Dallas Bowden: Qualifying for nats
It's been a while since my last blog but lets go over what's been happening throughout the indoor season so far!
First was the "Dual Meet". As mentioned in my last blog this meet is just between Ohio State and Michigan. Unfortunately we lost.... but there was still some great racing by the boys in blue. I competed in the mile along with Brendon and senior team member Tony Nali to finish in second place with a 4.37 (last 600m in 1.21). Later i came back to run the 800m and finished second to last in 1.57. Not feeling to great after the plane ride back to the states from NZ but still pretty happy with how the legs held up.
Next was a home meet and i ran the 3km to finish 5th in 8.25. Terefe (representing Eastern Michigan) competed in this race and from memory ran a 8.21. It was great to have another Kiwi rival! Can't say i was too happy with this race but at the end of the day you have to accept the shape that you are in and work on improving.
The following weekend we went to Kentucky and i ran the mile. The body was feeling much better after adjusting and i was quite excited for this race. I finished 5th again in 4.08 and was fairly happy with this result as its the fastest i have run since 2007. Team member Brandon Fellows won in 4.06 which was an awesome result and it looks like he will be anchoring our DMR (distance medley relay) when it comes to the "Big Ten" meet. Brendon also ran the mile in 4.12. We were both quite sick so that probably took a toll on our performances.
Next i was to compete in the 800m at Notre Dame. I couldn't believe the depth of talent at this meet. I ran 1.52.4 for 5th place in my heat but finished something like 20th overall. I already knew that racing is of a whole new standard over here in the US but that really made it sink in. After that complete ass kicking i realized that i would have to step up my game and now have a lot more motivation to train harder and come to meets better prepared. We had good performances from the guys all round but as a team we are looking to improve a great deal by the time it comes to the "Big Ten" meet.
Last weekend we went to Grand Valley. This meet was a lot more encouraging for the team and we came home with much better times under our belts. In the mile I ran a 4.04 which equates roughly to my pb over 1500m so i was very happy to be back to where i once was a few years ago. The next day 7 from our team ran the 3000m. We had 4 guys run under 8.10. The best of us was Sean Macnamera in 8.04 and then Brendon in 8.08. I was next in 8.09 closely followed by Bobby April in 8.09 also. Our coach Ron Warhurst was quite happy with the performances and on the bus ride back you could tell there was a much better atmosphere from leaving this meet compared to previous weeks.
In two weeks time we will compete in our conference the "Big Ten" meet. With how we rank at the moment we aren't looking to come away winning the meet but i know i can speak for everyone when i say we have every intention of doing so. Every meet our runners have improved and if we continue this trend then we should have just as much chance as other schools to come away with the victory. The mile is most likely to be a tactical race so qualifying for nats is not really the aim for this meet, the following weekend at Notre Dame will be our last chance to do so. The best thing about racing at this level is that is pushes you to be the best you can. These next few weeks are going to be very interesting as Ron peaks us to be at our best ability. So far i feel as though i have gone into meets at about 80 percent so now as the heavy training load decreases it will be interesting to see just what our team has to show!
First was the "Dual Meet". As mentioned in my last blog this meet is just between Ohio State and Michigan. Unfortunately we lost.... but there was still some great racing by the boys in blue. I competed in the mile along with Brendon and senior team member Tony Nali to finish in second place with a 4.37 (last 600m in 1.21). Later i came back to run the 800m and finished second to last in 1.57. Not feeling to great after the plane ride back to the states from NZ but still pretty happy with how the legs held up.
Next was a home meet and i ran the 3km to finish 5th in 8.25. Terefe (representing Eastern Michigan) competed in this race and from memory ran a 8.21. It was great to have another Kiwi rival! Can't say i was too happy with this race but at the end of the day you have to accept the shape that you are in and work on improving.
The following weekend we went to Kentucky and i ran the mile. The body was feeling much better after adjusting and i was quite excited for this race. I finished 5th again in 4.08 and was fairly happy with this result as its the fastest i have run since 2007. Team member Brandon Fellows won in 4.06 which was an awesome result and it looks like he will be anchoring our DMR (distance medley relay) when it comes to the "Big Ten" meet. Brendon also ran the mile in 4.12. We were both quite sick so that probably took a toll on our performances.
Next i was to compete in the 800m at Notre Dame. I couldn't believe the depth of talent at this meet. I ran 1.52.4 for 5th place in my heat but finished something like 20th overall. I already knew that racing is of a whole new standard over here in the US but that really made it sink in. After that complete ass kicking i realized that i would have to step up my game and now have a lot more motivation to train harder and come to meets better prepared. We had good performances from the guys all round but as a team we are looking to improve a great deal by the time it comes to the "Big Ten" meet.
Last weekend we went to Grand Valley. This meet was a lot more encouraging for the team and we came home with much better times under our belts. In the mile I ran a 4.04 which equates roughly to my pb over 1500m so i was very happy to be back to where i once was a few years ago. The next day 7 from our team ran the 3000m. We had 4 guys run under 8.10. The best of us was Sean Macnamera in 8.04 and then Brendon in 8.08. I was next in 8.09 closely followed by Bobby April in 8.09 also. Our coach Ron Warhurst was quite happy with the performances and on the bus ride back you could tell there was a much better atmosphere from leaving this meet compared to previous weeks.
In two weeks time we will compete in our conference the "Big Ten" meet. With how we rank at the moment we aren't looking to come away winning the meet but i know i can speak for everyone when i say we have every intention of doing so. Every meet our runners have improved and if we continue this trend then we should have just as much chance as other schools to come away with the victory. The mile is most likely to be a tactical race so qualifying for nats is not really the aim for this meet, the following weekend at Notre Dame will be our last chance to do so. The best thing about racing at this level is that is pushes you to be the best you can. These next few weeks are going to be very interesting as Ron peaks us to be at our best ability. So far i feel as though i have gone into meets at about 80 percent so now as the heavy training load decreases it will be interesting to see just what our team has to show!