Big River Running Company Interview: Blake Boldon

27 year-old Blake Boldon has already put together a solid post-collegiate portfolio that includes multiple appearances at USATF Nationals, indoors and outdoors. Boldon has also represented the US in international competition and has an impressive PR of 3:41 for 1500 meters. For some reason though, he remains a bit of an unknown. Boldon, the newest edition to the Big River Running Company Team, will represent the club for the first time this weekend at the AT&T USA Indoor National Track and Field Championships. Big River caught up with Boldon as he prepares to go to Boston where he will compete in the 3000 meters, an event in which he recently set a personal best of 8:00.99 at the ISU Classic.



BR: Let's start off by asking about that 8:00 3k you ran at the Iowa State Classic Race. What were your goals and expectations going into the race and then take us through how the race played out.

BB: Going into the race I knew that I was really fit and my first aim was to run fast. My coach, Corey Ihmels, told me that he wanted me to take the lead just past the mile to push the pace. We're both confident in my fitness and this race was a good chance to get a new personal best. Texas A & M sent a pacemaker to ensure a competitive effort from the start and he did a good job of setting a fast and even pace. While he was leading I was back in the pack somewhere between 3rd and 6th. After the pacemaker stepped off the track right before 1200 meters Brad Lowery from Team USA Minnesota kept the pace up and the lead pack narrowed down quite a bit. I saw 4:03 for 1500 meters and I was about 4:19 for 1600. Shortly after that I moved to the lead and I set the pace from that point. Ben Gregory from Wisconsin Runner Track Club hung on to my shoulder until about 200 meters to go when he tried to make a move for the win. I responded but waited until about 100 meters to go to reclaim the lead. I went around him and cruised home for the win in a new personal best. My last 300 was under 45 seconds and over the last 80 meters I felt that I had another gear so I definitely gained some confidence from that run.

BR: That race qualified you for this weekend's AT&T USA Indoor Championships where you'll be representing Big River Running Company for the first time. Talk a little bit about what you learned from last year's Outdoor Championships and how you'll be approaching this race. [Ed. Note: Boldon made the finals in the 1500 last summer and finished 10th ]

BB: Last year was my first year with my new coach here at Iowa State University and in the last 18 months I've learned a lot about the sport. The training group is great and I've really been able to take my running to a different level. I've set new personal bests at every distance that I've raced, represented the US internationally, and raced in prestigious races on both coasts include the Prefontaine Classic and Providence Downtown 5k. These experiences, paired with making my first USATF final, have prepared me to compete with the best in the country. It's hard to put into words but the main thing that I've learned is that the only way to be competitive is to be confident. Without the confidence that you can succeed, all the training in the world won't be enough.

BR: When you line up against a Matt Tegenkamp like you will this weekend or a Bernard Lagat like you did last summer does that scare you or does it actually pump you up to run faster?

BB: I learned a long time ago that it doesn't matter who is in the race. Running is just running and you can't control what your opponents do. At the professional level there are guys that can do incredible things but instead of thinking about their achievements I try to focus on my own fitness. I run best when I'm able to stay confident and remember how well prepared I am for the race. Comparing yourself to other runners is a bad habit and I try and focus on my own improvements. Every time I toe the line I try to maintain this approach.

BR: You're a guy who has really steadily improved since college. That's not easy to do, especially in the middle distances where each second is hard to come by. Talk a little bit about your progression since college and how workouts and mileage have changed.

BB: In my senior year of college I had major improvements. I dropped 8 seconds from my mile best, 9 seconds from my 1500 personal best, over 30 seconds from my 5k best and 3 seconds from my 800 best. These huge gains encouraged me to continue running after college but I still hadn't run fast enough to get any significant support. I spent a couple of years struggling to find a way to be successful. During this time I trained consistently and took my lumps as I learned the ropes of post-collegiate running. Since graduating I've had several different coaches and each approach has been different. I've taken pieces of each training philosophy and brought them with me to work with Coach Ihmels here at ISU. Together we've developed a system that works really well for me. He takes an integrated approach to training and with his help I've incorporated drills, sprints and weights into my training along with long threshold runs and consistent long runs. In college I felt that a good way to make gains in fitness was to do huge quality sessions that I could barely finish. We called these workouts “Man Makers” and I would try and do one or two per year. Since then I've learned the importance of consistency and currently my workouts aren't really that impressive. I always finish feeling like I could do more. Most good college runners could do all of my workouts, but not a lot could handle the accumulated work load. A perfect example of this training came a few weeks ago when I did a ten mile threshold in just under 53 minutes. Two days later I did 5 x 1000 in 2:51 on 3 minutes rest. Neither workout is remarkable but when viewed as part of the big picture my training is going very well. In addition to the workouts I had an 18 mile long run, 2 days of weights, a day of sprints, 2 days of drills and over 90 miles for the week. This one week was one of five in consecutive similar weeks to start 2007.

BR: As we get closer to 2008 and the Olympic Trials in Eugene what are your goals over these next two years?

BB: Everything is centered on the Olympic Trials in Eugene . I'm not sure what race I'll run and I'll finalize that decision after the 2007 season. This spring I'm going to venture more into the realm of the 5k while still running some 1500s and miles. Depending on the outcome of my 5k attempts this year I will seriously consider jumping up in distance. Specific goals include trying my hand at longer distances on the road including possible runs at the USATF 10 Mile Championships in October of 2007 and the 10k Championships in Atlanta in July.

BR: Going all the way back to high school you've certainly shown that when you stick with it and train hard you can go a long way in this sport. Tell us a little bit about your high school career; what were your PR's and what did you think about running back then?

BB: To all the high school kids that might be reading this, KEEP AT IT!!! Find a way to enjoy your training and do it consistently. I wasn't really that good when I got into running. I didn't even break five minutes for the mile until my junior year of high school (I ran 10:25 for 3200 as a sophomore) and in junior high I wasn't even good enough to make the ‘A' team. In 8 th grade I only competed in the ‘B' meets except for one relay at a small meet on a cinder track. I'm from a small town and in high school I became the first person to ever run 200 miles or more during the summer for four consecutive years. That really isn't that much running but at the time I thought it was a lot because I compared myself to other people from my hometown. I saw enough success in high school to continue my running at the collegiate level. In college I patiently progressed and have added other concepts (like drills, sprints, and weights) as I've gone. I've been fortunate enough to set new personal bests and improve my training significantly every season since I started running when I was 14. Not many runners can say that.

To answer your question a little more specifically, I'll give you my high school and college progressions as I remember them:
High school:
freshman – 3200: 11:11, 5k: 19:08
sophomore – 3200: 10:25, 5k: ~17:10 or so
junior – 3200: 9:56, 1600: 4:34, 5k: ~16:30 or so
senior – 3200: 9:48, 1600: 4:27, 5k: 16:08

College:
freshman – indoor mile: 4:21 , 1500: 3:59
sophomore – indoor mile: 4:17 , 1500: 3:55
junior – indoor mile: 4:11 , outdoor red shirt
senior – indoor red shirt, 1500: 3:51
5 th year – indoor mile: 4:03 , 1500: 3:42

BR: Now that you are at that point in your career where you have run in some really big time events what would you say has been your favorite race and why?

BB: I've been very fortunate and I've raced in some of the world's best meets and road races. Running has taken me places that I never imagined possible and my favorite part is the great people that I've met along the way. If I had to name just one race it would be a track meet in Rehlingen , Germany . It was in a small town near Luxemburg and I'll never forget the experience. The town was only about 1,500 people, but 4,000 showed up for the meet. It was a tiny stadium with only 6 lanes and around the outside lane there was a fence with wooden advertisements hanging on it. During every race the crowd pounded on the signs and cheered the whole time. It was CRAZY! I took the lead with about 600 meters to go and the crowd erupted. I ended up getting beat and I didn't run that fast, but none of it mattered because afterwards I was swarmed for autographs by dozens of little kids. The only experiences that I've had like that in the U.S. were at the Drake Relays and the Prefontaine Classic but it wasn't the same because in Rehlingen it really felt like the crowd was down on the track with us.

BR: You are also doing some coaching at Iowa State University with Coach Ihmels. Have you enjoyed it so far and is coaching something you plan on making a career?

BB: I really enjoy working for Coach Ihmels here at ISU and it's a great group of guys to be around on a daily basis. I've worked with kids at the high school level and I've helped out at several different universities and it's been a blast every time. I love working with athletes and watching them improve. One of the guys that I'm coaching right now got a 12 pr in the mile this indoor season and it's a ton of fun seeing him enjoy the fruits of his labor. There are parts of the job at the college level that I don't like so I'm still not sure what I want to be when I grow up. Maybe I'll be an astronaut or a fighter in the UFC.

BR: Best of luck this Saturday!

Big River Running Company | St. Louis ' Running and Walking Resource | www.bigriverrunning.com

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