It has been a while since my last post, mainly because it has been a while since my last race. The last 7 weeks or so have just been building up the mileage and fitness, with the main focus is to stay healthy for the spring. There are very few opportunities in the winter months to actually test where I am at and get into a competitive road race, so it made a lot of sense to jump in the one nearby opportunity there is over the Christmas break, which is the Boxing Day 10 miler in Hamilton. I didn't really know what to expect since I haven't raced in a while. Some workouts in the past few weeks have indicated I am in pretty good shape, while other times, not so much. My goal was to get top 3 and improve from the time I ran last year. When I saw the weather forecast of 40km/h winds and -12 windchill, my goal was simply get top 3 and not care about time. At first I was unhappy about the forecast, but after thinking about it, I convinced myself that the adverse conditions would play to my advantage.
My competition in the race would be a few people from Athletics Toronto and a few of the usual Hamilton/Toronto area Kenyans. So I figured there would be a decent pack to run with, and nobody who was way better than everyone else who would try to run away with it from the gun. I was right, and I was thankful for that. The pace was conservative, first 5 miles were just over 25:30. That is what I wanted, since last year we went out a bit faster, and I had no idea there was a pretty decent hill between mile 7 and 8. This year I made sure I factored that in. By the time we got to the hill, I was confident I had enough left in the tank to handle it quite well. After the hill, it was a pack of 3 of us, and some of the runners who I expected to be out in front had fallen back. One of the runners was Lucas McAneney, a runner who actually competed in the same small NCAA D1 conference as me (Atlantic Sun) for a brief time when I was a freshman and he was a senior. The other I found out after the race was Peter Corrigan, a solid 1500m runner. He and Lucas put a small gap on me with just over a mile to go, and although I was able to pass Lucas on the final mile, I didn't have enough time to run down Corrigan. Maybe if it was a half marathon...but I was still fairly happy with my 2nd place result. I haven't had too many road races that were that close. It turned out that despite the tough conditions, I was pretty close to last year's time.
This race is a good confidence boost as I start to think about what my racing plans are for the spring. There are questions I need to answer for myself in the next few months such as whether or not I will run a marathon this spring or this fall and whether or not I run Around the Bay this year. Ultimately I shouldn't worry too much about what decision to make, because God is in control, and I trust him to guide me in the path he wants me to go next. For now, I am taking a few days of recovery to heal from some minor aches and pains I've had over the last few weeks so I can continue with training this winter injury free.
Friday 28 December 2012
Saturday 3 November 2012
Blog # 6 Trying to stay positive after another injury
So I had another untimely injury a few weeks ago. Not as untimely and not as serious as my setback last April, but still quite untimely nonetheless. I felt as if my training was going well, as I had some pretty solid workouts that gave me confidence that I was capable of finally breaking out with a solid race this season. Niagara Falls half marathon would be a good place to go for that, but unfortunately, I was feeling some pain in the upper quad/groin that was worrying me. Despite that, my workouts were going well, so I convinced myself to try to run through it, and I could take some time off after the half marathon. I almost made it. One week before my focus race, I decided to jump in the Vic Matthews open, Guelph's home meet. I'm not sure exactly what or when exactly something went wrong, but something didn't feel right. But I was in a racing state of my mind, and I'm not that good at distinguishing normal racing pain from something more serious, so I just pushed through it. Going up hills was particularly more difficult than usual, and I was getting owned each time going up the big hill at the end of each loop. As a strength runner, usually hills are a strong point for me, so I wasn't sure what was wrong with me. I finished the race really disappointed, getting beat by people who had no business beating me...800m/1500m specialists who shouldn't be near me were blowing by me at the end. On the cool down, I felt something not quite right on the outside of the knee, so I shortened the cool down, went home, and rested it up for the weekend hoping that would be enough. I figured I would just lower the mileage this week and get ready to redeem myself the next week, since I was confident my training indicated much much better than that race. So I attempted a light tempo workout that Monday. I felt a little pain on the warm up, but I figured I had to at least try to run through it. That worked for about 5 minutes or so into the tempo, and then I started to realize that this isn't the type of pain I should be running through. It turns out I messed up something with my IT band where it connects below the knee. So whenever I bent my knee it really hurt. Attempting the tempo definitely made it worse, because the next 10 days, any attempt of running was basically impossible, and going up and down stairs really sucked. but after that, things started to heal up quickly. So I can be thankful that the injury only lasted 2 weeks, but I'm still obviously bummed out that I wasn't able to get in a half marathon this fall. After all the hard training I did since coming to Guelph, so far I have nothing to show for it. I guess that's where patience comes in.
As cliche as it may sound, I really have two options. I can be extremely negative, or I can stay positive and look at the bigger picture. Since I'm human, sometimes I have a tendency to get angry at God and frustrated, because ever since that magical race I had at Around the Bay, it seems like has nothing has gone right for me this year. Injury....fighting hard to get back from injury...finally feeling like I'm getting into the same form I was before that injury....and then injured again. "WHY? Why, oh God, would you give me this awesome opportunity to run in Guelph, the running capital of Canada, with all these amazing athletes, and then allow me to get injured like this? Why do you give me this taste of success only to rip it away from me!?" Yeah...I feel like that is what the devil is tempting me to think like, and question God like I would now what's best for me. I think the devil also made the 3rd place guy at Niagara Falls half marathon (last money spot) run really slow so as to really frustrate me as to the prize money I could've won. But I've tried to be mature and have a better attitude about this minor setback though. I think this injury was simply an overuse injury. Whenever I increase my mileage and/or intensity at too fast of a rate, the chances of injury become much higher. I know that from previous experience and I experienced it again. In previous cases, it was increase of mileage, but in this case, I think just the amount of quality tempo work that they do and some of the long interval workouts were a lot more volume than I was used to, not to mention I was working really hard to keep up with some of the best in the country. I was starting to get excited as I thought I was getting used to the training here at Speed River, but I guess my body said otherwise. I guess its another learning experience. As I get back into things, I should be a little more wise about my training along with working hard and striving to be the best I possibly can be. Perhaps I should not focus so much on getting x amount of miles each week, because sometimes it may be more beneficial to take a day off once every few weeks, especially if I'm not feeling 100%.
There is a specific bible verse that I came to mind as I was going through this injury, and it comes in 2 Corinthians 12:9 when Paul asks the Lord to take this thorn in his flesh away, but God says "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness". I certainly prayed to God to take way this thorn on the outside of my knee before the race on that weekend. But it's like God said "My grace is sufficient for you" like he did for Paul -- it is definitely true for me too. God was graceful enough to let me to have a mysterious breakthrough first year of post collegiate running free of injury last year. Based on my circumstances outside of running last year, I don't know what I would've done if I had injury trouble last year. I really believe the Lord was watching out for me, and he knew I needed that success at that time. It also gives me hope for the future, because I know that had I not had that success, I likely would not have been drawn to train in Guelph because I wouldn't have felt fast enough. For that reason, I feel like God has a reason why he drew me to Guelph right now, but the precise reason, and whether I am here long term is something I don't know, but I'm sure God will reveal that to me in his good timing. God was faithful to me before, and it helps me trust that he will be faithful again. At least this time around, I am in a Master's program that I actually have a chance of completing, as I'm not completely over my head. So, it's enough to keep me busy so that I don't go insane if I get injured. The second part -- "my power is perfected in weakness" -- also has some implication for me. The injury reminds me that by my own strength their is so much uncertainty and limitations no matter how hard I try. It's a reminder that God is in control, and sometimes he uses hardships to build our character. If everything came easy with no bumps in the road, we wouldn't appreciate the successes as much.
Well, I had a taste of that success last year when I made my first National team. I had a taste of that success at Around the Bay. I've set the bar higher for myself with those performances under my belt, and I'm in the right place to develop my God given talent of running to its fullest here in Guelph. It's unfortunate my first stint of training here had to end with an injury, but that taste of success I was blessed with last year has me thirsting for more, and eager to get back into things next spring and excited for what God might have in store for me. Intuitively, if I have the God given ability to run as well as I did without a coach, eventually, the training here under Dave Scott-Thomas who apparently knows what he is doing based on the number of world class athletes he has, should lead to significant improvement from what I did last year. How much improvement and how long it will take, I don't know, but I'm eager to find out. I realize that two weeks is not a horrendous setback, and I have a lot of time to build up and hopefully do something significant this spring. The key for me I think is to realize that these few months are really an adjustment season for me. I shouldn't expect instant improvements, since it takes time to reap the benefit of a new training plan. So...if I think about it...I really do have reason to stay positive about the future despite this setback. But regardless of what happens next, its important to realize that God's plan is better than my plan.
As cliche as it may sound, I really have two options. I can be extremely negative, or I can stay positive and look at the bigger picture. Since I'm human, sometimes I have a tendency to get angry at God and frustrated, because ever since that magical race I had at Around the Bay, it seems like has nothing has gone right for me this year. Injury....fighting hard to get back from injury...finally feeling like I'm getting into the same form I was before that injury....and then injured again. "WHY? Why, oh God, would you give me this awesome opportunity to run in Guelph, the running capital of Canada, with all these amazing athletes, and then allow me to get injured like this? Why do you give me this taste of success only to rip it away from me!?" Yeah...I feel like that is what the devil is tempting me to think like, and question God like I would now what's best for me. I think the devil also made the 3rd place guy at Niagara Falls half marathon (last money spot) run really slow so as to really frustrate me as to the prize money I could've won. But I've tried to be mature and have a better attitude about this minor setback though. I think this injury was simply an overuse injury. Whenever I increase my mileage and/or intensity at too fast of a rate, the chances of injury become much higher. I know that from previous experience and I experienced it again. In previous cases, it was increase of mileage, but in this case, I think just the amount of quality tempo work that they do and some of the long interval workouts were a lot more volume than I was used to, not to mention I was working really hard to keep up with some of the best in the country. I was starting to get excited as I thought I was getting used to the training here at Speed River, but I guess my body said otherwise. I guess its another learning experience. As I get back into things, I should be a little more wise about my training along with working hard and striving to be the best I possibly can be. Perhaps I should not focus so much on getting x amount of miles each week, because sometimes it may be more beneficial to take a day off once every few weeks, especially if I'm not feeling 100%.
There is a specific bible verse that I came to mind as I was going through this injury, and it comes in 2 Corinthians 12:9 when Paul asks the Lord to take this thorn in his flesh away, but God says "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness". I certainly prayed to God to take way this thorn on the outside of my knee before the race on that weekend. But it's like God said "My grace is sufficient for you" like he did for Paul -- it is definitely true for me too. God was graceful enough to let me to have a mysterious breakthrough first year of post collegiate running free of injury last year. Based on my circumstances outside of running last year, I don't know what I would've done if I had injury trouble last year. I really believe the Lord was watching out for me, and he knew I needed that success at that time. It also gives me hope for the future, because I know that had I not had that success, I likely would not have been drawn to train in Guelph because I wouldn't have felt fast enough. For that reason, I feel like God has a reason why he drew me to Guelph right now, but the precise reason, and whether I am here long term is something I don't know, but I'm sure God will reveal that to me in his good timing. God was faithful to me before, and it helps me trust that he will be faithful again. At least this time around, I am in a Master's program that I actually have a chance of completing, as I'm not completely over my head. So, it's enough to keep me busy so that I don't go insane if I get injured. The second part -- "my power is perfected in weakness" -- also has some implication for me. The injury reminds me that by my own strength their is so much uncertainty and limitations no matter how hard I try. It's a reminder that God is in control, and sometimes he uses hardships to build our character. If everything came easy with no bumps in the road, we wouldn't appreciate the successes as much.
Well, I had a taste of that success last year when I made my first National team. I had a taste of that success at Around the Bay. I've set the bar higher for myself with those performances under my belt, and I'm in the right place to develop my God given talent of running to its fullest here in Guelph. It's unfortunate my first stint of training here had to end with an injury, but that taste of success I was blessed with last year has me thirsting for more, and eager to get back into things next spring and excited for what God might have in store for me. Intuitively, if I have the God given ability to run as well as I did without a coach, eventually, the training here under Dave Scott-Thomas who apparently knows what he is doing based on the number of world class athletes he has, should lead to significant improvement from what I did last year. How much improvement and how long it will take, I don't know, but I'm eager to find out. I realize that two weeks is not a horrendous setback, and I have a lot of time to build up and hopefully do something significant this spring. The key for me I think is to realize that these few months are really an adjustment season for me. I shouldn't expect instant improvements, since it takes time to reap the benefit of a new training plan. So...if I think about it...I really do have reason to stay positive about the future despite this setback. But regardless of what happens next, its important to realize that God's plan is better than my plan.
Sunday 23 September 2012
Blog #5 A new start in guelph
This month and this fall marks the beginning of a long awaited fresh start in Guelph. An opportunity God has given me to continue doing what I love, and attempt a masters degree in math/stats at the same time. I feel like running competitively and pursuing a masters degree is a good balance, that way if one goes wrong I still hopefully have the other to lean back on. It could be busy at times, but being busy is better than having nothing to do, like when I was injured this spring. Man that was depressing. Naturally, it is a bit overwhelming adapting to the new environment, meeting so many new people between training with Speed River and my masters program, but it is definitely a good thing. Unlike at Waterloo last year, I feel like I belong here, and that I made the right decision to make Guelph the next stage in my life. Whether I am here for a year or two or long term I am not sure, but I trust that God will lead me with those decisions. But I am much more convicted this year that this is the best place for me where I am at in my life right now.
I have an extremely fast group of people to train with here at Guelph, and that is something that is new for me. I like it. For the time being, I realize that many workouts I will get dropped on the later intervals, because the people that drop me are much more accomplished runners than I am. Olympians, CIS champions, World Championship/World Juniors participants are in that group. It is all part of a process/adjustment for me. I have confidence that eventually I will get to that level if I train like they do. I like how the coach Dave Scott Thomas stresses tempo runs/intervals (~half marathon pace). We do some sort of tempo work twice a week. I am not used to doing tempos that frequently, but running them with other people is much easier than running them by yourself. All of the sudden 5:10 miles don't feel so hard anymore. We had a crazy workout last week that consisted of 4 miles at 5k pace on the cross country course with a 20 minute tempo in between the first and second mile interval, and 5 min recovery between each mile. I averaged 4:44 and the top guys were under 4:40 for the last few.
This weekend was national championship 10k road race/Oasis Zoo Run in Toronto. A good chance to see where I stack up and see if the hard training has paid off yet. I had an average race, placing as the 7th Canadian. It was wet, and tough course, so times are irrelevant, but perhaps the Coolsaet differential statistic more relevant in this case for measuring my performance. I was 50 seconds behind Coolsaet. I was 35 seconds behind him in April when I was in the best shape of my life and right before my injury. So if I go by that statistic, I am relatively close to where I was at that time. It wasn't a great race, but I can take some confidence from it, and hopefully I can run a fast half marathon next month. I am thinking Niagara Falls Half as my next race, but I need to hear from the elite coordinator that I emailed but not heard anything from yet. It would be ideal for me since its close and typically has guys running in the 1:05-1:06 range which is what I am aiming for.
I have an extremely fast group of people to train with here at Guelph, and that is something that is new for me. I like it. For the time being, I realize that many workouts I will get dropped on the later intervals, because the people that drop me are much more accomplished runners than I am. Olympians, CIS champions, World Championship/World Juniors participants are in that group. It is all part of a process/adjustment for me. I have confidence that eventually I will get to that level if I train like they do. I like how the coach Dave Scott Thomas stresses tempo runs/intervals (~half marathon pace). We do some sort of tempo work twice a week. I am not used to doing tempos that frequently, but running them with other people is much easier than running them by yourself. All of the sudden 5:10 miles don't feel so hard anymore. We had a crazy workout last week that consisted of 4 miles at 5k pace on the cross country course with a 20 minute tempo in between the first and second mile interval, and 5 min recovery between each mile. I averaged 4:44 and the top guys were under 4:40 for the last few.
This weekend was national championship 10k road race/Oasis Zoo Run in Toronto. A good chance to see where I stack up and see if the hard training has paid off yet. I had an average race, placing as the 7th Canadian. It was wet, and tough course, so times are irrelevant, but perhaps the Coolsaet differential statistic more relevant in this case for measuring my performance. I was 50 seconds behind Coolsaet. I was 35 seconds behind him in April when I was in the best shape of my life and right before my injury. So if I go by that statistic, I am relatively close to where I was at that time. It wasn't a great race, but I can take some confidence from it, and hopefully I can run a fast half marathon next month. I am thinking Niagara Falls Half as my next race, but I need to hear from the elite coordinator that I emailed but not heard anything from yet. It would be ideal for me since its close and typically has guys running in the 1:05-1:06 range which is what I am aiming for.
Sunday 12 August 2012
Blog # 4 Altitude Camp, Toronto 10 miler, and brief thoughts on the olympics
For the last week of July and the first week of August, I was at Mammoth Lakes, California for Christian Altitude Camp. This is something that I have done the past 4 years. It basically serves as my vacation, and it is probably one of the closest things you can come to heaven here on earth. There are a number of reasons why I keep coming back. There is something unique and special about meeting and living with a group of people who share my two biggest passions of being a Christian and a runner. It's really nice to be able to focus solely on those two things for a few weeks. Every year I go I am amazed by the beauty of God's creation, and I've also always had breakthrough races in the next few months after camp. Those are two more good reason that convinced me to come again. It is meant mainly for collegiate runners, but there are a few post collegiate runners like me also. I would recommend this experience for any runner who is Christian or interested in what the Christian life is all about.
One cool thing happened when I went on an easy run by Horseshoe lake at the beginning of my second week. I was running by myself since the guy I started with was going to fast for my liking, and after my first 5 mile loop I stopped to use the restroom, and when I came out, I saw 2004 silver medalist and this years 4th place finisher in the Olympic Marathon, Meb Keflezighi, approaching the same loop I was about to do. He was still training up there and I heard he didn't fly into London until less than a week before his race. I was like "MEB!" but I don't think he heard me because he was listening to music. I started the loop a bit ahead of him, and when he passed me, I realized he wasn't going to much faster than I was, so I picked up the pace a slight bit, and went with him for my second 5 mile loop. I estimate we were going low 6 minute pace. Yea...I was drafting behind one of the best marathoners in the world for an easy run! For some reason, I ran that loop a minute faster, but it felt so easy, whereas the first loop by myself I was struggling a little bit. There is something about running with someone that accomplished that gives you a bit of a boost. His coach was on the bike beside him and he asked me where I was from and if I knew Meb. "Yea I know who he is...I'm just a bit star struck!"
Overall I was happy with the training I got up there. I ran a little over 100 miles the first week, and about 110 the second week. I did have 6 mile a tempo run where I went out too hard, and ran the last 3 miles 30 seconds slower than the first 3 miles despite the last 3 miles being more of a downhill, but I ended up running around the same time as I did last year when I did the same route. I also felt like I got in a few solid long runs and a decent fartlek session. This past week, I lowered the mileage a bit, and got ready for the Toronto 10 miler. While Canada's top 3 marathoners were out in London and getting top 30 finishes, some of Canada's next best distance runners and 2016 hopefuls were in this race. Matt Loiselle and Rob Watson are probably Canada's 4th and 5th best marathoners, and they would be my main competition going in, along with a few Kenyans. I ended up 5th, and I was a bit disappointed with my time that was just over 51 minutes. I thought I was in sub 50 minute shape, and its frustrating when I see my splits are slower than what I ran in a 30k race before my injury in a race that's barely over half of that distance. Especially when the leaders But I remain optimistic because I think I am in similar or better shape than last year at this time. I guess it'll still take some time for me to get back to where I was. I'm leaning towards passing on a marathon this fall, since I want to make a run at the 2:15 standard for making the world championships if I do run it, and it likely isn't realistic for me to expect that in 2 months, but if I can get into better shape than I was before my injury, making a run at sub 2:15 in Ottawa in May could be a goal worth pursuing, but that's along ways away. I'm running a 10k next week, and after that I will start to think more seriously about my fall racing plans.
The Olympics were exciting for me to watch this year, especially since I actually know some of the runners this year. Mainly, Mo Ahmed, my high school training partner, in the 10k, who came 18th. The progression that both he and Cam Levins have made over the past year or two has been phenomenal. Both of them are young and I suspect that they have their best running ahead of them. That seems to be the theme of many of the Canadian track athletes this year. A lot of young Canadian athletes exceeded expectations, and if they continue to improve we should have more than just one podium finish for the 2016 games. It was also good to see all 3 Canadians finish top 30 in the marathon. I wasn't able to watch it, but based on the online splits it looks like they ran a smart pace and moved up a lot in the later stages of the race. One thing that slightly annoyed me with these Olympics was how tactical many of the distance races were. Even more tactical than usual for the Olympics. I know championship races are supposed to be tactical, but 2:23 800 split for womens 1500? 9:36 3k for womens 5k? Come on! Some of those girls have faster personal bests than me. For the mens race, the 3k went out in a laughable 8:42, essentially turning it into a 2k race. Chances are there were athletes who would have benefited by running a faster pace in those races, but didn't have the guts to lead. For example, if the Kenyans or Ethiopians agreed to share pace duties in the mens 5k, they may have been able to take the kick out of Mo Farah, who pulled off the impressive double gold in the 5k/10k. Galen Rupp is another guy who really impressed me these Olympics, picking up that silver medal in the 10k. He and Cam Levins are an inspiration to all white runners that with hard training, it is possible to keep up with the East African's
One cool thing happened when I went on an easy run by Horseshoe lake at the beginning of my second week. I was running by myself since the guy I started with was going to fast for my liking, and after my first 5 mile loop I stopped to use the restroom, and when I came out, I saw 2004 silver medalist and this years 4th place finisher in the Olympic Marathon, Meb Keflezighi, approaching the same loop I was about to do. He was still training up there and I heard he didn't fly into London until less than a week before his race. I was like "MEB!" but I don't think he heard me because he was listening to music. I started the loop a bit ahead of him, and when he passed me, I realized he wasn't going to much faster than I was, so I picked up the pace a slight bit, and went with him for my second 5 mile loop. I estimate we were going low 6 minute pace. Yea...I was drafting behind one of the best marathoners in the world for an easy run! For some reason, I ran that loop a minute faster, but it felt so easy, whereas the first loop by myself I was struggling a little bit. There is something about running with someone that accomplished that gives you a bit of a boost. His coach was on the bike beside him and he asked me where I was from and if I knew Meb. "Yea I know who he is...I'm just a bit star struck!"
Overall I was happy with the training I got up there. I ran a little over 100 miles the first week, and about 110 the second week. I did have 6 mile a tempo run where I went out too hard, and ran the last 3 miles 30 seconds slower than the first 3 miles despite the last 3 miles being more of a downhill, but I ended up running around the same time as I did last year when I did the same route. I also felt like I got in a few solid long runs and a decent fartlek session. This past week, I lowered the mileage a bit, and got ready for the Toronto 10 miler. While Canada's top 3 marathoners were out in London and getting top 30 finishes, some of Canada's next best distance runners and 2016 hopefuls were in this race. Matt Loiselle and Rob Watson are probably Canada's 4th and 5th best marathoners, and they would be my main competition going in, along with a few Kenyans. I ended up 5th, and I was a bit disappointed with my time that was just over 51 minutes. I thought I was in sub 50 minute shape, and its frustrating when I see my splits are slower than what I ran in a 30k race before my injury in a race that's barely over half of that distance. Especially when the leaders But I remain optimistic because I think I am in similar or better shape than last year at this time. I guess it'll still take some time for me to get back to where I was. I'm leaning towards passing on a marathon this fall, since I want to make a run at the 2:15 standard for making the world championships if I do run it, and it likely isn't realistic for me to expect that in 2 months, but if I can get into better shape than I was before my injury, making a run at sub 2:15 in Ottawa in May could be a goal worth pursuing, but that's along ways away. I'm running a 10k next week, and after that I will start to think more seriously about my fall racing plans.
The Olympics were exciting for me to watch this year, especially since I actually know some of the runners this year. Mainly, Mo Ahmed, my high school training partner, in the 10k, who came 18th. The progression that both he and Cam Levins have made over the past year or two has been phenomenal. Both of them are young and I suspect that they have their best running ahead of them. That seems to be the theme of many of the Canadian track athletes this year. A lot of young Canadian athletes exceeded expectations, and if they continue to improve we should have more than just one podium finish for the 2016 games. It was also good to see all 3 Canadians finish top 30 in the marathon. I wasn't able to watch it, but based on the online splits it looks like they ran a smart pace and moved up a lot in the later stages of the race. One thing that slightly annoyed me with these Olympics was how tactical many of the distance races were. Even more tactical than usual for the Olympics. I know championship races are supposed to be tactical, but 2:23 800 split for womens 1500? 9:36 3k for womens 5k? Come on! Some of those girls have faster personal bests than me. For the mens race, the 3k went out in a laughable 8:42, essentially turning it into a 2k race. Chances are there were athletes who would have benefited by running a faster pace in those races, but didn't have the guts to lead. For example, if the Kenyans or Ethiopians agreed to share pace duties in the mens 5k, they may have been able to take the kick out of Mo Farah, who pulled off the impressive double gold in the 5k/10k. Galen Rupp is another guy who really impressed me these Olympics, picking up that silver medal in the 10k. He and Cam Levins are an inspiration to all white runners that with hard training, it is possible to keep up with the East African's
Wednesday 27 June 2012
Blog #3 Peachbud 10k
One of my favorite local races, the Peachbud 10k was this Tuesay. It is part of the Niagara Running Series, and I'm glad they are keeping it going after the tragic loss of the race director Jerry Friesen last fall. I figured I would use this race just to see where I'm at, since I can tell I am starting to regain fitness. My best guess going in to the race was that I am about 8-10 seconds per kilometer slower than before the injury, so I figured my time from last year and the year before that of 31:21.0 would be a good goal. (Yup, I ran the exact same time to the tenth of a second 2 years in a row...2 years ago was a huge breakthrough for me, but last year I was a bit disappointed with the time) I actually ran a race in London 4 days earlier, but basically treated it as a tempo. My high school coach was taking a few of his athletes up to run the high performance 1500's that night, and the road race was an hour before them, so it was well worth my while to get a ride with them, and win a gift certificate for some shoes. I'm just about due for a new pair now so it's good timing. The London series used to offer prize money, but this year they switched to gift certificates for Runners Choice. In a way, its a good thing for me, since I don't have any shoe sponsor yet, and most people faster than me do, so most likely I can cruise to an easy victory in these races and get some shoes. That is a very good thing, because I'm a cheap dutchman, and probably put 1500 miles or so on some of my old shoes from university. That is probably not a good thing, but hey, I went injury free for over a year!
Back to the race yesterday. For the first few races, Niagara Running series decided to not offer prize money, probably because of Jerry's death, but for the Peachbud, they brought it back and the prize structure for 1st to 3rd was $500 - $300 - $200. I know Jerry loved the competitive aspect of the series, so it's great that they are offering prize money again. I might have run the race anyways, but when I heard there was prize money, it was great because it meant I wouldn't be all out alone in front, and...considering that Canadian Olympic trials are this weekend, there might not be too much competition, so despite not being 100% back to where I was, I had a pretty decent chance to cash. A few minutes before the start, I looked around and didn't see anyone I noticed. Then, at the last minute I saw Josephat Ogneri walk to the line. Of course! He is my most common road racing rival. Out of the 15 road races I ran since last June, 12 of them offered prize money, and he was in 9 of them. I'm 3-6 head to head against him, and tend to beat him in the longer courses with a few hills on them. Usually if he doesn't show up that means there probably was another race that day with better prize money somewhere within driving distance. One time for a half marathon, I thought maybe he wouldn't show up since he raced a marathon the week before. Wrong! He still showed up and ran a 1:05! For this race, I knew it wouldn't be realistic for me to beat him considering my current fitness, but I decided to see how long I could hold on to him. We went through 3k in about 9 flat, and then I started to fade. I was able to keep him within my sight, but when I reached 8k in 25:05 he was too far ahead and I was comfortably in second, so I thought to myself, "I wonder if I can run the exact same time in a road race 3 years in a row. I would need to hit 3:08 pace for the last 2k to do it, so it was definitely realistic. At 9k, I was 28:13, so I was right on pace. "Just keep this same pace" I told myself. As I turned the corner towards the finish chute I realized I would have to sprint it in, 31:17...18...19...20...21...22, crap! One second off! 1.5 seconds to be exact. But I'm pretty happy to be that close to where I was last year at this time, considering I lost a month of training this spring. Not to mention $300 that I didn't expect to earn! I probably wont be racing again until August. For now I am best off focusing on getting my mileage up and staying healthy.
Another cool thing about this race was two of my brothers also ran. One of them was Joel, who has a mild learning disability, basically something in between autism and aspergers. Last year at this time he was suffering with a little bit of depression, but this year that is gone, and the last month or so he has taken up running. He would've never done that last year. It's great for him, because I know for me that running can be a great stress reliever at times. He broke 50, and I didn't think he would. I was happy for him! My youngest brother Jared also raced, but he was in the 5k. He broke 21, not bad for an 11 year old.
Back to the race yesterday. For the first few races, Niagara Running series decided to not offer prize money, probably because of Jerry's death, but for the Peachbud, they brought it back and the prize structure for 1st to 3rd was $500 - $300 - $200. I know Jerry loved the competitive aspect of the series, so it's great that they are offering prize money again. I might have run the race anyways, but when I heard there was prize money, it was great because it meant I wouldn't be all out alone in front, and...considering that Canadian Olympic trials are this weekend, there might not be too much competition, so despite not being 100% back to where I was, I had a pretty decent chance to cash. A few minutes before the start, I looked around and didn't see anyone I noticed. Then, at the last minute I saw Josephat Ogneri walk to the line. Of course! He is my most common road racing rival. Out of the 15 road races I ran since last June, 12 of them offered prize money, and he was in 9 of them. I'm 3-6 head to head against him, and tend to beat him in the longer courses with a few hills on them. Usually if he doesn't show up that means there probably was another race that day with better prize money somewhere within driving distance. One time for a half marathon, I thought maybe he wouldn't show up since he raced a marathon the week before. Wrong! He still showed up and ran a 1:05! For this race, I knew it wouldn't be realistic for me to beat him considering my current fitness, but I decided to see how long I could hold on to him. We went through 3k in about 9 flat, and then I started to fade. I was able to keep him within my sight, but when I reached 8k in 25:05 he was too far ahead and I was comfortably in second, so I thought to myself, "I wonder if I can run the exact same time in a road race 3 years in a row. I would need to hit 3:08 pace for the last 2k to do it, so it was definitely realistic. At 9k, I was 28:13, so I was right on pace. "Just keep this same pace" I told myself. As I turned the corner towards the finish chute I realized I would have to sprint it in, 31:17...18...19...20...21...22, crap! One second off! 1.5 seconds to be exact. But I'm pretty happy to be that close to where I was last year at this time, considering I lost a month of training this spring. Not to mention $300 that I didn't expect to earn! I probably wont be racing again until August. For now I am best off focusing on getting my mileage up and staying healthy.
Another cool thing about this race was two of my brothers also ran. One of them was Joel, who has a mild learning disability, basically something in between autism and aspergers. Last year at this time he was suffering with a little bit of depression, but this year that is gone, and the last month or so he has taken up running. He would've never done that last year. It's great for him, because I know for me that running can be a great stress reliever at times. He broke 50, and I didn't think he would. I was happy for him! My youngest brother Jared also raced, but he was in the 5k. He broke 21, not bad for an 11 year old.
Saturday 9 June 2012
Blog #2 Running is like a wife
So, I am recovering from my injury and gradually building up the mileage. Two weeks ago I started up with a 30 mile week, last week was 50, and this week I'll be at about 65. The goal is to get back up to 100 by July, but I must be cautious. My right lower back (SI joint) is healed, but my left groin feels sore after runs and the pain goes away by the next day, so I can't really run twice a day yet. I know from experience not to run through groin pain, so I must be careful. I have been told this pain is likely due to over compensation which leads to muscle imbalances, so now I have to massage my right side also. My life is pretty boring now though. I'm just working at home on the dairy farm, milking cows and filling silos and stuff like that. I also help out a bit with a new running group that my old coach started. My brother in grade 9 is starting in there also. The club I trained for in high school was Niagara Olympic Club in St Catharines, but now the one coach I am helping out has split from NOC and moved to Welland under the name Aktiv Racing. It wasn't the first time a coach has split off from NOC and started their own club. With all this splitting its almost like they are a church or something. One exciting thing I look forward to is that I am again planning on going to Christian Altitude camp in Mammoth Lakes, California for the 4th straight year. I need something to look forward to this summer and I can't think of a better way to spend my Around the Bay winnings. I went there for the first time after my sophomore year at Campbell, and I would say it was probably one of the better decisions I made in life so far. Everyone there shares the same love I have for running and the Christian faith. The community is awesome, the scenery is awesome, not to mention the training benefits you get from altitude.
My coach at Campbell once told us that running should be like a wife. I like that analogy. I like it because similar to a wife, running is important to me, but God is the center of the relationship. There may be some days that you love her more than others, but you are committed to her through tough times and good times. Not every day am I super excited to run, but at the end of the day I see the bigger picture and it drives me to stay committed. Also, in some circumstances i'm told, it could be considered healthy to take a break from your wife for a short time. My injury forced me to take about a month off, and during that time I really realized how much I missed her and love her, and now as I start to slowly build up mileage again I have an even greater appreciation for her....
Aagh, hopefully one day I will get a real wife. In God's good timing I trust he will show me the right one. I do think that my perseverance, determination, and sometimes obsessive nature played a big role in where I am today as a runner. I'm guessing it could also play handy in a marriage in the future. An example of when this attribute can be a drawback is if I become interested in a girl. If I'm not careful and things go bad, my strength could become my weakness in a hurry. A lot of people these days say they have attention deficit disorder. Their mind just goes all over the place. As for me, I have the exact opposite. My mind can stay in the same place for a long time! A good quality for distance running, but in some cases, this can get me into a bit of trouble. (mainly when something else becomes the center of my life instead of God) I suppose it is my spiritual weakness, but it can also be a strength, so hopefully God can lead me in situations where that attribute is a strength. That is what I pray anyways.
As I was injured, I did some reflecting on how God used unlikely situations to guide me down the road he wanted me to go. I can think of 2 such situations, and they both remind me how God has a divine plan for my life:
First was in grade 10, before I even trained seriously, but I still ran track. It was the first qualifying meet of the season and I had already been eliminated in the 1500. My last chance was the 3000. I thought to myself that if I couldn't make it, maybe there would be no point in doing track again next year. I barely made it, getting the last qualifying spot. At the next meet, SOSSA, I got the 5th and final spot again, and would move on to regionals. Next meet I had a chance to make provincials(OFSAA), but I would have to be top 4. I ended up getting 7th, but it was pretty close, and it motivated me to train seriously with Niagara Olympic Club next year. Plus there were cute girls there to increase my motivation all the more. (Although being quiet and socially awkward, I didn't really stand a chance) But if I hadn't made it through the first meet, I probably would have got discouraged, and I never would've started training seriously. My life would be completely different right now. God had a divine purpose for me to start running seriously!
A second thing that was pretty cool happened last year. After graduating from Campbell, I was contemplating staying in the U.S. somewhere for grad school, but opted to accept a qualifying year offer from Waterloo Univeristy in Ontario for Pure Math. Basically I had to take a few 3rd year courses to see if I could handle a masters program. I just applied there because I liked math and wanted to continue with it, and I knew Waterloo was known for their math program. I just sort of picked Pure math naively, not realizing that it is the most brutal form of math there is. I don't know why they decided to accept me, even as a qualifying student, since only the brightest of the brightest students even attempt these classes, but somehow they did, and there was a divine reason for it. But let me tell you, that first month or so of school was a tough, depressing time for me. I was completely lost in all my classes, and I really missed my old teammates at Campbell. After one week I came in to my adviser's office almost in tears. She told me the feeling was completely normal, and that if I keep at like I did in running, I could make it through. But she was so naive to how naive I was. Seriously, if you understand less than 10% of what the prof is telling you, and the prof says something like "but this is all review for you isn't it?", you're in trouble. In hindsight it should've been an easy decision to drop out immediately, but my advisor insisted I hold it out. One thing I did have going for me was I was running incredibly well. I had just run a huge personal best in the half marathon. I had also run a 40 second PB in the 10k the previous month. Since I was running so well, my new training partners, Adam and Derek, encouraged me to run the Toronto Zoo run/Canadian 10k Championships since they used that to come up with a team for the Chiba Ekiden relay in Japan. They had been on the team last year so they knew about that. It turns out it was not the official qualifying race, but they definitely looked at it. I came 6th, and most of the top guys ahead of me were focusing on Toronto Waterfront Marathon and would pass on Ekiden. Reid Coolsaet actually congratulated me on facebook about my race, and I replied asking if he knew anything about the selection process for Ekiden. He told me who to contact from Athletics Canada, and that's what I did. I found out later from the coaches on that trip that me being proactive about it played a deciding role in them taking a chance in a young runner nobody heard of before over other older runners who might have been a bit quicker than me. It was an answer to prayer, and it aided in my decision to drop out of school, which was a stress I needed God to relieve me from...because I needed something else to focus on when I dropped out. When I was depressed, I asked God to make it really obvious what I should do with these classes, and when this opportunity came up, I knew there was no way I could go on this trip AND do these classes that were already seeming impossible to me. I talked to one of my profs that week asking for his advice. He was much more realistic with me. He said I had a lot of guts to try what I did with so little math background, but basically told me I wasn't a super genius, and therefore it was pretty much impossible for me to pass these courses. It would kind of be like a Campbell football player thinking he could make it in the NFL, or a 16 minute 5k runner thinking he can make the Olympics. Waterloo takes in 1000's of top math students from high school, but only the top 30 or so make it to the advanced classes they had me attempt. HOW DID I GET ACCEPTED??? I DON'T KNOW!!! Anyways, he advised me to sit in on some stats classes and take some courses as a non degree student the next term. So that's what I did. So, the answer from God was pretty clear: should I go to Japan and do something I love and really enjoy, or stay here doing something that I am struggling with and not enjoying at all? Tough decision eh? But seriously, this opportunity came at a perfect time. Had I not went to Waterloo or Had I not been running well or had I not met my training partners or had I not been proactive in trying to get on the team, this opportunity wouldn't have happened. Clearly a sign of God's divine purpose.
And when times are tough or when I am confused on what I should do next, it's nice to reflect on moments like that because it reminds me of God's divine purpose, and allows me to relax more and trust in him.
My coach at Campbell once told us that running should be like a wife. I like that analogy. I like it because similar to a wife, running is important to me, but God is the center of the relationship. There may be some days that you love her more than others, but you are committed to her through tough times and good times. Not every day am I super excited to run, but at the end of the day I see the bigger picture and it drives me to stay committed. Also, in some circumstances i'm told, it could be considered healthy to take a break from your wife for a short time. My injury forced me to take about a month off, and during that time I really realized how much I missed her and love her, and now as I start to slowly build up mileage again I have an even greater appreciation for her....
Aagh, hopefully one day I will get a real wife. In God's good timing I trust he will show me the right one. I do think that my perseverance, determination, and sometimes obsessive nature played a big role in where I am today as a runner. I'm guessing it could also play handy in a marriage in the future. An example of when this attribute can be a drawback is if I become interested in a girl. If I'm not careful and things go bad, my strength could become my weakness in a hurry. A lot of people these days say they have attention deficit disorder. Their mind just goes all over the place. As for me, I have the exact opposite. My mind can stay in the same place for a long time! A good quality for distance running, but in some cases, this can get me into a bit of trouble. (mainly when something else becomes the center of my life instead of God) I suppose it is my spiritual weakness, but it can also be a strength, so hopefully God can lead me in situations where that attribute is a strength. That is what I pray anyways.
As I was injured, I did some reflecting on how God used unlikely situations to guide me down the road he wanted me to go. I can think of 2 such situations, and they both remind me how God has a divine plan for my life:
First was in grade 10, before I even trained seriously, but I still ran track. It was the first qualifying meet of the season and I had already been eliminated in the 1500. My last chance was the 3000. I thought to myself that if I couldn't make it, maybe there would be no point in doing track again next year. I barely made it, getting the last qualifying spot. At the next meet, SOSSA, I got the 5th and final spot again, and would move on to regionals. Next meet I had a chance to make provincials(OFSAA), but I would have to be top 4. I ended up getting 7th, but it was pretty close, and it motivated me to train seriously with Niagara Olympic Club next year. Plus there were cute girls there to increase my motivation all the more. (Although being quiet and socially awkward, I didn't really stand a chance) But if I hadn't made it through the first meet, I probably would have got discouraged, and I never would've started training seriously. My life would be completely different right now. God had a divine purpose for me to start running seriously!
A second thing that was pretty cool happened last year. After graduating from Campbell, I was contemplating staying in the U.S. somewhere for grad school, but opted to accept a qualifying year offer from Waterloo Univeristy in Ontario for Pure Math. Basically I had to take a few 3rd year courses to see if I could handle a masters program. I just applied there because I liked math and wanted to continue with it, and I knew Waterloo was known for their math program. I just sort of picked Pure math naively, not realizing that it is the most brutal form of math there is. I don't know why they decided to accept me, even as a qualifying student, since only the brightest of the brightest students even attempt these classes, but somehow they did, and there was a divine reason for it. But let me tell you, that first month or so of school was a tough, depressing time for me. I was completely lost in all my classes, and I really missed my old teammates at Campbell. After one week I came in to my adviser's office almost in tears. She told me the feeling was completely normal, and that if I keep at like I did in running, I could make it through. But she was so naive to how naive I was. Seriously, if you understand less than 10% of what the prof is telling you, and the prof says something like "but this is all review for you isn't it?", you're in trouble. In hindsight it should've been an easy decision to drop out immediately, but my advisor insisted I hold it out. One thing I did have going for me was I was running incredibly well. I had just run a huge personal best in the half marathon. I had also run a 40 second PB in the 10k the previous month. Since I was running so well, my new training partners, Adam and Derek, encouraged me to run the Toronto Zoo run/Canadian 10k Championships since they used that to come up with a team for the Chiba Ekiden relay in Japan. They had been on the team last year so they knew about that. It turns out it was not the official qualifying race, but they definitely looked at it. I came 6th, and most of the top guys ahead of me were focusing on Toronto Waterfront Marathon and would pass on Ekiden. Reid Coolsaet actually congratulated me on facebook about my race, and I replied asking if he knew anything about the selection process for Ekiden. He told me who to contact from Athletics Canada, and that's what I did. I found out later from the coaches on that trip that me being proactive about it played a deciding role in them taking a chance in a young runner nobody heard of before over other older runners who might have been a bit quicker than me. It was an answer to prayer, and it aided in my decision to drop out of school, which was a stress I needed God to relieve me from...because I needed something else to focus on when I dropped out. When I was depressed, I asked God to make it really obvious what I should do with these classes, and when this opportunity came up, I knew there was no way I could go on this trip AND do these classes that were already seeming impossible to me. I talked to one of my profs that week asking for his advice. He was much more realistic with me. He said I had a lot of guts to try what I did with so little math background, but basically told me I wasn't a super genius, and therefore it was pretty much impossible for me to pass these courses. It would kind of be like a Campbell football player thinking he could make it in the NFL, or a 16 minute 5k runner thinking he can make the Olympics. Waterloo takes in 1000's of top math students from high school, but only the top 30 or so make it to the advanced classes they had me attempt. HOW DID I GET ACCEPTED??? I DON'T KNOW!!! Anyways, he advised me to sit in on some stats classes and take some courses as a non degree student the next term. So that's what I did. So, the answer from God was pretty clear: should I go to Japan and do something I love and really enjoy, or stay here doing something that I am struggling with and not enjoying at all? Tough decision eh? But seriously, this opportunity came at a perfect time. Had I not went to Waterloo or Had I not been running well or had I not met my training partners or had I not been proactive in trying to get on the team, this opportunity wouldn't have happened. Clearly a sign of God's divine purpose.
And when times are tough or when I am confused on what I should do next, it's nice to reflect on moments like that because it reminds me of God's divine purpose, and allows me to relax more and trust in him.
Friday 11 May 2012
Blog #1 Perseverance through tough times
About a month and a half ago, I had the best race of my life so far. I knew I was in good shape, but the question was how much. Around the Bay 30k in Hamilton was a perfect place to test that. I ran intelligently, battling back from 6th place to finish 2nd only to olympic bound Reid Coolsaet. I never would have thought that, and I praise God for that. It's a race that sort of put me on the map. People are wondering who I am and starting to take notice. In particular, a guy named Theo Wright who I do not know sent me a facebook message congratulating me on ATB and suggesting that I start a blog. I considered it, but with exams coming up, I decided to wait until after exams to do that. Those ended a few weeks ago...so here it goes.
I expected the time after exams to be a time of happiness, relief, relaxation, and a time to really focus on training. Unfortunately, the start to the summer has been quite the opposite. April 22, 2 days after my last exam, I ran the downhill Yonge street 10k. The downhill lead to a huge 1 minute PB (29:10), but also an injury in my SI joint which I did not feel until the next day, after my recovery run, in my lower back and glutes. Not a good trade-off. The timing of this injury really sucked because I got selected to represent Canada at Boulder Bolder 10k in Colorado at the end of May. I had to make the difficult decision to pull out of that race this week as the injury was not recovering fast enough. It's really about 50/50 whether I would be recovered and well enough to race on time for that race. In life sometimes there are times where it is smart to gamble, but this isn't one of them. I'm young and just came off a huge breakthrough race, so it would be stupid to risk further injuring myself for one race when I potentially have a good future ahead of me. I'm going to let this thing heal completely, and although this sucks really bad and it's going to be a tough and boring few weeks for me, I have to have the attitude and confidence that I will have more opportunities like this in the future. And I did have a pretty neat opportunity last fall in Japan at Ekiden relays, where I ran a 5k as a substitute, so I can't be complaining too much.
But I also have to look at the bigger picture. One year ago, I graduated from Campbell University, NC, where I was a mediocre college runner at best. To be honest, my first few years were just plain pathetic. My last year I did manage to get my 10k just barely under 31 and my 5k barely under 15. So if you were to tell me back then that I would run 1:35:04 for 30k and finish within 2 minutes of an Olympian, I wouldn't believe you. If you would have told me I would have got selected to 2 national teams, (I wasn't actually in the relay at Japan and I'm injured for Boulder...but still...) I wouldn't have believed you either. Now I am splitting my 10k in half marathons and 30k's faster than my 10k collegiate best on the track. So although at first, I was angry at God for taking this opportunity away from me, after thinking about it, I realize that is kind of foolish. He has blessed me so much this past year in terms of running. I can take this injury as a learning experience. I spent the last year basically self coached, taking some post degree courses in math/stats at Waterloo, while putting in some good training, occasionally meeting up with Derek Nakluski and Adam Hortain for easy runs and workouts. I enjoyed that, and my rate of improvement has been almost miraculous, but now I am realizing that if I want to step it up to the next level, I need someone to help me out with the little things. Improving things such as flexibility, form, nutrition and other things that I stink at could go along way in preventing things like this from happening again. I plan on going to Guelph this fall to train with their excellent group. They have the tools there to help me with those little things. There I can get great coaching and learn from some of the best runners in the country about what it takes to get to the next level. I think the results from this past year have given me the confidence to pursue reaching that next level. I am passionate about running and have some God given talent and perseverance, but I think I just need tweaking and I think Guelph would be a good fit for me to do that. And oh yeah, I applied for my masters there...you know... in case of the rare chance I can't make a living running.
This injury is not the only reason why it is tough times right now. My high school , Smithville District Christian High, has suffered the loss of two of its former students this past week. One two years older than me, Anthony Tiersma, died of cancer, and one of my own classmates from grade school and high school, Chelsea Feddema, died in a tragic horse riding accident when it got spooked and ran on the road getting struck by a truck. Truly heartbreaking. My prayers go out to both of those families. It sort of puts my temporary injury problem into perspective. We don't always understand why things happen the way they do, but the nice thing about the Christian faith is the eternal hope we have, and we know God is in control. So we truly can be content whatever the circumstances, as talked about in Philippians 4:11.
I expected the time after exams to be a time of happiness, relief, relaxation, and a time to really focus on training. Unfortunately, the start to the summer has been quite the opposite. April 22, 2 days after my last exam, I ran the downhill Yonge street 10k. The downhill lead to a huge 1 minute PB (29:10), but also an injury in my SI joint which I did not feel until the next day, after my recovery run, in my lower back and glutes. Not a good trade-off. The timing of this injury really sucked because I got selected to represent Canada at Boulder Bolder 10k in Colorado at the end of May. I had to make the difficult decision to pull out of that race this week as the injury was not recovering fast enough. It's really about 50/50 whether I would be recovered and well enough to race on time for that race. In life sometimes there are times where it is smart to gamble, but this isn't one of them. I'm young and just came off a huge breakthrough race, so it would be stupid to risk further injuring myself for one race when I potentially have a good future ahead of me. I'm going to let this thing heal completely, and although this sucks really bad and it's going to be a tough and boring few weeks for me, I have to have the attitude and confidence that I will have more opportunities like this in the future. And I did have a pretty neat opportunity last fall in Japan at Ekiden relays, where I ran a 5k as a substitute, so I can't be complaining too much.
But I also have to look at the bigger picture. One year ago, I graduated from Campbell University, NC, where I was a mediocre college runner at best. To be honest, my first few years were just plain pathetic. My last year I did manage to get my 10k just barely under 31 and my 5k barely under 15. So if you were to tell me back then that I would run 1:35:04 for 30k and finish within 2 minutes of an Olympian, I wouldn't believe you. If you would have told me I would have got selected to 2 national teams, (I wasn't actually in the relay at Japan and I'm injured for Boulder...but still...) I wouldn't have believed you either. Now I am splitting my 10k in half marathons and 30k's faster than my 10k collegiate best on the track. So although at first, I was angry at God for taking this opportunity away from me, after thinking about it, I realize that is kind of foolish. He has blessed me so much this past year in terms of running. I can take this injury as a learning experience. I spent the last year basically self coached, taking some post degree courses in math/stats at Waterloo, while putting in some good training, occasionally meeting up with Derek Nakluski and Adam Hortain for easy runs and workouts. I enjoyed that, and my rate of improvement has been almost miraculous, but now I am realizing that if I want to step it up to the next level, I need someone to help me out with the little things. Improving things such as flexibility, form, nutrition and other things that I stink at could go along way in preventing things like this from happening again. I plan on going to Guelph this fall to train with their excellent group. They have the tools there to help me with those little things. There I can get great coaching and learn from some of the best runners in the country about what it takes to get to the next level. I think the results from this past year have given me the confidence to pursue reaching that next level. I am passionate about running and have some God given talent and perseverance, but I think I just need tweaking and I think Guelph would be a good fit for me to do that. And oh yeah, I applied for my masters there...you know... in case of the rare chance I can't make a living running.
This injury is not the only reason why it is tough times right now. My high school , Smithville District Christian High, has suffered the loss of two of its former students this past week. One two years older than me, Anthony Tiersma, died of cancer, and one of my own classmates from grade school and high school, Chelsea Feddema, died in a tragic horse riding accident when it got spooked and ran on the road getting struck by a truck. Truly heartbreaking. My prayers go out to both of those families. It sort of puts my temporary injury problem into perspective. We don't always understand why things happen the way they do, but the nice thing about the Christian faith is the eternal hope we have, and we know God is in control. So we truly can be content whatever the circumstances, as talked about in Philippians 4:11.
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