US Indoor Championships 3000 Meters on Saturday

It's been a busy week since my last post and I think I've got all the details sorted for my upcoming trip to Boston. I fly on Friday for the USATF Indoor Championships 3000 meters on Saturday. I'm racing at 5:25 Eastern time at the Reggie Lewis Center on the campus of Roxbury Community College in Boston. I'm not sure what the television coverage will be but I'm sure the meet will be on tv at some point this weekend. Here's a link to information on the meet: http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/USAIndoorTFChampionships/ Today marks the end of the first full week of track practice at Fountain Valley School. We started last Wednesday and it's a lot of fun so far. The kids are great and we have a fantastic coaching staff. Our head coach, Jen Buckley, ran just over 2 minutes for 800 meters and was tenth in the '96 Olympic Trials 800. Our distance coach and head cross country coach, Tommy Manning, has run 2:30 for the marathon a couple times and he finished 59th at Boston last year. They're both great people and really support my running so I'm extremely thankful to have landed this position. Since it's a boarding school, they've welcomed me to the dining hall and I've got full access to their facilities including dozens of miles of trails, a brand new outdoor track and an indoor pool. Our first meet is scheduled for Tuesday, March 10, and although we're just getting started it should be a lot of fun. Last Friday I got to go to the indoor track meet at the Colorado School of Mines up in Golden. Coach Buckley let me skip the third day of practice at FVS to ride along with the UCCS crew to their last indoor meet before the conference meet. It's the first time that I can remember that I went to a track meet without competing, coaching or recruiting. It was a lot of fun to have no obligation and cheer for the kids I knew running in the meet. It's great to have those opportunities and I appreciate Coaches Misch and Harmer for letting it happen. Ol' Tommy Neal and I snuck on to the bus together and had a good time hanging out. The only other news that I can think of is a press release from the athletic department at my alma mater, Missouri State University. Undoubtedly, this is the work of Coach Greg Hipp so thanks to him for his continued support. http://www.missouristatebears.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=59289&SPID=6487&DB_OEM_ID=13800&ATCLID=3677051 It's good to see that the university will at least acknowledge that they once had a men's track team. Definitely click on the link if you want to get a chuckle out of my mugshot from my senior year.

The Run S.M.A.R.T. Project February Newsletter

The Run S.M.A.R.T. Project, LLC. Email Newsletter [February 12, 2009]* Living Legend Dr. Jack Daniels Joins The Run S.M.A.R.T. Project, LLC.* We're psyched to officially announce that running icon Dr. Jack Daniels willbe offering his coaching services through The Run S.M.A.R.T. Project. Named "The World's Best Coach" by Runner's World magazine, Jack has dedicated his life to distance running and developing runners of all abilities. He led Cortland runners to eight NCAA Division III National Championships, 31 individual national titles, and more than 130 All-America awards. Jack is also famous for his 1998 book detailing his unique training philosophies, *Daniels'Running Formula*. Not only is Jack cherished for his legendary coaching resume, he's also known as one of the most kind, loving and decent men in our sport. At this time he has agreed to work with The Run S.M.A.R.T. Project to offer coaching services with limited availability through our website. *You can learn more about working with Jack @http://runsmartproject.com <http://runsmartproject.com/runsmart.daniels.php>* Under Jack's tutelage, The Run S.M.A.R.T. Project coaching staff continues to grow. We'd also like to welcome *Mike Smith* and *Blake Boldon* to theProject. Mike, an Olympic Trials Marathon qualifier with a PR of 2:19, has been working with Jack over the last two years in Flagstaff. Since Mike came on board last year, several of his clients have already set personal bests. Blake, our second sub-4:00 minute miler to join the Project, trains with the American Distance Project in Colorado. Blake has notably run 13:46 for 5k and 1:08 for a half marathon. Prior to joining The Run S.M.A.R.T. Project, Blake coached at Iowa St. University and served as assistant coach at Florida St., where he helped train three distance runners who competed in the 2008 Olympic Games. In other cool news, Run S.M.A.R.T. coaches are organizing our *1st Annual Running Retreat *in Flagstaff, AZ! The details are in the works and we're looking at a 5 day camp, which will include lodging, meals and transportation. *Notable highlights may include:* lecture by* Jack Daniels*, strength and flexibility session with* Phil Wharton* and a day hike through the Grand Canyon. This will be a great opportunity to relax and train in the mountains of Flagstaff with hands on guidance from our coaches. We'd like to get an initial gauge of interest by the end of the month, so if you or any friends and family would like to hear further details about our 1st Annual Running Retreat, please email vince@runsmartproject.com. We have a lot in the works for '09 so we hope to hear from you soon. Thanks again to our *Advisory Council* and everyone who has helped us get this far. *The Run S.M.A.R.T. Project* www.runsmartproject.com coach@runsmartproject.com

The Run S.M.A.R.T. Project

I am really proud to announce that I am joining the coaching staff of The Run S.M.A.R.T. Project. I am excited about joining a nationally recognized private coaching company and working alongside other excellent coaches. Please check out the company: http://www.runsmartproject.com/ If you are interested in personal coaching from me or any of the other coaches at The Run S.M.A.R.T. Project (including legendary coach, Jack Daniels) please email me at blake@runsmartproject.com. Please do me the favor of passing this information along to anybody that you know who might be interested.

Iowa State Classic 5k Results

It was a great weekend and just like any good trip I wish I could have been back in Iowa for a few more days. The race was great because I felt like there were people cheering for me all the way around the track. I had a lot of fun catching up with the athletes at Iowa State and I'm very thankful that Coach Hartke and Coach Ihmels went out of their way to help me make it back to the meet. I also owe a big thanks to Greg Hipp for yelling my 800 splits to me. They were - 2:15.76, 2:15.87, 2:13.80, 2:13.01, 2:13.84, and 2:45.45 for the last 1000 meters. My time was 14:00.20 and I led the last 1200 meters. Jayden Russ did a great job of setting the pace and it was good to see him while he's back visiting from Australia. There's probably a whole lot more to say about the weekend but all I can really think to say is thanks to everybody that came out and all those that were there to cheer me on. My little sister, Marissa, and her boyfriend made the drive from Muscatine and my mom and I got to spend Saturday and Sunday with my other sister, Margo, and her family. The highlight of the weekend might have been when my three-year old nephew, Quinten, with the prodding of his five-year old brother, Avery, decided to color his pee-pee with a marker. Uncle Blake should have had the common sense to prevent the situation but I was way too busy laughing. Here's a link to the full meet results: http://www.cyclones.com//pdf4/378119.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=10700 Flotrack Interview from right after the race: http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234483-2009-iowa-state-classic/146692-blake-boldon Here's the flotrack coverage of the race: http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234483/148290

ISU Classic 5k Tomorrow

I flew into Des Moines last night and it's definitely good to be back in Iowa. Since I lived in Ames for three years and grew up here in Osceola it's a homecoming in a couple different ways. Although Colorado Springs is starting to feel like home, yesterday's trip definitely reminded me that I'll always call Iowa home. I've never really been one for sunsets but flying into Des Moines at dusk I found a new appreciation for Iowa's western horizon. This winter in Colorado Springs the sun has tucked behind the mountains in the afternoon and all of a sudden it's dark. The only other notable thing about the trip was that I was on the same flight as a couple of the guys from flotrack. I forgot that the meet director, Travis Hartke, told me that he was flying them into cover the meet. Here's a link to the coverage of the ISU Classic: http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view/234483-2009-iowa-state-classic Anyway, I went for a quick shake out run this morning in a snow here in Osceola. I didn't feel good and one thought crossed my mind "Thank God I'm not running cross country tomorrow." Hopefully I feel better tomorrow but Mark Misch and I both agree that me feeling crappy is probably a good sign.

US Cross Country Picture

There were a few good pictures of me during the race on the USATF website but they're not there any more. This picture comes from my good friend, Will Viviani. Will used to live in Eugene with my buddy Steve Laurie but now he's back in the D.C. area. Thanks to him, Jon Little, Dan Wilson, Sean O'Brien and everybody else that was there cheering for me.

Also, for those of you in Central Iowa, here's a link to the schedule for the Iowa State meet this weekend: http://www.cyclones.com//pdf4/375715.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=10700

The 5k is tentatively slated for 2:35 pm. I hope to see you there.

I am still pretty worn out from the weekend but I'll do a pre-race workout tomorrow and then travel to Iowa on Thursday.

Past Cross Country Results

When I finished my collegiate cross country eligible and the Midwest Regional Meet in 2001 at Southern Illinois University, I remember swearing that I would never run cross country again. I have gone back on that promise five times since college. After each of those races I made myself the same promise and I'm definitely of that frame of mind right now. Although I'm really disappointed with how things went I am tired and sore so I know that it was a good effort. I know that I'm fit but the 12k on mud and hills definitely didn't fit my natural abilities. In looking at my last five cross country results I feel like my race on Saturday was the best cross country run of my career. It doesn't provide much solace but the realization does help remind me that this one result won't determine the rest of the season. Here's a look at my past cross country results: 2/7/09 - US XC Championships (12k) - 29th place, 38:27 (2:21 behind winner) http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/USAXCChampionships/Results/om.asp 2/18/06 - US XC Championships (4k) - 23rd place, 11:37 (:47 behind winner) http://www.usatf.org/events/2006/USAXCChampionships/results/om4km.asp 3/5/06 - Ras na hEireann International Cross Country, County Louth, Ireland - 10th place, 18:46 (:44 behind winner) http://www.rasnaheireann.com/results/2006/international_men.txt 12/4/04 - US Club XC Championships (10k) 82nd place, 35:01.75 (2:17 behind winner) http://www.usatf.org/events/2004/USATFClubXCChampionships/results/om.asp 12/7/03 - US Club XC Championships (10k) 42nd place, 32:18.8 (2:05 behind winner) http://www.usatf.org/events/2003/USATFClubXCChampionships/results/om.asp

U.S. Cross Country Championship Results

I just finished an ice bath and a LONG shower and I'm still not sure what to think about today's race. The main thing I can say is that I'm looking forward to getting on the track. I finished 29th and I had definitely hoped to be in the top 15. The 2k loop was really up and down and by the time the 12k rolled around it was pretty muddy in some spots. After the first loop I was in the mid-30's and I felt like I competed well throughout the race. When I got to the 4k split, my self-talk went a little something like this "Wow, I'm already slowing down a lot and I still have 8k to go." Until today, 8k was the farthest race I've run at a high level and that wasn't lost on me at that point. I'm frustrated and disappointed because I've put so much training in and I had hoped that this race would serve as a breakthrough. Here's a link to the official results from today: http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/USAXCChampionships/Results/om.asp The one bright spot is that I now have a 12k cross country race under my belt and it was a solid workout that will serve me well later in the year. Also, in comparing it to my last cross country race it's not that bad. In 2006 I ran the 4k championships which is much more to my natural abilities. It wasn't a good day for me but in a smaller and less competitive field I was 23rd. Here are those results for comparison: http://www.usatf.org/events/2006/USAXCChampionships/results/om4km.asp

Fountain Valley School Coaching Position, Among Other Random Tidbits

I'm sitting in the Colorado Springs airport with my good friend Mark Misch and the UCCS contingent headed for the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area. There are a couple things that I overlooked in my last post and a couple pieces of news from this week. I'll start with the folks that I overlooked because I don't want to say another word without mentioning my new bff and Charlotte training partner, Meagan Nedlow. She recently left her job as a rep for Brooks and went back to school at Queens University to get a master's degree and use the rest of her eligibility. We did a lot of running and even more sitting on the couch watching reality tv. I also need to mention my new massage therapist. Since I got back from the trip home for Christmas I've been to see Larry Guerin twice. In addition to being a good guy and working at Boulder Running Company, he's one heck of a masseur. In our circle of friends, he's affectionately known as Larry "Love Hands" Guerin and I'm sure he'd be very pleased to know that I've now put it in writing. The days since my last post have been relatively eventful. On Monday I was officially offered a high school coaching position at Fountain Valley School, a boarding school near my house. It seems like a great community and I'm excited about getting the chance to work with the team this spring. The FVS campus is only about a fifteen minute drive and it's complete with a brand new outdoor track, an indoor swimming pool, wireless Internet and a dining hall, all of which I'll have access to. Check out the website: http://www.fvs.edu/Default.asp?bhcp=1 On Tuesday I worked out for the first time with my friend Ryan Kirkpatrick. I only did two and a half miles of quality running but it worked out that Ryan and I were able to do a good part of our workouts together. In 2007 he ran 13:19.68 and was one of less than a dozen Americans with the Olympic A standard going into the Olympic Trials last year. It's definitely great to train with him and he's a great dude to boot. After working out with Ryan I showered and headed down to Jack Quinn's Irish Pub for their Tuesday night running club. Cody Hill the manager of the Boulder Running Company was there with a couple reps for an adidas promotion for the club. Since I'm running for Boulder Running Company /adidas these days I felt like I should be there but it was good to hang out with Cody and the Jack Quinn's folks are always fun. I think it's the largest running club in North America. Check out the website: http://www.jackquinnsrunners.com/index.php My groin injury that's bothered me off and on for more than a year has been especially bad this week. Mr. Tommy Neal has done a lot to help me get it right and I'm hoping to be fully functional by Saturday. One last thing that I've been meaning to post for a while is that I will definitely be running the 5000 at the Iowa State Classic next Saturday (Valentine's Day). It should be a good chance to test my fitness and I'm looking forward to seeing my family and friends in the area.