The last three months have been busy and full of excitement. Since January, I have traveled from snowy Flagstaff AZ, to Houston & Austin TX, Spokane WA, and most recently to sunny Jacksonville FL. The Gate River Run was a blast (huge thanks to Richard Fannin for putting together a great field and a great event). The day before the Gate River Run, Samia Akbar, Phil Wharton and I were given the chance to talk to underprivileged children at the Sanctuary on 8th Street School in Jacksonville and after the race Bolota Asmerom, Phil Wharton and I had the opportunity to speak with the Florida Cross Country State Champions from Bishop Kenny High. Both events were so much fun and thanks to the Bishop Kenny boys we were able to enjoy a sweet long run the day after the race. We drove out to UNF – University of North Florida and ran on their trail system, which was perfect for a recovery two and a half hour run on soft single-track trails. To top off the trip, the BATC women's team (Blake Russell, Clara Peterson and I) finished first in the team competition.Training continues to go really well for me, while this week has been pretty challenging. This is my last high mileage week before World Cross and the Rotterdam marathon on April 11th. I had a great workout on Wednesday that consisted of 800 repeats at 5k pace and some 400 repeats at mile pace. Friday is a marathon specific workout and Sunday my final long run. After all the miles I will be ready to switch gears and get ready for racing in snow and mud.
I am so excited for the opportunity to race World XC next weekend. The opportunity to represent team USA is so amazing to me because this will be the first time ever racing in Poland since I left at the age of 15. I have been dreaming to represent Team USA at this event for years and now more than ever I get a chance to run my heart out on Polish soil. The course is not fast, but rather tough. Check out the IAAF link to some pictures from the Polish National Championships earlier this year at http://www.iaaf.org/WXC10/news/kind=101/newsid=56190.html. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be on such a strong team of incredible female athletes. Our team is full of accomplished athletes who are hungry to race for a medal.
Best of luck to the entire USA Cross Country team!
Magda (blogs on flotrack)
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