Blake Bennions running

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.