Byrne Notice: Journal from standout senior heading to Nike Nationals

Hoosier Authority asked the Cougar senior if he would supply us with a journal of his experiences during this postseason run. Following is the first installment of that journal …

Going into the Nike regionals race, I was looking forward to getting back in the racing atmosphere. Two weeks previous at the Indiana state meet, I did not perform as well as I would have liked to and did not feel as if I was at 100 percent, so I set my sights on my next race: the Nike regionals. 

In the weeks prior to the race, I got back into higher-intensity training and longer runs. With a week until Nike, I was finally getting to the point where I felt healthy again, and my body was getting back into the groove of things. With a good week of training before the race, I was feeling that if I ran a good race, I would be able to make the nationals team. 

When Race Day came, I had a game plan in mind of what I wanted to do during the race. I knew the No. 2 two kid in the nation, Zach Wills, was in the race and expected him to go out faster than the rest of the field. So, I just wanted to just stay in the lead pack and put myself in good position for the end. 

When the race started, I tried to set myself up in good position for the first turn and get out near the front. Wills immediately gapped himself from the rest of the field, but I set back not wanting to risk being burned out at the end. Coming through the first mile, I felt extremely smooth. At the halfway mark, Wills was leading the race with a strong margin, but I was in the lead pack that had been established behind him. 

Still feeling very comfortable at this point, I kept a strong pace up the slight incline just after the halfway point on the course. Then, slightly after the two-mile mark, I started to prepare myself for a change in pace. 

After going over the second-to-last set of hay bales, I picked up the pace and pulled away from the lead pack a bit. I saw that I was closing the gap on Wills and started to try to work my way up to him. Coming down the final stretch of the course, I made one last surge, but it was not enough. 

Crossing the finish line, I saw that my time was right around 15:15 and, even though I had gotten second, I was pretty happy. Plus, to my surprise, they were handing out ice cream at the end of the shoot, and that is a good way to top off anything! Standing up on the podium with the other four runners who would make up our Midwest team was also a great feeling of accomplishment. 

Being up there had been a goal of mine, and I had finally reached it. 

After everything was said and done, I was ready to get back home and continue my training for the weeks to come. After the race on Sunday, I took Monday off from training for a recovery day. Coming out on Tuesday, I just ran about eight miles at a medium pace. Then on Wednesday, I jumped back into the higher-intensity training with a hill workout that was good for both my endurance and turnover.

On Thursday, I once again did a longer recovery run in preparation for a tough day to follow. Friday, after a good warm-up, I jumped on the track to run a two-mile for time. Aside from being a good workout, the main purpose was to get a feel for the faster pace that I would have to endure in the upcoming races. 

At the end of the eight laps, I actually ended up running my personal-best time with a 9:22. The workout went great and has given me some more encouragement. 

To wrap up the week, I went out Saturday morning for an easy six-mile run with six 200-meter strides at the end to loosen my legs up and work out the kinks.