I ran for The Woodlands High School in Texas for 4 years. I then went to Eastern New Mexico University (Division II) for one semester before heading to The University of Louisiana (Division I) for a year and a half. I then left to run for William Woods University (a small NAIA school in Missouri) to finish my college career. I graduate with a degree in Finance and Economics in May 2010. Following graduation I plan to attend grad school and be a GA for xc/track (I have no clue where yet!) to continue my passiion for running and coaching.

The Comeback

Well, it has been a while since surgery so I thought I'd write an update. After having getting my foot worked on I was surprised at how much pain there was. You don't realize how much weight you put on your feet! The first 48 hours after the operation on my plantar fascia I was on some pretty strong pain pills and stayed on the couch.

The first week I was on crutches but started biking 4 days after the operation on my foot. The following week I was in a walking boot, each day the pain subsided a little more. Every afternoon I was on the bike, sometimes twice a day. I spent anywhere from 1 to 3 hours on the bike every day for about 6 weeks. I hated it, but I knew it had to be done to start getting in shape and to start getting my body used to exercise again after taking 6 months completely off. Coach had me do long workouts such as 20 x 4 mins hard, 1 min easy or 5 x 10 mins hard, 5 mins easy. Some days weren't too bad, but some days were killer. I really pushed myself while on the bike....there was even a few days were I might have gone too hard! I threw up while doing a workout one day and a few other times I would get off and be extremely dizzy and disoriented. I made sure that I got the most out of my time on the bike so that when I did return to running I would have gained a good bit of fitness.

Six weeks after the operation we SLOWLY began adding in mileage. The first week I ran 3 times for about 30 mins in the grass. After that we just kept slowly phasing out the biking and adding in more running.

Last week I ran 71 miles with a day off. Today I did an 18 mile long run at about 6:25 pace and felt good. This will hopefully be the first week that I get to run a full 7 days.

Unfortunately, my plantar fasciitis was so bad last year that the body did what it was supposed to. It sent extra calcium to the area to repair itself, but in return I developed 2 heel spurs (a buildup of calcium on the heel). Though the pain in my foot is MUCH better than it was last year, these heel spurs are constantly causing my foot to ache and be sore. But if it doesn't get any worse (I don't expect it to) then I will be very happy as the pain isn't nearly as bad as it was last year!

We just sent 3 guys and 3 girls to the NAIA XC National meet this past weekend. The guys ran very well which was very motivating to me! Our top guy, Ryan Meyer (FR), ran particularly well and placed 37th...missing becoming an All-American by only 7 places and only 9 seconds. Seeing the guys team work so hard this season has helped to keep me motivated and inspired me to fight the good fight.

I am very motivated for outdoor track and though it is still many many months away, a lot of work still lies ahead. I plan to continue to increase my mileage until I'm up to around 100-110 miles a week and then start doing some workouts with the guys. We have a VERY strong group of distance guys this year and I eagerly await the day that we all get to workout together.

Until next time,

B-rent