I moved back into the dorms in Boulder, CO today to begin the next school year. It feels great tobe back up in such an athletic town, filled with talented runners. I ran ten miles today, starting with three easy miles (at about 7:00 pace to get warmed up), followed by seven miles at six minute pace. I felt good throught the whole run, especially at the end. After eight miles, I began to feel that I had a good rhythmn going and cruised through the finish in 1:03:29. What felt particularly good was that I had the ability to really push at the end of the run. I don't really know why this occured. I like to think that it is "all my hard work and training paying off", but I think that it has to do more with the fact that I did not run yesterday and my legs were itching to be used. My tryout for the CU team is a week from tommorrow. I feel anxious, nervous and excited all at the same time. Most of all, I feel like I have the determination and desire, but now I have to prove that my abilities are up to par. I feel like I have a good pair of legs backing me up, and good heart and lung capacity to keep me going, but now I have to prove to the coaches that I am worthy of making their team, which is no easy task. On Monday, I am going to the coaches office to pick up a map of the trial race. I intend on running the course before next Saturday to get a good feel for it, and to know how hard to push. All I can do now is channel my anxiety into hard training and see where it might take me... |