You've got to want it to win it

First day of school!  Which meant first day of practice!  We ran to Sunnyside with a longer addition up through housing and then by the post office.  Then we went up and above the zoo onto Wasatch.  As usual everyone turned except for Hilary and me.  We continued on Wasatch to Thunderbird and then cut down to Foothill and ran to the flagpole.  We stopped to stretch for a minute and then ran back on Wasatch to 1300e.  Then we ran down to 1900e, to Sunnyside, to Guardsman and then back up to HPER to finish at 10 for the day.  

Today we had a workout at the oval. A few of us felt like warming up inside, so we did. I was with Megan for a few laps, I did a total of 7. Then the others came in and we did our usual drills and strides warmup. During the first stride my left quad tightened up and hurt really bad! So the rest of the warmup was painful and I wasn't even sure I could handle the workout.  I stretched a little bit and then just went by feel.  I was with the 800/milers group.  The workout was four 200s, two 400s, a 600 (I was probably going to do two), two 400s, and four 200s.  Equal recovery jog for each.  I stuck with Andrea for the first part of the workout, we trailed slightly behind Amanda and based our pace off of her.  For the 200s we hit 35, 35, 35, 34.  On the 400s I hit 73, 74.  For the start of each set my quad hurt really bad, but it would stop and then just burn the rest of the rep.  So I just kept going.  By the 600 I was pretty sure I would just do one, and then just finish the workout.  I hit 1:54 for the 6.  The next 400s I hit 73, 74.  Then Kep told me just to do two 200s so I hit 35 and 35.  Then I cooled down 7 laps to finish at 8.5 for the day.  Foam rolled (extremely painful!!!) and iced when we got back to campus.

Today I went running with Andrea since we were the only ones there at practice time... As we were just leaving the parking lot we saw a group coming back that had gone earlier.  We ran to Foothill and then down Sunnyside to Guardsman.  Then we went south on 15th.  Andrea was with me until 1700s and then she decided to go back.  I continued on to Sugarhouse and did 2 laps on the road and then ran back along 1700e and 1900e, then along Guardsman when I reached Sunnyside.  As I ran in through the business loop I finished at 10.  My quad didn't hurt during the run, it is definitely still sore though.  I stretched for a while afterwards and then got a massage.  Tim says doing speed at the track and always turning left could be why it is so tight, I've got to figure out a way around that...  It is hard to be able to go the opposite way at places like the oval where there are other people working out, or even at practice when teammates are trying to go the other way...  I wish track meets could alternate between running right and left so all of us wouldn't mess up our hips and get other injuries :P

Today I went with the 800/1500/3000 group out to the oval. It was weird being there without the other distance girls but it was cool anyway. I warmed up on the track, 7 laps in the opposite direction to try and help my quads/hips out a bit. During the strides and drills it didn't hurt, just a little sore and definitely tight when I stretched it. The first part of the workout was four 300s, but I just jumped in on the last 2 so I could have extra time to stretch. I was only able to follow Andrea and try not to let the gap grow, but my times were 52 and 52 so not bad! Then we had a 1000, Andrea and I were supposed to hit around 81-82s. I ended up starting out with Amanda, first lap 1:20 but then I'm not sure what happened because at the 800 I was at 2:50 and finished in 3:32. Still that wasn't bad. Then we had a threshold mile, Andrea and I were going to try and hit 87s, and Amanda was starting after us to hope to be able to work up to us. The first lap was 1:24, then we were 2:57 at 800, 4:25 and then I finished in 5:50. I was hoping maybe 5:40-45 but for as relaxed effort as this was the time is great! Next I did another two 300s, both in 57. Then I did five 200s in 35, 35, 35, 34, 36. The reocvery for most the workout was backwards 200 or 300 meters. For cooldown I did 7 laps in the opposite direction to get to 8.5 for the day. I made sure to stretch out my quads really well afterwards!

The foot of snow and slow snow removal pushed me to running on the treadmill while Andrea cross trained.  I made it to 4 miles before I couldn't stand the heat in the weight room anymore so I went and put on some long sleeves and my water proof hat, grabbed my Garmin and went outside.  I decided I'd just run on Foothill since it would probably be clear on the sidewalk.  False, as soon as I crossed over to Foothill the sidewalk had only partially been plowed and then there was a foot of snow.  I ran back to HPER and ran more on the treadmill until I hit 7 total.  My miles tomorrow will suffer as well, but I think I can still make it to 55 this week.

And hello more snow.  I took the bus home so I could use the treadmill there and do a load of laundry while I was over.  My sister came downstairs and talked to me, which made the first few miles go by pretty quick, but then she had plans with friends.  Running a lot in the basement is a lot easier than at school in the hot weight room :P  The basement stays cool on it's own, and there is a door to the outside that can be opened just a crack if I need.  When I hit 10 miles I realized the treadmill wasn't counting...  unless it was going by .10s, but I didn't think of that until I had already reset it so I could run the last mile.  I guess you could say I outran the treadmill this morning.