I am choosing this title for this USATF Indoor Master’s National Championships 3000m race recap from one of the pump up songs on my play list. It’s also on my daugther’s hockey play list.
I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter
Dancing through the fire
‘Cause I am a champion, and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
‘Cause I am a champion, and you’re gonna hear me roar
When my dream to compete at World Master’s Athletic’s Outdoor Championships was COVID crushed in July 2020, I began to look forward to other Track National Championships and was delighted to learn that USATF Indoor Masters’s Championships would be held at The Armoury Track in Washington Heights, NYC. It became my goal. I am so lucky to have some terrific “yes-people” friends in Christy and Meaghan and this running triple-header weekend was born.
It was pretty awesome to share with people that I would be competing at a National Championships. I had run well at my track season opener race. I had an amazing winter of training on the track and on the roads. Christy, Meaghan and I got Athletics Canada singlets crested with our club logo (thanks Blair and Cathy!). When I picked up my “uniform” from Blair before leaving for NYC, my daughter wanted to know where the rest of my Lululemon Olympic swag was- she felt like I was as deserving of the full outfits as her Team Canada Women’s Hockey heroes. I left Canada to compete at Nationals in this headspace.
We landed in NYC on Thursday, on Christy’s birthday, and kicked this athlete weekend off with a St Patrick’s Day infused birthday run through Times Square for Christy. The 3000m event would be first on Friday.
I spend some time Friday morning reading my old race recaps and really thinking about what I am about to do. I really want to break the Athletics NS Provincial Indoor 3000m record of 10:32.32. It’s been my goal since I turned 40 and left my own F35-39 3000m record behind. Coach Lee believes I can and his race plan is set up for that. The heats and lanes list is now available so I open it up on USATF site. The 3000m field will be divided into 3 heats: F25 to 49 and F50-59 and F60-89 (!!). I review the seed times, there are 17 women in my heat and… gulp. Oh my, what if I end up leading my heat? That’s not how I thought this would go. I was thinking I would step into a super competitive field and bodies would help pull me to my sought after record-breaking performance. I put that little fear away- I don’t have any control over it. I remind myself that if I ask myself while racing, “should I pass her?” The answer, in the presence of that thought, is always yes.
After a pretty chill city morning of just the right amount of wandering, we made our way to Washington Heights via Uber. The girls ask me how I am feeling. I tell them that I am ready, I know what to do.
For the first 1km I will just settle, settle, settle. For the second km, I need to be fierce and really dial it in. I want to be running exactly 42 seconds per lap. In training, I ran a lot of 800s at Dalplex thinking about this and how it feels. The pace is fast and it’s harsh. But it’s not ripping it yet. I know how it feels to do the work and to be a grown up Master runner and do the work patiently. You have to stick with it, and keep making the mental choice to keep it on, but it’s not blowing out the tires yet in the second kilometer. Then the last kilometer- you bleed until you cross the line. Everything you’ve got. I tell the girls that I feel lucky to be fit enough to go to that place of deep, unrelenting race pain. Not everyone can get there. I know that I can. I am going to get there and lean in a little bit more deeply and with a little less fear than last time. A new provincial record could come out the other side.
We arrive at the New Balance Armoury Track and it is just the most delicious athlete treat ever. Getting to run there would be like getting to play basketball at Madison Square Gardens if you are a ball player. It’s the real deal. I feel intensely lucky to be here.
We are a little early. I have Christy and Meaghan prepared to be my support crew by calling my splits. I have taken a screenshot of Lee’s raceplan and just shared the whole thing with them. I show them where to stand. The bank of the track is much bigger in real life. I also have time to watch a few heats and to meet some new track friends. We watch a fierce 87 year old woman rip off a record breaking 800m. It’s delightful and watching Christy and Meaghan relish in the community of track racing is such a cherry on top.
I tell everyone around me that I am trying to break the Provincial Record. It’s bold. I want to own it and pull all of the powerful feelings that I can from this proclamation. It’s amazing when these new friends size me up and say, “you’ll get it.” Over the last 2 years of pandemic, I have grown as an athlete. I’ve done more track-specific work than ever before. I am stronger than ever before from both playing hockey and working with hockey-focused online strength coach Jeff LoVecchio. I put this statement out there. “I am going to break this provincial record” and I mean it.
My favorite new friend is a 60-something man from Central Park Track Club. He’s clearly the “mayor” of this indoor track and he knows everyone. He talks and laughs and knows everything there is to know. I ask him what event he is doing. With a twinkle in his eye, he tells us: “I’m not running an event. I’m just running my mouth” We all hoot.
He likes my name and says he will yell, “Erin go bragh.” He tells us that he has some Irish roots from Dublin too and that in generations past, his people on Manhattan were told, “No ‘Negroes’ and no Irish may apply for these jobs.” He is both Black and Irish. He’s my favorite new friend and I hope to tell him I got my record when my event is over.
“I can feel this opening a whole new world,” says Christy. “I see our future.” I also love the track and I take the thrill of having shared it like this, in all it’s glory, out on my warm up with me.
It’s an urban “concrete jungle where dreams are made of” warm up. 17 minutes as per usual. I run a few laps around the Armoury. I am going in the opposite direction of some women, I assume my competitors. Most stare me down with a steely glares. I feel exactly like I want to in warm up and I tell myself: “This (my very best performance) is happening today.”
It’s another delicious treat to come back into the Armoury and complete my warm up on the warm up track. I am excited to line up on a track with people my own age for once. At home, I need to psyche myself up to be the Old Doll on the start line with high school kids and varsity university athletes. It’s special to line up with my own kin, I don’t have to do any extra mental pumping up of myself to be the one Old Doll in a heat. We are all Fierce Old Dolls!
Once warm up is complete, I give Christy and Meaghan a final fist bump each. We register with the clerk of the course and go into a call area. Like the Olympics. Like a National Championships. The women in my heat mill about like lone wolves, eyeing each other up. It’s not my way. I start chatting with a woman, asking her if she has ever run on this banked track. She’s from NYC and trains here, at this track. We have a great talk. I tell her that I want to break a provincial record, that the record is 10:32. She says sorry, she won’t be able to help me, she can’t run that fast today as she has 5 events.
As we are in this call area, the F50 to 79 heat is running the 3000 and everyone is talking about the woman leading. Long white ponytail. F55. They say she is a 4 time Olympian. She lays down a record breaking 10:22.
Then we are released onto this most amazing of tracks to do our final strides along the 100m straightaway. It feels: superb.
We are lined up by hip numbers. I see my name on the jumbotron. Poirier. Canada. My kids are going to get such a thrill out of learning that Mommy was on a jumbotron.
I don’t have much memory of the race other than it’s so freaking cool to be running on this track. I line up proudly. I know what to do. It’s a mixed heat of F25 to 49. There are 5 age groups in there and while I don’t really consider it before, that’s 5 age groups.
The gun goes.
I simply do my job.
That’s all I am thinking: do your job.
First lap: precisely 21 seconds at 100m. 43 at 200m. The woman that I had been talking to is in front of me. I know her goal is slower than mine, I pass her just after we go through 200m. I am now leading this heat.
Coming to where I have stationed Chrisy and Meaghan for my split calling, I hear a booming American male voice:
“Erin!! Your first lap split is 43.8. That’s 43.8 ERIN!”
What? That’s not Christy or Meaghan’s voice. Is that for me? Am I Erin? Is the girl behind me Erin?
I have forbidden myself from solving mysteries on the track so I just run. Do my job. I am good coming through 400 at 1:24. Perfect.
“ERIN! Your lap is 40.9. 40.9 ERIN! Looks good.”
He’s close to where I put Christy and Meaghan. I must be Erin.
I accept I am Erin and tell myself: Do your job. This track is absolutely phenomenal.
“ERIN! Your lap is 41.8. That’s 41.8 ERIN.”
I am Erin. Now I just continue to do my job and I run 42 second laps, coming through to hear this booming and amazing voice yelling confirmation that I am doing my job.
I know nothing else about this race. I wanted to run powerfully. I ran powerfully. I lead the field.
I know I told myself one thing: “don’t give up,” spoken in my daughter’s voice.
On the last 2 laps, I had a thought, a prepared one, that it was going to be an outstanding moment to tell my daughter’s hockey team, who know where I am and what I am doing, that Coach Erin broke the Provincial Record. The record chasing isn’t done until I cross the line and actually do it but i have an awareness of this thought that it will be awesome to tell my hockey girls that I did it.
At 300m to go, my split counter’s voice is more commanding and authoritative, a runner blows by me. I don’t even know where she came from. I didn’t even know she was in the race. It’s a powerful jolt and I actually like it, I can now try to hold onto her. She will make me run faster than leading.
“ERIN, 41.3, keep it on and you’ll get your record!!!!”
Coming down the last 100m, on full throttle, I pray my legs will actually continue moving until the finish line. Everything is numb. Powerful but numb at the same time.
Chasing this out-of-nowhere-3000m-Queen, I close with a 39.7 lap.
I see a 10:27 on the clock as I cross.
I know that I’ve done it.
I have established records and I have broken records on PEI. I have never broken a standing provincial track record. I couldn’t really imagine what it would exactly feel like or what I would really do.
Once the post-race stars clear, what is left is a firework of pure joy.
I tell everyone who will listen. I just broke my province’s record! I tell the clerk who ushers me off the course. He says to go check in with the booth to make sure they know it’s a record. I tell everyone between the track and the booth, lol.
Christy and Meaghan come into the call area and I am so absolutely thrilled to see them. They know I broke the record!
The woman who won the heat is equally happy and glowing. We embrace. She helped pull me to a faster time. She organizes the women who remain in the call area into a victory photo.
I unite with and hug my girls! They gush about finding my new track coach, Michael Rohl, who took over yelling my splits. He did it like a pro because he is a pro- a 13 year college track coach and also husband of Michelle Rohl, the Olympian who just crushed the F55 3000m record. How fun is that!
I meet Coach Mike and it’s so very fun. I have an in depth recap with Coach Mike and he shares a tip about my foot-strike that he thinks will “easily” shave 15-20 seconds off my 3k time. It is athlete love.
I see my new Irish friend. I tell him that I got my record. He says, “Of course! I knew you would. No doubt about it.” I love it.
Critical Cooldown Incident.
Now something happens that I didn’t want to have happen and it does shape the rest of the athlete weekend for me. I don’t talk about it in my social media updates because I don’t want to give headspace to it.
I check the awards table as I wonder if I get an award, I was second in the heat. The volunteer tells me that the protest period isn’t up yet, check back. So I head out on my cooldown.
I have my wireless headphones on and I get a text from Blair Miller telling me that I won the F40-44 division. The women ahead of me is F45-49 and is from Brazil. I won my age group. I can hardly believe it, on top of my record, I was the winner. This was also a 32 second PB.
I feel on top of the world and I’m actually on top of Manhattan, up here in Washington Heights, north of Central Park/north of Harlem.
I had run along here in warm up and know if I turn down this W177th street, I am nearly underneath George Washington Bridge. I turn. Then I turn left onto Haven Ave, parallel to the Hudson River and the view is breathtaking. It’s 19 degrees C and sunny. Mist is rising off of the Hudson. The New Jersey skyline twinkles. There’s a parade barricade on Haven Ave. I see it. But I don’t see the footings of it, extending onto the sidewalk. I clip my right foot on the footing and I fly through the air.
I am airbourne, I know it’s bad, it’s panic. I get my right leg extended in front of me and my full airbourne body weight crashes into my extended right heel. I pitch forward and land in a skidding downwards dog and then finally land in a crumple onto the sidewalk.
I pop back up as fast as I can with that bizarre human reaction of OMG, who saw that?
A lot of people saw it. A woman from my 3000m heat is running towards me. Two pick up trucks stop and roll down their window to check on me. I am embarrassed and just want to get rid of them all and tell them I am ok. The track runner gives me a “superstar” from Saturday Nigh Live and runs on. Now alone, I gingerly take a few steps. My hamstring and butt pop. Not good. How bad is it? I’m not sure. Both of my palms are bleeding. I somehow saved my knees.
A few walk steps turn to run steps. The worst time ever to take jarring hit to your leg is right after a power-filled track race. Your muscles are essentially fried. I find the girls on the road. Christy uses her wipes to clean my bleeding palms and the girls send me to finish cooldown. I figure I can walk if not run. My hamstring hurts every step of cooldown but doens’t get worse. I run out my 17 minutes.
I decide I will worry about the hamstring tomorrow. I don’t need to panic or assign any value to it right now. I don’t know what’s going to happen to it. It’s already done.
I come back inside at the Armoury and I go to the awards table. I had read that, since this is the USA National Championships, non-American athletes aren’t allowed to displace USA-citizens for prizing. I accept this. I also had the opportunity to compete at my own Canadian National Masters’ Championships next weekend in Saint John, NB. I chose NYC instead.
I go up to the awards table. The 20-something Armoury staff at the laptop asks my name and event. Looks it up. Dig in the boxes under the table.
He hands me a gold medal: “Congratulations!”
I can hardly believe it. I took the record. I won the F40 age division.
Later, as we walk down a New York street, Christy says to me, “You are the National Champion (F40). In the USA.”
Roar.
I have so many thank you’s for this one. Getting to spend this weekend with my friends Christy and Meaghan and experience this with them was just joy. Having Lee, Britney and Brett join in and our brief fun with other Hammers Marcel, Jenna and Andrew was awesome. I’m so thankful for Coach Lee’s track coaching and race execution planning. It really let me just “do my job.” I’m thankful for my support crew at home, husband and 2 kids and my mother and whole family. I read each and every message that I received in NY and those messages filled me with so much happiness. I am truly so lucky. I am lucky to get inspiration from the athletes who I coach and it was Gena, Amy and Crystal’s dedication to strength training that pushed me to dial up my own strength work with a coach. My work with Jeff Lovecchio made a significant difference in my power on the track. Thank you, fierce women and thank you to Jeff who makes me feel just as badass and important as the pro-NHL players he coaches- that is a gift. And thank you to my genius osteopath Martha Farron who keeps my body running healthy.
Up next is the USATF 1 mile Saturday and the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon on Sunday.
