fifteen-hundred meters as fast as you can

It is time to get on with life.  A week and half ago and only 200 meters into the 1500m final at those Olympic Trials, so hyped and ballyhooed, I knew my Olympic dream was over. Actually I could have told you that when I woke up that morning to see the flags flapping in the wind as I pulled back the curtains in my room and peered off into the distance with all the hope in the world flowing through my veins. I was a ship up the water, but thoughts that my dream wouldn’t be fulfilled didn’t come until the race was actually underway. I went into the Olympic Trials sans the almighty “A Standard” and had to hope that the race was fast or the conditions were good enough to push the pace myself. Unfortunately I knew under the conditions that leading from the start was suicide and so I took my chances and played my hand against fate. At 200 meters I knew fate wasn’t on my side. I tried to remain composed and just race. This race was after all the US Championships. If I didn’t make the team at least I could prove that I belonged. The further along we got in the race the harder it was to keep my composer and not get emotional that my Olympic aspirations would require 4 more years of waiting. Up until that point no negative thoughts ever entered my mind. However, once my doomed fate became reality my emotions took over and with 100m to go I was trying to hold back tears.

As I look back now I am upset and angry that those were the circumstances. The one race in the US that went faster than 3:36.6 was the one race I had to miss because of a hamstring injury. Try as I might, running the faster than that in time trial situations just isn’t my forte unfortunately. I ran 3:37.53 and 3:37.51 in my 2 attempts as that. Dealing with a disappointing season in 2007 because of illness and then having my Olympic dreams dashed, has been quite a pill to swallow in the last 10 days.

My consolation has come on the track. Running has been the only time I feel at ease since the trials. My hunger and desire to reach my goals has never been so intense. I am writing this from the Frankfurt airport as I await my connection to Barcelona for my next race on the 19^th. I got on the plane in DC last night knowing that I am as fit as I have ever been after one of my best track sessions ever on Monday night. It wasn’t jaw dropping in the typical regard, but rather it was the ease at which I was exceeding the goal times for each interval. Nothing could be better therapy for a disappointing race than for me to get back out there and refocus my energy on training and running faster than I ever have. 

So many people over the years have told me that patience is the greatest factor in achieving success as a distance runner. Only now am I starting to fully comprehend the truth in that statement. I ran fast times and I had international championships experience before my 23^rd birthday. It was only logical to think that my path to the top would continue to rise at the same clip as I got older. I see now that my devotion and my perseverance will be the ultimate testaments to my success. This is a journey that I am committed to now more than ever. It is a good thing I have time on my side! 

I just finished packing my bags for the Olympic Trials in Eugene in anticipation of my departure tomorrow morning. I have waited 4 years to avenge my 4th place finish from 2004. Since I began competing in track and field at the age of 14 it was always my dream to represent the US at the Olympics. I’m in the best shape of my life (meaning in the right race my PR of 3:33.28 is TOAST!), and mentally I’ve never been more hungry to compete and lay it all on line. I couldn’t be more excited for what lies ahead.

Over the last 10 years there have been a number of people who have been truly instrumental to my success and I want to thank everyone. Your love and support means more to me than anything I might accomplish on the track. This weekend is for all of you, namely: Jackie and Rich my loving parents; my grandparents who are my biggest fans in the world; my sister Erika who has shown me the beauty and grace that life allows; Juli Henner my coach of 6 years for guiding me and pushing me to believe that I can be one of the best runners in the world; Pat Henner, Greg Isham, Darryl Genest, Paul Prather, and Steve Neubauer, who coached me in various sports over the years and taught me so many things about the pursuit of sport; Sam Burley, Rod Koborsi, Fleet Hower, Steve Meinelt, Chris Esselborn, Tommy Manning, Tyler Campbell, Lindsey Holts, Chris Miltenburg, Mike Smith, Neil Grosscup, Dylan Welsh, and every other teammate I have ever shared the passion of the sport with; Tiffany Jow, Evan Hendrickson, Mike Ells, Jared Harman, Brandon Wentzel, Travis Volk, Amy Bowers, and Russel Gehrett who are my best friends from Auburn, WA and who I left behind to move to Washington, DC to pursue this drean; and thank you to everyone else that I might have left out. This is for you.

I’ve been riding a fixed gear (48×17 in case you wanted to know what gear) for the last 4 years. My friend Vikram from my Georgetown days got me hooked and it is now the only way I roll around the city, which is mostly to and from Whole Foods, Cafe St. Ex, and Baked and Wired. If you don’t know what the fixed gear scene is all about check out the free PDF version of the latest Fixed Magazine.

So I’m a little behind the times. As an old school buy-the-album-and-listen-to-it-over-and-over-again-start-to-finish-kind-of-guy, streaming audio just never really appealed to me. The only radio station I listen to is NPR/WAMU. I finally decided it was worth taking each of these sites for a spin. So I unplugged the auxiliary port from my turntable, routed it to my laptop, and found sweet, free, and perfectly legal music flowing through my apartment from pretty much any band I could think of. Including my new favorite band, Boeoes Kaelstigen. If you are a music junky and you are as still hooked to vinyl and CDs, maybe it is time to give these sites a whirl. check them out here and here. 

Ho hum. That pretty much sums up this past weekends result. 2 weeks ago I flew out to LA to run the Adidas Track Classic but had to pull out of the race after warming up with a tweaked hamstring that didn’t quite heal in time. In the long run it was smart not to take the chance of making things worse. However, it was agonizing having to watch my competition race from the side lines. After arriving back in DC it only took me a few more days of non-stop physio to get back to training. More importantly I was healthy enough to race in New York at the Reebok Grand Prix.

An hour long rain delay (on top of the fact that the meet was also pushed back an hour before it even started)  meant the gun went off around the time I am usually sound asleep. We went out in a blistering 39 seconds for the first 300 meters before slamming on the brakes and running a series of 59 to 61 second. With 200 to go I had myself in perfect position but just lacked the finishing speed I needed to win. At that point I ended up fading to 4th. 

I have gotten off to a slow start this year in terms of racing but I am finding myself rounding into form at the perfect time. I am still however, without the A standard. So for the past two weekends I have time trialed for all intents in purposes in two different states with two identical results. First was a hop, skip, and a jump up to Boston for the last High Performance Series meeting at Bentley College. The weather was quite warm, but I had my training partner Sam Burley and George Mason standout Mike Pachella pace me through 900m. We had perfect splits of 56.5, 1:54, and 2:53. The heat took its toll on me over the last 200m and I just barely held off a charging Nate Brannen for the win. We both ran 3:37.5, less than a second from the Olympic A standard. 

The next week my adventures took me Indianapolis for the final American Milers Club meeting. The weather was again perfect, although I am still trying to figure out why we didn’t start until 11:28PM. This time around Alan Webb agreed to come back after the 800m to pace us and once again I had the duty of being the guy out in front when Alan stepped off. We slowed a little from 1000m to 1200m and I panicked a bit because I really wanted to charge through 1200m in 2:51 knowing that if I did I would assuredly drop anyone sucking on me to my rear. Unfortunately we were just slow enough that we all stayed together and I became a sitting duck over the last 100m. Again the result was 3:37.51, only for 3rd place this time. Still short of the A standard, but now reassured that I am probably capably of 3:37 any day of the week even if I have to run it by myself. I am also reassured because prior to running a string of PR’s in 2006 I wasn’t capable of this sort of consistency nor did I feel this good at this pace. I know I am fit and I know that I am now heading to the trials to RACE! The time trials are over and it is on to race head to head with the best guys in the country to see who deserves a spot on the Olympic team. I was never any good at time trials anyway. (chances are that it will take the A standard to make the team, so my concern with chasing it is over) 

The field is now set for the 1500m at the Adidas Track Classic. With good conditions and this field, times should be fast!

Bernard Lagat
USA
Kevin Sullivan
CAN
Nick Bromley
AUS
Chris Lukezic
USA
Mark Fountain
AUS
Nate Brannen
CAN
Nick Willis
NZL
Boaz Cheboiywo
KEN
Lopez Lomong
USA
Nick Symmonds
USA
Jim Wyner
USA
Brad Woods
AUS
Adam Goucher
USA
Will Leer
USA

The pre-season is over and it is only 7 days until the rocking and rolling begin at the Adidas Track Classic in LA. With 4 early season races under my belt, the training volume decreasing and the excitement building as the real racing begins. The early season races came amidst the hard training and their primary purpose was to blow off the cobwebs and prepare myself for a series of fast races over the next few weeks. Stanford was quite a let down when we found out the top section would be split into 2 even heats. I ended up dueling with Matt Tegenkamp down the home straight but was left imagining what a great race it would have been if Sully, Nick Symmonds, and Lopez Lomong where all in there with us. Oh well, not much else to say about that. Let’s just say all the post-collegiate guys were pissed!

Kevin Sullivan (aka. Sully) has been here for the past week and he is already hooked on Guitar Hero. I am not very good, but that is mostly because I enjoy dancing around with rock staresque swagger while I play. Sully is a more determined player and he means business when he plays. In between runs we usually have time for a few rounds on Guitar Hero before planning our meals for the evening. I love food. I like to cook, but that is usually just because I enjoy the end product that comes from high quality, fresh, ingredients. The summer months mean it is time to grill (my favorite method of preparation for pretty much any food you can think of). Last night we feasted on an enormous t-bone, sweet corn, asparagus, a baguette, and a bottle of wine.

Wahoo! Reebok updated their running website a few days ago and my ugly mug somehow made it on the home page. I feel honored, if not a bit self conscious now. Check it out here.