Since the end of xc I tried to come back kind of conservatively, taking a week off entirely, then a week of cross training and a week of running and cross training every other day. I had a little pain in my foot coming back into it, which was made worse when I tried to run after all that freakin snow! The trainers assured me I could keep running, but I kept it on the treadmill until the snow went away... or should I say until I got massively sick :/

That's right, after a couple days of a minor sore throat, I woke up Christmas Eve hardly able to swallow food. Of course the doctor was closed, so, convinced that I had mono, I didn't run for a couple days, and tried to call the doctor again after Christmas (a Friday). So he didn't answer again, and we called his cell phone (which I should have done 2 days earlier. He prescribed me some antibiotics and also thought it might be mono so, no running until something could be confirmed... on Monday, ugh.

When I did get an appointment, I finally got some good news... I don't have mono! Wahoo! And I started running again that day but whew did I feel out of shape. The foot hurt again the first day back, less the second day and now it feels just fine.

Anyway, things are finally getting into a groove now that I'm back in Salem and have absolutely nothing to focus on besides getting in shape. And although I am not where I was at this point last year, I am confident that I will be back and ready to do some damage on the track soon!

Anyway it was dark when I got back, and Pierce County was in a state of emergency due to the impending wind, snow, and ice storm which was definitely going to knock out power (can you say merry christmas with a little global climate change flare).

My foot has been hurting lately, even to walk, so I've been resigned to the treadmill for the last week. I absolutely hate it, but running in the snow would definitely make it worse, because I tried the first day it snowed in Salem. Everything closed early at home, so I couldn't find a gym, and voila! no workout two days this week. I am really feeling pathetic. Why aren't I making myself run?? Why isn't the weather cooperating? Ugh.

On top of all that, my advisor sat me down for a talk last week to dicuss my penchant for overwhelming myself to the point of self-destruction. Long story short, he thinks I need to prioritize my life goals- big time-before I decide what direction I want to go next year. I had wanted to run, travel, live in Mexico, and go to graduate school. I'm starting to realize that all that can't happen at the same time, and in order to be successful at any one thing, that is going to have to be my main focus. I have a lot of thinking to do in those lonely, treadmill hours...

I got 3rd place, a pretty big improvement from last year's 19th, I'd say! I also PR'd for this course, despite it being much sloppier this year than last! I ended up wishing I had gone with spikes rather than flats because I struggled with slipping on the pavement even more than I did on the grass!

Anyway, I managed to achieve many of my goals for the race, and I'm very happy with the result, and hungry to do even better in my last four XC meets as a bearcat!!

Statesman Article:
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081005/SPORTS/810050326/1018

I'll see you and your team next week!

I like running in next to nothing as much as the next girl without body issues, so I can identify with the women in beach volleyball who wear what they do. And, yes men may drool and that will never change BUT...

I think the presence of scantily-clad cheerleaders belittles athletes such as Misty May-Traner and Kerri Walsh (I don't know how they spell their names) competing at the Olympic games. It essentially acknowledges and promotes the fact that many people ONLY watch their event because of their attire, which I find to be a real shame. UGH!

Yeah so sorry if this is a little random, but these people (the beach volleyball players) are athletes, and should be regarded as such, without having sexy girls there to entertain men's sexual appetites between their sets.

Alright consider my rant over.

I am in the process of applying for a fellowship through the Watson Foundation. The foundation is named for Thomas J. Watson, the founder of IBM. It seems that Thomas was one of those very smart kids who never applied himself, so his father sent him on a soul-searching expedition travelling the world for a year. That seemed to do just the trick, as he went on to form a very successful company in adulthood. Well, Thomas appreciated the experience so much, that he formed this foundation, which sponsors 50 recent college graduates to pursue their passion outside of the United States for 12 months.

Well, there are only 50 schools that are allowed to nominate students for this fellowship, and Willamette is allowed to nominate 4 students. My application to Willamette is due in September.

My passion, of course, is running. Honestly, I don't know why I am into it more than the rest of my teammates. Maybe it's because I go to a D3 school, but then again, I think at the D1 level it can be more like a job than a passion. Not that I would know. Anyway, should I get this fellowship, I would really love to observe how the acceptance or lack of acceptance of women's running has affected their role in society. This opens the door to explore many different cultures over the 12 months, an opportunity I really look forward to (especially after I didn't go abroad like the rest of my teammates, just so I could have every opportunity to compete collegiately)

Here is my idea for countries to visit, some for longer periods than others:
Part 1: Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, Czech Republic
Part 2: Ethiopia, Kenya, S. Africa, Greece, Qatar
Part 3: Australia, New Zealand
Part 4: Brazil, Other S. American Country, Mexico

What they want most from the applicaton is proof that you know enough about where you're going to survive when everything goes wrong... that you have a back up plan for your back up plan. This is a problem, when I have never been outside N. America. I hope that I can figure things out, I'm trying to get ideas from everywhere I can, but I'm not getting a lot of responses.

On top of all this, I am querstioning my will to go at all, should I be fortunate to receive the fellowship. After watching the trials, a couple of my more dedicated running friends have seriously considered giving training everything we have after we graduate next year. I really think I have a lot of room to grow, and there is much more I can do if I put aside other priorities. I wonder if this internship will give me enough time to develop as a runner (not that I wouldn't be running while abroad) to give it a go for the next trials. Not to mention planning to leave for a year makes it a little difficult to consider having any sort of love life... ugh.

The funny thing is, this may be my longest blog yet, but I have a lot more on my mind on this topic... my fingers and brain are slightly fatigued, however, and as I said, no one is going to read this all as it is. Okay until next time, then!

Winger leads Willamette to conference crown

Bearcats' senior earns athlete-of-meet honor, wins 3 individual titles

By Chris Hagan • Statesman Journal

NEWBERG — The Willamette University women picked up their seventh-consecutive title Saturday at the Northwest Conference Track and Field Championships, while the men were unable to capitalize on their status as favorites.

"We got another conference title for the program and maybe the men will rise to the occasion next year," Willamette coach Matt McGuirk said. "Our men were in a three-team battle and some guys in other uniforms just stepped it up a little bit."

The Bearcats women were in a somewhat unfamiliar position coming into the day, as host George Fox was considered a contender for the title.

"If you looked at it on paper it was almost even so we had to have a lot of things happen," McGuirk said.

But Willamette's strong distance runners quickly eliminated the doubt.

Willamette senior Jena Winger was named woman's athlete of the meet after winning three individual titles, including a 1-2 finish with teammate Carly Killam in the 1,500 meters.

"That was exactly what we wanted," Winger said of the race. "We're in a really tough team race, and that's what this is all about for us is getting points for the team. George Fox is really supposed to win today so we just wanted to get as many points as we can."

Winger was the symbol of Willamette's fortunes. Last year, she won the 3,000 meter steeplechase on the first day only to come back too sore on the second day to win her events.

This year, she won the steeplechase and the 1,500 and 5,000 meter events Saturday.

"This season, I've been a lot stronger overall," Winger said. "I haven't really had a bad race yet this season. I'm kind of scared for when it's going to come, but hopefully it isn't."

The Bearcats would cruise to a 43-point victory against the Bruins, 224.5 to 181.5, capped off by a victory in the 4x400 relay.

Senior Jordyn Smith, who also won the 800 meters, took the lead in the third leg and Lydia Marsalli lost and then retook the lead on the final leg. The Bearcats would take the event by four-tenths of a second.

"I came to tears," said Smith on watching Marsalli come back. "I knew she would pull it off.

"We knew coming in it was going to be a close race to the finish, but I knew deep down we were going to pull it off," she said. "That's what Willamette track and field does."

Whitworth won the men's title, with Linfield in second and Willamette in third.

The Bearcats' last gasp came in the men's 5,000 meters.

Ian Batch led four Willamette runners in the top five. The senior kept the pace slower to make sure that he and his teammates could bunch up near the front.

"I knew I had the best kick in the race, so I wanted to keep the race as slow as possible to keep as many of my teammates in the race as possible and just give it all I've got in the end," Batch said. "I just want to look back and say I did all I could do to try and win the team title."

In the end, it came down to unexpected performances in each race to win the titles, McGuirk said.

The Willamette women benefited from a win in the 10,000 meters from Sarah Zerzan, who came back early from a foot injury to pick up points for the team.

"Those types of kids and those types of performances were what separated us and Whitworth," McGuirk said. "They went out and did better than anybody expected."

chagan@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6702

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008804200331