New Beginnings

This summer has been very rejuvenating for me. I have found my love for running again, spent more time serving at RunningWorks than ever before and witnessed our high school cross-country athletes at Charlotte Country Day School put in more miles and training than any summer season prior to now. 

Time is such a gift. Normally, I would be fine-tuning training in order to prepare for some of the outdoor season’s most pivotal races. However, my outward focus this summer has helped me fuel my inward joy for running once again. I have been training, building miles, adding workouts, weightlifting, meeting folks for runs, sleeping better, eating healthier and feeling energized since the beginning of June. National Running Day on June 1st was a real spark for me, and as daunting as starting from Ground Zero at any task in life can be—I am grateful I was able to find myself and my running again in these last eight weeks.

School is about to begin anew in the Fall, and I am happy to announce a partnership that will allow me to become a teacher once again at an institution I love and respect exponentially. The Palmetto School, where I once taught, has allowed RunningWorks to take over their Physical Education program this upcoming school year. RW will be on campus two days a week working with a K-2^nd grade class and a 3^rd-8^th grade class each time we meet. Being a P.E. teacher was how I started my teaching career, and I cannot thank Dr. Wilson and his staff for allowing myself and the RW Team to come on board and be a part of this family once again in a different way than our prior involvement.

The Charlotte Country Day School Cross-Country team has been practicing for the last seven weeks in an unofficial capacity. I have enjoyed being a part of our five practices each week: Monday, Wednesday and Friday runs and Tuesday, Thursday weightlifting sessions. Our team has been traveling, attending camps and working various summer jobs, but I am thankful for those athletes who have come out and put “money in the bank” for our upcoming cross-country season. We leave for our inaugural team camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains this coming Friday followed by official team practices beginning on Monday, August 1st; and, our first race is on Saturday, August 20th with a 2-mile preview event at Myers Park High School. 

Personally, I don’t have any races on tap these next few months, but will definitely be running some local races this Fall here in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area that I will announce very soon. I am excited to begin working with my coaches in an organized capacity in the very near future and I am elated that my body is responding to the training I have been able to complete and be consistent with these last two months.

Thank you all for your patience. I haven’t given you much to cheer about athletically this last year; however, I hope you have kept abreast of the many success stories in the Charlotte community that are worth more applause than anything I could accomplish on the track.

I would like to thank my sponsors for their consistent support encouraging me off of the couch and onto the roads and track. I could not do what I do without you--especially in this past year of injury and trial:

• Brooks Running for continued support since 2009 in all   ways
• In the Arena Team for supporting my every need 
• Generation UCAN for being a part of what goes into my body   EVERY SINGLE DAY
• EC3D Compression for being a part of my daily pre and post    workout routine
• Strength Tape for giving my foot the extra support it needs to     be 100% once again
• Celanese Chiropractic for keeping my body in line

·      And, ALL of you—Onwards and Upwards!!

Top 5 Moments of the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials

It has been bittersweet watching every single moment of the 2016 Track and Field Olympic Trials, mostly because I was hoping to be towing the line there until sidelined by surgery about a year ago. On the flip side, I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing my peers and friends succeed, flourish and compete at every level. Even those who did not qualify, showed what true competition looks like and made this Trials amazing and inspiring. The good news is that I am training every day again, and I will be racing with my colleagues very soon...

Here are my top five moments from these past ten days. They may be different from yours, and I kind of hope they are. That is what makes Track and Field so special! Enjoy.

1.  Bernard LAGAT (5000m) and Brenda MARTINEZ (1500m)! I just couldn’t decide who was better at overcoming obstacles and being mentally tough.
2. Charles Jock makes Men’s 800m team with 3^rd place finish. I got to know Charles in the Summer of 2013 in Leuven, Belgium, when we were roommates for a short time as we traveled and competed with our agency—Total Sports US. Charles is a phenomenal athlete, running 1:44 in college as NCAA champion in 2012 and making the World Championships team in 2011. For the last four years, however, he has had several lackluster seasons and fallen short of his goals. We don’t talk much anymore, but I hope he knows that I am a huge fan and I am ecstatic to see him achieve Olympic status. There is no one better dressed in the sport or who carries himself with more class than Charles.
3. Stephanie Garcia comes up 150m short of making Women’s Steeplechase Olympic team. I am not sure if I have ever seen any athlete race harder than Stephanie did in the final of this year’s Women’s Steeplechase. I have known Stephanie since 2012 and have followed her development and rise to stardom. She is one of the few women in this country with three Olympic “A” Standard times and is not scared to mix it up at the front of any big race. I was heartbroken to see her fall over the last barrier, but I hope she knows she can hold her head high because she left everything on Hayward field. Well done, Stephanie!
4. Kate Grace wins Women’s 800m run title. I don’t know Kate at all. But, all I know is that she is a total bad-ass. I followed her season closely and knew, as did most who follow this sport, that she would bring the heat at this Trials. And did she ever, winning perhaps one of the most dramatic races to ever take place on United States soil.
5. Ben Blankenship makes his first US team. I met Ben in 2013 and I have always been scared of him. He is one of the most authentic souls in the sport of Track and Field and also one of the most talented (as you have seen this week at the Trials). He has been fun to watch these last two seasons as he has run some fantastic races to come up just short at Nationals or World Champ qualifiers. Not this time! Congrats Ben, and I look forward to seeing you soon. (Written at 5:55pm EST with the final being run at 8:20pm EST).