Track and Field Blogs - Kevin Sullivan

...but, not without some good R&R first!!

So my season officially ended at 1:08:52.9 PM EST on Saturday afternoon, good enough for 2nd place at the 5th Avenue Mile, just 0.2 seconds behind Alan Webb.

It was a great way to cap off a somewhat mixed bag of a season. After a very disappointing 11th place finish in Berlin, I came back strong the next week with a 5th place finish in the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart. As was the case this past weekend, Alan just piped me at the line there as well, that time by only 0.09 seconds, but none-the-less it was a strong showing for me in a somewhat tactical race. We were out in a honest 59 seconds, not flying by any means but certainly respectable. The pace slowed in the second lap and we came by 800m in 2:01. I was hanging in the middle of the pack, boxed on the inside, but comfortable and ready to cover the moves when they came. The pace then started slowly getting faster as we ran a 57 second third lap. I hit 1200m in 2:59.3 and then the real racing started. I was still boxed on the inside about 6th or 7th place, but I was moving well as the leaders started pushing down the backstretch. Coming off the final turn I swung wide to try and get by into 4th. As we were fighting down the homestretch I started to get run wide and as I was inching my way by, out of the corner of my eye I caught Alan just move up on the inside of lane one. I tried to respond an threw my chest out at the line, but it was just too late to really make a good response to the move. At the end of the day though, I closed in 39.6 to run 3:38.91, almost as fast as I had run in Berlin the previous week in a rabbited race. So it was a productive and confidence boosting weekend for me.

I flew back to the States on Monday, but had little time to enjoy my own bed for the first time in two months as I was off to NYC on Wednesday evening. I flew in early to be at a press conference that the NYRR were having for on Thursday for the two defending champions of the 5th Avenue Mile (myself and Sara Hall) and the headliner for this years even, Alan Webb. The press conference was extremely laid back as it was basically a round table luncheon with the athletes and press at Michael Jordan's in Grand Central Station, where the press, and Alan were served the biggest ribeyes I have ever seen. There had to be a good 16oz of beef on everyone's plates. I on the other had, opted for the pasta as I still had a run to do later in the day and I hate feeling of being stuffed when I am running.

There is probably little need to go through a recap of the race...you can all just watch it right here on Flotrack!! So go take a look so I don't have to type as much ;-)

I did think I had a shot at Alan in the last 100m, and the more I watch the race I realize that I hesitated just a bit too long when Alan made his move to the lead and that really cost me any chance of getting in there for a second win. It was a fun race though. Everyone is so laid back going into it, knowing it is the last race of the season and looking forward to having a great luncheon afterwards and hanging out in NYC before heading home the next day.

Lunch was at an outstanding Tuscan restaurant called Becco. We started out with some antipasto, followed by Caesar salad, Becco's three daily pastas for the day (spaghetti pomodoro, penne with veal bolognaise, and ravioli in a cream sauce). Then the protein comes out!! Beef, chicken, and fish, accompanied with mash potatoes and broccoli rabe. To finish off, a selection of 4 or 5 desserts is passed around the table to sample. As you can imagine, there was no need to eat again after this meal!!

Then, since it was the end of the season you have to unwind a little bit!! And there is not better place than NYC. To tell the truth though, it was a very tame night, which was good for the old man here ;-) I will say though, it's too bad we didn't have a flotrack camera with us because then we could have shown you all Mark from Flotrack's outstanding mechanical bull riding skills...yes, you can tell he went to Texas for university!!

Well, this is probably enough babbling from me for one day!! I am in the middle of a big move right now and should be making sure that the packers who are at my house are not tearing things apart. For anyone that hasn't heard, I am moving out of the midwest, and heading south to Tallahassee FL. My wife, formerly the head women's XC coach/asst track coach at University of Illinois started a new job as the women's XC/track coach at Florida State University. So in two days, I will be joining her in Tallahassee. It will be the first time I have seen her in two months as I left for Europe and Osaka on Aug 1. I am looking forward to the move. Everything I have heard about Tallahassee sounds like it is made for runners. I am hoping this will be a really good start to my preparation for Beijing.

Anyway, back to packing! I'll give you an update once I scout out things in Tally!!