Survival Mode

This weekend was a brutal test of my body's endurance. Yesterday the NAC indoor track championships came bounding out of nowhere, catching me with a mild cold and chronically deprived of that very necessary thing called sleep. Add this to the fact that I was entered in multiple events for the first time this season and it turned out to be quite an exhausting experience.

I warmed up for the 5000 feeling a bit sick and anemic, having spent much of the day thus far in the bathroom. Nevertheless I managed to run a 16:54, only two seconds slower than my performance at River Falls two weeks ago. It definitely wasn't a terrible race, but I had hoped for something closer to 16:30 and a shot at scoring some points.

After the 5k I made a couple more trips to the restroom before cooling down just a few minutes and stretching in preparation for the mile. This second race, which started only an hour or so after the 5000, was not exactly a spectacular event. I felt my stomach twist in revolt as I jogged to the starting line with Ben, and after one failed starting attempt the officials managed to get us on our way. My legs began to go numb about 50 meters into the race and by the end of the first lap I couldn't feel much of anything, which turned out to be quite a blessing. Jon, Russ, Andy, and Twietmeyer cheered enthusiastically as I plodded along in last place, and it was their encouragement that prompted me to summon a sort of mini-monster in the final 400 meters and catch the two MSOE guys ahead of me. My final time of 5:06 was pathetic, yet not really that bad considering that I felt like I'd run 5:20. Ben managed to drop a 4:53 and take 7th, so we got a couple points out of the event. The rest of the team were all smiles as they greeted us at the finish line, but I made sure to tell them they'd enjoyed it much more than I did.

The rest of the day went by slowly as I alternated between bathroom breaks, cheering, and sitting in the corner holding my throbbing head. The meet culminated in an epic 4x400 showdown, as our women were locked in a virtual tie with two other teams for the overall championship. We ended up fading in the final stretch of the relay and lost the title by two points. The men's team had clinched first before the last two events even began. Revenge for losing in cross country last fall? Yes.

That pretty much sums up my weekend. Socks got into a highly entertaining dance-off with several of our opponents while we all waited for the awards ceremony, and I ended up going to bed at 10 pm. I haven't slept so well in ages.