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Lead Stories: Saturday, September 6, 2008

Dathan Ritzenhein: Looking to Avenge the ‘04 Olympic Trials
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry 9)

Posted July 1st, 2008 at 1:57 PM by Dathan Ritzenhein

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Dathan Ritzenhein

Welcome to the official blog of top U.S. distance runner Dathan Ritzenhein! Check back every other Tuesday for Ritz’s latest entry at http://dathanritzenhein.thefinalsprint.com/ as he prepares to represent the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics!

As this Olympic Trials 10k gets closer I am more and more determined to come away this time with a better showing than 2004. That race was one of the most frustrating and disappointing moments of my life. When you work so hard for something and have an expectation of what it will be like, only to have it end up as an embarrassing humiliation, it haunts you until you can bring some kind of closure. The 10k this Friday will hopefully help me truly move on from that experience.

Only three days left until the 10k final. These past few weeks of training have been coming together nicely and although I don’t feel that I am at my peak 10k shape, I feel that I am fit enough to run a strong and confident race and that I am exactly where I want to be for the marathon. My coach, Brad Hudson, and I decided to focus on the marathon and just keep our game plan focused on August 24th. So going into the race I hope the pace is fast because I feel I have the best chance at doing well under those circumstances.
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Dathan Ritzenhein: Responding to Your Questions & My Olympic Training
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry 8)

Posted June 18th, 2008 at 1:40 PM by Dathan Ritzenhein

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Dathan Ritzenhein

Welcome to the official blog of top U.S. distance runner Dathan Ritzenhein! Check back every other Tuesday for Ritz’s latest entry at http://dathanritzenhein.thefinalsprint.com/ as he prepares to represent the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics!

I want to begin by thanking everyone that has been reading my blogs and send you off a thank you for all the support and encouragement you have offered. I looked back and realized I had yet to respond to several of your questions. And I wanted to touch on those first.

Zach Oliver and Bobby Martinez, my advice for improving your time in the one mile and two mile would be to add more mileage to your week. Don’t be afraid, but add it slowly. More mileage will help you gain more strength. I began running higher mileage in high school starting out at 45 miles per week as a freshman and working my way up to 90 miles per week my senior year and my times improved significantly.

Bryan, you put a hurting on my bubble breaker score. Sadly, I don’t think I have ever broken 1,000.

Keith Sinclair, having an injury this year has actually not changed my plans for representing the US in the marathon this Olympics. I still plan on running the trials; however, my focus will be on the marathon.
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Dathan Ritzenhein: The Not-So-Casual Life Of A Professional Runner
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #4)

Posted April 22nd, 2008 at 7:30 PM by Dathan Ritzenhein

Section: Elite Athlete Blogs, Dathan Ritzenhein

Welcome to the official blog of top U.S. distance runner Dathan Ritzenhein! Check back every other Tuesday for Ritz’s latest entry at http://dathanritzenhein.thefinalsprint.com/ as he prepares to represent the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics!

This week I went looking to trade in our truck for a more eco-friendly, family-friendly vehicle. While I thought I found something I liked, it wasn’t quite what my wife had in mind. Apparently a coupe isn’t as practical as a sedan when kids are involved. While we were there I was asked my occupation by the salesman. I always hesitate when answering this question because responding with “professional runner” isn’t a typical, run-of-the-mill occupation. Even here in Eugene, track town, USA, I still get odd looks and unusual responses to that answer. Such as, “You run for fun? What kind of job is that?” or “Wow! You must have a lot of time on your hands if all you do is run!” Well, I thought I would answer that response first by saying, I’m actually very busy, and secondly I will give a common play-by-play of my daily life.
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Nick Symmonds: Teammates
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #11)

Posted April 22nd, 2008 at 12:45 PM by Nick Symmonds

Section: Elite Athlete Blogs, Nick Symmonds

Welcome to the official blog of elite American middle-distance runner 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: www.nicksymmonds.com

Most mornings I wake up excited at the physical challenges I have planned for me that day. Whether it is an intense set of 200s, a grueling day of mile repeats, or just an easy jog followed by some lifting, I usually roll of out of bed anxious to start my workout. Today however, I woke up and was literally dreading my morning session. On the schedule I had a 5 mile tempo run averaging 5:05 pace. As an 800 meter runner this is a difficult workout, but I’m usually able to key off my teammates and literally let them drag me down the marked bike path that runs along the Willamette River. Today however, I did not have the pleasure of working out with any of them and was left tackle this 5 mile monster by myself.

I am part of a very unique training group here in Eugene, Oregon; there is no other running team in the United States as talented or as deep as the Oregon Track Club Elite. It is a group that has been carefully selected by the great coaching minds of Frank Gagliano and Vin Lananna as well as the higher ups at Nike. We have guys who have run 45 seconds for 400 meters, guys who can run well under 13:30 for 5000m and guy who can race the lights out of any distance in between. It is an honor to be part of this group and sometimes I forget just how important my teammates are to me and how much more difficult and less enjoyable my life would be without them.
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Dathan Ritzenhein: Keeping That Competitive Edge
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #3)

Posted April 8th, 2008 at 11:45 AM by Dathan Ritzenhein

Section: Elite Athlete Blogs, Dathan Ritzenhein

Welcome to the official blog of top U.S. distance runner Dathan Ritzenhein! Check back every other Tuesday for Ritz’s latest entry at http://dathanritzenhein.thefinalsprint.com/ as he prepares to represent the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics!

Well, my break is officially over, and I’m back in the swing of things. Being an athlete I find myself extremely competitive. I’m especially competitive when I’m not running, but not by choice, it’s just who I am. I think it’s because I’m not outside seeing people, running my old routes, and challenging against myself and the clock in workouts.

During this break I found myself competing against my wife in many things. Luckily she didn’t want to divorce me after this latest break. We have this little game on my phone, bubble breaker that we compete against each other to see who can get the best score.
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Nick Symmonds: Goin’ Home!
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry 10)

Posted April 7th, 2008 at 6:28 PM by Nick Symmonds

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

Welcome to the official blog of elite American middle-distance runner 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: www.nicksymmonds.com

At the age of 18 I was applying to colleges and, though I wanted to stay in the Pacific Northwest, I also knew that I had to get out of Boise, ID. Boise had been my home for 15 years and while it was a great place to grow up, I needed a change of scenery and wanted to see what life was like in other cities. However, returning to Boise has always been extremely important to me. This Friday I will be going home for the weekend and this got me thinking about why I return home every few months.
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Josh Cox: Miracles . . . A Runner’s Case for Theism (Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #6)

Posted April 3rd, 2008 at 12:45 PM by Josh Cox

Section: Elite Athlete Blogs, Josh Cox

Welcome to the official blog of U.S. marathon runner Josh Cox. Every other Wednesday visit http://joshcox.thefinalsprint.com for Cox’s latest blog entry and for more information, also please visit: www.joshcox.com

“If people think God is interesting, the onus is on them to show that there is anything there to talk about. Otherwise they should just shut up about it.” -Richard Dawkins, Evolutionary Biologist, Oxford scholar, author of “The God Delusion”

“Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.”
-CS Lewis, author, teacher, former atheist, and Oxford Scholar

“It is, of course, true that your success would be open to a variety of interpretations-perhaps such a miracle says nothing about the existence of God but demonstrates that clairvoyance is an actual power of the human mind and that you possess it in spades.” -Sam Harris, atheist evangelist and author, explaining away the miraculous

“Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature, and you will find that, behind all the discernible concatenations, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable.” --Albert Einstein, German-born theoretical physicist

I wasn’t planning on writing this. Honest. I pondered the idea during my long run with Dan [Browne] last week, again during my 15 miler over the weekend and a final time as I responded to nearly half of the 17 emails asking what I believed and why I believed it – but not even those served as this blog’s impetus. Nope. The tipping point came when I stumbled across the poem I wrote for my dad’s funeral nearly two years ago. I didn’t read it all; I couldn’t read it all – didn’t want to. Tears, therapeutic as they may be, don’t lend themselves to productivity; and because I am busier than a one legged man in a butt kicking contest I figured I would spare my wife the Dick Vermeil impression.
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Jon Rankin: Life’s Certainties
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #9)

Posted March 27th, 2008 at 10:30 AM by Jon Rankin

Section: News & Results, Cross Country, Track & Field, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Jon Rankin

Welcome to the official blog of rising U.S. track & field star Jon Rankin; the inaugural member of The Final Sprint’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Be sure to check back every other Wednesday for Jon’s latest entry at http://jonrankin.thefinalsprint.com/

“Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.”

- Benjamin Franklin

I really don’t know how to interpret the above quote from Benjamin Franklin. Without a doubt it’s tax time. Yikes!! Honestly, I think that it’s kind of funny because it would be a very dreary life if death and taxes were the only things truly certain in life. What about love? What about running? What about the sweet smell of freshly cut grass in the early morning hours prior to a cross country race? If death and taxes are the only things certain I thank God for every day that I do get to run because I’ve been injured way too many times not to realize how lucky I am to be where I’m at today, just a few months away from make one of my biggest dreams a more certain part of my reality.
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Dathan Ritzenhein: Putting Things Into Perspective
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #2)

Posted March 25th, 2008 at 9:30 AM by Dathan Ritzenhein

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Dathan Ritzenhein

Welcome to the official blog of top U.S. distance runner Dathan Ritzenhein! Check back every other Tuesday for Ritz’s latest entry at http://dathanritzenhein.thefinalsprint.com/ as he prepares to represent the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics!

Hayward Field is finally complete and track season has officially started in Eugene! Yesterday my wife, daughter and I spent the afternoon watching the Oregon Preview meet. It was a great day. It was warm and sunny and just so nice to sit in the sun and watch instead of competing. It still amazes me at how much the community of Eugene, Oregon supports track and field. No where else would you find 5,000 fans who turn out for a season opener track meet. I cannot wait to see what the rest of the season brings. If this is the turn-out for the preview meet, having the trials here will be unforgettable. It will probably be like the Prefontaine Classic for 10 days straight.

With the trials just around the corner, the town is full of enthusiasm and pride. It really has made me look forward to having the Olympic Trials here in Eugene. Not only did the track get an update, the entire town seems to be sprucing things up as well. The trails are being groomed, new woodchips are being spread, and roads are being resurfaced. We live only a half mile from the Rexius Trail and every day it seems that more and more people are out running or walking on it.
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Nick Symmonds: The Last Bales of Hay
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #9)

Posted March 24th, 2008 at 6:15 PM by Nick Symmonds

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

Welcome to the official blog of elite American middle-distance runner Nick Symmonds. Make sure to check every other Monday at http://nicksymmonds.thefinalsprint.com/ for Nick’s latest entry! For more information about Nick, also please visit: www.nicksymmonds.com

If you have ever raced competitively and trained to peak for a specific race then you have heard the phrase “the hay is in the barn.” This, of course, refers to the months and years of training you have logged in preparation for that race. The race I am preparing for is the Olympic Trials and I have been accumulating hay for this one for about 10 years now. It’s amazing to think that in three months I will finally have my chance to realize this dream. However, a lot can happen in three months.

After taking five days off in Spain and just being your standard American tourist (i.e. not running a step and eating WAY too much) I returned to Eugene five pounds heavier and as mentally fresh as I’ve ever been. This is exactly where I want to be. I find that a few extra pounds help me stay healthy during the months of intense training and after an intense indoor season I needed that five day break from living the life of a professional athlete.
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