Emily Brown's Journal

January 23, 2009 (Posted January 29, 2009)

Well the New Year has begun and so far I have spent the majority of it outside of my home: city, state, and country! To recap my year thus far, I have participated in three races (zero victories), seen Central Park for the first time ever (albeit at night), gotten a mud bath in Northern Ireland, seen the world’s largest penguin population in Scotland, and capped it all off by taking (and passing) the Registration Exam for Dietitians. That’s right; I am now officially a registered dietitian! I was fairly confident I would pass the exam but it is a special moment for me because it is the culmination of a lot of learning and practice over the past six years.

There is little time to celebrate, however, as I have already begun another semester in my graduate program at the University of Minnesota. If all goes well I should have my Masters of Public Health in nutrition by the end of 2009. I am not actively searching for a job, as my schedule is already quite busy with running and school, but I hope to get my feet wet eventually and start putting some of my knowledge into practice.

On the running front, after six months of no competitions at all (beyond the family board games taking place during the holidays) I decided it was time to jump into a race; actually, three races to be exact. First it was off to New York for the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run through Central Park. I heard about this fun run from Andrew Carlson, who won it last year, and the NYRR were very gracious to bring me in and put me up for the day. I think the hardest part of the race was staying awake until midnight. Once I got over that hurdle, it was smooth sailing. Well, almost. The temperature at midnight was about 1 degree Fahrenheit and there were some swirling winds.

In reaction to the conditions, I got off the line hard, so hard that I didn’t see another female runner until the last 20 meters of the race when she kicked by me for the win. It was disappointing not to win after leading the entire race, but I was happy with my time and how I ran the race. Plus I won a massive quantity of delicious Emerald Nuts that kept me fueled up for the remainder of my trip. (I swear I was not paid by Emerald Nuts to put this in my journal. I just really liked the nuts.)
I departed on January 1 for Belfast, Ireland, and arrived there on January 2 , not leaving me with much time to get ready for my next race. The course was 5.6 K consisting of three 1800-meter loops. Most of the course was really nice with solid ground and rolling hills but the last 300 of 400 meters was pure mud (and perhaps a little animal dung as well). It was this section of the course that would lead to my downfall.

From the start of the race I was in a pack of about eight runners that got a little slimmer after each loop. By the last loop there were just four of us racing it out for the win. The top two started to pull away and had about 25 meters on us before hitting the mud bath. I was in a battle for third but found myself completely exhausted by the time I hit the mud. I could hardly lift my legs and remember wishing that the other runner would just go ahead of me so that I didn’t have to worry about kicking it in. And with the decision already made before hitting the homestretch, I settled for fourth place. Again, I was happy with the time and my ability to run hard on limited rest, but I noticed a trend in my first two races back- I wasn’t exactly racing. I was being a wimp and this upset me more than losing.

I had always considered myself to be one of the toughest girls around. Growing up in an all-male household made me that way. But ever since my injury I’ve noticed that I’ve become a little more, say sensitive? Vulnerable? No, let’s face it; I have become a big baby. I found myself just about crying on my long run the next day and I didn’t know why. I wasn’t homesick, I was just sick of the situation I was in. I vowed to myself that I was going to get after it in Edinburgh no matter what. No matter who my competitors were, what the conditions were, or how tired I was.

I felt rejuvenated once I got to Scotland. My easy runs were going well and I put in a quality workout. I made a point of running through a little mud each day to prove that it had nothing on me. I was ready for anything by the time I got to the line, and thank goodness I was. I don’t remember the exact numbers, but I think the wind speeds were at about 50 MPH and they were constant, not just the occasional gust. The hills in the middle of the course reminded me of the walls you encounter in basic training--practically vertical and almost necessitating a rope to pull yourself up.

And then there was Haggis. I remembered her well from World XC last year but I don’t remember encountering quite as strong of a headwind while going up. You know you are in bad shape when you hear “You can do it!”, “Keep going!,” “You’re almost there!,” all from the same person before even making a dent in the uphill climb. I was in the lead pack for awhile until I hit Haggis for the first time. The second time up I was all alone but a couple of runners were coming back and it was a downhill finish. At that point I had a decision to make: jog it in and finish the race because nobody is going to catch you, or dig deep and put it all out there to see if you can get one. I chose that latter. I needed to otherwise my entire 2009 racing season was in jeopardy. I came to Europe to remind myself how to race and I wasn’t going home until I learned that lesson. I kicked hard and I got one. My time was slow as molasses but at least I was starting to race again.

When I got off the plane in Minneapolis and saw the sun reflecting off the clean white snow, I felt revitalized and ready to start the year. I am looking forward to working hard and competing again. I can’t wait for U.S. Cross Country in February where I will see if I can put into practice the lessons I learned about racing and about myself. Happy New Year everyone, and here’s to being the best “you” in 2009.

December 15, 2008 (Posted December 17, 2008)

It may be one of the most overused clichés in the book, but I am finding that life really is a rollercoaster. I’m not just referring to the twists and turns it throws at you, all though it frequently does that. I am thinking more about the start of the ride.

The way the car gets pulled at a snail’s pace up what seems to be a 1000-foot hill. You are so anxious to get to the top and really start moving and you think to yourself, “How much longer is this going to take?” Finally you reach the top, teeter there for a moment at the pinnacle of your ascent, then head full force down the hill, through the twists and turns, and eventually end up exactly where you started, at the bottom of another hill.

Crosstraining every day until my injury was healed was like waiting to get to the top of the rollercoaster. Each day felt like a week and every night I would wonder to myself, “How much longer is this going to take?” Then one day I finally reached the top; I ran, and the car hasn’t stopped rolling since then. Now each week feels like a day and seems to end just as quickly as it begins.

Running and workouts are going well and my body is still feeling pretty good. I finished my second semester of grad school last week with only one year left to go! (insert sarcastic undertone) Christmas is only 10 days away and I have yet to buy a single gift. In three weeks I may be competing in my first race in six months and I will be taking my certification exam to become a registered dietitian in just four weeks.
I think my first ride on the rollercoaster is coming to an end and I am getting geared up for another lap. Of course, I’ve got to get over the hill first, and right now that hill is winter! I do love winter, especially the Christmas season. I don’t mind the cold or snow that much, except when it puts limits on what I can do. The first snowfall took away our last chances of doing workouts outside because the footing won’t be tolerable again until spring.

Today it is -7 degrees with wind-chills between -20 and -30; a little too cold to be comfortable running outside. But eventually we will get over the hill and be rolling at full speed come track season. I am excited to see what the New Year brings and I just hope that I can take a minute to pause and enjoy the ride. One take home message--the best rides are those with the biggest hills to climb at the start. It may take a long time to get up, but it’s totally worth it on the way down.
Happy Holidays to everyone and best wishes for 2009.

October 20, 2008 Entry (Posted October 23, 2008)

Yes, I know, it has been a VERY long time since I have composed a journal entry. Truth be told, not much has happened since my last entry so I wasn’t feeling compelled to share anything.

I may have tried to come back from my injury (which occurred just before the Olympic Trials) too soon in late July and luckily had the guidance of some wise doctors to advise me to take a little more time off to let it completely heal. Knowing how I feel running now versus how I felt running two months ago, I realize that this was a wise decision.

My internship ended a week after the Olympic Trials but there would be no summer vacation for me. I basically spent my entire summer confined to the gym, crosstraining anywhere between one and three hours a day. I would wake up and get there for an hour or so in the morning, go home and have lunch and do other stuff, then go back in the afternoon or late evening for workout number two.

Once classes started again in September, I was going non-stop and felt like I had no free time at all. I am thankful to have had the wonderful facilities of Life Time Fitness, but when it becomes your second home it starts to feel a little unbearable. I haven’t gone back to my training diary to calculate exactly how much time I spent in that gym. I don’t want to look back. All I know is that today I ran my first workout since May and it has been over two weeks since I have been at the gym for any form of cross training. I am starting to feel like a runner again.

In fact, on my cool down today, I passed a woman on Mississippi River Road and she asked me if I was Kara (as in Goucher). She said I looked just like her (basically just because I have dark hair), so I just said “thank you” and took it as a compliment. Now I know I was just cooling down, but this was a small confirmation that, at least to others, I looked like a runner again.

I may not get a chance to race again until the indoor track season but for now I am just happy to be back and to be healthy again. And even though I missed out on the summer, the weather is BEAUTIFUL right now and I can’t remember another time that running has been so enjoyable. Yep, it’s good to be back.

July 5, 2008 Entry (Posted July 7, 2008)

My Olympic Trials: I made it. I raced it. I finished it. What more can I really say? Considering what my body has been through this past month that is saying more than I should have expected. Exactly 3 weeks to the day before my scheduled prelims I finished my usual 3 mile warm-up loop with an intense pain shooting from my hamstring all the way into my lower back. I could hardly walk let alone do a track workout.

After spending a week in constant pain and not being able to run more than 4 steps I decided it was time to discuss my pain management options with the team doctor. I needed to be able to run and the only way I could do that was if I didn’t feel the shooting pain. Before considering a cortisone shot to my SI joint, he thought it would be best to get an MRI to rule out a stress fracture. Exactly 2 weeks to the day before my scheduled prelims I got an MRI. Exactly 2 hours later I got the news; I had a stress fracture on my sacrum. A cortisone shot on top of a stress fracture would not be safe so my only option was to try to heal the fracture up enough to run and to do whatever I could in the meantime to stay fit without causing pain.

I spent those last two weeks kind of cut off from the running world--I didn’t return calls, texts or emails and I avoided going past the track or looking at runners out on the trails. I chose to keep myself in a state of denial. Not in denial of the fact that I had a stress fracture but more so in denial of what that meant for my season and all the hard work I put in this past year for just one race. I am still not ready to reflect on that.

After the first week of my “treatment regimen” my back was starting to feel much better. I decided I would wait to try to run until Thursday--4 days before my scheduled prelim. I was feeling very confident going into that run but unfortunately I only made it two blocks before everything locked up and I couldn’t run normally at a respectable pace. At least the pain had decreased significantly, but there was no way I would be able to race. I gave it another couple days and finally on Saturday morning (the day of my flight to Oregon) I was able to run my 3-mile loop almost normally. That would have to do. I was off to Eugene.

The day before my race (on June 30) I hit the trails in Eugene and was able to run for 35 minutes. I still hadn’t done a stride in over a month but I didn’t want to risk it yet. I would just wait and see what happened on the track. The first pre-race stride was a little rusty but after a few more things started to loosen up. The gun went off for the 5000-meter race and I was able to keep pace with the leaders, although I knew the pace wasn’t what it could be. Halfway through the race I still felt okay but definitely not like myself. Fitness wise I was good but my stride didn’t feel right and I was really struggling with my legs tightening up.

The last mile was really tough--my calves were burning and my glutes ached but I knew I wanted to finish this race. I wasn’t even thinking that I might still be able to get into the finals on time. At that point I knew my body would not tolerate another race! Luckily for my legs, but unluckily for my ego, I was the first one out of the finals. Oh well, that is the way it shakes sometimes. I knew going into the race that my chances were slim, but I was still a little embarrassed that that race kind of marked my entry into the elite track and field world.

Since I didn’t make finals I was free to escape for a couple of days so I decided to head out to Crater Lake with my folks. I had a spectacular birthday dinner at Crater Lake Lodge and the next morning I set off on my own for 2 hours of solid hiking. My body still ached from the race and the altitude made it even more difficult but I really enjoyed being out there taking it all in. The first hike I did was up to Garfield’s Peak. The hike was supposed to take 2-3 hours but I made it as far as I could go in about 20 minutes. Roughly 1/3 of the way up the trail there was a sign prohibiting hikers from going any further because a portion of the trail was still under snow and was impassable. I decided it was too risky to go any further and turned around to try another trail. After about 30 minutes on that trail I had made it as far as I could so I turned around to try another.

A ranger at the visitor’s center informed me that I had done all I could from that starting location. He explained that it was still pretty early in their season and not all of the trails were open yet; they were still snowed in but they would be open soon, just not on this trip. That was okay. I still got a taste of Crater Lake and had a great experience. I made it up a few trails, just not quite as far as I would have liked.

While thinking about this I started to reflect back on my year and on my experience at the Olympic Trials. My path on the track this year was much like the paths at Crater Lake. The trails early on ran very smoothly and made for a beautiful trip, but the final path up to the peak was still snowed in. The path to the top exists for me; it is just too early in my season and the road isn’t quite open yet--but it will be. Just like a return to Crater Lake, it will be awhile before I get to take another shot at that trail to the top but I know it is there and I know that someday it will be open. I just have to keep hiking until it lets me through.

I want to end by expressing my sincere gratitude to everyone who had a part in my care this past month. Without you all I would have never been able to make the trip to the Trials and run my race. Thank you Dr. Koslowski, Dr. Bill and Kelly Roberts, and the doctors and therapists at Lyn Lake Chiropractic. I am very lucky to have access to such skilled and caring medical professionals.

April 30, 2008 Entry (Posted May 1, 2008)

I love the Drake Relays. This year was my first year competing solo, without my favorite relay teams and teammates, but I was hoping I would have the same success and enjoyable experience that I had in the past three years and I was not disappointed.

The Drake Relays was obviously not every steeplers’s first choice when deciding where to go to chase down qualifying times but I knew that even if I was out there alone, the Drake Relays crowd and the excitement and encouragement that they bring would be enough for me to run a great race and to hit the time I needed to hit. It didn’t hurt that I also had my friend Rasa, a very experienced steepler and fellow Minnesota alum, there with me to help share the lead and keep us both honest on the pace.

We were both worried about the size of the field, which was uncharacteristically large for a steeplechase, but we were able to get away clean with no problems and just run our races. From the very start I had no idea what pace we were on, but I knew it felt good and that I felt strong.

I feel like an idiot for not knowing my splits because you would think that after four years I would know where the race clock was. Nope, didn’t figure that one out until I had 200 meters to go and realized I needed to run about 35 seconds for the last 200 to get the Olympic A-standard.

Luckily the water jump and final barrier went pretty cleanly but when I turned around and saw 9:45.38 I was devastated. I thought I had missed the A standard by .38 seconds. I couldn’t even enjoy the victory/ Drake record because I had convinced myself that I had just missed the mark. Later, when numerous people assured me that the standard was 9:46, I felt like an idiot again, but a happy idiot nonetheless!

It feels good to have the first steeple out of the way and to have the security of knowing that I already have the A standard. This weekend I will be back in California at the Cardinal Invite for another “vacation.” I will be competing in the 5K for only my second time ever on the track so I am excited to see how much I can PR by in an event that will be fairly new for me.

I will end with something new by offering up a few highlights from the past month…because life really isn’t all that bad.

* After four long years of suffering from the predictability of my music playlist, I FINALLY found out how to make my MP3 player play on random. Let me just say my solo runs have been MUCH more enjoyable since then.

* I have had a long drive out to my internship early in the morning for the past three weeks, but the Life Time Fitness I work out at in the morning has free Caribou coffee! Ah, the simple pleasures that coffee brings.

* I haven’t been able to travel home (to Milwaukee) since Christmas because the internship keeps me so busy but my dad has come out to see me three times in the past two months. It was really special to have him at the Drake Relays this past weekend to see me finally achieve my goal after all the hard work I put in.

* Finally, after this week, I will only have 10 weeks of my internship left!!!

April 5, 2008 Entry (Posted April 7, 2008)

Okay, I will be the first to bring it up - at the conclusion of the 2006 NCAA Cross Country Championships I said that I never wanted to run cross country again. It’s not that I hated it; it’s just that it had lost its luster amid extreme cold, impenetrable mud, and tormenting hills (in Terre Haute).

However after being graced with the gorgeous weather and relatively flat course that San Diego and the USA Cross Country Championships had to offer, I figured I could give it another shot. Anyone who knows what the conditions at the World XC Championships were like is probably laughing right now because it certainly wasn’t like San Diego over there. Cold winds, mud everywhere, and of course a hill with a name (Haggis).

It doesn’t matter what the name is, if something is prominent enough to have a name it cannot be good. Think of the other things we give names to - tropical storms, hurricanes, ships that sink. All bad things. This hill was not different. Sure it was short and covered with Astroturf, but I definitely recall being at a standstill trying to climb it on the last lap. I am glad that course had the hill, though, because it made the day a classic cross country race and when all was said and done, I had a blast.

This trip marked the first time I had traveled internationally on my own and the first time I have ever competed internationally. All in all I think it was a great experience. They treated us very nicely in Scotland and the athlete village was a comfortable place to stay and “vacation” for the week. Yes I consider it vacation because I got to sleep in, take naps, and do crossword puzzles all day versus having to work full-time.

I hate to admit to this, but the weather had me missing Minnesota! It wasn’t that it was extremely cold, it’s just that it was always cloudy, windy, and damp which made it feel much colder than it was. Luckily it wasn’t down pouring at all hours like I thought it might be.

The food took awhile to get used to and I didn’t venture out of the norm too much but I did have my fair share of the pizza bagels and the delicious cheesecake that they had at every meal. We were so used to having as much food as we wanted that when we got to the banquet and we were served small ice cream dishes of meat and potatoes, we sat there wondering what was coming next. When nothing else came, I think we went into panic mode and some people started searching for the nearest McDonald’s. Luckily a very generous countryman went out and procured for us copious amounts of fish and chips. It was probably the most delicious thing I ate all month. Thank you sir!

We had a lot of time to relax and get used to the time change and everything before the competition. Running was very nice over there with a lot of mountains and green pastures to look at. The only difficulties came when crossing the roads. A word of warning - it appears that pedestrians do not have the right of way in Scotland! It only took me about 5 minutes to figure that out when I almost got blasted by a tour bus while coming out of the airport. Lesson learned.

I got along really well with the other Team USA members and coaches. They made it a great experience for me and I can’t wait until the next time I get to travel with them. I think we sent over some really talented teams on both the men’s and women’s side and it was a great to witness and appreciate the amount of effort being put in by each athlete for the sake of representing their country as well as possible.

Speaking of representing the country well, I am very proud of our fourth- place finish as a team. Fourth is not bad at all, but of course third would have been nicer - 3 measly points. It is always tough to be that close to a goal and miss out, but there comes a point after a race where it is best just to take things as they are.

As runners we tend to overanalyze our races and look only for what we did wrong. I try not to do that because it takes away from a very solid effort that we put forth. Maybe there was one thing more we all could have done that would have made the difference between fourth and third, but there are also a lot of things we did right that we could have done wrong and made the race a complete loss.

Congratulations to everyone who competed and a sincere thanks to all those at home who were supporting our international efforts. We’ve got four months now until we get another chance to show the world what U.S. distance runners can do. Good luck and happy training!

March 11, 2008 Entry (Posted March 14, 2008)

The good news: The University of Minnesota Women’s Track Team won the Big Ten Championships – two in a row.

The bad news: Brett Favre retired. Sad day for Cheeseheads around the world.

If this journal doesn’t make sense or has multiple grammatical errors, please forgive me. I am exhausted and find it very difficult to concentrate. My daily schedule for the past 5 weeks has been up at 4:30 a.m., out the door by 5:00 a.m., at the gym by 5:30 a.m., into work by 7:00 a.m., leave from work between 3-3:30 p.m., home by 4:00 p.m., straight to the track for a workout, then usually home by 6:00 p.m.. Dinner at 6:30 p.m., a little TV because it is all I can concentrate on, then in bed by 8:30 p.m. to do it all again the next day.

Did I mention that I am paying to do this, too? Now I tell you this not because I want people to feel sorry for me, but to hopefully justify why it has taken me so long to write this journal and to express empathy for those individuals who have been working full-time for years and still find the time to train and compete. For me, only 18 more weeks to go!

Races!  I almost didn’t go to San Diego for the US XC Championships because I couldn’t find a reasonable flight, didn’t know if I could get a day away from the internship, and was just plain scared of the thought of 8000 meters. But I went anyway because I figured if anything it would be nice to get in some warm weather for a weekend and have a little mini vacation.

Needless to say the trip was a success. Both days I was there were warm and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. When I left Minneapolis there was a -26°F wind chill. I was really relaxed before the race because to be honest I wasn’t expecting much out of myself. As the race progressed I tried to stay comfortable and not get too out of control. I pretty much just turned my mind off and somehow kept moving up. It is probably the best I have ever felt in a race and I hope to have more that feel that way!

I wasn’t expecting to make the world team and had a decision to make almost immediately after the race. It didn’t take me long to see that this is an opportunity that I may not get again - a chance to represent the USA in international competition. I decided that I would work weekends to make up the days I will miss from my internship and everyone has been very accommodating of that. I am pumped to go to Scotland and I just hope that my body will be ready to go again.

A week after the race I decided to enter the mile run at a small meet on my home track. I had been ailing from a cold for a few days and my body felt like poop but I wanted to see where I was at and take a shot at my girl Carrie Tollefson’s fieldhouse record. I ran 4:37.58, a 7 second PR from last season, but 0.14 seconds off the record. That’s okay though, I was still happy to have such a big PR and despite the great competition at the Big Ten Championships, we both still own a fieldhouse record.

Now I am just getting set for the World Cross Country Championships. I will run a local 8K this Sunday as a tune-up. Training is tough going right now and the internship is getting busier but I am hoping I can tough it out through the end of the month and have a good performance. Then it is time to hit the track and try to get some qualifiers!

January 27, 2008 Entry (Posted January 30, 2008)

I know it has been awhile since my last entry but that is only because I had a pretty lazy winter break and didn’t have much to report on. For the record, the Packer’s loss in the NFC Championship is still not an issue I am ready to discuss so we will just brush that topic to the side.

I do have some winter running stories, an update on my life as an intern, and a recent race to report on so just a fair warning that this could be a lengthy journal entry. If you are interested in reading on, might I recommend that you get yourself a big cup of hot coffee- I’ve got mine- perhaps a snack or two, and settle into a comfy chair. Thanks as always for your interest.

So I am surviving this Minnesota winter pretty well although a few days/weeks have been particularly brutal. The extreme negative wind-chills last weekend were enough to keep us indoors for our long run, which wasn’t bad at all thanks to the splendid accommodations provided to us by Life Time Fitness.

I’ve had only two major falls on the ice so far, which is a pretty good record. The first occurred when I was back in my hometown, West Allis, Wisconsin, for Christmas. I was being pretty careful but still managed to hit a patch of ice that caused me to stumble for about 15 strides with my arms flailing like a windmill until I couldn’t hold it anymore and went into an all-out penguin dive. I am sure it looked pretty funny but it was not funny that I was only about 1 mile into my 13-mile long run.

The second fall was not quite as dramatic but I am still feeling the effects of it. This fall occurred with only about 3 miles left in my long run but it took me completely by surprise. The ice took my feet out right from under me and I went down hard like a Sequoia tree in an empty forest. Now this next part I can’t really explain but for some reason my first instinct was to reach over and stop my watch as quickly as I could. Heaven forbid I let the clock run for even a second when I myself was not actually running. I guess it is just a silly habit that runners have and I had to laugh at myself for it. I didn’t hurt anything too bad on that fall except I may have pinched a nerve in my left shoulder and now, two weeks later, I still have trouble opening my car door or pulling the covers over me without a little pain.

As I may have mentioned last time, I am not taking any graduate classes this semester but instead I am doing a dietetic internship. In short, a dietetic internship is a requirement of the American Dietetic Association for all nutrition degree holders who wish to become registered dieticians. The requirement is for 900 hours of supervised practice followed by successful completion of the registration exam. That equates to 40 hours a week for 6 months.

I just got done with my first week of the internship, which will last all the way through the Olympic Trials in July. The internship places me in different rotations each week- last week I was at a long-term care facility, this week I will be at a number of school foodservice sites, and for the next 10 weeks after that I will be working with dietitians in a local hospital. So far juggling running and the internship hasn’t been too bad but slightly more exhausting than just running alone. There just isn’t a lot of time left over to do some of the extra things like lifting and injury-prevention exercises. Regardless, I am looking forward to learning a lot and I think that having the internship will keep me grounded and focused in my running career as well.

Well I am back on the track! After a short stint of local road races at distances longer than usual for me I made it back to my home track in an all too familiar race— the 3000-meter run. This is a distance I haven’t always cared too much for because it is such that you have to run slightly slower than your 1500 pace, but do it twice in a row. Unfortunately it is my “specialty” distance so I have no choice but to suck it up and get good at it.

I have been having some pretty good workouts with some pretty solid splits but I kept telling our coach, Dennis, that I couldn’t imagine running that pace for 3000 meters. (At the Minnesota Classic on January 26), I set a goal time of 9:15 but went in with the intention of being happy with anything under 9:20. I was more anxious about how it would feel than I was about the exact time.

Well, to my surprise it felt great. I can’t remember the last time I felt so strong in a race. In the back of my mind I knew I wanted to try to hit 4:50 for the first mile and I hit 4:51 so I was happy with that and surprised that I was still feeling strong. I got a little bit slower on the next 5 laps but finished up pretty decent for a final time of 9:10.6. I finished with a little left over so now I know for next time that I can probably start a kick a little early without worrying about tanking too soon.

Another bright part of the day was setting a new Fieldhouse record (at the University of Minnesota), which is something I’ve always wanted to do. Unfortunately I had to see my old school record get squashed by my buddy Jaime Cheever [who currently runs for University of Minnesota]. I guess it is a fair tradeoff but it is still sad to see my name get knocked down a notch in the old record books. But Jaime, you deserve it- you are one tough cookie.

Another highlight was the level of excitement the fans had for this race. We had some great competition between the U of M girls, the Iowa girls, and us post-collegiates and I am glad that we were able to perform well on such a small stage in front of a home crowd. The parents are so supportive of me even though I am not on the U of M team anymore and it was really special for me to be able to run a great race for them. So parents, if you are reading this, thank you for your continued support. You are a big reason of why I can comfortably call Minnesota my home despite not having any true family here.

Well that is all the updates I have for now. The next few weeks I will get back into some full-mileage training until it is off to San Diego on February 16 for the USA Cross Country Championships. Should be a great race and I am excited to be heading out there and racing with some of my new teammates. Best wishes and happy running to you all!

December 12, 2007 Entry (Posted December 13, 2007)

Just about every morning I wake up and ask myself three basic questions: Why do I run? Why do I run in Minnesota? And why in the world am I still in school? Some days the answers come easy and other days I go to bed with the same questions on my mind.

The first is probably the easiest to answer. I run because I can. I can’t play a musical instrument and I can’t draw or paint a beautiful picture but I can run and I can run well. It is something that gives me purpose, passion, and a sense of accomplishment and I can’t imagine my life without running.

Usually by the end of the day I have a good idea of why I run. Why I run in Minnesota is a whole different story. The concept of Minnesota winters strikes fear into many who know of its wrath and thanksgiving in all those who have never had to experience it. In all honesty, it isn’t as horrible as some make it sound. Most days are tolerable, some are pretty atrocious, and there’s usually one or two days I won’t even leave my house. But we all survive and are tougher people in the end. At least that is what we say when people ask why we train here in the winter. I think I say it just so I don’t feel dumb for not going somewhere warmer.

Training through a Minnesota winter may not make me tougher per se, but there is a joy you get after finishing a winter workout that you cannot experience anywhere else in any other season. Just this morning I was out the door before the sun was up and was greeted by an icy 5 degrees on my way out to the lakes to meet a few of my favorite girls for an easy run. It was cold, real cold, and we all had nice “snow beards” by the time the run was over. But now I am back in my house with a big cup of hot coffee, feet propped up on the space heater with nothing else to do all day. This is my little heaven and this is why I run in Minnesota--for the simple pleasure of the moments when the day’s torment is done.

Now I say I have nothing else to do all day but in reality I should probably do a little bit of studying. My first semester of graduate school is almost complete- just two online exams left to take. This brings me to my third question of why I am still in school. This is the question that rarely gets answered by the time I hit my bed. I think as student-athletes we learn how to “survive” school as a means of continuing to run. I learned how to do this very well. I do my work and get decent grades, but I am always disappointed by my lackadaisical approach to learning and often times I question whether this is the right time for me to still be in school. I don’t seem to have the same thirst for knowledge as my cohorts and I think this is constraining my academic experience.

Despite that I do have a true passion for my field – nutrition - and want to soon begin a career in which I can make a difference. With that in mind I have made an important decision. Beginning in January I will be taking a semester off from school and starting a 6-month, 40 hour per week internship in dietetics. After completing the internship I will be eligible to take the registration exam to become a registered dietician--that is a really big deal for me.

Unfortunately a full-time “job” (I put that in quotes because I will not be getting paid - actually I have to pay them!) will make training a bit more difficult. It is not the ideal situation for an Olympic year but it is something essential to my career and an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. For now I am just thinking about enjoying the Holidays and relaxing while I can.

Happy Holidays to all and Go Packers!

October 31, 2007 Entry (Posted November 6, 2007)

Happy Halloween everyone! Can I just say that I think one of the cutest things in the world is a little kid with cat whiskers painted on. Love it.

Anyhow, life is still good. The Packers are 6-1, my rookie cross country runner is qualified for this weekend’s Minnesota State Meet, and did I mention that the University of Minnesota women’s cross country team are BIG TEN CHAMPIONS! Of course they just had to wait until the year after I graduated, but I am still thrilled with the victory. Ohio State University is roughly 772 miles from my Minneapolis residence so I had profound reservations about making a 12-hour road trip (both ways) to see a race that would more or less be over in 20 minutes. I can now say without a doubt that I made the right decision. It was the greatest race I have ever seen them run. The Big Ten conference is such that a good team cannot win; it has to be a great team. There were a lot of good teams there, and some great individuals (3 runners under 20 minutes?!?), but in the end the Minnesota women executed their races perfectly and did exactly what they had to do to win. Congratulations girls- I am so proud of you.

After watching my girls run so hard and win the school’s first ever Big Ten CC title, I suddenly felt the need to prove that I too could still run tough. I would have to wait 20 hours to prove it but I had every intention of showing up at the workout Monday morning ready to roll. After five hours of sleep I arrived at Pike Island near Fort Snelling fueled up on Panda Express and stale brownies from the night before wondering if I had made the right choice. Luckily it was a beautiful day and my Tuesday was slammed with appointments so I pretty much had no choice- this workout needed to get done today. 10K at threshold via two consecutive 5K loops; a little bit different from the usual 1200 repeats but still a reasonable workout. A number of my training partners had already started their workouts so it looked like it would be just me out there. After the warm-up I decided to just get going since I hate stretching and doing striders. I tried to stay relaxed for the first 5K loop and tried to get into a nice rhythm. For the most part I was successful, cruising through the 5K in 17:24. As soon as I started the second loop my legs started to tighten up, my breathing became labored, and I just thought “Oh crap, here comes a 19-minute 5K.” Before starting the workout Dennis said I shouldn’t feel like I am racing and I should still have something left at the end. Well that was all out the window now and this workout was just about survival. About 100 meters from the end I saw a beautiful deer right at the edge of the trail. I found myself starting to hope that the deer would jump out and hit me so at least then I would have a legitimate excuse for why I ran so slow the second loop. No such luck. I finished up, stopped my watch, and looked down to see a final time of 34:40. That made for a second 5K of 17:16. I guess I wasn’t slower after all.

I was pretty pumped that I could come back from a long weekend of traveling and PR in the 10K. Yes that is correct; Monday’s workout was a 10K PR for me. Now I would be remiss not to mention that I had never run a 10K before, in competition or in practice, but that is beside the point. Later on I reported my workout stats to Dennis got to thinking that maybe I should start training for the 10K. My response? Well in the words of Al Borland, “I don’t think so Tim.” Now I am pretty sure he was joking, but I didn’t want to take any chances.

In this last week of October we have been having some BEAUTIFUL weather. I have found myself adding on extra to my runs just to stay outside and soak it all in. Other Minnesotans are taking advantage too. I have seen so many people out walking, running, biking and playing. It is very encouraging as a public health/ nutrition student to see so many people participating in a healthy, active lifestyle. I can only hope that the weather will stay this way for just a little while longer. Unfortunately I know after living in Minnesota for five years that it can be 60 degrees one day and snowing the next. One can still dream though…
 
Let me just end by saying best of luck to all the men’s marathoners, especially Jason and Chris, who will be competing this weekend for a spot in the 2008 Olympics. Go get ‘em guys.

October 10, 2007 Entry (Posted October 11, 2007)

Well, so far so good. That’s what I tell people when they ask me how training with Team USA Minnesota is going. To be honest, not too much has changed and life is actually a little bit easier now since all I really do is train and go to my two grad classes a week (the bulk of my credits are in online classes, which I think is great). However, my first few months as a post-collegiate have led me to do some things that I never thought anyone would let me do, I never thought I would let myself do, I swore I would never do again, and I thought I would never get to do again.

For starters, someone actually entrusted me with the duties of being a coach. A good friend of mine just took over as head cross country coach for boys and girls at a local high school and asked me to come on as his assistant. So far it has been a very fulfilling experience and I am very thankful for the opportunity to work with such great young men and women. Go Eagles!

Next, I actually let myself become a true distance runner. The majority of my runs now have been 8 miles or longer, I completed my first 13-mile long run, and I have logged two 70+ mile weeks. Oh, and on top of that I finished a 10-mile race. I don’t know how the girl who wouldn’t run a 5K on the track talked herself into doing a 10-mile race, but I did and it actually went pretty well (except for the whole ‘getting dropped by Katie McGregor before even getting to the first mile' thing : )).

Okay, I know on this next one somebody is going to go back to an interview I did last year and call me on being a liar, but I don’t care. Next weekend I will be making a return to cross country. Yes, I did say that I never wanted to run cross country again, but I have a little itch to do it and it is a race that means a lot to me. Jack’s Run is a race that is held in honor of our long time equipment manger at the University of Minnesota who passed away from cancer in February of 2006. He meant a lot to me and was one of my biggest supporters as I went from the freshman with crutches and a cast to one of the leaders of a team that placed ninth in the nation. It should be a great day as it is also our Alumni Reunion weekend.

Finally, this weekend I get the opportunity to watch my brother, Paul, race for the first time in six years. He is a year older than me but I never got to see him race in college since I always had races at the same time. He is a post-collegiate as well and just started running the steeplechase last season. My brother is probably the biggest reason I got into running in the first place and I am really excited about watching him race and trading training stories with him as we both shoot for the 2008 Olympic Trials. Getting there together would make the experience remarkably more rewarding.

Life is good and I am running better than I ever have before, although some days are better than others. Dennis has done a great job training me and I love my training partners Carrie, Katie, and Kristen (and pretty soon Michelle!). Now all I have to do is make sure I stay healthy. Grad school is going well but there is a big change on the horizon. I need some time to plan it out but I will give an update in my next entry!

Introductory Entry (Posted September 13, 2007)

When I was asked to write a journal entry I thought it was going to be pretty easy. Two weeks later I have finally sat down at my computer with the intent of composing a digest of my running escapades that I think you will want to actually read. I know what I want to say in my head but getting it down in words is more difficult because it is all just a random collection of thoughts. Here’s what decided to pop out today. Thanks for reading.
           
The Background:
I was born and raised in downtown West Allis which is right on the outskirts of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Not exactly the home of competitive distance runners but we’ve produced our share of quality athletes. If someone would have told me 10 years ago that I would grow up to be a professional runner, I would have looked at them with an expression similar to a confused dog- you know, ears perked up, one eye cocked and head tilted off to the side. I didn’t know that there were such things as professional runners. As far as I was concerned I was going to be a professional basketball player in the WNBA. I didn’t know much about colleges but I think I decided I was going to go to Georgetown because I bought one of those 3 for $10 t-shirts when I was in DC. I even begged my dad to buy me a pair of those huge Georgetown basketball shorts, which I still have to this day and am actually wearing at this very moment. The first real run I can remember doing strictly for training purposes was an out-and-back with my dad. We would go a mile out from our house then turn around and come back. Well, I made it the mile out and decided that was it. I didn’t try cross country until my sophomore year of high school after my track coach banned me from the sprinters group in track. Although I wasn’t awesome, I was the best on my team and that was a good feeling so I decided to stay with it and put my WNBA dreams on the back burner.

College:
The University of Minnesota was the only Division 1 College to recruit me and I suspect they only recruited me because my high school coach was coached by my college coach, Gary Wilson, at UW-Lacrosse. Having connections sure pays off. Through all my years of high school running I only went to three total state meets between CC and track. I never won a state title nor was I ever predicted to be in contention for one. Despite all that I still got offered some money to come to the U of M and I took it without hesitation. I never even looked at another school figuring that if someone was foolish enough to offer me money (no offense, Wilson), I should take it before they wise up! It turned out to be a great decision because I love living in Minnesota and it has provided me with a continuing streak of great opportunities.

The Navicular Bone:
My senior year of HS track and my first two seasons at the U of M were negated by two injuries that became injuries simply due to inopportune genetics. I am one of the 7-19% of the population who played host to an accessory navicular bone in each foot. In my case a mere turn of the ankle caused the accessory bone to break off and come to a rest on the tendon supporting the arch, which is not a good thing. I eventually had to have surgery on each foot and I didn’t officially start my track career until spring 2005. Once I got started my career took off fast and I enjoyed a lot of success both individually and as a team. Those three great seasons with a great team was well worth the wait and I am now thankful for my injuries because without them I may have graduated a year too soon and missed out on many of the wonderful experiences I had with my teammates.

The Steeplechase:
In all honesty I chose the steeplechase because nobody else on the team really did it and I figured it was my best shot at traveling! In retrospect it probably wasn’t the best idea considering my foot history. I ran over my first barrier during spring break and I remember my trainer on the other side of the track saying “Is Brownie seriously running the steeple?” Before she could voice her opinion on the matter I had already qualified for the regional meet in my first race so nobody could really keep me from doing it after that. The steeplechase ended up taking me to the NCAA championships each of my three track seasons and also gave me my one and only Big Ten title. I’m not going to lie, I would pick the 1500 over the steeple any day but you’ve got to respect the amount of effort the race demands from those who take it on.

            The steeplechase is also the only reason why I decided to give professional running a try. Now that it is an Olympic event, I felt that I owed it to myself to take a shot at the Olympic Trials. I didn’t have any particular training plans and was actually considering petitioning for a sixth year of eligibility but in late spring I met with Team USA MN coach Dennis Barker to discuss the possibility of training with him and Team USA MN. When I found out that the team was willing to take me on it was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. So far it has been a very positive experience. The athletes on the team are great runners and also great individuals, the coaching is well thought out and goal-oriented, and the support of the sponsors makes it easy to stay on task and take care of the little things. 

"Professional Runner":
Yesterday I had my first official workout as a professional runner; 4 X 1200 at threshold with 1 minute rest in between. The workout wasn’t as horrible as I thought it would be but it also didn’t go as well as it should have. I of course ran the first repeat too fast and got progressively slower on the subsequent three. I still got it done, but the quality was lacking. On my way home from the workout I was trying to figure out what I did wrong. I suddenly had an epiphany that came in the form of the Alabama song “I’m In a Hurry.” Lame, I know, but I realized this has been the theme song of the first five years of my adult life. Now I realize that it isn’t a bad thing to sometimes want to get done as fast as possible. After all, that is kind of the whole theory behind racing. However I had taken it a step too far and applied it to all aspects of life. I would eat too fast and then I run too soon because I didn’t like having to worry all day about when I was going to run. I looked for the easiest and quickest way to get my masters degree just so I can get it done and get a real job. I ran the first repeat too fast because I had been dreading the workout all week and I just wanted it to be over before it even started. I realized that I do all this because I just want to know what the end result will be. I am so anxious to see the end result that I forget to live the process. This is what my short stint as a professional runner has taught me. So the sub-par workout might not have benefited me greatly from a running standpoint but it did give me an introspective glimpse at the course my life is headed on and provided me with an opportunity to change my perspective. I intend to use this year to slow down my life and enjoy the process. I will save the moving fast for races.

I will end by expressing my sincere gratitude to Pat Goodwin, Coach Dennis Barker, and the Team USA MN sponsors and supporters, especially Lifetime Fitness, Twin Cities Marathon, and the New York Road Runners. Thanks to you guys the only time I have to spend out on the streets is when I’m running. Until next time…