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Nick Symmonds: Indoor 2009 and Some of Your Questions
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 27)

Posted January 28th, 2009 at 1:30 PM by Nick Symmonds

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Nick Symmonds

Welcome to the official blog of middle-distance track star and 2008 U.S. Olympian Nick Symmonds. Be sure to check every other Monday at http://nicksymmonds.thefinalsprint.com for Nick’s latest entry! For more information about Nick, also please visit: nicksymmonds.com

Wow! I’m so happy to see how many great comments were left on my latest blog. A lot of great questions were asked and I will try to address them in this weeks blog. In order to tackle the bulk of them, this blog might not have the same flow that I try to keep in most of my writings. I will try to address questions in the order that they were received.

First of all, in regards to my indoor season: I am planning on opening 2009 with a 1000m at the Boston Indoor Games on February 7th. From there I am planing on running an 800m in Fayetteville on the 13th. If all is going well and I feel confident in my ability to race and win I will head to the US Indoor Championships at the end of February. The Oregon Track Club will then be spending the month of March in Arizona for some warm weather training to prepare us for outdoors. My outdoor season will not be set up until we have completed indoors, but I imagine I will kick it off as I always do at the Penn Relays.

In regards to Jimmy’s questions regarding cross training and my decision to run D3 in college: I swim for 30 minutes twice a week following my hard interval sessions. I run the intervals in the morning and then head to the pool in the late afternoon to swim laps. I find that swimming is a great, zero impact way to loosen up my body following these sessions. I began doing this in college but never made it a continuous part of my routine until I turned pro and found the time to do the extra work. I think that cross training is very important to maintain aerobic ability and can be especially helpful during times of injury. Joe, in regards to your sciatic nerve you might want to consider aqua jogging or swimming laps to allow your body to increase strength without putting excess strain on your body.

My decision to run for Willamette University had more to do with the program and less to do with the fact that it was a D3 school. I was blessed to have my parents paying for my college so money was not an issue and my mom and dad told me to pick a school where I believed I could achieve all my goals both on the track and in the classroom. After visiting Willamette I knew that it was there that I had my best chance of doing so.

Another question out there that I get asked a lot is in regards to my weightlifting/core workouts. Here in Eugene I have one of the best strength coaches that has ever lived and he creates my biweekly weight room workouts. Our lifting routine consists of many different exercises that all promote core strength and are specifically designed to address a part of the running stride be it take off, knee drive, etc. There are so many drills that we incorporate that I could write a book on them, but fortunately I don’t have to because Coach Radcliffe already has! Jim Radcliffe has published several books detailing the kind of work that we do and in particular I am thinking of High-Powered Plyometrics and Functional Training for Athletes at All Levels.

To John Moore: John, I was raised Catholic and spirituality has always been a huge part of my life, but when I sit down and define my beliefs I would consider myself agnostic. I certainly would never deny the existence of a supreme being, but in my life I have not been presented with conclusive evidence that there is one. So, I’ve decided that the best way for me to live my life is to keep hoping and searching for knowledge and truth and regardless of what I find, try to do my part to leave this world in better shape than when I arrived in it.

Ill finish off by answering Marc’s question which though it is a “simple” question is something that I think about often. Marc’s question was “What is the one greatest thing you LIKE about your job? AND, what is the one greatest thing you DISLIKE about your job?” …

… I would have to say that my favorite part of the job is seeing the world. There is nothing I love more than arriving in a city that I have never been in. I love to throw on my running shoes and immediately start to familiarize myself with the new place. I enjoy learning about new cultures and experiencing the things that make each place so unique. Unfortunately, in order to live out my favorite part of the job I have to put up with my least favorite part: airplanes. I have absolutely no fear of flying, but I do have a fear of being stuck in a loud crowded plane forced to watch terrible movies and eat terrible food. The worst part is that there is really no alternative. To get to the locations where the races are held one must fly there. In my first year as a professional I really struggled with this part of the job, but as I enter my third professional year I’ve learned ways to deal with airports/airplanes such as traveling with noise canceling head phones and bringing a good book and some food with me on the plane.

I know that does not completely answer all the questions out there but I hope it help address some of them!

- Nick

Be sure to check back on Monday, February 9, 2008 for Nick’s latest entry at: nicksymmonds.thefinalsprint.com

To comment on this entry and to send feedback & questions to Nick, please click here.

craig said:

Nick,
Thank you very much for taking the time to share your experience as a professional runner i have learned a lot just from following your blog entries regularly and i also appreciate your genuine honesty within them. I’m 20 years old and am somewhat of a competitive runner and also a very competitive golfer. I live in WV so its really hard to train hard running wise throughout the winter so i have just been lifting weights very hard during the off season and have put on a substantial amount of weight in muscle but am still a thin guy (6′3″ 180.) I have tried to stay in shape by running about 5-6 miles a week on the treadmill but i find that treadmills seem to be really hard on my shins so i am wondering what your opinion would be on a better way to spend the next month- 1-1/2 months in getting ready for the running season. I am generally about a 1-5 mile race runner but probably lean more towards the shorter mid distances. If you have time to give some advice on that i’d appreciate it.
Thanks, Craig
January 28th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Marc said:

Thanks for answering my question, Nick. I think it’s great that you share your experiences and training ideas with us. Best of luck with the season and hopefully we’ll see you pop off a 1:43 this year!
January 29th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
alisha.pang said:

Hey thanks so much for this. Keep em posts coming, find them so interesting. Anyways where did you take your swimming lessons ? I’m keen to take it up while I’m still young.
January 29th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
Paul Ecker said:

How was your college life? as in: What did you major in and how was your teammates and coach. Funny stories, any pranks you played on the coach?
January 29th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
Michael Butler, Sr. said:

Hello Nick,

I enjoyed reading your blog. You’ve inspired an old guy (40) I just ran my first marathon and now training for my first tri. Keep up the good work! I’ll be following you! http://www.Michaeldbutler.com
Happy New year!
January 30th, 2009 at 2:33 am
Anthony said:

I am so mad. All my teammates went to Boston last night (the Sacred Heart kids) and met you…Me and my injury. But awesome race in the 1k!
February 8th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Ian said:

Hey Nick, I love reading your blogs and thought I might ask a question myself. Being a proffesional, do you have limited time to chill with friends or just relax? As a guy, we all love xbox haha, but are you limited on doing stuff like that. And if you do have an xbox, whats your gamertag? hahaha.
February 8th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Nick Sperry said:

Hey Nick,

I really enjoyed your last blog. Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. I am an 800 runner myself and since recovery from workouts is so important I was just curious if there is anything in particular that you do after hard workouts or races to help you recover properly. For example is there anything you like to eat, do you use ice baths, etc? Thanks.

Nick Sperry
February 10th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
John Moore said:

Thank you for your response. I appreciate you taking the time out of your life to answer my question and the many other questions people have for you. Although you may not believe wholeheartedly that God exists, I do and I believe God has given you a great gift. I will pray that He continues to work in you and bless you abundantly. Take care & God bless.

“Soli Deo Gloria!”

-John Moore
February 10th, 2009 at 11:43 pm