Re-Adaptation

While “fresh air” in New York City can sometimes be reminiscent of a bio classroom filled with formaldehyde soaked frogs, when I stepped out of my apartment building on West 118th Street and took in a deep breath, it was as if I was on top of a mountain, sucking in sweet air. That’s because I was going for a run for the first time in about seven weeks.

My highly overpriced orthotics made their way into town and I found myself chugging away on a 30 minute run and enjoying the awfulness of it all. While I have kept in fairly good shape via the elliptical machine and the pool, there is only one way to get in good running shape: running. I am three runs into my season now (with a fourth coming tomorrow morning), and there is still a long way to go. Luckily for me, there is still a long way to go until I need to be ready. I’m working my way through a light workout this Friday and then seeing the doctor next Thursday to hopefully get cleared to go full blow.

I can’t wait to get going, because even though I just said there was a long way to go, I know January is fast approaching and I am going to be ready to run come indoor season this year.

Meanwhile, I am adapting back into the New York swing of things. While I spent a summer in sweatpants, I am into the “Mad Men” routine and styling the hell out of New York. (The second part of that sentence was an complete lie: I do dress nicely now for work, but I miss my sweatpants sooooo much.)

New Jersey awaits on Friday for my first “workout” of the year. Let’s Go!

Ps – Only East Coast Electricity was offered as a possible team name. I liked it quite a bit, Furcht.

Moving On

New York...

...or Michigan?

Falmouth was disappointing to say the least. The Friday shakeout for the Saturday race left my left foot feeling sore and flared up. I had a stress fracture on the 4th metatarsal of this foot as a senior at Columbia, so I have always been extremely careful with that area for the past 3 years. But I decided to ice it a bunch and figured that I could race one more mile on it and then call it a season. However, as soon as the spikes went on for the race on Saturday I knew I was in trouble.

The race had a money bonus if you got under 4, so the racers had decided to split up the pacing duties. I offered to take the first lap just for the chance that my foot wasn’t going to allow anymore. Turns out 600 meters was all that I would make it. The foot was getting worse so I decided to pull the plug, dropping out of a race for the first time since being a sophomore in high school trying to complete the 16, 8, 3200 double and not being ready for the heat and pace of the 2 mile. It’s not fun to drop out of a race, but hopefully I kept my foot from getting too bad. About to see a specialist to try to figure it all out as we speak.

The other big news in my little world is that I am leaving Washington, DC. I loved the city, loved the Georgetown team and really appreciated all that Coach Henner did for me both as a Georgetown runner and after. He has been an amazing coach and really will do anything for his athletes. However, we both decided that if I am going to run at the level that I want to, I needed a little bit more than a college coach.

I have narrowed down my choices to 2 different yet similar places/coaches/groups. I will either be moving back to my home state to train with Olympic Silver Medalist and his coach, Ron Warhurst, or will be moving back to New York City to train with Coach Gagliano. Both coaches are legends and really know how to coach middle distance runners.

I have been given a great opportunity and I am really excited about either group that I join. The next 2 years of my life are going to be all about running, and I am really looking forward to making a push towards my goal of making an Olympic Team (It is funny to say that out loud considering how long the odds are, but that’s the goal, and I’m going to make a run at it).

I was thinking of contacting ESPN to see if they wanted to show “The Decision Part II: LBP to Ann Arbor or NYC?” but I’m not sure they’re interested. Flotrack maybe?

Look out for the decision sometime this weekend or early next week….as always, Let’s Go!

LBP Cribs

Short post today...but you get a movie to go along with it!

I didn’t get to edit the cribs of LBP Eurotrip, but check it out and you can see what the apartment looks like. Bumbi is coming up to visit today, and I’m supposed to meet him in like 15 minutes, so that’s why there’s not much going on for this post.

I did a little 4x800 workout tomorrow. There isn’t much of a point to do that much more working out...all the hay’s in the barn already. Now you just have to out there and give a good effort and hop something good comes out of it.

The only thing bumbi and I aren’t going to do today is hit up the red light district....NOT.

Alright, that’s all for now, maybe on some downtime later today there will be another post.

Race day getting closer, can’t wait!

Let’s Go!

Layin' Low

The sight of me in my Dad’s house is nothing special. I plop down on the couch in front of the tv and set up shop for hours at a time. Meanwhile, my Dad goes in and out the front door doing lawn work, car work, or just relaxing in the garage so he doesn’t have to listen to the vh1 show I’m watching. One time around Christmas ’08, my Dad was walking out with a steaming cup of coffee in his hand.

He took a sip on the fly said, “Gaahh,” and smacked his lips approvingly. “That’s a good cup’a joe, Lee.” I peered up over the couch at him. “It’s too bad you don’t drink coffee.”

I groggily responded, “Well, I actually do now.”

He stopped in his tracks, “Well shoot,” he looked down at his mug. “It’s actually not that good.”
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I have drank a lot of coffee on this trip. I think it is because there isn’t much else to do. Yesterday I had a pancake (crepe) and a cappuccino while relaxing around before my mini-workout. Both were delicious, and I’ve decided I’m going to head back a few more times to make it my regular stomping ground. Hopefully they like me by the end even though I’m not that great at talking to wait-staff in normal conversation.

Was able to do some strides at the track yesterday – 3 sets of 50-100-150 at 15 second 100 pace, then 14.5, then 13.5 for the last set. Do that kind of stuff just to keep the legs fresh and ready to move on Sunday for the race. It has been hot in Amsterdam (no, not comparable to the East Coast right now) so I jumped into one of the Amsterdam Canals after my run. I wouldn’t have done it, but a bunch of little kids were jumping in, so I decided to join in on the fun. It saved my day after the longest and hottest tram ride to the track ever.

Finally race day tomorrow…Let’s Go!

Bikes everywhere!

Spinach For Strength

A young Liam was a fairly odd fellow. Rarely was I actually just a young Liam, but I instead found myself in character at nearly all times of the day. For a time it was Tigger from “Winnie the Pooh”, then it was Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo and Rafael from “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (with corresponding blue, purple, orange, and red arm, wrist, and headbands to go along). For a while I wore a belt so that I could hold swords and daggers and knives and guns on my person at all times. Then a coonskin hat sat atop my head so I could be Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone. All of this was fine and dandy, but then I got into Popeye.

I’d squint one eye, curl my lip around a cork pipe, stuff spinach through the small opening in my mouth, and sing: “I’m Popeye the sailor man/I’m Popeye the sailor man/I’m strong to the fin-ich/Cause I eats me spinach/I’m Popeye the sailor man!” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ9SYgTk_hY for reference.)

The looks my Mom got on the street were less than encouraging. But she provided the pipe, and I ate A LOT of spinach, so my iron levels were fine, and life was good.

Sadly, I wont be going to the pictured Popeye Coffee Shop in Amsterdam. It turns out, we are looking for cafés if we want some coffee, which seems a little backwards to me.

The workout on Tuesday ended up being a pretty good one. Ran 2x800 in 2:25 (meant to run 2:30) and then ran 2x4-3-2…going 65 pace the first set and then 58 pace the second set (although I ran a 55 in there and it felt really good to move pretty easily through that). It’s fun running at an Olympic Stadium, especially one from 1928.

We’re about to do some museum sightseeing today...looking forward to it.

Let’s Go!

The sites in Amsterdam

Our coffee maker to avoid the Coffee Shops.

Irish Highs

It’s noon Ireland time. I’m on a bus from Dublin to Cork. I’m running on 2 hours of restless sleep and fumes from the cup of coffee I just gulped down. And like my Dad says: “I have to pee like a racehorse.” (Without fail on every drive home from Fraser to Bath after a trip to my Granny’s he’d be in the driver seat squirming around like a fish out of water situating himself to subdue the urge of the bathroom break he so desperately needed.) I writhe some, but then decide to sit still, thinking that if I move, my bladder will act in the wrong way.

Finally, the bus comes to a stop in a town center to pick up some more passengers. One of my travel partners and I rush through the aisle and ask the bus driver where we can go to the bathroom. He looks around hopelessly, then tells us to try the black door of the pub to our left. I racewalk to the door. I rush through and a man at the jukebox can tell exactly what I need and points me in the direction of the bathroom. The urinal is the wall, one of those ones with water rushing down at all times like a trough. I start going to the bathroom and then hear the music playing over the speakers.

I figured my first experience in an Irish Pub would include sipping on a Guinness and listening to Dropkick Murphy’s. Instead…it’s peeing against a wall while listening to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.”

And with that, welcome to “runLBP’s EuroTrip 2k10”! Posts will start appearing daily (given Internet cooperation) and you can follow me all around Ireland and Amsterdam and Belgium. I’m pretty excited about it, and definitely pumped to get some more races in.

I’m traveling with two Georgetown girls: Elizabeth Maloy and Maggie Infeld, and we’re going to hopefully have some fun while running fast. I’ll be around until the 22nd and they’re staying over until the 28th or so.

We start out our European season with a 1500 tonight in Cork, Ireland. They have been plenty kind to us so far by putting us up in dorms and feeding us our every meal. They like my name, and hopefully will cheer for me tonight. You can check out results here: http://www.corkcitysports.ie/viewpage.php?memid=133&parent=133

I go off at 3:05pm Irish Time (10:05 EST). Let’s Go!

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!

Freshmen

Most of my training partners were gone this week. They were off in Greensboro, NC trying to qualify for the NCAA Championships (a lot of them did, congrats to all the Columbia and Gtown kids who are flying out to Eugene in a week for NCs!), so I was left with but a few kids to run with.

They happened to be freshmen. The whole week I was running along with Andrew Springer and Bobby Peavey. I am five years older than these kids, so one would think that my maturity level may not necessarily mesh with theirs…but it was an AWESOME week.

It reminded me of my freshman year. My classmates and I were idiots. We were always scheming and planning something. Once, we planned a dinner date for the entire freshman class. It was going to be held at the famous (or more infamous) Columbia Cottage, a Chinese food place where free wine was served with dinner. We told everyone that they must dress nicely. Here is a quote from the invitation we sent out to the class of ’08: “A night of class, sophistication, and revelry. This is a formal affair in which you will dress appropriately and act in a proper and fair manner.” We went on to tell the girls that they would be paying for dinner since we took care of the wine tab beforehand. Somehow, people showed up even though as freshmen boys, we were clowns.

But Peavey and Springer aren’t really as big of idiots as I was, at least I don’t think so. Our runs were spent discussing video games (namely tetris, which apparently Springer is very good at). And in the process, Springer and Peavey tried beating me in some workouts.

Tuesday of this week was not an easy day for me. It was hot and humid, and I was doing a 5k workout; my least favorite type of workout. We were running 500, 1k, 500, 2k, 500, 1k, 500 all at 67.5 pace. Two minutes were allotted for resting between the intervals, which seems like a lot until you have just run a 2k in 5:37.

So we get through the 2k in 5:37, and Springer is looking good. Peavey’s foot is kind of bothering him, so he stops the workout. It’s just Springer and I (he’s legit, ran 4:02 for a full mile as a high schooler last year), and I do not run the 500 too well. I hit the pace, but struggle doing it.

Coach to me: “Can you finish this up, Liam?” Me to coach: “I don’t know.” And then I walk away from him to the start line for the 1k. I was straight hurting. Arms locking up, back arching, lactic acid filling my legs. Springer took us through the first 400: 67.1. I was hurting like hell, and definitely questioned dropping away from him. Then all of a sudden, I wasn’t anymore. I was just going to stay on him and finish this workout. We came through in 2:14 and finished up in 2:47. Then I led the last 500 and we ran 1:18 (62 through the quarter). I was done. But I had finished.

Two weeks ago I would have dropped out of the workout, but sometimes good things happen even when you feel terrible. The rest of the week went well, and now I’m getting stronger and stronger waiting for USAs.

My schedule is shaping up: I am going to be running an 800 at Indianapolis on the 12th of June and then gearing up for USAs after that (sorry to Ryan Pett, I definitely thought about the Tennessee Distance Classic, but its just not going to work out, thanks for the suggestion!). As always: Let’s Go!!

Ps – if you’re looking to read even more Liam Boylan-Pett, check out my latest PowerBar blog-post.

FOUND

Blink! An eye opens wide; the pupil expands then coils back in, the dark, monarch brown iris twinkling. Gasp! A deep breath beckons as the eye blinks and focuses. Where the hell am I?

To go along with the rest of the blogging/twittering/facebooking/anythingonlineing world, this week’s post is a LOST extravaganza. Writing this, I am on a plane across the country back to DC. I am supposed to land at 7:10…then I am getting picked up from Dulles, and hopefully making it back to my place in time for the finale of one of the greatest television dramas of all time.

(Side note: I enjoy comedies so much more than dramas, while I love Lost, it probably doesn’t even crack my five favorite tv shows of all time…in order:
5. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia (crude and hilarious)
4. The Wire (the best overall television show I’ve ever watched, just not funny)
3. Southpark (Cartman may be the best character ever)
2. Seinfeld (Not original in terms of favorite show choice, but classic)
1. Arrested Development (Short lived, but if you haven’t watched the first two seasons, I pity you))

But don’t worry, since this is a running blog, it will only be Lost themed. And how will I do that? By comparing my season of running to Jack’s arc on the Island. (There will be some serious reaching in what follows, but like I have done with the last two seasons of Lost, just go with it.)

When Jack first got to the Island, he wanted what anyone who was on a stranded Island would: off. So, he did whatever he could to try to get him and his people off the Island. Then, he finally gets off the god-forsaken place, and he wants to go back? Meanwhile, some smokemonsters and dead people did some weird things, and now Desmond and Penny might not end up together and I’m pretty upset about that. However, back to Jack.

In Seasons 5 and 6, and the dude was pretty lost (pun intended), in terms of what to do with his life. He was more the man of science that that of fate. He always forced things, and sometimes it worked out well, others, not so much. This was me the first part of the season. I was forcing it, trying to make it work out way too well. I was lost. I didn’t know what exactly I was running for. It is a transition no longer being a part of a team and running on your own. I struggled to find meaning in my races.

Now, Jack finds himself with a mission. He is focused, and he is ready to protect this Island. I’m back on track too. I may not officially be on a team anymore, but in actuality, I am still on a ton of them. The opening eye that Lost so often uses is focusing (which reminds me of another awesome tv show, Friday Night Lights, and its awesome motto: Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose!).

I’m still a Bath runner, still a Columbia Runner, still a Georgetown runner.

Now I can only hope that I find out what the hell Jack is, and what this damn Island means in tonight’s LOST finale…that is if I even catch it due to this stupid flight.
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First PR of the year! Gotta like that. The race was at Occidental College, just north of L.A. I figured if it was good enough for the President to hang out there a few weekends, it would be good enough for me to race there. Sure enough, it was pretty awesome. Getting ready for the race I was listening to my music and gazing out at the mountain range in the distance. I couldn’t complain.

In terms of the race, I am a little upset that I wasn’t a little more aggressive for the start, but overall it was good. I let the main pack get a little too far ahead of me, and then found myself in too much traffic the last 300 meters of the race. I was still really happy with my last 100 and I definitely think there is a lot more left in the tank. Plus, I was starting to become the Sam Bair III of 3:41s, so it was nice to run 3:40.15 (why couldn’t I dip under!?!).

Now is time to find out the rest of the season, for now I know as much as everyone else…I’ll be sure to update once I know what’s up with my season.

Let’s Go!

Race footage: http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?do=videos&event_id=3423&video_id=26724&folder_id=-2

UPDATE: I did make it back in time for the finale...it was totally AWESOME.

That's The Midwest For Ya...

If you followed my journal during my European travels this summer (you can find that starting here), then you’ll remember that I always pack two extra things for each track trip:

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.

So yeah, I always pack a few extra pairs of undergarments. However, I was a little nervous heading into the USA Road Mile Championship in Minneapolis this past week. That’s because I wasn’t sure who my roommate was going to be, and I definitely wasn’t sure if he new about the Underpants Rule.

Upon arriving in the Twin Cities, I had no worries at all. But that’s because the race directors took such good care of us, that I figured they’d have extra tighty-whities up the whazoo. I roomed with Jordan Fife, and he was a great guy.

It’s pretty fun when you’re on the elite level because everyone is so professional and does their own thing so that they can run fast. Jordan was coming from Flagstaff for some altitude training, so we were on different schedules, but we made it work. And I’m pretty sure we had no problems in regards to briefs.

As far as the race, I am happy with it, but definitely not pleased. I was waayyyyy too close to some guys not to nip one or two of them at the line. I felt like a group of 7 of us separated from the pack in the last 400-meters, and I happened to take last out of that group. It was good to be a part of that group, but I need to beat a few of those guys next time I am there. But 7th place in a race stacked with middle-distance talent, and I cannot complain too much.

Now, I just have to get ready for Occidental and what promises to be a fast 1500 next weekend in LA. Other than Bernard Lagat and Lopez Lomong, it is pretty much a USA final in the event, it is going to be really fun. I’m treating it like my Big East Meet and HEPS combined…

LET’S GO!!

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Check out race footage here: http://www.runnerspace.com/video.php?do=view&video_id=26167

Also, for an article I wrote for Columbia College Today, check it out:
http://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/may_jun10/alumni_corner

Family Records

The spiked shoes on the runner in front of him gripped the cinders and then tossed them out behind. His Chuck Taylors failed to have the same effect as they slid across the black surface. With “FRASER T&F” stitched onto his singlet in blue and gold, and a budding pony-tail flowing in the wind behind him, the runner in the Chucky T’s labored past the spiked runner and crossed the finish line in first place.

His time for the ½-mile: 2:00.0

And with that a family record was born. It was the late 60s, and 2-flat for a freshman was promising to say the least. That runner was my Dad, and as a freshman in high school, the guy could run.

Walter Pett decided to stop running after that year (he claims he hated the coach), but his two-minute half would live on for years to come.

My brother and I have encyclopedic minds when it comes to our track times. (My mile PR’s from 7th grade on: 5:20, 4:54, 4:38, 4:21, 4:17, 4:10, 4:09, 4:08, 4:06, 4:04, 3:59, 4:00.) And because of this, we have a set of family records. Call it the Boylan-Pett Record Book. We have categories for each age group. There’s seventh grade 800, which Will has at 2:19, and 12th grade 3200, which Will has at 9:31. Then there’s every other age group and record ranging from 800-3200, which I have. Juust kidding, Will has freshman year 1600 and most 3200s as well.

Will and I dominate the record books. Only one record didn’t have the name Will or Liam next to it. It was the 800 (or half-mile, since that’s what they ran back in the 60s) for 9th grade: and the 2:00 remained the record after I was only able to run a 2:01 as a relay split.

But this week, there were some changes made to the record book, which is now titled the Boylan-Pett/Pett/Fanta Records. That’s because Annie, my little sister, decided to drop a 63.7 one-lapper as a seventh grader! Yiikes that is moving! Congrats to Annie for moving her skinny little self around the track so quick. I’m looking forward to see what her and her teammates can do the rest of the track season as they have some fast girls rocking the Mid-Michigan track circuit.
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Training went well this week. I’m looking forward to heading out to Minneapolis to run a road mile on Thursday night. Back to some good old fashioned street racing, and I really can’t complain about that. It is shaping up to be a really good field, and I’m starting to get pretty jacked up for it.

Got to actually run some fast stuff in practice on Friday as I did 3x600 with the first two at 1:26.6 and then 1:26.4. Then ran the last one in 1:21 after coming through the first 200 in 28high. Nice to get back to some 800 paced stuff and starting to get sharp for some racing...

That’s all for this week: the picture is in honor of Mother’s Day and my favorite Mom quote of all: “She just shown on me like the sun.” Happy Mother’s Day!

Let’s GO!!

Degrees

So this is going to be a short post. My final project in my Master’s program is due May 3, so I have to make sure it is perfect. My project is a lot about running, though, so you all will get a little treat to it…mainly because I had no idea what to write about this week, so I’m just going to cut and paste something in.

I wasn’t extremely pleased with my race at Stanford this week, but there was a lot to learn from it. Namely, that I need to be able to handle being tired and head into a race still with my head on straight. I am racing May 13th in Minneapolis for the USA Road Mile Championship and then May 22nd at Occidental College for a hopefully fast 1500… That’s all the updating for now. Enjoy the opening to my Capstone Project (thesis type project for journalism students at Gtown)…

Traveling Stoll Road in Bath, Michigan, the distance between Upton and Center Roads is one mile. Starting at Upton and going east to west, the first three hundred yards is flat before a steep hill leads to a mailbox marked 7804 that signals the first quarter mile. A field opens up to the south while tall pine and walnut trees hug the north side of the street as the dirt road flattens out for another two hundred meters. Long blades of crabgrass droop over the shoulder of the road as the fuzzy ends of the yellow foxtail weed find themselves caked in brown dust. A slight downhill begins as three ranch style houses appear behind the giant Oak Trees lining their front yards. Power lines carry long black ropes down the hill and continue onward towards Center. At the halfway point, one smaller electricity post stands alone, away from the larger ones lining the entire street. One measly, black cord extends from the post. It makes its way to another lonely pole, drooping in the middle to form a sad smile. Below the lowpoint of the smile is a creek that cuts under Stoll perpendicularly. Extending from Potter Lake to the southwest, largemouth bass sometimes follow the creek outward. A young fisherman sits atop the steel cylinder tunnel that runs below the road with his legs dangling back and forth above the clear water. If he hears anything other than the buzz of horseflies and gnats, it is the faint crunches of gravel. Quick, rhythmic steps tread over the dirt road and the crunch becomes more and more audible. The fisherman turns around to see a runner approaching him. A sun worn mop of frizzled, curly hair bounces on top of his head with each step. Sweat beads flow from his hairline down his hollow cheeks and fall from his chin down to his chest. Sweat soaked shorts swish with each step as droplets splatter in dark brown splotches on the road behind him.

“One fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine,” The voice inside my head counts off as I pass the electrical post to my right that marks a half-mile to go. “They’re on pace now, just over halfway there.”

I wave my arm at the fisherman and only slightly disrupt my running motion before switching my concentration to the approaching hill. Up I run past the farmland to my left. To my right is the Jerome’s, an old farmhouse with black shutters outlining each of the windows. Robson Road branches off to my right and I only have a quarter mile to go.

“Two fifty-eight, two fifty-nine,” The announcer in my head reads off. “400 to go and these guys are getting going now.”
I steady myself and pick up the pace, bouncing a little higher with each step as I arrive at the crest of the hill and begin a slight decline for the last 200-meters.

“Less than half a lap to go and Boylan-Pett looks like he’s going to get under!”

I hunker down and veer to the right side of the road, picking up the tempo even more. Down the last hundred I float, covering ground as smoothly as possible.

“Three fifty-seven, fifty eight, fifty nine…”

I pass the stop sign to my right and click my watch.

“He just did it ladies and gentlemen! Liam Boylan-Pett has broken four for the mile!...”

I snap out of the track world in my head and glance at my watch. No three on it. Not a five or a nine either. Forty-five minutes and six seconds, it shows.

The imagination of an aspiring high school miler lets you break four even on easy runs.

Rudyard Kipling was a 4:30 Miler

It is tough being at home when Penn Relays is going on. As you can see from my Penn Relays post earlier this week (and be sure to check that out), it is one of my favorite weekends of the year. However, sometimes you have to pay attention to the bigger plan and hope that you’ll be able to see Usain Bolt in person some other time.

Also turns out that I had some work to do this weekend. I am closing in on the end of the semester, which for me means the end of the line and hopefully a Master’s Degree at the finish. But I am working on my capstone project, and yes (surprise!) it is running based. I am doing a little piece on the mile and what it means to me and what it should mean to others. Part of it looks like it is going to be published so things are looking good on that front.

I bring this up because I have been reading any book I can find on distance running, and especially the mile. I would bore you with quotes that I found interesting, but then I was glancing back through Once A Runner, the book that many claim is the best running book ever written. In all honesty, it captures the essence of the sport and I think does a fantastic job. One section at the beginning of the book is introducing the protagonist, Quenton Cassidy.

On the third floor of Doobey Hall a battered oak door held two three-by-five index cards neatly thumbtacked one atop the other.

The top one said in Smith Corona pica:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run—
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
-Rudyard Kipling, 1892

The other card read:
Rudyard kipling was a 4:30 miler.
-Quenton Cassidy, 1969

Now I laugh at this quote because here I search long and hard for quotes that will help my piece out and then this Cassidy character tells me that they all mean nothing unless the guy who wrote it is fast.

But Cassidy is full of it, because Kipling can write. Sometimes that’s better than running fast.
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Had another good week of training and getting pumped to head out to Stanford to race this coming weekend. Should be a nice 1500 heat and hopefully I can get another good race in. It’s all still leading up to hopefully being ready to go come USAs…so just gotta keep on the grindstone and get in some races in the meantime.

Workouts this last week were strength based with some 800s on Tuesday and then some split 800s (5-3) on Friday at more 1500 pace effort. Probably wont back off too much this week and then pop a nice time out in some Cali weather…definitely looking forward to it.

Let’s Go!

20 Bucks

Mayfield Drive between Maplegrove Ave. and Forestdale Rd. in Royal Oak, Michigan was home to many an athletic endeavor for my young self. This was the block in front of my cousins’ house. Whenever my brother and I visited, there was bound to be a sporting event. Whether it was road football (I was like the Randy Moss of Boylan Backyard Football with glue-like hands), street hockey (where my cousin Joe once turned into Dominik Hasek and allowed him and my brother to win a huuuuge upset over the neighbors Jeff and Matt), or wiffle ball, we got after our sports.

But one sporting event stands out on that strip of road: The famous races against my Uncle Gerry. They started when we were fairly young. We would line up at the neighbors driveway under one of the humungous Oak Trees and race to the stop sign at the corner. We wouldn’t beat him. He had an amazingly quick start and then would pull away from us. The catch was, if we ever beat him he would give us $20. That was a lot of dough to a 9-year-old kid.

Then something started to happen. We started getting bigger and faster.

At the same time, Gerry’s first step slowed a little. So, he did what any Uncle would do who didn’t want to just give $20 away. He shortened the race and started to “improve” his start.

We moved about 10 feet up from the driveway, then 20…soon it was only a 25-yard race. He would also false start pretty much every race we ever ran. He would be called out, return to the starting line, and we would re-start the race. He would false start again, and the process would be repeated. Soon enough we would just let him false start and accept that we were going to have to come back from three meters down in a 20-meter race. (ed.’s note: my Uncle Gerry would, and certainly will, vehemently deny any false start accusations.)

My brother, Will, was the first to beat him. A few years passed and he tried to avoid my cousin, Joe, and I since it was clear he was in trouble. We eventually talked him into it at Uncle Gerry’s lake house in Empire. Yeah, he got a false start, but we still caught him. And, yes, Uncle Ger gave us the 20 bucks.

Now it’s hard to compare $20 to $10,000, but the Puma Mile on Friday night kind of reminded me of those races down Mayfield. Mainly because that mile on Friday night at Mt. Sac was one of the funnest (yes, I know that’s not a word) races I’ve run in a while. Also, some girls got a head start.

I’ll let you watch the race and the interview on your own and take what you will from those. But know that I was pretty broken by that loss. I threw what I had on the track, and it just wasn’t quite good enough. Sometimes that is how it goes.

But also know that I needed that race. I hadn’t raced like that in a while, where it was all out there, nothing held back. I “Let’s Go!”ed and it felt good. The best races of my life have been the ones where I just ran, nothing else. Didn’t give myself time to think, just tried to win a race. I did that again on Friday night, and even though it wasn’t worth $10,000, it worked out in different ways.

And I do think that was one of the best races I have raced. Now I just have to make sure I can pull out a few more of those the rest of the year.

And as for my Uncle Gerry, he may have twenty more dollars to give away, my little sister just ran her first track meet as a 7th grader…and she’s ready to roll. Let's GO!!

Race footage: http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/236734-2010-puma-mt-sac-relays/326815-m-mile-h01-2010-puma-mile-trackside

Post-race interview: http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/236734-2010-puma-mt-sac-relays/326898-liam-boylan-pett-runner-up-at-2010-puma-mile

Easter With the Fam and April Fools Runion

Sorry for the delayed post on this one. Yes it is Tuesday. And yes I did promise posts by Monday, but it was Easter Weekend and my family was in town, so you’ll have to give me a break. It was a big week last week, so there is a lot to update on.

I had a race, a tough workout, and some serious PowerBar eating, so all in all it was a pretty good week.

The race wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done for what we were trying to accomplish this weekend. I was supposed to make sure that it went pretty quick from the gun. This way I would get some lactic acid buildup and remember what it felt like to rig home the last hundred of a race. So, this meant that I was going to straight lead a race for the first time in a loooong time. The problem is, my first step isn’t crazy quick, and I was out the back the first 100-meters. But I could tell people were settling so I rolled through the next hundred and found myself in the lead at the 200 mark.

Yikes, it wasn’t that much fun to be in the lead. You notice the wind more, you notice the speed more, its tough. But it was definitely something I needed to do. I came through 400 in 54low and then rolled around the 600 in 1:21low. I tried to hold off the field around the turn and a runner went by me with 120 to go. Now normally in that situation I would throw in the towel. But I fought my way through the last 80 and even started catching the leader with about 40 to go. Alas, the track ran out of room and I found myself in 2nd, but a 1:49.82 opening 800 leading the whole way will have to do for now.

And looking at what else what down this week in terms of training I was pretty happy with how it all turned out. Tuesday was a 5xmile workout with the last mile at 4:30, so I ended up being pretty tired heading into Friday’s race. Got in my 72 miles for the week and now in the midst of another big week. With Some big races in Cali coming up, we’ll cut down the mileage a little bit, but the season is still very young, so there’s a long way to go.

As a special treat, enjoy this April Fool's Runion! article. It’s a nice little piece I drew up back in the day. Remember also to check out the Runion! archives to see any of the other pieces.

Let’s Go!

Addendum: For footage of my Stanford 1500 Opener, check out:
http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?do=videos&year=2010&pg=1&event_id=57&video_id=22793&folder_id=1430&offset=3#video
Thanks to Columbia grad John Sun, for the email!

POWERBAR

Jackpot! So in some awesome news, I am now a member of PowerBar Team Elite. What this essentially means is that I get to replenish after workouts with PowerBar. I’m pretty syked about it as it is my first official sponsor and who wouldn’t love some free energy bars and drinks? Plus, I’ll get to put a cool little logo on my jersey and rock some PowerBar gear around at meets. You can check out my PowerBar Profile.

Also, opened up the season this weekend out in Stanford. It was a good opening race, and definitely showed that I come June and July I can be hoping to do some serious damage out there. I ran 3:43.92 and ran a tough race. I thought I was going to win the thing with a hundred meters to go, but when I told my legs to go, they just didn’t do it. I think the training made it so I didn’t have any pop in my legs. But the good thing is that its only March and there is a loooong ways to go before I need to get really going and flying around the track.

Right now I can’t find a video of the race on Flotrack, but they did post a nice little interview of me. There is some talk of a personalized headband, so we’ll have to see what we can do about that the rest of the year.

(Also, in great news, Michigan State made the final four…I’m extremely jacked up about this one. Izzo is an amazing coach…if he coached runners I’d definitely call him up. Winners are winners.)
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Training was good last week. Ran a pretty tough 300-250 workout on Tuesday where we were alternating between 3k and 1500 pace, then didn’t really rest up before Friday’s race. With a few more weeks of training and a few rest days, I’m going to be ready to pop a big one….Let’s GO!

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

S.A.D. -- See Ya!

It was a gloomy few months in Washington, DC. However as winter turns to spring and gray clouds disappear I have noticed a hitch in my step that seemed to lay dormant all winter. I don’t want to say I actually had Seasonal Affective Disorder, but I was pissed off about all the snow coming down.

After a week full of 70 degree days and runs with shorts and tees, I really can’t complain. Today I even sat in a park and read outside for a good 30 minutes (my Mom the Librarian will be so proud). And things seem to be looking up in terms of weather regarding my outdoor schedule as well.

We did some mapping out of the season and I am going to be traveling across the country plenty to get a scent of the fresh California air. It will all start next weekend with a trip to Stanford where I will be running the 15…From there I will stay put Easter Weekend and run an 8 at William & Mary. Then I will travel back out to Cali for Mt. Sac and the PUMA mile and its $10,000 contract (who wouldn’t run in a race with a possibility of $10k?). Then I may run at Penn before heading back out to Stanford for a hopefully moving 15 at the beginning of May. It’s all pretty exciting and that’s just the first part of the season. We’re trying to get as ready as possible for USAs in Des Moines, so a racing we will go. I’m pretty pumped.

Stay tuned to Flotrack next week because I think they’re providing some coverage of the Stanford meet.
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Meanwhile, training has been going extremely well. I have been doing some of the best strength stuff of my life and even popped 4 miles in under 20 for one of the few times and did it feeling pretty easy. Then later that day ran a 53 quarter as part of the workout and felt pretty relaxed and quick on that. Things are starting to come together and I’m definitely jacked for what is possible this outdoor season. I hit a good 73 miles this week with a solid long run of 13 with some faster paced stuff in there and definitely am ready to get out there and race.

Also, I hope Michigan State somehow wins today so that I don’t develop M.B.T.S.A.D. (My Basketball Team Sucks Association Disorder)…LET’S GOO!!!!!