Real Reason wrote:
Actually i've worked out in lane 1 and 7 in every workout this year since february ... If you don't think having barton was an advantage then you're crazy.
Yes, the crowd was awe-inspiring, but the other teams had to expect something like that coming in. If they didn't figure on just how much incredible energy that crowd was going to provide, they sure know now. And yes, it could have been a fairly tight meet adding in Nightingale's 18 probable points. As weird as it sounds after winning by so much, things could have gone the other way if we had gotten out of the gate dismally in the first couple of events on Sunday, even after we had put so many guys in the finals on Saturday. But when we scored big in the mile and took it to their 4:00 stud, with even our number two guy about to pass him with 100 to go and breathing down his neck all the way to the line, that helped set the tone. They got slapped hard with a dose of what we already knew ... our guys were in such superb shape themselves that they not only weren't intimidated in the least but actually expected to win the mile outright and dominate the points in "their" event. And that was with "our" events - the long sprints, hurdles and triple jump - yet to come. As for the track itself, doesn't Princeton have a flat track? So it's not like they couldn't have gotten a feel for the turns unless they didn't do enough stuff in lane 1 in workouts. If you really are on the team here, you probably saw us middle distance and distance guys doing between 10% and 20% of our shorter reps (400 and down, and even a longer rep sometimes) in lane 1 since January, sometimes using standing starts with guys staggered in different lanes to get comfortable slotting in smoothly on the straightaway while in a crowd, conditioning our legs and getting a feel for the tightness of lane 1 at faster and faster speeds a little at a time, and doing plenty of post-workout accelerations off the first turn and down the backstretch into the far turn to get accustomed to making a move there when tired so we could beat people to that final turn. I agree being used to a flat track and being physically prepared for it properly can make a difference, and we got physically and mentally ready to race starting out of any lane on that track. Maybe Princeton didn't practice running in lane 1 enough. Who knows? But I think what's way more important is our team as a whole was simply in better shape than anybody else for championship style racing, we were sharpened and tapered well, and were ready to race off any pace - a slow one like the 3k or a fast one like the mile or breaking it open and running solo like the 5k - and that mattered a lot more than being used to the flat track or even having the home crowd. The crowd can help you if you're in good shape and ready to race, but no crowd in the world can make chicken salad out of chicken shit if you aren't in shape.