Outdoor season had begun! The quest to hit the U.S. Olympics Trials qualifying standard and thus garner an opportunity to compete for a highly coveted spot on the U.S. Olympic team is fully underway. So far this year, I both qualified for and competed at the USA Indoor Track and Field Nationals in Albuquerque, NM. Locally, I raced one of my favorite costume road races, the F5 St. Patrick’s Day Dash, and won it for the 3rd straight year! Woohoo! The felt easier this year than last year, despite tougher competition, so that’s encouraging. (Or, perhaps I was even more motivated than before since the first place prize is $500, which will come in extra handy since Tim and I are planning a wedding this year!)

Two and a half weeks ago, I opened up my outdoor season at the Stanford Invitational with my fastest 1500 meter ever (4:24) to place in the top ten in the fastest heat/section. Last Friday, Tim drove me for five hours down to Eugene to race another 1500 race at 6:35pm, which was my first ever race at the infamous Hayward Field. I improved my time by two seconds and ran a 4:22 (yay!) and then we hopped right back in the car and drove four hours to Tacoma. (Well, Tim drove, I rested – what a nice guy!).  The next morning, I raced the Ruston Way 5k after only four hours of sleep. I had three goals for this crazy road-tripping adventure: 1) improve my 1500 meter time to get closer to the Olympics Trials qualifying time, 2) win the Ruston Way 5k (and the $500 prize), and 3) break 17 minutes during the Ruston Way 5k. I hit all three!!! : )

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