I am writing this from my musty dorm room in Leuven, Belgium where I have been based since coming over to Europe in early July, listening to the rain pelting my window and wondering why I didn't stay in Spain!  It's been a lot colder and wetter in Belgium than last summer, but enjoyable nonetheless.  I feel like we've returned to our college days, biking around campus, competing for the washer and dryers, seeing fellow American runners so often that they are starting to feel like teammates…  It's been a great environment to both do what you need to do to race well but have fun in the process.

Since I last wrote a blog, I had just started my season of experimentation with 1500 meter training.  Now that it's the end of July with a number of 15s under my belt, the only question on my mind is, "Why didn't I do this sooner?"  I have been enjoying every bit of the training and racing, loving the shorter, more explosive nature.  It has been fun to challenge myself to see how fast I can get my basic speed down to.  Until this year, I had never really attempted to run faster than 60 sec for a quarter in practice, or run a 200 faster than 29.  But each workout has not only broadened my expectations of what is possible, it has taught me not to put limits on myself so easily.

The races, as always, have had their ups and downs much like any other season, one down point being recently getting tripped and falling flat on my face in the 1500 in Madrid, a race I thought was going to be where I popped a big one.  And it was a great scenario to run fast…besides there being 19 runners on a 6 lane track.  But every competitive athlete must weather the storms, and I am setting my sights on this weekend, where I will run a 1500 at Heusden here in Belgium against a competitive international field, including many fellow Americans.  It will be a great chance to chase the Olympic A-standard (4:07) and start the ball rolling in preparation for making the Olympic team this time next year!

In the meantime, off the track I am enjoying having Ryan here in Europe with me.  It is a sacrifice for him to be here and not up at altitude, where his training thrives.  This year we have had to both compromise in some ways and are learning how to balance pursuing our own careers with supporting each other.  Despite the race, we had a great weekend in Madrid, getting to see a lot in such a short time period.  One of the highlights was seeing a real bull fight in the Plaza del Toros!  I think we gained new respect for the people that run with the bulls after seeing them up close!  The nightlife in Madrid was incredible, the city didn't really awaken until after midnight.  We enjoyed some hot chocolate and churros alongside young and old Spaniards, fueling up for the discoteques.  It was fun to practice my Spanish some more, though their accent is different than the Spanish spoken in Mexico that I am used to and was hard to understand at times.  I hope to return next year and stay on my feet this time!
Before Madrid I ran a low-key 1500 in Gent, Belgium in 4:09, winning the race and having my best closing lap so far this season.  I was relieved to have made it through the race because two days before I had run an 800 in Belgium, and ever since then, my second toe was jammed to the point where it was painful just to walk, much less run.  I debated about whether or not to run the 1500, and went into the race thinking, "this could be your last one, better make it count!"  Fortunately my foot has since healed, and I have more races ahead.  But it was a good reminder to me that tomorrow is not promised to anyone, and to make every race and every day count.

My life continues to be spontaneous as I don't know where I will be spending the next few months.  Races in Europe will shut down a few weeks prior to and during the world championships, so at some point I will head back to the States, maybe to return to Europe for the 2nd half of the racing circuit.  Missing the World team by less than a second has continued to be painful, as I would love to be wearing that USA singlet in the 1500 in Japan just as I had envisioned all season.  But coming so close has made me determined to do whatever I can so that it isn't close at all next year!  I know that I'm in the right place to maximize my preparation for the trials in 2008.  But my goal is not just to make the team, I want to be competitive once I'm at the Olympic Games, and that starts this summer, getting experience competing against international competition whenever possible.

So the journey continues!  I am spurred on by the inspiration of Ryan's breakthrough this year and going into every race saying, "this could be my breakthrough, this could be my Houston or London!"  I feel on the verge of a big breakthrough, so hopefully I will have some good news to report soon!  In the meantime, I am doing my best to live out Colossians 3:23, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men".