Race Recap - USATF XC Club Nats

Photo Courtesy of Michael Scott

USATF XC Club National Championships
December 10, 2011 - Jefferson Park Golf Course - Seattle, WA


Before getting into the race experience recap (and for those that didn't read my pre-race post), I'll preface this by talking about the approach I had for this race in an effort to give you the full effect of my experience. It started less than two weeks ago when I booked my travel and actually decided I would be racing. Despite not having the training consistency I would normally want going into a national championship race, I knew there was much more I could gain from this experience than just a great race. With that said, if any of you have debated attending this race, I strongly suggest throwing out any doubts you have and make the trip whenever possible. This was my fifth time attending this championship event and it continues to be one of the best experiences of my yearly schedule. Once I reminded myself of this and committed to racing, I allowed myself to start thinking about it as more than just a fun experience and approach it as a real race, at least on the mental side of preparation. You really don't have any other choice in this type of field because if you don't give it the proper respect, you'll struggle to survive the demanding task and find yourself in the finishing chute wondering what just happened. I allowed myself to make an estimate of what a good-great race would be at this time. With not much more than a gut feeling after years of gauging my own fitness, I came up with 32:00 and top 100. I only half believed I could do that, but stuck with it mostly because anything further back would be difficult for me to accept, even if it was where my fitness was at.

In typical pre-race fashion, the anxious excitement and nervousness started once I finished my work responsibilities for the week and began the travel to Seattle. Not yet thinking about the race itself, but just priming the body with the nerves of knowing that a big task was getting close. I had a late flight into Seattle on Thursday and got to the hotel around midnight. This made for a quick time change adjustment and allowed me to sleep in easily the next morning. Friday was a traditional pre-race day that didn't involve many activities, any of which were catered around the task of getting to the race venue, allowing a preview of the course which would soon play host to this demanding task I was there to do. I would go to the course in the afternoon with some of my former teammates, so we spent a good portion of the morning in the Pike Place Market with a relaxing breakfast looking over the Sound and casually wandering through the famous fish market.

Still feeling very relaxed, I went to Jefferson Park in the afternoon to conduct the almost necessary and very beneficial task of jogging the race course. Nervous excitement continued to build as I ran the course in it's 10 kilometer entirety. Still not letting myself think too much about the race itself and the grueling demands that were now only hours away. This time spent on the course was intended for learning all I could about the course, also gauging how the body was feeling, and maybe allowing small segments of visualization in preparation for decisions that could certainly come up in a race situation. Decisions that when dealt with appropriately could produce a great race. Likewise, the cumulative poor decisions could take that great race away from you. Such seemingly small things such as how you might come into a sharp turn in a dense pack, where you might benefit from a surge, what the surface would be like after several thousand footsteps had traveled the same narrow track, and dozens more of the like. All of this done in addition to making a few mental cues that you could reference in the race to remind yourself of what you're there to do. For those that haven't put themselves to this kind of a test, you may think it impossible to forget what the task is while you're actually doing it, but 10,000 meters is a long way to tolerate the necessary discomfort which can often make you forget what you're there to do. In some sense, it may even be a defense mechanism in your mind, one that competitive runners benefit from ignoring. These kinds of lapses are the most common cause for post race regret. Something none of us want to deal with, but every one of us have in our careers. As I finished with this very important pre-race ritual, I then forced myself to stop thinking about all those things and not give in to the adrenaline that was beginning to spread through my body. It was much too early for that. The rest of the evening was spent with friends and old teammates, fully enjoying the buzz that surrounds an event like this and keeping the mind busy, only half remembering that task that was getting closer and closer. This pre-race regimen was something I haven't done a lot of lately, but after many years of racing and figuring it out, I had no trouble managing the nerves and emotions to the extent that would give me the greatest benefit come race time. With that, I had no trouble getting to sleep that night and woke up knowing I had done it all right.

Photo Courtesy of Michael Scott

Race day had now arrived and it was time to make myself race ready. Race tactics were now able to enter my mind for the purpose of feeling ready and building that desire to get the most out of myself. In an almost masochistic way, I was really looking forward to the inevitable discomfort I would find myself in and just how much of it I could endure in a span of 32 minutes. It's an indulgence that not everyone has and I had not given into nearly enough in this past year. I was an addict and I needed my fix.  The conditions on the course were cold and damp, the kind of conditions that go right through you.  It would take a full 30 minute warm up to shake this feeling. I felt I was probably there too early and let myself get too cold, but it certainly didn't deter me from the task. As I warmed up, I spent a large amount of time thinking about the start. Knowing I would not be contending for as high a place as previous years, I accepted that I would be heavily surrounded by runners and would have to manage it appropriately. With a quick bottleneck, the objective of getting through that first half mile cleanly was a large concern of mine.  Fortunately, as an unattached runner I was given a big advantage of being assigned to box 50 which was on the far right hand side and had the most direct line of sight to that bottleneck. And with very few runners to my right, I could run alongside the pack and plug myself in wherever I felt was appropriate. There was still the normal spike of adrenaline and corresponding climbing heart rate that you get with this type of a race, but there was never a feeling of panic or distress that I was fearing previously. I made it through the first hard turn cleanly and in the position I wanted. I could now start settling in and force myself to relax a bit for fear of blowing it all in the first mile. I know I can handle the first 600 meters at that fast pace without throwing the race away, but pushing it any further than that could be risky.

Photo Courtesy of Runnerspace

Feeling like I was out of trouble in about 60-70th place, and passing 1K in just under 3:00, I began allowing quite a few runners to pass me as the task at hand was now to run through these first two miles feeling as relaxed as possible and no longer worrying about that initial position. With so many people still surrounding me, my heart rate and breathing still felt pretty high as it was still necessary to be alert around every turn and make smart movements. It's been quite some time since I've been in such a massive pack of runners, probably since my first couple years of college at an NCAA regional meet. I knew it would eventually thin out, but would stay tightly packed for quite some time. Just before we reached the start line again, there was a tight turn coming off the gravel path that would throw you into a now mud covered and very slick slope. The natural instinct of cutting to tangents and hugging the inside fence line was difficult and quite risky in such a pack. In this first entry to this turn, I was on the inside and getting a bit nervous. A few women had told me after their race to go wide on the turns as they saw several runners go down on the inside. It was not as much a concern for the fall itself, but for the hundreds of spiked runners that were close behind. About 20-30 meters before the turn, someone behind me yelled to the runners ahead, "careful guys!" as a reminder of what was quickly approaching. Coming off the gravel, I quickly felt the soft slick surface below my feet. I had to side step around the post in a half hopping like motion while putting all efforts on digging my right spike into the mud in a frantic effort to stay up and keep from being thrown into the pack of runners on my left. My 3/8" needles have never been tested or trusted more. I made it around that turn clean but knew there were 2 more just like it within the next 50 meters. I quickly made my way to the other side of the track to run on the outside edge. I went around the next two turns which was more like one continuous turn, running very wide. Though I was less worried about hitting runners on my left, I was rather disappointed to feel the same difficulty maintaining speed around the turn and still having to really dig on that right foot and use the left leg as more of a lateral brake, trying to limit the movement in the outer direction that centripetal force was dragging me into. We were now back at the starting field. Finally, the stress of lap one was behind me.  This was the first of five 2K loops.

Photo Courtesy of Runnerspace

I knew each lap would become easier in terms of navigating through the traffic, but of course, each additional lap would add the effect of compounded fatigue eventually testing each runner more and more with each circuit. I came through the 2K mark in about 6:12, a brisk pace that I was reasonably confident I would not maintain. The next lap was less memorable as I let myself key on very few and very simple tasks. Things like breathing. And maybe focusing on the back of a singlet. I came through 3K at about 9:28. None of these K splits were particularly meaningful to me because I was just focused on feeling a sense of control in my energy output, and never letting up on that effort level. Though I wasn't particularly concerned with the splits, I allowed myself to glance just the same and knew without any calculations that these were quick enough splits, thinking to myself "so far so good." I don't recall looking at the 4K clock, but with 2 laps down, I now made a constant effort to hold position. I didn't have to move up, but just don't slide back any further than I already had. 5K came along and I passed in about 15:55. At this point, racing was in full effect. Still not worried about gaining positions, but would gladly take any that came back in the process.  As 6K approached, I knew it was getting to the most important part of the race.  I allowed myself to just sit tight and wait a little longer. At least until after the slight uphill at the next turn. I had tried pressing on that hill on previous laps, but felt like it was just a waste of energy on the soft and slippery slope. The hill came and went and I forced myself to start moving up, picking out at least 10-15 guys ahead of me that I would commit to racing against. For some of them, I would be unsuccessful in catching. But regardless of how many I could or could not catch, there would be a continuous re-evaluation of the next 10 guys ahead of me. This was probably the best part of my race and proved to be the most productive.

Photo Courtesy of Michael Scott

I completed the 4th lap, now passing through 8K in about 25:50. I was pleased with where I was in the race and how I was handling the test my body was facing. I was definitely feeling it though. I was at a point in the race where I wasn't sure if things would get better, worse, or stay the same. 2K was still a long distance left to race.  As I came up over that small hill and running towards the Cascades, I rounded that next turn and ran along the back side of the golf course. I remember thinking that I was moving well and was passing a few guys pretty quickly.  Shortly after this (maybe around 8.5K), I remember doing a gut check and thinking about that desire to really test myself today.  It was at this point that I thought to myself, "this isn't hurting enough". I had no idea what I had left in the tank but regardless, I started to increase the effort just a notch at a time until I eventually felt like I was just shy of red-lining. I reached that level around 1200m to go and just had one thought from there on. "Hold it. Hold it. Hold it." Over and over in my head. Now about 800m to go, I was getting that tight burn in the upper hamstrings and glutes. The oh so familiar end of a race burn. I welcomed it gladly now on a slight down hill and noticeably picking up momentum.  I was approaching the dreaded turns that I discussed previously.  With about 550-600m to go, I had no desire to let up and lose this momentum. Still repeating in my head, "Hold it now. Just hold it". I hit the turn and the slope with a slight stumble but was still moving well.  I went to the inside of the next turn knowing it would throw me wide for the one immediately following.  With less runners around me, I figured it would be manageable with the freedom to use the entire width of the course.

My legs were getting weak but I could see the final straight away that would soon reveal the finish line. With a big exhale, I put my head down and stepped hard in that direction off the last turn. It was at that point I quickly felt a different sensation. The general tightness and fatigue in my legs were becoming more focused on one side. Almost like a pinching sensation, I felt the back of my right hamstring starting to snag.  Each following extension would cause it to catch a little sooner and the resulting sharp pain would get more localized. "DAMN IT!" ...I'm not sure if I actually said it out loud or just in my head, but it was certainly a realization that I would not be finishing this race the way I had planned. I quickly let the guys I was previously battling with to pull away. I was checking each step to measure the situation appropriately.  The more aware I became of what was going on, the more I slowed down. I don't think I had slowed down as much as it seemed, but the fight for position was over and I was letting my leg dictate the pace. This would bring that coasting into a moderate jog over the last 300-400 meters. Just covering ground as effortlessly as I could, while trying to pay little attention to the 20-30 runners that passed me in that short distance.

Official Finish - 32:29 / 129th Place

I crossed the line feeling pretty depleted and bummed that I wasn't able to drive to that finish line the way I really wanted to ...the part that really makes you remember you're in a race. I estimated I could have been right at or under 32 minutes and right around 100th place, considering who I was with at 500 to go.  This would have matched my expectations almost exactly. As disappointing as it seems and as much mental energy as I put into racing well, I actually feel like I dismissed this disappointment pretty quickly. I instead thought that I was smart to pull back on the reins and had hoped it was enough to save myself from a more severe injury. I slowly made my way through the finishing area, patting a couple select guys on the back and acknowledging their great efforts on the day, eventually making my way to the medical area. I wasn't sure if they would help me or not, but the injury was now making itself more known and revealing that it needed attention. And I figured it could hurt to ask them. I was very happy and fortunate to receive help right away from Alison Gillespie of The Seattle Sports Med Clinic. She worked on the hamstring for a good 20 minutes and reassured me that I was "going to live"!  She had great bedside manner, which helped keep me from feeling sorry for myself. So thank you, Alison for all your help and thank you to The Sports Med Clinic for being there!

The walk back to the starting line was both cold and long with my leg wrapped in ice and nothing more than my race uniform on. Luckily I wore gloves and arm warmers, which helped (Thanks Saucony!). As I made the trek of about 600 or so meters back to the tent area, I saw many guys finishing their cool downs and glancing over to me with a look of concern and pity while I hobbled along. I never like that kind of attention and in most cases just avoided eye contact. But for my friends that would say something, I just assured them I was fine and it was no big deal. As much as I just wanted to get warm again, I couldn't help but stop to see friends along the way, friends like Kim and Drew who have supported me so much on the day and through this year. I had also just found out Brie had won the race (since I didn't see the finish), so I congratulated her on a great day as well, knowing I wouldn't get to see her later on. Though I couldn't tell who everyone was on the course, I was very flattered by the amount of encouragement I heard during the race as a mid pack runner in that field. Don't get me wrong, it's probably the deepest field I've ever been in so mid pack was nothing to be ashamed of. But you know what I mean. Maybe it was just the same few people that happened to hit every spot on the course, but it definitely made me race better and made the experience that much more enjoyable!

I held onto a little bit of disappointment from the race and of course some concern for the injury, but it didn't keep me from enjoying the rest of the day. The event organizers put together a great Awards Ceremony and After Party that was one of the most well attended I've seen and I know just about everyone had a great time with it. Overall, the weekend gave me everything I was looking for and I am very grateful for having the opportunity to experience it with such a great community of runners and just a great group of people in general. I might be slightly biased, but I can't think of a better community of people to be around. That's probably why this event is so successful.

In conclusion, congratulations to Jon Grey and Brie Felnagle, McMillan Elite and TeamRogue! Thank you to USATF, Runnerspace, Michael Scott, and many others that added so much to the event coverage. I definitely suggest watching the race video (14 minutes gets you to where I finish but the video shows every finisher). They did a great job with it (women's race as well), using multiple camera shots and being at key split markers. Thanks to Kevin and Chris for all that work!

Event Coverage on Runnerspace
Results on USATF
Photos by Michael Scott (on Facebook)

Stay tuned for more updates and thanks for all your interest (for me and the sport).

Catching Up

This title phrase “catching up” is in reference to several different aspects of my life.  For immediate relevance, it is me catching up with the people that have a general interest in what I’m doing with my life.  As the author and designer of this blog (and I use those titles loosely not to imply that I am particularly known for either), I have enjoyed using this as one of many connections with my friends, family, and compatriots of the sport, any of which are able to check in whenever they choose.  Furthermore, I enjoy using this blog as a way of organizing my thoughts and priorities, discussing the sport that I am very much involved with, and finding ways to motivate and inspire myself as a runner and a professional.  It may not be as a professional runner, but more so as a professional in general.

In discussing my own experiences and my own motivation (or difficulties with such) toward this sport (one that so many of us have a love/hate relationship with), I've realized that in addition to benefiting myself, this information may also benefit others.  I guess this is a byproduct of becoming more professional, therefore reinforcing my ambitions to keep growing as such.  Again, not as a professional athlete per se, but more professional through my actions and initiatives.  In this sense, anyone can become more professional, really.  I have been very happy to see so many elite and even more so, sub elite athletes that are creating personal blogs/websites and sharing their experiences as "professionals" and in doing so becoming more professional. In addition to what we see on Flotrack, this can be a marketing tool to self promote the athlete/professional.  It certainly elevates the impact radius of that athlete.  If you want to see more of what I'm referencing, take a look at my sidebar of recommended reading.  In my mind, every one of those sites deserve a good solid browsing at the least.  One of the newest additions to the list that I'd like to highlight is that of Dorothy Beal (Mileposts).  I've been a follower of hers for a while, but have just recently had the privilege of getting to know her personally and will hopefully be working with her more closely going forward.  She is part of the Saucony Hurricane program in my territory and is in my mind one of if not the most beneficial to the brand of the over 100 athletes we have in that program.  She'll probably tell you that she is not at the level of a professional athlete, but I'd argue that she has just as much influence in the running community as any of our professional sponsored athletes.

Moving on, now that I've further justified the motives of keeping this blog going, I'll continue to catch up on what I've been up to.  My last post discussed some of the new developments that I've made in my career, location, and personal life as a result of the former. I honestly can't believe that it's been over two months since I wrote that. As a follow up to that post and reinforcement of the excitement I showed, I am happy to report that after those two months, there is no doubt in my mind that this was the right decision for me at this stage in my life.  I've never been happier with an employer or with the colleagues that I have than I am with that of Saucony.  With that enthusiasm for my work, I have spent the better part of the last 2 months making this role my number one priority.  As a new hire and coming on at the busiest time of the year (and maybe the busiest in the history of the brand), I have constantly had a feeling that I'm not doing enough. Feeling like I am trying to catch up to the goals that seem far off in the distance, some goals that I haven't even clarified yet.  I wouldn't say this is a source of stress, or at least no more than that of an elite runner that has a feeling of always wanting to do more, constantly comparing themselves to others in the sport or even just comparing themselves to their own higher potential.  These are the thoughts and feelings that make us better when utilized appropriately.

Through the Saucony company, I am part of a huge team! More specifically, as part of the Tech Rep program, I am one of 13. 12 territories + 1 Mobile Van Coordinator (Me, Bridget, Juan, Paula, Casey, Dan, Michael, Greg, Juris, Andrea, Chandra, Peter, and the very important +1 of Erin!) This group of ambassadors is where I find the bulk of my motivation and am so proud to be a member of this select group we call the "Shadow" Team.  Shadow is an internal and now industry wide title that we are known as, named after a long known Saucony shoe favorite, now referenced as the Shadow 6000. 

This Shadow team has many roles as a part of the overall company, but we are most known for being the eyes and ears of the brand and the connection between our product design team up in Lexington, MA and the running community.  You'll see us in stores, at races, coordinating events, and really doing anything we can think of to represent and promote the brand while also inspiring runners everywhere.  As you can imagine, this is a role that for me has no "off" switch.  I knew that going into it and chose it gladly because that was what I wanted. I believe they say very simply, "enjoy your job and you'll never work a day in your life". As many of you know, I "work" very hard on a lot of different things, most of which are now a part of what I love ...running.  I usually compare the "work" I do to that of which an artist works on a painting, or an author works on a book, or a runner works on his/her training.  The projects and ideas are always on your mind and it may take many months or years to get it just the way you want.  Or moreover, you may never be satisfied.  But as long as the process is enjoyable, you'll have success.

Though I've been referencing running quite a bit, you may be wondering when/if I'm going to talk about my own running.  Since this blog started as a training/racing journal, I still want to keep that part of it alive.  I do love my job and all of the experiences that I've shared on here, but none of it would be as enjoyable if I didn't hold true to that one passion for my own running.  As I mentioned before, I've made my number one priority to be successful in my new career choice.  With that, many other things were put on a back burner, or pushed of the stove entirely.  I'll always battle with this balance, as I'm sure many of you do.  For me, I just have to keep making those daily choices and evaluate the priorities as they come up.  I've allowed my personal running to be less of a priority in the last couple months for the sake of being more successful at my job.  As this journey continues, I would like to think that I'll again make more time for my own running and put that into a rotation of getting on the front burner at least once in a while.

As I'm writing this, I am sitting on the bed of my hotel room in Seattle, Washington, host to the USATF XC Club National Championships.  This event has been a highlight of my yearly schedule for the last 5 years and after watching last years race in Charlotte from the sidelines, I certainly didn't want to miss another year.  I know the last two months have not been as productive as the previous two months, but I am here just the same.  The important things are that 1.) I am healthy and 2.) based on the limited fitness checks in the last couple weeks, I know I am fit enough to race a 10k and actually consider it competing. So I figured I had nothing to lose. I am competing unattached as I am not currently affiliated with a club in my area and their is not a Saucony sponsored club in the area, so I don't see myself joining one anytime soon. However, I have recently started training under Coach Matt Centrowitz, Sr with a group of post collegiate guys that are also here representing the Pacers New Balance Club. I am very excited to get advice and guidance from such an accomplished coach and athlete at Matt Centrowitz and am optimistic for the future. I'm also getting great local support in my new territory, including some great product from Muscle Milk.  I'm border line addicted to the stuff and crave it after every run so it's great to have their support. I am finally starting to feel a little caught up on the work side so now, I am trying to again catch up on the running side.

As for goals and expectations for tomorrow, knowing this is one of the deepest races of the year and I have not done the proper preparation for such a test, I have no unrealistic goals of running with the leaders or setting a personal best.  I know those things are just not in the cards, or even in the deck for tomorrow.  But in still considering myself a competitive athlete and coming out here with the purpose of testing myself as such, I fully intend on racing every inch of that course and every second of that race. I would not be content otherwise.  The great thing about this race is every other runner in the field is here to do just that.  Therefore I will consider myself extremely fortunate if I can just avoid being in the triple digits.  Regardless of the time or place, if I stay true to those simple tasks of racing, I should walk away from this as a success. I use the word simple, not to imply that it is an easy task, but more in the sense that it doesn't have to require over thinking.

In addition to putting whatever it is I have on the line in tomorrows race, I will carry that same commitment with me throughout the weekend.  At an event like this, no matter how many times you've been here, there are always opportunities. It may be an opportunity to meet new people, grow your professional network, gain credibility, or maybe just gaining inspiration from those around you.  Regardless of what it is, I'm ready to make this experience a memorable one.

Stay tuned for a post race recap.

Find Your Strong

With one quick look at this blog, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out what has changed recently. Some of you may already know the news I'm sharing, but now that it is public knowledge, I can talk about it more openly. If you follow this blog even semi regularly, you know how involved I am in the sport of running, even beyond that of a competitive runner.  My passion for running as a sport and life pursuit has motivated me to evolve my professional career in many ways.  Ways that give me the best opportunity to give back and support this community with the knowledge and experience that I've acquired and continue to acquire every day.

With that belief and motivation, I've recently accepted a job offer from Saucony and will be starting work for them immediately.  The position I've accepted will be that of the Technical Field Representative for the Washington DC / Virgina Region.  Saucony has globally been one of the fastest growing brands in the industry and has developed an iconic presence in the sport of running.  I am extremely excited to become a part of this community and contribute to their growing success.

I have now been in this sport for over 14 years and have developed as an athlete and a student within this field.  My employment experience in the industry and professional involvement has grown steadily in the last 4 years and the resulting success has been just as rewarding as my personal success as an athlete. This latest decision will be a great development in my ever evolving career and in the lifestyle that I lead.

As I move forward with these developments, I will not forget the experiences and relationships that have lead me to where I am today. I am extremely thankful to have had the opportunity to represent and work closely with a brand like New Balance. Furthermore, my involvement with the New Balance Boston elite program and the NB Boston Twilight Series will always remain as some of my proudest moments in this sport, both athletically and professionally. I will hold on to those lessons that I've learned and will carry with me the ambition to take on similar challenges.

Lastly, thank you to everyone in my life who has contributed to this development, from the very involved family and friends, to the less involved but equally appreciated followers and supporters. I know I have a lot more to learn going forward and even more to give!


What Is Strong? (60 second) from Saucony on Vimeo.

Race Report: CVS Downtown 5K / US Champs

Photo Courtesy of Scott Mason

This past weekend, I had the very fortunate opportunity to participate and compete in the CVS / Caremark Downtown 5K in Providence, Rhode Island, which also served as the USA Road Championships. Though my result may not have been spectacular, I was very happy to be a part of this great event and like most of my USA Running Circuit experiences had a lot of positives to take away from it beyond the happenings in the race alone. Before I elaborate on that, let's first talk about the non spectacular, but positive race performance that I displayed on Sunday.

US 5K Championships - 36th Overall, 30th American - 15:24 (4:49, 9:50, 14:50)

Again, it may not look like much, but it was actually a nice step forward from my last couple hard efforts (B2B 10k and New Haven 20k). I've been feeling pretty good in my training for a couple months now, meaning I'm running pain free and maintaining a comfortable 70 miles per week. However, the more specific work that prepares you for race efforts like this one haven't really begun yet. So while I may be feeling better on a day to day basis than I have in the past, my body hasn't prepared itself for the faster race efforts. Knowing that, I went into this race without expectation, but with lots of hope! Reasonable hope that I could simply race to my fitness and feel good doing it. Unlike the conditions in Cape Elizabeth and New Haven, the conditions in Providence this weekend were spot on perfect for racing. When I went out for a shakeout run race morning with my roommate Christian Hesch, the crisp clean air was very refreshing after some of the uncomfortable humidity that we've had recently. I knew that regardless of where my fitness was at on that day, I would at least have the opportunity to race according to that fitness.

In the final minutes leading up to the start of the race, I had that very nervous excitement pulsating through my mind and body. It's been close to a year since I've had that feeling, something I used to have on a regularly in past years. Most people talk about this as being one of the worst parts of racing, myself included. But on Sunday, I welcomed it like on old habit. As runners, we often embrace these torturous feelings and emotions, because we know it means there is potential for opportunity. Even though there is both the opportunity for success and for failure, good racers are successful as such because they welcome that risk believing they will utilize that opportunity and succeed more often than they fail.

The gun went off and I spent the next 500 or so meters sprinting behind the massive pack of leaders and trying to get clear of the lead women. My legs haven't moved that fast in quite a while and to exaggerate it further, there was a steep downhill in that first quarter mile. By 600 meters, I was clear of any traffic issues and focused on settling into "race pace", really just guessing at what that might be. I tried to stay as comfortable as I could through the mile. I knew that if I over extended my efforts there, I would never get it back. I went through the mile just under 4:50, breathing heavily but comfortably in control. Within the next quarter mile, I became much more relaxed and was reassured that I was at a very maintainable effort. I was already closing the gap on people that had gone out much too hard (as is easy to do in this race).

Through the 2nd mile, I continued to stay focused on this effort that felt fast but manageable, knowing that miscalculations could cost me the last mile, but also knowing that I could easily slide into a coasting effort and forget that I was racing a 5k. I hit the 2 mile in 9:50 and thought to myself that it was slower than I wanted but was already congratulating myself for feeling comfortable and relaxed.  After spending a minute or so focused on that thought, it suddenly popped into my head that I had less than a mile to go in this race. At that point, I tried to forget about pace and efforts and how I was feeling, and gave myself permission to just race! There weren't a lot of people right in front of me, but I quickly closed the gap on two guys that were fading back and continued to work up to my teammates that were up ahead. I made a small surge over the bridge and around the two corners to get in range of making a run at Ned and Kramer who were the only two I had a chance at catching. I powered past Ned with about 400m to go and attacked the last uphill trying my best to catch Kramer, but falling short in the final 100 meters. In no way did I feel like I had a kick and I probably expended that with the couple surges I made in the last mile, but it felt really great to be in a race situation over that last mile and working hard to beat people as opposed to just finishing a race.

I entered the finishing area feeling like I had run hard, which was gratifying, but caught my breath quickly and immediately started thinking about how I could have run faster. I have been very lucky to be involved enough in this sport that I am constantly surrounding myself with elite runners. But in that environment, it is very easy to be unexcited about sub par times. Especially when I've run almost a minute faster a dozen times. In reality, I probably couldn't have run much faster on that day and therefore, I won't say that I'm unhappy with my efforts. But then again, I won't say that I'm happy running 15:24. It's a nice first race of the year (not counting B2B and New Haven, where I was more participating rather than racing) and I know that with the introduction of some hard workouts, I'll see big improvements over the next couple months.

Photo Courtesy of John Nepolitan

Fortunately, I only had about 20 seconds to think about the idea of 15:24 before I turned around and saw my friend, Kim Conley charging into the finish behind the Womens race winner Julie Culley, which prevented me from feeling sorry for myself and getting excited for her. Through getting to know Kim, I was confident this would be a great race for her and a big addition to her rising career as a professional runner. In a half joking manner, we had built a friendly pre race rivalry, which was reinforced by her coach, Drew Wartenburg. I say half joking because I was legit nervous that she might beat me, and 25 seconds is not that much of a margin! Kim's had an excellent year thus far and she and Drew deserve all the attention they've gotten. I'm excited to see her success continue toward the Tufts 10k and Pan American Games in Guadalajara. Furthermore, check out a great interview with her here on Flotrack.

Photo Courtesy of Scott Mason

On the topic of fast women, I had a small redeeming moment of finishing ahead of Meghan Peyton, who had left me behind by more than 40 seconds at the 20k two weeks ago. Combining the two races, I think she still has a few seconds on me, so maybe she'll accept a tie breaker in the next couple months! I'm continuing with that half joking tone as I was very proud of these two athletes, but have made some light of my proximity to them at my own expense.  In all seriousness, while also in respect to them, I need to get away from racing women and get closer to racing my own gender.



While I was reasonably satisfied with the way I ran this race, there were much bigger positive to take away from this experience. First, New Balance Boston had a full scoring team of men and that team decisively took the Team Championship with 2 guys under 15:00 and 3 more guys under 15:30. It was great to see a pack of us running so close together throughout the race this early in the season and knowing that I have some great guys that I'm working out with every week. Our women also had a successful day, scoring two teams and placing 2nd and 3rd behind the New York Athletic Club.

Dan Hocking, Jeff Caron, Roland Lavallee, Andrea Sorgato, and Dan Kramer - Photo Courtesy of Steve Vaitones

More positives of the weekend came from the atmosphere and quality of people involved, along with the building of relationships like the ones I've already mentioned above. I've grown such an appreciation for these USA Running Circuit races for that very reason. It creates more than just an opportunity to race, it creates an opportunity to grow the elite community through a weekend experience and not just the 15 minutes during the race. It was such an honor to spend the weekend with others that share a passion for the sport and support it similarly to the way I do. Without these experiences, I may not have had the opportunity to get to know people like Kaitlin Gregg, Cassie Slade (with husband Russell), Daniel Roberts, Yong-Sung Leal, and several others that I met this weekend and now have a growing appreciation and respect for. No matter how many people you know in this sport, there are always more positive connections to be made. The elite community is a very tightly knit group, but it is also ever growing. And I continue to make every effort of growing with it.

With this particular experience, I have to give a huge thank you and appreciation to the work that was done by Charlie Breagy (Race President), Jim Harvey (Elite Athlete Coordinator), Tony Vinci (Elite Concierge), Bob Latham (USATF LDR Liaison), and Ian Brooks (Race Announcer and Acting Host). Those people give the athletes this great opportunity and put tireless efforts into making sure we are well taken care of. Furthermore, the athletes would not have their adequate recognition if it wasn't for Chris and Kevin from Runnerspace covering the event so well, despite difficulties that they continually deal with.

Going forward, I don't have a lot planned as far as racing, and will utilize this time to put in some quality work and continue to advance my fitness. I've been patient this summer with my comeback from injury and my build up in basic fitness. I can already see that patience paying off and I am growing stronger as a result. I do have tentative plans to attend the latest development in Elite XC racing, which is the O'er Hills and Far Away Race (OHFAR), being hosted by the NJNY Track Club on October 8th in Lebanon, NJ. With Julie Culley and other knowledgeable athletes behind the wheel, this event will surely be a huge success.

I have a lot of work to do on several levels in the next couple months and I will definitely be keeping track of my progress and updates right here along the way. Thank you again for supporting my efforts in this journey and as always, feel free to contact me so I can support you guys as well.

Race Report: New Haven 20K / US Champs

Photo courtesy of John Tolbert

To start things off, I apologize to those of you who were worried about my finish in the New Haven 20k road race this past Monday. The preliminary results were inaccurate and did not have me listed correctly. I did indeed complete the race and it did not take me 3 1/2 hours to do so! The most recent results have been updated appropriately and are posted.  The result itself was very disappointing for me as I believed my fitness was further along than the time showed. But before I go into it, let's first take a look at the numbers.

Stratton Faxon New Haven 20k - USA Road Championships - 34th - 71:15
Mile splits: 5:18, 5:25, 5:28, 5:31, 5:44, 5:49, 5:39, 5:56, 5:54, 6:08, 5:55, 5:51, 2:25 (.44)
5K splits: 16:48, 34:32 (17:44), 52:28 (17:56), 71:15 (18:47)

With temperatures reaching over 80 degrees during the race and humidity at 93%, it wasn't too far into the race that I realized it was going to be a rough day. I knew I was not very well prepared for this race distance, but I was even less prepared for the weather conditions we had to face that day.  This resulted in one of my most uncomfortable racing experiences to date.

I began the race keying off of my friends from Maine, Josh Trevino and Josh Zolla.  Trevino was aiming for a 5:10 average and Zolla was aiming for a 5:15 average.  The first mile felt very comfortable and left us coasting behind the lead pack of women at about 5:18.  I continued the same approximate effort through the 2nd and 3rd miles, hitting the 5k right where I expected to be in 16:48. At this point, I was already starting to feel the conditions, but was trying to ignore it.  The women's pack had already spread out rapidly and I was running along side Meghan (Armstrong) Peyton at the time.  I was trying to help her out a little, but was also utilizing her as someone to key off of, knowing that she was a smart racer and would most likely maintain good race composure.  By the time we reached 5 miles, the discomfort of the conditions was very evident and I knew I wasn't helping anyone at that point.  I intentionally dropped back from Meghan and spent the 6th mile really trying to relax and try to prevent immediate disaster.  After a much slower mile, I hit the 10k at about 34:30, already about a minute off where I wanted to be at that point.  I then made an effort to recommit to a race mentality in the 7th mile.  It was a faster split, but not by much.  At this point I knew the race was pretty much over for me.

The following miles were more of a survival than a race.  Instead of a focus on racing, I was just focusing on breathing and putting one foot in front of the other.  Fortunately the race was very well organized and there were plenty of water and fueling stations.  I utilized every one of them and ran through every sprinkler and hose I saw.  I couldn't believe how uncomfortable I'd become, especially after feeling so relaxed in the early miles.  I'm sure a lot of it comes from my lack of hot weather races or workouts this summer, but even without that, I never considered this kind of an experience.  In that 7th mile, I saw several elite runners walking alongside the road, already throwing in the towel for the day.  Knowing I still had a ways to go, I continued to focus on keeping a sustainable effort and not succumb to just jogging.  This shouldn't be that difficult of a task, but the 7th, 8th, and 9th miles were the most difficult of the entire race for me.

It wasn't until I hit mile 10 that I started to feel a little bit of life again.  It may have been the shaded park that gave me some hope, it may have been the passing of BAA member Jeanette Faber, or it may have been seeing a 6:08 mile split and realizing that I was running very close to the pace of an everyday training run. I realized that I had let the extreme discomfort of those previous miles dictate my mental attitude.  The mentality and idea of discomfort can often last much longer than the actual physical discomfort.  I had zoned out into this slog of run and needed to snap out of it. I tried to mentally prepare myself for one last push to the finish which was just a couple miles away now.  As I hit the next mile in 5:55, I was crushed by the fact that I had accomplished so little.  I knew the possibility of salvaging a good race was long gone, but I was still hoping to regain some confidence in those last couple miles. Instead, it was just a matter of getting to the finish line and accepting the embarrassment of a slow time.

After finishing, I dumped a couple more bottles of water over my head and tried my best to regain composure.  In doing so, I found my friend Josh Trevino who despite being in the best shape of his life, had also faded drastically and was several minutes away from his goal performance.  I quickly realized that though disappointing, my race experience was not far off what others had experienced.  Now several days later, I am still unimpressed with the time that sits there next to my name, but feel better about my overall efforts and my ability to push through an extremely difficult day.  At the very least, I got a decent training run out of the day and worked a little bit more on mental and physical toughness.  I've been away from hard racing for a while and need all the practice I can get with regards to racing tough.  The biggest positive was being able to see the course and experience this event for future years.  I was very glad to be a part of this event and am very thankful for John Tolbert and the rest of the staff for providing such a great opportunity. I will certainly be back and plan on taking several minutes off this years performance.

Furthermore, I want to thank Chris and Kevin of Runnerspace for covering the event.  Be sure to check out all the great coverage on their US Running Circuit website. You won't see much of me in the Men's Race video, but Josh and I get some good camera time in the early stages of the Women's Race video.

Photo courtesy of Runnerspace.com

Next up, I'll be participating in another USA Road Championship, but will drop back down to a distance that I have a little more experience with.  Next weekend, I'll be in Providence, RI for the CVS Caremark Downtown 5K, where I hope to place higher and hopefully avoid trailing the women leaders as I did last week.

There are no immediate race plans after that, but I plan on getting into some heavy training and with that, will start posting more training information here on the blog.  I continue to be excited for the months ahead and look forward to sharing those experiences with so many of my connections within the sport.

Healthy and Back to Training

And just like that, August is over and summer is nearing its completion. As usual, it's flown by and has been packed with various events and pursuits. I'd like to think that I've been rather productive in my pursuits this year and feel fortunate that I've been able to be so active in the activities that I know and love. But being the ambitious person that I am, I'm continually looking for more. Included in this ambition is my pursuit of a successful professional career, but also the desire to improve my individual running success ...the original reason for starting this blog.

For you track fans out there, you know we are right in the middle of a World Track and Field Championships taking place in Daegu, Korea.  As a sport, we view this as the culmination of a season and a year of racing. For that reason, it's usually around this time that I tend to think back on my own 12 month cycle and think back to past years as well. I think about where I was when I was watching those other Championships, who I was most inspired by, where I was in my life, where I was in my training, what my goals were, and so on.  When doing this, it's scary to realize how much time has passed and how quickly it's gone by.  Four years ago, I was watching the Osaka World Championships during a big transition in my life.  I had just left behind my engineering career and was making an aggressive jump into the world of running, both as a professional career and as a professional athlete. Up until this point, I was more of a participant in the sub-elite sector of the sport and did not view myself as a professional. That attitude changed in 2007 and the months following this change were the most successful of my life.  Some may say that my achievements did not qualify me as a professional. This may hold true, but I believe being a professional is more of an attitude and a commitment, as opposed to a rank. At that transition, I knew the next 10 months would be consumed by my progression as a professional athlete.  Unfortunately, 8 months later, I had the first major disappointment of my career.  I was in the best shape of my life, but had no way of proving it.  An injury that would keep me out the remainder of the season had rerouted the path that I had already planned out in my mind.

The next 3 years consisted of a roller coaster of varying struggles, injuries, and emotions. Certainly not the path I expected. Despite struggles with my career path as well, I know I've had great success in my professional pursuits and have grown my knowledge of the sport and industry to levels that I was unfamiliar with 4 years ago.  I am certainly proud of the achievements I've had in this sport, knowing that the best I have to offer is still ahead of me. So those 3 years have certainly been useful in the amount of knowledge and experience that I've acquired. But what happened to being a professional athlete? Regrettably, as much as I tried to use my love of the sport and pursuit of excellence as motivation, the professional attitude I acquired had gradually faded. In the years of 2009 and 2010, I had gone back to being just a participant in the sport that I had worked so hard to be a part of.

Now in 2011, thanks to a couple exceptional doctors and some key motivating factors from those closest to me, I am back on a plan to follow through with the professional mindset that I had acquired 4 years ago. For the first time in these past few years, I have had a 3 month span of pain free running. When looking at my running career thus far, the biggest set backs I've had have resulted from injuries in my lower right leg. The most recent being a reoccurring stress reaction along the lateral metatarsals in my right foot. After the 3rd flare up of the same injury, still not knowing what the problem really was, I was pretty close to giving up on it all. I was considering the idea of custom orthotics and possibly surgery, but was unsure if these would even help or if any of it would be worth the physical and financial stress.  Fortunately, in May of this year, much of this frustration came to an end when I saw Dr. Dan Dyrek and Dr. Jillian Rockoff. After a single visit and evaluation, Dr. Dyrek was able to tell me every single issue that was holding me back. More importantly, he knew exactly what we needed to do to address these issues. Without going into a lengthy analysis, he basically figured out that my foot was not functioning properly because of the position and mobility of some key joints. He told me I should not get custom orthotics until after we improved that functionality. He also said that I was a million miles away from being a surgery candidate. This was such a relief and I walked away from that first consultation with new hope and justification that I still had a chance to continue my original pursuits as a professional athlete.

It has certainly been a slow progression, but the work I've done with Dr. Dyrek and Dr. Rockoff (also in conjunction with my massage therapist, Carly Shea) has paid huge dividends as far as what I am now able to handle. Most of my running progression has still been in the form of building base mileage with small amounts of intensity being phased in.  Currently, I'm up to about 70 miles per week, which may not seem like much, but for someone who has struggled to maintain 40-50 mpw, this is a big accomplishment. My first test of fitness came in the Beach to Beacon 10k Road Race just a few weeks ago, a race I have run 11 times in the last 12 years. Confided by the fact that my mileage was more consistent than the past couple years and I was running without pain, I talked myself into thinking I was in better shape than I was. I ran the early miles very aggressively, but the lack of workouts combined with hot conditions resulted in me fading to a disappointing 32:53. Though I was certainly not happy with that result, I quickly put it behind me, knowing I was a bit too greedy with what I wanted from that race.

Now, a few weeks further along, my next race effort will be this weekend at the New Haven 20K, also serving as the US Road Championships for that distance. Despite being sick for the last couple weeks, the past month of training has gone well and I am looking forward to this event. Since my fitness is still just beginning to develop and I still haven't done much for intensity, I realize I will not be very competitive in this race. In addition to a lack of fitness, I am still holding on to about 6-8 pounds of useless weight, leftover from the injury months. This is certainly an elite race and in a field that usually runs under 60 minutes, I will be much further back, aiming for around 66 minutes. I am not ashamed to cross that line several minutes behind my friends as long as I run to my current fitness and use it as forward progress. This event has been on my list for a while and will be a valuable opportunity to great connections I've made within the sport. These events are always great experiences and I plan to make the most of it. This will also bring me into new territory as my longest race to date is 15k. I am not putting a lot of pressure on myself, but hope to take more positives from this than the 10k last month. From there, I hope to bring some confidence to another notable race on September 18th, the CVS Downtown 5K, another US Road Championship event.

I'm super excited to see how my training and fitness will progress in the next few months, and if I am able to maintain the health and resistance to injury that I've had in the last few months, I will hopefully have some notable achievements to look back on at this time next year.

In conclusion, I hope that with better training consistency, there will also be better blogging consistency.  So please check in for more updates and journeys to follow and I'll continue to act as a resource within this sport as much as I am able. On that note, be sure to check out what my friends are doing as well by scrolling through the side bar on the right. The most recent addition and a highly recommended read includes my house guest from the Falmouth Road Race weekend, Kim Conley. If you don't know who she is now, you will soon.

Thanks to everyone for following this blog and know that I appreciate all the support!

A Hefty Serving of Eugene

Where to begin? As most of you already know, I made my way out to Oregon a couple weeks ago to support and experience this years USA Track and Field Championships / World Trials. It had been three years since my last visit to Eugene and I have to say it gave me a warm welcome back.  Looking back at that last experience with the 2008 Olympic Trials, there was so much to talk about that I ended up with this "little" piece of literature, which even with the multi-page write up, just scraped the surface of that Eugene experience. I'll try to keep this recap shorter, but I will say 2011 in many ways was just as exciting. I know the Olympic Trials get a lot more hype (and understandably so), but I definitely suggest going to a US Championship meet whenever you get the chance, regardless of the year. More on that topic below.

Again, I'll try not to ramble on as much this time, but I do feel the need to highlight the week and a few key areas, while they are still fresh in my mind. I'll even try to organize it into categories for you! Furthermore, I have a bunch of shout outs to give, so look for your name!

Portland

Kirby and I

I started the trip in Portland a few days before heading South for the US Champs.  This gave me some time to explore the city, get some good running in, and relax before an inevitably crazy week in Eugene. I was excited to be able to stay with my close friend and old training partner from Maine, Kirby Davis along with his amazing girlfriend, Al! They were wonderful hosts and definitely added to the great experience. The week started with a nice long run through Forest Park with Kirby and his BAC (Bowerman Athletic Club) teammate Jon Marcus (JMar). Forest Park is the largest park in the country that is located within city limits, with 5100 square miles. It is referred to as Portland's backyard gem and rightfully so. We did a combination of the main trail (Leif Ericson Trail) and a smaller single track (Wildwood Trail). Definitely a great place to run as we did 17 miles in there and I never once got tired of the terrain or the views! We liked it so much our Flotrack crew went back there following the US Championships to run with Katie Follett, Danny Mackey, Kevin Follett, and Sean Castor.

Leif Ericson Trail

Wildwood Trail

The city of Portland itself is pretty cool. It's a good sized city with a population of almost 600,000. About 3 times the population of Portland, Maine. However, most of the city gives off a smaller city vibe more similar to Ann Arbor, MI or Boulder, CO.  There were lots of micro breweries, cool breakfast joints, big farmers markets, and outdoor food vendors, etc. It doesn't really get the bigger city feel until you get into city center with a few bigger buildings and the train stations.

Multnomah Falls

The surrounding areas also add quite a bit to what Portland has to offer. That first Sunday, Kirby and myself, along with another BAC member, Wolf, ventured East a little ways along the Columbia River (border boundary between Oregon and Washington) toward the Mt. Hood National Forest. There were some pretty cool spots along the river, nice camping areas, and a bunch of cool waterfalls coming off the cliffs, including the famous Multnomah Falls. Mt Hood (the second most photographed mountain in the world) always has snow on it so there is an endless supply of water flowing down these waterfalls, especially in the warmer months.

Michael Johnson Track - Beaverton

Tuesday was workout day for the BAC so we went over to Beaverton, just outside Portland, where we met the team on the Nike Campus at the Michael Johnson Track. This is one of the coolest tracks to run on, because it is surrounded by trees and the infield is also filled in with trees. So even when running a track workout, you can feel like you're in the woods. In my opinion it makes the track seem smaller too, which is always a good thing. The BAC scheduled workout was 20 x 400m @ 70-72 w/ 100m jog rest (25-30sec).  Still early in my build up, that was a bit much for me, so I did the first 8 at this rate, then started taking a longer rest on every 3rd interval, giving me a total of 15 for the workout. The warm up and cool down loop was also cool as it was done on a wood chip trail that follows the entire perimeter of the Campus (about 2.5 miles).


Track Town USA / FloTrack
My plan of getting to Eugene was to meet up with Ryan Fenton and the rest of the Flotrack crew on Tuesday night at the Portland airport once they flew in from Austin and drive down to Eugene together. Their flight got in a bit late and we had some issues getting the proper rental car. So after 3 different rentals, a stop at McDonalds, and 2 hours of driving, we finally made it to Eugene around 3am. After a few hours of sleep, we were up and ready to start Eugene 2011, kicking things off with the first 8am Flotrack Morning Run, more on those in a bit.

I've visited Eugene a total of five times now, 3 times to compete and 2 times to spectate. Though I haven't yet figured out how to use the Hayward Field magic to my competitive advantage, all of my visits have been pretty memorable. Eugene, also known as Track Town USA, always seems to have a special feel for runners, because you know the history of what has happened there. Everything is familiar and reminds you of a prior experience, whether it's an experience of your own or someone elses. This feeling is certainly elevated surrounding a US Championships or Olympic Trials, and that is when that magical atmosphere continues to grow. This was actually my first non OT Outdoor Championships that I had been to. I always imagined that the non Olympic years were pretty low key, but that is a very false assumption.  That just shows what little atmosphere the NBC or ESPN coverage shows you. Nothing compares to being there in person.

Speaking of great atmosphere and the excitement that surrounds an event like this, before sites like Flotrack, there were very little ways to pick up on that excitement if you weren't able to attend the event.  The goal that Flotrack had for these championships (and for all their coverages) was to share the excitement that we were experiencing and encourage the people at home to get excited as well. Again, it will still never be the same as being there yourself, but we've certainly seen the growth of enthusiasm through feedback and comments. It's the same idea across the board, with the European Circuit, World and Olympic Championships, workouts, coaches, meet directors, etc. It's all good exposure to things many of the fans never knew existed. If they don't know it exists, how are we supposed to get them to participate? Of course, I could go off on some tangents there, but I'll try to stay on topic.

So Each morning, we got up early for the Flotrack Morning Runs, getting people engaged, talking about the meet, get some race predictions going.  We had up to 60 people going out for these morning runs along the trails, which included past Olympians, current Olympic hopefuls, college and high school stars, and some everyday runner enthusiasts.  On the topic of morning runs, I have to give a shout out to Terrance Mahon. Without his attendance, we wouldn't have had our epic sprint to the finish at the end of every run. Thanks Terrance! After the run, we'd continue that buzz at breakfast (usually Studio One Cafe!), walking around town, getting the general public engaged and trying to bring as much of that as we could into a 3-4 minute video. With the majority of the senior races being in the evening, this also gave us the opportunity to do Live Pre Race Shows each day before the events got going.  Similar to those in 2008, this was a way to get people thinking about the races and the individual competitors within those races before they were underway and hopefully create a more enjoyable spectating experience. The races are always better to watch when you know the people involved, or at least know a little of their story. More on that in a bit as well.

Live Show with Brie Felnagle

So big shout outs to Ryan Fenton, Mark Floreani, Kevin Selby, Alex Lohr, Ray Machuca, Paul Michel, Tim Jeffreys, and the rest of the Flotrack crew that was involved in that coverage. There is so much more that we can do with these events and we're always finding ways to do it better so expect big things next year!

Ray on the other side of the camera for once

At The Races

Flanagan Winning the W 10k

Unfortunately, Flotrack didn't have any rights to the actual races at these championships, so other than Ryan and Kevin doing post race interviews, there wasn't much for us to do during the meet itself. The good thing about that was we could just go in as spectators and enjoy the races. I could try to talk about the highlights of the races themselves, but that would just take too long and you already know what happened on the track anyway. As a spectator, all four days were awesome, but I always seem to get more fired up for the first couple days. Even though less attended, these days tend to be more exciting for me because that's usually when all the distance races are.  The 10k and 5k finals were on Thursday and Friday, respectively. And even the 1500 and Steeple prelims are exciting because you get two to three times the amount of racing and two to three times the amount of people to cheer for. For Day 1, Alex, Tim, and I had seats in the front row on the back stretch grandstand just in front of the 1500m start. We had a big crew in this section with Steph Rothstein, Allie Kieffer, Steph Slekis, Lindsay Allen, and a bunch of others that I'm probably forgetting.

M 5k Finish

For Day 2, we had seats over by the finish line, which we were surprised to come by.  It was definitely a great spot to be in for viewing, but I was a little disappointed with the general atmosphere of that area. When watching races, I like to get vocal, cheer for the people I know, talk to people around me, stand up when big moves are made, etc. The crowd around us definitely showed interest in the sport as they were mostly season ticket holders and had been going to these events for several decades, but whenever we started getting vocal, we'd often get the look as if we were talking through a movie. It's definitely a cool spot to be in, but I think I prefer the cheaper seats on the backstretch with the people that are on their feet for 90% of the races.

M 1500 Finish

So Days 3 and 4 were spent with the athletes and coaches over by the 200 start and I had some great race watching experiences again with Allie, Steph R, and Steph S., as well as Jenna Wrieden, Greg McMillan, Brian Mahoney, Sara Vaughn, Nick Arciniaga, Erin Bedell, Danielle Domenichelli, Stan the Sports Psych guy, and many others that I can't think of right now.

The Athletes
As I continue to get more involved in this sport, as a competitor, as a fan, as a supporter, and as a career pursuit, I am constantly growing personal relationships in this sport. Because of that, each year becomes more and more exciting. You feel so much more connected to what's going on and I've definitely learned a lot more about how this sport works (and how it doesn't work) as a result of those connections. There are way too many names to list them all, but I want to at least name the ones that made a bigger impact on my experience at these Championships. This in addition to those already mentioned and includes Coaches and athletes that may not have competed as well.

Shayla Houlihan, Lindsay Allen, and Erin Bedell
Annick Lamar and Ellen Dougherty
Katie Follett, Danny Mackey, Kevin Follett, and Uncle Bob

W Steeple Final

Greg McMillan, Team USA Arizona, and McMillan Elite
Katie DiCamillo, Tim Ritchie, and Molly Huddle
Nick Arciniaga, Aaron Braun, Scotty Bauhs, and Charlie Serrano
Frances Koons, Julie Culley, Lesley Higgins, NYAC, and NJNYTC
Jen Rhines, Amy Hastings, Anna Pierce, Terrance Mahon, and Mammoth TC
Jesse Williams, Angela Bizzarri, Gabriele Anderson, and Brooks Beasts
Allie Kieffer, Stefanie Slekis, Steph Pezzullo, and Sun Elite TC
Steph Rothstein and Ben Bruce
Lauren Hagans, Lindsey Gallo, and Lauren Centrowitz

W 5K Top 3

Brian Gagnon, Ben True, Tim Broe, and Ron Warhurst
Ann Gaffigan, Joslyn Dalton, Annie Shadle, Laura Landgreen, and WTS
Kara June, Sarah Madebach, and Team Rogue
Des Davila, Keith Hanson, Kevin Hanson, and Dave Smith
Pete Rea, Alli Grace, Ryan Warrenburg, Thomas Morgan, David Jankowski, Alissa McKaig, and Zap Fitness
Steve Magness and Adam Goucher
Tommy Schmitz, Danielle Domenichelli, Tetlo Emmen, and Nicole Feest
Jenna Wrieden and Brian Deal
Larkin Geyer and Ludus Tours
Danny Lopez, David Williams, Eron, and adidas
Sara Vaughn, Brent Vaughn, and Chris Pannone
Ryan Vanhoy and Addie Bracy
Karly Hamric, Isaya Okwiya, and Riadha
Nicole Bush and Lisa Aguilera
Jesse Carlin and Devotia Moore

I know I missed a lot more and I know I could write several paragraphs on the experiences I had with each of those people above. I'll simply say thanks to all of you for being there and for adding to a great week!

USATF / Meet Management / TV Coverage
You may have noticed a lot of discussion about these topics among various websites and social media, but I just want to point out a few good reads that bring good points to the table of discussion. Many of these are not new to us in the world of Track and Field, but some are becoming more of a problem. Rather than turn this into a forum for discussion, I'll link the different areas and feel free to comment on those pages based on your interest level.

Letter to the USATF - This is on the topic of selection athletes and field sizes for the US Championships. I personally believe there should only be one standard and base your field sizes on that one standard. I think it's fair to allow appeals for people that are close to the standard, but don't allow them beyond a certain date (say 7-10 days before the Championships). Athletes shouldn't have to wait until the day before their race to find out if they're competing.

US Selection Process - This is on the topic of selecting our World and Olympic teams and how we find our best representation. I believe we should keep the process the way it is now with the top 3 Trials finishers going to the World level, but I believe we should push the Trials back into the summer to be help a few weeks before the World Championships or Olympic Games. This way our athletes have a more appropriate build up, they get their standards beforehand, and we know who our team is at the Trials.


Doug Clement on setting up new meets in the US - This video discusses the topic of setting up big meets in the US during the early summer months, so elite athletes can compete against each other in their own country. I believe this would do a lot for our sport and open up the door for sub elites to reach that next level that may not be able to go to Europe every summer. This would also create more opportunity for fans to become involved in our sport.

Stephan Kreykamp, putting on a European Meet - This video piggy backs on the ideas of the video above with Doug Clement. It shows that it does take a lot of work to put on a quality meet, but it's not impossible. I believe we have the resources and the athletes to do something like this and we need to focus our efforts with the people that are most involved already.

Peter Abraham - The Sorry State of Running Television Coverage - This post is on the topic of how we are showing this sport to the general public. The participation in running as a competitive sport is at an all time high, yet our television broadcasters have yet to be able to keep an audience. It takes more than a few artistic camera shots and a view of the starting blocks to get people engaged. I fully agree that there needs to be more emotion and more of a story line. There is plenty of emotion to go around in Track and Field and plenty of stories to be told. First, we need to get people behind the camera that know the stories. People like Ryan Fenton, Toni Reavis, Ed Eyestone, Carrie Tollefson, etc. There are plenty of people involved in the sport that can speak well to the benefit of our athletes and to the fans.

My Training / Looking Ahead
I was going to start talking training on here as well, but this post is already way too long, so I'll just say that things are building up well for now and I'm getting that consistency back. I'll talk more on that in the next post. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more updates soon on both training and life.