You've got to want it to win it

This morning I warmed up on 1300s to 2100e and then up Sunnyside and above the zoo onto Wasatch.  At 3 miles I set my Garmin for 8 sets of 3 minutes on 2 minutes off.  I felt pretty good and didn't realize how tired I was until I was on my cooldown.  

This morning I ran along 1500e to 2100s and then up to 1700e and on Melbourne over to 3300s.  I crossed the street and ran that road, I have run it once before.  It looks like a cute neighborhood.  At 3900s I went up to 2000e, and took that back to about 2700s where I connected with the loop out and ran home.  Afterwards I went to campus and got my second lift done.

This morning I ran along 1500e to campus and then the Shriner's route up to 11th Avenue.  I ran down 11th and into City Creek, up to the drinking fountain and then by  the capitol before going down State Street.  I ran South Temple back up to 1300e, and then home.  Crazy to think it has been so long since I've run 65 miles in a week!  And how exhausting it feels, when it used to be the norm for me!  Higher mileages weeks to come...

This morning I did a workout at Liberty Park.  I warmed up a full lap around the park and then to the S on the pavement.  My plan was to do four 1 mile repeats with half mile recovery.  My times were 6:06, 5:46, 5:59, 5:46.  I don't think I have ever run at Liberty on a Monday before, but it was weird!  Right before I was about to start my first mile, a family stopped on the sidewalk just a few meters in front of me and started doing planks and other core stuff... Not the best place to stop.  And on my 4th one they were doing the same thing but at a different part of the sidewalk...  Also during my first one there was a large team blocking the entire sidewalk.  Observing their shirts later I think it was the Westminster team...  Weird stuff today.  But my workout was good!  I think the first mile was slower since I didn't do strides or anything before it.  I cooled down to finish at 10 total.

Recovery run, up 1300s to Wasatch Drive, over to Sunnyside and up the canyon.  I turned around at 5 miles, then stayed on Sunnyside until Foothill to change things up on the way home.  My calves were a bit sore at the beginning of the run from yesterday's workout, but I didn't notice after that.  I went and lifted afterwards.

This morning I warmed up to Sunnyside Park and then did laps around the bottom 2 fields to measure the quarter and half mile marks for my workout.  I stretched and then did strides, then started my workout.  I did 4 sets of a quarter mile and a half mile, recoveries back to the start (so .1 mile and .2 mile).  My times were 1:24, 2:58, 1:25, 2:57, 1:26, 2:58, 1:25, 2:58.  For cooldown I ran up to the drinking fountain and then around the upper fields and tennis courts  and home to finish at 8.

This morning I ran up 1300s to Wasatch, then over to Shoreline Trail across from the zoo.  I took the lower trail past Red Butte and then over to Drycreek, where I turned and ran to Popperton Park.  From there I ran home via the Shriner's route through campus to finish with 10 for the day.  Afterwards I went and got my second lift done.

This morning I met Katherine up at Drycreek by the JCC to run some trails :)  We ran all the way to City Creek!  And back!  We took a few minutes at the drinking fountain at City Creek to stretch before climbing back on top of the mountain to run down the other side.  I saw some bunnies on the way back right before the trail opens to the wide area where the first hill from the JCC leads.  They were so cute!  I am exhausted now but it was such a nice run!  

I ran 9 miles in Parowan this morning.  I feel like I did a lap around the whole town, and still needed some miles...  Sorta.  I ran down Main Street and then up a street that took my by a horse track, then behind a cemetery where I found a trail :)  Just what I was looking for :)  But in the first half mile it was a 500 feet climb.  And I was already 1000 feet higher than Salt Lake.  So it hurt.  But the view from the top was amazing, I ran on the crest of the mountain until the trail started to go more into the canyon and away from the view of the town.  I ran back down and then went out and back on a long and endless road to finish at 9.

This morning I didn't wake up early enough to do all of my miles... So I almost didn't go.  But then I realized, I need a lot of doubles this week, and got up and ran 6 miles.  I ran along 1300e to campus and then through up to Shriner's.  I turned around to head back just in time to see 3 deer cross the street from the church to the hospital.  I ran home through campus and then on Guardsman and 1500e.  

In the evening I went to Liberty Park with Abigail.  I did 4 laps around the perimeter and then a little extra at the end to hit a full 7.  It was very windy.  When I started my run I got hit in the face with one of those banners that hangs on the sides of telephone poles...  And as I was finishing I got a pinecone to the forehead.  I am glad it missed my eyes, even though they got plenty of dirt. 

This morning out at Cottonwood Complex I warmed up around the block.  Passing the hospital there were a lot of workers out on smoke break... yuck.  Back at the complex, I did 4 strides and then hills.  I ran Bessie 8 times to the fence, jogging recovery back down.  For cooldown I wanted to avoid running by the hospital again, so I ran to the park on 4500s that has a dirt loop.  I did a bunch of loops and then back to the complex to finish with 12 total.  My legs hurt.  Afterwards I went to Jamba and got 2 smoothies, and on both of them they gave me a larger size than was on the menu :)  It was awesome.  Then I went to Orem to help Abigail move :'(  But I'm counting that as my lift today... Seems legit :)

This morning I ran 10 miles, to Olympus High and back.  When I was about a block away from home I passed my dad as he was finishing his run.  

This morning it was so hard getting out of bed...  But I did it anyway, and ran 4 miles up Emigration and then back to my house.  The way up was windy!  So it kinda sucked.  And on the way down my quads really hurt.  These are the weeks where I am reminded how painful running can be sometimes...  I took a 15 minute ice bath later.

After team physicals I went for a run. I ran along 1500e to 900s, up to 1900e and over to 1700s, then home to finish at 4 miles. 

This morning we had a bunch of compliance meetings...  But we met our new freshmen!  After everyone was finished with their paperwork we went for our first run together as the 2013 Utah Cross Country team!  We ran along Guardsman to Bonneville Gully, and ran laps in there.  The shade was really nice.  I think we did 4 laps before leaving.  Hilary and I ran to Sunnyside for the drinking fountain, and then along 1900e to 1300s.  Then we ran back up to Foothill and back to campus, adding on until we finished at 10.  Then we joined the rest of the team for a short lift, and got our new gear!  Afterwards we got in the ice tubs, I stayed in 15 minutes.

The long run today was going to be either in Park City or Pipeline, and whichever we didn't do today would be next week.  We ended up going to PC today since next week we have fanfest and we can be back sooner from Pipeline.  We started our run as usual on the trail in Park City, but not a mile in we realized there was a half marathon going on...  To avoid crossing their finish line we took a detour through some of the shop parking lots and then got back on the trail.  I was with Alyssa, we cheered on the runners as we went in the opposite direction.  For a bit we reached some trail where the runners were done on, but before long we were on another part of the course...  And then when we passed where the trail goes under the freeway we were off the race course for good.  Until the way back anyway...  Alyssa was with me for about 4.5 miles before she turned and ran back.  Not too long later, one of the freshmen, Becky, caught up to me so we could run together :)  She was only planning on doing 12, so she said when we got to 6 she'd wait for me to do my other half mile out and back and then finish with me.  It was neat :)  It has been fun getting to know the freshmen a little bit before even going to camp.  

This morning Hilary and I met early to get our run done in time for pictures.  We did 8 miles, we went up to 11th Avenue, down City Creek and into Memory Grove, then back to campus via 4th Avenue.  Then we did strides while doing our photoshoot.  Posters to be released soon...

After arriving in camp in Eden (it took us about 5 hours to get here) we went for an evening run before dinner.  We went on the trail by the reservoir, I went out 2.5 and back. 

This morning we did our hill workout up by the North Fork Campgrounds.  We warmed up about 2 miles and then did strides and drills.  The hill workout was the same as last year, a 100, then 100 200, then 100 200 300, and finally 100 200 300 400.  I took half jog half walk back down for recovery.  It took a few sets to find the right group, but I was mostly with Nikki and Giselle for the first few, then Hilary, Hannah, and Dana for the rest of it.  The workout went a lot better for me this year than last year!  My times were pretty consistent, about 21-22 for the 100s, around 46-47 for the 200s, 1:12 and 1:13 for the 300s, but I didn't get a time for the 400 because we actually didn't make it that far!  I was doing so well pushing up the hill after the 300 cone, but as we got around the corner just as it was starting to flatten out a bit, there was a MOOSE!!!!!!!!!!!  About 20 meters to the other side of our cone.  See our facebook page for pictures.  It was crazy!  I don't know what we would have done if we had realized it was there during the previous sets... probably not have finished I would think, luckily we only were supposed to do one 400 though.  For cooldown I ran down the road with Hilary until I was at 7 total for the morning.  At one point a dog ran into the road from one of the houses, and I think Hilary and I were more scared of it than we were by the moose...  We tend to not have the best luck with dogs while running.

In the afternoon we went to the trail by Pineview Reservoir again.  I did 2.5 out and back again for 5. 

This morning we went up to Snow Basin to run.  I felt awful.  I made it to the end of the first part of the loop, where it turns into a wide dirt road, and then back to the part where the other part of the loop is, but I felt even worse.  I had cramps, and when I stopped I got chills.  I ran back to the cars to finish at 4, then took some Advil and a nap.

In the afternoon I ran along the trail by the reservoir again.  This time, 9 miles...  It was 3 miles to the beach where some of our girls were swimming, I made it another quarter before deciding to turn.  When I got back to the parking lot I went out again for a little bit and then back to finish at 9. 

This morning we had a threshold workout.  We warmed up about 2 miles, then strides and drills.  I had 2.5 before changing shoes.  The workout was 5 sets of 4 minutes on with 50 seconds recovery.  I ran with Bekah, the goal was to be right around 6 minute pace.  I felt pretty good during them, I just tried to focus on relaxing and keeping my breathing easy.  Afterwards for cooldown Alyssa ran 5 miles with me :)  we ran from Eden Park over to the trail by the reservoir for one last time.  It was so nice to get all my miles in this morning, I can actually relax this afternoon!

This morning we had team practice.  I started with the team on the Albertson's loop.  Alyssa was with me for a bit, but when she turned I was by myself the rest of the way.  When I got to 1300s on the way back, I ran up to Wasatch Drive and then up above the zoo.  Then I got on the Shoreline Trail and ran that over to Red Butte, then met up with the team at the track and did 10 strides.  Kep put away the hurdles before I got to do the drills... but I just did them in the weight room afterwards.  

This morning we went up to Pipeline for our long run.  Knowing that I needed 14 miles, I added on extra at the beginning with Hilary and Becky.  We ran up the road about 2 miles and then got on the trail, and ran down to the switchbacks where we got onto the regular trail.  That was 4.6 miles.  We then ran the usual out and back route, and back at the cars I grabbed a water bottle and ran back on the trail to get the last quarter mile I needed.  And to see if I could find Becky, since she dropped back on the last part...  After several minutes and still not seeing her, I walked back to the cars, to find that she had made a wrong turn at the bridge and ended up on the road.  Fortunately, she ran up the road and found us :)

First day of school!  And we had a workout this afternoon.  We warmed up to Sunnyside Park, and then did our strides and drills.  The workout was 4 sets of four 400s, the recover after each being 3 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute, then 4 minutes before the next set.  I was with Bekah and Becky, though Becky quickly dropped so it was Bekah and I for the majority of the workout.  Kep had marked a 600 meter loop, and marked each 100 meters in that loop so it was really nice.  My times were 82, 82, 84, 81 for the first set; then 80, 83, 83, 82 for the second; 80, 83, 83, 80 for the third; and 79, 80, 80 85 for the final set.  I liked that the recoveries got shorter after each one, because it shortened the time to get a negative attitude or dread how many were left, but made it so that we just needed to refocus and get ready to go.  That is why I think I did so well on the 4th in the first 3 sets... On the last set Bekah really pushed the pace so I didn't bother to try and keep with her on the last one, and I let my pace slip too much.  But it was a great workout!  For cooldown I ran back to campus to finish with 12 total.  Then I took a 15 minute ice bath.

This afternoon we started our run in the light rain.  We ran through the avenues up to 11th, then down City Creek Canyon and into Memory Grove.  Somehow all of the freshmen were in front of me, but I wasn't running Trax with them... So I was alone after I turned to return to campus up 4th Avenue.  Back at campus I did strides on the track, then a few laps recovery to finish at 10 total, then hurdle drills.

This morning I ran to Sugarhouse, did a lap around the perimeter, and back home.  Running through all the construction wasn't fun... and I'm sad they're paving a path around the outside.  Actually mad.  The reason so many people run there is to get off the pavement...

The rain has been so nice to us these afternoons during practice!  After we warmed up to Liberty Park and had done our strides and drills in the hot sun, the rain and clouds came! :)  We had three 1.5 mile repeats at threshold pace.  Since Bekah was running on the pavement, I was by myself, but my times were 9:19, 9:20, and 9:21.  Then we did four 30 second strides, before cooling down.  I saw the East boys and ran with them from 700e to 900e before I turned to go to the Trax station.  I do not miss running back up the hill on 900s :)

This afternoon we were lucky to have clouds... for part of our run, which is better than the whole thing being sunny!  We ran through the Avenues again up to 11th.  Everyone else turned down Memory Grove, so I was on my own up City Creek.  I turned at 5.5 miles and ran back the same way.  Running in the cool shade of the canyon was nice while it lasted.  15 minute ice bath afterwards.

This morning I ran along 1500e to 2100e, then up to 1700e and over to 2700s then by Highland Park Elementary.  I turned when I hit 3, and ran back just about the same way, taking 1800e instead of 17th for part of it.

In the afternoon I didn't realized how many girls were doing a pre-meet... so after the first mile and a half I was alone.  On Foothill I kept going to 2100s, then down to 1900e and back to Sunnyside and up to Foothill to return to campus.  I added on above the track to finsh with 8.

This morning I went up to Logan to watch my teammates and Abigail race :)  I got my run in before the race.  I started with Bekah for a few minutes before the other girls were ready, then we went out on the road together.  I finished up on the first loop of the race so I could cheer on the girls.