Sparkie's rundiary

The State Relays are about 12 hours away, and I am nervous as hell. I haven't run a 1500m race for over 10 years (October 28th 1995 to be specifc). Although I think I am still in OK shape (not as good as a month ago), I am having big-time nerves about a few things:

1. Will my hamstrings hold together? I have done a couple of sub-4 minute kms on training runs this week with no ill effects, but 1500m pace is closer to sub-3 minutes a km. Even worse, if it comes down to a sprint finish, this is going to really put them to the test. On the plus side, after I tore the right hamstring, I managed to (foolishly) still do a session at this pace, so it isn't too stressful

2. Am I fit enough to get through 3.75 quick laps? My plan is to aim for 4:30, which is 72 seconds a lap. The first 800m should be manageable, as I was doing 800m reps at close to this pace a month ago. However, the third lap is a big question mark, and I will be pushing me into an anaerobic zone I haven't been in for a long time (2001 when I raced two 800m races). As well as the physical demands of going into anaerobic territory, there is the mental /pain factor, which normally takes a few races and lots of training sessions to get to grips with - not a 10 year break. I am really scared I am not going to be able to dig deep when it counts.

3. Am I going to let the other relay runners down - what if my hamstrings go, or I can't handle the pace, or worst case, I am not fast enough. Were this an individual race, I wouldn't be worried - you have to lose races to win races. But I now have 3 other very good runners depending on me keeping up my end of the bargain, and I am petrified about letting them down.

As the race will probably be over before anyone reads this, I better start giving myself some encouragement. So what are the positives?

1. Looking back over my race lists, I have run 25 1500m races, and won 16 (2 2nd, 2 3rd) - so I have an OK pedigree. My PB is 4:08, and I have broken 4:20 8 times and 4:30 17 times.

2. Although my fitness has dropped a little since the start of October, the last time I was running sub 35 for 10km (1992), I ran 4:19 for 1500m.

3. In December last year, when my fitness was lower than at present, I ran the first km of a 5km race in 3:08, so 3:00 for a km should still be managable, and I should be able to hold on for the last 500m.

There, I now feel better about tomorrow's race. My ideal race plan is that as the last runner, the other guys will have gotten us so far in front that short of my legs exploding, I will be able to get us home no matter how badly I run. Alternately, if I am within striking distance of the lead at 200m out, no one over 35 can run faster than me. I don't know if this is true, but I'll keep telling myself that until someone proves otherwise.

Wish the CoolRunning cheersquad was going to be there...