Back by popular demand!

Got a text the other day from my dear friend Matt Barrett that said something like, "Heather! You need to write in your blog again. It's been too long!"

So, when I say I'm "back by popular demand", what I really mean is I'm back by singular demand. But, that is neither here nor there, the important thing is he was right, it has been far too long, and I apologize for the delay in entries.

Truth is, I kept telling myself that since I'm not racing, I have nothing "important" to talk about...like the natural break between the indoor and outdoor track seasons deemed a natural break from blogging. But after Matt's insightful text, it got me to thinking about how truly important this portion of the season is. In a sport that allows you to compete almost year-round, the month or two you get to JUST TRAIN HARD can easily set the tone for the rest of your season. So basically, the objective lately has been to get in as much quality work as possible with the least amount of injury, sickness, or any other problems.

As far as I can report right now (a week out from my first outdoor race of the season!), I think we've struck a pretty amazing balance. The funny thing about this this time of year, though, is I really don't know until I've been tested. I have no way of knowing at this point if I've done enough, or too much, or exactly where my fitness level is at. To add to the mystery, my coach has given me some workouts to do that I've never done before, and tells me some pretty impressive times to shoot for in those workouts. A couple times I've left the track feeling like a failure when I don't hit those times, but then as I fall asleep at night, I realize, dang that was still a really good day!

Ever the optimist, I still think what I've done in the past couple months has really developed my strength (and perspective!), and I'm hoping for some great results at the Grand Blue Mile (in Des Moines on 4-26, 7pm), and again on the wonderful blue oval at the Drake Relays (4-30). I'll be joined by my teammates Jamie Cheever and Gabriele Anderson next week, so wish us all some luck! Thanks! :)