Party In The U.S.A.

USAs 2010 did not go to plan. I was in a perfect situation to make the final and failed to capitalize. I knew going in that being in the 3rd heat and having Pifer leading the way, I would have a very good chance to run fast. Exactly that happened, but I made some stupid moves and did a little too much forcing/thinking and found myself without anything in the tank as the track straightened out for the final 80 meters.

I was able to handle the 59lows that Pifer was leading us through, but I was forcing the situation a little too much. I didn’t flow out there like I have been doing so much in practice. This made it so that when I needed to move, I had used a little too much energy maintaining the pace and just didn’t have much left in my legs. I was too tense before the race and was really trying to make something happen. A lot of times that leaves you in trouble. I run best when I’m relaxed and having fun, this was a run where I was trying to make too many things go right.

It wasn’t all bad though. I still ran my 2nd fastest time ever, and given a few different moves, probably wouldn’t have tied up. Now, its time to try to go over to Europe and have some fun over on that side of the pond.

And I hope we all know what that means…Another EuroJournal from LBP! I’ll be doing the daily updates while I’m overseas so that you can all check in to see how I’m doing. I’ll be starting up over in Ireland with a race at the Cork City Sports Invitational this Saturday, the third. From there I’ll be traveling with running buddies Elizabeth Maloy and Maggie Infeld and we’re heading to Amsterdam to set up base. From there we’ll be running in some races in Belgium, the Netherlands, and who knows where else. It should be a blast, and even though I’m heading out in a few days, I’m pretty excited about the trip.

Look for a bunch of updates throughout the month of July. I’ll be heading back home to Michigan on the 22nd for the Ryan Shay Mile on July 24th in Charlevoix, so if you’re around, make sure to check that one out!

As Always, Let’s Go!

That's Where That Came From!

I have told Headband Origin Stories before (something about the Charlotte Hornets), but it turns out I was wrong all along.

Like a lot of good things in this life, the LBP Headband came from, as it turns out, my Dad. Yup, that’s him rocking the headband back in the day during a Kalamzoo Klassic 5k Run circa 1978. There was only a 23 year drought, but I kept the fad going my sophomore year of high school. Thankfully, my Dad had the right idea back in his running heyday.

A Happy Father’s Day to all!
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Training this week was pretty fun. I did some easy aerobic stuff on Tuesday and then came back on Friday for some 1500 pace stuff doing two sets of 1,2,3,4,4 all at 58 pace but with the second 400 on each set getting faster each 100, so going 16,15,14,13 (although on the last set Bumbi led me through in 14.4, 14.4, 13.4, 12.8 for a little under the suggested 58 pace). It was a fun workout and hopefully let me know that I’ll be ready to trounce out some 58 second laps come USAs and the summer season.

As of now, it looks like I’ll be heading to Vancouver for the Harry Jerome Track Classic on July 5th to kick off my summer season…I’m pretty excited about it, and am really excited to check out the city. From there, who knows what will happen, but I am definitely going to be ready to run some good races this summer, so I’m pretty syked to get going.

Prelims of the 1500 are Friday night in Des Moines…wish me luck, its go time now; the race I’ve been looking forward to all year. Can’t wait.

LET’S GO!!!!!!!

In All Honesty

First of all, some housekeeping information. Due to the lack of ability for me to get a comment box using iWeb as my program for creating runLBP.com, I will also be using a blogging service to post my articles. This way it will be easier to navigate the entries and check out my posts. Plus, you’ll be able to post comments, and if you’re a google user, it will be easy to subscribe or “follow” my blog. So now you can head to http://runLBP.blogspot.com, or click on the link at the top of each page that says, “Head to Blog!” (The articles will all still be on runLBP.com, so just head to the archive link at the bottom of the homepage to find it.) But back to some regular programming…

Apparently, I say the words, “in all honesty,” all the time. I hadn’t ever thought about it, but a freshman that I was spending too much time with called me out on it. And in all honesty, he was right (see, I did it right there! I can’t control myself). The saying really isn’t a problem, but it does imply that I lie enough to make a point of letting people know when I’m telling the truth. And once I started looking into the way I speak, and stopping myself every time I started saying it, I thought about the etiquette in telling someone something like that. A freshman told me after about a year of hanging out with me and just then had the nerve to say something. Oh I’m upset with him because now I stress about the way I talk, but he felt comfortable telling me, so you gotta give him credit for that.

Running etiquette is a funny thing. There are a few unspoken rules when you’re running with someone. You don’t one step when you’re running with someone (one-stepping being the act of running the same pace as someone, but one step in front of them), you go silent when the other person clearly doesn’t feel like talking, and overall, you try to go with the flow when running with someone. Sure, there are exceptions to these rules, you may be the one who doesn’t feel like talking so your running buddy better get the drift.

This week, I faced a running etiquette snafu while out in Rock Creek Park. I was running along minding my own business and on the way back of an out and back 55 minute run. I was charging up the last little stretch of a long hill and noticed a gentlemen to my right who was walking. I waved and nodded at him and continued on. But he started running and latched right onto me. Not a word crept out of his mouth, just footsteps crunching on the dirt trail behind me. I was upset. Had he asked if he could jog with me for a few minutes, I would have been upset, but I would have obliged. But without a word he was sitting on me like I do to someone I am trying to beat in a mile.

For a brief moment I thought about dropping the hammer, but I was tired from my workout the day before. Finally after descending the hill I had just run up and heading towards home I turned around mid-stride:
“Are you kidding me right now?” I said to him.
“I was bored running by myself,” he responded.
“You don’t just do this,” I shot back.
“No one’s ever had a problem with it be—” I cut him off.
“Well you’re pissing me off,” I snapped back and jogged to the right as he stopped.

Yeah, I’m not usually a mean guy while out running, but when you mess with the running etiquette, you might hear some words from me. So if you want to run with me, just ask…
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Raced in Indianapolis this weekend. Hearing the timer call out 23, 24 as I passed the 200 mark, I thought I might be in trouble. Coming through in 51low, I really knew. Yet for some reason I tried to make a pass during 4-600, and it ended up biting me in the ass. I still ran 1:48.97 while rigging home. And while I think that I can run in the 1:46’s in the right situation, this will be a big help come USAs. Coach Henner always likes it when we rig, because, he says, the next time we go out that fast we wont.

Also, the meet in Indianapolis sucked. Due to some serious thunderstorms, I didn’t get to race until midnight. Meanwhile, I traveled out there with some Gtown girls (the picture for this article) and stayed with my brother and the Columbia folk. They were all running the 1500 and didn’t get to race until 1:30 am. It was awful. But they all ran pretty well, and I was able to see Jeff Moriarty break my school record in the 1500 at Columbia. He ran a tough race, leading from 1k out and dropped a 3:42.51 for 3rd place, eclipsing my mark of 3:42.91. So congrats to him, even though he didn’t even know my website existed and the wind in Indy wasn’t strong enough at all.

Only two weeks until USAs. I can’t tell you how excited I am getting. Des Moines here we come! Let’s Go!

The PTFL

“With the 27th pick in the 2009 PTFL Draft, the Detroit HorsePower select Liam Boylan-Pett of Georgetown and Columbia University…” (it sucks that in my own fantasy I understand around where I would have been picked in a 30 team draft of last years Track and Field Draft…)

I stand up and button my jacket. I give the obligatory hug and kiss on the cheek to my Mom and Dad and brother and sister and step-dad and cousins and friends (I roll with an entourage); then walk up to the podium, shake the commissioner’s hand and pull the black hat down over my mop of hair, it’s logo – a golden horse with track spikes on it – glowing.

I show up to Detroit a few days later, sign my three-year contract (I get the added bonus of a POWERBAR deal mixed in as well), and get to work. The Horsepower just signed Dathan Ritzenhein as well (they like Michigan talent), to cover the distance events, but I’ll be expected to carry the load from the 8 to the mile.

Little Caesar Stadium is nestled in next to Ford Field and Comerica Park, I run interval after interval and then cool down with a run along the river and a view of Canada.

Then, the season starts, I travel all around the country on chartered jets from St. Louis to Salt Lake City competing in sold out stadiums in events like the 1k one night then the mile the next. I run great some nights; then I struggle the next.

This is life as a rookie in the Professional Track and Field League.

That’s what it could have been. If only I’d have chosen a cooler sport…Or if only track were more popular.

OOOORRRRRR, things could have been terrible. What if I was a kid who didn’t know what to do with a lot of money at a young age? What if I turned into a sports star A-hole who was all about drugs, sex, and rock n’ roll? (Although, I think in the nerdy world of running, I would have maybe only had to worry about rock n’ roll.) Hopefully the PTFL wouldn’t have destroyed me. We’ll never have to find out…
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I was pretty jacked about my last week of training. I did some 5k stuff on Tuesday (7x800, all around 65-66pace) and then came back on Friday for my tougher workout of the week. I am finally starting to get to do some speed stuff, or as my coach calls it, speed endurance work. This is the stuff that makes me, well…me.

The workout was pretty simple – 3x1k at 75-76 (easy pace for 1ks) and then 2x150 at 19 seconds (~26 second 200 pace). This was all part of the warm-up though…next up was a 500. I was working out with Dylan Sorensen, a freshman at Gtown who has been having a great season, and he led us through. It was a hot morning, but I passed him with 200 to go and ran a 64.3 second 500 –which is a definite PR, and you can never complain about PRs in practice. Then I rested up about 9 minutes and ran a 51flat 400 to close out the workout. I was STRUGGLING afterwards (aching head, cotton-mouth, burning legs), but it wasn’t supposed to feel good.

Getting ready for an 800 in Indy on the 12th as my last tune-up before USAs…getting excited.

Let’s Go!