Comeback Kid- Silversun Pickups
Well, I said I was going to keep people updated, but I can't even keep myself updated on everything going on. Since I last wrote a blog in January (yep, its now July) a lot has gone on. At that time I was going to have a track season and try to make the Olympic Trials in the 5k or 10k. A few things happened that caused me to miss the mark on this one. First off, I did a lot of training on my own. I know, if you want to be good you have to be able to handle training on your own. The problem is, I was working with a headcase (myself). I really haven't felt amazing for the last two years. In fact, there have been minimal signs of brilliance that I was able to show in college. So in that sense, having someone to help out with workouts would have been nice. I also banged my knee up mid-winter which took me out for a couple of days. It really worried me since the symptoms originally started out about the same as when I injured my knee at Eastern. These two things made for a rough go of a track season although I was showing a little bit of speed that I know I still have. After the knee injury I decided to focus back on the roads and go to Bloomsday and the US Half Marathon Championships in Duluth.
Here is where things get a bit tricky. Before moving here I had a friend contact some of the local running stores who might be able to give me a job. My friend did not know all the stores and couldn't tell me which would be best to try and get a job at. Instead, I went with what I was offered. This is how I ended up at a job that quite possibly was one of the worst experiences of my life. Right from day one, things were not exactly as I hoped they would be. I was the youngest employee who worked more than one day a week. The rest of the employees were in their 40's or even older. This age gap created a bit of a rift. I am not a perfect person by any means. I often let my emotions get the best of me and I say things that I probably shouldn't say, even if they are honest and true. Well, right before Bloomsday these came up to get me in trouble and I was "let go" from the store. In retrospect, I wished it had happened earlier because I ended up at a great job with a great staff at Marathon Sports. Oh well, you live and you learn.
Back to racing. I went to Bloomsday with high expectations. I was running workouts as well as I had in the past two years. I felt fresh, and strong. Plus, I was going back to a place I called home for 6 years. Upon arrival, Spokane did not disappoint. I felt like a rock star returning home. I was happy to see all of my friends and they were happy to see me. Because I was so happy to see everyone, and because I was returning home, I felt the need to run a stellar race. I went out way above my head and at mile 2.5 my body nearly shut down on me. My expectations and my mental state (remember I had just lost my job) got the best of me. I ended up feeling like I was shuffling at the end of the race. I ended up running slower than the year before, which was a major disappointment. I vowed to go to the half marathon and run a much smarter race.
Fast forward a couple of weeks to the US Half Championships. I had no real expectations and was hoping just to have a solid race. Training was a little dismal after Bloomsday, mainly in my disappointment with myself. The one bright spot was that I would get to see my parents, my grandpa Limpf and one of my cousins. The race itself started out fine, but my body, in a general state of fatigue and stress, again decided to shut down. Not quite as bad as it did at Bloomsday, but still left me finishing worse than I would like to have. I still had a great time with my family. The truth is, no matter how I run a race, my family is always the most important thing to me and I always have a great time with them.
Now for the major change. Three days prior to leaving for the race I received a phone call from my former coach at Eastern, Chris Zeller. At first he was just checking to see how I was doing and we were catching up. Then he dropped a question that not only surprised me, but I feel will change my life. He offered me the opportunity to come back to Eastern and be his assistant coach. I have always had respect for Zeller. I had my best years of running with him and we have a strong friendship. I told him I would have to take a few days to think about it, but in my head I already knew that my answer would be yes. To be given a chance to go back to an University that offered me opportunities that I could never dream of and to coach alongside a man that I see as not only a coach, but a mentor and a friend, was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up.
That being said, I have accepted this opportunity and I look forward to returning back to Eastern Washington University as an assistant coach this fall. I will also be returning to the best running store in America (maybe I am biased) Runners Soul. I can't wait to be back in Spokane and with all the wonderful people there. Minnesota has been a great chapter in my life and I am truly going to miss hanging out with my friends here, but this is something special. The official move date is July 25th, so if you don't mind, I gotta get packing!
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