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Halfway through the 800-meter final at the Mobile (Ala.) Meet of Champions, Sam Secord decided on a bold move.
The St. Petersburg Catholic runner took the lead, a maneuver he knew would rob him of much-needed stamina the remainder of the race.
In retrospect, Secord wonders if he used too much energy too soon.
Ahead of the pack most of the race, Secord was caught with five meters left and lost to Hill Sewell of Mountain Brook (Ala.) at the finish. Secord's time of 1 minute, 54.77 seconds was a personal best outdoors and is the second-fastest time in the state, according to flrunners.com.
But it was another loss at a prestigious meet in his signature event. Last month, Secord tripped at the start at the Nike Indoor Classic and struggled to finish ninth.
"It's tough because I wanted to win both meets," Secord said. " ... Last week I took the lead early and that generally is not a good thing to do. I didn't even see the guy who beat me until the end."
It's hard to blame Secord for using any means necessary to improve. With only two nondescript outdoor wins in the 800 against local competition, Secord wanted to use the Mobile Meet of Champions to test himself against the nation's top runners.
But Tim Harris of Miami Washington, who has the state's fastest time (1:52.68), did not compete. Neither did another standout runner from Alabama.
"I really wanted to go to Mobile to run fast," Secord said. "If some of those guys were there, I would have been pushed. I would have run a 1:51 or 1:52."
"It didn't happen like that, so I had to do most of the work myself."
Because he participated in indoor meets and went on recruiting trips to college campuses, Secord's outdoor season has been brief. He has run the 800 three times outdoors the past two months. His next race is the Class 2A, District 10 meet April 16.
"I've been on the road non-stop the past three months," he said. "All that traveling caught up with me. I haven't been able to get into a routine and really train. I'm doing that now and hopefully I'll peak at the right time."
BEST BET: The Pinellas County Athletic Conference meet is today at Seminole. Field events start at 2 p.m., and the finals are at 6:30. Largo's boys and Palm Harbor University's girls are the defending champions.
WE'RE BACK: The PHU girls team is somewhat of an enigma.
The Hurricanes did not attend the Disney Showcase, skipped in the Florida Relays because of spring break and opted out of the West Coast Invitational because the meet was held the same weekend as the school's prom.
In fact, PHU has been to just two major meets, the Seminole Rotary and the Steak N' Shake. The PCAC meet is the Hurricanes' first with a full lineup.
But opposing coaches know what to expect with the defending champions. PHU is favored to win five individual events and will battle host Seminole and Pinellas Park for the team title.
EXCUSED ABSENCE: Boca Ciega's Shamen Washington missed the West Coast Invitational because he was traveling to Fargo for a football recruiting trip to North Dakota State.
Washington was so impressed with his visit, he signed Tuesday.
"I think the program is on the rise and the coaches and everybody up there were great," Washington said.
A 5-foot-4, 145-pound utility player, Washington was on the Times' all-county second team last season. He said he will be a running back or receiver in college. Though he signed to play football, Washington said he will to continue to run track.
MACK ATTACK: Pinellas Park boys assistant Jeff Mack, a former standout at Dunedin, won the 60 meters and finished fourth in the 200 at the National Masters Indoor Championships in Boston two weeks ago. Mack, 31, competed in the men's 30-and-over division. He ran 7.01 in the 60 and 23.26 in the 200.