Week 23: Jake Wojnicki

Home state: New York
Status: Sophomore
Year on club: 2
Colleges: Honors College and College of Engineering
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Minor: Materials Science

In addition to the club, Jake is involved with South Church bible studies and the Outdoors Club. He enjoys hiking, camping, kayaking, fishing, and backpacking . When Jake is healthy and injury-free, his favorite events are the cross country 8k, and the track 3k and mile. However, Jake has had two huge injuries that have kept him from participating in track for both of his years on the club. In order to combat the frequent injuries, Jake has decided to increase the calcium in his diet. Check it out below:
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Running Club: “Okay. Explain the milk story.”
Jake Wojnicki: “Okay. So I have broken a lot of bones--too many for my liking--so I thought ‘I do not have enough calcium’ so I decided to drink more milk so I have more calcium and less breaking. It hasn’t worked so far, but I am going to keep trying.”
RC: “How many glasses of milk do you drink a day?”
JW: “I drink seven.”
RC: “All at the same time?”
JW: “Not all at the same time. But that would be impressive.”
RC: “How do you split it up throughout the day?”
JW: “I have two for breakfast, two for lunch, and three for dinner.”
RC: “Do you like the taste of milk?”
JW: “Not particularly. I mean, it’s okay, but it’s not my favorite thing to drink.”
RC: “You just do it for the bones?”
JW: “Pretty much.”
RC: “You come to every meet and practice; does that ever get discouraging because you haven’t been able to run?”
JW: “Not really. I see it more as encouraging that people are training and then I see them run fast. So, I’m like ‘when I get back I am going to train hard and then I’ll run fast; and that will be good.’ So yeah, just trying to motivate myself to keep working even while I can’t run so when I get back I can be doing what people have been doing these past few months.”
RC: “Have you been doing any cross training?”
JW: “I have been swimming and biking.”
RC: “Do you do that every day before you come to practice?”
JW: “I try to swim every day. If I don’t swim because of pool hours, I will bike. But yeah, I shoot for trying to do it every day. Sometimes it doesn’t happen--that’s another story--but I try.”
RC: “When you’re healthy, what’s your favorite thing about running?”
JW: “Winning, to be honest. It hasn’t happened in a while, but I enjoy winning a lot, so that’s a plus. And just being in shape. It’s a big stress relief. It gets my mind off school so I really appreciate that. Pretty much all of the other times during the school year my mind is on academics, so it’s the one place I can find a reprieve.”
RC: “What races have you won in the past?”
JW: “Not many very lately, but in high school I would win races, just random races.”
RC: “For track or cross country, or both?”
JW: “Both. But that was because not everyone was as fast as they are here and I was faster.”
RC: “You were also healthier.”
JW: “That is true as well.”
RC: “Have you had a healthy season yet since being on running club?”
JW: “I have not. Last year I had a stress fracture in my tibia and this year I broke my ankle playing football. Not a good track record.”
RC: “When did you get your stress fracture?”
JW: “I got it during cross country freshman year. It just kept hurting, kept hurting. So I didn’t run at nationals because it hurt too much to train. Then, I went home over break and got that diagnosed and missed all of track. [And then I got injured] over winter break playing football this year.”
RC: “So you weren’t injured during cross country this year?”
JW: “I did do cross country. I was thinking full seasons as far as years here.”
RC: “But you were healthy during this past cross country season?”
JW: “Yes, that was fantastic.”
RC: “What was your favorite race?”
JW: “I liked MC5--as much as everyone hates it. Personally, I like the hills because people hate them more than me, so then I place better. And I like that.”
RC: “Would you consider yourself pretty competitive?”
JW: “Yes. I may not have competitive times, but I am a competitive person.”
RC: “What is your least favorite part about running?”
JW: “My least favorite part about running is being injured and getting injured.”
RC: “So then do you also not enjoy football?”
JW: “I do still enjoy football. I just don’t like the injury part there either.”
RC: “You tend to run longer races. So what’s the furthest you’ve ever run?”
JW: “The furthest I’ve ever run was I think thirteen miles on the treadmill...which was stupid. But that happened.”
RC: “Was this before or after your stress fracture?”
JW: “This was before. It could have contributed to it; I don’t know. But I prefer--when I’m doing my training runs--to do between five and eight. I like trail runs especially. For trails I would go longer because there is less pounding on my legs--which are apparently very weak.”
RC: “Do you usually run with the same group of people or do you prefer to run alone?”
JW: “I like to run with people. I think it helps push me because, like I said, I’m competitive. So I don’t want to be beat. So I keep pushing myself so I’m not beat even if they pick up the pace.”
RC: “So if you end up not winning a race, do you get super upset? Or, how is your mindset after you win or don’t win a race?”
JW: “As long as I do my best, I’m good with whatever happens. It’s only when I look back at the race and I’m like ‘wow, I could have really pushed it a lot more and I have a lot left right now.’ That’s when it bothers me. But if I give it my all, then that’s all I can do. So I’m happy with that, whatever the result is.”

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