Meet Report: 2023 Stanford Invitational

Last weekend, I opened my outdoor season in the 2023 Stanford Invitational. I have a lot of personal history with this meet and with the Stanford track—I competed there in high school, and trained on the Stanford track through most of COVID.

I was doubly lucky to be able to compete in this meet: I had a friend on the inside who was able to get me a spot in the meet despite not coming close to the entry standards. I’ve also been dealing with a couple injuries over the past month, most recently a facet joint sprain in my lower back. In fact, my first full-speed workout was the day before the meet.

100m: 11.02 (+1.8)

• I felt relatively good warming up for the 100—my back, though stiff, didn’t hurt when I ran.
• My block start was pretty good, and I was close to the front of the race through about 30m.
• Unfortunately, at max velocity, I didn’t have as much bounce as I’m used to. I think this was the back injury limiting my ability to rotate my hips. Without that, my stride length felt much shorter than usual, and I was left behind.
• I finished 7th in my heat and 34th overall.
• This is the slowest 100 I ran since my outdoor opener last year, a 11.24 into a -2.9 headwind.

200m: 22.54 (+0.7)

• The 200 was a day after the 100, so I was a little sore. My back actually felt better than the day before.
• The race was similar to the 100: I had a pretty good block start, led through the top of the curve, and then got passed by the field.
• My speed endurance seems to have completely disappeared after a month of inconsistent training. The last 50m really hurt!
• I finished last in my heat and 31st overall.
• This is slower than every outdoor 200 I’ve run since 2019!

Overall, while I’m happy to have gotten a chance to compete, I’m disappointed with my performances. I’m hopeful that the back injury is just a minor setback, and that I can get back to my old form soon.