Trials and Tribulations

Well, I am no longer a decathlete. At times my mind races with the ramifications of what that means. Was I successful? What will I do now? Will my wife still love me if I don’t wear spandex and shave my legs? See…a little levity to prove I am not going to jump out of a window following the Olympic trials. First let me talk about last week.

What an amazing Decathlon competition!!! I guess I have done over 30 Decs in my career now, but none have ever been as high caliber and high scoring as this one! The crowd was an even match to the energy level of my competitors, as 21,000 knowledgeable track nuts oohed, ahhed, clapped, and cheered over the two days for every run, jump, or throw of the nineteen decathletes. A few times on the field I actually thought to myself that their hands must be getting sore. I know mine would be. Outside of the Decathlon competition there were performances by many of America’s great track and field athletes that made for one of the more impressive Olympic trials meets in history. Many have wondered if this isn’t one of the best overall track and field teams we have ever sent. We’ll see soon.

Bryan Clay, Trey Hardee, and Tom Pappas put up the #1, 3 and 4 scores in the world this year. To put this in perspective…in just about every Olympic Decathlon ever contested, a score above 8400pts would be on the medal stand. Just to make our team this year, you had to score well over 8500pts!! If all goes well in Beijing in a month, the US could have the first ever sweep of the Decathlon. Best of all, the three athletes representing the US are among some of the best guys I know. In another 20 years I would let Rowan date any of them…yes…even Trey! (Though I doubt any of them would be able to handle her:) Sidenote: I know that some people have their opinion about Trey, but I have known him since he was a wet behind the ears high schooler at Earl Bell’s camps in Arkansas. My good friend Lon Badeaux (now head coach at ASU), may have been one of the first people to ever see Trey’s potential as a decathlete, but few listened. He’s had naysayers all along his career, and if he has a chip on his shoulder, it’s at least understandable. But the truth is he is now an American Olympian and one of the best Decathletes in the world. At the decathlon last month in Dallas, I watched him take time from his competition to help a freshman from his former university (UT) achieve a new PR by helping him with steps, coaching and encouragement. He then calculated what I needed to run in the 1500 for the A standard, grabbed a watch and ran back and forth across the infield with Jake Arnord (4^th) to yell me splits and encouragement on my way to a new PR. He has become a man with fierce passion for winning and I watched him this past weekend compete with a maturity I had not seen in him before. He is truly in a position to become one of the best ever…and I am happy for him.

So the meet was not what I had been hoping for. It became obvious early that the “Big Three” were ready and able to put up huge scores. If I would have put up personal lifetime bests in each of the 10 events, I would have finished 4^th or 5^th, but still 300+ points out of making the team!! Conversely, it appears that doing 4 decathlons in 9 weeks finally caught up with me and I just didn’t have enough left in the tank. My performances were all a bit flat across the board. If I had cleared a height in the vault I would have finished in the top ten with a respectable score somewhere between 7700-7800. The only “good” thing about my no-height was that it was due to blow throughs on each pole, rather than bad vaulting. The wind was switching back and forth and I just did not adjust to catching tailwinds in competition vs the headwinds I had in warm-ups. Though extremely sad and disappointed, I was never angry or mad. These things happen, and I am at peace with the outcome.

So how ‘bout Bryan Clay!! 8832!! And this from a guy who told me during the high jump that he just “wasn’t in the mood to do this.” Bryan and I have known each other for some time as we both competed for NAIA schools. In fact, if you think he is small now, you should have seen him as a freshman in college. Many people thought he would never have the size to be world class. At 6’ (optimistically) tall and 185lbs, compared with Tom Pappas’ 6’ 6” 220lbs, they made a good case. Yet Bryan is now one of the best ever throwing decathletes in history…a facet usually reserved for us “bigger” guys. After we both struggled in the high jump, we talked about what track used to be like when it was just for fun, and how easy it was to perform in practice when we were just goofing around with the guys. Bryan is expected to win the Gold medal, and foreseen as the next world record holder. He has corporate contracts and sponsorships that expect the world of him, and in fact will penalize him if he doesn’t deliver. I have no idea what it is like to compete with that on your shoulders. But on day 2, he came out with a lighter countenance and a determined stride. His time of 13.74 in the hurdles confirmed he was in a better mood. Again, for perspective, the “Big Three” ran 13.71, 13.74, and 13.75. Had they done that in the open 110 hurdles race later that day they would have each moved on to the next round. That is the next round of the Olympic trials of the greatest hurdle/sprints country in the world !!! Impressive. If I sound redundantly astonished, it is because I was…and still am.

After the Javelin Bryan and I were talking about the fact that if he ran a 4:40 in the 1500 he would break Dan Obrien’s American Record, which until a few years ago was the world record. He then asked if I would help to pace him during the race so that he could have a chance to do it. I was honored. Before the race, they were holding the Decathletes under the stadium while the men’s 800 was run. It was an amazing race, with three Oregon natives making the team…one of which had to literally dive over the line to get 3^rd. The crowd noise grew in intensity during the race, to the point where we all stopped our warm-ups and simply stood and stared at each other while the hair on our necks stood up. The crescendo grew to the point it seemed the air around us was vibrating and you could not hear your own voice. Then it was our turn. In the end, Bryan was not able to keep pace, but still ran one of his better 1500’s and good enough for a new life time best 8832. After the award presentation and TV interviews, the top three are allowed to take a “victory lap” around the track before being ushered off. When told it was time to do this, Bryan stopped and said that he wouldn’t do it unless all of the Decathletes came with him. After some completely befuddled scrambling, the NBC/trials crew gave him the thumbs up and we all joined for the lap. I cannot put into words how special this was. Maybe for some of the young guys just starting out it was cool, but for someone closing out his career, it was emotional and meaningful. 21,000+ people in the stands clapping and cheering…and I think I made eye contact with at least 10,000 of them.

I have done the Decathlon for the better part of a decade now. This, after playing just about every sport in the book for the two decades preceding that. I went on to play baseball in college because I was VERY good at it. Maybe could have made a living at it. But I didn’t love the sport. Well…after fighting back welled up tears for the better part of Monday as I counted down the events of my last Dec, I can tell you that I love this sport. I have ever since my first one in the cold and rain at Taylor University, and do now as I sit here pondering never doing one again.

I come from a family that drives pretty hard for success. So much so that sometimes we can achieve it without the ability to recognize it. The others in the family can see it clearly, while the doer can miss it. Luckily for me, Laura and my family keep me in check here, and through their eyes I have been able to see clearly what has been accomplished. I was a good Decathlete. I won a collegiate national title while at Taylor University. I have been in the top 50 in the word for much of my career and top 30 a few times including this season, as well as top 10 in the US with finishes as high as 5^th. I have won major meets in the US and Europe and have been selected to 4 or 5 international US teams. This in a sport many consider the greatest test of athletic ability and grit. I am content and pleased with what I have done.

Finally, what really defines the last 10 years of my life is people. To remove people from the equation leaves me running in circles, throwing metal balls, and jumping over stuff. Fun for maybe an hour or so, but not truly meaningful. There are two groups of people who have touched me…those I competed with and against, and those who by their generosity and support allowed me to continue competing. I don’t know that “pen to paper” can adequately delineate my gratefulness for the time, energy, love, prayer and money that has been given to me over the years. It’s enough to make a man feel guilty for not making it to Beijing…except for the fact that I know the people who have lauded all this upon me, and they did it out of love…not a need for something in return. From the depths of who I am, I thank you. I pray that I may someday be able to give to others in the way I have been given to. Thank you to everyone who has written to encourage me despite my "failure". I have truly been encouraged and emboldened by your words.

So what do I do next? I am almost 32 years old, I have not made a dime in my “career”, and my resume for the job market is less than ideal. Give me some ideas…I am open to suggestion (or job offers:)

To see more pics from the trials click here