Buchanon Fights Back in Multiple Ways
6/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
June 8, 2010
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Injuries will not stop junior hurdler Carl Buchanon. He's back at the NCAA Outdoor Championships where he belongs, ready to make some noise in the 400-meter hurdles and hopefully bring home some hardware.
Not bad for a kid who thought his future was in cross country.
Like his two University of Michigan men's track and field teammates joining him beginning on Wednesday (June 9) in Eugene, Ore., Buchanon has had to deal with a lingering injury for most of the outdoor season. Whereas Frank Shotwell dealt with rehab stemming from his torn hamstring one year ago and Lex Williams battled the elements in extremely long distance races, Buchanon aggravated some muscles in his lower back during in the middle of the outdoor season, seriously affecting his performance in the hurdles and at one point, putting his return trip to the NCAA Championships in jeopardy.
According to head coach Fred LaPlante, a lower back injury can be dangerous for a hurdler, affecting different muscles like the glutes and hamstrings. But it starts with the back.
"It's a fine line," LaPlante said about Buchanon's injury. "As a runner, you have to distinguish between pain and injury. We had to give him rest, get him out of what he was doing and pick up the pieces from there. He went backwards, but it was necessary to get him healthy."
LaPlante estimates the injury started to get serious the week of "The Dual", which came against rival Ohio State on April 10 in Columbus, Ohio. That meet, Buchanon finished second in the 110-meter hurdles, third in the 400-meter hurdles and ran the second leg of the 4x400-meter relay.
Buchanon was not 100 percent and he knew it. LaPlante did not officially know for close to three weeks, but he suspected it, too, blaming Buchanon's less-than-stellar performance at "The Dual" on the injury. He was not about to complain of injury in a meet against the school's biggest rival.
Buchanon was not even sure how the injury happened. He cannot remember if he did it in training (lifting) or if it was one of those spontaneous things that you have no control over.
"Maybe it was growing pains," Buchanon joked. "It was something that just kind of snuck up on me."
At first, Buchanon thought it would just go away on its own, but after a few days, he realized it was not just another average muscle pull. He spent weeks in the training room and still the back showed no signs of improvement. He told himself not to get frustrated, a tough thing to do for a guy who has no injury history. He was in pain following every practice, after leaping over every hurdle.
Throughout the process, Buchanon was surprised for the calmness that LaPlante showed. Buchanon, one of three appointed tri-captains and the leader of the sprints/hurdles group, has a solid relationship with LaPlante, who is not only the head coach, but the coach of the very group Buchanon runs with.
"He's a great coach," Buchanon said of LaPlante. "He's real. He's blunt. He won't sugarcoat anything. He'll tell you like it is and that's why I like him. This year, with me being a captain, we've talked about more than just track. We've talked about how I can become a better leader, about recruits, about the team, everything. It's a bittersweet relationship."
Even still, Buchanon, LaPlante and the trainers concocted a plan to lessen the stress on the back, starting with the elimination of the 110-meter high hurdles from his workout regimen. "The Dual" was the last time Buchanon ran the 110-meter high hurdles this season.
"The 400-meter hurdles is a rhythm race, a jarring-type event," LaPlante said. "You have to be able to distribute your energy appropriately for who you are. The other part is relying on adrenaline and the luck of the race. The pain for Carl was too much and it was noticeable. You can't run through that and be successful."
Buchanon started to show signs of improvement around the Drake Relays on April 24. Despite finishing fifth in the 400-meter hurdles at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, LaPlante felt Buchanon was "one hurdle away from a very good performance."
In the weeks leading up to the NCAA East Region Preliminaries, LaPlante saw Buchanon make great strides on the track, even though Buchanon admitted to losing some confidence because things simply "weren't coming together."
At one point, he thought it was his last meet of the season, you would not have noticed as Buchanon finished 10th in the 400-meter hurdles, recording a new lifetime best of 50.66, proving that the worst of the back injury was behind them once and for all. And even better, Buchanon's confidence returned.
"I just wanted to go out there and give it my all," Buchanon recalls of the race at the NCAA East Region Preliminaries. "Thankfully, it came together. I left it all out there."
With the regional meet behind them, Buchanon and LaPlante turn their attention to nationals but are quick to point out just how far they've come since the injury in early April.
"The last couple of weeks have gone really well," LaPlante said. "He had a lifetime best at the last meet, but I certainly think he is capable of running faster and now he's had a good few weeks of training. We have to go with what is. He's made the most of his situation this year."
Buchanon agreed.
"I'm feeling pretty good right now," he said. "The pain I was having is pretty much gone. I'm staying strong and staying healthy."
LaPlante believes Buchanon will need to run the "race of his life" to qualify for the finals. The preliminaries of the 400-meter hurdles are at 6:45 p.m. PDT on Wednesday (June 9). If Buchanon finishes either first or second in his heat or records one of the next two fastest times after the first six are automatically selected, he will race in the finals on Friday (June 11) at 5:45 p.m. PDT.
"We're going to roll the dice with this," LaPlante said. "He's going to have to run the first part of the race a little faster than he's probably comfortable with. It's possible he goes out too hard, but with this field, he can't go easy. He needs to have a good start, which he is definitely capable of. We're not going to change his stride pattern, but if he goes out fast, he'll be in the hunt."
In the 113-year history of the University of Michigan men's track and field program, only two men have won an NCAA title in the 400-meter hurdles and both are U-M Men's Track & Field Hall of Famers -- Robert Osgood (1936) and Neil Gardner (1997). Buchanon is aiming to become the seventh Wolverine in history to earn All-America honors, joining Don Cooper (1928), Osgood (1936), Dick Cephas (1960-61) and Gardner (1996-97).
Buchanon believes that reaching All-America status is a reasonable goal. He has prior experience on the big stage, having qualified for nationals last year. He finished 23rd in the same race last season but returns this year with much higher goals.
"I got a taste of it last year," he said. "Now I'm more mature about the race. I know more about the competitors, more about the environment and know what it's going to take to be an All-American, which is my goal. I'm going to go out there, give it my hardest and try to get on that medal stand in the end."
• Williams Hopes to Go the Distance in Final Race (6/7/10) | Shotwell Prepped and Ready for NCAAs (6/4/10)
Contact: Brad Rudner (734) 763-4423
