Describe the mental and physical progression that helped you go from 5th in the indoor 1600m to 2nd in the same race outdoor last year.
It's questionable what actually made me run so fast last year. I kept consistent throughout the Indoor and Outdoor seasons. Doing this without getting injured is key. Also, the unexpected arival of Ty (Stanfield) and running with him also helped out trmendously. I gradually kept getting stronger. I knew that I had a good kick, so the only part that I needed was the strength to get me to a point near the end of a race to use it. As most guys will say, "Track is 90% mental and 10% physical." I am a strong believer in this. As I got stronger, I gained confidence. As I gained confidence, a whole new world opened up to me. I, a little freshman from a school with a slightly lacking track program, was going to be able to keep up with some of the state's finest runners - all of whom I have grown a great respect for. The progression was that of passing a plateau. I just went to the next level.
In that 5A 1600m race, you were one of several guys battling for second in the last lap. At what point did you feel you had more left than the others to take runner-up?
I only felt that I could take on the others as I crossed the finish line. That was one of the craziest finishes in the mile that I have experienced. I was just lucky at the end to be close enough to kick. I also know that that wasn't everyone's best race, so I got lucky. The people that I did beat still had faster PR's for the season, I just had a good break.
With Scott Fuqua, probably the best distance runner in Alabama history, running a conservative race at that point, did you ever think you might catch him, too?
I knew Fuqua was just chilling out in front. At no point did I ever think that I was going to be able to catch him. I knew that if we would have been coming up faster, someone would have warned him and he still would have been able to finish up before us. I admired his running style and the things that he accomplished for 5A and the state.
The 4A-5A men's race was one of the most interesting and hardest to predict this past cross country season. What was your strategy going into the meet, and how did the race unfold in terms of your expectations?
My strategy for state cross country this year was to go out at 5 minutes
even for the first mile. The second goal was to be at the 2 mile mark at 10:20 or below.
After that, it was bust your butt or get left behind.
The first mile was about a 4:59. At that point, (John) Brigham and Nuckols were out in front, there
was a short gap and then Steven Calvert, then another short gap and Will
McGee was running next to me. McGee and I started working together to catch
up to the lead runners. He broke ahead of me a little at about a mile a
three-quarters. Going into the woods I was fifth place. At that point a coach
told me that I looked the strongest out of the people ahead of me and to
move on the hills.
My brother yelling at me
sure did make that adrenaline start to pump. Just before the last curve,
heading around the the Indian mound, I passed Brigham who was just dead from a
valiant effort to go after Nuckols. McGee was biting at my ankles just
before the mound, but a final surge came to me and I was able to kick
around the curve and into what seemed a never-ending final stretch. I
finished up in second place in a time of 16:30. It was definitely a
pleasing race. I felt like passing out from being tired right there on the
spot, but my coach wouldn't let me : ). The race actually turned out a
little better than I expected place-wise, but there is no complaining from
me about that.
You mentioned that your older brother Kevin, who we'll talk more about later, was there to
cheer for you that race. Your father is usually present at your races, too.
What difference does having them at a race make for you? In what ways has
their support influenced your career to date?
As I said in my play-by-play of that race, he scared me. That most
certainly made me run faster. It was nice having everyone from my
family out there cheering their hardest, especially my brother.
Just weeks into the season, you've already won two major 1600m titles:
Greenwave Invitational and King of the Mountain. In both races you've
run a reserved start of the race and taken the lead with your kick in
the last part of the race. Would you call this your "style" as a miler, or
has it just been a coincidence that both races played out like that?
As of right now, I still feel as the baby in the group of big dog milers.
For this, I feel like I need to feed off of the speed of the leaders and
then try to kick it at the end. Right now it is my style, but with every
win I get and every PR I set, I am gaining confidence
and getting a little more bold.
I crossed the two mile mark at about 10:22. Here, I was
back with McGee working after Calvert. After about a quarter mile, at the
switchback to head back to go out of the woods, we passed Calvert and
Brigham came into view. When we were about out of the woods, my brother
comes from out of nowhere and just about scares the pants off of me from
yelling at me to go after Brigham. Coming out of the woods, I was in third
just behind Brigham and just in from of McGee.
(photo: AlabamaRunners. 11/9/2002)
My brother is pretty much the one that got me running. I guess it was
just the little brother thing that I always wanted to be like my big
brother, or it could have been that I wasn't coordinated enough to do
anything else. But seriously, my brother has had a tremendous amount of
influence and set the bar for me to uphold or surpass as I traveled through
Homewood High.
My dad is also great, he's actually started running now and is getting
into some good shape. It's good that way because when it is late and you
still have to make that run, he is willing to go out there with you and do
it to the best of his ability. It's fun just to go out there and run with
him. He's also crazy enough to run with me in about 35 degree weather in
the rain.
Having my family there at meets is really inspiring for me to run
better. My mom always comes to all the meets that she can and that helps me
run even more. When we are all there it makes you feel like you know what
you came to do and you're going to go do it. You also have those people
there to back you up and get you through the pain. My family has been great
and very supportive throughout my running career, and I am very appreciative
of them for that.
At King of the Mountain, I had a chat with
Phillip (Moore) before the race, and most of the race was planned (not the part
where Keenan [Lucas] scared everyone by taking off at 500 to go). We pretty much
raced exactly how we had planned to. I sat on Phil for the first two laps,
and then when Poe (Allen Childs) from Mountain Brook came by, I stepped up to get on his
shoulder. Then, it was Keenan that took the lead. At that point, the only
thing going through my head was, "I have run too fast this race just to let
him go... I just have to stay in touch." I was able to stay in and kick at
the end to get my career PR to-date of 4:23.19. I was overly excited
afterwards and had to thank Phil for helping me plan to run such an
evolutionary race for me. That race put me as one of the big dogs.
Taking the lead at Greenwave
(photo: AlabamaRunners)
To answer your question straight, right now it is my style to sit and be a big
kicker, but I will make my contributions to some races in time.
Describe "kicking"--what factors determine whether or not it happens, how do you decide when to start, and is the harder part physical or mental?
Kicking is the art of running fast, yet at the end of the race, somehow
pulling out something one might even call "sprinter's speed." A kick can
happen either when you are tired or when you are not, but more often than not it occurs
when you're not so tired. I believe the biggest factor that determines
whether a kick happens or not is if a person is still in contact towards the
end of a race.
I think a kick can be
more mentally fatiguing than physically sometimes, going back to the theme
that running is 90% mental, 10% physical. When a person is left behind or
broken in a race, he or she loses the feirce competative mentality and
from this loses (at least part of) the physical ability to put in a strong
kick. However, if that person is in contact with the other person(s) that
he or she is competing with, then an adrenaline rush flows through you and
you are able to just take off.
Homewood's had some of the state's best distance runners in recent years: Kevin Pawlik and Jimmy Courtland graduated in 2001, Tyler Stanfield came in for one year in 2002, and now you're firmly established in the elite crowd. Yet none of you guys have really gotten to run together in your primes (except Kevin and Jimmy). Even so, do you feel a part of this "streak"? Is it coincidental, or has each previous runner "set the stage, " in a way, for the next?
The only true "streak" I see from Homewood was an older brother passing
the torch to the next sibling to see what he could do. Last year with Ty, I
believe that we just got a stroke of luck and got an amazing out-of-state
talent to attend our school. I don't know if I would have run as fast as I
did if it was not for Ty, and for that, I thank and respect him very highly.
It is true that none of the so-called "elite" runners at Homewood have
been close enough in age (excluding Kevin and Jimmy) to run well together.
However, being four years below my brother, I was able to study Alabama
running first hand. In doing that, through the years I was building up
mentally. I was learning about running and the mechanics. The Do's and
Don't's of running. By the time that I had started my running career, I
already had an extensive knowledge of track and running and was able to
appreciate it more than people who just used it for conditioning for the
next basketball or football season. In saying that, I do feel that the
previous runners at Homewood have made the path for the younger runners of
today to follow and maybe even surpass.
How did your childhood athletic career developed to steer you into running?
I wouldn't really call the sports that I did in middle school an
athletic career. I started wrestling in 6th grade because I knew we didn't
have indoor track at Homewood Middle. I played football in 7th grade and
doubled with Cross Country with tendinitus in my knees (that was fun).
I wouldn't really say I was a big running person until 8th grade. I had been
watching my brother run for the past 3 years. I was already interested in
the sport. I quit football to run full time cross country. I then decided
after cross country that running was actually fun, and it was keeping me in
shape. Why not. I set my goal to be under 5 minutes by the end of the
Outdoor Track season. I wanted the record at my middle school (Which was currently
a 5:12 held by my brother). The very last race of the season, I got 3rd
place in the 1600 at Metro with a time of 4:59. That's when I knew I had
found the sport I would be known for.
So you got Kevin's middle school record, but his Homewood HS records of 1:55.46 in the 800m and 4:19.80 in the 1600 still stand. Tell us what you can about Kevin, for those who don't know him. If you raced Kevin in the 1600m now, what could/would you do to beat him?
Well my brother Kevin ran 4 years at Homewood High School before I
started my own high school running career. My brother, we know him as Spud,
won Freshman State in the 1600 in 1998. He battled with hip problems
through his sophomore year and didn't have a big drop in time again until
his Junior year. His senior year, he was in one of the most exciting mile
races for a good while when he raced Scott Fuqua for the 5A state
championship title. These two were stride for stride until Scott knew if he
was going to win, that he had to take out Spud's kick. Therefore, Scott
started his surge with 500 to go. Spud, practically already at full stride,
was unable to hold his ground and lost about 5 seconds to Scott in the last
lap, but still ran a career best--under 4:20. He accomplished what he
had come to do, even though he did not get the gold. It was a well-deserved
silver.
If I were to race Spud today, I don't think he would be able to let me
win. In order for me to, I think I would have to kick him in the shins and
then run the race of my life. I really don't know what would happen if we
raced right now, but I'd rather just watch him at the college level for the moment.
As a Homewood Patriot, do you feel a special allegiance to the US's stance against Iraq?
I really don't feel that there is a special allegiance to the US's
stance in Iraq. I think we feel no different than the rest of the country.
Some of us support the war, while others protest it. However, all of us
support the soldiers and hope for their safe return.
If the war negotiations were up to me, I would put Sadam and me in a 400
meter ring. Four laps, winner decides the outcome. And no cheap stuff.
Having already run 4:23 in the mile this season, how much lower do you think you can go by the state meet?
I don't really know how much lower I can go this season. I do know that when all the big dogs get together at either Mountain Brook or State, that there are going to be some very fast times. My ultimate goal this year was to run under 4:20. Hopefully when I get into a good track with a good competitive field, we will just roll.
|
With Sam Nuckols running 5A this year after winning 6A in 4:16 last year, what's your plan of attack for when the two of you face off? I don't really know if I have a plan for going after Sam. I do know that he has a heck of a kick and I hope that he will be able to get down to his time from last year again this year. I know if I just go out there and try to hold on, if he runs fast, I'll run fast. Hopefully by State I will be able to withstand running that fast without feeding off of other peoples' shoulders the whole time. I'm sure that there are going to be some exciting races the remainder of this season. |
 Nuckols & Pawlik (photo: AlabamaRunners) |
How will you allocate both your mental and physical efforts to the various distance events this year?
Ealier in the season, I wasn't really sure how I was going to allocate my efforts on which events. As the season has progressed, I haven't run any amazing races in the 800 or the 3200, but something has clicked for the 1600. Therefore, I think that this season will be based mainly on the 1600, although I think I would be really upset with myself if I do not break 2:00 in the 800 this year, as my PR is already 2:02 from last year. Also, I am just not strong enough to hold my own in a strong 3200, but that will come with time. I have a ton of time to keep dropping my times and I will be able to get much stronger by the time I leave High School.
Have you set any long-term goals for your prep career, or perhaps beyond? Do you plan to gradually progress to these times year-by-year, each year saving something for the next, or try to improve as much and as quickly as possible?
I used to set goals for my senior year, but this year has prooved to me that there is an unknown amount of how much faster I can go. In saying that, I am just trying to do my best each year. I have been worried about burn-out in the past, but now I am just trying to do as much as possible each year. There will be no holding back for tomorrow with what could possibly be done today.
What're your favorite night-before and race-day meals?
The meal for the night before the race has got to be Olive Garden. Such
great food that is pretty good for you. One of the few places that I will
go after the salad, and the breadsticks are to die for.
As for the day of
the race, I usually don't know what to eat. I haven't ever really had a
system for race day meals. I usually try to eat about 2-3 hours before my
race. I just never know what to do, and I eat depending on what I have a
craving for.
 (photo: AlabamaRunners) |
What do you do between races to balance keeping your muscles loose and also resting? It usually depends on how much time is between races. If there is plenty of time, I will take a good cooldown and stretch afterwards. Then I will walk around for a short while to talk to people that were in my race and to other friends that run other events or that are just there spectating. After that, I go and sit down for awhile. If I feel tight in certain places, then I go ahead and try to stretch it out. Fluids is important for this time. They definitely help out for the next race. About 30 minutes before I check in, I "like" to go start jogging around a little bit. After checking in, I head for the staging area (usually just the field inside the track, but not at state), and do sprint drills and full stretches. I just try to feel loose but still have control of my legs. What would you consider the highest pinnacle of success you could reach as a high school athlete? Beating Steve Bolt's record in the mile. ;). Also, getting a good scholarship to a school with a good academic and track and field program. Thanks, Josh. |