Back on track with Nick Willis

BOSTON -- Everything pointed to Nick Willis of New Zealand enjoying a highly successful 2009 season. The University of Michigan alum was coming off a stirring bronze medal victory in the 1500m at the Beijing Olympics, was in great shape, and seemed headed toward greater success at the World Championships in Berlin. Three races into the indoor season last February, Willis suffered a torn labrum in his left hip. The injury was not properly diagnosed until April and required season-ending surgery.

At about the same time, it was revealed that Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain, the man who beat Asbel Kiprop of Kenya and Willis for Olympic gold, had tested positive for CERA, an advanced version of the blood-boosting drug EPO. Ramzi's positive test touched of a whirlwind of speculation about how the Beijing standings would be reorganized. In November, the IOC officially stripped Ramzi of his gold medal, elevating Kiprop's silver to gold and Willis' bronze to silver. France's Mehdi Baala had his fourth place moved up to bronze.

Willis, who will make his return to competition on Saturday night in the men's mile at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games, spoke during a press conference and later at length with Universal Sports about his injury, the situation surrounding his Olympic medal, his recent training as well as his goals for the 2010 season.

How did you discover the injury to your hip?

I went back to New Zealand and was playing golf. I was lining up a put on the 11th green and when I got up, my hip suddenly locked up. I was like, ‘What's going on?' I thought I would be fine and could just shake it off or stretch it out. But it was to no avail. I had to leave the course and go home. Two months later, there was no improvement. The doctors thought I might have had a stress fracture or something like that. Eventually when I returned back to the States, I went to see the top hip specialist in the world, Dr. Marc Philippon in Vail, Colorado. He has worked on Alex Rodriguez and many of the top hockey and baseball players in the world. Straight away, he knew exactly what it was and said, ‘We can get you in for surgery tomorrow.' He mulled it over for a few days and said, let's do it.

So basically I spent five months, three hours in the morning, three hours in the afternoon, treating my rehab is thought it was my job, my sport. I took a lot of the same approaches as I do with my running. You set goals and have little targets that you focus toward each and every day, and you have coaches. I had my massage therapist and my physical therapist that were motivating me, making me stick to the task even though I was complaining a lot of the time. By September, I was ready to roll again. The time away was tough, but it gave be a huge renewed passion for the sport. I was desperate to stop being a fan of sport. I was expending my competitive juices by playing video games and watching TV and I wanted to get back out there and do it myself.

What was the most difficult part of dealing with the injury?

The hardest part about the injury was the two months prior to when it was properly diagnosed. Just the unknown. You can't take positive steps forward until you know where there actually might be hitting. You're just walking around in circles basically.
Then the two months after the surgery was spent wondering when I was going to feel normal again because I have a short memory. When you're limping around on crutches, you just feel useless. That was very, very humbling. When I'm not running, I'm a naturally active person. I don't like to just sit down and watch TV. I like to play ping-pong or shoot hoops. That was very limiting to be extra careful of any improper movement that might have some regression of the progress I had made from the surgery.
On the other side of things, once I got better, I got to enjoy a proper Michigan summer for the first time. Summertime is supposed to be the highlight of the year in terms of vacationing. But when you are competing seriously, it's very hard to feel freedom because you're always right on your game. I followed the races in Europe. It was nice to be able to enjoy going camping and some of the relaxed family things that so-called normal people get to experience.

What did you miss most about not being able to compete on the track?

Initially, I missed being able to get outside and have some solitude and use that time to get away from the stresses of life. But then after a while, I'm competitive by nature and I desperately needed to have an avenue to do that. Because I was coming back from injury, I couldn't play ping-pong and I couldn't play a lot of other things that I like to do. I was getting sick of being on the Playstation. I desperately wanted to get out there instead of watching my struggling Detroit Pistons and Detroit Lions and Detroit Tigers fail endlessly.

How long was it before you could return to running?

I had my surgery in April. Then it was basically five months of rehab. I was able to start jogging two months after surgery. When I say jogging, I mean running for one minute, walking for five. It basically took all of June and July before I was up to running an hour a day. It was all of August before I was at full fitness to resume workouts. I was at full mileage by the end of August and could have done workouts if I wanted to but September is when I started up again.

Is the five months of training an extraordinary amount of time for you to be working before the start of the season?

It is longer than normal. Normally, I finish my season at the end of September, I'll take three weeks off and get started again in November.

What was it like physically trying to jumpstart your body to get acclimated to training again?

It gave me a lot of respect for the people who are training on their own. I've come back from injuries before, but I haven't been out for six months. Two times, I've had stress fractures that kept me out eight weeks. Coming back from six months off, it took a good six weeks until I enjoyed it again and the run wasn't a complete struggle.

Was it frustrating at all to be on the shelf watching your peers compete during a World Championship year?

It might have been had I not won a medal in Beijing. I didn't have any ‘I wish I was there' moments. I wanted to be healthy, but I was genuinely able to cheer everyone on without a sense of, ‘Man, I wish I was there.' I've had a pretty good run with things. But had it been for another year, it might have been tough. This is my opportunity to turn that refresh time into something positive on the track.

My training has been to get rid of being a wimp and to go out and be more aggressive. In the past, I may have been a little conservative in my mental approach. I'm always taking the safe approach. Now I have a fearlessness that I had as a child and I think it's come back again. It's exciting to see what's going to happen. You're only as good as your last race and mine was a long time ago. Now I've got to re-earn that respect from my competitors around the world.

Do you think the year off caused an out-of-sight-out-of-mind reaction and that you were forgotten entirely?

I think it's more that I worked hard and finally got to that level of respect and I didn't get to enjoy the fruits of my labor. I always walked into those races being scared more than anything, and nervous and not feeling like I belonged. Then I finally got there and I didn't get to enjoy it. It's like making the All-Star Team in basketball and you finally get the calls that the refs give you and that sort of stuff. You have to earn that in the NBA. I finally wanted to enjoy being able to travel around Europe and feeling confident all of the time rather than in fear of those races. But now, I'm excited to see where my fitness really is because I've been doing all of this training on my own. I've been really challenging myself in training, but you really never know until you test yourself. That's what this weekend is all about. I won't be holding back for tactics at all. I just need to test myself to find out where I'm at.

Can you tell me a little bit about your training the last few months?

I've primarily been doing two workouts a week every three or four days. My coach has always been big on splitting it up between doing hills for one session and a tempo run for the other. There are plenty of hills available in New Zealand. Afterward we do the strides. It's been pretty simple: Hills one day of the week, tempos the other and then a long run. Then I enjoy just getting out on the trails around New Zealand for my 90 minute runs in between. It's nothing special, just keeping it simple. I don't know what it is, but I feel like this has been a unique year, maybe because of the injury. Because I've been out so long, I've had longer to get ready. Those extra couple of months have given me a little extra pop in my stride.

By the sound of things, you are feeling pretty good right now. How is your fitness?

I'm surprisingly sharp right now. Normally at this time you‘re building strength base. My coach and I have decided to actually test it on the track after a year away to see what I can do, see what this fitness correlates too.

Are you sharp because of the long layoff and are you concerned about being able to hold it for a long period of time?

I think the main reason is just being able to get away from the snow for a bit. When you're training here in the winter you can only do the mileage. You don't want to risk doing your fast strides on an indoor track because the tight turns can put a lot of torque on the legs. At home, I was able to get all of my mileage, my strength training, but after my runs I could take my shoes off and run on the beach, do 300 meter sprints, or run on the grass tracks. I was able to play some of the summer games with my friends. The classic New Zealand summer game is to play beach cricket or touch rugby. Things like that kept my agility going.

I also jumped into a couple low-key races in New Zealand. It's sort of like when A-Rod came back from his surgery he played some minor league games beforehand. In both of those meets in New Zealand, I ran the 800m and the 3000m back to back with a short recovery as a workout. I just tried to get back to the routine of warming up, experiencing the gun go, sprint off after hearing the gun go. I think that helped get some of the motor mechanics back.

Do you have a time goal in mind for this first mile?

I have a couple of time goals but I'm going to keep that to myself. Hopefully it's pretty good. Last year I ran 3:53 and I feel stronger and sharper than I was for that race. It's all about how you feel on the day that makes the difference between bringing you're A game and you're A-plus game. Last year, I ran 3:53 and the next week I felt like rubbish in Fayetteville and I ran 4:01 in a technical race. I won it, but I couldn't duplicate that 3:53, not because I had lost fitness but because my body wasn't functioning quite right.

What is your competition plan after this?

I go to Birmingham in the U.K. two weeks after that. Then I'm going to Australia on March 4 to run a 1500m there. Then I've got a race in New Zealand at 800m on March 13th so I won't do World Indoors. This Birmingham race is like my World Indoors. The standard of competition will be pretty similar.

Why not compete in Doha?

Mainly because the Commonwealth Games are in October. I don't think it's healthy to have two over-serious championships in the same season. With it being in October, I would peak to early because emotionally it would be hard to hold it again until October. This way I can do the same races, go back to New Zealand, get some good training, and enjoy family time before opening my outdoor season in July. How I perform in New Delhi is going to dictate the grade for my year so I need to make sure I'm at my best in October.

In the last couple of months there has been discussion among athletes about the Commonwealth Games and whether they are going or not considering how late in the season it is. Was there ever a question for you?

That has been in my plans since I finished the last Commonwealth Games. It's really important for me. Back in '06, it was the launch-pad for me to really give myself an international opportunity when I won there. New Delhi is a priority for me. Four million people back in New Zealand will be watching, and to give you the heads up, I won't be doing the 1500m. I will be doing the 800m. I've been talking to a few other sprinters on the circuit the last few years, Debbie Ferguson in particular, and I ask, ‘How do you continue to run so fast as you get older because a lot of people say as your age, you get slower?' She said, ‘No, they neglect that side of their training as they get older.' So by stepping down to the 800m, it's a way to give me more accountability to continue working on my speed so I can still be one of the best 1500-meter runners when I get into my old age.

(NOTE: Willis has since amended the above statement (read more). --Ed)

How would you explain to the American public the significance of the Commonwealth Games?

For the general public not in the small bubble that we are in in the sport of track and field, it's the same as the Olympics only with less countries. Everyone wants to watch it. It's a chance to hear the New Zealand national anthem if someone wins the gold. And there are different rivalries. Normally at the Olympic Games, New Zealand is like 60th in the medal table where now there is a chance for us to be competing against Canada, against Australia, against Great Britain. But in my sport, where you have to compete against the Kenyans, the Ugandans, the Tanzanians, the South Africans, it's not that much of a different playing field from the Olympics where you have to compete against the Kenyans anyhow. I'm excited to rise to the challenge. And being in New Delhi is great. There are a billion people there and it will be great to be able to expose and help promote track and field there and to make sure the Commonwealth Games gets the respect that it deserves.

How important is the Commonwealth Games to set the table for the 2011 World Championship year in advance of the next Olympics?

I don't think it will necessarily impact how I run in those races, but I think it is important to perform when it matters most, brining you're A game in championships and not being afraid of the competition. To have a grand prix season where you have seven races lined up, you might have two of them great but you don't dictate ahead of time that this is the date you want to run great. So there is accountability when you have to turn it on the one day that it matters most. I've sort of prided myself on being at my peak when it matters most so I want to continue to have that x factor at the championship meets. I've also been able to draw on other past experiences. In Beijing, I was able to draw on winning the Commonwealth Games two years earlier. So long as I continue to succeed at championships, I'll have confidence at future start lines.

At the same time you were having your hip surgery, the world learned that Rashid Ramzi had won his Olympic gold medal while doping. What was it like for you after the fallout?

I had to be very careful because you always have to assume innocence until guilt is proven. It is very tempting to start blurting out all of your theories. We really wanted to respect the process and I really valued the counsel that my management team gave me. It may have kept the local New Zealand media frustrated because they weren't getting any juicy comments from me. By the time it finally did come out, it wasn't really news anymore. It was an interesting experience. I would say that once a week I would Google Rashid Ramzi to see if there were any updates. It seemed like family was getting information before I got any official word.
The process was long and drawn out. The most frustrating part was getting peppered with questions. At the same time, I was focused on getting healthy. My injury was the most important thing. As athletes, you're always looking forward to the next thing. You don't really reflect and dwell back. The Olympics were such an important thing at the time, but once you finish it, you're always thinking of the next thing.

How did you find out that Rashid Ramzi was in fact denied his appeal and that you were now elevated to Olympic silver medalist?

I think I read online that Mehdi Baala had been given the bronze medal and I was like, ‘Did they break into my closet and find where my medal was placed?' But I guess that meant that it was all said and done because if they gave him the bronze medal and I actually beat Baala, they can't give us both bronze medals. I contacted our local Olympic Committee and they had received word but unfortunately I was not in New Zealand for the period of time it would have required for them to send the silverware to New Zealand. I still don't know what the process is of how I return the bronze. It sounds like we're getting new medals. When I get back in March, we'll do some sort of ceremony.

So you haven't actually received the silver medal?

I haven't received it, but I have received notification. I have all of the official documents. But it's mainly since I haven't been in New Zealand. I guess Mehdi Baala lives closer to the shipping lanes.

How much does it hurt on a personal level that you were not able to receive that medal at the time that you earned it?

I think, for how significant the situation was, I was probably on the best end of it in terms of Asbel Kiprop and Mehdi Baala. As I ran across the finish line, I had the extreme joy of winning the bronze. I still got to do that victory lap. I was crying. It was absolutely amazing. I wasn't denied that experience. I wasn't denied hearing my national anthem because I wouldn't have heard that either. What I was denied was the belief that I was a little bit closer to the gold. There were two guys ahead that beat me by nine meters. Had it only been Kiprop, that's only one person and you can never guarantee that they are going to be in their best shape on the right day.
Now that I know I've got the silver, the cool thing is that there is no reason for me not to take all the necessary calculated risks. The only way for me to improve on silver is to go for the gold and there is a huge freedom in that. If it means I end up getting seventh in the final in London because I gave every possible gamble to get gold, that would be better than me running a safe and calculated race and falling into bronze because I've gotten that medal. There was only one person ahead of me, and I've beaten Kiprop a lot of times before so I know he's beatable. He's shown his vulnerability in technical situations. But the guy that I'll probably be competing with most when London comes is probably some Kenyan kid that I don't even know and hasn't hit the international circuit. We'll just have to wait and see.

Do you think there are any positives to come out of the whole situation?

The part of the process that came through and brought me the greatest satisfaction was that there was a sense of justice being served. I really want to believe that when I stand on the start line, I'm competing against all the guys to see who the best person in the world is, not who has the best chemist. Unfortunately on that day, someone chose to go that route. As athletes, we were robbed of the opportunity to really test ourselves. When I'm playing ping-pong against my friends, I don't want to beat someone with my right hand if they're using their left. I genuinely want to beat them and they want to beat me giving their best.

Ramzi robbed us of that chance. He robbed 90,000 people in the Bird's Nest and the millions watching on TV of genuinely getting entertained. So there is a great sense of satisfaction that justice had finally been served. There is also a confidence that it is going to set a great precedent of accountability to the people who may be tempted in the future. That temptation now comes with greater risks and consequences. Even though they may think they're ahead of the game now, now that they do this testing up to eight years afterward they can be brought to great shame. Hopefully we'll protect them from making those decisions that will ultimately lead to a life of looking over their shoulder, which isn't a fun life to live. You don't want to be a fugitive in our sport.