Spring break was sandwiched between 2 Arizona track meets. First, the University of Arizona’s 5k. Then last night our track team competed once again in the desert air at Arizona State University. I was surprised to see schools from as far away as Kansas, Iowa, and New York at the meet!

I am geared towards longer-distance races, and prefer the 5k/10k. So when my coach entered me in the 1500m, I was way out of my comfort zone. Yes, it’s much shorter. But it’s also much faster! In a 3 or 6 mile race, it’s all about pacing. Starting out fast but not so uncomfortable that you run out of energy half way in.

The 1500 is 3.75 laps of pure guts! The purpose of me running this event was to get a feel of racing at faster speeds, so my future 5k feels a little easier. My coach’s and my own goal was 5:00 (preferably 4:59) for the 1500 meter distance.

Unfortunately I woke up Saturday morning with a pretty awful cold. My head felt like it was about 25 pounds and I couldn’t breathe. My parents had taken off work, driven me 5 hours to Phoenix, and basically gave up their weekend to watch me run this race – I couldn’t not race. All morning I could feel miserable but for 5 minutes on the track, I would have to SUCK IT UP and race!

Though I started out in the back, I was still on pace, and with one lap to go I knew I could go under 5 minutes.

Crossed the line in 4:57, and my 17th place finish reveals that I am, in fact, not suited for this race nor do I want to trade anymore 5k’s for 1500s. But I am perfectly content with my time! It’s good to go out of your comfort zone and see what you can do :)

Next: steeple chase? ;)