Week in Review

68 miles
25 laps at Stanford
7 AFDs
3 airports (x2)

As you can imagine, I'm pretty happy with this week. I owe a big thank you to everyone for the shout-outs and kind words I've received via my blog, Facebook, phone and of course in real life. I ran a few solid races indoors but this has definitely been my breakthrough race, and I couldn't be happier with how things turned out. The craziest part is I currently have the top time in the country in D2 for this event. This will change as soon as Tanya races a 10k, if not before, but it's cool to have the top spot for at least a week or two.

So, you might be wondering, what does this mean for the rest of the season? Well that makes two of us, because I still don't have it figured out myself. Coach Simmons and I are currently working on a plan for the next few months, but much of it is still up in the air. Here's what I know for sure: my next 10k will be at the Payton Jordan Invitational (also known as the second Stanford meet) on May 1. In between now and then I plan to run a fast 5k somewhere, potentially at Penn Relays. I want to double at Nationals and, more importantly, want to bring my PR down to a more respectable time. I really think I'm in shape to run sub-16:30 and I'd love to add that to my resume.

My biggest, newest goal--one that I can hardly believe I'm putting in writing--is to qualify for the USATF Outdoor Track & Field Championships this summer. The automatic qualifying time for the 10k is 33:45. I realize it's another big jump, but I have almost three months to make it possible. Considering that three months ago I hadn't even done my first workout, I'm optimistic that a lot of progress can be made in that amount of time. And even if I don't hit the mark, there's nothing to lose by trying. After Friday night's race Jordan told me I need to stop setting such lame goals for myself--basically his version of "congratulations"--so I'm taking that to heart. If I can stay healthy and injury-free, there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to dip below 34 minutes in the right race.

Time to get busy.