I wrote this post a LONG time ago and never posted it… so figured why waste and just throw it out there…

So it’s already the beginning of November and I am just now updating my blog.  Oops.  I’ve come a long way since July and it’s a shame I haven’t written or kept up with this thing.  After the Jackpot run I started a series of races near Bergamo (about 2 hours away from my town).  These races were part of a 6 race circuit where the runners accumulated points from each race and after 5 races were placed as 1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on.  I used these road races as training to get over my calf injury and have some fun competing and getting back into running hard.  I finished 3rd which I was pretty happy about considering I wasn’t in very good shape and also wasn’t at the last race.
  And…the reason I wasn’t at the last race was because I was in St. Moritz, Switzerland, training for two weeks at altitude.  I had just started training with this new coach here in Italy (Silvano) and these two weeks were great to get to know each other better and to finally get over my calf problems.  Since my injury was just passing and communication with Lenny back in Santa Fe wasn’t so great for running and figuring out the Italian racing program, Silvano was a great person to turn to for help.  Leaving St. Moritz I had a new drive for running again and I felt like I was finally in the clear for real training again.
   With Silvano we set up a plan and goals to work on my running technique, mechanics to run more efficiently, and overall economy to use track races as training to get ready for cross country season in the winter.  After racing a couple 3ks that went alright and then a 5k, I raced in Sulmona for the Gold team level national championships.  At the end of September I spent the weekend with my team in central Italy in this small town near L’Aquila (where the large earthquake happened a few years ago), where I raced the 5k, placing 12th and our team placed 2nd which was expected since the 1st place team is super charged with pro runners.  This was the last official track meet and while people took time off and rested after the long track season I was just getting started.
Training since September has been fun and interesting.  With the new technique and training style of Silvano I am always on my toes and there are often sudden changes in day-to-day training.  I’m so used to Lenny’s and Coach Wood’s planning and long layed out schedules that were relatively straightforward and seldom changed without notice.  Silvano sends me a schedule for the week or a couple weeks, but I have learned that it is only a rough guide and he may either have me do a race one day or a workout another day that changes everything.  And things are very dependent on feel and adjusted based on how a certain workout or run went.  These are definitely positives, where it is important to not get stuck in routine and to maintain good communication and adaptation with training and a coach.  But I am so used to have pretty strict schedules to follow that these changes catch me off guard most of the time.
  Since my running form is so stiff and inefficient, we are also working on my stride, turnover and foot placement.  By doing exercises with the jump rope, small hurdles, and large hurdles I have become and am becoming lighter on my turnover and using my calves to push off more rather then the force and strength of my quads.  It is a work in progress and Silvano says things are getting better, I can feel it too and definitely notice that I’m in good shape and running fast.
  This next Sunday is the first cross country meet of the season.  And in Silvano’s words, he’s curious to see me race.  I am really excited also to get out there and race and see how I do.  Since my injuries are pretty much cleared up and I am just dealing with on and off calf pains and the occasional rolled ankle I am able to train 100% and get some good tempo and repeat workouts in.

   To step back and give a quick run down of what happened since this post:  In this race I finished 10th, among the top cross country runner in Italy.  It was a good start to the cross country/winter season, but at the end of December I was hit with an injury in my calf and forced to spend the rest of the season building up again.  Spring went well for training after spending a couple months back in the states, but summer racing wasn’t as encouraging and results not coming through as I had hoped.