After a week of reflection, the sting of the Olympic Trials Marathon has settled into a desire to get out my track spikes!  For me, the demons of 2011 have finally been exorcised. In the moments right after the race, it felt almost like a new wound being inflicted by having come so close to making the team after such an incredibly difficult time. The hardest thing for me, right after I crossed the line, was that I had put everything into that race, and it was almost like slow motion watching it slip away in that final 200m home stretch.

Having spent an agonizing six months without running, and another three months in limbo, not knowing if my leg would heal in time to be ready for the race, I was amazed at how quickly my body responded to training and how good of shape I was able to get into in the final months of the training. That was one of the reasons why I was so confident going into the race; my training had gone so well at the end. If I wouldn’t have had such great workouts in the final two months I might not have been so hard on myself right after the finish.

After having some time to look at how far I have come, I really am much less disappointed with how I did. I am still not happy with the outcome, but I think the best part is that I am back! I now need to focus on recovery, staying healthy, and look to the future.

So going forward, what does it all mean. The fitness is there, the desire is there, and my mind is now focused on not only making the Olympic Team in the 10,000m, but being as ready as I possibly can this summer. I looked at the schedule and the year is eerily similar to 2009. I ran 2:10:10 in London, after five months of training, four months later I ran 12:56 and six weeks after that I won a bronze medal in the world half-marathon championships. About four months from now is the Olympic trials in the 10k and six weeks after that is the Olympic Games. I am fitter than I was back then and have come off this marathon much better. If I can take the same path as I did then, I will be ready for anything this summer!

Sorry it has been so long since my last blog post. Our daughter dropped the computer and broke the screen. But Now, We’re back up and running!

Since my last post I raced twice and had mixed results. A month ago I ran my first race in 364 days! It was the NYRR Dash To The Finish Line 5k. I can’t believe it was a year since my last race, but it was an amazing feeling to be back out there racing again. Overall I thought everything went great, I was 3rd in 13:56 on a hard course with cold and windy weather. I was especially pleased because my training really was not geared toward running a fast 5k. I led the whole way until getting out kicked in the final 200m.

I bounced back very well after the race and had a great week and a half of training. That was the reason we decided to stick with the shorter races. Obviously 5k doesn’t mean much for the marathon but it allowed me to keep my milage high, get the race experience, and dive right back into training.

After having the block of great training, unfortunately I got the stomach flu about a week before my second race, the San Jose Trukey Trot. I didn’t miss much more than an afternoon run but my energy was zapped. I shook it off, but unfortunately came down with a head cold the night before the race. Since I was down there already, I still wanted to race and get the effort in. Unfortunately I felt terrible but still managed a 13:49 for 5th place. I never thought I would do a turkey trot that was so competitive!

Luckily things turned a corner and i’m really looking forward for the marathon trials in six weeks. Having those two races under my belt, I feel great and ready for the last big weeks of marathon training. What a great feeling to be off the bench and back in action!

I am very excited to be returning to racing in six days at the NYRR Dash To The Finish Line. It has been almost a year exactly since I last raced. I never would have thought this past year would have taken the path it did, but having come out of such struggle, I feel so blessed to be back racing and training.

The saying, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”, might seem like such a cliche, but there is so much truth in that phrase. Not so much from a physical standpoint but mentally, it rings true for me in every comeback. I have had many injuries and layoffs over the years but this time off is about twice as long as any other. Maybe that’s why this race is so important to me. I feel like I was tested and found the passion and enjoyment in hard training and racing that I haven’t had for so long.

I believe that the struggles we go through are lessons to be learned. For me, it has been not taking for granted the gifts we are given and in turn, being positive to those I encounter. After a magical 2009 year, I took for granted being able to train and race, and I was not always the positive person I should have been. Of course we will all have ups and downs but after the NYC marathon last year I regret how I reacted immediately after and in the weeks following. I should have taken those lessons from a hard 2010 and moved forward.

So no matter what the outcome of next weeks race, I am thankful to be back and excited to once again use the gifts I’ve been given!

I am heading this weekend to Chicago to visit the Gatorade Sports Science Institute and get to work on my marathon nutrition. Luckily for me, it is also Chicago Marathon weekend and I will be at the Expo Saturday at the Gatorade booth, so swing by and say hello. I have been looking forward to this for some time; getting into the lab and seeing how my body responds against various tests. Looking back at my races, I would say that my biggest limiting factor thus far in the marathon has been nutrition. After running 60:00 in the half marathon and getting a bronze medal at the World half Marathon Championships, I just need to get the fuel aspect down to really have that big marathon.

I have run five marathons now and I am still trying to find a better nutrition plan. I have continually played with the fluids I use in the race, but I have never had any hard evidence to see exactly what is and is not working. This weekend I am hoping to see how my body uses carbohydrates, how efficentily it burns fat, how much fuel I burn, and what my sweat rate and concentration result. There are many other tests as well, but I think these will be key to know exactly how much to take in, and what kinds of fuel my body burns the best.

Hopefully another thing I can take away from this experience is how I can adapt my training to become better at the marathon. As I said before, everyone is different and so learning where to adapt my training and what will give me the most adaption in training will be key. With some of the injuries I have had getting in good training is key, but not just any training, it has to be quality and concise.  There is simple base training, which is important, but I have learned that the marathon is anything but simple. My old coach Mark Wetmore use to say, “when in doubt do a long hard run.” In general terms and for long term development I believe that is absolutely true, but having Gatorade as a sponsor gives me an opportunity to take that “doubt” away and hopefully refine it.

Of course relying on science alone, can make you forget to listen to your body.  Using it instead as a guide and being able to adapt is important. Fortuntately for me Alberto is the master of that. You need to have the science and use it to your best ability, but having the instinct is important too and bringing those two components together is what makes for a good build-up.

See you Chicago Marathoners Saturday at the Gatorade booth!

With the high school cross country season winding up I wanted to give some advice on how to deal with one of the biggest challenges kids face when it comes to racing, nerves. In traveling the past month to Nike Spike Nights and Aim High Running Camp, I was asked a few times how I deal with anxiety before a race. This is a problem every one faces and I can tell you, nerves never go away. It is all about controlling them and using them in a positive way to help you run better.

I am just like anyone else and have had to battle the pre-race jitters as well, and I haven’t always had them under control. I have got to the point in my running career where I can manage them much better but it is something I still need to work on at all times because they can get worse. Conquering nerves is part of a whole pshycological game plan. It does not matter if you are in great shape or not, whether it is early in the season or at the national championships; there is always going to be something to worry about. Making sure you address your concerns early on is a key part. Think of the things that you are worried about, mileage, finishing kick, sleep etc.  If you start working on those areas and addressing any problem, you will be in control of those challenges and know you did all you can to be ready.

This doesn’t mean that you won’t have problems, but at least you can focus on the things you can control. We can’t control weather, how good other teams are, and a million other obstacles. Instead of focusing on those things, try to work on a checklist of your own making and you won’t be so distracted by things you can’t influence.

This is something that has served me well in so many races. I have had many times when my nerves got the best of me and I wasn’t my best and didn’t enjoy races as much. When I won the 2003 NCAA Cross Country Championships I was a nervous wreck. I managed to win but I was anything but calm. I got so focused on the other competition, expectations, the weather and about everything else. I was second guessing everything and I almost cracked under the pressure. I contrast that when I ran the American Record or won bronze at the World Half Marathon and it was a completely different story. I was not thinking of anything except competing, almost like having tunnel vision.

So focus on the things in your control!

The 10,000m in yesterdays IAAF World Championships was an awesome race. Although the coverage was horrible it was still great to see Mo Farah get a silver medal and Galen Rupp run a very respectable 7th. Outside of watching the two of them compete, I was really interested to see how Bekele would run, mostly because he has been sidelined from competition for nearly two years.

After a prolonged time off, It is so hard to know how the first race back is going to unfold. Sometimes it can be brutal, but many times we surprise ourselves and run pretty well. I have had it go both ways when coming back, but I would never want to have my first race back be the World Championships final. It was great for Bekele that he was the defending champion so he was automatically in but you have to be very ready to race the best runners in the world. It just shows that everyone in human. For years it seemed like he was immune to defeat.

Since he raced, even though he may not have been %100, I think it shows his desire is still there, because he could easily have not run and I don’t think many people thought he would have ran only a short time ago.  Although it was tough for him out there, I think the fact that he made it to the start line shows that he will be back and we will all have out hands full next year.

As for me, now that I am back to full training, I’m still unsure when I will race next. I am starting to think about it again, and trying to see what is available for me when I am ready. Like I said before, you never know how the first race back will go, sometimes you just have to jump in and maybe you will surprise yourself.

A huge perk of being a professional distance runner is being able to travel the world. I was very lucky this past weekend to have gone up to Anchorage, Alaska for a Nike Spike Night at The Skinny Raven, a very cool running store. Look this store up, they have a very cool set up! They had an 84m outdoor track which was awesome, and they brought me over to check out the monster 413m indoor track they have in town. The running community is thriving up there, and I had the opportunity to talk to a bunch of the local high school kids and give them some words of wisdom that I have picked up over the years.

One of my favorite parts of this job is spending time with high school athletes because it reminds me of how pure and fun running is. I’m not done yet because I head out tomorrow to upstate New York for the Aim High Running Camp. It is one of the best camps for high school kids in the country and it looks like an amazing place. I have never been to upstate New York but it looks beautiful. I am loving being able to run in these great places, it is such a welcomed change of scenery.

Getting to spend some time with high school runners is always gratifying for me because it brings me back to when I was a high school athlete. I am able to look at how much I have done in my career and I am truly blessed to have had so much success. I always try to impress upon the kids to be grateful and to learn from the hard times they have in running because it is such a metaphor for life. We always hear this, but it is amazing how true it is and how much high school running can shape someone for the rest of their life.

After the Diamond League Meet in Monaco I was amazed at how well Mo Farah closed at the end of the race. Beating Lagat in the kick is not easy but I guess after his past season I shouldn’t be surprised. Unfortunately Galen and Chris were not there at the end because of tactics. That is one thing I love about racing, you never know how the tactics will play out until the race is over. As a general rule the championship races tend to be a kick over the last lap or two but then you have races like the USA championships in the 5,000m where Lagat had to run the last 1600m in well under 4:00 because Solinsky tried to break him from a mile to go.

Running a race to your own strengths is important, but depending on your goal, you also have to run based on the strengths and weaknesses of the other athletes. It is a pretty tight sport, so most of the time you know who is a kicker and who has a lot of strength.  For someone like myself, I rarely wait for the final lap. I have good aerobic and anaerobic systems, but I don’t have much raw speed. That is not to say I can’t kick, but I am no Bernard Lagat either.  When I plan my race strategy, I like to know who is in the race, that way I can plan how far in advance to go, who to go with and if some mid race surging is the best option.

Staying positive is important when the big moves happen. Instead of saying “I don’t have as much speed as _____,” I like to think of it as “_____ doesn’t have as much strength as me”. Tactics are all about staying positive. In any race, doubts are a big factor and not dwelling on what you don’t have, think of you own strengths. I was talking to Alan Webb about the 10,000m we ran against each other in 2006. He beat me and I was shocked, because his primarily a 1500/mile guy. He told me he was hurting so bad and that all he could do was tell himself to wait for the last lap. He knew that his strength was his speed and he didn’t dwell on the fact that I was probably aerobically stronger, but if he could hang on till the bell lap, the advantage was in his favor.  Alan taught me to keep positive even when you are about to get dropped or if your opponent is still with you late in the race, it will be a huge advantage!

Trying to plan training and racing schedules can sometimes be difficult.  It is very easy to let intermitent goals overshadow the bigger picture. Of course we need benchmarks and races along the way that prepare us for the end goal, but those plans have to be flexible and the races cannot become so important that it jeoprodizes the training for the goal race.

I have been trying to decide the best way to prepare for the next really important thing, the Olympics Trials. After deciding not to do the US champs in track  I had to look at what is best for me, a good block of training. I always find that I want to race as soon as possible after a lay off, but sometimes that is not what is best. I need a good chunk of time to be slow and patient and not get side tracked by trying to make it to a specific race. I will no doubt race in my come back and build up to the trials, but I want to first get to the point where I feel I am ready to race and see what is available for me at that time.

I want no pressure to hit a deadline, and instead just work on getting everything flowing good and back to great shape. Now that I have decided not to run track, that is easy because there are plenty of opportunities in the fall. Road racing is always fun and it is a totally different atmosphere than track.

So I see my comeback as looking at January 17th, and counting backwards from there. I will look at how many weeks I need of specific training, which races are important in the block of training, what races to do before that block begins, and foremost being patient and trying to stay 100% healthy.

After my close call on the highway a couple weeks ago, I felt inspired to write about my faith. I try to use experiences, both good and bad, to measure myself about how I am living.  I usually don’t discuss it publicly like some athletes, but faith does play a huge role for me in dealing with life’s struggles and triumphs.

 I am a born and raised Catholic. On a spiritual level, training with Alberto has been a very smooth transition because he is also a devout Catholic. During a particuluarly difficult time, I had a conversation with him about how it was difficult having to deal with the challenges I’ve had with injuries. He explained that, you never know what is going to happen, do you think God cares if you run fast or not? What matters is that even if it is difficult, you are someone who learns whatever it is that he wants you to learn. Also, do you bring people down when things are going rough for you?

These are things I try to remember when I am struggling. I try to take a step back and say, what is God trying to teach me?. It is easy to forget about all the blessings you have, and focus on the negative aspect. I don’t believe in fate. I don’t think that I am destined to become an olympic gold medalist, how would I learn from that? Instead I do believe we make choices in life, and those decisions bring us to another set of choices. If you make the wrong one, what do you learn? If you make the right one, how does that affect your next choice? Maybe that leads to olympic glory, but if it doesn’t how does that influence you?

Too often I find myself having drifted away from the things that are important; love, compassion, the blessings of family, etc. For me I find those qualities through a faith in God and the teachings of Jesus. Even when things don’t go well for me in running, I have to ask myself if I am living with those principals. Have I strayed from the lessons I learned from previous mistakes? I believe that running is my reminder, because it also happens to be a vice for me. I can become so fixated on it that I need a wake up call that my mind is not where it should be. I don’t mean that a set back is a punishment, but instead a gift to bring you back.

So is something like 12:56 a reward? I don’t know. You probably can’t quantify gifts from God in that way, but I feel like it was. My gift back is to live in a way that holds those virtues up , even when it is difficult.  It can be hard of course, because people always want more, but being satisfied with the choices you make, and the path which those decisions lead is the only way to be happy when the road gets rough.

At times running has become so important to me that it has a negative effect on the people close to me. If things go wrong, it is hard to stay positive and not infect other people with the negative thoughts that can come out of difficult times. It is not good to just fake it and bury those feelings, but instead focusing on what I can change and what I need to learn to make something positive out of what seems like a terrible situation.