This is my first blog post, so bare with me. I would like to start by saying how excited I am to be running for Brooks. They have given me an opportunity to continue running after my collegiate career ended this fall at Oklahoma State, and I am very thankful for that. Brooks was with OSU when I got there 5 and a half years ago, and it’s great to be back with them.

Since the USA Cross Country Championships, I have been training in Prague, Czech Republic. My wife is from the Czech Republic and finishing the last semester of a master's degree there. The rough winter has continued into March, but I managed 3 excellent weeks of training at around 125 miles per week since the US Cross race. Prague is a fantastic city to train in as it has several large, forested parks right inside the city.

I flew into New York yesterday in order to adjust to the time difference before the Gate River 15k in Jacksonville, Florida. My roommate from my time at Oklahoma State has an apartment very close to Central Park, so I will be spending the next few days jogging around here with one short and easy track workout thrown in. My training up until this point has consisted for the most part of 3 basic workouts: Long tempos (10 to 12 miles), long intervals (6 to 8 x mile), and shorter recovery track workouts (10 to 12 x 500 with 35 to 40 seconds recovery). Now it is time to rest for Gate River, and also the World Cross Country Championships which follow two weeks later.

There is a very competitive field lined up for Gate River again this year, so it's going to be a very exciting race. This is the first big road race of my career, and I plan on using it as an opportunity to learn from some of the decorated veterans in the field. I’m in good shape and looking forward to seeing how my training will pay off this weekend, bright and early, in Jacksonville.