Well, it’s been awhile since my last blog. I figured now was as good of time as any to update how the past few months have been going. Let’s see, the move to Flagstaff went well, as planned. I’m already 10 weeks into base training with the team! It’s going exactly how I had expected it to go and actually better. That doesn’t happen very often in a runner’s career so I’m very thankful that it has played out how it has. My first week in Flag I had prepared myself for a hard transition with the altitude adjustment but I actually jumped right into mileage and workouts without a hitch. I picked up right where I left off with coach Kepler in Utah. I keep surprising myself with the amount of volume I’m able to do. With every step of the way I try to challenge myself just enough to get just a little bit better daily. This year has been an amazing one and it seems to just keep on getting better and better. Consistently, I’ve hit around 80 miles for the past 4-5 weeks. This is quite a change from last fall. Last fall I hit 70 once and thought I was going to die. I’m totally consuming my life with running; this is something that has been hard for me in the past. Going to bed at 9 and getting my 9-10 hours of sleep is pretty standard for me these days!
I’ve been doing a lot of traveling the past few months. The “Brooks Beasts” had a photo shoot in Portland for the Fall 2011 Apparel catalog. It was so great to meet a few of my new family members of Brooks. The Beasts were back in action this past month in Austin for the Brooks sales meeting. Being part of that was so much fun. We were able to meet so many of the people that are the brains behind the brand. I’m so excited to be part of such a passionate group of people. It’s so amazing to be able to see these people hard at work trying to make our brand number one! Also, while we were in Austin we got to meet with the Flotrack crew and film some stuff for the new PR spike series that are coming out soon for high school athletes. They also helped us learn even more about social media.
I have had the opportunity to be at home in Iowa a lot this fall. I’ve been coaching my little sister Shelby from afar which makes it challenging at times but I was able to see her win her first individual state title in cross country! It was so exciting and helped me see what she needed to work on for the next month leading up to Nike Cross Country Nationals. Thanksgiving at home was adventurous as always, I had my training buddy Shelbo so that was always nice especially for my 17 mile long run. My sister Ryann had her baby a month early!! I told her it was because she heard I was coming home and just couldn’t wait to meet me. Maya is healthy and got to go home after about 5 days!
While I’ve been away my team in Flag are hard at work preparing for their next big task; Club Cross Country Nationals. I’m so excited for them, they inspire me daily with how hard they are working and how much stronger they individually are getting by the week. Watch out for them on December 11th!
