While chillin at work...

Getting better at posting somewhat regularly...hopefully I'll keep it up.
So, it occurs to me there really isn't anything on this blog about my life as a semi-professional runner yet about being a semi-professional runner. Funny thing, seeing as how that's supposedly the topic of this whole thing...
So. First off, I'm not really a pro. Pros have sponsors, get paid to run, get free equipment, get endorsement deals...not the case for me. The only reason I can claim any kind of professional status is that since I am no longer a collegian, I can finally take prize money if I win something. Of course, I have yet to enter a race as a post-collegian, much less win one, so maybe it would be more accurate to say I'm an aspiring semi-professional runner.
What do I do? So far, not much. The last few weeks I havent run much because of an intermittent knee problem. In the fall, months away from the spring and summer track seasons, this means that I take time off and get healthy. So that's what I've been doing. My knee hasn't given me problems in a few days though, which means I will soon be ready to go full force. In this context, full force means eventually running 90-100 miles a week, with eating and sleeping habits to match. In a nutshell, that's what being a competitive runner is: running, eating, and sleeping. A lot.
For now, being a semi-pro runner means I work at a running store, train, pay the bills, and try to keep busy. So far, keeping busy isn't hard: My car still isn't registered here, I have hardly any furniture in my room so I haven't finished unpacking, my one job won't pay the bills so I'm applying for a second job, and I need things like health insurance...but eventually, it will mean a steady routine of sleep, run, eat, work, run, eat, repeat.

In more concrete terms: I want to qualify for the USA Championships. The A standard last year was 8:43. My current PR (Personal Record) is 9:04. So I've got some work to do.

Lots of people have asked me if I'm going to the Olympics. The truth is, almost certainly not. As the saying goes, you have to be so lucky after being so good, and I'm not even that good. Sure, to most folks who jog 20 miles a week at best, talk of a 100 mile week sounds superhuman. But in the world of elite athletes, what I am proposing is modest at best. Are the Olympics possible? Yes. Are they likely? Hardly.

But here's the whole point of what I'm doing with my life at the moment: I'll never really know unless I give it a shot. And right now, at this very moment, is my only opportunity. Its now or never.

So why not?


Cliche, I know. Trite even, maybe. But that is my life right now. I'm taking my shot. I'm going to do the best I can to run as fast as I can, and see what happens. Most likely all you'll ever hear from me about it will be what you read here.
But who knows, maybe in a few years you'll be able to say you know someone in a USA uniform.

Stay tuned.