Toe the Line

This blog has sat dormant for many months, but that does not reflect the state of my mind.

This summer has been one of the best of my entire life: it was the first time in 12 years that I was not either chasing late season track meets or training for a fall season. For the first time in my adult life, I threw training as the number one concern to the wind and took to mountains, forests, and the outdoors. I have long felt great passion for outdoor adventure—the draw of the personally unexplored—and I arrived at an intersection of my life where both the physical state in which I lived and mental state allowed me to spend virtually every weekend satiating this yearning unaccompanied by the guilt of inconsistent training. No priority given to a Saturday workout or Sunday long run? No problem.

Born out of my combined interest in skiing and type two fun, I took a couple spring backcountry ski trips, summiting Mt. Adams for a single 7000 foot run on the way down, rode my bike over the McKenzie Pass on 242 when it was closed to vehicles, ran up Spencer’s Butte to watch sunrise on the longest day of the year, backpacked through meadows in Yosemite, summited Half Dome at sunrise to watch the fiery colors of dawn wash over to the valley, chased tuna fifty miles out in the Pacific, rode my motorcycle up to the base of South Sister and ran to the top just to see what it was like, took camping trips where I strapped gear onto my motorcycle and ended my day when the sunset, hiked up a mountain with a group of friends to witness The Great American Eclipse in the center of the path of totality, went mountain hopping in the Wallowa Mountains, rode the rim of Crater Lake on my trusty (human powered) bike, and capped off summer a day late by summiting Mt. Bachelor and skiing ten inches of powder back down on the first day of fall.

Mt. Adams

Biking 242 over McKenzie Pass

Sunrise on the longest day of the year

Meadows in Yosemite NP

Summit of Half Dome at sunrise

Summit of South Sister

2017 Great American Eclipse

Mountain hopping in the Wallowas

Mt. Bachelor on the first day of fall

Yes. That was a run on sentence. But its grammatical structure reflects that of my life this summer: exhaustedly and excitedly running from one pursuit of adventure to the next; seemingly linked together, only punctured by a rewarding job developing biotech instruments.

I was still running most mornings before work mainly so I could justify eating the free donuts in the office. It also helped to have a basic level of fitness to support the future weekend adventures I was scheming. But when asked, quite frequently, “when’s your next race?” by teammates, friends, co-workers, and even my parents, I hemmed through, “I don’t know. I was laser focused on training and racing for so long….I’ve been enjoying other things. I’m really not sure. Maybe I’ll run a local race for fun sometime soon.” I wasn’t unhappy—quite the opposite—I didn’t have a desire to race. And that, in itself, felt foreign and left me at a loss to explain.

So it came as no surprise to me that when I took a visit up to Seattle over a long weekend to see my friends Michael and Jessica Eaton, Michael asked me the same question on a run together. I responded in my usual way, he politely listened, and it was quiet for a while. I don’t recall precisely what he said, but it was something close to, “Well, if you ever want to do it again, you definitely have the talent. And the drive. You’re a really good runner.”

It was quiet for a while again.

I mumbled out some response with the confidence of a foe taking her first steps, “Thanks. Yeah, I’m just not sure if I want that. Training is….hard. And now with working full time….” But Michael’s comment was like a shoe on the final few steps to a summit, my mind the rock knocked from rest, tumbling precariously down previously well-trodden paths, many bringing joy, others pain, and a few fear. His confident affirmation was a reminder of that which I loved about the sport—not the part where I failed to make the Olympic Trials, failed to advance any of my personal records on the track for years, failed to have fiscal balance while running in endless circles. I hardened my mind as a result of these failures to move on, encasing my love of racing along with it. But as my mind wandered, clips of joyous running flashed through my memory and created an opening in that case.

Marathon Debut

Ran the California International Marathon last Sunday in Sacramento, CA and had a very good experience. Below is a quick recap of the race and how I feel about it!

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CIM Marathon - 8th Place - 2:17:51

5:17, 5:16, 4:58, 5:11, 5:10

I was probably about the 50th person off the line because all of the young guns and masters guys were hot to trot and putting their elbows to use. Started about 4 rows back next to Danny and we agreed to let everyone else do their own dumb thing off the line, stay out of trouble, and then settle in. Got out a bit slower and then eased up past the early sprinters on the shoulder of the road and got into a pack being led by Matt Fecht. Hung in there for about a half mile before it was evident that it was going to be a bit too slow. So I moved to the front and Danny followed suit and we started to bridge the gap to the group ahead. We were running in no man's land until just after two miles, neither gaining or losing ground on the group ahead of us, so I told Danny we should just use the downhill we had in front of us to our advantage and make up the ~40m gap to the group ahead of us, thus the 4:58. A bit fast, but it was definitely aided by the downhill and it made sense to get linked up with that group of Nick Hilton, John Raneri, and Robert Winslow.

5:11, 5:12, 5:11, 5:14, 5:07

Really settled into a great rhythm in this section, despite lots of ups and downs. None of them significant, but there were times were plenty of times where I just focused on maintaining effort on the uphills to keep from overdoing it. The pack of 5 of us (Hilton, Raneri, Winslow, Mercado, and me) worked together very well on this section, trading leads and running in a tight pack.

5:09, 5:18, 5:11, 5:13, 5:15 (HM Split = 68:03)

Hilton started to pull away around the 10th mile from our pack and we dwindled down to 4. I still felt really good, but we were pretty much right on 2:16 pace and I didn't want to move with Hilton since it was still so early in the race. Saw Ian for the first time at mile 11 and gave him a thumbs up and a smile. I was really having a good time out there--thoroughly enjoying the experience. At mile 12, Danny surged a bit and got away from us as we caught Mason Frank and another guy (forget who). Raneri, Winslow and I caught back up to Danny right at mile 13 and then we hit half together. Told the boys the hardest part was over--the rest was more downhill and flat from here. Didn't last long as I maintained pace, I found myself at the front of the group of 4 and it starting to string out. By mile 14 I had a 10m gap on them and it was growing, so I figured I'd just keep my eyes on Hilton, who was about 250m ahead at this point. At this point, I was in 12th place.

5:12, 5:12, 5:15, 5:18, 5:18

I actually had a pretty good section here, despite running it solo. My right hamstring was starting to get a little tight and I had a couple strides where I had a small hitch, which made me worry that I was going to cramp up. I just focused on positive thoughts, slapped my hamstring a few times, said a quick prayer, and luckily it never did. I spent until about mile 17 catching Hilton. About a half a mile earlier, I saw him grab his left hip and his cadence changed a bit, so I figured he'd be coming back, but I didn't know it'd be so fast. When I passed him, I tried to get him to hop on, but he just waved me past. This was a pretty lonely section, so it helped enormously for my mental state to see Ian (who was riding on his bike) at each mile split giving me encouragement. I also handed out a few high fives to some kids for my own mental state. Giving the high fives and seeing those kids smile was a huge mental boost to remind me how much fun this was and to enjoy the experience.

5:18, 5:18, 5:22, 5:24, 5:27, 5:29 (20M = 1:44:18, final 10k = 33:33)

Got to 20 and again found myself surprised that I was still feeling pretty good, minus my quads and hamstrings starting to get a good burn. Luckily by this point, both of my hamstrings were equally sore and it didn't feel like they were going to cramp anymore. I did have trouble getting my last fuel bottle down at 20.4, so I only took a small sip and then chucked it. My stomach was pretty full and not doing well with actually digesting the fluids I was giving it (something to think about). Almost threw up about 3 times, but I just had to slow down for about 20m and keep my gut in check before returning to full speed. Passed Sergio Reyes and another guy (not sure who) at mile 22 across a bridge. They were good incentive for about a mile, but after I passed them, I couldn't see anything except wide open road ahead of me. At this point, I was in 9th place and figured that was probably going to be it, so long as I didn't blow up. Checked my watch, did the math, and realized that 2:16 was definitely out of the picture, 2:18 was likely if I could just hold 5:20ish, but it could easily be 2:19+ if something went wrong. Again, luckily, I found myself in pretty good spirits and giving the occasional wave to the crowd just to try and cheer myself up and get the reciprocal cheering of the crowd (which was great!) to lift my spirits. Hit the numbered streets with 2 miles to go (28th street) and knew the finish was at 8th street, which helped click down the final miles. The last couple miles actually went by faster than I anticipated (good thing) and it was an incredible experience to be the only one on the road within sight and thousands of people/bands/music/gospel choir bringing me through the final stages of the race. With a mile to go, I finally saw a figure far up ahead, but figured there was no way I'd have enough runway. With half a mile to go, a spectator yelled at me that I was going to catch him (ended up being Brenden Gregg) since he was hurting pretty bad. I dug a little deeper, and to my surprise, I caught him with 400 to go to move into 8th. Making that final turn towards the capitol and seeing the finish line was a beautiful sight and it was then I realized I would crack 2:18, which was my original goal from 7 weeks ago. So satisfying. Even though it was a somewhat soft goal (considering my HM PR), considering where I was just 3 months ago, I'm extremely pleased with the result.

It was an exhilarating physical and mental challenge, and I actually really enjoyed just about every part of it. As I reflect upon the race, the sense of camaraderie that is developed between you and your competitors is probably the most rewarding thing. For me, there is so much joy in being able to look at competitors as co-conspirators, striving to conquer a daunting task, each one of us encouraging and lifting up the other to rise to the occasion, rather than as an enemy to be defeated, which happens all so often on the tartan oval. 

This wasn't the hardest effort I've ever given in a race, and there are certainly other races where I've had to dig deeper to finish, but with where I am in my life, I don't regret that. I actually do feel that I gave it my best on the day, it just didn't bring me to vomiting, collapsing, dehydration, or utter exhaustion. Had there been another body next to me for the last half of the race, I may have been able to steal another 30-40 seconds, but the fact is that there wasn't, so I did the best with the cards that I was dealt on that day with the preparation decisions I had made. 

I start a full time job with Thermo Fisher Scientific next week in Eugene, OR, so that looks to be my home for at least a few more years. I'll have to figure out if I still have the passion to train once I start working, but if I do, I'd imagine I'd like to give the marathon another crack.

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Author's Note: I sent this to a faithful friend, adviser, and long time coach of distance runners, Steve Price, and what follows is a short Q&A he had with me back and forth. If you're interested in finding out a bit more, you can read my answers below:

1. After the 4:58, how did the next 2-3 miles feel ?

Actually just fine. I was very conscious of not working too hard to work up to that group and that 4:58 was also the result of a long gradual downhill, which allowed for an easier time to move up to the pack ahead and tuck in for the next couple miles.

2. You were 12 th. at 1/2 way ?

Yes!

3. What was in your fuel bottle ?

I alternated between GU mixed in with 6oz of water and Generation UCAN mixed with 6oz of water.

4. Be specific with your goals and list them all no matter how small. I always felt that the more goals, the better. That way you have more measurements to evaluate post-race. 

1.      Sub-2:18

2.      2:16 on a great day

3.      Top 10

4.      Top 5 on a great day

5.      Enjoy the dang race!!

5. What was your exact finish time ? 

How did I forget to put that in my write up!? Must have not hit the editors desk before publication for review. 2:17:51.

6. What was your milage leading up to the marathon (weekly) ? 

56, 70, 87, 97, 108, 115, 119, 127, 113, 88, 73 (RACE)

7. What was your longest training run ?

22 miles in 2:03:56 (5:37 average)

8. What was your longest race before the 26 miler and when was that ?

US Half Marathon Champs in January of 2015.

9. Tell me more about the job situation.

It's a mechanical engineering position with the life sciences division of Thermo-Fisher Scientific here in Eugene. This location designs flow cytometers, which is really just a fancy machine to count and analyze cells. Pretty fancy table top machines for medicine and research. I'll be helping a team to fit all the fancy instrumentation and lasers into a neat looking box that someone much smarter than me can use.

10. What was temp/weather conditions ? 

41° at the start and perhaps 50° at the finish, still, sunny. Couldn't have asked for better weather other than a gigantic and unfair tailwind, a la Boston from 2011 was it?

11. What did you learn from the race about yourself ? 

I have no clue how I broke 4 for the mile. Running aerobically is so much more enjoyable and much more in my wheelhouse than all that anaerobic mumbo jumbo. That might be overstating it a bit, but it really opened to my eyes to being able to enjoy longer races. I also realized, at least in this race, my mental game gave me a huge advantage over my competitors. I was looking forward to the challenge of the marathon and was able to use that to my advantage, rather than shying away. It was the same sort of feeling that I've had before doing 100 mile bike rides: knowing it would be hard, but excited to get my body to dig deep later on.

12. When/where is your next race ? 

No plans. Not sure. I'm getting kicked off with the new job and then will see how training fits into that.

13. What did you learn from yesterday's race that you can use in your next full or half marathon ? 

Aerobically I felt very well prepared. Quads and hamstrings started getting sore earlier than I would have liked, so if there's another one, I'll incorporate more resistance training and more hilly easy runs/workouts to try and prepare the musculature to match my cardiovascular system. I also had a tough time with digesting my fluids--perhaps more salt is needed to make them more isotonic and easier for my body to absorb? Something to investigate.

14. What type of training will you be doing now ? 

I call it the cake and beer plan and it's exactly what it sounds like. Or at least treat myself to that for a bit before I turn into Jabba the Hutt. I'm not sure....the race drives the training plan. I'm considering US Cross Country Championships since they're in Bend, OR in February, which is a short drive from Eugene. If not those, then Ian suggested running the Eugene marathon. Not sure about that either at the moment.

Running Uphill

Hello, World!

It has been a minute or two since I have posted an update. After a relatively mediocre race at the US XC Championships in Boulder on February 7^th where I placed 24^th, I spent the rest of the month in Boulder to continue my altitude training.

When I returned to sea level in Minnesota in March, in cliché fashion, I was running the best workouts of my life and gearing up for what I thought would legitimately be a 13:20-25 5k, given the workouts I was running (as always, you can see my training log here). In the excitement of these stellar workouts and impending race success, I ignored the early signs of achilles overuse. 

Which turned into cutting workouts short. 

Which turned into taking a few days off, because it'll patch up real quick. 

Which turned into taking a few weeks off. 

Which turned into running a lone mediocre 5k at Payton Jordan, my only race to show for the entirety of the 2015 track season.

Below is a screenshot of my training log summary from track season, which is inundated with bars labeled "OTHER", indicating a cross training day.

During the months of April, May, and June combined, I totaled a paltry 298 running miles. For sake of comparison, in the previous 5 years, my mileage during this same period of time was as follows:

2014 - 946
2013 - 1031
2012 - 75 (foot injury)
2011 - 888
2010 - 888

This was supposed to be the year. The year that finally turned it around. Since the magical year of 2011, I have been on and off like day and night. Sporadic success came once in a blue moon. But 2015! I had put a stake in the ground, I was going to be ON! 

Yet again, I found myself in the midst of injury. Cheering on teammates, friends, and rivals alike from the east grandstands at historic Hayward Field, host of the 2015 USA Track and Field Championships. I watched in agony as the 5k field loped along for two miles, followed by a fast finish. I watched as a contemporary won the race, an athlete with whom I have closed, side by side, in previous races. A finish which did not eclipse my ability.

Motivated by what I witnessed that week at the US Championships, I ran along the famed Pre's Trail on the north side of the Willamette River, covering ground which has been trodden by countless national and world champions. My thoughts focused on training, racing, competing. Is this still what I wanted? Had my love for the footrace been too far tempered by the trials of injury?

I returned to Minnesota with a burdened mind, but a clear vision: I love to race. I am not ready to toss the spikes, the long workouts, the innumerable miles. I owe it to myself at least through the 2016 Olympic Trials. You can do anything for a year, right?

So with renewed vigor and commitment to the sport, I have made the difficult decision to leave Team USA Minnesota. The past two years have been full of both trials and triumphs, failure and success. But my sojourn in Minnesota has been perennially overshadowed by injury. My longest stint of uninterrupted health was between March 1, 2014 and December 25, 2014. And even that was complicated by anemia early on in the track season.

My decision to leave Minnesota is not a reflection of the support of the team, my teammates, or the Land of 10,000 Lakes (...and its frigid winter). Coach Dennis Barker is a highly accredited coach with a long history of success. A coach, while at Team USA Minnesota, has produced 23 National Champions in events ranging from the 1500 meters up through the marathon. His résumé is unarguably impressive. But as outstanding as Dennis' credentials are, unfortunately it wasn't a great fit for me. With continued bouts of injury under his direction, I have decided to pursue another opportunity where I hope to be more consistently healthy. I strongly believe consistency is the greatest predictor of distance running success and that is the area in which I have failed most during my time in Minnesota.

With that, I am excited to announce that in October, I will be joining Team Run Eugene, based in Eugene, Oregon! After many conversations with coaches, friends, and mentors, I am excited to begin working with the new team and coach, Ian Dobson, a 2008 Olympian in the 5000 meters representing the US.

This will be another big change in my life, but one about which I have great excitement. Ian and I have spoken about what my time in Eugene will look like and I'm looking forward training under his tutelage with my eyes set on making a US team. In fact, Eugene plays host to the US Olympic Trials at Hayward Field, located on the campus of the University of Oregon, so it will be a constant reminder of the goals towards which I aspire.

As I return to more consistent training, I have my eyes set on the two following races so far this fall:

• Minnesota Mile - September 13
• USA 5k Road Championships/CVS 5k - September 20

And if I can place in the top 10 at the CVS 5k, that will make me eligible for the .US Road Racing Championships on November 15, in which I hope to compete. I'm determined to keep the entirety of 2015 from being a competitive wash.

Finally: thank you for reading, for the continued support, and for all of the kind messages that I have received from so many of you this year. My sincere appreciation for all of those who have helped me keep my head high during this tough year of injury.

Houston Half - US Half Marathon Championships

Today was a great race down in Houston. I could complain over how if I had only run 9 seconds faster, I would have been 8 places higher, but I refuse to let that haunt me, as I leave Houston today with a new PR of 63:29 (formerly 64:42), which was good for 19th place in the US Half Marathon Championships.

Coming off a somewhat disappointing road season in the fall, I set my eyes once again upon the gruelling and necessary base training phase. My miles climbed higher as my high quality long runs increased in length. I was firing on all cylinders and eating like an animal. Week after week I was nailing my long hard efforts and looking forward to capitalizing on my new fitness. But come December, each run felt a little more fatigued, and even my easy runs were starting to become a bit of a chore. I began traveling to see relatives pretty early in December and my nutrition began to suffer as I spent long hours driving in my car. It seemed that with each run, I was taking a trough and removing a little dirt. After a few weeks, that became a hole and I was stricken with a tight calf that wouldn't let go. I had to take a couple days off and my mileage dropped precipitously (you can always see my training log here).

My fall training block, week by week on a bar chart (injury in orange box)

Now my challenge became treating the calf just to get to the starting line in Houston, AND finish healthy, since the longer term goal is to run well at the US XC Championships (Feb. 7th in Boulder). I began an aggressive treatment regimen and saw an old friend, Dr. Yost, in Cincinnati to receive some ART treatment. Luckily, the hole I had dug hadn't become too deep and I was able to get back to running after a few days.

With only two weeks to go until Houston, Dennis (my coach) and I crafted a plan to try and get in some quality workouts to get my energy systems topped off blow the dust of my top end speed. I honestly had a couple pretty tough workouts and my confidence was rather low. I had originally planned to try and break 63 (4:49/mi pace), but then after a 4 x 2 mile workout where I could hardly maintain 5:10/mi pace, I started to question if I could even break 65 minutes.

Nonetheless, Houston approached regardless of my preparedness and I did my best to trust in my training that had happened before my injury. The day before I suffered a rather debilitating stomach ache for 4 hours in the morning and my nutrition was awful. I wasn't able to eat until 1:30pm--the perfect day to have nutrition issues! Still, I pressed on trusting that training had gone very well for quite some time and that it hadn't gone away.

This morning I lined up, feeling more relaxed than usual, knowing that all I could do was my best--what was under my control. The front pack blew away pretty fast off the line, but there was a solid 63:20ish pack that I ran with the whole time and just stayed relaxed. In fact, I was feeling so good that at 10.5 that I made a 5k-like move and probably dropped the next 800 in 2:20 or so. Mistake. I really should have waited until the last 800 to make such an aggressive move. I got swallowed right back up by the pack by 11.5 miles and then passed by a few guys. Had I waited until the end to put the pressure on that I could have been closer to 11th place but I learn to race another day. I will put that nugget of wisdom in my pocket for next time.

Thanks to Houston Marathon for putting on such a great event!

With teammates Meghan Peyton and Jon Peterson post-race

TC 10 Miler

Yesterday was the third and final of my races in this unusual post-track break/pre-base phase period, in which I coincidentally placed third. The race was the Medtronic Twin Cities 10 Miler, put on by Twin Cities in Motion, one of the generous sponsors of Team USA MN.

It was a stereotypical Minnesota fall day, with morning temps hovering around 37° with a slight westerly wind, which played to our advantage in the "Shortcut to the Capitol", as the course starts in Minneapolis and takes a more direct route than the marathon course to the State Capitol in St. Paul. Before the gun went off, Jon Peterson and I agreed on a first mile around 4:50 and would see what shook out from there.

The race got out to an unusual start with the lead bikers missing a turn in the first mile (at no large fault of their own, as the race course incorrectly had a barricade blocking the turn they were supposed to make), which led to an unbelievable fast and incorrect first mile split. This in turn led to the race being 9.86 miles instead of the USATF certified 10 miles. But since I was wearing my Garmin, I could catch my first split of 4:39. A little quick.

I caught up to JP and we ran the next mile together until he pulled slightly away on a downhill and I couldn't keep pace. At this point I heard some breathing right behind me and looked over, only to discover that Joe Moore had jumped into the race as a last minute entry. With JP having slightly pulled away, Joe and I went back and forth over the next 6 miles, with each of us throwing in some surges to try and break one another. Finally around 8.5, Joe put in enough of a surge to create permanent separation that I just couldn't quite close. He admitted to me after that he knew if he left it down to a kick that I would have the upper hand. I knew that too and tried to play it close for the final stretch, but just couldn't quite hang on.

My final time of 48:46 for 9.86 miles is equivalent to a 49:27, assuming the same pace. I have to admit that seeing that projected time for 10 miles is a little disappointing, as I really believed a sub-49 time to be well within reach, even with my current fitness being a little down. Although I know I am making progress, my 10 mile split en route to my half marathon last year was 48:51. Granted it was on a much more favorable (flatter) course with better weather, and I was peaking for that race, but I had hoped to best that time yesterday.

With each race this fall, I have felt more motivated to recommit myself to the monotony of base training, as I know that this time of year with consistent, uninterrupted training can produce the big jumps in fitness and race results. After speaking with Dennis (my coach), following the race, he seemed to be pleased with the effort and joins me in my optimism for the future. I feel very good about stringing together a solid three months of training and it producing break through performances come spring time.

My tentative schedule for the next few months looks as follows:
11/27/14 - Cincinnati Thanksgiving Day Race, 10k
1/18/15 - USATF Half Marathon Championships in Houston, TX
2/7/15 - USATF Cross Country Championships in Boulder, CO

Results:

Progress in Providence

Yesterday I raced my third USA Road Championship race, the CVS Health 5k in Providence, RI. It was my highest finish in a USARC race for me thus far, my history being as such:

• 32nd at Half Marathon Champs, 2013
• 19th at Bix 7 Miler Champs, 2014
• 11th at CVS 5k Champs, 2014

Granting that progression above is assisted by the fact that each race is closer to my main race distance, the 5k, I still think it shows some progress in the last year. Especially when the strong field at the 5k Champs is considered.

Day before the race by the harbor

Quick Race Recap:
Race Video Here

Race went out rather leisurely at 4:33 through the mile and everyone was bunched up. There was a decent downhill in the first mile that made it feel pretty easy. Then we even split on the second mile coming through in 9:06 and I was right there with the lead pack. But then on the long straight after the mile 2 split, I lost contact with the lead group. With about 600 to go, I caught Craig Forys and moved past him into 9th place. Then we hit the hill with 300 to go and Foryse went flying by with Julian Saad in tow, which left me outside of the top 10 and the money. Watched it happen right before my eyes and my legs couldn't do anything.

Up the final hill, Craig Forys on right, Julian Saad on left
Photo Credit: Ricky Lupp

While my goal was to be top-10 heading into the race and I'm disappointed that I just barely missed that goal, I feel good about the race. As I've described to some of my close friends, this first year with Team USA MN has been a year of developing confidence. A side effect of being such a huge fan of the sport is that I would line up next to guys who had won national titles, Olympic medals, World Championship medals, etc... and be intimidated. These were guys I would wake up before the sun rose on weekends during college to watch them race in Europe. Guys who Letsrun would do articles on and Flotrack would have weekly videos on their workouts. 

And then there would be me, the Cincinnati kid without even a state title to his name trying to run with the best of them.

But I can confidently say for the first time this year, I felt like I belonged. Even with such a deep and talented field, I felt like I really had a shot at the top. This serves as a great example of what my college coach, Bill Schnier, used to always tell us during college: confidence is like the issue of the chicken and the egg, what comes first? A great race to be confident, or confidence to have a great race? It has to be one or the other. And his advice was as follows, “You have to be absolutely sure you are better than your opponent, even if the evidence is not there. By doubting yourself, by worrying and by using any negativity only robs you of your energy. Furthermore, when a few things go wrong in a race, which they usually do, the confident person assumes that things will work out, whereas the doubter will think, ‘here we go, down the drain.’”

As I reflect upon the race, I think about how talented some of the top guys in the race were. Not that I don't have any talent, but guys who were running in the top 25 at NCAA XC by their sophomore year (Estrada, Darling, Fernandez, and Girma) are gifted with quite a bit of talent. I didn't even qualify for NCAAs my sophomore year. But by my senior year, I had ascended to a 25th place finish. My takeaway is that if I could rise that high in the collegiate ranks from consistent training, then it's possible to do the same at the professional level as well. Now that I have found my groove with my teammates and coach at Team USA Minnesota, I'm feeling optimistic about the upcoming years.

Race Results

Minnesota Mile '14

It's been a little bit since my last post and in that time period, I raced the Bix 7 Miler (US 7 Mile Road Championship), took a much needed break from running, went to Alaska for 2 weeks for some outdoor adventures, and then started training again on the 14th of August. Without diving into too many details, I never made a post about the Bix 7 Miler because it was a rather poor race and certainly an indication that I had overextended my fitness for a long season. My break from running was much needed and very refreshing.

The Famous Lift Bridge in Duluth

But alas, after 3 weeks of training, I jumped into the Minnesota Mile, which was the last stop of the Bring Back the Mile Tour and only a short drive up to Duluth, MN.  I went in with no expectations and just wanted to run a fun and competitive road mile, hoping that I could make a little money on the side.

Race day was absolutely beautiful, but compared to the swift tailwind of last year, this year's race featured an equally brisk headwind, which slowed down the field. Getting off the line it was clear that I had brought a dull metal bar to a knife fight, but I was going to give it all I had. The race quickly separated into two packs: a lead pack of about 10 and the rest of the field.  I hung onto the back of the lead pack to pass the quarter mile in ~61s and stuck there through 800, where the field began to gap me.

I fought through the third quarter, feeling like my lungs were so far ahead of my legs, which was appropriately so given that the past 3 weeks of training were typical of fall: an emphasis on threshold pace and longer runs. With only a single 8x200 session, my legs simply did not have a 4:00 mile in them yesterday. As I passed the 1200 mark, the finish line came into view and another shot of adrenaline dropped into my legs, which served me well enough to pass two people and move myself into 8th and make it into the prize money.  I had told myself before the race that if I ran under 4:10, I'd be happy with the race given my short period of training.  I crossed the line at 4:10.9, so just marginally off my goal. It was a really fun event and I'm glad I got the opportunity to race such a competitive field in my new home state!

~100m to go, Photo Credit: Chad Austin (@MinnesotaRunner)

A huge thanks goes out to Grandma's Marathon, which was the organization that put on the race, and Bring Back the Mile, whose mission is to "return the mile to prominence on the American sports and cultural landscape by elevating and celebrating the mile to create a national movement."

A town in love with a race: Duluth, MN

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