Chasing my Dreams

8 miles great weather. My IT bands were tight and my knees ached a little, probably from the tight curves on Saturday. 53:16 so 6:40 average. I was mentally struggling today and not motivated at all. I was also missing by old TEAM. Somehow I need a mental recharge...

It's crazy the difference a new day makes, when I woke up I knew today was going to be a much better day. I also talked to Buhrley and he said I just need to be consistent and things will work out. I'm also working on enjoying running and keeping a positive attitude.

It was a BEATIFUL day to run. It felt great. Rob gave a well needed talk at the church about how some people need to step it up and not just goof off and have a social outing. Unfortunately one of the ones that really needed it was doing intervals. It even motivated me a little. Rob ran most of the way out with me and we were averaging just over 6:40s. It was good to have someone to talk to. He was struggling though. I stopped at the porta potty on the way back. Things felt better today, I could still feel my right IT band though. I closed in around 5:40 I think for the last mile. The average for the whole run was 6:32 miles.

Rob gave a nice talk again today, and of course once again the person that needs to hear it the most wasn't there.. Hopefully things will change when Zach beats him. I jogged for 9-10 minutes to warmup and then did dynamic stretching and drills while doing my positive self talk. My ankles were hurting where I had tendonitis last track season. I changed shoes and did a couple strides. The workout was 3x3laps RP 1lap jog, 2laps RP 1lap jog, and 1lap RP 1lap jog on the indoor track. I was just off 4:40 pace on that one and my legs were struggling to get moving. I switched directions after that. I did better on the next two. By the last set my legs were working better, but I was also a little more tired which made it harder. Right after my last one I jogged another lap and then ran a lap in 24 which is about 4flat pace. I talked to Lindsey and the sprinters for a minute. Then I hopped in with Zach on his last one. He got mad at the hurdlers during it which was awesome, haha. I went with Nick on the last lap of Zach's last one and ran 22, which was awesome. It was a good workout. After it took Zach forever to change I went out with him and we did 4 really easy miles, like 7:50 average.

Overall a good workout and feeling pretty strong!

My right foot was hurting during the day and I could tell where I had tendonitis was sore. I went out and did 10 miles. I started out a little slower and then picked it up a little in the second half. My right IT band was killing me, I'm sure from running on that tight track yesterday. I could also tell that around my achilles were a little sore too. I had a lot of gas that wouldn't come out though, which made it a little miserable. I averaged 6:36, so not bad for my "easy day." 

I iced my feet and ankles after, hopefully that will help since I've got a big day come Saturday.

It ended up being a little slower of a run than I thought it would be. I warmed up and then ran with Zach out 2.5 miles. I think that is what slowed the run down overall is that it started slow. I ran a faster 1.5ish miles after that that felt like low 6 minute pace. I slowed back down after that. Hopefully me legs will be feeling rested for tomorrow.

It was a pretty crazy and long day. I warmed up for a long time before the mile because it was hard to judge when we would run and if they would make us just hang out in the bull pen. My hip flexors were kind of achy. I didn't have a great start and was toward the back of the pack. I knew at 800 I was about 2:26 so I really picked it up. My last two laps were much better than my first three because I was really strong and was able to move. I wasn't happy with my time because I know I can do much better, but it is still early in the season. I cooled down with Zach.

After refueling and laying around for a long time, which included some massage from Fess and Burrell along with lots of time on my feet, I started to warmup for the 800. I warmed up, took a break, and then tried to get things going again right before we ran. I tried to start more aggressively, but still didn't have great position. I was 66-67 at the 400 mark and knew I had to move. Once again I ran a better second half than first half.. I finished in 2:12.34. After I finished I could tell that my body can do so much more. I can tell that I am in great shape, and my legs are really strong in the races, but they aren't moving fast enoungh. I cooled down again. 

Warmup time number three.. At this point it didn't matter too much. I was running on our B Team 4x1 lap relay just to work on leg speed, because that is what I need. It went pretty well I think. I slit 44 which would be around a 55 second 400. I did a brief cooldown, which was more than anyone else that ran the relay..

I was really disappointed with my races because I can tell that they weren't close to what I am capable of. I talked with Jared Ward before the relay and he said that this is normal for indoor, which made me feel a little better. Once I got home I was reflecting on one of my Dad's favorite poems, "Good Timber" by Douglas Malloch, which talks about how the stronger people and trees go through hardships and it makes the successes more rewarding. I'm sure these poor races will actually make a difference come May at Region and State.

After further comparison I'm still pretty close to Davis' 4-7 guys, so things will work out, I've just got to trust that my coaches will get me race ready, because I know my body can do it.