You've got to want it to win it

I felt so much better today!  Went to lifting in the morning with Hilary.  In the afternoon we had a threshold workout at Liberty.  We warmed up there from the 900e Trax station, then did our strides and drills in the usual spot.  The workout was three 1.5 mile repeats (so basically just over a lap) with 2 minutes recovery. On the first one I got to start behind the other groups and progressively work my up to them and past them in the first one.  That one felt the easiest and my time was 8:56.  The next two were hard since I was doing the work myself, but having Amanda biking alongside me calling my splits and giving me words of encouragement was extremely helpful.  My time were 9:05 and then 8:59.  After everyone had finished we did four 25 second strides.  Then Nikki and Becky joined me on my long cooldown the long way around the park and then back up to the 900e Trax station.

My new shoes finally came today!!! :)  In the afternoon I ran the Albertson's loop with Becky (started with Hilary and Kenzie and Sydney) and then went to the track for strides and drills.  Finished with 7 then.

After dinner (only 50 minutes later, I have a strong stomach) I went for another 5 miles.  Ran over to 500s then up to Guardsman, then along 1500e to 1300s, up to 1900e and over to 1700s then home.

Today we had our first workout of the season at Sugarhouse!  We were all sorta dreading it, but when we got there and got started it wasn't so bad.  We warmed up with a plap around the perimeter of the park.  We passed by Highland just as they got out, which was a nightmare... but one outgoing student ran with us and yelled for everyone to move because "WE'RE RUNNING!!! GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!" It was awesome. :)  After our strides and drills, Kep explained the course he had made.  It took me a while to understand it, which was a problem since I was pretty much on my own (Bekah ran earlier).  The workout was 500, 800, 1200, 500, 800, 1200, 500, 500.  The loop was 1400 meters, so the 800 and the 500 were done in the first loop, then the 1200 on another loop.  Recovery was 90% time.  I started with AuraLea, Andrea, and Becky for the first few but just ran a little bit ahead of them.  The first 500 was 1:53.  Not quite where it should have been, but for not knowing the course it was decent.  For the 800 I hit 2:54.  On the 1200, I forgot it was a 1200... so I was feeling pretty good about splitting 1:@4 for the 400 and ending the 500 in 1:46.  Then the three girls behind me asked me what I was doing, and I realized I had forgotten that it was a 1200!  Silly me, having already done a full lap I was thinking we were starting our next set... Lapse of focus, oops.  That one I recovered to a 4:17.  The next set I hit 1:46, 2:48, 4:18.  The last 5s were 1:48 and 1:45.  For cooldown we did another lap around the perimeter of the park, I finished to 9 total.  Back at school I did my rehab.  And I didn't run with tape today, and my knee didn't hurt!  New shoes are amazing!  

Ran 2 miles on the treadmill this morning.  I was hoping to do at least 4 or 5 so that I would only have to run 7 or 8 later...  I intended to run 10 miles later at practice, but only hit 8.  

Long run up at Jeremy Ranch this morning.  When Kep told us where, he said it was going to be 32 and sunny... I think the 32 was supposed to be the high, because it definitely felt colder than that when we got there!  I still wasn't feeling too great from yesterday, so just did 10 instead of 13 like I had planned all week... But I'm amazed I even was able to get 10 in!  After I turned around, Becky wasn't too far behind me so she turned and ran more with me, then she added on when we were back at the cars.  

Started the afternoon run with the team on Foothill.  Everyone was cruising today, I hung back with Sydney and even we were going 6:35 pace for part of it...  The team was doing Albertson's loop but going back on 1900e, on 2100s I continued down to 1300e and back to campus.  Then I rejoined the girls up at the track for drills and strides, and then hurdle drills.

Today we had our threshold workout at Liberty.  We warmed up to the park from the 900e Trax station, then did our strides and drills in the usual spot.  The workout was mile, mile and a half, mile and a half, mile.  20% rest, so about 72 seconds for the miles and 2 minutes for the mile and a half.  My times were 6:10, 9:13, 9:11, 6:09.  Not exactly up to speed, but at least they were consistent and I picked it up the second fast.  This workout went by fast and I really liked the way it was set up.  Afterwards I had 4 strides, then cooled down to the 900e Trax station to finish with 10 total for the day.  I did my knee rehab in the training room afterwards.  It hurt a little bit during the warmup (not during running but when I was stopped) but I didn't feel it the rest of the workout.

Trax run today!  Since we haven't used up our once-a-month allotment yet for October :)  We ran down 11th Avenue (I was actually on my own pretty much after the first mile... I wasn't pushing the pace or anything, but whatever...) and then I ran to the drinking fountain up City Creek before going down behind the capitol and then down Main Street and then over to South Temple and back to campus.  

We had a workout at Sugarhouse today.  Despite the rain, I liked it better than last time because it wasn't windy!  We warmed up around the perimeter of the park (I saw two of my cousins during the warmup!) and then did our strides and drills from the pavillion.  For our workout we were going to use the same loop as last time, but with slight alteration because of the workout.  The workout was going to start and finish with a 500, but everything in between was a "luck of the draw" so we drew them after each rep to see what we would have next.  Each rep had 80% of time recovery.  In the hat were two more 500s, an 800, 900, 1000, 1100, and 1200.  I started the first 500 with Andrea and AuraLea and Becky, but I didn't want to mess up their pace by doing that the whole workout, so I took the next few on my own.  The time for the first 500 was 1:54.  Not quite up to speed but still warming up I guess.  The draw that time was an 800, I ran 2:55.  Then the 900, 3:20.  Then our first 5 on which I hit 1:46, better.  Then we got the 1000, I ran a 3:38.  Then the 1200, 4:26.  Then the other 5, but from there it was nice because we knew it was just the 1100 and then the final 500.  This time I hit 1:54 (or 1:50, those were my times for the last two 5s but I can't remember which was which).  On the 1100 I ran with Andrea and AuraLea, but I was definitely struggling.  That was a 4:09.  I really liked the workout, I just wish I could have been more mentally focused.  I talked to Kep afterwards, and I am going to pull it together for an A++ workout on Monday.  For cooldown we did another lap around the perimeter of the park, then I finished to 10.

5 miles in the morning on my own.  Out past Sugarhouse and back.

In the afternoon the group was me, Jessica, Sydney, Kenzie, and Becky.  They wanted a new route, so we sorta got creative and ran through the golf course, down 1300s to 1500e, over to 1700s and then back to campus along 15th and Guardsman.  Then to get to 8 I ran out to North Campus and back on the road above the track.

Long run in Park City today.  About a mile in, I picked up the pace and then Lauren and I ran together until mile 4 when she turned around.  The rest of the way was kinda lonely, but it was a nice run.

Our workout was at Sunnyside today.  We warmed up there and did our usual strides and drills.  The workout was three sets of 400, 500, 800, with 85, 1:45, and 3:30 rest.  I was with Becky and Bekah for the 4 and 500s, but Kep wanted Becky in a different group for the 8s so it was just Bekah and I on those.  On the first 400 when I was struggling to keep up with Becky and Bekah I was really worried that I was going to have another crap today, but I was determined not to let that happen.  I had told Kep it was going to be an A++ day.  We were supposed to hit 82-83 for our 400s, my time was 81.  What a relief!  They were just going crazy fast and I wasn't dying.  On the 500 I hit 1:43.  For the first 800 I hit 2:54 (1:23 for the first 400).  As we were finishing that first 800 there were some kids on the playground saying hi to us, and then I realized they were Emily's kids :)  so cute.  On the second set my times were 1:22, 1:44, 2:54 (1:26, Kep had told us to go for 85 splits).  On the final set my times were 1:25 (oops, still on pace for that last 800), then 1:41, and 2:50.  Then we had a surprise 400 at the end, which wasn't on the workout sheet but I think I remember Kep maybe said something about it when he was telling us about the workout... Bekah forgot and was cleaning up the course, so Becky and I jumped in with everyone else on theirs.  I ran that one in 80.  Then I cooled down back to campus to finish at 10.

I went for a run up on Pipeline this afternoon.  It was a bit muddy in places but not that bad.  The fall leaves up there are beautiful :)  I ran to the end of the trail and then doubled back when I hit 5 so all of it was on the trail.  I encountered rain, snow, and hail during parts of the trail but it never lasted very long.  

Threshold workout at Liberty this morning.  Warmed up there from the 900e station, then the usual strides and drills.  This was a no watch workout.  But Hilary and I still carried our watches in our pockets so that we could get the distance on our Garmins.  The workout was three sets of 8 minutes with 1:45 recovery.  Kep timed for us.  We regrouped for each of them, it was nice to be in a group.  The first one Kep told me my mile time was slow.  I tried to pick it up on the second, and I felt like I did.  The third was hard, but I finished.  Afterwards I asked Kep how much faster my second one was than my first, he just told me my times were 6:20 then 6:09, didn't tell me the third.  Afterwards we did five 25 second strides.  Then I cooled down the long way back to the 900e station to finish at 10.  Afterwards we all did our second lift.  Exhausting, but now I get to enjoy the rest of the day off!

This morning I ran up 13th to Wasatch, then over to the paved Shoreline Trail and onto the first freeway overpass, where I hit 4.  Ran home the same way.  Later got a massage with Tim.  Direct flight to Terre Haute this afternoon.  

Went to the course this morning for our premeet.  We ran the whole thing, then did strides in the start/finish area.

This morning my temperature was 100.4.  I took some Tylenol and checked my temperature again about an hour and a half before my race.  It was down to 99.5.  Hanah called the doctor, who said I could choose if I wanted to race or not.  I took some Advil so that could work on lowering my temperature too.  I warmed up with the team (behind them for the first part, but I caught up when my muscles were actually warmed up) and then we did our strides and drills over by the start box.  I was feeling fine, the outside temperature was 43, so I decided I would race but in long sleeves just in case so I wouldn't get chills.  I was probably the only one in the field of about 350 wearing long sleeves but whatever.  After putting on my spikes I went back over to the line to do a few more strides before our team prayer and cheer.  The start was great, there is plenty of room so that was nice.  I was behind I think all of my teammates, but I felt that my starting pace was good.  When I hit the first k mark in 3:23 I knew I was right for starting where I had.  After that I started to pass a bunch of people.  I think some of them panicked when they heard their first k split.  I passed the 2k in about 6:56. I just kept moving up.  My 3k was 10:35, not on pace to break 21 today but I think the bigger concern was actually being able to race at all.  When I got to 4k I knew it was time to go, but it was also getting a lot harder to keep passing people.  Going to the 5k mark Kep told me I was 110, so wanted me to pass 10 people before finishing.  The pack was thinned out and I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it, but I passed one at a time for about 4 or 5.  Reaching the starting field where there is 400 to go a girl passed me and then two other girls picked it up with her, but I caught them all later.  And I finished .01 in front of the girl behind me.  Or next to me?  After finishing I had to sit for a few minutes before I could leave the finishing area.  If I leaned forward my head started spinning.  After I had relaxed for a few minutes I went and got my sweats from the bag we left at the start, then I started walking back to our team stuff.  I cooled down to finish at 8 miles total.  

The end/extension of my fall break:  Sunday I woke up with a temperature of 102.  Went to the doctor.  No going to school Monday.  Today I went to all of my classes and was feeling pretty good, so I decided to go for a run as long as I was able to eat something more than gatorade or fruit.  Just getting to the top of the street was hard.  I made it to Sugarhouse, then decided to do an inner loop instead of an outer one like I had originally hoped.  About half way through that I had to start walking.  I left the park and ran half of the way home, then walked the rest.  Despite feeling like a snail run, my garmin said my pace was still decent.  I think more fuel before running again will help a lot.  Maybe I'll try tomorrow.

Today I ran up 1300s to Wasatch Drive, then over to the drinking fountain on Foothill and a little bit on the paved bike trail to get to 3.5.  I felt great on the way out and like I was keeping a great pace.  On the way back when I was at able mile 5, I got a really bad side stitch.  I stopped for a minute and then tried to keep going, but it came back.  This happened a few more times until I was back at the light on 1300s and Foothill.  From there I was able to run home ok.  I think I need to hydrate a little more and then the side stitches won't be a problem.  

I did part of the workout today!  I was fer behind everyone on the warmup and strides, but at least I was running.  The first part of the workout was three 1000s at threshold pace with 40 seconds rest.  I was just fine on these, my times were 3:45, 3:48, 3:49.  Next we had some fast 200s... I set my goal to do two.  We practiced these two starting on the straight as if it were a race start and moving to the inside before the curve.  On these I hit 34 and 35.  Then I was done.  I cooled down to the fire station on 11th Avenue and back for 9 total.  I need to find my inhaler, my asthma always comes back when I get sick with anything :P    

After class I took my iPod and went for a run up through the dorms and over to the post office on Sunnyside and then up Emigration Canyon.  I ran to 5 miles and then ran back the same way.  

This morning I was a half hour early for our long run... nobody told me practice was moved to a half hour later!  We drove up to Park City and ran on the usual trail up there.  I ran out to 5.75 so that I could finish this week off at 40.  I did a Kenyan run on the way back, the first mile was 7:14, then 7:00, then 7:03, and I ended it there.  I had a side stitch on my right side, so I had to slow it down.  After finishing, I told Kep I thought it might be appendicitis until I had a stitch on the left side too, then I knew I was ok.  He didn't think it was funny...  I'm healthy now though and that is what matters :)

This afternoon we had our workout at Liberty.  We did the usual warmup there and then our strides and drills in the usual spot.  The workout today was 4 or 5 x 1 mile repeats at threshold pace with 70 seconds rest.  Then five x 35 second strides.  We always think the workout is done until Kep mentions strides...  My initial goal was to do 5.  On the first one I was pushing a little bit and by the end starting to worry that I wasn't going to make it through the whole workout if it felt that hard... But when I finished that in 5:52 I understood why.  I am amazed I had that in me after last week!  But I won't complain :)  The next one was 5:55, still ok, then 5:57, 5:59, and I was done.  Kep had only asked for 6:10s to start with, so I was good ending it there.  Then I did my strides, and cooled down the long way around the park with Bekah and back to the 900e Trax station to finish.  We are excited for conference this weekend, especially since we know some of the sea-level teams are complaining about us altitude teams having an advantage... :)

Ran the Albertson's loop woth Becky, Jessica, and Alyssa.  Came back to campus on 1900e.  We had a meeting we were rushed to get to, but I was able to add on a little extra above the track and do a few strides.

This morning I did the workout early with Bekah and AuraLea and it was so much fun!  We all commented on our way to the lockerroom how it wasn't as cold as we thought it would be.  We started our warmup at 7.  A few minutes in it started to rain a little bit.  It wasn't that bad, and seemed to stop for part of it... By the time we got the track for our strides, it had picked up a bit, but it wasn't so bad that we wouldn't lay down for some of our drills.  There was a wind from the north, but we could only feel it when we were running into it, so it wasn't that bad.  We changed shoes in the shed, and then Kep turned on the stadium lights!  :)  The workout was a 1000 with 3 minutes recovery, seven 400s with 90 seconds recovery, and two 200s with 2 minutes recovery.  On the 1000 I hit 3:30.  By now it was snowing, and it was cool to see the snowflakes passing the stadium lights!  On the 400s Bekah and I took turns on the inside.  My times were 1:21, 1:22, 1:20, 1:19, 1:16, 1:21, 1:19.  During some of the recoveries we had fun catching snowflakes on our tongues :)  On the 200s I hit 37 and 36.  It wasn't until we were running our cooldown that we realized how cold and drenched we were.  We finished to 8 total.  

Today was our Halloween run!!!!!!! My favorite team run ever!!! :) After all of us cross country girls had our costumes on, we went up to the track to cheer on our sprinters in their anual Halloween 4x400 relay :)  Fun day full of traditions :)  For our run we started on Foothill so that a lot of people would see our costumes :) We ran on Foothill until Laurelhurst Drive, and took that to 2100s, then down to 1500e, and back towards campus.  We finished by the football center so we could stop at the snackbar and then walk back up to the lockerroom.