HEPS Preview: The Art of Celebration

They interviewed my buddy Erison on HepsTrack.com (an extremely thorough "all things Heps" website) a while back. He's an Olympian and all, so it was pretty warranted. This question and answer, however, was a little more out of left field:

Q: The headband-wearing anchor on that Championship of America team was a guy who we hear had never beaten you in a head-to-head matchup. Is it true that in practice Liam Boylan-Pett would conclude his training runs with a wild celebration?

A: I don’t know about all that, but I think he practices them in the mirror before races.

In the mirror before races, Erison? It's true, but why tell the public?

Irregardless, HEPS is one hell of a day to win a race. I was lucky enough to do it three times. Each time had a little bit different celebration, and, to be honest, each one was in all likelihood subconsciously planned.

Indoor HEPS at the Armory 2007. No one from Columbia had ever won the mile. So when I won, I decided to rep the school:

Pop!

Subconsciously this one started with the 2006 NCAA BBall tourney when the Jersey-Pop became commonplace. (Please check out that link, its a bayd-ass pic. I only didn't put it in the body of this post because it makes my jersey-pop look extremely weak.)

Indoor HEPS at Cornell 2008. I had a stress fracture that winter. Winning wasn't going to be the most easy thing in the world. I ended up bombing in the 4x8 later that day, so I still have somewhat of a sour taste in my mouth about the whole meet, but rocking that mile win was fricken awesome. Plus, there was a great Columbia Cheering section so I had to point at them to thank them as I crossed the line:

That was a fun/intense race.

The crowd in that one was the subconscious planning. It was one of the most intense races I have been a part of. I'll be the first to admit that I don't like Cornell, but they packed their gym and it was raucous in there. The first turn was one of the loudest turns I've ever run around. Plus, the mini-dog pile the us Columbia kids formed was awesome.

Outdoor HEPS 2008 at Yale. It was my first outdoor title. I don't have a picture of the win. Ben True was pretty much untouchable my junior and sophomore year outdoors (although I fought valiantly with him for 2 second places in the 1500). He wasn't his normal self senior year, but that didn't mean I couldn't be jacked with the win. I took the lead with 300 to go. By the homestretch I was clear:

Don't ever look back.

It was pretty much relief down the homestretch. I smiled, raised my arms, and was genuinely happy. If I wouldn't have won an outdoor title I would have been pretty upset.

So there you have it. College Basketball, Intensity, and Relief were the reasons I celebrated. And practicing in the mirror never yielded results as good as the actual race.

And to end this pat-myself-on-the-back-for-winning-a-few-races post, I'll say that HEPS is going to be sweet. My entire HEPS preview almost read like this: "IT'S GOING TO BE AWESOME!!!" It's back in the Armory, kids are ready to run fast, and the Columbia Women have a shot at winning the team title. HEPS is a fantastic meet where times don't matter, but you sure as hell better run fast if you want to win...

Here's my favorite post-race HEPS pic. This one wasn't planned at all. And that's why it's my favorite. It's Coach Wood and I pumped we got a win at HEPS:

Uni-Watch: The Barefoot Revolution

stupid socks. short shorts.

Remember how my buddy Jonah complained about short shorts, claiming that at the greatest athletic achievement in his life had been tarnished by a pair of "doofy ass shorts"? I did. So when I was meeting him for the end of my run on Saturday morning I changed my outfit. Instead of short shorts and long socks, I went with a much manlier fashion of tights.

Much to my surprise, as I finished my tempo run (I had a 25 minute tempo in the middle of my long run...I met Jonah for my cooldown), I saw him prancing around Central Park in black short shorts and Nike Frees. Luckily, it was cold and windy, so I didn't mind having the tights on.

I hadn't run with Slowns in a while. He has been over in London doing real world stuff like his job. But we jogged for 5 and half miles together where I thought he was hammering and he thought I was hammering. We both staggered through some 6:30 miles before talking ourselves into slowing it down. But back to the Frees Jonah was wearing. They're Nike's version of the barefoot shoe. I've had a few pairs and liked them alright (but just for walking around). And to no surprise, he started wearing them very soon after reading "Born To Run."

I'll give "Born To Run" its due, because it is pretty sweet book. At one point it had me wanting to leave civilization and go run through the mountains. But the barefoot stuff that is going on because of the book is stupid. I'm all for minimalist running, I think it is great to have strong feet and everything, but when I see someone running through Central Park with no shoes on in the freezing cold weather, I get a little upset.

Those Vibram 5-Finger shoes look creepy, but at least they're going to cover your feet. If you're running barefoot in Central, you are pretty much asking to step on a piece of broken glass, horse droppings, or a drug needle. And when there's snow everywhere, what in the ham sandwich are you thinking?

But the main reason I hate barefoot running is because, in reference to his "frees", Slownah kept claiming how awesome it was to run once he "freed" himself.

He then told me how much his calves hurt.

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A few non-related updates:

--February has seen the highest viewership for runLBP...we are already at 899 visitors for the month...the highest month was this July when I was posting daily from Amsterdam. The Detroit piece saw the most action as the site saw over a 100 visitors for two straight days when it was posted.

--Look for a pre-HEPS post come Friday.

--Still getting ready for the Columbia Last Chance meet to close out the indoor season...Either running a 1k or an 800 on March 5th!

Energizer Bunny

Checking on Lukas. No headband since it wasn't a race for me!

I had my second rabbiting gig on Saturday night. It was a lot cooler than the Madison Square Garden one...because the talent in the race was unbelievable. It was an exciting day of running. Here's a blow by blow recap of the day. But we're going Memento on it so there can be a little surprise at the end:

11:30pm - walk into the bed room...pass out cold, sleep for 10 hours with only a few bathroom breaks.

9:30pm - after a nice cooldown and stretch, I watch some of the races with Columbia kids going on at the armory. I pop out and meet with Christine, Krisch and Delilah at Coogans for some post-race chili (terrible call, I was sweating profusely as I ate it), a beer, and a lot of complaining about how much my legs hurt. We finally finish up dinner and train home after a long day.

8:30pm - cooldown with Russell Brown (he won the Boston Indoor Mile last weekend in 3:54) and Mike Weisbuch through Washington Heights after the race. Lukas was happy with the pace job, I think he and his coach were a little too ambitious with the 4:15 first mile. Either way, the kid is going to be very, very good. He has his stuff together mentally. Zach, a coach at Columbia, asked me how mature he was mentally compared to me and I put it at a 24...I scored myself at a 2.

8:14pm - with the crowd the loudest I've ever seen it at the Armory (minus the time I won the Indoor Heps Mile in '07--at least that's what I keep telling myself), Bernard Lagat crosses the line in 8:10. He makes it look easy as he runs his last mile in 4:02. Lukas doesn't quite hold it together and runs 8:43...good enough for a 10 second PR and the third fastest indoor time for a high schooler ever.

8:03pm - in a rabbit situation, I get the coolest pre-race introduction I probably will ever receive. They get the whole thing, all my cool accomplishments, and play hard with the Columbia 4x8 at Penn to get me a nice ovation from the college kids watching the meet. Granted my intro is 4 minutes shorter than Lagat's, but still. Nerves settle down, gun goes up, crack!, it's go time. We immediately get in line: Robbie Andrews, Russell Brown, Bernard Lagat, Me, Lukas V, and then Harbert Okuti, a local runner. It's a little confusing getting the splits since we started 18 meters back of the finish line for the 2-mile. I stay what I think is the right distance behind Lagat and we start to get into a rhythm with the front pack pulling away ever so slightly. You can find Lukas's splits here and know that I'm anywhere from .2 to .7 seconds ahead of him throughout the rabbit job. Right before the race the director tells me that if I can stay longer I should, but as soon as I hit 1800-meters (my job is 2k), I know I only have 1 lap left. So I make it that lap and turn into spectator. The other two rabbits do the same and we watch from the inside of the track...up close and personal. Meanwhile I was sucking for air and my legs were HURTING.

7:05pm - Russell and I head out for a warm-up. We head north from the armory in Washington Heights. About 8 minutes in (we're planning on going out 10, 10 back for 20 minutes), I realize that this is the farthest north of the armory I've been on a warm-up...and it's dark. "Yo man," I say, "I could probably wait and tell you this, but I'm gonna throw it out there that I've never been up here before, so I'm not exactly sure how safe this is..." Russell immediately slows down, "Alright, we're good, let's turn back." So we only got in 19 minutes.

6:00pm - show up to the armory and we get to hang out in a room with just the 2-milers. It's pretty cool getting to hang out with Lagat and realize that before a race he gets a little nervous and likes to relax with his legs up just like you do. He is an extra nice guy, as is Lukas.

noon-4pm - A whole lot of nothing. I do some napping, eat some lunch, watch Wisconsin whoop up on Ohio State in the second half. It's a lazy day when you have a night workout.

11:00am - Mmmmm, mmmmm, a delicious breakfast burrito. You get yourself some corn tortilla, steam it up a bit, throw on some black beans, add in some scrambled eggs, don't forget the cheese, toss on a little salsa and top it off with some avocado...hot damn! You've got yourself a meal! Probably a little much for a day when I'm essentially rabbiting, but...

9:30am - head out for a shakeout...although it's not really a shakeout. Because you can't just rabbit and count it as a workout in my new running life. We had to make this a real day of training. I got my brother and my buddy English to meet me in the park and we rocked 4 miles at 5:30 pace through Central Park.
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So there you have it. A Saturday of running. Overall, it was a 15 mile day with a 4 mile tempo in the morning and a 2k in 5:20. I'm getting in shape, but a long ways to go 'til Outdoors.

And, as a plus, got paid, so a little will be going to ThinkDetroit again!

And, check out http://www.njnytc.com!

New Yorker - Imported

The Motor City

"It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do." - Atticus Finch, To Kill A Mockingbird

I will be the first to admit that there are a few things in life that I seem to overplay (Skyline Chili anyone?). I get into something and I talk it up to any and everyone. It may be overkill, but I go with it anyway. And with how much I love The City of Detroit, some may think I overdo it. Especially considering that my hometown of Bath is a two hour drive away, yet I quote an Eminem movie on the bottom of my LBPjams page. While I may aggrandize some things a little for show, I truly do love Detroit.

They've been around for a while now, all the "Woe is Detroit" pieces in newspapers, radio, and TV spots. Time Inc. even had "Assignment Detroit", where the company bought a house in the city limits, and reported on the city because they believed it was a true "American story." There were no jobs, people were leaving, the politics were rough, and, as Time predicted, some great stories came out of it.

Being a sports fan, I stuck to the Detroit stories related to the Pistons, Tigers, Lions and Wings.

In 2009 when General Motors couldn't afford to pay for a sign over the fountain in centerfield at the Tiger's Stadium, instead of taking the sign down Mike Ilitch (owner of the Tigers and Wings at the time) left it up and put up signs for Chrysler and Ford as well with a sign reading: "THE DETROIT TIGERS SUPPORT OUR AUTOMAKERS." (Article Here)

Then, after the Lions finished 0-16 for the worst season ever, Mitch Albom stood up for Detroit. He pointed out that things weren't great, but the city was going to fix them. In "The Courage of Detroit" he wrote: "We don't talk about whether Detroit will be fixed but when Detroit will be fixed."

My memories of the city stem from street sports in the suburb of Royal Oak. We would drive down Woodward to get downtown and then over to Corktown and my Aunt Sue's house. Then we'd walk the three blocks from there to Tiger Stadium. It was only a buck fifty to get into the game, even on Kazoo night with my Aunt and all her crazy friends. Then maybe my uncle would take us to Lafayette Coney Island for a chili dog. Or we'd visit Granny in Clinton Township when she'd get back from yet another shift at the Sears she worked at for more than 50 years. Sometimes we'd meet all my Dad's high school buddies and play basketball long into the night.

Now when I go, I see Detroit more. I see the old Train Station, dilapidated but still amazing. I see the empty houses from the freeway as we get to my aunt's house. Tiger Stadium is no more, just a field. My mom drives me by the car factories. She tells me that both my grandfathers worked there. My Dad even put in time on the line. The parking lots aren't full.

But here's the thing about Detroit: the people are not giving up. The city may be downtrodden, but they are going to do something about it. It may be an uphill battle, but Detroit plans on winning it.

Then there was the Superbowl Commercial. As soon as I saw the I-75 Detroit sign I was in a trance. I shushed everyone. "It's the hottest fires that make the hardest steel." Hell yeah, I murmured. "Add hard work and conviction and a know how that runs generations deep in every last one of us." Eminem started playing and my jaw dropped. "This isn't New York City." I gotta get outta New York, I thought. "This is the Motor City, and this is what we do." Holy sh*t.

I'm not from Detroit. When people ask me where I'm from I say Bath. They then ask where that is and I say just north of East Lansing and MSU. My Mom told me, along with my entire graduating high school class, to do that. Take pride in where you're from, she said. And I do. That's what people from Detroit do.

I like that pride, and I'm going to try to help. It's not much, but it's better than nothing: every time I win prize money in a race, I am going to make a small donation to the Think Detroit PAL. I won some prize money in my New Balance 1500, and got money to rabbit at Millrose, so two donations are heading to help Detroit's youth through athletic, academic, and leadership programs. A car commercial can do wonders for a city.

My first car was a Chrysler. A New Yorker. Funny how the names worked out like that. It was imported from Detroit. And it was the greatest car in the world.

Sugar

Mucho.

We had hoped that I was going to get into the Boston Indoor Games and the stacked mile field this weekend. Up until last night we hadn't been told no yet. Then this morning they came out with the start list without my name. It was disappointing. Gags picked us up at the armory this morning, said it sucked, and we drove on. I was in the back, pretty upset that I wasn't racing. "You depressed?" Gags asked. "Yeah, kinda, I wanted to race," I said. "Well tough sugar" (Gags' word he tries to use instead of the four letter one that begins with S). "You didn't get in, we move on."

Right he was. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, it was time to go to work. Rob (Novak) and I powered our way through an awesome extended speed workout and even popped some 66 second 500s in there.

Yeah, it would have been awesome to be in the race with Webb, Willis, Manzano, but nothing we can do about it now. So what's going to happen now is I'm going to work my ass off for the next month and then I'll get to race at Columbia's Last Chance Meet the first weekend of March. Hoping to do something special in that race to get me excited for the outdoor season.

In the meantine, and to avoid the depression of not running the race this weekend, I'll be living by the Ron Swanson (of "Parks and Recreation" one of my best tv shows of 2010) Pyramid of Greatness (see above pic) and avoiding the Yin-Yang of Failure:

Nada.