McMillanElite :: Matt Clark
Entry #174 The first significant storm of the year hit us just a bit over a week ago, leaving Flag covered in just over 2 feet of snow and ice. This has made training in the past few days a bit challenging, and the treadmill has become a valuable resource. I've been spending a decent amount of my time, roughly 80 miles worth, of my training since Monday at the Flagstaff Athletic Club, safe from having to worry about slipping or getting injured outside in the elements. Technology has played a big role in being able to get through basically running in place for a few hours a day without becoming completely mentally fried, and I owe a lot to my ipod shuffle and the dozen or so flat screen tv's that hang all over the gym. It's safe to say I've watched more episodes of Sportscenter recently than just about anybody in America, so if you're looking for a day by day, hour by hour, breakdown of the Tiger Woods scandal, just let me know. Entry #161 I would like to spend the majority of this blog congratulating my teammates on how great things have been going this fall. Just a few weeks ago, Brett and Carlson helped the U.S. to its highest finish ever in the history of the World Half Marathon Championships, 4th place. This was a truly great and pretty historic achievement if you really think about it. Now, today I check my email and find out that the entire men's side of the Chiba Ekiden team USA is comprised of McMillanElite athletes, and that Lindsay will also compete for the women. Really big time stuff that I am proud to even be associated with. It really helps to add confidence in all that we do out here to get to train with these type of people every day. In my spare time, I have been reading a book given to me by Brett entitled "The Ice Man." Brett was a psychology major, and this book looks at the inner workings of the creation of Richard Kuklinski, the most prolific hit-man of all time. See for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xopaCQB4XM0 Entry #149 After spending the last month doing my running at home on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, I arrived back in Flagstaff this past Sunday feeling refreshed and ready to get back into some serious training up here at altitude. I think the time away just helped me to prepare and really get fired up for the upcoming year. It was very easy to get in a bunch of miles while away though, since I'm always excited to hit all my old routes and trails, especially in the summertime. I would say I split the majority of my time between the trails on the Otis Airforce base in Sandwich, and the Trail of Tears in Marstons Mills. Both are always in great shape, and one can easily cover between 10 and 20 miles there, whatever the day calls for really. I also went back to an old staple, hitting runs at Hyannisport and Wianno golf courses. Both are beautifully manicured courses located right on the ocean, and luckily the people in charge have no problem with me bombing right down the middle of the fairways as long as I don't bother the golfers. My first week home I was a groomsman in my friend Tommy's wedding, and they had their reception held at a place right on the harbor in Onset. Great location and a great time, as it was great to see a bunch of family and friends there. I spent the majority of the trip just going to the beach, hitting friends' pools, and catching up with people who I'm unable to see for the better part of each year. All in all, a great trip that left me feeling happy and focused.
Entry #135 I've been laying pretty low this past month or so since Outdoor Nationals in Eugene. It was great to get out to that meet for the first time and see what USA's is really all about. It was also cool to be part of a race that many considered one of the meet's best. After that I took a week off from running to just heal up a bit and get my energy back after the year of training and racing. I stayed here in Flag and was treated to the most pathetic fireworks display I had ever seen on the 4th of July. Actually, it was the first time I'd ever been away from home on the 4th, and they make a pretty big deal of it there. Not too much to report other than that right now. I'm just building my mileage back up, feasting on big steak ommies at IHOP, embarrassing myself at Chinese buffets, and this weekend I made the shot to Vegas where I got absolutely hot on the blackjack table and sizzled the Filipino dealer named Eugene for a while before going over to the roulette table and getting colder than the dog Lester Diamond himself. 1. What is your favorite movie? Fight Club
Entry #120 The warm weather seems to have finally arrived here in Flagstaff and it's really been great lately just getting to go out and run without worrying about freezing. We here have all been starting the process of trying to sharpen up in our workouts as the big races in the season are finally approaching. I can't believe it's the middle of May already, time has really flown by. After all the base work from the fall and winter it is very rewarding to finally be in track season, which the majority of us here have made the main focus of the year. There have already been some very strong performances out of our people, and hopefully there will be many more to come over the course of the next few months. It feels a bit weird resting up and not running big miles anymore as we prep and freshen for our races, but that time is here. In other news I'm trying to avoid a nervous breakdown as the Celtics continue their rough run through the NBA playoffs, as well as hoping they advance further than the Lakers so I can give Jordan crap about how much Kobe Bryant sucks. There once was an awesome band called Death From Above 1979. They only were able to put out 1 ep and 1 true full length album before pretty much imploding and breaking up. That's not much material, especially since their average song length is under 3 minutes. I have found though, that if you look up there live videos, you can often find them doing these really heavy distorted intros that were never recorded.
Entry #109 This is a very big week for both McMillanElite, and Greg as a coach as we send Brett to the World Cross Country Championships as a member of Team U.S.A. in Jordan. The race is being run on Saturday, and to my knowledge this is the first American we’ve had go to a World Championship event. It’s really been something to watch how Brett has come to this point in his pro career so quickly, and definitely has a lot of the guys here excited. Good luck man, and rest assured, I am on top of my dog-sitting game. In other news, spring is here, sort of. The trails and dirt roads are clear of snow again, which is great, but we’re still having a pretty interesting mix of both warm and cold weather. Last week for the first time in my life I actually witnessed a thunderstorm and snow at the same time. I didn’t realize that was even possible, but I guess that’s Flagstaff. The weather has been great down in Sedona which is very close though, and we’ve been able to utilize that place for some good training lately. Other than that, not too much to report up here. We’ve been training very hard in preparation for the next few months which are filled with important races. Hopefully all the work will pay off soon with some good results. After what I considered a pretty rough winter there is finally some pretty decent music coming out, so if you get a chance buy the new album from the Handsome Furs called “Face Control.”
Entry #94 I’d like to start the blog off this week with a congrats to Martin and Lemon who placed first and third, respectively, at the 3m Half-Marathon in Austin. It was a course record for Martin who almost dipped under the 61 minute barrier. Just more good performances out of the group which really has started 2009 off with a bang. It’s really great to see all the base work done in the fall starting to pay off. Personally, I’ve been off to a bit of a slower start this year. I unfortunately strained my Achilles running on some ice a few days before Christmas and had to take it easy for a few weeks after that. I was looking forward to running a few indoor races and trying to put all the fall’s work to good use, but it looks like I’ll be waiting a bit longer for that since I won’t be competing until outdoor. I’ve missed some key workouts and Greg thought it would be best to spend the next few weeks building a little strength back up, which is a good plan. We’re out here to do things right, not to try and rush through injuries and into races if not quite ready. Not much else to report in Flagstaff. The snow is melting a bit just in time for another storm this week, although it hopefully won’t even hold a candle to the dumping we got during December. We’ve had to get a bit creative finding good surfaces to run on since the trails are covered in snow, but luckily there are some really nice dirt roads that the city keeps plowed. They’ve been really helpful in terms of keeping the legs from feeling too beat up from the pavement. It’s been cool to be here in Arizona getting to watch all of the long time Cardinals fans finally get to see their team heading to the Super Bowl, which will hopefully be a good game. Next Sunday we’ll be celebrating Angus’ first birthday and also having a party out at Greg’s to watch the game, which should be a good time.
Entry #73 I'm living at the Cooper house now, with Lemoncello, Jordan, and Brett. Also, Wicket and Tazzy, the two dogs have been pretty welcoming to me. The guys over here have been great so far, and seeing them living the lifestyle of a professional runner each day has helped to teach me many things about what it takes to get good. I have a long way to go though as far as my ping pong skills go, but since I'm doing secret practice sessions I plan on ruling the household in that aspect pretty soon. This weekend I'm heading down to San Diego for a 4 mile cross country race to make my McMillan debut. Brett, Jordan, Ian, Giliat, Lindsay and Becky are also going, so it's a quality group to say the least. I'm excited to see where I'm at with all the work that's been put in over the last few months, and also want to experience running at sea level for the first time in a while.
Entry #53 With both the Olympic games getting underway, and moving 3000 miles across the country to live and train in Flagstaff I can definitely say that the last two weeks of my life have been a pretty exciting time. Luckily, everyone here in Flagstaff and back at home helped me to make a smooth transition to my new location, which I'm very thankful for. These first few weeks have been pretty standard, moving into the new Mountain house (which is such a nice place, thanks Trina), getting adjusted to the training schedule, and settling in with the new team and community here in Flag have eaten up just about all of my time. So far I've been really impressed with all of the places we've run, and am very excited about the amount of great areas to train. I sure won't be getting bored with the scenery anytime soon that's for sure. Being able to not only watch the Olympics over the last few weeks, but also see athletes that I know and have even lived with get to compete on the highest stage has been a huge inspiration to get rolling and really start training hard again. The nightly broadcasts from China have definitely added to the competitive fire and will continue to help me to chase my goals while I train up here in the mountains. |
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