Athlete's Blog
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Week of August 30, 2010
by Emily Harrison
It's one thing to have athletes come in to visit our team and commit to the program, but it's when everyone starts arriving and joining our daily runs and workouts that the excitement of new training partners really begins. From previous experiences, I was worried about having so many women training together. I've seen many talented runners compete with their training partners on a daily basis, as opposed to working together in a healthy, positive environment, and needless to say, the results do not always meet the initial goal.
I've learned very quickly that the athletes who join our team are not only on a different level physically, but mentally as well. They know when to listen to their bodies, when to push and when to relax. As each new athlete arrives in Flagstaff, the transition into our daily routines has been smooth and enjoyable. I've been putting in consistent, albeit lower mileage lately, but so far the pieces seem to coming together well. Every athlete who comes to train in Flagstaff adds a new perspective and brings new ideas, so it's great to embrace these outlooks and use them to become a better runner and all-around person. It's been exciting for me to be able to jump into workouts with Stephanie and I look forward to training with her more in the future.
Congratulations to Fasil on his recent win, and good luck to Brett, James, and Stephanie who will be racing the 20k.
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Week of August 16, 2010
by Nick Arciniaga
Going For It
We are now 17 months away from the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston, which means that leaves us all with only 16 months to either Qualify for the Trials or Prepare to race them. For me, my goal will be to make the Olympic Team in London. This goal a year ago for me seemed like a long shot, now as it gets closer and closer I can see it becoming more of a reality.
I am starting to get a whole new attitude towards running a marathon, which has started from the confidence I have gained from the past few marathons I have run; each one being an improvement from the time before. Yet, there are still a few steps that I need to take to be able to run and compete with the top marathoners in the US, as well as the top in the world. No matter how well I think I have run my past few times out, my PR is still nearly 8 minutes slower than the World Record, and would still be over 5 minutes behind Wanjiru at the last Olympics.
So what can I do to get myself better? How can I be more prepared? Should I have just been born more talented? Nope. Should I just let go of my mental limitations and just race? Maybe. That is what Greg and I have talked about over the past few months. Marathon races all over the world now are becoming just that. A 26.2 mile race. Guys are going for world record and course records every time out. Its getting to the point where a lot of them are able to hold on and run ridiculously fast times. These guys are just Going For It every time out.
Going For It – That is Greg's Mantra for our team. Basically it means to not be afraid of the competition, not to be afraid of the distance of the marathon, and to go into every race with the ambition to run a breakthrough performance. Sometimes we will be ready to do it, and sometimes we won't. But looking at the alternative, if we never put ourselves out there in the mix of things, then we may never run well at all. We would be competing only with ourselves and we will almost always be behind all of the other Elite Marathoners who go out to win the race every time out.
In less than 8 weeks, I will have my next real test to see how fast I can race a marathon. I am doing some pretty intense training for the Chicago Marathon, and I am setting my sights on a sub 2:10 performance, and hopefully being able to break into the top 5, which would be awesome. My preparation is going very well. I've put in a couple 140 mile weeks already, and my long runs, tempo runs, and even speed workouts are going much better than my last time out. My confidence is strong and I am preparing myself mentally to believe that I can run the pace and effort it will take to break 2:10. Less than 8 weeks to go…
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Week of August 9, 2010
by Paige Higgins
A few weeks ago we had Stan Beecham, a sports psychologist come to Flagstaff to talk to our group. I have to admit I was skeptical. I talked to my brother-in-law on the phone, and asked me at the end of the conversation to keep an open mind. Seeing as how Mike is my hero, I promised I would.
Before I knew it I was sitting in a small room with a complete stranger. Stan said he liked to keep an open forum, and for me to just talk. I had no idea what to say. An hour later, I had cried my eyes out, smiled, cried some more, called him a "jerk", almost walked out, told him a funny story, and capped it off with some more water works. I left feeling emotionally drained. However, after a nap and few hours to reflect, I felt a renewed desire to challenge myself both as an athlete and person.
Stan really helped me break through some mental blocks and weaknesses I was having. I think his main advice can ring true in anyone's life. He instilled in me that at the end of the day, ask yourself "was I a winner, or a loser? Did I do everything I could that day to achieve what I want and what is important to me?". If you have done that, well then be happy, live in the moment. If you were a "loser", ask yourself why? It holds you and only you accountable. No excuses. When you can put a "win" on a day, you can hold it and be proud.
It's about the journey, the now, being in the moment. So, Stan...this blog is for you, and I'm closing it out with (of course) a quote from my favorite musical, "Wicked"...as my thanks...."Who can say if I've been changed for the better/ I do believe I have been changed for the better/ But because I knew you/ Because I knew you/ I have been changed for good."
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Week of August 9, 2010
by Stephanie Rothstein
The past few months have seemed to zoom by quicker than I thought possible. The last time I wrote it was the beginning on my journey in Flagstaff and the unknown future of what was to come. Filled with mixed emotions on whether this decision was right, I set some goals with Greg and put my head down and trained. I highly expected it not too be an easy comeback with adjusting to altitude, new coach, new training, and asking a lot of my body who for so long disappointed me. I started the summer with what some called impossible when I witnessed one of my best friends win the 5000m National Championship after a long road of frustration and setbacks. I know that road all too well because I was along side her on the stationary bike and in the pool desperately trying to keep our dreams alive. I took that inspiration back to Flagstaff and believed it was time to get to work. With the help of doctors in Portland, Dr. John Ball, and of course Greg's patience and guidance I found myself training consistently and without fear. That was until 2 weeks ago when I stood on the starting line of my first race in over a year- fear came back! It wasn't so much a feeling of being unprepared, but fear of unknown. How was altitude training going to affect me, would the race feel like a sprint, when was that gut check feeling in my stomach gonna come? I had so many questions that I'm sure Greg and Ben were thinking "geezzz... just race already." I tried to pretend whatever happened I would be pleased with, but let's get real. What runner is ever satisfied with mediocrity? However on that particular Sunday in foggy Santa Cruz I crossed the finish line with more satisfaction than perhaps the winner. I finished 3rd and had won the race within myself. After I crossed the finish line and saw my time I began to believe the impossible was now possible.
Week of August 30th, 2010
by Coach Trina Painter
You may already know that many of the athletes and all of the coaches have four legged pets that we love like children: our dogs. They protect us, love us when we’re happy and sad, greet with licks whether sweaty or clean. They run with us and play with us. They keep us laughing with their silly faces and tricks and speak to us with their expressive eyes and body language. They are, for many of the runners, their best friend and source of unconditional love each day and a wonderful warm and furry positive distraction from running.
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One of our beloved furry friends was the spark of a spontaneous team building exercise late this afternoon. I was doing some work around the house when I got a call from Andrew Carlson. He had been out on his second run with his dog, Rocket Man (Rocky), on the Fort Valley Trails. During their easy run, another dog approached them and barked aggressively at Rocky. It spooked Rocky and he took off running. Normally, he returns to Andrew after chasing squirrels and such but this time, he didn’t return. Andrew began running along the trail calling his name, but after twenty minutes and returning to the car and start of their run, he began to worry. He drove to get help from Brett Gotcher who went back to the trails with Andrew to continue to look for Rocket Man. That’s when I got the call from Andrew via Brett’s phone. Andrew told me what was happening and to check his phone which he left in his house for any word on his dog. Now, I have to explain that Rocky is like our adopted dog since he and Andrew live in our little guest house out back. Rocky came into our lives back in January as a cute little puppy and new best friend for our dog, Samson and my two daughters.
So, after I got off the phone I told my family that Rocky was lost and we unanimously decided to join the search party. We drove up to the trailhead and my husband took off in one direction on his mountain bike and my daughters and I took off walking and jogging the other way, with all of us calling Rocky’s name. I called Lindsay’s house to ask them to join the search party since the live close, but she, Erin, Danielle and Jordan were already on their way. We all kept looking for Rocky and updating each other on where we were and what we knew as we nervously watched the sun going down and worried about Rocket’s fate.
After about 40 minutes of looking my husband got word from a friend on a bike that they had seen the black and white dog running towards the neighborhood (Cheshire) where Brett lives. As we all began to make our way that direction, he passed another friend that also had seen Rocket crossing the highway towards the houses. David called Lindsay and sent the girls towards our house to continue looking, while I called Brett and Andrew who were headed towards Brett’s house to look in Cheshire. We had just gotten off the trail and reached our truck to drive to the new search location, when I got word that Rocket was safe in our backyard with my husband.
Within five minutes the entire search party was happily gathered in our yard watching Rocket and sharing their stories from their search efforts. It was an intense, heart wrenching, nerve racking couple of hours for Andrew, but it was another amazing example of the team camaraderie that we share and reinforcement that we’ll be there for each other whether it’s a tough workout, intense race or personal struggle. It was really neat for me to see how the team came together to help find one of our furry friends. In the end, the search party found an elk, skunk, two horses, several mountain bikers and hikers and each other while looking, but Rocket actually found his way all the way home about 4 miles from the forest trail where he was spooked by the other dog. So for the day, he logged over 1:45 long run. I think he’s ready for marathon training. |
