Pop Champagne

Well, exactly one year ago today, I had a 2.5 inch incision cut into my lower abdomen, had my inguinal nerve removed and a square piece of gortex mesh stitched into my fascia to repair what’s known as a sports hernia.

Everything feels great and I’m just thankful that all has gone well and I’ve been able to return to training at a high level!

Since my season ended in August, I’ve been pretty bad/lazy about updating my blog, so a lot has happened since then. Stick with me and I’ll try to keep it brief!

At the end of August I went up to Midland, Ontario (a couple of hours North of Toronto) to do some archaeology work with my brother. The first week or so wasn’t too bad, as I was still in downtime after the season. After that, things weren’t too much fun. I was working 10 hr shifts, which had me leaving the apartment at about 7am and returning at 6pm, depending on how far we had to drive (one day it was Windsor and back, 15hr day!). The work itself wasn’t exactly easy either; hauling a 40lb awkward wooden screen through vines, thorn bushes, poison ivy and dense forest while getting attacked by mosquitoes and digging holes every 10 meters to screen the dirt for artifacts.

Some days definitely sucked.

When I got home, it was time to kick off the work boots, throw on some running shoes and get out the door for 7 or 8 miles before it got too dark. I wouldn’t exactly call it ideal for training. But you gotta do what you gotta do.

It wasn’t all bad though. The snowmobile trails up north are great for doing mileage runs in the summer/fall and it was certainly nicer running than being in Scarborough. We also found a few cool artifacts along the way and a previously undiscovered Huron Indian village.

I worked there until the end of October when I finally got to head south. Perfect timing. Just as the weather was getting cold in Ontario, it had cooled off to ideal running weather in Arizona…I arrived in Scottsdale for the start of our first structured training cycle of the upcoming year. Without all the work, it was certainly easier to train harder and recover properly.

My first weekend down here, Mel and I made the trip up to the Grand Canyon for the first time. I proposed while we were up there (in case she said no, then I could throw her off) and she said “Yes”. Well, actually, she said “Are you serious?” a couple of times before saying yes! Haha. So, I’m engaged.

We went back to celebrate in Flagstaff for the night with my teammates Ellerton and Lisa. Instead of drinking champagne, we played flip cup and quarters. Keepin it classy.

I’ve settled in to a good routine down here now and we’re halfway through our second 3 week training cycle and things are going great. Workouts have been solid and the mileage is building.

I’ll hopefully have a more in depth “running” update in the next few days…

     - Linc

For The Glory Of Old State

It’s a sad day in Happy Valley.

It’s hard to describe the emotions that I’m sure many Penn Staters are feeling today. Disheartened, confused, sadness, disbelief, anger, shock, bewilderment, grief…

I was a Varsity athlete at Penn State for 5 years. I was also a teacher and coach in the State College community. The crimes that were committed by Jerry Sandusky were repulsive and disgusting acts of humanity; the most heinous of crimes that you can commit. It’s upsetting to know that there are people in the world like this, let alone to find out they are a part of the Penn State family. The fact that it was able to go on for so long makes it even worse…

Success With Honor.

This has long been the motto of Penn State Athletics and the Penn State community as a whole. Joe Paterno is the person who started this. He has always preached doing things the right way; that being successful in the classroom and as a human being were more important than winning. He has one of the best football graduation rates in the country and the second most academic All-Americans in FBS history. He has given back his own money and dedicated his life to making Penn State and its community a better place.

Could he/should he have done more? The answer is most definitely yes.

However, with the benefit of hindsight, it’s easy for us to say that. Had his superiors done what they were supposed to at the time, it would have been enough.

The lack of action throughout the entire athletic department/university is shameful. Why Mike McQueary didn’t act immediately is something I will never understand. To see what he saw and walk away from it to make a phone call is absurd. You are about 6’3 and 220. Go knock Sandusky’s ass out…Do something! He should not be on the sidelines Saturday while JoePa sits at home.

It really is upsetting to see how poorly Penn State is being portrayed through all this because of the acts of several brainless/disturbed individuals. That is not who We Are…

For all those who aren’t Penn Staters, it might be difficult to understand the passion, dedication and pride with which we speak about our Institution. It’s difficult to express in words how Penn State becomes ingrained as part of you…I’m saddened that this is how you will come to know and speak about the place we are so fond of.

Penn State is so much more than Joe Paterno, Tim Curley or the football team.

We Are…ranked among the top 15 public universities. We Are…the largest student-run philanthropy in the world (raising 78 million for the kids). We Are...over 8,500 top-ranked faculty. We Are…Olympians. We Are…Nobel prize winners. We Are…one of the top research universities in the country. We Are…44,000 other employees. We are 570,000 alumni.

We Are….Penn State.

I’m not defending the tragedy or actions/in-actions that took place, but, I will always be Penn State proud.

We’re ever true to you, dear old white and blue. Onward, State…

  - Linc

Leaving On A Jet Plane

This morning, I find myself in yet another airport, Newark this time, as I prepare for what is hopefully my last flight for a while! Finally, back to Toronto.

I actually don’t mind airports, people watching can be quite entertaining sometimes; airports are perfect for that. You don’t often have to look very hard to find someone doing something that will make you laugh…either because of their mannerisms, stupidity or just the sheer bewilderment at what they’re trying to attempt. Or maybe just the way they look. There is plenty to observe.

It’s amusing to watch people try and rush past the line onto the plane, like they need to get on as soon as possible and are more important than everyone else. Really? They’re going to wait for everyone to board anyways; rushing past people onto the plane is not going to move up your departure time. Calm down…Then there’s the wide variety of characters getting off the plane. A couple who are obviously coming back from vacation, a string of people on a business trip, the guy who’s visibly nervous about the big meeting he’s heading to (and not dressed properly for) and the new acquaintances who are awkwardly saying goodbye after talking on the flight for the past hour.

Then there’s the non-stop stream of people constantly parading by you for inspection. Some crying babies in a stroller drooling on themselves, a person on the back of the golf cart who doesn’t actually need a ride, a 300lb dude who should have to buy two seats on the plane, the occasional hot chick, the occasional chick who thinks she’s hot, a family wearing matching souvenir t-shirts from their vacation, an old couple that should be on the golf cart and on and on it goes…

 "Can you come to the airport? I forgot my pants."        Legolas wants his boots back.

People watching is fun.

You know where else is good for people watching? The bars on a Friday or Saturday night when you’re sober and nearly everyone else is drunk. That, is entertaining. But, we’ll leave that for when I’m in season.

- Linc

I've Been Everywhere

I’ve been living out of a suitcase, basically, since May 19^th now. It’s a bit strange to have your entire life packed into one bag for that long, but it seems almost normal now…I’m relaxing with Mel in Philadelphia this week before finally heading back home to Toronto on Monday.

Seeing as I’m not running right now, and Mel works all day, I have some free time on my hands (actually, a lot of free time). I’ve looked back at everywhere I’ve traveled these last few months. See if you can follow along!

Scottsdale --> Flagstaff --> Los Angeles --> Philadelphia --> Vancouver --> Phoenix --> Flagstaff --> Calgary --> Vancouver --> Victoria --> Vancouver --> Toronto --> Frankfurt --> Brussels --> Kamen (Germany) --> Leeds --> Manchester --> Bradford --> Kamen --> Turnhout (Belgium) --> London --> Turnhout --> Leuven (Belgium) --> Brussels --> Montreal --> Philadelphia.

Along with a bunch of small stops in between along the way…You might be saying to yourself, “that’s a lot of places, I wonder how many miles that is?” Well, I just happen to have added them all up….I told you, a lotttt of free time on my hands. It was 32,208.7 km or 20,023.6 miles to be exact; enough to get me my “Prestige” status in the Star Alliance for next year. No more bag fees. Sweet.

To go off topic completely, what the hell is with this new trend/fad/craze called “planking”. Honestly, it might be the stupidest thing I have ever seen to actually get given a name. Why is this even recognized as being something real. Here’s a link so that you can check out the absurdity of it for yourself:

While I’m on the subject, I also hate the use of the word epic. Yeah, I said it. It’s annoying and completely overused. Epic should be used to describe something like the ocean (literally epic) or a book such as The Iliad and The Odyssey. Your haircut is not epic, neither was your shot in beer pong, the picture you took, your new shoes, or the fact that you got out of work early on a Friday. Nor was something someone did, an “Epic Fail”. It makes no sense. Fail is a verb, failure is a noun. Fail CAN’T be epic.  It is not epic, to say epic. Please stop saying it.

    - Linc

Ain't No Sunshine

I almost wrote this Saturday night after hitting up the Beer/Music/Food festival in Leuven after the race. It would have been my first slightly intoxicated entry on here, so I thought that, maybe, I should hold off. Although, it probably would have been a bit more entertaining to read…

The last few races didn’t quite go according to plan. It’s tough to hit some fast times when the weather is such garbage. I think the past 12 days in Belgium has been filled with some form of rain every single day. I’ve never seen a summer so cold and rainy in my life. Basically, the weather has sucked… I knew I was ready for a good race after the pacing job in Oordegem, so I was hoping the meet in Ninove would be the place to do it. The guys were going after the A standard again, so all I’d need to do was hang on for as long as I could. Unfortunately, I was put in the B race and ended up leading through about 1000m. It was also pouring rain and about 14/55 degrees. Other than getting introduced on the line to the Monday Night Football theme song, it was pretty forgettable.

After that, I decided to head off to England again for another 800m in the BMC series. I arrived in the UK on the 9^th, amidst all of the rioting; not the best timing for my first trip to London. Luckily, I didn’t get raped or robbed. The 13 year olds were too busy pilfering the shops and fire bombing police cars...I stayed with my roommate from Scottsdale, Darren St. Clair, who showed me how real driving is done on the wrong side of the road. The race itself was mediocre. After a beautiful day, it decided to get cold and windy in the evening (again!). I ended up 3^rd with a 1:49.68. Only .27 behind 1:43 man Chepkirwok! Ha. I had agreed on doing some more pace work here, little did I know what I had gotten myself into. After I crossed the line, I spoke to the meet director about my duties and found out that I had 6 minutes recovery before pacing the women’s 800m in 62. I then had 12 minutes recovery before pacing the men’s 1500m in 2:02. Surprisingly, I was bang on. But, the 2:02 hurt more than 1:49. A painful experience, to say the least. I’m not sure it was worth the money!

The race Saturday night in Leuven was the last one of the season. I was excited for another chance to finally run something fast. It was raining all day, but by the time the race rolled around it wasn’t actually too bad. The first 200m was fine, but then it felt like we came to a crawl as I chopped my stride and had to slow up several times over the next 600m. The leaders were through in 2:00 and I was about 2:01. Way too slow. It seems like I have no finish right now, regardless of the pace. So, it would have been much better for me to come through 2-3 seconds faster and just hang on. I don’t think it would have made me close any slower. I ended up 7^th, I think, in 3:45.18. The pacing Wednesday night probably didn’t help matters…Oh well, I guess.

And so ends a very frustrating season.

I’ll be taking a couple of weeks off before easing back into things again. Can’t wait to have a proper, healthy fall under me for once! Looking forward to it…

    - Linc