Over the past year I have found that, at times, training to be a professional runner can feel much like trying to dig through asphalt with a wooden spoon. Putting in vast amounts of effort but never really getting anywhere. Obviously, it was time for a change. A move that would take me one more quarter of the way across the country and hopefully from humble personal bests to slightly better than humble personal bests, or at the very least allow me to find more enjoyment in running. Having started my running career in southeastern Idaho, moving to Oklahoma, then Detroit, a move to North Carolina seemed fitting. Reverting back to the slow and simple life in a modest, mountain town. Blowing Rock, NC…. Here I come.

Two weeks ago today I was running around a suburban running shop like a chicken with my head cutoff. Being the only employee on staff, I was scrambling to help all six customers who were clamoring for more attention while looking forward to my afternoon run, a break from running shoe store stresses and an escape from my increasingly mundane schedule. Finally something new and excited. A chance to run with a team again and to have a sponsor to help take some of the financial pressure off.

I’ve just finished my first week here at Zap, as well as my first Adult Marathon Camp and first blog as a Zap athlete. Talk about a baptism by fire. Being surrounded by so many new tasks and experiences has made my transition fairly quick and simple. The immediacy of the situation left me with little choice but to merge with my new surroundings. Being thrust into the flames has allowed me to quickly meld into the group. So here I am, hopefully a fully-functional part of this well oiled machine that is Zap Fitness.
 

            The most exciting news in Blackberry Valley the last couple months has been the addition of our newest member, Elyse, Pete and Zika’s baby girl! It remains to be seen if she will make the Olympic team in 2032, but everyone is hopeful and admiring her progress thus far.  Besides Elyse’s rapid development, the rest of the ZAP team has been in preparation to qualify this spring for outdoor US Nationals. This is the main focus of the year, but we are also preparing for the busy camp season this summer.

The start of my track season began with a few 5k openers, and a 10k rust buster at the Cardinal Invitational at Stanford to gain muscle memory and sharpness. The first 5k attempt at Raleigh Relays proved the rust was off and I was in better shape than I thought. I ran my PR there, even if it was a few seconds. After the opener, I knew the season would progress nicely and I could chase a few 5ks here and there to qualify. The only problem is that most of the competitive races happen early in the spring, specifically for the collegiate athletes trying to qualify for NCAAs, leaving little or none left for post-collegiate women to chase. If you are not ready to roll by then, you can only hope that a coach or agent will be kind and put on another event for you! So yes…the biggest struggle this season has been trying to scramble together a descent women’s 5k before US Nationals. There is, however, one keynote 5k on May 30^th in Indianapolis, organized by the Indiana Invaders coach, Greg “ Gloves” Harger. I am very excited to race this 5k, since it will be my only shot left this year to run a good time and I am not a fan of my current 5k PR. I already qualified in the 10k, but it would be great to have qualified in both and to possibly race both, if given the opportunity. Now its crunch time and everyone is or should be ready to rock at this point.  Other than working towards the main event, the only new and exciting news to share would be moving into a new house with my fiancé, Thomas Morgan.

You don’t realize how much work it takes to move all of your possessions, until you have experienced living in a place of your own. This is my first real “home” and the first time I have ever considered moving in with my boyfriend. I haven’t threatened to kill Thomas yet, but it is still early in the moving process. We shall see how it all turns out.  For right now, the focus is to race fast and unleash “The Allimal” at US Nationals.