McMillanElite :: Training Blog - 2007 Postings

Entry #20 Week of December 31, 2007 by Brett Gotcher This week has had a little bit of everything in it for me.  I was home in California for the holidays until early this past week when I flew back to Flagstaff.  Then it was right back to training with some mixed up weather and lots of old faces coming into town.

It was great to be home and see all my old buddies, and running at sea level ain’t too bad either.  I had some great confidence booster workouts while I was down there and couldn’t wait to get back up to 7000 ft to keep on rolling.  I left sunny (but kind of cold) California on Tuesday just before the storm of the century hit town.  I was bummed to find out that 30 ft. waves were peeling onto the local beaches (it was actually victory at sea type conditions, 50mph winds, etc.).  I know Greg would have fully supported surfing in these conditions because it is a great cross training workout and can also be very taxing on your lungs.  Once I arrived back in Flagstaff though, I realized I had left one storm and jumped right into another.  Most of the snow that was on the ground before I left had melted away, but any fool could see that soon enough, it would be back.  It was pretty smooth sailing early on in the week, but the clouds started rolling in and before we knew it, Flagstaff was once again a winter wonderland.  But let me tell you, it’s going to take a lot more than a little snow to slow us down.  If anything, I got more excited to run.  When I woke up, I felt like a giddy little kid when I looked out the window to find our front yard under a few inches of fresh snow.  We just slipped into our tights and strapped on the hat and gloves and off we went, slogging through the ice/snow mixture that covered the roads.  We weren’t too concerned about running fast this week as we head into the U.S. Half Marathons champs next weekend, so the sloppy conditions didn’t hinder our training plans.  Right now, it’s all about feeling good. Besides all our usual training runs, we just did one marathon pace workout run and one fartlek for our harder days this week and next week will be even more low key.  I’m definitely starting to get excited for this next race, even though I have never raced anything over 10 miles.  I think our training has put us in a great position to run a solid half marathon, so hopefully we can all go out there and capitalize on the opportunity.

I was also fortunate enough to have some of the old Stanford crew around this week, including my lovely girlfriend, Lindsay.  Teresa McWalters also made the long journey out with Lindsay and spent a few days at our house, and Ryan and Sara Hall were staying at Alicia’s house for a bit.  It was great to catch up with all of them because it’s been a while since I’ve sat down and heard about what’s going on in their lives besides all of their running endeavors.

Now for the highlights of the week.  Although a lot went on this week, there were two things that I thought we especially enjoyable.  The first was on Friday night, which also happened to be Hanlon’s 23rd birthday.  Well over 30 people gathered together at Mike Smith’s townhouse for a big dinner.  Everyone brought a little something, and I think we ended up having about 37 different desserts.  It was an absolutely ridiculous feast. 

The next highlight happened right here in my own house.  One of the things that made the trip back to Flagstaff with me was a brand spankin new Wii.  After Jordan was done making jokes about how he likes to play with his Wii all the time, we got down to business with some bowling, baseball, and even track and field.  It actually was a lot of fun hanging with Lindsay, Teresa, and the boys and watching everyone get way too into the games (you may be able to tell by the face being made in this picture).  It was definitely some good bonding time.

As this week comes to a close, we get to look forward to our 2008 debut.  We have some very lofty goals this season, so hopefully we can get the year started with a good one in Houston.  Wish us luck!!

Entry #19 Week of December 24, 2007 by Andrew Middleton The Week in Review It’s the holidays, and everyone made their respective journeys home to visit with family and friends, eat good food, and relax. At the end of last week, I was the last one left in town, holding off until Christmas Eve before going back to Texas. Having the Cooper House to myself was a wonderful respite before the busy travel days ahead and the wild and crazy Christmas gift exchanges and dinners I would be enjoying. But it wouldn’t be long before I would be back on the road again.

As for my teammates, I don’t know much of what they have been up to, so the following is only speculation: I know Martin is in good company as Greg defied the U.S. Government and made contact in a secret rendezvous point somewhere along the coast of Portugal. Brianna likely didn’t have to travel far, as her family lives a short drive away in Phoenix. Brett is likely catching waves back home, camping on the beach and playing his guitar. Mike Hanlon was kicked out of his parents’ house and had to come home the day after Christmas. I honestly have no clue where Mike Smith is, but last I heard he was pumping out endless quarters in 87 seconds in preparation for pacing duties at Houston. Lemon is murdering his base phase work, getting ready to defend his Scottish homeland at the World Cross Country Championships. As for Jordan, our fantastic local Chili’s Server, he is holding down the Cooper House, catching up on missed video game time.

A little more about my week
Monday I spent the day traveling. Starting at 3am, Greg, Tracy and I made the drive down to Phoenix. Once there I had a few (five) hours to hang out and kick it with the local Phoenicians in Terminal C. Luckily, I brought the laptop and found a great documentary on the Kenya v Ethiopia Distance Running Rivalry on YouTube filmed by PBS. (click here to watch the documentary) Later that afternoon, I finally got to stretch my legs and run. If you have ever trained at altitude for an extended period and returned to sea level, you will understand that it is like seeing colors you have never seen before. The oxygen just tastes sweeter and it actually satisfies the burning thirst your lungs demand when your legs are churning and heart is pumping at 160bpm.

Tuesday was Christmas, my favorite day of the year to run. Having trained in Flagstaff for the past six months, I have become accustomed to solitude on the trails and absence of vehicular traffic coming from the roads while training in the national forest. However, growing up in the city back in Texas, the only day I have found that will provide me with the rare opportunity to not see a single soul or hear a car whizzing by is the 25th of December.

Wednesday I headed to my fiancées parents’ house in Bastrop to see the other side of the family. Bastrop is located in what is called the Lost Pines of Texas. A small outcropping of pine trees in the middle of what is typically an oak tree and grazing pasture region, the Lost Pines are an amazing oasis of red dirt and towering pine trees that remind me of my new home in Flagstaff. My runs on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday consisted of winding trails in Bastrop State Park and McKinney Roughs.

A Conclusion to the Week
As the year 2007 comes to an end, I feel the need to reflect and learn from all that I have experienced and gained. First and foremost, I am most thankful for my wonderful fiancée. Also, I feel the need to be grateful for my new friends and teammates at McMillanElite. Greg and Tracy have created an amazing situation up in Flagstaff. I know of no disadvantage that we have that will prevent us from competing at the highest level. 2008 will be an awesome year for American Distance Running, especially so for McMillanElite! One last thing; a running challenge to all for the coming year, don’t let your mind limit what your legs are ready to do.

Entry #18 Week of December 17, 2007 by Brianna Torres The Week in Review This week had a certain momentum to it as we all prepared for our trips home for the holidays while still hitting our training at full throttle. Monday, Amy and I hosted a send-off run and breakfast for Michelle Gallagher at our house. Michelle was in town visiting Flagstaff over the weekend. Lauren Fleshman and Alicia Shay joined us along with Lauren's husband and Alicia's college roommates. It was a beautiful morning and the snow sparkled when the sun hit it. Trina came over and made waffles while we ran. This is very typical of Trina, always taking care of us. I don't know if it's been announced yet but Trina is officially on the McMillan Elite staff as one of our coaches. Aside from being a highly decorated and accomplished runner in her own right, it's the person that Trina is that makes her such a great addition. Needless to say, the waffles were delicious.

Since my last blog, Amy and I have added two new roommates: Roger Cahill and Aaron Aguayo, making our house the Sun Devil House. I have a lot of respect for those two. They're really hard workers and are just up here living the dream like the rest of us. Whether their slap-boxing each other, teaching us the Soulja Boy dance or just making us laugh in the kitchen, they're always keeping us entertained. There's a lot of love in the Sun Devil House, especially come burrito night.

Wednesday night the team met at Greg & Tracy's for a stretch and strengthening workshop by Phil Wharton. I've been working with Phil pretty regularly since the summer. I was worried when I moved up to Flagstaff that there might not be anyone to put me back together if I fell apart. But Phil has helped keep me in one piece so it's been great. He trains with the runners a lot so he knows what's going on with all of us. Flagstaff is really lucky to have him.

Earlier that day, Brett, Jordan, Mike Hanlon, Middle, Greg and I all went down to Camp Verde for a workout. Our mission for the day was to run our 5k loop (you can see the course in our video section) plus one mile at goal pace in prep for our upcoming ½ marathon in Houston. Everyone had a really good workout and even ran a little under goal pace for the 4.1 mile course. Martin said he even had a good workout at home in Ireland.

When I came home my roommates Roger and Amy said they also had good workouts. So we all did a celebratory happy dance in the kitchen in honor of workouts that you can feel good about. We've all been up here for about 4 months or so and little by little, the training is finally clicking. When you first come up to altitude you have a headache, you can't breathe as easy on runs and naps are so easily taken. So it feels great when you adapt and runs begin to feel better. Progress is good.

Friday, Natalie Harlan from the High Altitude Training Center picked me up and I had lunch at the Tiger Table at Thomas Elementary School in Flagstaff. The kids earn their way to the Tiger Table by doing good deeds, being respectful and the like. They asked me about running and marveled at how long a marathon is. "Almost from Flagstaff to Williams, AZ" their principle told them. I asked them about their favorite ice cream flavor, snow angels and snow ball fights. We then had brownies and good times were had by all.

I'm happy to announce that starting next year in January, I won't be the only woman on the McMillan Elite team. Michelle Gallagher, the youngest woman to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials, will be joining us. And it's not a moment too soon. Around the guys, I was starting to feel like one of the little people from that old movie Darby O'Gill and the Little People. Welcome to the team Michelle!

I was unsure of how I'd like the cold, being from Phoenix. But I have to admit, I'm learning about the beauty of winter in the mountains. There is a Finnish saying that goes something like, "There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes." We have great equipment since adidas hooks us up with awesome gear. And Flagstaff is just a really beautiful place.

One of my second runs this week was on Shultz Pass Road as the sun set with snowy woods on each side. I felt like I was running through Robert Frost's poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening:

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

It's easy to get swept away by the beauty of this place, but I often remind myself why I moved to Flagstaff. There is so much work ahead of me for the Olympic Trials. But it's work that I am excited about. I have to be one of the luckiest people to get to wake up, be with friends and move toward my goals day by day. I may be a long shot on paper to make the Olympic team, but the thing I like to remind myself is, I've got a shot. And that's really all anyone can ask for.

Happy Holidays and Free Martin Fagan.

Coach's Blog Week of December 17, 2007 by Greg McMillan

A Week in the Life – Brianna Torres Brianna is completing her base phase. As I described in an earlier coach’s blog, our team uses the Lydiard base phase and Brianna has now completed 12 weeks of base training, exactly what we wanted. With this base established, she is now ready to transition to the hill phase (also described in an earlier blog) before we begin the marathon phase for the Olympic Trials in April. Bri is making great strides forward and every week we get a glimpse into her new fitness level. She’s running more consistently than ever and she’s built her mileage to the upper 70s, low 80s. This will make it easy to get to 90-100 miles per week (our goal for this training cycle) in the marathon phase just with the addition of a few more double runs and some longer workouts/long runs. We’ll also get a better idea of her base fitness with upcoming races like the Houston Half-Marathon. This will provide the starting point for our pace build up for the Trials. We need to make a couple of big jumps in pace before the Trials and we have good momentum for these jumps. Monday: am - 6 mile Easy Run   pm - 4 mile Easy Run Tuesday: am - 10 mile Easy Run Wednesday: am - 10 miles with 4.1 miles at Goal Half-Marathon Pace (at 'Sea Level'-3000ft.) Thursday: am - 9 mile Easy Run   pm - 5 mile Easy Run Friday: am - 7 miles with 12 x 1 minute 'On,' 1 minute 'Off'   pm - 5 miles Saturday: am - 7 mile Easy Run Sunday: am - 17 mile Easy Run Total Mileage: 80 miles

Entry #19 Week of December 17, 2007 by Mike Smith So this week has had it all, we’ve been up and down, highs and lows, there is lots happening here in Flagstaff. Last weekend was lonely with everyone gone, the homies were at Club cross, Martin was at Euro Cross, and it was just me and Lemon sitting here waiting for results. We passed the time mostly by whipping snowballs at each other and continuing what has become a prank war in our house, along with our other roommate Fasil. We spent much of last Sunday crafting this elaborate two-day prank for Martin after his return. We were going to stage a house break in, starting with someone trying to get in Martin’s bedroom window in the middle of the night, then again the next night along with a chase that ended up with Fasil dead in the snow, fake blood and all. Then we hear the news: Martin was denied re-entry back to the US with visa problems after Euro Cross.

We were heartbroken. Mostly because the fake house break in was going to be really sweet. But I guess a little bit because we knew Martin was probably going through a whole lot of hassle and we knew wherever he was he couldn’t be very happy. Sunday night no one knew what was going on. Why the Visa trouble? (frankly I always use Master Card) Did Martin mistake the cockpit door for the bathroom door? At Customs did he try to declare his legs to be both lethal and dangerous weapons? Did he refer to the agent as a muppet? What went wrong!? Then the rumors began to swirl: he was in Spain, he was in Philadelphia, Guantanamo Bay, he had a fake alias and was working with the KGB. We knew nothing. Finally, Greg talked to him. He was back on a plane for Dublin. Banjacks!

I went to bed that night hoping for the best. The guy is in sick shape and due to run Houston in a month. I was hoping I’d come downstairs in the morning and he’d be making his coffee and cracking jokes. It didn’t happen. Then my phone rang from a number that looked like this: 0254370927344648280625347599.

“Uhhh Hello?”

“Ay der boy!”

And there he was. It was great to talk to him. He is fine, back with his family getting the visa issue resolved. He and Greg are adjusting plans as need be and he is keeping his head up. He said he mostly has just been listening to U2 and eating Lucky Charms. All will be fine. It’s funny when you get close to the guys you run with because you root for them so much that when stuff goes wrong you just want to fix it, take it all away. In Martin’s case we are all sort of helpless. All we can do is tell him how much we love him and are behind him.

Lucky for the US Government I have canceled the street protests, sit ins, hunger strike’s and boycotts that my legal tem and I had begun to initiate nationwide. I stopped production of the “Free Martin Fagan” shirts and got my deposit back from the coyote in Tijuana who promised me Martin in 3-5 business days. I’ve settled down and decided the best thing is to go about this diplomatically, through the whole process, and eventually everything will be fine.

One thing Martin sure isn’t missing here is the 2 feet of snow that dumped on Flag early this week. It’s beautiful to look at the peaks and the trees so white. Seeing as most of the team has lived their whole lives in states that do not receive snow, I wondered how everyone would react. No problems though, training rolled right on. We are really lucky to have a 300 meter indoor track as well as access to lower, snowless, elevations very easily here. I ran in Sedona on Tuesday and Sunday, and the team went down to Camp Verde on Friday. With all the snow up here it’s crazy to drive 30 miles down the hill and run in shorts and a T-shirt in the winter. It truly is one of the best things about training in Flagstaff.

Speaking of the run in Sedona, we had a great crew out yesterday. Twenty something us all gathered around at the start of the run, including some of the fastest cats in the country. I was very excited to be getting back into some running and to run with the fellas, which I haven‘t been able to do much lately. Sedona was beautiful as always, all the reds and pinks, under a big blue sky. 17 of us hit the Coffeepot Restaurant post run for their advertised 101 omelets. No one, despite my urging, ordered omelet #98, which is the jelly omelet, what the heck? But the breakfast was a great way to end the morning.

We ended the week with a baby shower at Trina Painter’s place for Greg and Tracy as they are expecting McMillan elite’s newest member, Baby Mac in February. It was my first baby shower, and let me tell you those things are a good party. Food, gifts, games, the whole works. I am going to every single one I can get to from now on, invited or not. With the Holidays coming it’s nice to feel like such a family here.

And even though we have all this snow and we are off our favorite trails for a bit, somehow it seems OK. I get that big forest to myself so much of the year, it seems right that the seasons create this cycle even in how we run. A few weeks ago I was out walking with my sister and Nathan Shay, Ryan’s younger brother. We passed this yard and noticed the tiniest bundle of puppies I’d ever seen. They were stumbling all around on each other with their big eyes, you could fit them in your hand. And I looked at Nathan and I looked at the puppies we were laughing about and I thought to myself how there is birth and death all around, you know? Like I really have nothing to be afraid of, ever. I think that in the winter, cold and quiet, the snow coming all night, the trees dead. And how the summer in Flagstaff just blooms and blossoms, and soon we’ll run through these same snowy woods with no shirts on. The trick is believing in the cycle of all things, that when it’s dark, light is coming next.

So right now, all seems just as it should be. Happy winter from McMillan Elite.

Entry #16 Week of December 3, 2007 by Jordan Horn Hello and welcome once again to the McMillanElite Training Blog. My name is Jordan Horn, and this will be my first entry, so I will introduce myself a little bit. I am the most recent member to join McMillanElite. Just over a month ago I left sunny Southern California for the beautiful mountains trails of Flagstaff, Az. I left behind a loving family that I would like to give a quick shout out to: Love you Mom, Dad, Jamie, Big Z, Little Z, Bailey, Josiah, Noah, Jacob, Cherie, Jesse and Tiff. Thanks for the support! Now for the week that was.

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.

Coach's Blog Week of December 3, 2007 by Greg McMillan

Pure Fun If you haven’t attended or competed in a USATF Club Cross Country Championships, make a note to get to Spokane, WA next December. This event is just pure fun. Saturday was my second Club XC Champs and like last year, it was cross country at its best. Snow had fallen the prior few days and with 4-5 inches of snow covering the course, we jogged what we could make out as the route on Friday. The athletes then spiked up and did a few strides. Running on a snow-packed XC course would have been fun (see Canadian XC champs on Flocasts). The forecast, however, called for rain that night and the next day. If that happened, no more packed snow. Welcome sloppy, slippery mud. Sure enough, it rained that night and when we showed up to the course all had changed. No more snow, just mud. And with 3 races before Bri’s race and 4 races before the men’s race, the course was sure to be a glorious mess. Like many runners, my first love in running was high school cross country. There is nothing like competing on a cross country team. There is nothing like racing as hard as you can over uneven, twisting, turning terrain through trees and over ravines in the rain or snow or mud or sand or hills or even in perfect running conditions (though preferable not in perfect running conditions). It’s fun to race for place instead of pace. It’s fun when doing your best is the bottom line and doing your best isn’t just for yourself but also for your teammates. That’s XC and this annual championship is our chance to do just that. With divisions for all adult age groups, it’s truly a once in a year opportunity to have some fun. Our first Club XC as a new team was very successful. We put an athlete in the top 10 (Brett) and set ourselves up for an individual champion in the near future. Hanlon showed that if it comes down to toughness, he’s your man. Middle showed that he’ll always do his best even if his coach fries him in a workout before a big race. Jordan showed that no matter how fit you are, if you can’t find firm footing, you’ll have a tough day at the office on a course like this one. And Bri showed that even if she’s asked to race a 6K race in the middle of training for a 42K race, she’s on board. I’m so proud of each of them and can’t wait till we can field full teams next year.

Entry #15 Week of November 26, 2007 by Martin Fagan From the roads to the country this week As we are all preparing for our respective cross country races. I will be traveling to Spain to run European cross and the rest of the guys will be traveling to Ohio to run US club cross championships. So naturally, the last week has been a very exciting time for us, as we leave the pavement for the grass (I'm hoping it's dry grass and not mud).

It's hard to believe that I will be running a marathon in just over a month now. It's only just begun to sink in. Luckily, running European cross this week will help me take my mind of it for a bit. Originally I hadn't planned on running cross this year, especially as I was focused on training for the Houston Marathon, but when your country asks you to run, it's very hard to say no. There's no feeling like competing for your country, so it was an easy decision for me to race. Last year I traveled all the way to Italy from the US to run the same race, but fell ill the night before. So after last year’s disappointment, I'm now excited and hungry to run with the best in Europe and to wear the Irish vest again.

I'm even more excited about my chances after running the Manchester road race last week where I came second behind Andrew Letherby. It was a big step down in distance for me, the 4.75 race, and after going into it sick, I was fortunate to come out of the race healthy and with a good result. Racing Manchester also meant that I got to see some of my friends again on the East coast. I was very lucky to return to Providence and spend Thanksgiving with some of my best friends. We didn't have your usual traditional thanksgiving dinner of turkey.  Instead, we went to an Indian restaurant, which happened to be one of the only restaurants opened in the town.

So this week has been a bit of a down week for me. Most of the week was spent working, training and working on our 1000 piece puzzle. As sad as it sounds, we have been all working, sometimes for hours at a time on our puzzles. We have completed one already and are working on a second. I also heard that we will be moving up in the world of puzzle making and attempting a 10,000 piece puzzle. Oh, the exciting life of an athlete ha-ha.

We have been spoiled in Flagstaff this fall. The weather has been beautiful, which makes it ideal to train in. But this week, the weather finally broke and we had our first fall of snow. It never really snows in Ireland, so I love seeing it. It just doesn't make training any easier. We are fortunate up in Flagstaff to be able to drive 40 minutes to Sedona where the temperature is usually 10 degrees warmer. So I guess now that the winter is approaching, our team will be traveling more and more to Sedona, like we did today for our long run. It was the perfect ending to a great week of training for me and it was great to see so many people turn out for the run . I think that's what I enjoy and love the most about Flagstaff - the friendly group environment, where you’re made feel like you’re part of a big family.

I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate Andrew again on his engagement to Casey over Thanksgiving. It's very easy to see how they are both meant to be with each other. We are all so happy for them and happy that our family has just gotten bigger.

Coach's Blog Week of November 26, 2007 by Greg McMillan

Short-term Racing, Long-term Goals As we head into a big race week for our group, it’s hard not to get ahead of ourselves.  We want to win NOW.  Our athletes are uber-talented.  The training is going well and despite the fact that we only started this team a mere 5 months ago, we feel ready to take on the world.  It would be easy to forgo our long-term goals and focus on short-term races like this weekend’s US Club XC Championships, but we won’t.  We know our best races are coming in 2-4 years so we’ll keep to the path. We’ll keep building the runners day by day, week by week and month by month.  We’ll exhibit the patience that produces long distance running success. We want it badly this weekend and will certainly go for it.  But, no matter how we perform, we’ll be happy knowing that we did our best. We’ll take pride in the work we’ve done thus far and enjoy the knowledge that we are building toward super-success in the coming months and years.  In running, it’s very easy to get ahead of yourself.  We won’t and hope you don’t either this winter.

Entry #14 Week of November 19, 2007 by Andrew Lemoncello This week has been one of the best in a long time for me. Being from Scotland I have only just caught onto how big Thanksgiving is in this country and it is now one of my favourite holidays. A lot of things happened to me this week that just made for having such a great time.

The biggest thing for me was starting back running after taking 2 weeks off with sinusitis. I picked up a cold when we went to New York, which was frustrating as I was really pumped up after watching the trials and also seeing Paula getting back to winning ways. It made me realise how it is only a little while until I move up to the marathon and why I am so excited about it. It helps that someone like Ryan Hall makes it look so easy! I had a sore throat after being in the Big Apple and I figured it would pass in a couple of days but I continually felt worse as the week went on and one thing I have learned from making mistakes in the past is that my body does not function well if I continue to train while I am ill. I prefer being injured because at least then I can continue to train in the pool or on the bike but with illness I am stuck on a bed or on the sofa all day. It really sucks when I can’t wake up in the morning and get a dose of endorphins by popping out for a run. At the very worst I thought I would have to take just a week off but right when I thought I was starting to feel better again I suddenly felt worse and decided I needed to go and get checked out. The doctor told me I got re-infected after the normal 5-6 days that you have a cold for and gave me a course of antibiotics. I actually started to get a bit down about it because I would go and watch the sessions that the rest of the team were doing and that would get me pumped up and itching to run.

This all coincided with the arrival of my uncle and my dad, who had arrived from Scotland. They had both driven from Texas to see me and take me down to meet a bunch of family in Phoenix. Once I got down to the warm oxygenated climate of Phoenix I started to feel a lot better and managed to get some steady running done for an hour a day. I decided to take the week easy as I took off the same amount of time I would at the end of a season and there is no rush to get fit as I am aiming to peak in March.  That quickly went out the window as my girlfriend told me she was running a local turkey trot on thanksgiving day so I decided to go along and run as I figured it would be a bit of fun and I could make it into a little workout for myself. It would also allow me to gauge how much fitness I had actually lost through my unplanned break and it would get the pistons firing again. I planned on running around 30 minutes and that’s exactly what I did. It felt good to be running without coughing every couple of strides and just getting my legs moving at a decent pace again. I won a nice big turkey for my efforts but I couldn’t get anyone to take it off my hands. I tried to give it to my girlfriend’s family but that was a no. I then tried my own family but nope because they already had 2 of them in the oven so it is sitting quietly in the freezer now waiting to devoured by the team at some point.

The other fantastic thing about this thanksgiving was being around family. I am usually on my own for most of the year as my family is either in Scotland or in Texas but now that I am out here in Flagstaff I have my aunt and cousins in Phoenix and it was the first time I had met some of them. I had such a good time with them all and learning the history of our family and hearing stories about my relatives through the generations. The other great part was of course the food. There is a long line of great cooks running through our family so I was really happy to sit back and watch them all at work and preparing to add the inches to the waist lines but at least now I am able to get back to the hard work and the pounds drop off in a day I’m sure.

I am now back in Flagstaff more ready than ever to get back to the business of running as I saw how quickly I got fit before I was ill and I’m just looking forward to being around the team more again. I tried to distance myself from them the last couple of weeks so no one else would get ill from me and that made me realise how we have our own little family up here. I look forward to seeing the guys everyday and having that camaraderie that running brings to so many people. And on the note about family, we are proud to announce that we have a future addition to our Flagstaff family some time soon with announcement of Middle’s engagement to his long time girlfriend, Casey. Congratulations guys………Wham ohhhhhh!

Coach's Blog Week of November 19, 2007 by Greg McMillan

The Altitude Advantage Over the last 30 years, we learned that when a human being is born and raised at altitude, does lots of aerobic running throughout his or her youth, begins serious training in the late teens and early 20s, and has a high motivation (often to achieve a new socioeconomic status), he or she can achieve outstanding performances in distance running. This is what we think when we look at east Africans, isn’t it? Ryan Hall’s performance in the Olympic Marathon Trials on November 3rd was and will continue to be an inspiration to all of us in distance running. But, it shouldn’t be seen as something out of the ordinary given what I said in the first paragraph.  Ryan simply fits the mold of what has produced the greatest distance runners of our time.  He was born and raised at altitude. His father used the Lydiard system with lots of aerobic development when Ryan was in high school and now he is part of our most successful post-collegiate program (Team Running USA) with good coaching and support.  And maybe most importantly, he has high motivation to use running to honor his gifts in life.  What we saw on November 3rd and hopefully will continue to see in Beijing and beyond is simply the result of the same pattern we’ve seen over the years – namely that altitude plays a large part in the success of long distance runners. Most of us were not born at altitude but it is Coach Joe Vigil’s contention (and he knows a thing or two about running and altitude training) that by getting to altitude and laying the groundwork of lots of smart miles, the US distance runner can ‘catch up’.  We’ve seen it with Deena and we’ve seen it with others as well.  I believe this to be true and that’s why our team is based at 7,000 feet. That’s why we focus on aerobic development.  That’s why we keep the motivation high and know that with a few years of proper development, we will compete with the best in the world.   Scientists can argue all they want about whether ‘altitude works’ but any runner who has trained at altitude and then raced at sea level knows that altitude provides an advantage.  For those of us committed to helping US distance running, it is an exciting time.  We’ve never had so many of our best distance runners living and training at altitude. We’ve never had so many of our best distance runners putting in the miles.  And it appears that we are on pace to have more distance runners performing at the highest levels by the time 2012 rolls around.   The McMillanElite athletes hope to contribute to this resurgence in US distance running by using the altitude advantage here in Flagstaff.  Racing Recap Martin 2nd at Manchester Road Race Anyone who says Martin Fagan isn’t tough will get a firm poke in the eye from me!  Martin is in fabulous shape but became very, very ill as he headed to Connecticut for the Manchester Road Race. He spent three days in bed and his first run of the week was a sluggish 30-minute run the day before the race.  And, despite feeling like “shite”, he put his best effort forward and was just nipped at the line by former champ, Andrew Letherby.  At 100% health, I’m confident that Martin would have run away with the race but that’s running.  We’ll just have to wait till next year. Next up for Martin is the European Cross Country Championships in Spain on 8 December – a tough race usually won by a tough man.  Let’s hope it’s Martin. Brianna and Lemon Win Using Phoenix races as workouts, Brianna and Lemon put in good efforts in different races (Bri in a 10-miler and Lemon in a 10K) both with the same results – a win and food. Brianna’s take was a pie and Lemon’s was a turkey.  Sounds like another Thanksgiving dinner is in the works! Brett just off 5K PR in Seagate Elite 5K I think racing a fast 5K is probably the most difficult event for our athletes at this time of the year.  We are only doing base training and hill running so running 4:30 miles from the gun is quite tough.  Not for Brett, though, he toed the line with some of the very best at the Seagate Elite 5K in San Jose.  Despite no training for the 5K , he ran just shy of his track 5K PR.  This certainly sets us up well for the spring when we hit the track with some race-specific training.

Entry #13 Week of November 12, 2007 by Mike Hanlon Welcome back everybody to the McMillanElite weekly blog.  It was quite a week here in Flagstaff; so much happened I don’t even know where to begin.  In fact this week was so busy I won’t be able to waste any time talking about unimportant things like college football (particularly a certain game on Saturday), the status of Greg for this week’s ping-pong matches (questionable with a strained left shoulder) or how many pieces of flair Jordan will be wearing at Chili’s this week (the over/under is set at 35.)  Nope, straight to business this time….

As far as running goes last Sunday Brianna Torres and I represented McMillanElite down in Phoenix at the New Times 10k with a pair of third-place finishes.  So we got to take it easy at the start of this week while the rest of the guys hit the hill circuit on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, Brianna and I, as well as Jordan Horn, ran a leg speed workout, and on Friday morning the whole team did our weekly steady-state in Buffalo Park.  Everybody seems to be getting over a little sickness that was going around the team after the New York trip and training is getting back on track.  Martin and Brett will run Thanksgiving Day races this week in Manchester and San Jose respectively and we’re all pumped to see how they do.

This week we had several guests come to Flagstaff to hang out with us which is always fun.  Mark from the “Flocasts” came and stayed with us at the Cooper House for the week.  He filmed a few of our workouts and a few of NAU workouts and tried in vain to convince Abdi to pick a winner of the “Black Cactus” logo contest.  It was cool having him out here because we all love Flocasts and are excited to show off Flagstaff and our group to him and everyone that checks his site.  So check out Flotrack in December to see us in action and surf over there now to help Abdi pick a winner of his contest!  We also had our adidas representative Eron out to visit; the rest of the team had met him in New York but this was my first time meeting him and he turned out to be a great guy.  Obviously we’re so thankful for everything him and adidas do for us so we were more than happy to show him a good time while he was out here.

On a more somber note this week we also had a memorial service up in Buffalo Park for Ryan Shay, who as many of you know tragically passed away during the Olympic Trials race two weeks ago.  The ceremony was beautiful and Buffalo Park was the perfect place to hold it; I’ll always remember seeing Ryan charge around the trails up there at a pace I could only dream about.  I know for me it hardly seems real that he’s gone.  I think the first time it will really set in is the first long run I do with the big group when he’s not there (I’ve been out of town the last two weekends.)  You could always get a laugh out of the back-and-forth between him, Alicia and Abdi and seeing how hard he worked was inspiring to me and all the younger runners in Flagstaff.  Rest in peace Ryan, we all miss you.

Coach's Blog Week of November 12, 2007 by Greg McMillan

Open to Change As runners, we like a firm schedule. We like a guideline to follow.  We like formulae and equations and calculators.  As much as we say we don’t like things written in stone, we actually do. There is comfort in a set program.  Coaches are the same way.  We like routine. It makes things easy. Just follow this schedule and voila you’re a champion.  We like the rule, not the exception to the rule. But, every athlete and every coach MUST be open to change from the usual program.  We must be ready to take an alternate route to achieve the goal.  A good example is Mike Hanlon.  Mike has struggled with the weekly steady state run.  He didn’t do any training of this nature in college and this workout has become his nemesis.  It would be easy to just throw in the towel and give up or to keep trying the same thing and expecting different results.  Instead, we adapt. We are open to change. We find an alternate route. In Mike’s case, we simply broke the steady state run into intervals. Instead of one continuous run of 10 miles, we started by doing 5 x 2 miles with 1.5 minutes recovery jog and now progressed to 3 x 3 miles with 2 minutes recovery jog.  We are still getting the same amount of running at his aerobic threshold.  And instead of struggling with the workout, he is now excelling. This builds his confidence and puts us back on track for our goals.  It’s just another way to the same end result. All runners and coaches must be open to this.  I’m certainly trying to be. Speaking of goals, it’s probably a good time to talk about 2008.  The majority of our team is focused on the track for the next one to three years (will vary based on the athlete). We aim to improve each athlete’s track times.  Some will focus on the 1500m/5000m and others the 5000m/10000m.  The exceptions are Bri Torres who is preparing for the Olympic Marathon Trials in April, Martin Fagan who will debut in the marathon in 2008 but who may still run some track and Mike Smith who just competed in the Olympic Marathon Trails though like Martin, he may run some track this year.  Our long-term goals are the marathon in 2012 but we are a track-focused group for right now and are very excited about the potential for significant improvements in track times as we get to the spring.  Most collegians still have significant room for improvement in track times and our goal is to maximize this improvement. A Week in the Life –Mike Hanlon Monday: am - 6.5 mile Easy Run (day after 10k Race) Tuesday: am - 13 miles Easy Run Wednesday: am - 11 mile Easy Run with Leg Speed Workout on the track   pm - 4.5 mile Easy Run Thursday: am - 11 mile Easy Run Friday: am - 3 x 3 mile Steady State at Buffalo Park, 14 miles total Saturday: am - 9 mile Easy Run Sunday: am - 18 mile Easy Run Total Mileage: 87 miles

Entry #12 Week of November 5, 2007 by Brett Gotcher THE WEEK AFTER As I sit here in a local coffee shop, I try to think about what to write in this week’s training blog.  It was a pretty solid week overall, despite some people getting sick, and our workouts and races are showing that we are moving in the right direction.  My mind, however, keeps wandering back to the same thing.  It’s sort of hard to write about your training when there is a tragedy still so fresh in your thoughts.  After reading numerous statements and articles about the passing of our good friend Ryan Shay, I still can’t believe that he’s gone.

While we were in New York, there were so many things to do and so many distractions that I was able to avoid confronting this issue.  Now that I’m back in Flagstaff, the harsh reality has slowly begun to set in.  On Tuesday, I was talking to my girlfriend on my way home from work and I just broke down.  I had realized just how heavy this was.  I’d only known Ryan for a few months, but I could see that we were on our way to becoming good friends.  I’ve known Alicia for about 6 or 7 years now, and I knew how happy she was with him.  I think that’s what got me the most.  I thought about Ryan and Alicia a lot this week, especially when I was running, and that’s good because there is a lot to think about.  I have to think about how I am possibly going to console Alicia when I see her, what it’s going to be like on long runs without Ryan, and how this loss is going to affect our running community.  I think it’s going to bring us closer.  All of the sudden, our jobs, our training, and our egos and selfish motivations don’t seem so big.  Something much bigger has happened and it’s forced me to take a step back and reevaluate why I run.  Of course it’s great to win some medals and earn some money, but even if those things weren’t there, I would still be running.  I run because I love it and I get to be around some amazing people. 

Ryan, for one, has left me with some great memories from the past few months.  Whether he’s showing up for runs with some “magic dirt” on his legs (one of Phil’s cures) or he’s claiming that you can’t put a mustang in an open field and expect it not to run, Ryan always brought something great to our community.  His intensity combined with light-heartedness made him one special guy.  Ryan, thanks for everything bud, you won’t ever be forgotten.

I apologize for not including a whole lot about our training, but this is what I felt was most important this week.  I think everybody that reads this can understand where I’m coming from, so thanks for letting me get this off my chest.

Coach's Blog Week of November 5, 2007 by Greg McMillan

Respecting Your Immune System Our trip to NYC last week accomplished several of our goals – 1) to expose the athletes to an Olympic Marathon Trials in anticipation of their Trials in 2012, 2) to expose the athletes to a big city marathon like the NYC Marathon and 3) to meet with our main sponsor, adidas, so they could put faces to names. In addition to these positives, there were several negative stressors mainly that there was more stress – from travel, the altered sleep/rest cycle and Ryan’s death as well as more exposure to germs – on the airplane and throughout our visit to a city of millions.   Many of us were a bit under the weather from the trip, which brings up an important point for every distance runner. We know a fair amount about the immune system, how it works and what strengthens it and what weakens it.  As an athlete, you must respect your immune system and recognize when it is compromised. When life stressors increase, you must add additional rest, more immune support and be prepared to seek medical care when necessary. While you may be able to will yourself through workouts, you just can’t bull your way through a weakened immune system.  Illness can cut short great training progress so just like warding off injury, you must be alert to situations where your immune system is weakened. Our trip to NYC was one of these situations. You may experience this when life stress--whether from work or family obligations--seem to overwhelm you.  When high stress, exposure to germs, and other immune system suppressors present themselves, make sure to respect this and alter your training (more easy running, less hard running) and life (more sleep, better nutrition) to balance the stress. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and for a runner this is vitally important. We took it pretty easy the week following our trip and it was definitely the smart thing to do. This decision will benefit us greatly as we head into a winter of travel and racing where our immune systems could be compromised. We’ll work hard to respect this stress and keep our immune systems strong.  As winter weather approaches, we hope you can do the same. A Week in the Life – Brett Gotcher Brett completed his base phase in the third week of October.  He spent 11 weeks building his aerobic system with lots of easy miles and a gradually increasing long run (reaching 20 miles by the end of the base phase).  He worked on his leg speed once per week and increased his aerobic threshold pace by a whopping 15 seconds per mile through the weekly steady state workout.  He also showed great racing performance with his 6th place finish at the US 10-Mile Championships - a performance that was achieved without anaerobic or speed work but rather through a proper base training program.  The bottom line is that any talented post-collegiate runner that executes the base phase like Brett did can expect great results. One key is to run slowly on the daily runs so as to avoid injury and burn out. With the base established, we now turn to hill training, as we want to build leg strength, learn Brett’s best uphill running technique and also his best downhill running technique.  And, like Arthur Lydiard’s hill circuit, we want to continue our neuromuscular development through the use of strides after each uphill and downhill. Our hill circuit utilizes Lydiard’s principles and is a figure eight loop at Buffalo Park.  The total loop is 5K (whereas Arthur’s loop was 2 miles) and we shoot for 3 or 4 loops depending on how the athlete is feeling.  Our hill is ~600m long and is a moderate slope (~6%). The athletes run strongly up the hill using good technique.  They don’t stop at the top of the hill but run strongly over the crest of the hill to the entrance to Buffalo Park.  Once at the top, the athletes alternate easy jogging for 100-300m with a 100-200m stride.  On the upper loop, they complete 5 strides before heading back down the hill.  The strides are performed at a strong but controlled pace.  After the top loop of strides is complete, the athletes run fast but under control down the same hill.  We ask the athletes to play with their technique until each finds his best downhill technique.  The fast downhill running improves the athlete’s leg turnover and strengthens the quads.  Once back at the bottom, the athletes continue the loop with one more stride at the bottom before heading on the next loop up the hill.  Since the loop takes 17-19 minutes on average, the total workout provides a good volume of running.  Brett will continue the weekly hill circuit for a few more weeks and he’ll also continue the steady state run during this phase as well.  He will race twice in this phase and we are hopeful that he will continue to have positive race results to match his positive training results. Monday: am - 9 mile Easy Run Tuesday: am - Hill Circuit - 14 miles total   pm - 5 mile Easy Run Wednesday: am - 10 mile Easy Run Thursday: am - 13 mile Easy Run Friday: am - 10 mile Steady State Run - 14 miles total   pm - 5 mile Easy Run Saturday: am - 9.5 mile Easy Run Sunday: am - 20 mile Easy Run Total Mileage: 99.5 miles

Entry #11 Week of October 29, 2007 by Andrew Middleton Welcome back to the McMillanElite Training Blog. It has been a busy week for the team, mixing in miles on the roads and miles in the air. A lot has gone on that I am ready to share, so let’s get started… The New Addition Just when I thought the team couldn’t get any better, along comes Jordan Horn. Hailing from SoCal, Jordan had a breakthrough senior season at Cal State Fullerton. Jordan instantly meshed with the team the instant he set his foot in the door of the Cooper House. Where he gets all his energy, no one knows. But one thing is for sure, the guy is a ticking time bomb ready to break into song and dance any chance he gets. I speak for my teammates when I say welcome to the team, Jordan; it’s great to have you here.

Late to bed, Early to run
On Wednesday, most of the team made the drive down to Phoenix to begin our journey to New York City to watch the Men’s Olympic Trials Marathon and the NYC Marathon. The night before our 7a flight, I made the suggestion to get a quick run in before the flight. Thankfully, by the end of the night I was able to coerce my teammates into joining me for the run. So, at 3:45a, we hit the roads in southeast Phoenix. It was painfully early, but in the end it wasn’t so bad as we were able to nap and rest on the plane.

New York, New York
Dinner on Thursday was one of the more interesting experiences of my life. Combine a Moroccan Restaurant on the Lower East Side, Belly Dancers and an energetic Pirate and you’ve got a great time. The food was great, the mood was light and the entertainment kept us laughing during the whole meal. Honestly, that’s all I have to say about that. I will let the photo do the honor of describing the rest.

The High’s and Low’s of Distance Running
The week of the Men’s Olympic Trials Marathon is a huge weekend in distance running. Four years separate the chance to fulfill our dreams of Olympic Glory. That’s four years to prepare, four years to abstain, four years to hurt, four years to dream.

If you have ever run a marathon, or other long distance race, you know of the ebbs and flows of energy levels throughout. At times you feel above the race itself, merely floating along. While others, it seems putting one step in front of the next takes all the strength you have. In this way, life is full of moments of joy and periods of suffering. One thing we are promised in this life is that the times of pain will never be more than we can withstand. The comfort of family and friends is just one of the reasons we can overcome anything.

As you might have heard, one of our closest friends in the running community, Ryan Shay, passed away Saturday morning during the Olympic Trials. It hurts to write about this loss, knowing we will never have the chance to run with him again or be able to enjoy his presence again in this life. But in this time of grief, I find it important to bring up the impact of his life and the great attributes he brought out in all of us.

Ryan Shay, the ‘Workhorse,’ as we laughingly and affectionately called him, was one of the hardest working athletes I have ever been around. Without a doubt I looked up to him and respected his ability to train at the highest level. Upon arriving in Flagstaff, my first long run was spent chasing him and Abdi on the dirt roads at A1 Mountain at 7000 feet. After getting dropped before the halfway mark, I began to understand that these guys train at a level that would take me some time to reach; I knew I would have to dedicate myself to that purpose to one day race with them, and for that lesson, I am thankful.

To me, Ryan represented a guy who maybe didn’t have the talent as his competitors or the slight body physique of an elite distance runner, but what he lacked in those areas, he made up for in his desire and determination. No one could count out Ryan Shay when it came time to race. His toughness was unmatched.

Ryan, thank you for the long runs, for the pain you put me through on Sunday mornings and your ability to make us all strive to train harder and race faster and live with all we have.

McMillanElite wishes to send our prayers and thoughts to the Shay and Craig families, as well as all of the many friends and competitors who were honored to know Ryan.

Four Years From Now
As the week comes to a close, I find myself looking four years down the road. For the next four years I plan to prepare myself for a two hour and ten minute race. Many miles will be run, many hours of stretching, and fine-tuning will be done to prepare myself for this seemingly distant and brief moment in my life. I can’t wait.

Coach's Blog Week of October 22, 2007 by Greg McMillan

Denial and Grief I was ready for this Trials to be over before it began.  I was excited to watch the much-anticipated event that would be select our 2008 Olympic Men’s Marathon Team but was also eager to see Mike Smith get healthy and happy. Things were going as planned as Mike completed half of the race and then dropped out so as not to cause permanent damage.  He achieved the goal of the 2008 Trials, which was to qualify. Now, we can work on his 2012 goal of making the Team. The race, too, was all it was hyped to be. It was simply a masterful display of American marathoning – a return to our history of fast times, depth of runners and athletes who can actually be a factor in the Beijing Olympics.  Our entire team (save Mike Hanlon & Martin who had obligations in Flagstaff) was on hand.  We were having a blast. That is until a phone call suggested that our friend and training partner, Ryan Shay, had collapsed and was taken to the hospital.  When suggested that it may be serious, I brushed it off.  I assumed it was a hamstring problem or something treatable.  As I entered the finish tent, I saw a coach of one of our new Olympians. I congratulated him but he was stone-faced.  He asked if I heard about Ryan going to the hospital and I said yes. He said he heard Ryan died. I didn’t believe him.  The suggestion was so far out of my reality that I brushed it off as a crazy rumor on marathon day.  As I finally met up with my wife and Mike Smith, she gave me the unconfirmed news that he had in fact died.  I didn’t believe her.  I was in denial.  Soon, confirmation came.  We were all in shock not knowing what to do. No one is equipped to handle a situation like this, especially when we were supposed to be having such a great time - celebrating the accomplishment of so many athletes.  Since that moment and even as I type this on the plane heading back to Flagstaff, I, like everyone else on this team and everyone involved with US distance running, have bounced from denial to grief and back again.  I suspect this will continue for quite some time. Our collective loss, you, I and all of running, is beyond comprehension.  The loss to our running community is immediate and profound. But the greatest loss and my greatest sadness is for Alicia, Ryan’s new wife.  Her loss is unimaginable.  My eyes swell with tears and my heart aches thinking of what she is going through.  Our running community is small and we will work together to help her through this. I hope you will join us as well with your thoughts and prayers. A Week in the Life – Andrew “Middle” Middleton Middle has now joined our Track group and will begin the hill circuit phase that contains hill work on Tuesday and a Steady State run on Friday.  Long runs continue to be on Sunday.  This week, however, was adjusted due to our trip to New York.  We moved the Steady State to Wednesday (so we could do it on our normal course) and instead of hills, we did strides in Central Park.  Next week, it’s back to the normal routine except for a few athletes who will be racing in Phoenix. Monday: am - 9 mile Easy Run   pm - 5 mile Easy Run Tuesday: am - 11 mile Easy Run   pm - OFF Wednesday: am - 10 mile Steady State at Buffalo Park (54:50); 16 miles total   pm - 7 mile Easy Run Thursday: am - 4.5 mile Easy Run in Phoenix   pm - 7 mile Easy Run in Central Park Friday: am - 12 mile Easy Run with 10x20sec Strides   pm - OFF Saturday: am - 10 mile Easy Run   pm - OFF Sunday: am - 16.5 mile Long, Steady Run in Central Park Total Mileage: 98 miles

Entry #10 Week of October 22, 2007 by Brianna Torres So I've been in Flagstaff since June now and it's starting to feel like my second home. My injury is finally a non-issue. The first week I was up here, I strained my calf. It may or may not have involved a trampoline. The strain affected my Achilles and I battled it all summer, going between my friend and chiropractor Dr. John Ball in Phoenix and Phil Wharton here in Flagstaff. With the combo of their treatments (Active Release Technique, Graston Technique, stretching, strengthening, massage and lots of icing), we finally got it under control. Going from the mountains to the desert so often for treatment, made it harder to adjust to running at altitude. Once I got to spend a solid month in Flagstaff, I started to breathe easier. Easy runs finally felt easy.

The injury made any fall marathon attempt a bad idea. I planned on running Chicago, which in hindsight, is probably a good thing that I couldn't run since the conditions were so poor. It would have been highly unlikely that I would have run the Olympic Trials "A" qualifying mark that I was seeking. So this allowed us to take a step back and examine my issues. Now we're focused on building a better runner through regular core work, getting my iron levels up and making my stride more efficient. An injury is never fun, but I would have never tried to correct these problems if it hadn't happened.

I've been doing steady state workouts now for about a month. So that is the new challenge: working out at altitude. But I can feel my body adapt week by week as I try to do all the little things like sleeping enough, eating well and cross-training on my days off. It seems to be working.

This Friday's workout was at Trina's loop. Lemon, Brett and Mike Hanlon ran an 8k time trial. Martin and Middle ran 9 laps on the 1.1 mile course as their steady state, while I did 7 laps (up two miles from last week). The loop's namesake (Trina Painter) even jumped in for 4.4 of the 7.7 mile workout. These long workouts are a challenge for me so it was great to have Trina there helping. I am really glad she's here.

One of the highlights of this week was talking to Sechrist Elementary School. It was their Red Ribbon Week. So Trina (who, along with her husband David, both work at Sechrist Elementary) wanted our team and the other professional runners (including Amy Hastings and Alvina Begay) to talk to the kids about the importance of not doing drugs. We ran a lap around the field with these kids and it was so funny to watch them charge with reckless abandon. Laughing, losing shoes, just having fun. Each of the professional runners said a few words about why drugs are a bad idea, followed by a Q&A session. They filed back into their classrooms, high-fiving us along the way. It pretty much made my day. Photos of the event can be seen on our Service page on this website.

Later on our new McMillan Elite team member arrived: Jordon Horn. We welcomed Jordon and his parents with a dinner at the boys’ condo, which, by the way, was cleaner than I had ever seen it, thanks to Lemon. It was great to sit down with everyone for a meal. We've all come from different places to live and train in Flagstaff leaving loved ones. And now we're starting to feel like a family.

Like any family we all have our quirks. Here's a quick list:

Brett tries to ruin every photograph he's in by making some sort of face.

Lemoncello likes all things lemon: lemon-honey drink, lemon bread, you get the idea.

Martin is growing his hair so he can comb it over like the models in the new Prada ads.

Middleton suggested that we carve pumpkins and now I know why: he's a champion pumpkin carver. He carved a haunted house with a ghost and a full moon. Free-hand. No template.

Mike Hanlon: so many of his quirks can only be viewed and are virtually indescribable. But he has a really funny way of describing things while playing the game Catchphrase.

Mike Smith is always talking about songs that break hearts. His heart or someone else's heart, I am not really sure.

Jordon is too new to be quirky. Other than the fact that he's from Rancho Cucamonga, which sounds like a city animated by Matt Groening creator of the Simpsons.

As for me, I hiccup at least once a day, but only one at a time. I can't help it and I don't know when it's going to happen. The boys are starting to notice. I think they used to think that I was just making random noises.

Other highlights this week:

1 trip to Baskin Robbins for pumpkin pie ice cream.

1 shipment of adidas Original shoes for the team for wandering around town.

2 hot chocolates from Late for the Train coffee shop made by Martin.

2 trips to Sedona: one to see Into the Wild (go see it) and the other for a Sunday long run at Beaver Creek Campground in the Coconino National Forest.

1 pumpkin carving ceremony with Flagstaff runners, hot apple cider and pumpkin pie.

Alright so that's it. I'm ready for my post-long run nap. Next week the team goes to New York City to support our teammate and friend Mike Smith in his personal test of will during the (take a breath) 2008 US Olympic Team Trials in the Men's Marathon. He should know, no matter the outcome, we're all really proud of him.

Coach's Blog Week of October 22, 2007 by Greg McMillan

One Tough Job Since I don’t get paid to coach this team, I shouldn’t say “job” but I do put heart and soul into the athletes. This week has been particularly difficult for me. More times than not, I felt at a loss for words or at least the right words. I’ll be a parent this coming winter so maybe this is helping me get ready. I think every coach/parent struggles to know what is best to do or say when their athlete/child is suffering. Obviously, you want to end the suffering but sometimes there is simply nothing you can do. That is our situation heading into the Olympic Trials. Things are not good and there is no sign that they will improve. The athlete is suffering – physically and mentally - and there is nothing I can do. I try to help but feel I fail. I can’t change the situation but can only offer support and ways to deal with the disappointment. I’m just not sure I’m doing a good job with this. I won’t give up, however. I’ll keep trying but I just wish I were more optimistic that I’ll have good advice and helpful answers to the very difficult questions that this situation involves. Time was/is the solution but we didn’t have time. We had the Olympic Trials – a race that comes around only once every 4 years. We’ll just have to get to Sunday and then this tough time will be over. We will be able to move on to blue skies and better times. I trust we’ll learn from this but I do not enjoy the feeling of inadequacy at helping an athlete in pain. Tough job indeed. A Week in the Life – Brianna Torres Brianna is in her build-up phase for the Olympic Marathon Trials in April. With the injury in June, we are gradually yet steadily building her base mileage back up to the 90-100 miles per week she will run in the marathon phase. This will take another two to three months to achieve. As with all athletes in the base phase, Bri performs a leg speed workout once per week to work on body posture, proper foot plant and development of the neuromuscular system. She also performs a weekly steady state run to improve her aerobic threshold – slightly faster than marathon race pace. Monday: AM – OFF Tuesday: AM – 10.5 miles Wednesday: AM – 6 miles w/ leg speed training: 10 x 110m strides Thursday: AM – 10.5 miles Friday: AM – 13 miles w/ Steady State Run – 8 miles @ ~ marathon effort Saturday: AM – 5 miles Sunday: AM – 16 miles Total Mileage: 61 miles

Entry #9 Week of October 15, 2007 by Mike Smith Greetings! Mike Smith here. Let me get right to what’s most important here. If you watch any of the videos on this website, you may notice a trend: me acting stupid. As you can see, I like to keep things light. Distance running can present plenty of unavoidable hours of grim business. There’s discomfort, there’s repetition, and there can be lots of miles that aren’t very thrilling. Thus, I do my best to keep things humorous, keep smiles on the faces of my teammates and coach, and the truth is, keep myself quite amused as well.

So I act like a clown every once in a while, but it’s not ALL the time as the editors of these videos want you to believe. I swear. These videos have been a campaign to make me look crazy. Everything was all fun and games until Tracy and Andrew started popping up with video cameras. Next thing I know, mcmillanelite.com has a new video up what seems like once a week! And somehow I am behaving like a fool in EACH one. So I am here to announce no more funny videos. No more. The next video is about math. And the one after that is about rare bird species of Argentina.  Then maybe something somber like how the Titanic sunk. Got it? No more laughing at my expense. I have to keep my street cred.

The truth is its been tricky times for this author as of late. In two weeks I will race the US Olympic Team Trials in New York City. I remember thinking about things like Olympic Trials while running at Georgetown but somehow always came up shy of running there. It was exciting to qualify in the marathon, and have been waiting for this race for what seems like ages now.  I spent my summer in the depths of heavy volume, big mileage separated by time spent laying in my bed, or an ice bath, or with my face in my pancakes at whichever breakfast place we crawled into after the long run. July and August appeared perfect, fitness was there, it almost seemed easy or something.  All systems go.

WHAMMO! In September I busted my groin in the middle of the 20K Champs. Then I got sick, like apocalypse-now fever, the-birds-are-circling-overhead sick. Now I’ve screwed up my Achilles. It’s been a nasty string of events, and I hate feeing that I have really lost out on some preparation. For a guy who doesn’t often get hurt or sick these last 6 weeks have seemed like 12 rounds with Ivan Drago.  It’s the mind as much as the body -  hopes rise, fall, rise, fall, rise again... I wanted to be standing here with it all being gravy, and going into these Trials it just hasn’t been that way.

I guess this is my test though? In July and August I thought that was my test, running 140 miles a week. I don’t care who you are, running that much, you hit the pillow each night thinking you are working hard. And I was, but I am understanding now that my immediate test, as the Trials are right here, will ask much more from me. I wrote that the summer seemed perfect, and now what I’ll have to do is simply this: find out what I can do when things aren’t perfect. It’s easy to be brave when it’s all right, but can I be that brave when it’s not right?

When I used to teach in DC I would press my students for just that. I would lean in and ask them, “What would you do when no one was looking?” I wanted them to search the meaning behind their thoughts and actions. It’s on the path to knowing oneself. What do you pursue for no praise or reward? Who are you when you are alone with yourself?

Is that not the most valuable part in running, in doing anything difficult alone? On the morning of November 3rd I will have a duty inside that silent, acute aloneness out there. My duty, if I have nothing to look forward to more than it, is to give the same of myself, as if I had no excuses, even under these imperfect conditions I arrive within. I will have 100 reasons to quit and I cannot heed a single one. I should know some important things in the end. I look forward to that.

Mike Smith out for his afternoon run at Buffalo Park in Flagstaff

So lately, I don’t feel very much like funny video Mike. In Life Aquatic when asked how he’s doing, Steve Zissou says “I’m right on the edge, don’t know what comes next”. And that’s how I feel, right on the edge, sensing something is coming. One thing is for sure is I won’t forget these times.

But when it feels too heavy I look around me and have to smile. It’s turning fall here in Flagstaff, that means crisp mornings and golden aspen trees. The team I am on is incredible.  I watched them workout on Friday, just tearing through it looking great. And yesterday Middle, post Chicago, rolled out at a race in Tucson placing 3rd among a group of Kenyans. Ping Pong continues. The team is over the hump of just getting here, now they’ve settled in, adjusted to altitude, found favorite runs and favorite coffee shops,  routines. We are at home. We have a new member joining us as well: Jordan Horn arrives next week and we’re super psyched to have him. He wasn’t scared off by walking into a room with us all wearing kilts for Lemon’s birthday, so he’s in. See you gotta laugh. The way these guys all look out for each other, or open up to each other make it impossible to let me get too caught up in my mind. You gotta smile watching Martin playing with a dog, or when Brianna and her girlfriends are giggling like a 5 year olds, or Hanlon is acting like, um, himself, or when I’m driving along and Lemon is singing with the dance music to himself. How can you not?  What’s better in getting to know people than when those little moments come that make you realize you’re so grateful for them?

And me? Lately I’ve been wearing this Krusty the Clown watch. When you hit a button it talks. (I didn’t know this until it scared the crap out of me in my sleep the other night.) Krusty says in this sort of sketchy tone, “Hey kids it’s story time” then laughs creepily. And each time- I swear it never gets old- I laugh, can’t help it. Maybe I will wear it in the Trials and instead of hitting the split button each mile I’ll make Krusty talk, just so I don‘t forget you know? Remind myself that you have to smile through this no matter what.

Coach's Blog Week of October 15, 2007 by Greg McMillan

A Time of Transition I can’t believe October is nearly over. I can’t believe that a year ago, Mike Smith was the only athlete here.  I can’t believe how much this team has come together.  There is talk of ‘chemistry’ in teams.  Coaches try to figure out how to achieve it but the more you are around running, the more you realize that team chemistry is rare.  Somehow, someway, it has happened here.  This team has great chemistry and seems to truly enjoy being around one another.  I can only think of what next year will be like. Our Training Training has turned into a three-ring circus around here.  Middle finished his marathon prep but (thankfully) not the marathon.  Now, he’s moving to the Track Trials group.  Most of the Track Trials group moves from the base phase to a hill phase. (Except for Lemon who will stay in the base phase a bit longer as his track season will occur later than the others.)  Bri continues her base build-up toward the women’s Marathon Trials in April and Martin moves from the base phase to a short hill phase in anticipation of his winter racing goals.  Jordan Horn arrives this weekend and will start his base phase. And lastly, we are on the final stages of piecing together Mike Smith’s training for the Trials.  Hats off to him for hanging in there. I know he is hurting more physically and mentally than he lets on. He never wants to bring anyone else down or burden anyone with his problems.  He wears a smile despite the disappointment. All Trials participants have heavy expectation whether you have a shot at the Team or not.  Friends, family, the local paper and random strangers all show up to the Trials waiting and watching and hoping.  Athletes always feel a heavy burden and put more pressure on themselves than their friends and families know.  They don’t want to disappoint and feel that anything less than the perfect race, a top placing or a PR will suffice. This, of course, isn’t true but that’s how the athletes feel.  So, we, as their friends, family and fans, must be aware of this as 3 November draws near.  There are only 3 spots available for the Olympic Team. Most athletes will have a disappointing race.  That’s how these things go. I’ve been to several marathon Trials and most athletes are unhappy after the race.  They feel a heavy responsibility to themselves and to others. It’s our job to keep their perspective straight. We must celebrate their accomplishment. Competing in an Olympic Trials is such a rare and privileged accomplishment. It is something to be celebrated no matter the results on 3 November.  One of our mantras is that trying to be the best you can is a noble endeavor no matter the outcome.  Over 100 athletes will toe the line in New York and my hat is tipped to all of them for trying to be the best they can be. We should all follow their lead.  A Week in the Life Friends tell me that they want to know more about our training. I’ve tried to provide some insight in previous blogs but thought a ‘Week in the Life’ section may help in understanding what we are doing. Since we’re just finishing the base phase with our Track Trials group. I thought I would provide an actual week of training to see how we do it. This week comes straight from Brett Gotcher’s log.  This week is representative of 90% of the weeks in his base program, which, per Arthur Lydiard, has lasted 12 weeks.  CAUTION: Don’t try this at home. Brett had a gradual progression to this level of running.  We didn’t just jump in and start running this much. We gradually built to it.  He ran 85-90 miles per week in college so this amount of running is just the next step in his advancement.  We also run easy on the easy days and nearly all of our running is on a soft surface in good shoes.  Monday:   AM – 9 miles   PM – 4 miles Tuesday: AM – 13 miles   PM – 5 miles Wednesday:   AM – 9 miles w/ leg speed training: 10 x 50m to 200m strides (I vary the stride throughout the workout.)   PM – 5 miles Thursday:   AM – 12 miles   PM – OFF Friday: AM – 14 miles w/ Steady State Run – 10 miles @ ~ marathon effort   PM – 5 miles Saturday:    AM – 9.5 miles   PM – OFF Sunday:     AM – 2 hours, 18.5 miles   PM – OFF Total Mileage: 104 miles

Entry #8 Week of October 8, 2007 by Martin Fagan So for those who don’t already know me, I would like to share a little background into my decision to come live in flagstaff and work with Greg McMillan. I have spent five memorable years in Providence, but I felt that it was time to move on and try to move up to the next level in regards to my running career. I do miss all my friends, but I’m sure they understood my decision to move on in life. My experience thus far has been wonderful. I knew that Flag was the place for me the first day I arrived. After nearly two months here, I’m loving it more and more. Being from Ireland, it is sometimes easy to get a little home sick, but my training partners and coach have made me feel like family and I’m very grateful for that. I feel like I have all the ingredients up here to become successful at running - great teamates, a great coach and a beautiful training environment.

So as I write my first training blog, I sit and listen to the new Radiohead album. For those of you that haven’t already heard it, I suggest you listen to it. It will change you life. “In Rainbows” is, quite simply, a beautiful album. I have to admit, the release of this album has been one of the highlights of the past week for me here in Flag. But one of many! Lemon’s 25th birthday being one of the others. As you can see below, to surprise Andrew, we all dressed up in Kilts. [Which is a Scottish tradition, not an Irish one, as some (Abdi Abdirahman for one!) would have you believe.]

(l-r: Jordan Horn, Martin Fagan, Pete Gilmore, Brett Gotcher, Mike Hanlon, Andrew Lemoncello, Mike Smith, Andrew Middleton)

We did end up having a great night and a well deserved one for all of the team, especially Lemon. You will notice in the picture, Jordan Horn, who was just in town for a visit and is thinking of joining the group. Just like Brett, he had a breakthrough race at the USA 10 Mile Championships and hopefully if he decides to come, he will be a great addition to the team. Also in the picture is Peter Gilmore, who sadly just left after a short stint of altitude training. It was a pleasure having Pete stay with us and I want to wish him the best of luck at the Trials.

Another highlight of the week for me was starting my new job at Late for the Train coffee shop, which I must add, has the best coffee in Flag (not being biased). Some people might think I’m crazy for being excited about working, but training full time sometimes gets a little monotonous. Although I do love training, sometimes instead of sitting around waiting for your next run, I think it’s important to take your mind off running. I only work part time, so it doesn’t affect my training and being around the smell of coffee all day is like heaven.

Coach's Blog Week of October 8, 2007 by Greg McMillan

Thoughts on Martin Fagan There are a few immutable laws and one is that it is always good to have an Irishman around. It is no surprise then that we were excited to have Martin move to Flagstaff and work out with our team. He was successful as an Irish junior runner. He was successful as a collegian at Providence College and now he has his sights set on being a successful professional runner. Anytime you have a talented athlete that has worked with a great coach like Ray Tracey at Providence, you are set up for success in the years following college. We are working to build on what Martin has done before as we move into new events. One attribute that is key to his success is that Martin simply loves to run. He seems to always be smiling and is always up for a run. He’s a fierce competitor, a natural front runner and an athlete that is very coachable – rare for many successful male distance runners. And that combination of traits, my friends, is why you should keep your eye on Martin. Me thinks good things are to come in 2008. Our Training & Racing Delayed fitness. It almost seems counter-intuitive but the key to being a champion distance runner is NOT getting as fit as fast as you can. It is timing your peak fitness to match up with when you need to run fast. Peaking on time is the key to success and this is what I learned from Arthur Lydiard – the master of peaking. Here’s an example of why this concept is important. There is a very, very good runner who comes to Flagstaff for training several times per year. In 2007, a year where the World Track & Field Championships were the numero uno goal for any professional runner, this athlete mistimed his peak. From February thru April (nearly 5 months before the World Championships and 2.5 months before our Trials to determine the World team), he had a string of stellar races – winning a national championship on the roads and running exceptionally fast on the track. He achieved peak fitness. By the time the US Champs rolled around in late June – his time to make the World Team, he was toast. He got too fit too fast. He needed to delay his fitness so as to be ready to compete when it mattered. Instead, he trained as hard as he could and got as fit as he could – at the wrong time of the year. He failed to make the world team and missed a great opportunity to hone his skills in international championships competition. With a group of super talented runners like I work with here in Flag, it would be very easy to get too fit too fast. And this is the greatest risk in our group. That’s why we are careful to control ourselves in training. We are careful to control the rate of fitness improvement so that we are always pointing toward peak fitness in our goal races. Running is not like football where you give it the ol’ 110% on every run. In running, you give 80% consistently over 4-5 years. This is the path to success – always has been, always will be. Control your training. Build the body and its energy systems in the correct order and at the correct rate. This will lead to peak performance when it matters. That’s our goal. Wish us luck.

Entry #7 Week of October 1, 2007 by Ben Rosario Hey everyone! Though I am technically writing this from my hometown in St. Louis, I did just spend the last three weeks in beautiful Flagstaff where I stayed at the Cooper House with the youngsters: Middle, Hanlon and Gotcher. I would love to ramble on about all three of those weeks, but this is supposed to be about the past week so here goes.

It was exciting times in Flag with lots of folks racing this weekend either at the 10 mile champs (Minneapolis), the BAA Half (Boston) or the Chicago Marathon. Luckily all those guys looked good all week and ready to roll.

From my end, I spent the first three days of the week trying to recover from the week before, a week in which I had kind of gotten carried away and ran 127 miles and bonked on the Sunday long run. Mike Smith and I subsequently bombed our workout on Tuesday in Camp Verde (low altitude training site)and felt terrible about it since Greg had driven us down there and Lemon had come to watch and videotape (which I hope was destroyed!). Anyway, in typical Greg fashion he calmed us down and at the end of the day I realized that one bad workout does not a segment make.

On to bigger and better things! Bret, Andrew and Hanlon looked great on Wednesday in their final tune-up workout before their races. Martin was already back East getting ready for the Half Marathon, but we had received the good word that he was doing well and feeling good. Of course, I'm sure he said it in a cool Irish accent that I can't really properly convey in the written word. Anyway, let's get back to me as I'm sure you are all waiting for. Mike and I semi-redeemed ourselves from our Tuesday debacle with a pretty solid progression run at Buffalo Park on Friday and Lemon looked strong on his steady state. That night I replenished with my second trip to the NAU dining hall. What a great place! Where was this when I was in college? I ate a salad, a burger and fries, some mongolian barbecue and a stromboli. Sadly, I had no room for desert.

On to the weekend. Saturday was a big day in Flag as it was the annual Fat Tire Festival. Everyone in town pretty much goes and dresses like crazy people and they ride funny tricked-out bikes. It's all very bizarre. So obviously Mike, Lemon and I made an appearance. Lemon had on his kilt with a pink shirt and pink tie and some type of raccoonish hat complete with ears. I had somewhat of a pimp-type outfit with red velvet women's pants, a creme-colored puffy shirt, red vest and a big dollar sign chain, all of which I collected from the best thrift store in town- Mike Smith's closet. Mike, of course, was Spiderman. Long story short a good time was had by all.

Polished off the week and my stay in Flag with the most gorgeous long run I've ever been on in my life. Ran Waterline Road out 12 miles past the newly-turned golden aspens at about 9,000 feet and eventually climbed to about 10,000 before coming back down. Peter Gilmore, Mike and I all went 24. We also got the great news about Bret and Martin's fantastic races (Brett was 6th in the US 10-mile champs and Martin was 3rd in the BAA Half-Marathon). We were bummed to hear that Hanlon didn't have the day he wanted and that Andrew had the worst weather in the history of the Chicago Marathon being smart to stop at 21 miles instead of destroying his young career with a hot/humid marathon. Those two will have many great days to come though and this group will no doubt be producing world-class results for many years. Thanks for reading and thanks for pulling for us.

Coach's Blog Week of October 1, 2007 by Greg McMillan

Our Training & Racing This is the first blog where I get to report on our racing so I'll focus on the races instead of the training. If you've been following along, you know that this past weekend was our first big race weekend with Brett Gotcher and Mike Hanlon heading to Twin Cities to compete in the US 10-mile Championships, Martin Fagan heading to Boston to run the BAA Half-Marathon and Andrew Middleton heading to the always cool, crisp air of Chicago for his first marathon. As most everyone knows by now, Chicago did not provide the cool, crisp air we are used to but instead endured oppressive heat and humidity on marathon morning. We knew it was going to be hot but just never expected it to be that hot. I am so proud of Middle for the work he did to get ready for the marathon. His training was nearly flawless and he was ready for a great day. The weather, however, had other plans. And despite the fact that until two months ago he had always lived and trained and raced in hot/humid Texas, it is simply not possible to run fast in those conditions and in my opinion, it can actually be detrimental to an athlete's career to race a hot/humid marathon. With the Olympics and World Championships being the exception, I won't subject an athlete in this program to a marathon in the kind of conditions that occurred on Sunday. That said, it is no surprise that we stopped Middle (though he did not take any convincing) at 21 miles. Even then, he was toast and it is truly heart-breaking to see someone that you care so much about suffering like he did in that heat. As always, he didn't complain. He simply endured the long walk to the subway and the train ride back to the hotel where he could finally cool off. He'll recover over the next few days and then we'll get back to work on our next goals. Being a smart runner means knowing when to say when and we are okay with that. (I do feel it is important to say that the conditions in Chicago and how the race ended up are in no way a reflection on the Chicago Marathon staff. I have heard runners complaining about the race but the race did absolutely everything it could to help the runners. They, like all of us, can't control the weather but took every reasonable precaution to protect the runners.) While Middle was getting ready before the marathon, Martin was starting his race in Boston. We knew Martin was fit but he's only done base training so we didn't know what performance to expect. The BAA Half is a great race but the course is fairly demanding. Most elite runners we talked with run a minute or two slower on that course than on a flat course. With four very, very good Kenyans in the field, our plan was to just sit behind them and hang on. If you know anything about Martin Fagan, however, you know that sitting behind is not his style. When the Kenyans didn't want to take the pace, Martin went straight to the front. If he's going to race, he wants it to be an honest race - very Steve Jones-like in that way. Once the group got going, they were really moving and Martin was feeling really good. At 7 miles, the pace dropped to 4:23 which we simply aren't trained to run at this point in the base phase and 2 runners got away. Martin, however, simply maintained his pace and finished strong in just over 1 hour and 3 minutes. For a guy who's in base training, been in Flagstaff for only 1 month and for his first go at the distance, this is a fantastic result. I was running from the 13.1 mark to mile 17 in Chicago to catch Middle when Martin called me and it was just so great to hear the excitement in his voice at the result. He's doing the work and we'll continue on our path toward his winter goals. Shortly after Martin started his race and before Middle started his, Brett and Hanlon lined up against one of the deepest fields in a US road championships. With the marathon Trials only a month away, many of the contenders for the marathon team were on hand and fit. I figured any placing within the top 20 to be a great result for us. Both Brett and Hanlon have only been here for 2 months and are only doing base training so it seemed unrealistic to expect much against this field. Don't tell that to Brett Gotcher though. He simply went out there and kicked butt. He has had the best build-up of anyone on the team that is doing the base phase and we knew his base fitness was high but with no race-pace training, we didn't know what to expect. He ran a very smart race and found himself not in the top 20, not in the top 15 but 6th overall!! It's our first top 10 at a US championships and a great result as we get started with this post-collegiate team. Tracy nearly jumped out of her skin when I got off the phone with Brett and told her the result. Hanlon struggled in his professional debut but we knew it would probably be a tough day for him. While Brett may have had the best build-up phase, Hanlon has had the worst. We've had constant interruptions in training but he showed his mettle by gutting it out. I can see that every week, Hanlon gets more and more professional in his approach to running and I think now that we have some things behind us, he's going to experience the same fitness as Brett and Martin by the time he completes his base phase. For me, I'm thrilled. Things are coming together just as we had hoped. We are seeing some initial success and spirits are really high in this group. I'm thankful for the faith the athletes have in the plan and for the hard work they put in. But I'm most thankful that they are happy; that they have settled in and come to support one another; that they have become a team.

Entry #6 Week of September 24, 2007 by Andrew Lemoncello (pronounced Lemon-Chello) We are now a complete group. I am the last of the team to finally move to Flagstaff in pursuit of Olympic dreams. I left Scotland to run at Florida State University to take a step up in my running career and now I am taking the next step forward to progress further. I have been very anxious to come up to Flagstaff for a while as I have been looking forward to moving to altitude since I started to take my running seriously. The rest of the team relocated to Flagstaff during the summer but I had a heavy racing schedule which ended with a disastrous performance at the World Track & Field Championships in Osaka. That event left me physically burned out and ready to rest. A month before the World Championships I was ready to give my body a rest and was struggling to train at the same intensity that I had been during the summer. It is the first time that I have ever been tired of running and just wanting to take a break. But 2 weeks of doing nothing but eating and sleeping had me raring to go and ready to get back into the daily routine of training twice a day.

From the moment I arrived in Flagstaff I knew I had made the right decision. I was greeted by Greg, Tracy and Martin and got settled into the house right away and was introduced to the rest of the team properly. Pretty much all of us had raced each other before (Martin and I have been racing each other for almost 10 years now) but I had never really talked to most of the guys before. Everyone seemed to gel very well so that made the transition to a completely new place a lot easier. I am really happy to have a good team of runners around me as we can all rely on each other for support and help when we need it. The great thing about being in a post collegiate group is that it is a totally different dynamic than in university. There are no egos or team mates trying to out do each other, something that I found to be a very strange concept in Uni. Everyone is here for the same reason – to do as best they can and become successful runners.

            The first week of training was great because I just had to go out and run every day, gradually building up the time on my feet. The thing about doing this in Flagstaff is that it is so easy to log the miles as the trails are great and there are so many other people to run with whenever you want. Watching the other guys training hard from the sidelines has really motivated me and I am itching to get back into the hard sessions again. I have been quite impressed by the way the guys handle the training and how thorough they are in doing everything they can to be a complete athlete. Everyone knows there are no shortcuts to being successful in distance running and Greg is helping to fill any gap there may be that we need to fill. We can all see Greg’s vision and how hard he and Tracy have worked on this project so we all want to see it through and fulfil our potential.

            The Sunday long run has been the highlight of the week for me. Last week there was about 20 people who showed up to the ranch to pound the roads and get used to running on the tarmac. Although it was my first long run of the season, I felt pretty good until about 12 miles when I started to tire and backed off for the last few miles. The altitude really kicks you in the ass if you don’t treat it right! It was great to watch the others from behind working together and pushing each other throughout their session. This week we ran a new trail that climbed to about 7900ft for the first 11 miles and then you turn back (which was a great relief for everyone). I think I have gone through the first adjustment period to altitude as I felt good running with the guys but not good enough to start cranking the speed to marathon pace courtesy of Mr Peter Gilmore. I’ll leave that for another day!

Everyone has a big week coming up. Andrew is running his marathon debut in Chicago. Brett and the Mikes are running the ten mile champs in Minneapolis and Martin has the Boston half marathon. That just leaves Brianna, Ben and I to get on with training and twiddle our thumbs while we wait for everyone else’s results!

Coach's Blog Week of September 24, 2007 by Greg McMillan

Thoughts on Andrew Lemoncello We announced this new post-collegiate team in February 2007 via this website and a Flocast interview. We hoped to recruit athletes throughout the spring then get the group together in July. The very first athlete to apply to the team was Andrew Lemoncello and that was a week after we announced the team. To have an athlete as talented as 'Lemon' express interest really buoyed our confidence that we could put together a great team. Now that he's here and beginning to train, it is clear that our suspicion that this guy is going to be great is indeed correct. He has all the attributes a long distance runner needs and it's going to be fun being a part of his rise to international success. Our Training In the last blog, I wrote about the two 'workouts' we do in the base phase - the steady state run and the leg speed workout. And in a previous blog, I wrote about the weekly rhythm we use for base training - alternating 60-minute runs with 90-minute runs. This week, I want to discuss the weekly long run. For us, that means building up to 2+ hours of continuous running. Again, this is pure Lydiard. Arthur learned that there was something that happened to the runner when he or she routinely logged 2+ hour long runs. Science has teased out some of the physiological benefits but I still think there are changes that take place that we don't understand but that the runner feels. These changes may also be part of the incredible psychological benefit that runners who do regular long runs feel and to be honest, I don't care what the scientific reasons are. Regular long runs work and so we do them every week. Doing them correctly of course is the trick. The long, steady run as is performed in a proper base phase should be at an easy effort. What pace is this?...who knows and who cares? What HR is it?...who knows and who cares? What lactate level?...who knows and who cares? The most important variable to monitor in a long run is effort. If the effort is easy and the long run doesn't take too much out of you then you are doing it correctly. Remember, we are trying to build capillary beds (the small blood vessels in the muscles where the oxygen from the blood is transferred into the muscles). Long, easy running is the best for building these capillary beds - particularly at altitude. Running too hard on long runs is one of the most common mistakes competitive runners make. They think faster is better but this is not necessarily true.Why? Because of injury and peaking too soon. Injuries which often start when running too fast on fatigued legs interrupt your week in and week out long run. This disrupts adaptation and cuts short your progress. The small extra stimulus (physically and probably more mentally) from a hard long run is far outweighed by injury risk. In my opinion, it is much more important to stack 10 long runs together that are a bit slower than it is to push too hard and risk injury. As a result, our long runs are at an easy pace and every runner knows if he or she is running easy or not. Our internal coach let's us know. Unfortunately, many competitive runners are quite adept at ignoring their internal coach. Let's learn from their mistakes and perform long steady runs at an easy pace.

Entry #5 Week of September 17, 2007 by Mike Hanlon Hello loyal readers, Mike Hanlon here welcoming you to another weekly installment of the McMillanElite training blog. For those of you who are new to the blog, we've been having a different athlete write an entry each week updating the general public on on our training and fascinating personal lives. This week it's my turn. I'm a midwestern boy from the Ace-Deuce (aka Ann Arbor, Michigan) who's been in Flagstaff for two months now after four years at Colgate University in central New York. Basically everything you've heard about me in previous entries is true: until I arrived in Flagstaff I'd never done such things as cook (four years in the dining hall at Colgate) or write a check. So there have been a lot of big adjustments for me between the altitude and just being out of college on my own for the first time. Luckily I have amazing teammates and Greg and Tracy, they've really helped me out in so many ways in the time I've been out here.

The big news this week was that we have several new arrivals. Here at the Cooper house we have Ben Rosario, a marathoner from St. Louis who's here for a 3-week training camp before the marathon Trials. We also have Rob Caracciolo in for the weekend who is a former SUNY-Albany runner living in Boulder now. With these two the already intense ping-pong and Guitar Hero battles have stepped up to a new level.

At the townhouse we have the arrival of Andrew Lemoncello (AKA Lemon), who was an NCAA superstar for Florida State and a world championship steepler this year for the UK. He's here full-time and we're really pumped to have him out here. The strength of our team only increases every day.

The training rolled on this week with a strong week of workouts and long runs for everybody. On Wednesday the marathon boys went down to Camp Verde for a marathon pace workout in the thicker desert air. On Friday it was the day of truth - a workout day for Martin, Brett, Ben, Middleton and myself on "Trina's Loop" - a 1.1 mile flat road loop that runs by former American Record holder Trina Painter's house. Even those that didn't have a workout were out there helping out, with Lemoncello riding support bike and Mike Smith taking camera footage out of the back of a moving van that will probably remind viewers more of the Blair Witch Project than Tour de France coverage (um, just kidding, it will be amazing, watch for it in the video section of the website…) We attacked the loop in waves, with Ben and Middleton heating up the road with a fartlek workout, Martin and Brett literally setting the pavement on fire with their 10K time trial and myself following behind cooling it off on my steady state run. It was an exciting day though, everybody ran well and optimism is high for everybody's upcoming races. Then on Sunday of course was the long run, with basically all of Flagstaff coming out to Greg's house to enjoy the Baderville roads and the delicious brunch provided by Tracy and others.

On a personal note, since Greg has perhaps unwisely given me a space to write I'm going to talk to you about a subject of great importance to everybody: Michigan football. True, they may have gotten off to a slightly rough start, losing to a certain D-IAA school and a certain team of aquatic-based birds. But my Wolverines have clearly turned the corner with two straight wins, and I think things can only improve from here. So since I'm feeling pretty cocky today, I'm going to throw out a little prediction. Michigan will win the Big 10. That's right, the team that lost to Appalachian State will win the mighty (well, sort of) Big 10 football conference. That is all. In future entries I will either congratulate myself on being a football genius or never speak of it again. In the meantime stay tuned for another entry next week (I'm not sure who's up next, but I can assure you it will be somebody from the British Isles) and keep checking the video section to see us in action both on and off the roads.

Coach's Blog Week of September 17, 2007 by Greg McMillan

Thoughts on Mike Hanlon Aside from an unhealthy obsession with Michigan football, Mike brings a wealth of opportunity to the team. His college coach held him back and yet he ran 13:55 for 5K. We believe that he is a diamond in the rough and over the next few years, we intend to polish that diamond. It will require Mike (like everyone else) to make lots of changes as he transitions from a collegiate runner to a professional runner and we look forward to seeing the results of his hard work. Our Training In the last blog, I spoke about the weekly rhythm we use for base training. This week, I'll discuss the two workouts that are performed in the base phase. The first workout is a leg speed workout. Year-round, it is important for distance runners to work on leg speed. Leg speed workouts are NOT heavy breathing workouts. They are neuromuscular workouts to make sure the brain and muscles remember how to turn the legs over quickly. Since we don't want to breath heavy (indicating a large build up of lactic acid - a big no-no while in the base phase), these workouts include repeats lasting less than 30 seconds. We often go to the track for this workout as most of the athletes in the base phase are preparing for spring track. We don't time the repeats but simply work on a fast leg turnover and good technique. A good example might be 10 x 150m striding the first 50m, running quickly the second 50m then at 90% of top speed for the final 50m. The recovery jog is the 250m remaining to make a full lap of the track. Technique is more important then speed and we focus on running quickly but very relaxed. The athletes enjoy this workout because it is a departure from the base miles yet doesn't fatigue them since they are running two 90-minute runs and a two-hour long run each week. This workout is usually performed on Wednesday. The other workout during the base phase is a steady state run and there is a video here that explains a bit more about that workout.

Entry #4 Week of September 10, 2007 by Brett Gotcher Hey everybody!  This is Brett Gotcher here, coming to you from the Cooper house and the dirty dirty south side of Santa Cruz, also known as Watsonville.  First off, I want to clear one thing up.  I think I would probably be a little more freaked out if my house were burning down.  I do like to think of myself as a pretty relaxed person though, and my teammates couldn’t make this any easier for me.  It’s so great to have a bunch of people to run with whenever you want and to all be working towards the same goal of becoming as fit as we can possibly be.

FLAG
My time here in Flagstaff so far has been nothing short of amazing.  Before I joined this team, I had never really even heard of Flagstaff, let alone thought of it as a place to train.  But now that I’m here, I’m a believer.  The transition has been very smooth, as I have just been building up slowly, only doing one hard workout a week.  The rest of the time I get to run on the endless trails that surround Flagstaff.  I think it’s so cool that I can walk out my door and be on one of those trails in just a few minutes. 

MY MATES
Now for those of you who don’t know, we have a little bit of a predicament on this team.  Beginning this next Monday (17 Sept), we will officially have two Mikes and two Andrews, as Andrew Lemoncello will be coming aboard.  I am taking charge and have decided to give these guys some nicknames, nothing too fancy, but just so it will be easier to know who is who.
Mike Smith will simply become “Smithy”.
Mike Hanlon will be known as “Big Mike”.
Andrew Middleton will become “Middle”.
Andrew Lemoncello will be “Chelly” and just for fun, Brianna Torres will become “Brifontaine” (courtesy of the LetsRun.com Johnson brothers).
Martin Fagan is going to continue being Martin because it’s hard enough understanding and communicating with him as it is, so I don’t want add any more confusion.  And from time to time I may refer to coach Greg McMillan as “Greg McMills”.

THIS WEEK-TRAINING, ETC.
This week was a pretty good week of training.  Big Mike and I did our first hill circuit workout this week on Tuesday.  It was tough, but we both felt good, and Big Mike trooped it out with a sore hamstring.  I don’t get to work out too much with Middle or Smithy because they are on the marathon path at this point, but I can honestly say that I would be very scared if I had to race those guys.  With the work they have been putting in, I think they are going to turn a lot of heads in the coming months.

Friday was a big day for Martin and I, as we both did a 10-mile steady state run.  Martin was in a tough position because he had a shirt stolen the day before while on a run, and then the day of the workout someone took his flats.  He was fuming, and I was getting a little nervous about doing this long workout with him.  I also thought he might knock my head off if I said something to him.  But he kept it together and had a great workout.  I felt like I was holding him back the whole time, and he was just cruising right along.  He and I are both getting a little antsy to race, and I can’t wait to see how he does come October.

We had a bunch of visitors this week too.  Greg McMills parents were in town and they came over and helped Greg with a few little jobs around the house.  They were great people and I can totally see where Greg gets his southern charm.  At our house, we had Middle’s girlfriend, Casey, hang out for a few days and he wined and dined her all weekend long.  It’s always good to have Middle in your corner because he is one dedicated guy.  A few of Big Mike’s college friends were passing through so they stayed for a night too.  We went to Karma (the sushi joint Smithy works at) with Martin and Smithy and boy did we get the treatment.  Smithy is also a great guy to have in your corner because he knows absolutely everyone of importance in this town.  If you need anything, he’s got a guy for the job.  We met up with Brifontaine and Amy Hastings later on and had a fun-filled night under the stars in downtown Flagstaff.

On Saturday, we all helped out at a high school cross country race and got to see Big Mike in action with his team (he’s the assistant coach at Flagstaff High).  I got to ride a bike behind the last people and mostly just chatted with them as they walked the course (altitude can be tough when you live at sea level).

The week ended on a glorious note as we did our long run out by Phil Wharton’s house and had a feast of a brunch afterwards.  All in all, it was a great week.  That’s just how it goes these days in good old Flagstaff.

Coach's Blog Week of September 10, 2007 by Greg McMillan

Thoughts on Brett Gotcher All I will say about Brett as a person is that the world needs more Brett Gotchers. He's nice, polite, positive and always has a smile on his face. He inspires all of us to be better people. As an athlete, he is extremely talented. He matches this talent with focused training and never, ever gets drawn into running too fast when he shouldn't. He feels no need to 'strut his stuff' on easy training runs but is focused on being a great racer, not a workout king. I'm scared to think of how fast he will run next year. Our Training For athletes like Brett, who are just out of college and are focused on the 2008 Olympic Track Trials in June 2008, our goal this fall is to give them the proper base that they couldn't fully develop in college due to racing obligations. We are taking the time to provide them a full three to six months of base training to maximally develop their aerobic system. As Joe Vigil pointed out in a presentation last year, our athletes must 'catch up' aerobically to the rest of the world and these athletes must put in the mileage over the next two years to set them up for our push to the 2012 Olympics. Our base training comes directly from Arthur Lydiard with slight modification for our athletes. Our first task is to build the athlete to the following volume (which comes directly from Arthur's Running to the Top book): Monday: 60 minutes Tuesday: 90 minutes Wednesday: 60 minutes Thursday: 90 minutes Friday: 60-75 minutes Saturday: 60-70 minutes Sunday: 120 minutes Depending on their previous training volumes in college, this may take three weeks or it may take three months. We have a long-term focus so whatever it takes, it takes. We just gradually build them up to this level. From a mileage standpoint, this amount of running works out to in the mid-80s for these runners. We then add 'doubles' to build them to their goal mileage which gradually but progressively moves them to 90-110 miles per week. Given that most of them only ran long runs of 90 minutes in college, we are careful and gradual in our build-up to doing three runs per week over 90 minutes. Once we reach this level of running, we will maintain this for three to six months to maximize their base. In next week's blog, I'll go into the workouts we include in this base training. I'll end this week's entry with the following quote that was in a card given to me by my aunt before I won the state championship in high school. It provided inspiration to me and I think of it frequently. "To believe in yourself and in what you can do is to take the first step on the road to success."

Entry #3 Week of September 3, 2007 by Andrew Middleton Welcome to McMillanElite for another episode of our weekly team blog. My name is Andrew Middleton and it will be my honor to give you the best insight I can into the ever progressing and growing McMillanElite Team. If you have read the previous, and quite flattering, posts by my teammates you will already have an idea of who I am: a neat, quiet, rock solid aspiring culinary artist from Texas.

The Journey
Since graduating from The University of Texas, I have made a smooth transition into the life of a post-collegiate distance runner. This past July, after capturing my third consecutive Polish Pickle 5k in Bremond, Texas, I felt poised to take on the world. With the $100 cash prize and 1 Gallon Jar of authentic Polish Pickles, I made the journey to the new running mecca of the United States, Flagstaff, Arizona.

After two solid months of training, I opened up my professional career with McMillanElite this past weekend at the 30th Annual New Haven Road Race. Armed with the great support staff of Coach Greg McMillan and his wife Tracy, I was able to post a strong showing in my first US National Championship over 20 kilometers. Everything about this race was first-class. From the moment I arrived in New Haven, until the moment I left, the race management and USATF made me feel like a professional runner. Overall, I enjoyed the 20K distance and I look forward to returning to New Haven next year to improve on my time and finish. My teammate, Mike Smith, and I want to thank the New Haven Race Management, USATF and the New York Road Runners for their hospitality over the weekend.

Cooking Tip
As mentioned by my teammates, I do a lot of cooking. While the hours spent behind the grill or stove may present me as a seasoned chef, there are only two motivating factors behind this pastime: my insatiable metabolism and my love for eating.

Much of what I prepare is done through experimentation. Rarely is a recipe required. Take Saturday for example: After an invigorating run with Martin Fagan and Brett Gotcher, I returned home to create an original dish, a Turkey Chili Omelet.

Now to my cooking tip: omelets can be tricky, but with practice they can become your post-run staple.

Tip #1: Add some milk, just a splash to get the eggs light and fluffy.
Tip #2: Make sure your pan is large enough; if the egg mixture is too thick it will not cook thoroughly. Two to three eggs will make a good size omelet.
Tip #3: Add any ingredients you want, eggs are versatile. Leftovers are always great add-ins. Even something as far-fetched as a Turkey Chili Omelet. will taste great. I have never created an omelet. I did not like. Be original!
Tip #4: Make sure your ingredients are at least room temperature.
Tip #5: Listen closely to this one…cook the eggs slowly…by cranking up the heat and scorching the eggs you will be left with a dry and crispy omelet.

Trials of Miles
Training has been going great for all members of the McMillanElite Team. In exactly one month, three of my teammates will be toeing the line for the US 10 Mile Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I can say from first-hand experience that Brett, and ‘the Mikes’ are in the best shape of their lives and will be eager to let loose their fury on their competitors. Brianna is impressively logging her miles week in and week out, building up towards a high finish at the Olympic Trials. In a quick turn around, I will be gearing up towards the Chicago Marathon to post a Trials Qualifier. We can all train and race with confidence knowing we have the best coach and best training grounds available.

Back To The Future
In lieu of the classroom and the college life, I have taken up the task of becoming a renaissance man of sorts. Putting away my typical college classes of economics, government and calculus, I have created my very own course schedule consisting of Outdoor Grilling, Guitar Hero, Conversational German, Reading and Ping Pong - an even more modern version of the Modern Pentathlon.

This coming week is an exciting one for me with the visit of my girlfriend, Casey. Leaving her behind in Texas, with all my friends and family was not an easy move. However, I know now is the time in my life to chase the goals I have set up for myself and I am blessed to have her and my parents as my unwavering support back in the Lone Star State.

I will be the first to institute a quick list of questions for the following bloggers:
What I am reading: The Plague by Albert Camus
What I am listening to: No One Like You by Scorpions (too much Guitar Hero)
What I am cooking: The Soon-to-be-Famous Turkey Chili Omelet

Coach's Blog Week of September 3, 2007 by Greg McMillan

My name is Greg McMillan and I have the honor of working with this group of Olympic hopefuls. They have asked that I also provide a weekly blog to share information on our training as well as my comments on each week. First, I am blown away by the quality of athlete that has joined this group. We had an idea of what we wanted to do but nothing was set. We could offer them very little but yet they came. They could see our vision and bought into our idea for this team. We are off to a good start. I should say a few words about Andrew Middleton since he wrote the blog for this week. I have known Andrew for over 2 years. My wife and I lived in Austin and met him when he ran for the Longhorns. While Andrew is quiet, this belies the fierce competitor within. I knew early on that he would be a great runner. He is extremely talented and ready-made for long distances. When we started the team, I told him straight away that I would save a spot for him when he graduated. I'm honored that he decided to join us and am committed to helping him achieve his dreams. He is a great asset to the team and as he mentioned, he is making a big sacrifice to be away from loved ones. Keep an eye on this guy. He's something special. Regarding training: Our training philosophy is nothing special. It isn't new or magical but is simply the proven training system that successful coaches and athletes have used for the last 40 years to achieve international success. My two greatest influences are Arthur Lydiard and Gabriele Rosa - the world's greatest coaches in my opinion. Our training is simply a modification of the programs of these two great coaches. We've simply modified their ideas to match our athletes and our environment. In future blogs, I'll go into more detail of the training. At this point in the year, the athletes are either doing Lydiard-style base training (Brett, Hanlon, Martin and Brianna) or are doing Rosa-style marathon training (Mike Smith and Andrew Middleton). We've matched the programs as closely as possible so that the athletes do their key workouts together even though they may be doing different workouts. For example, we'll all go to the track on Wednesday. The base training athletes will do their leg speed training (50s, 100s, 150s, 200s or some combination) and the marathoners will do Yasso 800s (8-10 x 800m in their goal marathon time). Then, on Friday, the base training athletes will do their steady state run while the marathoners do their anaerobic capacity workout. We always do our long runs as a group on Sundays. I'll go into more detail of each of these workouts in future blogs. I'll end this week's entry with the following quote by Arthur Lydiard. It sums up our team's basic belief. "Champions are everywhere. All you need is to train them properly." We are committed to spending the next five years doing just that - training properly and chasing our dreams.

Entry #2 Week of August 27, 2007 by Brianna Torres My name is Brianna Torres. I hail from Phoenix and I am a total city girl, even if that city does have the occasional tumbleweed blowing through its streets. My life is there – my running stores Run AZ, my husband and best friend Carlos, my wonderful family and great friends. I left to start a new adventure. I have to admit leaving home is always really hard but this is an opportunity I could not pass up. If I really want to see how good of a runner I can be, I had to make this change. However, once I'm up here, in Flagstaff, it feels really good to be part of a team where everyone wants to see how good they can be. Not everyone gets a shot at their dreams. I am one of the lucky ones. My collegiate coach Mark Wet more told me that it's important to always plan new adventures. This is my latest adventure.

The Boys

Being a professional runner isn't easy. I've come to realize that you need help. Tracy and Greg McMillan supply that help. They provide the structure that makes our lives as professional runners easier. They find us housing, set up practices, workouts, travel plans and even feed us (Tracy is a great cook). Good people attract good people. Which is probably why I like the team so much. They're all really great guys and I'm happy to be part of this team. Over the summer I've gotten to know my teammates, and I'd just like to share a few things I've learned about them.

Mike Smith is the unofficial team captain and local Flagstaff heartthrob. I ran into a high school team this summer at a trailhead. The entire girls squad erupted into fits of girlish amusement upon confirmation that, indeed, Mike Smith was running on that trail. He moonlights as a superhero and is seriously stuck in the 80's. A great guy who goes out of his way to make everyone feel at home.

Green may be the perfect way to describe Mike Hanlon. He has never eaten the following items: an eggplant, plum or ramen. Yes ramen. He says he's more of a Mac n' Cheese guy. I believe him. He's a very smart guy and is just ready to dive in and get to work on being a great runner.

Brett Gotcher is very good at ping pong - all those years at Stanford cross country camp are really paying off. He also loves surfing and can speak Swahili. I think Brett is on a quest to create the perfect pancake. He is getting really fit and I can't wait to watch him race.

Andrew Middleton – the quiet one. So quiet in fact that he'll often be sitting among the group, while slyly having a cell phone conversation that no one can hear. It's amazing. At least his girlfriend can hear him. Although, she may have to use sonar to detect and decipher his soft, soft tones. Andrew is definitely the culinary champion of the group. It seems almost every time I see him he's cooking. I should take lessons from him.

Martin Fagan has 4 older sisters, is into 80's new wave music and desperately wants a dog. He has a way cool Irish accent and performs a very funny imitation of an American accent and he has many, many tattoos. One such tattoo looks like bats rapidly fleeing from a cave, though Martin is adamant they are birds, not bats. What do you think?

Plenty

So I am the only girl on the team, but there is no shortage of training partners for me. An incomplete list includes my roommate and Arizona State superstar Amy Hastings; Alvina Begay Olympic Trials Marathon Qualifier and former ASU teammate; master's runner and Arizona homegrown stud, Trina Painter; and the super fast, super nice Stanford Alum Alicia Shay nee Craig. I was impressed by the running community already established here and I have a feeling it's only going to get better.

Maybe Top 3

To dispel rumors: I am the sole female on the team, this is true, but I am not the biggest Harry Potter fan you will ever meet. Maybe that Mike Smith has ever met, but he obviously doesn't go to Wizard Rock concerts. I know at least two others who are way more ensconced in the world of wizards and magic than me: my good friend and American record holder Lisa Galaviz. (She ordered a Dobby magnet from eBay to decorate her cubicle at work.) Oh yeah, Dobby is a house elf at Hogwarts's for those of you who don't know. I'm not a Harry Potter dork, I swear! Aside from Lisa, there is my 13 year-old niece RickiLee. She is the one that told me about Wizard Rock, and has a Wizard Rock band herself. She is way too cool.

Quick Recap of the Week

Monday: The team met at Buffalo Park in the afternoon for headshots and group photos. Tracy broke the news that she and Greg are having a boy!

Rock star photo shoot at Buffalo Park by photographer Josh Biggs

Tuesday: Mike Smith, Andrew and Martin hosted a dinner party at their condo. It was quite the spread, including chocolate dipped strawberries and homemade pizza among other goodies. Our team and many other local runners were in attendance. Brett's girlfriend Lindsay flew in for his birthday and we all got to meet her. Good times had by all.

Another beautiful day in Flagstaff. This is the view from Snowbowl ski area.

Wednesday: The boys had a morning workout at the NAU track. I ran with Alicia Shay, Lindsay and James Lander on the urban trail east of campus. James, formerly of Hansons, is in town from L.A. taking a break from Chiropractic school and checking out Flagstaff. Later that night, Mike Hanlon, James and I attempted to buy a ping pong table. Big 5 laughed at us after looking at my small car and said to come back with a truck. Foiled, but undeterred the boys returned the next day with David Painter's (Trina's husband) borrowed flatbed.

Thursday: Thursday mornings usually begin with the morning bagel run at Biff's Bagels downtown, with all the local runners who wish to wake up and run at 7:30. This Thursday was no exception for me. This was also a big day for Amy and me since we were finally getting internet and cable installed at our house. Internet is essential but neither of us have had cable for about four years. At night we went over to the Cooper house to celebrate Brett's birthday early and to christen the ping pong table. Epic battles ensued.

One of the epic ping pong battles at the Cooper House between Mike Hanlon and Roger Cahill.

Friday: Amy and I are already bored with the cable. Today Amy begins dog-sitting Cheyenne and G-ray. Cheyenne is a princess of a pug under the guardianship of Alicia and Ryan Shay. G-ray belongs to Ellen and Phil Wharton and is a very sweet, smart dog. Today a good chunk of the team, including Greg, Tracy, Mike Smith and Andrew Middleton travel to New Haven for the 20k U.S. Championships. Later, more team bonding at the Pay n' Take.

Cheyenne (yes that is a cigar-looking stick in her mouth) and G-Ray (right)

Saturday: College meet at Buffalo Park. Saw friends from the Valley (Phoenix) and old coaches. Roger Cahill, another former teammate and Arizona State alum, is in town for a training stint before the 5k Championships and is staying in Fasil's room at the condo. After the meet, unsure of what else to do Martin, Roger, Amy and I all went to the Coconino County Fair. Amy won a fish and gave it to Martin since he can't get a dog in the condo just yet. We ate Indian fry bread and took a very creepy black and white family portrait. Carlos arrived late to visit after closing up shop at Run AZ. It's nice to have him up here.

This is a picture of us holding up our family portrait (and Martin's fish) from the Coconino County Fair. It has a very creepy Twilight Zone feel to it. From left to right: me (Brianna), Martin, Roger and Amy.

Sunday: Morning long run at Waterline for everyone still in town: Amy, Martin, Mike Hanlon, Roger and James. Brett was in Sedona celebrating his birthday with his family and breathing easier at 4500 ft. Waterline starts at Schultz Pass Rd (8000 feet) and is gradually up the whole way. Really beautiful views made me wish I had my camera. Afterwards we refueled with chocolate milk and breakfast at Brandy's Restaurant and Bakery. I'm sure many naps followed. That night Carlos made dinner for Amy and I, which included his mom's fabulous meatballs with pasta and a salad. A great way to end the week.

Brianna Torres
McMillanElite Running Team
Flagstaff, AZ

Entry #1 Week of August 20, 2007 by Mike Smith Welcome to the first blog posting for mcmillanelite.com, the website for the McMillanElite Running Team. We want this website to serve as  an exciting stop for our supporters to  stay well connected to all the happenings of our group. Through photos, video, blogs, and race reports we want you to run alongside us to share the elite runner’s experience of training, racing, and living the life. We’ve made it a goal to keep the members of McMillanElite as closely involved in the updating as possible, and this blog will be a major piece in the voice we hope to bring to you. So once again, welcome.

My name is Mike Smith and I have the honor of posting the first of our regular blog updates.  I write to you from Flagstaff, Arizona where our team is just getting off the ground.  Running for coach Greg McMillan, I have been in "Flag" for approaching one year and seen Greg’s vision for this team assembled into an exciting reality. Joining with adidas, Greg crafted what he had envisioned for years, assembling talented young athletes to work together as a team in the greatest place to train in America. Through a lengthy recruiting process my teammates have finally arrived: Brianna Torres, Mike Hanlon, Andrew Middleton, and Brett Gotcher. Rockstars.

I can’t say enough about these cats. All at once they’ve each left people and places, moved to Flagstaff, some from across the country, to adjust to each other, new homes, a new coach, post collegiate running, and lack of oxygen. With that much transition at once you’ve got to be able to roll with the punches, and they’re making it all look easy.

In the weeks and months they’ve been here, before we’ve crossed any finish line, we’ve already made something that is so sweet to be a part of: a TEAM. It’s a blast to meet up each morning, bust through these mountain trails, endure the tough miles of long runs, laugh, hurt, dream big with a group. What we do as distance runners is often so difficult, the acts so solitary, that to share it with others the best we can, man has it been fun. With this kind of energy, plus the training under Greg here at 7000ft, lets just say there is a lot of excitement for what’s to come.
I live in a house with Martin Fagan, Andrew Middleton, and Fasil Bizuneh. While Fasil isn’t on McMillanElite, he is a groupie so we let him stick around. He left for a training stint in Boulder yesterday, good luck Fasil. Martin is now coached by Greg and has moved here on his quest to make the 2008 Olympic Marathon Team for Ireland and works out with the team.

Andrew Middleton, an All American fresh out of Texas is gearing up for the Chicago Marathon and let me tell you, if you had to design the ideal roommate this is your guy. Neat, respectful, maker of the perfect pancake, willing to run at any time, he’s rock solid. The first weekend he was here he ended up working our grill for a dinner party for 34 people. Worrying about him being overwhelmed I asked “Are you OK with working the grill?“ The question was apparently absurd as he replied  “I am from Texas.“

Martin Fagan lives in the King’s Suite Master Bedroom and is about 2 weeks, and 7 books into life in Flag. Right away you just could tell he was a classic. Taking his toughness to the roads now,  he was an NCAA monster from Providence, Martin hails form Ireland and I will admit half the stuff out of his mouth I can’t decipher. Oh, and he only eats potatoes and listens to U2. Ok, just kidding. Martin is in a very serious relationship with Mr. Coffee, which apparently is his main source of fuel on earth. He’s a good lad, I mean, bloke, uh I mean, mate.

A few miles down the road in what we call The Cooper House resides Brett Gotcher and Mike Hanlon. Where do i begin with these two? Brett is the type of guy that you could be standing next to watching your house burn down and he somehow would make you feel totally relaxed. “Dude my house is on fire.” “Naw man, no worries, you’ll get another house bro!”. Brett was an All American at Stanford, and grew up outside of Santa Cruz where I guess everyone is just chilling out, I don’t know, waiting for waves or something. His attitude brings so much to our team, because in running it’s easy to let your mind get carried away. The first time I met him he had just had all his bags lost at the airport and didn’t even have shoes to run in. He just laughed about it, borrowed a pair the wrong size, and said “lets run”. 

Mike Hanlon is here from Colgate where as Mr. Colgate he ripped apart his school record books by such margins they named campus buildings after him. The thing I love about Hanlon is how green he is. He’s young and hungry in this simple almost innocent way. He just wants to run hard and be great, and he already is. Another super positive attitude, he doesn’t let you know anything hurts him, we’ll just be running along and he’s chatting and then WHAMMO! he’ll puke and keep running. Gotta love it. The kid drove alone across the country, pulled into Flagstaff at midnight eating a Blizzard and was just like “OK, I’m ready.”

Brianna Torres is, at the moment, the sole female representative in our squad. Talk about fancy pants: Brianna and her husband Carlos operate Run AZ, the best running specialty shops in Phoenix. She’s up here at altitude working with Greg getting geared up for the Olympic Trials marathon and beyond. Yes she is married and yes, owns a business but don’t be fooled, she’s the biggest Harry Potter geek you’ve ever met. She’s connected into the depths of Harry Potter mania that most of us cannot imagine. Like, I don’t even know if she’s making this stuff up. Have you ever heard of Wizard Rock? Yeah me either. They, according to Ms. Torres, are Harry Potter themed rock bands that play “sold out” shows. Please someone, anyone, confirm this. Anyone that can validate Wizard Rock gets adidas shoes for life. (Greg is reading this like “ummm Mike.. you... can’t.. really...say...that). But seriously though you’ve got to give it to Bri, no one is sacrificing more to be on this team, she’s a tough cookie in training, and tougher for having to put up with all of us guys.

Last but not least: Coach Greg McMillan. If you want to be inspired, if you want to find someone who has zeroed in on his dream and is just going for it, look at this guy. He and his wife Tracy have worked tirelessly to make all of us feel at home in Flagstaff. It’s stuff that no one even knows about, spending their days fixing up our houses, setting up fluid stations in the rain on long runs, cooking us meals at their house, making sure we have income. Greg believes so much in this team, and that makes it so easy for us to bite on, to be all in, with nothing held back. So many times I get off the phone with Greg and just feel like I can race anyone, like impossible is nothing. He looks us in the eye each day and asks how we are, not just how our running is, but how we are in entirety, as people. We are in good hands.

I was told once when I was younger by my high school coach “Smith, some people you want in the foxhole with ya, some you don’t” And it’s true.  Tonight, I can tell you I’m glad to be in the foxhole with this bunch.

Friends that is all for tonight. We’ve got a lot happening this week: we’re rocking out a dinner party at our pad tomorrow night, scoping out a possible ping pong table purchase, we’ve got some big time workouts this week, and on Saturday Andrew, Greg, Trace, and myself leave for New Haven, CT for the US 20k Championships. We’ll be sure to keep you updated.

Check back in soon, and thanks for reading!

Mike Smith
McMillanElite Running Team
Flagstaff, AZ

Previous Blog Postings:

• Blog Archive :: 2008
• Blog Archive :: 2007

For an understanding of Greg's philosophy of training and coaching, please visit his website www.mcmillanrunning.com. You are also encouraged to read the works of Arthur Lydiard (read everything you can by Lydiard), Joe Vigil (Road to the Top), Tim Noakes (Lore of Running), David Martin (Better Training for Distance Runners), Jerry Lynch (The Total Runner), Gabriele Rosa (Paul Tergat - Running to the Limit), Russ Pate (Training for Young Distance Runners), Guy Avery (past issues of Peak Running Performance) and Ed Burke (Optimal Muscle Recovery) for insight into optimal training and coaching for distance running.

Brett Gotcher - Week of December 31, 2007

Andrew Middleton - Week of December 24, 2007

Brianna Torres - Week of December 17, 2007

Mike Smith - Week of December 10, 2007

Jordan Horn - Week of December 3, 2007

Martin Fagan - Week of November 26, 2007

Andrew Lemoncello - Week of November 19, 2007

Mike Hanlon - Week of November 12, 2007

Brett Gotcher - Week of November 5, 2007

Andrew Middleton - Week of October 29, 2007

Brianna Torres - Week of October 22, 2007

Mike Smith - Week of October 15, 2007

Martin Fagan - Week of October 8, 2007

Ben Rosario - Week of October 1, 2007

Andrew Lemoncello - Week of September 24, 2007

Mike Hanlon - Week of September 17, 2007

Brett Gotcher - Week of September 10, 2007

Andrew Middleton - Week of September 3, 2007

Brianna Torres - Week of August 27, 2007

Mike Smith - Week of August 20, 2007

Brett Gotcher

Jordan Horn

Andrew Middleton

Andrew Lemoncello