McMillanElite :: Jordan Horn

He is a looker! Finally a good-looking kid with the last name of Horn! Good job and congratulations Jesse and Tiffany.

Running has been going great even though I have been sick. I've kept up the miles and have had the most consistent base training in my life. It is easy to run that much and that fast when you have the guys that I train with. Everyone has their days and it shows, but it's good when you're in the hurt having the boys pull you through a run or a workout. Things are looking good for the runners in Flagstaff; everyone from the McMillanElite group to the local runners that we run with on Thursdays and the runners at NAU.

I just want to say thanks to everyone that has helped me and the rest of the team through our individual journeys as runners, as members of McMillanElite, to becoming the best that the United States can offer. Thanks Jesse, Zordon and the rest of the U.S. military for giving me the opportunity to chase after my dreams of becoming an Olympian!

It doesn’t stop there; Brett then took us to his home, which is in a beautiful location near a beach which was quite nice. Brett’s parents put on a buffet which included very large Watsonville strawberries, which some were covered in chocolate, it was a good time! I want to thank Brett’s family for having all of use over there, so thank you very much Terry, Loree and Lia!

This past week and the few weeks before have been hard ones for me. Thought I am getting the work done for the most part everything has felt flat. If you do not know what that means it’s like there are twenty pound weights on my legs and no bounce in my step. In the past when I have felt flat everything has gone wrong but this time the work is getting done but it is not coming as easy as I would like. I know I am fit, I just need to get free of my mind and just run hard. Like my old sprint coach use to tell me, “track is like a roller coaster; there are ups and down and you just have to enjoy the ride!”

The training was pretty normal with a couple of easy runs except for the workout on Friday. It was the hardest workout I have ever done and it was at 7000ft. We started with a 2 mile tempo and then jumped into 6 x 800 meters at 5k goal pace. It was a very hard workout and I was all over the place with my pacing. The one good thing that I got from the workout was to try push though those hard patches, which I did my best. The Sunday run was great not because of where we ran, but the fact that we got to run with fun people. We even picked up some guy that was camping out on the side of the trail and wanted to run with us. That is what Flagstaff is all about! I want to wish everyone running the U.S.A. women’s Olympic Trail in the Marathon this weekend good luck. Have fun in Boston!

Wednesday we did some pace running on the NAU indoor track that went really well. The pace that I was running felt really comfortable and I felt like if I had to double it I could have. Friday we were right back at it but this time we went down to Camp Verde for some mile or two mile repeats, depending on our event. This workout also went really well for all that made it down from Flag. We had to leave a couple of teammates back home because the townhouse has a little flu bug. It felt really good to get the legs rolling with some faster workouts after a long period of just running and long steady-states.

There are a few things that I am learning up here in Flagstaff that are related to running. When it's cold and raining, wear many layers of clothing and not just for your upper body. If you have any more questions just ask John Little, our local lawyer and Trials qualifier, and he will tell you about the California boy who learned this lesson the hard way. The second thing that I learned and keep learning is that I need to pay more attention while running. I have fallen ten times more than anyone else in Flagstaff, and sometimes twice on runs. I just get caught up looking at random things, sometimes cool but mostly stupid. The last thing is related to the second because it usually ends the same way, me falling. Just because Middleton can run over weak ice doesn't mean that I can. I think it has to do with the fact that I outweigh him by around 70 pounds but I am not sure.

We had another guest stay at the Cooper House this week - Scott Douglas, who is a writer for Running Times. If you're interested in what goes on in my mind and all the crazy things that I and the rest of the boys do in the Cooper House, you are going to have to wait because he was here interviewing someone else. He was just using the house for sleeping and answering many bad questions that I had for him. It was nice having Scott over because he is full of information that I would have never learned or heard about. Well, I think I have covered most of what's gone down so I wish everyone well and to keep doing what makes you happy.

"If you ignore your heart things will fall apart"-The Evens

Getting ready to have some fun

We eased up on the mileage a little this past week to get ready for the USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Ohio. On Monday, we had and easy 60 minute run in the morning. Tuesday was an up-tempo day where we put on the spikes and ran 5 times 2 minutes at a good clip with some surges during the interval. Overall it was a good workout, and the first fast workout that I have done since I have been in Flag. Wednesday was another easy run, after which we headed down the mountain to Bri’s house to spend the night before an early flight on Thursday. Thursday started off just before 5 am. Our first flight was delayed about 30 minutes before we took off. This was an issue because it cut into our short layover in Denver. Once we landed, a mere 10 minutes were left for us to catch our next flight. Greg instructed me to get to the other gate as fast as I could so it would not leave us. Once people got off the plane I sprinted from one side of the airport to the other and made it just in time as the lady was closing the door. (Gate 15 to Gate 84 = .75mi) Thankfully, she was very nice and said we had two minutes to get everyone to check-in. It is a good thing that we all run because the normal person would not have made it, but we are McMillanElite and we all made it.

Once we made it to Ohio, we immediately ran into traffic to get the hotel and traveled about two miles in one hour before we got off the interstate and finally found our way around the traffic (thanks Middle). By the time we got to the hotel it was very late so we just ran 30 minutes on the ice-covered parking lots around the hotel and the local food joints. What a day! Friday we went over to the course which was really nice. It had a fresh layer of snow on it, but we all knew that it was going to be sloppy on race day because the forecast called for rain all night.

Race Day

Brett Gotcher and Mike Hanlon had great races for us, finishing 7th and 13th, respectively; while Middle and myself had off days. Brianna looked great and finished well picking people off the whole time. For me I could never get in a groove out on the course. I was all over the place and if I tried to run fast I would just slow down. It’s frustrating to be in a race and only give 75 to 80 percent but that is the beast we know as cross country. The only thing I can say about the after party is that you must check out letsrun. Sunday was another great day of travel for us we left the hotel at 4:45am. This time the plane left on time for Chicago but our fight out of Chicago was cancelled, therefore immediately adding a couple of hours to our trip home. Instead of going to Phoenix we had to stop in Denver first then wait awhile for our flight home. There was one good thing about the delays, we found out how well Martin did at Euro Cross. I think I speak for everyone here in saying great job Martin we all new you were going to do well, so congratulations! Thanks for your time and I would like to thank everyone on McMillanElite for accepting me on the team and making me feel like I belong, peace