BOOM!

Well, I'll try not to get too pumped about this, but.... I QUALIFIED FOR THE OLYMPIC FREAKIN' TRIALS!!!!!!

Ok, ok I'm done.  But seriously, I'm pretty pumped.  This is the kind of performance that I've been looking for.  And while I know that it's a big step for me, I know that in the grand scheme of things I still have a ways to go and lots of work to do, but this run has done a lot for me confidence wise. 

All My Gear Pre-Race

It's just a validation that I'm doing the right things, and heading in the right direction, and gives me more motivation to work my ass off more going forward.   

I'll break down the race quickly and how it unfolded.  Gun went off, and the first two mile were pretty controlled as they were pretty rolling.  4:55, 4:50.  about 1/2 way through the second mile you start the dive downhill which made the pace start to get a bit hot.  The next two miles were 4:38 and 4:25 (Hot damn!)  and a pack of four kenyans broke off from the main pack. 

After 4 miles we hit the flats, and I'll be honest, after cruising downhill my quads were pretty jacked up and that flat did not feel so great.  We ran 4:49, 4:52, and 4:55 for 5,6,7 and came through 10k in a PR of 29:34. Mentally I was in a good place at this point, I was in a pack of 4 and just came through a rough patch and was feeling ok.  Definitely wasn't feeling great, but just focused on running in the pack and keeping up a good cadence.  The next few miles were flat as well and we slowed a bit, running 5:06, 4:59, 5:01. 

Beautiful Course along the Bay!

I didn't panic after the 5:06 on mile 8, because I knew I had a good bank of time from those downhill miles, but I knew there was a biiiiiiiig hill coming up, so I didn't want to relax too much and tried to push our pack a bit for 9 and 10. 

We were down to 3 guys at this point and approaching downtown and the hill, we had passed one of the Kenyans from the original front pack so we were fighting for that 4th place prize.  I knew the guys around me were fatiguing a bit so I took control of the pack and started to attempt a push to pull away.  I put about 10 yards on the two guys, but they reeled me back in, but I pushed again on the second 1/2 of the hill and finally broke free and was alone in 4th. 

Whomever thought that it was a good idea to toss in a long steep hill on mile 11 of a 1/2 marathon is certainly a mad man, cause that freakin' hurts.  A lot.  My 11 and 12 split was 10:25 (I missed the 11 mile mark).  So my pace was definitely killed by the incline, but I rallied coming over the top and just tried to get back into a rhythm for the final 1.1 miles and pushed the best I could.  The last 1.1 was 5:41 and I crossed the finish in 1:04:41 for 4th place overall, 1st American. 

Flippin' Hills!

The feeling was pretty incredible at the line.  I knew I was fit enough to run sub 1:05 (which is the qualifying time for the olympic trials), but to actually get out there and hit it is a feeling words can't do justice for. 

So now I'm back in Flagstaff and ready to get back on that grind.  For me It's time for some more miles and work to get ready for the next attempt at the 1/2 marathon distance on November 17th in Philadelphia.

Sarah and I checking out the starting area

Since I ran sub 1:05 here, that takes some pressure off of me for Philadelphia.  Now I can focus on really getting after it there and trying to contend for the win.  I don't have to worry about the time nearly as much because I have a qualifying mark under my belt. 

The goal for that race is to contend for the win and try to break 1:04.  

My next racing will be 9/7 at the George Kyte Classic (an XC race) up here in Flagstaff, and then 10/18 in a 10k at the Santa Monica 5000. 

Thank you everybody for the huge outpouring of support post race, you guys are my inspiration and keep me going when things start to hurt.

Also a huge shout out and thanks to Run Flagstaff for their support, Kym Wilkens for helping keep me healthy, and Sarah Grothe (who also finished her first 1/2 marathon in San Diego!) for keeping me sane. 

Thanks again everybody!

Nick Hilton

The Moderately Talented (and Olympic Trials qualified) Distance Runner

Time for an update!

Hello All!

It's certainly been awhile, and I apologize for that, sometimes the whole blogging gets thrown to the side for awhile.

But as I'm about to begin my next racing season, I guess I should start getting back on this thing!

Firstly though, lets talk about how the spring ended, since I never really covered that.  My last event of the year was the Jim Bush Classic, held at UCLA, and that was to be my all-out attempt to crack 3:45 and get a USA B-standard.

I know I was fit enough to run that fast, to me it wasn't even a question, I thought that 3:45 was on the slower end of what I should've been able to run.  I believe that I was definitely in 3:42-3:43 shape.  Below you'll see my final workout before the race, the one that really gave me the confidence in my fitness.

The race didn't pan out as planned.  Got caught back in the pack right off the line, and spent much of the race trying to get back into contention.  Ended up running 3:48, which was disappointing but at least consistent, I really didn't have a really bad race from Mt. SAC on.  So for me, this season I lowered my 1500 PR from 3:54 to 3:46, and my mile from 4:08 to 4:06.  So I would call it a productive season, and a good step in the right direction for the next year.

Race video is here ---> http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=30&do=videos&video_id=90996

So after that, it was time for a little down time.  2 weeks of sporadic easy running, and getting ready for my best summer of training to date.  I was fired up and motivated after that race, I wanted my season to end with a bang, not a whimper.  So I was ready to rock and roll after those two weeks.

Next for me was the Flagstaff Downtown Mile on July 4th, and that was certainly an exciting affair.  Took home the win in that one in 4:21, after a thrilling kick-off down Aspen St. with NAU All-American (and co-worker of mine) Brian Shrader.  The results said I won by .6, but it was certainly less than that, definitely one of the most exciting races I've been in.

The end of that race signified the end of mile training for me, and the beginning of some serious mileage and a build-up leading up to the Philadelphia 1/2 Marathon in November.

So since then I've been racking up some mileage and putting in some good longer workouts in preparation for a good fall of some base-building and longer racing.

First on the docket for me will be the America's Finest City 1/2 Marathon in San Diego on 8/18.  I'm really excited as this will be my 1/2 debut, and I want to go out there and put down a strong early time.  Workouts indicate that I should be in sub 1:05 shape, so we'll see how this first one plays out.

The rest of my season includes the George Kyte Invitational up here in Flagstaff, for a little high altitude XC action.  Than a 10k at the Santa Monica 5000 in mid-October.  Philly 1/2 is November 17th, than Run Flagstaff Elite will be making its team XC debut at Club XC in early December.

I'm really excited about this season.  I'm ready to crush.