Getting back to business

It hasn't really been the kind of season I was hoping for so far this year. Going into a senior season, one hopes they won't be sidelined by injuries for the first month, only getting back to their freshman form with three races left.

I've been battling some Illiotibial Band (IT Band) issues since the beginning of the season, keeping me from participating in many team practices, and limiting my running to only a couple of days per week. As any athlete can tell you, being apart from your team can really get to you, missing out on big events because you physically can't do them. Luckily, I've been able to keep active through cycling, but it's still taken its toll.

Dinner.

Another thing an athlete can tell you is that when you pull them out of athletics, it will affect them in their daily life. For a student, this can mean classes, personal commitments, or just daily function. Trying to pull yourself out of a funk when you just aren't there is one of the biggest struggles you can have, and sometimes you just need to take a break.

This weekend, we hosted the VT Intercollegiate Cross Country championships, where after four weeks of disappointing races, I was able to finally break the elusive 28:30 mark again, having cracked it first at this race in 2013.

Now that I feel that I'm going somewhere with my training, it's time to figure out everything else.

One last shot - Senior Seasons Ahead

Well, here it is. Three years after I first moved into my double in Ryan Hall, I am slowly settling into the townhouse life on the other end of campus. It's been an interesting three years, ever learning how to be both a student and an athlete at the same time, and a large part of that learning happens when there is no school.

Summer break is the time when many students go off and work so that they can afford to come back to school, others do summer research, while some try to think nothing of the coming school year until it's time to start. As an athlete, I was thrown into all three camps: working at a camp to make enough money to get by for a few months of unemployment while I train and compete this fall and winter, research myself to find out how to not overwork myself both mentally and physically, all while trying to not think about the fact that these will be my last seasons as a college athlete.

A large portion of my time this year has been spent sitting on a bike. There's just something about it that makes me feel more free than my ski or running training. From central NH, it's hard to run or ski somewhere that leaves you with both a great workout and a feeling of having taken an adventure. On the bike, I have been able to test my limits and see how fast, far, and how long I can go for, taking me on some pretty cool adventures.

It is on these where I am able to really absorb what is going on in life. Decisions that need some time, I have found, are best made on the bike. Thinking about what is going to happen this year was a big one, like determining what my senior project is going to look like, how to best avoid my injuries (didn't work, already injured), and how to try and lead both the Men's Cross Country and Nordic teams this year. 

Whatever the case, the work has been put in, most of the decisions have been made, and all I can do is keep up and hope for the best over the next few months.

3 Races to cover!

Alright, so it was midterm-season here at St. Mikes, so the time to blog has been limited. I'll just cut to the chase here and give out the race reports, with just a little bit of stuffing.

First up was the Vermont Collegiate State Championships at Vermont Technical College in Randolph, VT. This was the same course that we ran the Vermont Tech Invite on last year, so we had a bit of an advantage on already knowing that it was a very dirty course. 

It was a good race, nice having Middlebury there to chase down, I ran what at the time was my best race all season, coming in 13th (SMC Harrier#2) in a SB time of 29:33. As a comparison, I came in 13th at the Invitational last season in 32:21. That is 33 seconds per mile faster. What.

That week, coach told me not to run much, and to do more cross-training. So, I went for a bike ride.

Next came the NE-10 Preview Meet/Gates Farm Invitational at Franklin Pierce College. This course was, um, challenging. Going in, someone gave us the idea that it would be a flat and fast course. It was flat like the Rockies are short. The defining feature of the 2k loop is a section affectionately known as "Executioner Hill," a 150m long grade with 35m of vertical (500ft long, 115ft up), in some places pushing grades of 35%. The first mile mark was at the top. And we ran up it three times (1k out and back + 3x2km loops). It was a tough race, but still fun. I ended up placing 22nd overall, in 32:35, third for the team.

Lastly, this past weekend was the 24th Mayors Cup in Boston, MA. This race brings in elite runners from all over the world for 25-30 minutes of racing in historic Franklin Park. I ran what is definitely my best race so far, running my second fastest 5k while running a PR of 28:10 in the 8k. Franklin Park is actually a flat and fast course,and having the elite field there really helped. I was 125th overall, and the third St.Mikes runner, but this race was really a breakout performance for me.