Need for Speed

Last night was my 1500m season opener. All things considered, it went well. I pretty much ran even 60sec laps from start to finish. I felt solid and in control though 1200m, then I just didn't have any speed to close. That is exactly what I was expecting. I'm coming off a big base season and have only ran 1500m pace once before heading into this race.

I'm pretty excited that I can go out and run even 60s without any speed what-so-ever. It will be interesting to see what I can do once I teach my legs to go fast again.

Kate and I have extended our stay here in Santa Cruz, California. We will now be staying until May 18th so that we can head back to L.A. and race at the OXY HP meet at Occidental College on May 17th. Historically, this is an amazing event. Last year 3 sections went 3:35 or faster.

Time to put some speed in these legs!

Thanks for reading, remember to subscribe for faster updates. Follow me on twitter and facebook, and don't be shy to share my blog! Please leave any questions or comments below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Looking Forward

Leading into this race I had only hit the track about 3 times all within 2 weeks of the race. Leading up to that point I had still been doing long strength workouts on the roads.

You know what, I started writing that paragraph to explain the last bit leading into the race, but I feel like I'm just making excuses. I'm neither ecstatic nor disappointed with last night's 5000m season opener. I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow I ended up in the fast section of the 5000m at The Mt. SAC Relays, and fast it was! Will Leer ended up winning the race in a world leading time of 13:21.55. In retrospect I kind of wish I had of contacted to meet director to put me into the heat below. That race was won in 13:41.90. I think I would have been up nearer the front of the pack actually racing, which I thrive off of more, rather than hanging on the tail end of the pack. In any case, I ran what I ran, I ran tough and hung on to a reasonably hot pace for 3000m. At that point I fell off the pack and the pace a little but and finished the race in 14:06.90, a 15 second PB. For that, I can't complain.

I've learned what I need to learn from the race, and now it's gone. I'm looking forward to next week where I'll be running my 1500m season opener and Payton Jordan in Stanford.

As always, thanks for reading. Follow me on twitter and facebook, and subscribe to my blog to get updates. Please share my blog and leave any comments or questions below.

Thankful

Tomorrow is the start to my outdoor track season. I’ll be racing in the fast section of the 5000m at the Mt. SAC Relays. I’ve done more miles and strength than I ever have and know that my body is ready to run fast. I just have to make sure my mind is on the same level and push through when it tells me to stop.

I’m extremely motivated for this race. The events in Boston were a number of different adjectives: silly, tragic, mindless, to name a few. For me, however, it has really opened my eyes. Along with the tragic stories came so many more of heroism, braveness, and example of how wonderful humans really can be. It made me realise how truly lucky I am. I have an amazing group of people supporting me, my very own integrated support team. From my parents, to my coaches, my sponsors at The Running Room, my friends, and my therapists, they are all behind me every step of the way and it’s comforting to know that. Of course, my extraordinary partner, Kate is a big part of that as well. She and I have both been so lucky to meet many people over the last while who are incredibly generous.

I could go on and on, but my message is this. I’ve worked hard over the last year to make my life and the people who surround me, positive. I think I have done a pretty successful job at this. Thank-you to each and every person that has been a positive influence in my life.

My race is tomorrow evening at 9:10pm PST. It should be a really exciting race. Mt. SAC has a live stream on their website, http://www.mtsacrelays.com/. Kate is racing in the fast section of the 5000m as well, she goes at 7:40pm PST.

Thanks for reading. Remember to subscribe to my blog to be alerted on updates, and follow me on twitter. I encourage you to share my blog and leave any questions or comments.