No Excuses.

Long time no blog, right? Sorry for the long delay, but I have been pretty busy this past quarter with school, a job, and "little to no" running. I know what your thinking, I am not happy about that last part either.

I do not know what happened to me this winter. The combination of cold, crappy weather and an academically challenging schedule made it difficult for me to consistently train. I can remember back to my junior year of high school, where my training was at the peak of consistency. I ran six or seven days a week, for three months. I know that is not much compared to other runners, but at the time, I felt like I was invincible. My highest mileage during that point was a tad under 60mpw (59 to be exact). Since that point, I have not been anywhere close to that. There are some times where I feel like I will never get into the shape. Notice that I did not say "get back into shape" because I do not really think I was in that good of shape to begin with. My PR's are simply mediocre, and any runner who puts in "mild" effort can easily surpass my fastest times.

Ultimately, I want respect. I know that I have talent, but I believe that my potential has yet to be tapped. I want to be able to race in road races or summer-time track meets and have younger kids say, "Wow, that guy is fast."

There are several milestones that I want to get achieve within the next few years, which will tell myself that I am in shape:

1. Complete my half-marathon with my buddy Kyle. Although we have both completed half-marathons, our training/race paces are quite different. Hopefully, this spring will be help us train together and get our paces closer to one another.

2. Train for XC. I had a blast this past fall competing in XC and would love to do it again. My only draw back is that I will not be able to compete early-season because I will be taking a class (stupid timing).

3. Try and get to the track. I have one year to make the most of my track season because my last spring quarter will consistent of student teaching (I am pretty sure that will conflict with my track schedule). Therefore, I need to get my butt into shape.

4. No excuses. I am committed to my teammates and to myself that I will get to the way I want to be. I am not going let mishaps, weather, or anything else stand in the way of reaching my goals.

My goals:

Half-Marathon - 1:30 shape (Running with my buddy, but i'll pull him along)
800m - Break 2:00 (Been my goal since HS, it is time I do it)
1500m - 4:10 (Roughly sub 4:30 mile)
8000m XC - Break 27:30 (I need this in order to compete with my teammates)

Weight - 155 pounds