Blake Bennions running

We warmed up with the sprinters and then did the best buy loop. It was an easy day and I had sweatpants so I didn't feel the cold at all. I was using the correct form today so my calfs hurt, my thighs were actually just a bit sore this morning which is awesome! Tomorrow is an easy premeet day and then I get to race the 3200m, 1600m, and I think the sprint medley 800m leg in the meet!

Easy top of the best buy loop with Ashton. Then we did some striders. I felt good today, I played some basketball at lunch too which was fun. I think basketball is a good premeet activity if you don't play too hard. My dog is so drugged up lol, she has a cone thing for a collar or whatever around her head. She had to get this growth taken off her eye and a tooth taken out, she's pretty out of it! It reminded me of Coach Murphy's cone of shame for latework hahaha, which I will have to use tomorrow or friday. Tomorrow is going to be really fun, I don't really get anxious for the 3200m because its more of a relaxed start, hopefully that will stay true for tomorrow.

I warmed up with Kramer, Davis, and Rory, about 2 miles. I was feeling a little sore in the calves but good overall. Coach Murphy told me to run even splits, and to start out with a 75-77. I was kind of worried that I would get stuck in the back but I followed his instructions. I was in last place after the first 300m but  I just stayed on pace and passed people as they fell of the main pack, I passed 3 or 4 people every lap from 2-6 so that was good. At the mile i was about middle of the pack and I had a run a 5:05. Laps 5 and 6 felt loads better than they did at Pineview, I passed a lot of people! With 2 laps to go I started going a little faster, I remembered from the last meet that its harder to kick really fast in the 3200m than shorter races, I didn't really move in position for the last 2 laps, I might have passed a guy or two but my target from lone peak stayed ahead of me. I ran 5:05 for the 2nd mile, so I ran it just like I was supposed to and I ran a really good time! After the race my calves felt like they were going to cramp up and they felt that way for the rest of the day, they are still hurting! I am hoping to break 10:00 next time I run the 3200m in a few weeks! I cooled down with davis about 2 miles in the neighborhoods and surounding fields. Good race, I am proud of how I raced and I am really grateful for such an awesome Coach!

I was really sore all day, I was having trouble walking. I was trying to stretch my calves all day so that I could race well. I stretched them and rolled them a lot right before the 1600m and they were feeling a little better. Coach Muphy told me to do 2:17 or 2:18 for the first 800m and then do whatever I could for the last 2 laps. I was ok with the 4:44 that I pulled off, I was so sore. I was also a little slow on the first lap and probably 2nd lap too. Its harder to pass people in the mile than the 3200m but I still moved my way up into the pack throughout the race, I like these races where I sit in the back and then start passing people, I want to race for some points at coaches invite next week. In track I always try to beat the time I am seeded at and I was successful in doing that in both races at this meet, that was good!  At the Coaches Invite I have 2 goals 1. run a 4:35 or faster in the 1600m 2. Place. I need to get back into the mile at Coaches invite, I know I can run a 4:35 or maybe a bit faster and I am excited to do it! I also ran the 800m in the sprint medley relay. I kept us in 2nd, Bingham's Andrew Brewer put quite a bit of space on me and I put a couple meters on the rest of the pack. I think our relay scored 1 point, we were in the slower heat. I don't think I ran an amazing time but I did ok for that point in the meet, I was tired, sore, and I threw up right before the race. I actually felt fine, I was just stretching and it came up. It was probably that hamburger haha, I almost never eat cow so my body probably wasn't used to it, I ate a lot of not so healthy food over the meet but I had to eat and "In a furnace hot enough, anything will burn". I had a good time at this meet, although it was long and I am very tired. I need to get some rest before tomorrows run in the gully. When my calves recover, I am going to be fast!

10.75 easy miles in the gully, we ran the the smaller 1.6 mile loop twice before doing the gully longer run. My calves were still sore but they got better as the run went on, they still hurt but they feel a lot better. I've been feeling good and I am excited to run at the Coaches Invite a week from today. After the Coaches Invite I want to break 10:00 at the Woods Cross Invitational. After that the big meets start coming around, Davis, BYU, and then region! This is going to be a good season! I just found out my Sprint medley scored 4 points and I would have had to run 8 or 9 seconds faster to get us higher so I am happy about that. I found out today that BYU Hawaii is ending its athletics programs as a whole.

Great way to start off the week with a strong track workout performance. We ran 4x400s on a grass course with 4 90 degree turns. I hit the splits for this workout well, all 66. If I can hit 4 of those in a race, I will achieve my goal this year of 4:24. At the Coaches invitational I am going to aim for a low 4:30s time. I was feeling good today after the first 2 400s. I ran my best, its hard to do because theres nowhere to really pass people because there are those 90 degree turns so often, but I ran hard. After the first two I noticed some patterns with how people were running and made a strategy of how to run the workout better, I pretty much just took the first straight a little easier and that gave me enough energy to stick with Brayden and Alec until the last straight away and they kept easing up before the 3rd cone and that gave me enough energy to give a good kick at the end. This workout does a great job of simulating a race, it was hard to find a good time to make moves! I ran behind alec and Brayden for the first two, on the 3rd I ran 2nd behind Brayden and on the last one I kicked ahead of Brayden on the last straight. Brayden just got back from a break though, I was impressed with how well he still managed to run after not being able to run much the past 9 days due to injury and the band trip. I hope Kramer gets better from whatever is hurting him, he needs to get back in there and break some school records! 2 mile cooldown, I was tired but I enjoyed it towards the end. Nice workout, I ran hard. Ready for some mileage tomorrow.

We warmed up, ran to the gully and did the gully long run, and then ran back. It was hot! Tomorrow is a trimeet, I don't know what I am racing. Why not the 1600m and the 400m. I don't know if I am running in the 4x800m this weekend, if i am, hopefully I will run the 3200m too because I would be a lot more recovered for the 3200m than the 1600m, but I really don't know. Maybe I will take tomorrow as a workout, not sure, I will ask Coach Murphy about it. I am tired, my body isn't used to warm weather, but I am really happy that it is finally here!

I had a lot of fun at the trimeet today! I ran a 55.11 for the 400m so that was good. I won the 800m, I didn't try that hard on the last lap, I just strided in. Its fun to win races, I enjoy it almost too much. A lot of our new guys did awesome at this meet! We had a lot of performances under 5:30! We swept the distance events, 1,2,3! I had a lot of fun just hanging out at the meet and on the bus. It was a good workout today, I am ready for the Coaches invite, low 4:30s!

We warmed up and did about 7 miles. I felt good, the pace was a little too easy but thats ok. We ran to nam and ran around that area for a while before doing the cookie factory loop, I haven't done that in a year. We also did about a mile and a half on the track. People started talking about winning the XC state championship today and I said we would have to be willing to do around 70 miles a week if we were seriously thinking about competing with American Fork. I got mixed responses from that input. Personally I want to push my body to its limits, and then push those limits these next 14 months. I don't want to have any doubt that I did all I could to get on a Division 1 team, after BYU-H shut down its athletic program, its either Division 1 or Division 3. I want to do extremely difficult speed workouts and a lot of mileage. I will ask Coach Murphy if I can do more than the rest of the team if the other guys on varsity don't want to do 70 miles a week. I have some big goals and I am willing to work as hard as I can for them. I am going to do my best to convince 5 or 6 other guys to be willing to work as hard as they can, I would love for our team to win region and get a top 3 finish at the state meet in xc but we need the commitment. I honestly love track more than any other sport, and I really want to make it to the state meet this season. That is my goal.

We warmed up with the sprinters and then we did the lower loop and ran around alta for a while. Then we did 6 100 meter build up sprints. Then we worked on handoffs for a little. I played basketball afterwards. I felt good and its felt easy until the sprints. Tomorrow I am aiming for 4:33 in the 1600m and 9:55 in the 3200m.

I had some drymouth but was feeling ok before the race today. I started off a little slower than I meant to and ended up having to wait in the front pack. I made my move after 300m and then just went wire to wire to win the 2nd heat. I kind of wish I had been in the first heat because I would have had competition. I didn't really hurt much until I kicked, I didn't really have anyone to race with so I just kept out ahead of the rest and mantained my lead by a good couple of seconds. When I run the 1600m at Davis I think I will go low 4:30s, maybe even sub 4:30, its a fast meet!  I am happy that I made a new PR but I am going to take it down another 10 or 11 seconds before region. The 3200m started out ok, I worked my way up to behind Davis, I was passing but he cut me off and I had to slow down. It was lap 6, my arms were hurting, and I needed to use the bathroom, and that just pushed me into mental distress. Next week I am only doing the 3200m, time to run under 10:00.

8 miles around the city, I stopped in the rec center to do 2.15 just to round it out. I felt really good on the run. I think I will do another 4 later. It feels good to be on spring break. I will also do some core. I feel like I will definitely run under 10:00 on friday.

Later- I did 3 miles on the tread mill when I went to spot my brother at the gym, I also did dips and an abb workout. I took the 3 miles at 7:30-6:40 pace, until the last half mile or so I slowed down to 8:00 pace.

I ran up to Brighton High School and did some laps on the track plus some more around the school grounds while waiting for my brother. I ran 8x400m on the track. TOUGH workout, I really put all of my energy into it. I ran 67, 67, 65, 68, 67, 68, 69, 67. I may have hit a couple seconds faster on a few of them. My brother timed me. I was barely able to cool down, I was so tired and out of energy I was about to pass out! I did a lap on the track and then ran back home. I also ran between each rep. I took 2 minutes between each 400m, a little longer between the first 4 and the second 4. Good workout, very hard work. I will do another 2 or 3 miles tonight.

Later- I went on an easy bike ride with my dad and then I did another 2 miles including running to the library. It was a good day of trianing, I took the 2 miles easy as well, they felt good.

Today I did 2 minutes hard, 3 minutes easy for 60 minutes. Actually 63 or so. I did the hard minutes at about 6:00 pace, maybe a little faster. I stopped at the cottonwood heights rec center so I could see my pace and stuff. At the rec center I did the hard mintes at 6:00 and the easy at 8:00, I think 7:;30 for the first one maybe. It was a tough workout, I also did one of the 2 minutes down a steep downhill, and another up a steep uphill. It was a good, I felt really good. This is a very important trianing week, maybe the most important, 2-3 weeks out before region, and the next two weeks both have 2 day meets. I am the only Alta athlete registered for the Woods Cross Invitational, the fastest time is seeded at 9:57 and there are 2 other guys close to my level that have run 10:10 and 10:06. My goal is to win the event, hopefully they give out medals for this invite.

I woke up too late today and missed practice, the alarm didn't go off, turns out it was set for PM... I went for a 4 mile run and threw in a couple of striders. I felt great, pretty crazy day, spring break went by way to fast...

Today I had heartburn from the time I woke up to about an hour before the race, I also used the bathroom at least 6 times before the race. I wasn't feeling so good, I did ok considering everything. I warmed up about 2 miles. I did a lot of stretching and striders, and I was feeling ok before the race, I could have used a little more energy. I started out and I let myself fall a little, I came across the 200 at about 34, maybe even 33, that was bad because I thought I had given myself plenty of space from the lead. I hit the 400m a little better at 72. I started moving up after the first lap, picking a few guys off each lap. This slowed signicantly after lap 4 or so. I started only passing 1 or 2 guys a lap. I needed to go to the bathroom and it was making it hard for my to pick up the pace, I knew I was off pace with 2 laps to go. Laps 6 and 7 killed me, and lap 5 wasn't good either. Lap 5 was 79, lap 6 was terrible at 81. I don't know what lap 7 was, but it was pretty slow. My last lap was pretty good, I really gave it a good amount of gas and passed 4-6 guys. Maybe for me in cross country races, the key is to go out easy. There were a few Davis guys who were really giving me a hard time passing, they would accelerate while I was passing them and try to close gaps in lane 1 when I was trying to move in, and they would move out to lane 2 when I was trying to pass on the outside, this happened 3 or 4 times. The first time I was a little angry. It would be a lot easier to deal with in xc. I took 4th or 5th I think, but maybe worse. I was feeling good this week up until today, so it was unfortunate. Overall I had a pretty good time at this meet, and I got to see Kyle, Renee, and Brandon so that was fun. Next week I kind of want to do the 1600m but I also want to break 10:00 for the 3200m, I guess I will see what Coach Murphy thinks. I think I will do a couple more miles tonight.

Nice easy 10 mile run around the city and neighborhood. I felt good, my achilles hurt for a little bit. I am starting to lose hope in making it to state this year, with Kramer, Andrew, Brayden, and the walker twins, any event will be tough to get a top 4 spot. Especially if you add in Christian Allen. There are 6 guys in my region who have run 4:30 or better, and 5 guys who have run under 9:45. I think I could run close to 4:30 right now, low 4:30s, but it would still be tight. I will do my best and hope I make it. I am excited for the Davis Invitational, it is going to be a lot of fun! And it is a very fast meet, I think whatever I run, I am going to make a big personal record.

Short sprint workout today that left me pretty sore. We did 2x80, 2x100, and 2x150. I learned that I am a huge amount better at sprints when I have a jogging start. I did the first two just starting of into a sprint, I was terrible and ran slow. Then I started running into them after the first 100 meter rep and I started running a huge amount faster! It was weird, like I couldn't even keep with the other guys before when I was just starting off and then I was running faster then them when I ran into the sprint. I also learned that its a lot easier and helps you go faster to just extend and keep at you top speed than just go all out. I learned a lot about sprinting today, I have never done a workout anything like it! My achilles was hurting during the workout but I think it will be ok. I will definitely do a few more miles today.

We warmed up and did a nice easy recovery run, 2 miles into the run we did a mile hard, it was pretty hard but I don't know what pace it was. We did another mile after that and then 4 striders. It was a nice day, really windy though. I was sore, at first just my hamstrings were sore but later most of my legs started feeling sore. I am sure I will be recovered for tomorrow after a nice easy day though. I made the Davis invitational for the 1600m and the 3200m so I will be looking to make some huge PRs there. I am going to win both of my races on saturday.

We warmed up with the sprinters and then did the lower loop for warm up. This workout was tough! I was sore which contributed to that. Today I was as sore as yesterday, my thighs were even more sore! But I am really happy about being sore, this is the time to have soreness! And I will be recovered for the Davis invitational, where I hope to run some really good races. We did 4 600s at goal mile pace, I went out in the first one at 1:42, so 4:32 pace, I would be happy with that time. I ran the next one in 1:41, the third one in 1:43, and the last one was 1:39 or 1:40. So I did this workout at an average of 4:30 pace, which I would be very happy to run on saturday. The last one was probably harder than I should have gone, but I love the challenge! Hopefully a nice easy long run tomorrow and a nice premeet on friday and then I will be ready to go on saturday! This has been a great week of training.

We did an easy 30 minutes and then 4 striders after we warmed up a mile with the rest of the team. I felt good today, a little sore but I am already starting to recover. Tomorrow is premeet and then we have the Invitational! This is going to be a really fun meet!

We warmed up with the sprinters, and then we did 4 miles and 4x80m hard. I am kind of tired, hopefully the storm will clear for tomorrow. I am going for the win.

I was a little worried about the race with all the bad weather and everything. I went out kind of slow, I actually don't know the pace, but I was boxed in for the first lap. I came through the 2nd lap at about 2:18. I was pretty far from the lead, so I just concentrated on running a good 3rd lap. I passed some guys but didn't have many thoughts about winning it. I was 40 meters away from the lead with a lap to go, my legs had fealt tired since the 2nd lap but I realized that I still had plent left to give a big kick. I started kicking with 300m left, I passed the first group or 4 or 5 guys in front of me and started chasing the next group, I really had to give it everything, I caught up to them and got in front and held it for the win and a new personal best. It was possibly the best last lap of my life so far, one of the best races, if not the best. I wasn't really feeling good but I had the ability to do it and I did it. Thanks to Coach Murphy's training that has gotten me to this point, and has taught me to race hard even when I am feeling bad! I felt really good after the 1600m, so I went inside and cooled down and just waited for the 3200m. I kind of had high expectations for just a few hours after the 1600m. I went to slow the first lap of the 3200m, the first 200m was good at 37, but the 400m was a 77 which was too slow. The 2nd lap was also 77, I kept slowly passing people every lap until the 6th or 7th when I gave in. I didn't completely fall off, and it wouldnt have really mattered. I stayed on long enough to give a kick and finished right with Davis, we were shoulder and shoulder at the finish but I let him go ahead in line, and also this other kid cut me in line but I didn't really care, I am not going to look at my 3200m time, I don't want to know, just move on. I know if I concentrate on the 3200m on a sunny day, I can run under 10:00. BYU invite is next, looks like just the 1600m right now. I want to run 4:32 or 4:33, maybe even faster. With good conditions, I will run a lot faster. I love the sun. Good 1600m today!

Amazing run, felt really good. We went to the gully and ran the gully longer run.

Good workout today! We did 10x400 in between 1600 and 3200m pace. I decided to go for 70 or 71. I ran all of them in 67-69, they were tough but I felt good. I really hop I can run in the low 4:30 range for the 1600m on saturday and under 10:00 for the 3200m on friday. Big weekend, and then it all comes down to next week. Off to a speghetti dinner for mutual!

Easy day today, we warmed up and did 20 mins. I felt good, I am ready for the meet! I want to win my heat and make a big PR.