Today: so far, Indian buffet with B. She got a bit dizzy while shopping and so I brought her home. She’ll skip tonight’s game but maybe make tomorrow’s instead.
There is quite a bit of construction on Moss (when isn’t there?) and so I took an unusual route out and back. I am going with 10.6 miles (Garmin: 10.4, Strava 10.8) I took Knoxville back, Kumpf out. My route takes you through inner city life. I felt fine; used some sports replacement drink.
Game tonight: with Tracy; Barbara will pass. Maybe tomorrow?
Back of the Pack at races
First, two more photos from the race:
The first is from the start where I am creeping, big time. Later in the race, I did look as if I were walking but not here.
Second: in the background you see two figures: this is Meredith pacing me in.
Here, I am showing walking form, albeit not great form.
So, I DID walk this race, though I would have been illegal early in the race, before I had warmed up.
Back of the pack I was chasing the red head in one of the photos. He is FORTY years younger than I! That’s reality: age plus walking means “way back in the pack.”
And the attitude now-a-days is different.
Many participants do them just to do them. When they boast, they say “I’ve finished X number of half marathons or Y number of marathons.” They do not mention time.
And that is ok. It benefits me too: there is no way in Hades I’d have been allowed to finish during the 1980’s running races. Example: at my second marathon, the time limit was 5 hours. In my third, when I showed up fat and out of shape, my 4:24 put me deep in the rear of the pack. (1983)
But the other side: when you are as slow as I am (2:54; my previous post-COVID halfs were 3:05, 3:03, 3:01), those around you are likely to be the “just finish” types who clown, mug take selifes and just generally party along the way. Very few who are near me are trying their best, and these are likely to be, well, age peers or older.
So, in a sense, it is lonely. At smaller races, even with long cut-offs, you ARE alone. And at the larger ones, very few around me are actually racing (i. e., doing their best)
And so it goes. I mourn for what I can no longer do (run the half in 1:34). I am grateful that I can walk it at all without that “icepick in the butt” feeling. I am grateful for the long time limits. But I am still lonely in the back.
But that’s life, isn’t it? It is having a mixture of things to be grateful for and to mourn.
Ever since my lumbar stenosis set-back, I’ve been trying to regain my walking form. Racewalkers: my knees are way soft; I make no pretense of legality in my walking.
I started basically by being unable to walk even a quarter mile without stabbing glute pain (2022) and have built back up to the half marathon distance. That is another story.
In 2024 I worked up to half marathons, but I could NOT walk them in under 3 hours (I got 3:05, 3:03). These were warm days.
In 2025 I did one (with knee braces; I had a knee setback) and improved to 3:01, mostly because of better pacing.
This year, my walks started to feel better so I impulsively signed up for the half marathon in Springfield. I did this race once before (1998) and walked jogged 1:49 on a very warm day. That was about 10 mintues off of my pace in those days.
I spoiled myself by getting a nice room the night before. I like having the time to relax and stretch my lumbar.
Pick up was at the old Capitol.
But, I STILL got up just before 4 am for the 7:30 start; eyes opened and I could not go back to sleep.
Instead of focusing, I made memes.
The memes had some basis in fact. The first one was about the 10ks I did in Madision in 1997-1998 (44 minutes and 41 minutes). Barbara did the 5k walk and the 5k and 10k courses merged in the final miles; the 10k featured an out and back first. Since she walked in the high 40s, I passed her late. She recalled that I looked like a lumbering bear.
The other: I did the 2000 Madison half in 1:35. But that was 26 years ago; you cannot go home again.
Anyway, back to the present day.
The hotel was a short walk to the start line and I got there with little difficulty. It was fun to talk to the other participants. And, I left my phone at the hotel; it tunrs out that this was a good idea!
I lined up at the back, where I belonged. I was hoping to crack 3 hours on the cool, even chilly day.
Unfortunately, I got taken in by the excitedment and the gang. Mile 1 came at 12:21 which was WAY too fast for me, NOW. I tried to back off and I was at 37:10 at mile 3 (38:20 or so at 5K, which was my fastest 5k walk last year) and I knew that I could not sustain that.
I made a deliberate effort to back off to a sustainable effort. The next mile was 13:05 (50:15 at mile 4), 13:36 for mile 5, 13:42 for mile 6 and I was finally at a sustainable pace. It was just past mile 4 when the 2:45 pace group passed me. I said “oh no” and the lady leading the group thought that I was sad that they caught me. I said “no, I should have NEVER been in front of you!” That was to become relevant later. mile 7: 13:41. mile 8: 13:45, next two miles were 26:41 which got me to mile 10 in 2:11:42. I knew that my goal was in reach.
13:26 for mile 11, 13:58 (vs uphill and stiff wind) for mile 12, and then to my 2:54:23 finish. My final 5K was 42:41; final mile against the wind was a bit slow.
And now back to the 2:45 pace lady: she saw me finishing and she went on the course to take me in! That was so sweet of her; my reaction was part “awwww” and part “well, I guess that I really am an old man.”
The performance itself: what I did right vs what I did wrong:
Right: training, taper. And I didn’t panic when I went out too fast; I salvaged my race by deliberately slowing down BEFORE my body forced me to. Fuel: orange juice seems to work.
Wrong: I didn’t drink enough; I had that “sort of double vision” I get when I am tired. I should have carried larger containers of juice and taken electrolyte tablets. And the start was downright stupid; I have to start these at a “stupid slow” pace.
Just is: ok, I am struggling with aging. I am not saying that I was ever good; I never was. But I once walked 2:17 (and won a monitored power walk) and I once ran 1:34. I was what a few other recreational runners aspired to be (seriously).
No one wants to be me now.
At my pace in the pack (final 200 of a 1300 participant race) you see mostly older people, crippled people, “party people” and those who are clowning around. One guy ran with an airhorn, yelled frequently, and just cut up all over the place. I think that I started too fast to get way from him, but then let him go, and then passed him for good at about 10k into it.
I want to make this clear: he was doing nothing wrong. He was being courteous of the other runners and I noticed that he thanked the police and volunteers (as did I). He has every right to enjoy the race the way that he wants to. It is just that I’ve reached the point where a younger person can totally clown and still be ahead of me, and that bruises the old ego a bit. Ok, more than a bit.
The good part is that I was able to race similarly aged people; I remember a tall guy and a lady with a blue top and black spandex. I really do enjoy racing the other gray hairs. And I was really impressed by one massive guy (50ish?) He was huge, very overweight, and (as a runner) left me in the dust at mile 5. Never saw him again. He struck me as a would be 1:30 runner in a XXXL body. I wonder if he was a former football player.
And so, my reactions are mixed. I am glad that I can walk this far, given what I feared in 2021. But, well, it is clearer than ever that I was, at my best, just a participant. It is just that “young man slow” is faster than “old man slow.”
My half marathon walks: (no running at all in any of these) Note: most links are broken.
It is now Sunday. And I had some flashbacks to the past. And here is the truth:
USC football is not what it was during the John McKay, John Robinson and Pete Carrol days. The colors are the same, the fight song is the same, but the team is not.
I am not what I once was; my lifetime PBs for the half marathon are 1:34 as a runner and 2:17 as a walker. And for a period in my life, 2:20-2:40 was an all but guaranteed result as a walker. Those days are over. Completely.
Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun this weekend.
Saturday: Harry was my “date” for the USC game.
Note where they put the USC band.
The parachute team was spectacular.
Oh, the game: it was an interesting one. USC got the ball, promptly marched it into Illini territory and fumbled it away. The Illini drove it for a touchdown; the Illini offense was to rack up 500 yards of offense today. The Trojans promptly tied it with a march of their own; the teams were to punt one time apiece. The Illini retaliated 14-7 and, after a 4’th down stop, were threatening to make it 21-7, when the Trojans got a controversial fumble recovery. Then they marched it down to make it 14-10 at the half.
Second half: Illini got a field goal, and interception and then hit a swing pass to go up 24-10. No problem: USC drove it again to make it 24-17. The Illini got yet another touchdown to make it 31-17, which was the score going into the 4’th. The Trojans: once again, they used their excellent receivers to score and hit a 2 point conversion to make it 31-25.
Now it was the Illini’s turn, but they fumbled going into the Trojan end zone. This would have iced the game. Instead, the Trojans took the lead on a nifty pass and were up 32-31 with about 2 minutes to go.
That was too much time: the Illini promptly drove it to field goal range and their excellent kicker nailed it from 41 yards as time expired.
What a game! What a bounce back performance from the Illini after last week’s massacre at Indiana.
Yes, the Illini defense got shredded; that will be an ongoing problem.
Sunday
I drove to Quad Cities last night and stayed 4 miles away. I was to do the half marathon. The morning started at 59 F and was to get warmer, but the half marathon course managed to feature quite a bit of shade. That helped.
The result: 3:01:27, which was 2 minutes faster than last year. What cost me sub 3 hours: not enough training miles AND being around 200 lb. That is too heavy: I should be in the mid to high 180’s
I got into rhythm early and mostly ignored my watch. With the exception of that LOOOOONG pedestrian bridge next to I 74, I mostly maintained high 13s. The course was very intelligently designed; mile 2 was on the bridge and the marathoners reached it later, hence it never got crowded. I was treated to seeing the faster marathon runners.
Yes, at my walking pace, I was mostly the old, lame (I had knee braces) and heavier than optimal (see my remarks about my being too heavy). But, I am grateful for the longer time limits and for the opportunity to walk the course.
I admit that I teared up before the start; I wonder how much longer I’ll be able to do these. But I smiled at the finish; even though I did not have the reserves to take the final 1.1 miles fast. I was mildly surprised that I beat my last year’s time .
What I did right: 18 ten mile walks over the previous 20 weeks, heat conditioning. I also had a good attitude: “just walk; don’t be a slave to the watch.” And orange juice at mile 5 helped: I never got sick.
What I did wrong: too heavy, not enough training miles, and my 5k walk is too slow.
Quad Cities History 1998: 3:55 as a runner (hot) 1999: 3:45 as a runner 2000: 1:40 for half of a relay 2001: 1:49 for half marathon (week after giving blood) 2002: 4:44 marathon as a walker 2004: 5:12 marathon as a walker 2005: 5:34 marathon as a walker. 2007: DNF at mile 23 (walker) 2008: 2:25 half marathon (walker) 2009: 5:28 marathon (as a walker) 2010: 2:39 half marathon (as a walker; knee surgery in July). 2011: 2:22:27 (half marathon powerwalk) 2013: 2:20:59 as a runner 2014: 2:24:17 powerwalk. 2016 DNF mile 20 (run/walk) heat 2017 DNF mile 20 (walk) heat 2018: Marathon powerwalk 6:14:11. 2019: Marathon powerwalk 6:42:06
First, let’s talk about the Chiefs game last night: the Chiefs won it in 10: 3-2. We got the expected pitcher’s duel with the Cubs starting a AAA pitcher on rehab and the Chiefs throwing Lin, a top Cardinals prospect.
So, it was 2-2 going into the 10’th; the Chiefs did loads the bases in the 8’th inning with 0 outs but failed to score.
This was perhaps the best non-education day crowd of the season.
As much as I enjoyed the 21-2 game the day before, from a baseball fan’s viewpoint, this game was better. It was better played and there was plenty of drama.
5K
Well, this was a personal worst. But, oddly enough, I am ok with it. I’ve done no fast walking in a very long time; the miles are there but the speed isn’t. And it was gross: 79 F with 72 percent humidity.
The first mile was the expected zoo, given that I started at the back of the pack (where I belonged) and had the expected “moms with strollers”, “leashed dogs” and “parents with kids.” Lest you think that I am putting on airs, I’ll point out that many of these types were either beating me or at least staying with me. Aside from parents with their kids, there weren’t any, uh, “athletic bodies” around me, save a few older runners. One I thought: “wow, she is attractive for such an old lady..” and it turns out that I’ll be her age in a couple of months! No, there were no gazelles or active athletes in my part of the world.
The start WAS crowded and when it finally thinned out a bit, the better runners were on their way back. I was right at 12 minutes at mile 1 and probably should have stayed there. But I tried to pick it up at the turn around. I did; mile 2 was 11:45 (big whoop) and I could feel the heat getting to me. So, I eased up; mile 3 was 13:15 and I just didn’t care that much about my time at that point. I just wanted to finish without getting sick and with the ability to walk it back home.
After sitting for a while, I walked it back home.
total: 2.3 at 17:06 to get there, the 5k, 2.3 at 19:54 (I was tired) to get home.
What I am missing: I should have a “short but with some speed” day every week. This was this week’s session.
Note: the account holder DOES post some good stuff; I can recommend the account to runners. But..
“Excuse?” I suppose I can interpret that as him talking to someone who WANTS to do a marathon but is trying to talk themselves out of it. And, to be fair, that might apply to a group of people that is larger than the group that I am in.
And, no, I was not good at it. My PR as a runner is 3:33 in 1980, master’s is 3:38 in 2000. I did several as a walker (walking 100 percent of the time) and my last time was in 2019; it took me 6:42 (walker)
No, I am never saying “never again”, but given the tenuous health of my knees (currently tolerating 10 miles fairly well) and lumbar, I am NOT doing a marathon in the foreseeable future. And that is right decision, for ME at my current stage in life. Now, if I drop from 195 lb to, say, 178 lb…who knows? Right now, 10 miles is very comfortable but I’ll need 18-20 miles to feel that way before I start looking. It *could* happen, though I don’t see it as likely.
But here is my point: I did my first marathon when I was 21 and, frankly, I did not know what I was doing. But I was doing 15 miles at 7:40-8 minutes a mile, and could do a 5:30 one mile and a 19:20 3 mile (just at 20 for a 5k) and had run for sports for YEARS. I did not go from “couch to marathon.”
I honestly think that way too many never give their bodies a chance to adjust to running first and end up walk/jogging/shuffling to a 6 hour plus marathon.
And, well, the marathon is hardly the pinnacle of running achievement. For example, a 22 minute 5k is much better accomplishment than a 5 hour marathon.
As an aside, I talked to the young man who fit me for walking shoes. It turns out that he is pretty proud of his sub 2 minute 800, and he SHOULD be. That is harder than people think.
Thursday: Very hot. I started just after 7:20 and ended after 9: my 6.2 mile “5 hill plus a Moss ave. mini loop” course in 1:46:22 (16:59 pace!) I just didn’t want to put any effort into it. And I had a run in with a loose pit bull on Parkside “oh, he never does that…” a “beautiful person’s” dog. I said a few cuss words. But that was NOT my slowest mile!
Friday: easy 17:20 pace 2.2 mile on campus after some weights. Pull ups: a struggle: 5 sets of 6, 8, two sets of 6 mixed grip. I am doing more “chin up” style. Bench: 10 x 134, 10 x 150 (hard!) incline: 5 x 134, 4 x 134 (missed rep 5) 4 x 134 (missed rep 5) high incline: 2 sets of 10 x 94…this finished me off.
Saturday: 10 miles on the Rock Island: walked to the 0 marker and continued to the very start of the non-pavement portion. Then out to Dunlap, through, turn around at the trail head north of Dunlap (5.3 miles) then back to the Alta trail head. Time:2:42:12; 15:53 pace. It was not hard.
It was 86 F, 58 percent humidity at the end (as opposed to 89, 62 on Thursday) but the shade made it sort-of comfortable. And the pace…well..it was designed to get me through the miles.
A remarkable inning
On Thursday, I watched the Chiefs demolish the Beloit Sky Carp 14-5 to improve to 2-4 (now they are 3-4 for the second half of the season; that is important).
But HOW the did it was remarkable.
The second inning went well; the Chiefs scored 2 with a 2 run home run and a single to drive in another. So it was 3-1 after 2, nothing remarkable about that. But then came the 3’rd. In this inning, the Chiefs reached first base by walks and singles; they had NO extra base hits and the Sky Carp made no errors. There WAS a wild pitch.
But, in this inning, the Chiefs scored 10 runs! There wasn’t enough room on the score board to register the 3’rd inning!
The bull pen held on enough for the Chiefs to win 14-5. But the bottom of the 8’th was interesting. The Sky Carp put in a position player to finish. He hit the first batter and proceeded to throw “lob” pitches.
I have never seen a game quite like this one.
Books
I decided to try to read more, so I bought some fiction from Half Price. I finished the first of these: Moonraker. I’ll say this: this is NOTHING like the Bond movie with the same name, though the villain is named “Drax”, the villain decides to kill bond and the female lead character with the rocket blast (instead of doing it directly) and, of course, tells Bond of his fiendish plan (which, well, is a bit outrageous) prior to leaving them to die.
Of note: it is the female character who first finds out what the plan is by..yes, doing a mathematical calculation! The female character is very capable in the book. And there is another important difference.
Remember the book was written in 1955 when the world was still recovering from WW2 and the Iron Curtain had just come down. The rocket in question was a “atomic capable” glorified, improved V2 type of weapon.
I’ve wanted to talk about this for a while. What is different about my workouts now than before? Note: I am 65
Of course, I’ve changed what I do: running no longer works (severe patellofemoral osteoarthritis in each knee) and swimming the crawl: I have not learned how to NOT extend (arch) my lower lumbar. And I’ve modified other exercises: Mostly trap bar for the deadlift and wagon wheel plates for the straight bar (mostly), taking the leg drive out of the bench press (feet on a chair) and switching to the high incline (supported) instead of standing shoulder press. Pull ups: keep the knees in front of the body. This induces a small “kip” which would DQ me in a competition.
But here is the major stuff:
Lots of daily PT for the lumbar, shoulder and a bit for the knee. I do this in the morning.
Longer recoveries are needed after strenuous workouts. Go too long or too hard, and it affects my job. It is even more difficult to climb stairs.
Aches and pains: I almost always have them. But they are far worse if I don’t move. So, it is workout and hurt a little bit (at first) or do nothing and hurt a lot more.
Recovery from injuries or flare ups: MUCH longer these days. This is why I am more conservative.
Pushing my limits: FAR less frequent these days. I rarely try for a max effort with the weights or with a walking race. Recovery takes longer and I want to limit the risk of injury.
Performance! At my current bodyweight: at one time in my life, I could bench press 260 lb (310 is my max, but at 40 lb heavier body weight) I could do a set of 20 “less than perfect” pull ups; now 7-9 is a challenge. I can’t quite get the 10’th cleanly. Pull ups used to be 20-10-10-10 or 15-15-10-10. Over time I’ve changed to doing sets of 5-7 and even singles. Walking: last year I got under 11 minute miles for a 5K and 4 mile race, and 3:05 for the half. In terms of my walking, my unjudged PR (not being sloppy) is 29:2x and half (monitored) was 2:17 but this was 2003. My judged PR: 30:42 and 20k was 2:24 (about 2:33 for the half) Again, this was 2003. As a runner: 19:00 for the 5k, 1:34 for the half (1982 and 1998 respectively) .
In terms of the 5k (a nice benchmark), I said goodbye to sub 20 in 1999 (last did it in 1998), sub 22 in 2002, sub 24 in 2009 and sub 25 in 2014 (last time was 2014)
BUT the good part: at 65, I am feeling the way I expected to feel at 50. At 50, I still had some gusto and still could run the 5K in 24:00 or so, and at 49 I could barely break 7 minutes for the mile. 1999 (at 39) was my final sub 6 minute mile (5:59) 1998 I could run a 5:41 1600 and I last did 5:30 in 1982.
So…no, age is NOT “just a number” for me.
Visually: 1982, 2000, 2005, 2012, 2016, 2019, 2024. I am approximately the same weight in each photo (a little lighter in 2000) but the body composition is very different.
First of all, I want to make it clear: I was never an athlete. I played football and wrestled in high school and, well, wasn’t very good. Most of my adlult sports were indulged informally at gyms and in public competitions. Bests: bench press (gym) 310 (1987), deadlift 410 (gym; 1980’s), 5K swim (open water) 1:36 Chicago, 2008, 1:34 (pool, 2010), mile run 5:30 (1980), 5:59 (1999), 5K run 18:57 (1982), 10k run 39:50 (1982), half 1:34 (1999), full 3:33 (1980), 3:38 (2000). These are “no one cares” times for male 40 and under.
But, if one looked at the results in the paper (where they used to appear), you’d see me typically in the upper 1/3 to upper 1/5’th. But there was a reason for that: I was a younger male, period. That is all it was.
I still remember a 15K run that I ran on Quantico in 1981: it was open to civilians but the crowd was heavily Marine. They lined up by 3 mile time: 15 minutes, 17 minutes, then 19 minutes (when I lined up. along with a slew of young Marines who, well, looked a lot like me). And we more or less finished together. (time: 1:04:04)
Well, now I am no longer young. I am 65 and I had to give up running in 2020: knee ache at the top of the shin after runs. I have no cushion in my knees any longer. And so I walk.
It was bad enough that I was walking 5Ks in just under 34 (judged PR was 30:41, unjudged was 29:xx, but this was in 2003-2004) and I walked a 4 miler in just under 44 minutes. But the half marathon: now 3:05…and my last 5K was a glacial 38:50. Yes, I had a layoff due to my knees (reduced walking, no hard aerobic training)
But my goodness: my days of finishing with the “hard bodies” are long over; I now finish with the “old, wounded or not in shape” brigade.
And as far as the slowdowns (half marathon walk PR was 2:17 in 2003): age certainly plays a large role. But an equal role is played by my numerous setbacks: knees (meniscus tear in 2007, operated on in 2010), lumbar (2020-2022 nightmare) and now knees again. Every setback: I recover but never fully; after I recover, my age graded performance goes down.
Similar is true for weights: in 2021 I had a shoulder injury that my bench press never quite recovered from, and my having to take my leg drive out (lumbar stenosis) hurt me as well. 200 lb is long gone.
But: I still can enjoy these activities; I just have to accept that I am now firmly in the rear of the pack, and that my previous stint in the 80’th percentile was about my being a younger male, period.
Workout notes: before my walk today, I weighed in at 192 on the gym scale. Getting there.
Today: I had problems with sleep last night (game, work, and one other factor). So I stretched, did a damp 2 mile commuter walk (got passed by a student), then later a harder 5K (25 lap) walk on the track. 14:11 (very slow first 1/2 mile), 13:05, 12:32 for 41:29 for 25 laps. Ok though most were lane 1 laps. Some crowding.
That left me tired and with a sort of stiff lumbar for the afternoon; I did not do my PT routine a second time.
Yesterday: weights and 2 miles of commuter walking to go to the polls. Weights: pull up: 8 sets of 5, one of 10, 4 penalty reps (varied grip) Downstairs: bench: 10 x 134, 5 x 160, 5 x 160, 4 x 160 plus 1 spite rep. trap bar (4 inch) 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 234 high incline: 10 x 94, 10 x 94, 5 x 105 curls: 3 sets of 10.
Baseball:
Weather for college baseball in the Midwest is brutal: southern programs have a built in advantage. Iowa at Bradley in a 7000 seat stadium. @EmptySeatsPicspic.twitter.com/CRSQNDZdKB
Bradley hosted Iowa. Cold. And the start was very cold for Bradley. 2 out in the top of the first, no runs. They walk the bases loaded and walk in a run. New pitcher. First batter: soft grounder to second…I start to clap…booted…2 runs score. Next batter: wild pitch. score. Load the bases again..walk in another run. It is now 5-0 and Iowa has not had a single hit.
Bradley rallies though: 1 run in the first (off of an Iowa error) and two solo home runs from the same player. So it is 5-3 after 4 and we have a ball game!
Then comes the 5’th, this time with Iowa bats opening up. Barrage and now it is 10-3.
3 more Iowa runs in the top of the 7’th (with one home run) seals a 13-3 “mercy rule” victory. The Braves had more errors (6) than runs (3). Oh well…I think the players have lost confidence.
things are a struggle and those who are supposed to know, really don’t.
Again, I am a bit behind on my workout log and I’ll talk about a basketball game. Here is the workout stuff:
Tuesday: 2.2 mile walk later; morning saw the following:
pull ups: real struggle (too much body weight), but I got 50+ reps with 9 sets of 5, one of 7 bench press: 10 x 134, 3 sets of 5 x 160 incline press: one set of 134 x 5 high incline: 2 sets of 10 x 94, 1 of 6 x 105 light trap bar deadlifts (sore hamstring) 3 sets of 10 x 134
Wednesday: 4.4 mile walk; West Peoria. Could not get out of the 15’s; 15:16 average for 4.4. Kind of discouraging.
Thursday: last 2.2 mile walk at a commuter pace. Morning: 10 sets of 5 pull ups real struggle. (196 lb is why) Mixed the grip. Bench: 10 x 134, 10 x 150 incline: 3 sets of 6 x 134 trap bar deadlift: 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 234. No difficulties.
Note: one night of oh-so-slight knee pain…when I forgot to stretch. Painless the other nights.
Ball game: Barbara went with me to the Chattanooga at Bradley game. At first, the Mocs missed a ton of wide open 3 point shots and BU protected the ball. The result was a 16 point lead in the first half and 38-25 half time lead.
But in the second half the Braves started to get careless with the ball (12 turnovers), the Mocs pressed on defense and started to make their 3 point shots. It became a back and forth affair.
Late, the Mocs hit a 3 to go up 64-61 but BU’s star point guard and 3 point ace drilled one from deep to tie it at 64. So, with 10 seconds left, Chattanooga nailed a 3 to go up 67-64 with 10 seconds to go. Then BU could not get an open look and were fouled before the shot to bring on a 1 and 1 with 4 seconds to go. BU made the first one and deliberately missed the second, but the Mocs got the rebound and BU fouled immediately. They missed the front end of the 1 and 1 but there was not enough time to get off a credible shot, so it ended 67-65.
After their win, their start guard (who made the big assist in the video above) had something very interesting to say:
From Honor Huff @honor2official on advancing to the NIT Final Four:
"Yeah, this is amazing. The coaching staff is elated, and I hate to say this, but in a way this is kind of better than going to the NCAA tournament. I don't mean to say that in a bad way, but being able to host… pic.twitter.com/OR28WYsrmI
Life of an old goat 