Taking advantage of a visit to the Department of Biological Sciences at LSU in Baton Rouge, I decided last week to participate in the USA Track & Field Southwestern Regional Open & Masters Championship.  The Meeting took place in the morning hours on Saturday, June 28 at the Bernie Moore Stadium in Louisiana State University under pretty humid and hot weather conditions.  As I had also missed the Pine Belt Pacers Relay event early in the month, I said let's give a try and entered 4 races in the championship: 5000m run, 100m dash, 800m run, and 1500m run. 

Before the event at LSU, I had not trained anything for the last two and half months.  I stopped everything after getting shin splints for a second time on April 12.  After several weeks of complete inactivity, I just showed up and ran without neat running shoes a 10K road race down in Bogotá, Colombia back on May 25.  The altitude, 8000 feet over the sea level, and the lack of training got me there.  I gasped for air most of the run, managed to finish the race in 50:14, and got very very tired after the competition.  Well.... I said.... maybe some similar it's going to happen in Baton Rouge.   

At 8:30am I was in the first event, the 5000m.  I did not run very well and finished in a time 23:58.  In addition, I was thinking on avoiding running out of gas for the other races waiting for me.  One done, great!!  At 10:20 I was back in the track.  This time running the 100m dash (first time in my life).  I was just curious to see how 'fast' I could run the distance.  Everyone else but me was wearing those fancy light shoes with track spikes.  The gun went off and I finished..... dead last in 16.09.  Since I intensively ran just a little more than ¼ of a minute, I thought I would be ready and rested for the next event, the 800m, that would take place 10 minutes later.  NO, I was not ready when the officer called for the race.  I was still breathing hard and lined for the run.  The race started and I managed to complete the first lap, 400m, in 1:25…. then I died!  I felt an intense fatigue and drastically slowed down in the second lap.  I was almost crawling at the end and finished the event in 3:20.   I was done!!  I did not want to run anything else.  The heat and exhaustion were getting me!  However, I had one more run to go, the 1500m.  It took place at 11:30am.  I just started slowly and tried to keep a steady jogging pace… one lap, 2 lap, 3 laps….. It’s done!  I ran the distance in 7:12.  I was happy to finish without collapsing, needing the help of the aid station workers, or calling 911.  I got some awards, went home, took a long shower, and a longer nap.  I had not energy left in my whole body.
 
What it was funny was the fact I won the 40-44 age group in all 4 events.  OF COURSE I did!!! I was the only one present.  Everyone else who competed that day in the track and field meeting was at least 4 years younger or one year older than me.  In other words, there was not any merit in the awards I collected (however, I took a picture of them just to joke about it). In fact, in the 100m dash I finished dead last overall among 22 runners!  Shame on me!!!   Anyway, I had a great time running in Baton Rouge!  Join this regional “tetra-champion” for the next championship to take place somewhere sometime in the South. © Pijume Diwesi