A Good Day

I find it funny how one little thing can make your day. I don’t think this is something that happens often, but when it does it is usually something very simple, something just a little out of the ordinary. That happened for me today. And Will, you’ll have to excuse me for laughing at your expense.

In Bath, being in the school’s band wasn’t the stereotypical nerd-fest. Instead, it was a conglomeration of pretty much everyone; nerds, jocks, emos, Goths. Me, I played the trombone. I wasn’t too bad either, once even had a solo to Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire…well, I wasn’t very good actually, my father laughed through the entire solo.

BUT, my brother Will was also in the band. And yesterday as I was walking through Ghent, I was reminded of this very fact and could not stop laughing. For Will played the clarinet, and as I walked and saw a band with a trumpeter, an accordionist, a drummer and a clarinetist, I could not help but laugh out loud. I then slyly shot a picture and went on with the rest of my day, happy as could be.

Just a few more days of sitting around and then one last race over here. I’ll be at Braschaat on Sunday racing one more 15. I’m hoping to be a little more aggressive than I was in Ghent, and if I rig, I rig. I’m looking forward to giving one last go at the 15 for this year.

I have a mini-workout tomorrow and then Saturday will be used for relaxing and packing up. I leave Monday out of Brussels, and not going to lie, looking forward to getting back in the states.

Stupid Cars

For some reason, I really have a problem with Smart Cars. I mean, I definitely like the idea of saving the environment and everything, but I hate those little things. I’m all for small cars and hybids, but those little things that seem less safe than scooter’s really make me mad. And I have never met anyone that does own one, but I imagine them to be some of the smuggest people in the world. Who knows?

Either way, for some reason my friend Alex Mason and I really want to tip one over. He has almost talked me into it on multiple occasions, but I realize that there would actually be some trouble with the law if we were to go through with our little plan. The thing is, is that it would be so, so easy to tip the thing. They are light as a feather and one can get it rocking back and forth pretty easily just by him or herself. However, it isn’t meant to be, and I think unless I were to buy my own smart car to flip, I’m going to be out of luck.

The reason I bring this up is due to the fact that I have an urge to flip almost every car in Belgium. These things are pretty much all smart cars. I’ve only seen one legitimate smart car (only a passenger and driver seat, virtually no trunk), but the rest are just asking to be tipped. I’d like to say that I will stay clear of these just as I have stateside, but I cannot guarantee that if Sunday’s race in Braschaat does not go well that I’m not going to flip the hell out of a smart car.
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A pretty uneventful day once again in Belgium. Coffee and reading in the park were my main attractions. Going to do some picture taking tomorrow of my favorite spots in Ghent, and then just keep on getting ready for Sunday’s race, which will be my last of the season. I’m staying in Leuven Sunday night after the race to make it easier to catch my plane Monday, definitely looking forward to getting home, but going to take advantage of the last few days I have here.

50 Bones

There’s good news, and there’s bad news.

The good news is that I made 50 euros in the race today. First bit of prize money that I have ever made. It was pretty sweet.

Bad news, my watch broke. The band broke so I can’t wear it now. I am desperately in need of some sort of gear deal so that I don’t have to buy a new one.

So the race was better tonight, but still not great. I just didn’t feel exactly like myself. But ran 3:41 for the 8000th time all year (well actually 5th) and just feel like I need to dip under that barrier just to feel a little better about myself.

There was more of a group staying in Ghent tonight, so, drank some beers with them. I may or may not have had a few too many, but it was a really good time. Got to hang out with really fun people who are also very fast and just have a good time. Its funny to see that the faster people over here don’t really like to talk about running, they just like to have a good time. And this doesn’t mean that they aren’t serious about the running stuff, it just means that they like to go out and be happy rather than worry about how fast they ran or whether they are getting into the next race. It was Gent Fest, and it was just people moving from tent to tent and drinking beers.

I had a flotrack interview so check that out here…
http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/235261-2009-gentse-feesten-meeting-gentghent-flanders-cup/195004-liam-boylan-pett-1500-gent

Tomorrow, a little bit on the European car system.

HP, Dud City

Not going to lie, yesterday was one of the most uneventful since I have been here. The only event that took place was a viewing of the new Harry Potter movie, and let me tell you, it was highly disappointing. It was a boring movie and in the grand scheme of things nothing really happened. And yes, this was a set-up book for the final movie, but since they are splitting that book into two movies, I don’t have that high of hopes for now. But it just goes to show that I shouldn’t have read the books, because I wouldn’t know what I was missing and I probably would have enjoyed it.

The only real bit of action in the movie came when about halfway through the movie the lights in the theatre turned on. I was pretty upset, and only calmed myself down once the screen showed that they were having a 10 minute intermission. This then made me more upset because I was hydrating for the race and really had to go to the bathroom but it costs 0.35euros to go to the bathroom, so I had to hold it in for an extremely long time.

Get to race a 15 at Ghent tomorrow. The women go off at 8:20 Belgium time, and we are after that, but there supposedly could be 5 heats of the women, so probably around 8:45 is pretty likely for my race time. The Ghent track is in the middle of this forest and is tree lined, its going to be pretty fun to run a race on. There are a few other Americans in the field, including my travel mate for the trip, Matt Debole. It will be nice to have someone to warm up with and everything. Hopefully I can put together a better showing than Heusden.

A lot more athletes are showing up for this one, and Ghent is a little more than just a small crew, so that has been a little exciting, but overall nothing to report.

And sorry for the lack of anything exciting in this entry, just a boring day, I’ll think up something to make tomorrow’s a little more entertaining. Wish me luck for the race…

Running Shorts

I think that most runners go through phases with running shorts. When you first go out for middle school track, you look for ways to hide the fact that your thighs are as white as a ghost and force your parents to buy you spandex half tights to wear under your way too small running shorts. There is inevitably one kid who’s spandex don’t fit him because his legs are too skinny and he decides to go with the look of one baggier pair of spandex atop the other, more snuggly fitting pair. He thinks he has hidden his small legs, but instead he has drawn more attention to how stilt-like they are. Most kids disregard the school issued drawers and rock shorts of the basketball variety, which is probably the best call.

By the time you make it to high school, you have accepted the fact that running shorts are a little too small, and because you are sick of the football and baseball players calling you a homo for your shorts, you overcompensate. So you get the shortest shorts you can find, preferably of the American Flag variety and any other hideous design that running stores sell. A runner often embraces the shortness of his shorts at this time. You’re like the John Stockton of your high school track team. And because of this comes scenes like the one in “Juno” with the short shorts (side note: best part of that movie is when Michael Cerra is running through the hospital and you can hear the spikes of his shoes scratching against the tiled floor). I think in high school, the shorter the shorts, the more confidence you have in your running. If you’re fast, no ones going to make fun of the shorts you wear.

As you start to age and perhaps one day join a collegiate team, you find yourself surrounded by a lot of runners who are cocky and willing to wear shorts of the itsy bitsy, teeny weeny variety. And in seeing all of these short shorts, you realize what a fool you liked like in your dainty little things, and decide to go back to some normal running shorts, ones that won’t impede your ability to run quickly, but also not show too much. The perfect balance.

Sometimes, you can’t really help it though. The race day shorts issued by Columbia were not the longest things in the world, in fact they were extremely minute. It didn’t help that they rode up once you started running. The main problem with short shorts is that you look like a goof in them. Case in point: Jonah Rathbun. He was aware of this, and has been quoted as saying, in regards to Penn Relays ’07: “Greatest athletic accomplishment of my life, and every single picture of me has me in those doofy ass shorts.” (Pictured below, it also did not help that Jonah was making the face of a complete “doof,” I imagine him saying, “derrr, we’re number one, derrr,” and then snorting and pushing his glasses back up on his nose while the picture was being snapped.)

Eventually, your days of running extremely fast without care come to an end; whether it is age, injury, or inability to perform. It is at this point that you hang up the normal pair and move to a more basketball styled short. Not gangster style b-ball shorts, but the ones that end a little above the knees. Every once in a while you’ll pull the shorter ones over the legs and do a stride or two on the local track, but that’s just to relive the glory days. And you stay in the normal sized shorts for the rest of your running life. And as far as half tights go, I have no idea how those factor in, all I know is that I don’t like wearing them unless its really cold.
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Had a nice day in Belgium. Talked to coach on the phone and I may be running another 8, but we’ll see. I would like to if its possible, but they are a little tougher to get into since lanes are at a premium, unlike the 15 where you can throw a bunch of people in there.

I did have to travel to the coffee shop twice since as I sat down the first time I realized that I had forgotten my computer. One hour later I was back at it drinking some coffee and writing up some emails trying to figure out my life. Oh, and had my first Belgian beer of the trip. I liked that it came in a fancy glass. Duvel was the brand, and it wasn’t too bad. I wish I was a beer connoisseur so I could explain why it was good, but to me, beer is either good or bad.

Only a week left in the trip, and excited for the races to come.

Racing and all that Jazz

It was April of 2007, and the Columbia Middle-Distance Crew was getting ready for their trip out to California for the warm weather and the prestigious Mt. Sac Relays. Senior Kent Collins was the captain of that team.

If you know Kent, then you will know that this conversation actually did take place. (My family had the pleasure of meeting Kent this year when the Final Four was in Detroit and he and my brother went. I will not be surprised if he is a topic of conversation at family dinners for years to come.)

It was the night before we left on an early morning flight, here is how the conversation went:

KENT: Hey man, make sure to bring two extra pairs of underwear.
ME: Haha, why?
KENT: dude, you always bring two extra pairs of underwear…one in case you poop your pants, and one in case your roommate poops his. (He said it as if I was stupid for even asking.)
ME: Well, what if we both, um, you know? And then one of us does it a second time?
KENT: Well you pray to God that both you and your roommate followed the rule…otherwise, two total pants poopings is all you get.

I have brought two extra pairs of underwear on every track trip since.

And sorry if bathroom humor is not your thing…I think Annie will at least laugh at this, and if not then I have some maturing to do for sure.

Even though I am fine in one department as far as dressing myself, I did not bring enough running t-shirts. I simply have started doubling and tripling up uses of shirts, and these are those dry-fit ones, so they don’t smell too great. Definitely going to do some laundry on Sunday after the race. I don’t own enough running shorts to get me through two and a half weeks. As far as normal clothes, I am set, but mainly because I have reverted to my childhood travel method of wearing the same thing for an entire trip. When I was younger, it was this godawful University of Michigan T-shirt that had the spray-painted graffiti style made popular in the early to mid 90s. The thing was real comfortable though. Now, I am constantly in my cargo sweatpant shorts…they are the most comfortable thing ever. I got them from Will via Delilah, and they are working wonders for me.

Finally get to race tomorrow! Really can’t wait. Felt normal during my strides today. I don’t like to feel too good on strides because then I start thinking that I timed it wrong, but I’ve learned that how you feel the day before has no influence on how you’ll race…hell it doesn’t even really matter how you feel 5 minutes before the race because once the gun goes off anything can happen.

Erison will be there as well after he had thought he was taking a break. We’ll probably go grab a beer after the meet. It should be a blast. Check Flotrack and they’ll have a video of the race up pretty soon after it happens. I’ll be the guy in the headband.

July 18, 2009
Well, the first one didn’t go quite to plan, but it wasn’t any reason to come running home either. I think I was just a little rusty. Having not raced since the first round of USAs back at the end of July, I think it was a lot to ask for a really great race today. And even though it wasn’t great, there were some positive notes. I got out pretty well, but then never really relaxed. I run best when running fast yet composed, and I was always a little tense out there, maybe nerves, maybe rustiness, who knows? If I can relax and run hard then I can probably get after the next one.

It was good to see Erison again, it was windy as hell out on that track today, and for him there is no one to hide behind. He took 4th in a slow time (not exactly sure what his was, but 46.3 should not be winning a meet the quality of Heusden).
I told him that I couldn’t imagine being over here for the 12 week stint he’s in the middle of. “It’s like prison,” he told me: “You can’t look at the end, kind of just have to deal with it.”

And I don’t think he really feels like its like prison, but the guy just likes to see his friends every once in a while…I know this because if he is happy to see me, then something has to be up.

Other than that, the track was really cool, a ton of people there. It had more of a minor league baseball game feel to it: a bunch of people sitting on lawn seats drinking beer and relaxing while enjoying sport.

The only problem with being around a bunch of runners is that you hear “what could have gone better” about 8000 times per day. I love running and all, but lets just accept that it’s a hard sport and there are A LOT of “what ifs.” Race and then move on, try to learn from it, but in the end, that’s all you can do.

And in other news, I don’t see why no one told me to read East of Eden before (and yes, I know there are probably more than a few people who did tell me to do so)…if it weren’t 600 pages long, I would be done with it by now. I am scared to death of Cathy, and I like how the scar on the forehead plays a role in the unique ones. It reminds me of Harry Potter, of which the 6th movie I have not seen yet. I was going to try to go here, but everything is too expensive, so I’m going to wait until I’m back stateside and dress up like Dumbledore and head to the theater.

“Of course it’s happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth does that mean it’s not real?”

REEEESES

Sometime around February or thereabouts, I decided that it was time for me to have a nickname. I had taken to calling my roommate, Dan Nunn, Bacon, for his unusual habit of cooking bacon at increasingly odd times. I would return home from class a little after ten to the scent of that hickory smoked pig fat approximately two to three times a week. Bacon also had several other nicknames including Captain Mischief (self explanatory) and PAJC (for winning the Pan American Junior Championship 5k in 2005). Now, “LBP” is my nickname in the track world, and don’t get me wrong, I love the nickname, but I think I was a little jealous that Bacon had so many.

So, in going with the theme of food that I had used for coming up with Dan’s nickname, I decided to call myself Reese’s, after the delicious peanut butter cup candy bar. It wasn’t just Reese’s either, it was pronounced as if it were in all caps and with much bravado to it: REEESES. Being it a self-proclaimed nickname, I worked hard at making it stick. Speaking of myself in the third person at the cafeteria dinner hour became commonplace, as did sending out mass text messages to teammates while I was bored in class that simply read: REEEEEEESES.

And in time, it started to stick. One teammate told me that whenever she got a text that didn’t say REEESES, she was very surprised (I also got the sense that when she did get a REEESES text, she wasn’t extremely happy). But people started referring to me as my desired nickname, although they started to say it more in a way that seems to say: “Classic Reeses, at it again” and lacks any oomph. Sometimes it was even: “Reeses, gosh him again??” However, I was okay with this oomph-less moniker. So, to this day, and much to the chagrin of many of my friends who don’t agree with self-proclaimed nicknames, I go by REEESES…except for in the track world, where I am still LBP.

And trust me, this will all make sense when you remember that there are no Reese’s in Belgium. The reason that I gave myself the nickname was because I jam on a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup every night before I race. So, as one could expect, I was extremely disappointed to find that I would be reese’s-less throughout the trip. However, I came up with a solution.
I will going as Snickers the rest of this trip. However, since this is a mainly track trip I won’t have to worry about it too much, but feel free to call me Snickers. That is, until I make it back to the US.

And to top off the digression, had a good day in Ghent today, just an easy run and then found a coffee shop that lets me use the Internet there for free! Gonna head back tomorrow and do the same. Pre-meet tomorrow (which means waking up, jogging 3 miles, then waiting til the afternoon for another 3 mile jog with some strides mixed in) and finally racing on Saturday, I cannot wait. I put up a link to the coverage in the Belgium Links column on the right side of the page.

...Check back tomorrow for info on my clothing situation.

No Racing Allowed

July 15, 2009 (part I)
Forgot to write one up last night, wish I could say I was trying to concentrate on the race, but when I concentrate too much I end up running poorly, I’m the kind of guy who needs to have fun racing…however, when I woke up this morning, I found out that I was not. There were some misread texts and as it turns out, I am in the HEUSDEN 800 this coming Saturday, which is both scarier and cooler. It is a much bigger meet, called the “KBC Night of Athletics” (I imagine it being said in a big boisterous voice), and it is going to be fast and fun. (Flotrack will also have someone there taping the races.)

I am still going to try to make it to Liege because my good friend from Columbia, Erison, is racing there. He’s a 400 runner and ran at Beijing last summer for is secondary country, Dominica. Ever since we roomed together at NCAAs his senior year, when he took 3rd in the 400-meters in 45.40 seconds, he has hated me. Spending a week with someone can do that…and I think I am only kind of joking when I say he hates me. But it should be good to see him, he has been based out of the UK for a good month now, so I think he needs to see some familiar faces.

But now I have to go do a workout since this race thing didn’t work. I have an 800 in 2’30”, 5×200 in 30, 29, 28, 27, 26 with 2’ rest and then a 400 in 75 to get the lactic acid out of my legs. Won’t be easy, but not something I haven’t done a tone of times. Finishing up my coffee then will be on my way.

July 15, 2009 (part II)
A day of not racing. So as stated earlier, I thought that I was going to race today. Lo and behold, I was not. But, as it turns out the Heusden race is probably the biggest meet in Belgium, so I am pretty syked for it.

I did go up to the meet today. Got to hang out with Delilah and watch Erison race. Erison ended up winning his race, a 300 in 32.8, and supposedly won some serious prize money along with it, although he wasn’t sure how much. He hadn’t seen anyone he really knew in about six weeks, so he was glad to see us.

Delilah and I were standing on the railing to the track watching a race, and some guy comes up behind us and says: “Yo, did you see that guy who won that 300? He was rooooolllling.” It was Erison.

He’s going to take a little bit of time off from racing now since he is running at the World Championships in Berlin…he also said that he will be overseas racing until September, pretty crazy.

It is kind of fun being at a meet with Delilah. There was a group of runner nerds (and runner nerds are one of my least favorite types of people…they constantly compare workouts, diets, but mainly talk about other runners as if they are gods and most likely post on message boards about what Alan Webb should be doing differently) and they were trying extremely hard to hang out with Delilah, but she is pretty content just chilling on her own, or in this case, with me. I felt as though I was pretty cool, although I am pretty sure that most people thought I was just her personal assistant.

The meets are also really cool. They have a huge bar/café where a lot of people sit and watch the races. The beer flows and a lot of people actually show up to watch us run. It’s a little different than your average invitational with family and friends showing up…although its not nearly as cool as Penn where for some reason 46,000 Jamaicans show up and scream their heads off. But the weather was perfect for running and now I’m looking forward to finally getting my feet wet on Saturday…boo yah.
In one sad piece of news, they do not have Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in Belgium (at least I have not found any so far)…more on that in my next post.

July 11-13

Here are my so called journal entries from the trip so far, ill throw in a few pics as well, enjoy getting caught up on my travels…800 tomorrow in Liege!!! I will also figure out pictures, but now i need to head back to my dorm… enjoy.

July 11, 2009
And So it begins.

I once wrote an Onion-esque story that I shared on the great, yet failed, concept I called the Runion. (I put the story at the end of this entry.) It was about a guy who got really excited about his trip, but got a little too excited a little too early and had some premature fun. I can take solace in knowing that this is not going to happen to me, because Day 1 of the trek was not the most encouraging.

This may also have been due to the fact that I have built up all of Europe as this beautiful and magical place reminiscent of the Harry Potter movies. Especially train stations. Well the Brussels Airport train station sucks. It falls completely short of even deserving a mention in the same sentence as King’s Crossing.

But made my way out Ghent, where I will be staying for a while, although I may meet up with Delilah for a bit (she is in Leuven). It was a long process to get my room and then I ended up walking around for a few hours looking for an internet café, however none are open on Saturdays or Sundays, so I’ll have to try my luck again tomorrow (and who knows when this will actually be up on my blog). But, I am now settled, and my dorm room is small, but it will do the trick. There is a kitchen we can use, but not a great one. Can’t really complain though, it’s a place to stay.

Dinner took place in front of my internet-less computer as I chomped down on a microwaved plate of lasagna with only a knife and spoon since I had forgotten a fork. Then, I took a sip of a can of Fanta Orange, one of the mainstays in this life that keeps me going, and it had a different taste. It was like normal Fanta, only a little lighter, a little watered down. They may have even thrown some grapefruit flavoring in there. It’s as if they combined squirt, orange soda, and a watered down flavor, to create a wondrous Belgium Fanta. So that’s the food report.

Now, its probably movie time and sleep. I’ll do a light workout tomorrow and then start getting ready for Wednesday’s race. I haven’t raced an 800 since IC4A’s so it should be pretty fun. Peace.

July 12, 2009
Checking out Ghent. Its not too bad of a city. We just happen to have been put in a dorm that is a little bit away from anything fun. It is a little eerie being around our place. No one is out, and even in catching the bus up to the downtown area it seemed like something was up with this city that apparently had no inhabitants. Even downtown wasn’t too bustling, but this made it a little more enjoyable.

I went into town with Matt Debole, a training partner who graduated from Georgetown the year before I got there, and Julie Culley, who was on the World Cross team for the US and took 4th at USAs in the 5k this year. We got some coffee and Matt got a Waffle. For me, it was perfect, just sitting and watching people.

The beer looks awesome, and I am definitely going to have a few on Thursday after Wednesday’s race. I’m looking forward to ordering a Stella and not getting called a girl, which happened a few days before I left. Excuse me for liking a beer that tastes good. Belgium is also known for its chocolate, and there is a chocolatier almost every other block. They all smell amazing.
Now, going to head to Delilah’s in Leuven tomorrow to hang out with her for a bit. It’s boring here, and I’m assuming its going to be boring there, but it will be better than nothing.

For the running fan: did a glorified stride workout up at the track…which is about a 20 minute jog from the place. 2x(100-200-300) first set at 16 second set at 14 per 100 meters. Did them all a little fast, but didn’t feel terrible for getting off the plane the day before…definitely didn’t feel great, and was clearly still a little off from all of the travel.

July 13, 2009
If I get bit by one more mosquito I may kill someone or something. I also may kill someone or something if I misplace a z for a w on a Dutch keyboard at the Internet café one more time. Other than those two things, however, life isn’t that bad. Traveling to Europe and racing is a lot different than doing so and not racing. It is a ton of sitting around and reading and doing crossword puzzles. It is quite discouraging when you are struggling with a book of New York Times Monday puzzles that are described as “fast and easy” and they are anything but.

But “The River Why” is a great book by David James Duncan, who wrote “The Brother’s K”. Its all about fly fishing and self discovery. It may not be for everyone as it took me about 15 track trips to finish, but the last half was very entertaining. Next up is “East of Eden” and then “Three Cups of Tea.” Then I will have nothing, so I’m hoping that I don’t get too into either of them.

I went to Leuven today to see Delilah. She is in an apartment complex with some tiny rooms, but she does have a mini-kitchen and bathroom in her place, so that makes it infinitely better than my place. She’s also closer to the downtown area of Leuven, which seemed pretty similar to Ghent, but a little more lively. I ended up getting a milkshake while Delilah got lunch, and then couldn’t turn down Gelato when she got some dessert. This should come as no surprise to my brother Will, who for some reason whenever he calls, finds me going to get ice cream. And yes, this is an almost daily activity that I take part in, but Will thinks that I am constantly eating ice cream. Well today, he would have been right. And hey, if I run a lot, I figure I get to eat ice cream a lot.

Get to do a pre-meet routine tomorrow so it should feel a little more like a normal day and I’m starting to get excited to actually race. I think doing so will make the trip move a little more.

And as for the mosquitoes, they are infesting every dorm room in ghent. I have a ton of bites. I am going to get a fan tomorrow and hope that placing it right on my head will solve the problem. It’s a disaster.

Setting Forth

I’m nervous, I’m excited. I’m laughing, now I’m peeing…I’m lizzing…I’m LIZZING!!![i]

Well, I’m not really lizzing, I am, however, nervous and excited. This is my first time traveling overseas solo and also my first trip as a “Professional Runner.” It feels a little less professional due to the fact that I am going into debt for this trip, but what the hell, I’m going to go ahead and call myself a professional runner.

So, I’m flying to Belgium, the land of beer, French fries, and waffles. But, since this is a running trip, I will be heeding my Uncle Gerry’s advice and only taking in Belgium’s finest offerings in moderate doses.

The trip is at least two and a half weeks, more if the running goes great. I’ll race 8s and 15s from Liege to Braschaat. I’ll stumble my way through the approximately seven words I know in French and Dutch (the languages of Belgium). And I will make sure to at least get in some touristy action while setting up a base at the University in Ghent.

Check in every other day or two and hopefully I’ll have up a new entry with pictures and the whole shebang describing my trip.
My racing schedule is listed below, and links to Flotrack coverage of the meets can be found in the links (they will definitely be at the Liege meet on the 15th).

Wish me luck, and feel free to post any comments or questions if you want to know anything at all.
Peace.
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[i] “Lizzing” is laughing and peeing, or whizzing, at the same time…see “30 Rock” for more.