Track and Field Blogs - Nick Willis

"Why blog after a two-year hiatus?" you may ask. Several reasons come to mind, but the primary purpose is to plug my brother's new running tourism venture - www.kiwrun.com (more on that later).

I've been out of action for the whole of the 2009 outdoor season, rehabiltating from hip surgery (April 10th). Recovery took a while, but by June I was allowed to start jogging, albeit four minutes a day. Adding a mile each week to my daily runs, I was running ten miles a day by August. The freedom you experience running ten miles on trails pain-free is incredible when you havn't been running for five months.

For those of you who are currently going through injury problems, and dread the daily rehab requirements, I feel for you. The way I coped however, was to create goals and a support team to help me reach those goals, similar to what I do when I am focussed on my running. Local physical therapist, Pete Kitto (Michigan Sports and Orthopedic Center), and Earl Wenk (Arbor Wellness Massage Therapy) became my coaches for this five month period. Three to six hours a day they would have me stretching, strengthening, and massaging my body back to health. They put up with all my complaints, groans and screams and somehow we are all still friends! On my own I would have skipped steps, taken shortcuts, and had permanent imbalances left behind from the surgery.

Despite my not being able to run, the summer track circuit was surprisingly enjoyable for me. Universal Sports' coverage of the IAAF meets was fantastic, and it was fun being a fan of Track and Field again. When you're competing, it's hard to really cheer for the other competitors and watch all the races. Being able to step back and watch from behind my computer gave me a great appreciation for how exciting our sport can be. Seeing so many of my peers step up their games this summer was really neat - Anna Willard, Leo Manzano, Jeff Reisley, Colis Birmingham, Christin Wurth-Thomas, Dathan Ritzenhein, Matt Tegenkamp....the list goes on and on. It seems that everyone seems to feed off of everyone else's success and confidence. "Hey if she can run up the front, then so can I". Without stepping foot in Europe this year, my self-belief has continued to grow thanks to all the success of my peers.

When Rob Myers returned back to Ann Arbor from Europe in August, I was pumped and ready to give some track workouts a go to see if some September races were a viable option. We ran a two mile tempo in 9:50, then a couple of days later ran 3x1000m in 3:00. Neither workout would normally give me anything to write home about, but coming back from injury, they were really encouraging. I told my coach, Ron Warhurst, that I wanted to train for the Fifth Ave Mile at the end of September, and he was quick to stamp that thought in the dirt. "You are going to run sixty to eighty miles a week until Christmas, and then we'll think about racing".

I am now running six days a week averaging around seventy miles in singles. My one harder effort each week is a twelve miler @ 5:40/mile and I have been doing a half-workout every other week to stop me from getting stale (eg instead of doing 6x1mile, i'll do 3x1mile).

So what is this www.kiwirun.com thing? Well my brother has put together this new venture to encourage people to come and train/race/sightsee in New Zealand. The website as all the neccesary information, but I'd like to add that this is a once-in-a-life-time experience for those who come along. In my seven years living in the U.S, so many people have said to me "New Zealand, I've always wanted to visit. I hear it is so beautiful". Well Kiwirun tours will give you an opportunity to go to New Zealand while you are still healthy and strong, to fully embrace the awesome landscapes and scenery by training there. The support team will make sure that all of your needs are taken care of, and I'll be there for a portion of the tour to show you around my local hood. My brother, Steve, was part of my coaching team for my Beijing campaign, and I have no doubt his coaching knowledge will be of great service to you during this 'vacation'. The first tour is December 28-Jan 11 aimed at college runners in their winter break (although open to a wide racnge of ages and abilities). So come on down, enjoy some sun, and use this training camp as a launchpad for your 2010 indoor season.

Out.

www.Kiwirun.com