C Mantz Running

USU Indoor Meet

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Location:

Provo,UT,USA

Member Since:

May 18, 2010

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

NCAA Champ

Running Accomplishments:

Pre-high school: I ran a lot of local 5ks and a few half marathons.  I didn't do a ton of training, but I just had fun, and I got more serious about it as high school got closer.

High school: I enjoyed running a lot, especially cross country.  I originally did track to keep my in shape for cross country.  I ran at Footlocker Nationals, the Adidas Dream mile, Brooks PR Invitational, world xc junior championships, and a few local 5ks. 

PRs: 800: 1:56.80-State Track 2014

1600: 4:10-State Track 2014/Mile: Sea Level-Adidas Grand Prix-4:07

3200:Alititude(~4500ft): 8:57.99-State Track 2014-2 Mile:8:53 at Brooks PR Invitational

5K: New Balance Indoor Nationals(2014) - 14:24

10K:USA Junior Track Championships (2014)-31:01

15K: Blacksmith Fork Freedom Run (aided) 48:10(2013).

Half Marathon: 
Utah Valley Half - 1:11:24(aided)(2012)

Post-mission:

1,500m-3:45

3k-7:50 

5k-13:29

10k-28:18

NCAA finishes:

Cross Country: 10th(2018);

Indoor: 3k-7th(2019) 5k-10th(2019);

Outdoor: 10k-22nd(2018), 4th(2019), 5k-7th(2019)

Long-Term Running Goals:

Make sure I have fun, not get burned out, and get faster.

School records in the 5km and 10km.  

Personal:

Served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from July 2015-July 2017.  I gained 30 lbs. during the service and came back out of shape; however I knew that if the Lord wanted me to once again run competitively, he would bless me to return to fitness. 

I graduated from Sky View High School in Smithfield, Utah. I currently run for Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.  

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Total Distance
2276.05
Total Distance
6.00

     6 miles later in the day.  It was amazing weather for most of the day, but when I went out it was starting to cool down to 30 degrees.  It was 43 earlier, and bright and sunny.  I won't procrastinate again.  Easy run, I felt great.

Total Distance
8.50

    5 miles tempo, with a short cool down because I had to bring my brother to his cello lesson.  I think I'll run a little more tonight.  Total time:26:41.  Splits as I can remember: 4:50(downhill), 5:40(uphill), 5:15(no net elevation change, but very hilly), 5:07(downhill), and 5:39(uphill). 

    3 miles after dinner. I wouldn't recommend eating clam chowder and a big dinner before a run.

Comments
From The Rockin Robbin on Sun, Jan 05, 2014 at 19:45:59 from 67.166.74.245

That sounds like it was fun, heh tempo's are such a blast, that is cool that your brother plays cello so does my brother, they should play a piece together sometime :D

Total Distance
6.75

   Ran with Tyson, Stockton, and Ethan.  It was at an easy pace, but didn't feel too easy.  I just felt really lazy today. 

Total Distance
10.25

    7.25 miles trail run in Logan Canyon with Ethan and Stockton.  It looked beautiful and warm, but I wanted to show them a trail, but it ended up being one of the few places near Logan that wasn't sunny or warm.  We walked when it got too steep to run, but running down was scary!

     3 miles around the block 3 times.  I felt good, it was easy not running in the snow and hills. 

Total Distance
10.00

    5 miles tempo, 2 cool down.  I had some trouble today with the run.  First mile went good, second I dropped my iPod(first time in years.  This thing has lasted forever), which has my music and watch on it.  I quickly picked it up and continued running. Later I found the corner was a little banged up, but not bad. Third mile was good.  Fourth mile felt good, but is one of the fastest on the route(three quarters are downhill), but I ran my second slowest mile. Fifth one I saw my split, and couldn't believe it.  I pushed it a lot on this mile and was able to finish it faster(it's really uphill) than the previous one.  The cold was bad, and I think I've been eating too much lately, so my stomache wasn't feeling that good.  Splits: 4:58(downhill), 5:44(uphill for almost all of it), 5:17, 5:39(mile 2 backwards), 5:36(mile one backwards. uphill!)

   3 easy later when it was dark.  I felt better, but it could be I was bundled up.

Total Distance
11.10

    8 with Tyson and Ethan.  It was supposed to be my long day (10 to 12), and I was shooting for twelve, but ended up not having much time afterward.  I ran three when I got home, but didn't have time for four.

Total Distance
7.00

    Around 7.  Tyson and I ran in a lot of snow.  We did Turkey Trot backwards, then we went up to the top of 6th south instead of finishing, then we ran Cedar Ridge backwards.  Pretty fun running in the snow.

Total Distance
9.00

    1.5 mile warm up inside on a 13 lap track. Not too fun.  Then went to the treadmill, and did 5k at 5:00 pace with 2% incline (it stopped at 3.05 miles, but then I started it back up until I finished the 5k for sure by running an extra 300m), then 400m easy, then 1 mile at 5:00 (same incline), then a small walking break to the drinking fountain and back, then 1 more mile at, you guessed it, 5:00 pace.  I kept increasing the incline until I was 5% for the last 200m.  .5 cool down on the treadmill, the 1.5 off the treadmill (had to do some math for how far I ran)

Comments
From Abel on Thu, Jan 09, 2014 at 21:13:05 from 174.23.116.38

Great workout especially for being on a treadmill, that's awesome! You getting ready for some big indoor meets?

Total Distance
3.00

     3 easy with Stockton and Ethan. Halfway through we stopped and had Ethan run a 400m at 5:00 pace to get ready for tomorrow. 

Race: USU Indoor Meet (1 Miles) 00:04:30, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Total Distance
10.00

    Great way to start off the indoor season, especially at that track(it usually runs pretty slow).  USU puts on a great race, low key so you don't have to be too stressed about it, and it makes it more fun.  I did a small shake out, then another one with some teamates.  Then we warmed up for the mile by running 1.2.  Then we warmed up again for the mile about an hour later (It took a long time until the mile started), we ran about another mile.  Then we got spikes on, did stretches and went to the start line. 

     They put us in heats, and I made sure I got a good start.  I ran in first, Skyler Williams was in second, and then another kid in a really cool Nike uniform(looked like the Nike Oregon Project's one, just different colors.) was behind us.  We started to make a gap, and we came across 800m at 2:16.  I wasn't ready for the speed of the mile, but once we hit the 800m mark, I started feeling better.  Skyler passed me either on the 4th lap, but then with 700m to go I started to make a big move to lose him(this guy can kick like a madman! He's fast at the end).  He stayed close, but then at 400m to go I through in another surge, and thought I'd lost him.  With 200m to go I thought I'd won it for sure.  With 100m to go, I looked back, and he'd made up everything, and was getting ready to pass me.  Here I sprinted faster than I have for a long time.  Last 200m was 30 sec.  My middle laps were slow, but it's okay, still the start of the season.  I beat him, but it wasn't at all easy.  It was a good effort.

    After a long time of waiting, watching cool races, talking to a lot of people, and eating, the 800m was getting close.  I had planned on running it, but wasn't sure.  My dad advised me not too if I wanted to run the 3200m also, so I listened and decided not to.  It was a crazy race to watch, and just watching it was more intense than the mile.  Tyson started out in 3rd or 4th for what I could see.  He was 60 sec. at 400m, 1:31 at 600m, and finished in 2:00!  He took 3rd to Sam Sorenson and someone else.  The two mile was fun, and I ran it solo.  They combined the heats of girls and boys, so it was crowded, but I felt good.  I didn't want any lap slower than 37.  I ran a 9:38, and Ethan and Stockton were 2nd and 3rd, so top 3 were Sky View.  Cool down afterward to bring it to 10 for the day and 50 for the week.  Great week of training.

Comments
From Kale Sharp on Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 09:54:45 from 208.117.127.137

Nice race, good way to start off the indoor season!

From Steve on Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 13:36:06 from 66.87.112.65

You had me worried when he got around you. It didn't seem before the race that you were going to be into it. Then you gapped him pretty good and we relaxed. :-)

Great finish!

From Conner Mantz on Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 15:27:08 from 67.2.168.188

Thanks Kale, and Steve, I don't think I was mentally prepared enough to race, but after that first 600m or so, the competitive edge came in and it was fun.

Total Distance
10.00

   Great weather(36 degrees when I left, and 40 when I got home!), other than a little snow on the ground for about a mile of the run.  I did my regular 5 mile tempo run, with 2 miles cool down. I felt surprisingly really good today, but it still hurt to run this fast. Splits: 4:50.5,  5:36.8, 5:06.9(I might've pushed the split button early on this one, making this one shorter and the next longer), 5:05.4, 5:30.9.  Great run for me, my times matched the hills pretty well. 

   3 easy miles in the dark.  Still surprisingly warm 36 degrees. I felt great, other than I had too much food in my stomache.

Total Distance
12.00

     I only had an hour after school to run, so Ethan, Tyson, and I made it a quicker long run.  Tyson turned around early(he wasn't going long), and Ethan did a small break while I kept running.  I ended up with a little over 9 for the hour and Ethan was around 8.5.  Last 4 miles were in 25 minutes, which is faster than it should've been.

    3 miles easy.  Great weather on both runs.

Total Distance
6.00

     Golf Course extended with a group this time, and then a little less than a mile with Ethan to bring it up to 6.

      I was going to try and go down to the BYU indoor meet, but I seem to have caught a bug and have a sore throat and have been sneezing a bunch. 

Total Distance
8.00

    Not the best today. I still felt sick. 1.5 mile warm up, then a 5k in 15:42, then 1 mile easy, then 1 mile in 5:00, then 1.5 mile cool down with Kyler.  The 5k felt like it was killing me.  I was going to do 1 more mile at 5:00, but I just didn't have it.  It's either the sickness or the little sleep I've gotten these last few days from having to do a lot of assignments.

Total Distance
6.00

   4 easy with the team, then 2 with Claire later. All easy!

Total Distance
11.25

     Was going to go twelve, but my legs were struggling, and I turned around just a tiny bit early because I saw lots of cars parked up near the top of the canyon, and I wasn't sure if they were hunting or what, so I just turned around a little early.  My body was just really tired, not like tired from workouts, but tired from not getting enough sleep these past nights.

Total Distance
7.00

   I cut the workout short today, just trying to make sure I'm fresh for Friday and Saturday.  Instead of 5 miles tempo, I did 4.  I was running well, and feeling good, but I thought it'd be better for the race.  Total time:20:54 for the tempo.  3 miles easy after.

Comments
From Goggles on Tue, Jan 21, 2014 at 18:09:52 from 65.130.1.39

Did you open with a 4:50 like you did last week? Haha nice job!

From Conner Mantz on Tue, Jan 21, 2014 at 19:08:14 from 67.2.170.21

Lol, nope. When I open in a 4:50, it's because I lose 200-300 feet within a small portion of the first mile.

From Goggles on Tue, Jan 21, 2014 at 19:36:40 from 65.130.1.39

That makes sense. Alrighty haha.

Total Distance
12.00

   9, long and easy. I'll do some speed work tomorrow.  Ran with Tyson, Ethan and Jordan. 

   3 easy on my own later.  I felt great!

Total Distance
6.00

    6 miles with 4X200m in them.  Not as fast as they should've been(probably), but seemed like they were good.  They hurt, so that's a good sign I think.

Total Distance
2.50

    I wasn't able to run much.  My hamstrings were hurting a bunch, and then it was pre-meet anyway, so that was good.

Comments
From Shawn H on Thu, Jan 23, 2014 at 20:20:27 from 50.170.73.69

Next time don't do fast 200s too close to a race. Your hamstrings are only sore because of that, Conner. Move the 200s back a couple of days, and you're fine. Good luck in your races.

From Tanner Nelson on Thu, Jan 23, 2014 at 21:20:14 from 67.2.56.88

Congrats on the Gatorade Runner of the Year! Way to represent Utah so well!

Race: Boise Indoor Invitational (2 Miles) 00:09:09, Place overall: 2, Place in age division: 2
Total Distance
5.00

     After a long 5 hour drive up to Boise, we checked into our hotel, and then went to the meet.  We had a little bit of time until the two mile started, so we bumbed around a little, and then Kyler, Ethan, Stockton, and I warmed up for about a mile and a half.  Then I watched Claire finish (12:17 in her first two mile!), and then got ready with Kyler. My hamstring hurt a ton, but I cared more about the mile anyway, so today I just was planning on sitting on Elijah and kicking.  Well the opposite happened.  The gun went off, and after about 100 meters, I was in the lead.  I felt pretty good.  First 400m wasn't too fast, but it felt comforable.  I can't remember splits, but Tyson told me later.  Pretty early on, it was just me in front, Elijah right behind and Andrew Rafla (PR before this was 9:31).  Somewhere in the race, I was lapping someone, and then cut out in front of me, and then I tried going around them, but they sprinted so I had to stick in lane 2.  I put on some surges in the race, but they responded well to them.  With 800m to go, my hammy tightened up a little.  My next 400m was the slowest we ran, 1:10.  I then tried to make a move to lose Elijah, but didn't have the rigth mentallity.  I just kept pushing it, but with 150m left, Elijah passed me and I lost it mentally.  I didn't think I killed myself a ton, but ended up running a 1:04 the last 400m, which means Elijah's was 1:03.  Full 2 miles, not 3200m, so converted it was like a 9:05 or 06, close to my PR. Also, a very strange thing.  I negative split the race. And I led most of it.  This usually never happens for me. 4:35 first mile, 4:34 second.

     I feel great about this race. Even though I wanted the win, I was happy I was able to run fast and being beat by Elijah is better than other people.  He's a great runner, and he's pretty nice to everyone too.  I cooled down with Kyler, Ethan and Stockton, but Kyler was feeling really sick, so he had to leave early.  We got tons of stuff in our shoes, so that kinda sucked.

Comments
From Nephi Eschler on Sat, Jan 25, 2014 at 20:49:31 from 209.33.192.7

Great race! I can't believe you ran a 9:09 this early in the season, you are SO fast!

Race: New Balance Indoor 1 Mile (1 Miles) 00:04:18, Place overall: 2, Place in age division: 2
Total Distance
10.00

      I will report on this race later.  Good race for me.  I planned on not leading it at all, but led from 100m to 1410m.  Elijah's last 200m was flying, and mine wasn't so much.

    If you've already read the one about the 3200m, then it's almost the same.  I warmed up with everyone, and then we got ready to race.  Tyson had an epic race in his heat and his time was the 6th fastest of the day, and then we lined up.  Before the race my hamstrings weren't hurting, but my hips were.  Before the race Elijah told me there were a lot of good 800m runners in this race(kickers), so we were going to have to make it fast to run well. I wasn't planning on being the one to take the pace out fast, but I got next to Elijah, and he slowed down to let me in and lead(because he thought I wanted to and he didn't want to make me pass on the turn) and we came across the 200m at 32.  That was slower than what I wanted, so I sped up the pace.  I came across 400m at 63, so just a little fast.  I stayed in the same effort for the next 400m(2:08ish), and then the next lap wasn't fast. 

      By this time I felt like I went out too fast, and my arms were hurting(lack of arm and core strenghtning.  Need to work on that) With 600m to go, I made a surge, but Elijah matched it. I kept thinking of Boston, and how I wanted to go so bad(winner gets his way paid to Boston to the New Balance Grand Prix). I didn't look back, but hoped I had gained ground on him.  With 400m to go, I think I slowed, and with 200m to go, Elijah passed me, and I don't know what happened.  I usually can kick well, but I thought I could get him on the straightaway, but I didn't put any effort in to keep up with him.  He ended up 4:16, I was 4:18.25, and Andrew was 4:18.55(he almost caught me.  Thank goodness it was 1609 meters, not 1620.)  Good race for me, but missed my goal of winning.  Maybe next year or something. I cooled down with the Sky View guys for 2 miles, then ran mile to 2 miles on my own, then I saw Elijah, his dad and brother, and ran with them. 

    3 miles later, when I got home.  It was planned to be easy(make up for not doing a long run this week), but ended up pushing it a lot more.  I just thought about the race, and how I wished I could've pushed it a little more and been in better shape, but I gave it my all, or close enough to my all that I wouldn't have been in a different place.

Comments
From Blake Bennion on Sat, Jan 25, 2014 at 20:53:50 from 66.29.190.63

Wow, great job! You might have gotten 2nd, but 4:18 is a really awesome time!

From Jake K on Sun, Jan 26, 2014 at 20:19:41 from 67.177.11.154

Great double Conner. Use those "2nds" as motivation!

Total Distance
12.00

   12 long and slow.  Mentally felt destroyed, I really wanted to make the USA team for the BUPA race last month, but missed the application date by 1 day, and then after New Balance, not making the mile by 1 place.  Just feels hard to stay positive.  Physically my body is recovering well from the races last Saturday. 

Comments
From Shawn H on Mon, Jan 27, 2014 at 22:40:36 from 174.61.225.188

Don't be discouraged, Conner. You're doing great. Indoor shouldn't really be your focus right now, although of course you want to do well. You're going to be outstanding come Spring. Stay positive, stay healthy through the long, cold Utah winter. I can hear the Beatles song "Here Comes the Sun." Great things are ahead, young man.

Total Distance
10.00

   Alright run today.  It was a 5 mile tempo.  My throat felt like it could never get enough oxygen in it(going from 2500 feet on Saturday back to utah elevation with the worst air quality in the nation changes the amount of oxygen you get per breathe. Welcome to Cache Valley.) and it kept getting stuffed with snot and spit.  At the end I stopped my timer, and the next thing I knew I had fallen or slipped or something, because I was 12 feet away from where I stopped my timer, on the ground with a bleeding knee. I washed it out, then went two more miles of cool down. Splits:4:57, 5:41, 5:19, 5:02, 5:37.   Good workout to get done.

   Later I did some arm workouts to get my arms back into better shape so it doesn't hurt to race a mile.  2nd one(I've always done core) with extra arm workouts.  3 miles after too. 

Comments
From Shawn H on Tue, Jan 28, 2014 at 17:43:41 from 174.61.225.188

Yep, I remember those terrible Utah winter temperature inversions. You can smell the pollution in the air, and feel it in your nose and throat. When it got so bad that there was an air quality advisory on the news, that's when I ran on the treadmill, as much as I hated the treadmill. Or, if you can get there, you can head up for a mountain run above the smog. Hopefully your air will clear out soon.

From Conner Mantz on Tue, Jan 28, 2014 at 18:40:25 from 67.2.170.21

Yeah, I mostly try to run above the smog, but I had to run in a lot of it to get back up to an elevation where it wasn't as bad.

From Rob Murphy on Tue, Jan 28, 2014 at 19:30:38 from 24.10.249.34

Gatorade runner of the year!

Congratulations Mr. Mantz!

From Conner Mantz on Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 17:08:45 from 67.2.170.21

Thanks Murphy

Total Distance
6.00

    Around 6 miles.  Slow, but didn't feel easy.  I went with Kyler and Tyson until they did their hill repeats, and then I ran a little more up the canyon, then came back after they were done.  My legs and body are so tired.  I need more sleep and recovery time.

Comments
From The Rockin Robbin on Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 20:35:48 from 67.166.74.245

That has been happening to me as well, I've been sitting on 7 hours of sleep and it still is not enough 8-9 is better and believe me, it makes a big difference on how you feel and perform.

From Conner Mantz on Thu, Jan 30, 2014 at 17:11:21 from 67.2.170.21

I absolutely agree. Last year I did my best when I got 9 full hours of sleep. It helps your recovery.

Total Distance
9.00

    9 miles.  I was planning on a hard workout(tempo!), but was too sore, so I'm puting it off.  We averaged 6:47.  It was 38 degrees, but not sunny.  I wore a jacket, and it was not a good idea.

Total Distance
10.00

     5 miles at tempoish.  Averaged anywhere from 5:22-5:30, depending on my first mile(which is usually sub-5 because it drops a ton of elevation, but could've been anywhere from 4:50 to 5:20 today).  I missed pressing start at the start of the tempo, and didn't realize it until the 2nd mile. 22:00 for the last 4 miles.  1 mile cool down, then 4 more miles to get in some extra miles. 

Total Distance
13.00

    8 miles up the canyon.  Pretty sore from yesterday, but it was still a nice run.  I might go more later, depending on my schedule. 

    5 later with Claire.  Easy, but I hurt.  My stomache and legs hurt, but mostly my stomache.  It didn't feel good at all.  Also, word of advice to anyone, if you have a high school dance that you're really excited for, don't run 13 miles on that day before the dance.  Your legs will be tired, and if your stomache hurt on the run, it might not feel good at the dance.

Comments
From The Rockin Robbin on Mon, Feb 03, 2014 at 20:24:37 from 67.166.74.245

Did you go to a dance with someone! Whats her name? Is she cute? Did you have the best dance moves in the whole house? I've heard that runners make the best dancers!

Total Distance
10.00

    5 mile tempo.  26:32 overall, with 2 miles cool down.  My feet hurt a little on the steep downhills(possibly time for new shoes. I've switched off between 2 pairs since the summer, and one was a nike pair, which typically don't last as long.), but felt good on the uphills.  It was really cold, or atleast cold for this year.  20s with a windchill.  I could feel the mileage from last week.

    3 miles easy in the dark with lots of snow.  Pretty fun.

Total Distance
12.10

     Long run with a lot of the Sky View guys.  Ethan, Kyler and I went all the way up to the campgrounds in Smithfield canyon.  On the way up, it was snowing pretty bad, and our faces were white. Near the campgrounds, we were running in a foot of powder for about a mile.  My knees were covered in snow!  It was fun, but that mile took 10 minutes!  Ethan and I averaged 7:15s, so it was pretty relaxed.  Kyler sped up and tempoed it down the canyon, and Ethan and I extended some more.  Legs felt tired.

Total Distance
6.25

    6 miles.  Over three with Joseph and Alex, then I went to the . .. . Treadmill(terrible right? but I didn't want to do this in the snow!).  I did 2Xmile at 5:00 with 2% incline.  It felt really easy.  I race on Friday, so I didn't want to push myself too much.

Total Distance
5.00

    pre-meet-5 miles.  Easy with Joseph, Ethan and Cody(for the first mile).  It was cold outside.   Colder than it's been in a while.  And really wet.  Hurray for all you who wanted snow, but for people like me who dislike cold, this sucks. 
 

Comments
From The Rockin Robbin on Sat, Feb 08, 2014 at 17:11:17 from 67.166.74.245

If you hate the cold then what are doing living in Smithfield? You should take the weekend to go to St. George or something. That what I'm doing this week.

Race: UHSTCA indoor meet (0.994 Miles) 00:04:20, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Total Distance
5.00

    I'm not sure on the time, but I think it was 4:19-21.  I watched Claire's race, where she PR'ed by 7 seconds(5:37!) and won her heat.  She's still dropping a lot of time for this early in the season, but I expected her to be 5:40 shape during XC season looking at her workouts.  Anyway, I then hurried and got my warm up in.  It was faster than usual, because I didn't think I had enough time. The race had plenty of really good competition in it.  I'd been beat by many of the people in our heat, so it was going to be a competitive race.  We got to the line(except for Kramer.  We were all looking for him, but he he didn't show up), everyone was joking around, but ready to race.

   I got out okay.  Austin took it out pretty quick for the first 200m, then Isaac yelled "what happened to 75"(apparently they had joked about running the first lap in 75 seconds.) Austin slowed down a little, not because what Isaac said, but just because none of us could handle that pace for the rest of the race.  I went around the pack and I went into the lead. I went out at a good pace to make sure I could handle it.  64 was my first lap.  It felt good, not like I could hold the pace for the rest of the race though.  Next lap I heard I had 5 meters on the pack.  I pushed it a little more to get a gap going.  At 800m I was about 2:10 I heard.  I pushed it a lot on this lap to make the gap big, because this is where everyone struggles the most.  I heard I had 20 meters on the pack now.  This was a problem, because I was hurting, and Isaac or Skyler could easily catch me in their last 400m.  I came across 1200m at 3:16.  I tried to run my last lap in 1:03, but I don't know if I did.  I worked on pumping my arms faster and harder, but that hurt.  Last 100m I saw I'd won it if I didn't slow down, so I pushed to the finish.  I crossed the line, then Skyler Willams did, then Justin Sheets had a big PR(6 seconds).  Then the rest of the pack came in, and it seemed like a lot people ran well.

     I cooled down with a bunch of those guys.  I'm happy with my race, it didn't go as expected.  I felt better and more competitive in this race than usual.  It was more fun I thought.  I think I wasn't doing as well last track and xc seasons because it wasn't fun near the end(the races or the workouts, but mostly races).  I was planning on running the 3200 tomorrow, but something came up, so I'll wait until Simplot(which will probably be best).  

Total Distance
13.00

     Long run. I wasn't able to be in Kearns today, so I didn't run the 3200m.  Legs hurt for the first few minutes due to the long car ride. St. George weather was great though.

Total Distance
8.50

    Ran again in St. George.  A little cold at first, but then the sun came out. Did some sprints where I worked on form during it.  Felt pretty sore.

Comments
From Joseph Buenning on Thu, Feb 13, 2014 at 20:39:53 from 209.33.229.187

You should have come run with Desert Hills!

Total Distance
6.00

    6 slow miles. I didn't feel too good in the stomache due to my lack of healthy food, but hopefully I get back into the swing of things.  I'm way excited for Simplot, there's going to be a great field to go after Ben's record.

Total Distance
2.75

    Pre-meet.  Extended a little with Tyson.

Race: Simplot 3200m prelims (1.988 Miles) 00:09:27, Place overall: 3, Place in age division: 1
Total Distance
6.50

      Did a shakeout run with Kyler and Stockton when we got there.  Then ran a good warm up with Kyler.  We were both in the second heat.  We watched the first heat, where Cerake went 9:15 and looked like he was spent the last lap(it's prelims. calm down Colorado kid).

    Race: The gun went off, I got out bad, but it didn't matter because it's a 2 mile race.  Then I heard someone fall, and then we had to restart.  I got out better, but quickly got into pace, while a lot of people pushed it like it was the biggest part of the race.  I then got into the lead about 400m in and just kept a good pace.  I think I was 4:45 at the mile, I wanted to be 9:40, so this was fast.  I just kept going off feel, but with 400m to go I couldn't resist, and it sounded like Connor McMillan was going to pass me, so I sped up my last 2 laps.  With 1.5 to go, some kid wouldn't let me pass him.  We were sprinting side by side for almost a full lap.  I was a bit ticked, so I cut him off after the second turn with him.  Maybe I'm being the jerk, but when you lap someone, and they make you get out in lane 2 it gets you a bit mad.  I came in at 9:27, which is good, but probably too fast for prelims.  Oh well, it's not the end of the world.  Afterward I did a cool down with Elijah and his dad because Kyler wasn't feeling that good with his race.  It was great talking to him about the race.  Kyler, Claire(who ran a 10+ sec. PR in her race.  She could have ran a lot faster, but she doesn't have a lot of speed, and the race went out way too fast.  I think she was in 2nd to last at the 400m and was at 1:20.  She ended with a 12:08 I think) and I left early and got home around 9:30-10.  I got on my homework and worked until 4 AM doing it, so I'm a little sleep deprived right now.  Hopefully it doesn't hurt my race Saturday too much.

Total Distance
2.50

   2 easy with Claire, then a half mile with strides in it.

Race: Simplot finals (2 Miles) 00:09:12, Place overall: 3, Place in age division: 3
Total Distance
6.00

     Warmed up with Elijah.  My legs felt really flat, and I was tired.  I could feel the lack of sleep from Thursday night. Planned on not leading, but that plan went out the window when we opened in a 1:08 first 400m. I wasn't feeling that good from the get go.  Just really tired.  I pushed and came across the mile in 4:32.  Then Cerake and Elijah flew by my, and I just wanted to be done.  I had a terrible mental game.  I just wanted to finish.  With 6 laps left my stomache started to hurt and I felt like I was sprinting to just get a faster time than last year.  With 2 laps left my stomache was really hurting.  If I could have kicked like usual I would have finished 2nd in 9:08 or so, but was just happy to get it over with.  After I went to the garbage can and stood there for a while.  I was just so dizzy and tired afterward.  I didn't throw up, so this race was better than Arcadia.  Afterward I cooled down with Elijah, and started to feel better.  He didn't race well(for what shape he was in) either, so it was good to have someone that understood running with me.  I ran a little more when we ordered Dinner, and I ran some looking(before my race) for someone who ran the mile in spikes to ask if it was a good idea, but I never found anyone, so I played it safe with flats.

Comments
From Abel on Sun, Feb 16, 2014 at 12:19:29 from 174.23.116.128

Great time! Look at this way.. Even with the lack of sleep and stomach problems you still finished with a 9:12. I totally see your frustration but that's great for this early in the year. Keep up the good work.

From Jake K on Sun, Feb 16, 2014 at 13:02:15 from 67.177.11.154

Nice job Conner. I know you didn't feel great, but 9:12 in February in still solid. You'll keep improving from here and be able to go under 9 before you know it.

From jtshad on Sun, Feb 16, 2014 at 15:12:51 from 69.20.183.178

Valiant race! We saw you take out the lead in that second lap and push to separate from Elijah and Cerake. But when they kicked it up in the second mile I could see that you were not feeling it. You pushed hard those last couple of laps and made up some solid ground on Elijah. A learning experience that I am sure you will use in future races.

Keep running strong.

BTW, that was me who said "that is Conner" when you were walking up the stairs in the stands.

From Steve on Tue, Feb 18, 2014 at 01:10:13 from 66.87.77.73

Get the book "Road to the Top", Joe Vigil, if you don't have it already. Read the parts about how he defines a true athlete and his advice to great, young runners like you.

Old man advice...

From Conner Mantz on Tue, Feb 18, 2014 at 19:30:26 from 67.2.170.21

Thanks everyone, and Steve I'll have to look into that book, I haven't read it, but I love sport books.

Total Distance
10.10

    It hurt, but it was a good workout.  5 mile tempo.  26:27.  Splits(vary for hills): 4:53, 5:36.7, 5:16.9, 5:08.6, 5:32.   I wish I would have ran some tempo last week so I remembered how much it hurt sometimes to run, so I would be ready for Simplot.  I was around 26:13 for 8K, which would have placed me 9th at USA XC championships.  This was in trainers, so maybe I could've been competitive if I was there. Boulder is also 800 feet higher.  Next year I plan to race in it, and my goal is to place in the top 6.

    3.1 miles easy, then ab workout.  I have about a month until my next big race, so time to get ready for that. Keep working on tempo, but I need to get some speed in my legs soon.

Comments
From Abel on Mon, Feb 17, 2014 at 20:21:12 from 174.23.118.182

Awesome tempo. You coming down to St. George for the Pine View Invitational?

From Conner Mantz on Tue, Feb 18, 2014 at 19:31:26 from 67.2.170.21

Thanks Taylor, I hope I can, but I don't know if my coach will be okay with it yet. It always sounds like a ton of fun.

From Abel on Tue, Feb 18, 2014 at 20:03:55 from 174.23.118.182

Well we will all be crossing our fingers for ya down here hoping you can make it!

Total Distance
12.00

    Long tempo run. I didn't know what to expect because I haven't run a quality long tempo run since a week before the Utah Valley half two years ago.  It went great considering everything though, I averaged 5:40.5 for 10 miles.  It hurt like heck, it was up Smithfield Canyon and back down, so it was easy to negative split.  I only had one mile over 6:00(mile 5.  I was able to fly on the downhill though and run in the 5:20 range), so that shows I'm in some great shape. 2 mile cool down afterward. I was 28:57 at the 5 mile mark, and I think around 56:40s at the end.

Comments
From Rob Murphy on Tue, Feb 18, 2014 at 20:08:44 from 24.10.249.34

Hey Conner. Good workouts the past two days!

Why are you doing hard tempos back to back?

From Conner Mantz on Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 17:21:35 from 67.2.170.21

I didn't have a lot of time with all the homework I had to get in a slow long run, so I decided to speed up the long run. Also, I have to get that upper edge on Kramer somehow!

From Rob Murphy on Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 19:17:39 from 24.10.249.34

OK, but you have to give your body time to absorb a workout. Google the term "supercompensation".

There's NOTHING you can't accomplish in this sport Conner.

From Conner Mantz on Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 17:51:59 from 67.2.170.21

Looked into it a little, but I'll look into it some more when I have time and don't have as much school work to do. It's really interesting.

From Shawn H on Fri, Feb 21, 2014 at 19:13:05 from 174.61.225.188

Rob is right, Conner. Don't push yourself too hard during those cold winter months--not back-to-back anyway. Your Spring track can be awesome. Don't take this winter stuff so seriously. You have so much talent, and you're going to do great.

Total Distance
6.00

    6 with Ethan and Jordan.  It was supposed to be easy, but it was more like just slow and hard.  My legs were tired.  At the end I went up to the track to finish, while Ethan went to break in his new spikes, and we ran a lap together, then I was at 6 and done.

Total Distance
6.50

I wasn't ready for a track workout.  I just couldn't get a full 400m in at the pace in needed to be it felt.  I did 1.5 warm up, then a 200m.  It was supposed to be 6X400m at 1:03 or faster, so not sprinting, but fast, with 2 min. recovery.  The 200m was way too fast, but I slowed and knew I couldn't keep that pace for a full 400m without putting forth a lot of effort. I just stopped, it was 28, and I did a 400m in 1:01, but just wasn't mentally ready to put any effort in.  I need to stop this.  I finished with 5 more 200s.  They were around 28-30, so fast, but it wasn't the full distance.  I need to get back on speed and endurance of speed. 

Total Distance
6.00

    I felt terrible. Stopped once.  I used "new" shoes and they didn't feel good, but nothing really did.  Time to catch up on all the sleep I missed this week.

Total Distance
11.00

      I was planning on a workout, but then it got really windy, and I didn't want to do it in the wind on the track, so I decided to just go long.  Well, about a mile into it I decided it might be best to do the workout.  It's a workout for 10,000m pacing, but I cut it in half. It's goal race pace(5K,at 1:10 per 400m) with 50 sec. rest. 12X400m  I used my iPod timer because during my run I didn't have a watch, but it worked out.  Splits ranged anywhere from 1:06-1:08, so on the fast side, but that isn't bad.  I sprinted a 200m after, but I was so tired I could only hit 31.  Half-way through my dad saw me when driving and came to watch and encourage me, so that was nice.  Last time I did(right before footlocker regionals) this I was 70-72, with goal pace being 72.  6 miles slow after.  3 with my dad and sister, then 3 by myself.

Total Distance
10.00

   1.4 mile warm up, then 10X200m with 200m jog recovery. Goal was 30-31.  Splits: 27, 29, 30(I actually missed it, but here's a guess) 29, 29, 29, 29, 28, 29, 28.  Then 3.1 mile cool down.  It was track tryouts today, but coach Walker let me be off the hook.  I then went another mile with Ethan, Glen, Stockton and Tyson, then 2 miles when I got home.  Interesting to see tryouts.  Tyson just randomly threw out a 53 in his trainers, I'm excited to see what he'll do in the 800m this year.

Comments
From Rob Murphy on Mon, Feb 24, 2014 at 20:04:32 from 24.10.249.34

You have track tryouts? I've never heard of that.

From Jake K on Mon, Feb 24, 2014 at 20:07:39 from 67.177.11.154

Congrats on making the track team :-)

From Conner Mantz on Tue, Feb 25, 2014 at 19:12:03 from 97.126.235.35

Well, our head coach puts everyone through some hard workouts to get the kids who are just doing it for an easy 'A' to quit(it's a class at Sky View). And Jake, I haven't made the team yet. After the weight throws last year, I'm surprised they let me be on the team!

From Jake K on Tue, Feb 25, 2014 at 19:35:24 from 67.177.11.154

I'm sure when you run 8:50 for 2 miles, he'll forget that you suck at shotput!

I threw the javelin once and it was ugly. Never tried another field event.

From Rob Murphy on Tue, Feb 25, 2014 at 20:00:37 from 24.10.249.34

Good point Jake.

I'm going to start a bogus Letsrun thread based on this conversation.

"State champion and two time Foot Locker Finalist cut from track team - sucks at shot put".

From Conner Mantz on Thu, Feb 27, 2014 at 17:44:33 from 97.126.235.35

Haha, that would be so funny, but I ended up making it. Probably by a slim chance, my throwing is exactly much better than last year.

Total Distance
10.00

    5 miles tempo.  Averaged 5:19. went too fast at start, and felt yesterday's workout later.  Good to get this workout in.  2 cool down.

   3 later

Comments
From Red Leader on Tue, Feb 25, 2014 at 18:14:00 from 74.211.21.36

Great work out Conner! Keep up the solid work outs! Good luck with the upcoming track season!

From Conner Mantz on Tue, Feb 25, 2014 at 19:12:30 from 97.126.235.35

Thanks Matt, and you too!

Total Distance
7.00

     Went a little over 6 slow by myself. I didn't feel to great.  Just really tired in the legs and sore.  Then I saw Alex was doing the pacer for tryouts, so I did it with him.  At 55 or something, it was just four of us who had done XC before.  We just decided to quit at 59, but I had to beat Alex so I did 60.

Comments
From The Rockin Robbin on Wed, Feb 26, 2014 at 22:51:42 from 67.166.74.245

60...on a pacer test...nice.

Total Distance
5.00

     5 easy miles.  I had a workout planned, but when I started running my left hamstring started to hurt.  Better play it safe than sorry.  It also rained a lot, so it made it feel really cold.  But rain. . . .in February? Crazy

Total Distance
7.50

   Just guessing on distance, but it's around 7.5-8 I think.  I ran to SV and did 1200, 1000, 800, then 300m sprint. Everything was supposed to be 3200m race pace.  I was slow, but it was really windy and I just was trying to be cautious about the hamstring.  Not that bad of a workout though.  3:27, 2:52ish(maybe 2:51), and then 2:15(maybe 2:14.  Last lap was too fast.).  I didn't time the 300m at all, but just sprinted it. It's hard to push your sprint when you're alone and have no watch. It's easy to just say, "oh I must be sprinting, this hurts a little," but when you're really not going that fast.

Total Distance
13.25

    AM- 6 miles at a fun easy pace.  Felt good, kinda fast but also kinda slow.  Found out I only had an hour to go run, shower, and then go to Logan, so I limited the long run to two runs.

    PM- 7.25 miles easy.  I got another run in.  It felt good, slower than the first, but good.

Total Distance
10.00

     10 easy around Preston.  Was going to do a route that goes around the Napoleon Dynamite scenes, but got lost when looking for the house.  I ran to the golf course and a few other places.  I picked it up the last mile and ran it in 5:19.  It felt like a 5:30 at fastest, so that was weird, especially because it was into the wind for most of it.

Total Distance
10.00

     After taking the ACT today, I was pretty warn out mentally.  Hopefully I get a good score, but I feel like I did bad on the English and Math sections, which are usually my best part, so I don't want to know my score. 1.25 mile warm up, then a 5k at tempo pace on the track to get ready for New Balance in a week and a half.  I ate some waffles (in between the test and the run) about an hour before, so I felt terrible, but since it was only 3.1 miles tempo it was a lot easier to do.  I averaged 5:00 or 5:01, not sure.  Was pretty consistent, until the end I started to fade.  Then 2 miles cool down with Calvin when we went looking for everyone else, but we didn't find them.

     4 miles later.  Felt good during these.

Total Distance
6.20

    6.2 miles up sunnyside plus a little. Then some ten dot dot with everyone at Mack Park.  Easy to get ready for the workout tomorrow.

Total Distance
9.00

     Blue and White meet today.  Coach had me do a workout to make up for missing the one on Monday instead. I ran in the mile and did 3X300m at mile pace with 100m recovery at 8:00 pace.  I started out strong and ran my first 300m in 43, but I slowed down a lot in the last 20 meters.  I jumped quickly into my recovery, but ended up going to fast and was at the line at 20 sec, so I jogged in place for five then ran the next one.  48ish.  Just a tad slow.  The recovery was right on.  Then another 48, so a bit slow, but then the recovery was slower.  Alex and Tyson passed me, and so I just tagged along with Alex. Finished in 5:01 for the mile.  Then it got really cold and rainy and really really windy, so I just decided not to do the 800m the same way and ran a bunch easy after.

Total Distance
6.20

     5.2 easy with the team, then Tyson, Ethan, and Stockton ran 3X400m with me to help me pace for the 5000m in a week.  Coach said just do 3X1 minute at race pace, so I decided to do it on the track and go the extra so many meters.  We hit 65, 66, 65.  It was weird how easy it felt.  But then again, it was only one lap with a minute or two recovery. 

Comments
From Jake K on Fri, Mar 07, 2014 at 15:57:40 from 199.190.170.31

So you are running the 5000 at nationals?

I'm excited for you... I think sometimes the mile and even two-mile are too short for you, the way you hammer out tempo runs... 5K on the track is going to really suit your strengths.

From Conner Mantz on Fri, Mar 07, 2014 at 18:40:49 from 97.126.235.35

Thanks Jake, and yeah, the mile has always felt too short, and I've had trouble pacing the 2 mile for the last year, so I think with my tempos I'll have an extra gear that others won't have in the 5,000m.

Do you have any recommendations on how to run a 5,000m on a track or an indoor track? Just try for even pace, is it usually first mile faster or something?

From Jake K on Fri, Mar 07, 2014 at 19:34:06 from 67.177.11.154

What kind of time are you targeting? 14:30-ish?

I'd say even splits... it should be as crazy of a start as an XC 5K... try to get settled into a good position after a lap and keep the laps as consistent as possible.

From Conner Mantz on Sat, Mar 08, 2014 at 00:10:50 from 97.126.235.35

Alright, thanks Jake. And yeah, I'm going for 14:27ish, just faster than what Elijah ran last year outdoors. So that's like 34-35s I think.

From Jake K on Sat, Mar 08, 2014 at 07:51:47 from 67.177.11.154

That's what I figured... yeah 35s is 14:35, so you want to be high 34s each lap. I think you can break 14:30... I'm looking forward to seeing the results of this one!

Total Distance
8.25

    8.25 easy.  Time to start getting that taper in.  Legs felt good, but I'm a little sick and didn't feel good.  Hopefully I get better before next week.

Total Distance
6.00

    6 maybe.  Maybe less.  Not a lot of running, tapering for sure.  4X200m at mile effort.  Felt great.  27 I think for the first one, then 29(16 for the first 100m, then a 13.  The first 100m I was weaving between everyone and got out into lane 4.  I was pretty happy about this), 29, 28.  Then a 600m just trying to get on my 5K race pace.  I was 7-8 seconds fast, but it felt good.  I ran it with Tyson and Kyler so it was nice running with others.

Total Distance
6.00

    Around 6, so I ran with people.  I warmed up with everyone, then ran with Joseph for his 1000s, and then after 4, I ran with Kyler for his last one and a 600m. I did 2 strides.  Legs felt slow, but since I was running with others I was good. Cool down with everyone. 

Total Distance
2.25

    Pre-meet with everyone.

Comments
From Jake K on Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 16:47:21 from 174.251.209.243

National Champ!!! 14:24!!!

From Holt on Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 17:24:18 from 67.2.228.53

I can't find results or video... Someone help me.

CONGRATS CONNOR,

From Red Leader on Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 18:11:49 from 74.211.21.36

Conner!!!!!! That's SO AWESOME!! CONGRATS!

From Holt on Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 20:08:55 from 67.2.228.53

Just found it on runnerspace for those interest... Not only a win, but laid it to so pretty big time runners (of course we know Conner is pretty big time himself!)

From Blake Bennion on Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 21:56:06 from 204.14.22.58

GOOD JOB!!! That was an amazing race!!!

From The Warbeast on Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 22:23:05 from 209.33.233.162

Flipping sick race! Great job, Conner!

From Little Bad Legs on Sat, Mar 15, 2014 at 00:29:53 from 67.189.70.187

Well done! That race was a thing of beauty. Your entire race was smokin fast, but those final three laps were truly incredible. Congratulations!

From Conner Mantz on Sun, Mar 16, 2014 at 20:33:24 from 97.126.226.212

Thanks everyone!

Total Distance
2.00

    Premeet on treadmill. Felt hard to go 7 min. miles, so I stopped at 2 miles. My dad ran next to me at about the same pace. 

Race: New balance indoors (3.107 Miles) 00:14:24, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Total Distance
6.50

     I'll write more about it when I get back home.  It was a good race, I ran it smart and finished strong. 

     I warmed up a mile with Elijah, then did a little more on my own.  My dad had been helping out all week and making sure I could have a good race.  My dad and I had a spot to meet up for him to give me my spikes and bag before my race.  I couldn't find him, and was freaking out, but after 5 to 10 minutes I found him.  I checked in, changed spikes, drank a lot of water, and went through the rest of the routine before the race.  My plan was to stick on someone if they were hitting 34s-35s (or faster, but I didn't think that would happen), and if they got off pace, I would go around them and put a surge on to lose them.  If no one was going to lead it, I would, but I would throw surges so no one could pace or draft (kind of a mean thing to do, but that's sometimes how races go).  My uncle had came, and I could hear him everyback stretch yelling at me.

     We started out on a staggered waterfall, and I just hung to the inside of the lane and was in the back. I slowly moved up to second. Somewhere along here I got spiked for the first time.  It was pretty bunched and a lot of people were pushing.  Aaron passed me and the kid leading it.  The leader quickly slowed down, so I went around him and stuck on Aaron.  Sure enough, Aaron kept the pace perfect.  4:34 at the 1600m. After this I mentally fell asleep.  The pace wasn't killer, and everything was done almost sub-consiously.  I looked back a lot, not a good thing to do.  Aaron and me broke off the pack after the mile, but I had no idea.  With 10 laps to go we were slowing. Aaron's coach was yelling splits, so I could hear if we were on pace or not.  We hit a few 35.Xs, and were slowing down, so I jumped into the lead.  I didn't surge yet, but kept the pace lively.  We actually didn't speed up like I thought we did. We had to finish in a 4:40 for our last 1600m to run 14:30, so I knew it would be close. We had started lapping runners and it was getting a little rough.  I saw someone throwing up off the track and was just happy that wasn't me.

     I passed Aaron again with 6 laps to go I think.  It felt unreal that I was leading it. I felt like he was going to pass me anytime, so I tried to speed it up, but my pace didn't change per 200m.  With 600m to go I remembered the 1600m at USU indoor, and my big surge with 600m to go, so I did that.  I think I ran a 34/33 that lap, and then the last 2 laps didn't feel like they happened.  It felt like a dream.  I pushed myself, because I thought someone would be on my tail.  It felt like a dream, like something I imagined when thinking if I would have raced a race differently.  I crossed the finish line, and my body just started to burn.  I was so exhausted. I looked back and saw Aaron cross. I almost threw up, but held it in.  There was a camera guy just videoing me, but didn't say anything, so I was unsure what to do.  They took me to the press room, I got interviewed by a lot of guys, so that was cool.  After I cooled down with Aaron.  Then my uncle to my dad and me to a really fancy Mexican restaurant.  It was great.  I finally had my break through race I'd been looking for.

Comments
From Jake K on Sat, Mar 15, 2014 at 09:42:04 from 12.9.178.2

Congratulations Conner!!!

From RileyCook on Sat, Mar 15, 2014 at 12:43:13 from 73.52.134.194

Incredible performance. Twitter was going crazy over it! Very awesome race. You have quite the future ahead of you.

From Fritz on Sat, Mar 15, 2014 at 13:08:50 from 50.198.178.113

wow, awesome job. 1st in the nation! Only one person gets to say that. Congrats!

From Paul on Sat, Mar 15, 2014 at 13:42:12 from 174.29.44.114

Wow! Fantastic race Conner!

From jtshad on Sat, Mar 15, 2014 at 20:25:50 from 69.20.183.178

Congrats on a fantastic race! Awesome job, champ!

From Jason D on Sat, Mar 15, 2014 at 21:49:00 from 24.1.80.94

Congratulations, Connor. I've watched the Runerspace video several times now. Best wishes in what I know will be a successful future.

From Kale Sharp on Sun, Mar 16, 2014 at 00:20:14 from 208.117.127.137

Congrats on the big win! Awesome race, and good luck this outdoor season.

From Jake K on Sun, Mar 16, 2014 at 20:20:04 from 67.177.11.154

Great report. You really put the hurt on in that last 600 meters!

A well-deserved breakthrough!

From fiddy on Sun, Mar 16, 2014 at 20:33:39 from 65.130.139.151

That's an amazing accomplishment. I love you description of the end.

From Conner Mantz on Sun, Mar 16, 2014 at 20:34:04 from 97.126.226.212

Thanks everyone!

From Dave S on Mon, Mar 17, 2014 at 12:31:20 from 63.248.20.148

Wow! Great job Conner! Nice article in the Herald Journal. 5th fastest ever indoor time for American HSer and National champ. Awesome!

From allie on Mon, Mar 17, 2014 at 12:35:29 from 65.130.139.151

way to go, conner! congratulations.

From BDase on Tue, Mar 18, 2014 at 06:17:28 from 67.214.231.170

Awesome report and race, congratulations! I watched the runnerspace video of it and it was so inspiring. When you went around him and took the lead... wow. Way to finish strong. Champion!

From Nephi Eschler on Tue, Mar 18, 2014 at 11:10:33 from 209.33.192.7

Incredible!

From Sasha Pachev on Wed, Mar 19, 2014 at 22:03:53 from 69.28.149.129

Excellent result. Congratulations on a very solid time! Consider this - if you doubled that it would give you a Trials Qualifier in 10,000 meters. And doubling your 5 K time in 10 K is not that hard - it is just a matter of upping the mileage, structuring your intervals and tempo runs properly to develop the endurance without losing speed, and, most important, staying in good health. So good sleep, good diet, reasonable training, and you've got it!

Total Distance
10.20

    10.2 of running with Elijah, Mal, their dad, and my dad.  We went around central park and around the pond 2 other times.  It was weird to see so many other runners running on the road at one time! 

    After we probably walked 5 miles around the city.

Total Distance
0.00

    Talked to coach, and we decided it'd be best to just take the day off so I don't get burned out later in the season.  I did the sprinter/thrower/hurdler/jumper workout.  We swam a little and did a bunch of upper body. 

Total Distance
5.50

    Mile warm up, then ran with Joseph for his tempo.  Then I cooled down about a mile and a half.  Coach said I would slowly start get back into running.  I'm ready to get going, but I don't want to be burned out in May or June. 

Comments
From Jake K on Tue, Mar 18, 2014 at 16:12:44 from 199.190.170.24

Your coach is smart to reign you in for a few days. You've got a long spring ahead of you.

I like your idea of going for the world juniors marks. I think you can get the 5K standard... but man, you can CRUSH that 10K time! For someone with your endurance, that's a much easier time to hit. Most HSers can't run the 10K, but with your road racing background, that could be your ticket to world juniors.

From Conner Mantz on Tue, Mar 18, 2014 at 19:34:40 from 97.126.226.212

Thanks Jake, and I'm planning on the 10k for sure at USA Juniors in June.

Total Distance
3.00

    3ish. Pre-meet.  I'll finally be able to start running hard tomorrow in the dual meet. I think I'll run the 800m all out, not sure on the other events though.

Total Distance
7.00

    Tri-meet today. Paced Ethan in 3200m(goal:sub-10:40.  He was 10:39!), and Kyler in the mile(a little worse.  Goal:4:45.  He was 4:50.) Then just wanted to see if I could break 2 min. in the 800m, but that went over like a pregnant high jumper.  2:03, and Alex beat me.  :/ It was weird because it didn't hurt at all.  I just tried to sprint, but couldn't go faster.  Ah well.  Good workout though.

Total Distance
13.00

    8 easy with Tyson, then his shin splints were hurting, so I went with Glen.  Only Glen, Wes, Jordan and me actually went over 5 miles.  That shouldn't be how it is. None of them have ran varsity, but they were putting a good effort in. We just need to get our faster kids running more so they can get better at the end of the season.

    5 easy later with Claite.  Tomorrow I think I'll do some tempo and get a good workout in. 

Total Distance
10.00

     5 miles tempo with 2 mile cool down.  Looks like these easy days helped with my first workout back.  I PR'ed for this course(even though it's supposed to be tempo, I always treat it like more of a time trial), running 25:56 for the 5 miles.  I'm very surprised I ran that fast.  Splits: 4:52.7(downhill.  Average for this mile), 5:30.4(uphill.  Very fast for me on this mile.) 5:15.8 (uphill, then downhill.  Surprised how fast it went.)  4:57.4(downhill.  Fast for this mile.), 5:19.6(uphill.  This is what surprised me.  I usually run 5:35 to 5:50 for this mile in tempo.)  Weather was perfect, so that could be what contributed to the fast time.

      3 miles easy later.  I had a break in the day, and with how great the weather was, I just had to go.

Total Distance
9.00

    Warm up, then 3X1200m at 3200m pace(3 min. recovery), then 1000m at same pace, then we were supposed to do 3X300m at 800m pace(or sprinting).  I did my first one.  2 sec. slow, but it felt good.  Second one was hard, but only a second slow. Then things went down hill.  I pushed to a 14 sec. slow 3rd one.  It hurt soo much.  I had to stop 100m into it to keep from puking. Not sure the problem.  After I did the 1000m about 5 or 6 seconds slow.  I just didn't have it. Then I couldn't stay standing.  It was hard to breathe.  I skipped the first two 300s, and tried the last one with Kyler, Tyson, and Alex. I started out in the back, passed Kyler at 170m, then almost passed Tyson. Tyson was 42.5, but he started in front of me, so I was probably 42.9 or 43.0.  Then we cooled down.

     Came home pretty ticked.  Then I went and got the mail.  ACT score came back--I did ok, but didn't quite reach the goal I had.  Dang it!  (I can always retake it.)  So I went on a 3.1 mile easy run.  After I was just so ticked, so I ran 2X200m all out on the road.  These went surprisingly good.  27.1 and 27.9.  I did a standing start too, so I'm happy about those.

Comments
From Rob Murphy on Mon, Mar 24, 2014 at 17:21:00 from 24.10.249.34

Hmmmm…. are you interested in speculating about what went wrong?

What were you using as 3200 pace? 68/lap so 3:24 for the 3200s?

I'll just throw this idea out there. That workout is WAY too much and not really doable.

From Rob Murphy on Mon, Mar 24, 2014 at 17:54:56 from 24.10.249.34

Oh yeah, I sent your dad an email today about Doug Robinson from the Deseret News wanting to write an article about you. He wants your phone #, your coaches, etc.

Sorry about the ACT. You will get into a great college anyway.

From Conner Mantz on Mon, Mar 24, 2014 at 18:21:09 from 97.126.226.212

Thanks Murphy. It's a killer workout, but I just wasn't feeling it today. We've had a few like this before, and they always bite.

From Jake K on Tue, Mar 25, 2014 at 15:04:18 from 199.190.170.29

Hey Conner, that was a great profile in Running Times!

http://goo.gl/702i8B

Keep plugging away at the academics and it will fall into place for you.

Total Distance
3.00

     We did Tree of Life extended.  Then some strides, then I did a little bit more to get it to 3.  Pre-meet, but I hear tomorrow's weather isn't going to be great.  I still want to go sub-4:20 though.

Comments
From Justin Sheets on Tue, Mar 25, 2014 at 21:49:35 from 50.186.68.115

What race are you running? Good luck!

From Conner Mantz on Wed, Mar 26, 2014 at 17:04:56 from 97.126.226.212

Thanks, I was signed up for the 800m, 1600m, and 3200m(two day meet though), but it got canceled.

Total Distance
9.00

     Well, the meet got canceled due to the weather.  At it was a bit cold(45 degrees), but almost perfect weather.  Wait what?  So tomorrow it's supposed to be really snowy and windy, so maybe it was a good idea.  Coach, himself surprised, had us decide our workout.  He gave us some options, but we ultimately chose the 5-minute miracles.(2 minutes easy, 2 minutes tempo, 1 minute all out).  We did 5.  It hurt really bad, especially on the trail, but it was a good workout.  I would run the hard 3 minutes, then run backwards for a bit of the easy, and would stagger it so I would always try to pass Tyson and Kyler.  Cool down afterward.

     3 miles later.

Total Distance
9.00

     So, since the weather outside was supposed to be soo bad, we just ran inside.  No one thought about checking outside though.  We warmed up, then did leapfrog up the stairs, around the gym and down the stairs, but you had to hit every stair on the way down.  We went 12 minutes, then took a break, then 12 again, then took a break, and went outside to cool off.  When we were out there it was sunny and warm. We did 4 minutes after that break, then cooled down.

      6 miles later.  1st mile it started to hail.  Next mile it started to hail hard, so I turned around early.  The hail stones were as big as my pinkie nail, and they hurt!  After 4 I stopped and waited for the hail to stop, then went 2 more to finish.

Total Distance
11.00

     11 miles. Ran with Ethan and Jordan for the first 4, then went the rest on my own up the canyon.  I sped up a little too much on the way down.  Legs felt good, but I probably pushed it too much for an easy day.  After I didn't have a ride home from school, so I walked, hoping one of my neighbors would see me and give me a ride home.  That didn't happen, so I ended up walking almost the full 2 miles home.  Then I went on a 4 mile hike. Legs were pretty beat afterward. 

Total Distance
10.00

    5 miles tempo, then 2 miles cool down.  Tempo wasn't as fast as last week, but that should be expected with all the hikes and walks yesterday.  I might run some more later today.

    Went on another hike.  I heard it was 4 miles, but it went a lot quicker than yesterday, so maybe it was only two.  All this walking/hiking is getting me pretty sore.  After I went 3 miles easy. 

Total Distance
11.40

    7.5 miles. . .. Maybe  Since it's spring break, I was able to sleep in, and didn't have to worry about doing anything today. Except the workout. 4X1200m at 3200m pace, with 3 min. recovery, then 2X1000m at same pace.  Well, this workout kills. I had to change it to 5000m pace(6 seconds a mile slower, so it really wasn't that much slower).  Warmed up, then jumped into it. Felt great on the first two, hurt on the third, and really hurt on the fourth. Then I took a longer break, then did a 600m at 1:39, a little rest, then a 1:07 400m. Then 2X200m at 29.  Then cooled down with Claire and later Tyson. Legs hurt from Saturday.

    4 miles easy. Didn't have much going on in the middle of the day, so I just went on a run. 

Total Distance
10.00

   I kept putting off my run until 2.  Then it started to rain pretty bad, so I waited a little more.  This is the one bad thing about spring break, I put off everything.  Once the weather was better I did 5 mile tempo.  My legs felt tired, and 3.5 miles into it my achiellies started hurting.  Then it started hailing, and it hurt!  I planned on stopping at 4 miles because of the hail, but it lightened up. I should've just stopped, because my achiellies was hurting a bunch in the last mile.  Averaged 5:25, and my last mile was around 5:50.  After I cooled down with Claire for a mile.

    4 easy miles later. I was running easy, but someone was about to catch me, so I kept speeding up.  After about a quarter mile I knew they were going to catch me, so I slowed back down.  The guys name was Nick, and I've seen him running in a bunch in the canyon.  Turned out he was a pretty good college runner in the early to mid 2000s. 

Total Distance
6.00

     Met up with Rex Shields(he's up in Cache Valley for a few months.) and ran an easy six.  It was fun running with him, I felt like the pace was faster than it should've been, but after I saw the clock it actually wasn't that fast at all.  We saw Carson Campbell(Preston coach) at a mile and a half into it. He ran with us for the rest of our run, so that was pretty fun.

Total Distance
10.00

    Possibly the hardest workout I've done in a long time, maybe ever.  It was 2X(1X800m then 2X400m, then 4X200m) all at (goal) mile race pace or faster, with equal recovery.  I warmed up from my house to the track(about a mile and a half.)  First 800m went good (2:07).  Then the 400s were a bit fast. (59, and 1:02) Then the 200s were all where they should be (29-31).  I took a 3 lap break before starting the second set.  The 800m went amazing for how tired I felt (2:04) Then the 400s were good again (59, and 1:01.9).  The 200s hurt more than ever at the end. (30 on all of them.)  Cooled down home. 

Total Distance
10.00

    10 easy miles with Rex Shields up Smithfield Canyon. It was great weather, beautiful morning in the canyon.

Total Distance
8.00

     8 with 6 strides in the middle.  It felt hard just to move my legs.  It's been a good week of miles and workouts.

Total Distance
7.50

    About a mile and a half warm up, then a mile in the workout, then a mile cool down.  Coach had me cut the workout into 2/5 to get rested for Arcadia.  The original workout was 10X400m at your mile pace with one minute rest. I did 4.  First one was too fast, next one was on, next one was slow until I sprinted my last 100m, and my last one I didn't take enough rest on accident and was 3 sec. slow.  1 mile cool down.  I felt terrible, probably from my lack of sleep though.  I just didn't feel like running at all.  Legs, arms and my whole body were just pooped.

    4 miles later.

Total Distance
6.50

     The workou was 6-8X1000m at tempo pace with 1 min. recovery in between. Coach had me cut it in half in preparation for Arcadia.  I warmed up with everyone, then we started.  My first 2 were 15 seconds fast, then the next two were 10 seconds fast.  I ran two with Ethan after to help pace him, then ran a good cool down.

Total Distance
4.25

     4 easy miles with 4 strides.

Comments
From Jake K on Wed, Apr 09, 2014 at 17:03:55 from 159.212.71.77

Good luck at Arcadia. Running the 2 mile?

From Conner Mantz on Wed, Apr 09, 2014 at 18:01:17 from 97.126.226.212

Thanks, and yeah, the 3200m. Hopefully I don't do anything there stupid this year.

From Quintus Cassadamius on Wed, Apr 09, 2014 at 19:55:58 from 24.10.249.34

Race with confidence and courage and you will win.

Total Distance
3.50

we drove down today, and stopped halfway through at Pine View high school to do the workout. 1x400m al out, but not if it hurt. I needed to be fresh. W then 2x200 all out. Legs felt tired from the seven hour drive. Warmed up, then hit 57, 27, and 28. Cool down after

Total Distance
3.25

Strides and premeet. Went longer than planned.

Race: Arcadia invitational (2 Miles) 00:08:52, Place overall: 6, Place in age division: 6
Total Distance
7.00

     Ran well. Will write more when I get back to Utah.

     Warmed up 2 miles with Garrett Corcoran and Sam Sorenson who decided to tag along to get some extra miles, then got my spikes and got ready for the race.  I didn't know how this race would pan out. I expected myself not to do great.  Best case sanario I saw an 8:55, but I didn't feel like that would happen before the race though.  At the start line I was right next to Elijah in the worst place to start a race.  We were in the first waterfall, in the very far edge.  The gun went off, and I got pushed (literally a few times) into lane 3.  I tried to keep it smooth.  I felt like I got out well, but I was in 2nd last(I had 5 meters on Joe Hardy, who must've gotten out really bad).  I got into lane 1 on the backstretch, but couldn't move up at all, so I moved around everyone and got in lane 3 again.  Tanner Anderson was right next to me, and we came across 200m at 33.  It felt easy.  I sped up a little, but was still in lane 3.  After watching the video I saw I was too far out in lane 3, I should've cut in just a bit and I still would've been safe on the outside.  I came across 400m at 67.  Perfect.  The next lap I moved up, but still was in the lane 3.  I came across 800m at 2:14ish.  Again, right on pace. I kept the pace the same, but thought I was going to burn out. I felt good, but I just had a bad mentallity, thinking I can't compete with the top guys, I'm not that good, I don't have that kick.  I got into lane two in this lap.  I kept my pace. I think I was about 3:22 at 1200m, so still on sub-9 pace.  The next lap just happened quickly.  I felt great, not hurting at all (I love sea level!) and slowly moving up.  I came across the mile at 4:31, just a tad slow, but I knew I could negative split it.  I kept the same pace, but my next 200m was a 35.  This freaked me out, so I sped up.  Not sure where I was on the next lap. 2400m I was at 6:46, and had finally put myself in lane one.  Only, I wasn't prepared to be in 3rd place. 

     I tried to keep up, but then Blake made a move, and my bad mentallity messed me up. I was still running fine though, until about 500m left.  I got passed by Garrett Corcoran, and then I went on the outside to pace him back, but someone was there.  They pushed me a bit and wouldn't let me get out(I did beat this kid, but I don't know where I passed him again. But I beat him, and that makes me soo happy.)  After this a few more kids passed me. I was slowing down, but not because I was tired, but because I kept letting people cut me off. I need to be a bit more aggressive in these bigger races.  With 400m to go, I started to kick again. I was at 7:50, so I knew I had sub-9 in the bag.  I got passed with 300m to go again by Ian Milder and Andrew Rafla, and I didn't go with them.  I was at 8:20 with 200m to go(fast 200m for that part), and then I knew I had it.  I should've kicked harder here.  With 40m left I saw one kid slowing down, so I passed him right before the finish.  It felt good to pass someone at the end.  I thought I was 8:55 or 8:56, but then I saw Mantz. . . .8:52.9!  I was ecstatic.  Afterward I cooled down with Garrett and a huge group of Cali guys, and then a bit more with Blake Haney, and then ran to the hotel with my dad afterward.

Comments
From Jake K on Sun, Apr 13, 2014 at 13:13:14 from 98.202.128.218

Congrats Conner. What a great time! Talk about SMASHING 9 minutes.

From Jake K on Mon, Apr 14, 2014 at 09:28:35 from 199.190.170.29

4:31 / 4:21 ?!?!?! I've even MORE impressed now!

From jtshad on Mon, Apr 14, 2014 at 10:10:30 from 141.221.191.225

Great race and amazing time and negative split. You ran strong against some tough competitors and were right thre in the thick of it. You just keep gettin stronger and stronger.

From Blake Bennion on Mon, Apr 14, 2014 at 12:59:13 from 204.14.22.58

4:21 second mile!!! That's crazy man, great job!

From Paul on Mon, Apr 14, 2014 at 15:01:56 from 207.224.39.118

Fantastic race, congrats! Can't wait to see how you do outdoors.

From Conner Mantz on Mon, Apr 14, 2014 at 16:59:07 from 97.126.226.212

Thanks everyone, it was great to be in such a stacked field and do well in it too.

From Sasha Pachev on Tue, Apr 15, 2014 at 22:42:47 from 72.250.218.114

Congratulations on sub-9:00! I'd say once you break 9:00 in 3200 you should consider yourself graduated from high school. Now there is bigger fish to catch - sub-14:00 in the 5000. I think you can do it this year if you find the right kind of race.

Total Distance
6.50

     Easy premeet again.  First in-state invite for me this year tomorrow.  Legs were very tired, especially from the car ride yesterday.  14 hours in a car sucks, but 14 hours after a hard 3200m is even worse.

Comments
From Shawn H on Mon, Apr 14, 2014 at 21:05:44 from 174.61.225.25

Great race at Arcadia, Conner. If you hadn't run out in the second and third lanes, you might have come closer to 8:50. There were too many runners in the race, though, so it was understandable that you just wanted to stay out of trouble. I think you're going to break 8:50 outdoors, and maybe even 8:45, which is AWESOME for a junior. I'd like to see you become the best Utah high school runner ever. Keep it up and make us Utahns proud.

Race: Cache-Box invitational (1.988 Miles) 00:09:35, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Total Distance
7.50

    Hard day today.  We had the Cache-Box invite.  I was fresher than yesterday, but still pretty tired.  I was planning on gettinng a 9:40 in the 3200m as a workout, but not all out race, then trying to get qualified in the 1600m.  Well I realized it was a lot harder to run a 9:40.  Anyway, I was planning on pacing a 4:50 first mile and just trying to keep the pace, but that didn't go well.  My first 200m was a 31, so I slowed down quite a bit.  Splits were everywhere, so I didn't keep note, other than the mile was 4:45.  JD from Mountain Crest was behind me for the first mile before falling off pace.  After I cooled down/warmed up for the mile.  After the cool down I got on my spikes, then stretched and then we started.  I didn't have enough energy to get the 4:24 I wanted, so I just sat for the first 600m, and then kicked.  400m was 1:10, 800m was 2:17, 1200m was 3:22, 1600m was 4:27-28.  Cooled down after.

Comments
From Rob Murphy on Wed, Apr 16, 2014 at 11:01:10 from 24.10.249.34

Kind of hard just a few days after such a big race at Arcadia. You can only go to the well so many times so it's totally understandable that this meet was a tough one.

Are you doing the Sky View Invitational Saturday? I would assume, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

We are on Spring Break now and have no meet scheduled for this weekend and I was thinking of sending Kramer up to take a shot at our slow (9:17) school record for 3200.

From Conner Mantz on Wed, Apr 16, 2014 at 17:59:55 from 67.2.145.177

Yeah, I'm running in it. It'd be great to have him come up here, he could even come up and stay at my house if he wanted the night before.

From Rob Murphy on Wed, Apr 16, 2014 at 19:10:55 from 24.10.249.34

Cool. Runnercard doesn't list the schools competing so I can't tell if there's any competition in the distance events besides you.

I'll get in touch with Kramer about it. Meanwhile, I'll go ahead and register him in the 3200. You can send him a text or give him a call if you want.

Total Distance
8.00

     8 easy after pool workout.  Legs are coming back, but the rest of my body still feels tired.  Hard to just run.

Total Distance
10.00

     We had a workout to get us back into it a little. It was a progressive tempo, but I struggled.  4 miles, first at 5:25 then 5:15, then two 5:05s to finish.  Well, that was the plan, but I just didn't have it much today.  5:27, then 5:10, then 5:15, and 5:10.  10 and 5 seconds slow on the last two.  I should've pushed it and gotten the times.  I think the lack of energy lately is from lack of sleep.  I've gone to bed early than usual, but sit in my bed for an hour or two, and sometimes 3, trying to sleep. 

Total Distance
2.00

    Pre-meet.  I wanted to go more, but had an assignment and got caught up with friends.  It's alright though, I need to qualify for state in the 1600m.

Race: Sky View Invite (1 Miles) 00:04:22, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Total Distance
13.00

3200m-9:26  Got there feeling pretty good.  Wanted to hold back in the 3200m and save it for the 1600m.  I wanted to still be sub-9:30 though, just so if I didn't do well in the 1600m, I could feel like I had one decent race.  I started out strong, first 400m was 1:10, next was 1:10, then things started to head downhill.  1:13, 1:12, 1:12, 1:12, then I started to speed it up 1:09,1:08.  I felt good afterward.  Cooled down then almost immediately wamed back up for the 1600m.

1600m-4:22. This race had better competition.  My teamate Alex was planning on qualifying for state(4:24), but his PR was only a 4:38 prior to this race. I also needed to qualify, so I went out super strong.  1:01.5, then I slowed 1:06.5.  I slowed way too much on the third lap 1:08, and was able to finish just quick enough to qualify(1:06).  Alex ended up 4:25-26 in second.  He started to catch me on the last lap, running his last 100m in sub-15.  

Ran in the afternoon to bring it up to 13 for the day. 

Comments
From Tyler on Sun, Apr 20, 2014 at 11:01:15 from 98.247.82.12

Nice double!

Total Distance
10.00

     Crappy workout for me today.  Not sure exactly what happened. 1k at 3200m pace, 2:00 break, then 800m at same pace. Then 400mX(4 to 6) at goal race pace with. . . only 30 sec. recovery.  And coach was there to make sure you limited your recovery. We warmed up, and I wasn't feeling like I could keep up. Just not feeling good from the get go. 1k was way too fast, 2:43ish, with the first lap in 62.  800m was on pace with a 2:16. After that we had a full recovery.  I hit my first 400m way too fast at 58, then 62(goal pace), then everything fell apart.  1:07, then I wasn't able to finisht the last one.  Cool down after.

     5 miles after. I didn't feel good on this run either.

     In better news, that you have already heard, Meb won the Boston Marathon.  Also, great job to everyone who ran it today!

Comments
From Joseph Buenning on Wed, Apr 23, 2014 at 18:59:04 from 209.33.229.243

#Merica

Total Distance
11.60

     Prett tiring day.  It was extremely windy.  We did 7X1000m at Tempo pace with 1 min. recovery.  I felt good, and was fast for all of them.  I hit my recovery too.  I took a break and was going to stop at 6, but Ethan did another one, so I did one more too, which ended up being way fast.  Cool down after. When I got home I did 4 more miles.  Really tired now.

     Davis is this weekend. I have two teamates that are going to be in the Invited mile with me, so it's going to be a pretty fun race for Sky View athletes.

Total Distance
6.75

     Pre-meet(2.75), then 4 easy miles later because I'm not running tomorrow.  I'm getting pretty excited for Davis, finally get to compete with a lot of the great Utah guys again. 

Comments
From Shawn H on Wed, Apr 23, 2014 at 19:26:40 from 174.61.225.25

Good luck. My best high school race (not the fastest, but one where I beat all of the other top milers in the state and set a new meet record) was at the Davis High Invitational, way back in 1979. Seems like yesterday . . :-)

From By-run on Wed, Apr 23, 2014 at 21:06:13 from 209.33.233.132

I'm in the 1600 too, that race will be awesome! good luck

Total Distance
8.50

     Warm up, then all outs for 400m, 300m, and 2x200m.  My first two went good, but my 200s didn't go great.  55 high or 56 low for the 400m, then 40 sec. for the 300m, and 27s (I think).  Cool down after.

     4 miles after.

Total Distance
2.25

    Pre-meet+strides.  Hamstrings were a bit tight, but they'll be better tomorrow.

Comments
From Shawn H on Fri, Apr 25, 2014 at 20:44:42 from 50.132.7.164

Blow them away, Conner. You're going to have an outstanding outdoor season.

Race: Davis Invitational (1 Miles) 00:04:16, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Total Distance
11.00

    Well, this meet was extremely different than I had planned, but it still went good for me.  It rained until the 3200m which was at 5 I think.  We got there, did a shakeout mile, then I watched a lot of races that my teamates were in.  I wasn't feeling too great, and was a little down for the morning, but before my race, my cousins came to say hi, so that boosted my spirits.  Then I was able to talk to Kramer, and that helped me get more ready for my race.  At about 2:45, Alex and I started warming up.  We then stretched and got to the starting line. I hadn't been feeling that good for a lot of the day, but as soon as we got to the starting line my legs felt fresh. 

     The gun went off, and Sam from Riverton, who was to the right of me, didn't start out fast, so it was easier than usual to battle for position.  I got into 4th, behind Brewer, Brower, and Kramer.  I felt great, but mentally was just telling myself to be ready for their kick, and to not slow down when it happens.  I hit 62 for my first lap, then 2:07-08(not sure) at the 800m.  Around here Kramer passed Brower, so I made a move to get ahead of him too, and try to stay on Kramer.  Somewhere I passed Kramer, but I can't remember when.  At the 1200m I didn't hear the split, but I was just trying to hang on. I tried to pass Brewer on the last three straightaways, but on the first two he was too fast.  With 200m to go, his hamstring tightened up, and I was able to pass him on the final straight.  Too bad about his hamstring, he's a great runner, so I feel like he should've beat me if he had felt better.

      Afterward I ran a good cool down with pretty much everyone that was in the mile.  Then I layed down for 10 minutes, then watched some races, warme up for the 3200m and got going in that race.  My goal in the 3200m was to just hold on to the guy in first and outkick him the last 600m or something, but I got out well, and hit my first 200m in 33.  I slowed down a lot then, and hit my 400m in 69, and then slowly slowed down and finished in 9:28.  I wanted to hit 9:20 atleast, but I wasn't ready to push myself that much.  Mentally, I was too tired.  Physically, I actually felt great.  In the race I heard I had 100m on everyone at one point, but I slowed down, and they sped up, so that went down to about 50m at the finish. It didn't feel like a race though, because no one went with me.  It wasn't they couldn't have gone with me, because they could've, it was they didn't.  I'm happy with the race, but feel like I should have put more effort in the 3200m. 

     After that I cooled down with JD from Mountain Crest, then did 4 more when I got home.

Comments
From Shawn H on Sun, Apr 27, 2014 at 13:14:16 from 50.132.7.164

Nice 1600 race, Conner. Is that a tie of your PB? If so, that's great because it's still early in the season. I hope you can break 4:10 this year, so you'll be on track to aim for close to or better than 4:00 your senior year. Sure, it's gonna be tough for anyone to run a sub-4 at Utah altitude, but maybe Arcadia or the Dream Mile? Or is your main goal the two-mile and Footlocker XC?

From Goggles on Sun, Apr 27, 2014 at 13:21:26 from 65.130.108.38

That mile in better conditions would have you and brewer flirting with 4:10. Nice run.

From Quintus Cassadamius on Sun, Apr 27, 2014 at 20:37:02 from 24.10.249.34

You're a steely-eyed competitor Mr. Mantz. You're post brought back lots of memories of battles won and lost.

From Jake K on Mon, Apr 28, 2014 at 13:19:19 from 159.212.71.199

Nice double win, Conner!

Total Distance
12.00

     1.25 mile warm up, then 4X400m at 800m race pace/all out, with 700m recovery, then 6X200m at same pace, with 400m recovery.  I struggled a lot today.  I can't remember all my splits, and I honestly don't want to. It felt more mental than physical, and the wind and cold didn't help(It was snowing after.  It hasn't snowed for a month, I think).  First one we went slow, 61, then 58, 59, 60.0.  After the 200s didn't go great either.  27, 28 and then it was 28s and a 29.  I should be running 57s and 58s, and 27s for them all, so this kinda bugs me.  Cool down after.

     4.5 miles to the school and back.

Total Distance
6.50

     1.5 mile warm up, then 2 miles tempo(9:57), then Tyson and I did 6X200m at mile race pace, which felt really relaxed compared to yesterday.  I hit them all pretty fast, but so did Tyson. I felt very sore before the workout, but during I felt good, and after I felt sore again.  Splits: 29, 30, 29, 30, 28, 29 After I was supposed to do an all-out 300m but coach and I decided it'd be best to save it for Friday and Saturday. Cool down after.

Total Distance
6.00

    6 easy with Tyson.  We did sunnyside backwards to avoid the wind, because it wasn't bad in the canyon, and we would have it to our backs up on Sunnyside. Gotta get ready for BYU Invite this weekend!

Total Distance
2.75

    Pre-meet with strides. I still felt flat.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll be good. Our bus leaves at 5:00 AM tomorrow. I'm not too excited about waking up early.

Comments
From Shawn H on Thu, May 01, 2014 at 22:44:03 from 76.121.104.3

Good luck at BYU. I love that track!

Race: BYU Invitational (2 Miles) 00:09:00, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Total Distance
9.00

     We got there pretty early, so Alex, Connor Compton, and I went for a shake out, and then watched some throwing.  I warmed up with Kramer, Matt, Brewer and two other Bingham kids, and I felt good, but not great. I was planning on sticking on someone the first mile and then trying to beat them the last few laps. Well, it didn't go as planned, but it still went well.  We lined up, and I felt pretty good.  The pace went out pretty slow, and I had to go out into lane 4 or 5 to get around everyone.  About 300m into it I took the lead because the pace was much too relaxed.  We came across 400m at 1:08.  That was slower than usuall, because usually my first lap puts me farther ahead of my goal pace.  Next lap I focused on keeping the same pace, but hit 2:15, so a bit fast.  Connor Mcmillan was on my tail the whole way.  Next two laps were 2:16ish, putting us 4:31 at the 1600m. Wow, that was a lot faster than I had thought it would be.  After, we kept hitting 1:08s, and I honestly can't remember what happened during most of this race.  I kept adding 1:10s to the time for every lap I had left, and said I would probably finish there.  Every lap or two, if I slowed down Connor would nick my shoe with his shin, so I knew he was there(yes, his shins were bloody after the race, and I feel bad about it).  With 700m left I surged, because Connor was still there, and I did again at 600m.  With 400m to go I thought I had to run a 1:09 to run 9:04, so I started to really push it for the first 200m of that lap.  My final 200m was slow because I knew I had the 4A record and a few seconds on Connor.  I didn't think I'd be 9:00 though, I thought probably 9:04-05.  I was so surprised and happy.  From state last year, I dropped 10 seconds for in-state time, while the year before I only dropped 8.  After I cooled down with a big group of people from the 3200m, and then did a little bit more later when we got to our hotel room to keep the legs moving.

Comments
From Jake K on Sun, May 04, 2014 at 07:19:37 from 98.202.128.218

Dude! This is more impressive than Arcadia! You couldn't run like a couple tenths of a second faster, though :-)

Really impressive double w/ the mile PR the next day. You are on fire!

From Cameron Brown on Sun, May 04, 2014 at 18:52:33 from 207.50.158.36

Conner that was a great race! Almost going sub 9 at altitude while leading most of the way is outstanding. Great job!

From Tyler on Sun, May 04, 2014 at 22:48:48 from 98.247.82.12

I can't believe you just dropped a wire-to-wire 9:00 win on that track. Unreal.

From Conner Mantz on Mon, May 05, 2014 at 18:19:41 from 174.19.42.234

Thanks everyone! I was very surprised about it too.

From Rob Murphy on Mon, May 05, 2014 at 18:58:28 from 24.10.249.34

I was not surprised.

Race: BYU Invitational (1 Miles) 00:04:12, Place overall: 2, Place in age division: 2
Total Distance
10.00

     A 4 second PR, so I'm really happy about it.  Warmed up with Tyson, who ran a 1:57.11 just a few hours before.  I felt terrible.  I thought about running the first laps and not finishing, or just not showing up on time.  I was really nervous, and tired.  My dad had just told me to get a good start and then take each lap seperately.  This helped me out, even though I didn't want to do it. I jumped off the line the moment the gun went off, but didn't start out fast, and was passed by everyone in the lanes around me but one person.  I slowly caught the lead pack, running in lane 2 to pass. I knew the pace was slow, but I was just trying to keep up. They only had the split up at 800m, and I was about 2:07-08.  Here I started to feel better.  My right pinky toe hurt, and I later found the skin had been rubbed away.  I tried to focus on that pain.  

     About at lap 3 I tried to get around the pack, but everyone was trying to pass, so I was in lane 3 or 4 on the straightaway.  At the start of the final lap I got right behind Brewer and passed him with 300m to go, and tried to sprint to get a PR. With 100m to go I saw I had a PR and just slowed. I shouldn't have done this, but I still have state to try and run faster. Overall, I'm very surprised on how I did, because I have never felt that bad prior to a race and ran a PR, much less a decent time.  Afterward I cooled down with Clayson.  4 miles when I got back home.

Comments
From Blake Bennion on Sat, May 03, 2014 at 22:33:15 from 204.14.22.58

Great job man, fast time!

From Steve on Sun, May 04, 2014 at 04:49:20 from 66.87.127.90

Awesome!

From jtshad on Sun, May 04, 2014 at 14:23:39 from 69.20.183.178

Congrats on the PR and very strong run! You continue to amaze.

From Paul on Mon, May 05, 2014 at 09:22:25 from 207.224.39.118

Great job Conner.

From Superfly on Mon, May 05, 2014 at 16:14:48 from 74.211.21.81

Nice job!

From Conner Mantz on Mon, May 05, 2014 at 18:16:08 from 174.19.42.234

Thanks everyone!

Total Distance
10.40

     Warm up, then 2X(200m at mile pace, then 600m tempo, then 300m sprint, with no recovery in between the 200m, 600m, and 300m.) with a full recovery in between the two reps.  Ran 29s for the 200s, and 1:47-48 for the 600m, then 43 and 44 for the 300s.  I'm a bit dissapointed in the 300s, but with the races last weekend, I should not complain.  After I ran a cool down with the team.

     6 miles easy later.  I'm racing the 800m at region, for the second time this season. I want a sub-2, but I don't know if I can get it.

Comments
From Cameron Brown on Mon, May 05, 2014 at 19:02:34 from 67.2.219.25

Yeah that 2 min. barrier is pretty difficult to break but I'm pretty sure that you could do it. After all you do run a 4:12 1600. Believe in Yourself and Good Luck.

From Shawn H on Mon, May 05, 2014 at 19:07:22 from 76.121.104.3

Conner, the fastest mile I ran in high school was 4:23, and the fastest two mile I ran was 9:31. You KILL those times. I also ran a 1:58 880. If I could run that 880 time with my slow (compared to you) mile and two mile times, you absolutely CAN DO IT. I have no doubt, so stop doubting yourself. You're one of the best runners in America right now, and either this year or next, you might be the very best. I don't understand your lack of confidence when you are so good. Go for it.

From Sage Ducote on Mon, May 05, 2014 at 20:15:07 from 199.201.101.131

yeah conner you can do it. you can do pretty much anything. also thanks for the selfie the other day. haha

From Conner Mantz on Tue, May 06, 2014 at 20:31:54 from 174.19.42.234

Thanks for the confidence everyone, we'll see what happens!

Total Distance
2.50

    Pre-meet with strides.  Getting ready for the 800m on Thursday!

Comments
From Quintus Cassadamius on Tue, May 06, 2014 at 20:35:21 from 24.10.249.34

Run the 800 like it's a mile - only faster.

That's my advice. You're welcome.

From Camerunner on Tue, May 06, 2014 at 22:03:36 from 76.27.38.176

Good Luck! I'll be running the 3200 at that meet, and I've gotten some good advice for it reading your race entries. (Thanks)

From Conner Mantz on Wed, May 07, 2014 at 19:48:32 from 174.19.42.234

Thanks for the advice Quintus, and sweet Camerunner, it's going to be a good race to be in.

Total Distance
5.50

     Meet got canceled and moved to tomorrow.  So I'll be running the 1600, then the 800, then the 3200m.  I've got to focus on that 800.  I'm okay with it though, because I had an AP test today and I was pretty mentally drained from that.  

Comments
From Shawn H on Wed, May 07, 2014 at 19:27:00 from 76.121.104.3

I used to get tasked to do that, too. Or sometimes the medley relay instead of the 800/880. Is there a good reason for you to triple up like that? It's probably just a dual meet on a Thursday anyhow. Gotta speak your mind to the coaches, unless you actually like to triple up like that. If your 800 goal is really serious, your coach wouldn't make you run the 1600 first. Of course, your best events are the 3200 and cross country, obviously, Conner. Anyway, good luck.

From Conner Mantz on Wed, May 07, 2014 at 19:51:15 from 174.19.42.234

Thanks Shawn, and it's our region meet. My head coach wants us to win another title, but I want to qualify for state in the 800(I'm qualified in the 1600 and 3200), so he had me try and do all of them. I think I'll take the 1600 easier so I can push the 800m more, and then see what's left in the 3200.

From Shawn H on Wed, May 07, 2014 at 22:54:49 from 76.121.104.3

I see, Conner. That sure is an early region meet. Super short season, right? Well, good luck on getting the title then. Makes sense. Also, an "easy" 1600 for you would be my best high school time, and I imagine your region isn't really strong. Good luck in all three then.

From Jake K on Thu, May 08, 2014 at 08:38:20 from 159.212.71.200

I did that my senior year of high school - no one had ever won all 3 in our league (region) meet in the same year, so I wanted to do it as a workout. I think I did something like 2:03 / 4:30 / 9:50 to win all 3... after an AP Physics exam! The track meet was the easy part that day! :-)

Race: Region 5 (1 Miles) 00:04:19, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Total Distance
10.00

    Quick report: All the plans for my races didn't go at all like I wanted, but I still did well.  1st in 1600-4:19(splits: 67, 66, 64, 62) 2nd in 800-1:59(splits per 200 were 31, 29, 29, 30), and 1st in 3200-9:45 I think(Splits per mile were 5:00 and 4:45).  Interesting day. 

    Shakeout, then a break before doing a warm up before the mile.  My plan was to stay on someone until 800 or 1000 meters into it, and then make a move.  Well, we got out and Thomas started to lead it.  I got around him, and the pace felt slow.  I didn't want a repeat of Cache-Box, so when I heard the 200m split(33) I tried to just stay relaxed.  I was 67, and I pushed the effort a little more, and we came across the 800 at about 2:13-2:14.  I made a move here, and Tanner Blaylock just seemed to not be effected.  Here, I was probably making a few mistakes(goal was to conserve energy and go for the win), and pushed into the wind.  I haven't hurt this much in a race, I was very surprised it hurt so much.  I heard 3:17 at the 1200m, and tried to sprint.  I could here Tanner, and thought he was right there the whole way.  With 200 left I looked back and saw I had him, so I kinda cruised in a little with 50m left.  I heard 4:18, but it seems the clock is always a second slower than what I hear. 

      Cool down, 30 min. rest, then warm up for the 800.  There have been 8 guys in our region that had broken 2 minutes before, but only 6 were racing today.  My coach put me in for a 1:59, so I was seeded 4th or 5th with that.  The gun went off, and I had prepared mentally for the race to be fast and hurt the whole way.  Everyone closed in way quick, but I held strong.  Tyson clipped me on accident and said sorry, but I let him get ahead of me.  It felt slow that first 100.  I ran around everyone, and tried to make it faster.  This was not the plan.  I wanted to sit on someone and hopefully they'd bring me to a 1:59 flat or a top-4 finish. (2 of the guys that had broken 2 had run the 400 right before, so I knew I had a very good shot at top-4)  We came across the 200m at a high 30 or 31. After this I just opened up and tried to make sure it hurt.  We were about 60 for the first 400, and I just kept kicking, thinking everyone was right behind me.  With 250 left someone was hitting my spike, so I knew was probably slowing down.  At 200 to go, I saw it was Justin and he apologized(while he passed me).  I also looked back and saw we had 30 meters on everyone else.  This was really surprising(It ended up that the pack had gotten pushed so far together, that some people couldn't get positioned, and it was just a mess, so no one ended up going with us.), but since I had a top-4 spot I just tried to finish, because I did not have enough energy to catch Justin, and I had enough room on everyone else that I didn't need to kill myself the last 200.  So, I got qualified and ran a 1:59.85. 

     2 hours later, the 3200 started.  I saw Kyler get out fast, so I got ahead to pace him to a top-4 finish.  With 3 laps to go the pack started to catch us, so I made a move to break away, and Kyler fell back after this.  I finished in 9:45, about 10 seconds ahead of second place. 

     After a cool down with Ethan.

Comments
From Shawn H on Fri, May 09, 2014 at 18:44:58 from 76.121.104.3

Good job, Conner! I knew you had it in you to break 2:00. Very nice 1600 and 3200--much slower than your best, but really good considering you ran three races. The 800 is a tough race--a lot more than some people think. To do it really well you have to run more intense shorter intervals like 200 repeats. You are definitely a longer distance guy, which really bodes well for your senior year of cross country and your future in college running. Again, nice job.

From Shawn H on Fri, May 09, 2014 at 18:47:31 from 76.121.104.3

Oh, and it must really kill the other runners when you get progressively faster with each lap on that 1600--they got no time to rest up for a kick. You ran it right out of them. The great Henry Rono used to do that--faster and faster and faster until no one could hang on.

Total Distance
10.00

     Warm up, then 2X300m all out, then 4x200m at mile pace/effort. Alex, Ethan, and I complained about the 300s, but we hit 41 or 42 on the first one, and 41 on the second one, then we hit 30, 29, 29, 30 on the 200s.  Cool down after.

     5 easy later.

Total Distance
8.00

    Was planning on 10, but during it I thought it'd be better for state to run 8 today.  It was really rainy all morning, but when I went outside for my run the clouds just bearly moved and I got a run full of sunshine. 

Comments
From Shawn H on Sun, May 11, 2014 at 14:16:26 from 76.121.104.3

Good luck at State, Conner. You're good enough that you probably don't need luck, and I know you're going to be great.

Total Distance
9.50

      Short workout. Coach Wright wasn't there today, so we just did a 600m 3200 pace (It was a little fast, but it felt good.  1:39), then 2X200s at mile pace ( Again, too fast. 28 and 29).  On the first 200, Alex said he was trying for a 28, so I needed to be kinda close to hit a 31.  He hit a 26, and I hit a 28, so that was kinda weird.

     6 miles easy later.  I probably shouldn't have done this because state is on Friday, but eh, it's okay, it isn't the end of the world.

Total Distance
7.25

 1.25 mile warm up, then a similar workout to last week, 200m start(29), 600m at tempo(way too fast. About 4:32 mile pace), then a 300m all out (slow, but still decent.  44), then a break(1000m jog) before 2X200m at mile pace(Supposed to hit 31s, but hit 28 and 29).  After we cooled down. 

  3 miles easy later.

Total Distance
4.25

    Pretty dead before the run.  I took the AP history test before, and for some reason it took a ton out of me(unlike calculus, which only took a little out of me).  I don't feel like I was prepared as I should've been, but that was mostly my fault.  Anyway, on to the run, we did 3 miles with a few "races" to trash cans and stuff as our speed work.  I pretty much sucked it up and only didn't take last a few times.  After I did a few 80m sprints while Alex and Tyson did exchanges for the 4X4 and medley, then I did a mile cool down. 

Comments
From Holt on Wed, May 14, 2014 at 20:42:58 from 67.2.227.1

My students were saying the same thing as you about being prepared... Good luck this weekend.

From Jake K on Sat, May 17, 2014 at 20:42:01 from 98.202.128.218

Apparently AP History didn't take THAT much out of you.

Looking forward to reading your reports... you never cease to amaze me, but running 8:57 in a race where second place was almost 200 meters behind you sort of blows my mind!

Total Distance
3.00

     Pre-meet with Tyson, Claire, and Alex for a mile, then Alex and Tyson went to do exchanges and Claire went to get her strides in, so I just kept running.  I timed the run at a little over 18 minutes, then went and did and 800 with 3 strides. 

Race: Utah State Meet (1 Miles) 00:04:10, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Total Distance
5.50

     Will write more later. Great race for me, and it was another PR, so I'm way happy about it.

     Got up early with Alex and Tyson for breakfast, then we headed to the meet.  We did a quick shakeout, then after an hour or something, we did a warm up.  After that, we stretched, and Tyson and I thought they were behind schedule, so we did another quick warm up around the field.  Well, they were all in the bull pen when we finished, so we hurried over and got in there about as close as we could.  I felt pretry fresh. If I wasn't ready to race mentally, I was too prepared physically to not race well I thought.  Alex said he wanted to go out in a 2:04ish, so I was going to stay on his tail until the 800m mark, then push the 3rd and 4th lap.  The guy said "runner's take your marks" and waited for 10-15 seconds, but it felt like an eternity!  He was twitching his finger, so it looked like he was going to fire.  I got my foot up, and a split second before it hit the ground the gun went off.  So I was as close as you can get to a false start.  Alex got out too, and so I stuck right on his tail, but 100m into it, I knew he wasn't going out in 2:04, so I passed him and ran the rest of the race almost solo.  I came across 400m at about 1:00, and just said I needed to push it for my next two laps, and the fourth will take care of itself. I felt pretty good for the 2nd and 3rd lap, and saw I was at about 3:07 with 400 to go.  I knew if I finished in a sub-60 I had the all-classification record.  I pushed it, but tightened up with 250m to go.  I tried sprinting, but didn't have it, I'd spent a little too much early on.  I'm happy with it though, even though I didn't get my goal of a sub-4:10, I knew I pushed it as much as I could, and that means a lot more to me.  Afterward I cooled down. Alex and Tyson both ran PRs of 4:20 and 4:24, so it was a good day for us. 

Comments
From Shawn H on Sun, May 18, 2014 at 10:41:03 from 76.121.104.3

Great races, Conner! Your 4:10 matched the best mile race I ever ran, but mine was after high school right before I went on a church mission, not as a junior! Super 3200, too. And that 800--you DO have better speed than you thought. Wow, the sky is the limit next year! Are you going to run the Adidas Dream Mile this summer? Just imagine what you'll do at sea level in your 1600 and 3200--under 8:50 is certainly possible. Congratulations, young man.

From allie on Sun, May 18, 2014 at 21:41:17 from 174.23.149.245

great job at state, conner. impressive racing. congratulations.

From Conner Mantz on Sun, May 18, 2014 at 21:54:04 from 174.19.42.234

Thanks Shawn and Allie, I'm excited to see what happens next. Shawn, I don't know if I'll get invited to the dream mile, but one of the guys who helps out with it was there, and he said that my 4:10 might get me in.

Race: Utah State Meet (2 Miles) 00:08:57, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Total Distance
9.00

      Raced well in both races.  I'll try and write more when I have more time.  3200-Ran solo for most of it.  I haven't hurt more in a race before.  During the last 3 laps I wanted to quit the whole time, even at the 100m to go mark.  800-Huge PR that felt like it came out of nowhere.  Unsure how, but I'll take it.

      Warmed up, then got to the bull pen on time.  There was a pretty good group in the race.  My dad told me that Elijah had ran 9:00.78 on Friday, so he wanted to see if I could beat that.  I just wanted to win so I could get points for the team, because we were going to have to fight for a 2nd place finish(top 2 teams get trophies).  We got out there, and I stayed more relaxed at the start so I wouldn't get too close to being DQ'ed again.  With 150m into the race I got into first and tried to keep a good pace.  1:05, a little fast, but I don't want to slow down.  2:10ish, way too fast, but we'll see how things go.  Tomy was at the 200m mark, so that was cool to have him cheer me on  1600m split was 4:25, so that was faster than wanted, but it gave me a cushion to break 9.  At 2000m, I felt terrible.  My last three laps were the most painful I've ever run(maybe other than some repeat 400s a few weeks ago, but it was close). I can't remember much about what happened in the last mile other than it hurt, and I told myself I wasn't going to run the 800 if I broke 9.  I pushed to the finish and got 8:57.99.  After I cooled down with Clayson, Jack Evans, and Josh.  It was pretty fun running after the race, but after that I was out of it, just so tired I coudn't think straight. 

      Well, my head coach wanted me to run the 800 to possibly score some points, and the Coach Wright said if anything else, it'd be good training for any post-season races.  I was really tired, but warmed up anyway.  I begged Coach Wright not to make me, but I said if he thought it would be best, than I would do it.  So I ended up doing it.  I saw the girls 4A 1st heat, and a Sky View girl won that, so that motivated me to do well in my heat.  I got to the start line and a few people had dropped it, so a Salem Hills guy and me were able to start in the second ally with plenty of room.  I felt terrible, but right before the race, I told myself if I was going to line up for this race, I was going to race it all out.  I got out well, and pushed into 2nd place, in a perfect position.  I got pushed back to 3rd, but got back into 2nd with a lap to go.  We came across the 400 in 58, so I said to myself that if I could close in a 60, I could PR.  I stuck on the 1st place guy, and with 100 left, I tried to pass the kid in front of me.  I slowly passed him, but he wasn't letting up.  With 10 meters left I thought I had him, but he kept coming and was .01 seconds from me. A hundreth of a second, I was so surprised! And a huge PR too.  After that, Tyson took 3rd in the fast heat, and broke the school record, running a 1:55.3!  I placed 5th overall, so I scored some points that I didn't think I could score.  After, I cooled down with Hayden Cooper from Maple Mountain, because Tyson had to get ready for th 4X400m. 

Comments
From Paul on Sun, May 18, 2014 at 08:20:01 from 174.29.45.70

Congrats Conner, incredible triple! I'm not really surprised on your 800 PR...you gotta have that kind of 800 speed somewhere inside you just to run 4:10, so for you it was probably just getting the right opportunity and some motivation (ie - state meet)

From Jake K on Sun, May 18, 2014 at 08:32:37 from 98.202.128.218

Really impressive state meet, Conner.

That solo 8:57 is incredible. You've really taken it up a notch this spring.

Are you going to do some more outdoor track - post-season meets / world juniors?

From Burt on Sun, May 18, 2014 at 18:58:59 from 184.101.210.108

Congratulations!

From Conner Mantz on Sun, May 18, 2014 at 21:55:31 from 174.19.42.234

Thanks Paul, Burt, and Jake. Jake, I think I'll be doing USA Juniors(and hopefully World Juniors, but we'll see), and maybe other meets, depending on if I get invites, but nothing has come yet. We'll see what happens.

From jtshad on Mon, May 19, 2014 at 07:21:30 from 141.221.191.225

Congrats on a stellar weekend of racing and great times! You continue to get stronger and have a very bright future in front of you! Way to finish off the track year!

From Glory in the long run on Mon, May 19, 2014 at 07:53:56 from 174.27.235.126

Great job Conner. You've accomplished a lot. I hope you are finding the balance between deliberation and innovation. In other words, you have really stepped up this year, and the progression is good. But I do hope that you can find the organic feel for not getting stale in your racing. You are coming close to some much needed time off. It can't all be up and up, I hope you can see the next macrocycle.

From Dave S on Mon, May 19, 2014 at 10:11:57 from 63.248.20.148

Wow! great weekend Conner! 2 state 4A records and a PR. Hard to beat that.

From Sasha Pachev on Mon, May 19, 2014 at 12:58:35 from 72.250.218.114

Congratulations on the first sub-9:00 at altitude and the shorter race PRs! I was trying to find your 800 time, but instead found this:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=5709028

A few posters thought you could run 1:05 half, I tend to agree with that, and posted my own thoughts. Note that sub-1:05 half earns you a spot in the Olympic Trials Marathon, although you might be on a mission for the actual race. Nevertheless, I think it would be good to go on a mission with an OTQ on your resume, it can open doors in unusual ways, some of which you may never hear about.

For example, I do recall while still living in the Soviet Union and knowing very little about the Church, I saw a brief mention in a magazine article that Henry Marsh was a Mormon. I remember thinking - if this religion can produce an 8:08 steeple chaser, this must be at least somewhat legitimate religion worth looking at.

Total Distance
10.00

     Recovery day. Long and easy.  I talked to coach Wright, and he said I'd be doing some recovery for part of this week before getting into the speed again. 

Comments
From James on Mon, May 19, 2014 at 18:44:15 from 71.213.30.161

10 miles is a long recovery for a high schooler. Great job at State! That 3200 in the heat was super impressive.

From Shawn H on Mon, May 19, 2014 at 20:57:41 from 76.121.104.3

Here's a quote for you, Conner:

“I've always felt that long, slow distance produces long, slow runners.” --Sebastian Coe

You're amazing, Conner, and you have a good coach. When I was in high school, I ran nothing but LSD (long, slow distance) during the winter and summer. I entered every competitive season in LSD shape. Well, actually, I never ran more than 40 miles a week during the off-season, so it was more like SSD (short, slow distance). Then when the track season hit, we'd do nothing but intervals on the track, and my average mileage was just 18-20 miles per week, all speed work. A typical week for me included a couple of days of 10-12 x 400 meter intervals and a couple of days of 8-10 x 200 meters. No wonder I was injured over and over. You, on the other hand, are doing it right--you do some quality training year-round so you don't ever really lose your speed conditioning, and you stay in racing shape with indoor track and summer races. You do a lot of tempo runs and strength training, so you can run three great races in two days. I could never do that. When you're too sore or tired, your coach pulls you back. That's so important because runners are Spartan and relentless without a good coach to help control them. My compliments to Coach Wright, as well as to you. I'm envious. I wish I'd trained like you. Not that I was anywhere near as talented as you are, but you're doing it right, Conner. I wish you the very best. Go get Saarel's records. You can do it, and I can't wait to see what you're going to do at Footlocker this year!

Total Distance
10.00

    A little over ten easy miles.  I ran alone in the canyon, which I think was good for me to just run. 

Total Distance
6.00

     1 warm up, then we did some capture the flag.  In the second game, it was pretty long, so Alex and I left to get 4 miles in.  Our last two were too quick for an easy day, but oh well.(4:58, and 5:40ish)  After we saw everyone was still there, so we get them to leave and so we ran 1 more mile back to the school.

Total Distance
11.00

    6.5 easy with a pick up half mile in around 2:20, maybe faster. Ran with Alex, Tyson, Glen, and Ethan.  It felt good, Coach said I should just take this whole week easy, so we'll see what happens.

    4.5 later.  It felt good, and it was nice to have sometime to myself to think.

Total Distance
10.00

    5 miles with Alex. I felt decent, but not great.  We had to get back early to do some stuff for Passing the Torch tonight. 

    5 miles later. I felt great, tired, but great!

Total Distance
12.00

    Long run today.  Averaged about 6:40-50s.  Really tired during and after.  It was a hard week this week with all the miles. I think  this week had the second highest amount of miles I've ever done in a week. 

Total Distance
11.35

    7.25 I think, but it could've been more.  I met Alex at the track today, he was doing his annual memorial day challenge(probably one of the craziest things ever.  Every year he does some crazy workout. When he was 15 he did a half iron man, (last year(16) he did a full one) and every year is different) and was going to help me out with my workout before really getting into his(50X400m!)  My workout was 6-8X400m at 58 to 60 per 400 with a limited recovery time.  The first one was way too fast(56), but I felt good.  The second and third were right on(58.9 and 59.0), but then I started to feel really crappy.  I did a 4th in 60, but then I decided on a break before starting again.  Well, it was more needed than I thought. I got a drink, then laid down and my heart rate was flying. After a few minutes, it didn't go down.  I got up and tried to walk, but my throat and stomache hurt.  I walked for a little bit, before throwing up a lot of gross stuff.  After a while of doing that, I took a break and then jumped into help Alex with his workout.  I felt better after 5 400s at about 1:10, so I just decided to finish the first part of his workout with him. I did around 14 400s after my first 4, at about a 1:09 average.  Cool down with my dad when I got home.  Good workout today, even if I didn't finish it all the way, I know I gave it more than I have in a while, so that was good to know, plus the other stuff afterward was good too.

     PM-Later I came to help Alex with another section of his workout.  He had already started, so I just jumped in with him without warming up. Not a good idea, especially because he then ran a 32 for his opening 200.  After we slowed.  We did 11 laps together, usually anywhere from 1:08-1:10. We kept saying we were going to pace a 1:12.  After the 11, we tried to see who was better at pacing without a watch.  I went first, and ran a 1:12.05.  I was way surprised.  Alex ended running a 1:04.  He can't pace himself, but it was better than his opening 2:05 in the mile at BYU.  After I did a cool down.  Alex still has 13 laps to do, poor guy. 

Comments
From Jake K on Mon, May 26, 2014 at 12:07:50 from 98.202.128.218

Those are some fast quarters. 56! Close to a PR? :-)

From Rob Murphy on Mon, May 26, 2014 at 12:41:22 from 24.10.249.34

You're a wild man Conner.

Jake and I and some others spent a while talking about you on our 20 miler this morning. Most of it was positive. :-)

From Conner Mantz on Mon, May 26, 2014 at 17:30:20 from 174.19.42.234

Thanks and Jake, it actually was just a half second off. I'm not really a 400 guy. :/ Rob, as long as most of it was positive, I think I'm good with it.

Total Distance
8.00

    8 slow miles.  It still hurt to go slow, yesterday took more out of me than I thought it would. 

Total Distance
9.00

    Warm up with Alex, but then he started hurting from his 50X400m workout on Monday, so he wasn't able to do the workout with me. But he stayed to support me, which was really good, because I was struggling.  The workout was 3X(3X300m at 45 or faster with 30 sec(100 meters) rest).  I started really slow on the first 100 of the first set, but was able to finish quick enough to hit a 45.  After that I went way too fast on the 100, and ran it in 20 sec, so I was at the line for 10 before starting.  I then hit two 44s.  After this I was really tired.  I got a good recovery, then changed the workout to make it finishable, for how I was feeling at the time, to 2X300m for the next two sets. I hit 42 and 44 for the second, and 44 and 43 for the last one.  Cool down after, then 5 miles when I got home.  Good speed workout, I needed it.

Comments
From Shawn H on Thu, May 29, 2014 at 22:11:58 from 76.121.104.3

Conner, I want to point out something to you and all my fellow Conner Mantz fans. These are the words of a mature, smart runner, and they're YOUR words, Conner:

"I got a good recovery, then changed the workout to make it finishable, for how I was feeling at the time."

That is just awesome. I'm writing a little book on running, and I'd like to quote you as the way a young distance runner needs to think. Would that be ok with you? I wish I had thought like you when I was a runner at your age. If every young runner would do what you do without feeling, as I did, that they simply HAVE TO do the planned workout or they're a failure, so many would be more successful. Kudos to Conner.

From Conner Mantz on Sat, May 31, 2014 at 14:26:34 from 174.19.42.234

Thanks Shawn, and yeah, if it doesn't get me in any trouble with the high school eligibility stuff, then go for it. I don't think it will though.

From Shawn H on Thu, Jun 05, 2014 at 21:15:28 from 12.32.41.2

I appreciate that. I was never as good as you, but at age 52 I have had so many wonderful running experiences. Hopefully people will enjoy reading some of them. Oh, and no, Conner, having someone quote you has nothing to do with your eligibility. LOL.

Total Distance
12.25

    Well, after a crazy day of just hanging with friends, I decided to go on a long run. I felt great for the first 3 miles, then I had stomache problems and had to walk every half mile to make sure I didn't explode.  Once I got to the top of the canyon I headed into the campground bathrooms.  After I felt really good. With 1.8 miles left, I saw my dad, so I ran with him for about 2.2 miles at a good slow pace.

Total Distance
4.00

     Easy today.  I just kept it short because tomorro is going to be hard.  I had 6 planned, but knew that the extra miles could hurt my much needed speed workouts right now.

Total Distance
10.00

    Maybe a little more, but I'm unsure on the mileage.  John Coyle, an All-American steeplechaser (who graduated a year or two ago), texted me last week and wondered if I wanted to run today, so of course I said yes. I've raced him a few times and he's always ran it as a tempo run/workout.  Today we were going to do 5 tempo, but John had a crazy workout on Thursday so he wasn't feeling too great. Our splits were 5:15, 5:19, 5:29(yikes!), 5:26, 5:20.  It felt like a good workout.  After we cooled down.  It was fun to do tempo with someone today.

Comments
From Ashton Arndt on Sun, Jun 01, 2014 at 12:16:38 from 174.19.45.103

Nice job conner! You are going to rip up every course this fall!

Total Distance
10.25

    Caught Coach bearly before the XC team started to run.  He had me do a sprint workout to get the legs ready to go fast. It was 200, 300, 200, 200, 300, 400, 300, 200, 200, 200 at 800 pace or faster, with equal distance recovery.  Alex was nice enough to help me out with this workout, so that was nice.  We were always a 27 or 28 on the 200s, and 42s and a 43 on the 300s, and a 56.3 on the 400.  I felt great on most of these. The last few were hard, and my last 100 meters on the 400 was really slow, which got me mad because I definately could've ran a 55 today and PR'ed.  Oh well.  Some of our rest was extended because a bunch of friends came up to see what we were doing. Cool down after, then 4 more miles when I got home, which felt amazing! 

Total Distance
10.00

    10 easy miles.  I wanted to keep going, but thought it would be best to turn around and save my energy for my next speed workout.

Total Distance
5.00

     5 miles today with the team. Easy.  Last real workout tomorrow, then some short ones to get ready to race again.

Total Distance
8.00

     A very motivating track workout today. It was 100m sprint, then 200m at 31(about mile pace), then 200m at 33-34(2 mile pace) and then a 200m sprint. Goal was to hit splits and be ready for paces, but I wasn't too great at that.  Warmed up about 2 miles, then started the first one.  42 at 300m, so it was a little fast. After that I ran a 34 for the next 200 and finished in a 28.  1:44, sub-4 pace so that was good.  The second one didn't feel as good, but I messed it up by pushing the second 200 too hard.  42 at 300, 32 for next 200, and a 29 for the finish. Still good, but not ideal.  After I split the last one into sections because I wasn't feeling the greatest.  200 sprint, 200 jog(not timed), 200 mile pace, 200 jog, 200 2 mile pace, 200 jog, and 200 sprint.  My times were 27, 29, 32, and 26.  Good cool down after.

Total Distance
5.00

     5 easy miles with the team today.  No one really wanted to go that fast, even the girls were going easy and passed us, so finally people sped it up a little.  Tempo tomorrow.

Total Distance
8.00

     It was over 8, but I'm not sure by how much.  1.5 mile warm up, then 5k at a little faster than tempo.  I didn't feel that great from the get go.  4th lap was my slowest, and then I consistently ran 1:14s after that.  15:09 was the final time.  1600m splits: 4:49, 4:55, 4:50ish, then a good finish.  Cooled down, then did 2 easy miles when I got home.

Comments
From Joseph Buenning on Sun, Jun 08, 2014 at 19:40:17 from 209.33.229.177

Are you running the Dream Mile this year?

From Conner Mantz on Mon, Jun 09, 2014 at 09:16:12 from 174.19.42.234

Yeah, Joseph, I got invited.

From Joseph Buenning on Mon, Jun 09, 2014 at 09:52:00 from 199.201.100.121

Congrats and good luck!

From Conner Mantz on Mon, Jun 09, 2014 at 10:28:32 from 174.19.42.234

Thanks!

Total Distance
9.50

     Ran with the team, then afterward we did strides and I went up to the track and did 2X200s to try out some new shoes.  Alex ran with me and we were 26.3 and 27.1, so it went pretty good.  We tried to hold back on the second onem but then with 30 meters left Alex had a few meters on me, so I tried to pass him.

     Ran some more later.

Total Distance
5.00

    Warmed up, then started the workout, 2X800m(First 200m at mile pace, next 400m at 2 mile pace, next 200m all out).  My first 200m was slow(31.5), but during it my calf started to feel an unnatural pull.  I ran the next 400m pretty relaxed, but way too fast(64.5), and finished in a 29 for the final 200m.  My calf didn't feel great, so I decided to just leave it at one rep.  Cool down after.

Comments
From Shawn H on Tue, Jun 10, 2014 at 18:26:19 from 76.121.104.23

There you go again doing the smart thing, Conner. Good job. When I was running competitively at your age I would have gone ahead and run another one . . . and paid for it. You are smart as well as talented. Hopefully it's just a little strain that will go away quickly. I see that you are listed for the Adidas Dream Mile on Saturday. Good luck. What a great opportunity!

From Conner Mantz on Wed, Jun 11, 2014 at 22:12:10 from 174.19.42.234

Thanks Shawn!

Total Distance
5.80

      5.8 miles with the team. Alex and I ran together for most of it. 

Comments
From Jake K on Wed, Jun 11, 2014 at 11:49:16 from 159.212.71.17

Hey Conner, just wanted to wish you good luck before you head to New York. We'll be watching and rooting for you!!!

From Conner Mantz on Wed, Jun 11, 2014 at 22:11:45 from 174.19.42.234

Thanks Jake, it's much appreciated, and have a good break!

Total Distance
4.50

     Flight got canceled. We ended up being stuck in the airport for a while, then we left to a track in Salt Lake and I ran 4.5 miles there.  I felt good the longer I was out.  Got to our hotel at 2 in the morning.

Total Distance
3.50

    Ran with a bunch of the guys.  We ran on the track for a mile, then ran around the island and saw  prison(I think. . ) close to the stadium, so that was pretty sketchy.  Ready to run fast.  If I get a 4:05, I'll be happy about the race. Hopefully I can go faster though.

Comments
From Kale Sharp on Fri, Jun 13, 2014 at 18:28:49 from 208.117.127.137

Congrats on making it into the race, and good luck!

From Shawn H on Fri, Jun 13, 2014 at 19:54:41 from 76.121.104.23

No pressure, Conner. Just run your own race, and everything will come together. You'll do fine, and we're all cheering for you no matter the outcome.

Race: Adidas Grand Prix Dream Mile (1 Miles) 00:04:07, Place overall: 10, Place in age division: 10
Total Distance
7.25

     Crazy Race, and great opportunity.  We left 4 AM on Thursday to get to the airport to learn that our flight had been canceled.  We ended up being at the airport for a long time, and had to keep switching flights in order to get to New York ASAP.  We got there at 1:30 AM Thursday night/Friday morning, but were able to ride in a cab with Prince Mumba, an 800m olympian from Zambia (by the way, don't take the  black cab, they charge twice the rate). After all that crazy stuff we were able to relax and check out the track on Friday.  On Saturday, we got to the meet and were treated just like the professionals. We were in the same tents as them, and could get massages, water, or anything we needed.  Tons of Pros were just everywhere, like Mary Cain, David Rudisha, and everyone else that ran in the meet.

     Warmed up with Garrett, Matt, and Wes, but needed to stop for a bathroom break, so Garrett and Matt kept going.  Got our warm up in and brought everything to the bull pen. I wasn't as focused as I should've been, but was so physically ready I didn't think it mattered.  We were brought under the bleachers, given our stickers and all, it was just an awesome experience.  We saw the girls race and then lined up.

       When the gun went off it was weird because it was an electronic gun, so I didn't see smoke or anything and I thought that was weird.  I tried to get out well, but I'm not that great with running in the pack, so I dropped back and got in lane two pretty quick.  I ran well the first lap, felt great, not really like any race.  My mind wasn't too in it, it was just weird.  I slowly passed people.  At the start of the second lap I tried to jump in lane one, but was pushed a little in the back because I slowed down. After Cerake came around me and pushed me in a little, but then passed me throwing a pretty hard elbow.  I thought it was my fault at the time, but now looking back at it, I just should've not worried about it, so I let him pass me.  At 650 I got out into lane 2 to let Garrett O'toole go around the pack, but he stopped trying after he bumped me a little, so I ran in lane 2 for nothing.  I made a move here to keep up the pace. I was around 2:02 at 2 laps.  Perfect.  Third lap is when things started to go downhill.  Garrett Corcoran passed me about 950 in, and I just let him, but I tried to stay up with him.  It reminded me of Arcadia.  I slowly just let people pass me. With 500m left, people would cut in front of me, so I would slow down because I'm really cautious, so another person would.  I need to work on sticking with people.  With a lap to go I was at 3:03-04, so perfect too.  I thought I would easily finish in a sub-60 with this field, but this thought it was killed me.  I stopped putting so much effort into it.  I just expected it to happen. With 100m to go I started passing Cerake, but he barely held on and beat me. 

     After I didn't feel that great in my stomache.  I may have overhydrated and ended up throwing up some water and orange juice.  I tried to keep up with everyone on the cool down, but it hurt.  My muscles didn't hurt much, but my stomache hurt and my mentallity was dead.  We watched some pro races after, then I ran a little more. Later that night I tried to go for a jog to shakeout some soreness, but my joints and tendons hurt a lot, so I just bagged it after a third of a mile. 

      Analysis:I feel I ran this race great(for me) for the first 900 meters.  After that I started to make a few wrong decisions, and should've started to push more.  Also, I mentally prepared myself for the first 1000 meters, but told myself I could kick hard the last 600m without thinking how hard it regularly hurts.  I also think I should'nt have passed on most of the turns, and instead just tucked in once I was in a good spot.  Next week is Brooks, so maybe I can race smarter and do better. Plus, it's more of my event the the mile is.

Comments
From Shawn H on Sun, Jun 15, 2014 at 23:57:11 from 76.121.104.23

Great race, Conner. And a PR, too!

From jtshad on Mon, Jun 16, 2014 at 08:00:01 from 141.221.191.225

Congrats on the PR at this top tier race against some great runners.

From Jake K on Mon, Jun 16, 2014 at 09:17:57 from 159.212.71.17

Hey Conner, I know you were hoping for a little bit quicker, but this is still a really nice PR (3 seconds!) and running a 4:07 mile is FAST! Coming through 3/4 in 3:03/4 was perfect, and you might have had that 60 second finish if you didn't get stuck in lane 2 at times during the race. In any case, you can take home a lot of positives from this race.

I'm guessing you are running the two mile at Brooks?

From Rob Murphy on Mon, Jun 16, 2014 at 09:27:27 from 75.100.219.196

I really enjoyed reading this Conner. You are progressing EXACTLY as an elite runner should. You're preparation and attitude are first rate and your analysis of what went right and what went wrong are way ahead of the game for a guy your age.

I learn from you!

Congratulations all around!

From James on Mon, Jun 16, 2014 at 12:12:56 from 71.213.30.161

Conner, Coach Barnes here. It was super fun traveling with you this weekend. You are a stud! Keep it up and you will be running with those Pros soon enough. I like the new pic too.

From Sasha Pachev on Mon, Jun 16, 2014 at 15:37:59 from 192.168.1.1

Congratulations on a solid mile performance. 4:07 at 17.5 years old is very very promising for somebody with natural marathon potential. Do not sweat the small stuff - look at the big picture.

From fiddy on Wed, Jun 18, 2014 at 19:37:01 from 155.101.96.146

That's a good thought about not letting down at the end. Sometimes in workouts, my last rep is my slowest because I assume the worst is over and mentally let up a little.

Total Distance
9.00

    Ran 5 with the team, then 4 when I got home.  I felt really good.  sub-6 pace felt easy at some parts, but then I would realize today is supposed to be easy, so I'd slow it down.

Total Distance
6.50

    Warm up, then 5K track tempo. I love these, because they usually boost my confidence and are easier than a tempo on the road(which I probably needed a lot more.  Will get one in after this week).  The goal was to hold a 5:00 pace until the last lap and try and get a good sprint in. I was very inconsistent on my pacing.  My first mile had splits of 1:09, 1:17, 1:12, 1:16. After that I became 1:14-1:15.  Last lap was about a 1:07, so slower than I wanted, but still decent. Overall time was 15:19.9.  More sore after than I thought I'd be, but I can't change that now.  Time to just relax and get ready for the 2 mile.

Total Distance
4.00

    Was feeling pretty sore, so cut the workout in half.  I've been doing this a lot more lately because coach said if anything feels too much before the race, don't do it.  The workout was 2X(200m mile pace, 400m tempo, 300m 2 mile pace).  Full recovery.  I got Alex to do it with me.  We both were sore.  We were perfect for the mile pace, fast on the tempo, then a little fast on the 2 mile pace.  After my legs didn't feel that good, so I decided to stop.  Good warm up and cool down.

Comments
From Shawn H on Thu, Jun 19, 2014 at 20:19:52 from 76.121.104.23

You're ready, Conner. Rest up now and you'll really kill that two-mile. Good luck, even though you shouldn't need it.

From Jake K on Fri, Jun 27, 2014 at 18:56:16 from 98.202.128.218

Hey, good run at Brooks. I see you are declared for the 10,000 at Juniors next weekend... that's going to be a great opportunity for you. Stay on the rail, stay out of lane two for the first 23-24 laps :-)

From Shawn H on Fri, Jun 27, 2014 at 22:57:09 from 76.121.104.23

Conner, good race at Brooks. I was standing trackside and got some great pictures. It wasn't really warm, so my wife and daughter got cold sitting in the stands. The wind wasn't strong, but it was enough to sap the strength of anyone leading the race for long. I don't know if anyone could have beaten Grant Fisher with that kick of his on that day, so I understand why you wanted to lead the race for the first four laps and make it honest. Right after the race, I was about ten feet away from you near the finish line, just inside the open fence gate. I thought about walking over and shaking your hand, but I didn't want to be a weird "old" guy schmoozing with the high school stars as if you were already Olympians. :-) Anyway, if you want some good pictures, let me know.

Total Distance
5.00

     5 miles easy I think.

Total Distance
3.00

      Pre-meet.  Ran with everyone for a bit, then turned back and saw Nick Symmonds, so the group I was with ran with him for a little bit.  That was pretty cool.  After I did my strides.

Race: Brooks PR Invitational (2 Miles) 00:08:56, Place overall: 4, Place in age division: 4
Total Distance
10.00

      It's been a week since I ran this, and I already forgot a lot, so lets see what I can remember.  I did a shakeout alone for about a mile and a quarter, then warmed up with Stephen Fahy and Noah for 2 miles.  Did my strides, didn't feel the greatest, but still knew I could PR.  The race just went weird though.  First 100m I ran straight into last place, hoping someone would push the pace.  And all of a sudden, the whole pack pretty much stopped. I didn't want to stop, so I just went around everyone into first.  I was 1:08 across the finish line the first time(It was a full two miles instead of 3200m, so this was more like a 1:05), and just slowed down from there.  I wasn't mentally ready to hurt or push it.  I should've been though.  The pace was pretty slow, I think we were 4:29-30 at the mile, then everyone made their moves. I just tried to hold on to the pack. Last lap I was in 5th or 6th and ran around the pack into 3rd and saw I had a good lead on the pack with 100m to go, so I just kinda coasted. Well, of course I got passed.  It was a good race, but not a great race.  It was a great experience though, and it was awesome of Brooks to invite me.  After I cooled down a bunch, ran with everyone, and after the meet ran with the 800m champion for a cool down mile on the track.  He timed it, and it felt quick, but not bad.  We kept up a good conversation the whole time, and didn't stop talking to breathe. After, he told me we ran a 4:44 mile with a 1:08 last 400m.  Why couldn't I have felt that good during the two mile?  Ah, oh well, maybe next time.

Comments
From Shawn H on Sat, Jun 28, 2014 at 21:54:24 from 76.121.104.23

Good race, Conner. Let me know if you want some pictures. It was good to watch you race live. :-)

Total Distance
10.00

   Went up to Island Park to train with Elijha Armstrong and John Dressel at altitude for a week.  7 in the morning, then 3 at night.

Total Distance
10.00

     Easy morning run, about 4.5-5 miles.

     PM-Ran a speed workout on the road. The workout was 260m at 5k pace, 100m at 2 mile pace, 260m at 5k pace, 100m at 2 mile pace, then 260m at 5k pace, then a 2 min. break, then 260m at 5k, 100m at 2 mile, 260m at 5k, 100m at 2 mile, then we changed it on the next two reps by having the 260m be 2 mile pace, and 100m to mile race pace.  First one was way too fast, and I think they might(they measured it on a road twice, so maybe it was correct) have measured the distance short, because I don't believe I can hit these times.  It hurt like heck, but I still don't know about the distance.  2:18 for the 980m, then 1:42 on the first 720m, 1:41 on the second 720m and I just ran until I couldn't hit the pace on the last one.  Warm up and cool down to add it up to 5.5 miles. 

Total Distance
11.50

     7 easy miles in the morning.

     PM-1 mile warm up, 3 miles progressive tempo(5:38, 5:25ish, 5:07), then half mile cool down. I was going faster on my last mile, but I dropped my shirt, and had to turn around and pick it up. 

Total Distance
6.00

     6 miles easy with John.

Total Distance
6.00

     Mile warm up, then 4 miles tempo. It was super muddy, and since it was on trails for 2 miles and a mile on dirt road, I was soaked in mud all along my back, arms, and shoes. I slipped on some of the downhill because of how muddy it was.  I got lost with three quarters of a mile to go, so I turned back for a few seconds to have Elijah show me where to go.  Averaged about 5:20 pace, so with the mud it was a good run.  Mile cool down after.

Total Distance
10.00

     10 mile long run with John and Elijah(I ran with them on almost every run this week).  John kept pushing the pace, and it was super muddy again.  6:15 average. The extra altitude made it hurt more. I was just trying to catch those two for most of the run, which I did, but not without some extra surges.  It was great to be able to run with these guys this week.

Total Distance
8.00

     8 miles. Warmed up a bit with the team, then cut back to the track with a Montana kid (kyreal I think.  I probably spelled it way wrong.) before the workout.  We did 4X400m at 1:03 and 1:04 for the last one(He was usually 1:01-1:03).  Goal was to keep it pretty easy, at about 1:07, but for some reason I just didn't want to slow down during the workout, and since it was pretty easy compared to other workouts, we just ran it without really caring. Cool down after.

Comments
From Ashton Arndt on Mon, Jun 30, 2014 at 10:53:38 from 174.52.11.80

Nice workout Conner! Keep it up, you are going to destroy Utah and National competition this year! :)

From Conner Mantz on Tue, Jul 01, 2014 at 09:10:43 from 174.19.42.234

Thanks Ashton and good luck with your races this next year too!

Total Distance
4.00

     1.25 mile warm up, then 3X(200m at 3200m pace, 200m sprint) with full recovery.  It was supposed to be a pretty easy workout, but I struggled. I felt very flat on the warm up, and just couldn't get going. Kyreal(I suck at spelling names) came again and helped me out.  We usually were too fast on the first 200m, but our last 200m was still good.  I ran 60s on all of them, with a 32 start and 28 finish on the first two, and 33 start, and 27 finish on the last one.  Kyreal usually finished in 26.0, but he was running in lane 2, so that was pretty crazy.  He's run 49.2 and 1:56.0, so that explains why I couldn't keep up with him at all.  Cool down after.

Total Distance
5.00

    5 "easy" miles. I had some knee pain yesterday, then a lot of achiellies pain today.  I was almost dying to run a 6:50 pace with the group.  After 2.5 miles I felt better and was able to get into the groove without any achiellies or knee pain. 

Total Distance
5.00

    5 miles with 9 strides thrown during them. I felt a little lazy, like you do after you take time off.  The strides were good though, and I feel like they'll help me keep on my toes this week.

Total Distance
3.50

     A mile on Hayward field, then about two and a half on Pre's trail with some strides.

Comments
From PRE on Sat, Jul 05, 2014 at 19:26:42 from 99.50.213.11

Hey Conner, are you in Oregon now? Running on Hayward Field - that's awesome!!! Were you going for a fast mile and if so - what was the time?

From Jake K on Sun, Jul 06, 2014 at 21:35:10 from 216.237.246.2

Looks like Top 3 and under the time standard - congratulations!!! Looking forward to hearing about this. A fine 10,000 debut!

Total Distance
3.00

     3 easy miles with some strides.

Race: USA Junior Championships (6.214 Miles) 00:31:01, Place overall: 3, Place in age division: 3
Total Distance
10.00

      It was hot, a little windy.  I feel good about it, although third is the most bitter-sweet place(top two make USA team for World Junior.)  Will write more later.

     We got to the meet about 2 hours before the 10,000m started. It was hot, but I thought it was going to cool down, and be partly in the shade of the bleachers.  After an hour of watching events, I went and got my bib, and after the steeple I started to warm up. I felt good heading into this race, more motivated than I'd been in a while. It's been a long season and I had been feeling burnt out, but I was ready for this race.  I warmed up on a practice track they had near the bull pen.  I did what I thought was a mile and a quarter before getting my stuff and going to the bull pen.  I was afraid of over-hydrating, but I think I was pretty good at it. They ended up having water in the outer lanes on the back stretch, so I shouldn't have worried so much about staying hydrated prior to the race. I never take water until mile 6 of races, so I didn't think I would need any.  My goal heading into the race was just to relax for the first few miles, and whether it was from the front, or in a pack didn't matter. I did 4 strides, and after some stretching, we were off. 

     I hesitated about taking the lead, but just committed 100m in, and just ran my pace.  It felt pretty easy.  First 400m I was 1:10, about where I wanted to be.  I just tried to stay relaxed, but I was too used to running the mile and two mile, that I would speed up to paces that were too fast and then slow it down once I realized I was not going to hold that pace for 10 more laps, much less 20.  Some guy from Texas A&M(Austin Wells) would pass me and slow it down, but then speed it up.  He was worse at keeping a steady pace than me.  I found out there was also a headwind on the back stretch too. The conditions kinda sucked. After 2 miles or so, he passed me, and I passed him back after he slowed the pace down.  At about 5K, I was feeling the heat, and finally gave into water at 5,400m about.  I should've got some earlier, because it felt so good.  After that, I got water on most laps that I could(since I was in the back now, The front guys got the water before I could. I was pretty mad for a bit because it seemed like Brendon Shearn was knocking water out of the hands of the USATF people on purpose to make sure no one else could get any, but I bet he was just trying to get it and it slipped.)  The pack passed me, and I just tried to stay with them for as long as I could.  Over some parts of the race the pack would slow into a lot slower of a pace, and it would bunch up. When lapping other runners, I had to get out to the outer lanes because some decided to run side-by-side.  After that I just told myself to wait for the kick, and with 400m I felt like I could outsprint a few people. My feet were also hurting a ton, they were tingly, like when your foot falls asleep, but it also hurt every time it hit the ground.(After the race, my sock had a little blood around my pinky toe. It hurt so bad, I thought it was broken immediately after the race, but it wasn't near that bad. Just lots of skin gone though) I was in 6th, but pretty soon the UCLA kid and Texas A&M kid started to fall off.  The pace increased with a mile to go, and I just tried stay on. With 3 laps to go, it slowed again, and I was sick of the change of pace, so I took the lead.  After 100m, I decided it was a bad idea, which was my first mistake in this race, and I cut out to lane 2 at 1K to go, and just tucked in the pack of 3 of us.  I held on. With 600m to go I know I needed to start my kick, but I just broke mentally. I then said at 400m I'll do it.  Then, Jon Green and Shearn left me.  I finished okay, but after 50 meters, I just let them get too far ahead of me, that I just made sure I finished at a decent pace. Another mistake, but it's learning.

    About a minute after the race, I started to black out. I just told myself to keep standing. My eyes just started to close themselves, like they do when you're really tired.  I sat down after a few minutes, but my dad told me to get up(thank-you dad!) so I did.  It took me a few more minutes and a few bottles of water before I started feeling decent again. They did awards, and then interviews. When I finally got my spikes off, I walked to the building to fill out stuff as the alternate for the USA Junior Team.  I was in there for an hour or two(it felt like forever!) so I wasn't able to cool down. It was a little depressing being there, because we got to see a lot of really cool stuff that they get. We also had to fill out everything "just in case." I'm happy with my race, I know I didn't have it all on the day, but I still had a great race for me, and I pushed it more than I have in any race this year, other than state and New Balace. Cool down for a few miles.

Comments
From jtshad on Mon, Jul 07, 2014 at 09:42:41 from 141.221.191.225

Congrats, sorry though about missing the team.

From Scott Sandberg on Mon, Jul 07, 2014 at 09:44:41 from 174.232.192.184

I was watching the broadcast and one of the announcers asked if you were the rabbit, I almost punched the screen haha. Nice race and time!!

From Jake K on Mon, Jul 07, 2014 at 10:01:56 from 216.237.246.2

Oh man.. I thought it was top 3 and was so excited for you. Still a really solid race, going up against college guys and doing that well.

From Superfly on Tue, Jul 08, 2014 at 09:52:32 from 64.255.82.18

Good race!

From Holt on Tue, Jul 08, 2014 at 11:30:35 from 50.8.79.137

I was only able to follow the splits online - but it was awesome seeing you up there. I also thought it was top 3 so I was stoked for you. Super bummer... But still an amazing job!

From PRE on Tue, Jul 08, 2014 at 16:21:58 from 99.50.213.11

Conner, Hey congratulations on your awesome race! While I was watching it, I wrote down some of the announcer remarks. I saw it live and have no idea if this is recorded somewhere.

1,027 viewers. This is way too few viewers!

Announcer remarks in quotes.

I noticed you were in the seventh lane and in black singlet and paid attention to that so I could spot you while the race was in process. But no matter, you were the front runner for a good portion of the race! I was thinking at the time…during one of your races your coach said even pace – stick to your pace no matter what is happening. If others pass you, no big deal, you’ll catch them – or something to that effect. BUT, now you’re in Eugene, Oregon and on Pre’s turf. And in typical Pre fashion, front running…was awesome to see that and hear the announcer from the get go mentioning your name. I wasn’t sure if you were going at your pace or what the deal was. Your remarks above indicate you were keeping to your pace.

The announcer mentioned you were the Utah Champ in the 1600 and 3200 and referenced your 8:56 for the 2 miles.

At 1K, the time is 3:03 and 30:30 pace.

4:06 you are still in the lead.

1600 time is 4:53 and

2K is 6:06.

At 7:33 “okay so Mantz is staying out there. What a guy.”

8:54: the pack of leaders is tightening up. Conner is still leading.

“A lot of guys are drinking water.”

9:37 Conner in second place and at

10:46 Conner leading again.

AWESOME SEEING THIS HAPPEN – RECLAIMS FIRST.

14:25 Conner in 4th place “The big kids in front.” (but not by much) At

16:00 announcer says “31:20 is the mark and they are all at under 31 already” (guess referring to the leaders and the need to hit 31:20 as a goal to qualify maybe for Worlds??) 19:54 Mantz is in 5th place “Mantz has not dropped off at all.” At

22:41, Mantz is in a tight grouping of six runners total…all six runners per the announcer are within 1.5 seconds of each other!!! The tension is building.

24:55 time at 8000 meters.

25:44 Conner Mantz at 6th or 5th place.

Then at some point the announcer said “Look at Mantz. Mantz is trying…” “Mantz took the lead with 79 to go.” “Now, Mantz just has to hang on.” I don’t remember the time the announcer said this. Maybe it was at three laps to go Conner – because that’s when you say you took the lead again but then I’m not sure what the announcer meant when he said “with 79 to go.”

At the end the announcer said “he ran his first 10000 meters in 90 degrees and he stayed with guys…”

Jonathan Green of Georgetown was referred to as a “fly in the ointment” early in the race. Green takes 1st at 30:54.62. Brendan Shearn (Penn) takes second at 30:55.52. CONNER MANTZ (Unattached) takes 3d at 31:01.25.

“31:02 from Mantz. Wow that kid’s got some guts.”

From Conner Mantz on Tue, Jul 08, 2014 at 22:01:12 from 67.2.164.206

Thanks everyone! Scott, your comments made me laugh so hard! I had to watch the race right after reading it. It's a bummer I missed the team, but I know I gave it a good effort, so I'm okay with it. Thanks Pre for the commentator's remarks, it reminds me of the race and it was fun to read.

Total Distance
0.00

Day off. 14 hours of driving back home.

Comments
From Jake K on Tue, Jul 08, 2014 at 11:02:51 from 199.190.170.31

That's harder on the body than running a marathon.

Total Distance
5.00

      5 easy miles at night.  Just getting back into it.  I had a few tendons and joints that hurt a little, but my muscles haven't been sore surprisingly.  I loved just running without caring about anything. It just felt so good.

Total Distance
10.00

    10 easy miles in the heat.  I need to get to bed earlier and catch up on my sleep.

Total Distance
8.00

    8 miles with some pushes.  I pushed my 4th mile a ton, but running up the canyon sucks sometimes.  It ended up being 6:01, so it was okay.  It was humid, and hot, so it was not the best weather either.  Happy to be running though.

Comments
From Rob Murphy on Thu, Jul 10, 2014 at 11:38:25 from 24.10.247.181

Welcome home Conner. Fair about of success you've had lately hey?

From Conner Mantz on Thu, Jul 10, 2014 at 13:17:58 from 67.2.164.206

Thanks Murphy, it's great to finally be done with it all. Yeah, it's been great to have a lot of success lately, hopefully it doesn't stop anytime soon.

From Rob Murphy on Thu, Jul 10, 2014 at 13:25:09 from 24.10.247.181

Want some advice?

From Conner Mantz on Thu, Jul 10, 2014 at 14:31:45 from 67.2.164.206

Sure, I don't see how it could hurt.

From Rob Murphy on Thu, Jul 10, 2014 at 15:18:38 from 24.10.247.181

Relax for a while. Always be thinking about how to keep the sport fun, fresh, and challenging. Don't forget to re-connect with why you came to this sport in the first place, why you love running.

That's it.

From Holt on Thu, Jul 10, 2014 at 16:12:14 from 67.2.232.242

I agree with Rob. Often we see great runners burned out after college, or even high school (not saying that will happen to you). The thing that causes it is losing touch with all of the amazing things about running. Go hit some trails, run with some buddies, relax for a little bit and just love running for running's sake.

From PRE on Thu, Jul 10, 2014 at 18:43:43 from 99.50.213.11

I agree with Rob. I kind of thought the same thing when I read your comments about your run a couple days after the race Conner! "I loved just running without caring about anything. It just felt so good." For sure get more of those care-free runs in there!

From Shawn H on Thu, Jul 10, 2014 at 19:31:02 from 71.227.186.114

I agree wholeheartedly, Conner. Keep it fun. When you get to college on a scholarship, it will sometimes feel like a job. Enjoy this time of your life and you'll have the best memories when you get old like me. :-)

I told you that I wrote a book about running, and that I mentioned you in it. Tomorrow it will go on a five-day FREE promotion, so you can pick it up free. If you have a Kindle or other e-reader, it will look great, but it will also work fine on the Kindle app for your P.C. Here's the link for you and the rest of your fans. If anyone likes it, please leave a good review on Amazon. Thanks! http://www.amazon.com/Running-Long-Distance-Love-Affair-ebook/dp/B00LKUQQJI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405042218&sr=8-1&keywords=running+a+long+distance+love

From Conner Mantz on Fri, Jul 11, 2014 at 10:14:24 from 67.2.164.206

Thanks for the advice everyone, I really am struggling a little bit with making running fun, but I can finally run with my team again(hopefully. No more track workouts!), so that will make it more fun.

Total Distance
7.00

     2 miles at practice, everyone had a super hard week, so we kept it easy, then played ultimate frisbee. After I ran 5.

Total Distance
10.00

     4 miles tempo, 2 cool down. I was planning on 5, and I was on track for a really good time, but during the 3rd mile, my lower calves started hurting in a "if I don't slow down I'll probably get injured" way, so I called it quits after 4.  I might go 4 more easy miles later.

    4 easy later.

Comments
From Shawn H on Sat, Jul 12, 2014 at 10:23:17 from 71.227.186.114

Good call, Conner. I am continually impressed by how well you control your workouts and know when to push harder and when to rest. Your online journal is a pleasure to read and very insightful. I wanted to let you know once more that my book on running is free at the moment, and you're mentioned in it. Look for Running: A Long Distance Love Affair, on Amazon.com

From Conner Mantz on Mon, Jul 14, 2014 at 09:30:42 from 67.2.164.206

Thanks, and yeah, I'll look for your book.

Total Distance
5.00

    5 with the team.  Talked with coach about the race and what to do now. He says just take a break before jumping into the training, if someone drops out(which is unlikely), I'll have a really good taper leading up to it. If not, I got my break in.

Total Distance
3.10

    Ran 3.1 miles easy, but at a decent pace.  Just slowly getting into running. Don't want to be too sluggish when I jump back into training.

Total Distance
7.50

     7.5 miles with the team at a really slow pace.  I left them for a bit, but realized I'm on my break/easy week, so I just stayed with them.

Comments
From Shawn H on Fri, Jul 18, 2014 at 19:59:55 from 71.227.186.114

Enjoy your break, Conner. Cross country is coming up, and you're going to do GREAT this season.

From PRE on Sat, Jul 19, 2014 at 13:03:23 from 99.50.213.11

Hey Conner - Man - Like enjoy your break!! They are probably few and far between. Glad you caught yourself!!!

Total Distance
5.00

     5 relaxing miles.

Total Distance
10.00

     Had some weird stuff go on for most of the day, but was able to run later(about 6 o'clock), and I just felt awful and it was really hot still. Oh well, got it done.

Total Distance
11.00

      7 miles. Felt Horride again.  I haven't eaten well or slept well for a while, so maybe that's it.  It was also pretty hot outside, so it could be that too.

      4 miles. Felt a lot better(I think I ate too close to my run earlier) and kept a good pace at an easy effort.  First mile was around 5:40(downhill), last 1.25 was 7:30, so that was a good sign.

Total Distance
8.00

      We went to Wyoming for our high adventure. I never really had any good time to workout, but went three at noon, and five at night.

Total Distance
6.00

     6 easy miles in the morning, but was busy the rest of the day. The leaders weren't really too kind when I said I wanted to go running, but I wasn't going to stop.

Total Distance
10.10

       5 miles up a mountain while everyone was fishing. It was way beautiful up there, but it was really hard going up the mountian, so I had to take a few breaks for my achiellies and lower calves.  After my break up there, I ran back down for almost two miles before I saw someone on a mountain bike. He asked if I went to the lake. I didn't realize it until later, but I bet I was close to it, because the trail finally started going downhill into a way different looking area. I held a pretty good pace on the way down, but it was really scary to go fast, so I averaged around a 5:50 on the first 3 miles of trail, and then my next two miles(dirt and gravel) were low 5:20s, so that was good for me.

Total Distance
10.00

     5 miles tempo, then 5 miles easy.  Tempo was good, it was my first one that I was able to finish in a long time. Averaged 5:20, so that made it good.  My quads were sore from the run yesterday(pounding on the downhill and pushing the uphills), so that made me feel better after, seeing I can still do well even when I'm sore.

     This week was a lot harder than anticipated, even though almost all of it was easy, I forgot how it was hard to just run that many miles in a week(even though a lot of people do more than that on their easy mile weeks).

Comments
From Shawn H on Sun, Jul 27, 2014 at 13:00:13 from 71.227.186.114

I was working in Haiti for a week, and it's nice to come back and catch up on my current favorite high school runner. It will be an exciting cross country season, and your senior year will be a great one, I think. Watching your progress is good for us Utah runners of the 70s and 80s to run vicariously and enjoy your success, Conner. Keep it up. Sky's the limit!

Total Distance
11.50

     After my run I realized I probably went too far for the start of the week.  Oh well, it's all good.

Total Distance
8.00

     AM-4.  Warm up with the team, then 4X30 sec. all out with 3X45 sec. all outs thrown in between, with some break of course.  It was painful, I needed it though. Speed work kills me.

     PM-A little over 4 at easy pace.

Comments
From Shawn H on Tue, Jul 29, 2014 at 10:23:37 from 71.227.186.114

Gonna be pretty sore tomorrow!

Total Distance
11.00

     Not sure how far I ran. 10-12 with Tanner Anderson and John Dressel.  Pretty easy for most of it. 

Total Distance
7.00

     We did a workout at the Nike Elite Camp on the track. It wasn't bad at all, but our last 200m everyone just went all out and ran 25-26. Alberto Salazar coached it, so that was pretty cool. We were able to see Galen Rupp and Matt Centrowitz run their workout too.

Total Distance
8.00

     8 miles. Ran with Mickey, Johnny, Simon Bairu, Elijah, and Matt. We were around a lake near Mt. Hood.  It was fun and cool.  We used GPS watches for distance and pace, but Matt took off on the last lap and said that it wasn't hard.  I just tried to stay with him, because I knew if I did, it would be better for me mentally later on.

Total Distance
8.50

     We ran the race for the camp today(there needs to be a competition for Nike to be able to let us be at the camp) and it was pretty fun.  Warmed up 1.5 miles, then we ran the race.  Everyone was talking about taking it easy, but I needed a tempo run in, so I just decided to see how it felt to push the pace and see how it went. It was on a trail, but the 400m were all marked, which was pretty cool.  Mikey Brannigan took it out pretty hard, and I just kept a good pace the first 400m. After a mile, I kinda switched into racing.  I would go back and forth between workout and race, but it was a big push for sure, nothing easy.  With 800m left I caught Mikey after a fast 400, and we talked for a bit, and finished together in 14:40 for the 3 miles.  After we cooled down, then I got to meet Luke Puskedra, and then I ran some more with a few other guys, and we saw Luke again, so we ran with him for another 1.5 miles.

Comments
From Jake K on Sun, Aug 03, 2014 at 21:12:29 from 216.9.110.12

Awesome camp week!

From Rob Murphy on Mon, Aug 04, 2014 at 06:38:12 from 24.10.247.181

Nice job Conner. Sounds like you're running strong and having fun.

From Conner Mantz on Mon, Aug 04, 2014 at 09:55:00 from 67.2.164.206

Thanks Jake and Rob. It was a lot of fun.

Total Distance
10.00

      XC practice-warmed up to Central Park(of Smithfield, not New York), then ran the loop once that used to be a 1000m repeat, but construction changed the loop and made it short. It was supposed to be 2 mile pace, but it was really hard. 300m jog recovery.  We did 3, then coach said we had another one. I was about 2:32 on the first 3.  Alex was pushing me from behind.  I didn't want to do the fourth, but I didn't want to be a bad example for the younger kids on the team, so I did it anyway. This one was 2:36.  Cool down back to the school.  I ran 5 more miles when I got home.

Comments
From MarkS on Mon, Aug 04, 2014 at 10:43:20 from 98.202.129.174

Way to hang in there on the last interval.

From Conner Mantz on Mon, Aug 04, 2014 at 17:07:20 from 67.2.164.206

Thanks Mark!

Total Distance
10.00

     Good workout today. 5 miles tempo up the canyon.  I didn't feel that great when I was stretching.  I didn't feel that good the whole time, but I was still able to run it well.  Mile splits: 4:45(downhill), 5:35(uphill), 5:17(uphill, then downhill.  Net gain of 0), 5:10(downhill), 5:32(uphill).  I was pretty tired when I hit the third mile, but know I needed a good 5 mile tempo today.  5 miles cool down.

Total Distance
10.00

     AM-5. The team was doing cruise intervals, and since I already did tempo yesterday, I paced two freshman for them.  Cool down after.

     PM-5 easy miles. I didn't feel great, but it wasn't awful.

Total Distance
12.20

     Met up with Jerrell Mock, who runs for Colorado State right now, and used to run for Logan high.  We did the river trail up logan canyon.  He is in really good shape, and I'm super excited to see what he does this season(he was injured for almost all of 2013, but was able to come back slowly and run a 14:20 in the 5k this spring).  I was tired, and when I led it, we weren't going too quick, but when he led it the pace was good.  It was good to talk again with him about high school and college and all our new experiences we've had.

Comments
From Rob Murphy on Thu, Aug 07, 2014 at 11:37:26 from 24.10.247.181

Good training partners are really helpful. Especially those a year or two ahead of you.

Total Distance
7.50

     XC-Warmed up to the buttom of golf course, then ran up to beauty and down beast before starting the workout. It was 3-5X3 hill repeats. You'd run up beast, down beauty, up to halfway up golf course, then back and up beauty, down beast.  You'd sprint the uphills, and jog the downhills for recovery.  The loop was 1.2 miles. I was hurting a lot on the first one, and by the 3rd I knew I wasn't going to do all 5, so I stuck it to 4.  I had some hip trouble, but other than that I think I was just being mentally weak. I need to work on that. Cool down after.

Total Distance
10.20

      Was going to do some tempo, but my left hip was acting up, so I just kept it easy until it loosened up, which was about halfway through, so I was able to push it a little on some downhills.

Total Distance
11.50

      XC-I struggled pretty bad today.  It was 6-8X1000m at Mack Park. The pace was I(two mile race pace) with 3 min. jog recovery. I was only able to do 6, and only hit 2:55-3:00 for them, instead of 2:45.  Mack Park is killer though, and I have trouble with this workout on the track, so I knew it wasn't going to be easy.  It went better than last year when I did this though, so that was a positive.

     When I got home I ran 5 miles at 6:10 pace.  It felt pretty good. 

Comments
From Rob Murphy on Mon, Aug 11, 2014 at 13:20:10 from 24.10.247.181

I've said it before and I'll say it again, for guys who take Sunday completely off, it's difficult to do a workout on Monday.

Monday should be a no stress mileage day with maybe a few fast pick-ups thrown in. Then come back with the workout on Tuesday.

What do you think?

I would also say that 8 X 1000 meters at 3200 pace with 3 minutes rest is borderline impossible. Especially your 3200 race pace.

From Rob Murphy on Mon, Aug 11, 2014 at 13:34:57 from 24.10.247.181

Oh, and if you're wondering why, here's my theory. After a day off, you generally feel rested but also a little sluggish. It's hard to "go to the well" for a killer workout. Better to ease back into it with a distance run at a moderate pace.

From MarkS on Mon, Aug 11, 2014 at 15:15:43 from 98.202.129.174

I totally agree with Rob, even though I am not one to follow my own advice.

However, the reason for running the repeats is to be running at a certain target pace and times, and if you aren't reaching them it would be better to change the workout. I don't believe that workouts are written in stone. You have to listen to your body.

You had a long, hard track season...and it seems from reading some of your posts that you are still very tired from that.

From Conner Mantz on Mon, Aug 11, 2014 at 17:20:40 from 67.2.164.206

Thanks Murphy an Mark, and yeah, I agree that it is hard to come on a Monday for a workout. My coach said not to care about the times after 3 or 4, just said go off effort and see if I could run 5 or 6.

From Rob Murphy on Mon, Aug 11, 2014 at 18:36:05 from 24.10.247.181

I have to be honest Conner, I used to always schedule Monday as a hard workout day - usually on the track. One of the main reasons I switched to Tuesday is because my runners actually asked me to. Coaches listen sometimes.

From Nephi Eschler on Mon, Aug 11, 2014 at 22:31:02 from 209.33.192.7

I totally agree with Rob Murphy that workout seems ridiculously hard, but good job at staying tough and completing it, you're going to do awesome this year!

Total Distance
10.00

     I didn't feel that great today, but was still able to do the workout. 5 miles tempo, then 5 miles cool down.  I started out too quick(4:37 first mile. Not a good idea), and wasn't able to recover well, so I ended up being really tired for the next 4 miles tempo.  After, I did 5 miles slow, but it didn't feel easy. These high miles(for me) have started to take their toll, and I know it will take a while until I'm used to them, but I know it will help me get better.

Comments
From MarkS on Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 14:28:19 from 98.202.129.174

Wow, you make it sound so easy. You are doing 4:37 miles on your tempo runs. I can only run that fast in my dreams. In fact for my age group in masters the world record is 4:35. My goal is to get below 5:00 by the end of next year. My next track meet is on Nov. 1 in Japan. I am hoping to run the 1500 in 5:00 in that race. I need to run a 5:10 to become "All American" in my age group. My best right now is 5:16. I envy how you make it seem so easy. Hang in there!

When is your first X-country race?

From Conner Mantz on Wed, Aug 13, 2014 at 13:11:43 from 67.2.164.206

Thanks Mark S, and good luck with your track meet in Japan, and eventually breaking 5. The first mile might be a little deceiving because it loses a bunch of elevation. My first cross country race is our inter-squad meet on Friday.

Total Distance
12.00

      12 miles with Jerrell.  We met in Smithfield this time, and we did Golf Course extended, but then extended more up Birch Canyon and did part of the 16 crossings course.

Comments
From PRE on Wed, Aug 13, 2014 at 18:07:57 from 32.210.47.141

Conner,

Was just reading about Grant Fisher in Running Times magazine who took first at Foot Locker Nationals (you were 7th). So I looked you up. Running Times did a write-up on you in March of this year. I thought that was a pretty good article! They mentioned your age group course PRs for half marathon distance during 2011 and 2012. The article stated that you rejected the financial prize in 2012 so that you could retain you amateur status. Is that the way it works? If you win a road race, you cannot collect any money or would be considered a professional? I mean, like Jake and Allie win races probably frequently - can't they retain amateur status when they collect prize money for winning or placing at races? Or are they considered pros? Jake is planning to qualify for the Olympics and amateur status is required for that. I don't know...not too up on that...anyway...congrats on the Running Times article. Just learned about it...a bit late; the congrats. Take care.

From Rob Murphy on Wed, Aug 13, 2014 at 18:27:01 from 24.10.247.181

Amateur status doesn't exist anymore. What Conner is concerned about is NCAA eligibility which is a different thing.

Total Distance
6.10

     Ran with Ethan for pre-meet, and we went to Joe's house, woke him up and had him run with us.  We ran about 4.1 miles around North Logan. We went to Glen's house, but he was already at work.  Then we ate waffles at Ethan's, and then I did 2 more when I got home.

Race: Blue and White meet (3.08 Miles) 00:15:57
Total Distance
10.75

    Blue and white meet. I got there a little late, and found out that we were starting pretty soon.  400m warm up before we started.  This is our intersquad meet to see where we are at the start of the season and who will be running varsity at Highland.  Anyway, it was a good race to humble me and remind me how much harder and different cross country is. My first mile was 5:18, and Ethan and Connor were pretty close.  Next mile was 5:17.  I wanted to go for a sub-5:10 average, but saw I was really far behind with a mile to go.  Last mile I really got back into the cross country feel and pushed.  Last 300m is on a track, and I was able to run 47 for it.  It was cool to see how much some people improved just from summer training.  Our team looks great this year, and we have a lot of young kids who have a lot of potential too. 

     Cool down after, then 5 more when I got home.  

Comments
From MarkS on Fri, Aug 15, 2014 at 16:17:20 from 98.202.129.174

Conner,

Congratulations on your blue-white meet. I hope you were satisfied with the result.

Will you be running in the Highland Invitational at Sugarhouse Park?

I am looking forward to seeing how you do.

Maybe if I have time I will come and watch.

I used to love running the XC course at sugarhouse Park when I was in high school.

Total Distance
10.00

      10 in the morning. Went up Smithfield Canyon.  I was tired, but less than I thought I would be. I think maybe I'm starting to get back used to this mileage.

Total Distance
10.30

     XC-We did a loop of 1200s and 800s, supposed to be at I pace.  I wasn't feeling great, but I tried to still give a good effort.  3 min. recovery.  The times were awful, but everyone was running slow times, so I think maybe the course was just hard.  It wasn't thye were a little slow, they were horrible. It was uphill, so that might've effected it.  After the 3X1200+800 we did 4X200m at mile pace. We headed up on the track for this.  I hit 28, 29, 29, 30, so I made sure none of these were slow. Cool down after. 

   PM-2 miles late at night.

Total Distance
12.00

    A little back pain, so I just decided to move my tempo run to Saturday and make today long. It was my first time in a while going to the campgrounds of Smithfield Canyon, and it was peaceful.

Comments
From Shawn H on Tue, Aug 19, 2014 at 20:34:25 from 71.227.186.114

I lived in Smithfield when I was four and five years old. I still remember going on picnics with my family in Smithfield Canyon. Glad to hear it's still nice there.

Total Distance
6.25

     Pre-meet with about half the team(school started today for Sophomores, so a lot of people were supposed to help them.).  6 strides.  Then 4 miles on my own.

Comments
From MarkS on Wed, Aug 20, 2014 at 18:43:03 from 98.202.129.174

Good luck tomorrow Conner!

Race: Highland Invitational (2.9 Miles) 00:14:32, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Total Distance
7.00

      Weird meet.  I was helping out with the first day of school assembly, so I was super stressed yesterday and this morning about that, so I didn't know how the race would go.  The assembly didn't go too well(or atleast my groups part), stuff kept breaking or falling out.  When we got to the meet, I jogged around more than usual, and it kinda hit me that since I was a senior I was supposed to help the younger kids on the team, so I got two warm ups in.  I felt a little flat, but know I'd worked hard in the summer and was ready to run quick.

     The gun went off, and Alex and I ran side by side for the first 200m, then he dropped a little back.  I felt weird. I was hurting during the race, but it didn't feel like I was pushing it.  It didn't feel like a race.  Not really sure how that works.  One kid went with me, Christian Allen, and he ran a gutsy race. At the mile, it went me, him, and then Alex.  Alex ended up falling off here and taking 17th, but it's okay, he'll come back at state.  After the mile, I just kept the pace rolling. I threw in a few surges because, in all honesty, I was getting a little scared of Christian.  About a mile and a half in I started feeling better, and was able to actually get into a race rythym.  I kept pushing it and heard I was around 10:06 at the 2 mile.  The crowd support at this point in the race was amazing.  There were just people everywhere cheering you on, and it motivated me(that's why cross country is so great.  Everyone cheers on everyone).  The timer on the finish line was off, so I just finished and didn't know my time until this morning.  Christian finished well, Garek took 3rd, then Josh ward, then Alex Parsons. 

     Talked and met a lot of people from all over, then cooled down.  Our team ended up placing 6th, and we had one guy lose a shoe, another have an asthma attack, another lifted an hour and a half the day before the race, another was sick, so I think if we can keep our shoes on and stuff, the team is looking great.  On the girl's side, our team placed 9th, which is better than their 13th from last year. Claire especially ran well, placing 31st.

Total Distance
11.10

      Workout today at cross country.  We did hills/sprints.  There was a loop(about 1.6 miles) that we would sprint when going east(or uphill) and go easy, but not too slow, when going north and south.  There were 3 short sprints, 1 medium one, and one long one up a nasty hill.  We ended up doing the loop 4 times.  After practice I ran 4 more miles. 

Comments
From MarkS on Fri, Aug 22, 2014 at 18:57:08 from 98.202.129.174

I like how you always seem to do a little bit extra every day after your workout is finished.

Hey, GREAT race at highland!

I look forward to seeing how you do the rest of the XC season.

From Conner Mantz on Sun, Aug 24, 2014 at 21:12:30 from 67.2.164.206

Thanks Mark, and I also look forward to the rest of the season.

Total Distance
12.00

    10 miles up the canyon, back down, and then up 6th south in the morning.  2 miles later in the day.

Comments
From PRE on Sat, Aug 23, 2014 at 18:03:21 from 32.210.47.141

Conner, how you doing man? You have the most awesome running routes - all you guys in Utah! Canyons, mountains, etc. A while back, I think you mentioned entertaining going for a goal of sub 4 mile during Senior year - are you still entertaining that? Hope all well with you and your family. Talk to you soon.

From Shawn H on Sat, Aug 23, 2014 at 23:45:00 from 71.227.186.114

Just curious, Conner. What was the purpose of the two miles later in the day?

From Conner Mantz on Sun, Aug 24, 2014 at 21:15:33 from 67.2.164.206

Pre, I'm doing good, and yes, I'm still after trying to go sub-4 this year. Hopefully this year I can focus more on speed than in years past. Shawn, the reason I did the 2 miles is because I was going to do 2 miles tempo on a track in the middle of my long run, but the track/football field was being used, so I thought I could do it in a run later. Well, I ended up not being able to due to a thunderstorm, so I ran as soon as it cleared up for a bit, but it ended up just being easy.

From Shawn H on Mon, Aug 25, 2014 at 22:35:24 from 71.227.186.114

I see. That makes sense. I used to (and even still do at my age) think that going out for a two-mile run was just junk miles and over before it even began. But a two-mile tempo is totally different. Thanks for the explanation. I'm always curious to see your training because it's so different from what I used to do. Yours is obviously superior. :-)

Total Distance
12.75

      Rough day for me, and not just for running. When we started our plyometrics and light core in the weight room, I found that one of the machines has loose wires sticking out, and it cut my arm and got it a little bloody.  Well, I didn't think that was too bad, so about 15 minutes later I was doing some jumps and hit a bar right in back of me with my elbow. It took a big chunk of skin completely off. It was bleeding a lot, so after cleaning it out a few times, I got band-aid and stuff from the trainer.  Then we did the workout-7-10X1000m at I pace with 2:30 break.  I was pretty sure I wasn't going to hit my times today, so I just went on effort and break time. The course was/is rough.  It was in Central Park.  Times ranged from 3:00-3:05, except one was 3:07, so I was pretty consistent, and I got 8 of them in.  After the cool down, Alex and I did 2X200m all out on the track.  I hit 27s, and Alex hit 26 and 25.  I was really surprised about the 200s, and I like how coach is having us do these after workouts.  After I cooled down some more, then 4 miles when I got home.  My elbow was pretty bloody after, and the band-aid about fell off.

Total Distance
8.25

    3 miles at practice with 6 strides, then 5 more later that night.  Our team captain last year/leader for the last few years, Tyson Compton, left on his mission today.  Going to miss that kid. 

Race: Roy Dual Meet (3.08 Miles) 00:15:31, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Total Distance
9.50

     Warmed up about a mile, before the race. I wanted just to get a real good effort in, and hopefully the time would come, but I knew after Monday I didn't have a lot in me, so it was just to try and see where I was. I felt like it was hard to push, my quads and hamstrings were burning, but they are fine now.  First 400 was 1:08, mile was 5:02, two mile was 10:05 about, and last 300m was 52. The team did great, especially after the workout on Monday.  It's great to see what potential we have this season and in years to come.  After I cooled down a little with the team, then 5 miles when I got home.

Total Distance
11.00

     AM-Long run with the team. I might run some more later today.

     PM-3 miles later.

Comments
From MarkS on Thu, Aug 28, 2014 at 16:20:42 from 98.202.129.174

Conner,

I have a question for you.

I think I told you I am running a 1500 meter race in Japan in November. I am thinking of getting some spikes to wear. Was wondering if you could recommend a model. Most of the races I will be running will be 800 meter, 1500 meters and 5000 meters. Up until now I have just worn racing flats, but in my last race the track was wet and I slipped and almost wiped out, so I think maybe getting some spikes would be a good idea. I would appreciate any help you could give me.

PS. Great job in the race yesterday!

From Conner Mantz on Tue, Sep 02, 2014 at 16:03:16 from 67.2.164.206

Thanks Mark, and with spikes, it's more of personal preference. If you're looking for something that is great for 5000m mostly, and occasionally the 800-1500m, I'd recommend the Saucony Kilkenny, but if you want something more aggressive then I would recommend the Nike victory xc 2. But again, these are just what have worked best for me in the past.

From MarkS on Tue, Sep 02, 2014 at 16:55:38 from 98.202.129.174

Thanks for the advice Conner. I will try out both types of spikes to see which fits me the best.

Good luck in this weeks race!

From Rob Murphy on Tue, Sep 02, 2014 at 17:51:59 from 24.10.247.181

I recommend the spikes that look the most awesome.

Total Distance
6.75

     6.75 miles in Price.  Ran with my sister for part of it.

Total Distance
9.25

     I'm not sure exactly how far it was, but I know it was over 9.  Anyway, I tried a workout to make up for being out of town when they did beast. It was8-10X400m at mile pace with limited rest. It didn't really go that great for me.  I started giving myself extra rest, and not being able to hit the times, I pulled the plug and just ran a few easy miles. I still didn't feel good during the easy miles.  It was after a long day of four-wheeling, it was at about 7100 feet, and the track had holes in it, so these might have played a factor, but my sister had the same problems and she still did the workout, so I shouldn't complain. 

Total Distance
11.00

     11 miles in monticello, from the temple to the lake, a little over twice around the lake, then back to the temple.  Felt good.  Held 6:18 pace for the first 5.5, and then just had to tell myself to slow it down, and got back onto a slower pace.

Total Distance
9.75

      Ran in Price again.  Claire and I did some Russian Intervals on a track. The workout was 3X(3X300m) with 100m jog in 30 sec. in between the 300s and a longer jog in between sets.  It was a good workout for me.  Claire helped me get through the workout again.  Splits per 300m: Set 1: 44, 46, 47 Set 2: 45, 46, 47 Set 3: 46, 47, 47.  This workout it hard to start, because you know it's going to hurt, but once you start it, you don't think about it.  You can't. You're either sprinting(or close to it), or you're trying to keep your recovery limited. 

     4 miles when we got back home to stretch the legs out.

Total Distance
11.00

     I missed the workout yesterday, and ran it today.  It was a good workout, but it was hard.  6-8X1000m at threshold pace on grass course, with 1 min. recovery.  I was pretty consistent, my times were 3:04, 3:06, 3:07, 3:07, 3:10, 3:06, then I took a break because I was struggling, and I asked coach if I could do that last two on the track, and he let me.  They felt a lot easier than the grass.  I ran 2:59 and 3:00 for those two.  Mile warm up, and mile cool down.

     4 miles when I got home.

Total Distance
7.00

     AM-5 miles pre-meet with the team.  Maybe more later.

     PM-2 miles with strides.

Race: Aggie Invitational (3.107 Miles) 00:14:53, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Total Distance
10.50

      Good race, will write more later.

      We got there at 3:30, but didn't race until 6:20, so Alex and I got the Rookie guys warmed up, then I for about a mile to find a bathroom that I didn't have to wait an hour in line for. Our team used to only go to the Ag building right next to the course, but other teams found it, and the workers there put signs up saying they were "out of order" as soon as I came in. Anyway, I ran to a gas station after with a few teamates and we found one that no one else was at.  Once I got back, we warmed up, and got ready to race.  At the line, they were getting ready to start, but one of the kids on my team forgot his bib, so we all did a stride to buy him some time to get it, then walked back really slow.  Pretty sure the guy with the start gun was really mad at us.

      Race: We started on the outside, and I just kept a straight line to keep from running into people. I felt a little tight and sore, but it was okay. We hit the gravel, and at the first turn I heard someone breathing really really hard on my shoulder. Turned out to be my teamate Alex Lyons.  We kept a good pace and had a gap about a half mile into it. I sped up just a little bit to make the gap bigger. Alex stayed with me until right before the mile. I tried to slow down for him, but after I saw he had given up, I got back into the race.  First mile was 4:51.  I made some big push on the second mile, but just was having trouble keeping my head in it. I don't know my second mile split, but just kept the pace up. I saw the chase pack had started gaining on me the third mile, so I kept looking back to make sure I had enough room. Garek was second, Josh Ward was 3rd, then Alek from Ogden, and then Stockton Smith. It's a really fast course, but I don't know if it was a full 5k. They modified it from the other courses we've ran on it, and it seemed longer looking at the map than the 5k it was 2 years ago when Jerrell broke 15.  Our team did well(5th), especially considering most kids did 3 workouts this week prior to the meet. Alex ended up 12th, and he'll improve a lot by the time state rolls around. Also, it was super cool to race people from other parts of the state at Logan. 

      After I cooled down about a half mile, and then 5 miles when I got home.

Comments
From Rob Murphy on Fri, Sep 05, 2014 at 22:45:55 from 24.10.247.181

A good race indeed! Maybe your best time wise in a 5k at altitude?

From MarkS on Sat, Sep 06, 2014 at 02:10:38 from 98.202.129.174

Congrats on a great race! I am looking forward to reading about the details.

From jtshad on Sat, Sep 06, 2014 at 05:33:27 from 69.20.183.178

Congrats on another strong race!

From Walter on Sun, Sep 07, 2014 at 07:02:39 from 67.177.57.100

Dude, you are some kind of freaky!! Only in my dreams! Or extreme downhill! Lol

From Jake K on Sun, Sep 07, 2014 at 20:09:12 from 98.202.128.218

Nice race Conner. Off to a great start!

Total Distance
10.00

      Off day, but that was expected.  10 slow miles.

Total Distance
9.50

      Practice today was pretty easy.  We did some 200s, 300s, and a 400 on the grass.  It was all supposed to be at I pace, so it was pretty laid back.  Coaches talked to us about what we need to work on this season.  We aren't as close of a team as we were in years past, so we are going to work on that. 6 miles when I got home.

Total Distance
8.00

      2 miles at practice, then 6 later. Busy day.

Race: Ogden-Box Elder Tri meet (3 Miles) 00:15:12, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Total Distance
10.00

      Fun race. Last mile was slow. I missed the course record by a few seconds, but it's okay.  I wore my old trainers that had 1000+ miles on them. After the race Alex, Glen and I ran to his car and drove to the homecoming parade. Why is our farthest away dual meet on the same day as the parade? We then were busy with stuff all night, so I wasn't able to run again until 10.  Got 5 miles in then.

Total Distance
10.00

     To tell the truth, I actually can't remember what I did today. I think it was 10 easy miles.  Ran 8 miles, then two after Mr. Sky View.

Total Distance
10.00

      10 miles, I think. It has been a very very busy week.

Total Distance
8.25

    Was able to squeeze in 8.25 miles in between the ACT and Homecoming. It's been a rough week of training, but coach said this was our rest week anyway.

Total Distance
10.00

     So, since last week was homecoming, and it was really busy, Coach had it be a recovery week. We mainly did sprints in our workouts, like on Monday and Friday, and on Saturday was the dance and the ACT for me, so I was really burned out mentally, but yesterday was a good recovery day.  Today we did a mile warm up, then 3X800m at 2 mile pace with 1:30 recovery, then 4X400m with 60 sec. recovery at same pace, then we got a full recovery before doing 4X200m hard with 200m recovery.  First two 800s went well, they were mostly on grass, and the first was net uphill, second was net downhill.  2:16, 2:14.  Third one I struggled, but still ran a 2:22.  After that, the 400s didn't go great, but went okay. 1:10(uphill), 1:07(downhill), 1:09(uphill), 1:03(downhill with Alex, who won some big triathlon in his age group over the weekend. He should've just been training for running).  Took the full recovery and then did the 200s.  The first 3 were sorta downhill, and we ran them in 26.7, 26.6, and 26.1, but it was pretty crowded, so we had to weave around people.  Last one was uphill in 29.  Mile cool down, then 4 miles when I got home. 

Comments
From MarkS on Mon, Sep 15, 2014 at 19:01:19 from 98.202.129.174

Sounds like a tough workout. Made me tired just reading about it.

Total Distance
8.00

     2 miles pre-meet with the team, then 6 miles whenever I could find time.

Race: Cache-Box (3.107 Miles) 00:15:33, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Total Distance
10.00

     Warm up and my hamstring was hurting from doing a workout wrong yesterday.  I asked Coach if I could just hang with Alex the first 2 miles, and then go.  He said as long as my third mile was good, it'd be okay, so that's essentially what happened. Alex, Nick, and I ran together for the first mile and a half, then they started slowing down a bit. My hamstring was feeling good, so I tried to take off, but I didn't have the right mind-set, and it didn't end up being that much faster than the others. First mile was 5:01/02.  Alex took second, Nick was third. Our team won it(5th year in a row!) by the best we'd ever won it. We had 1, 2, 5, 9, 11, and not everyone had their best race, so I think we have a really good chance at region.  It was 91 degrees, the highest recorded temperature for Cache Valley on this date, so we had a lot of people run slow times for themselves.  Cooled down with everyone, and then ran 4 more miles when I got home.

Comments
From PRE on Thu, Sep 18, 2014 at 18:29:41 from 32.210.47.141

Conner,

Hey looking like a good result!! First place always looks good. Man I can't believe you are in your senior year already! College bound very soon. Hope you are enjoying the running and reaching your running goals. Talk to you soon. Be well.

From Rob Murphy on Thu, Sep 18, 2014 at 20:20:13 from 24.10.247.181

Good plan, good race

I think our heat wave breaks tomorrow.

Total Distance
10.25

     AM-3.25 miles in the morning with the team.  Great temperature.  60 degrees at 6:00.  It's usually freezing in the mornings, so it felt super nice.

     PM-7 miles. It was hot.

Total Distance
10.70

      7.7 to Aggie Ice cream with a 3 mile "tempo" in.  I struggled to get moving at all, so I can't really call it tempo.  First mile was around 5:30s, so it wasn't that good compared to usual. Rode the bus back.  Did 3 miles when I got home. 

Total Distance
10.00

     5 mile trail run with Stockton and Ethan. We bought Gossners before, and then drank it after.  We need to make this a weekly activity.  Later I did some mile repeats that were supposed to be anywhere from 4:50-5:00 with a 1 min. break because I was feeling a little sick.  It went well, my first and third were fast, but I felt better as it went on.  4:48, 4:54, 4:47. 1.5 warm up and cool down.

Total Distance
11.00

     7 miles.  1 mile warm up, then 4X800m at two mile race pace with 2 min. jog/rest, then 4X400m at mile race pace with 4 min. jog recovery, and then 4X200m at mile race pace with 200 jog.  We did these at mack park, so uneven turrain, grass, narrow bridg, some asphault, and it isn't flat, but this is where we usually do our repeats.  800s were 2:16, 2:15, 2:16, 2:15, 400s were 1:03, 1:00(first 200 was uphill, and last was downhill.  Ran 32, 28), 1:02, 1:02.  I ran the 200s with Alex.  27(downhill), 29(little net gain, but U-turn), 30(uphill), 26(downhill.  Alex ran 24/25 on this one)  Then a mile cool down. 4 miles when I got home. I felt a little sluggish in the 800s, but felt better than I have in a long time for the rest of the workout.  It was probably the extra rest(4 minutes instead of 1 makes a difference)

Total Distance
10.00

     1 mile warm up, then 5X3 hill loop(now called the triple crown. Beauty, Beast, and lions park hill) with 4 min. jog between sets.  The sets were about 1.2 miles.  I went off to a slow start, and since Alex was too sick to run, I was by myself in the sprints, but Ethan pushed me on the breaks, and made sure I didn't dog it.  First one was slow, but I slowly progressed until my fourth was going really well. I debated on doing a fifth, but Ethan was doing it, so I did too.  1 mile cool down. Maybe more later.

    2 miles later before mutual. Interestingly enough, this has been the most I've put in on the first two days of the week for a while, which is weird because this week is Bob Firman.

Comments
From jtshad on Wed, Sep 24, 2014 at 09:49:46 from 141.221.191.225

Looking forward to watching you run at Bob Firman. My son is running in the Freshman race. Safe travels to and from Boise.

From Conner Mantz on Wed, Sep 24, 2014 at 21:17:51 from 67.2.164.206

Thanks, it will be fun to see you and your son. Tell him good luck for me.

Total Distance
7.30

      An extended version of tree of life for practice, then Alex, Glen, and I had to leave early.  I ended up running 5.1 more miles when I got home.  It was dark outside, and the stars were amazing. 

Total Distance
5.00

     We ran golf course extended this morning.  It was fun and easy.

Total Distance
3.25

      Pre-meet with the team on the course. We got there a little late, but it was okay.  I wore my tiger shorts and got some funny looks. We ran half the course with the team, then Ethan, Caleb and I decided to do the rest of the course.  We did some strides after. 

Race: Bob Firman Invitational (3.107 Miles) 00:14:51, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Total Distance
10.50

     Good race today.  Warmed up with some of the freshman and Trevor.  Then warmed up a little before going with the team.  I felt decent, but not as good as I've felt before.  Did a few strides, and when our team lined up, they said we could get into the boxes that weren't being used.  All the ones to the right were empty, so we had 6 of 7 on the line, while most other teams had 2. 

     I got out well, and just looked around to find Elijah and Tanner.  I got a little behind Elijah and just sat for a while.  Tanner, Elijah and I were running side by side by side and it sounded like Elijah said he was sick.  The pace felt pretty easy.  I overshot a U-turn and spun out in a funny way. Pretty sure everyone was laughing.  After hearing, or not hearing(no one admitted to it later when I asked them. Oh well), someone saying they were sick, I thought that's why the pace felt so easy, so I took the lead and kept it.  I felt great, so I thought the pace was slow.  I hit the beach(it wasn't slow. Mile 1:4:39) and ran on the water area, even though it was farther the sand was more packed down.  I could see someone in my peripheral vision, so I kept the pace quick.  I was in the lead until the first hill. I really pushed up it, but Elijah passed me here. As soon as we hit the downhill I made a move and passed him.  I kept the lead from here on out.  I hit 1.5 miles and I felt good still. At the start of the second loop I could hear Tanner.  I overshot the U-turn and spun out again, but it wasn't as bad this time.  I just kept pushing the pace.  We were about 9:36 at two miles, so I sped up after. We hit the beach the second time and I jumped quickly to the left.  Well, my shorts caught the poll that held the flags that directed the course, but quickly slid off(not my body, the pole.  It They stayed on my body. Sorry for the mistake earlier). Whoops, someone might've seen a little too much of me. I kept pushing on the beach and heard someone say to Tanner, "He's only 3 seconds ahead of you, you can catch him" so I quickened my pace. The hill was slow the second time.  I kept my sights ahead for most of it, and just kept running.  I crossed the finish line in 14:51.  2 seconds off the course record, and 4 ahead of Tanner. After I cooled down with my team and Chuk Mitchell from UVU/Herriman.  It was good to catch up with Chuk.  My team didn't have that good of a team race, our 3rd runner lost his shoe, but it was a good experience for us. 

    4.5 miles with Connor McMillan and Elijah in Provo, on my visit to BYU.  It was a little sketchy part of Provo, but it was fun.

Comments
From jtshad on Wed, Oct 01, 2014 at 09:28:37 from 141.221.191.225

Great race, it was fun watching and cheering you on. You ran well and a smart race. You are on a roll and I hope you continue to have great success through the rest of the season.

The kids from my son's team (IF) were VERY impressed with you guys and amazed to watch you run. An inspiration to them. They are familiar with Elijah (he has run many of the races they have been in this season) but I told them all to watch out for you! I tell my son to check your blog so he can look for ideas and inspiration (he had a bad race, partially due to a teammate causing him an injury).

From Rob Murphy on Wed, Oct 01, 2014 at 10:38:41 from 163.248.33.220

Sketchy part of Provo?

Yeah, pretty decent race!

From Jake K on Wed, Oct 01, 2014 at 11:03:40 from 159.212.71.77

Big win, Conner!

You might have gotten the CR if you could have kept your shorts on! :-)

From MarkS on Wed, Oct 01, 2014 at 12:20:48 from 98.202.129.174

Great race, Conner!

There are some great photos of you on mile split.

They must have been taken before you lost your shorts..:)

From Conner Mantz on Wed, Oct 01, 2014 at 19:20:01 from 67.2.182.38

Thanks Jeff and Murphy, the sketchy part of provo was supposedly the one street with all the bars and stuff. There was a drunk guy trying to run with us and thought he was hilarious. Jake and Mark, sorry, I meant they stayed on, but were lifted for a little bit before I twisted to keep them on. I made a mistake in the report, hahaha. I probably should've read the report before I posted it.

Total Distance
11.00

      Since you aren't to run a workout with the team when you're on a visit and I didn't have a watch, I ran Elijah's workout with him.  4 miles tempo, then 2X800m at I pace with 2 min. recovery in between the 800s.  I felt awful during the tempo, but pretty good during the 800s.  We went out really slow for the first two miles, but our last two had a sub-5 average. We averaged a 5:09ish pace overall.  Coach usually wants me to be sub-5, so it was a little disappointing to hurt that much, but it's okay.  The 800s were good both were right on at 2:14. Cool down and long warm up. 

Total Distance
8.25

     A little over a mile with the team, then 7 when I got home. 

Total Distance
10.00

     Bonneville dual meet.  My right quad was hurting, so I kept it even enough and easy enough that it wouldn't hurt too much, but I kept the pace good, about 5:10 average.

Total Distance
10.00

      AM-8 miles with Ethan, Andrew, and JC.Sunnyside extended.

     2 miles later.

Total Distance
10.00

     We warmed up to Central Park and ran 7X1000m at tempo pace with a minute break in between.  My times were pretty consistent, running 3:05s for the first few, and running a few 3:02s later on.  It felt good, and a minute felt like plenty of time for rest.  Later I ran 3 miles with my dad.

Comments
From MarkS on Fri, Oct 03, 2014 at 22:59:17 from 58.91.26.108

Sounds like a tough workout, but glad to see that it felt good and easy for you. Sounds like you are getting stronger.

Total Distance
9.30

      5.3 with Ethan and Stockton in between conference sessions, then 4 after the second.

Total Distance
9.50

      9.5ish. We warmed up, but not as much as usual.  My right quad was really hurting yesterday and I was having trouble walking on it, but today it felt better. I talked to the trainer, and he stretched my leg out and I didn't feel any pain, so he said it was okay to run on, but to be cautious on the fast stuff.  The workout today was 2X800m at I pace with 2 min. recovery, 3X400m at R, 4X200m at R.  The first 800m went great, but it was downhill for 400m, and I ran a 2:11.  My next one was opposite, and it didn't go that good.  2:22. My quad started to hurt here, and I shoud've just stopped, but didn't for some reason. 400s were okay.  1:02, 1:03, and 1:00. The 200s went well all were 28, but that was max effort, which is a problem. Cool down, then 5 miles when I got home. 

Total Distance
10.00

      Quad hurt last night again.  Not sure what to do, but I'm going to try and take IBProfen(or however you spell it), ice it(I hate icing. I've only done it three times, and they all weren't willingly), and stretch/roll it out.  The workout was 6XLions park hill and then a 200m after short recovery.  It wasn't a killer workout, but coach had me skip out on the first hill, and the last loop.  I also kept it easier than usual, just staying with our 4th and 5th guys.  I ran 6 miles when I got home too.  It's weird, because my quad doesn't hurt when I run fast, but on slow running, or walking(expecially walking) it hurts. 

Comments
From MarkS on Wed, Oct 08, 2014 at 15:25:10 from 153.219.27.117

I hope your quad starts feeling better soon.

It could hurt worse when jogging or walking, because the muscle is contracted for a longer period of time when compared with fast running.

Is it a dull pain or a sharp pain?

Total Distance
10.00

     5 at practice, 5 at home, I think. . .

Total Distance
6.25

     Pre-meet plus strides and then some running later that afternoon.

Race: Region 5 (3.107 Miles) 00:14:59, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Total Distance
9.00

     Not really a good race for me, but I wanted to get my quad/right leg back to feeling better.  I just need to take better care of it.  Anyway, we watched and cheered on the races, but as a team we struggled in the JV races and Varsity girls race.  It was a little scary heading into our race, especially because Alex was kinda injured, Ethan has been having liver problems(however that works) the past two weeks, and a few other guys didn't feel fresh at all.  Well, we were ready to run hard though, and as a team, we bearly missed beating Ogden, who took 3rd at Bob Firman.  I got out slow, but then just settled into a good pace. Once I realized no one was going with me, I decided to keep a faster even pace and not throw in any surges.  Mile was 4:50.  I looked back and we looked good, but not great in our places.  After a little while I heard that Alek from Ogden was gaining on me, so I put in a surge, but then made sure I didn't push it too much because my right leg needed me to be careful.  I made sure I finished comfortable on my leg, but my breathing was still tired. Alek was second, then Alex from Sky View(my team) was 3rd, then Mark summers, and Garrett Barton.  After that it was Ethan(Sky View again!) and 3 other guys before our 4th guy.  We had 4 in the top 10!  Our fifth guy ran well, but Ogden's fifth guy did too.  We ended up losing by 5 points, but it was alright, we ran great as a team, and I couldn't be happier on any other team. Cool down after, then 4.2 miles when I got home.

Comments
From MarkS on Sat, Oct 11, 2014 at 00:28:27 from 153.220.160.90

Way to go Conner! It is going to be an exciting state meet.

From Spencer Smith on Sat, Oct 11, 2014 at 08:08:47 from 174.52.167.138

that's an accomplishment. Saying you didn't have a good race, but you finished in the 14's.

Total Distance
6.00

     6 miles.

Comments
From Shawn H on Sun, Oct 19, 2014 at 11:02:28 from 71.227.186.114

Hang in there, Conner. Every runner has some injuries and setbacks. Fortunately, yours is something people outgrow. Keep your chin up.

From Chris Rushing on Mon, Oct 20, 2014 at 13:10:34 from 50.186.114.214

666 monthly people, your gonna have a devil of a good race

From Ashton Arndt on Tue, Oct 21, 2014 at 20:51:01 from 50.160.35.183

Lets see it man! Keep your success rolling!

From Nephi Eschler on Wed, Oct 22, 2014 at 21:45:21 from 209.33.192.7

Hey Connor, thank you so much for supporting me in my race at state. I struggled through the whole thing, but it sure helped having a national champion cheering me on! I watched the 4a race, and I know your probably pretty bummed about it, but that was the most incredible race I have ever watched. You are SO TOUGH! I admire that. Go kick butt at nationals!

From Ashton Arndt on Wed, Oct 22, 2014 at 22:44:18 from 50.160.35.183

Recover and kill at footlocker!

From Shawn H on Fri, Oct 24, 2014 at 17:42:15 from 71.227.186.114

Great job at State under the circumstances, Conner. Tough running. Good luck in whatever comes next. I'm still hoping it's Footlocker.

From Shawn H on Fri, Oct 31, 2014 at 20:51:32 from 71.227.186.114

Hey, Conner. Where did you go? One bad race and your first real injury aren't the end of the world. Let your fans know how you're doing. Best of luck.

Total Distance
0.00

Pool jogging-1 hour plus core after.
 

Total Distance
0.00

Pool jogging-started doing it without water belt. 1 hour plus core.
 

Total Distance
0.00

Pool jogging. 1 hour 15 minutes.

Total Distance
0.00

Pool jogging-1 hour 10 minutes plus core.

Total Distance
0.00

3200 yards of swimming. I need to catch up on everything. I'll write about the state meet later.

Total Distance
0.00

3200 yards for swimming plus pool running. Core later.

Comments
From Blake Bennion on Mon, Nov 03, 2014 at 19:49:12 from 204.14.22.58

Hang in there with the cross training!

From Shawn H on Mon, Nov 03, 2014 at 21:10:10 from 71.227.186.114

So good to see something from you, Conner. I know swimming sucks compared to running, but hang in there. You have such a bright future!

From Joseph Buenning on Tue, Nov 04, 2014 at 18:01:06 from 199.66.119.119

Keep up the good work

From Conner Mantz on Wed, Nov 05, 2014 at 20:56:33 from 67.2.182.38

Thanks Blake, Shawn, and Joseph!

Total Distance
0.00

1 mile swim(1800 yards) in freezing water.  Turns out the boiler for the school swimming pool broke on Saturday(I swam at Sports Academy that day).  It doesn't help that it snowed outside at it was 5:30 in the morning when I got there.  They didn't tell me until after. I was wondering why the shower never got warm.  At night I pool ran for an hour plus core. Productive day.

Total Distance
0.00

Pool ran for an hour.  I didn't have much time all day to do stuff, so it's an off day. I'll try to get some core in later tonight.

Comments
From Ashton Arndt on Wed, Nov 05, 2014 at 14:14:10 from 163.248.33.220

Keep it up Conner! You have a lot of great running ahead of you! Get better!

From Conner Mantz on Wed, Nov 05, 2014 at 20:56:05 from 67.2.182.38

Thanks Ashton! Good luck at Nike in a few weeks!

Total Distance
0.00

1 hour 15 minutes of pool running.  It's getting better, and I was actually able to get myself to run out of breathe for a bit today.  I did core prior to it. 

Comments
From MarkS on Wed, Nov 05, 2014 at 21:48:59 from 118.9.246.81

Hang in there Conner!! I know it is hard, and really frustrating to be injured, but hang in there.

Total Distance
0.00

50 minutes of pool running.  Hard.  3X3 min. interval, then 3X2 min. interval, and 2X1 min. interval.  It was hard, but not really hard.  I need to run.

1800 yards of swimming.

Comments
From Ashton Arndt on Thu, Nov 06, 2014 at 20:12:54 from 50.160.35.183

You are on the verge of greatness Conner! We are all behind you. Keep going, don't give up! :)

From MarkS on Fri, Nov 07, 2014 at 14:53:53 from 114.149.227.206

Way to hang in there Conner.

Have you ever tried doing "Tabata" in the pool.

One of the kinds of training that I like to do is Tabata.

I don't know the details of your injury and if you could do this or not but if you can, it might be worth trying.

What you do is go to the deep end of the pool, and then sprint in place in the water moving your arms and legs as fast as you can, a full out sprint 200% for 20 seconds. Then rest 10 seconds and repeat this 8 times. The total exercise only lasts 4 minutes, but it done correctly is a real killer. I recommend doing it the last thing at the end of your workout, or you may not be able to finish the other part of your workout in the pool.

Doing Tabata every day will maintain and maybe even improve your VO2max while you are injured.

From Conner Mantz on Sat, Nov 08, 2014 at 12:57:40 from 67.2.182.38

Thanks Mark and Ashton!

Total Distance
0.00

2000 yards of swimming, plus some pool running. Did Mark S's 20 sec. on 10 off for 4 min.  It was hard, but I had trouble getting myself to dig deep, so it wasn't too bad.  It's hard to find motivation right now. 

Comments
From Joseph Buenning on Sat, Nov 08, 2014 at 13:40:51 from 199.66.118.142

I don't know if this would help you, but when I had a stress fracture and aquajogged (During some of the winter/spring/summer):

[No belt]

[easy warmup (set amount of minutes)] and cooldown]

[Have a set total amount of time for aquajogging sessions whether its 1-2 hours including workout]

[Only used the deep end of pool for workout -- only used shallowish end for recovery] *and keep a waterbottle by recovery area/fruitsnacks or gu or granola bar or something.

[So I would usually start at the midpoint of pool ( or wherever you can barely touch the bottom and jog -- then do the hard part towards the deep end and back]

Some workouts I did:

I did 1 minute hard then 30-40 second recovery [at midpoint of pool/shallow end]... Can do as many as needed. (mainly felt like a speed workout, but not too bad) [ kind of like doing 400m repeats]

Sometimes I had "easy days" when I just aquajogged for 1 hour or 2 hours but not too easy and not too intense.

For longer intervals:

1:1 2:2 3:3 2:2 1:1 fartleks (You can adjust the length of workout and recovery if needed)

Other workouts:

Progression repeats [start at slower pace then progressively increase intensity].

Use one of those stair machine things or climb up a mountain

Biking is another alternative but I didn't feel like I got as much of a workout from it at all. When I did bike it was mainly just to have a good time and relax a little bit.

*Problems I found with aquajogging:

Only works hips/quads/hamstrings (Those were usually the most sore/tight) and does not work your calves. No coaching. No team mates and not very much support going on (you're usually aquajogging by yourself).

Don't know if this post would help and sorry if this is all kind of hard to read, but good luck with your training and future races.

Total Distance
0.00

Hardest core session I've done in a long time(probably since last year in August. .), plus an hour of pool running with intervals.  4:40 on, then break, then 1:30 on, 30sec. a bunch of different times, and a few 2 min. on, and 1 min.  It hurt. I kept my head out of the water and was sweating, but the water was fairly warm, but it still is good to work hard enough that I sweat. 

Total Distance
0.00

1 hour of pool running. Cut it short because I had some slight pain, but the doctor said I should still be a go to run a little tomorrow, so I trust him.  I'm so excited, I can't sleep!

Comments
From Shawn H on Tue, Nov 11, 2014 at 19:52:34 from 71.227.186.114

You're going to want to push too hard. Don't do it. You have so much talent, so don't let this injury cause you to feel insecure.

Total Distance
4.00

      4 miles of. . . . RUNNING! I'm happy to be back, even if I am only running part of the workout.  Yesterday, the Doc said I should do some fast stuff today, 100s, 200s, and maybe 400s.  Then he gave me a workout, that was 1X800m, 2X400m, and 4X200m. I warmed up for about 3/4 mile with Alex(Doctor said to keep the running minimal, just in case) then the 800m was awful.  I haven't run fast since state, and I haven't had a speed workout since October 7th, so it was going to be something foreign. Alex helped me by running the first lap of the 800m with me, or atleast for the first 200m before he kicked it in.  He wasn't feeling good either because the kid wanted to, for the first time this season, put in some miles, so he ran a marathon on Saturday. In the "long" runs he did in the season, he would cut them short and run maybe 7 at most, while Ethan and I would run 9 or 10.  Not sure what goes through his head.

      Anyway, I ran a 2:09, so good, but not near my fitness before.  200m Splits: 29(Way too fast. I almost fell over. I couldn't dictate pace at all!), 33, 33, 34.  The 400s were bad, but Alex ran the first one with me, we hit 60. Then I did one more alone, 1:04, so not great.  Then we did a 200m, and Alex exploded, running a 25.  Who in the heck runs a marathon, then runs a 25 sec. 200m a few days after?  I ran a 29.  Then he had to go, so I ran the rest alone, all in 29.  It felt really hard to hit a 29, and after 150m I would tie up. 1.25 cool down, plus some running and lots of walking in between sets.

40 min. of aqua jogging after.

Positives: No pain in my femur.  Knee pain, a little, calf pain a lot in both legs, but not too much.  I may get back to running quicker than expected.

Negatives:A 29 sec. 200m hurt like heck, but Doc says it'll get easier, and within a week or two I can be back to my regular training.

Comments
From Ashton Arndt on Tue, Nov 11, 2014 at 20:58:08 from 50.160.35.183

Good job on the resting. Get back into it now! But not too quick like Mark said!:)

From Patrick Cunningham on Tue, Nov 11, 2014 at 22:42:46 from 75.169.178.152

That's great to hear Conner! You will be back to normal in no time! Can't wait to see where you go from here!

From Shawn H on Wed, Nov 12, 2014 at 21:14:58 from 71.227.186.114

Hey, Conner. Nice to hear things are going better. Are you actually planning to run Footlocker West? If so, that's an amazing recovery, and things must not have been as bad as previously reported. Good luck!

Total Distance
6.25

Doctor said to keep the running to a minimal today.  I ran 4.1 with Stockton and Ethan, then ran on the track while Ethan ran a short tempo and Stockton ran with him for a mile, and then took a break for 2 laps before running with him for the rest.  I ran a lap, then timed Ethan's workout. My mile I ran while watching started out really slow(1:49), but I slowly sped it up. I ran two laps at about 5:30 pace while watching Ethan, and then Stockton and I planned to run the last two laps with him. Stockton took the 2nd to last one, and I took the last one.  Stockton kept running and had a pretty wicked kick.  Ethan and I finished his last lap of tempo in about 1:12, so not too bad.  It didn't feel too hard. 2 laps cool down after, plus a little more.
 

Total Distance
4.00

     4 miles on ground and then an hour of pool running. My calves were really tight and sore yesterday, and not much changed today.  I had some IT band issues too, but nothing too bad.  I can't wait to start really running.

Comments
From Rob Murphy on Fri, Nov 14, 2014 at 08:28:06 from 163.248.33.220

I'm sending positive thoughts in your direction Conner.

Total Distance
0.00

Just a bump in the road.  Femur hurt a little, so we cut the rest of the week. 25 min. of pool running, but it hurt during the pool running, so we cut it entirely. I went to bed at 6:30 though, and woke up at 9, did some stretching/core, then went back to sleep.  About 11 hours of sleep, so that was great!

Total Distance
0.00

Core, then 1 hour 15 min. of pool running in the morning/noon, then 2700 yards of swimming in afternoon, then I think I'll do some more core.
 

Total Distance
8.25

     Longest day since October 10th!  It went okay, but it was great to run.  The goal was to run atleast 3 miles tempo, or 5k, and see how I hold up.  I warmed up well, and everything felt pretty good.  A little foot pain, maybe I need new shoes, but it was still good.  After I took a layer off and was about to start when my iPod died.  haha, of course.  Anyway, I ran the first 1000m with relative ease.  Around here though my calves felt like they were hit with a hammer. They just hurt so much.  I finished the mile(it was a little quick, but not something too insane. 4:48) and stopped.  I tried to start up again after a minute break, but it would have put me too far back, so I pulled the plug.  I then cooled down for a bit, then ran 4 miles(Dr said I could probably run up to 8 miles today, as long as nothing hurt injury wise) at a progressive slower pace. Last 4 miles were 6:07, 5:53, 5:48, 5:23(I got a little excited the last few laps, and it felt good.) I'm ready to start getting faster again

      1 hour of pool later.  Maybe core tonight too. 

Comments
From Rob Murphy on Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 20:17:06 from 24.10.247.181

That's the best news I've heard in a long time Conner! It must have felt great to be out there.

From Shawn H on Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 21:48:33 from 71.227.186.114

No rush, Conner. Play it right, listen to your body, and you'll have an outstanding outdoor season. Good luck!

Total Distance
10.50

     Ran with Caleb, Ethan, Stockton, and Alex for the first 5 miles, then the next 5.5 with just Ethan and Stockton.  We did a beast hill and two beauty repeats. I had to walk down the hills because the downhill running isn't good for my femur, according to my doctor, who is probably right.  It felt decent, but it's weird trying to come back.

Total Distance
6.00

     6 miles. Two warm up with Ethan, Jordan, and Stockton, then ran while them and Trevor did their workout. I ran with Trevor for a few laps and then jumped in with Ethan his last two. I tried to get him to run them pretty quick, which I think he did.  2 miles cool down after.  My femur started to have some pain again, so I might not run tomorrow, but we'll see.

Total Distance
10.00

     1.5 mile warm up, then I wanted to see how many 800s at about my 5k pace I could do. Let's just say it didn't go great, but I feel like I'm ahead of where I was last week, and I think this is getting me stronger.  I did 4 at 2:17, 2:20, 2:20, 2:20(2 min. rest between).  After I cooled down 1.5 miles, but I started to feel better, and my calves loosened up, so I did 2X400m at 1:03s. I didn't really have a huge goal for these.  Everything was alone today. Then Trevor showed up, so I ran a mile with him before going home.  When I got home I ran 3.5 more miles. I might do core tonight too. I feel like I should've done more 800s(atleast 2 more), but that's how it goes sometimes, and Saturday I'll run harder.

Total Distance
0.00

Easy. Little pain when I woke up, so I did some pool running for an hour.

Total Distance
1.00

     1 mile running, no pain, but doctor said to be careful(he said not to run), so I ran 80 minutes of pool running with 4X(3 min, 2.5 min, 2 min, 1.5 min, 1 min. with 30 sec in between each interval) and 1 minute in between sets, then 5 one minute sprints/strides in the water. I got pretty sick today, so it was absolutely for the best that I didn't run nxn southwest, but congrats to everyone that did! Utah wrecked everyone! AF, Davis, Timpanogoes, and Desert Hills, then Josh Collins went and won it individually.

Total Distance
10.00

    I did a workout that I did at this time 2 years ago before footlocker.  It was 12X400m at about my 5k race pace with 50 sec. rest.  I ran it a bit fast, but it was a big confidence booster.  Splits:1:06, 05, 05, 05, 07, 07, 08, 06, 09, 07, 08, 06. I did this workout in 2012 (http://conner.fastrunningblog.com/blog--AM-3-easy-I-bundled-up-for-co/11-19-2012.html) before FL west, and 2014  (http://conner.fastrunningblog.com/blog--nbsp-nbsp-nbsp-nbsp-nbsp-I-was-pla/02-22-2014.html) before indoor 5k nationals. I struggled more than I have in the past, but the times weren't bad, and I've been pretty sick the past few days, so I count this as a great workout.  1.5 warm up, 1.5 cool down. Alex, Ethan, Stockton, and Jordan helped me on the first few, then Alex ran every other one or so with me.  It helped a ton. I felt really sluggish, but it was still a good day. I think I'll run more later.

     4 miles later.  My calves were really tired and sore.  I tried to keep the pace good, but ran around an 8 min. pace at some times.

Comments
From MarkS on Tue, Nov 25, 2014 at 01:07:07 from 50.160.118.80

Good workout Conner!

From Conner Mantz on Thu, Nov 27, 2014 at 11:04:58 from 174.23.83.25

Thanks Mark!

Total Distance
6.00

     My calves are fried, but I still was able to run 6 miles on them.  I need to roll them out more. 

Total Distance
9.00

     Off day, but there isn't enough time to take any extra easy days before the race.  Before the run my calves felt so fried. First few miles they hurt, but it was still an easy fast pace, but after that it just went slow and dragged on. I did 4XBeauty hill repeats, then I went to the Lions park hill, but it was covered in a thick sheet of wet ice.  When I stepped on the ice I immediately slid across the walkway, so I decided against it.  I then did a sprint up the Golf Course hill. 

Comments
From Shawn H on Wed, Nov 26, 2014 at 20:11:03 from 71.227.186.114

So you're running FL West? Good luck, Conner. Just be careful. Don't prove what I wrote in my book wrong. I said that you are a much wiser runner than I was at your age. I want to see you succeed. You know as well as I do that rest is as important as pushing it, especially when your "calves are fried." Now, go out there and show them what you could have done if you'd run State healthy.

From Conner Mantz on Thu, Nov 27, 2014 at 11:06:12 from 174.23.83.25

Thanks Shawn, and yes I'm running FL West. I was careful today. I planned originally to do 8-10 repeats, but cut it to 4.

Total Distance
6.00

    6 miles. I drove down to Mack Park to run on flat ground and did 3 loops, then decided to run a 1.1(ish) mile loop with lots of hills, but I took them easy to be nice to my calves.  They felt better than yesterday, but still need to recover a bit. I ran down hill for the first time since state-Oct. 22nd. I've previously been walking down the hills because the doctor said I should be careful on downhills.  I did 2 loops, then saw Claire and my dad coming down the canyon, so I had them do a loop with me, and I felt really good on this loop, so I ran hard down a hill, ran hard up beast, then ran hard down beauty. Then hard up beauty again. They went to the car, and I was just so excited. I haven't felt so good in the last month and a half.  No pain in the femur either! A little running when I got home too.

Comments
From Shawn H on Thu, Nov 27, 2014 at 22:45:48 from 71.227.186.114

That's great news, Conner. It's so nice to hear that the pain in your quad isn't coming back, even on those downhills, which are a real test for quads. Good luck at FL West!

Total Distance
3.00

     3 easy miles this morning. 

Comments
From Shawn H on Fri, Nov 28, 2014 at 19:44:07 from 71.227.186.114

Looks like you're almost back, Conner. Good job taking it easy today. I think you're going to kill it at FL West.

Total Distance
6.00

     1.5 miles warm up, then a workout.  3X(2X{300m at 4:30-4:40 pace, 300m at 5:20-5:35(goal was 5:30ish) 200m at 4:30-4:40 pace, 200m at 5:10-5:35}) No rest in between the repeats, but walked a 200m in between sets.  All 3 sets went well, but they were harder than I thought they would be.  My average pace for the 2000m repeats was 5 min. miles. A little over 1.5 miles cool down.  I'm ready for footlocker!

Comments
From MarkS on Sat, Nov 29, 2014 at 13:59:32 from 50.160.118.80

Sounds like you are ready and hungry for a good race. Now, just stay healthy until next Saturday.

Total Distance
8.00

      I was debating how far I should go today, but decided to go more than less.  I wasn't sure what to do because I haven't been running much recently, but I remembered I felt sluggish at nationals last year, so I ran more to still feel good. I did a mile uphill in the canyon hard in 5:17, which wasn't great.  My iPod then died, so I just ran hard on the downhill for a half mile before my calves hurt.  I did a few uphill pushes too.  Then 2 miles at night in the rain. 

Total Distance
4.25

      4.08 with Ethan, Stockton, and Jordan Hunt.  The pace didn't feel too bad after the first mile, but I kept having to back off and remind myself I have a race this week.  We would get into a rythym and then someone would ask Ethan for the pace, and it would be sub-6, so we'd slow down.  I'm pretty confident with this weekend, I just need to race smart.  Great weather today, probably the warmest it's been in a few weeks.

Total Distance
4.50

     4.5 about.  1.5 mile warm up, then I was going to do a 1000m like on Saturday, but I went too fast and it wasn't even close on the rest or fast.  I ran a 300m in 46/47 and then stopped it because I knew I needed to be closer to the pace. Then I did it again and hit 49, then 55 on the "rest" and 32 and 34 on the "rest."  After I did a 200m with Stockton and we hit 26.  It was good.  Over 1.5 miles cool down.

Comments
From Shawn H on Wed, Dec 03, 2014 at 21:20:06 from 71.227.186.114

Good luck, Conner.

From NAIRNruns on Thu, Dec 04, 2014 at 01:50:51 from 56.0.84.25

A healthy Conner Mantz is the field's worst nightmare. Best of luck this weekend, Conner!

From jtshad on Thu, Dec 04, 2014 at 05:19:15 from 69.20.183.178

Good luck at Footlocker. Looking forward to seeing you run (my son is running the frosh/soph race).

From MarkS on Fri, Dec 05, 2014 at 07:29:25 from 50.160.118.80

Hope you have a good race this weekend Conner!

From Jake K on Fri, Dec 05, 2014 at 10:49:59 from 199.190.170.30

Good luck Conner!

From Madsen on Sat, Dec 06, 2014 at 22:54:20 from 24.40.88.68

Congrats on qualifying for FL nationals again. Very very few runners could cross train and maintain enough fitness to run at such a high level. Well done and best of luck next weekend Conner!

Total Distance
3.25

      3.25 miles with Alex, Coach Wright, and the Jordans.  I felt sluggish and slow on my strides. 

Total Distance
2.50

        2 miles of the course plus some strides and starts.  Trying to get ready for tomorrow. 

Race: Footlocker West (3.107 Miles) 00:15:39, Place overall: 5, Place in age division: 5
Total Distance
9.00

      A different race.  It was super strange to start racing again, and I struggled on the hills, but I made nationals again, and so did 2 other Utahns(Garek and Josh), so that will be cool to both be running next week. I'll write more later.  I started by Cubby and Matthew Maton, so it was a repeat of starting by a West Champion, and an Alta kid.

Comments
From NAIRNruns on Mon, Dec 08, 2014 at 07:58:05 from 66.87.127.49

Great race, Conner! Amazing time for your first post-injury race. Go get 'em at Nationals!!

From MarkS on Mon, Dec 08, 2014 at 08:08:31 from 50.160.118.80

Good race Conner and congratulations!

You are amazing! To be out for so long and still be able to do so well is amazing. I hope this race will make you even stronger for your next race.

From Jake K on Mon, Dec 08, 2014 at 08:15:44 from 199.190.170.75

Congrats Conner. 3 in a row!!

From Shawn H on Mon, Dec 08, 2014 at 19:04:49 from 71.227.186.114

Good job, Conner. You ran a better time than last year even. Considering the physical and mental challenges you've faced lately due to injury, great performance! Go get 'em at Nationals.

From jtshad on Mon, Dec 08, 2014 at 20:43:36 from 50.249.168.89

Congrats on a strong race. You looked strong out there against great competition. Nicely done and run hard at Nationals!

From Conner Mantz on Tue, Dec 09, 2014 at 17:00:06 from 67.41.230.19

Thanks everyone, the support really helps!

Total Distance
7.00

      A mile warm up to Mack Park, then Stockton, Alex, Ethan, Trevor and I did beauty repeats(5).  After we ran back to Sky View, then did 4 more miles.  Alex had to leave after 3 because he's had foot problems in the past few weeks.  I did one more beauty repeat during the last 4 miles.  I felt good on the sprints and was able to keep up with Alex well enough.

Total Distance
4.00

      4 miles with strides. Average pace was probably too quick.  I went with Ethan, Stockton and Jordan Hunt.

Total Distance
5.00

     5 miles.  I ran with Ethan and Stockton. Coach had me do a tempo mile today, so I paced them for a sub-5 mile, which was a little quick, but not by too much.  We went out a little quick(33), but then got into pace before running quicker final lap. They both PR'ed with 4:49 and 4:50. Ethan Pr'ed by 7 seconds, and Stockton by 3 from last year.  Stockton has had it rough, so I was super happy for him.  He PR'ed here last year, then got anemia, then was in Vietnam in the summer and had little training, but he will be super good this year, same with Ethan too.

Total Distance
3.25

    About 3 miles with Alex and Trevor and 6 strides.  We ran on a trail by the trail and saw some navy seales(I think. Either that or some other army unit. The fence wouldn't let anyone close.) on the beach training. It was pretty cool. 

Total Distance
2.25

     2 miles and strides. I ran with Josh for the first two miles of the course, then he kept going, so I  just relaxed and got strides in.  It was way muddy and wet.  I was sliding everywhere in the strides. 

Race: Footlocker Nationals (3.107 Miles) 00:15:27, Place overall: 10, Place in age division: 10
Total Distance
9.00

      Warmed up with Josh, then some on my own.  After I got my strides in and then got to the line.  I feel like I've forgotten how to race.  I just can't remember how a race feels, and it was strange being in a race this past week, but I am still very greatful for the chance to be back running and even making it to nationals is a blessing.  I started on the outside, which I liked.  I got out well, probably 25th around the 200 mark. I moved up a bit, but then on the slight uphill I got passed.  I was about 2:22 at 800m, which was where I wanted to be.  I started moving up about here and pretty soon I was in the top 20 and was getting within a small sprint to that top group.  Then, we went around a tight turn about 1300m in, and I stepped on a cone and slipped.  It was so packed, someone caught my foot and I fell on my hands and knees. I yelled shiz(pretty sure here everyone learned I was Mormon) and got up(later I learned a northeast guy jumped over me. That would have been sweet to see). 

     I came across the mile at 4:52, and it felt good.  I stayed alright on the hill and ran hard on the downhill, passing a bunch of people.  I just tried to slowly real in the top pack. I had originally planned on leading the race, but never got near the front.  At halfway I passed Matt Maton, and saw the West was losing to the midwest. That can't happen I told myself, so I kept the drive going. I was within 5 seconds(I was at 9:52) of the lead pack at 2 miles, but was not mentally ready to dig deep.  I pushed and passed Josh and a midwest kid, but then I slowed down on the turn I slipped to be very careful, and they had a 8 meter lead on me. I saw the Midwest kid get really aggressive with Josh, which was weird because there was tons of room. I passed Josh on the hill, and the other kid on the downhill.  I was in tenth, and then I tried to pass Thomas Pollard on the inside, and bumped into him.  I am good friends with Thomas and I feel really bad about it.  He told me after it didn't affect him, but I still should've given him room.  Then, with 200m left Trevor Reinhart threw in a kick and passed me. I should've gone with him, but I didn't think I could catch anyone, so I kinda hit a cruise speed and finished strong enough to not get passed. He ended up passing 2 other guys.  I should've ran with him. 

      Considering everything, I'm happy with this result.  I will work harder and hopefully be in better shape this track season. It'll be a tough process, but I would love to get under 4 in the mile or make that USA Junior team for the World Junior Championships for cross country.  I cooled down with Josh and John, then Josh left, so John and I kept going.  Turns out he got tripped up too, but it was at a worse time, poor guy, but he's strong and he'll come back from it.  Then John, Grant, Trevor, Levi, and a few other guys ran a few miles on the beach. 

Comments
From MarkS on Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 17:51:45 from 124.86.234.78

Congrats on the team win and also on the great individual effort!

I watched the race online and you looked good.

From Jake K on Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 18:32:07 from 98.202.128.218

Considering what you had to deal with this fall, finishing in the Top 10 at nationals might be one of your most impressive accomplishments yet.

Not many guys could have pulled it back together the way you did. You should be really proud of this.

From Yasir on Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 19:51:02 from 99.20.240.112

congrats.wow 15:27

From Shawn H on Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 21:05:34 from 71.227.186.114

You should be very proud of your accomplishments this CC season, Conner. Very, very impressive, considering what you went through. Great comeback. I know you wanted to do better, but you can hold your head high. Good luck in your training this winter. Outdoor track is going to be really exciting to see. I hope you can beat those Saarel times!

From Jason D on Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 19:54:24 from 68.80.27.222

Well done, Conner. I wasn't sure how your season was going to play out after seeing your injury this fall. Tough as nails.

Get that sub-4:00!

From Conner Mantz on Wed, Dec 17, 2014 at 17:06:01 from 174.23.222.178

Thanks everyone for the support, it helps keep me motivated.

From jtshad on Thu, Dec 18, 2014 at 08:57:48 from 141.221.191.225

Congrats on a strong race (2 in 2 weeks) and 10th place (All American!). You West guys ruled again...6 out of the top 11 places. Awesome season and way to go out with a bang and to get reason for indoors!

From Conner Mantz on Thu, Dec 18, 2014 at 18:56:14 from 174.23.222.178

Thanks Jeff!

Total Distance
12.00

      12 miles. I saw Ethan at 10.3 miles and ran really hard for 800m to catch up, then ran with him to Sky View where I got a ride home with Stockton.  I'm ready to start working harder than ever!

Comments
From Jake K on Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 18:32:48 from 98.202.128.218

That's a scary thought for your competitors :-)

I take it you are planning to run the XC Champs in Boulder? I hope to be there cheering you on!

From Conner Mantz on Wed, Dec 17, 2014 at 17:05:17 from 174.23.222.178

Thanks Jake, and yeah, I plan on it, it would be sweet to see you there!

From Rory Linkletter on Thu, Dec 18, 2014 at 18:52:19 from 128.187.97.26

Don't work too hard, easy days easy, hard days hard, listen to your body! if you do that you'll do some great things!

From Conner Mantz on Thu, Dec 18, 2014 at 18:55:47 from 174.23.222.178

Thanks for the reminder Rory, I often struggle with remembering to run my easy days easy, and then regret it on my hard days.

Total Distance
8.00

     8 miles up the canyon. I accidently ran two fast miles down the canyon.  I they were around 10:30, so not too quick for the downhill, but they still felt good.

Total Distance
6.50

     It felt good. I ran with Ethan, Stockton, Jordan, and Trevor.  Ethan had some tempo, so I ran the last mile with him. He was cruising though, 16:45 at a controlled effort is something to be proud of. Then he did some cool down.

Total Distance
10.00

     First workout for USA Juniors.  I did my 5 mile tempo run up smithfield canyon.  It felt good.  Only had time for one mile cool down, but I'll try to get more in. It hurt a lot, but I averaged about 5:13, so that gave me some confidence.  Splits:4:48.5(downhill), 5:34.5(uphill), 5:13(no net gain or loss), 5:04(downhill), 5:28(uphill)

    4 miles later when I had time.  Fairly easy.

Total Distance
7.50

    Ran with Stockton and Ethan at first, then Ethan did miracle makers, so Stockton and I kept going easy.

Comments
From MarkS on Sat, Dec 20, 2014 at 21:46:35 from 124.84.10.73

What are miracle makers?

I could use a few miracles.

From Conner Mantz on Sun, Dec 21, 2014 at 18:24:18 from 174.23.222.178

It's a hill/mile repeat that I've done a few times. I told Ethan about the workout, and then we decided to give it the name Miracle makers because it was so brutal.

Total Distance
10.00

      8 miles easy.  Maybe 2 or 4 miles later.

      Ran 2 miles later.  I got kinda busy hanging with friends, so I started at 11:45 and was able to finish at/before 12:00.  Few, I cut that a little close.

Total Distance
10.00

     Warmed up about 1.5-2 miles, then did 3(3X300m with 100m jog recovery and 30 sec. rest after that) and 800m between sets.  I was around 48s for the first three, then 44, 47, and 48 on the second one, and then 48, 46, and 45 on the third one. We cooled down after, then I ran 4 miles later at my house.

Total Distance
15.50

     A completely awful day at school(yes, for some reason we still had school today), so I decided to go on a long run.  It was my longest run yet, so I'm happy with it. 

Total Distance
8.20

     Supposed to be an easy day, but it wasn't easy. Still was slow, but yesterday took more out of me than I had originally thought. 

Total Distance
10.00

     10 miles with Ethan. I had originally planned a workout, but the snow and wind was insane, so when Ethan asked if I wanted to go, I quickly agreed.  It was pretty nuts early on, the wind and snow felt like tiny icicles shooting into my face when we were at sunny side, but when we got in the canyon it was nicer. 

Total Distance
10.00

      5 miles tempo. . ish, 5 miles easy.  The roads were mostly covered in snow, especially around my third mile.  My first mile wasn't that great, but my time still should've been faster. I averaged 5:28 or 5:29, which, at first I was okay with, but then I realized it was a slower pace than my half marathon I ran in 9th grade, and I really think I could've pushed it a lot more.  Maybe I ate too much chocolate yesterday.

Total Distance
10.10

     I woke up and felt sore. The run was good, but I just felt super sore from the mileage.  I have a lot more respect for marathoners and anyone else who runs a lot of miles in a week.  This was a hard week, but I got more miles in than I ever had in one week.  I ran the canyon, but turned around early because the snow was terrible.  I then extended to Sky View before heading home.

Total Distance
10.40

     8.4 miles in 51 minutes.  I felt really tired, but looked at what time it was when I started running(12:00) and when I finished (12:51) anyway.  Two miles cool down. I struggled and was hoping for 6:30-7:00 minute miles, but once I turned around in the canyon I started cruising.  I'm a little sore from last week, but I am going to get stronger every run.

Comments
From RustyTF2 on Mon, Dec 29, 2014 at 16:09:19 from 184.155.151.33

Very nice, Connor! Pretty quick for base/recovery mileage. I ran like that in high school too… only I imagine my workouts weren't near as quick since my races weren't near as quick! Best of luck with your training and racing throughout your last high school indoor and outdoor seasons! I'm excited to watch you excel!

From Conner Mantz on Tue, Dec 30, 2014 at 19:29:04 from 174.23.222.178

Hey Taylor, it's great to see you're on here. I bet your workouts were just as hard, and thanks! I hope to improve again this year, so we'll see what happens. It's always great to hear from you, and I wish you the best in your schooling and running right now.

Total Distance
11.50

     It was a sorta rough day of running.  My family went and watched Unbroken at about noon, and I couldn't resist the popcorn. I then went to the rec center and ran because the wind and cold were insane.  I started out with 2 miles warm up, then a 5k on the treadmill at 5:00 pace with 2%(to set of wind resistance or whatever) incline. It felt too easy that first mile, but the second and third were awful.  I finished it though, so I was happy about that. Then I ran 2 "easy" miles with Ethan.  I was still really tired. I took a break, then did a mile at 5:00 on the treadmill, increased incline just a bit more, then 2 more miles with Ethan, then one more mile with an even bigger increase of incline before a quarter mile cool down. It was a rough time, but I think it was good for me. 

Total Distance
10.00

     6 miles with Alex.  It was freezing.  3 degrees(F) when we started and 7 when we ended, but we went up the canyon, so it might've been colder.  I'm planning on going more later today, it was just so cold.

     4 miles a few hours later.  It was still cold.  I didn't feel that good, but I already can't wait until I can run in just shorts again.

I ran about 10 miles less this year than last year. I'm kinda tempted to run more, but I'm pretty tired, so I think I won't.

Total Distance
2276.05
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