A Midwestern Tour

The past few weeks have been pretty great for me. I ran my first race in a year (yes, a year), and first race as a professional on June 11^th at the US 8km Championships. It was the first time I lined up to race (other than the time trial at Princeton a few weeks before) since the 2010 NCAA outdoor 10k. It has been a journey for me getting back into race shape, and I still have a ways to go! Nonetheless it is like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders being a professional athlete and actually being able to compete again. When you have long layoffs like I had away from competition, you kind of get lost in training and lose sight of what it is all for. To be quite honest, it is very hard to visualize your goals at the end of the tunnel when the train isn’t even on the tracks..!

If you have not been following results, I came in 8^th overall in 23:30 at the 8k Champs. And as much as a relief as it was to be racing again mentally, physically it was uncomfortable. I haven’t pushed my body like that in, well – a year! I was venturing into unfamiliar territory, and I know it will take a couple race efforts to get to where I want to be. I was actually talking to a friend yesterday about my race and I told him that I expected to run about 23 minutes, but if this was NCAA cross-country still and I had opened with a 23-mid I would be ecstatic. My cross country PR for 8k (while at Michigan) is only 24:02, so I think this race gives me a pretty awesome starting point leading into the rest of the summer.

Because the US 8km Championships was in Carmel, IN – my parents, sister, and brother-in-law all drove down to watch. It was great being able to see my family and have them there for support. After the race I got to go home to Ann Arbor for a few days and visit with more family, and friends who I hadn’t seen for a few months. While home I got to enjoy my Grandma’s lake house, a couple pit fires with friends, My sister’s new puppy “Manco,” and enjoyed some cheap and delicious Midwestern food.

Manco

After all of that, I made my way down to Peoria, IL for the Steamboat Classic 4 mile road race. Broe grew up in East Peoria, and is the elite coordinator for the race. He is a hometown hero in the Peoria area and there are posters of him in all the local establishments.

Broe: East Peoria's Golden Boy.

The way the race went, I have to say that it was just ok for me. I ran 18:40 for 4 miles and came in 7^th overall. I left a little disappointed because there was big prize money for top 5, and an additional time bonus for sub-18:30. I thought both would be possible, but just did not have it in my legs that morning. I think I was a little tired still from racing the 8k the week before and felt pretty sluggish from the gun. I remained in the pack until about 2 miles and then started to fade off the leaders. In hindsight I was also disappointed in myself for not sprinting 2 miles and picking up the $500 bonus for the leader at halfway! That would’ve made a mediocre race a bit easier to stomach. I do have to comment on the hospitality of this race – it is incredible. Thursday we had a dinner, Saturday a brunch and a dinner on a Steamboat Cruise down the Illinois River, and Sunday there was a group “boredom” run as they call it. The reason I talked about all the prize money I missed out on in this race was to set you up for the whopping $18 I won as the first place finisher in the 18^th annual post-Steamboat Classic “Boredom” Run. Yes, I kicked past Fagan, Lemoncello, and Young – who all beat me the day before… I don’t even feel bad about it.

Overall, I am taking away experience with professional road races and a great starting point for things to come from my week-long tour of the Midwest. They weren’t the best races I could’ve had, but certainly not the worst – and they are stepping stones towards greater fitness and things to come.

Next on my list is the Peachtree Road Race, also the US 10km Championships, in Atlanta on July 4^th.

-Lex

New Gal At The Dance

Former ITA member and current Hanoverian, Sarah Groff, recently made triathlon history by becoming the first American woman to podium in the illustrious World Championship Series of the International Triathlon Union.  While watching the race stream live from Kitzbuhel, Austria last Sunday, I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by admiration.  You see, I got to know Sarah this past fall when Sarah was recovering from a disappointing athletic year- one which saw broken bones, overtraining, and severe blows to confidence.  Her build up for the 2011 season didn’t fare any better, as an early training camp in Kenya was ended abruptly after a crash during a training ride reinjured her sacrum (which she had fractured the previous year).  Her injures forced her to take more time off, and come January, she was still unable to run for more than fifteen minutes at a time.  Sarah’s woes continued at the first race of the World Championship Series (WCS) in Sydney, Australia when an athlete crashed on the bike in front of her, taking Sarah out of the race.  However, Sarah was never deterred.  Her determination never wavered.  Through adversity, injury, and inability to train, Sarah kept striving at becoming the best triathlete she could be.  Once her injures healed, she picked up where she left off, logging the hours and miles to regain her fitness and speed.  In the second WCS event held in Madrid, Spain, Sarah posted her best result ever by finishing seventh and crossed the line as the top American.  Her confidence grew, and a few weeks later she saw herself get off the bike and begin the run in a small lead pack of six women.  Sarah hung tough as women began falling from the lead pack, soon there were only four, then three.  Running the third fastest run split of the day, Sarah was able to hold on to bronze and claimed America’s first women’s podium at a WCS event.  After all her hardship, after all of her misfortune, Sarah steps up to the podium and proves that she is a legitimate medal contender for next year’s Olympic games.  It just goes to show, never let up on your dreams.  Never let setbacks deter you from your goals.  You must keep your head held high, and take things one day at a time.  Sarah, only a few months ago, could not even go for an easy jog without immense pain.  But that did not stop her, it did not dissuade her, and last Sunday she was able to run herself into the record books.  We can all learn something from Sarah, from her grit, resolve, and willpower to overcome and succeed.  It is all too easy to give up when things aren’t working in your favor, but it is exactly those times of hardship where champions are born- as they rise above the tribulation to glory.

Until next time, truely in admiration

Ben

Summer Time and the Livin's Easy

After much unnecessary tarrying I finally committed to take the Registered Dietitian’s (RD) exam a few weeks ago. With summer rapidly approaching I wanted to avoid the objectionable combination of summer sun and stressful studying. The end result was that I passed! I can now officially call myself a Registered Dietitian. I haven’t quite yet determined how or where I am going to put my new credentials to work, but I would like to find a way to integrate nutrition education into my community service.

With my days of deliberate contemplation behind me, my mind is free to meander in other directions. Summer reading, iced coffee and the great outdoors have been among my preoccupations of late. Last week I trekked 7 miles of the Appalachian trail near Hanover. Recent rains and inadequate footwear made for a rather slippery scramble along the ups and downs. My snail-like progress was a welcome change of pace though.

Along with luring me out of doors, the rising temperatures have also prompted a change in my coffee habits. Iced coffee is a pleasing alternative method of caffeine delivery during the summer months. Preferring to do-it-myself I have been cold-brewing my iced coffee at home. Cold-brewing coffee results in a much different flavor profile compared with a hot extraction. It strongly concentrates certain flavor elements of coffee while other elements like acidity are lessened. The difference between hot and cold-brewing of coffee is mainly a function of time; the application of heat to coffee is a fast brew method, while cold-brewing is a slow process. While it can take 12 hrs or more to make iced coffee, cold-brewing is rather simple. It can easily be made in large quantities so it's always on hand.

How to Cold-Brew Coffee:

You will need ¼ to 1/3 cup of coarsely ground coffee per 1 cup (8 oz) of water. Mix coffee and cold, filtered water in a French press. Refrigerate. Allow the mixture to sit for a minimum of 3 hrs, and up to 12 hrs. When ready depress the plunger to separate the grinds from the liquid. Pour the coffee through a pour-over dripper fitted with a paper filter, into a storage container (such as a pitcher). Supposedly the resulting coffee is 2-3 times as concentrated as you would want to drink it, but I usually just drink as is. You can dilute with water if it’s too strong. Serve over ice. Liquid sweeteners such as agave nectar will dissolve better in cold coffee. Tastes best when served poolside along with a good book.

From the Camp of the Beaten

Bruins have won the Stanley Cup!!! Most of you who follow us and are from New England dont need me to tell you what happened because you have all been on the edge of your seats watching! I have now witnessed all the Major Boston sports teams win Championships! Its been a great decade to be a Boston sports fan. 3 superbowls, 2 World Series, An NBA Championship and now a Stanley Cup!! The Bruins never gave up and by doing so they were the first team to ever win 3 consecutive game 7's in a playoff. They never gave up and kept fighting all the way to the very end and that brings me to my blog.

 This past saturday I raced in my first ever Diamond League race! I ran hard and with 200 to go I took the lead and started to press for home! With 120 meters to go I was passed by the second place runner and then began to lock up very bad. I could not lift my knees I felt as if I was stuck in mud. I was then passed by 3 other runners and I placed 5th running a time of 1:48.6. Failing to hit the USA A standard and running .3 seconds slower then my current season best...(1:48.33)...
My first year out of college has not gone as well as Id planned. I planned on placing top three at Indoor  USA's  breaking 4 mins in the mile and running sub 1:46 this outdoor season. But as you know things don't always go according to plan. Injuries happen and sometimes as hard as you work things just don't go your way. I know this all to well. Since starting running in high school I have had more than my share of obstacles on and mostly off the track (Enough to write a book). But each time I have been faced with a set back I have managed to overcome and succeed. At my college senior track banquet Coach Greg Roy said that "if there was one word to describe Brian it would be Perseverance." Life is not easy nor is track. And when things get hard you cant just quit. I wont quit! At this moment I am sitting 35th on the preformance list for USA's I have the slowest provisional time (1:48.33... 1.77s off my Pr) and I am not guaranteed to make it into the meet. So this weekend I am driving myself down to NJ to race an 800m and try and get the 800m A standard of 1:47.5. I will race as hard as I can and If I come up short. I will know that I gave it all I had. I will keep my head up and keep moving forward. Feeling sorry for myself has never gotten me anywhere! And even though so far my season has been a disappointment I still have races to run and Ive only begun to Fight!
Id like to share a poem that my older brother Peter gave to me when I was a freshmen in college. I have it saved on my desktop and I still read it to this day.


 

From the Camp of the Beaten

I have learned something well worth while

That victory could not bring-

To wipe the blood from my mouth and smile

Where none can see the sting-

I can walk, head up, while my heart is down

From the beating that brought its good,

And that means more than the champion’s crown

Who is taking the easier road.

I have learned something worth far more

Than victory brings to men;

Battered and beaten, bruised and sore,

I can still come back again;

Crowded back in the hard, tough race,

I’ve found that I have the heart

To look raw failure in the face

And train for another start.

Winners who wear the victor’s wreath,

Looking for softer ways,

Watch for my blade as it leaves the sheath.

Sharpened on rougher days,

Trained upon pain and punishment,

I’ve groped my way through the night,

But the flag still flies from my battle tent

And I’ve only begun to fight…

  

Thanks for reading

~Brian

Kaboom!

I would like to congratulate Brian, Ben, and Lex who all ran very well yesterday!!!!! Well done fellas!!!! 

Today I awoke and went to the kitchen as usual to do morning things. While eating breakfast it was pointed out to me that today was Dartmouth’s commencement and that Conan O’Brien was giving the commencement address. With this exciting news I quickly got ready, made a quick pit stop at the coffee shop, and went to watch the ceremony. 

The first 1/2 to 2/3 of Conan’s speech he heckled Dartmouth to no end. 

"Yes, I've done my research. This college was named after the Second Earl of Dartmouth, a good friend of the Third Earl of UC Santa Cruz and the Duke of the Barbizon School of Beauty. Your school motto is "Vox clamantis in deserto," which means "Voice crying out in the wilderness." This is easily the most pathetic school motto I have ever heard. Apparently, it narrowly beat out "Silently Weeping in Thick Shrub" and "Whimpering in Moist Leaves without Pants." Your school color is green, and this color was chosen by Frederick Mather in 1867 because, and this is true—I looked it up—"it was the only color that had not been taken already." I cannot remember hearing anything so sad. Dartmouth, you have an inferiority complex, and you should not. You have graduated more great fictitious Americans than any other college. Meredith Grey of Grey's Anatomy. Pete Campbell from Mad Men. Michael Corleone from The Godfather. In fact, I look forward to next years' Valedictory Address by your esteemed classmate, Count Chocula. Of course, your greatest fictitious graduate is Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Man, can you imagine if a real Treasury Secretary made those kinds of decisions? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Now I know what you're going to say, Dartmouth, you're going to say, well "We've got Dr. Seuss." Well guess what, we're all tired of hearing about Dr. Seuss. Face it: The man rhymed fafloozle with saznoozle. In the literary community, that's called cheating."

It was hilarious! 

However, the last 5-10 minutes he got somewhat serious and had a quote that really pertains to challenges in life. It currently is exactly how I feel about my track season and I hope it can give inspiration to anyone else facing similar challenges. 

The quote is as follows:

“In 2000 I told graduates to not be afraid to fail, and I still believe that. But today I tell you that whether you fear it or not, disappointment will come. The beauty is that through disappointment you can gain clarity, and with clarity comes conviction and true originality.” 

Yesterday, was more than likely my last attempt at hitting some sort of USA qualifier for this year..................and once again it wasn’t quite good enough. I ran 3:47 for 1500m @ the NB Boston Twilight and had I had a few more weeks of training, I would have been where I needed to be. Heck, last nights race felt great! almost easy! but I should have been running better than yesterday, weeks/months ago. 

Conan was right. Because of the last 6 months, the most difficult, frustrating, and challenging track season I ever had, I now know exactly what needs to be done in preparation for next year, the year that really counts. Through numerous trials and error, preparation emotionally, physically, and mentally for a year from now is crystal clear :)

Lastly, I stumbled across this video the other day. I am sure many of you have seen this clip before, but if you have not you will enjoy it!

Cheers! 

David 

P.S. During the typing of this blog I had to change locations. The transformer outside our house decided to explode, what excitement that was!!!! We are therefore left without power and no internet. So, I would like to thank Dartmouth College, I am sitting outside a random campus building borrowing their internet :)

It Is Decidedly So.

Well folks, this is it! It’s my last day in New Hampshire before I depart to the Midwest for a couple races and a short trip back home to Michigan. I’m running the US 8km Championships in Carmel, IN on Saturday, going home for a few days to visit family and friends in Ann Arbor, and then hopping back down to Peoria, IL for the Steamboat Classic (4 mile road race) the following weekend.

I have been planning on these races for a looong time, and it’s crazy how fast they sneak up on you. Broe and I were talking the other day and he mentioned that (in reference to my foot surgery) it “seems like just yesterday you were back home on the couch designing halo maps.” I have to agree. It was months ago since I was stranded on my parents couch with a boot on my foot - In fact - I have not been back to Pure Michigan since December, but when you take your training 1 day at a time and start stringing weeks together, those weeks turn into months – and before you know it – race day is here!

It’s actually crazy how much has gone by since my freak show injury, but you don’t tend to think about it as much as a professional as you would as a collegiate. There’s no sense of urgency to score points at a conference meet or peak for three different seasons! You just simply take your time, evaluate what is in your best interest, and get after it. This is the first time in a while I’ve felt really really ready… chomping at the bit to open up a season, and the concrete in Carmel is out there waiting for me.

So seeing as tomorrow is the day I hop on a plane, I’ve been doing all sorts of last minute things like getting my hair cut (no speed stripes), doing laundry, and getting my spray on tan. I also called up a meteorologist to check the pollen levels and read my horoscope. Sometimes if the stars aren’t aligned, or my tarot cards don’t fall into place I am unable to run. The final say whether I will run or not comes from my magic 8-ball, and lucky for me:

 -Lex

So What Do You Contain?

Recently I received the honor to grace the pages of the New England Runner Magazine as the background of the table of contents.  Interesting really, why someone would pick me- flowing locks and all- to adorn the glossy pages of a publication.  They must of really been struggling for photos when the editor decided on this one.  I can just see him now, haggled away in his dark room (I am only assuming he is male; ogreish, short, fat, slightly hunched with jowled jaws full of scraggly teeth set at odd angles... but I digress) cursing as the only photo available is one depicting a boyish brute, deep in concentration, attempting to hurdle over a log all awhile his untamed mane flops and fizzes amok in a sweaty mess.  Beauty, eh?  

But to be far, it isn’t as though the photographer had much to work with, and I must say, I do feel a twinge of pride to see that ugly mug in printed form.  But looking down at a photo of myself, laced by the headline stories contained therein, I begin to wonder, what do I contain?  What is inside me?  What are the stories hidden deep within my pages?  The brutal honesty of self-reflection can be bitting.  Everyone must take time to reflect on their ideas, motives, aspirations and actions.  You must step back and figure out what really is going on inside of you.  What is making you run?  You tick?  You wake up every morning?  What is it that you contain?  For me, this photo, this depiction of a determined soul hurdling over all obstacles and striving, suffering, and willing himself towards the finish, well, that’s me.  Literally and metaphorically.  My eyes are set on new finish lines as my track season is just beginning to get underway.  The heart races and the muscles twitch in anticipation as I await my new chances to display what I contain, to unleash my inner being and reveal what’s hidden beneath my cover. 

Until next time, the truth inside

Ben

Why Do You Run?

Today is June 1^st and in case you haven’t heard it a hundred times already, it is National Running Day! Why do I run? I could probably come up with a thousand reasons if I had to. I run: for fitness, to get faster, to stay healthy, out of habit, to clear my head, to feel the breeze, because it’s fun, to burn off the Ben and Jerry's, because permanent watch, shorts and sock tan lines are sexy. The list goes on.

These are just the perks though; they are not the reason I drag myself out of bed and out the door before I’m fully conscious every morning. Since my first days as a runner my foremost reason for doing it is because I LOVE to race. I get through the daily toil because I am addicted to racing; I want to set a PR every time I toe the line.

After 13 years as a runner I can finally appreciate the sheer pleasure derived from the miles that take place between races. Nevertheless, I still approach my training with the same mindset. Mileage logged is money in the bank; an investment for future competitions. I have been saving up for a long time now and I’m ready to make a withdrawal this weekend.

Saturday evening in Nashville I will be running my most important race of the season. There is no title on the line, no prize money, and nothing inherently special about this particular race, other than that it is likely my last chance to qualify for the USA Outdoor Championships. This is not where I anticipated being one year ago. I easily bettered the USA ‘A’ standard for 5000m early in the season last year, but was hampered by an IT band injury and unable to race at nationals. I took solace in ‘next year’. ‘Next year’ I’d get the time early and be able to run with the lead pack. Well it is next year now, and I am without the qualifying time, although surprisingly (thankfully!) uninjured.

I had hoped that the transition to a new coach and training environment would be the stimulus I needed to reach the next level. Unfortunately, training has not been without its hiccups. The harder I work the worse my races are. After much analyzing, re-analyzing and over-analyzing my training, we have come to the conclusion that I am a bit overtrained at the moment. This is unchartered territory for me, as I am the overly cautious, carefully tip-toeing through my training-type, ever fearful not to anger the running gods and overextend myself. Now I have done it.

Hopefully the dialing back of the volume and intensity of my training by many, many notches, is enough to put the snap back in my stride. I know my efforts will pay off in the long run, but I'm hoping it is sooner rather than later. When the gun goes off on Saturday I’m going to try my best to remember why I run.