Nick Symmonds:
Roll with the Punches
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #7)
Posted February 25th, 2008 at 9:21 PM by Nick Symmonds
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Nick Symmonds
Welcome to the official blog of elite American middle-distance runner Nick Symmonds. For more information about Nick please visit: www.nicksymmonds.com
There is so much to write about this week! The last fourteen days have been very exciting for me. Preparation for USA Indoors went very well. The weather in Eugene was ideal and I felt very prepared as I sharpened up for this meet. However, I was thrown for a bit of a loop trying to get to Massachusetts. Our flight was canceled out of Eugene not once, but twice, and in order to get to Boston on time three of my teammates and I ended up flying the red-eye out of Los Angeles. It was not the ideal travel schedule, but this sport is about rolling with the punches. My legs felt much better after a few hours of rest and a shake out. I felt great going through the prelims and though the final was a bit frustrating for me, it was a great race and a great time. I hope anyone who caught the race enjoyed watching it! Its tough to run half a mile and lose by 1/100th of a second, but that is why they measure the finish so accurately. Next time I’m just going to have to dig down that much deeper.
Speaking of next time, I am now getting ready to be a part of my second world team! I am extremely excited to represent my country in Spain and feel that I have a good shot at medaling. I have been picturing myself in the Valencia finals since my last round in Osaka and I am anxious to compete against the best in the world. To prepare myself for this endeavor I am currently living out of a hotel room in Fairfax, Virginia. I am scheduled to be in Spain on the second and rather than return to the west coast, Coach Gags and I decided it would be easier to stay on the east and train in his old neighborhood at George Mason University. This should help me get adjusted to the change in time zones; not only that, but the change of scenery was much needed. Today I shook the legs out and felt pretty good. I have workouts scheduled Wednesday and Saturday, a combination of a day of strength and one of speed. I’m confident that I will be at my best on March 7th and plan on conserving energy as I advance through the two preliminary rounds. My run of 1:46.96 was a great time for me, but I am confident that I have the potential to run faster this indoor season and I look forward to proving it! ¡Nos vemos en España!
-Nick
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Tags: 800 meter run, 800 meters, 800m, elite athlete blog, elite athlete blog series, elite athlete nutrition, middle distance, Nick Symmonds, olympic hopeful, professional running blog, race prep, thefinalsprint.com elite athlete blog series, track and field, training, valencia spain, World Indoor Championships, world indoor track championships
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The Final Sprint
Keep up the great work Nick! Just watched your winning race in Eugene last year at the Pre meet… amazing stuff little man! I know you’ve heard this a million times, but goddamn, I can’t believe what you’ve accomplished since leaving WU. Us at willamette will be rooting for you at the summer olympics ;) good luck!
March 3rd, 2008 at 9:07 pmCongrats on a solid 6th place in Valencia. Keep up the good work, you have as good a shot as anyone in Beijing! You have definitely been an inspiration to all of us on my team.
March 9th, 2008 at 3:49 pm