Redemption! - Masters 3k at USAs

This past weekend I ran the masters exhibition 3000m race that was part of the USATF Nationals in Eugene. It was a pretty darn cool experience.
There was a lot to it, too much for my usual blow-by blow accounting, so I'm going to try and summarize the highlights:

• I was chilling in the shade of one of the athlete tents before my race, and I glanced up and saw David Oliver walking by. Oh, hello there, fastest hurdler in the world! You know, no big deal. 
• Once your race has had its final call, you are then escorted everywhere you go. Escort to the call room. Escort to the start line. Escort off the track. Escort to the awards stand. Escort back on to the track for a group victory lap. Escort off the track again. And finally, escort to the media tent, where you are finally released on your own recognizance. 
• There were start line introductions. This was so foreign to me that I didn't even hear my own. I assume it went something like this: "Wearing hip number one, running for Oiselle out of Portland, Oregon, Andi Camp. She's a runner too!"
• There were beautiful, gigantic digital clocks at both the finish line and the 200 meter mark. They were mesmerizing enough to be distracting. You could also read them from very far away. When I looked over for my mile split, I saw some numbers that were very impressive until I realized that I was still about 75 meters away! 
• Having fans at a track meet is pretty great. My TRL friend Tim was in the stands on the home stretch, and I could distinctly hear his voice every lap. A group of Oiselle ladies down from the nest in Seattle were clustered at the fence on the far side of the first curve, and they were banging on the fence and chanting my name every single time I came by. It's hard to not be inspired by that kind of enthusiasm. There was even an unidentified cheer-er on the back stretch. It all helps.
• The USATF officials and volunteers are just plain good people. With all the controversy and shady doings at the top of the USATF food chain over the last couple of years, it can be easy to forget that the vast majority of the organization is made up of really cool people that just plain love track and field. A significant number of these people do not get paid, yet they're friendly, patient, and happy to be out there. They rock. 
• Watching a track meet in real life rules. I was only able to hang around for a few hours afterwards, but it's so much more impressive seeing the athletes right up close than it is watching them on a tv or computer screen. Being at Hayward Field is magic.

And the race itself? 

You know, it felt very redemptive for me. After a pretty grueling 3k a couple of weeks ago at PTF, I made some dietary changes that had an immediate positive effect. I had a couple of great workouts and was feeling much more positive going into this race. Maybe I didn't run a pr or blow people out of the water, but I showed up and ran smart in difficult conditions (80+ degrees and humid!). I had a plan and I executed. And that felt pretty darn good. 

Everyone else went out too fast (with the exception of the eventual winner, Sonja Friend-Uhl, who was in a class by herself), so I hung off the back in dead last (9th place) and waited. By 600m I had moved up to 4th place, settled in to a rhythm, and was feeling confortable, and so I started to ratchet my pace down little by little. At around 1400m, I moved into 3rd place, and with 1st and 2nd way out in front, I ran the rest of the way all by myself. Each lap was progressively faster until the dreaded 6th lap, where I faltered a bit and lost a few seconds, but I pulled myself back together for a respectable last lap and secured a spot on the podium. 

Lap splits (courtesy of fancy modern technology!): 44.1 (200m), 88.1, 89.5, 87.6, 86.1, 85.99, 87.8, and 83. something.

Oh, and one other thing: masters events are the best. Even when the masters race is held in conjunction with a major pro meet, the masters athletes are friendly and welcoming (without losing any of their competitive drive once the gun goes off). I don't know why more women don't show up for masters track events. I don't know if they're not interested or if they're intimidated about getting back out on the track, but if you're at all interested, just show up. It's fun and there's nothing to be intimidated about. You'll meet people who have been doing their events their whole lives, and others who learned to hurdle at the age of 60. 

Everyone is welcome.