“Be Better Today Than You Were Yesterday”

Via @brooksrunning

With one more week left in this Indoor Track Season, I cannot help but reflect on a season full of promise and joy.  My coach, Ruud, and I were using this indoor season to help us gauge our training this first 31 weeks of working together.  We had a highly productive, injury-free fall.  This winter focused on an 8k road race, and then I had 5 consecutive weekends of indoor racing—the last three races resulting in indoor personal best times.  My 3:57.76 mile in North Carolina, 7:52 3k in Boston and 3:57.36 mile in Iowa were some of the best races of my life so far.  My confidence has increased tremendously and my joy for track and field continues to grow every single day.  This is a very good thing because this week is NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK.  I am heading back to Boston (Lord WILLING) this Friday to race in the one mile run at 4:05pm Sunday, March 1, on NBC Sports Network (for those of you that care to tune in).  I normally have a great deal of fear and anxiety leading up to a National Championship event, but this one seems so different.  I feel that I have not only matured athletically over the course of this indoor season, but I have matured so much individually as well.  I believe in myself. I know I can run fast. I know I can compete at the highest level in this country. I know I can beat the best of the best.  Now it is just time to embrace the opportunity and “Run Happy” and do it!

Knoxville Youth Athletics has had a positive month of racing as well, specifically at an incredible meet in Birmingham, Alabama, a week ago.  Many of our middle school distance athletes traveled down to compete in 800, 1500 and 3000m races.  So many athletes posted on social media and reached out to me sharing about their successful experiences on the track.  I cannot express how happy and proud I was of everyone, and I am glad I was still able to be have a small part in encouraging our group from afar at my own race.  We really are a team at KYA.  I have received so many notes from athletes and parents sharing in my success on the track and telling me how they tuned into NBC Sports Network and FloTrack to support me these last few weeks.  Traveling and racing solo has its positives and negatives, but like anything in life—everything is so much richer and more enjoyable sharing life with others.  KYA and In the Arena has allowed me to do this in an immeasurable way, and I cannot thank everyone who has taken time to reach out to me and give me words of encouragement—I NEED IT!

Track and Field is a family oriented sport.  And even though my family is 8 hours away from me right now, I have a place that I call home where I can be myself and pursue the goals I hope to achieve in this life. So take these words of encouragement and inspiration from me today, “Be Better Today Than You Were Yesterday.” Don’t be scared to go after something—something that may seem out of reach or even too challenging to attain.  You will never know unless you do it, and I guarantee you will never regret the journey life will take you along the way—I know I haven’t. 

Thank you again to my biggest supporters:

Mom and Dad, Coach Ruud, Coach Greg, Meredith Dolhare, Gabe Holguin, Justin at Drayer PT, and Dr. McKinnon at McKinnon Chiropractic

Thank you to my Sponsors:  

Generation UCAN, Timex, Hypoxico , ec3d and Endevr

AND God knows I could not make it without Brooks Running and In The Arena for helping make my dreams realities each and every day of my life.

P.S. In your spare time check out that new Drake album that dropped last week with no prior marketing or promotion selling 500,000 + copies in the first week.

            

Milestones and Memories

There is that time in life where we are at our best.  That point where you are in sync both physically and mentally.  You have a challenge.  You visualize an outcome.  You achieve that goal.  A feeling of deep satisfaction and joy is created.  A “high” of sorts is developed that keeps you from being able to sleep at night.  Your focus is so real and vivid that you could almost reach out and touch it.  Your mind has taken over in such a way that you are on auto-pilot.  Every breath, every nerve impulse, every muscle contraction is happening at the exact time it should--creating maximum effort and performance. The beast within your soul is released!

I had the pleasure of experiencing this feeling during the summer of 2013.  In a span of two weeks, I ran the 5 fastest races of my running career: a 3:37 1500 in Belgium, a 3:37 1500 in Italy, a 3:36 1500 in Germany, a 2:20 1000 in Belgium and a 3:36 1500 in Belgium.  In each of these races I placed in the top 3 facing some of our nation’s and the world’s best middle distance athletes.  Flotrack was on site at many of these venues, and I recently watched some of the races and interviews from these unforgettable milestones in my running career.  I noticed a confidence and swag I never knew I was capable of attaining.  I noticed an athlete on the rise.  I noticed someone with a potential that was just being tapped into.  After my 2014 indoor and outdoor track seasons came to a close, I look back at an athlete who completely lost these feelings and thought it would be impossible to ever approach racing and training in these ways again.  However, like we have all experienced many times in life—THINGS CHANGE—sometimes positively and sometimes negatively.  And it all starts with the mind.

My sole focus of this 2015 track and field campaign and beyond is to approach my training and racing like I did that summer of 2013.  I have never felt so close to the reason why I was created to run as I did then.  I feel like my main purpose in life is to run and impact others through this sport.  I want to have fun again like I did in 2013, and I have now learned how to do that.  I learned that just like preparing physically for a race, you have to take time and prepare mentally for one as well—serious, thought-provoking, specific training.  I had to make some changes with the way I viewed myself, my goals and why I run track.  Do I run races only to run fast times? Do I have these high expectations to only please others? Do I run because I am supposed to? Why do I run?  Answering questions like these helped me find my way mentally as I prepared to be the best athlete I can be.  I had to figure out these and many other questions for myself, and I am continuing to seek out and refine these answers.  My mental training has been the key for me.  I am having fun again. I enjoy training again. I cannot wait to run every day (I am supposed to) again.

This past weekend marked a pivotal point in the first 27 weeks of my season.  A fresh start and many changes in my life both personally and athletically took place then.  And Saturday January 31^st was my first opportunity to see the outcome of the fruits of my own and many others labor.  My first indoor mile race took place in Winston-Salem, NC, at the JDL Fast Track (www.jdlfasttrack.com)—the fastest flat 200m track in the world.  I was slated to race against some of our nation’s best milers including Leo Manzano (2012 Olympic Silver Medalist, 3:50 mile PR), Will Leer (top 5 in the USA over 1500m for FOREVER, 3:51 mile PR), Cory Leslie (8:20 steeplechaser, 3:53 miler) and fellow Brooks athlete Riley Masters (2014 USA 1500m finalist and 3:56 mile PR).  This opportunity was one that not many have, and I would like to thank Craig Longhurst and David Shannon for their continual support as they invite me to their world class facility and race each year.  FAST FORWARD… I finished 3^rd in a time of 3:57.76 which converts to 3:54.66 with the NCAA flat track adjustment.  I qualified for the 2015 USA Indoor National Championships later this month, and this time is one of the fastest mile times of my career.  This race also produced another milestone as it was the 10^th time I have broken the 4 minute mile barrier on a track in my career (8 times outdoor and 2 times indoor).  I really surpassed my own expectations for this race and could not believe how much positive adrenaline I was able to produce and control leading up to, during and after the race.  I was on “Cloud 9” and was so happy my father (and so many others) was there to watch me run and that my mom was able to see the live stream (Thank you Runnerspace.com).

God is so good.  And so are Brooks and In the Arena.  Without their support of my running career, races and memories like this would not be possible.  I am already looking forward to my next world class opportunity as I am currently flying to Boston for the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix.  Thank you all for your unwavering support as I love reading and receiving your encouraging comments and words.  We can all have fun in life.  We can all do something bigger than ourselves!  Onwards and Upwards!

Pre Race Strides at the Camel City Mile  (P.C. Phil Bond)

What a finish! Always run through the line (and lean if you have to)! (P.C. Mer Dolhare)

Track is Back!

     My indoor racing season officially began last Saturday in Johnson City, Tennessee.  I traveled down to East Tennessee State University for the ETSU Invitational 3k and to help with the high school invitational that was taking place at the same site hosted by Knoxville Youth Athletics (KYA).  The high school meet was a huge success as several top 20 National marks were set by some of our areas' best young athletes, and I was able to win my season opener in a time of 8:11.  Big thanks to my good friend, Adam Freudenthal, who joined me for the 3k to help push the pace and set himself a new PR of 8:19.

     Our practices at KYA have been going extremely well, and I have really enjoyed getting to see our athletes make so much progress these first three weeks of winter training.  The KYA High School Indoor Classic was our first meet of the year for our high school athletes and our team will travel to Nashville, TN, next weekend for the Vanderbilt High School Invite.  KYA has been the catalyst for bringing high school indoor track to the state of Tennessee, and 2015 will be the first year for the Tennessee State High School Indoor Track and Field Championships in February.  I am so glad to see first-hand how proactive and progressive this organization has been at our local, state and national level.

Final 20 meters of 3k in Indiana. (P.C. Rich Anderson)

     This week was a big test for me as I prepared for my first competitive race of the year.  I traveled to Bloomington, Indiana, for a 3k and mile at the Gladstein Invitational at Indiana University.  I lived in Bloomington for 8 months in 2012 when I trained with Team Indiana Elite and have really missed this town.  A huge reason Bloomington has a special place in my heart is because of the Bohn family I met through my church who so graciously hosts me and loves me like one of their own children!  On to the RACE…!!! A pacer and competitive field were assembled for the 3k, and my goal was to win and run a qualifying time of 8:00.00 to punch my ticket to the USA Indoor National Championships in February.  The track at Indiana University is a supreme 200m banked track that felt literally like heaven to run on.  The pacer took the field through one mile in 4:19 and I was able to fight to the finish for the win in a time of 8:00.85—just missing the qualifying time.  15 minutes later I came back to run the mile for a workout in 4:13 and couldn’t be happier with my performance in these two races.  My fitness is there, and I gained the confidence (that was missing) I needed to perform in two huge upcoming races--so STAY TUNED!  I am so thankful for the opportunity to compete and am so hungry to get back out on the track!  Onwards and Upwards!!

Bloomington Friends post intense game of "Catch Phrase".

My Bloomington Mom (Jenni) and I engaging in post race dialogue at Steak and Shake.

Inspiration

             As 2015 begins, I cannot help but look back and be inspired by the year 2014.  Although my indoor and outdoor track season expectations were not met, so many life-changing events occurred despite my struggles on the track.  Life is such a journey.  I am so thankful that God has led me on this path in this direction with such amazing support.  Striving to become an Olympian is my dream and just like with life—impossible to take on alone.

2014 was a year that left me dumbfounded in lieu of all the positive opportunities I was presented.  I was on the cover of the nations’ two premier running magazines--Running Times and Runner’s World; I was able to travel to Europe for the second time thanks to Brooks Running; and I am financially stable and enjoying life more than ever working with Knoxville Youth--thanks to In the Arena.  I was able to acquire several unbelievable new sponsorships with Generation UCAN, Balega socks, Endeavor, EC3D compression and received multiple gifts from Timex--all of which happened because of my friendship with Meredith Dolhare (get to know her in a future blog). AND I sleep at altitude each night thanks to Hypoxico.  My support team is stronger than ever here in Knoxville thanks to my physical therapist, Justin Brillante at Drayer PT (thank you Meredith for the connection), my chiropractor Dr. Murray McKinnon at McKinnon Chiropractic (thank you Meredith for the connection) and my sports physician Dr. Kevin Sprouse at Provision Sports Medicine.  I have been so lucky to have relationships with these amazing men and will never be able to repay them for their professional and personal support. THANK YOU!

I have already mentioned my two coaches, Ruud Van Thienen and Greg Adamson, in previous posts, but I must thank them again.  Last week was a huge milestone for me as I raced the Main Street Crit 8k road race in Columbia, SC.  I ran a PR of 23:35 and couldn’t be happier with where my training has taken me as my refocus and reboot began just 24 weeks ago in late August.  I am the luckiest athlete in the world as my coaches not only know how to prepare me to be the highest level athlete I can be, but I am a better person because I know each of them.

Lastly, perhaps my biggest inspiration of the year which has already carried over into 2015 has been working with Knoxville Youth Athletics.  You see for me Rock Hill, SC, was home.  I loved my job. I loved my friends. I loved the community in which I lived and served for over 7 years.  I trained here and my running career was ultimately changed forever by moving to this town.  I was skeptical and truthfully fearful that I wouldn’t be able to feel the way I felt about Rock Hill anywhere else.  However, working with these youth, coaches and parents has helped make my move to Knoxville so sweet.  Knoxville does feel like home now, and I find so much joy and excitement knowing that practice has started once again with our Indoor Track Program.  However, our competitions will be the only thing happening indoors until March—we practice OUTDOORS.  And yes, every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday all of our sprinters, jumpers, throwers and distance runners with not only be battling the grueling training of track and field, but also the worst of the winter elements.  These 6-18 year-old athletes are practicing from 6-7:30pm in the dark, in the cold, and loving every minute of it (maybe not every minute…but most of it)! Watching our athletes give their all in sub-freezing temperatures in the dark has inspired me and helped me realize that no matter what distractions we have in life—if you love something so much—nothing can stop you from reaching your goals.  I am blessed to be a part of Knoxville Youth Athletics, and say thank you to In the Arena and each of our partners for helping me find a home.  Onwards and Upwards to 2015!

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