WCSN Blogs

So with the trials out the way, I took a much needed exhale and relaxed for a few days … then promptly headed to Europe. I arrived in Lucerne, Switzerland, on July 13 for a race that was on Wednesday. You would think that was plenty of time to adjust to jetlag…wrong!! I don’t know why I have such a hard time shaking it but I do. I ran 11.23s and got 3rd. It is so disappointing after a loss to face the staff that has rolled out the red carpet for you and extended hospitality above and beyond. I know that as a professional athlete, I should be looking at each race as business and just that but I can’t help but feel a certain way about wanting to put on a good performance for the person who had enough confidence in me to invite me to their meet and of course the fans. Lucerne - which was also my first European race last year - has grown on me quickly and is very near-and-dear to my heart. It is just a small meeting, but they have been creative in making sure that their meeting is unique. Where money is limited, they have all sorts of prizes such as coffee makers, Swiss knives, Swiss watches, and diamond and sapphire stones. They have come up with a way to select the best and 2nd best performer of the meet and they get a diamond and a sapphire respectively. In addition most events have a story (where you usually have to be one of the best to get into European meets), but this is opportunity for those on the line to take a last stab at a qualifying standard. One of the great stories of this year’s meeting was Oscar Pistorius, also known as the blade runner, whose controversy has been quite the news. The crowd was electric as they cheered him on as he made his last attempt of making the Olympic team for his country. Although he came up short it was great to be present as he still made history. His attempt stood for so much more than the actual win or lose.

Back to my emotional attachment with certain meetings, Korea has been the race that has closed out each season since I have become a professional. So you can imagine how distraught I was when I found out it might take place in May this year!! Luckily they thought better of that, but the date fluctuated multiple times. As a result I have scheduled my 25th birthday party to begin the same day as the meet in Korea!!! Being a very strict creature of habit I usually don’t waiver once I have started such a trend like this. So it goes without saying that distraught was an understatement to the reaction I had when I found out about my having double-booked two very important engagements!! Those brats on “My super sweet 16” had nothing on my display of emotion at not being able to be in two places at once. I still have not figured out what I am going to do as people have begun to RSVP and make deposits.  I do not have an alternate date in mind that would work. I mean, who wants a birthday party in October when their birthday is in September?!?  I had already compromised by agreeing to the 25th, figuring that since I am turning 25 and it is exactly two weeks after my birthday, I could celebrate it and still have a theme. How could I justify an October 9th party?!  I guess as time goes on things change and you have to able to adapt and move on. You only turn 25 once ( I guess you only turn every age once, but you all know what I mean ) so I guess I will pick up my Korean tradition again next year unless of course the meeting promoter is willing to change the date of the meeting to the 22nd or 23rd….I know, I know, fat chance.

I got to be on both sides of the fences this week and although I was already on the team, I can appreciate what it is like to be the first loser by such a close margin - it’s painful. There is an 85 percent chance I wouldn’t have run the 200 if I had made the team. I was doing it first for training and secondly to prove to myself that I was capable of going through the rounds. I know I can run a world-class 200m race, but have never been confident in my training to think I could do the rounds. I am a true sprinter and I-up until this year-had no desire to even test those waters. But, I am not afraid of the 200 anymore and will step on the line in Europe this summer, knowing I am a threat to the other 7 lanes..as opposed to thinking please GOD just don’t let me place last.

TONS of thanks to my support group.  You all have been amazing this week!!! I appreciate the encouragement and prayers. I am so grateful that time and space have come together at just the right moment and brought each and everyone one of you in my life at just the right time. Can’t get everyone into one blog and I am sure you all aren’t so wonderful to me just to receive a shout-out on my blog. I have to do just a little name calling and thank the Humphrey Family for EVERYTHING because a little of everything is what they do for me. Anytime I need anything, they come to my rescue from dog-sitting to airport pick-up to helping me look for my lost pet in a tree. They never tell me NO and it so great to know there someone who ALWAYS has my back. Also the newest member of my Medical team - Melvyn Williams, who has a very compact schedule but made time to see me and continued to work to get me healthy during this off season. Being healthy is half the battle!!

And in other news…Wallace nearly gave me a heart attack!! I wanted to cut the TV off in the call room. I don’t know what I would have done if he hadn’t made the team and I had to go out and race knowing that! For those who don’t know, he secured the the 3rd spot on the team in men’s 200m by close margins! I guess I only have myself to blame, as I am the big sister and I am supposed to be setting the example and I have been all about close margins lately.

So the next five days are rest and relaxation. Jog one or two days, but mostly let my body recover from eight hard races. I head to Lucerne, Switzerland, on Saturday and will spend two weeks competing in Europe before coming home. After just a few days to regroup, I head to China.

I will be checking in and keeping you all up on my adventures because I am sure there will be some!

–sub11

I am not a fan of politicians. I just can’t relate to politics, because I am the kind of person who thinks black and white - I prefer that you say exactly what you mean, as opposed to beating around the bush and using words to confuse me or to avoid answering a question.

I recently read an article in “USA Today” where the two remaining candidates discussed Title IX.  I found their responses interesting to say the least. With the Presidential primary winding down, I think I should take this opportunity to discuss a little politics. Excuse me if I am reading too much into their WORDS but I need some clarification…

John and Barack, I just want you to know that we as athletes are following the election and care what you are saying about the issues that matter to us.

Question: Title IX has been an important factor in expanding athletic participation for girls and women. What do you think of the way the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has enforced the law under the Bush Administration? Would your administration enforce Title IX differently? And if so, in what ways?

McCain:

“The US department of Education under President Clinton took liberties in interpreting the law and without debate determined that universities must fund men’s and women’s sports programs in proportion to the ratio of male and female students… Unfortunately many popular athletic programs have been cut because the overall amount of funding available for athletics will not sustain identical men’s and women’s programs in every sport…The positive effects of the law are indisputable, and John McCain supports the law’s intent of providing equal opportunities to all students in a manner that does not unfairly penalize or limit opportunities for any students.

John McCain will bring people to work together to find ways to help make Title IX accomplish its original intent without causing the elimination of athletic programs.”

My first question is…why is Senator McCain speaking in the third person? Someone wrote what he thinks on his behalf? Well did he at least read it before it went to print? Also why is he talking about Clinton when the question was about the Bush Administration?  This response lets us know he knows what Title IX is but doesn’t seem to know a solution. So although he’s critical of Clinton’s implementations, he doesn’t suggest he has a better alternative. It is my opinion that you should want to be President because you think you can do the job better than everyone else and have real ideas about how to change important issues not getting in there creating a task force to come up with ideas once you are president.

Obama:

“We know that problems remain…as demonstrated by the number of complaints to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) about discrimination against female teams. Despite these ongoing problems, enforcement by the Office for Civil Rights has been ineffective. Although complaint volume remains high, compliance reviews have dropped, the focus of the reviews has narrowed and the agency has taken a lax approach to enforcement…I will do more to ensure effective protection from sex discrimination. I will target resources to improve Title IX enforcement, including compliance reviews and the technical assistance. To address discrimination at the high school level, I will support the High School Sports Information Collection Act, which directs schools to make information on equality in athletic programs publicly available. This information is already required at the college level.”

Well speaking in the first person makes me feel as if I can hold Senator Obama accountable for his statements and he does answer the questions posed…I would still like more detail on his intentions. What exactly is ‘technical assistance?’ What is the difference is making the equality information public going to do? Sounds as if he is happy with the current layout of Title IX and plans to enforce it better.

Well, now that you are informed on what our two candidates are saying and have heard my commentary, feel free to form your own opinion. After all voting is about making an educated decision based on the facts given. Stay tuned for my commentary on their statements regarding the doping issue.

–sub11

YEEEESSSSS!!!! One down one to go……

I know it’s only the first step, but without placing in the top three at the Olympic Trials my dream of going to the Olympics wouldn’t exist. I felt prepared, my rounds went perfectly, but after 2007, I just wasn’t 100 percent sure. The nightmares of a fourth place finish haunted my mind quite a few times but as quickly as they came I dispelled them with my overwhelming desire to go to the Olympics in my specialty event.  The weather at the meet had been incredible with warm days and mostly mild winds, but after the two-day break, the weather started to deteriorate a bit. It was much cooler and windier on the final than I would have liked and that played a huge role in my race strategy. I usually go out pretty fast and lead for the first 200m, but this time I didn’t. I think it made some people nervous but I knew by conserving a bit more during the second 100meters, I’d have the strongest finish. I had no idea that I won by one second - Mary Wineburg felt so close coming off the curve. I just kept my eyes focused on the finish line and on my goals. I was overcome with joy and a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders as I ran through the line! I’ve worked so hard to make this team and I can’t wait to go to Beijing!

I also feel so blessed to have such great sponsors that all believe in me. Nike gave me a special uniform to debut at the meet and I felt so honored to wear it. In the final I wore the swift gloves and swift socks that are made to reduce drag in the wind. I think they’re very effective but I also think they look incredible. The front of my uniform was also a tribute to the amazing print on the back of our Olympic uniform. Unfortunately it may be difficult to see because it’s blue on blue, but at least some people will continue to get a glimpse before the Games. I also felt the love and energy from my Coke family. They sent me encouraging letters everyday and I know it’s always a gamble when companies pick athletes before we even make the Olympic team and I’m so happy that so many companies did. AT&T also had a booth set up for me after the race that allowed tons of fans to come by and get autographs. Nike did the same the next day and I was overwhelmed by the number of people that waited in line to get my autograph. They were all so pleasant and had nothing but really nice things to say! The Nutrilite Company also sent me flowers before my preliminary round and sent their well wishes and hopes for another Olympic trip. The Hershey Company, and Q-Ray have been on board for a while and they are always wishing me the best. I always try to find reasons to run fast and accomplish my goals but this year it was made easy by all the wonderful people I met through these sponsorships. I know it’s just the beginning but I’ve learned to enjoy every victory and I am really enjoying this one!

Until next time……

I learned something important about myself on a long run I recently completed a little over a week ago. My older brother (who is functioning as my full time trainer leading up to the Games) and I tried to get up early and beat the heat. However, by the time we started at 8 a.m. the roadside thermometer in town already read 80 degrees. The long run route would take me through my local neighborhoods for three miles and then around the lake for an additional 15 miles before hitting the dirt road that leads from my house at 6,700 ft. to Skyline, one of my favorite dirt roads in Big Bear, at nearly 8,000ft.

The reason it is called skyline is easy to understand when you are up on the rim of the world. When I am up there I feel like I am practically part of the bright blue sky that encompasses me.

Before I entered the land of “marathon,” I used to keep my easy runs pretty easy. Now, I feel that the long run is one of the most, if not the most, important components to marathon training, so I try and move along at a decent clip.  At the end of a 130-mile week, with 18 miles of relatively hard running under my belt in 80-degree temperatures I was tired. Running toward the hill I knew that I was in for a lot of pain.  I often say that the training for the marathon is more difficult than the race itself.  This session reproved my point.

A few minutes into the hill everything was burning. I was pumping my arms as hard as I could but it didn’t seem to help increase my pace. I tried focusing on pushing more with my calves then lifting with my quads. Nothing seemed to be working. It became dreadfully obvious that as bad as my mind wanted to sprint up the hill, my body had other plans, a system shutdown. I could begin to taste what I used to think was blood, but now understand to be lactic acid in my mouth resulting from my heavy breathing and I knew that I was maxed out.
Even though the dirt road winds its way through the pine tree filled mountains with no Y’s in the road, I had reached a juncture at this point in the run: either I could get discouraged with the reality that I am not able to think myself into sprinting up the hill or I could accept, and even relish, in the pain and discomfort running throughout my body and embrace the pain as part of my mission.

Then something happened that I have never experienced during any painful running session: a smile slowly crept across my face. It was kind of a weird reaction to have, but for some reason I felt very alive and there was a new joy that I found in simply going all out. It was a great feeling to know that I was pushing myself to the max, that at this moment I had looked deep into myself for strength and used whatever I could muster.

I may not have set any records on my long run. In fact, I have had better long runs, in terms of numbers, but I have never had a long run where I learned to embrace the pain like I did that day. To be honest, I usually get pretty nervous before big workouts where I know I will be going through a lot of pain. I realize that the nerves may not go away, but now I know that I can find joy in the most painful moments.  It is hard to describe the joy in going all out, but if you choose to embrace it I guarantee that you will want to go back over and over again.

Being that the marathon is all about pain management. I am always looking for ways to better handle the pain during those last few tough miles. I felt like I did a good job of pushing myself to the max in London. The main thought that helped me there was simply, “do your very best.”

In Beijing I am sure I will be thinking similar thoughts. One thing is for certain; during those final painful miles I will visualize myself back on this dirt road in Big Bear and remember the time I first smiled in the face of pain.

It has been five days since I made the Olympic team and everyone is anxious to see what I was going to come up with. I have had a good amount of time to get a grip on my true feelings, so here it goes!

USATF Membership $50.00

Entry fee for USA Trials $25.00

Plane ticket from Miami to Eugene $1,182.46

Hotel for 13 nights $1,723.80

Two premium seating tickets for all 8 days of the meet $730 (subtract the $280 my mother sold them for)leaves only a $450loss…. I hope those guys were happy and have been in attendance EVERYDAY!!!

Running sub-11 three-times $3,000 (This money will go into the sub11 scholarship fund, to be distributed to various female athletes heading to college at a later date) $9,000

Making the team … PRICELESS!!!!

This trip has been such an adventure… I was a little worried when it started with a delayed plane that lead to me sleeping over in Denver and arriving in Eugene a day later than planned…but the mood quickly shifted during that final decent into Eugene when I was overcome with nervousness that didn’t recede until  the 100m final on Saturday night.

I must admit, I wasn’t too thrilled about trials being held in Eugene as this small rainy town isn’t my ideal place to spend two weeks - but I am also willing to admit when I may have judged too quickly. For starters, the weather is GREAT - clearly a blessing from GOD who realized what a damper it would have been to have a cold and wet trials. And the Eugene staff is amazing, six days into competition, everyone is still smiling and trying to be as accommodating as possible. It makes life so much easier on the athlete when we can focus on competing because all the little things are taken care of. The only two complaints I am going to voice are 1) there is no TNT or USA in the Hilton Hotel!! How is that possible?!! I am going through severe “Law and Order” withdrawal!! They have all kinds of extra stations, but have failed to incorporate the basics. SHAME ON YOU HILTON!!! Second, it has been a bit of a chore finding adequate nourishment as “tavern,” “bar” and “grill” and “pub” seem to be in the title of every restaurant, and the cuisine at these places is limited. Also things close early and are not in close proximity to the meet hotel. These are relatively minor things, but hopefully something can be done to remedy this as I believe Trials will be here through 2012.

Lots going on in the wide world of sprints!! Tyson Gay ran a stellar race and now has run the fastest 100m ever by a human, though we can’t call him a world record holder YET! You shouldn’t feel bad for your competitor but my heart goes out to Mashavette Hooker who was the first not to make the team in the women’s 100m, after looking stellar through the rounds. Having first interacted with her in Jamaica as part of the 2002 world junior team when we were roommates, I know her talent and potential and was not at all surprised with her speed this year. I know what she is capable of and look forward to working with her on the 4×100 creating a World Record pace team to compete against Jamaica in China. Speaking of Jamaica, I know it sounds weird but I was also sad to hear Veronica Campbell didn’t make the 100m as she is a respected competitor. It seems that the Jamaican sprints are just as hot as the American on both the men’s and women’s side. I can’t wait to see how it all plays out in China. You know it is going to be an exciting year when 11 seconds doesn’t make the American final and a Jamaican 10.88 didn’t make the Olympic team!

And lastly, with just twenty-four hours until the men’s and women’s 200 meter goes off…I want to say “Godspeed” to my baby brother Wallace “Squarepants” Spearmon, as he is the last of the gang to earn his ticket to China (Sanya, Bershawn and I all have.) As for me, I plan to go out there and race my heart out and I am telling myself that I am just as qualified as everyone else who is lining up. My personal best is 22.28 and I had run that prior to running sub11 in 2005. So now having the sub11 performances in the bank I am confident that I at least have a personal best performance to debut here and the pressure is off as I have earned a place on the team so I am going out there and have a good time!

–sub11

The Olympic Trials are here! The feeling in the stadium and all around the city is indescribable. The desire for so many athletes to fill the three very coveted spots on the Olympic team is overwhelming. In just the first day there were already some shocking upsets with UCLA’s Nicole Leach hitting the seventh hurdle and failing to advance. Nicole Cook, Alysia Johnson and Kevin Hicks all missed the next round in the 800m after being almost sure entries in the finals. You could see the real disappointment on their faces as what they had worked so long for was slipping away. The trials are sudden death and everyone wants to be their best between now and July 6th because nothing before or after matters! You have to run your best race now, you don’t have to win but you have to be in the top three to have a chance to achieve your dream.

The women’s 100m, one of the most anticipated races of the meet as it has been so wide open, and hard to pick the top three, have exceeded my expectations. Marshevet Hooker leads the charge with a 10.76 wind-aided and Lauryn Williams, Torri Ewards, and Muna Lee are close behind with 10.8 performances. Of course you can’t count out Carmelita Jeter or Allyson Felix who had sub-11 performances as well. The finals take place this evening and even though six people go to Beijing in the 100m (some for the relay pool), everyone wants to be in the Top 3.

The men’s 400m hurdles had their first round and one of my best friends - Bershawn Jackson - made it look easy as he won and will compete again today in the semi-final round. Robert Griffin from Baylor also advanced.

I start competing on Sunday and I will have my final on the 3rd of July! I really can’t wait to have my chance to step on the track in front of this amazing crowd at Hayward field. The meet has been sold out for months and it shows. The fans filled the stands on the first day when only one final was scheduled to go off. Congrats to Shalane Flanagan, Kara Goucher, and Amy Begley, for making the team in the 10,000m. As I sat and watched yesterday I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to compete and have a real opportunity to make the US Track and Field Team. There is so much pressure and anticipation but no one wants it more than me. I’ve worked for this since 2004 and I have done my best to prepare myself for this moment. Every experience I’ve had so far, favorable or not, have made me a stronger competitor and I hope to show that on July 3rd!

I’ve been lucky to meet some really cool people over the past year. I’ve met Eva Longoria, Dr. J, Rick Ross, Sandy from Salt n Pepa, Kirk Franklin, Flavor Flav and others. I always love meeting people who you see on TV because they aren’t always the people they portray to be, or sometimes they are EXACTLY the same.I briefly interacted with Dr. J and Eva Longoria, they both seemed to be really cool and down to earth. Rick Ross was as laid back as he appears in his videos. He performed at the party I threw for Aaron Ross and Nichole Denby last year and he was really easy to work with. I told him exactly how I wanted him to make his entrance and he had no problems. The entire night he kept giving all three of us shout outs and he performed for longer than we agreed. I thought that was admirable and humble of him.

After his performance he hung out with us and stayed for most of the night. Sandy from Salt n Pepa is truly an amazing woman. She spoke at Bev’s Symposium after the Texas Relays and you could just tell that she had been through a lot, mostly huge success, but from every experience she has has grown tremendously. She seems to be a great friend, Mom, and wife.

Kirk Franklin is really nice too! He’s always at the Texas Relays because he is great friends with Jon Drummond but he is also a fan of track and field which I think is great! The funniest and most memorable interaction I had recently was when I ran into Flavor Flav in New York after the Reebok meet. He knew nothing about the meet but saw me in my uniform and asked me what I was there for. I told him about the meet and he said “that’s what’s up, I can smell that on you,” then he said “you know what else I smell on you a GOLD MEDAL!!!” I smiled and said, “From your mouth to God’s ears!”

If you asked me to tell you the scoop, I would begin to rattle off flavors of ice cream most likely from my local Coldstone Creamery. Instead today I am gonna give you the story on something more personal that I’ve come to take very serious.

Food is one of my favorite subjects 2 discuss. I sometimes day dream about being a famous food critic when I am finished with track. I travel back 2 reality when I realize that although I eat just about anything I don’t eat everything and so my scope for criticizing would be somewhat limited.

I have been lucky enough that high metabolism and naturally muscular build as a result of good genetics has allowed me to eat whatever I want whenever I want and still be a world class athlete. This also has been my main argument for refusing a supplement of any kind. Who needs a pill for calcium when when you can drink milk (preferably with cookies

However during the 2007 season I carried around a few more pounds than usual. Still I wouldn’t budge on my views. I want to be as natural as possible. So during this off season I still ate what I wanted but focused on not always eating until I was stuffed. I also added some “distance runner runs” to my early fall training in addition to my regularly scheduled program. Having lost those few pounds I committed to eating better for the new year after all if you love just about everything what’s the big deal about eating the healthier stuff for awhile. In addition I gave up on the scale. I am convinced the scale was invented by Satan himself in an effort to get women to commit suicide either by starvation or other means.

Long story short in early April my coach forced me on the scale. I am not sure if it was because I looked like an elephant or if she just wasn’t sure what else to do as my workouts had been ok but not stellar as they usually are by this time of year. Not only did I gain back those few pounds but a few more had joined the the party!!! I am not naming numbers because although I am sharing a very private matter with you all I recognize that not everyone has my best interest at heart. Last thing I want is the media using my own words against me to making an issue of it. Talk about a nervous break down!! I had been eating right, training hard and putting an effort unmatched by any of the prior years as a professional only to find out I wasn’t on track.

Coach gave me the number of the nutritionist who I had refused multiple times in the past. I called… Lisa Dorfman came to the rescue. With just 10 weeks until the trials we had work to do. I sent in a menu of the things I had eaten over a 2day period and she analyzed it and brought with her to our first meeting along a detailed menu of of I would be eating for the next wk. We did height weight body fat etc. My weight comes from being dense. (Everyone knows muscle weighs more than fat still there is a fine line between having muscle for power and being weighed down by excess muscle where its function becomes counter productive. So since then I have become accountable to Lisa emailing what I have eaten at the end of each day. This is a great tool to make me think about what I am putting my mouth because I know I have to share it later and anyone who knows me knows I don’t have what it takes to lie. She breaks down my intake and gives me feedback such as suggesting alternatives as to what to do is a situation where only certain foods are available or whether or not I ate enough that day. It has been really great in helping me understand why I cant just eat whatever I want and my body has soooooo felt the difference. I have this never ending supply of energy. No more napping after practice because I am not tired and the workouts have improved tremendously.

I used to laugh at poor Jarred on the Subway commercial knowing he wasn’t eating the good sandwiches. I now have to laugh at myself as I often am limited to those same 6in sandwiches when I am on the road. you would be surprised how filling just half is if you just give it a moment 2 digest.

Lastly I want to talk about the supplements aspect of it. I was stressed out when Lisa started to discuss the things I needed to be taking as supplements and how each was important. I felt like I was going to become a sellout if I started with all these powers,shakes, pills and such. I explained I didn’t want anything that isn’t available to the whole world in a regular drug store as there are so many companies that you can order this and that from now a days. So after much conversation and compromising we came up with an agreement.Hopefully the picture above is clear and you can see what I have now added to my life as a supplement to my diet. This is all stuff you can pick up at the local CVS or Walgreens. In order to achieve success you have to make some sacrifices. I want to be an Olympic Champion in Beijing. I am willing to be open minded and try to get more out of my body by tailoring my diet to performance. Hopefully to my fans this shows my dedication to being a winner.I am still drug free and committed to clean sport and the idea of of a fair playing field!! My stomach is growling so until next time!!!

Ryan Hall’s Stats:

http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/atm.php?ID=38693

On a run a couple of days ago I found myself laughing at Kai (our miniature Siberian Husky) as she tore off through the woods in hot pursuit of yet another squirrel, only to be left at the bottom of the tree peering up as the hotly tempered squirrel rattled off some explicit sounds in its native tongue. I thought to myself, ‘why does she keep wasting her energy flying after squirrels when she has chased thousands of squirrels during her short life, yet never, ever, even been close to catching one?’

As I contemplated her spirit I realized that our spirits aren’t really different. I have been trying to run with the best runners in the world ever since I was able to enter the same race in which they were competing, and while I have never won a race that would give the honor of being crowned “the best in the world,” I still find myself tearing off after the world beaters as if I have never been unsuccessful in beating them.

When I watch Kai’s eyes as she spots a Squirrel I can see her come to attention as if I put a fat sausage in front of her nose and then I see her wheels turning. I know exactly what she is thinking because I have thought the same thing a million times.

“I am going after it.”

Then the trigger is pulled and we are off to the races. I think this is what Coach Vegil means when he says that all that matters on the starting line is having big eyes. I love that saying. All that matters on race day is being ready to go after it, to go to war.

What I love about “chasing squirrels” is that it doesn’t matter what your previous track record is, all that matters is that moment. Your past is completely behind you and the present is your opportunity to “take a swing”. If you can’t tell by now, I am a big fan of “taking a swing.” I don’t like to go away from races knowing that I didn’t leave my mark on the race by really going after it at some point. If I die, I die. I have died many times before, however, what I have learned to do very well over the years is simply to get up.

My favorite verse in the Bible comes from Proverbs 24.16 and says, “For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again.” Being an Olympian is not about being perfect it is about picking yourself up out of the dirt and pouring yourself back into what you are doing, as if you never fell before.

I love the story of Noah Ngeny. I have to admit that I was rooting for Hicham El Guerrouj to win the 1500 meters in the 2000 Olympic games, but I was captivated by the fact that though Noah had raced El Guerrouj a number of times (I believe 12 times) he had never beaten him before until the final of the Olympic 1500. It would be easy to say that El Guerrouj “had his number”, but none of that mattered on race day because Noah wasn’t running with a broken spirit, as a defeated man would.

That day he ran as if he had never lost to El Guerrouj, and when push came to shove in the last 100 meters of the race Noah’s spirit was strong and he was able to do something he had never been able to do before. Noah had been beaten numerous times, but apparently he had never been defeated in spirit.

When I am all done with my career I plan to cross the finish line of the marathon take off my shoes at the finish and walk away having never been defeated. Not in the sense that I will have never lost a marathon, but in the sense that no matter how bad I have been beaten, my competitors will know that I will always show up to the starting line with fire in my eyes, ready for war, with a spirit that cannot be defeated.

I haven’t always had this spirit. It is something that I have had to feed throughout the years. With every poor performance I have grown stronger as I have picked myself up and gotten back up. This is not to say that I wasn’t rattled by poor performances, actually it has been very difficult for me to deal with disappointment. But dealing with it, and coming out the other end, is what overcoming is all about.

My wife knows well how rattled I can get in the hours and days after a bad competition, it can be hard to deal with “failure” when I have so much invested in the sport I love. But knowing now, that I can deal with whatever is thrown my way gives me the courage I need to be bold and courageous out on the race coarse and to “take my swing”, because I know that in my heart of hearts I can deal with the disappointment of coming up short and I know that, though it may take me awhile to collect myself, I will be back out there with fire in my eyes.

I am going to “take my swing” at some point in the Olympic Marathon, and it might result in gold and it might result in a lot of suffering and pain over the later stages of the race, but one thing I know for sure: I will walk away from the finish line satisfied that I wasn’t, and will never be, defeated.