Month: April 2019

Whether they’re near or far, we’re the product of the people we interact with most when it comes to our training. Friends and training partners are essential in bringing out the best in ourselves. In my next marathon in Duluth, I will be working directly with a former teammate and current friend to try to run sub-2:19, hopefully his first time doing so and my second. Through the build up, we will both be outlining our training and recording our daily runs side by side to emphasize the importance of teamwork and sharing ideas, and to express how people under different training plans and in different life situations can hopefully converge to accomplishing the same goal. To record Rory’s unique view on the process, I also hope to feature a few of his opinions on the daily training grind over the course of the next three months. In the meantime, see our daily training in my Training Log, and follow us over the next 12 weeks!

WITHOUT FURTHER ADIEU, YOUNG RORY:

If you know Rory, then you know that he’s……well, he’s Rory. Quite a character in his own right, he’s been one of my closest friends since he started making fun of my youthful appearance my freshman year of college at THE University of Texas. Through ups and downs, and a move to Houston and London, the close bond has remained over running, The Omelettry, and casual banter through social media. Now, I’m so pumped to tackle this marathon with the guy that I asked him to join the blog as Young Rory, and write a little bit about himself. While his “story” came in the form of exactly 23 text messages, I’m pretty sure I understand what he wants to say…he’s excited to be back.

After qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Trials with a half marathon PR of 1:04:52, Rory ran at the 2016 Olympic Trials in Las Vegas on an excruciatingly hot day that left a majority of the runners with a “DNF” next to their name. Rory was one of the finishers, but struggled through as most did with his first marathon finish in 2:35:53. While it was inconceivable to me that this might possibly remain his personal record, after a year or more of watching Rory enjoy the non-running life, I was convinced of his contentment with hanging up the spikes for good. I guess he had finally had enough of the good life, however, because about a year and a half ago he began the slow grind to get back into shape. As hard as it is to train for a 2:19 marathon, its been cool to see Rory come back from a long, self-imposed retirement from the sport, and to watch his passion return.

From Rory Himself…

“100 days until grandmas marathon and my shot at returning to the Olympic marathon trials…

If you would have asked me after finishing the 2016 Olympic marathon trials if would I ever run another competitive marathon my answer would have been “Never again”! After that race I attempted to regain my motivation to train and race, but it didn’t come back and before you know it I had stopped running completely for about a year. After many beers and good meals, and a few pounds heavier, I started the comeback but was sidelined with injuries that held me back for a few more months. Before you know it…one year had then become two.

In January of 2018 I began a much slower and more controlled build to regain fitness and get my body back. This journey has been more manageable with the guidance of my coach John Schrup, and over this last year I have run some respectable races and I feel like I am in a good spot to achieve my usual lofty goals. My body now feels about as good as it ever has and I finally feel ready, 3 years after my last competitive marathon, to not let the distance get the better of me again.

I’m excited to let you have a closer look inside my training as we get closer to the big day!”

Do Good,

Young Rory & Young Austin

While I was picking up and moving to London, it was hard to imagine the little things that I would ultimately miss about my Texas life. While this list grows daily, there are the obvious pain-points that continue to pop-up. Tex-mex, overly eager waitstaff, Topo Chico, and regular and predictable sunshine remain high on this list. However, as many would expect, its the people and communities in and out of the running world that I now miss the most.

Little Thing Number Two: Teammates

While it’s easier than ever to keep in touch with old networks in the age of the internet, I’m still having to actively seek out this sort of community to maintain a running network. Fortunately it’s worth it, as I’ve realized that teamwork and an open platform to share thoughts and ideas on training is an integral part to the sport of running, and a big component of daily motivation. Whether teammates serve to get you out the door on a rainy day, to encourage you to perform that extra recovery work, or to support you in your moments of failure, the accountability and excitement of knowing that another person is on your side, and has your back, is absolutely a 1-2% gainer.

As I head into the highest mileage portion of my next training block, I am relying on community to the utmost. Whether its Tuesdays at the Run-Fast track session, within a number of running centered Whatsapp groups, or the musings of The Omelettry Track Club, my current teammates and a collective of Olympic Trials hopefuls and college friends from Austin, TX, I will be leaning on people for the next 80 days to get me to the line in Duluth, MN. We all are in some way or another. Teammates help to keep us motivated through the ultimate lows of the cycle.

Grandmas Marathon

In Duluth, I am racing my 6th marathon and helping Young Rory, a close friend and Omelettry Track Club co-founder, to run sub 2:19 for the first time. We’re going to do this together, so for 100 days leading up to the race we will be tracking our running, side by side, while 1000s of miles away. Working directly with Rory, even from afar, will allow me to maintain a sense of community and motivation that is sometimes lost in this sport, especially at the amateur level. I already feel that I’m accountable to someone, and while he may not be waiting on me to show up to run in the morning, he’s counting on me as well to be there on race day.

I’m excited too to be working with Rory and the guys once again!

Do what you can to find your own teammates, old or new. Distance running is hard enough, but feeling as if you’re doing it alone can be unbearable.

Do Good,

Young Austin