The past month and a half, Steve and I have put in our last stint of altitude training for the year. The first few weeks of our altitude training, we spent in Boulder checking up on our house and catching up on bills and housework. It was good to see all of our friends in Colorado and do some of our favorite runs there. One thing I miss about living in Boulder is our weekly dinner outing at the Dark Horse with Jorge and Ed Torres and a few or our other close friends. The Dark Horse is a Bar that serves great burgers, wings and sandwiches. They are most famous for their Starving Student Special, which works for most runners even if they are not students because they probably still get carded every time they go to the bar.  The special includes a Burger, Fries and either a beer or soda for $4.25. A pretty awesome deal! Steve and I have been going weekly to the Dark Horse since our freshman year in college (1998 for Steve, 2000 for me), and were sad to hear that next year their lease will be finished and the bar is going to close after 33 years of business. The owners claim that land the bar sits on is worth more than the bar (although many could argue against that). I guess our timing was right with our move to Mammoth. Boulder just won't be the same without the Dark Horse!
 
Since I last wrote a journal, my younger sister Lindsey and her husband Matt, had their first child .  A few weeks later in March,I was able to go see my new niece Jordan in Chicago.  Lindsey and I are only a year and a half a part and have always been very close.  Being the older sister, I always felt that it was my job to show her the ropes and guide her in all of her journeys while we were growing up.  I was pretty nervous to see Lindsey, because I still felt it was my job to help her with any questions or concerns she was going to have with being a mother, and I had no idea what to tell her.  I wasn't going to know what Jordan wanted when she was crying, how often you should feed her or what the best brand of diapers are.  But, when I got there Lindsey didn't seem to need any help, andm it is amazing to see my sister as a mother. Lindsey was so instinctual in taking care of Jordan.  She knew exactly what Jordan wanted when she was crying and when to feed her and how to hold and nurture her.  I know now when Steve and I have our own family, I will be looking to Lindsey for guidance and advise. 

After my trip to Chicago, I spent the next month of training in Mammoth. I really enjoyed being back there again and getting in some good training for the spring. The weather was much warmer than the first part of the year we spent training there. Jen, Julia and I had a lot of fun doing intervals together, and I am so greatful to have teammates to motivate and push me each day.  I also enjoyed watching Deena and Kate get ready for the Marathon.  It is amazing how strong marathon training gets them, and its fun to see them progress.  We also spent Easter in Mammoth and Steve and I had a big Easter Dinner at our condo for the team. Holidays are a big deal in my family. We always have a ton of great food and spend the whole day talking, playing games and overeating.  Each holiday seems to have a different meat prepared for dinner.  At Thanksgiving,everyone prepares a Turkey.  At Christmas many have turkey or a roast.  And at Easter I thought everyone had Ham.  When I explained my excitement for Easter Honey Glazed Ham to my teammates they looked at me like I was crazy.  "Ham on Easter?," Evidently, not everyone has Ham on Easter but, that wasn't going to stop me from serving it at our Easter dinner in Mammoth.   I prepared a brown sugar glazed Ham and Steve made a baked ziti and everyone  prepared side dishes to go with dinner.   We had a ton of food and a great day.  
 
To break up my training a bit, I ran my first road race of the year at the Carlsbad 5K. I had a lot of fun at the race. If you haven't ever raced there before, Carlsbad is a beautiful city and Elite Racing does a great job of putting on the event. There is an awesome crowd cheering you on the whole way and the organizers put together a competitive field every year.  It is amazing how many world records have been set on that course. As far as the 5K went, I felt okay with how I raced. I didn't go out with the leaders right away and they made a big gap on me in the first mile. I then ran in no mans land for most of the race and had a lot left at the end. I wasn't thrilled with the race but it was good to be back racing after being sick for a month. I also had a pretty high volume week. Terrence didn't rest me much because I had missed some time being sick and we didn't want to compromise the training for the Cardinal 10K in a few weeks but wanted to get used to racing again.  Overall, it was a great way to get back racing again.
 
I am now in San Diego, at the Olympic Training Center, until the trials and I am loving every minute of it.  The weather has been awesome and it is so great to be on the track again after months of doing intervals on the roads and trails in Mammoth.  I am am track girl at heart and the rhythm of the track feels so great after months of slow intervals in Mammoth.  I am excited to get the early track race season going, and really looking forward to the 10K at Stanford in a few weeks.  I always enjoy running under the lights in Palo Alto.  After traveling around the world to different races, I think it is probably the fastest track and best conditions for distance running anywhere.  My goal is to get the A Standard , and it looks like there are several other girls hoping to do the same thing.  It should be a night full of great races!