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Nationals 2018 - Pittsburgh PA

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Going into nats, I was really worried about my knee. I wasn’t able to run all week on my knee and tried to do some things to make it better. The only thing I could do at that point is rest and try to believe in my training. The week went on and my nerves actually didn’t get worse as the race day came closer. I was content with my training, but I wasn’t content with my finish at regionals two weeks before. That Saturday I woke up and got dressed for my race. I knew I was fit and couldn’t let my knee get into my own head. We arrived at the corse and got checked in. Strangely I was more calm at Nationals than I have been for most of my races. Warm up was followed by the Pre-Race National Anthem (and Canada’s National Anthem). The cameras were on and the starter was ready. When we took off my nerves completely left, but as soon as we got started we had a restart because a guy from School of Mines fell at the start. Following the 2nd start I soon found out this years race would be slow for ...

Regionals - Washington Park

7:00am When I woke up this morning, I felt great. We all had a plan that we were supposed to follow. I got some food in me and got some last min hydration. I got my bib and clothes laid out on the floor, and mentally prepred for the race. 9:00am We arrived at the course and checked in. I was nervous as hell, but also knew that I was as fit as I could be. We began to warm up and tried to stay warm in the 27 degree weather. I had my last min good luck text from friends and family. I looked at the competition and started playing out the race in my head. 10:30am Race Time. I toed the line and waited for the starter to shoot the gun. When the gun fired I got out at good pace. I came through the mile a little quick at 5:06. I knew I got out a little quick, so I pulled back a little bit. My plan went out the window when our #3 runner fell back before the 2 mile mark. I knew that our only chance at qualifying was if I had the race of my life. I moved up to the top 45 and tried to hang ...

Training Log 3

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7:00 am Centennial CO Woke up and had a terrible breakfast :/. Hey at least the coffee was good. I really need to get some work done today. One thing I cant get over is the amount of good looking women they have here in Denver. Me and Reid went to Starbucks to get some work done and I saw nothing but good looking college girls. 1130 am We went to the corse for a shake out. Feeling good. Shake out: 12:30pm Lunch at Chipotle. Went back to the hotel after. 6:00pm Coach brought Olive Garden to the hotel. Watched the lady buffs win their soccer game against DBU. 11:00pm Sleep

Training Log 2

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6:45 am Woke up this morning a little tired, but not too worried about it. Got in an omlette at the caf, and a coffe to start off the day. 8:00am Left for Denver. My seat was uncomfortable so I moved to the back. 3:30 PM Arrived at the hotel. Got unpacked and rested for a little. Got ready to shake out at Washington Park. I felt great at the corse, didn't really feel the altitude today. After the shake out we went back to the hotel and showered. We had team dinner at Applebee's. All the guys are pumped for the race, and Butare tried to finish a weeks worth of schoolwork in a few hours. I guess we will see how this turns out lol. Heres my run for the day.

Training Log 1

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Training Log 1 4:30pm - Easy Run Shaking off yesterdays workout today. Getting ready for Denver. We went out to Osage and got in 7 miles. Legs feel good. Ready to get down to Metro's course. 6:30 pm - Dinner at the Whitlakes Got a shower after practice, and ate my weight in pasta. Im not going to lie in a little nervous for Region. I think we can pull it off but we are going to have to run our best race of the year on Saturday.

Conference Week

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Going into conference week, no one was very sure how it would end up.. Everyone kept a positive and confident demeanor, but on the inside a lot of the guys were uncertain if we would bring home the LSC title again. We saw a team in TSU that we haven’t seen before. I tried not to think about it too much, but with our #5 guy low on iron, we didn’t really know how things were going to end up. I tried to get good sleep and good nutrition the days leading up to the meet, made sure I took the recovery measures necessary to be at my best for the meet, but things just felt off. The morning of the meet, I felt ok. I knew I was physically the best I could be. The only thing that was bothering me was the thought that I was our #6 runner, and that our #5 wasn’t 100%. We had 5 straight LSC titles at risk all for this race. My parents and other teammates were there to support me, but I knew that it was more important for me to run for the 9 other guys with me on the corse at that point in time. We...

Why I Hated When I Started Loving Running.

I’ve been running for about 7 years now, and to be honest, the first 6 weren’t as fun as I wanted them to be. Throughout high school I thought it wasn’t “cool” to run cross country or track. I hated waking up in the morning to run, hated waking up on Saturday mornings for meets, and hated being known as the “cross country runner” of my school. I thought about quitting, but my competitive nature dint let me stop. I told myself if I made it to state I would quit. Well I trained harder than ever to reach that goal. With help from my coach I made it to Round rock and placed a sorry 40th place. As I thought about my career, I decided to go for a better time, not for my love of the sport, for more medals, but for my selfish goal to beat myself. I came back next year and placed 24th and lost to people I have lost to my whole life. That’s when I decided to take my running career to the collegiate level. I wasn’t good enough to get a scholarship unless I went to a junior college, but I insis...