Currently, the Wagon's be put in PARK, so one might think Road Trip '09 is over. That's not the case, it's not even on hold; this situation of PARK is quite simply one aspect of the journey. Others include DRIVE, NEUTRAL, occasionally REVERSE (but the backup lights went out on the Wagon thousands of miles ago so we try to avoid that as best we can), and if things get really interesting the trip may fall into those strange settings on an automatic transmission with numerical emphasis. I don't know why THRID is there but I use it and so far the car hasn't caught fire.
In any event, the men of the Bowerman Athletic Club-Elite have taken up camp at Mike Nicks', our teammate, apartment in Eugene for the last three days of the US Track and Field Championships going on across town at Hayward Field. The entire house is picking up the sweet aroma of sweat, dog shit, and feet so I try to avoid it at all costs.
For yesterday's meet, arrived at the Nike booth in the mid-afternoon without a ticket, hoping Ahrlin or Annie could work their connection magic and produce a second day of free meet entry. Unfortunately, after talking at length with Ahrlin, I realized he already gave me Friday's ticket and I had just finished putting said ticket (along with Sunday's) through the wash, rinse, and spin cycles while washing my yellow khaki shorts, circa 1976-my father owned them and when coupled with a green shirt I look like a John Deere logo. Running back to the car, I quickly managed to extricate the destroyed ticket, unfold it and successfully gained legitimate entrance to the meet. Unfortunately, I was stuck sitting alone in Section N, but after a few minutes of awkward solo meet watching, Coster called informing me of a VIP pass he had secured for myself to the Nike and USATF areas. And, once again, I found myself rubbing shoulders with the track and field elite, plus Michael Johnson and Joan Benoit. To my credit, I had planned on getting back with the VIPers and actually dressed mildly decently this time around. 
I must have looked alright because I wasn't constantly inspected of my credentials and Doug Logan, the USATF CEO, struck up a few conversations with me durning the Women's Steeplechase Trials.
I must have looked alright because I wasn't constantly inspected of my credentials and Doug Logan, the USATF CEO, struck up a few conversations with me durning the Women's Steeplechase Trials.
The highlight of the meet was the Men's 5,000m championship race, where Matt Tagenkamp, Chris Solinski, and Evan Jagr finished in that order after dropping a highly respectable last lap. I was pulling for the 20-year old Jagr to score the win when he moved into first with 185m to go, but his teammates where too solid and beat him out to the line.
After the meet, Danny and I remained in the empty VIP section, eating whatever remaining food was left and drinking whatever free treats we could secure. Then it was short return to the fragrant Nicks apartment before going for night two at the Adidas Party at the Villard St. Pub. This evening's festivities had roughly 4 times the people and the male female ratio was roughly 25:1. I found that to be nice because it removed the desire from most of the guys to find a mate for the evening and instead people were just relaxed and talking track.
Quality people. And, no fatties ever frequent track parties, which I'm a supporter of.
This morning's run was brutal and I got the extra pleasure of running it alone (with a headache) since my brother Mackey decided to fall back asleep after waking me up solely to run. Not cool. After feeling a bit overweight while running past a cornucopia of world-class runners, I returned to the more putrid smelling apartment mildly humbled and feeling like rubbish. That being the case, I quickly showered and made my way to Hayward for Day 3 of the meet, with no ticket whatsoever. And, to make matters worse, all of my sources, except Annie, were not at the meet today. However, I purposefully kept my VIP bracelet from last night and successfully took advantage of the less than studious gate keepers that were hired for the meet and made my way in with no trouble. I was even given a stamp so I could come and go at my leisure.
The highlight of today's meet was our own freshman Riley Masters of UMaine running for second place in his trail section of the Junior Men's 1,500m race at 3:50. 
Things got concerning with 200m to go in his race as he found himself boxed in against the rail, but somehow with 80m left he found a hole and finished in a very close second, securing a berth in tomorrow's 1500m final. 
Another quality race was the Women's 1,500m Championship where Anna Willard of Greenbush, Maine, finished a respectable third in a very quality race.
Things got concerning with 200m to go in his race as he found himself boxed in against the rail, but somehow with 80m left he found a hole and finished in a very close second, securing a berth in tomorrow's 1500m final. 
Another quality race was the Women's 1,500m Championship where Anna Willard of Greenbush, Maine, finished a respectable third in a very quality race.Mike Nicks and I did manage to sneak into the VIP section today to get out of the blazing sun, eat a free dinner, and get some much needed liquids to rehydrate after getting burnt crispy in the open-air seats. Unfortunately, our luck ran our halfway through a piece of steak as I crowd control volunteer asked to see our credentials. Mike produced his MEET OPS pass, which had worked the past two days, but the volunteer was unconvinced. I explained I was also covered by Mike's pass since I was only sporting yesterday's expired wristband, and to my shock I actually pulled it off for a moment or two. The volunteer told us to finish our meal then leave, but I replied, "I'll call our coach who arranged everything and see if he knows any more about what our access is suppose to be. Excuse me a second while I dial." The fake phone call worked, the volunteer gave us a little more room, and we watched the Men's Steeplechase with the CEO of the USATF.
By 8PM, I was sporting a full body sunburn and was gloriously dehydrated. Being physically defeated by today's heat, I opted to stay in and relax, giving myself the needed time to produce this posting. Now, with only three minutes left on this Saturday, I'll be leaving in unedited so I can get my golden slumbers and find myself well rested for tomorrow's final day of competition.
Maybe next year I'll manage to race at this meet instead of spectating. That's a good idea, Liv came up with it.
Wagon Miles: Nope, it's in PARK
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