Blake Bennions running

8.25 or so, lots of hills. I'm starting to think I'm going to go to SUU, it sounds like I could have a great career there, and my Dad was saying he's heard some good things about the school. Haven't heard from USU in a while, and SUU sounds awesome, I'm excited to run in college!!! I think my sickness is coming to an end, I'm still coughing but I think I'm getting better. Sub 2:00 this week, a sea level mile next week, and the Leadville Marathon the week after that. I'm going up to Leadville that Thursday to get a little more used to the elevation. Also might work in a sub 10:00 3200m sometime, maybe in California. Going to be an awesome summer! I'm think of doing the 800m either Wednesday or Friday.

86 minute run up bell canyon with Tayte, it gets very rocky up there, good amount of pain and plenty of hill, very steep! Good training run for Leadville, lots of elevation gain, and a good length. I'm going to do a lot of things to prepare for the elevation, but going to California next week isn't going to help, maybe mentally. Maybe I can get one of those altitude simulator masks haha, that would be pretty cool, but I bet they cost a bunch. We also ran 4 hill sprints after we got back, my turnover was so fast I felt like Captain America at the beginning of the 2nd movie. Still kind of sick, maybe the 800m will be Friday. No matter what happens, Leadville is going to be a great experience, I think I'm gonna be a different guy after doing something like that, at least have more character and I will be more tough. Going to be the hardest thing I've ever done probably, but i know the experience and the intrinsic reward will be worth it.

4 miles and then 4x200m. I ran the 200ms at 29-32 pace. I only actually got the time on the 2nd and 3rd, it was 31 on the 2nd, and 29 on the 3rd. After that I did another half mile cool down. Premeet tomorrow which is nice for graduation day, and then Friday, I'm thinking 10:00 for the 800m, I seem to race better in the morning.

Pre-meet workout, easy and good feeling. I'm going to break 2:00 tomorrow. I graduated from Alta High School today. High school has held a lot of trials for me, but running has helped me though it, even when my running was the trial, and I've done some good things too! I'm going to miss some things about high school, even some things I didn't really like, but one thing I can take with me everywhere I go is my passion for running, and all the lessons I have learned from my experiences with it and with my team and coach the past 4 years. Going to miss it here!

I FINALLY DID IT!!! This morning I went to the Alta track, and Coach Murphy timed me for an 800m time trial. With California next week, and a marathon after that, this was my last chance to break 2:00 in high school (officially today was a day of school haha). I felt good while warming up, pretty loose and light, ready for hard 800m. My lungs have still been having a little trouble, but I was able to push through the 800m despite that. Turns out I may currently have whooping cough or something, not sure. But anyways I ran my first 200m in 28, I came through the 400m in 58, I didn't hear my split for the 600m, but at that point you always want to quit, so I concentrated on pushing through the last section. Coach Murphy yelled 1:40 in the second half of the last turn, I wasn't sure if I could make it, but I really turned on the engine and started putting everything I had left into one final effort, I didn't know I would be able to make it, or if I was already safely under 2:00, but I knew that whatever the case, I needed to finish as hard as I could. It turned out to be 1:59.93!!! I made it by 7 hundredths of a second! This has been one of the most amazing things I have done, maybe the most amazing! Huge thanks to Coach Murphy for training me and teaching me so much over the past years, and for helping me overcome the 2 minute barrier today! This was the perfect way to finish out high school, and my time as an Alta Hawk!

Ran the regular gully long run nice and easy. I was a little tired from the 800m but didn't feel it at all because I was thinking of how awesome it is that I am a sub 2:00 800m runner. Jeremy Ranch tomorrow!

Good 13 mile run, about a half marathon, or half the race in doing 2 weeks. I ran a lot of it pretty fast, I might have averaged under 7:00, it was the Wasatch dimpledell loop plus the upper loop, so it was all hills, there's a good amount of elevation gain. I'm pretty confident about the distance of 26 miles and the 6000 feet of elevation gain, its going to destroy my body and it will be hard, but I know I can do it. I only have two big concerns about this race, the elevation, how much will it affect me, and what if I need to take a dump really bad and there's no where to go, also I dont want to lose a couple minutes on crap (literally crap). Well I guess the best thing to do is get up 2 hours before the race and eat what I want to then. This is going to be such a great race at Leadville in 2 weeks!