Well here I am, about to enter my senior track season and it has been an interesting path since the end of cross. My cross season ended with some serious dissappointments, but I think addressing the causes of that dissapointment will make me all the stronger, mentally speaking, in future seasons.

Since the end of xc I tried to come back kind of conservatively, taking a week off entirely, then a week of cross training and a week of running and cross training every other day. I had a little pain in my foot coming back into it, which was made worse when I tried to run after all that freakin snow! The trainers assured me I could keep running, but I kept it on the treadmill until the snow went away... or should I say until I got massively sick :/

That's right, after a couple days of a minor sore throat, I woke up Christmas Eve hardly able to swallow food. Of course the doctor was closed, so, convinced that I had mono, I didn't run for a couple days, and tried to call the doctor again after Christmas (a Friday). So he didn't answer again, and we called his cell phone (which I should have done 2 days earlier. He prescribed me some antibiotics and also thought it might be mono so, no running until something could be confirmed... on Monday, ugh.

When I did get an appointment, I finally got some good news... I don't have mono! Wahoo! And I started running again that day but whew did I feel out of shape. The foot hurt again the first day back, less the second day and now it feels just fine.

Anyway, things are finally getting into a groove now that I'm back in Salem and have absolutely nothing to focus on besides getting in shape. And although I am not where I was at this point last year, I am confident that I will be back and ready to do some damage on the track soon!

I woke up in Salem yesterday to find that I had no power. It hadn't snowed, but I think a tree went down. Either way, I was a little pissed because I had to get out of town before it started snowing (people in Western Oregon/Washington do NOT know how to handle snow whatsoever). I also had yet to pack, and got up later than I wanted to. So I got to pack in the dark, and lost the library book I had to return in the process. My brother and I managed to get on to I5 before 11am. What is normally a three hour drive (from Salem to the Puyallup area) took me more than five, but at least I didn't get into any accidents, and only had a few close calls.

Anyway it was dark when I got back, and Pierce County was in a state of emergency due to the impending wind, snow, and ice storm which was definitely going to knock out power (can you say merry christmas with a little global climate change flare).

My foot has been hurting lately, even to walk, so I've been resigned to the treadmill for the last week. I absolutely hate it, but running in the snow would definitely make it worse, because I tried the first day it snowed in Salem. Everything closed early at home, so I couldn't find a gym, and voila! no workout two days this week. I am really feeling pathetic. Why aren't I making myself run?? Why isn't the weather cooperating? Ugh.

On top of all that, my advisor sat me down for a talk last week to dicuss my penchant for overwhelming myself to the point of self-destruction. Long story short, he thinks I need to prioritize my life goals- big time-before I decide what direction I want to go next year. I had wanted to run, travel, live in Mexico, and go to graduate school. I'm starting to realize that all that can't happen at the same time, and in order to be successful at any one thing, that is going to have to be my main focus. I have a lot of thinking to do in those lonely, treadmill hours...

My final Willamette Invite as a Wilamette runner has now come and gone, but it sure was fun while it lasted :)

I got 3rd place, a pretty big improvement from last year's 19th, I'd say! I also PR'd for this course, despite it being much sloppier this year than last! I ended up wishing I had gone with spikes rather than flats because I struggled with slipping on the pavement even more than I did on the grass!

Anyway, I managed to achieve many of my goals for the race, and I'm very happy with the result, and hungry to do even better in my last four XC meets as a bearcat!!

Statesman Article:
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081005/SPORTS/810050326/1018

Hokay- so,

I like running in next to nothing as much as the next girl without body issues, so I can identify with the women in beach volleyball who wear what they do. And, yes men may drool and that will never change BUT...

I think the presence of scantily-clad cheerleaders belittles athletes such as Misty May-Traner and Kerri Walsh (I don't know how they spell their names) competing at the Olympic games. It essentially acknowledges and promotes the fact that many people ONLY watch their event because of their attire, which I find to be a real shame. UGH!

Yeah so sorry if this is a little random, but these people (the beach volleyball players) are athletes, and should be regarded as such, without having sexy girls there to entertain men's sexual appetites between their sets.

Alright consider my rant over.

I doubt anyone will read all of this, perhaps I will make an abbreviated version because I suspect someone may be able to help me.

I am in the process of applying for a fellowship through the Watson Foundation. The foundation is named for Thomas J. Watson, the founder of IBM. It seems that Thomas was one of those very smart kids who never applied himself, so his father sent him on a soul-searching expedition travelling the world for a year. That seemed to do just the trick, as he went on to form a very successful company in adulthood. Well, Thomas appreciated the experience so much, that he formed this foundation, which sponsors 50 recent college graduates to pursue their passion outside of the United States for 12 months.

Well, there are only 50 schools that are allowed to nominate students for this fellowship, and Willamette is allowed to nominate 4 students. My application to Willamette is due in September.

My passion, of course, is running. Honestly, I don't know why I am into it more than the rest of my teammates. Maybe it's because I go to a D3 school, but then again, I think at the D1 level it can be more like a job than a passion. Not that I would know. Anyway, should I get this fellowship, I would really love to observe how the acceptance or lack of acceptance of women's running has affected their role in society. This opens the door to explore many different cultures over the 12 months, an opportunity I really look forward to (especially after I didn't go abroad like the rest of my teammates, just so I could have every opportunity to compete collegiately)

Here is my idea for countries to visit, some for longer periods than others:
Part 1: Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, Czech Republic
Part 2: Ethiopia, Kenya, S. Africa, Greece, Qatar
Part 3: Australia, New Zealand
Part 4: Brazil, Other S. American Country, Mexico

What they want most from the applicaton is proof that you know enough about where you're going to survive when everything goes wrong... that you have a back up plan for your back up plan. This is a problem, when I have never been outside N. America. I hope that I can figure things out, I'm trying to get ideas from everywhere I can, but I'm not getting a lot of responses.

On top of all this, I am querstioning my will to go at all, should I be fortunate to receive the fellowship. After watching the trials, a couple of my more dedicated running friends have seriously considered giving training everything we have after we graduate next year. I really think I have a lot of room to grow, and there is much more I can do if I put aside other priorities. I wonder if this internship will give me enough time to develop as a runner (not that I wouldn't be running while abroad) to give it a go for the next trials. Not to mention planning to leave for a year makes it a little difficult to consider having any sort of love life... ugh.

The funny thing is, this may be my longest blog yet, but I have a lot more on my mind on this topic... my fingers and brain are slightly fatigued, however, and as I said, no one is going to read this all as it is. Okay until next time, then!

1) I severly dislike the lestrun.com message board... it's a bunch of haters and crazies and yeah. I only go to that site when I feel like getting riled up.

2) The trials were amazing. I don't feel like going into details (except that I had access EVERYWHERE!). The only thing that will make Eugene '12 better will be my racing there.

3) Barring disaster I should hit 55 miles this week, and although it took me a while to recover from a faster than planned long run, I'm feeling pretty damn good at this point. I can't wait to race.. even if it isn't track season coming up :)

I suppose some details would enhance this blog, but nah

Well, I haven't written for a while, perhaps because with the trials on Ross is too busy to harp on me.

I've gotten pretty lucky here in Eugene! Some TEAMmates and I are working in the athlete warm up areas and wherever else we're needed (i.e. the press box, running results, etc.) It is so cool to be up in the press box, watching the events, then run the results downstairs and see the athletes getting mobbed by the press. Then they all crowd around the TV in the recovery tent to see their results or how the other heats are doing. It's awesome!

Our credentials also get us into the meet! I can't believe it! At orientation they were so adament that we would not get any perks like getting to watch the meet, and here we are getting hooked up! I guess its just lucky for me my coach is an Oregon grad :)

Running is going well although its getting time to bump up the mileage a tad. I hit my injured knee (hit a barrier at nats) on a chair last night and ended up in the fetal position it hurt so bad. But I can still run on it and I don't think that will make it worse. In any case I'm going to a doctor on Wednesday to be sure I'm alright, because it still hurts a LOT. Not so much when running, but I'm very interested in increasing my strength (especially hips) this summer, and my knee can't bend certain ways.

I have come to the conclusion that the reason I shuffle when I run (I have terrible form) is because my hips are neither strong, nor flexible enough to support my legs. I'm going to find a way to correct this somehow; hopefully sooner than later.

I did 70 minutes in Eugene this afternoon with my roomate Maddie, who just got back from France and came over to hang out at the trials. We ended with a nice little ice bath in the river. It was fantastic except for the bugs. Okay I have to go to bed, tomorrow is a BIG day!!!

For the first time, I am not relieved to reach the end of a season. I already miss the nerves, the relief after a PR or good race, and everything. This may be partly due to a dissapointing end of my season. All in all I think it's good that the track season didn't leave me mentally (or physically? it's hard to tell) exhausted. I think thats good news for next year- my senior year. whew thats scary but exciting. I get to start working out again in 2 days! I have way too much energy and way too few showers. Does anybody else ever have a problem remembering to shower when you aren't running? I don't know, but I set my shower schedule around runs. Although I have bathed the last two days :) I'll be back on track soon (although not in the literal sense).

The end of my season is rapidly approaching (less than 1 week to go!) and one thing I have learned is that need to think before I speak.

In my infinite experience with reporters, (Okay, I got interviewed once at conference and it threw me completely off guard) I have figured out that saying things such as "I haven't had a bad race yet, so I'm kinda waiting for that to happen" comes off as horribly self-doubting. Of course, I managed to blurt out some equally self-doubting comment to a room full of parents and that got around as well.

I realize when it comes down to it that I have more confidence than I've ever had going into a national meet... in the steeplechase. I'm ready for a big PR and (hopefully) top 5 performance, and I'm tired of being good for DIII, if that. My goal for next year is to get that same confidence in flat races, instead of hiding behind my best event. Of course that was my goal this year as well, and I think I've taken some baby steps in the right direction.

Anyway... moral of the story is: I'm feeling pretty good right now, and I need to stick my foot in my mouth.

(Matt if you read this... don't judge me!)

While last Saturday is was 80 degrees and I was required to stay indoors, I spent a good deal of this weekend out in the rain, hail, and snow. The Willamette women have officially won the last 7 NWC track and field titles, Matt was the women's coach of the year for the fifth straight time and I, in my expert opinion, was a giant badass. :)

On Friday I PRd, improving on my school record and provisional qualifier and won the 3000m steeplechase with one barrier set too high and the worst water barrier form in the history of the event. On Saturday, slow paces helped me to kick to wins in the 1500 and the 5000m. We ended up beating our host, George Fox by I think 43 points, and I was the women's athlete of the meet. It was freaking awesome. One of those stories that my kids are going to hear too many times.

Nationals, here I come!