My first ever official redshirt season has finally come to an end. These past few months have been crazy: lots of ups and a whole lot of downs. For the first time in my career, I am STOKED for a break from training/running and a chance to rest my legs. I was thinking about it yesterday and realized I have been training non-stop for 13 months straight now.... That's too long without any major down time. So, as I begin my first ever two week break (I normally just take one, but my body needs some more), I want to take some time to look back and reflect on this past season, and a little beyond.
One thing that I am certain about is the fact that I screwed up big time after cross country this year. I let my crazy thoughts creep into my mind and settle down, convincing me that I didn't need to take a break, that I didn't need rest. Well, I was oh so wrong. I will elaborate. Following my performance at the NCAA DII Cross Country National Championships (which wasn't particularly impressive, might I add), I decided that I was going to try and win a Christmastime 5k road race in Seattle. I decided to forgo taking a week off after Nationals and continued to run and do workouts. I won the 5k, but once it was over, I realized I had only a few short weeks until my first official indoor track meet (my last college didn't have indoor so I technically redshirted freshman year and only ran two indoor meets), so I kept on running to make sure I would be in race shape when it the meet came. Also, I had just transferred schools, so I was eager to make a good first impression. However, I did not. Nor did I all indoor season. I realized that I had been training too hard, too long. I decided to redshirt outdoor so I didn't blow that as well. Now that it is over, I am ready to recharge the legs for two weeks before beginning my long, slow climb to 90 miles per week (which I will hit mid-October, during my redshirt cross country season). So, I hope I can move past my fatigue issues from this year and get 100% healthy again this summer.
Some more good in my spring comes from our recruits for next year! Vince Hamilton, former North Central (Spokane, WA) runner, has transferred from Boise State to Eastern and is joining our team. Also, multiple time State champion David Thor (Kansas) and 4a WA State 800m Champ and meet record holder Nick Boersma (Wenatchee, WA) will be joining us as freshman this fall. All three are extremely talented and will further deepen our already talented team. Unfortunately, we won't see our full potential in cross country until fall '13 because a large number of us will be redshirting cross.
Last but not least, I ended up with some pretty good races this year. I PR'd in the steeple (9:23), 5000m (14:54), and finished second in the 40th Sounds 2 Narrows 12k (39:56). I believe I would have gone a lot faster both indoor and outdoor had I taken adequate rest in the winter, but I am pleased to have earned some big PR's this year. I look forward to next year and hope to drop some major time in all my events.
With that, I leave you. I have to get some finals out of the way and then summer is here! One last thing, I will be attending the Olympic Trials this year in Eugene, so if you are going as well, let me know and we will meet up! Otherwise, continue to run happy and have a great summer!
