Pressing Forward without Skipping a Beat

Well, it’s been awhile since my last blog. I figured now was as good of time as any to update how the past few months have been going. Let’s see, the move to Flagstaff went well, as planned. I’m already 10 weeks into base training with the team! It’s going exactly how I had expected it to go and actually better. That doesn’t happen very often in a runner’s career so I’m very thankful that it has played out how it has. My first week in Flag I had prepared myself for a hard transition with the altitude adjustment but I actually jumped right into mileage and workouts without a hitch. I picked up right where I left off with coach Kepler in Utah. I keep surprising myself with the amount of volume I’m able to do. With every step of the way I try to challenge myself just enough to get just a little bit better daily. This year has been an amazing one and it seems to just keep on getting better and better. Consistently, I’ve hit around 80 miles for the past 4-5 weeks. This is quite a change from last fall. Last fall I hit 70 once and thought I was going to die. I’m totally consuming my life with running; this is something that has been hard for me in the past. Going to bed at 9 and getting my 9-10 hours of sleep is pretty standard for me these days!

I’ve been doing a lot of traveling the past few months. The “Brooks Beasts” had a photo shoot in Portland for the Fall 2011 Apparel catalog. It was so great to meet a few of my new family members of Brooks. The Beasts were back in action this past month in Austin for the Brooks sales meeting. Being part of that was so much fun. We were able to meet so many of the people that are the brains behind the brand. I’m so excited to be part of such a passionate group of people. It’s so amazing to be able to see these people hard at work trying to make our brand number one! Also, while we were in Austin we got to meet with the Flotrack crew and film some stuff for the new PR spike series that are coming out soon for high school athletes. They also helped us learn even more about social media.

I have had the opportunity to be at home in Iowa a lot this fall. I’ve been coaching my little sister Shelby from afar which makes it challenging at times but I was able to see her win her first individual state title in cross country! It was so exciting and helped me see what she needed to work on for the next month leading up to Nike Cross Country Nationals. Thanksgiving at home was adventurous as always, I had my training buddy Shelbo so that was always nice especially for my 17 mile long run. My sister Ryann had her baby a month early!! I told her it was because she heard I was coming home and just couldn’t wait to meet me. Maya is healthy and got to go home after about 5 days!

While I’ve been away my team in Flag are hard at work preparing for their next big task; Club Cross Country Nationals. I’m so excited for them, they inspire me daily with how hard they are working and how much stronger they individually are getting by the week. Watch out for them on December 11th!

Wearing my Heart on my Sleeve With Pride

It’s been a long, exciting road the last few months; lets me honest here. I got back from Europe and took 10 days completely off. It was amazing! I not only physically benefited from it but mentally also. The next 10 days I took and ran every other day while cross training on the opposite days. My first week back was a 45 mile week. Which was easily entertained by visits to both Rogue Elite in Austin, Texas and Team USA Arizona in Flagstaff, Arizona. I was able to see each program from the inside out. I felt very fortunate to be able to travel to both of these elite programs to see where I might fit the best. In the back of my mind I knew I could make it work in Salt Lake City as well; although once I got to Austin I knew what my next step had to be for my professional career. They met for team functions, encouraged and sought out each other when they needed help with things. Wow! That is something I only got the opportunity of experiencing at Utah my final year of collegiate competition. I knew then that the change of scene had to be made, no matter where that might lead me. It also helped me realize the mask I had been hiding behind in Salt Lake City. I love the city but am not feeling completely 100% happy there. I’m such a feel person so when I felt this I buckled down and tried to feel out every little thing about each group that I possibly could. Ultimately I knew that I would feel what was right at the right time. This is an all too familiar feeling for me. Every big change or step I’ve made in my life I’ve had this feeling; it’s a feeling of belonging and ultimately owning something as my own. It’s a feeling of buying 100% into something that is placed in front of me. This is what I was searching for. In that I felt comfortable because in that I have never regretted trusting myself and my feelings.

Rogue was my first stop. I had already met Kara June(6th place in 2008 Olympic trials steeplechase, and roommate this year at the Prefontaine Classic) and knew she would be a great option for a training partner. While in Austin I took a run through “scenic” with Kara and some of the guys on the team, ran one day with my old teammate Scott and on the final day took a run through the city because of the monsoon we encountered that morning(flooded trails). The team did fun stuff together such as cheering Joe on during the triathlon on Labor Day, dinner at a local pizza shop and a bbq at the Rogue store! It was apparent that everyone really enjoyed being part of the team and being in Austin. Another perk of being in Austin was the opportunity of joining a great track program at the University of Texas. Coach Sisson asked if I would be interested in continuing my second passion of coaching at UT. I had the great opportunity to meet the women and watch them workout. I was SUPER impressed by them. I could tell that they had a tremendous amount of respect for coach Sisson and what he was doing. It was pouring down rain at 6 a.m. when they started their workout and not one of them complained about the task at hand. It was fun to see how exactly Coach Sisson interacted with every single one of the women and that he gave feedback to every one of them. It was apparent that he believed in them individually just as much as they believed in him. How cool!

I left Austin feeling pretty excited about my options. A) I knew I had to make a change and B) knew that I already have such a great option! I then made my way to Flagstaff later that week. This is where I met up with the McMillan Elite/USA Arizona crew. They welcomed me with open arms. My options here for training partners were virtually endless. Lindsey Allen, whom had been there for a couple of years now while Erin Bedell had most recently joined (2 of the nations best steeplechasers). Those are only 2 of the 9 women team members. When I got there they took me straight to dinner. The team meets 8 or 9 times a week. I was thoroughly impressed since one of my main things I am looking for is structure. Everyone shows up, everyone is happy and helpful to one another. I realized when I got home how spoiled I had been by having coffee freshly brewed for me every morning before our 8 o’clock runs. One day we ran with some local runners, what they call “bagel run”, this is a run that goes along the urban trail around town. The next day we went to Lowell conservatory to run on the trails there. It was absolutely beautiful and all too familiar to Utah<3. The last day I was there we went to “A-1”, this was a more difficult run for me. It is at 7,500ft. Enough said. We were running pretty fast in the beginning as well. It’s weird how the altitude can catch up to you fairly quick! Through my Flagstaff journey I was also able to partake in a team dinner at Coach McMillan’s house. From what I heard this was rather rare for most of the athletes to be together in one spot! I got Very lucky!!

The next day after I left I kept debating back in forth but knew that there was one place that I got that perfect feeling of belonging that I oh so often had felt in other chapters of my life. I think I realized where I belonged when in the middle of this blog entry the flight captain announced we were flying over Flagstaff and I got immediately excited with butterflies in my stomach. The excitement of what’s to come, this great opportunity that has been placed in front of me. Will I accept the challenge of having people push me every single step of the way? Absolutely! I’m ready and very excited to get started with the next chapter of my life.

Yet Another PR

This weekend I made my decent upon what is the final piece to my PR spread. I’ve now PRed in every event from the 800 on up to the 8k this year; It’s official! I ran the 1500 in Halle, Belgium. It was called the Allonsius B-meeting. You can watch it on Flotrack if you’d like to see the sweet action. The race went pretty much as planned. Although I am finding out in each race I run that the middle portion of my races have been less than par. I had a 400 in the middle that was :72 and I closed in a :67. I need to think out every step of the race I’m about to race but I have not been doing so. I’ve also noticed myself doing this for workouts. I’m not fully invested into the workout. For instance not thinking about what each split needs to be. I really like to “feel” the pace but that doesn’t always cut it, especially with these faster workouts, it is way more important to hit the pace than “feel” it at this point in the season. It’s good that I’m realizing it now, I have some goals set already for next season I guess! I hope to fix these things in the last 2 weeks of training and racing though.

I have another 1500 set for this Saturday at Ninove. I for sure hope to break into the 4, teens. I think coach and I have a good plan set for this one. No falling asleep during this one and I will run right where I think I can! I had 2 solid workouts this week, my legs and mind are feeling amazing. I did some 400’s with Lauren Fleshman on Tuesday and a tempo on Wednesday. It’s been so great getting to meet new people this summer. I love hearing their stories and about their training. It is truly amazing that a lot of us are trained totally different but in the end the results are very similar and where we want them to be. I think all of this will help me be a better coach. As a coach you have to be versatile because each athlete is different and they will need different training and attention but mainly they have to buy into the process that you’re trying to sell them.

I’ll leave yall with a quote for the week: “The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it.” – Jim Rohn

Almost forgot(maybe tried to block it out), I’m running an 800 on Sunday in Brussels as well! This should be fun!

When in Rome

Well, I’ve made it thus far to Europe. The road has been a rocky one to say the least but I am getting out of my experience everything I had hoped for and probably more! I’m based out of Leuven, it’s a quaint town in Belgium. So far I’ve been to Kortrijk, Belgium and Velletri, Italy to race an 800 and 3k. The 800 happened straight off the plane from the states. Needless to say I didn’t wake up until 600 meters into the race. Of course 2:12 is a PR but was rather disappointed in it. The few days after this race nothing seemed to work quite right, I felt as though I had no control over my body. No matter what I did I couldn’t make my body respond positively. Going into the 3k my confidence was down because of how badly I had been feeling all week but I went in fighting and battling for the time I thought I was capable of but ended up dying in the middle. I still ran 9:28, only 9 seconds off of my PR indoors. I was bummin’ pretty hard after this race. This was the first time this whole year I’ve really been disappointed in the way I’ve performed in a race. Of course I’ve had bad workouts or practices but I’ve never let it into a race. In some ways I felt as though no matter what I did to make the situation better there was nothing I could do to turn it around.

I knew there had to be an upside coming and I believed in that. The workouts I had done before the 3k had gone fairly well but just felt awful at the same time. This week rolled around and I just kept at it, I did a semi- long run that helped turn my legs around. The next day I had a faster workout and Thursday I was able to hammer an awesome tempo run averaging at a mile pace right around where I left off. It’s crazy how travel can make a negative affect on your body; I’ve never experienced anything like it. Maybe for me it’s just a super long season as well. I do however feel like I have some great races to come while I’m out here.

Next race is on the 31^st, the Allonsius meeting. I will be racing my first 1500 in 2 years! Get excited, I know I am!! After that are only 2 more races. A steeplechase and I have my choice between a 1500 or 5k to round out my season. I’m so excited and thankful to be in Europe experiencing traveling and all the crazy stuff that goes along with it. This is an experience of a lifetime and I’m trying to learn everything I possibly can for future adventures over here!

Prefontaine Classic

I’m blogging for the first time ever! This is very exciting for me. I thought people might want to come on the journey with me through my professional running career. The ups and the downs and everything I learn from each experience. If you would have told me even 3 weeks ago that I was going to sign with an agent (Charisma Sports Management), Sign a contract with Brooks through 2012 and then go on a week later to get 6^th at the outdoor U.S. championships; I would have said okay where do I sign! Well, that is exactly what happened, a whirlwind of events that boosted me into the professional running world at a fast pace. USA’s was a bit of a mental battle for me, going home to the Drake stadium full of fans that knew exactly who I was and knew every piece of my story. I was there to achieve my ultimate goals that coach Kepler and I had set way back in December of last year, placing in the top 6 at these prestigious championships. Everything I had achieved along this years journey was just icing on the cake and I was definitely very hungry for more. 6^th place was exactly what I achieved although not exactly in the easiest way. This was my first time ever to have a prelim/final situation. I had done mini practices that should have set me up to do well but ultimately my confidence had been broken down by a situation the week prior to the championships and I for some reason gave into it and didn’t fight the negative emotional battle that was placed in front of me.

When I got the call that I had been accepted into the Pre Classic to run the steeple I jumped at the opportunity. I realistically knew what potentially the race would look like with gold, silver and bronze medalists from last year’s world championships in the race. I also knew I was ready to take the plunge and yet find myself in another battle as a professional! My approach to the race was, “wow, what a wonderful opportunity I have placed in front of me to run super fast and face some confidence issues…” I knew I had nothing to lose but so much to gain from it all. I had run 10:03 and change 3 times this season, plus a 10:02 and a 10:09 on a bad day. So I figured I would run with the women as long as I could hang on and by that point in the race I should be able hang on until the end. I also knew that I had to find that person in myself that I had lost in the last 2 races because that was not me. I surrounded myself with positive people, positive thoughts and refocused my attention to regain that poise I had been running with all year.

Race day had finally come and I was more than ready for the challenge. I knew I had to stay calm and remember everything I had done in past races that would help culminate a much needed confidence boost for this day. I felt very calm and collected the entire day. I had put in so much work this year, there was no way I wasn’t ready. As I warmed up I found that overwhelming feeling of peace I try and find before every race. I knew at that point that I would be fine. This feeling helps remind me of exactly why I run and race; because I love it! The time had finally come to make our final decent onto historic Hayward field to run in the fastest meet held on U.S. soil this year. I couldn’t look around at the sold out crowd I just stayed focused on the task at hand; to run faster than I’ve ever ran before this point. That’s just what I did. Finally breaking 10 minutes! I never let the gap that slowly emerged in the race discourage me. I knew what I was trying to do and I also knew what the rest of the women were trying to do. After the race I was left hungry for more, so badly do I want to be with that next group. I do however know that it may take me another year but am not opposed to the idea of my travels over seas to produce this effort either.

I realize my reaction to my race may lead people to think that I was unhappy with my effort. That is not it at all! I’ve PRed in the steeplechase by 32 seconds alone this year, I’m just not ready to reflect and be happy with just that. For now though I am off to Europe to race! More details will be coming later! You will be seeing me in anything from 800 to a 5k race, get excited!!