Blake Bennions running

First run since coming back from my stress fracture. I felt sort of heavy.

went on a nice 4 mile run around track and school. I felt really good and I really wanted to speed up and do some really fast and hard miles.

I felt really good today agian, although I am feeling a little sore.

Today was another nice 4 mile run, it felt really easy. I am really enjoying these nice easy workouts, but I am also really excited to do some threshold miles when the time comes. I have a really good feeling going into this season and some big goals.

Today was really hot but I guess I will have to get used to that. After the 4 mile run we did push ups, sit ups, box jumps, planks, and lunges. It was a good day.

I walked all of it besides maybe 100-200 meters that I jogged on the snow because I was pretty sure my bones wouldn't be stressed on snow because its a really light surface. I've been taking time off for a stress fracture that just doesn't seem to want to go away. It hasn't been hurting when I walk on it or run on it for weeks and didn't hurt at all on the hike but when I press the spot where the fibula stress fracture was, its still been hurting and it was getting worse when I started running at the beginning of June. I can barely feel it anymore though, I have trek on Monday-Wednesday and I will hike 3 miles Monday, 4 miles Tuesday and 3 miles Wednesday. I really hope my leg will be completely healed by the end of that so I can start training again.

I went on a 2 mile run today, I wanted to be sure my stress fracture was gone before I ran again now that the season is getting really close. I ran at the Brighton track, the first mile was to fast so I slowed down the 2nd mile, I didn't want to run too many miles my first day back, so I went home and biked 4 miles. I put the 4 miles as just 2 more because it takes me about the same amount of time to run 2 miles as it does to bike 4. My legs felt pretty good, my lungs hurt, and my heart felt great. Tomorrow I will meet my with my team to run. If Coach Murphy sees this, should I run 3-4 miles tomorrow or just do what the rest of the team is doing?

4 easy miles at the Brighton track, I had stomach cramps but the only way to make those go away is to keep running. It was a pretty nice run, I'm going to try and figure out how to tell my tennis practice squad I can't practice tomorrow because I need to do a 2 mile time trial with my team.

I was not sure at all how I would do on this, it was my 3rd day of running this season so far and I was worried I would do embarrassingly bad. Because I'm not currently in good shape I just thought I will be happy with an 11:30. 11:46 isn't far off from that, considering I am way ahead of where I was last year at the beginning of the season, and the beginning of the season last year was late July and my best time was a 17:05; I am really looking forward to getting into shape this season and really pushing my limits to achieve my goals and help out my team. We did a 2 mile warm up and a 2 mile cool down so overall 6 miles.

I went running with my team this morning at Alta ski resort, it was really tough, we stayed together for 12 minutes and then once the 12 minutes were over I picked up the pace a lot and then died after another mile or so. Its hard to say exactly what pace the miles were at because it was uphill so they were slower but at the same time it was really hard, especially after I ran out of energy and died. Really hard, but cool run that I know will help me during the season.

I woke at 6 and left to go to the sandy classic, I thought it was off redwood road in south Jordan but I couldn't find it. I was really disappointed, so I went to the brighton track and ran an easy mile to get my legs moving. I will either cross train or go back to the brighton track for some more miles later today.

Last week after I missed the race I did some cross training and core but stayed off my legs for the most part, the recent stress fractures have made me quite cautious. Also I didn't know if the team had any runs, and if so where they were on thursday-saturday.  Today I got to the gully late because of tennis practice, I started running the gully backwards from the way we usually do so I could find my team. I came to the road that the huge hill is on and saw some of the guys so I followed them, we went on a modified gully long run which made it longer. I'm not exactly sure how far I ran but I was running for a good 45 mins- and hour. I felt very low on energy and it was hard to not slow down. My lungs feel like they have opened up on the run but I think I will do 500-1000 meters of swimming at work today to open them up even more. Tomorrow should be interesting as I haven't done a speed workout for well over 2 months. I'm assuming its a speed workout because it's at the cottonwood complex. I will do my best to hit 75s or so if we do 400s, my average was 68 or 67 during track and I want my average to be less than 65 by the end of the summer. If we do 800s then I think I will aim for around 2:40ish, I guess we will see. I want to be hitting around 2:20 or less on 800s reps by the end of the summer. If it's something else,  I will just go hard and see where I end up.

We did 800s at the cottonwood complex today, I couldn't find it on map quest so I just sort of had to guess at where it was. I ended up missing about half a mile of the warm up but still got in 2 and a half miles before we started the 800s. My 800s were 2:39, 2:35, 2:36, and 2:40. My average was a 2:37.5 which is 2.5 seconds faster than my goal was. Overall I'm happy with my workout, I like how closely grouped they were although I was a little slow on the last one. After the 800s we did a half mile cool down, Coach said we should do another mile when we get home so I will either do 2 miles on the bike or a mile run. I need to get mentally prepared to take on the Alta run tomorrow.

I ran to the Brighton track last night (always some shady looking teens there at night), I had taken some of that asthma inhaler stuff and my regular asthma medicine and I felt great. I felt like I was running faster than I had been in a long time, the Brighton track is a little over 1.5 miles from my house and at least half a mile of that is a pretty steep uphill. I hit the uphill fairly fast and still felt pretty good at the top, I ran 3 miles at the Brighton track, and then I ran back home. I think if I included how much I walk at work, I would probably be at about 30 miles this week. I'd say I'm walking a good hour of each shift. Also I went swimming at work, swimming is always a great workout for me because I suck at it so bad. It really opens up my lungs, possibly another reason why my run felt good. I had to write the summary today because yesterday I could only put the miles in from my ipod but it wont let me write run reports on there. I didn't get a chance to run today because I woke up to one of my church youth leaders ringing my doorbell because I had slept in for the mini-mission, It was a great experience though and I'm really glad he woke me up for it. I just got home from at 10 and I need to hang with my family because they've been in Montana all week visiting my uncle and his family. However, I will have to consider a little stationary bike workout before I go to bed.

I ran with my team in the gully today, we did time trial of the gully long run today. Before that we did a mile warm up. I ran the 6.25 or so miles in 47:48, which is a decent time for that challenging of a course and even though that's a 7:45ish pace that's not bad for the gully at all. I finished 2nd for the team, about 6 minutes behind Kramer, I need to work on closing that gap by a few minutes before the season starts and during the season. There was no one close to me for most of the run after Kramer took off, but in the last 1.5 miles Ashton showed up 100 meters behind me and by the time about a mile was left he had passed me, I went all out the last mile and got back ahead of him but I was really impressed with his closing speed today. He has been working really hard all summer, pulling out high 40s to 50s miles per week, and the results of his great efforts are really showing! I'm really excited to see how our team does this year, I think we have a lot of potential! I think I might go swimming at work if any of the lanes are clear today.

We ran at the cottonwood complex with some guys from the Alta cross country 2008 state champion team, it was really cool. We warmed up 3 miles or so and then we did mile repeats, we did two miles repeats around the course, both of mine were in the 5:40s or 50s which isn't good. Then we did an 800, I didn't work hard the first 600 or so and then I kicked the last 200 and caught gained a lot of ground on people but I kicked about 100 meters too late, although I was very tired after the 800 I could have been more so. After that we did a mile cool down after that. I'm disappointed in my performance today but I just need to be patient and work hard consistently. Looking forward to Alta run tomorrow, I know that run will push me.

I went to Alta with my team and we ran up there, we did some easy laps around the parking lot before starting the long run. I ran the 3 miles up to the campground and tried to stay with my coaches, Kramer, and Braydon but I wasn't able to. I stayed within 100 meters, maybe 50 of them up to the campground but the last time I saw them was at the beginning of the 2nd lap of the campground. Then I ran back down and waited for people, when Kramer and Jake got down I did a lap around the parking lot with them a pretty good pace. I had a solid run today and I pushed myself, I am a lot stronger of a runner than the first time I did it this summer. If I had known I had time I would have done another lap or two but I wasn't sure. I just need to keep running hard, maybe drop some pounds and I will start feeling really good and run fast.

mile warm up, 3 1200s and a 400, i think 2 miles cool down. I cant really remember what i did Thursday. The first1200 was 3:58, the second was 4:01 or 4:02 and then the last one was a 4:09, I finished the workout with a 77 second 400. The goal was a 4:00 or better for each 1200 so I was slow. It was a very good work out though and I felt like it really pushed me and helped me to see where I needed to be.

The workout was a mile warm up, a full effort mile, 2 miles recovery, another full effort mile. I did the first mile in 5:11 I think, I was really tired afterward but i recovered a lot on the recovery 2 miles. We started the 2nd full effort mile and I didnt really know what to expect, I should have gone out faster but I thought I would die so I did the first lap in just under 90 and im not sure about the 2nd one, mostly everyone was doing horrible on the 2nd one so coach just stopped us at the 800. I was really disappointed with my effort especially on the 2nd mile and just my performance in general. Ashton and I wanted to do a cool down so we did 2 more miles and when Ashton had to go I ran an extra mile just because I felt like running, and that's usually a good time to go run.

We did 10 flying 40s, we did an easy 800 between each of them so we could have a full recovery. It felt good and it went by fast. we also did a mile before this workout. It felt good to get some sprinting in.

Morning- we did an easy 4.25 miles and then some we did a lap inside the track barefoot. Then we did 4 striders. It was a nice relaxing run.

Afternoon- we did an easy 3.25 miles and then 2 800s at 5k race pace. Both of my 800s were at 2:45 and I felt good, I was quite surprised at how comfortable I was feeling at that pace. I want to run a little faster than that tomorrow on the 2.9 mile course and maybe get a sub 16 minute time. I am confident in my ability, and my main goal tomorrow is to beat people from rival schools in 5A.

I was really excited for the meet all day, I realized I would run faster if I just calmed down in the hours leading up to the race. And Coach Murphy is always saying we should keep off our feet, so I tried my best to rest a lot after school. I was feeling good leading up to the race, and when we started I took off. I was in the top 20ish at the very beginning and I mostly got passed after that, it was hard to pass people because there were so many runners just lined up blocking the path, for some reason I always feel like I'm at the back of a pack in races. Like today if I had run 20 seconds faster I could have gotten 30 places better. I really need to work on that. For the last 2 miles I was feeling tired and sort of beat from taking the first mile so hard, and when I wanted to pass people there just weren't any openings. I should have kicked it a lot harder at the end of the race but I didn't, I need to work on that. When I was crossing the finish line somebody just picked up the rope and I ran straight into it and they were like "HEY, WATCH OUT!" and I was just sort of confused because there was no where else to cross the finish line... but anyways a few other guys ran into me because I couldn't move forward and then we just walked into a lane and waited to get through. But I met a friend from when I lived in Davis 7 years ago, I only beat 1 bingham guy which is not ok. I need to work harder in cross country every day. I feel like I did not do as well as I could have, and I'm not sure if this counts as a personal record. But I want to run in 16:30s at preregion. Thats my goal. Braden did really good today, with a 16:00 and Kramer did awesome with a 14:48 and won the race, setting the course record! I need to close the gap with Braden, and we both need to get closer to Kramer as well. We had some good personal records from some of our other guys too, we need to get a lot faster with our 2-5 guys, mostly 3-5 if we want to go to nationals. It will take a lot of work, it will be very tough, but I'm not giving up hope!

Morning- We did 5 miles. We started out slow and never really picked it up over the first 3 miles, I should have gotten everyone to pick up the pace more during miles 2 and 3. But the second time on the lower loop for the last 2 miles I picked it up to my threshold or maybe a little faster, it was a tough pace but it felt really good to run. Jacob also picked up the pace when I did, and he stayed within 30 seconds of me. I finished the run in 40 minutes and I realized how slow the first 3 miles were.

Afternoon- We did 6 and a half miles. We started out slow and gradually accelerated. I put the first mile as easy. We ran the rest of the run at threshold pace or so. I felt good on the run, the last mile was a little hard but we were pushing it. I think the entire team was working really hard on this run.

Summary: I really liked how today we got in a lot of mileage but neither run felt long, I really like 2 a days. I've been feeling really good all day, I think it helps me concentrate in school when I do 2 a days as well and just makes me better in general. I'm going to ask my coach about maybe coming by myself a couple days a week in the morning so I can run a few miles, I think it would benefit my school work and running.

Today was a hard run because I was so beat by the time we ran this run. I say threshold because although I could have gone faster, they were not easy miles at all. This got me up above 50 miles this week, this is the first time I have ever reached 50 miles in a week! I am really happy about my accomplishment and I hope to repeat this again. We were supposed to run up at Alta ski resort but the road was closed off because of a marathon coming down. Instead we went back to Alta high and ran from the school to the Draper Temple and circled around a few time, Kramer said we ran about 12 miles. I felt tired this run and some of my joints and tendons were aching and hurt a little bit, my calfs and quads were really sore. I think I will do another easy 2-4 miles with my brother after I get home from work tonight. I have a lot to do if I want to catch some of those guys in Bingham's top 5, and I do. A lot of our guys did good work today.

Most the guys from Varsity went up to Alta ski resort to run, we didnt go that fast but it's Alta so its never an easy run. Still, I  felt way better than I have ever felt on one of these runs. I actually felt good the entire time, I was really sore but I felt really good. It was a nice run, although when I first got out of school it was hard to even get myself to go, it was one of those days where you're just not feeling like a run. But I think those are some of the most important days to run on. I wasn't really expecting an Alta run today but I'm really really glad I did it. When I found out the pace going up was  only a few seconds slower than my average alta run I was amazed, I think I broke a wall this past week. I'm really looking forward to running again tomorrow. I think today was possibly my favorite run so far in my 21 months of running. This is a really important season to me and my development as a runner, possibly the most important of high school. I really don't think 99th in a utah only meet that didn't even include the best school in the state is ok, especially when I'm running for Alta. I need to keep improving, and improving fast. I had goals coming into the season, and I've achieved some of my goals like running 50 miles in a week and doing 10 campground loops at Alta. Now I need to achieve my goals in the races. I need to run with more courage and energy, and race smarter, instead of just trying to finish decently I need to kick through the finish. My goal for grass relays is 10:30. I'm pretty sure it's over a minute faster than last years but if I want to be able to run a sub 16 minute time on the Utah State Cross Country Championships in less than 2 months I need to start racing like I can, I won't be that dissapointed if its 10:40 but I really want a 10:30. My team needs me to run a good leg. If I can run faster than 10:30 I will be very happy. Tomorrow is going to be great, I will make sure to be working my hardest.

Today we did 5x800s with a 400 at the end. I guess I forgot that we were doing a 400 at  the end but I still pulled off a 70. First we warmed up 2 miles, then we stretched out and did some striders. My 800s went like this: 2:43, 2:37, 2:30, 2:36, 2:20, and my 400 was a 70. So it was a good workout, the first 4 800 repeats felt pretty easy and good, and for the last one my goal was to run with Kramer (He was hitting 2:20s, and he did a 6th 800 10 seconds faster after the last 800 we did.) I achieved my goal, and I am happy about that and I gave it my all so that was also good. The 400 went pretty well, I think I hit a decent time, I think closing a 5k with a 70 probably isn't too bad. In between the 800s I walk/jogged 400 meters, I jogged about half of it. Overall I am pleased with how I did on this workout, I feel like I didn't hold anthing back on that last 800 and 400. Then we cooled down for 15 minutes, I'd say about 1.5 miles. I will do some core today as well. Tomarrow is a 2 a day so I'm happy about that. I'm very excited for Grass Relays at American Fork this weekend, I want to see what I can do and what my team can do.

Am:4.5

Pm:7.1

No time for run summary, but nice easy day.

Am- We did flying 40s, overall about 4.6 miles. We did 8 flying 40s with 800m recovery after each one. Sprinting just makes me feel good and energized, especially when it's only 40 meters. Half of the senior class at Alta was out for the last few laps and they cheered for us which felt really cool, especially because we never have much of a cheer section.

Pm- I did another 4.6 or so when I got home from work. The route I made of my neighborhood is somewhere between 4.5-5 miles but it's a nice easy course. Well I take that back, it's more like 2.2-2.5 but I run it twice for these runs. I also walked for an hour and a half at work today, and I will tomorrow, and I did yesterday. I think that probably adds on a good 10 miles per week. Tomorrow is pre-meet, I am very excited for the meet! I really believe I can achieve the goals I have set for myself.

We did the lower loop as a warm up and then 2 400 meters like we want to start out tomorrow, I hit just under 70 which is probably faster than I want to go out tomorrow. I'm pretty excited for tomorrow, I guess all I can do now is prepare to have a good race.

I'm just going to forget this day existed and try harder, work harder, and I'm not going to let anything stop me from getting faster. I think I'm going to run another 4-5 miles tonight because A. I'm pissed at how terrible I did B. I want to hit 50 miles this week and C. I just need to work off the abomination of the "race" I ran today. I'm also going to do a ton of core, I think doing lots of really tough core helps my mental toughness.

We did another Alta run, today was the last day the water will be on up there. So if we go up again it won't be as easy, today I went pretty fast on the way up to the campground. I had a headache by the time we reached the top. I did a 6 laps plus a mile and a half on the newly founded "Allred loop" which is about 1.5 miles. We went down the mountain fast as well, and I ran over to the water fountain and back to the cars after we finished. Tomorrow I will do 5 or 6 miles in the morning, probably 6. And then 8 or more 400s on the track afterwards, I'm am excited for the 400 hundred workout because I havent done any 400s in a few weeks besides one after an 800 workout. If we do 8 400s my goal average will be 66 or 67 and to close with a 65, or I will try do them however fast Coach wants me to do them also I dont know how much rest we will get so I dont know if those are good goals. Either way, tomorrow will be an awesome day, I like 400m workouts even though they hurt!

Am-6 mile run, decently fast. Im not sure exactly how fast but I think it was somewhere in the 40s minute range. It felt good for the first half, a little tired for the 2nd. I did fine but I havent been feeling very good lately.

Pm-We did a mile warm up and then 9 400s at mile race pace. I didnt feel good and I ran embarrasing times on 3 or 4 of them, maybe 5. I don't really feel good about that workout, I don't really feel good about my running lately. I don't know what happened, I'm just doing bad and stuff that shouldn't be hard is destroying me. I don't know whats wrong with my lately but I just need to work through it and hopefully things will turn out really good. Maybe I should quit work so I waste less energy walking each week, I don't know what else to do, I guess more sit ups.

Today was preregion. I think we did about a mile and a half cooldown and warmup. We took the first mile at race pace, I ran up with the bingham kids, tayte, and christian for the first mile and Brayden also. I think Coach said I did the first mile in 5:15. I wanted the opportunity to run with those guys and see how it felt to run their pace, it definitely isnt too fast. It felt harder than I usually take the first mile but I think it was important experiance so I could find out how fast I should be running if I want to break up Binghams top 5. After the first mile I slowed it down to about 8 minute mile pace, Alec caught up and then stayed with me. For the 3rd mile We did about half of it fast and half of it slow (3 fast parts, 3 slow), and I cruised in the last 100 after i had finished my last hard minute or so. I slowed down a lot from the fast part but I went fast enougth that I didnt lose any places. My time was 19:18 or so or 19:11. I'm not sure, but it was a nice run. I realized how much people slow down after the first mile, It makes me really consider slowing my first mile of races down 5 or 10 seconds to see what happens.

Easy 2 miles around the lower loop. Then we did 4 laps around the track, we walked 100 then we jogged 200 and then ran 100 at race pace. So I counted the 4 laps around the track as .5 easy miles and .25 VO2 max

Well I'm not happy with my performance. My goal was to run a sub 17 minute 5k. I was where I needed to be and running as fast as I needed to be until I got kicked in the back of one of my legs from behind 2.25 miles in or so, I stumbled and barely caught myself from faceplanting and and then I just slowed down and started getting passed. I think its safe to say i lost 40-50 positions from the time I got kicked until the end, I had been passing people the entire race up until that point and I was feeling great. I was really concentrating on running through the pain today but the last .75 or so was just really bad and I just gave in to the pain. I had 2 goals coming into this race 1. Give the race everything I had and no matter the time be able to say I had done my absolute best and ran my absolute hardest through the pain and 2. I wanted to run the race in less than 17 minutes. I achieved neither goal, I am happy for my team that we did better overall than last year and Kramer won which is great. I need to get faster. I really thought breaking 17 minutes today was possible, all the way up until I got kicked. It wasn't even like there wasn't anywhere to pass me anyway... it was 2.25 miles in so there were plenty of openings. But I shouldn't blame that for my horrible last portion of the race. I feel that I ran the first 2.25 miles very well, I ran through the pain well for that distance. I also didn't kick at all and continued getting passed by a lot of people up until the end of the race. At herriman I'm not even going to set a goal time, and I'm not even going to target rivals from other schools. I'm just going to run and try to push myself to my limit, I don't want to be able to walk through the line at the finish. I want to give it my all, I just haven't been running through the pain like I should be. I guess I will just put in another solid week this coming week and do my best at Herriman.

Easy run in the gully. I felt good and none of it was hard. I'm not sure how fast we were running. I am going to do some core and maybe a little biking or swimming later today.

Easy run in the gully, we also ran there and back. I felt ok, for some reason I didn't enjoy it.

Am: I ran 4.2 easy miles around the neighborhood, it felt pretty good. I like my morning a lot more when I run, although I was a little tired today until lunch time. It felt really good when I entered the miles from the afternoon workout and then realized that I could add another 4.2 from the morning.

Pm: We did a 2 mile warm up and then we did 4 600s on the track, I did about 600 meters of jogging in between each and about 600 meters of walking inbetween each. I only counted the jogging but that still added an extra 1.2 miles to my mileage if I include striders. For the 600s my times were 1:35, 1:34, 1:34, 1:35. The last one I probably could have run faster if I had paced it better because my first 300 was a 44 and my second 300 was a 51. I enjoyed this workout, it was tough but it was really fun. I love fast track workouts, even though they hurt. I've started trying to get back my form recently, like since murray. I had sort of forgotten form. I'm ready for whatever we will do tomorrow.

Today I felt a little sore but the run felt easy. But I think more important is that I realized how important running is to me. It gives me something to really look forward too each day, each week, and every year. And my running improvements and accomplishments are some really important things to me. I remember how dull my life was the first 2 or 3 months of my high school when I hadn't started running and couldn't play other sports. I really appreciate running and I know that even if I don't accomplish my goals I will still be really happy that I ran throughout high school and I am already happy that I have accomplished some things in running and I know I can accomplish a lot more. I think things in life don't really matter unless you think they do, and in reality that's really all thats important is what you care about. I really like running and I am definintely going to keep doing it as long as I can. At herriman in two days I don't have a goal time, I'm just going to go into the race and enjoy it but I am going to give it everything I have, I'm not going to have to worry about failure. My only goal is to finish the race and think "I gave it my all and had a great time at this meet." I'm really happy to be part of my team at Alta. And i'm really grateful for my amazing coach and team. Coach Murphy and recently Coach Jake have really helped my running, and helped me delelop a really strong love and devotion for running and my teamates really push me and make me work my hardest. Thanks team!

We did 3 miles and then 2 200s with an easy 400 afterwards and a 100 meter jog before the first 200. I feel ready for tomorrow, I'm going to do my best.

Well it was another race, I'm happy I could compete. I'm struggling to keep negative thoughts out of my mind. There are some things I'm going to change starting tomorrow. I will start concentrating on the little things, I will start taking a daily multi-vitamin with iron in it again, I will change my mentality so that I can race harder. Also I need to find a way to make my arms less of a problem. The only other things I can do is more core (abs), and just keep running every day but sunday. I know if I keep running and doing my best each day, I will have great rewards and improvement eventually. It will all work out if I do my best, I just need to keep finding more things to improve on and ways to improve on them.

Today we did the gully run twice, it was nice but sort of tough the 2nd time we did it. I added .05 because I am going to do a little 100-200 meter jog in a moment. The reason I'm doing this is because im at .95 so I want to get that up to the next mile. One of my tendons behind my knee is giving me a little pain but it's been doing that on and off ever since I started running. It will be fine by monday, especially if I ice it. I'm also going to do some sit ups, bicycle kicks, and other core work later today. Maybe I will swim a few hundred meters at work as well. We are well into the season now, I really need to get my head back in the game for races. I need to concentrate on my breathing more during races, also I need to relax when I'm running.

I don't have much time, I need to be at work in 20 mins. It was a recovery run but it felt hard because it was so hot and I haven't run the best buy loop in a long time, and my calfs were hurting for some reason during the day. So it definintely didn't feel nice and easy but i could talk very comfortably. After best buy we did a lower loop and then I did 6 laps with Chase and Kenton to get up to 10 miles.

2 miles in the morning. 2 mile warm up, bad work out of mile repeats 5:18 5:33 5:46. 2 mile cooldown. Not good stuff at all.

We went up to alta for the last time today, we did a mile warm up and then 4 laps at the top so it was 10.4 altogether. It felt good on the way down, the way up hurt less than it usually does. Oh wait, actually my left calf wasn't hurting on the way down but it felt like it was about to cramp up. That's probably because it started cramping up in the middle of the night, but I've had enough of them that I've learned to just stretch it out and hold in place but not to tense it or fight the cramp so it really didn't hurt at all, but I was a little worried about that on the way down from the campground and on the last lap. Well I guess tomorrow will be interesting, I'm late for work hahaha.

We did a 30 min jog and then 6 200s. I just want to go race, and I want to do good. I don't think I am a very good runner, I thought I could finish top 10 at state senior year or even junior year, but I've just slowly been coming down to earth and realizing that it's not going to happen. I don't think I have the potential to do that, all there is to do is keep going and see what happens in the end. See where I CAN get, and try to make it a little better than it would have been every day.

2 miles and 4 striders. I felt good.

Our team was REALLY tight for our 1-4 this race. It was great, our first four guys were 24-31 and alec came in at 41 to finish our top 5. Cubby ran a 17:50 for 24th place, American Fork's 7th guy was 19 so we are getting close to those guys. Chase had an awesome race and came in 2nd for our team a couple seconds ahead of me and finished 29th. I was 30th and Davis was just behind me at 31st. We were really close to each other the entire race, it was really good. This kid cut me and Davis in the finish line and was really rude about it, then I told him he was behind us and he got really angry, so on paper (which hasnt come out yet) there was a guy between me and chase and davis was 7 seconds behind me, but in reality I was right behind chase and davis was like a half second behind me. We had a really good race, and we got to cheer on the girls as well. I really liked the course, it was a tough course with slow times but I had a good time racing. I'm looking forward to the nebo invitational! And my favorite race, park city, is after that so it will be a good! They never really came out with official results but I'm assuming we took 3rd behind American Fork and Evanston. I actaully don't know if we lost to evanston, but theyre top jv freshman/sophemore guy took 2nd in the freshman/sophomore race to an american fork guy so I think they probably had some good varsity guys. I hope Kramer and Brayden did well!

We ran to the gully today and did a time trial. But the top 6 guys had to stick together, Brayden droped back to run with cubby so we finished we 5 but brayden could have kept with us. 4 of our top 5 guys had major prs for the gully, Kramer didnt because he was running with us but Davis, Alec, Chase and I all had great PRs all over a minute. We finished with a time of 43:40, My PR and Alecs as well was a 44:40 and Chase had like a 7 minute PR, Davis also had a large PR. Cubby and Ashton had PRs as well. There arn't many days when I've been able to say I gave it my all and I was happy with the result, today is one of those days. Hopefully more of these days will happen at the races! But a 43 minute range time in the gully, I'm definentely happy to be heading into Nebo with that, I want to get faster but I'm happy with the time. Hopefully next time I run this it will be a 42 range! I really felt good about this run, I can't wait for nebo!

Am: 4.5 miles, the first 3.75 were easy. Next .5 were barefoot easy on the inside of the track, last .25 were striders.

Pm: 6.5 miles, best buy loop. We took it easy, it was a nice run. Overall, today was just easy mileage. It was a nice easy recovery day from the maximum effort at the gully yesterday. I think we're doing a track workout tomorrow, I'm excited! Actually I'm not sure what I can do on a track workout right now, I think I will definintely take my inhaled medicine tomorrow, I haven't taken it for like a week because they were hurting my throat and voice but I think its a good idea to take them on speed and race days at least.

We ran to the gully and did 4x400s. My times were 1:30, 1:32, 1:34, 1:38. We had 7 minutes of rest between each 400. Obviously these would be horrible times on the track, but its all uphill and windy. It got harder to finish the last 150 each time.

3 laps around the track, then 2 lower loops, then 4 striders. I feel pretty good, I sort of wish my lungs feeling better though. The race is tomorrow, I am really determined to do well.

I havnt really had the same motivation every since that last stress fracture, it just doesn't matter as much. I like running and I want to suceed but the motivation, fire, and hunger for improvement I used to have just doesn't seem to be there anymore. I promised myself when I started running that I would never give up and never quit, because the only way to get truly good at something is to stick with it. So I'm not going to stop, I just need to keep going and never give up. I feel like there's something more I could have put into today's race but for some reason I just couldn't do it. My lungs were the only thing hurting going into mile 3 but I was just dropping and dropping. The only reason I'm still on varsity is because my good friend from EFY over the summer, Kyle Gibbs from Woods Cross, passed me and it gave me motivation and reassured me that I could still finish ok. I just got behind Kyle and just kept right with him up until the end, I would not have broken 17 if I hadn't had my friend's support.

We ran up at Jeremy ranch, it was really nice but I didn't do to well on the last 2 miles. Coach Murphy said I should try to enjoy running more so I will work on that, I will try to find ways to enjoy each days run more. I have heard that you should enjoy the process more than the finish, or something close to that, so I think I need to do that. I think tomorrow I should just concentrate on other stuff, and I will just do some core tonight as well.

Today we did a 2 mile warm up and then 12 200s. We did 3 sets of 4 200s, with 5 mins rest in between each set and 30 seconds of rest between each 200. For the first set of 200s, the goal was 32, then 30, then 28. I'd say my average was 31 and I only did a sub 30 for 1 of the 200s, I think it will help with the last 800 if I can actually push myself for the last 800, I'm starting to get really pissed at myself, i can't believe how little I've improved this season. Im getting angry, I just need to use the anger in the races. I need to pissed at races. Thats how I was successful in football but I've always thought cross country was different. I just need to use my motivation and energy more conservitavly in cross country than in football. I also need to get more sleep so I don't burn out during the week. I haven't really felt great about many workouts this year, I can remember 1 or 2 that I've been happy with. And my races have all been terrible, I'm not going to run anyone else's race on friday. I'm not going to run outrageously ambitous but I'm going to get out a lot faster than I have been, I need to kill the 2nd mile, I need to stay strong in the 2nd and then finish with a great 3rd. If I'm going to do this sport I'm not going to settle for sub-par I'm going to do the best I can, and I'm better than this. I really need to push through the walls and fight through it when I get tired.

Am- I made another route, well it still had part of the old one in it. It would be easier if I had a garmin but I know it was about 4. I felt pretty good, I was tired at the beginning but I woke up on the run.

Pm- Gully longer run, it was easy and felt good. I felt some power today, I really need to concentrate more in races, concentrate on the pace and push it, I need to be more aggressive with the pace and run my hardest. The friday I'm going to push myself and I will sustain that pace until the end, I'm not going to let myself slow down unless I am phisically unable to keep going.

We did a 2 mile warm up and then an 800m at max effort, I ran a 2:08 which is not bad. I ran a 2:12 last year and that was pr from freshman year track and I ran a 2:08 for my pr in track sophomore year so that was interesting. I'm happy with that time, I probably could have gotten an even faster time with spikes. Then we ran a 400 30 mins later, I ran a 56 second 400 which ties my best times for the 400m, I ran 56 second 400s a few times during freshman tracks and I never got to race a 400 during track this past spring so I don't know what I could have gotten, I'm sure faster than 56 but I want to find out. I'm going to race some 400s this track season if I can. The we had a 5 minute rest before another 400, I hit 59 seconds, coming in the final stretch I had goal of keeping under 60 seconds and I did that so that felt good. We were doing a lot of laps inbetween these of course, I did about 2400 meters inbetween these and then I did a little over a mile for the cooldown. I feel good about this workout, I'm ready for park city.

I will do 20 mins more and some striders later tonight. I ran with my team this morning, it was easy and felt really good. I am ready for tomorrow, I'm more determined to do good tomorrow than I ever have been about a race. I'm going to keep pushing and fighting through the pain, I'm going to pass people continously and I won't give in to the discomfort and pain. Tomorrow is my breakout, I'm not going to let myself give in to discomfort, I'm going to fight it every step until I'm done.

I thought I gave it my all, I really thought I was trying hard, I mean I think is started to sort of get down mentally during mile 2 onward but really I didnt think I was doing that bad mentally. I'm wheezing worse right now than I have for many years, which is weird. I really tried hard but I just didnt where I wanted to be. I'm going to get where I want to be, I will. I don't care how much work it takes, I just want to get to where I want to be. I don't know what I'm doing wrong but I'm just going to keep trying and one day I'm sure I get where I want to be, and then I will target another goal. I'm not going to give up or let my team down, im going to get faster and if I'm one of the top 5 I at state or region I'm going to make sure there isn't one more person I could have beat by the end of the race. i don't know if I will score but if I do I'm going to make sure I do good for the team, if I get a scholarship for running, it won't be for cross country. I'm not running as fast as I need to run for that, for the 800 when I get to race it as my main event for a meet I might be able to run times that could interest school, or my mile could be good enough if I work at it. The thing about those events is that it's just easier to understand the race and analyze and stratagize the race and I enjoy it a lot more than anything else. I really want to run a sub 2 minute 800 this track season, and I want to do really well for the mile as well, maybe a 4:25 or better. I haven't given up on the cross country season just yet, and I will not give up until it's over, I'm still going to give it my all. I just don't know if my all makes the cut of success anymore, I don't know if the team has a run tomorrow, if I don't hear anything else I think I will just do the gully long run once or twice maybe.

We went to Liberty park and I couldnt find anyone so I ran around, a little over 2/3rds of the way around I found my coach and we ran back the other way to the water fountain and found Kramer and Ashton. Then we ran 4 laps really easy, it felt great. Then we did 2 tempo pace laps, I felt good and they were pretty fast. I think I ran like a 17:03 or something, maybe that was Kramer, I really don't know haha. We did a 1.5 or so cooldown and looked at all the cool stuff in the park and then we had some yummy trumoo and doughnuts from Coach Murphy, thanks Coach! It was an awesome run, Liberty park is awesome and I got a PR from before sophemore year and I wasnt even in a race so that was great.

We ran at the Cottonwood complex today, we warmed up about 2.5 miles, I felt really good. Then we did 4x400s on 2 different places on the region course. My times were 64, 63, 64, 64, I feel pretty good about these times, I worked hard and the cooldown actually felt really good, although I wasnt sure if I was going to be able to run it at all for a while after I finished the last 400 haha. We did about a mile cooldown, avoiding hills, after that I went home and did another 2.5-3 miles but I put it as 2.5.  I did more just because I was feeling good and wanted more of a cooldown, and I felt bad about not doing a morning run. I feel good phisically going into the day before region premeet, I'm confident of my ability and I want to show that I'm better than my races this year have shown. I know I'm better than I've looked in races this year, I want to burn some of those guys scoring from bingham at region.

Easy run, it felt good and I enjoyed it. We did the top half of the best buy loop and a half mile on the track, then we did 6 striders. Everything felt good, the distance run and the striders. I need to get into the mindset that I can keep with those bingham top 3 and 4 guys and then I need to control my breathing and help my lungs out during the race. I know if I can control my breathing and my lungs don't go bad during the race I can pull it all together and have a great race. I have all the tools, I have my speed as good as its ever been I would say, I have the aerobic fitness from doing an average of 47 or 48 miles a week this season with multiple 50+ weeks which is more than I've ever done, I've been able to work as hard as I need to during races in workouts. I just need to have a better race mentality, I need to enjoy the race more and push myself harder. All there is to do now is prepare by eating well, getting enough sleep, drinking plenty of water, and having a good premeet day. I plan to put everything I have into region, I'm going to try hanging with binghams number 4 guy as long as I can, maybe 5 but I believe I can run with number 4. I just need to keep going with them as long as I can, i'm not going to even think about the future of the race during it, just the present and what I can do every moment to run faster.

We did 4 easy miles and 4 start of race 200s. It was all easy and I felt pretty good, I need to get a good sleep tonight and race harder than I ever have tomorrow. I'm going to give it my all for as long as I can, I'm going to keep with Binghams number 3 and 4 guys until either I die off or its time to kick them out. I'm only going to concentrate on defeating Binghams number 3 and 4 guys, I'm going to get right behind them and pass them in the final 800, I know have the ability to do this.

I can definintely say I'm happier about this years region than last years, this year I didnt run the time I wanted to last year but I could have. My arms were the only thing hurting today, I really need to figure that out. My lungs and legs felt great today, I could have gone faster but my arms were hurting bad. If my arms don't hurt at state and I can be positive, confident, and aggressive in the first 2.5 miles then I know I can have a breakout race. My kick today was good, which is something I haven't been able to say all year until now. I outkicked Binghams number 7 by a lot and also got a guy from copper hills who had had a big lead on me before I started my kick, I noticed how tired some of the guys I was passing in the last 600-700 and I realized how fast I could have run today if my arms hadnt been hurting. Austin is the guy from Bingham that I was running with for a while today and ended up beating by plenty, he is their number 7ish guy, their team is a little shifty after number 4. Looking through their past results I notice that their 5, 6, and 7 runner switch around quite a bit. I'm excited for state, if I can pull it all together and run hard I really think I can have an amazing race. My goal is to defeat Adam from bingham, his last name is haysen I think. He is their number 4 runner, he ran a lot faster than I did today. But Bingham hasn't gotten any better since the start of the season, and I could have run a lot faster today. We will see when we clash at state, but I'm going to work to my limit these next 2 weeks and do everything I can to beat him on the 23rd. I'm going to train as smart, well, and hard as I can and hopefully we will be able to defeat Bingham and make Nike Cross Nationals in Portland. For now I'm just concentrating on helping Alta finish 2nd at the state championship at Sugarhouse park in 13 days, really it just comes down to what I can do in the race, I need to start preparing mentally now so that when the race comes I will know what I'm going to do and where I need to be and so that I can make myself push myself to a fast pace the entire race and the blow out some guys with my kick.

I felt really good today, it was a nice pace and just and enjoyable run. The big hill on the gully run didn't even hurt today, it was sort of weird but really good. I know I am in good shape, and I'm going to get in a lot better shape by the time state comes around. I think the weakest point is racing, I really need to be confident and determined at the state meet. I know I would do amazing if I could have the mentality in a meet that I do most other days, but for some reason something just gets to me and I just can't push it during races. I really need to break through that problem, I know I will have everything I need to beat Adam by the time State comes around if I work my hardest. I just need to have the determination going into state.

We warmed up 2 miles and then we did 4x400s with 7 mins rest in between each. My splits were 58 seconds, 61, 61, 62. So an average of like 60.5 or so, under 61 but not under 60 which would have been nice. I went out to fast on the first one, but it was a good hard workout. I had a good time and then we did a cooldown, we did a lap in between each of the 400s and striders beforehand, we pretty much had done 2.25 before the first 400 and then with a lap in between each we got up to 4 miles by the end of the workot. Then we did a cooldown, I did a little extra but it was only 1.7, maybe a little more but I just put it as 1.7. I want to do another mile or so just to get up above 40 for the week, I will be looking for excuses to get that in.

AM: We did 4 miles in the morning, then we did 6 striders. It was a nice run and felt good.

PM: We did the gully longer run, it was an easy run. I guess I will look forward to the max effort 400 tomorrow. I'd really like to get in a 20 mile day sometime but I would probably get a stress fracture, state meet next week. Running has been feeling good lately, I don't really even want to take a break from running after state but I probably will once it gets colder. I really need to get a break through at state, I need to change everything about my race.

We warmed up 2 miles and then did some striders before the workout. The workout was 2000 meters at race pace which I hit at 6:33, then 1200 meters at race pace which I hit at 4:00 or maybe a little under. Then we did an 800 which I hit at 2:32, and a 400 which I hit at 1:06 for. Then we cooled down 5 laps. It wasn't a great workout for me but I guess it wasn't too bad. Tomorrow I have to miss the team run at 9 am for a PSAT, it makes me feel bad. I don't want to miss any of the workout. I'm just happy school is over after tomorrow, well sort of. I think I will spend the long weekend doing some productive things rather than just goofing off.

We ran an easy run in the gully today, it felt really good, it was the best weather its been for a while. I'm starting to be confident in my legs and lungs, the only thing I feel is really holding me back is that my arms keep hurting in long VO2 max workouts, especially races. I'm going to hope and pray they don't hurt at state because I really think I can run the race on the faster half of the 16 minute range. I'm really excited for what our team can do, and I want to make sure I do everything I can to help us make it to Portland. I played tennis with my brother and he wanted to run home afterwards so I ran with him, he did track for a season back in high school which is 50% of the reason I tried out for indoor track 2 years ago, it's crazy how fast the past 23 months have gone by, but at the same time I feel like I've been running for a long time. High school is a pretty short part of life, but its definintely a very important part.

I went with the team up to Jeremy Ranch, it was good weather although a little windy. I'm pretty tired, I guess thats what 4 hours in a car and an hour and a half of running does to you... I feel terrible about my ability today, I know I should be thinking positive but I just feel like I could never run a 16:30 even, I just can't race that long and a 5k isn't even that long of a race. I guess I will just stick to the plan and run behind whoever is in 6th for our team and then run my hardest the last mile and do my best not to let anyone pass me, I guess we will see how I do. I hope my team can get us that runner up trophy.

Nice easy run around the neighborhood and I stopped by the library, I felt really good today. Its really nice to run on my own every once in a while, I felt like going some more miles but I was only supposed to run for 45 mins. This probably the nicest weather for the rest of the year so I've been outside for a lot of the day. I am excited to see what speed workout we are doing tomorrow, last one before state!

3 mile warm up, then an 800, then we did about a mile in  between that 800 and the first 400, then we just jogged a little before another 400, then we cooled down a good for a mile. My splits were 2:20 for the 800, it was horrible! It definintely didn't help that I almost got tripped on the way back and then 20 meters later some lady walked her dog straight through our 800 and I had to jump out of the way so that I didn't knee her dog in the face, I don't like that lady very much to say the least. Then my first 400 wasn't very good at 58 seconds and my final 400 was decent at 56 seconds.

I ran 4 easy miles with my team, I felt good running today. After we ran we went to Coach Muphy's room and he talked to us about State and gave us some tips, some that I will definintely try to implement are to go steady on the hills and then surge at the top, he also said to get out in a good position because you will be running the same pace as the guy in front of you for the first mile, I'm supposed to keep in 7th for the first mile or two so I hope the everyone on the team starts well. No one can pass me the last mile so my kick will have to start at the 800 a little bit and then I really need to kill it the last 300-400. More of a race strategy than I've had all year by a ton, hopefully I will break 16:30.

We ran a little to get ready for state, about 1.25 miles I'd guess, then we did a 400 at race pace and then another easy 400. Tomorrows the big day, I just need to remember to pass people at the top of every hill and give a hard effort throughout the race. I am going to do my best and try to pass as many people as I can in the last mile. I really want to run faster than 16:30 tomorrow, I can do it. I just need to race well. I feel ready for the race.

It was an decent race for me, I beat some big rivals in Stockton Smith of Davis and Tayte Polleman of Brighton. Some rivals I will be looking to beat in the next race are: Ethan Stuart of Davis, Trevor Gibby of Westlake, Brayden Walkley of Westlake, and Daneil Bentley of American Fork, I don't know if Daneil will still be running varsity at their next race, so if not my target will be his replacement. Tayte has been a big rival ever since I moved to Utah, my record against him is about even. This is my first victory over Stockton, it's a big deal, I've been trying to beat him for over a year and I did it today. My race started well, I almost got boxed in from the top 50 at the beginning but I escaped through a hole. The first part of the race I was just keeping in range of Conner and Chase, I just kept within 10-20 meters of them. About a mile and a half into the race I realized I needed to start going faster and so I passed Chase before the first trip around the lake, then I cought Conner right before the end of the 2nd mile. I hadn't been expecting to score so I started passing people a little more, I was a little panicked that I was in a bad position for the 5th guy on our team. The last mile was sort of crazy, the weak part of me hoped Chase or Conner would pass me and it kind of prohibited me from using my full 800 meter kick, but I forced myself to stay with Stockton. I had been running with him the entire race and so I just stayed right behind him until I passed him with about 300 to go, I started running faster at that point and I looked  behind and saw someone coming up behind me and then I looked to my right where my coach was yelling for me to pass 8 more guys, so I looked ahead and I saw a big group of guys right there and I started my kick and caught them all. The last 20 meters felt great, I was just striding my way in, I couldn't see anyone ahead of me and I had just passed a large group and lost us some points. I raced better than I have been all year, but there were some things that I will improve on by the next meet. Next time I will make sure to be prepared to run a much better race for a score. I hadn't really been expecting to run as the 5th guy, but next time I will run harder the entire race. I didn't run a bad race at all today, but I think I could have run harder in the first two miles. And I also think I need to push myself to my full kick. I have a month to train for Nike SouthWest, I really need to get a lot better if I'm going to run as our 5th guy and we get 2nd there. This next month is really important to my running, I am going to train really hard.

We ran an easy 7.5 miles, the best buy loop and then a mile on the track. I've been feeling sick ever since the day after state, but I started feeling better close to the end of work. It was windy, and my lungs hurt during the run but that was just because I'm sick. Besides that the run was ok, the pace was a little slow for an easy long run but it wasn't too bad. I'm ready for the very tough month of training that I am about to begin, I'm willing to go through any training and do my best, whatever will get me what I need for nationals. I figured that to compete with lone peak all of our top 5 guys would need to be under 16:00 or close to it at Nike Southwest. Its a fast course but I still need to train a lot and improve a lot before I can talk about breaking 16:00 on that course myself.

Today we ran to the gully and did an workout of 8 hills at a hard effort, at the top of each hill we would alternate between 25 push ups and 25 sit ups. It was a really good workout for me, I'm still a little sick and my lungs are feeling bad, I've been wheezing a lot this week. But I pushed through and had a good workout, then we ran back to alta and did 8 laps on the track, 200 of each lap was hard and 200 was easy. This was also tough but we pushed through and I felt good about them, it was a good workout today.

Am: 6.25 around the school and on the track. It was easy but I also was a little tired.

Pm: We ran the best buy loop, it was sort of annoying because we started out really slow and I kept on saying stuff like "so we're supposed to be doing this in about 45 minutes right" and everyone would sort of be like yeah. And I was a little annoyed at how slow we were going, so when we hit mile 3 at 24 minutes I started picking up the pace down the hill, we ended up finishing the best buy loop with a 6 minute mile which in my opinion was really stupid because we didn't run a single mile of the workout like we were supposed to. The top group finished in 46 something. My lungs are still hurting, and I'm still wheezing a lot. This kind of workout makes me really just want to go back to playing soccer or something, also I'm a lot better at soccer and it's a whole lot easier. I am very frustrated.

Am- We ran 6.5 around the school and on the track, it was easy and I was less tired than yesterday during the run.

Pm- 2 mile warm up followed by 2x1600 with 1 lap/5 minutes rest. My 1600s were horrible, 5:12 and 5:29. I felt very bad, overall I've been feeling less sick but my lungs are still feeling bad. I can't breathe deeply, I don't know if it's just that my asthma is getting worse or if I got some weird sickness. My lungs haven't felt like this since I was much younger, like over 10 years. My wheezing is still bad, it makes a weird noise when I breathe deeply. But I'm sure it will go away soon. My arms also hurt a lot on these. I'm getting more and more frustrated with this. I think I need to concentrate and be more positive, but its tough because I don't know what to be positive and confident about.

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.

I ran my first run after taking 2-3 weeks off. It felt really good to get out running again, I was feeling a little out of shape and some things hurt in my stomach and chest because I haven't run in a while. By the end of the run, everything felt great besides my lungs, they aren't used to the cold. I think I went out a little fast the first mile but I calmed it down. I saw Kramer run at Footlocker Nationals today, it has been amazing having the opportunity to be his teammate the past couple of years. I am really looking forward to the first indoor meet, hopefully it is is mid january like last year. I will take tomorrow off and then next week it will be back to buisness.

Today I did the figure eight loop, when I was about to finish I found Ashton as he started his run and I did another lower loop with him, I wish the track was open. I am pretty happy I did 6 today because tomorrow I have a math test retake appointment in the morning and then a dentist appointment after school so I think I am only going to do a mile or two, I also have a lot of physics I need to get study. I have a LOT of tests this week, 1 in AP US history, 2 in Computer tech, 1 math test, 1 physics test, and oh yeah a lifeguarding test. It is pretty crazy. I got my PSAT results back, it was a 1620, not very good but I was tired and didn't finish a lot of the test so it was ok. I can't wait of the ACT, I am really excited to see how I do! I am way more excited for the indoor meet though, I really want to race a 1600! Today I felt good, my legs felt good, everything felt good except for some things around my stomach, I don't know what it is. I have no clue, but whatever it is, it's just getting used to running again haha. I am really happy I can just jump back into decent runs without too much trouble, it is really nice not to have to start a season after taking a 6-8 week stress fracture recovery break, its the first time since I have moved to Utah that I have had a good offseason. I feel like I am finally awake agian, I love the feeling I get all day every day when I am running. I think I will just put in a decent returning week of something like 30 miles, I think I will probably do 6 miles on wed-friday and then 4 or 5 to finish out 30 on saturday. I will have to talk to Coach Murphy and see if this is a good plan. I want to be running in 40+ miles a week again by the time indoor track comes around, and I also want to do some speed the next few weeks at the oval and maybe some hills. I really want to run some great times in indoor and set myself up for a great track season.

I didn't have time to do a real run this day, I had a dentist appointment and then a temple trip after the temple trip we stopped at someones house for soup and I ran home from there.

I ran with Ashton, Jacob ran with us for the first 2/3 miles and then went home. We did the lower loop twice and, a lap on the track, and 2 laps around the soccer field. I am getting pretty good at basketball, if only I was 6 inches taller... of course most of what makes me good at basketball is my speed. I have to go to work so I can't write much. But I am so excited for that first mile race. I am looking forward to it so much. I want to qualify for state in the 800m and the 1600m, with Coach Murphy coaching me in my best area of running (track) I believe great things will come of this season. I sort of want to do a 10-12 mile run before we come back to school in january.

Long day, and I still didn't get everything done that I wanted to academically. Practice was really good today, we did a lot of core, and then we did lunges. My hamstring cramped up on the second set so I had to stop. I stretched and "iced" them with my water bottle for 20 mins and then I went outside and put snow on my hamstrings before heading out with Ashton for a run. At first we only did 1 lower loop, it was a pretty tough run and I was having trouble running at first because my hamstrings still hurt, but after a mile it was ok. We decided to do 2 once we had finished the first one. It was a good run! Really tough though, and very slippery. Once I got home I had to shovel the driveway so that was a little bit extra added onto the core we did today. One more day...

We did 4 miles and then a bunch of push ups, sit ups, and lunges. I did some dips too. I felt really good on the run, I wanted to do another 5 or something but the calander that Coach Murphy left for us said just a 30 min run. I think that is all we did, it was a good workout! I went home, took a shower and then slept until past 7, I am very glad that school is over for 2013.

Well I meant to do 10 easy miles at about 7:30 pace for 75 mins today haha. But instead I did 7 of them a lot faster. I discovered the treadmill today, I was hanging around my work today after the inservice and I tried out a treadmill for the first time, I did about a mile and then went home. Then i went ran to the Cottonwood heights rec center, which is 1.5 miles, and I ran 7 miles on a treadmill. I put the speed to 9 miles per hour, I didn't know how fast this was until half an hour into the run when I checked and saw it was 6:40 pace, although I guess it was ok because the Treadmills incline thing was broken so it was a little easier than 6:40 anyway. I went down to 8.5, 7:03 pace for a while and then I went back up to 9 because I wanted to go home, theres not a lot to do on a tread mill besides make sure you don't fall of and fix your form. I went back down to 8.5 for the last mile and overall on the treadmill I did 7 miles in 48:13 mins. Pretty good, I didn't feel like it was too fast. I still had to run 1.5 miles home after the  treadmill run, my legs were feeling really heavy and actually I found that it was a lot easier to run faster than slower after running on the treadmill, it was a peculiar run. My dad said that running on treadmills can be bad for your joints so I think I will try to do most my runs outside, but maybe once a week use a treadmill this break. Overall a good run, I am happy that I can still do a run like that. I am very tired, and I have been averaging a very low amount of sleep the past few days, tonight I will go to bed at 11 or earlier, and then I have to wake up at 7:30 so I will get a good 8 and 1/2 hours of sleep.

5 miles on the treadmill at low 7 minute range pace, this treadmills incline worked so I did it at .5 which I think made it more difficult, I couldn't really tell. But it was a good run, although I was really tired. I guess it is to be expected because I was practicing my driving layups for 20 mins before I did my run. I didn't run on monday, it was a rough day. I went to work at 9 and stayed 4 hours longer than I thought I would, I didn't bring lunch and I was doing training in the water for 3 1/2 hours from 9-12:30, that took a lot out of me and I thought I would be able to go home by 12 so I didn't bring any food or money, I ended up not eating until 4. By the time I got home I just didn't have any energy, I did some core though. And I guess you can call the swimming cross training, I would much rather have done a 3 and 1/2 hour run though...

I wouldn't call them easy, quite a bit of uphill. I got home from my grandmas at 5 and wasn't sure if I would be able to get myself out the door. Before the run I was debating between just doing a 4 mile run or doing a 6 mile run, I chose 6 miles. But when I got up to Brighton High School, and did a lap on the track, I decided to maybe do 7 or 8, I kept telling myself to do more until I got to 10. It was a good run, cold and tough though. The valley is beautiful at night, and its good that I did a longish run outside. Tomorrow I am still deciding wether to do the run on the tread mill or outside, though decision.  I still need to check the calander that Coach Murphy made for us to see how long I will run. I have been getting in quite a few sit ups and push ups, and some lunges over the break, I will probably do more before I go to bed tonight.

I was wondering when I would be going running today, but I found time right after I played raquet ball, so it was another run in which I was already tired. I did 4.3 on the treadmill, I was running just under 7 minute pace, like 6:58 or so. Then I ran 1.5 miles home, and I stopped at the church and ran around it for an extra .2 so I could do 6 miles. One of these days I need to do a 5-6 mile run at 6:30 pace, that is the pace that Talem Franco told me he ran at for his threshold runs, and he has a very very good 800 time and really good 1600 as well, that along with more strength and power in my legs and I will earn a sub 2 minute 800 this year, this year the only races I want to do are the 800 and the 1600, maybe a couple 400s.

I waited until past 8 to start my run for the 2nd time this week, the important part is that I am running. Tomarrow will be another 8 mile day. I also have a basketball game tomorrow against one of my coworkers. I played age of empires for most of today, I was really suprised how fast time went by. I want to do some speed work in preperation for the USU meet, I want to get top 10 for the mile.

Another run I didn't start until past 8, and another run I had to start by telling myself it would only be 4 miles. But I got myself to do what I needed to which is what is important. Looking at last years result for the USU invitational, I want to get top 5 for the mile and 800. I know I can get a medal, assuming they give out medals. Of course last year a lot of people couldn't get to the meet because of a snow storm. But I am really excited for that meet. I did the Brighton/rec center loop and stopped at the rec center for 3 miles on the tread mill, I did 1 of them at 5:56 pace. I felt pretty good, but I guess 5:56 isn't that fast, I just wanted to see how tough it would be. Maybe next week I will do a mile at 5:00 pace or a bit faster. I also had some striders during my run, I had stomach cramps for most of the run as well.

Brighton High/Rec center loop with 2.5 on the tread mill at the rec center. I ran 5:24 mile on the treadmill, although I forgot the incline... still it was kind of tough, I think I will do a sub 5 later this week. This year my return to track won't be embarrasing. I had stomach cramps again. I took on my 6 foot 5 coworker in basketball, he shot 5-7 from beyone the 3 point arc, and he stuffed me on 8 layup attempts. It was really really hard to put up points because he's so tall and right now I am doin really bad a jump shots and 3s. I completely kept him out of the key though, all his points were 3s and jump shots, I can't block those because I would have to jump. So the final score was 7-21, although he is better than a lot of the guys of the olympus basketball team so I guess I shouldn't feel to bad. Good day!