Sometimes I Wonder

I have made some big life changes when it comes to college. Unlike a lot of my friends who attend college within a reasonable distance from home, I originally chose to fly off across the country (literally all the way across it) and attend college in North Carolina. That was a big change. Life over there is 100% different from the life I was used to. Slowly, and admittedly reluctantly, I got used to it. It became the norm and a part of my life. Often, I would sit and ask myself, "Did I make the right choice?" At first, I thought I did, however, a huge part of me wanted to return to what I still thought of as "normal". And, after a year and a half, I did. I flew back home and changed schools. Again, I put myself into a situation of great change. I realized that what I thought of as "normal" now wasn't exactly how things were back home. I had changed a bit, as expected. Well, actually I changed quite a bit. And now, I find myself asking the same question, but with a different meaning. Was it worth it? Was the opportunity to be at the Division I level, near some of the biggest meets in the US, and being within driving distance from home worth leaving everything I had built for a year and a half? What great friendships did I leave behind, and potentially start the process of ending? Am I really in a better position athletically to run faster than I would have on the other coast? It's clear the the answer isn't, well, clear. Indoor season certainly showed the switch might not have been worth it. On the other hand, having the opportunity to most likely redshirt two consecutive seasons to develop is and knowing who will be joining the team next year might mean this is the best case scenario for my life. In all honesty, only time will tell. The finally judgement will come the day I get my degree. Then I can give you all the final verdict.

Holy Steeplechase!

Since I am redshirting this outdoor season, I had to wait a bit longer than usual to get my first meet of the season under my belt. I have been spending weeks trying to recuperate from the minor fatigue problems I had during indoor and get back into racing shape. Over the past two weeks, I had two really solid track workouts and my mileage has built me a great foundation. The first workout was 800m repeats which I did at 5k pace (2:20) and I did some over hurdles and was able to maintain my pace even over hurdles out in lane 3. The second was a 1000m repeat workout I did solo which went as follows: 3:02, 3:04, 3:01, 3:01, 2:58, 2:51. The whole thing felt smooth and effortless. This left me VERY excited to step onto the track.

Which brings me to the afternoon of April 12th. I was at Whitworth University in Spokane, WA for their inaugural Twilight Mini Meet. My first race of two, and my emphasis, was the steeple. There were only 5 of us running, so it was quite a small meet. Gun went off, and I took the lead after 300m and never looked back. Earned a solid PR of 9:23.93 (previous was 9:31) running practically solo. However, I did have Rich Nelson (formerly of BYU, now coaching at Gonzaga) coming on me fast in the last lap (I had to glance behind me once to see just how close... needless to say I ran the last 100m scared). After the race, I knew I could go a lot faster. I didn't feel like I even emptied the tank, let alone dug into the well. And then we won't talk about my next race much, because it was slow...

Next on the schedule is a 5k/steeple double at Spokane Falls CC on April 27/28. Then the focus shifts to the Bloomsday and Sounds 2 Narrows 12k's on May 6th and June 12th. Based off my 1000m repeats, I am really looking forward to those two road races.

That's all for now. I'm glad I had something exciting to talk about finally this year. Hopefully there will be many more posts like this one this spring. Run happy!