Minutes to Midnight

For those who read this, I must apologize in advance, as this is a selfish blog post. The grammar may be a bit fuzzy and the wording might not be perfect, but the emotions are.........

  

Well....... It certainly has been an interesting year since I last posted. As to why I have been avoiding this blog...... That is simple, I have been fighting with injury after injury since the Houston Half. This is the past 9 months in nutshell...

It all started about a week after Houston when I wiped out on some ice and landed on my right hip. For the next month, I dealt with a bunch of doctors trying to find the cause. I eventually got an MRI and they said bursitis was the MAIN issue. I got a cortisone shot, good to go, or not ........

The MRI also showed some labral tear issues in my right hip that were not yet causing me pain. So we decided to persevere through the spring track season. Although missed most of January and some of February due to the bursitis. I finally got back on track (ok, bad pun, I know) with only about 3 weeks to Payton Jordan. This went ENTIRELY to fast. I got in a couple of small workouts and one good hard effort then I was on a plane to Stanford. We went from looking for the Olympic A standard after Houston, to just hoping to sneak into the trials. Of course at Stanford it was just not my night, the second I started I felt off and ran as hard as I could to get a PR but just missed the trials A standard. (I ran 28:26, and the Trials A was 28:15)

About that time is when my right hip started acting up enough to be a problem. Coach Barker and I did our best to continue working out, and keeping things positive, but after Payton Jordan my body slowly betrayed me. We decided to make a last ditch effort out in Portland but that night my hip pretty much gave up on me. I ended up also being one of the first guys out of the trials again for the second year in a row. This time though, I at least went out and had some fun. Heck, I ended up driving out to the trials with my old housemate, Paul Giannobile, so I could try and make the race. I helped with some recruiting as well and even got a new teammate, John Peterson, out of it!

As soon as I got back it was to finally rid myself of these miserable hip problems. I got under the knife and had surgery to repair my right hip. We figured once we took care of that, I would finally start running without any pain for the first time in almost 3 years. I even managed to win an RRCA Roads Scholar Award in recognition of how well I ran throughout the winter and fall. Things were looking pretty good.

But things were not good. After surgery I have been having what were initially slight issues, that have gradually gotten worse.

I had my 11 week checkup or so just yesterday, and the depressing thing is .......in that meeting instead of celebrating the fact that I would be a mere week or two before running again. We looked over the results from my recent MRI, X-rays, and my own pain to determine that I need a

"left hip revision"

I had already scheduled surgery for Oct. 9 as a tentative date, because otherwise I would have had to wait another couple of months. ........But until yesterday it was not happening, I did not want to think about it, accept it, believe it.......... This is my third hip surgery in two years

This is a really tough pill to swallow...... This summer when I got the right hip done my twin brother Mathew, flew in for a week to help me out, but this time..... Ironically he leaves the morning of my surgery for running the TC 10 mile (along with the rest of my Team USA MN athletes who are all crushing it right now). This one is on me.

If anyone really does read all of this, you probably wonder why I would go back for a third surgery....... Because I love the sport, and it is who I am. At least through this surgery, I want to know that I did everything I could, to be the best that I could be with zero regrets.

I have started looking at going back to school and getting my masters, the University of Minnesota has a program that could really fit my needs if I can get in. It is only a year long program and I could do it while recovering. School is always there though, and I am not done being a runner yet....

There will be a light at the end of tunnel, and I won't take it for granted.

-Two final notes and thank you
To Team USA Minnesota who has agreed to stick with me through this year despite all the downs that have happened.....because you didn't have to, and you don't have to, but are anyway.

This deserves some space, please sign the petition below in support of Richmond University as their Indoor/Outdoor Track and Field teams were just cut for absolutely terrible reasoning by their board of directors......As an athlete that was lucky enough to run against, and be teammates with members of their team, this is a big loss to the T and F community

SAVE RICHMOND TRACK

The Houston Half

Things are finally settling down after an absolutely crazy start to 2012 for me. I spent most of the past two weeks over in Europe, but as soon as I got home I turned around and left for the Houston Aramco Half Marathon. On top of that, I was also a spectator to the Olympic Trials Marathon on Saturday!

Being able to go to the Trials was a fantastic experience as I got to catch up with a lot of old friends that I had not seen in a long time. I was constantly talking to old friends and meeting new ones. The Olympic Trials race itself was really incredible. Watching Hall, Abdi, Meb, and Ritz fight it out shows how far distance running has improved over the last few years. My teammate Andrew Carlson ran 2:11:24 for sixth place in his debut marathon.

But as much as I was a fan this weekend at the Trials, I still had a tough race ahead of me. I ran a 1:02:25 Debut and it was the hard way. I was on 62:00 flat pace or under until the final 5k when the previous week of travelling caught up with me. Those last 2 miles were horrible and my legs were toast.



(Dustin Whitlow Photo http://dwhitphoto.com/)

 Now I get a little bit of down time as we adjusted the race schedule for the next few months. US XC is no longer in the picture, and the US 15k Championships will be my one tune-up race before I start my track season and see if I can make a run at the trials. Things are definitely aiming towards a great spring!

One final note, I got a link to my race in Edinburgh - http://www.greatrun.org/tv/ Even on the video you can not see how rough and muddy the course is!

Hope everyone is training hard and staying warm, it seems the Lifetime Fitness treadmills will be seeing a lot of me this winter!

One of those races, and off to another one....

I decided to start my new year off in style, with a trip to Edinburgh on the US team for the Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country International Challenge! Although the race was not my best, I had a great trip. I roomed with ZAP Fitness runner Landon Peacock, who is also in his first year as a pro (and was on the Ivy League Ekiden with me in October).

I had a great time, and I do want to give a huge thank you though to the entire US squad I had the privilege of racing with, and hanging out with all week. The coaches, Jim Estes from USATF, Virginia Brophy Achman from Twin Cities in Motion, Mason Cathey, and Ed Eyestone from BYU also, as they did a fantastic job! Another thanks goes to Michael Scott who does a ton of work behind the scenes and the lens, as he took all of the pictures I have here (and from club cross in my last post!). He does an incredible job documenting our journey as athletes and helping out with the squads! Last but definitely not least, a HUGE thanks to Andy, Peter, and the rest of the organizers in Scotland for this great week and opportunity as it is all due to them that we were able to have this race!

For our race, the course was nothing short of a catastrophe ...... between every inch of the course being covered in thick mud, the log jump, the rough grass, and of course, to creek crossings, it was true cross country. I loved the course, it was horrible, yet so much fun. As for my race, I got out in last (I started on the back of our line) but moved up fairly quickly and by the time we got to the log jump I was right with the leaders.

First lap after the log jump

Not much changed until the third lap as I just mostly tried to stay on my feet over the mud and maintain position. I did not feel great, but I was certainly not running hard so at the start of the third lap I went to the front and started to push the pace ahead of a big group of the UK guys. I got moving and pushed the pace as much as I could over the mud.

Future steepler? DOUBT IT

Once we hit the final lap, I was still in the lead but just did not quite have that "pop" and I got mauled over the final 1k by the two Europeans who were right behind me and Bobby Mack who had a FANTASTIC close considering the conditions. I crossed the line in fourth place, with a 25:52 for 8k (blazing times, I know). I was very disappointed with my kick, as I just completely dropped the ball that last k, and losing 8 seconds is just something that is not acceptable at this level. Definitely a race that shows while I continue to make progress, I still have a lot more to learn.....
Then as soon as I got done the race I won the lottery and got selected for IAAF drug testing, and 2.5 hours later (missing not only cooling down with my fellow teammates and the invitational 3k) Although while in testing I did bump into Asbel Kiprop, who is a quiet and humble guy!

No time for rest though, as next week I get to debut in the Aramco Half Marathon at Houston! Of course this weekend I will also be cheering on a large contingent of Team USA MN athletes at the Olympic Trials Marathon! While down in Houston I will be doing the ever important task of looking for a much needed sponsor! Time to go for run, hopefully I will see everyone this weekend in Houston!

USA Club Cross Championships!

29:38-1st place overall! (Michael Scott Photo)

After a tough week of training, the race turned out far better than I could have planned. At USA Club XC Championships, I ran 29:38 for a 10 second victory and my first National Title!  Truthfully, this week was not going very well, especially coming of the USATF annual meeting in St. Louis that I attended. All week I felt a little beat up from the travel so I cut my mileage back to only doing single runs in the hope that I would have a fighting chance to make the team to Scotland....

Despite my nerves, once the gun went off, it was all business. I got off the line extremely well, and was never more than a few steps out of the lead from the gun. Around 5k I slid into the lead and went roughly 14:56/14:44 for my splits. Once I actually started to pull away, I kept waiting to get caught, but I only increased my lead with each lap. With 1k to go, I was able to just focus on making one muddy turn then breaking the tape! It was great to earn my first national championship over a very good field, and a lot of runners that I look up to. Here is a link to the race and also my  post race interview! (both thanks to runnerspace.com!)

Of course with the win, I am now headed to Scotland as part of the US National Team. It is a great honor to be able to earn that singlet, and the outpouring of support from my family, friends, and teammates has been an extraordinary and irreplaceable part of my career so far! My coach at Team USA Minnesota, Dennis Barker, has really been an incredible catalyst since I moved here in September to make this possible.

Now my next race is in Scotland on January 7th!

Catching up ......

Ok, this is a much needed update! My last race was the TD5k where I ran a huge road 5k pr of 14:18. It was a fun run with my teammate Jason Lehmkuhle (he ran 14:22) and my first win as a professional! Both the times were unofficial, as the race was not chip timed. It was a great event hosted by Lifetime Fitness whose treadmills I have been abusing now that the weather is getting colder! The weather for the race this year was perfect, especially considering the year before it was apparently around 0 degrees. We used the Turkey I won as an excuse for a small team dinner with lots of good food (thanks to Megan Hogan for cooking like a champ!)

Getting it done!

Training has gone really well under my new coach (Dennis Barker) and I get another test this weekend at the USATF Club XC Championships with my teammate, and training partner, Matt Llano. I am definitely excited for this weekend as we are both going for a spot on the team for Edinburgh. They are taking 3 athletes, and that is what we are going for!

One thing that I have not talked about but wanted to mention was my race in Japan after the 10 mile. I ran the anchor on our "Ivy League" team with a 10.2k leg. I ran the fourth fastest time on my leg running down two guys that had a minute advantage over me at the start! I moved us up from 10th to 8th and snuck us on to the podium for the first time ever! It was an incredible experience, and a bigger recap of the whole thing is here on Brett Larner's blog (who gave us a great running tour of Tokyo).

Stay healthy and run hard!

Medtronic TC 10 Mile

Sunday morning, I ran my first race as a professional right here in Minnesota, the Medtronic TC 10 Mile! The race was also host to the US 10 mile Championships for both the men and the women. When it was all said and done, after a long weekend, I placed 13th, running 48:00. It was a decent race for me, but overall the race organizers Twin Cities In Motion really made this a great weekend!

I spent all day Friday preparing for the race. I went into St. Paul and picked up my race number from the meet hotel. Then after that, I went to the expo for the race, where Matt Llano and Megan Hogan were talking and signing autographs at the Lifetime Fitness booth.

Later that afternoon, I participated in an elite athlete panel at the expo with Matt, Megan, and Antonio Vega. It took a little bit to get started but ended up being a lot of fun as we answered questions about our training and the sport from this weekends runners. After that was the VIP reception for the race, which was an interesting learning experience. Not only am I not used to things like this before races, but it is was amazing to learn about the race's title sponsor Medtronic; which is a medical technology/health and wellness provider. Their goal in sponsoring this race is to promote healthy living so you do NOT need their products, that is quite a statement to hear from a medical company!. It was also a good time to catch up with many old friends, and meet a lot of new ones. After the reception, I also managed to catch up with an old training partner in Christo Landry, who will be racing with me next week in Japan!

As for the race, I had to get up at 4:30am. Then I headed over to the racing area with  Matt Llano, Paul Giannobile (Who ended up running 56:43 and winning his age group!) and Steve Hallinan, who was staying with us for the race. An easy warm up and a few strides later, it was time to race......

(I am next to fellow WM grad Ed Moran on the left rocking the all blue uniform)



As far as the race went, the weather was PERFECT, and I actually felt pretty good. I got out very well in the top 10ish (it was a HUGE pack) and just kind of tucked in. The first half of the race is pretty much all downhill, while the second half is all uphill. I stayed in contact with the lead through about 5 miles (I went through in about 23:30ish despite what my chip said). After that it felt like I ran the whole second half of the race up a mountain alone. After about 6.5 miles my legs decided they had enough, and I just had no other gears but I managed to hold on as much as possible. I only got passed by one person (Craig Curley), and we basically played cat and mouse 45m apart, until mile 9, where he got away from me a little bit. Considering I have only been working out for a month now, I am trying not to be disappointed with my finish/time with all things considered but  ........

I still have a lot of work to do to get to the level I want to be at, and I just have to take it one day at a time. This was a step in the right direction but just a small one. I do not get a break though as next up is the Ivy League Ekiden in Izumo Japan the 6th-12th! I am really excited to get this opportunity and race with 3 of my old WM teammates!

Train hard and stay healthy everyone

-Jon

Howdy Howdy Howdy

New city, new life, and a new blog, but the same goals!

A lot has changed since May when I graduated with a B.A. in Kinesiology and Health Sciences from the College of William and Mary. After graduation, I picked up my third All-American with my 15th place finish at NCAA's. Next was a failed trip out to Eugene to race the US Trials. Finally, I went out to Minnesota to attend a run pro camp, and to find out if the whole professional runner thing was possible once I was done completely with school......

It turns out I really liked Minnesota, and I can now officially call myself a professional runner! This will be done as a brand new member of Team USA Minnesota! I have been in Minneapolis for two full weeks now, getting fit, and organizing my new life. There is still a lot left to do but I am looking forward to the challenge.

This blog will be an easy way to keep track of me as I follow this dream throughout the inevitable ups and downs of this adventure!

More updates will be coming soon.......this is a work in progress!