"I'm very fortunate to be in a position (as a runner) to approach everything I do with passion and have the freedom to race in a way that truly challenges me. I had put myself in a great position this year coming to Eugene having qualified to race in the 1500, steeplechase, 5k and 10k. I had the freedom to compete in any event I wanted to and had either the 1st or 2nd best time in 3 of those events coming into the meet. Having this freedom allows me to make racing decisions many others can't afford to make. I've been running at a professional level for 9 years now and I've been to many US championships over the years. In reflecting this year on past US championship races and the purpose of the US championships I came to a conclusion of what race I would do and how I would race it.
The initiation of my thinking came during the process of finishing my new DVD Run Reckless. It has been months of work finishing the DVD and it will finally be released for sale July 17th at www.recklessrunning.com. I made a decision to make Run Reckless as comprehensive as possible. I decided to add hours of bonus features to the movie detailing what I've done over the years to be able to race at an Olympic level. (i.e How to race a 1500/mile, 5k, 10k, steeple, drills, weight routine etc) I don't know too many athletes who want to give out their workouts and training secrets. I came to the decision I'd like to contribute to US running in anyway possible moving forward and I'd prefer to give whatever valuable knowledge I've gained to those looking to better themselves as athletes and achieve great performances. Even if that means motivating and inspiring my competition and giving them training tips. My entire philosophy now is about pushing myself to my highest level of potential as runner. Helping my competition in this way helps me become a better runner and racer. The emphasis is not on winning, but on performing to the highest level physically possible for me. That doesn't mean that I avoid winning or use this as an excuse to not challenge myself to a win. To the contrary, as a 2 x Olympian and 6x US champion I know the value of winning, but I also know the value of winning the right way pushing every ounce of effort and will out of the body during a race and running with integrity, heart, and pure reckless abandon.So as I was wrapping up Run Reckless I listened to a speaker in Flagstaff, AZ who talked about challenging oneself to do great things, but doing so in a way that is win-win. Pushing to excel and succeed in a way that raises others around you and elevates everyone to a greater level of achievement. The lecture basically reinforced the ideas and ideals I had put together in the film.
Coming into the US championships this year with complete freedom and this philosophy in mind I decided to attack the race this year with a win-win approach. I had been training all year at a very high level setting myself up with races and workouts that would lend to a front running style to put me in a position to push from the front of a race and run a great time. I knew the other side of the coin to this strategy would be if their was heavy wind slowing my pace and the field came with me I'd drag the race to a faster time and give the other athletes a chance to kick off my pace making it more competitive. I would become a pace maker for the race so to speak. Unfortunately I personally did not fully achieve what I was aiming for. However, those in the race did run closer to the A standard time on a windy day, one athlete set a junior 5k record and I'm sure there were some nice PRs across the board. It was win-win. I did my part in raising U.S. running a bit. It's a start and I hope others take the cue to do the same from time to time and challenge each other in this way. We'll all benefit as a whole and US running will raise to a new standard of excellence and performance. Hopefully gone are the days of guys chasing A standards and falling short by seconds. I think the future will hold many athletes running well below A standard times here in the US as competition and expectations are raised to a new standard.
The overall lesson I suppose is that It's important sometimes to let go of ego and self righteousness and start Running Reckless. Win-Win
-fam"
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