Week in Review

65 miles
25 laps at Stanford
4 airports
7 AFDs

Since the race I've had a chance to put things in perspective and I feel much better. In hindsight, it might have been a bit unrealistic to expect another large jump in performance after an already large jump just a month ago. I think sometimes I get so caught up in the mindset of always wanting to improve and to see instantaneous results that I forget how far I've come in such a short time. As Jordan pointed out, this year I'm running the 10k faster than the pace I could run for an open 5k last year. And all this after an autumn where I didn't run at all and a winter where I was sidelined with shin splints for almost a month. Who knows how much faster I can be running this time next year if I can manage to stay healthy--and patient--between now and then?

I also had a good chat with Simmons after the race. (Well, he chatted and I just sat there willing myself not to cry. Same thing.) Essentially he said it was okay for me to have a pity party for the rest of the night or even the rest of the weekend, but after that it was up to me to decide what I wanted to do with my hurt feelings. Well, I've decided to challenge myself to use this as motivation. Outdoor nationals is just over a month away, and there's no reason I can't toe the line as strong and fit as anyone out there. I'm going to take a few days to rest and recover, and then I'm going to train as hard as I can between now and the end of May. Let's do this.