A Look Back and a Look Forward

Well I guess now is the time that everyone is looking back on 2013, and looking forward to 2014, and I guess I shall join them as well.

2013 was a good year for me.  I ran a PR in the 1500, met and moved in with my girlfriend Sarah, hit the Olympic Trials "B" Standard in the 1/2 Marathon, and ran my first full marathon.  I was top American in 2 relatively major road races, posting two top 5 finishes, won a 10k in California, and even ran some XC again!

While 2013 was good, it also had plenty of bumps in the road, and growing pains.  Learning how to be a professional athlete with a job hasn't been easy, and getting that down played a crucial role in beginning to post better performances.  Along with that, I also recruited the help of an experienced coach, Trina Painter, who has led me to the successes of the fall.  Her ability to take my ambitions and turn them into reality has been nothing short of incredible, and I can't thank her enough for what she's done for my career. 

There are tons of people to thank for 2013 and I'll try to list as many as possible: Vince and Sarah Sherry (for employing me, and guiding me through the maze that is professional running), Sarah Grothe (for being my biggest fan), the aforementioned Trina Painter, Kym Wilkens (for keeping me healthy), all my teammates and friends: Adam Vess, Steve Soprano, Forrest Misenti, Ryan Blood, Becky Belanger, Matt Walsh, Forrest Boughner, Julian de Rubira, Rivers Puzey, some other groups that have helped me out: Swiftwick Socks, and of course my Parents who put up with my relative poverty and support throughout whatever I'm trying to do.  I'm sure I've missed some people, which I don't mean as an insult, sorry.  I can't thank any of you enough for the support and help. 

So now 2014. 2014 is the year where I begin to make my mark.  If 2013 was the year of gaining experience, than 2014 will be the year I gain some scalps.  I'm more motivated than ever to make big things happen on the track and on the roads.  This will be my year. 

Keep an eye out for some familiar faces in Runners World in the coming months, and keep an eye out on my blog because some big things are hopefully coming here in the next few weeks.  Below is my tentative 2014 racing schedule.

Nick Hilton
The Moderately Talented Distance Runner

2014 Spring Racing Schedule

1/24 NAU Invitational (Mile or 3k or Both)

2/7 NAU Mountain T’s Invite (3k)

2/15 USATF Cross-Country Championships 12k Boulder, CO

3/9 Mountain to Fountain 15k Fountain Hills, AZ

3/21 Baldy Castillo 1500 Arizona State

3/29 ASU Invite 5k

4/5 Stanford Invite- 10k

4/18-4/19 Mt. SAC Relays 5k or 10k

5/4 Payton Jordan Invitational 10k

5/10 USATF 25k Championships at the Fifth Third 25k

6/21 Grandma’s Marathon

7/4 Downtown Mile

(Several of the Flagstaff Summer Series Trail Race through July and August)

9/3 USA 20k Championships at the Stratton-Faxon 20k

10/5 USA Marathon Championships at the Twin Cities Marathon

11/16 USA 12k Championships in Alexandria VA

12/13 USA Club XC Championships Bethlehem, PA

Some thoughts, plus a quick Club XC wrap-up

So I’m on a flight to San Francisco, and I’m getting a bit tired of reading, so it seems like the perfect time to type out a blog post. 

I had a dream last night that I was, for all intents and purposes, fully sponsored by Saucony.  It was certainly a fantastic dream.  What runner in my position doesn’t dream of being fully sponsored by someone?  To have all your gear taken care of, travel money, cost of living stipend, and everything else involved with being a fully funded representative of a shoe company. 

I’m sure that there are some pressures involved with that as well.  I can’t imagine what it’s like when your contract is about to be up, the gut wrenching feeling of not knowing if your main source of livelihood is about to be taken away.  That is a pressure that I don’t believe I have felt yet, and one I’m not sure I want to feel. 

I remember waking up this morning, and being pretty disappointed at the fact, that no, I’m not a Saucony sponsored athlete, and that nope, there is no check in the mail from a shoe company on the way to pay my rent. 

I could quit being a distance runner and go get a full time job that makes 40k+ per year.  Be way less stressed about my expenses, and when my prize money is coming because well, I have a car payment due, and student loans to pay.  But what fun would that be?

I have the best day job in the world.  Regardless of what people say, I’m still a Professional Athlete, and what kid doesn’t dream of being that at some point?  Maybe I’m not doing it the most glamorous of ways, but shit! I’m still doing it. 

Maybe I live paycheck to paycheck, and maybe every race I run that has prize money involved is a critically important race, because that $300 pays for the next trip. Maybe living like this is stressful, but it’s LIVING at its finest.  Here I am, on a plane, sitting next to one of the best runners in the USA, on our way to a National Championship race where we’ll go mano-a-mano with some of the other top runners in the country.  How is this not wonderful?  How is this not life at it’s finest, in its full glory?  Who needs handfuls of the green stuff, when at 12:45 Saturday morning I’ll be spiked up, amped up, and running balls to the wall in the mud, hurdling hay bales.  Sounds like living to me.

And I couldn’t ask for a better life.

I won’t say no if Saucony comes calling though, they have some pretty sweet shoes.

In news, I was honored to be a part of the first EVER Team Run Flagstaff Pro XC Team at this years USATF Club Cross Country Championships.

We finished 3^rd Overall with a stud team (Ben Bruce, Nick Arciniaga, Matt Llano, Adam Vess, Forrest Misenti, Steve Soprano, Rivers Puzey, and myself).  It was a truly incredible experience.

The course was tough, (thanks Max King) as was the competition, but overall was a great time.  The best part by far though, was the feeling of being back on a team.  We had a great synergy, and I think we certainly developed that sense of belonging to something.  It was definitely a piece that I’ve missed since college, and I’m glad to be back a part of a team, with fantastic teammates.  I look forward for what the future holds for this fledgling organization.  I think there are going to be some really great things coming out of this.

Good things are a-coming.

Nick Hilton

The Moderately Talented Distance Runner

The Marathon

First off, Thank You.

Thank you to everybody who reached out before the race, Thank you to everybody who came to the marathon, and Thank you to everybody who reached out after the race.  I can't express what it really means to me to hear from all of you.  You provided the emotional energy necessary to go the distance, and the continuing motivation to move on the next race.

With that said, let us talk about the race itself. 

Beforehand I was pretty nervous.

A. Because I couldn't poop.
B. Because 26.2 miles is a long way to run hard. 

It was actually a relief when the gun went off, because all the waiting was finally over, and I could just freaking run the race. 

The first 7 miles were very controlled (5:15-5:20ish) and were run with a big pack.  At times it was hard not to just burst away, as we were running through the incredible crowds of downtown Philly, which were LOUD. 

After 7 you hit a series of hills through University City and Fairmount Park, and let me tell you, we ran these cautiously.  My instinct is to pick it up and work up a hill, but apparently, I was the only one.  We ran anywhere from 5:32 on the ups, to 5:14 on the downs.  And after we hit ten miles, I was still feeling very good, and very antsy.

At this point I just wanted a consistent, faster pace.  5:15's or better.  I was hesitant to get out in front and push, because of my inexperience, and opted instead to sit in the pack and run 5:20's.

We hit 13.1 in 1:10.35, comfortably, but it was at this point that the race changed.  Everyone got more aggressive, the real racing was about to begin.  We hit 14 in 5:10, our fastest split yet, and our group was beginning to string out. At 1/2 way we had 9 guys, that would whittle down to 4 by 17. 

After 14 miles the surging began.  We would run a 5:10-5:12, than the eventual winner would throw in a 5:05.  We'd settle back for a mile, where I would lead and not let it slow too much, until the next surge.  This time it was back to back 5:05's.   Coming through 17 miles, I was still feeling pretty good, but the surges were beginning to take their toll. 

We were down to 3 by 19 miles, and facing a long gradual uphill climb to the turnaround in Manayunk at 20 miles.  The leader threw in a sub 5 (I ran 5:08), and finally broke away from Dube (runner-up) and myself.  I ran with second place through 21 and 22 splitting 5:10 and 5:12.  But definitely was no longer an aggressor, I was in hang on mode.  23 was 5:22 and I fell back from Dube, and was running by myself in third.  This was where I began to hit the wall.  At this point I told myself to "just hold 5:20's!"

24 was 5:32, and I thought to myself, "just hold 5:30s!" 

25 was 5:42, and I thought "Just make it to the finish without being passed you bastard"

Those 2 miles were loooooooong.  I didn't take water, I just stared straight ahead and focused as hard as I could on putting one foot in front of the other.  It was there I saw some familiar faces, which gave me a MUCH needed shot in the arm and kept me inspired to keep pushing.

26 was 5:48 and then I was in the home stretch.  The noise of the crowd brought me home, and I crossed the line, grabbed my knees, and tried not to cramp.

The race was emotional as hell.  Seeing everyone out on the course was fantastic, and every bit of encouragement through that 2nd half of the race was sorely sorely needed, and incredibly appreciated.

I can't wait until the next one. 

Nick Hilton
The Moderately Talented Distance Runner

Some Final Thoughts

Being that we're now less than 5 days from the Philly Marathon, I thought it would be good to type out one last entry with some final thoughts before the big race. 

Needless to say, I'm very excited to go home for a bit, run a race, see family and friends, and just spend a wee-little bit of time back in the keystone state.  It's always a refresher to see everybody (although I practically guarantee that I'll be WAY more tired when I get back to Flag than when I left), and is a fantastic way to reset and get ready for the second part of the year.

 To say that I'm excited to run my first marathon would be an understatement, as this is the race that I feel that I've been best suited for since my formative years of running.  Even with that excitement, I'm trying to stay as even-keeled as possible, as I don't want to run a 4:45 first mile and blow up in spectacular fashion.  I've been training and racing smarter than I ever have before in my career, and I don't want that to change now.

I'm also fitter than I've ever been in my life, of that I'm 100% sure.  I have 0 doubts in my mind that my coach has prepared me fantastically for this race, and will get me to the line healthy, fit, and ready to roll.  She's taken me from a 3:46 1500 runner in the spring, molded me in 6 weeks into a 1:04:41 1/2 marathoner, and now has helped get me into a position to run a very competitive marathon.  I've been putting in a TON of consistent work since June, and am ready to toe the line and put 100% out there. I can't thank her enough for helping me out and getting me into this position.

The field is certainly pretty tough this year, as there is some talk that the course record will go down (2:16.47), but that doesn't scare me one bit, it has me licking my chops for a good; competitive race. 

So, it's only a few days until Sarah and I board the plane to come into town, and through these next few runs I'll certainly be doing lots visualizing and mental preparation for the race to come.  Along with that, I'll also be thinking of everyone who helped me get to this point.  It's been a long road, and this is certainly NOT the end, but hopefully the beginning of a new phase of my career. 

And when the race gets tough, as it certainly will, I will be using the home crowd and all of you as motivation to put one foot in front of the other, and get to the line in a speedy fashion. 

Thanks again,

I'll see you all on the other side of 26.2

Nick Hilton
The Moderately Talented Distance Runner

Why not?

November 17th 2013 is definitely going to be a big day.  The plan was to run the 1/2 marathon at the Philly marathon, and try to better my time from the last time I ran the 1/2.

But...

I've decided that I want to make Philly my debut MARATHON instead.  So on 11/17 I'll make first attempt at the 26.2 distance.

Here's the rationale:

1.) I've already achieved the "B" standard for the 2016 Olympic Marathon Trials, which was my original goal going into this season  (I wasn't expecting to break the 1:05 barrier at AFC).  Since my plan is to transition to the marathon anyway, why not get one under my belt, since there is really nothing to lose. 

2.) I'm healthy, fit, and running well.  I've been able to put in a really solid of uninterrupted training since June.  My workouts have been very consistent, and even before the decision to switch, I had run over 20 miles several times.  The original plan was to debut next fall, but I want to take advantage of my current health and fitness and get a baseline idea of what the marathon is like so I can have a better idea of how to run very fast next year. 

3.)  I can't think of a better place to debut than Philly.  It's a great running town, and I definitely have always wanted to do something big in Philadelpha (since I feel like I'll have some homefield advantage).  So what's bigger than trying to win my debut marathon in front of the hometown crowd?

4.)  When the miles get tough, I'll have family and friends to get me to the line.  There's nothing like performing in front of family and close friends. 

So, with that said, here goes nothing.  Only a little under 3 weeks remain to the big day.   Have done some higher volume workouts up here to get prepared for the longer distance.  The key one was a 16 mile steady state run, where I ended up averaging 5:22 pace at 7000 feet, with the last 5 miles at 5:17 pace.

I know its going to be a brutal test over those last 6 miles, but I trust that with my preparation and a little help from the hometown crowd that I'll bust through the wall and do something great. 

Thanks as always for the continued support, I can't wait until race day

Nick Hilton
The Moderately Talented Distance Runner

A Win!

Cruising home in the final mile

 So for the first time in my competitive career I got to do something that I've always wanted to do.  Break the tape. 

In no race that I have won since the beginning of my career, have I won a race that had tape at the finish line.  Let me tell you that it is every bit as cool as you think it is.

If you haven't figured it out yet, this weekend went pretty well.  I ended up winning the 10k in 30:39, 18 seconds over the 2nd place finisher, who just so happens to boast a 13:36 5k PR.  

The race played out like this:  The pace was pretty honest early, with a 4:50 first mile, with three of us in front.  The course starts to climb after the mile mark and we slowed to 4:58 for the 2nd mile.  I noticed my competitors beginning to labor a little bit as we climbed, so I threw in a test surge, and formed a gap and just continued to push a bit through miles 3 and 4, which were a slow 5:08 and 5:17 respectively.  By the time we reached the 4 mile mark, I had increased the lead to about 100 meters, which I held through the finish.  The course cruises downhill for the final two mile, which I recorded in 4:43 and 4:40 respectively.

The time definitely was not what I wanted to be, but the race was definitely more of a tempo effort, which bodes well moving forward. 

The weekend overall was much needed,  and I always enjoy spending time with Sarah and some good friends on the sunny shores of Santa Monica. 

Results Here--->http://www.geminitiming.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/sm5000_10k_fl_131.htm

So, next up for me is the Phoenix 5k in November, which will serve as my final tune up for Philly on 11/7. 
I honestly can't wait for Philly, I'm absolutely chomping at the bit to come home and post a good race in front of friends and family.  I've put in a lot of work in the past year and am ready to do my best to put on a show for the hometown crowd. 

About 6 weeks to go, gotta keep the nose to the grindstone, hammer out some great workouts, and be ready to roll for 11/17.

I'm 100% sure that the energy from all my supporters will propel me to my best performance yet, and I can't thank you guys enough. 

Before I sign off,  A HUGE shoutout to my co-worker, mentor, and friend Nick Arciniaga for winning his 1st NATIONAL TITLE at the US Marathon champs this past weekend.  This guy puts in A TON of work, and deserves it more than anyone I've ever met.  CONGRATS!

Until next time,

Nicholas Hilton

The Moderately Talented Distance Runner

My Dad told me to blog.

Back by somewhat popular demand!  Or, otherwise known as, my Dad told me to blog again.  So!  Here it is!

Things have been great out here in Flagstaff, boringly great for the most part.  My last race was the George Kyte XC Classic at Buffalo Park, here in flag.  XC at 7000 feet didn't sound too appealing, but I was happy to get on the line and test my chops on the ole' XC course again.

Ran 24:45 (which is only 17 seconds off of my XC 8k pr at sea level) for 2nd place.  Was happy with the time, not so much with the place.  Waited too long to really move, and got caught by a speedy collegian with a little more turnover than I had at that time.  The race felt like a tempo for the majority of it, the last 1k or so proved to be my downfall, as I wasn't able to shift to the next gear.  Overall, positive effort.

Results here --->http://www.nauathletics.com/sports/xc/2013-14/files/2013KyteResults.pdf
Note: Technically I won the Open Men's Division, but both races (Open and Collegiate) were ran together, so overall through the whole thing I took 2nd.

Finishing the final 400 at the George Kyte XC Classic

Next on the docket is the Santa Monica 5000 (where I'm racing the 10k!!) I'm actually leaving for this race, in about 90 min.  I'm super pumped as always to head to California for a weekend.  Pictures should follow.

For this race, the absolute only thing that I'm focused on is bringing home the W.  For whatever reason I want this win bad.  So I'm gonna do everything within my power to take it.  The field is strong, but I've been feeling really fit and strong myself.  It should be a fun race.

Results can be found on www.santamonica5000.com.

On a different note, I just want to say that I'm incredibly grateful to the people who continue to support my career and help me grow as an athlete.  I'm getting closer and closer to being where I want to be, and everyday you guys help me and inspire me to continue pushing.

So thanks to Mom and Dad, Vince, Kym Wilkens-for keeping my stupid hamstring, sartorious, and adductors in line, Sarah, Trina, and all my teammates and fellow runners in town.

Also, best of luck to Nick Arciniaga at the US Marathon Champs, and Adam Vess who will be travelling with me to Santa Monica and racing the 5k.

Bless all of you, and Thank you!

Nick Hilton
The Moderately Talented Distance Runner