Escaping the Heat and Humidity

Wow! It’s been an incredibly hot last few weeks here in the Mid-West.  Getting up early to run is the only way to avoid the really high temperatures, but then the humidity levels are much greater in the morning too – so there’s really been no way to avoid it.  Europe awaits however, and a

Video Links

I just wanted to share a few news pieces that have come out in the last few days. As we get ready to leave for Europe, we’ve had a busy few days with different groups coming to film Nick’s preparation for the games. Here’s the first one that aired a few days ago. And here’s the…

Speed Sunday workout—300m PB

We brought the camcorder down to the track to film and analyze Nick’s running form and luckily, we caught his fastest 300m ever on film. With 7 weeks until his first heat in the Olympics, his speed and strength seem to be coming around nicely! I love his reaction at the end as he looks down to his watch! Sorry about my wonky filming!

Waiting for the Gun

Bring on the summer racing season! The last few days Nick and I have been immersed in summer travel planning.  As London draws nearer, we’ve started moving from thoughts of surreal nervousness to ones of eager anticipation.  Instead of looking ahead and saying, “can you believe the Olympics are only three months away?” we’ve started…

A different kind of endurance

With the arrival of the other Willis family (Steve, Caro, Bella, Sari and Phoebe) in mid April things have really been picking up here in Ann Arbor. We are realizing more and more that every day is an important step toward London. With only 76 days to go, there’s something about having this goal finally…

WANTED

WANTED: Ron Warhurst, well known track coach, has been sighted in South Korea along with his young trainee, Sierra Willis, who is being influenced by his recent path of destruction and forgetfulness. After nearly missing his flight at the Detroit airport due to a forgotten passport, Warhurst managed to arrive in Korea two days ago.…

Little Big Adjustments

It’s the end of the season and the work is done. Nick finished his last official workout this morning, and now all that’s left are three short races: a heat, a semi, and a final. There’s no last minute cramming for this test. It’s only fine-tuning from this point on. Though, sometimes that fine-tuning, as…

Two Weeks and Counting (Nick)

Of the fifteen fastest 1500m runners this year, only eight are going to be lining up on August 30th at the world championships in Daegu, South Korea. With a maximum of three athletes per country allowed to enter, Kenya will be leaving home many of the world’s best performers from the year.  Other absentees include…

Spoleto

After nineteen days abroad and three races down, we’ve finally settled down a little bit. The past week we’ve been in a small town in central Italy called Spoleto. Nick races next in Monaco on Friday so we needed to find a place where he could train in between races. To be honest, we didn’t…

Paris Ebenezer (Nick)

In a season that includes ten races spanning fourteen weeks, it’s quite remarkable the breadth of emotions experienced as performances exceed, or fail to meet my expectations. The fifteen hundred meter race never has less than twelve competitors line up on the start line so unlike most sports where there are just two opponents battling…