Happy outdoor Track Season! As promised in the last newsletter, I will be sharing my ~tentative~ outdoor race schedule. One of the goals of this newsletter was to keep the readers in the know of my running journey, and the most important part of that is where I’ll be racing this Spring/Summer! I hope to see some of you at track meets this year.

Full Disclaimer: This is NOT my entire race schedule for the Spring/Summer and is subject to change based on injury/illness/etc… If all goes according to plan, I will be racing until September this season. However, this is the plan of attack heading into USA Championships; which is what I would call the first half of my Summer season. Depending on what happens at USA champs, the rest of my Summer race schedule will fall into line. Let’s dive into each of these races and talk through the mindset/mentality about why I am choosing to race in these meets.

1. Atlanta City Games. Road Mile.

   1. There isn’t a better way to start an outdoor track season than a road mile. First off, there is no pressure on time. Road miles are quite different than running on a track. We don’t use spikes, there isn’t the traditional 400m lap distance, and there is usually some sort of incline throughout the race. This is a great way to start the year with a focus on COMPETING with no added pressure of standards and time goals. Just go out, compete for the win, and have fun in the process.

2. LA Grand Prix. 1500m.

   1. First time I get to enjoy Sunny California this season. This will be my season opener over the 1500m distance. This is a gold label race, meaning that this has the greatest leverage for moving up in the ranking system if I compete well here. So, that’s the goal; show up ready to run fast and compete for a high finish.

3. Portland Track Fest. 1500m.

   1. The last few years, PTF has been one of the best stops for a fast 1500m race. The weather is usually perfect, the fields are loaded, and you’ve been doing lots of race pace work so your body is ready to get after a fast 1500m. This is a great race to chase the World Standard for 1500m (3:34.2.)

4. USATF NYC GP. 1500M.

   1. The final dress rehearsal before USA Champs. This is about two weeks out from USA Champs and is a great chance to take one more nab at the World Standard but have enough time to recover and get back into a routine before travel to Eugene. This is also a gold label, so the fields should be loaded.

5. USATF Outdoor Champs. 1500m.

   1. This is the big one! Two Rounds of the 1500m with a shot to represent the U.S. In Budapest if all goes well. The goal is to be Top 3, with a good enough season behind me to warrant a selection to World Championships in Budapest. Yeesh. Got goosbumps just typing this. This is what we train for— a shot at making a team.

The Situation:

For the first time in about 4-5 years, I feel pretty relaxed going into outdoor track season. I was fortunate to have a great last few months of the Summer last season, which allowed me to grab my U.S. Standard last July. This means I don’t have to show up and chase standards every weekend and can realign my goals to peak when necessary. So, when meeting with coach before the start of the season I had one goal: show up to U.S. Champs fit, healthy, and with momentum on my side. This race schedule is set up so that when I show up to race this outdoor season, I do so with the intention of racing hard, knowing it’s setting me up for success in July. To make a U.S team, you need to be consistently running well, but most importantly, trending in the right direction by July. The last few years, I have showed up with my best running behind me or with some nagging injury that had me unsure of my fitness. I am not going to do that this year. So, the last few weeks, I have put an emphasis on showing up to practice and ticking the box. Nothing has been that impressive or flashy.

To be completely transparent, I have been dealing with some health stuff. We’re not entirely sure what it is yet, the symptoms are achey and tired legs and lower energy levels. I definitely don’t feel myself at the moment, but do feel good enough to train somewhat normally. We just got some blood work done and are looking at the results to see if anything is glaring, but I am hoping that it’s nothing to prevent me from racing. This has been the name of the game for me the last few years— healthy enough to race and compete, but not healthy enough to feel my best on the starting line. Running is all about riding the waves. You’re not gonna nail it every time, but it’s really important to pay your dues in training so that when the right wave comes along, you’re ready to ride it to the shore. This is how I feel about training and racing right now. It may not be perfect and it sometimes feels like I am fighting a plateau, but if I catch the right race perfectly, it reminds you why you keep going.

That’s all for now. I have lots to talk about in the next newsletter.

Here is a hint:

DREW HUNTER TRAINING PLANS