Palo Alto 1500 Race Details

I spent almost a week in Sacramento, CA with the Iowa State team at the NCAA national championships. Despite a cold that gave him some chest congestion and a serious cough, one of the guys I train with, David Rotich, finished 7th in the NCAA. He ran 3:42.04 in the prelims and competed very well in the final. Two former training partners, Tom Lancashire & Andrew Lemoncello, both had great weekends representing Florida State University. Tom was 2nd in the 1500 and Andrew was 4th in the steeplechase. Complete NCAA results can be found at: http://www.flashresults.com/2006_Meets/outdoor/ncaa1/ That meet finished up Saturday and I stayed that night in Sacramento. After a shake out run and breakfast at the hotel my coach, Corey Ihmels, his wife, Michelle, and I hopped in the car to head to Palo Alto for the meet. We stopped to have some lunch in Vacaville, CA and got to Palo Alto with plenty of time to spare. The meet was well organized with a great field of athletes but there weren't many spectators. Jason Lunn did a great job of setting the pace. At the end of the first lap I was in the very back of the pack and came through around 59 seconds. By the 800 meter mark I was probably about 8th or 10th and my split was 1:58. I decided it was time to move up because the leaders were a significant distance from me, but midway down the backstretch another runner who was running directly inside me had the same idea. The timing of our moves didn't work out well for me and I had to slow way down to avoid a collision. I tucked back in and I heard 2:57 at the 1200 meter mark. I finished well and ended up with another personal best. I had a good dinner with my friend, Jim Sorenson. Thanks to him for helping me out so much on this trip and being such a solid mentor in the sport. Look out for him next year as he goes after the master's world record in the 1500 & Mile.