Olympic Trials 10,000m

It was my 7th time being 6th at a U.S. Championship, and I have mixed feelings about the performance.  I let myself get into a bad position early, and that strategic error defined the rest of the race.  I got out strong in the first 400 meters, but was then slowly pushed back farther and farther into the field.  The rain was coming down so hard that I thought we would stay bunched up for quite some time, and I didn't think it was urgent to move up on the outside.  It strung out much earlier than I anticipated and I found myself having to close a gap within the first mile.  Each time I made up a gap, there was another in front of me.  I feel like I ran well and made up ground as best I could throughout the entire race, but I am disappointed that I put myself in a position to make that necessary.  There was a lot of energy wasted.  I'm not sure how much faster I could have run, but a solid PR was not out of the question.  In the end, I ran very close to a PR in difficult conditions, and placed well in a very deep 10km field at the U.S. Olympic Trials.  I'm proud of the way I raced and hung in there and continued making up ground after making a rookie mistake early on.

 Thanks to everyone who was out there cheering.  I don't get many chances to race in my home state, so I always appreciate the local support and the opportunity for my family to watch.  Thanks to Brooks as well for making it such a memorable experience.  They have the whole company out supporting their athletes with signs, blue Brooks hulk hands, and die hard running fans.  For those of you in Eugene, make sure to come out for the morning runs at 9:00 AM at the Brooks house right across from the stadium on 18th. There have been great turnouts so far, and we're looking for the biggest yet this weekend!  Hayward Field is a special place, and I look forward to returning.  Now it's time to focus on a summer of road racing in Europe in preparation for the ING New York Marathon in November!

http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/248612-2012-US-Olympic-Team-Trials-Track-Field/video/643401-Ryan-Vail-6th-in-10k-having-to-make-up-ground-at-2012-US-Olympic-Trials

http://www.flotrack.org/premiumvideos/644076-Ryan-Vail-looks-toward-NYC-marathon-preparation-at-2012-Olympic-Trials