Jimmy Carnes Indoor Track Meet

I will seldom write about track meets but the one I most recently partook in was different. First, it was an indoor meet, and my first one ever. Second, it was my first time to be able to swim with "bigger fish," being able to run with Florida's fastest runners in the 3K and mile distances. Of course I wasn't in contention to win either race (or any heat for that matter) but it was a good learning experience. Hopefully next year I will be able to climb my way up the ladder some more and improve on my time from this year. But let's start off. The meet was, like the title suggests, the Jimmy Carnes Indoor Track Meet. It is the only major indoor meet in Florida and attracted over 700 HS athletes in its second year running (pun unintended). I began my trek on February 7th bright n' early to the Stephen O' Connell Center at U of F. With my trusty Garmin in hand, my mom and I navigated the back country roads leading us to Gainesville. Once we arrived at the O'Connell Center it was about 8:00 AM, the meet 30 minutes underway. We entered the stadium and met up with my coach in the bleachers. I already had everything ready so I just watched the meet for about an hour, waiting for my event to start. Like most indoor tracks, this one was 200M per lap, 8 laps to a mile. After watching most of the 200M heats, it was time for me to go down the track and check in. The check in process was pretty quick, so after that I just waited around until the 3000M was called to get ready. In a matter of minutes we were asked to report to the entrance to the track, shortly after crossing the track into the warm up area. More runners started turning up while the rest of us lounged around for what seemed like a long time. Once the girls' 3000M started, the officials counted off all the guys into two heats. I was in the first heat and given a giant 8 sticker to put on my left shoulder. The first heat was the slower of the two but nonetheless, very competitive. Once the girls were done, they separated us into five lanes, three in each lane. The gun was shot and we all took off, each one of us in our respective lane until about 100M into the race. I got a decent start, but was in dead last for the first lap. By the second lap I caught up to a kid of my age and ability. I hung at his sholder for a little while, failing to eventually pass him. Over the course of about 8 laps we picked off about 3 runners but we also got lapped multiple times. I tried to keep count of the laps and looked at my watch to see the time, 6:03, that we passed one mile in. I was on pace to beat my goal, 11:50. But for the last 7 laps, I failed to keep track of the number of laps I ran since I was lapped multiple times. I finished at what I thought was 3K, in a time of 10:52. Many of the people I lapped ended up finishing ahead of me. After catching my breath and downing a couple cups of water, I quickly exited the track and headed up stairs to the stadium seats. I found my coach who quickly confirmed that I was indeed one lap short, meaning that my 10:52 would convert to an 11:37 if I had run the whole thing. There were about 3 events in between the 3K and the mile, so I went back to my seat and continued to watch the meet. After watching about 30 heats, it was time for me to go down to the track and check in. Now that I had already run one event, I felt more optimistic about my stradegy and how to handle the 200M track. More runners started to appear in the holding area for the mile and I began a series of stretches to ensure that I would be able to have a faster start. A couple heats later most of the milers exited the holding area like a pack of wolves and headed over to the inside of the track, where we were separated into heats. I expected to hear my name called for the first, slower heat of the mile. My friend and teammate, Matt, was called for the first heat despite the fact that he has a 4:50 mile PR, at least a minute faster than most of the "tots" he was racing in the first heat. Finally my name was called for second heat. I found myself amongst a bunch of high schoolers with only one person of my age. I talked to my fellow competitor, Marlon, a little before the race, hoping maybe he could be someone to chase and make me feel less guilty about finishing last. He told me he had a 5:28 PR, so much for being a competitor. But he reassured me that it was a long time ago. Once last place in the first heat plodded home in 7:20, the second heat stormed the track and we aligned ourselves on the waterfall. The starter raised his gun and the crowd was silent, until it was fired releasing a sea of cheers. I quickly collapsed my position to the inside lane and resumed the role of 'caboose', trailing about 20 feet from the lead pack. In about a lap though I caught up to Marlon and rode at his shoulder for a little while, hopefully saving some energy for a final kick. We cruised past a few kids who looked like they should be in the 200M, not the mile. With a lap to go Marlon started to pick up the pace and I hung on, waiting for the final 100M. Once we went around the final bend he acclerated using his quick turnover, and I was close behind finishing in 5:54, a mere half second behind Marlon. After the race I congratulated him and we both agreed that it was time to go home, eat, and take a nap. Once I made my way up to the bleachers, I gathered my stuff and prepared to leave. Upon exiting, I thought about my performances and concluded that it was a successful day, and a good way to start off my track season. My next race on the calendar is the Pirates On The Run 10K in Amelia Island. I'm looking for around a 43:00, which would shatter my previous PR by more than 3 minutes and beat my dad's PR by a minute. So long and keep running!