Michael Brajdic
Bay Village, OH
Personal Bests
1600 Meter Run - 4:22.40 
Two Mile Run - 9:24.39
3200 Meter Run - 9:08.41
5000 Meter Run - 14:54.89
One Mile Run - 4:28.92
Bay Village's Michael Brajdic drives himself hard and takes pride in going beyond expectations. He is Ohio's defending Division 2 State Cross Country Champion and has his sights set on defending his title and going to Nationals. He has been running since the fourth grade and credits much of his success to the development of a strong base during the summer months and a new confidence to take the pace out hard and push the entire race.
In the following interview Michael talks about his 2nd place finish in last Spring's D2 State 3,200m finals, his training and his expectations for defending his D2 State cross country title.
OHRunners: Before we get into your background, I’d like to ask a few questions in regards to last Spring's D2 State 3,200m race. I remember watching that run and commenting to a colleague ” What a great race and time and that's Division II." In that race, you ran 2nd in a time of 9:08.41 to a Senior from Elyria Catholic, Marty Coolidge. Marty's winning time was 9:03.11. I can imagine that you were disappointed in not winning, but both of your times were excellent. In retrospect, can you give us some of your thoughts regarding that race?
Michael: Crossing the finish line and looking up at the scoreboard, I was really surprised when I saw the time. I remember periodically hearing the pace during the first mile, and thinking that we would end up around 9:20 or so. While I was disappointed that I had lost, I knew that I had controlled everything in my power. Marty Coolidge was definitely the better runner that day. Seeing Marty finish the last 200 meters in sub 30 seconds made me realized he definitely earned it.
OHRunners: A sub 30 sec. last 200 is definitely impressive. What is your 400 speed? Do you think that if you had pushed the pace in the earlier stages of the race that the race may have gone differently?
Michael: I've only run the 400 in a few dual meets, but I’ve been right around 55. Thinking back on the State Meet, I probably should have went earlier. During the race though, I really just wanted to run right on Liston (Brad Liston, Circleville 3rd in 9:19.16) for as long as possible. Marty and I raced multiple times during the season, but for me, Liston was really the unknown. I just didn't want to take the pace, and then end up having Liston, or both of them sitting on me for the remainder of the race.
OHRunners: The D1 race was also a great race and came down to a sprint between Andrew Goodwin of Celina and Zach Wills of Mason. Andrew won in a time of 9:11.49 and Zach's time was 9:12.00. This isn't the 1st time that the D2 winning times have been faster than the D1 times. I understand that each race is run independently and that race strategy and pace can determine the outcome and that the time isn't always a real indicator of the talent, competitiveness or performance of the individuals in a race. The same happens, of course, in XC. What are your feelings on this and do you look forward to having the opportunity to compete at any level?
Michael: I've never been too concerned when runners post big times, because each time is so specific to the conditions of the race. I look a lot more into the quality of competition, and how the race setsup. I really relish the opportunity to race in larger competitions, no matter what division. Obviously, one can't go after big competition every single week, but there should definitely be weeks in the season in which runners challenge themselves and expand their limits.
OHRunners: Did you take any time off after the State Track & Field Championships?
Michael: After the State Meet, I knew that I was still in really good shape. After running the 9:08, I felt I could really challenge the 9-minute mark if put in the right race. I ran the Midwest Distance Gala the next week, but for some reason just really struggled. So, I took about 10 days off, and then got back into summer training. It took about 2 weeks until I was back into full summer training.
OHRunners: Sometimes, even though we know that we are in great shape, our mental shape can play a very important role in our training and racing. As a scholastic runner, a strong emphasis is placed upon peaking for State. Do you think that you were perhaps mentally tired and that's why you struggled?
Michael: That's what Coach Snyder and I talked about after the race. While I wanted to run a great race at Midwest, we both knew that I was pretty exhausted, mentally and physically, from a long season.
OHRunners: What was your summer training schedule like? What kind of mileage were you putting in and at what types of pace? Did you run any 5k or 10 K races? Any speed work or just all distance for a strong base heading into the XC season?
Michael: Summer went really well for me. I've always been a higher mileage guy, so summer is really the few months where I pack in the miles. I started around 65 miles per week in late June, and made my way up to 90 by mid-August. I tend to keep my pace relative to how I feel that day. Its all longer distance, with a typical tempo and hill run in a week.
OHRunners: 70-90 miles per week, in High School or at any level, is logging a lot of miles. Are most of the miles on pavement? What is your reasoning for putting in that kind of mileage? At what age did you start running these kind of weekly miles. Did you run any 5K or 10K's over the summer?
Michael: About a third of the miles are on grass, while the rest on pavement. My coach suggested that I run those amounts of miles going into my junior year of cross country. Prior to that I didn't run that many miles, but he knew that I had always been a durable runner, and explained that everyone he knew that had run 1000 miles (June 1-August 31) over the summer had won a state championship. I didn't run in any 5k's or 10k's over the summer, just focused on training.
OHRunners: Before we discuss this XC season, let's go back and talk about your running background? When did you first start running? What did you run? At what point did you realize that you may be good at it? What were your first goals as a young runner?
Michael: I first started running in 4th Grade. I got involved through CYO at St. Raphaels, and I've really loved it ever since. We would run a few miles everyday, with one big "hill" workout a week. Enough to be challenging, but at the same time enjoyable. The first time I realized that I may be good at it was the first cross country race in 7th grade. It was a CYO race, and I was in my first Varisty Race (7th-8th graders). I ended up running a smart race and winning, and remembered thinking, "Hey, this is a pretty cool feeling." I remember my mom crying she was so happy. It still might be my favorite race to date.
OHRunners: Let's look at this XC season. What were your expectations going into the season?
Michael: My main goal was to go into the season injury free. I knew that after being close to sub 9 in the Spring, and putting in a bunch of miles, that I would be in good shape come fall. Tiffin really stuck out in my mind, as I knew it would be a fast time if conditions held up.
OHRunners: Based upon your win at Tiffin and the time, you seem to be healthy and in great shape for this early part of the season. What type of workouts are you doing now and what is a typical week of workouts with an Invitational on a Saturday?
Michael: My typical week consists of 2 longer runs (10-12 miles), 2 interval based workouts, and then easy recovery days sprinkled in between. Our interval workouts are either Monday-Wednesday, or Tuesday-Thursday, and then everything else is based around that. We really do our best to train through all the invitationals during the season. The mileage and intensity of the workouts remain high until late in the season when it tapers off. My coach and I are definitely looking long term when racing during the season. We both realize that the weeks of the State Championship and the races that follow it will really be the key.
OHRunners: What type of interval workouts do you do? 200's? 400's? 800's? Mile and Mile 1/4 repeats? e.g 10 x 400's @ what pace and with what intervals? You log a lot of miles during a week, how much speed work do you do?
Michael: Intervals vary from 400's to mile repeats. Pace usually varies from about 4:32 on the 400s (68) to about 4:45-4:50 on the mile repeats. We have 2 interval workouts a week.
OHRunners: What type of race strategies do you have? Do you visualize all of your runs and courses, as well as the competition?
Michael: I try to get to know how my competition runs and wins races, and then plan around that. My cross country coach (Steve Babson) and track coach (Scott Snyder) have really preached strategy, and to not worry about the time, as long as you set yourself up or put yourself in a good position to win. So the race strategy really does differ from week to week. It just depends on what gives the team and myself the best chance of winning.
OHRunners: How comfortable are you running alone, out front, in some competitions? Are you confident of your pace now, i.e first mile pace, second mile and third mile paces?
Michael: I haven't been very confident in going out hard from the gun until recently. Now I feel very confident in my ability to hold the pace I want to hit, even when I'm running solo. Once again, thinking of myself as a sub 9 runner in track definitely makes a 9:20 pace through 2 miles in a cross country race plausible.
OHRunners: When you are in a competitive race, what are your thoughts during the race? Would you rather lead or run behind, staying in contact and waiting for the right moment to push the pace and take the lead or would you rather push the pace to tire out the runners with good sprint speed, or are you confident, that even with a slow pace you can win in a close, sprint finish?
Michael: I feel most comfortable in grinding the pace out from an uncomfortable distance (if that makes sense). For example, starting my all out effort from about 1k out or so in a 5k race, so that whoever wins won't be kicking in hard, but rather just struggling to finish and collapse at the line.
OHRunners: It takes experience to learn "How" to run a race and pace is very important. At the collegiate level, training is easier because many teammates are all capable of running together during workouts. Are the majority of your workouts "solo" in terms of pace and distances? Has this helped you learn pace in both practices and in running solo in many competitions?
Michael: Actually my teammates are always willing to push the pace. As the interval gets longer, its starts getting more solo, but Nick Banks and Sam Allen, along with my other teammates are definitely willing to push the pace during workouts. I'm lucky to have such great teammates who work so hard during practice.
OHRunners: Let's talk a little about you personally?
What motivates you?
How do you mentally prepare for a race?
How do you react when you win a race?
How do you react with a loss?
Michael: I drive myself pretty hard, and take pride in going beyond expectations. For example, 90 miles a week might not do much more than 60, but just mentally knowing that no one else is doing that much helps me tremendously during training/racing. I don't have much of a reaction after winning a race, I usually think about how it played out, and spots where I struggled and how to fix it. I actually really appreciate losses, because I feel that it motivates me much more than a win ever would. You can go back out and train with a chip on your shoulder. That’s why I really appreciate the great race that Marty had in the the State 3,200 because its helped me progress as a runner.
OHRunners : What are your goals for the remainder of the XC season? Are you anticipating running in the post XC season? i.e. Nike Nationals?
Michael: The big goal is to repeat as State Champion in Divsion 2. Anything else that happens is really just a bonus. I'd really like to make it to Nationals again, and to compete with the lead pack through at least 2 miles and see what happens after that. I don't really have a place or anything in mind. I'm just gonna take it a week at a time.
OHRunners: Thanks Michael. Stay healthy and continue your success this season. I'll look forward to seeing you at State in November.