Once a runner, Now a triathlete

Two nights ago I finished up my NCAA eligibility at the NCAA West Prelims in the 10,000m. In my last opportunity wearing the Lumberjacks jersey I had a lot of firsts. It was my first time running post season in NCAA track; first time running at historic Hayward Field; unfortunately, I think it was my first time being lapped, or double lapped for that matter; first time that thoughts of dropping out went through my head.

I wish so many things right now. I wish I hadn’t started the track season with a bum knee; I wish I could have really trained these last four weeks; I wish I could have really competed this last race. But I played the cards I was dealt, and as Coach Heins reminded me after my race, I had two options: come and race or stay at home. Staying at home wasn’t an option.

It feels so strange to write this, but I am effectively once a runner. Sure I can go out to road races or jump in an all-comers meet here and there. I could even try to chase old dreams of being a professional distance runner, hoping that with a few more miles and maybe a few more years that I will have what it takes to be something truly great in this sport. But the way I see things, I have devoted myself to this sport for so long and I am sure that, with a few injuries aside, have come close to reaching my fullest potential. There is a glass ceiling above everyone’s head, and I think I have almost reached mine. And honestly, isn’t that all we are really striving for? To be the very best we can be. Anything more is impossible.

And this is why I will be moving in a new direction; to try to be the very best me in something else. As cliché as it sounds, when one door closes, you can bet at least one more opens. I have finished writing one very long chapter in my autobiographical book called Life, and have just started another.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, my next obsession will be triathlons: swim/bike/RUN (you didn’t really think I could actually ever give up running, did you?). I have so much to look forward to in this new direction, and I will be sharing with you what those are in the coming weeks. Until then, let me just say THANK YOU to everyone that has supported me over the years as a runner, and I would love to have you all continue to bless me as a triathlete.

Results

Eugene, Oregon

30:01 is a solid debut, but it is currently only 50th in the West region and only 48 qualify (if I were in the East region I would be sitting pretty in 30th… confirming what everyone already knows), which means it won’t get me into the Regional meet.

It doesn’t happen very often, and it can be difficult to admit, but sometimes I am wrong. This is one of the few times that I am genuinely over-the-moon to be wrong. 30:01 got me in and now I am sitting in a beautiful Days Inn in Eugene, Oregon next door to Track Town Pizza and across the street from the University of Oregon. I wonder if any sub-13 5k guys have ever slept in this bed?

Suze at Track Town Pizza

We arrived in Portland Tuesday and made the trip down to Eugene with a stop at the always-delicious Applebee’s. Mmm mmmm. Wednesday we woke up to some rainy conditions and just took it easy. Tim and I went over to Track Town Pizza, which was delicious. We sat next to Suzy — she wouldn’t stop bitching about Regina Jacobs.

The track was open at 4pm so we headed over to Historic Hayward Field to do a little jog and strides. The Achilles is feeling pretty good, so I am confident that it shouldn’t bother me too much in the race. It was pretty surreal to finally be at the track. So many of the nation’s best athletes have raced there. What an honor for me to share that experience with them.

Today Tim and I have been laying low in the hotel. As each hour passes, we get a little quieter as those old familiar nerves creep in. I suspect I don’t have too many more days of nervously waiting for an evening race ahead. Maybe I should be enjoying this?

Of course I enjoy this. And I am going to miss it. This is likely my last collegiate race and I’m going to live in the moment all 25 laps.

This is it.

One more time

February 3, 2011,

Now I was a little banged up over winter break, but I would be foolish to think my last collegiate season would come without some adversity. Every time I go out on the track PRs aren’t going to happen just because I’m convinced I’m a better runner now than I was a few years ago. The work needs to be put in and I need to be ready for battle every race. If I do that I know I will be competing at Hayward Field at the end of May, satisfied.

Here’s to making the next four months count.

“Adversity” — what an understatement.

In all honesty, I haven’t seen all that much of it in my 24 years. I have lived a fortunate life with little worry, surrounded by the best family and friends. Perhaps this is why my life is so involved in athletics — I have had the opportunity. I never had to work late nights to pay for my college education and could always afford to travel to the very best competitions. But from my sheltered perspective, the last 14 months have been quite trying.

In March of last year I had knee surgery, forcing me to forfeit an indoor and outdoor track season. In May, I split with my girlfriend of 4.5 years, who was my biggest supporter and best friend. Running helped me get through it, focusing on the outstanding cross country season NAU was sure to have. A couple injuries to key members of the team and an unfortunate day for our captain David McNeill at NCAAs turned our national championship dream into just another top-10 team. I, however, had a pretty successful season, improving on my NCAA finish from the year before. But it was no All-American performance.

Shortly after beginning training for my final track campaign, I started battling IT band pain in my knee. While cross-training in December, I crashed on my bike and broke my wrist, limiting my cross-training options. I got through the indoor season and made a — now considered a very successful — debut in the 10k on the track. Then, with less than three weeks until the Big Sky Conference Championships I developed an Achilles injury. Still, I knew I had to give it my all in the 10k and 5k as it could have been my last track meet, my last time wearing a Lumberjack jersey. Then I got that infamous blister…

This post is not meant to be me complaining about how unfortunate I am or how “rough of a year I have had.” Weeks, months and years from now I am going to read this post, and I want to capture exactly what I was thinking and feeling the day I found out I had one more, and this was all a part of it. Yes, that painful 5k at Sacramento State last weekend was not my last track race in NAU blue and yellow.

At practice this morning, I nervously checked my iPhone to see if the declarations for the NCAA West Prelim were posted. Once they were, I slowly scrolled through the results. When I got to the men’s 10k, I went one name at a time.

13th. Ahmed Osman.

31st. Tim Freriks. “I moved up 10 spots. PD, you got a shot.”

I paused at number 47. This is my track season. The next name determined whether or not I am a collegiate athlete anymore. This is my 18 year long running career we are talking about!

48th. The final qualifier to race the 10,000m at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field is. . . JASON PEDERSEN.

I lit up. I was sure I had no chance of qualifying. Someone pinch me. Surely I was dreaming. Nope, this is for real. I have one more race. One more time to pull that NAU singlet over my shoulders. One more time to line up against the nation’s best college athletes. One more time to say thanks to all my supporters over the years by simply doing what I love, running hard.

Big Sky Outdoor Championships

Saturday marked my final Big Sky Conference Championship, and depending on factors now out of my control, possibly my last track meet ever. I have known this moment was coming for a while now, but writing those words really makes it sink in. I may never wear an NAU Lumberjack singlet again.

But before I get too sappy, let me fill you in on the lead up to Big Sky and the races. About two and half weeks earlier, while doing a relatively easy steeplechase workout, I felt some soreness in my Achilles. I didn’t think much of it as it didn’t bother me too much during the workout. The next day it was worse, and by two days after the workout I wasn’t running. I decided to forgo my final tune up meet before Big Sky, the Double Dual Meet down in Tempe, so that I could get healthy. The pain persisted and I took to the pool and, whenever possible, the bike. I told Coach Heins that I felt my Achilles would hold up better in a 10k then the steeplechase, so the decision was made to effectively never race a steeplechase again — at least not for NAU anyway.

The Achilles pain continued throughout the final build up to Big Sky, limiting my running to just workouts, some of which I was unable to finish. In the two weeks prior to this weekend, I probably logged less than 30 miles. There were two possiblities: I would feel fresh or completely flat.

10000m

Tim Freriks leading the 10k

While warming up for the 10k on Friday evening my Achilles felt pretty good — probably the best it had felt in a week. The conditions were much better than the last time I raced at Sacramento State in 2008 when temperatures were over 100 degrees. There was just a calm breeze and the sun setting. With just 13 entries in the race, it felt like a very low-key affair. Orders from Coach were to take the race out at a respectable pace of around 74 seconds and picking it up in the 2nd 5k. My initial plan heading into the race was to go for a Regional qualifying mark, which I thought would take about 29:50. Once Coach told me his plan, I realized that if I went for the PR I could blow up after 5k and fade badly in the later stages of the race. Considering the lack of work I had done leading up to the race, this was a good possibility. Conference Championships are about team titles, not individual glory. The decision was easy.

Sophomore Tim Freriks took the lead the first mile and put the pace right where it needed to be. I took the pacing duties for a couple laps, followed by junior Ahmed Osman and freshman Bahlbi Gebreyohanns (aka “BB”). At around two miles, the group dwindled down to a pack of five: the four Lumberjacks and Nick Atwood from Montana State. I was clearly having a tough time hanging with them, and when Coach yelled to Ahmed to not press too hard as to not drop me, Atwood took that as a hint to surge. Great move tactically for him. That was the end of me and I would run all but the final 400m of the race alone.

"A slow and painful death"

About halfway through the race I began to feel a blister starting to form on the ball of my left foot. Since I have done so little running in the last few weeks, it was no surprise that I would suffer from a little blister or two. As the race continued, the pain increased with each step, and by the final mile it was affecting my stride. I was told by a few different teammates watching the race that they could tell I was limping the final 800m, but they assumed it was due to my Achilles.

While the blister on my foot was growing, my lead over 6th place was shrinking. I was dieing a slow and painful death. With one lap remaining, Bowe Ebding of Eastern Washington came by me with Ben Ashkettle. I tried to respond with a sprint. The pain in my foot suddenly increased tenfold and I limped home to finish 7th place, scoring just two points, in 31:03.98. I threw myself to the ground, looked at my foot, and saw blood on my shoe. “Blood has run through my compression socks and my shoe? This must be bad.” I ripped off my shoe and saw the damage. Somehow I managed to tear off the thick calloused skin on the ball of my foot, hardened from thousands and thousands of miles, right off. Below are a couple of pictures of the carnage. Sorry if you have a weak stomach.

First look

Athletic trainers removing the "old" skin with a scalpel

5000m

After treating the foot and getting a tough night of sleep (Tim and I were suffering from cases of “gut rot.” Something about 25 laps…), I started to think about Saturday’s race. It was quite painful to walk, and I initially thought I wouldn’t be able to run. I talked to coach just before warming up and he said, “I don’t think you should run it.” I asked if it would make a difference and he replied, “Yeah, if you win it it will make a difference.” Well that wasn’t going to happen, but he said if we were within 30 points with just the 5k and 4×400 relay remaining, the team had a chance at winning the conference title.

At first I thought, “what if I don’t run and we lose by a couple of points. How would I feel if I hadn’t at least tried?” After beginning my warm ups, I turned that negative thought into, “what if I score a point or two and that is the difference?” Once again, from there it was an easy decision for me. I had six other teammates lining up for the 5k, maybe just by standing next to them on the starting line I could inspire one of them to be tough. Then it would be worth it.

In the end, I didn’t score any points in that 5k. I was almost last, finishing 18th in 15:10.03. This race could have been my last. I was injured and might as well have not raced. What a rough way to finish up my college career.

Or maybe not. I didn’t contribute to the team score, but there were my teammates. My teammates shined, scoring 29 points and setting three PR’s. What if I did have an impact on one of them? Maybe one of them dug a little deeper because they knew I was somewhere on that track limping behind them, hoping they could to it because I couldn’t.

On Sunday, Tim wrote this on my Facebook wall to wish me a “Happy Birthday:”

On the last day that you were closer to 18 than 30, I saw the runner that summed up Jason Pedersen for me. Determined to make a run at a point or two for his team with half his foot torn off… More than talent, training regimes, or determination, that selfless attitude is what has allowed the Lumberjacks to be a top-10 NCAA team the last four years in a row. You’ve shown me the ropes, and as you move on to bigger and better things I feel like I have some size 17+ shoes to fill. As Coach (italicized) Mo would say, be proud of your legacy here on this team because you have left a burning impression on the minds of all those that come after you. Happy birthday big guy, 24 years isn’t all that many when you know the best is yet to come. To many more inspiring years, it’s almost time to show the triathlon world what J. PD is all about!

I am forever indebted to Tim for writing this and making me feel like my futile effort in that 5k was anything but. After reading this message Tim wrote, my Dad said to me over the phone, “It seems like a rough way to finish up, but it is clear that you made an impression on at least a few people by running that race. I wouldn’t have raced if I were you, but I’m proud of you for doing it.”

The end?

Before I continue on this path of I-will-never-race-on-the-track-again, I will wait to see if I have one more race. I am currently ranked 65th in the West Region for the 10k, and 48 people qualify. So 17 people need to decide they have better things to do in a week and a half than to run 25 laps at Hayward Field. Yes, it is a stretch. I will know for sure on Thursday.

Big Sky Outdoor Champs Quick Recap

Before writing a detailed race report, which usually takes me a few hours, I thought I would give a little recap on what has happened so far at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships at Sacramento St. Yesterday was day one of competition, and since I have been battling some Achilles issues, I did not run the steeplechase. Coach Heins and I agreed the 10k’s slower pace would be easier for my Achilles to handle. As it turns out, it wasn’t my Achilles that held me back, but something I never saw coming. Basically, I got a huge blister on the ball of my left foot during the race. I ran most of the race in 5th, but was unable to respond when I was passed by an Eastern Washington runner and Ben Ashkettle, and faded to 7th.

Whether I will still be competing this afternoon in the 5k has yet to be decided. I would hate for the team to lose by a few points and know that I could have made the difference. Time, and our athletic trainer Crystal Fix’s magical touch, will tell.

You can see results here. (They are live, more or less, so hit the refresh button every few minutes once the meet is running.)

Catching up with David McNeill and Bernard Lagat

David McNeill??? Bernard “The F’n G” Lagat??? Yep, right now they are training in the running meca of the world, Flagstaff, Arizona. And I have shared a few meals with them.

I envy myself.

EDIT: As I’m sitting here watching some recent “Workout Wednesday’s” that were filmed in Flagstaff and the surrounding areas (Sedona), I thought it would be fitting to share those here. Like I said, “running meca.”

Watch more video of Flotrack’s Workout Wednesday, Season 5 on flotrack.org