Week in Review

68 miles
20 mins. ellip.
25 laps at the Armory
4 days in NYC
2 nights awake past midnight

Wow, where do I even begin to describe this week? Certainly, without a doubt, it was head and shoulders above my expectations. After having such a crappy fall and early winter riddled with injuries, I can't even articulate how much it means to me to finally achieve a breakthrough.

From here, however, there is much to be done. Currently I'm sitting at #3 on the DII national performance list behind Neely Spence and Tanya (Spence's teammate Mary Dell, who guided me through much of the race on Friday, is in fourth position with her 17:04 showing). That said, there are still four weekends before Nationals and many girls (including but certainly not limited to those from Adams State) have not yet run the distance. Look for the list to flesh out quite a bit in the next few weeks.

So what does this mean for me? For starters, I need to continue logging consistent, injury-free mileage. I almost hit 70 this week and would like to stay between 60 and 70 for the remainder of the indoor season. I also need to work on my speed. Championship races are rarely run at record pace; I'm anticipating Nationals to be a two-mile jog followed by a one-mile sprint. I can't close in sub-5 like Spence did this weekend (and trust me, no amount of track workouts will make that dream a reality), but I'd like to be able to run the last mile in 5:15 or faster if need be. Finally, I'm going to do everything I can to get my iron levels up. When I got my serum ferritin tested in August it was 16, which is very low (ideal women's numbers are above 30). As of last week my number is 25. I'd love to see it at 40 or even 50 within the next few months. This means continuing to supplement twice a day with vitamin C, plus eating lots of red meat and dark green veggies. Anyone who knows me knows that eating is my favorite hobby, so I'm hoping this goal can be achieved pretty easily.

Onward.