Blake Bennions running

6.4 easy miles with the team. I felt pretty good, we did the upper half of the best buy loop, then a mile on the track, and then the lower loop. I'm going to Ender's game tonight!

Am: We ran at liberty park today, it was ok, I like liberty park but I didn't run very well. I saw my team as a I was driving in to park and they were well over half a mile ahead of me so I ran at a hard pace for the first lap trying ot catch them. I caught up after about a lap and then we did 3 laps easy before 2 more tempo laps. The tempo laps were very bad for me, my lungs are getting worse if anything, and I was really tired and I just ran bad. My foot started hurting pretty bad at some point in the run and it kept hurting until I got home, it feels ok now. But my lungs are a huge problem, theyre making me feel like crap when I am and when I am not running, I've been wheezing and when I take a deep breath my lungs react really weird, make a weird noise and sometimes do this weird shaky thing. I've been taking my asthma medicine zrtec or cingular, I'm not sure. But I've taken that every day since I've been running this season pretty much, and I've taken albutoral a few times this week, I really want to avoid the inhaled steroids because they mess with my throat a lot. All I can do is keep running and hopefully it will get better before Nike SouthWest. I think I will do another 2.6 today so that I can get 60 miles for the week, that would be a good acomplishment.

Pm: I got home from work and did another 2.6, i did about a mile of it with my brother because we were checking to see if the tennis courts were open. My lungs feel bad, which makes me feel bad. I don't feel like I'm in good shape right now, mostly that's because it's been a long hard week and my lungs are having trouble. But I got over 60 miles this week!!! I'm really happy about this, I'm excited to think that next year I might be able to hit 75 some weeks, maybe 80. I think at the end of next cross country season I might try to do a 100 mile week. But thats far away, lots of things I want to do before then.

Am- 6.5 easy. It felt better than the morning runs last week but I was really tired for the first few hours of school, probably because I was having trouble sleeping last night. But I figured out a major stress producer I've had over the past couple of months, I was really worried about finding a academically good, cheap college at which I could still run distance. So I made a berecruited profile and I also realized once again that BYU hawaii is still a great option for me, I've been thinking about BYU hawaii as an option for a while but I sort of started thinking probably not because they only have a cross country program, no track. So no 800/1600 for me... but overall I like it a lot! And even though I wouldn't get to run track, maybe I could walk on to the soccer team there for spring competition and have fun with that, obviously I would still run a lot during soccer if played that during the spring. BYUH is definitely an option I will consider when I am deciding what college I want to go to next year.

Pm- We warmed up 8 laps on the track and then started a rigorous workout of 10 400s with 50 meter walk and 50 meter jog in between each 400 and a lap in between the first 5 and second 5. I did good today! My splits were 74, 74, 69, 71, 71 for the first one, second was perfect at 68, 68, 66, 73, 62. Well the 73 was a bit slow but I'm happy with this. I averaged about 69.5 which is good considering how little rest we got in between them, during track I would average about  68 on 8 400s with 3 minutes inbetween each and 5-7 minutes between the first 4 and second 4. So not much slower in a much more difficult workout, I thought today was going to be really hard but most of those 400s were easy, it was a good type of suprising.

Today was a good workout although we didn't quite hit our goal, we could have though. We were supposed to do 9 miles in an hour and we were pretty close, it were easy until the last time we were on the track when I was running in lane 8 and some were running in lane 4 so I kept on having to slow down and speed up because of the turns, but they were decently fast as well as easy. It took us just over an hour to run these 9 miles, we were averaging upper 6 minute range minutes per mile. It felt good, it's nice to run behind people on windy days like today but often times if I'm in the front and I let one person pass me, I'm in the very back within a minute. It was an good workout, I felt great and didn't really feel any problems. My lungs are getting stronger. I slept for more than 8 hours, maybe 9 last night which is very good and I've really been feeling the difference in energy today, I've just felt better overall. I wasn't looking forward to prefootlocker until today, after last years race and this years grass relays I've had a growing distaste for the course. But I think I just need to correct my mistakes from those races and move on. My goal for this race will be to break 17 minutes, by a lot. If I am not mistaken, this race is exactly 2 weeks before Nike SouthWest, I want to go to nationals really bad. Making Nationals would be the most amazing thing I've ever done in athletics, I know it would be one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Its a great opportunity that most runners never have, and my team has a shot at it this year. I know we've been working harder than those other schools, we can beat them.

Am- easy 6 miles, they fealt GREAT! I really enjoyed this mornings run, the only hard part of morning runs are starting them. We ran around the track, school, and around storm mountain park. I really enjoyed this mornings run, distance runs take a while to develop a love for, but I've been starting to really like them this season. It just felt great, and whats even better is that I wasn't tired during the day.

Pm- 2 miles warm up and then 4x800 with 2 and a half minutes rest in between each, I ran about 400-500 meters in between these combined. My first 3 800s were ok at 2:26, 2:27, and 2:28 but the last one I had a terrible mentality. I was thinking of the end way too much, I was thinking too much in gereral and I ran a 2:31, it was catostrophic but I was dissapointed in my effort at the beginning of the second lap. The 4th one could have been my fastest so I was a little dissapointed. But theres no reason to dwell on that, I can't change a workout thats already been done. I just need to move forward and remember to leave nothing back on the last lap, I went backwards from monday to wednesday. Monday on my final 400 I gave it all I had, still I wasn't too bad. I averaged 2:28 which is ok considering the tough 3 day stretch we've had, easy days tomorrow and friday!

We only ran in the morning today, we did 4.5 easy miles and then 8 striders and an extra lap. The striders fealt really good today, I fealt a little tired during the 4.5 miles but that's because I got home from work after 9 last night and didn't get to bed until closer to 10 and yesterday was just a really busy day. Overall a good day, I was kind of tired throughout the day but it was still good.

We did a 30 minute easy run and then 2 striders. It fealt easy.

I ran longer than a 5k for this, probably because many spectators were standing on the course but my splits went like 5:23 average for first lap, 5:35ish for the 2nd lap and while I was running o the track after I finished the second lap,someone was saying 11:13 or something which isn't what 5:23 and 5:35 add up too... and I ran a 5:47 pace for the last mile which is not good but that adds up to 16:45 for 3 miles. I forgot stop Coach Murphy's garmin after the race so I'm not sure what the time was but I assume that it was 17:40s because I was on the track at 17:07. After the race we did a 3 mile cooldown and then a 400 at max effort and a cooldown 400 after that, I hit :58 seconds for the max effort 400m which is pretty good. Once I start reaping the benefits of the past 2 weeks, I think I will be able to run really fast in Arizona. I want to go to Oregon for Nike Nationals really bad!!! I'm going to do everything I can to help us get there!!!

Looks like I finished bad, and I did reallly bad, slower than last year...

Am- good morning run, it felt nice to get out running again after my weekly day off. We mostly ran around the track with a couple laps around the school. I can't remember a lot about it, it seems like it happened a while ago.

Pm-We did a reallly tough workout, the goal for me was 5x1 mile in 5:15 with 3 mins of rest in between each. I did not get this. I warmed up 5 laps and then we started the first one, it was pretty good at 5:13, the 2nd one I was tired and I kept telling myself to just worry about the current mile but part of me was holding back for the next 3, I hit the 2nd mile in 5:28. I was tired going into the 3rd one, I was feeling like giving up for a little on the first lap and I barely held it together for the next 3 to get a 5:47. That is a bad time. I was dissapointed in myself when my Coach told me to not run the 4th one, although I knew it would have been pointless. A 6 minute mile repeat would probably be counter productive.  I ran 4 laps with Conner who also didn't run the 4th mile and then I came back and I asked Coach Murphy if I could run with the remaining 4 guys for the last mile but he said no and we ended up running a max effort 400m, I ran a :59 second 400 which is pretty good. It always feels better for the rest of the day when I end on a high note. We did a 5 lap cooldown. Coach Muphy said if we couldn't hit these times, or close to them, we wouldn't have a shot at nationals. I know Coach Murphy knows what he's talking about, but we arn't going to give up until the race is over! I am going to keep working harder this week, every day still counts, today was an important day, and it doesn't seem like a sub 16:30 on that course is likely after today. 16:30 wouldn't get us to nationals if I was our 5th guy, but I'm not losing hope. I believe in my teamates and I'm going to work my hardest so that if I do end up as our 5th guy, or it comes down to a 6th man tie breaker, I won't let us down. I really wish I had had more of a breakout season, its been tough luck since I've moved to Utah with 2/3 stress fractures and then a dud season. But if I keep working I just know that eventually, all my work will pay off. Who knows, maybe I will strike gold and have a breakout at SouthWest. Oh on the way home I passed by a trash bag in the middle of the road so I drove past to the nearest place I could pull over (which was actually pretty far away) and I ran back to move it, that added on about half a mile. Then I had to run off to work and got there just a couple minutes late but it basically on time. Busy days are the best days!

It was a recovery run in the lower gully today. It was a nice run with plenty of shade and good temperature but a lot of hills and many time I would have to increase speed to catch back up to the group when we had to go single file. Overall it was a pretty nice run, a little uncomfortable. I almost ate a rock at the beginning of the run haha. Tomorrow is another easy day and then thursday is a 5k time trial, I am going to be able to see exactly how fast I can run a 5k on thursday, take 10-20 seconds off of thursdays 5k and thats what I will probably get at SouthWest, so if I can run in the middle 16 range on the track then I will be in great shape for southwest, if I run like a 16:50 thats a problem. I think a 16:40 or a 16:30 will be a time I can be confident in going into SouthWest. In this race 10 seconds in the 16:00-16:30 means 30 points. So if I can run 16:40 on thursday I would still need to go 20 seconds faster or more at Southwest to keep us in the competition for 2nd place if I was our 5th guy or running for 6th man tie breaker. If I get in the top 100 overall then our team will be in great shape, considering how many people run indivisually in that race. I'm going to keep working my hardest, I know the rest of my team is.

Just a morning run today, I didn't get a chance to blog this run the day of the run, so I'm just blogging it the next day. It was a really nice run!

Good day overall but my time was not what it needed to be, something needs to change in the next 9 days. Everyones times were slow, it was weird. We will run faster at SouthWest, but it will need to be a lot faster to get 2nd. I just ran behind Chase until the last 400, it didn't feel like a race. It felt like a mix between a workout and a time trial just because I wasn't running against anyone, I was just running with teammates. I think I should have a lot motivation next saturday, I've been thinking of all the things to be motivated about at SouthWest and there are a lot. I am going to do great at Nike SouthWest.

Am- I came to school at 6 because I thought we had a morning run, I couldn't find anyone. So I went back to my car and slept for half an hour before doing 5.5 miles including the upper loop and the 2 striders. I think I ran a low 7 minute average, I was still sore from the 5k time trial but I felt pretty good overall.

Pm- It turned out I was the only one who did a morning run, we did about 4.5 easy including the lower loop and to this church and back. I felt good on this run for the most part, I was no longer sore and we took it easy. I need to get back on top of blogging my runs, I'm blogging this the day after for the 2nd time this week.

We ran around Draper, a new route that I have never been. We went up to the highway past draper park and just before Draper Temple and we turned left instead of right. We did this loop that included a really big hill and ended up at the roudabout next to draper park. We ran over and looked around Corner Canyon High School and then we ran back to Alta and did a lap on the track. It was a tough run but it felt really good, our pace was 7:17 and we had a few big hills. I felt pretty good on this run, we have been working really hard the past few weeks, we've earned a trip to Nike Nationals. Alta is going to be a huge competitior at Nike Southwest.

Am- The team did an easy 4 miles followed by 4 200s and a cooldown lap. I felt really good and the 200s were fun. The morning run was really good and felt nice.

Pm- We went to the gully for a run and got started but a mile and a half or so in we came across an older couple on horses, we startled the horses and one of them bucked off the lady. She was hurt, although not severely, she had the wind knocked out of her and probably a mild concussion. Her husband got off his horse to go help her out and the horses took off. We ran all over the gully looking for them, we got in some very good hard hills. We also averaged in the 6 minute range, we were going pretty fast. It felt really good despite all the stuff that was cutting up my legs. It was a really fun, and it was a really good workout. I am really excited for Nike SouthWest, we are going to do great down there. Off to work!

We did a 4x400m at max effort with 7 minutes in between each. We warmed up 2 miles and did some striders beforehand. The first 400m was good and hard and I ran a :55 second 400 which is the first time I've gotten a new personal record in the 400 since march of freshman year track. So that was awesome, I'm really happy about that. I think on a sunny day with spikes and not having to waterfall start, I could probably get a 54 or 53, I want to run a 53 in track this spring. But I will worry about that later. Right now, I have one thing on my mind, that is Nike SouthWest. I want to run so fast at this race, it means a lot to me. The 2nd 400 was a :58 second one, it was still pretty good but I was starting to feel pretty tired. The 3rd 400 wasn't as good but still ok at 60 seconds, I was still doing decently. The last 400 wasn't very good at 63 seconds but thats because I got boxed out of lane one and I didnt want to waste energy passing 3 or 4 guys in lane 3 on the turns so I ended up running a 63. It still was overall a very good workout and I kept the average at 59 which is good, my goal was to run them all under 60 which I could have done if it weren't for traffic so I am happy with this workout. After the workout we did a mile cooldown. I might do a couple miles tomorrow morning, it depends what time I go to bed tonight. If its before 9:30 I think I will get up at 5:30 or 6 and run a little before school. I am really excited to get going to Arizona.

We did the Best Buy loop with 4x2 minute race pace intervals during the run. We ran well, it was tough but good. My ankle has been hurting ever since I rolled it pretty bad on monday in the gully, I usually roll my ankle a couple of times when we run the gully and it usually doesn't hurt for more than 3 seconds but this one was pretty bad. I rolled not only to the side but forward as well, but it will be ok, especially after taking tomorrow off. I have done some good things this season: A. I did 10 loops at the campground up at Alta ski resort, which was a goal. B. I ran 5-10 50+ mile weeks. C. I ran the gully in 43 minute range. D. I ran a 60 mile week. E. I hit my personal record in the 800m during a workout at 2:08 F. I have run a double gully long run G. I ran a new personal record in the 400m just this week in a workout with a :55 second 400m. H. Although I haven't run the times I have wanted to at any of the races, I did run under 17 minutes a few times, the time I want will come this weekend. This is the most important race of the season, even if we make nationals. In this race, I can earn a lot of good things, I just need to go out there and do my best.

We previewed the course of Nike SouthWest. It was really muddy and the ditches were pretty much rivers. Coach Murphy talked to us about race strategy and what we needed to do. I was pretty excited for the race.

This is really embarrasing to me as an athlete. It was a fun trip though.

Just 3 easy miles around the neighborhood with my brother, I am going to run the Cottonwood heights thanksgiving 5k and then take 3 weeks off in preperation for track.

I ran a nice, decent workout somewhere around 7 minute pace. It felt good, I am excited for the Cottonwood heights thanksgiving 5k tomorrow. My goal is to run in the top 5, but it all depends on who shows up. It will be fun!

I didn't prepare that carefully for this race, I didn't have breakfeast and I really only walked a few miles yesterday. I got to the race 15 minutes before it started and started warming up, I felt pretty good by the time it started. I got out well, I took the lead and was just waiting to see who challenged the pace. About a half mile in, this ex college runner took off and Jared Croft of Hillcrest followed him, Dakota of East did as well. I stayed right behind the guy from East for another mile when Clayton Kearl from BYU Hawaii cought up to me, him and the Dakota picked it up and I stayed within 100 meters. Clayton and Dakota started kicking but I wasn't sure how far we had so I held back until we had roughly 400-600 meters and I started kicking really hard. I had way to much left in the tank, but I was too far away from Dakota to catch him. I should have started my kick 200-400 meters earlier, well really I should have just stayed with Clayton for longer. But I ended up getting 5th and meeting some interesting people! It was a good fun Thanksgiving 5k.