Blake Boldon

"Ask The Coach"

2012-01-11T11:31:00.002-06:00

I have recently started working on a new project at RunnersConnect. It's a chance for me to discuss some of my coaching philosophy and interact with an online audience. Here is a recent episode (episode #2) that went up in December: http://runnersconnect.net/ask-the-coach/lessons-learned/ Let me know what you think and please email me at blake@runnersconnect.net with feedback.

The Blake Boldon Show

2011-11-03T19:00:00.003-05:00

My first cross country season here at Penn is winding down. In case anybody still stumbles upon this blog for any random reason, check out this week's episode of The Blake Boldon Show: http://www.pennathletics.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?&db_oem_id=1700&id=810501&DB_MENU_ID=&SPSID=&SPID=&DB_OEM_ID=1700

New Coaching Opportunity

2011-06-05T18:50:00.002-05:00

After a lot of careful consideration and deliberation, I have decided to explore a new learning opportunity as a coach. I will soon be working with the new company, RunnersConnect, founded and operated by my good friend, Jeff Gaudette. Of the many people who opened their homes and lives to me while I was still competing, I took advantage of Jeff’s hospitality the most. I lived on his couch for weeks at a time. I drove his truck from one state to another and back again. I ate his food and I even slept in his bed when he was out of town. He never asked for a dime and never thought twice about helping me reach my running goals. That’s only one indication of his dedication to helping runners improve and follow their dreams. Together, Jeff and I hope RunnersConnect can help revolutionize the way in which runners train for races and interact with their training plans and coaches. RunnersConnect provides runners fully customizable training plans tailored specifically to their lifestyle and current fitness level. More importantly, RunnersConnect will give runners near 24/7 access to an expert running coach to answer any questions they might have along the way. We believe that if we create a training schedule that is customized to their exact fitness level, and then provide them with a team of experienced coaches to answer their questions and support their training, our members can accomplish all of their goals. We follow this up by connecting them to a supportive community of fellow runners that help inspire and motivate their running. For more than two years I have coached for the Run S.M.A.R.T. Project and I have really enjoyed the experience. Run S.M.A.R.T. is a tremendous company, loaded with great people and I learned a lot through my time working with the clients. Through working as a private coach I have learned that coaching, even collegiately, is a customer service industry. As a collegiate coach it is easy (and sometimes necessary) to become a disciplinarian or authoritarian but in the end, this hampers athletic development because it shrinks individual ownership of the process. While coaching private clients who pursue running for mostly intrinsic reasons and are never motivated by membership on a team, I have learned a lot about individual development and progression that has little to do with training theory. I look forward to the lessons that await me at RunnersConnect. It’s truly a company that I believe in and know will provide a quality experience to its clients and customers.

Track & Field Down Under

2011-03-27T13:50:00.003-05:00

Over the last few weeks I have had the opportunity to coach/advise a talented international runner and good friend, Jayden Russ. Jayden is working full time but has found the time & energy to pursue his athletic goals at a high level. He is preparing for the 1500 meters at the Australian National Championships in three weeks. As part of his preparation Jayden ran the 1500 at Queensland Championships and had a very solid showing, easily qualifying for the final on Friday and leading within the last 200 meters on Saturday. Here are the results from Saturday’s final: Queensland Sport & Athletics Centre - Site License Queensland Open & AWD Championships (Incorporating Under 23 Championships) State Athletics Facility, QSAC, Nathan - 25/03/2011 to 27/03/2 Event 32 Men 1500 Meter Run Open =============================================================== Name Age Team Finals =============================================================== Finals 1 Daniel Bulmer * 21 Gcv 3:52.87 2 Jayden Russ 26 Qe2 3:53.09 3 Peter Bock 29 Mar 3:54.77 4 Andrew Crew 31 Mar 3:57.50 5 Matthew Hawke * 21 Unq 4:02.05 6 Jordan Thomas 19 Qe2 4:04.62 7 Gavin Keight 29 Qe2 4:05.60 8 Grant Williams* 22 Unq 4:08.27 9 Veherney Babob 19 Png 4:20.16 -- Luke Eastwell 18 Gcv DNF Well done Jayden! He’s only scratching the surface so I’m sure big results are sure to come soon. For the complete meet results follow this link: http://www.qldathletics.org.au/liveresults/index.htm

Run SMART Project Blog Posts

2011-03-15T17:33:00.002-05:00

I guess this blog still pops up on a google search for my name because despite my abondonment a few people have mentioned it to me over the last couple months. For anyone who still follows, I apologize for my absolute absenteeism. Basically my form of blogging has deteriorated to just posting links on my facebook and/or twitter accounts. I have contributed a few times to the blog for the Run SMART Project. In fact, my latest submission went up today. It's a brief reflection on the first step to acheiving something extraordinary athletically. Check it out here. I also submitted one in December about running in the winter time that's probably not quite as relevant on March 15. If you're interested, it's here. Also, reaching further back in the Run SMART archives, I wrote one in October that is a recap of a talk that I've given at a couple high school camps. Here is a link to that piece. If you like any of them or feel that they are particularly relevant to you, please feel free to email me, share the articles on facebook or retweet them on twitter. Right now, the best email address is blake@runsmartproject.com

University of Pennsylvania

2010-12-19T18:50:00.002-06:00

This blog may be the best indicator of how hectic my life has seemed over the last 6 months. In June I bought a house and have since decided to move to another job. I started at Penn as soon as the cross country season ended at UAB this fall. Everything between the day I closed on my house in June and today has been an entire blur. The decision to switch jobs was complete with restless nights filled with worry and stress instead of sleep. The process was made official with this press release. Also, I spent some time reflecting on the meaning of my work and how it translates to the commitment necessary to become a successful runner. I wrote a blog entry for the Run S.M.A.R.T. Project website. Check it out here: http://runsmartproject.com/coaching/2010/12/18/take-back-your-run/

C-USA 10,000 Meter Champion

2010-05-19T11:33:00.002-05:00

Rhiannon Johns ran an incredible race at the C-USA Championships last weekend to win the 10,000 meters. She became the first conference champion that I've coached and it was the first of many great UAB finishes in the distance events this weekend. Here's a link to an article in her hometown newspaper: http://saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2584319&auth=the%20sault%20star Congrats Rhi!

Coaching Online & Loving It

2010-05-09T22:53:00.002-05:00

Things have been swamped with my job at UAB but I've continued working with a small group of athletes online through the Run SMART Project. I fortunately have an understanding group of clients right now that help me to work with them around my obligations at UAB. Here is one of the best rewards of my coaching career: http://runsmartproject.com/coaching/2010/05/08/best-testimonial-ever/ Congrats to Jen on her tremendous accomplishment. I'm grateful for her acknowledgement and her appreciation.

March 2010 Fitness Magazine

2010-03-03T10:46:00.002-06:00

My 2nd small contribution to Fitness Magazine appears this month. It's on page 76 if you get a chance to check it out. Here's a link to the information: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/running/training-schedules/cross-training-for-runners/

A 17 Year Tradition is Over

2010-02-21T22:01:00.002-06:00

For the first time in 18 track seasons I am not competing. I started running track in the 7th grade and every year since that stint on the "B" team in 1993 I have competed either during the indoor or outdoor season. Most years I have run both. I have thought about updating this blog for months but one of the sport's biggest friends in Central Iowa, Lance Bergeson, has put together a brief update that surpasses anything that I could write at this point. His recent blog entry actually got posted on the front page of RunningTimes.com under the "Daily News" section and has been up there all weekend. Congrats Lance and thanks for making a jogger feel like his running matters to a larger audience than his dog. Here's the link: http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2010/02/19/mile-posts-iowan-content-to-be-called-coach-boldon/

UAB Has Conference USA Cross Country Athlete of the Week

2009-09-15T17:23:00.002-05:00

More good news for the Blazers: http://uabsports.cstv.com/sports/w-xc/spec-rel/091509aab.html

Earl Jacoby Memorial, Hosted by UAH

2009-09-14T18:25:00.001-05:00

My first coaching victory came last weekend at UAH. Great work girls! http://uabsports.cstv.com/sports/w-xc/recaps/091209aaa.html

UAB Cross Country Blog

2009-09-03T22:39:00.002-05:00

So maybe I haven't been a good little blogger lately but fortunately, the UAB Cross Country Blog can pick up where I left off. Here's a link to my entry to start the season: http://uabsports.cstv.com/ot/blazer-blogs-2009.html

Head Coaching

2009-09-02T20:25:00.002-05:00

Today officially marked the end of my third week of practice as a head coach. I'm also a month removed from my surgery and able to start jogging again. The road hasn't been without bumps but things in Birmingham are going really well. Of course there's plenty more to say but for now I'll just leave a link to the season preview for the team this fall. http://uabsports.cstv.com/sports/w-xc/spec-rel/090209aab.html

University of Alabama in Birmingham

2009-07-28T17:55:00.003-05:00

There's definitely a lot to say about the last three months. I haven't really run since April and it's been a big change for me. There is light at the end of the tunnel. I have surgery scheduled for this Thursday to repair a sports hernia (athletic pubalgia). The real big news right now is that I was recently named the head cross country coach at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Here's a link to the press release: http://uabsports.cstv.com/sports/w-xc/spec-rel/072809aaa.html

No Running Update

2009-06-08T16:24:00.003-05:00

Still no running but here's something kinda cool: http://desmoines.metromix.com/music/event_photo_gallery/fridays-at-the-fountain/1232136/content I'm back in Iowa for a few days and it's been good to catch up with a few old friends, not to mention some good times with my family.

Summer Camps

2009-06-03T22:45:00.002-05:00

I went the entire month of May without running and I still haven't figured out exactly what my injury is. It's been a disappointing and frustrating month and I'll post more about that soon. I want to get the word out to as many people as possible for two outstanding summer training opportunities. For adults out there who have seen the "fantasy camps" for baseball and other sports, The Run S.M.A.R.T. Project has finally come up with a retreat that does the same thing for runners. If you're a "grown-up" runner and you'd like to get a taste for life as a professional athlete, this is your best chance. Check out the information here: http://www.runsmartproject.com/runsmart.retreat.php I've done high school camps at several different locations, including some great camps at Iowa State. I'm really excited to announce that we're putting together a camp at Fountain Valley School, one of the west's premier boarding schools. For all the details on the camp that I'm putting together for high schoolers visit this site: www.fvs.edu/crosscountryacademy

Running Times Article

2009-04-28T15:23:00.001-05:00

I recently had the chance to interview my good friend, Jim Sorensen, for my series with Running Times. Here's the link: http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16349

227 Miles in 2 Weeks and Still on My Feet

2009-03-31T13:17:00.006-05:00

As you can tell from the title of the post, I've done a lot of running since my last detailed post. It hasn't all been sunshine and roses though. The afternoon of the post about the trip to Boston, Charlotte and Greenville I went to the track to do 12 x 400 on two minutes rest. The session went really well but something went wrong in my digestive track and in a 24 hour period I lost about 6 pounds. Needless to say, I didn't feel well and I took Friday the 13th off. It was my first day with no running in about 24 weeks, since I was on the road with the boys in Hahatonka. It was a much needed day of rest but thanks to the sickness it took me a few days to feel normal again. .................... I ended up with about 83 miles that week and got back on track the next two weeks with 114 and 113 respectively. Those are the two highest volume weeks in my life and I've been able to survive some quality sessions during that time too. I'm not really any worse for the wear. My "groin/ab injury" hasn't gotten worse but I'm in the process of losing one (maybe two) toenails. It's the first time since I started running that it's happened but it doesn't seem to be a big deal. .................... I think a big reason for the additional miles is my new roommate, Nate Jenkins. He's training well and running about 140 miles per week since he moved in. We're focusing on different events but since he's always ready for a few extra miles it's easy to add on when I wouldn't otherwise. Combining that with my long time friend, Tommy Neal, running the highest mileage of his life and we're all going at it pretty hard right now. I'm a little worried that the extra volume (and accompanying fatigue) has taken some of the race specific effort out of the workouts but it has been good work so with a little rest the intensity of the workouts should come right back. .................... The weekend that I was sick was good for another reason. My family made the trip out from Iowa so I got to spend the weekend with my older sister, Margo, her husband her their two wild little boys. Avery (five) and Quinten (three) had a couple sleepovers at the apartment and thankfully they brought my furniture so we all had some place to sleep. Having my bed here in Colorado Springs has definitely helped with the recovery so it was a win-win trip for me. Unfortunately, the truck broke down just before they got through Kansas. My mom's car broke down too on her way to visit back in January so if you're headed through Kansas be sure to have your car checked out before you leave. The truck's issues put a hamper on the weekend but we all made the best of it. .................... The two weeks since my family visited have been pretty uneventful since Fountain Valley has been on "interim" for the last couple weeks. Since I haven't had practice in the afternoon my days haven't had much structure but I have been somewhat productive. In addtion to finally finishing the first submission of "Fifty Years From Iffley Road" for RunningTimes.com, I have committed to open the outdoor season at the Blue Shoes Mile in Greenville, SC on April 11. It's hosted by Furman University and I'm looking forward to getting back to see the Kattoufs, who live near the track. Speaking of Rick Kattouf, I recently spent five days logging my diet to give him an idea of how I can improve my nutrition. That process in itself was a learning experience and has helped guide me when making decisions about nutrition and diet. I owe Rick and email and hope to get back to him after my track session this afternoon so that I can start improving how I fuel myself. .................... I'm off to the track to fight a strong wind and tackle the 12 x 400 session again.

Running Times Featured Article

2009-03-27T21:22:00.004-05:00

I've got a lot to post about training and plans for the spring so I'll plan to post those thoughts and details soon. For now, I just want to mention the article that went up on RunningTimes.com today. Here's the link: http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16050 It will be the featured article all weekend and hopefully it's the first installment of a very successful series that I'll be doing on sub 4:00 milers.

Twitter, Here I Come!

2009-03-21T19:38:00.002-05:00

I finally decided to catch up with the latest online trend. If you're twittering now you can keep up with me on a more minute-to-minute basis (assuming my ability to keep up with myself). Check me out at http://twitter.com/blakeboldon .................... It has also been brought to my attention that I need to start using paragraphs when I blog. Rest assured, I do use paragraphs when I type but there's some error in blogger that doesn't recognize my type spaces. So from here on out, I'll use '........................." to indicate a change in paragraph to give your eyes a break from my seeminly endless and rambling paragraph structure.

Boston to Lowell to Charlotte to Greenville and Back

2009-03-12T10:34:00.005-05:00

It was a terrific trip to the east coast and for the most part things went very well. I was gone for more than nine days but the return flight made the trip seem even longer. In total I saw four airports, had three flights, one cancellation, and a handful of delays in a trip that totaled more than fourteen hours from the time I arrived at the Charlotte airport until I landed in Colorado Springs. Needless to say, that travel schedule didn't do much to help my recovery. I'm headed to the track in a little bit to take my hand at a 12 x 400 session at the Fountain Valley School track (~5700 feet), but I want to share some of the details of the trip last week. After finally making it from Boston to Charlotte on Tuesday I was worn out. The 16-miler in Lowell, MA with Nate was a good prelude to the many runs that we'll be doing here in Colorado Springs but something about the pavement or poor footing in the snow made it tough to recover. Then on Wednesday I did 12 x 800 on 2 minutes rest. Being the consummate procrastinator that I am, I still haven't logged my training from last week but I would guess that I averaged in the 2:11 or 2:12 range. The last three were definitely a race effort and it was certainly my best repeat 800 session (I haven't done many of these at all - this was my 3rd repeat 800 session since working with Coach Simmons and I just did 6 x 800 once all year last year, plus 5 x 1000 once). I'll have to examine it more closely after I've logged it but basically I did the same workout that I did last year ten days before I ran 13:53 at the first Stanford, but then doubled it with 6 more 800's. The average from my work out in Charlotte will likely be a little slower than the 6 x 800 session last year but I took about ten seconds (on average) less rest this time too. Considering that I felt that I really under-achieved at Stanford last March and I'm able to do twice the work at nearly the same pace at the same point in the season (and only a few days after a tough 3k effort on the track), I'm confident 2009 will be a great year. There were two downsides to the session. Firstly, relative to the guys that I was training with my session was just ok. Mike Crouch from Queens smashed the workout and is super fit right now. He's running the NCAA Division II championships this weekend so hopefully he has a good result. It was great to have people to workout with and I'm really happy with my effort but it's tough to gain a lot of confidence from a workout when there are other people handling the load at a higher level. In honesty, it wasn't a big deal because the older I get the less stock I put into those types of things. A few years ago it would have been hard for me to deal with but now I'm putting in so much high quality work that I can only focus on what I'm doing. The second downside to a session that hard is the complete fatigue that accompanies it. For those of you with queasy stomachs, you might want to skip the next few sentences but I want to share what I went through last Wednesday night. The short version is that I spent most of night either on the toilet or the couch at my friend Jeff Guadette's apartment. The gruesome details come in the specifics about the contents of my stool. To put it bluntly, I was crapping blood and my stomach was not happy about it. Before I even made it to Jeff's I went to the dining hall at Queen's University for dinner. About halfway through the meal I had to push my tray away from me and put my head down on the table. During dinner I had to go to the men's room three different times because of what was happening down below. Needless to say, I wasn't feeling chipper when I woke up for the 10k on Saturday morning. I ran two easy runs on Thursday and did a pool session before dinner with Coach Simmons that night. Then Friday I got up early to take Jeff up on his generous offer to give me a massage during his team's pool workout. In addition to being a great friend, Jeff's also a certified massage therapist and although I had a couple sore spots on Saturday morning his work really helped me recover from the tough week of training. After an easy run in Charlotte, I packed up all my things and headed to Greenville for the 10k and to see my good friend Rick Kattouf. I went straight to his house and after meeting his wife, Gail, the three of us set off toward the race course. They had already picked up my race packet and they graciously and patiently drove the course so I could have an idea of what to expect the next morning. Then they went above and beyond by letting me run the course while they went and picked up dinner. The next morning I was up at 5:00 am and watched some tv and tried to think positive thoughts before heading out for a shake out run to loosen up a pair of tired and sore legs. After a shower while slipping into my racing shorts I bumped my right quad and laughed with the surprising soreness that filled my legs. I literally thought to myself, "There's never a race where I'm supposed to feel like this." In fairness, I don't really remember starting a workout feeling that sore and tired but I'm sure it's happened a lot. It took me a while to get warmed up but I made it to the starting line feeling relatively ready for a good effort. My first mile was 4:50 and there wasn't anything about it that felt easy. Fortunately, there was a small pack of runners and I noticed that I was laboring less than everybody else so I continued to lead and keep the pace. After splitting 4:44 (9:35 total) for the 2nd mile there was a hill and I pulled away from the rest of the guys and ran to the finish on my own. Miles three and four were both 4:47 and I split 4:53 for mile five for a total of 24:03. The next mile was mostly up hill and a lot of hit was into a sturdy head wind. Combining that with the fatigue of running hard alone I split 5:07 for mile 6 and finished the 10k in 30:11. The $1000 payday was much needed and I got a 25 second 10k personal best in the process. My first trip to South Carolina was fantastic and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the generosity of Jeff Gaudette (for letting me stay at his place for most of a week and then I borrowed his truck to drive to Greenville) and Rick & Gail Kattouf (the vastness of their hospitality is beyond explanation - I even left Greenville with some sweet new Team Kattouf gear).

Reedy River Run Pics from GreenvilleOnline.com

2009-03-10T10:43:00.000-05:00

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=BS&Dato=20090307&Kategori=MULTIMEDIA15&Lopenr=903070808&Ref=PH&SectionCat=rss

Greenville News Article

2009-03-10T10:35:00.003-05:00

Here's an article from the Greenville, SC newspaper. It's written by a great guy, runner and coach from the Greenville area, Mike Foley. http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009903080311

Reedy River Run 10k Results

2009-03-07T18:06:00.002-06:00

It was a great day and I'll definitely post more soon but here's a link to the results: http://documents.clubexpress.com/documents.ashx?key=WPOzpd0dpfGFUQegUUCj8eoPeVKdnkAq7e%2b1M%2bzYOs7xx1ad5ijcVg%3d%3d

From Good to Great

2009-03-03T19:44:00.006-06:00

Admittedly, I won't get any originality points for the title of this entry but if Charles Caleb Colton was correct when he said, "imitation is the sincerest flattery," then I'm sure Jim Collins won't mind me borrowing his title. I'm in Charlotte and my copy of Collins' book "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't" is at home in Colorado Springs so I won't be able to post any of my favorite passages. What I can say is that the book is a case study in what separates companies that make a remarkable, sustainable jump from those companies who have consistently unremarkable yet good results. The fundamental lesson that I learned from the book is the greatest opponent to being great is simply being good. Along with success and achievement come recognition and acknowledgement. Soon to follow are satisfaction and complacency. Not a lot of people can say that they've been in the top ten four times at USATF track and field championships and a certain satisfaction comes along with that sort of accomplishment. Unfortunately, satisfaction with less than extraordinary results is only slightly less malignant than the worst form of complacency. I have taken some big strides in the last few months in terms of training and gaining a better focus and understanding what it takes to succeed in the sport of track and field. Unfortunately when I toed the line in Boston my confidence and competitive hunger wasn't improved from the previous seasons. The indoor championship race was a first step toward a great outdoor season but it reminded me how hungry and passionate an athlete has to be to succeed. What's the explanation for an athlete with personal bests of 3:40 and 13:55 in the 1500 and 5000 winning the US 3000 meter title? It can only be that David Torrence was more motivated and ready to win than the rest of the field. Halfway through the race I caught myself thinking "I just need to be in the top 8 to finish in the top half." These kind of thoughts don't go through the heads of people contending for the win. I may not have been as race sharp as a couple of the other guys in the field but I don't consider myself less fit than the five guys that beat me. They were all just hungrier and more well prepared mentally. It's not an easy thing to fix but acknowledging the issue is a big step. I had a good talk with Coach Simmons Saturday night after the meet and I left there with a renewed motivation and belief in my ability to compete at a high level this spring. We talked specifically about the training and discipline that it will take and we agreed that I need to look at my move to Colorado Springs as time at a training camp versus a typical relocation. Something as simple as changing that perspective can keep training and discipline the priority that they need to be. Coach Simmons emphasized that my running goals and training need to be the last thing on my mind before I go to bed and the first thing I think about in the morning. In reading what other top athletes have done before big breakthroughs it's clear that huge performances don't happen by accident and there are fifteen weeks to the USATF Outdoor Championships. I'm excited about Nate moving in and on Monday night we had a good talk about the focus and dedication that we are willing to share to reach our individual goals. I also recently exchanged emails with an old friend who I've fallen out of touch with over the last two years. Dr. Rick Kattouf (of TeamKattouf.com) is going to get on board and help me focus on nutrition and fueling my body for maximum recovery and improved performance. Here's an excerpt from one of his emails where we were talking about taking my 5k performance to the next level. "I think nutrition for any athlete can help to bridge that gap. Food is a drug; it is the most powerful, legal, drug available. It is the ultimate performance enhancer, and it is legal!" As my good friend Mark Misch says, if you can do the little things right to improve performance by only 1 or 2% without even changing training you can improve your 5k time by 8 to 15 seconds. Having said all of that, the race in Boston wasn't anything to be disappointed with but it's no more than a starting point. It certainly did a lot to refocus my energies and help me decide what I need to do to improve. I'm dealing with some injury issues and as long as I can continue to train at a high level and feel relatively healthy I'm confident that the lesson learned indoors will lead to big things during the outdoor season.

USATF Indoor 3000 Results & Snow Day in Lowell, MA

2009-03-02T21:49:00.002-06:00

Firstly, in case you haven't seen them here is a link to the results from the weekend: http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/USAIndoorTFChampionships/results/F5.asp I roomed with Michael Crouch from Queens University who also ran in the 3k. I've gotten to know him a little bit while being in Charlotte but it was good to have somebody to go through the pre-meet ritual with. Unfortunately, we didn't have internet available at the hotel so I wasn't able to post much sooner. Yesterday I came out to Lowell, MA with my good friend and soon-to-be roommate, Nate Jenkins. Nate's moving to Colorado Springs this week and he also competed in the US Indoor 3k race. It didn't go quite as he had planned but considering he is a marathoner it was a great indoor season for him to run 14:04 and qualify for the meet. Anyway, he had a "Last Day in Lowell Party" on Sunday and it was great to meet his friends here. The party was accompanied by a Nor'easter that brought a huge load of snow. The result of the snow was two-fold. The barbeque at the going away party was hampered and I had my Monday morning flight to Charlotte cancelled. Despite 90 minutes on hold with United last night and several other calls today, I'm still in Lowell and hoping to catch a flight to Charlotte sometime in the morning. Nate and his roommates have been great and it hasn't been a big deal at all. My only complaint is that I did my 16-miler on the roads of Lowell where the motorists whiz by and you have to hop over puddles and snow banks. It's getting late and I'm going to try to head to the airport early so I'm going to try and get some sleep. I'll post more about the race and the trip in the coming days.

US Indoor Championships 3000 Meters on Saturday

2009-02-25T12:07:00.004-06:00

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

2009-02-18T13:35:00.000-06:00

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

2009-02-17T14:34:00.003-06:00

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

2009-02-16T17:25:00.004-06:00

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

2009-02-13T13:48:00.002-06:00

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

2009-02-10T14:27:00.003-06:00

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

2009-02-09T14:37:00.006-06:00

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

2009-02-07T16:54:00.002-06:00

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

2009-02-05T13:00:00.004-06:00

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.

One week and counting

2009-01-31T16:50:00.004-06:00

I think it's been over a month since my last post so I'm not sure exactly where to start. I came into 2009 without a sponsor and without a phone after breaking my blackberry before Christmas.

Next Saturday will be my first race in over six months and I'm looking forward to getting the first one out of the way. The US Cross Country Championships in Derwood, Maryland will be my first cross country race in three years and the first time that I've ever raced farther than an 8k. I decided to try my hand at the 12k distance to start 2009 as a first step in moving up in race distances from the 1500. Racing almost seven and a half miles on a cross country course will be an entirely new experience for me but looking back through my training I feel as prepared as I possibly can be. In each of the last eleven weeks I have run at least 100 miles and over the last sixteen weeks I have run right at 1600 miles. This is definitely the best block of consistent training that I've ever had and I finished it off with a great week of sea level training with Coach Simmons in Charlotte, NC. I crashed with my good friend Jeff Gaudette and had a good time hanging out with him and the training went well. On Tuesday I did 25 x 400 on a two minute interval and averaged about a second and a half faster than the last time I did it. Considering the weather was about 35 degrees and windy I'm really happy with the progress I've made. After two days of rest I came back with a solid 7-mile Predator Run and finished it in 35:17. It was my second consecutive week at 110 miles and it was a good mental session in preparation for the 12k. When I moved to Colorado Springs in mid-November I set a goal of ten weeks of at least 100 miles each and I remember thinking that it would be impossible. I struggled to maintain my mileage and the quality of the workouts certainly didn't match the effort. I have successful put that training behind me and today's workout stands as a good example of the progress that I made. In the first week of training under Coach Simmons my second workout was a 3 mile Predator Run. I ran it in 15:04 on a track at sea level (near sea level - in my hometown of Osceola, IA). Today I ran 3 miles in 14:57 at 6000 feet on a rolling gravel trail. Neither workout was an exceptional effort but comparing the two sessions shows me how well I'm handling altitude training. A couple weeks ago I went for my first run in a pair of non-Saucony shoes. I had hoped to be in Saucony's at least until I finished running competitively but that wasn't in the cards. Fortunately, Cody Hill at the Boulder Running Company here in Colorado Springs has generously given me a couple pairs of trainers, a pair of spikes and a jersey. I'm back in the brand that I wore all through college, adidas, and I'll be representing Boulder Running Company/adidas at the cross country championships. Part of the reason I haven't posted more frequently since the start of the new year is that I have a few things in the works but unfortunately I haven't finalized any of those details. Hopefully I'll have some news to report even before I leave for the D.C. area. In the meantime, here is a link to the meet information for next weekend: http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/USAXCChampionships/

December Frustrations & Progress

2008-12-21T01:20:00.008-06:00

"You have to believe in yourself when no one else does. That's what makes you a winner." It's not something that I came up with on my own. I recently came across that Venus Williams quote and this week it has taken on a whole new meaning. Since my last post I've had a hard time getting replies to my emails within the sport. I've emailed meet directors, USATF employees, coaches and potential employers to name a few but it's like I don't exist within the sport. Little things like finding a swimming pool for cross training and getting on the indoor track here in town have presented their own unique challenges. This week my frustrations came to a head when on Tuesday I got a call from the athlete rep at Saucony. Despite discussing 2009 in October with the athlete rep, the company has decided to not renew my contract. It shouldn't be a big surprise since 2008 was such a disappointment but the timing was especially disappointing. I do have a couple of options for 2009 but I hope to find a way to stay with the company if they can offer gear and some incentives. Saucony is a great company full of great people and I really like the direction that company is headed (except dumping me) so hopefully it all gets sorted out in the coming weeks. Needless to say, after a day or two of frustration the recent turn of events has only provided me with more motivation while I continue to pursue my goals.

Training continues to go well and I'm still excited about the progress that I'm making on a weekly basis. Last week I recorded a lifetime high for mileage by running 110 miles. This week I backed it down a little to 105 but within the last two weeks I've had some great work outs (for those of you doing the math at home, that brings me to 628 miles over the last six weeks). The last two Fridays I've done a 6 mile "Predator Run." This is something that I've picked up from Coach Simmons. It's a progressive tempo and I ran 31:15 and 31:05 for each of the last two weeks, which I think is pretty solid since I'm still adapting to altitude. Last Tuesday I did 6 x a mile on a trail near my house and I averaged 4:58 but this Tuesday was much more encouraging. I did 20 x 400 on the indoor track at the Air Force Academy (7000 feet). Alex Vasquez from UCCS did every other rep with me and it was a big help as I managed to average 66.8. The biggest adaptations that I've seen since being at altitude have come during my long runs. Each of the last two weeks I've gone out to the north side of town to run on the Santa Fe Trail. I park near 6300 feet and run eight and a half miles out to about 6800 feet. After making the return trip I do 8 hill strides to finish the 18 miles for the day. The last two weeks I've made the 8.5 mile return trip in 51:30 and 51:28 respectively (6:03 pace). Today I ran with my friend, Tommy Neal (fresh off his 18th place finish at Club XC Championships), and we started back much more conservatively than I did last week. I ended up picking it up from 13.5 miles to 17 and averaging 5:39 over those 3.5 miles. During last week's long run the temperature was below ten degrees and the wind chill was around zero so I came away with a pretty great picture.

Don't worry, I've since trimmed the beard but yes, that is all natural. I'm driving back home to Iowa today (really through the night) so I'll need a day or two to get some rested but I hope that I don't have to miss any training.

I want to end with one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite bands. Before almost all my workouts I like to listen to Rage Against the Machine. Without getting into the politics implied in the song, my favorite line of "New Millennium Homes" is the opening sentence - "Hungry people don't stay hungry for long. They get hope from fire and smoke as the wheat grows strong." I'm not sure what in the heck that has to do with running but it does the trick for me.

Back from Reno and Still Plugging Along

2008-12-10T00:05:00.004-06:00

I made it back safely from the USATF annual meeting in Reno and there's a lot there to talk about. I'm excited about the new direction of the organization and I think the restructuring (paired with Doug Logan as CEO) will improve the governance of our organization and hopefully increase our sport's standing in the public consciousness. Logan's goals are ambitious but I admire it and think it's exactly what we need to energize the membership and hopefully make track & field a premier sport in the US again. In the presidential election, Stephanie Hightower won a close race and although Dee Jensen was a great candidate I think Stephanie's charisma, enthusiasm and passion will be good for the organization. On a more personal level, during the Athlete Advisory Committee meetings I was named the event leader for the men's 3000 to 10,000. I hope that I'm able advocate for distance runners and improve the sport on some level. If you have ideas of ways to help elite and aspiring elite distance runners, please share your ideas. The trip to Reno was good for a number of reasons. Firstly, I got to reconnect with friends from all areas of the sport including runners, meet/race directors and officials. It's so different hanging out with them when I don't have to worry about competing in the same trip. I also made a lot of new friends and met some great new people. My roommate for the trip was Fasil Bizuneh who trains in Flagstaff, AZ and we happen to have the same coach. This brings me to my next item of big news. I'm now working with Scott Simmons and The American Distance Project. Coach Simmons is one of the premier coaches and lectures on distance running in the country and I consider myself lucky to have his guidance. Here is information on Coach Simmons and the program: http://www.americandistanceproject.com/ADPWeb/Index.html It was great getting to know Fasil and training with him while we were in Reno. Speaking of which, training is going very well. My last four weeks have been 101, 101, 105, and 106 miles respectively. My workouts since moving to Colorado have still been at a pretty high level. Two weeks ago on Tuesday I did 6 x a mile with 3 minutes rest on a track at 6500 feet. That day my times were 5:13, 5:09, 5:06, 5:05, 4:54, 5:07. Today I did the same workout on a trail near my house (6000 feet). It was strictly out and back and the way out was an incline the whole way, so numbers 1, 3, and 5 were naturally significantly slower. I ran 5:15, 4:51, 5:08, 4:45, 5:08, 4:44. There's definitely progress but the 500 foot difference in elevation plays some role. It's certainly not a world-class workout but I'm very happy to be able to train at this intensity at the elevation, especially considering my increase in volume. My four week total (413) is definitely the highest of my life and I'm still getting quality work outs, long runs and managing drills two days a week. There are still a few things that I need to add and I'm learning to focus on recovery. Since Reno sits at 4500 feet I still haven't had a true break from altitude so I will definitely post on how that goes when I get back to Iowa for Christmas.

Thanksgiving and No Race to Run...

2008-11-27T23:00:00.006-06:00

For the first time since 2004, I didn't run a race on Thanksgiving Day. The last race that I ran was the Bridge Mile in Halifax; I haven't run a race on American soil since the Indiana meets before the Olympic Trials and as of now I don't have definite plans for my next race. It's been so long since I posted that I don't know exactly where to start. Throughout the 2008 track season I intended on posting more than I did and I had hoped to catch up at some point. The season went so horribly that by the time that it was over I didn't feel like saying any more than I had to. After my longest break in ten years I debated what was next for me. I left my coaching position at Iowa State in June with the intentions of pursuing running full-time but after the season I wasn't sure that I wanted to run competitively any more. It took a lot of reflecting and talking with friends, coaches and family before I decided that I wanted to pour myself back into the sport on a more full-time level than ever before. Today marks my first week living in Colorado Springs, CO. In each of the last two weeks I have run over 100 miles and training seems to be going well. I’m going to wait to post specific details until I see how I adapt to living at 6,000 feet. I'm sure I've said this before but I aim to make posting on this site a more regular habit. Thanks to anybody that is still checking after my extended hiatus from posting. My goal is to continue to post more regularly with updates on training and general progress rather than just a link to results. I sincerely appreciate the people that have come to me in person, called or sent me an email to encourage me to continue to pursue my athletic goals. Despite an overwhelmingly disappointing season I found 2008 to be a great lesson. Firstly, it was a lesson in humility. After finding success in 2006 and 2007 I thought I would somehow be able to manage a full-time coaching job and continue to progress athletically. More importantly, I learned a lot about the people that care about me. Aside from my family members who have never failed to show unconditional encouragement, people like Mark Misch, Houston Franks, Greg Hipp, Corey Ihmels, Tommy Neal, Jon Little, Murray Taylor, Shawn Love, Reggie Clifton, Brian Mahoney and countless others have shown their steadfast support for me on a level that I can barely comprehend (if I've missed you, please forgive me). I’m blessed to have people who have invested in my success so whole-heartedly and at this point the only way that I can think to repay them for their efforts and contributions is to run faster than I had ever previously imagined. Next week I head to the USATF Annual Meeting in Reno. Hopefully in another two weeks I have more good news to report on training. Originally, I had planned on running the USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Spokane on December 13 primarily as a chance to visit my aunt and uncle that live there. At this point I think I need the extra time to adapt to training here before I’m ready to toe the line. I’ve got more news to post but that will be soon to come…

Halifax Bridge Mile

2008-08-06T16:47:00.003-05:00

The trip ended up being much longer than I had originally planned. The race went well and here's an article: http://thechronicleherald.ca/Sports/1071262.html I got home today after a sleepless night in the Chicago airport last night. I say this with almost every post but I plan to post a lot more soon.

Memorial Leon Buyle (Oordegem Flanders Cup Meeting)

2008-07-25T16:21:00.002-05:00

The trip has definitely gotten a lot better. I'm over my sickness and (mostly) recovered from last Sunday's 1500. I hope to put together a more detailed post about the trip and my experiences but I have been very lazy about updating this regularly in the last year. I'll post the website for the meet and I'm sure the results will be available before I'm back to the internet to post them. I'll work on a "Belgium Recap" post on my way home or in the days to follow. Here's the website: http://www.memorialbuyle.be/indexEN.php

Running Times Article & Flotrack Euro-tour

2008-07-22T17:31:00.002-05:00

I hope that all the mess from Eugene gets left behind soon, but there is a great Running Times article about what happened. Here's the link: http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=13776&PageNum=1 Also, check out the podcast at the end for excerpts from the interview. The dorms that I'm staying in here in Leuven play host to a number of other elite runners. A couple of my good friends from Canada are staying in a building a few hundred meters from mine but there are a lot of Americans. Along with the crew is Ryan from Flotrack. I haven't seen any of the videos but I'm sure that I don't make any appearances. I've talked with Ryan casually but I'm sure the main thing that would come up in an interview would be the trials and that's not a priority for me right now so that's what it is. Ryan seems like a great guy and I'm sure that the videos he's made are pretty typical stuff about the day-to-day life here in the Leuven dorms. Here's a link: http://track.flocasts.org/videos/coverage/view/234049-flotrack-euro-adventures-season-2 I might be racing tomorrow at another Flander's Cup Meeting in Brasschaat. I'll post results if it happens.

KBC Night of Athletics 5000 Results, Huesden Belgium

2008-07-21T06:48:00.002-05:00

Here's a link to the results from last night: http://www.timetronics.be/results/nacht2008/event050h01.html I realize that 13:50 isn't something to boast about but I'm really proud of my effort. It's my second fastest 5k of my life despite being significantly less fit than I was back in April when I ran 13:46. I hope to post more about the trip in general sometime today but I think there is a small group making a day trip to Brussels in a little bit so I'm going to get my things together in time for that.

No go in Gent

2008-07-13T15:12:00.002-05:00

After warming up I knew that there was no way that I could race. It's been a long year and at this point, I'm ready for it to be 2009. It's like a singer preparing for a year for a series of audtions and traveling accross the Atlantic Ocean only to lose his before he got the chance to sing. My whole torso and throat hurt from coughing and I'm really tired from 2 nights spent coughing. I didn't want to run myself into the ground today and I'm still holding out hope that I can recover by mid-week and race the 5000 next Sunday. Hopefully I'll have better news in a day or two.

Leuven, Belgium

2008-07-11T12:10:00.002-05:00

For now I won't go into much detail about the Olympic Trials and the drama involved except to say that despite at least one public opinion by a USATF committee member, I am not "slinging accusations of unjustice." I also don't prescribe to the theory that a single shoe company controls the entire entry process. What I do know is that it is a flawed system to say the least. Hopefully the things that happened this year will lead to some changes and improvements so that athletes won't have to go through what I went through again. And for those people who have asked for my opinion on the men's 10,000 I will give you a short answer. I think it is great that Adam Goucher was allowed to run because it at least demonstrates that somebody actually knows how the appeals process works and Adam did add to the race. I feel that it should be an inclusive championship when athletes have the B standard and their addition won't alter the number of heats or the schedule of the meet. The key is that that USATF needs to consider all appeals equally and provide legitimate rationale to those who are denied. Whatever rules that the USATF has in place need to be followed consistently. That's more than I wanted to say but hopefully that answers whatever questions are floating around out there. Right now I'm sitting in my dorm room here in Leuven watching it rain and thinking about going for a run. I left Ames on Tuesday and arrived here on Wednesday afternoon. I met up with Sean O'Brien of the Oregon Track Club on the flight from Amsterdam to Brussels and we've gone for a couple runs here in town. Yesterday, Anthony Gallo arrived and we were out in the town today. The dorms here are a good set up and there are plenty of English speaking athletes staying all in the same complex. Strangely, since I landed I have gotten sick. I had a little bit of an itch in my throat and a cough before I left home but it has developed into a full-blown cold. I slept more than 13 hours the first night I was here but yesterday I still had a sore throat and a tight chest. Last night I fell asleep pretty easily only to be woken up by some pretty bad coughs a few minutes later. I tried everything I know for falling back asleep but mostly laid in bed coughing until the sun was up. Then fatigue took over and I was unconscious & coughing rather than actually sleeping. I drug myself out of bed to take a look outside and I realized that it was 2:30 in the afternoon. I'm loaded up on orange juice, vitamin C and anything else that I can think of. I need to get a couple good nights of sleep because I'm set to run a 3k on Sunday. So far, this trip is par for the course in 2008. Right when I feel like fitness is coming together and I have a couple great races lined up something happens to change the plan entirely. In case I don't find ambion enough to post before I start racing here are links to information on the meets that I have planned: Flanders Cup Meeting, Gent, Belgium; Sunday, July 13 - 3000 meters http://www.rcgent.be/ (go to 'Wedstrijden' and click on 'Flanders Cup') KBC Night of Athletics, Huesden, Belgium; Sunday, July 20 - 5000 meters http://www.sport.be/kbcnacht/2008/eng/ Memorial Buyle Flanders Cup Meeting, Oordogem, Belgium; Saturday, July 26 - 1500 meters http://www.memorialbuyle.be/

Bridge Mile Picture - 2008

2008-07-06T22:27:00.000-05:00

Olympic Trials Insanity

2008-07-03T02:30:00.002-05:00

For those of you who looked for my name in the results or on the tv, I'm sorry to disappoint. In a twist of events I was not admitted to the field. I'm home from Eugene and I'm exhausted. There is still a lot going on related to my appeal but based on advice from my attorney I won't go into details right now. What I will do is provide an interesting read posted by a very famous and mainstream running journalist. Mr. Amby Burfoot is writing a blog for RunnersWorld and I'm sure this will be a continually developing story. http://tracktrials.runnersworld.com/2008/07/its-a-slow-day.html

American Milers' Club Results

2008-06-16T18:20:00.002-05:00

Wednesday's results: http://www.indianainvaders.com/americanmilersclub/AMC_III_06_11_08.html Saturday's results: http://www.indianainvaders.com/americanmilersclub/amc_4_RESULTS.html It was a great trip and I'll post more soon. It doesn't look like I've run well enough to get into the Olympic Trials and I'll talk more about that in the next day or two.

Border Duel Elite Track Classic Results

2008-06-02T13:59:00.002-05:00

It's nothing to be happy about but here are the results and a video anyway: http://runnerspace.com/video.php?do=view&member_id=73&video_id=4494

Portland 5000 Bummer

2008-06-01T04:19:00.003-05:00

Things definitely didn't go according to plan tonight in Portland. For those of you who stayed up late enough to watch it, you know that I wasn't in the mix after 3000. The pace went out a little slow (I was 68 for the first 400) and then I pressed to make up the time. I think that I was on my goal pace until around 3000 and then things got really hard. I knew that I wouldn't quit so I worked to stay in the pack and keep passing people but the last 800 meters was a total death march and it ended up being my slowest 5k of the year. After regaining conscious thought I was totally disappointed and I'm not sure where this result leaves me. Fortunately for me, I'm staying with a childhood friend from Osceola, Iowa, Kevin Fitzpatrick. His mom and sister are here visiting him so it's been great to hang out with his family. With the taste of failure still fresh in my mouth the four of us went straight to the airport to pick up one of Kevin’s roommates. We weren’t sure exactly which flight she was on so we waited not-so-patiently in the cell phone waiting area. Without hearing from her right away Kevin and I decided to run into a restricted area to get as close to the runway as possible. We timed it perfectly and were literally within a stone’s throw of a landing aircraft. Along the way we bumped into a memorable character. I am becoming increasingly aware of the purposefulness of every personal interaction that we have. I definitely feel that this stranger was brought into my life to teach me a valuable lesson and help put my poor performance into perspective. Kevin and I were casually talking about the airport and the incoming flights when a man near retirement age helpfully chimed in from behind the wheel of the nearby Lake Oswego Airporter. His knowledge of the flight schedule, the airport and airplanes in general was incredible. Within a few minutes he was able to tell us every flight that was still headed into Portland including the airline, the flight number, and origin cities. This might be easy to pick up for all drivers but he went on to talk about the specifics of the planes and how he’s been able to get some great photos of landings. In Kevin’s words he was a “connoisseur” of airplanes and the next natural question out of Kevin’s mouth was “Have you flown one before?” The man dejectedly said, “No, but I’ve always wanted to.” He added almost apologetically, “But I’ve been in a simulator.” This man has clearly spent his adult life learning the intricate details of planes, the Portland airport, and airlines but something has kept him from pursuing his passion of becoming a pilot. Before I could even feel badly for him a wave of self-assurance washed over me. Tonight I had been flying my plane. Obviously it was a rough flight and at times the discouragement and frustration seem insurmountable but it would be far worse to approach retirement age and know that I never at least tried to get my pilot’s license. It’s a valuable life lesson that we don’t often have the opportunity to learn. What I learned tonight is that we get to choose the life that we lead and if you want to fly a plane don’t settle with driving a taxi. It’s hard to find pleasure in failure and loss but after our trip to the airport I have a deeper understanding of my journey.

5000 meters in Portland Tomorrow Night

2008-05-30T16:37:00.002-05:00

I made it to Portland late last night and I'm staying with a life-long friend, Kevin Fitzpatrick, who has been in Portland for over a year now. The race is an event created by Alberto Salazar for his athletes and will be held inconjunction with the Border Duel high school meet between athletes from Washington & Oregon. I don't know what information will be available on my race, but it's scheduled to start at 9:25 pm and here's the meet's homepage: http://www.borderduel.com/ Also, it might be broadcast live on flotrack. Here's the link: http://www.flocasts.org/flotrack/coverage.php?c=284

USATF So Cal High Performance Meet Results

2008-05-26T21:24:00.001-05:00

http://www.flashresults.com/flashwest/results/2008track/08SMHP.htm

Oregon Twilight Interview

2008-05-23T21:04:00.002-05:00

Here's an interview from my trip to Oregon last week: http://www.runnerspace.com/video.php?do=view&member_id=8&video_id=3860 It says a lot about the trip but I still hope to post details along with quick summaries of my trips to NYC (US 8k Championships), Stanford, Mt. SAC and Arkansas. In the meantime, I'm back in LA right now set to race tomorrow night at the USATF So Cal High Performance Meet. Here's a link to the meet information (look down the right side): http://www.scausatf.org/

2008-05-22T20:23:00.002-05:00

I haven't given up on the idea of keeping a web log. I'm just WAY behind on a lot of things right now. Here's an intersting video from my visit to Saucony back in February: http://www.flocasts.org/flotrack/saucony.php I'll post more soon...

USATF 3000 Meter Run Results

2008-02-24T14:53:00.003-06:00

Things didn't go as well as I'd hoped but there are a lot of positives. http://www.usatf.org/events/2008/USAIndoorTFChampionships/results/F5.asp I hope to post more in the next day. Today has been a lazy day in the hotel but I'm headed to the meet in a few minutes to catch today's races.

ISU Classic Results

2008-02-22T23:24:00.003-06:00

I owe an apology to anybody who checks this site with any regularity. I haven't posted with much devotion and I've resolved to better as the outdoor track season approaches. Although it's a week late, I wanted to post the results from my race last week. I ran the 5000 meters at the Iowa State Classic. It was my first indoor 5k but my time of 14:05.54 was fast enough to qualify me for this weekend's USATF Indoor Championships. Obviously I'm skipping the details but since this is my fourth post of the day I'll simply post the results for now. Event 22 Men 5000 Meter Run ======================================================================= Name Year School Finals Points ======================================================================= 1 Boldon, Blake Saucony 14:05.54 2 Uhl, Kiel Iowa State 14:13.37 3 Sigl, Tyler Uw-Plattevil 14:20.61 4 Novack, Scott Auburn Unive 14:21.52 5 Criscione, Jeremy Florida 14:30.79 Here's a link to the complete results from the meet: http://www.cyclones.com//pdf7/110351.pdf?SPSID=94173&SPID=11526&DB_OEM_ID=10700

USATF Indoor Champs Schedule Change & TV Coverage

2008-02-22T23:05:00.005-06:00

I got to Boston yesterday and today it snowed for more than 12 hours. The city is pretty messy and it reminds me of last March in NYC when the USATF 8k championships were delayed a day. Due to canceled flights and travel complications USATF has announced that tomorrow's events will start 2 hours later than originally planned. Here's the updated schedule: http://www.usatf.org/events/2008/USAIndoorTFChampionships/schedule.asp I also checked on www.espn.com to find the broadcast details of the weekend's meet. I think it will be on ESPN 2 on Sunday from 4:00 to 6:00 but double check because I'm not 100% sure if that's eastern time or central time.

ISU Track & Field / Cross Country Media Guide

2008-02-22T12:45:00.002-06:00

Our media guide is done and the details are published online: http://www.cyclones.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10700&ATCLID=1392102&KEY=&DB_OEM_ID=10700&DB_LANG=&IN_SUBSCRIBER_CONTENT= Here's a link to the 'Coaches' section: http://www.cyclones.com//pdf7/110610.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=10700 I've got a whole lot more to post so look for more later today (I haven't had a chance to be on here in a while)...

Maui Details...

2008-02-22T12:29:00.002-06:00

Not all my racing experiences this fall have been as disappointing as my trip to San Jose. In September I had an amazing trip to the Front Street Mile in Maui. It came at the end of three months of hard work. During that time, sixteen hour days weren’t uncommon and the pile of things that needed to be done never seemed to end. I was also traveling a lot for recruiting and out of town for two different camps. There was a three week span where I only slept in my own bed two nights. Training had not been going incredibly well, but I was running faithfully knowing that even though it wasn’t high quality and I wasn’t getting a lot of rest, I was building an aerobic base that would serve me later. When I left for Hawaii I had no expectations for my race but since I had agreed to compete months in advance I knew that I’d give it a shot. I viewed the trip as a chance to finally not work for at least a day or two and see someplace that I’d never been. When I was at the airport in LA, I bumped into Dale Summerville. Dale’s a Kiwi that ran at Stony Brook University in New York and although I’d never met him I have known of him through some mutual friends for a couple years. It was good to put a face with the name and in the coming days we became fast friends. After a late night run (which was technically an early morning run according to our original time zones), we stayed in some condominiums called Maui Hill. It was a fantastic place but our hosts were incredibly apologetic that we weren’t staying at the intended hotel. They insisted that we would be taken care of the next night but Dale and I couldn’t figure out how the next place could be better than Maui Hill. Once the driver from the Grand Wailea arrived to pick us up the next day we understood. He came in a luxury car and set the tone for the rest of our stay. The Grand Wailea was probably the most palatial hotel/resort that I’ve ever seen. After checking in, we ate lunch at a beachfront restaurant near the pool (which could pass for an amusement park). I had a room to myself with an unbelievable view of the sunset which I could easily see from my king bed. By our afternoon run, Dale and I had made friends with another athlete in town for the race, Jonah Maiyo, a graduate of the University of Arizona. The three of us were nearly inseparable for the rest of the weekend. I’ll always remember finishing a run with Dale, standing near the beach and looking around and saying something to the affect of, “Can you believe that running got us HERE?? All the long, miserable runs and the early morning sessions are worth it, just for this.” The race was held on Front Street in Lahaina, which was on the other side of the island from where we were staying so Jonah, Dale and I had to rent a car to get to the race on Saturday. We made an agreement that we were in it together and we’d help each other out over the next couple of days. As the race got closer I started to realize that none of the other guys in the race were in great shape either and I might actually have a shot at competing with them. At the start there were only five of us and the atmosphere was pretty casual despite a big crowd. The first quarter mile of the course was lined on both sides with people there to watch the race. There were a lot of runners on the island for the Maui Marathon the next morning and there were a lot of age division mile races before the elite race so the crowd was pretty good. Right before the start we all got together and took a picture with the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company mascot, a giant shrimp. Then we lined up and took off. The pace was really slow to start so Dale & I found ourselves in the lead. It was windy on the way out and nobody was especially fit so nobody wanted to push the pace. The course was a straight out & back loop so as we went around the cone somebody called out the half mile split and I heard 2:10. Right as we went around the cone, I felt my legs weaken and I nearly came to a full stop. Unfortunately for Dale, he was right behind me and had to give me a shove. That was enough to snap me back into the race and I took off. I don’t remember anybody being near me, but I remember thinking that I had to push the pace to get away from everybody else because the whole way back I felt like it was only a matter of time before somebody passed me. It didn’t happen and I ran 4:05 to win by four seconds. I was stunned and I’m still not sure how I was that fit in September, especially under the circumstances. I was on the top of the world and after a cool down we were the guests of honor at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. It was a great meal of fresh seafood and all the guys were in high spirits. None of us planned to return home until at least Monday and we were all done with our athletic commitments on Saturday night so plans were being made. While I was in this euphoric state my friend, Jonah, asked me if I could drive him to the start of the marathon in the morning so he could pace a friend. I foolishly said, “No problem, we’re in it together. What time do we have to leave?” Through his big smile Jonah burbled, “4:30.” After it dawned on me that he meant 4:30 am, I realized what I had just agreed to. At that point, I decided that since I had to run anyway and I was going to be up before the sun I might as well do my run in the morning so that I could have the rest of the day to see Maui. I asked Rudy, the race director if I could still enter the half marathon. I figured that I could just run in the middle of the pack and finish with 4 or 5 miles afterward for my long run for the week. At least I could find people to run with and enjoy the Hawaiian sunrise. Jonah and I were on our way to the car to go register for the race when Dale caught up to us and we were all back on the same page for the morning. After 3 or 4 hours of restful sleep we rushed to the marathon start so that Dale and I could hurriedly drop Jonah off. After Jonah got out, we still had a 30 minute drive ahead of us to make it to the start of the half marathon. As we pulled up, we were only minutes away from the start and there were no places to park. We found a spot in a pay lot a few minutes from the starting line but Dale still had to change into his running gear and I had to answer nature’s call. While Dale got dressed, I found a promisingly short palm tree a few feet from one of Maui’s nicest hotels to squat under and took off at a quick pace to catch the start. We timed it perfectly and ran right into each other in front of the parking garage and changed gears again to make sure we got to the start. We ran right up to the front and hopped the starting corral to take our places about ten feet from the front. We had just enough time to double-knot our shoes before they started us. Dale had already told me that he doesn’t go to races to lose and we both had seen the results from the last year so we knew what it would take to be up front. I hadn’t hoped to run under 6 minute miles until 5 or 6 miles from the finish. My thought was that I we could be way behind the leaders at the turn-around and still win by running a large negative split. Dale preferred to run from the front so for the second day in a row we found ourselves leading. After the second mile we set the pace for a group of guys hoping to run in the 1:18 range and it was a good group, working together. At the turn-around Dale and I picked it up a little bit and it was just the two of us. For about three miles it was a lot of fun because as we ran on the out and back course we were cheered by hundreds and hundreds of enthusiastic runners. People were taking our pictures and cheering for us really loudly. All the while Dale and I were smiling, waving and yelling back because we weren’t running that fast or hard. Nearing the ten mile mark I decided that it had been a good effort and whether I jogged in or not I was going to need a few days to recover so I wanted to get a good training benefit out of the last 5k. I picked it up and had a nice chat with the lead cyclist before coming back into the crowds for the last quarter mile. It was my fourth half marathon of my life and my fourth half marathon victory. At the awards ceremony they presented us with some great trophies and I got to say a few words to the crowd. While I was standing watching all the age division awards the one thing that amazed me was the multi-culturalism of the race. The announcer spoke several languages including English & Japanese, which he translated between constantly. After I made a few comments about the great people and the well-organized race he translated that into Japanese and I thought it was hilarious for some reason. The rest of the trip wasn’t the vacation that I originally imagined because I was so tired from the running but it was much needed time away from work and life in Ames. The trip to Maui solidified in my mind that I will be able to coach, train and race successfully and that 2008 still could be my best year on the track despite other obligations. I owe a big debt of gratitude to Rick Amescua for his incredible hospitality at the Grand Wailea, Rudy Huber (owner of Runner’s Paradise, Maui’s only specialty running shop), and Mary Beth Bishop, a journalist for the Maui News who took the time to show us around the island on Sunday & Monday. Post Script - I wrote the above post back in November, and unfortunately never got it posted. I'm in Boston right now preparing for the US Indoor Championships tomorrow. I run the 3000 meters at 5:40 pm eastern time. Just like I've been behind on posting on this site, I'm behind on emails. If you're still reading this, here's a reminder that my primary email address is now my work email - boldon@iastate.edu. If you're emailing me at blake_boldon@hotmail.com, I'm WAY behind there...

Sea Gate Elite Athlete 5k

2007-11-26T00:34:00.000-06:00

As evidenced by my posting, life has been hectic since June. I started as a full-time assistant coach here at Iowa State on July 9 and my spare time has taken a drastic hit. I have had intentions of posting about the trip to USATF nationals in Indianapolis, the 5th Season 8k in Cedar Rapids and the Minnesota Mile in St. Paul since I ran in the races back in June & July. When I got back from my trip to Oregon in June I hit the ground running with work and I haven’t had a chance to look back yet. I also hope to post some details about my trip to Maui in September and the Des Moines Half Marathon in October, but all in due time. As I'm writing this I’m sitting on a flight from Oakland to Chicago on my way home from a very disappointing performance at the 3rd annual Seagate Elite Athlete 5k in San Jose, California. It’s been a long week because I left Ames on Friday to head to the NCAA National Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, IN. Our results were pretty mixed. We had two ladies who qualified individually and they ran fantastic races. Lisa Koll was 18th and Grace Kemmey was 22nd so they both earned All-America honors. The men’s race was the exact opposite. For whatever reason, we ran horribly and tied for 30th place (31 teams qualify for the meet). There isn’t a lot more to be said about that, but it’s really hard to see the team put in months of hard training only to fall well short of their goals. At the awards ceremony I bumped into an old friend, Dave Hartman, who coaches at Georgia and was able to convince him to give me a ride to the airport in Indianapolis so I could catch my flight. The trip to the airport definitely helped to lift my spirits but when I finally made it to Oakland it was good to be there. I got to spend Tuesday and Wednesday relaxing with my friend, Jim Sorenson. Jim lives in San Leandro, California and he always lets me crash when I’m in his area. He’s a runner that’s been doing it well for a while. This year Jim turned 40 and had a great season setting the American masters record for 800 meters and the world masters record for 1500 meters. Since he was also running the race we were able to room together at the host hotel in San Jose. My race in San Jose was as frustrating for me as the national meet had been for the ISU guys. I went out with the field but by the mile I was already behind the lead pack and my mile split was 4:29. At that point, I had already switched to survival mode and my goal became to make it to the second mile mark in 9:00 and then hopefully I could gut out the last mile. Unfortunately I was 9:04 at two miles and fell apart from there. My last mile was likely five minutes but I have no idea what my official time was. It was a stellar field and I haven’t seen any results but I heard that it was won in 13:37 with a pack of four guys up front. I was far enough back by two miles that I wasn’t in the mix and I died so hard that I might not have been in the top 20. Jim was the top masters runner in a time of 15:02 and he wasn’t too far behind me so my time could be anywhere from 14:30ish to 14:55 or so. I wasn’t fully functional when I finished and I don’t really remember making it through the shoot, except for bumping into Jim. I walked to the VIP tent, grabbed my things and walked back to the hotel. I dropped my stuff off, saw the Packers score a touchdown and left for a 6 mile cool down in the hopes that I could gain some perspective. It’s a very frustrating and disappointing result and the challenge of coaching and competing is becoming more obvious. There are three distinct components to the balance: work, training and recovery. I have been failing miserably at focusing on recovery and that has definitely had an effect on my work & training. This weekend I’ll spend my time recruiting at the footlocker Midwest regional meet but I hope to sit down and come up with a plan for the 2008 season in the coming days. If I am going to be successful as a coach & athlete it isn’t going to happen by coincidence or accident. I owe special thanks to Mark Winitz (the race director) for allowing me to return to the race to try and mix it up with the top guys, Alissa Shook for inviting me to spend Thanksgiving with her family for the second straight year, and last but certainly not least, Jim for giving me my home away from home in the Bay Area.

Maui Half Marathon Results

2007-09-16T20:48:00.002-05:00

After the Front Street Mile last night my new friends Dale Summerville and Jonah Maiyo and I decided to participate in the Maui Marathon & Half Marathon this morning. It started at 5:30 am so it was a short night, but here's a link to the results: http://www.pacificsportevents.com/ Updated links: http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/34266.html http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/34222.html http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/34184.html

Front Street Mile in Maui

2007-09-16T20:31:00.001-05:00

Check out this article in the Maui News: http://www.mauinews.com/sports/2007/9/16/02bold0916.html Also some photos from the Maui Marathon website: http://www.mauimarathon.com/photos2007/frontst/page1.htm

Indoor Mile World Best List

2007-06-30T16:33:00.001-05:00

http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/toplists/inout=I/ageGroup=N/season=2007/gender=M/discipline=MILE/legal=A/index.html

Saucony facts...

2007-06-30T16:30:00.000-05:00

Saucony was founded in 1898 in Kutztown, PA on the banks of the Sacon River hence the name. Manufactured Army boots during WWI and WW2. 1965 produced the first boots worn in space. 1991 Intoduced the Grid Technology (like a tennis racket in your shoe). 2005 purchased by the Stride rite Corp. Thanks to my good friend, Mark Misch, for this information. Information about races and a season recap are on the way...

Prefontaine 1500 Meters Results

2007-06-11T00:54:00.000-05:00

Results from Saturday night: 1 Will Leer USA 3:41.132 Jordan McNamara Lane CC 3:41.133 Gu Ming China 3:41.684 Sean Jefferson Oregon TC 3;41.965 #5 - Blake Boldon USA 3:43.116 Gabe Jennings USA 3:43.137 Ryan Bok USA 3:43.528 Scott Wall USA 3:43.829 AJ Acosta USA 3;44.0910 Rolf Steier USA 3:45.48 I split 2:56 for 1200, passing the pacesetter shortly after 1000 meters. It was a disapointing outcome, but I'm trying to view it as just another step in preparation for the US Championships in two weeks. Information for that meet can be found here: http://www.usatf.org/events/2007/USAOutdoorTFChampionships/ The preliminary round of the 1500 is on Friday, June 22 at 6:25 pm. I'm in Portland for the night and fly to Omaha tomorrow. I hope to write an account of my trip and finally put something together about earlier races while I'm in the air.

Prefontaine 1500 Meters

2007-06-05T16:47:00.001-05:00

Here's information from the event director for this weekend: 1500 METERS - SECTION TWO 7:30 P.M. (pace - 2:57 for 1200) 1 Blake Boldon 2 Sean Jefferson 3 Jordan McNamara 4 Ryan Bok 5 Scott Wall 6 Joaquin Chapa 7 Gabe Jennings 8 Will Leer 9 A.J. Acosta 10 Mike McGrath 11 Sean O'Brien--pacesetter

Road To Eugene Results and Photo

2007-06-05T16:47:00.000-05:00

I'm posting a lot less frequently than I'd like, but here is a link to the results and to a photo from trackshark. http://www.flashresults.com/2007_Meets/outdoor/eugene08/?DB_OEM_ID=500 (scroll down, the Men's 1500 results are a link on the bottom left side) http://www.tracksharkphotos.com/photos/2007/eugene/slides/TEGENKAMP%20Matt%2007EUG%20KL.JPG

Road To Eugene 1500 Video and General Recap

2007-05-29T07:44:00.000-05:00

My friend Mark Misch emailed me a link to the video of the race from Sunday. Check it out at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhSFFsKO7AM My host "mom" here in Eugene, Kathleen Gray, emailed me a recap of the race that somebody emailed her. I can't say that it's 100% accurate but I'll post it in case you'd rather read the details instead of watch the 4 minute video. "Men's 1,500m Run:Off the line they come out bunched up, with Vermillion setting the pace as the rabbit followed by Tegenkamp of Nike and Ian Dobson of Adidas. They hit the line for the first time as Vermillion starts to set a faster pace from the field on the backstretch and the field adjusts to catch up to him. McKenzie of Nike and Canada moves into fourth place as they come to the front stretch. Vermillion, Tegenkamp, Bolden, and McKenzie leading the pack as they get to the line for the second time. 2:00 800m split for Vermillion. All in a row as they come around the curve. Vermillion drops off as the pace setter and Tegenkamp, Bolden, Scherer as they hear the bell tone for the final lap. Bolden comes up on the outside shoulder of Tegenkamp as they hit the back curve. McKenzie moves into third and now into second as they comes to the stretch. McKenzie passes into the lead and the win with 10m to go and he wins the race in 3:39.93. Tegankamp finishes second in 3:40.34, followed by Scherer, formerly of Oregon, in 3:41.05."

"Road To Eugene" Start List & Schedule

2007-05-25T17:51:00.000-05:00

I made it safely to Eugene and I've enjoyed my first day here at what I like to call "The Gray Family Endurace Training Center." I've got some free time in the next few days and I've got internet access so hopefully I'll get caught up with posts. http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=900073

TC 1-Mile Press Release

2007-05-24T14:35:00.000-05:00

Here's a press release from the organizers of the Twin Cities Marathon from a few weeks ago: http://www.mtcmarathon.org/News/Documents/Blake%20Boldon%20Wins%20Medtronic%20TC%201%20Mile%2Epdf There were some pictures online a couple weeks ago, but I can't find them now. My posting here has been sporadic because my computer at home is taking a break. Hopefully I can find those pictures and maybe one or two from Drake. I also plan on posting more details about the trip to Ithaca and the Kip Keino Mile.

"Road To Eugene" This Weekend

2007-05-24T14:26:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all of you who have seen the video of the Kip Keino Mile and send your regards. If you didn't know the video was available, sorry. Here's the link: http://www.letsrun.com/2007/keinomile05137.php The link should take you to results, an article and the video. Here's a link to a breif article about the meet that I'm racing in on Sunday: http://www.registerguard.com/news/2007/05/23/d1.sp.bellamy.0523.p1.php?section=sports

An Update (Finally)

2007-05-13T17:30:00.001-05:00

Ok, so I didn’t post any more information before I left for New York but I’m on my second of three flights today so I’ll make an attempt to recap everything since the US 8k championships and post this when I have internet access. My first real trip to New York City was marked with an unseasonable spring snow storm. I had looked forward to spending St. Patrick’s Day in the city but the race was delayed a day so I spent most of the weekend in my hotel room. I did venture out in the snow storm with some friends for dinner on Friday at a restaurant in Greenwich Village named Lupa. It’s apparently owned by “The Iron Chef” but the significance of this information was lost on me. With temperatures hovering around freezing, the race went well. I finished 14th and ran a new personal best of 23:28 but I had really hoped to run 23:20 and crack into the top 10. The highlight of the trip might have been coming to terms with Saucony for the rest of 2007. Although I’ve pursued a shoe contract for several years, it still seems a little odd that I’m compensated to endorse a shoe. When I get some time, I’ll post more specific information about the shoes that I’m using for training and racing. Two weeks later I went to Stanford to race the 5000 meters. I had high hopes for the race because I felt that it would shape the rest of my season. My aim was a 2008 Olympic Trials qualifying mark, or at least a significant personal best. The first 4k went pretty well and I was with the leaders but as a friend put it, I went from the penthouse to the outhouse in about 400 meters. My last 800 was over 2:30. I’m not sure of the cause of the debacle and I tried not to dwell on that result for long. It was, however, the primary cause for my vacation from my web log. I think my official time was around 14:16, more than 30 seconds off my goal. A physical meltdown like that can make me view my choice to pursue running as some sort of quixotic quest. After a week of easy running those thoughts were dismissed and life was back to normal. I changed plans for April a little bit and didn’t race again until the Drake Relays on Saturday, April 28. It was a gorgeous day in front of another sell out crowd. Fortunately I had my mom and a bunch of friends in the stands. Unfortunately, I fell short of two goals. I had hoped to pull out an upset in front of the home crowd and I thought I had a shot at running under 3:58. I had underestimated Alan Webb’s fitness and the effects of not racing for a month. Webb ran away with the title and destroyed the old Drake Relays record. I was a distant second in 4:03. The silver lining of the day was that I had run most of the way by myself and ran as fast as I have in my three attempts at the Drake Mile. I was 59 though the quarter, 1:59 at the half and 3:00 or 3:01 for 3-quarters. Five days later I toed the line again. On Wednesday I headed to Minneapolis for the Twin Cities 1-Mile on Thursday. It’s a well organized road mile in downtown Minneapolis to raise local interest in the Twin Cities Marathon in October. The elite field draws athletes from all over the country and this year offered $1000 for the victory. Prizes went five deep so I was hoping to make a little coin before returning to Iowa. The field started at a pedestrian pace. I heard vague splits and for the first quarter, we were between 66 and 68 seconds. I definitely heard 2:18 at the half way point and within a few strides Luke Watson bolted to the lead. I responded to his move and the two of us quickly separated from the field. With just more than 3 blocks to go I made another move and I came away with the win in 4:15. So now I’m in New York and I’m finally posting this. Today I ran the Kip Keino Mile and finished fifth in 4:04.9. I’m disappointed with my tactics/effort but there are a lot of positives to build on. The elite athlete coordinator for the event is Weldon Johnson, creator of the world-famous, Letsrun.com. Check there for details. I promise to have links to official results and some photos posted from all of these races soon.

Kip Keino Mile This Sunday

2007-05-10T12:51:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all of you who have inquired since my last post. Tomorrow I travel to Ithaca, NY for a big race on Sunday. It is being billed as the best mile assembled on U.S. soil so far in 2007. Here is a link to the information: http://www.letsrun.com/2007/keino42507.php My aim is to post details of my last month before I leave, sorry for the hiatus.

US 8k Championship Results

2007-03-19T23:09:00.000-05:00

I didn't exactly reach my goals but it wasn't majorly disappointing. I ran 23:28 and finished 14th and since they paid the top 15 that was a major silver lining. Here's a link to the full results: http://web5.nyrrc.org/cgi-bin/htmlos.cgi/721574.2.097872164485429626

As you can see, I'm wearing the jersey of my new sponsor, Saucony. I'll post more details about the company and our new partnership.

USATF 8k Postponed & Letsrun.com Front Page!

2007-03-17T08:39:00.000-05:00

Two pieces of news: 1. The USATF 8k hosted by New York Road Runners has been postponed until tomorrow thanks to the weekend's winter weather. We're set to run at 9 am on Sunday. The course has been changed from one 8k loop to a 1.7 mile loop that we will run nearly 3 times. 2. I somehow got my name mentioned on the front page of Letsrun.com. For family and friends who don't know the site, it's an American based, online home of distance runners all around the world. The mention is a link to the mensracing.com interview from last week but I never thought I'd see my name on letsrun (aside from some junk on the message boards, but even that's usually news for me).

MensRacing.com Interview

2007-03-14T14:46:00.000-05:00

The New York Road Runners host a site that has been one of my favorites for years. They put up photo galleries from big races, do athlete profiles and put up daily distance running news. In all the times that I've visited the site I never really thought that I'd see a picture of myself on the top of the page. If you visit www.mensracing.com today, that's exactly what you'll find. In preparation for the USATF 8k Championships they contacted me for an interview. Here's a link to the full article: http://www.mensracing.com/athletes/interviews/2007/blakeboldon031407.html

Champion Nutrition

2007-03-11T15:13:00.000-05:00

Late in the fall I came in contact with a great company that has sincerely helped me take my training to another level. Champion Nutrition has been sending me selected products and their support is greatly appreciated. If you're a competitive or recreational athlete or a coach, their product line is guaranteed to have something that will meet your needs and help you reach your potential. Please visit their website to view their complete product line: http://www.champion-nutrition.com/champion/splash/strength.php

ISU Last Chance Recap

2007-03-09T09:59:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday was another good step in my running career. Coach Ihmels and I decided a few days in advance that I'd run the mile to try and help Brandon Rooney and then later pace the 5k for Guor Majak. Guor is a red shirt freshman who finished 6th in the Big 12 in the 5k & 3k. Brandon is a sophomore who was 4th in the Big 12 mile. Both of the guys were just off of the provisional qualifying marks for NCAA nationals and they're certainly both fit enough to run that fast. Our Australian steeplechaser, Jayden Russ, volunteered to set the pace for the mile and he did a fine job. Unfortunately, I was running so horribly that I didn’t really see the benefit of his work. Maybe a little more background is required. The night before, another post-collegiate runner, Rob Duncan, stayed at my apartment. Rob, my roommates and I all went out to dinner and I just had this feeling that I was on the precipice of something big. The nerves weren’t bad but I started putting a lot of pressure on myself because I knew that based on my fitness anything slower than four minutes would be a failure. That night was mostly sleepless as I tossed and turned and had nightmares that I couldn’t run 67 for a 400. I woke up in the morning feeling like I’d already raced. I went for a shakeout run and then the waiting began. Thankfully the race was scheduled for 12:15 so the torture wouldn’t last all day. On the warm up I felt like crap and it was just an awful crescendo of distress until about half way through the race. While I was finishing up my warm up I looked into the bleachers and saw three people. That’s right, THREE! It was a good feeling because one of them was my mom. She had braved the icy & snowy roads to come watch me run. Not only was I comforted by her presence, there was some solace in also knowing that not many people were there to see me fail at my first indoor mile in 3 years. That was the most positive thought I could find during my warm up. A few minutes later, while all my competitors were at the line waiting for the final instructions, I was around the corner with my head buried in a garbage can. Every ounce of my breakfast was finding its way out and I just turned to Coach Ihmels and said, “Here I am puking like a little bitch.” He said something like, “Blake, you’re so fit that 4:01 is going to be easy.” Then I trotted over to the start line and the race was off. Fifty meters in I told Jayden that he was too fast but thankfully he didn’t listen to me. He was right on pace but I felt like total garbage. By 200 meters Brandon had wisely gone around me and was in hot pursuit of the pace that Jayden was setting. I continued to fall off the pace and by 400 I was 62 seconds and 2 or 3 seconds behind the two leaders. Throughout the first 400 I contemplated dropping out but I had told Brandon that I would help him out once Jayden stepped off so I’m pretty sure that’s the main thing that kept me going. I was thinking that I could at least help Brandon crack 4:04. At 800 I was 2:02 (almost 2:03) and I hadn’t really closed the gap much on Brandon. Knowing that I told Brandon that I would set the pace from there I picked it up and caught them right before the 1000. This was unfortunate timing because Jayden was sliding out to lane 2 to get out of Brandon’s way. I was coming up too fast and I knew that he didn’t see or hear me so I had to swing out to lane 3 to avoid a potential collision. I saw 2:31 for 1000 meters and knew that I had my work cut out for me since I was going to have to lead the rest. I went past Brandon with too much speed and he wasn’t able to come with me so I had to run alone the last 600. I heard a few other splits (like maybe 3:01 for 3-quarters) but I don’t remember thinking about the time as much as just thinking “Keep running.” With 100 meters to go, it was a familiar sight because I’ve done a lot of my speed development sprints indoors this winter. I just thought to myself, "This is like I’ve done a hundred times – just run 13 seconds." The only thing that I remember about crossing the line was looking up at the clock. The clock had been stopped at 4:01 and some tenths and I thought to myself, “at least I got a pr” but only a few moments later the correct time flashed on the screen. I stumbled over and gave my biggest fan, my mom, a big hug. After a short cool down I got a quick rub down from the man, James Brockway and was off to re-hydrate before pacing Guor in the 5k. For the 5k, I had hoped to make it 3200 in 8:56 but after the African from UTEP went around me at 2600 I dropped out. My pace had been good but I was tired of fighting him for the lead. We tossed a few angry words back and forth shortly past the mile and so I wasn’t too anxious to hurt myself to help him out. The first few laps felt EASY but after the 4:27 first 1600 I started realizing how tired I was and I didn’t want to hurt myself. Big thanks to Kevin Born from the ISU team for the photo. My best guess this is at 1400 meters but it could also be at 1100. It's a little blurry but I'd like to credit that to my amazing speed rather than the photography. Hopefully this is my first of many sub 4 miles but thanks to all of you who have called or emailed your support. Special thanks to all of you who are actually still reading this long rambling.

Boston & USATF Recap

2007-03-07T22:29:00.000-06:00

Obviously the trip to Boston went well and I should have posted these details a week ago but I’ll share a few stories. I’ll go over the race and then talk about the rest of the trip. Finishing 4th and getting my first medal at a USATF championship is a good step in my career and I never complain with a personal best. My time of 7:57.19 was more than a three second best but Coach Ihmels told me not to call him unless I ran 7:55 so we didn’t talk for a day or so. As the race went I only saw one split and I didn’t really have a lot going through my head. I saw 2:38 for the first 1000 meters but I wasn’t sure if that was for me or if that was for the leaders. I was a couple seconds off the lead in the middle of the pack at that point. When Jonathon Riley passed me I knew it was time to move up because he and Matt Tegenkamp were headed through the pack. I followed those two for a few laps but I’m not sure exactly where I lost contact with them. While watching the race on ESPN2 I noticed that I went through 1500 meters at 3:59 and most of the second half I ran on my own. It was a good run but I was disappointed to have traveled all the way to Boston to run that much alone and I really feel like I could have run several seconds faster. Confidence in races is definitely something that I need to continue to work on. For the most part, the trip went as well as the race. Thursday was a long travel day and despite being tired when I landed I had to navigate through Boston in my rental car. My first mistake was traveling with no cash. It made for an interesting interaction with the toll booth attendant at the tunnel. She had to write me a ticket and she was not happy about the line that I caused. After picking up my host for the weekend, Terry Shea, we headed to the Reggie Lewis Center for a run. We did 5 miles together and I did eight 200’s to shake out some of the rust from travel. I felt awful so I headed out for a couple miles to cool down and I apparently made a wrong turn (or two). As a bit of background, the indoor track is located on Malcolm X Boulevard on the campus of Roxbury Community College. I guess I headed the wrong way and I was kindly reminded of this by a middle-aged African-American lady when she yelled at me, “Boy, you best not be runnin’ down this street.” I took my first turn back in the direction of the track and decided not to head this way again after dark. Friday I ventured to Boston from Terry’s house in Cambridge to pick up my packet at the meet hotel and to head to the track again. I took the T and made it around the city without major incident. I got to have a look around and it gave me an excuse to get out of the house. Before heading to dinner with my friend, Erin Dromgoole, I went to the BEST barber in all of north Cambridge. I didn’t catch her name but the shop’s name was Elite Barber Shop and it was located on Mass Ave in Cambridge. It was an experience that I’m positive I can’t find in Central Iowa. She is a great lady but definitely used the F-word more than any other barber or hair stylist I’ve ever met. Somehow it was totally perfect. As is the case with most race days, Saturday was uneventful until after the meet. Erin and I went downtown to meet up with friends from ZAP Fitness and had a good time enjoying Boston night life. Without a doubt, the highlight of the night was hearing about Brendan O’Keefe’s world record in the nude 5k. It’s a story that I won’t soon forget as he had me laughing so hard I nearly fell out of my chair (literally). The only other detail worth mentioning was that some anonymous jerk smacked into my rental car while it was parked on the street. The only damage was a broken rearview mirror and I haven’t noticed any charges from the rental company car so maybe I’ve escaped that one. For those of you anxious to hear the details about my first sub four mile, I’ll try and post that soon. If you’re still reading, keep your eyes peeled on MensRacing.com. There might be some info on me popping up there soon.

Iowan Sub 4 Milers

2007-03-05T15:06:00.000-06:00

Here's some trivia that I found really interesting. There are only 3 Iowa high school athletes that have gone on to run under four minutes in the mile. 1. Randy Wilson, Knoxville High School, 3:58.74 (May 11, 1985) 2. Blake Boldon, Clarke Community High School, 3:59.18 (March 3, 2007) 3. Jerome Howe, Treynor High School, 3:59.2h (May 3, 1975)

First Sub 4 Mile!

2007-03-03T13:48:00.000-06:00

Today I broke the barrier that has been a measure of milers for over 50 years. I ran 3:59.18 and ran almost the entire race by myself. Right now I'm at home resting for a few minutes before heading back to the track to pace the 5000 at 4:30. I will post details about both efforts (and the trip to Boston) in a day or two. For now, I'll just post the splits- First 800 - 2:02 and change, second 800 - a little over 1:56 with a 57 last 400. Here's a link to results: http://www.cyclones.com/fls/10700/track_live/index.htm?DB_OEM_ID=10700

Qualifier Schedule Update & PrettySporty.com Photos

2007-02-28T23:04:00.000-06:00

This weekend I'm definitely planning on racing the mile at the ISU Cyclone Qualifier. It's scheduled for 12:10 pm. Disregard the schedule that I posted earlier today. Since that posting, we moved the 5k to the end of the meet to give a few athletes a chance to get quality marks. I plan on pacing that race and it's scheduled to start at 4:35 pm.

Here's another photo from last weekend's race in Boston.

Check out the whole PrettySporty.com gallery at: http://www.prettysporty.com/Photos/USAInNat07/WM3K/index.htm

ISU Last Chance Qualifier

2007-02-28T10:03:00.000-06:00

I plan on running the mile on Saturday here in Ames. It's currently scheduled to start at 12:15. Here's a link to the schedule for the day: http://admin.xosn.com//pdf7/56594.pdf

Body Mechanix Athletics & Tommy Neal's Half Marathon

2007-02-27T23:03:00.000-06:00

Check out the homepage of my former sponsor, Body Mechanix Athletics: http://www.bodymechanixathletics.com/index.asp The owners of the company mentioned me and made some very kind remarks. It's a great group and I appreciate all their help. On Sunday my roommate and training partner, Tommy Neal, made his half marathon debut in Williamsburg, Virginia. He set an impressive personal best of 1:06:41 on a hilly course. He finished 3rd in a tough field. The complete results can be found at: http://www.tribeclub.com/Downloads/ABHalfwin.doc

2007 USATF Indoor Championships

2007-02-26T21:45:00.000-06:00

Thanks to www.eliterunning.com for the picture. This is before the start of the race where I won my first USATF medal.

Thanks & USATF Pics

2007-02-26T10:56:00.000-06:00

I intended on doing so yesterday so I'll take this chance to thank my hosts for the weekend. Terry Shea and Carly Graytock did a fantastic job of making me feel at home and taking care of me in the days leading up to the race. They are both examples of the hundreds of great people that I've met along the way. They both spent a little bit of time with the Hansons training group in Michigan and both have already qualified for the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials. In a quick search, I found this interesting interview that Carly did while she lived in Michigan: http://www.fast-women.com/athletes/interviews/2005/carlygraytock.html Also, thanks to my friend Erin Dromgoole for making sure that I made it to the airport. She and I met last year while representing the US in Ireland and although she's been hurt she'll be back running well by the end of the outdoor season I'm sure. Here's a link to some photos of the race: http://eliterunning.com/photos/index.php?g2_itemId=64853&g2_page=4 There might be others coming in a few days. I still intend on posting more details about the race and trip.

USATF Indoor Championships

2007-02-25T19:29:00.000-06:00

Thanks to all of you for your emails, calls and messages. I was welcomed back to Ames by 9 inches of snow and I still haven't run yet today so I'll be brief. Here's a link to the results from my 3k yesterday: http://www.usatf.org/events/2007/USAIndoorTFChampionships/results/F5.asp Today I had the surreal experience of sitting in a restaraunt and watching myself race on national tv. It went well and there were a few good shots of me in my snazzy new Big River Running Company jersey so hopefully the guys in St. Louis will see some return on their investment. I'll post more details about the trip and race after I get caught up on life.

BRRC Interview...

2007-02-20T22:15:00.000-06:00

Check out the homepage of my new sponsor, Big River Running Company. They flattered me with the honor of an interview. If you're too lazy to go to their homepage, you can just click here: http://www.bigriverrunning.com/Blake_Boldon.htm

Big River Running Bio

2007-02-19T20:33:00.000-06:00

My bio is up on the company's website. Check out my details and information about the whole team here: http://www.bigriverrunning.com/mensbios.php I think most of the details are set for this weekend's race. I run at 5:40 EST on Saturday afternoon and the meet is scheduled to be televised on ESPN 2 on Sunday from 3 to 5 pm (I'm not sure if that's Eastern or Central time). There are definitely no guarantees that I'll make the coverage but it might be worth checking out. Here is a link to the entries in all the events: http://www.usatf.org/events/2007/USAIndoorTFChampionships/entry/status.asp

Big River Running Company Logo

2007-02-16T12:28:00.000-06:00

Big River Running Company

2007-02-15T15:15:00.000-06:00

After attaining a USATF qualifying mark in the 3000 meters last weekend I spent a few days debating a trip to Boston for the meet. Then I spent a few days trying to think of a way to get to Boston. Then last night I made a connection with Matt Helbig and Ben Rosario, the owners of a great new shoe store in the St. Louis area. They started Big River Running Company with high hopes and they're well on their way to establishing a permanent fixture in the St. Louis running community. They have generously offered to help offset some of my costs for this trip and all I have to do is run fast in a uniform that sports their sweet logo. I'd like to tell you all about who they are and what they do, but it would be easier just to let them do it. Please check out their website: http://www.bigriverrunning.com/ I don't think they take online orders at the moment, but if you're in the need for running gear you can call them to place orders and they will ship it the next day.

ISU Classic 3k Summary

2007-02-15T09:16:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday I had some family and friends at the meet so I'd like to thank them for making the trip to Ames to watch me run. The race went according to plan and it was good to get a solid effort in to start 2007. Texas A & M sent a pacemaker to ensure a competitive effort from the start. I didn't catch the athlete's name, but he did a great job of getting out and setting a quick and even pace from the gun. While he was setting the pace I was back in the pack somewhere between 3rd and 6th. The pace felt fast but we were running about 65 seconds per 400 meters. The pacemaker stepped off the track right before 1200 meters and then Brad Lowery from Team USA Minnesota kept the pace up and the lead pack was narrowed to about a half dozen. I saw 4:03 for 1500 meters and I was about 4:19 for 1600. Shortly after that I moved to the lead and I set the pace from that point. Ben Gregory from Wisconsin Runner Track Club hung on to my shoulder until about 200 meters to go when he tried to make a move for the win. I responded but waited until about 100 meters to go to reclaim the lead. I went around him and cruised home for the win in a new personal best. My last 300 was under 45 seconds and over the last 80 meters I felt that I had another gear available if Ben was able to come back to me. While leading I felt under control and I was aware of what was going on around me. It was a good effort and a solid confidence booster as I continue to get ready for the outdoor season.

ISU Classic Results

2007-02-11T11:24:00.000-06:00

Here's a link: http://admin.xosn.com/attachments1/3062.htm?SPID=4239&SPSID=46591&DB_OEM_ID=10700 More information to come soon. As a footnote to my comments on Tommy's efforts on Friday, his great effort came at the end of his 7th straight week over 100 miles per week and his third straight at 110.

ISU Classic Heat Sheet

2007-02-09T23:27:00.000-06:00

There has been a change to the schedule and my heat of the 3000 meters is scheduled to start at 6:10 pm on Saturday. Tonight at the meet my new roommate and training partner showed off his fitness in the two slow heats of the 5000. Tommy Neal ran 14:54 in the first heat and after 5 to 8 minutes of rest he did a tremendous job of pacing the next heat. He finished right at 15:00. He's set to run a half marathon in Williamsburg, VA in two weeks and then three weeks later he plans to make his marathon debut in Virginia Beach. Here's a copy of my heat for tomorrow night. =============================================================================== Section 1 Timed Finals 1 Blake Boldon Isu Unatt 2 Edwin Henshaw Tulsa 3 Brian Duplechain Texas A M 4 Brad Lowery Unattached 5 Ben Gregory Wisconsin Ru 6 Jayden Russ Iowa State 7 Mitch Bible Texas A M 8 Jordan Fife Ind. St 9 Peter Remien Unattached 10 David Hebert Texas A M 11 John Olsen U. S. Naval 12 Guor Majak Iowa State 13 Mike Torchia Minnesota 14 Jeremy Stevens Illinois 15 Daniel Strackeljahn Eastern Illi 16 Antonio Vega Minnesota 17 Chris Rombough Minnesota 18 Jonathan Grant U. S. Naval 19 Jeffry Grassmeyer Drake Univer 20 Kevin Born Iowa State

Day Off (sorta)

2007-01-31T15:01:00.000-06:00

After 5 weeks of over 90 miles I definitely missed out on some much needed recovery time and the result is some inflammation in my calf/foot. I won't go into detail but yesterday I didn't run. My friend Travis has given me a few quality treatments and last night he was kind enough to set me up with a session in the SwimEx. I ran for 50 minutes in the water and I do feel better today. I'll give running a try today and hopefully I'm back on track (literally & figuratively) by next week. To see an informational clip about SwimEx at ISU go to: http://www.swimex.com/sportsrehab/video.html (and watch clip 2 - if you want to see Travis using the SwimEx click on the DVD teaser and choose the Sports Rehab options) Depending on my health, my next race is schedule for February 10th at the Iowa State Classic here in Ames. I'm tentatively planning on racing the 3000 meters that is currently scheduled for 5:55 pm.

ISU Open 3000 Meters & 1200 DMR leg

2007-01-21T11:01:00.000-06:00

At the end of my fourth straight week running more than 90 miles I was able to get two solid efforts. On Friday night I ran the first leg of a Distance Medley Relay with 3 other unattached runners. After the first hundred meters I was in last place out of ten teams but I moved my way up the field and took the lead right before the halfway point. I ran a small negative split to finish the 1200 in 2:59.3. Since the two previous days I ran 15 miles each and I haven’t been sleeping well lately I felt exhausted in the warm up but it was a confidence boost to be able to move that well. On Saturday I ran the 3000 meters in 8:16.13 but it didn’t go exactly according to plan. While I was warming up I actually felt a little bit better than Friday and I did most of the pace setting. After 1500 meters right around 4:09 my legs felt really heavy from the mileage that I’ve been running. Fortunately I was still able to pick up the pace a little even though it wasn't nearly as much as I'd hoped. Last year at this meet I ran a second faster but I didn’t run the 1200 the day before and I hadn’t been training nearly as hard so I was pretty well rested before the race. My training goal for the next three weeks is to continue to improve the quality while keeping my weekly mileage above 90. I’ll be racing the 3000 meters again in three weeks here at the Iowa State Classic. It’s tentatively scheduled for 5:00 pm on Saturday, February 10th. Complete results from the ISU Open can be found at: http://admin.xosn.com//pdf7/58910.pdf?SPSID=46591&SPID=4239&DB_OEM_ID=10700

Seagate Elite Athlete 5k Race Summary (finally)

2007-01-01T17:12:00.000-06:00

After my roommate, Cele Rodriguez (formerly of Adams State), and I made it to the starting line I found a place to lay down for a while. Laying flat on my back was about the only way that I was pain free the whole day. About an hour before the race I headed out for my normal warm up jog and tried to put the pain in my back out of my mind. Of course, after a few minutes of jogging it became clear that it wasn’t going to be my day. I started debating whether or not I should even start the race but I had no idea what I was going to say to the race director if I didn’t at least start the race. I went through a stretching routine and tried to bolster my flagging confidence but instead I contemplated what part of the course was the best spot to drop out. As a last ditch effort to relieve the pain in my back I found a member of the medical staff to quickly rub BioFreeze on me. They obliged and at first things seemed ok. My spirits raised, I went out for what I call my “extended run.” It’s usually 3 minutes around 5 minute mile pace to prepare my body for a hard effort. On this day, it was barely 6 minute pace and I slowed to a jog after the first 2 minutes because of the pain. At this point I decided that I was definitely going to drop out but I would at least start in the hopes of the adrenaline carrying me for a mile. I jogged down to the start of the 4 loop course and I noticed that I was the only entrant in the elite race that hadn’t even bothered to take the timing chip off the ankle band and put it on my shoe. I also didn’t bother to do any strides because I knew the extra effort would only make my back tighter. Before the race started I decided my goal was to run almost 2 full laps; I even had the exact location for my drop out picked. I decided this would be far enough that the race director would understand and invite me back to the event next year, but it wasn’t far enough to due a lot of extra damage to my back. Within 100 yards of the start the pain was pretty bad. It was a pain that is hard to explain but I’ll never forget it. It felt like a screw driver was being pushed between two of my ribs next to my shoulder blade. It caused my whole back to tighten up made it really hard to breathe. I survived the first lap, but mostly thanks to our pedestrian pace. We came through the finish line (just more than one lap) in about 4 minutes and the announcer comically said “Wow! They are on world record pace, coming through the mile right around 4 minutes.” The mile mark wasn’t for a couple hundred more meters and I think I was around 4:35 or 4:37. The pace felt so easy except my back was getting much worse and moving my right arm back and forth was getting hard. About 600 meters later I came to my designated drop out point and I saw another competitor step off exactly where I had planned. I won’t name names, but I’ve never hated another runner more than I hated that guy at that exact moment. My plan was ruined and I didn’t know what I was going to do; this meant that I was going to have to run another 1200 meters to get back to this spot. By the time that I got back to the finish line again the leaders had gapped me and I was running alone when the announcer said “And here’s last year’s champion, Blake Boldon, running strong.” Right then, I hated that announcer more than the guy who had dropped out. Not only was I embarrassed to be back that far, I now felt obligated to stick it out even farther. A half lap later I passed the 2 mile mark around 9:15 and I realized that I was ahead of some good runners (including an Olympian) so I decided to hang on as best I could and finish. After I crossed the line I couldn’t stand up straight but it hurt as much to bend over and grab my knees. I hobbled to the VIP tent to get a massage but they told me I had to cool down first. I didn’t tell them that I couldn’t cool down, but I did head back to the start line to gather my things and change my shoes. After a massage I met up with my buddy Jim Sorensen who had graciously driven down to watch the race and then pick me up so that I wouldn’t have to spend Thanksgiving Day alone. It took me about 11 minutes to jog the mile back to the hotel and that’s all I could handle. I rushed to shower and collect my things and then Jim and I were on our way to Modesto to spend Thanksgiving Day with Jim’s girlfriend’s family. I spent the afternoon at the home of Don and Liz McInnes-Messamer in the company of Alissa Shook’s family. I was in a lot of pain especially when I laughed or coughed and Jim seemed to think it was hilarious to get me laughing. His claim of “laughter is the best medicine” never seemed more untrue. Aside from a great Thanksgiving meal with welcoming hosts, it was a tough trip. A big part of me feels like it was a lost opportunity to compete with world class athletes, but there were a lot of positives. I managed a 14:33 5k under terrible circumstances and I truly feel that it was the toughest race that I’ve ever run. I was the 3rd American overall, behind an Olympian and an American record holder and I left San Jose with a new sense of confidence. I’m looking forward to the spring when I can take a crack at a healthy 5k. Happy New Year hopefully I can stick to my resolution and eliminate this embarassing lag time between posts.

4 Weeks and Counting...

2006-12-21T22:26:00.000-06:00

Once again, here’s a long overdue update to my web log. It has recently been brought to my attention that there are actually people out there who read this other than my mom and sister so my New Year’s resolution is to update this at least once every two weeks. That’s right, beat the crowds and order your free 26-issue, 1-year subscription right now. I hardly know where to start, but I’ll begin where things went wrong. On Monday, November 20, I was at the NCAA national meet in Terre Haute, IN with the two Iowa State athletes that qualified. During the women’s race I was cheering for Lisa Koll with my friend Greg Hipp. (Lisa, by the way, happened to have a great race and was an All-American in her first national meet.) We haphazardly jumped a fence and I clumsily landed on my back without bracing myself at all. I could tell right away that it was pretty bad and I spent the rest of the afternoon hobbling around the meet. During the ride to the Indy airport with some of my coach’s friends I tried to convince myself that when I landed in Oakland I would be fine. When I changed planes in Las Vegas I was totally miserable and set about making calls to try and find a magical solution. I didn’t have much luck, but fortunately my friend Jim Sorensen set about finding me a doctor in the Bay area. On Tuesday I tried to do a bit of running but after a mile of easy jogging I realized that it was only getting worse and I walked gingerly back to Jim’s place. When he got home from work he took me over to a doctor’s office near Stanford in Palo Alto. Fortunately for me, Dr. Shawn Bek stayed late in his office after a long day of work to give me a thorough inspection. He didn’t really think racing in two days was going to work out for me but after sharing my obligation to the event he gave me the best course of action to make it to the finish line. After his workout at Stanford, Jim drove me to my hotel in San Jose. I spent most of the next two days icing my back and breathing as deeply as my injury would allow. On Wednesday I felt like the adjustment and treatment that Dr. Bek had given me had really helped me progress. I managed four easy miles and a couple strides and convinced myself that if it continued to progress I would definitely be able to compete the next day. Unfortunately, the four miler was probably more than my back could handle and the next morning was worse. I woke up early in an attempt to get things loose on a shakeout run but less than mile into my jog I realized that I was worse off than the day before and walked back to the hotel. I iced a couple of times and hesitantly headed to the start line. This is where the story starts to get funny but I’d prefer to leave the post a readable length so consider this a cliff hanger (hopefully I’ll post the rest within 4 weeks)…

Seagate Elite Athlete 5k Results

2006-11-29T22:58:00.000-06:00

http://www.doitsports.com/newresults3/client/154313_181999_2006.html Obviously, my delay in posting these results is indicative of my frustration and disappointment with this trip and race. The short story is that I had another unfortunate incident and I'm still on the mend. Last week's total mileage was 19 and 3 of those were the race (8 total on race day). I'm still not back to training yet despite some great efforts from my friend (& trainer) Travis McCathie and a second visit to a doctor today. I will provide more details after I have gained a little more perspective on things.