Chiller Challenge 8k Results/HUGE news!

Sooooooooooooooooo, turns out those bathroom trips weren't nerves. That's right--I'm sick. Chills right now, possible fever, but it was an all right race, believe it or not. No PR, I must warn, but not far off my last time for an 8k. And BELIEVE ME--this wasn't a pretty race. I almost quit (seriously) after Mile 2. I felt HORRIBLE.

When Phillip and I arrived at the race, I knew I was going to be off on my times--not normal anyway. I felt weird. I thought I would make the best of it, though, since I went ahead and made it out there. No sense in not starting what you set out to do.

The course was sooooo great, and beautiful! I've never run at this particular park before, but I will again, that's for sure. It will be excellent for running in the warmer months. And it looks like I might be running outside a whole lot more--but more about that later.

The course was completely flat. It started out on roads, but at about 1/2 mile went onto pavement (bike trail). The paths were snow covered in some spots, really throughout the entire race, so that slowed people down quite a bit. I don't think that would have been a factor for me, though, had I been 100%. At a mile and a half there is a turnaround, and we went back from whence we came, back over the bike path, back to the road. From there, we went 2 miles on another out and back, which was completely on the road. The road led us into the finish.

I knew I was doing good the first minute or two, and after probably the first mile, I realized I was right on track for my time--but then I started to feel HORRIBLE. I looked at my garmin and I had run a 5:57 first mile, but the way I felt after that, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it up. I was absolutely right.

After I saw the Mile 2 marker, I seriously thought about quitting. Seriously. I was breathing heavy, my times were dragging, and I knew I was going to NOT PR. My second mile was 6:14. But I decided to keep going because, when I started out, I was running with 10 guys, all of who were still near me. NO GIRLS. I thought, no matter what, I had to finish, if not just to get OA Woman.

I kept going, but it got progressively worse. The feeling I had was really wearing on me. Phillip said he could tell big time when I passed by him on the way back through. I ran through Mile 3, and I realized I had just been staring at the ground, just making sure that I wasn't going to fall, or worse. I felt so awful. My third mile was 6:20.

The fourth mile was so bad, I don't even really remember anything after that. Just trying to get back and finish. Fourth mile was 6:41.

Fifth mile I saw the president of Team Nebraska. He was standing at about the 4.50 mile area, where Phillip was also standing. Phillip told me after the race that when I ran by the guy said something about me. Who knows what. I ran into the finish line and I was just thinking, "Get this tag off of me!" so I could get water and sit down. Fifth mile I must have really been dying to get there because my time was 6:28.

SO, overall, not a bad race, considering. I mean, I don't really remember it, but it was good, I guess. I ended up being 11th Overall, and 1st OA woman. I was also 1st out of 30 in my age group, which was actually a weird age group—19 to 39. My time overall was 31:56, only 55 seconds off my PR of 31:01.

So, for the record—

11/161 OA
1/30 AG
1/25 OA Woman

We headed into the pavilion where the food and awards were located. Phillip got me some water, and I just sat at one of the tables feeling like I would pass out at any minute.

After about 10 or 15 minutes, I see two people walking my way, a girl and a guy. They were from Team Nebraska, and one of them was the President. Found out a few minutes later that the girl was the Vice President. Anyway, he congratulated me on my performance, and said that he knew who I was and that I had won the Omaha Marathon. He said he remembered that I had written him right after I won the marathon and that I had asked him if I could be a part of the team. He asked if I was still interested.

UHHHHH.

He said that he had been really busy over the last few months of the year because he is the President of the USATF Nationals Committee, or something of that sort. He was in Ohio, Hawaii, and was planning the Olympic Trials in New York in November 2007. He's in charge of planning all the US National Competitions around the country. That's why he hasn't gotten back to me. I don't know how much truth there is in that reason why he didn't get back to me, but whatever. He told me the benefits of being on the team--40% off Brooks products because they sponsor the team, free Clif products, teamwear (red shorts and red singlet with Team Nebraska on them), free entry into any races I want to run in, along with other things.

He then asked what my goal was for myself at this point. I said that I really like marathons, and that they are what I would like to focus on. He said good, that he had looked at my performances over the last year, and that's what he had in mind for me. He also said that there are two women on the team now that are going to the Olympic Trials this spring, but that after that they are both going down to shorter distances, so I would be the sole female marathoner after April. He really wants me to be on the team I guess, because he talked to me for about 30 minutes.

He asked me about my training for Boston and who wrote the plan, and I said me. He just gave me this look of surprise. At another point, he asked who was coaching me, and I said no one. He just looked at the Vice President with a look of excitement (per Phillip, I don't remember much of this). Later I was talking about what races I wanted to run this year, and I told him I wanted to run New York. He said that I should run the Twin Cities marathon with the team because it's one of their national competitions, and that he already has a goal time in mind for me. He said not to worry about running New York this year because being a part of the team automatically grants me entrance into most USATF events.

We talked about it and he asked me what my goal is in the long run. I said to go to the Olympics, that has always been my goal. He said great! That's what I wanted to hear. (Phillip noticed on their website that if the runner and the President come to an agreement on a goal, that it is more likely that the runner will be able to become a part of the team).

So, long story short, (ha), he told me to shoot him another email with my running log attached, and that he'll send me my discount codes for Brooks gear, and a bio sheet to fill out for the website. I am probably going to have to run outside a lot more, which sucks, and I have to listen to his coaching, which also sucks because it limits me in my mileage. No more running bizarre mileage whenever I feel like it. But I think I could be better. So I think I'm going to do it.

What do you all think I should do?