2012 Track Season Recap

This has been quite the season for me. Longer, harder and more fulfilling than any other track season to date.

• I competed at a high level since February when I ran a 4:08 mile. I held that form very consistently until May. I think that I improved my 5k fitness throughout the season, and I'm happy with that because holding my mile fitness at a high level while improving 5k fitness is not an easy thing to do. 
• I adjusted my personal goals this year to run for time instead of run for place. I did this because there really weren't any meets that I could run for place at (no conferences, IC4A's, etc) and because I wanted to show the graduate schools that I applied to that I was worth their attention. After I ran that 4:08 indoors, I set my goals for the year to run < 3:50 and 14:10. 14:10 was the goal I had set for myself about two years ago when I got really serious about running, and 3:50 was what I knew I could run based on my form in February. I am perfectly happy walking away from this year having run 3:49 and 14:09.
• My general attitude towards training and racing is much improved from past years. I relaxed a little bit this year with regard to mileage and I think I was better rested for the big races this season compared to last track season. Part of this was due to not having the pressure of a team to race for, but most of it was due to more confidence is myself and in my training plan. I raced more often to hone tactical sense and picked my spots to really run well. 
• I was able to keep improving consistently, not only through this season but through my college career. This goes back to the goals I set for myself, but I doubt that many guys can say they improved 17 seconds in the 1500 (4:06 to 3:49) and 54 seconds in the 5k (15:03 to 14:09) over their four years in college. I had no major injuries and was able to get tuned into my body enough that I could catch any potential problems early so I could keep training and racing. 

Any negatives? Not that I could really control. Obviously it would have been nice to still have a real team and be able to mix it up in the championship meets, but I think that I played the hand I was dealt about as well as I could have. 

I'm leaving this season very satisfied; I planned my training around running goal times, I went to the meets that I needed to be in to run those times, and I executed my race plans and came out with the times I expected. No surprises this season, which was fine with me. Surprises can mean unexpected good things, but in  running they usually mean bad things. No surprises also means that I have a good handle on what my body can handle and what training stimuli produce what responses. 

What do I want to do next year? Well, I definitely have more room in the 1500/mile than I thought I had 6 months ago. I'm sure that if I did more specific training in season for that I would run even better than I did this year. However, I don't want to sacrifice the 5k for the 1500, since I still think I'll eventually be better in the 5k over the shorter distance. Next year will be an exciting time and I'm already looking forward to it!