Birthdate: August 7, 1981
Hometown: Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
University graduated from: University of Wisconsin-Madison '04
Current training residence: Lausanne, Switzerland
Secondary training residence: Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Coach: Dave Scott-Thomas, Trent Stellingwerff
Sponsor: New Balance
Personal Bests:
800m -2:02:20, 1500m - 4:05.69, mile - 4:28.62, 3000m - 9:09.53i
And so the season begins! It was great to be back in New York City last weekend for the New Balance Games. It’s always a fun place to start off the season for various reasons. First, it’s NYC and NB takes good care of us for the weekend! I always have lots of family and friends there for support. And, Ian Brooks puts together a very competitive field, which is always good for a reality check. He also does a wonderful job announcing the races and makes us feel like super-stars.
So, the race…it wasn’t exactly the result I was looking for. I was aiming for at least top-3 and a few seconds quicker. However, it was also my goal to get out there and race aggressively, with confidence to make moves that impact the race, which I did. I couldn’t quite close it out, but I’m confident that just comes with more races and a bit more lactate tolerance (I was in serious distress after the race – a nice welcome back to racing!. There is lots more training and racing ahead.
This year I want to be a more aggressive racer instead of depending on other athletes in the race to help me run my goal times. Last year was my first year running in some of the Golden Leagues and bigger Grand Prix races in Europe and I was a bit timid. I found it to be a different type of racing, much more aggressive and physical…I got pushed around a lot, which makes a difference in how I raced. But, I think those experience help prepare you for championships and I feel much more primed going into this year.
What’s next…I will get back into some good training before toeing the line in a 3000m in Stuttgart, Germany. I'm gunning for a new pb and I feel I'm in good shape to do it. It's about time I break 9-mins since my current pb doesn't really match up with my other events, so we'll see what I can do! My plan is to run a couple more indoor races in Europe and see if I can qualify for World Indoors. I’m not going to peak or sacrifice my training at this time of year to qualify, but if I get the time and Canada selects me, I will be ready to compete in Valencia (World Indoor site).
The year ahead…I have lived through several Olympic years and been excited for the competition, but it’s always been to watch. For the first time in my life I have the chance to compete in them so of course it’s a different type of excitement. At the same time, I am trying to approach it as normally as possible for the moment because in reality I just need to get on with training as hard as I can and as I normally would. When the summer arrives, I will think about it more. Either way, I’m really looking forward to a good year of training and racing!
photos by photorun.net