Little bit of background about me:
-Ran decent in high school, prs during junior year off of low mileage (51.xx, 2:01, 4:27, 9:53) The summer before senior year, ran a 4-mile road race in under 20 minutes so I was in killer shape. Unfortunately, I was never able to really show it due to chronic sickness during the season. Had a decent build-up to track during the winter, and at the first few meets was running 10-15 seconds faster in the 1600 than the previous year. This time, my season was derailed by a neuroma in my pinky toe. Was unable to run at all for about 3 months. Built back up in the summer (quicker than I should have) for my first collegiate xc season running for a D2 team. In the first meet, my neuroma flared back up and I ended up having to sit the rest of the season out. Discouraged by my injuries, left the school and moved to a different town. Worked full-time and went to school on and off for 3-4 years, with very little running in between. Gained about 50 pounds. (140 the summer of 2010 to 190 March, 2014)
-This last spring, I began running again. At 190 pounds, I could barely finish one mile in under 8 minutes. I steadily increased the mileage and watched my diet, and the weight fell off really quick, and naturally running became easier. I am now running about 25 miles/week. I've been running 7min/mile pretty comfortably and slowly been reintroducing speed work to my body. I'm currently 165 and 5'9 so still a ways off from my ideal weight (I'm guessing 145-150 will be about what I'm at when I shed these last fat pounds slowing me down) Last weekend, I ran a 4:48 mile at the local track and I was really surprised. That got me to thinking that maybe I should take another shot at competitive running while I'm still (relatively) young. I'm planning on running an indoor race in January to see if I can beat my 17 year old self :)
-So, I'm basically just looking for advice on where to look for programs that would be interested in an athlete with a slightly unorthodox background. Or how to advertise myself to prospective programs? I am in the NW and would preferably like to stay here. I have two brothers in the seattle area, so somewhere in Western Washington would be really cool. I have quite a lot of money saved up, but, I would still like to try and land myself something like a tuition waiver or a little aid. I want to run under 50, 1:55, 4:15, and 9:15 next spring with the intent to be on a team somewhere the fall of 2015. I have about 60 credits, so I'd probably be around for 2-3 years. Supposing I did meet my goals, and stayed healthy, could anybody give me a list of schools that would be interested in someone like myself? I'm aware that most D1 schools won't be interested, but surely there are some d2/3 or NAIA schools out there!
Thanks all!