Need for Speed

Last night was my 1500m season opener. All things considered, it went well. I pretty much ran even 60sec laps from start to finish. I felt solid and in control though 1200m, then I just didn't have any speed to close. That is exactly what I was expecting. I'm coming off a big base season and have only ran 1500m pace once before heading into this race.

I'm pretty excited that I can go out and run even 60s without any speed what-so-ever. It will be interesting to see what I can do once I teach my legs to go fast again.

Kate and I have extended our stay here in Santa Cruz, California. We will now be staying until May 18th so that we can head back to L.A. and race at the OXY HP meet at Occidental College on May 17th. Historically, this is an amazing event. Last year 3 sections went 3:35 or faster.

Time to put some speed in these legs!

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Looking Forward

Leading into this race I had only hit the track about 3 times all within 2 weeks of the race. Leading up to that point I had still been doing long strength workouts on the roads.

You know what, I started writing that paragraph to explain the last bit leading into the race, but I feel like I'm just making excuses. I'm neither ecstatic nor disappointed with last night's 5000m season opener. I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow I ended up in the fast section of the 5000m at The Mt. SAC Relays, and fast it was! Will Leer ended up winning the race in a world leading time of 13:21.55. In retrospect I kind of wish I had of contacted to meet director to put me into the heat below. That race was won in 13:41.90. I think I would have been up nearer the front of the pack actually racing, which I thrive off of more, rather than hanging on the tail end of the pack. In any case, I ran what I ran, I ran tough and hung on to a reasonably hot pace for 3000m. At that point I fell off the pack and the pace a little but and finished the race in 14:06.90, a 15 second PB. For that, I can't complain.

I've learned what I need to learn from the race, and now it's gone. I'm looking forward to next week where I'll be running my 1500m season opener and Payton Jordan in Stanford.

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Thankful

Tomorrow is the start to my outdoor track season. I’ll be racing in the fast section of the 5000m at the Mt. SAC Relays. I’ve done more miles and strength than I ever have and know that my body is ready to run fast. I just have to make sure my mind is on the same level and push through when it tells me to stop.

I’m extremely motivated for this race. The events in Boston were a number of different adjectives: silly, tragic, mindless, to name a few. For me, however, it has really opened my eyes. Along with the tragic stories came so many more of heroism, braveness, and example of how wonderful humans really can be. It made me realise how truly lucky I am. I have an amazing group of people supporting me, my very own integrated support team. From my parents, to my coaches, my sponsors at The Running Room, my friends, and my therapists, they are all behind me every step of the way and it’s comforting to know that. Of course, my extraordinary partner, Kate is a big part of that as well. She and I have both been so lucky to meet many people over the last while who are incredibly generous.

I could go on and on, but my message is this. I’ve worked hard over the last year to make my life and the people who surround me, positive. I think I have done a pretty successful job at this. Thank-you to each and every person that has been a positive influence in my life.

My race is tomorrow evening at 9:10pm PST. It should be a really exciting race. Mt. SAC has a live stream on their website, http://www.mtsacrelays.com/. Kate is racing in the fast section of the 5000m as well, she goes at 7:40pm PST.

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Came off Wrong.

It has come to my attention that my last blog may have come off with the wrong message.

I did not want to it to come off sounding as though I feel everyone is out to get me and looking for sympathy. I wanted to state a few hardships I have faced, and express how excited I am to have worked hard to get through some of them and start this new chapter and new and exciting opportunities within my community in Toronto and across Canada.

I wrote and posted that blog in less than an afternoon. I should have spent more time reading and editing it to make sure the point I wanted to make was the one I was expressing.

I left Florida on Saturday to come here to Mexico. I am incredibly lucky enough to be involved in a truly amazing project here. From the moment I landed, the inspiration I was feeling in Florida has increased an unmeasurable amount, peaking yesterday afternoon. We are building a cabin at 11,000ft, and between aout 10 off us, we erected an 18ft, 800+lbs log with nothing but human power. It seems like such a simple thing, but it was truly amazing, words can not express the feeling.

As I said, all the inspiration to be creative I was feeling in Florida doesn't even make a blip on the map compared to what I am feeling now. I am here in Mexico until Friday. I am both dreading and very much looking forward to the day. I want to stay here with the amazing people and continue to help in the process, but I am extremely excited to get back to Toronto and start my own process there.

Start From Scratch

Time to jump back on the blog train.

I had a great summer back in Calgary. I really enjoyed spending time with my old friends from high school, and stepping away from being completely surrounded by running, and runners.

Biggest news; I left my old training group in Arizona and have moved to Toronto to train with Athletics Toronto under the guidance of Dave Reid.

At different points during my season last year, I had thoughts about possibly leaving the training group in Arizona. There were many reasons that played into these thoughts. One of the biggest factors, as with any decision an up and coming athlete in Canada, was money. My parents have been overly generous over the last two years, sacrificing a little on there end and funding me while I was down there. Each month they gave me $1000, and that is what I lived on. Most of it went to rent, and then rest went to groceries. I definitely wasn't living a luxurious lifestyle; but I was making it by, somewhat, comfortably.

The second biggest reason; overall well-being and happiness. There seemed to be a lot of negativity within the training group, and a lot of it was directed at me. Unlike most groups I've been in where warm-ups and cool-downs are light-hearted and fun, it seemed the ones in Arizona became a 3-mile complain session. If someone wasn't there for whatever reason, the topic of discussion quickly turned to talking behind that persons back.

One thing I've continually said when people have asked me about my move is, "When one of your training partners threatens to 'effing knock you out', after a race, it's probably time to look into a new group."

Please remember, this is just my experience with this group. I believe the coaching, training, therapy, and all those things are really amazing. I wish everyone still involved nothing but the best.

On a brighter note, Toronto has been amazing! I really lucked out with a great apartment and awesome roommate. I have a pretty spectacular view of Lake Ontario and downtown. I face east, so every morning I get to watch a beautiful sunrise over the famous skyline of downtown Toronto.

So far while being here I have met Ty Domi, Adam Growe (the host of Cash Cab), and watched The Tragically Hip play at a very small, intimate venue, for free. I also returned to the desert and saw a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert in Phoenix, a lifelong dream that definitely lived up to expectation.

On the running side of things, it has been great. Definitely a more old-school, mileage based approach then what I have been used to in the past, which has been awesome. I had a few hiccups when I first arrived in Toronto with being a bit sick. I think moving into a high-rise, and working downtown definitely played a factor in that. Most recently I went to Kingston to run in the Athletics Ontario Cross Country Championship; my first race since moving out here. It went really well. I won the 10km race in 31:15.44. I sat with the back for roughly 7km, when I threw down a pretty decisive move. I broke the field and never looked back. From what I hear Hussein Hashi made a great effort to pull be back. I have to give him a lot of credit, it was a pretty windy day out there, and he was in the lead for a lot of the race.

I'm now 2 weeks out from the Canadian Cross Country Championships and very much looking forward to it. I'll be heading out to Vancouver on the 20th, and staying for a week. The race is November 24th, and Jericho Beach in Vancouver. Anyone who is in Vancouver at that time should definitely come out to watch. It's always a great event, and the races are very exciting.

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Whirlwind Update #2.

Well, Another season has come and gone. All in all, it's been a pretty darn good one. 4 personal bests in 3 events, lowering my own provincial record twice, a senior national team, Olympic trials final, travel from coast to coast of Canada, and most importantly, meeting and creating connections with some truly amazing people.

As I said in my last post, Nationals wasn't the most satisfying race of my life. I am content with my result, but obviously wanted and expected better. I am still young in the sport and am learning more and more each year the importance of patience in championship racing. I am certain in the years to come my placement at Nationals will be a lot for on par with my ranking going in.

After the trials I had a few days to decompress and then traveled out to Moncton for the first stop of the east coast part of the National Track League. Moncton was a slower more tactical race, in which I practiced my patience and ended up 6th in a close race where only 2 seconds separated 1st from 7th.

I then headed to Halifax for NTL #5, the Aileen Meagher Track Classic. This meet did a fantastic job of advertising and getting fans into the stands. Having two locals going to the 2012 Olympics probably didn't hurt. The meet organisers did a great job of creating a really fun, energetic environment. It showed in the results of the races. This race went a quicker and I ended up 4th in my second fastest time of my life.

I was pretty stoked on that result and went into the NTL finale in Toronto feeling really strong and confident. Nate Brannen came to Toronto to race and had Geoff Harris pace. Geoff, along with having a phenomenal season in his individual races, has gotten pretty good at pacing 1500m as well. I knew this was going to be a great race and I needed to take advantage of it. I immediately tucked in behind Nate and decided I was just going to stay there for as long as I could. Turns out, I was able to stay there for the entirety of the 1500m race. I finished second to Nate in a new personal best time of 3:40.15. I was really happy with my performance and very proud of my courage, I just really wish I had of dipped under that 3:40 barrier.

Since then I took two weeks off, during which I realised I must be maturing and growing up. I went back and read a post I put up in 2010 about my 2 week break, you can read it here. This year was significantly different. Instead of pulling all-nighters and drinking my face off, I focused on what this two weeks is actually about, recover. Don't get me wrong, I had a few good nights of going out and being a normal human, but certainly nothing like that of the legendary break of 2010.

I have gotten back to running now, and admittedly probably did a little too much too soon. Can't blame me though, how could I not with the Olympics going on! I have really toned it down and am being a lot more cautious. The season is long, I don't need to get fit in 2 weeks.

Speaking of running, I think I'm going to go for a run right now!

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1500m final

So, the final of the men's 1500, I am proud of the way I ran the race, I'm not overly happy with my 8th place finish, but in content. I found myself in the lead with a little over 400 to go and made a really solid move. I just wasn't quite able to hold on as long as I thought.

I felt amazing over these last couple weeks of training and I thought I was ready for the race of my life. I guess that race will have to wait for one of the meets out east.

Thanks to everyone who has been following me and giving me support. It has been truly amazing and entirely overwhelming. You all really helped carry me through the weekend.