My 2007 racing season has had some mixed results. In the middle of January, I ran at the US Half Marathon Championships in Houston, Texas.  The pace went out a little faster than I was expecting, but I surprised myself by holding on to that pace for most of the race.  The last few miles, I slowed down a bit, but as I get stronger and more confident at the distance, I think that I can finish at a better pace.  I ended up placing second and running 1:11:47, a big improvement over my first half marathon last fall.  My only regret from the day was that I could not see more of the men’s race.  I saw the lead men around the 7.5 mile mark when they had turned around and started heading back to the finish line.  My Team Running USA teammate Ryan Hall already had a huge lead at that point.  It was exciting to see, but I still had another 5 1/2 miles to go before I could find out by how much he had smashed the American record!  Since then, I have watched some of the footage on Flocasts.  It’s not quite the same as watching the race live, but it is still inspiring of course.

After that race, I started to get excited for cross-country nationals in Boulder, Colorado.  Workouts were going well and I was pleased with my progress.  Unfortunately, the race went terribly.  My excitement got the better of me and I went out too hard which caused me to fade badly over the last half of the race.  Going out too hard is always more painful at altitude than at sea level.  After training at Mammoth Lakes for so many months, I should have learned how to pace myself better.

The Gate River Run, which serves as the US 15K championships, was a better indicator of my fitness level.  I was hoping to break the 50 minute barrier, but missed it by 6 seconds.  My goals for the rest of the year are higher, but it is a step in the right direction.  Team Running USA was very well represented with Deena Kastor and Jen Rhines placing first and second in the women’s division and Meb Keflezighi and Ryan Hall taking the first two places in the men’s race.

This week, we are heading down to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA.  I am looking forward to training at sea level and getting in some speed workouts before I start running track races.  Over the next few months, our training group will be split up as Deena heads to the East Coast for the Boston Marathon and Meb and Ryan travel to London for their marathons.   They have all been running amazing workouts so distance running fans should expect to see the US well represented!