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Archive: McMillanElite :: 2007 Training Blog
It was great to be home and see all my old buddies, and running at sea level ain’t too bad either. I had some great confidence booster workouts while I was down there and couldn’t wait to get back up to 7000 ft to keep on rolling. I left sunny (but kind of cold) California on Tuesday just before the storm of the century hit town. I was bummed to find out that 30 ft. waves were peeling onto the local beaches (it was actually victory at sea type conditions, 50mph winds, etc.). I know Greg would have fully supported surfing in these conditions because it is a great cross training workout and can also be very taxing on your lungs. Once I arrived back in Flagstaff though, I realized I had left one storm and jumped right into another. Most of the snow that was on the ground before I left had melted away, but any fool could see that soon enough, it would be back. I was also fortunate enough to have some of the old Stanford crew around this week, including my lovely girlfriend, Lindsay. Teresa McWalters also made the long journey out with Lindsay and spent a few days at our house, and Ryan and Sara Hall were staying at Alicia’s house for a bit. It was great to catch up with all of them because it’s been a while since I’ve sat down and heard about what’s going on in their lives besides all of their running endeavors. Now for the highlights of the week. Although a lot went on this week, there were two things that I thought we especially enjoyable. The first was on Friday night, which also happened to be Hanlon’s 23rd birthday. Well over 30 people gathered together at Mike Smith’s townhouse for a big dinner. Everyone brought a little something, and I think we ended up having about 37 different desserts. It was an absolutely ridiculous feast. The next highlight happened right here in my own house. One of the things that made the trip back to Flagstaff with me was a brand spankin new Wii. As this week comes to a close, we get to look forward to our 2008 debut. We have some very lofty goals this season, so hopefully we can get the year started with a good one in Houston. Wish us luck!!
As for my teammates, I don’t know much of what they have been up to, so the following is only speculation: I know Martin is in good company as Greg defied the U.S. Government and made contact in a secret rendezvous point somewhere along the coast of Portugal. Brianna likely didn’t have to travel far, as her family lives a short drive away in Phoenix. Brett is likely catching waves back home, camping on the beach and playing his guitar. Mike Hanlon was kicked out of his parents’ house and had to come home the day after Christmas. I honestly have no clue where Mike Smith is, but last I heard he was pumping out endless quarters in 87 seconds in preparation for pacing duties at Houston. Lemon is murdering his base phase work, getting ready to defend his Scottish homeland at the World Cross Country Championships. As for Jordan, our fantastic local Chili’s Server, he is holding down the Cooper House, catching up on missed video game time. A little more about my week Tuesday was Christmas, my favorite day of the year to run. Having trained in Flagstaff for the past six months, I have become accustomed to solitude on the trails and absence of vehicular traffic coming from the roads while training in the national forest. However, growing up in the city back in Texas, the only day I have found that will provide me with the rare opportunity to not see a single soul or hear a car whizzing by is the 25th of December. Wednesday I headed to my fiancées parents’ house in Bastrop to see the other side of the family. Bastrop is located in what is called the Lost Pines of Texas. A small outcropping of pine trees in the middle of what is typically an oak tree and grazing pasture region, the Lost Pines are an amazing oasis of red dirt and towering pine trees that remind me of my new home in Flagstaff. My runs on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday consisted of winding trails in Bastrop State Park and McKinney Roughs. A Conclusion to the Week Since my last blog, Amy and I have added two new roommates: Roger Cahill and Aaron Aguayo, making our house the Sun Devil House. I have a lot of respect for those two. They're really hard workers and are just up here living the dream like the rest of us. Whether their slap-boxing each other, teaching us the Soulja Boy dance or just making us laugh in the kitchen, they're always keeping us entertained. There's a lot of love in the Sun Devil House, especially come burrito night. Wednesday night the team met at Greg & Tracy's for a stretch and strengthening workshop by Phil Wharton. I've been working with Phil pretty regularly since the summer. I was worried when I moved up to Flagstaff that there might not be anyone to put me back together if I fell apart. But Phil has helped keep me in one piece so it's been great. He trains with the runners a lot so he knows what's going on with all of us. Flagstaff is really lucky to have him. Earlier that day, Brett, Jordan, Mike Hanlon, Middle, Greg and I all went down to Camp Verde for a workout. Our mission for the day was to run our 5k loop (you can see the course in our video section) plus one mile at goal pace in prep for our upcoming ½ marathon in Houston. Everyone had a really good workout and even ran a little under goal pace for the 4.1 mile course. Martin said he even had a good workout at home in Ireland. When I came home my roommates Roger and Amy said they also had good workouts. So we all did a celebratory happy dance in the kitchen in honor of workouts that you can feel good about. We've all been up here for about 4 months or so and little by little, the training is finally clicking. When you first come up to altitude you have a headache, you can't breathe as easy on runs and naps are so easily taken. So it feels great when you adapt and runs begin to feel better. Progress is good. Friday, Natalie Harlan from the High Altitude Training Center picked me up and I had lunch at the Tiger Table at Thomas Elementary School in Flagstaff. The kids earn their way to the Tiger Table by doing good deeds, being respectful and the like. They asked me I'm happy to announce that starting next year in January, I won't be the only woman on the McMillan Elite team. Michelle Gallagher, the youngest woman to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials, will be joining us. And it's not a moment too soon. Around the guys, I was starting to feel like one of the little people from that old movie Darby O'Gill and the Little People. Welcome to the team Michelle!
One of my second runs this week was on Shultz Pass Road as the sun set with snowy woods on each side. I felt like I was running through Robert Frost's poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening: The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.
It's easy to get swept away by the beauty of this place, but I often remind myself why I moved to Flagstaff. There is so much work ahead of me for the Olympic Trials. But it's work that I am excited about. I have to be one of the luckiest people to get to wake up, be with friends and move toward my goals day by day. I may be a long shot on paper to make the Olympic team, but the thing I like to remind myself is, I've got a shot. And that's really all anyone can ask for. Happy Holidays and Free Martin Fagan.
We were heartbroken. Mostly because the fake house break in was going to be really sweet. But I guess a little bit because we knew Martin was probably going through a whole lot of hassle and we knew wherever he was he couldn’t be very happy. Sunday night no one knew what was going on. Why the Visa trouble? (frankly I always use Master Card) Did Martin mistake the cockpit door for the bathroom door? At Customs did he try to declare his legs to be both lethal and dangerous weapons? Did he refer to the agent as a muppet? What went wrong!? Then the rumors began to swirl: he was in Spain, he was in Philadelphia, Guantanamo Bay, he had a fake alias and was working with the KGB. We knew nothing. Finally, Greg talked to him. He was back on a plane for Dublin. Banjacks! I went to bed that night hoping for the best. The guy is in sick shape and due to run Houston in a month. I was hoping I’d come downstairs in the morning and he’d be making his coffee and cracking jokes. It didn’t happen. Then my phone rang from a number that looked like this: 0254370927344648280625347599. “Uhhh Hello?” “Ay der boy!” And there he was. It was great to talk to him. He is fine, back with his family getting the visa issue resolved. He and Greg are adjusting plans as need be and he is keeping his head up. He said he mostly has just been listening to U2 and eating Lucky Charms. All will be fine. It’s funny when you get close to the guys you run with because you root for them so much that when stuff goes wrong you just want to fix it, take it all away. In Martin’s case we are all sort of helpless. All we can do is tell him how much we love him and are behind him. Lucky for the US Government I have canceled the street protests, sit ins, hunger strike’s and boycotts that my legal tem and I had begun to initiate nationwide. I stopped production of the “Free Martin Fagan” shirts and got my deposit back from the coyote in Tijuana who promised me Martin in 3-5 business days. I’ve settled down and decided the best thing is to go about this diplomatically, through the whole process, and eventually everything will be fine. One thing Martin sure isn’t missing here is th Speaking of the run in Sedona, We ended the week with a baby shower at Trina Painter’s place for Greg and Tracy as they are expecting McMillan elite’s newest member, Baby Mac in February. It was my first baby shower, and let me tell you those things are a good party. Food, gifts, games, the whole works. I am going to every single one I can get to from now on, invited or not. With the Holidays coming it’s nice to feel like such a family here. And even though we have all this snow and we are off our favorite trails for a bit, somehow it seems OK. I get that big forest to myself so much of the year, it seems right that the seasons create this cycle even in how we run. A few weeks ago I was out walking with my sister and Nathan Shay, Ryan’s younger brother. We passed this yard and noticed the tiniest bundle of puppies I’d ever seen. They were stumbling all around on each other with their big eyes, you could fit them in your hand. And I looked at Nathan and I looked at the puppies we were laughing about and I thought to myself how there is birth and death all around, you know? Like I really have nothing to be afraid of, ever. I think that in the winter, cold and quiet, the snow coming all night, the trees dead. And how the summer in Flagstaff just blooms and blossoms, and soon we’ll run through these same snowy woods with no shirts on. The trick is believing in the cycle of all things, that when it’s dark, light is coming next. So right now, all seems just as it should be. Happy winter from McMillan Elite. Getting ready to have some fun We eased up on the mileage a little this past week to get ready for the USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Ohio. On Monday, we had and easy 60 minute run in the morning. Tuesday was an up-tempo day where we put on the spikes and ran 5 times 2 minutes at a good clip with some surges during the interval. Overall it was a good workout, and the first fast workout that I have done since I have been in Flag. Wednesday was another easy run, after which we headed down the mountain to Bri’s house to spend the night before an early flight on Thursday. Thursday started off just before 5 am. Our first flight was delayed about 30 minutes before we took off. This was an issue because it cut into our short layover in Denver. Once we landed, a mere 10 minutes were left for us to catch our next flight. Greg instructed me to get to the other gate as fast as I could so it would not leave us. Once people got off the plane I sprinted from one side of the airport to the other and made it just in time as the lady was closing the door. (Gate 15 to Gate 84 = .75mi) Thankfully, she was very nice and said we had two minutes to get everyone to check-in. It is a good thing that we all run because the normal person would not have made it, but we are McMillanElite and we all made it. Once we made it to Ohio, we immediately ran into traffic to get the hotel and traveled about two miles in one hour before we got off the interstate and finally found our way around the traffic (thanks Middle). By the time we got to the hotel it was very late so we just ran 30 minutes on the ice-covered parking lots around the hotel and the local food joints. What a day! Friday we went over to the course which was really nice. It had a fresh layer of snow on it, but we all knew that it was going to be sloppy on race day because the forecast called for rain all night. Race Day Brett Gotcher and Mike Hanlon had great races for us, finishing 7th and 13th, respectively; while Middle and myself had off days. Brianna looked great and finished well picking people off the whole time. For me I could never get in a groove out on the course. I was all over the place and if I tried to run fast I would just slow down. It’s frustrating to be in a race and only give 75 to 80 percent but that is the beast we know as cross country. The only thing I can say about the after party is that you must check out letsrun. Sunday was another great day of travel for us we left the hotel at 4:45am. This time the plane left on time for Chicago but our fight out of Chicago was cancelled, therefore immediately adding a couple of hours to our trip home. Instead of going to Phoenix we had to stop in Denver first then wait awhile for our flight home. There was one good thing about the delays, we found out how well Martin did at Euro Cross. I think I speak for everyone here in saying great job Martin we all new you were going to do well, so congratulations! Thanks for your time and I would like to thank everyone on McMillanElite for accepting me on the team and making me feel like I belong, peace. It's hard to believe that I will be running a marathon in just over a month now. It's only just begun to sink in. Luckily, running European cross this week will help me take my mind of it for a bit. Originally I hadn't planned on running cross this year, especially as I was focused on training for the Houston Marathon, but when your country asks you to run, it's very hard to say no. There's no feeling like competing for your country, so it was an easy decision for me to race. Last year I traveled all the way to Italy from the US to run the same race, but fell ill the night before. So after last year’s disappointment, I'm now excited and hungry to run with the best in Europe and to wear the Irish vest again. I'm even more excited about my chances after running the Manchester road race last week where I came second behind Andrew Letherby. It was a big step down in distance for me, the 4.75 race, and after going into it sick, I was fortunate to come out of the race healthy and with a good result. Racing Manchester also meant that I got to see some of my friends again on the East coast. I was very lucky to return to Providence and spend Thanksgiving with some of my best friends. We didn't have your usual traditional thanksgiving dinner of turkey. Instead, we went to an Indian restaurant, which happened to be one of the only restaurants opened in the town. So this week has been a bit of a down week for me. Most of the week was spent working, training and working on our 1000 piece puzzle. As sad as it sounds, we have been all working, sometimes for hours at a time on our puzzles. We have completed one already and are working on a second. I also heard that we will be moving up in the world of puzzle making and attempting a 10,000 piece puzzle. Oh, the exciting life of an athlete ha-ha.
I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate Andrew again on his engagement to Casey over Thanksgiving. It's very easy to see how they are both meant to be with each other. We are all so happy for them and happy that our family has just gotten bigger.
The biggest thing for me was starting back running after taking 2 weeks off with sinusitis. I picked up a cold when we went to New York, which was frustrating as I was really pumped up after watching the trials and also seeing Paula getting back to winning ways. It made me realise how it is only a little while until I move up to the marathon and why I am so excited about it. It helps that someone like Ryan Hall makes it look so easy! I had a sore throat after being in the Big Apple and I figured it would pass in a couple of days but I continually felt worse as the week went on and one thing I have learned from making mistakes in the past is that my body does not function well if I continue to train while I am ill. I prefer being injured because at least then I can continue to train in the pool or on the bike but with illness I am stuck on a bed or on the sofa all day. It really sucks when I can’t wake up in the morning and get a dose of endorphins by popping out for a run. At the very worst I thought I would have to take just a week off but right when I thought I was starting to feel better again I suddenly felt worse and decided I needed to go and get checked out. The doctor told me I got re-infected after the normal 5-6 days that you have a cold for and gave me a course of antibiotics. I actually started to get a bit down about it because I would go and watch the sessions that the rest of the team were doing and that would get me pumped up and itching to run. This all coincided with the arrival of my uncle and my dad, who had arrived from Scotland. They had both driven from Texas to see me and take me down to meet a bunch of family in Phoenix. Once I got down to the warm oxygenated climate of Phoenix I started to feel a lot better and managed to get some steady running done for an hour a day. I decided to take the week easy as I took off the same amount of time I would at the end of a season and there is no rush to get fit as I am aiming to peak in March. That quickly went out the window as my girlfriend told me she was running a local turkey trot on thanksgiving day so I decided to go along and run as I figured it would be a bit of fun and I could make it into a little workout for myself. It would also allow me to gauge how much fitness I had actually lost through my unplanned break and it would get the pistons firing again. I planned on running around 30 minutes and that’s exactly what I did. It felt good to be running without coughing every couple of strides and just getting my legs moving at a decent pace again. I won a nice big turkey for my efforts but I couldn’t get anyone to take it off my hands. I tried to give it to my girlfriend’s family but that was a no. I then tried my own family but nope because they already had 2 of them in the oven so it is sitting quietly in the freezer now waiting to devoured by the team at some point. The other fantastic thing about this thanksgiving was being around family. I am usually on my own for most of the year as my family is either in Scotland or in Texas but now that I am out here in Flagstaff I have my aunt and cousins in Phoenix and it was the first time I had met some of them. I had such a good time with them all and learning the history of our family and hearing stories about my relatives through the generations. The other great part was of course the food. There is a long line of great cooks running through our family so I was really happy to sit back and watch them all at work and preparing to add the inches to the waist lines but at least now I am able to get back to the hard work and the pounds drop off in a day I’m sure. I am now back in Flagstaff more ready than ever to get back to the business of running as I saw how quickly I got fit before I was ill and I’m just looking forward to being around the team more again. I tried to distance myself from them the last couple of weeks so no one else would get ill from me and that made me realise how we have our own little family up here. I look forward to seeing the guys everyday and having that camaraderie that running brings to so many people. And on the note about family, we are proud to announce that we have a future addition to our Flagstaff family some time soon with announcement of Middle’s engagement to his long time girlfriend, Casey. Congratulations guys………Wham ohhhhhh! As far as running goes last Sunday Brianna Torres and I represented McMillanElite down in Phoenix at the New Times 10k with a pair of third-place finishes. So we got to take it easy at the start of this week while the rest of the guys hit the hill circuit on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Brianna and I, as well as Jordan Horn, ran a leg speed workout, and on Friday morning the whole team did our weekly steady-state in Buffalo Park. Everybody seems to be getting over a little sickness that was going around the team after the New York trip and training is getting back on track. Martin and Brett will run Thanksgiving Day races this week in Manchester and San Jose respectively and we’re all pumped to see how they do. This week we had several guests come to Flagstaff to hang out with us which is always fun. Mark from the “Flocasts” came and stayed with us at the Cooper House for the week. He filmed a few of our workouts and a few of NAU workouts and tried in vain to convince Abdi to pick a winner of the “Black Cactus” logo contest. It was cool having him out here because we all love Flocasts and are excited to show off Flagstaff and our group to him and everyone that checks his site. So check out Flotrack in December to see us in action and surf over there now to help Abdi pick a winner of his contest! We also had our adidas representative Eron out to visit; the rest of the team had met him in New York but this was my first time meeting him and he turned out to be a great guy. Obviously we’re so thankful for everything him and adidas do for us so we were more than happy to show him a good time while he was out here. On a more somber note this week we also had a memorial service up in Buffalo Park for Ryan Shay, who as many of you know tragically passed away during the Olympic Trials race two weeks ago. The ceremony was beautiful and Buffalo Park was the perfect place to hold it; I’ll always remember seeing Ryan charge around the trails up there at a pace I could only dream about. I know for me it hardly seems real that he’s gone. I think the first time it will really set in is the first long run I do with the big group when he’s not there (I’ve been out of town the last two weekends.) You could always get a laugh out of the back-and-forth between him, Alicia and Abdi and seeing how hard he worked was inspiring to me and all the younger runners in Flagstaff. Rest in peace Ryan, we all miss you.
While we were in New York, there were so many things to do and so many distractions that I was able to avoid confronting this issue. Now that I’m back in Flagstaff, the harsh reality has slowly begun to set in. On Tuesday, I was talking to my girlfriend on my way home from work and I just broke down. I had realized just how heavy this was. I’d only known Ryan for a few months, but I could see that we were on our way to becoming good friends. I’ve known Alicia for about 6 or 7 years now, and I knew how happy she was with him. I think that’s what got me the most. I thought about Ryan and Alicia a lot this week, especially when I was running, and that’s good because there is a lot to think about. I have to think about how I am possibly going to console Alicia when I see her, what it’s going to be like on long runs without Ryan, and how this loss is going to affect our running community. I think it’s going to bring us closer. All of the sudden, our jobs, our training, and our egos and selfish motivations don’t seem so big. Something much bigger has happened and it’s forced me to take a step back and reevaluate why I run. Of course it’s great to win some medals and earn some money, but even if those things weren’t there, I would still be running. I run because I love it and I get to be around some amazing people. Ryan, for one, has left me with some great memories from the past few months. Whether he’s showing up for runs with some “magic dirt” on his legs (one of Phil’s cures) or he’s claiming that you can’t put a mustang in an open field and expect it not to run, Ryan always brought something great to our community. His intensity combined with light-heartedness made him one special guy. Ryan, thanks for everything bud, you won’t ever be forgotten.
Late to bed, Early to run New York, New York
The High’s and Low’s of Distance Running If you have ever run a marathon, or other long distance race, you know of the ebbs and flows of energy levels throughout. At times you feel above the race itself, merely floating along. While others, it seems putting one step in front of the next takes all the strength you have. In this way, life is full of moments of joy and periods of suffering. One thing we are promised in this life is that the times of pain will never be more than we can withstand. The comfort of family and friends is just one of the reasons we can overcome anything. As you might have heard, one of our closest friends in the running community, Ryan Shay, passed away Saturday morning during the Olympic Trials. It hurts to write about this loss, knowing we will never have the chance to run with him again or be able to enjoy his presence again in this life. But in this time of grief, I find it important to bring up the impact of his life and the great attributes he brought out in all of us. Ryan Shay, the ‘Workhorse,’ as we laughingly and affectionately called him, was one of the hardest working athletes I have ever been around. Without a doubt I looked up to him and respected his ability to train at the highest level. Upon arriving in Flagstaff, my first long run was spent chasing him and Abdi on the dirt roads at A1 Mountain at 7000 feet. After getting dropped before the halfway mark, I began to understand that these guys train at a level that would take me some time to reach; I knew I would have to dedicate myself to that purpose to one day race with them, and for that lesson, I am thankful. To me, Ryan represented a guy who maybe didn’t have the talent as his competitors or the slight body physique of an elite distance runner, but what he lacked in those areas, he made up for in his desire and determination. No one could count out Ryan Shay when it came time to race. His toughness was unmatched. Ryan, thank you for the long runs, for the pain you put me through on Sunday mornings and your ability to make us all strive to train harder and race faster and live with all we have. McMillanElite wishes to send our prayers and thoughts to the Shay and Craig families, as well as all of the many friends and competitors who were honored to know Ryan. Four Years From Now
The injury made any fall marathon attempt a bad idea. I planned on running Chicago, which in hindsight, is probably a good thing that I couldn't run since the conditions were so poor. It would have been highly unlikely that I would have run the Olympic Trials "A" qualifying mark that I was seeking. So this allowed us to take a step back and examine my issues. Now we're focused on building a better runner through regular core work, getting my iron levels up and making my stride more efficient. An injury is never fun, but I would have never tried to correct these problems if it hadn't happened. I've been doing steady state workouts now for about a month. So that is the new challenge: working out at altitude. But I can feel my body adapt week by week as I try to do all the little things like sleeping enough, eating well and cross-training on my days off. It seems to be working. This Friday's workout was at Trina's loop. Lemon, Brett and Mike Hanlon ran an 8k time trial. Martin and Middle ran 9 laps on the 1.1 mile course as their steady state, while I did 7 laps (up two miles from last week). The loop's namesake (Trina Painter) even jumped in for 4.4 of the 7.7 mile workout. These long workouts are a challenge for me so it was great to have Trina there helping. I am really glad she's here. One of the highlights of this week was talking to Sechrist Elementary School. It was their Red Ribbon Week. So Trina (who, along with her husband David, both work at Sechrist Elementary) wanted our team and the other professional runners (including Amy Hastings and Alvina Begay) to talk to the kids about the importance of not doing drugs. We ran a lap around the field with these kids and it was so funny to watch them charge with reckless abandon. Laughing, losing shoes, just having fun. Each of the professional runners said a few words about why drugs are a bad idea, followed by a Q&A session. They filed back into their classrooms, high-fiving us along the way. It pretty much made my day. Photos of the event can be seen on our Service page on this website. Later on our new McMillan Elite team member arrived: Jordon Horn. We welcomed Jordon and his parents with a dinner at the boys’ condo, which, by the way, was cleaner than I had ever seen it, thanks to Lemon. It was great to sit down with everyone for a meal. We've all come from different places to live and train in Flagstaff leaving loved ones. And now we're starting to feel like a family.
Like any family we all have our quirks. Here's a quick list: Brett tries to ruin every photograph he's in by making some sort of face. Lemoncello likes all things lemon: lemon-honey drink, lemon bread, you get the idea. Martin is growing his hair so he can comb it over like the models in the new Prada ads. Middleton suggested that we carve pumpkins and now I know why: he's a champion pumpkin carver. He carved a haunted house with a ghost and a full moon. Free-hand. No template. Mike Hanlon: so many of his quirks can only be viewed and are virtually indescribable. But he has a really funny way of describing things while playing the game Catchphrase. Mike Smith is always talking about songs that break hearts. His heart or someone else's heart, I am not really sure. Jordon is too new to be quirky. Other than the fact that he's from Rancho Cucamonga, which sounds like a city animated by Matt Groening creator of the Simpsons. As for me, I hiccup at least once a day, but only one at a time. I can't help it and I don't know when it's going to happen. The boys are starting to notice. I think they used to think that I was just making random noises.
Other highlights this week: 1 trip to Baskin Robbins for pumpkin pie ice cream. 1 shipment of adidas Original shoes for the team for wandering around town. 2 hot chocolates from Late for the Train coffee shop made by Martin. 2 trips to Sedona: one to see Into the Wild (go see it) and the other for a Sunday long run at Beaver Creek Campground in the Coconino National Forest. 1 pumpkin carving ceremony with Flagstaff runners, hot apple cider and pumpkin pie. Alright so that's it. I'm ready for my post-long run nap. Next week the team goes to New York City to support our teammate and friend Mike Smith in his personal test of will during the (take a breath) 2008 US Olympic Team Trials in the Men's Marathon. He should know, no matter the outcome, we're all really proud of him.
So I act like a clown every once in a while, but it’s not ALL the time as the editors of these videos want you to believe. I swear. These videos have been a campaign to make me look crazy. Everything was all fun and games until Tracy and Andrew started popping up with video cameras. Next thing I know, mcmillanelite.com has a new video up what seems like once a week! And somehow I am behaving like a fool in EACH one. So I am here to announce no more funny videos. No more. The next video is about math. And the one after that is about rare bird species of Argentina. Then maybe something somber like how the Titanic sunk. Got it? No more laughing at my expense. I have to keep my street cred. The truth is its been tricky times for this author as of late. In two weeks I will race the US Olympic Team Trials in New York City. I remember thinking about things like Olympic Trials while running at Georgetown but somehow always came up shy of running there. It was exciting to qualify in the marathon, and have been waiting for this race for what seems like ages now. I spent my summer in the depths of heavy volume, big mileage separated by time spent laying in my bed, or an ice bath, or with my face in my pancakes at whichever breakfast place we crawled into after the long run. July and August appeared perfect, fitness was there, it almost seemed easy or something. All systems go. WHAMMO! In September I busted my groin in the middle of the 20K Champs. Then I got sick, like apocalypse-now fever, the-birds-are-circling-overhead sick. Now I’ve screwed up my Achilles. It’s been a nasty string of events, and I hate feeing that I have really lost out on some preparation. For a guy who doesn’t often get hurt or sick these last 6 weeks have seemed like 12 rounds with Ivan Drago. It’s the mind as much as the body - hopes rise, fall, rise, fall, rise again... I wanted to be standing here with it all being gravy, and going into these Trials it just hasn’t been that way. I guess this is my test though? In July and August I thought that was my test, running 140 miles a week. I don’t care who you are, running that much, you hit the pillow each night thinking you are working hard. And I was, but I am understanding now that my immediate test, as the Trials are right here, will ask much more from me. I wrote that the summer seemed perfect, and now what I’ll have to do is simply this: find out what I can do when things aren’t perfect. It’s easy to be brave when it’s all right, but can I be that brave when it’s not right? When I used to teach in DC I would press my students for just that. I would lean in and ask them, “What would you do when no one was looking?” I wanted them to search the meaning behind their thoughts and actions. It’s on the path to knowing oneself. What do you pursue for no praise or reward? Who are you when you are alone with yourself? Is that not the most valuable part in running, in doing anything difficult alone? On the morning of November 3rd I will have a duty inside that silent, acute aloneness out there. My duty, if I have nothing to look forward to more than it, is to give the same of myself, as if I had no excuses, even under these imperfect conditions I arrive within. I will have 100 reasons to quit and I cannot heed a single one. I should know some important things in the end. I look forward to that.
So lately, I don’t feel very much like funny video Mike. In Life Aquatic when asked how he’s doing, Steve Zissou says “I’m right on the edge, don’t know what comes next”. And that’s how I feel, right on the edge, sensing something is coming. One thing is for sure is I won’t forget these times. But when it feels too heavy I look around me and have to smile. It’s turning fall here in Flagstaff, that means crisp mornings and golden aspen trees. The team I am on is incredible. I watched them workout on Friday, just tearing through it looking great. And yesterday Middle, post Chicago, rolled out at a race in Tucson placing 3rd among a group of Kenyans. Ping Pong continues. The team is over the hump of just getting here, now they’ve settled in, adjusted to altitude, found favorite runs and favorite coffee shops, routines. We are at home. We have a new member joining us as well: Jordan Horn arrives next week and we’re super psyched to have him. He wasn’t scared off by walking into a room with us all wearing kilts for Lemon’s birthday, so he’s in. See you gotta laugh. The way these guys all look out for each other, or open up to each other make it impossible to let me get too caught up in my mind. You gotta smile watching Martin playing with a dog, or when Brianna and her girlfriends are giggling like a 5 year olds, or Hanlon is acting like, um, himself, or when I’m driving along and Lemon is singing with the dance music to himself. How can you not? What’s better in getting to know people than when those little moments come that make you realize you’re so grateful for them? And me? Lately I’ve been wearing this Krusty the Clown watch. When you hit a button it talks. (I didn’t know this until it scared the crap out of me in my sleep the other night.) Krusty says in this sort of sketchy tone, “Hey kids it’s story time” then laughs creepily. And each time- I swear it never gets old- I laugh, can’t help it. Maybe I will wear it in the Trials and instead of hitting the split button each mile I’ll make Krusty talk, just so I don‘t forget you know? Remind myself that you have to smile through this no matter what.
So as I write my first training blog, I sit and listen to the new Radiohead album. For those of you that haven’t already heard it, I suggest you listen to it. It will change you life. “In Rainbows” is, quite simply, a beautiful album. I have to admit, the release of this album has been one of the highlights of the past week for me here in Flag. But one of many! Lemon’s 25th birthday being one of the others. As you can see below, to surprise Andrew, we all dressed up in Kilts. [Which is a Scottish tradition, not an Irish one, as some (Abdi Abdirahman for one!) would have you believe.]
(l-r: Jordan Horn, Martin Fagan, Pete Gilmore, Brett Gotcher, Mike Hanlon, Andrew Lemoncello, Mike Smith, Andrew Middleton) We did end up having a great night and a well deserved one for all of the team, especially Lemon. You will notice in the picture, Jordan Horn, who was just in town for a visit and is thinking of joining the group. Just like Brett, he had a breakthrough race at the USA 10 Mile Championships and hopefully if he decides to come, he will be a great addition to the team. Also in the picture is Peter Gilmore, who sadly just left after a short stint of altitude training. It was a pleasure having Pete stay with us and I want to wish him the best of luck at the Trials. Another highlight of the week for me was starting my new job at Late for the Train coffee shop, which I must add, has the best coffee in Flag (not being biased). Some people might think I’m crazy for being excited about working, but training full time sometimes gets a little monotonous. Although I do love training, sometimes instead of sitting around waiting for your next run, I think it’s important to take your mind off running. I only work part time, so it doesn’t affect my training and being around the smell of coffee all day is like heaven. Anyways, getting back to this week’s training. I guess it was sort of a down week for some of the guys, including myself, that had raced over the past weekend. So this week basically consisted of easy running, although today’s long run was anything but. Lemon and I got carried away and ended up running 20 miles with Abdi and Ryan Shay. I guess I was just excited to run with guys that I admire and have so much respect for. But I’m paying for it now, as I will be hitting the sack early tonight. For others, the hard training still went on as the Trials are drawing ever closer. But in general, everyone is positive, fit and healthy, as we get ready for another hard week of training.
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It was pretty smooth sailing early on in the week, but the clouds started rolling in and before we knew it, Flagstaff was once again a winter wonderland. But let me tell you, it’s going to take a lot more than a little snow to slow us down. If anything, I got more excited to run. When I woke up, I felt like a giddy little kid when I looked out the window to find our front yard under a few inches of fresh snow. We just slipped into our tights and strapped on the hat and gloves and off we went, slogging through the ice/snow mixture that covered the roads. We weren’t too concerned about running fast this week as we head into the U.S. Half Marathons champs next weekend, so the sloppy conditions didn’t hinder our training plans. Right now, it’s all about feeling good. Besides all our usual training runs, we just did one marathon pace workout run and one fartlek for our harder days this week and next week will be even more low key. I’m definitely starting to get excited for this next race, even though I have never raced anything over 10 miles. I think our training has put us in a great position to run a solid half marathon, so hopefully we can all go out there and capitalize on the opportunity.
about running and marveled at how long a marathon is. "Almost from Flagstaff to Williams, AZ" their principle told them. I asked them about their favorite ice cream flavor, snow angels and snow ball fights. We then had brownies and good times were had by all.
e 2 feet of snow that dumped on Flag early this week. It’s beautiful to look at the peaks and the trees so white. Seeing as most of the team has lived their whole lives in states that do not receive snow, I wondered how everyone would react. No problems though, training rolled right on. We are really lucky to have a 300 meter indoor track as well as access to lower, snowless, elevations very easily here. I ran in Sedona on Tuesday and Sunday, and the team went down to Camp Verde on Friday. With all the snow up here it’s crazy to drive 30 miles down the hill and run in shorts and a T-shirt in the winter. It truly is one of the best things about training in Flagstaff. 
we had a great crew out yesterday. Twenty something us all gathered around at the start of the run, including some of the fastest cats in the country. I was very excited to be getting back into some running and to run with the fellas, which I haven‘t been able to do much lately. Sedona was beautiful as always, all the reds and pinks, under a big blue sky. 17 of us hit the Coffeepot Restaurant post run for their advertised 101 omelets. No one, despite my urging, ordered omelet #98, which is the jelly omelet, what the heck? But the breakfast was a great way to end the morning. 
individual champion in the near future. Hanlon showed that if it comes down to toughness, he’s your man. Middle showed that he’ll always do his best even if his coach fries him in a workout before a big race. Jordan showed that no matter how fit you are, if you can’t find firm footing, you’ll have a tough day at the office on a course like this one. And Bri showed that even if she’s asked to race a 6K race in the middle of training for a 42K race, she’s on board. I’m so proud of each of them and can’t wait till we can field full teams next year. 
We have been spoiled in Flagstaff this fall. The weather has been beautiful, which makes it ideal to train in. But this week, the weather finally broke and we had our first fall of snow. It never really snows in Ireland, so I love seeing it. It just doesn't make training any easier. We are fortunate up in Flagstaff to be able to drive 40 minutes to Sedona where the temperature is usually 10 degrees warmer. So I guess now that the winter is approaching, our team will be traveling more and more to Sedona, like we did today for our long run. It was the perfect ending to a great week of training for me and it was great to see so many people turn out for the run . I think that's what I enjoy and love the most about Flagstaff - the friendly group environment, where you’re made feel like you’re part of a big family.
