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September 23, 2009

Brooke Wells - Entry #3

Written by Dena Evans

10 days to go…

When I was training for the 2008 Women’s Olympic Trials, I spent two weeks in Flagstaff Arizona with Magdalena Lewy-Boulet, her family and coach Jack Daniels. Magda’s husband Richie, used to help us get pumped up for morning runs by playing the song “The Final Countdown”, by 80’s sensation Europe.

 

As horrifically corny as the song is, I find myself humming it daily as the Twin Cities Marathon approaches.   I have done all the hard work. I have gotten up at 5am to meet the speedsters in GGP. I have taken ice baths when the freezing San Francisco wind is howling outside. I have written apology emails to my boyfriend and roommate for my inexcusable grumpiness and I am still paying off my credit card for all the Whole Foods shopping. Nutritonal awareness is NOT cheap these days!
As I mentioned in my last entry, I have needed a ton of support from others to get me to this point. Their additions have been priceless and much appreciated. However, despite their aid, I have had trouble focusing and “digging deep” to fire up my competitve juices. Without a real answer as to why this has been happening, I decided to face my last few workouts alone. In solitude, with my watch and the track as companions, I have slowly been finding myself. Maybe the sound of my own heart and breathing has helped me remember that this race is up to ME. I alone will make it a great day, or a day I will not care to remember.

I am ready, as a master of my trade, to create my great piece of artwork on October 4th. I am ready to express all the training I have done.
In the Final Countdown, I am harnessing this energy and thinking positively.

Last modified on October 10, 2010
Dena Evans

Dena Evans

Dena Evans joined runcoach in July, 2008 and has a wide range of experience working with athletes of all stripes- from youth to veteran division competitors, novice to international caliber athletes.

From 1999-2005, she served on the Stanford Track & Field/ Cross Country staff. Dena earned NCAA Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year honors in 2003 as Stanford won the NCAA Division I Championship. She was named Pac-10 Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2003-04, and West Regional Coach of the Year in 2004.

From 2006-08, she worked with the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative, helping to expand the after school fitness programs for elementary school aged girls to Mountain View, East Menlo Park, and Redwood City. She has also served both the Stanford Center on Ethics and the Stanford Center on the Legal Profession as a program coordinator.

Dena graduated from Stanford in 1996.

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