My Comeback Chronicles Blog Post #4 Taking on the World

I own rental property, most everyday out of the year things are great but let me leave this time zone and something bounds to happen…. whether its a volcano erupting and hot lava running down my driveway, a zombie horde, or Godzilla fighting Mothra on my front lawn you can bet its gonna happen at my place. So I’m used to that curveball. At nationals last month it was a busted water heater. This time a I got a different kind of pitch.

Of the 40 years Ive been flying all over he world, Ive never missed my initial outgoing flight. Well, your boy did this time. Being the planner that I am I had purchased the flight months ago. During that time the airline had made changes to the flights due to changes in their flying schedules, booking me on alternate flights. I in turn made my own changes as well. Well with all the back and forth in my mind I was locked into my initial itenerary, an overnight flight Saturday into Sunday. Well I forgot I made the change to flying Saturday morning at noon, well around 3pm I went to check the status of my flight and well I missed it, WTF!!!! So I had to buy another ticket to get the next thing smoking out Sunday morning..ouch said my wallet.

I’m generally un-phased by these events, one time I spent the entire night in a car (Reno/Cali Pass) that slid off the road due to black ice and six hours later ran the best indoor races of my life.

Were the track gods fucking with me? I don’t know but I’m coming.

 Sprinting has always been a way of life for me. I can honestly say it comes from the “streets”.  Imagine being six, seven years old.  Dusk, a warm summer Chicago evening. Boys , girls, adults, lining up in an alley way to race each other and neighboring blocks. Arguing, talking shit, placing bets, declaring winners and demanding rematches. We’d race until it got dark. As a teen it was the “light pole to light pole” street races in suburban SoCal.

It was though fighting or running could determine your pecking order in the neighborhood. You were just a likely to be greeted with “lets race” as you would be with “whats up?” Moving fast was a neighborhood thing for us neighborhood kids….bragging rights included. Shoes on, shoes off, any age, boy or girl, we learned to  take on all challenges and challengers.

In 1983 I was a young freshman, just 150lb soaking wet at San Diego State and we had a meet at USC, I wasn’t in the A race with the upperclassmen…thank heaven because I saw Michael Sanford USC’s top sprinter walk across each lane, look each runner in the eye, stopped and said who’s gonna get second? Today’s translation…who wants this smoke?

Now that’s balls!

I definitely wasn’t feeling that confident at worlds but I was ready to scrap….lets take it to the streets so to speak.

Working my plan….

Remember my decided strategy was to finesse my way through the first heat, run conservatively and come out healthy for the next round. Warming up I felt a little sluggish, maybe due to travel, to be expected but not a concern for a first round. We get in the blocks, gun goes off and theres a false start by one of the guys, uugh…really is that what were doing? I’m annoyed, but hey maybe if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying. I ain’t mad at ya.

We reset, gun goes bang and were off, I run as planned smooth effortless, using the skills. Again little travel rust but working that out. Won the heat, 7.87, fastest qualifier, felt good about that. Cramp watch…Im cool. By the way I went digital and wore the superspikes. However, I decided afterward to go back to analog, my old spikes since the supers  were making me turnover faster than I wanted. Who would of thought that would be a problem in a sprint. However, I needed more control to avoid cramping.

Germany’s Roland Groger last years outdoor 200m/400m World Champion won his heat at 7.82….hmmm.

Now the semifinal, six hours later or so. This was the X factor, could I come back and run a second race same day? Last time I tried in Chicago last year I cramped up. So for six hours I rehydrated with electrolytes as best I could, if you licked my skin I probably tasted like salt.

That evening, Semifinals are a different story because this is do or die for everyone, there is no tomorrow if you don’t get it done today. This race brings out the best for most runners because we all want to be in the final, so gotta go.

The plan, be in the two first places to be an automatic qualifier, don’t mess around with advancing on time because you have no control over what the next heat might do. Bang gun goes off, Im out, transition, challenge to the left, respond, pull ahead and win 7.83 to 7.87, damn you David F. Jones you made me run a bit.

Body check, I’m cool, the decision to go analog (old spikes) was a good one, the extra turnover with superspikes may have pushed me to a cramp. By the way second semi-final won by Germany’s Roland Groger, this guys fast becoming my nemesis.

You know the saying in boxing everybody’s got a plan until they get punched in the face? Well in track everybody’s got a plan until the gun goes off.

Got a decent nights sleep, tried as best I could to replenish, rehydrate, blah, blah, blah…

New territory for the body, three races in two days. Haven’t been in this place in over thirteen years. Little tired but we probably all are.

All was going according to plan, until it wasn’t. My plan solid start, transition, then separate between 30-40m, run it in. “What had…happened was”… (lol); I got out, controlled start phase one, phase two rise, phase three separate……then bang it happened a ripping and shooting pain in my left shoulder, it was like I strained my rotator cuff or something, a sharp pain each time I lifted my arm, this can’t be good. I’m a rhythm runner and I keep time with my arms, they dictate foot speed, balance an power.  It hurt but the unexpected shock of it caused me to pause and slow down for a few steps. The rest of the race I had to chop my armswing…that broke my momentum and gave just enough of an opening to get caught. You ain’t winning at this level running with one arm.

Aaah he got me!! Kudos to Groger, he ran a great race. I’m just thankful the whole race didn’t go to shit and my legs start cramping and have to stop.

The result Groger first 7.77 Thigpen second 7.77, we were seperated by .0008th of a second. An exciting race!!!

Someone commented, you didn’t run your best, you ran faster at Nationals (7.65). My reply, running your best is getting the most from your body at that given moment in THAT competition, my body did just that. No shame here. I’m not just here to win, but more importantly to compete and I did.

Being a competitor, Ill put this race on my “a little annoyed pile” for twenty four hours, then move it to the “fuel for the fire” thereafter.

As I write this blog, sitting in my hotel room, icing my shoulder, I can’t lift my arm over my head, My left leg finally cramped, and even my left ribcage is sore (thats different), lastly how in the hell did I spike my left shin, what a wild race. LOL!!

My old Stony Island neighborhood would have been proud.

Soooo…..I’ve got 48 hours to get ready for the Long Jump Friday.

Fuck you track gods!….

See ya at the Pit