"I wanted water, but I'll walk through the fire if that's what it takes, to take me even higher.."
I hate John Mayer, but that lyric worked better than any I could think of.
Friday are always crazy where I work. It's bad enough that I work for a VC-funded Web 2.0 startup (oh, how I loathe those terms), but something about the end of the week and the rush to get things pushed out and demo'ed for the team amps everyone up to a whole different level. I love the action and the energy of my job, and certainly we're kept well-caffeinated to pound through those 14-hour days...but on a day like today I have a lot of trouble focusing and keeping my mind on the matters at hand.
On my mind:
1. DIII Nationals, baby.
2. Tomorrow is my first 400m of the season.
Anyone who knows me at all here on the Shark knows that I'm a huge DIII fan, partly due to my own experiences in the division but also because I know how hard athletes in the division work and I'd like to give them some recognition, even if they aren't the most elite athletes. To me, there's nothing more worthy of recognition than full-on dedication and effort alongside academic performance. I'd rather cheer on a walk-on 400m athlete at MIT running a 49 as opposed to someone at Penn State running a 47, and it's not just because I hate Penn State. A part of it is also because the athletes that I've come across in the DIII world are some of the most sportsman, friendly, and humble athletes in any sport, and it's great to give them the credit they deserve for being the kind of athlete that every kid should look up to.
Either way, if you have any thoughts on DIII or want to get involved in the discussion, please click here to take part in our DIII forums here on TrackShark.
As far as the Nationals themselves, I am mostly definitely rooting for my alma-mater (Carnegie Mellon) and it's qualified athletes, Eric Tang in the 55m and Brian Harvey in the Mile. Brian was an All-American last year and he's got a great shot at repeating, very consistent performance all year. Eric has dropped his 55m time like a rock lately, going from 6.61 to 6.38 in a matter of weeks, so he's flying high and in top form. Let's do it, guys!
Apart from CMU, I have a lot of friends who are competiting that I ran against way back when I was at Nationals myself (Adam Pennington, Chris Wolf) and of course, I gotta give some love to the UAA - the most nerdy conference you'll ever find - and root for the guys from Emory, even though they took all of my conference relay records. Bastards.
In other, possibly more interesting news, tomorrow is my first 400m of the season. I'm somewhat tempted to back out of it because I'm still nowhere near in the shape I'd like to be in and I'm fighting a bit of a cold (possibly hypochrondriatic), but it is unassailably true that you can't ever duplicate a meet experience from just training and I think it's very beneficial to go out and get it done, even if the time isn't so great. It's a ways away in Modesto - man, it's so much harder to find meets when you're unattached! - and I think I'm going to make a day trip out of it, and spending my cooling out/cramping up time checking out the mountains here in Northern Cali and generally taking in the surroundings of my new, adoptive home. Very nervous, as usual, but last meet worked out wonderfully so hopefully I'll get lucky and have lightning strike twice for me.
Lastly, I'd like to thank everyone (Marc Laszlo, my boy Big Lou, lawyer400meters) for their kind words and comments about this blog. One thing that is definitely true about me is that I'm a very open person; I'm more than fine with writing about what worries me, what upsets me, even what scares me because I think in a lot of ways the only point of having a blog is to be honest and open about my life and my running, and part of that is dealing with negative emotions as well as positive ones. I'd just like to thank everyone for their support and thank them for taking the time to read the blog.
I'll be in touch early next week (or maybe even Saturday night if I surprise myself again), with results from my meet and some discussion about DIII Nationals. Go Tartans!
post comment
Good Luck
1:30 AM, March 15, 2008
.. Posted by jjryks
Good luck tomorrow in Modesto. I'm sure that your 400 time will surprise you. I can't wait to hear what you have to say about DIII Nationals and your own meet.
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• Life and the half-mile
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