Sugar

Mucho.

We had hoped that I was going to get into the Boston Indoor Games and the stacked mile field this weekend. Up until last night we hadn't been told no yet. Then this morning they came out with the start list without my name. It was disappointing. Gags picked us up at the armory this morning, said it sucked, and we drove on. I was in the back, pretty upset that I wasn't racing. "You depressed?" Gags asked. "Yeah, kinda, I wanted to race," I said. "Well tough sugar" (Gags' word he tries to use instead of the four letter one that begins with S). "You didn't get in, we move on."

Right he was. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, it was time to go to work. Rob (Novak) and I powered our way through an awesome extended speed workout and even popped some 66 second 500s in there.

Yeah, it would have been awesome to be in the race with Webb, Willis, Manzano, but nothing we can do about it now. So what's going to happen now is I'm going to work my ass off for the next month and then I'll get to race at Columbia's Last Chance Meet the first weekend of March. Hoping to do something special in that race to get me excited for the outdoor season.

In the meantine, and to avoid the depression of not running the race this weekend, I'll be living by the Ron Swanson (of "Parks and Recreation" one of my best tv shows of 2010) Pyramid of Greatness (see above pic) and avoiding the Yin-Yang of Failure:

Nada.

Millrose Recap

Millrose Games Track.

I was supposed to run a 4:08 mile for one of America's best distance runners (Galen Rupp) to help him out with the first half of his 2-mile run on the tight turns and sharp banks of the Millrose Games track. Instead, I took the pretty good field of runners (Stephen Haas has been running well this winter) through a mile in around 4:18 and then stuck around because I was still in prize money position for an extra 600 meters or so before stepping off the track at Madison Square Garden.

All in all it wasn't a great run for me, but it was a payday as a rabbit job. Plus, it's always fun to run at Madison Square Garden and be a part of the history of the Millrose Games. However, looking at the half filled (or half empty) stands made me wish that Millrose Games could be an even greater meet.

The main problem with Millrose Games is that the ticket prices make you think you're going to a Knicks game. And here's the thing. Other than the Wanamaker Mile, you really aren't seeing the talent level in all the events that would suggest that (although the Knicks have sucked in recent years). They get a few good people in each event, but overall, there are probably 3-4 really good events at the Millrose Games. If they are going to be charging $70 for somewhat good seats to a track meet, it needs to be one hell of a track meet. Other than the Wanamaker Mile, Millrose isn't quite there yet.

That being said, I wish Millrose Games could fill up the Garden. There is a fun energy when you're at a meet in MSG. The place is filled with history, its loud, and you can't ask for a better place to star than New York. But in order to fill up the Garden, we need to get great athletes in every single event. New York City is a great place for a track meet, hopefully some athletes can see how great a meet Millrose can be and can make next year a great year for the meet.

Training has been slacking a little bit with all the racing (meaning mileage has been down), but it looks like I may be up in Boston next weekend for a fast mile and then we'll really get back to piling on the miles and putting in the work. We look at indoor season as the NBA's pre-season and we're using it to get ready for Outdoors. Will have a post midweek letting you know the rest of the Indoor season plans.