Now for My Faves!

So I recently read a blog post by Maleah Cole about her favorite professional runners.  After reading it I decided it would be fun to do my own list of faves.  Yes, officially confirming that I am a nerd as well.  Her list of faves definitely listed some great professional runners and I also include them in my list of faves; Ryan Hall, Shalane Flanagan and Lisa Koll.  Shalane Flanagan and Lisa Koll are definitely my two favorite female distance runners.  As for Ryan Hall, super-stoked to see him at the Boston Marathon in April.  Now for my list though.

I will just give a short list of my favorite runners (since I definitely have more than 3):

Emil Zatopek was a Czech long-distance runner, who is best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.  Not just any three gold medals either, this triple was unbelievable.  He won gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 on the track, but his third gold came when he decided at the last minute to compete in the first marathon of his life.  He had never done a marathon before, but chose to try it out for the first time at the Olympic Games and won.  Not only did he win gold in each event, he broke the existing Olympic Record in all three events.  His strategy for the marathon was simple; stay along side the world record holder.  After a fast first 15k he asked the world record hold what he thought of the race so far.  The guy was dumbfounded and told Emil that the pace was "too slow" to try and mess him up, but Emil just accelerated and never looked back.  He held several world records in his prime:  5,000; 10,000; One hour run world record; 20k world record; 25k world record; and 30k world record.

Anthony Famiglietti is a not-so-well known distance runner for the USA, but is definitely one of my faves.  He runs with complete disregard to his body.  He runs all out and does great or he dies trying.  I have watched several of his races and one of the best was his preliminary steeplechase round in Beijing, where he destroyed the field for most of the race.  He took off and just left everyone behind, making sure that he made the final.  He has competed in both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games for the U.S. in the 3000 meter steeplechase.  He competes in pretty much any event throughout the year from 1500 to 10,000.  In college he ran for two years for Appalachian State University and then transferred to Tennessee for the rest of his college career.  Anthony has the following prs:  1500 - 3:35; Mile - 3:55; 3000 meter steeplechase - 8:17; 5000 - 13:11; 10,000 - 27:37.  Anthony happens to be the only professional distance runner that has ever taken a course record that I owned from me.  I had set a 5k record in Mt. Mourne, NC at around 17:00 and a few years later he stopped in Mt. Mourne on a trip and lowered the record to 14:40 or so.  He also happens to be the original designer of my tattoo.

Samuel Chelanga.  All you can really say about this guy is.....amazing!  Just watching him race you can see what it means to have talent.  He is still currently running in college, but I will be a fan of his for as long as he runs.  He is currently trying to get his US citizenship, which could mean some trouble for American Records in the future.  He basically runs away from everyone in the college ranks right now and is only able to find a challenge by racing against the professionals.  I can't imagine how good he will be when he doesn't have to worry about taking tests and homework.  He currently holds the NCAA record for the 10,000 meters in a time of 27:08, just 9 seconds from the American record.  In 2008 he was runner-up at the NCAA XC championship and in 2009 and 2010 he won.  Only the 11th man in NCAA history to win at least two XC titles.  I look forward to every race that I'm able to watch that Sam is entered in.  Especially when he gets to beat Galen Rupp (which he does so often).

Josphat Kiprono Menjo is my next fave and yes I did choose a Kenyan as a favorite of mine.  I had to do it.  He just recently became a favorite of mine though, but that could be because he just recently stormed onto the professional scene.  He actually didn't even start racing until 2002, when he was 23 and he is just now starting to set PRs.  2010 was a breakthrough year for Menjo.  What he did in 2010 was probably one of the most unbelievable seasons I have ever seen.  Every race that he set a PR in that year was a race that he won by pretty much running by himself the whole race.  He set a PR in the mile by destroying the field by 10 seconds or more.  He set a PR in the 5k by sprinting away from everyone in the last two laps.  He set a PR in the 10k and won the race by not only seconds, but by minutes (several to be exact).  The most amazing part of all of the PRs was not just that he did them by running alone, but he set his 5k PR on August 18, 2010; set his mile PR on August 22, 2010; and set his 10k PR on August 29, 2010.  He set all three PRs within 11 days of each other (a week and a half span).  Completely unbelievable.  Look forward to see if he gets any faster even though he's one of the older professionals out there.

Well there is my list for now.  It is always changing, but that should show off some of my nerdiness when it comes to the sport of running.  I just can't get enough of it.  Makes me want to go run right now! haha.

Some People

Some people just get on that one nerve everytime they are around.
Some people just don't like the same things that you do.
Some people just try their hardest to find the one mistake you made or the one thing to change next time.
Some people just can't ever understand why you do the things you do.
But......then......
There are those people that are put in your life because they fit in your life perfectly or they help to complete you life in some way or fashion.  These people might enjoy the same things you do or they might understand why you do the things you do or they may just make life easier for you just by being there. 

I'm sure if you just take a minute to think about it, you can come up with several people that are in your life that you know you would be worse off without having them there.  Whether it be parents, siblings, friends, significant others, teachers, coaches, mentors, employers, acquaintances, or maybe its just someone that you don't even know their name, but they did something that has had a profound effect on your life.  There are so many people that help to make you who you are and so many more that help you become who you want to be.  I'm not really sure what has lead me to contemplate all of this, but it is definitely something that we probably take for granted most of the time.  I mean it is unfathomable to think that some of the littlest things that have happened to you along the way as you were growing up or some of the people (who may have seemed insignificant at the time) that you have met along the way have all collided in some way to make you who you are.  There's the challenge for you.  A lot of people would obviously have their parents, friends, teachers, authors, world leaders, publicly reknowned figures, etc. on their lists of people that have helped to make them who they are today, but the challenge is to think of those people that have had an effect on your life that are even hard for you to remember who they are.  Those people, that to others would seem like distant memories, that have made in impact on you. 

I know I can think of a few for myself.  Some are even people that I've never met in person, but their actions or words have made an impact on my life.  Then their are others, that you may say are cliche, and maybe they are cliche, but thats ok.  The newest person that has had an effect on my life has been my girlfriend, Maleah.  I know some people may say, well that's one of those cliche people that you were talking about.  True, she could be considered a cliche person that has had an effect on my life, but she could also be one of those people that are not so cliche and that have had a profound impact on my life.  Not only is she someone that believes in me, someone that seems to make my life seem easier, someone that understands why I do some of the things I do, but she has completed my life.  She has come into my life and completely helped me to begin becoming the man that I want to be.  She has inspired me to do things that I may have never done without her around.  When things might not be going right in other aspects of my life it doesn't matter as long as she is around to be with or talk to.  These are the kind of people I'm talking about.  People that you don't expect to be a part of your life, but that somehow, some way, you come in contact with.  People that only God himself could have known would have an impact on your life.  I personally thank God for all of those people that have been in my life.  Hopefully everyone else out there is able to find these people in their lives....and hold on to them or at least to the part of them that inspires or effects you.

Boston Marathon

Yes, I am actually doing a blog and my first blog does have something to do with running.  I am registered to run in the 2011 Boston Marathon in April.  According to my girlfriend thats about 14 weeks away.  I competed in my first marathon 1 year ago today.  Needless to say, when you take on something as grueling as a 26.2 mile race, some nervous thoughts are going to creep into your mind.  I definitely don't consider myself an expert on the subject, since I've only done one marathon, but for some reason I have a feeling that most people would get nervous before a marathon.  At my first marathon, which was in Mobile, Alabama, I began to get nervous a few weeks out, probably around 2 weeks out.  I got even more nervous after arriving in Alabama and yet even more nervous when we discovered that the weather was going to be freezing for the race.  When I finally stepped foot on the starting line I was ready to just turn around and go back to my hotel room.  I was ready to just say, "Forget this, I'll try again some other time."  Instead, the gun went off and I was in for the experience of a lifetime.  I had never run over 20 miles before that I know of and at the start of the race I was sure that I would probably never do it again if I survived it this time.  Like I said earlier though, "experience of a lifetime."  Sometime during the almost 3 hours that I was running I decided that it wasn't that bad.  Sure my legs were hurting some, sure I was really tired, but all I could think of was that I was doing something that I didn't think I would ever do and I was going to finish it.  Finishing a marathon will give you a sense of accomplishment that is undescribable.  Not only did I get a sense of accomplishment just from finishing, but I also got the satisfaction of actually qualifying for the Boston Marathon in my first marathon.  I had officially made the qualifying requirement for the most prestigious marathon in the United States.  Another awesome quick fact:  the person that convinced me to actually do a marathon, my girlfriend, also qualified for the Boston Marathon that day. 

Enough reminiscing, lets get back to the present.  New marathon approaching fast.  My first chance to run in one of the biggest marathons in the US.  The nervous thoughts are back.  I think in the second attempt at a marathon the nervousness comes from something else though.  Not the nerves of doing something that you've never done before, because now you have.  You know that its going to hurt and that its a long race.  You know that you're going to be extremely tired and your legs are going to be dead for two days.  This time the nervousness comes from wanting to do better than the last time.  I have wanted to do better in my next marathon since finishing the first one.  Now with only 14 weeks left, the thoughts of that possibly not happening start to creep in.  Nervous thoughts of what it will be like to be in a race with 24,999 other people.  The biggest race I have ever been in has probably been about 1,000 people.  The Boston Marathon will be 25x that.  It's definitely going to be interesting, that's for sure.  Here goes nothing is all I can say.  Hopefully some warm weather will come in and it will make training for Boston easier, but if not, then we just do the best we can with what we're dealt.  It is always good to be a little nervous going in to a race though, so if you find that you're getting nervous about an upcoming race, don't let it keep you from doing it altogether because it could end up being the experience of a lifetime for you.  Good luck with whatever race you have coming up in the future.