Olympic Trials Re-cap - Part 1

So here is a brief re-cap of the Olympic Trials with more detailed information to come later in the week.  So today I had 2 choices, play the conservative side go out on pace to run 2:40 with hopes of coming up with a solid 2nd half and sneaking in around 2:39, or take the risk and try to go out around 6:00 minutes/mile pace seeing how long I could hold on with the chance that things might be rough in the last 6-8 miles.  Well I took the risk, where better than the Olympic Trials to do it, and went out a little too quick hitting the 10 mile mark in 59:22 and the half in 1:18 and the 20 mile mark in 2:00:45.  Falling off pace a little bit by 20 miles, but nothing too crazy.  The wheels feel off the bus after that and the last 6.2  miles were rough.  I managed to still finish with a PR, running 2:42:31 and finishing in 57th place. 

Could I have run faster?  Absolutely if I had run smarter, but if I had to go back and do it again I wouldn't change a thing.  I would go out and take the same risks and be happy knowing I gave it everything I had.  Knowing I had nothing to lose (I wasn't coming in top 10 here, so the risk really was not there at all!).  In my next marathon I will definitely take the 'smart' route but am glad I took the risk today!  Bring on 4 years of staying healthy, lots of awesome training, and lets see what we can do in 2016!  (check back later in the week for some more detailed info and insider stories about Ryan Hall, Meb, Bob Larsen and more!)

Thanks for your unbelievable support and never lose sight of your dreams!