Track and Field Blogs - Scott Bauhs

Audrey and I took our first plane flight together (how cute) on Valentines day so that I could run the USAXC Champs this weekend. We were greeted at the airport by her parents Rob and Carolyn, her brother David and his fiancée Melissa who had been engaged for only a matter of hours. This was very exciting, especially for Audrey and her family but when we got to Audrey's house we all settled down and went to bed because it was rather late.

The next day I woke up with a sore through but I decided that it was because of the dry air. We drove down to San Diego and I got my first good look at the course and to meet up with Gary. I did a couple loops and some strides and Audrey left with her family for the day. Gary, Pat and I were together for the rest of the day staying relatively relaxed, fed and hydrated.

The next day Gary got up early to get ready for his race while Pat and I slept in a bit. I got up and did a little shake-out run and noticed that my throat was worse than the morning before. I was just starting to get sick but I tried not to panic with the big race in only a few hours. Soon enough it was time for us to head to the course to cheer for Gary.

There is nothing better than watching a bunch of old people run. Ok, well, the decathlon 1500 is good too. Either way it was good to see Gary run and to cheer him on since its almost always the other way around. He did pretty well, he barely got beat by a 50 year old and he only ran a little bit slower than Jordan Hasay's pace (and he ran 1 more loop!). It would have been an epic battle between him and Colleen De Reuck who finished 1 second ahead of him (despite being 3 years older). To be fair though, he has been battling injury for the past month or so and he did quite well for himself.

After watching a few more races it was time for us open men to warm up and I warmed up with Pat and a few UCLA guys (Kyle and Drew Shackleton and Alex Crabill). I was on the edge of full panic mode thinking that being sick had ruined any dreams that I had of going to Scotland. After some strides and the start within a matter of minutes I came to the inevitable realization that I was going to have to suck it up and I still had a race to run.

The race got out pretty quick and I was buried in the pack for the first 2k. I get a little bit Closter phobic when I am completely engulfed by runners but I knew to be patient and that the race would sort itself out soon enough so I focused on maintaining my position both in the race and on my feet. After the first lap I was able to get around a few people and I made my way up to the top 15 by 4k. By 6k I was in 10th place which was a position I would become very familiar with by the end of the race. The third lap was where I made a tactical mistake that almost cost me the berth to Scotland. I was about 20-30 meters behind a pack of 5 runners (5th-9th) and I should have made a quick burst to catch them and settle into their pace because as we all know it is easier to run with people than it is to run alone. Instead I tried to bridge the gap gradually but since I was running alone and they were working together it never happened. The strategy I used usually works for me in my college races but the caliber of competition was different here and it meant that I was in for a lonely extremely difficult last half of the race.

Luckily I wasn’t completely alone. I had no one to run with but just like any other race in California the Chico fans were plentiful. Alumni, parents and a few brave souls that made the trip all the way from Chico were out there screaming their lungs out. Audrey’s parents, brother, aunt, 2 uncles and crazy grandma were out there as well helping me along. The support I have in these races is amazing and it makes me go out there with extra motivation not to disappoint them. I was able to hold onto the 10th spot for the rest of the race and it was the hardest race I have ever run. After the race I made Ryan Hall promise me that he was not going to Worlds which means that I get to.

Now I have a full blown cold and I am moving onto the next part of the season. I am going to rest up this week with some easier running and maybe a light workout and then get ready for worlds and the track season. Hopefully I can smooth things out and while I certainly don’t think that worlds will be any easier: I should be more prepared and healthier going into it. Worlds is going to be an amazing experience and it looks like USA is going to send one of the best teams ever to it. After the race it sounded like everyone but Ryan was going to go so I get to be on a team with Jorge, Ritz and company which will be incredible. It is still just sinking in that I am going to be on the same team as the people that I have looked up to.

I have a few goals for Worlds. I don’t want to bind myself to any numbers but I would like to score for the team, hopefully to a spot on the podium. If I don’t score for the team hopefully I can do some quality displacing. Most importantly I hope that I can leave Scotland feeling like I made the most of the situation. I suppose I would also like to make it out of Scotland uninjured and ready for the track season.