The Best of 2014

     This past month I have been blessed to spend time at home with my family in Green Sea, SC. I have been here since December 11 and I cannot remember the last time that I have been at home this long.  I spent the first few days of the trip with my mom and dad, and my younger brother, John Mark, has joined us for these last two weeks of the month.  I cannot tell you all how much I love my family and how much joy I experience on a daily basis sharing life with them.

     My mother has waited on me hand and foot and treats me virtually like a KING the entire time I am home.  She has cooked me three meals a day at the times that I need them based on my training, has washed all my clothes daily and has cleaned up after me like the President may visit our home any minute throughout any given day.  My mother is so positive and always put the needs of my family above her own under ANY and ALL circumstances.  Being away from home like I have been for almost 10 years now and coming home to visit like I have has made me realize how truly blessed I was to grow up in an environment that offered nothing but the best love and care any human could possibly receive.  I want to thank you mom for that and for loving me in a way that no one else can.  That love has changed my life and honestly my role with In the Arena would not have been possible without your influence and impact on my life.

   My dad has been my training partner and side kick on this trip.  And when I say training partner he has either driven beside me, watched me or waited on me to run or lift every single day of the week.  And when I say side kick--we have virtually spent every waking moment together. It has been because of his help that these last weeks have been my best training block in all of 2014 and my 2015 indoor and outdoor seasons will be greatly affected in a positive way because of the hard base work I have recently completed.  He has been my stand-in coach, timer, pacer, cheerleader, water boy, altitude tent constructor and teammate.  And I couldn't ask for a better person to serve in each of these roles in my training and in life.

   My mom and dad are truly the best.  They are the two biggest gifts that I have ever received.  They are the biggest reasons why I am the person that I am today.  My parents are my best friends and I am very proud to say that.  I can come to them and talk with them about anything.  They will support me in everything.  And love me unconditionally.  So thank you mom and dad for being MY mom and MY dad.  I love you both so very much.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from my family to yours!

(Me, Mom (Phyllis), Dad (Charles), and John Mark)

Surprise!

This past week was one of the best weeks I have experienced in 2014.  There is no better feeling than returning to Green Sea, SC and Elliott Road where I grew up to see family that I miss so much!  My week started with a trip to Duke University to visit my younger brother, John Mark, who is in divinity school and involved to the max as a Graduate Resident, Duke baseball/football team chaplain and interning as a youth pastor at Roxboro Baptist Church!  My mom and dad met us in Durham, and we were all able to watch the Duke men’s basketball team play Furman University—my dad’s alma mater.  After the game, we traveled back to the Green Sea area where we had family time during lunch with my dad’s family—the Elvingtons, and dinner time with the Elliott family.  Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year and the 2014 celebration proved to fully exceed my expectations.

This past Friday I was able to travel to Charlotte to meet up with all of our athletes and coaches who traveled from Knoxville to compete at the final event of the 2014 season for our cross-country athletes—the Footlocker South Region Championships.  This event is amazing as athletes of all ages are able to compete (including me!) with the highlight of the meet focusing on our high school athletes vying for spots at the Footlocker National Finals in two weeks.  After a shakeout at the course Friday afternoon, the team cleaned up at the hotel and had a wonderful dinner in Charlotte with all of the athletes, coaches and parents who made the trip.  I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve with this group.  My life has already been changed and so much joy has been added to my passion for running and coaching that I find myself already looking forward to the next opportunity to coach these athletes in January as our 2015 indoor track season ramps up! This was my first cross-country race in 4 years and I was very pleased with my win, course record and time of 14:33 over the 5k distance.  We had athletes competing in the 10 and under race, as well as 11-12 year old boys and girls, 13-14 year old boys and girls, freshman, sophomore, junior, senior and championship boys and girls high school races!!! This 6- hour event was jam packed with athletes competing at the highest level and our number one goal was accomplished as everyone that toed the line had FUN!  I had the pleasure of warming up and cheering for all of our 14/younger athletes and was so pleased to see many of our athletes have huge success at this regional level competition.

After the Footlocker competition wrapped up, I quickly drove back to Green Sea for the highlight of my weekend.  My mother is turning 60 tomorrow (December 1) and my two brothers, dad and I decided to throw her a surprise 60^th birthday party on Saturday night.  We had never done anything like this before, and I cannot describe in words how much my mother was overcome with joy from having all of her closest friends and family in one place to celebrate her life!  She had no idea that we were having this party and to put it simply my mom is a “birthday person” and was bouncing around the venue the entire night taking pictures with all of her guests, laughing at the top of her lungs and crying with friends she hadn’t seen in ages.  I am so glad that my mother is my mother.  She is my rock and one who has taught me so many things and a big reason why I am able to serve the way I do and love the way I love.  My role in Knoxville Youth Athletes and with In the Arena would be impossible without her influence! I love you mom! Happy Birthday!

 Approaching 3k on a beautiful 30 degree morning in Charlotte, NC.

Post Party Fun with my Family

The Start of the 10/younger boys' and girls' race!

Post Race interview with SCRUNNERS.com

The Greatest Coach You Haven't Heard Of...YET!

Over the course of my running career I have been blessed to have many coaches who have helped me further my joy for running.  This blog will focus on my relationships with some of the greatest men and women I have had the blessing of forming relationships with and will give insight into my journey as an athlete who has learned to love this sport over the last 17 years.

In middle school, I began my running career under the tutelage of Mayo Phillips who was my first cross-country coach as well as my middle school P.E. teacher. One of the funniest coaches I have had to date--his most famous saying in class being “Don’t let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya” as he politely kicked a student out of the locker room for failing to dress out.  It was under Coach Phillips that I learned so much about our sport as I experienced running on a team, running in races, completing workouts and going on runs for the very first time.  This experience is one that I cherish because I remember so vividly from that 1998 cross country season what it felt like to run a PR almost every race and compete at the state championships for the very first time where I ran a time ~21:09 for 5k.

That year in seventh grade I also went out for the track team who was coached by Larry Cecile.  Coach Cecile was that coach every one feared.  However, he brought out the best from each of his athletes despite our team having to do workouts in the bus parking lot at the high school because Green Sea Floyds Middle/High didn’t have a track until my eighth grade year.   That season was filled with success for me as I remember breaking 6 minutes for the 1600, 12:00 for the 3200 and running a relay event for the very first time.

FAST FORWARD!!!!!!!!!!!  I will highlight the years in between then and now in the near future, but my hope is to share a small piece of how my past coaches have deeply impacted my life and love for this sport.  As I stated in my last blog, my life has undergone quite a bit of change over the last few months.  Having a new coach has probably been one of the biggest changes I have made, and one that I foresee will greatly impact my running career in the future.  My new coach is Dr. Ruud Van Thienen (pronounced R-oo-t).   Dr. Van Thienen holds a PhD in Exercise Physiology from the University of Leuven and currently holds a position as a family doctor near his home in Diepenbeek, Belgium.  He is 30 years old and has hopes of combining his two loves--sports and medicine--in his future occupation as a part-time sports physician and part-time family doctor.  Dr. Van Thienen is currently the team doctor for the Belgian National Cycling team who just had a successful World Cup experience in Mexico.  He is truly loved by all who know him because of his jovial personality and relentless work ethic that is second to none.  I am glad to call him my coach, but I am even more blessed to call him my friend.

I met Ruud in the summer of 2013 during my first European racing experience.  I was staying in Leuven, Belgium, at the time with the agency that represents me--Total Sports US.  Often I would travel to the nearby University of Leuven to workout on their track with several of our athletes.  However, one day I traveled over solo to prepare for an upcoming race later that week.  When I arrived, I notice two people doing a workout on the track.  It looked like a man was pacing a woman through a workout, but I noticed something very strange—the man wasn’t wearing any shoes and was running on the track barefoot!  I completed my workout and was able to chat afterwards with each of them.  Long story short, the man in this story was Ruud!  He and his friend came to watch me race later that summer in Belgium, and I was able to visit his hometown for a night as well.  This past summer he hosted me for three weeks and treated me like a king--making sure I was able to travel anywhere I needed to go, have access to facilities when I needed them and have the support I needed at my races.  Ruud also helped me reflect upon my previous state of overtraining and was a huge help in guiding me back to ground zero.  I was so amazed by his philosophies and methods of communicating what I needed to be my best that I asked him to be my full-time running coach.  This has proved to be one of the greatest decisions I have ever made in my life.

Ruud is a coach who goes above and beyond in all facets of training as he has created a process that has yielded the optimal individualized training plan for me.  One pivotal piece of coaching that he values is communication.  We are constantly talking about how I am feeling and this open line of communication has created an excellent accountability piece in our coach/athlete relationship.  The detail of his plan is unlike any I have ever seen as I currently give Ruud feedback on daily workouts with a scored intensity rating, daily sleep data, altitude sleeping information, nutritional data such as specifics of carbohydrate, fat and protein intake in # of grams, and most importantly a database of notes where I am able to share results from workouts along with details about my form, level of effort, and overall likes/dislikes!  Ruud strives to collect as much data as possible so that my workout plan will be completely designed for ME to reach my maximum potential.  We aren’t just going to say that this is our goal—we have the data to prove it!

Ruud has also created a long-range plan for my indoor season which is currently our main focus in training.  I love this because I can always see where I am going and what we have accomplished so far.  I could just go on and on about the aspects of my training plan that have and will continue to help me train at the highest level!!!!! Ruud has sacrificed so much to help me reach my goals, and I am confident that we have the framework in place to help me become a 2016 Olympian. So Ruud, “I am so blessed to have a coach who understands my drive and love for this sport and life.  I hope you know your value to me! I love getting to tell the story of how we met and how hard you have worked to reach your goals.  But the thing I am most excited to tell is that we are best friends and that we are impacting each other's lives in a great way through our friendship and coach/athlete relationship!”  Onwards and Upwards and ALWAYS RUN HAPPY!

Ruud and I post workout in South Carolina during his visit this past August.

Ruud doing what he does best--coaching me up!

Ruud and I on this side of the Atlantic!

--Matt

Too Blessed

            Life is full of risks and rewards.  In my life, I have been fortunate to be on the positive end of many rewards.  I have the best parents in the world, a job that proved to be more rewarding than I could have ever imagined and an opportunity to fulfill my dreams as an athlete are just a few rewards that make up just a small part of my life to this point.  However, it is the risks that I have taken in my life that have shaped me as a person the most and those risks have created some of the most significant rewards I have had the opportunity to experience thus far in my life.               

Although I use the word "risk," many people might say "Matt, what you are talking about! You haven’t taken any risks!" And many of these people may be right.  I am not a person who is fond of or one who pursues change in their life.  I am very content with the things I have in life and the path that life has taken me thus far, so when I deviate from this comfort zone and the "norm"--I personally consider it a risk.  For example, I recently moved from South Carolina where I have lived my entire life (29 years). I moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, where I know three people. I recently changed coaches. I recently resigned from my job as a teacher. And lastly, I am still striving to make the Olympic team at 29 when I haven't even participated in an Olympic Trials event to date.  When I look back on these changes I have made as of August 2014, they all have implications that will affect the rest of my life. And in essence, all these changes I made were all involving very positive pieces of my life.  I love South Carolina.  My entire family lives there.  I loved my job as a teacher where I had the best boss, co-workers and students any educator could hope for.  I had a coach who helped me run a 3:36 1500m and a 3:54 mile. And each of the first 5 years I experienced as a post collegiate athlete I got better--until 2014.  So what I am trying to say is that my life was great, but I am thankful that I am a person who strives for even more.  Not necessarily for myself, but because I feel that I have been blessed with a piece of my soul that wants more, and a part of myself always want others to want more as well.  

Very few people get the opportunities and resources to really have a chance to get the best of what life has to offer.  I had the greatest support system imaginable in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where I lived for 7 years.  It was my home, and I am lucky that I was able to develop relationships, have a career and find opportunity for a future in that town.  However, I knew that I needed to make some changes if I really wanted to reach my full potential as a runner.  I needed to be near a coach and I needed to get some rest! My life in Rock Hill was “on the go” all the time.  After two years of success, last year proved to be too much as my body finally told me "no" after all the turmoil I dragged it through over the previous two years of teaching and training.  My best friend in life, who happens to be one of my coaches, lives in Knoxville, TN.  He has been telling me for the 4 years we have been working together to believe and that He believes I can make the Olympic Team.  He has sacrificed so much for me and has truly taught me to believe in myself--one of the greatest gifts I have ever received outside of life from my parents and salvation from Jesus Christ.  So I decided to move to Knoxville to train with my strength coach, Gregory Adamson, who works with the football, women's soccer and women's rowing teams at the University of Tennessee.  Greg is that one friend that everyone wishes they had.  The person who has a plate that is overflowing with life's challenges but is always there for you no matter the cost.  Seeing him each week has provided continual confirmation that this decision to move to Tennessee was the right one.  Also having the support of Justin at Drayer Physical Therapy, Dr. McKinnon at McKinnon Chiropractic and Dr. Kevin Sprouse at Provision Health and Wellness gives me added confidence that I didn't know I could produce! 

And then a miracle happened.  In The Arena became a part of my life.  An organization actually exists that provides Olympic hopeful athletes with the opportunity to become involved with a youth organization in their town!  Are you kidding me??!!  This is the perfect fit for me to continue pursuing both of my major passions in life--teaching and running.  And I can't put into words how Knoxville Youth Athletics has blown my mind as they serve over 9,000 students ages 8-18 each year teaching, coaching and exposing young people to cross-country and indoor and outdoor track and field at the highest level any youth could experience in our country.

I cannot express how blessed I am and how I am thankful for the risks and rewards I have experienced in my life--especially of late!  I want to encourage you to live in a way that your passions are fulfilled and that others may be impacted in a great way because of your efforts!  Onward and Upward!  And Run Happy! And thank you In The Arena for allowing me to be a part of your team!

--Matt