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Feature - Kai Wilmot - Dyestat 2013

Published by
DyeStat.com   Sep 11th 2013, 2:59am
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There is a reason Kai Wilmot was smiling

 

By Doug Binder, Dyestat editor

 

The photos of Kai Wilmot from Saturday's Tracy Walters Invitational in Spokane begged the question: Why is he smiling so much?

 

Wilmot ran hard and finished second in the season-opener for North Central of Spokane, but the joy that emanated out of him said volumes about the frustration and pain of the previous year.

 

Wilmot came out of his sophomore track season in 2012 poised to be a breakout star, one of the best runners in the country and the latest in a long line of Spokane legends. When he ran 8:57 at the Shoreline Invitational, it broke the Washington sophomore class record in the 3,200 meters.

 

 Kai Wilmot crosses the finish line at the Tracy Walters Invitational on Sept. 7, 2013 in Spokane, Wash. (Gary Paulson photo)

A year ago, he was primed and ready for cross country season, but it didn't go as planned.

 

He strained the piriformis muscle, located in his hip, on his left side. So he rested it a bit and then he felt the pain back off. With regionals looming, Wilmot excitedly resumed training and did his first hard workout. But that triggered pain in the IT band of his left knee.

 

"It started to hurt a little bit, but I pushed it aside," Wilmot said. "By the end of the workout, it hurt to walk."

 

That injury lingered. He missed the state championships, BorderClash and NXN Northwest Regionals. His team qualified for NXN without him. Wilmot determined to do what he could to help North Central at Portland Meadows.

 

"I took some Ibuprofen and said I'd worry about it later," he said.

 

Wilmot ran with guts through the slop. He placed 32nd as North Central took third place at the national championship meet.

 

The IT band problem continued to linger until the start of 2013. There was a promising 9:09 two-mile at the Brooks PR meet in February. But the good feeling was short-lived.

 

"I ramped up my miles too fast," Wilmot explained. "I had a good race at Brooks and was excited. I jammed my SI joint (again on his left side) and it made it hard to do workouts."

 

That problem was beginning to clear up just in time to get ready for the district finals on the track. But then, something else. There was a new pain, below his knee, on his upper shin. He survived districts.

 

"It was not a typical (stress) fracture area," he said. "I decided to run through it (at regionals) and I ran ran the first two laps with adrenaline. I was going on that. Then, the third lap, I had a really sharp pain and it was awful."

 

Wilmot dropped out of the race. The next day when he rolled out of bed he couldn't put any weight on the leg. The diagnosis was, indeed, a stress fracture. He missed the state track championships and began seven weeks without running.

 

All the while, Wilmot has been working to improve the biomechanics in his stride, figuring out how to adjust the way he runs so that it doesn't cause havoc with his hip and leg.

 

Over the summer, he spent many hours in the pool to stay fit and protect his body. By the middle of July he was cleared to begin running one mile per day.

 

Wilmot is not as fast as he was last year when he ran 14:44 at Tracy Walters (he ran 15:17 on Saturday). But he was happy to be on the starting line.

 

And the photos taken by Gary Paulson showed it.

 

"I usually don't smile that much. I'm more focused," Wilmot said. "I was happy to be on the starting line with my teammates, to be there with the guys and run fast again. It was finding the joy in the race and being able to put on my spikes and walk to the starting line. The gun goes off, and you take off. It's awesome."

 

Wilmot will listen carefully to his body and do whatever he can to reclaim a succesful senior season.

 

"My goal is to stay healthy, get better each week, be ready for state, Northwest and Nationals, and don't do anything to put me away for the season," Wilmot said.

 

It's still a touch-and-go prospect. Ten days ago he developed shin spints and was worried he wouldn't make it to the starting line for the Tracy Walters Invitational.

 

"My left leg is weaker than my right, so it's tweaking things," he said.

 

One thing it's not tweaking is his love of cross country.



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1 comment(s)
SteveU
Go, Kai! Hope your season continues healthy and great. Nice article.
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