Angie Nickerson

Jaden, Bill, Sarah, and I met at East.  We ran to Liberty Park and did laps there.  The pace was slow, but it felt a bit exhausting because of the snow.  It was slushy and cold, but I was glad to have a group to run with.  It makes me excited for things that are to come this winter and spring.  I am really looking forward to getting a good base in the next few weeks.

Today's run wasn't too bad. Jaden and I met up with Bill and we left from East.  We ran up to 15th then south to Sugarhouse, and did 6 miles there.  Jaden turned around after 3 miles.  The roads weren't icy, so staying at a decent pace was much easier.  I think our final average was just under 7:30.  The jump to 10 miles this week has been kind of tough.  My legs feel tired (especially my right hip and calf), even though the intensity has been low.  I am hoping that it starts feeling easier soon.  I did core and arms...hopefully these little things make a difference.

Today's run was good.  I really have nothing to complain about.  Once again, we met around 3:00 at East, and left from there.  I could try to explain the run, but I am terrible at directions.  It would just be a waste of my time.  It kind of reminded me of a run that we do in Cedar called Main Street Loop.  The first few miles are up hill.  Then, you get a nice gradual downhill for a good part of the run.  You finish with a mile or two of gradual up-hill.  That's one of my favorite runs in Cedar, so that's probably why I liked this one so much.  I didn't bring my Garmin, but I felt like we held a good pace.  I am sure we were within the 50% avg.  My body feels like it's adjusting well to higher miles.  Hopefully I feel the same after some tempo tomorrow.  I did my arms and core; now I just need to work on getting to bed earlier!

Today's workout felt pretty good.  We ran from East down to Liberty and did some tempo.  We di 3x2 miles with 800 m active recovery.  I went out a bit too fast on the first one, but I was able to hold a pretty solid pace throughout the workout; although, it was not consistent.  Also, I was feeling exhausted by the second mile of the third rep.  Since finishing the run, I have felt kind of sick to my stomach, so that sucks.  I didn't do core or arms today.  Splits ended up:

1.     12:12   (6:09; 6:03)

2.     12:36   (6:19; 6:16)

3.     12:20   (6:14; 6:05)

Woot Woot!  This is my 5th day of blogging in a row.  I am on a role!  Anyways, today, I was really just proud of myself for getting out and running.  I still have been feeling sick, so it would have been a very easy day to skip.  Thankfully, I didn't.  The thing I have learned is that I never regret running.  After I am done, I am always glad I did it...even if I didn't originally want to go.  We met at East at 3, and ran up to Wastach and then back to East via Foothill (I think?).  The pace was something like 7:50.  I wanted to pick it up, but Bill reminded me that recovery days are important.  I need to remind myself that every run isn't a race.

Honestly, I had a really tough time today.  It was one of the hardest runs I have done in awhile.  Bill, Nat, and I met to do "Barn Run" up in Park City.  The whole trail was covered in snow, and I just had a really rough time.  Every step hurt and the run felt like it lasted an eternity.  I think part of the problem might have been the shock of the unexpected snow accompanied by my attitude.  The one good thing about today, and this break in general, is that I have a great group of people to run with.  I know that most of my teammates aren't so fortunate, so I shouldn't take it for granted.

Met this morning at the Einsteins on 15th S and 15th E.  We ran to the cemetary and did 10x60 seconds pickups with 60 seconds rest.  I covered just under 3 miles during the pickups.  We ran back and ate some bagels.  It was great!

Met at the Walmart by Parleys.  Did an easy, snowy, slushy and wet run through the area. Finished with a lap at Sugarhouse and back up to Walmart.

Today, Bill, Natalie, Tressa, and I ran from the Parleys Bridges to Bill's house.  We held about a 7:40 pace.  I felt really good, and I enjoyed the run.  That is probably one of my favorite runs I have done since I have been home.  The only downside was that the weather was a bit funky.  I was freezing cold the first few miles, but, by the end, I felt like I was melting.  I am looking forward to tempo tomorrow.  However, I just got home from playing some intense dodgeball...I am hoping I am not sore in the morning!

Met at Liberty to do tempo.  We did 3x2 miles.  I went 12:15, 12:15, 12:08.  We did about a half mile of active recovery after each one.  Natalie brought a few girls from BYU and one from Weber.  I really enjoyed having a pack to run with.  They were all really nice, and it made for a good workout.  I didn't feel especially good, but I was able to stay mentally tough and work through the aches and pains.

Today was a really rough day.  I didn't have a good workout this morning, and I have been pretty down on myself ever since. 

We met at the Olympic Oval this morming.  The track was packed with runners from all over.  The workout was 4xone mile (not to be confused with 4x1600).  Anyways, we did about 3 miles of warmup--2 jogging and one of speed changes.  Based off of the warmup, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel.  Bill wanted us to hit 5:40.  We got about 800 recovery.  With Nat and a few of her teammates from BYU there, 5:40 seemed reachable.  To boost myself up, I thought back to track when I did mile repeats in the fall at Mesquite and closed with a 5:28 mile. 

From the start of the first mile, I didn't feel strong.  I was struggling to stay with the group.  I felt kind of light headed, and my legs wouldn't go.  Also, I really hate falling off of the pace, especially when I know what I am capable. 

Anyways, the workout just really made me question myself.  I don't know if  I will be in good enough shape coming back to SUU.  I feel like I have been putting in thework, but, after today, I am not sure if I am ready.  I want to be getting better, but feeling so slow and miserable makes it hard to feel motivated. Is the pain and frustration worth it when you're not seeing results? 

I don't know.  Today has been tough.  I guess I just need to get it out of my mind and keep moving forward, but it isn't easy for me.  Hopefully tomorrow feels better.  I just want to start feeling good and seeing results.  I think a big part of that comes with attitude.

I didn't make it to run with the group today.  It snowed last night, and my dad didn't want me on the roads in the morning.  It kind of sucked at the time, but I trust his judgement.  Later in the day, Jaden and I went to the Olympic Oval.  It wasn't snowing particularly bad, but we wanted to stay out of the cold.  My watch was dead, so I didn't get a total distance, but we were there for roughly an hour, maybe a bit more. The track was a lot less busy than yesterday, but the skating rink was packed.  Felt good to shake my legs out.  I am feeling a bit better mentally today, but I am still struggling with the feeling that no matter what I do I am not good enough.  I always feel like I am disappointing someone.  Hopefully I get a bit more of my confidence back before I head back to school next week

I am finally starting to feel a bit better!

am: 4 miles on the Jordan River Parkway with Jaden.  We were going at a decent pace, and my legs felt good.  The weather was nice too.  We brought Koa just tospice things up a lottle.  She did surprisingly well on her leash.

pm:  6 miles around the Sugarhouse area with Bill, Nat, Tressa, Diwas and Nate (I think).  We started pretty slow, but picked up the pace by the end of the run.  Legs felt good...stomach, not so much.  Indian food might not have been the best idea.  Anyways, I am getting to bed early.  Hoping to feel good for speed tomorrow.

We met at the Oval to do some speed.  The BYU girls were there again.  We did 8 laps warmup, 4 laps speed changes and then put on our flats.  We started with one mile.  It was supposed to be 10 seconds faster than the average pace of the repeats we did the other day.  I was aiming for 5:43/44, but ran a 5:45.  We did 3 laps of recovery and then an 800.  Unlike the mile, I was able to stay with the BYU girls, which was good.  I was faster than I was supposed to be.  I ran 2:43, but I think I was supposed to run closer to 2:50.  That makes me think I should have pushed the mile harder.  Next, we did 9x300.  It was broken into sets of 3.  We only had about one minute rest between each one, but after the set we got a lap recovery.  We were aiming for 5 minute pace which I believe is about a :58 high, but we were closer to :56 on all of them.  It felt weird to run so fast.  It was definitely a shock to the system.  By breathing felt ok, but my legs were exhausted by the end!  It makes me excited to get on the track.  We finished to 11 miles.