Since last January I've been thinking of moving somewhere and trying to become a better runner. After doing some research I finally narrowed it down to two places- Boulder and Eugene.

After losing contact with a coach in Eugene (I won't mention names Ross- oops) I decided that Boulder would probably be a good fit for me. Just to make sure I liked Boulder I decided to go there for a short visit during the summer. It just so happens that before I go the Eugene coach contacts me and I get excited about coming to Eugene.

Anyhow, I make my four day trip to Boulder and I like it but there's something missing. I thought the place was really nice, there was a great running community and everything just seemed really peaceful. But to be honest, with all the tradition in Eugene I felt that if I went there I would really enjoy it.

Fast forward now to this past Septmeber while I board my plane on a one way trip to Eugene not really knowing what to expect and not knowing when I'll be back home in New York. I didn't have a place to live, a job, a car, or anything that would be useful in this world. I was coming out to Eugene basically just hoping I'd find a way to make everything work out.

Well I guess when you don't have much of a plan things don't "just happen" to work out. For the most part things did go pretty smooth. Thanks to Travis, I was able to find a place within the first few days. I found a car soon after that and then a job a couple of weeks after that.

However, the one thing that was missing from it all was the running aspect. I was training at a higher volume then I ever have before. Running on trails for workouts as opposed to the track. Basically there were many changes that I wasn't used to and it became very frustrating at times. I was comparing races and workouts during the 2006 fall season to the 2007 fall season and 2006 was much better.

So after all those "not-great" workouts and races from the fall and early winter, today was different. Today was one of those workouts that makes you feel good to be running. I didn't "set the track on fire" as my college coach would say, but I finally felt good running at a faster pace. This was probably one of the first workouts in a long time where I felt good running at a good pace. Today was a good one and hopefully just in time for a good 3k at U-Dub for the weekend.