A different take on running

Linkin Park-Frgt/10

"From the top to the bottom, bottom to top I stop."  A repeated verse in the above song and recently I have found this lyric to be so very true.  On my 8 mile run this morning with good friend Cody Barton, I realized (after he nicely pointed it out to me) how quickly things can change.  Two years ago I was in my prime.  I set the course record at the Sundodger Invitational, coming from 50 meters down in the last 1k.  I took 6th in the top flight of the prestigious Notre Dame Invite.  I won my third consecutive All-Big Sky Conference award (a feat that has never been done by another Eastern Washington runner).   I took 11th at the West Regional meet against some of the best runners in the nation and finished up with a 73rd place finish at the NCAA division 1 championships.  That spring I went on to break the school record in the 10k (since broken by Kyle King).  In the fall I competed in my first half-marathon while red-shirting where I debuted in a 1:05:52.  If the time wasn't enough I won the race over runners like Ben Bruce and Mike Sayenko.  These two are national caliber runners and recently Sayenko was nominated to the US team for the World Championships this summer.  I felt unstoppable.  The running world would soon know who I was and I would be making a name for myself.

But oh how quickly things can change...

On a training run over winter break I waited all day to go for my run, I went out and was in the last mile of a progression run and decided I wanted to finish up and not add on three miles to get back to my grandma's house.  The problem was, the shorter distance was over a trail, and it was dark outside.  I was having a great workout and then it happened. I hit a tree root.  I took a nice fall but got up quickly (trying in my mind to repeat the Lasse Viren comeback in the '72 10k.)  It was not until I got to my grandma's that I realized the damage.  My knee was gouged deep and my hands were cut up.  There was some aches and pains but it was all better, or so I thought.  I returned to Eastern for winter training.  On my first run back I took a spill twisting the knee I had gouged and landed on so hard.  I got up and finished my run.  I thought I was fine, but two days later I was getting an MRI on my knee after I couldn't make it a 1/2 mile on a run and my knee locked up.  I had a bone bruise which set me out for 6 weeks.  This put a wrench into my plan to break 29 minutes for the 10k and 14 minutes for the 5k.  Cue the beginning of the fall of my confidence.  I was able to battle back and run two meets during the indoor season, but I ended that when I injured my back (again) at the conference meet.  Once again, my confidence, my pride, my gaining momentum from the year before had come crashing down all in a couple of swings.  I was able to make it through the outdoor season alright, but I lacked my confidence, my swagger if you will.  I was now ready to take some time off and get ready for the marathon.

I came to Seattle with a head full of steam.  I was ready to get myself back on track.  Nothing would help more than getting the Olympic Trials qualifier right?  Well, shit happens and your plans all come to a crashing halt again.  Within a month of moving to Seattle I was ready to leave.  I was already arguing and disagreeing with my coach (which ask any other coach I have had, I don't complain I just do the work).  My abilities and my desire to run were being questioned which fucks with a persons confidence, especially when they are already at a status of negative.  I stuck with it after talking with my dad who tends to tell me to just nut up and do it anyways.  Things again took a turn for the worse when I found out that my Grandma Limpf (from Ohio) was in the hospital and not expected to make it.  I love my family more than anything and this was a huge slap in the face with reality.  She would be the fourth family member I would have pass away since my freshmen year of high school.  

The fall season was tough and did not merit any confidence building races.  I fell apart in the last 6 miles of the Twin Cities Marathon and missed the Olympic Trials qualifier.  I had a rough go during the cross country races for my club team, Club Northwest.  I was at an all time low confidence wise.  I needed to make a decision, carry on and hope for better days, or let it go and move on with life.  I am too much a competitor and always have been, so I decided to pack my bags and move back to Cheney to get some familiar training. Things started off great.  I was getting in the miles and feeling confident again.  And then I got the flu and was out for four days.  I shook that off and came back again, only to injure my Achilles Tendon three weeks before Bloomsday.  Once again, I was ready to say screw it and quit.  Once again, my dad being the wise bald man that he is, talked me out of it.  I ran Bloomsday, but it was ugly.  I had only run sparingly since my Achilles flare up and I was lucky enough to work 20 hours the two days before Bloomsday (working for Runner's Soul).  Still upset, I set my sights on the US 25k Championships (read previous blog for details).

I ran the race and came out with a new confidence.  It reminds me of what I felt like just two short years ago during my great cross country season.  I smile again, I bounce off the walls with excitement. I am no longer the shadow of my former self.  The night after the US 25k championships my teammate and friend Ruth Perkins (who I owe dearly for helping calm me down prior to the race) told me that she noticed a difference.  She had met me at the Twin Cities Marathon and since then we have raced together often.  (She qualified for the Olympic Trials at Twin Cities, and by the way, she is 30 and a mother of two).  She said she had never seen me with a smile on my face after a run, a look of excitement that most haven't seen in two years.  This morning Cody told me that the exciting thing is that I have shown perseverance through it all.  I could have given up but something kept pulling me back.  The story is not over and probably will not be for a long time.  As Cody put it so simply this morning, "You are like a Phoenix who has come back risen from the ashes."  So from the top to bottom I went, but now I wont stop until I am at the top.

US 25k Championships!

It is finally an "Almost Familiar" feeling.  The wait is over.  I have finally come back.  After what has seemed to be an eternity I am finally back to my old self.  No longer do I have to sit back after a race and wonder what could have been.  I will leave Grand Rapids today with a sense of achievement.  I ran hard yesterday at the 5/3 Riverbank Run and I finished 11th overall.  It is my best finish in a US championship race.

I woke up in the morning feeling confident.  I knew I was going to run a great race.  I went for a good shakeout with my friend Drew Polley which got me feeling ready to race.  It was a nice morning with some light showers, perfect for running.  After a quick shake out we came back and had some breakfast.  Sitting in my room alone I was getting nervous, but excited at the same time. 

Prior to the race I was getting ready and had to use the restroom, as I walked up and opened the door to use the port-a-potty an older lady walked in front of me and asked me to close the door.  (This story will have more relevance later) It was just a few minutes before the race started and I had to rush to get to the start and dropped my bag.  I didn't know where elites were supposed to leave their gear, so I tossed it by the start.

I walked to the start and waited for the command to go.  The gun went off and I latched on to a pack that I felt would be my best bet for a good race.  The problem was we went out in a 4:50.  My goal for the weekend was to go 5:08-5:12 pace.  This was a bit overwhelming, but I told myself that it was likely to happen and that I just had to go with the flow.  Our second mile was right at 5 minutes which made me feel a little more comfortable in the pack.  At around mile 3 or 4 I was just feeling as though the pace was picking up a little too much for me and I settled back, while my pack pulled away.  I stayed around the low 5's until midway through the race.  On the back half of the course there were some headwinds that slowed my pace to just a little over 5:10's.  I had been all alone in no mans land for nearly 7 miles by time I caught one of the runner's who had gone out a little fast.  I was feeling more confident even though my legs were not feeling that confident.  I saw the pack ahead and was told I was in 12th place with 3 miles to go.  I started pushing the pace and trying to play catch up.  My goal each mile was to close the gap just a little more.  At mile 14 I had Drew back in my sights.  I decided to go after him, but each time I put a surge to catch him, he seemed to pull away from me.  It was demoralizing.  Here I was giving my best effort and I couldn't catch him.  The mile 15 marker came and I tried one last surge.  I was catching him with each step, but did I didn't know if I had enough distance to get him.  With about 300 meters to go there is a small uphill to the finish and I caught Drew on this uphill.  I put in a surge and was trying to fight him off.  I came across the line in 1:20:07, good enough for 11th place.

Finally, after months of pain and frustration, after a few times I felt like I was ready to quit and give up a sport I have loved so much, I finally had the race I had been looking for.  I wanted to be top 10 at this race, but I gave what I had.  I pushed myself to catch Drew and some others and put myself in a spot where I could have a great race.  It has been a roller coaster ride to this point, but things are beginning to look up.  I have Grandma's Marathon in just about a month and that will be my next opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Trials.  With my renewed confidence I have no doubt that I will run faster than the standard of 2:19 for the Marathon and will have yet another great race.

Welcome to Grand Rapids!!!

I will start you off with one of my new favorite songs.  Its probably not new to some people but I just started listening to it earlier this week while flipping around my itunes.  I love this song because 1. its called Here We Go, which is a great name for a song prior to a race and 2. I love how it picks up slowly until around 65 seconds into the song and then it starts picking up hard.

After a long day of travel and moving ahead three time zones I got into Grand Rapids last night around 10:30.  The trip went pretty well, a little shaky on the flight from Denver to Grand Rapids, but I am pretty accustomed to it now.  The hotel I am staying at is possibly the nicest hotel I have ever stayed at.  My room has a view of the river which is absolutely beautiful.  Temperatures are near perfect, but the humidity may be the one caution I have for tomorrow.

Today I was able to go to lunch with my grandpa and my Aunt Michelle.  I have not seen my aunt in nearly 10 years and at first did not recognize her, which was quite embarrassing.  It was nice to talk to both of them, but at the same time very hard.  It has been nearly 9 months since my grandma has passed away, but the pain still shows and wears on us all.  We all know we have each other, but a key aspect in all of our lives is missing.  I am glad I got to see them today and tomorrow I get to see my Aunt Jennifer and my cousins which will be nice.  I have always liked being able to race out this way because of the opportunity it gives me to see my family.

As for the race itself.  It looks to be a good one, they are figuring it to be one of the deeper fields in the last few years which will make it tough.  I am ready though.  I have confidence that I have lacked for what seems has been forever.  Workouts have been good and my runs have been solid.  I look forward to surprising people tomorrow morning and putting my name on some peoples watch list.  For those of you looking to possibly get up early and watch the race it will be broadcast live at: www.USARunningCircuit.com.  
Hopefully I can be up in the competition to make it worth any of you getting up early.

On a last note I would just like to say good luck to all of my friends competing in the various conference championships this weekend!

Reviews and Previews: Bloomsday and the USA 25k Championships

It is weird to think that just one week ago I ran Bloomsday.  It was my first one and I had high expectations going into the race.  Unfortunately, I suffered an Achilles flare up a couple of weeks before and I could not get the workouts that I wanted in before the race.  In fact, two weeks before the race I only ran 32 miles.  For those of you who know me well enough that is typically my mileage for two days, not a whole week.  Sadly, that is the nature of this game, you can train for months at a time for one or two goal races and have it all fall apart with one little ache and pain.

The week of Bloomsday is always hectic at my job.  I work at Spokane's only running store, Runner's Soul.  The week was as usual and Friday and Saturday were pure hell.  I worked 20 hours in two days.  Most of those hours are spent on your feet, which is not ideal for running a race on Sunday.

I went into Sunday with no goal in mind.  To me everything had fallen apart with my injury, and add on top all the work and lack of food the two days before and I had absolutely no motivation.  I still wanted to run well, but the fire that I had just a couple of weeks earlier was not quite there.  I went out hard, in fact I went out too hard and was next to the leaders.  When I realized that nobody I knew was around me, I decided to get off the pace and settle into my own.  I didn't catch my mile split, but at two miles I was at 9:46, which is also the time I ran for the 3200 my sophomore year of high school, and I still had 5.46 miles to go.  At this point things began to get tough for me.  For the last 3-4 years I have suffered random back spasms.  They always creep up at the right time, and by right time, I mean nowhere near the right time.  By mile 3 my back was in extreme pain.  I was trying to push through it, but it was hurting too much.  I was hunched over and trying to run in a more comfortable position, but that did not work either.  I got to the famed Doomsday Hill and was as one of my friends estimated, in the 50th place range.  I am typically a hill runner and consider myself pretty dominant when it comes to uphill running.  Doomsday was apparently the hill that might have changed that image as it felt like I was crawling.  Shortly after the top of the hill I saw my coach and friend Chris Zeller.  He told me that the hard part was over and just to get to Broadway.  I felt a revival coming on.  Here the course flattens out and truthfully, it might even be slightly downhill the rest of the way.  I started to get my eyes up and focusing on each guy ahead of me.  I started picking guys off and ended up in 33rd with a time of 38:22.  It was truly disappointing, but at the same time it was a good learning experience.

Now my focus is on the USA 25k Championships this Saturday in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  I have had a couple of solid workouts that have given me a tremendous confidence boost and I look forward to going over and running a solid race to get me ready for my marathon in June.  This will be quite the bitter sweet race no matter how I run.  It has been nearly a year since my Grandma Limpf passed away and it will be the first time returning "home" since it happened.  Although most of my family will be there, it will be hard not to see her at the finish.  That being said, I have a long run with the boys here shortly.  Gotta get it going.