Olympic Trials Qualifier!

I raced at Gary Bjorklund 1/2 marathon 2 weeks ago and was able to hit a big PR and qualify for the long time goal of qualifying for the Olympic Trials. I was a extremely cool experiences when I went to Duluth, Minnesota try and catch the standard. The morning of the race was raining and pretty chilly with what was going to be an good tail wind all the way in to Duluth. Which I knew were prefect conditions to have a shot at running 1.05 or under.

When the gun shot off I went out with the top guys knowing that if i was in the front i would be able to sore out pretty easy who was going to work together to hit 1.05 and under. after about 800 meters it was pretty clear that the lead pack was going much faster then I fancied which was like 4.30ish (I went through at about 4.48). shortly after that a group of about 14 Americans formed that were trying to run the standard. I was in front leading the group through about 9 or 10 miles and I believe we were about 49.24. That was about the time everyone pretty much started to pull away or fall off. I kept it pretty even and felt good but didn't want to make any big moves and keep from blowing up the last couple of miles. I kept holding on and went through the last mile marker and checked my watch for the first time to see where I was and how fast I needed to go to stay on pace. I knew I was close, but I didn't know how close I was until I hit the final turn. I looked up and it still said 1.04 low and I didn't know if I could make it in time to go under 1.05. I put everything I had into the last meters trying catch every second I could. I finished looking up at the clock that said 1.04.58, but there were a lot of questions I was asking my self after that. I didn't know which timing pad my foot crossed with the timing chip, when it crossed, which foot had the chip on it, or the big clock was right or if it was a couple of seconds off. All those things were going though my head and I was just hoping... just hoping that i was lucky enough to do it.

Luckily my former roommate Nate Jenkins and a old missouri friend Adam McDowell was there and is a super awesome guys to calm me down a little bit. when we finished cooling down I went strait the to computer to see my time and... 1.05.02 :( I was kind of bummed but at the same time i PR by over a min. and I know have a new coach! I wasn't on dead end street. I am really close and with the right direction I will completely rock out the next race for a qualifier. Nate and I where hanging out and I called some of my friends and family to let them know the good news of the race, but the small let down of being 2 seconds off. I was saying the results are not official yet and the could change, but I didn't think anything would change. All during the day I kept asking Nate, "do you think they will change the results?" I would again agree and also say, "yeah, i know it's very unlikely." I checked for like the 10th time and I said 1.05.00! I asked Nate if that put's me in or not? we checked USATF race entry and there is another guy that qualified with a 1.05.00 which means i'm in!!!! Nate and I jumped around, hugged, then we talked about how special it is to go, compete at the trials, his 7th place finish last time and how there is nothing like it to run in the race. First race I have ever hit a standard that I was training for and wanted so bad to get. It is one of those unforgettable moments I will always have.

Enjoy the dreams that come true, because time doesn't stop and you might not get another chance.

Thanks for all you the facebook messages, text, and phone calls.

Tommy

June

Well, the month of June has pretty much come and gone and summer is in full swing. The heat is here, and the rain is not, but nothing can be done about that. Its interesting talking to people who live up in the high country and hearing about how much snow is there right now, and how green everything is. Back in 2005 when I moved to Gunnison, over that summer high altitude running was not a problem at all and all of the trails were clear of snow. I hear that running the trails near Crested Butte or even near the Taylor Park area is a no go due to the high amounts of snow, and down here we just would like to have some rain to keep things somewhat normal. So far this season has reminded me of the 2002 year when temps were high and rain was scarce. We also had to deal with the massive Hayman fire among other things such as water restrictions. Well enough about things out of antibody's control, here is a quick recap of whats been going on.
I didn't really race much in May and used the time to train. June has come and gone and racing is in full swing. Many BRC runners have been having great results such as Tommy Neal and the Man Mario Macias, so I wanted to say congrats to the both of them. I have raced 3 times this month and they have all been top quality fields which I have been glad to be part of. I ran the Uni Hill 2k in early June getting beat by James Hatch who ran a great time of 5:49 on a rather hilly and difficult course. I ran 5:55 and another BRC teammate Peter Remien was third in 5:57 I believe. A week later I ran our local Sailin Shoes 5k which is by far the most deep road race in the springs. I have been dealing with a little Achilles tendon issue on my right leg that just doesn't want to give up, so training has been good but not great. The Wednesday before the race didn't help things as I rolled my right ankle during a run. The end result was a 3rd place finish running 15:29. Agustas Mayo tore up the course and broke the record of 14:48 by 1 second, so congrats to him as he is really getting in shape quickly! The most recent race was the Stadium Stampede which was also the USATF Colorado 5k road champs. A pretty good field was assembled with many very good local runners and BRC'S own Scott D, as well as recent CU grad Matt Tebo. It was a bit of a late start (8:30) which did not bode well for anybody as the temps were already in the mid 80's not counting the additional humidity running along the Plate River. Matt would go on the run 15:12 for the win, and I was second in 15:24 (5 seconds were added on to the times for some reason), but there is a twist to the story. Being that this was a Colorado state champ race meant that all qualifications had to be met and the most important one being a USATF Colorado member. Thinking that I had finished second and being very happy about that , I was later informed that I was the winner due to I believe a processing mistake with Matt's membership. I want to make sure that first and for most Matt Tebo gets the credit for the win. He ran a great race and was gracious in what happened and I hope to see him again on the roads, so Matt Congrats. I has a great time with friends Andy Rinne and Chris Bittinger/Joseph Bittinger who went on to win the kids 1k race as well. I also wanted to say congrats to Robby Young, Amanda Ochi, Cassie Slade, Ali Williams and everybody else who has been running well. That's all for now!