5th Year "Retired" Senior - Clarksville, Tennessee
Who the heck is Luke and why is he still on this page?:
Well, I am me, that's who I am. I'm still hanging around APSU because they aren't giving me that little piece of paper that says "Bachelor's in Physics" until December 11th. I'll still be around for a while...and I figured if I was still going to be here that I would still do everything for the team that I could possibly do. If I could've gotten that medical redshirt in '95, I'd be eligible this fall, but that's all water under the bridge...my days are over. For those of you who don't know me, I just finished my 4 years of running for Austin Peay and have considered it one of the best experiences of my life. I showed up as a walk-on with very little talent and a 5k PR of 18:20, and a seriously complicated version of a genetic back disorder that hurt me like crazy, but thanks be to God and to Coach Forde for helping me to improve so much and for helping the team at APSU as much as I've been able to. I helped bring the program a little attention when I became our first OVC Scholar Athlete of the Year and our first Academic All-American, but mostly for being the OVC's most pronounced barefoot runner. Yes, screw the awards, just let me be remembered as the one who started the barefoot mania in the OVC. If you don't believe me, just notice the picture above. Everybody thought I was a nut, but they loved it.
I'm not done competitively just yet. I still think I can shave some more time off of my 8k PR of 28:40, and I'll try once or twice this fall. My current functions include doing whatever Elvis tells me to do, and keeping this webpage going. At the moment I'm having more success with this internet site than I am the running, but the guys know I'm a cold weather runner, so watch out later. November/December plans for me include my second marathon, probably back in Memphis again. I narrowly missed the qualifying time for the Boston Marathon of 3:10 last year, and I'll be going back to try to hit that mark. In fact, the marathon will probably be my event of choice from now on, one or two a year. For some psycho reason, I'd like to try another 10k on the track.
More Personally...
I am about to be 22, and I am due to graduate with a B.S. in Physics and a minor in Math and Education. What am I going to do with it? I'll probably student teach in the spring so that I can become certified to teach, and then I'll probably head off to graduate school in the fall to get to work on my Masters. Anyway, I've got lots of options. I've worked for 4 years at Wal-Mart, which is a pretty sucky job, but they let me sit back in the electronics department and play with the computers so it's not so bad. I have used the "shoplifter-chasing" incidents as interval repeats, so I've gotten some training in, as well.
Obviously, I'm a XC/track nut, and I have a good working knowledge of the sport. I work with a lot of people online, giving a lot of people advice on running and just conversing about the sport in general. But I like other sports as well, I think basketball is second behind athletics. I listen to music all the time (literally)...I'm listening to a lot of R&B right now, and I'm listening to quite a few movie soundtrack scores as well. I don't have cable, so don't even talk to me about TV. I have dated the same girl for three years on the nose (hey baby!), and I have no idea about the "big question", so don't bug me about that, either. One of the things I've recently found to entertain me is playing Goldeneye 64 deathmatches with 4 people on Nintendo, so feel free to bring 2 other people and come over and play sometime. Things that very few people know about me? I've been employed by the U.S. Dept. of Energy...and I'm a novice classical guitarist.
My philosophy on life? Why bother with devising your own philosophy on life when the premiere philosophy is already out there? Here you go:
"Be still, and know that I am God" - Psalms 46:10 - GOD
For more about my personal slant on running click here for my Running Nirvana....