100m or more by a guy running 1:5x :eek:
100-400m Montana State Champ Cody Henning was like 5’10" and he ran the 800 at divisionals and didn’t do bad, 2:02. Coming from a short 10.66 100m guy, at least. So it’s do-able.
