Blaine Zimmerman: Athlete Spotlight Interview
Just got the opportunity to do another interview from a member of the National Guard Marathon Team, Blaine Zimmerman.
I believe I first met Blaine at the All Guard Team Trials in Lincoln in 2019, where I believe I ran on his feet through about mile 19 or 20, then eventually my race came crumbling down, and he left me in the dust. Blaine is an inspirational runner from Indiana, check out the questions below and serves with the Indiana National Guard.
I just learned his favorite show is Party Down. That show is freaking hilarious, I forgot it existed, but that’s definitely a top ten show for me. Ill post a link.
Hometown: Cicero, Indiana
Current Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Age: 35
Occupation: Director of Veteran Engagement, INvets
Favorite Movie: Empire Records
Favorite TV Show: Party Down
Q: Thanks for taking the time to share a little bit about your running journey with us! Can you start out by just telling us a little bit about yourself? Maybe a little about your running history? How long have you been a runner for? What's your background in the sport? How'd you get involved?
A: Hey everybody! I'm Blaine Zimmerman and I'm an Infantry Platoon Leader (2nd Lieutenant) in the Indiana National Guard. I've been in for over 12 years, with the first 6 being active (between Ft Bliss & Ft Drum). I changed over to the "Dark Side" last fall after completing Indiana's OCS program. On the civilian side I am the Director of Veteran Engagement for a nonprofit called INvets, and we recruit veterans to move to Indiana, and help veterans find great careers here in the state. I've been married to my wife, Ginny, for 12 years and we have three boys, Wes (9), Ben (7), and Otis (4), and two dogs, Dirk (10) and a new puppy, Beverly.
I've been running since 7th grade, when I joined the cross country team because the middle school CC coach was the high school varsity basketball coach, and I thought it would help my chances to play varsity basketball in high school. By my sophomore year, I realized that I was much better at running than basketball and decided to focus on that full-time. I ended up earning a scholarship to run cross country & track at Indiana State University, where I had some mild success and earned a few All-Conference honors as well as 3 straight cross country team Conference Championships. My junior year, I was injured and honestly was not prepared to handle something that took away from running, the only thing that I really identified my life with. I made some poor choices in time management (mostly being party>class) and found myself needing to find some structure in my life. As someone who only whole-asses things, I decided to join the Army as an Infantryman. I finally got back into running during my last couple of years at Fort Drum, with a pretty decent Army 10 miler (56:20ish, eeked into the top 100) in 2012. That race brought my fire back and I decided to run a marathon after I ETS'd. My first marathon was the Air Force Marathon in 2016, and I had NO clue what I was doing. I basically ran 5 miles a day and a long run on the weekend. I totally fell apart around mile 18 and ended up running 3:33 (after being on sub 3 pace for 17 miles). After that, I got serious and got a coach, and ran a 2:50:19 at the Carmel Marathon in 2017. I got to experience the torential downpour at Boston in 2018, an absolutely amazing experience, and then ran my first Lincoln three weeks later. I absolutely love being on this team (Shoutout Team Minivan!)
Q: You have some outstanding performances under your belt! Tell us a little but about your balance with running and work and other obligations? How do you fit it all in?
A: Thank you! I think my biggest thing with balance is understanding time management. If you ask my wife, I'm sure she'll tell you that I'm not really comfortable unless I have too much on my plate. I finished my undergrad while still on active duty, and went back to earn my MBA while working full time with two kids and a pregnant wife. It's all about understanding your time buckets and what I like to call "Running the mile you're in." What I mean by that, block off the times of the day/week that you are doing specific tasks, whether that's work, exercise, time with your family, etc, and when doing those things in those buckets, only focus on the thing you're doing. You've already got your other activities scheduled, they can be worried about then, not while you're working in your current bucket. It's just like in a marathon. You can't worry about mile 19 when you're on mile 4, you have to focus on the mile you're currently running. (I hope that makes sense).
Q: Can you give us a little overview of your weekly running schedule? Do you follow a specific regimen? Is it flexible? On average, what would you say your weekly mileage looks like?
A: Well, right now I'm working on recovering from a back/hip injury, so I am taking some time to let the body heal. I'm seeing the chiro once a week and doing yoga, stretching, rolling, and the massage gun to work as hard as I can to get back on the road. Over the summer, my coach (Kenny Rayner) had me at an incredibly high volume of miles with two workouts a week. I was running 12 miles each morning, with a 3 mile shakeout in the afternoon, a long run Saturday, and a short shakeout Sunday. I'll get back to somewhere close to that in the winter/spring (although I doubt I'll ever do another 100 mile week). I'm not very flexible with my training, I have a plan, and I stick to it, come hell or high water. It's actually one thing I would like to improve on in 2021.
Q: As an endurance coach, one of the biggest principles I preach is regarding pre-race and race day fueling. Do you feel this is an important element in racing and training? How do you approach your pre-race meals, and fueling during the race? Do you use any specific products?
A: I think this is super important! I test EVERYTHING I may implement on long runs leading up to the race. I was having some stomach issues with gels this summer, so I tried a new Chia-based gel (Huma) and it worked really well for me. I use my last 3-4 long runs as "Stomach race prep" and will have the same breakfast (bagel with bananas and peanut butter, coffee) and same mileage interval of taking the gels (every 6 miles for me) so that my body is used to that on race day. As members of the military, we always hear the term "Train like you Fight" and it's the same thing for racing
Q: What advice would you give a new runner looking to get more serious about racing?
A: Understand that it takes time. You've got to be patient with your training, and understand that you may have weeks where you feel like you aren't making progress, or are even getting slower. Bad workouts and bad races happen, you've got to stay as level as possible. Never get too up, never get too down. Just be as consistent as you possibly can, and the results will come. Oh, and also: RUN THE MILE YOU'RE IN. Just focus on that next step and that next mile marker.
Q: Shameless Plug. Do you watch my food reviews? If so, which is your favorite episode? :-)
A: I have let you down there. I have not. I'm sorry!
Paul: What a jerk… Here’s your chance! My Favorite Review, with my dad. And here is another favorite with MY MOM.
Q: Where can people find out more about you?
A: Oh man, well, I'm on facebook & Instagram. I also have a podcast called Hidden Indy that came out a couple years ago about the history of sports in Indianapolis, and I have another podcast coming out in January called the Presiquential Podcast about the Presidents. (Talk about shameless plugs!) I really appreciate you thinking of me for this series, and I hope that I've been able to help at least one person that's reading this!
