CA State Meet 3200m. reflection with Garrett Rowe...

Today we hear from Mountain View distance runner, Garrett Rowe, who finished in 4th place at the CA state meet 3200m. running 8:55.71. His place was the highest for any Northern CA runner in the most competitive 3200m. in state history. That time is also the 6th fastest 3200m. ever run in CCS history. As you can see by the list, some of the times are converted 2 mile times which became the 3200m in 1980. Garrett's state meet effort followed his CCS race effort the previous week, where he finished in 2nd place just behind Sobrato's Lance Wolfsmith, in a then lifetime best time of 9:08.17. If you take into account his performance at the CA state cross country meet as well, Garrett was able to run two brilliant races in the biggest races of the year.

1) What did you do training wise (day by day) following the CCS final on Friday to the 3200m. final yesterday?
On Saturday I ran 12 miles at a fast pace, I didn't run Sunday, Monday I did five miles, Tuesday I did an easy workout with 200's and 400's, Wednesday I ran six miles, and both Thurday and Friday I ran three miles with four easy 200's.

2) What was your race plan going into the 3200m. final? Where there runners you were focusing on or where you focused on running certain splits?
I wasn't focused on running any particular splits and I knew the race was going to be crowded, so I decided to stay with the lead pack the whole race.

3) Tell us a little how your race progressed from the beginning and how it unfolded as it got into the second 1600m.
The first five laps of the race were extremely crowded and everyone was jostled around at some point. My first 1600m was 4:31, and the leaders picked the pace up for the last four laps. We finished with a 4:24 second split, with 2:07 as the last 800m.

4) What was the toughest part of the race?
The toughest part of the race was definitely the first three laps because there were so many runners jammed into the front pack.

5) Was there a point this past season when you thought you had a shot of breaking 9:00 in the 3200?
I realized that I could break 9 minutes about halfway through the season because I wasn't training extremely hard but I was progressing quickly in the 3200.

6) Any races coming up for you this summer?
As far as I know, I won't be racing this summer because of family vacation plans and cross country training.

Thanks for your time Garrett!