C Mantz Running

      8.3 miles then I went home because it was really cold. After an hour of warming up I went 2 more miles. 

   A little over ten miles, but I'm not sure how much, so I'll just call it 10. 2 miles warm up, then 2 miles in 10:00 on the treadmill, a break, then one more mile at 5:00, then 1 mile, then 1.5 miles at 5:00 pace, then a mile jogging, then .6 miles at 5:00 pace with a progression of the incline, then a mile cool down.  It's so hard mentally on the treadmill, but it's easier than the 10 degree weather outside. 

     It was rough today.  I tried to push it, but I struggled(I didn't time it, but it just felt slow).  I hope this high mileage thing works.  I need to work harder.

      5 miles tempo, 5 miles cool down.  26:06 overall, I'll post splits later.  I gave it a good effort, and it hurt like heck. I went out too fast for the first 5k(sub-16) and then just tried to hold on.  I struggled the last two miles, but it was a good day anyway.  I saw Stockton, Ethan, and Jordan Hunt doing hill repeats on my cool down.

     Ran with Ethan. I did a mile while he was getting ready, then we headed out. I was going to run with Stockton and Jordan Hunt too, but Stockton isn't recovered from getting his wisdom teeth out, so he took it easier and Jordan went with him. Ethan and I started out hard, but not crazy quick. About 6:30s, then we started up Smithfield Canyon and had some faster miles(for up the canyon, that's really quick), then we hit some 5:30s on the way down, before a cool down mile.  Our averaged pace was about 6:02 or something for the 11 miles, so I guess that's good for us both having hard workouts yesterday and not giving it everything today. 

     2 miles in the gym while Stockton and Ethan got ready, then 8 more miles with them and Jordan Hunt.  I didn't feel great, but it was an easy day, so that was good. 

     9.5 miles.  I tried to keep it at a good pace, and then tried to run hard on some grass to get ready for USA Juniors.  No where was great, but I did about 2 miles on the grass.

       6 miles with some short strides indoors.  The air wasn't great(and hasn't been great for a while. I've had a bad cough the last week, but it might be from the bad air quality), so I decided on running indoors.

       I ran a few warm ups, but did them all too early.  I need to work on that with track, I've always struggled with it.  Got to the line and took the outside. I really like the outside because I hate getting boxed in, and my top speed(especially at the start) is not the best. The race started and I planned on going out slower and sticking with someone. The pace wasn't bad at all.  64, 66ish, 66ish(I think) 34(maybe faster?), and then 29.  The race felt quick as could be at first, but then it felt a little comfortable(the 66 high laps).  It just felt like a time-trial, so I kept the pace good, or atleast what I thought was fast, and I looked back and saw I had some time on Garek, so I didn't think he would catch me. I was completely wrong.  With 150m to go he came close, with 100m to go he was right on my tail, and 60 to go he was side-by-side.  I then had all the thoughts of state and stuff go into my head and I sprinted as fast as I could right then. I barely got him.  He ran incredible. 

      After, the sickness I've had for a while came in, and I went by my stuff and coughed like a smoker who just ran a marathon for 20 minutes. I felt awful.  It didn't help that the track is a small indoor one that always makes my throat sore.  Originally I had only planned to run the 3200m, but after I talked to a doctor/teamates dad and he said it would just make my cough worse, so right before I lined up I said bag it and dropped. I'm a little disappointed in myself, with this, but oh well. 

     5 miles tempo, 5:13 average.  Good day, last 1.5 miles my calves were hurting and my shoes felt so heavy.  2 miles cool down. It rained lightly at first, then slowly got more wet, and then sleet-like moisture was everywhere and I was soaked, but the time and effort were good, so I'll take it. 2 miles cool down.

     3 easy miles later in the snow.  It snowed a bunch in those few hours. 

     Well, today was interesting.  I had originally planned on 10-13 miles at a slower/longer tempo pace.  After 3 miles. I realized I went out a little quick, but just tried to stay maintained and kept the pace feeling alright. After that, my next mile was too quick(5:01) and I started to have stomache issues, so I raced to my friends house(5:07 last mile) just to find he wasn't home.  My five mile average was 5:18. After I stood around and thought of where to find a bathroom.  I ran to the North Logan Library, then took my break before running back home.  Next 5 miles were 5:56 AP, then 1 mile slow because I wasn't feeling much better.

      4 miles in the gym, last 1.5 with Ethan, then 5 miles on the treadmill. I didn't bring sweats, and it was cold outside, so I just decided to stay inside.  Last 5 miles were a bit quick(28:30), but it's alright.  It still was comfortable enough. 

    Things weren't feeling good today, so I did 9 easy with Stockton and Ethan.  It's always fun to run with them and I'm excited to see what they do this season. 

      12 miles.  It was a busy day so I didn't run until it was pretty late.

     Kept trying to find a track or an open grass area not covered in snow, but couldn't find one, so I changed my workout.  I decided to do 4Xmile with 1 min. recovery down smithfield canyon.  I was tired from all the miles these past few weeks that I cut it down to 3.  The first one I went out too hard, but still ran fast-4:32.  The next one I wasn't as mentally there to push myself and I might've ran a little far(which made the next one a tiny bit shorter)-4:44 The next one hurt like heck, but it was quite quick(maybe a bit short)-4:18.  I'm happy with this workout, but I think I should've done one more. My calves are sore, so that's good.  I ran back up, saw my dad, ran with him for a bit, then ran back up again.

       3 miles later.

     Rough day.  I planned on tempo, but as soon as I started I had a lot of trouble breathing.  The cough I've had for about three weeks hasn't gotten better.  It might just be the bad air, but that's never bothered me before. After a third a mile I stopped and dry heaved for a bit before starting out again slow.  Had to stop a few times to cough.  Hopefully tomorrow is better. The weather was wonderful.

     1.5 mile warm up, then 4Xmile with 1 min. break at goal effort/pace for the 8K.  I planned to do 5, but then had to stop and use the bathroom after the fourth.  After that I did the fifth.  Average was around 4:54, so that was great, but my cough was awful.  It just keeps getting worse, and I have a really bad stuffy nose so I can't breathe well either.  I started dry heaving after the first repeat, and after that I knew it was going to be a rough day.  After the fourth I dry heaved for a long time. Atleast it's over now. 1 mile cool down.

     3 miles later.

     8 miles all on grass.  My cough/sickness/whatever it is is awful.  I go into these insane coughing fits when I even go 6:30 pace.  I can't breathe.  I had to stop a few times because I almost fell over and needed to hold something to keep me up. 

      8 miles easy.  Coughing was awful. I just don't get why.  We talked to a doctor and he did a stethoscope and said there wasn't anything wrong with my lungs(no fluid in them), so it must just be a bug.  It's been over 2 weeks and it is still getting worse.  I wanted to do a workout today, but I can't even start one.  I'll get one in tomorrow though. 

      Another rough day. I tried a workout for a bit, but I want to get better from being sick, so I kept it easy after one 800m.  I just don't get why it's getting worse.  Today was better than yesterday.  I ran with Ethan for six miles and I almost threw up about a mile into it.  It sounded and felt like it.  Not a good feeling.  Ethan is sick too, but he'll still probably run a PR tomorrow. 

     I'm getting better, but still had to stop after a minute of a workout because I couldn't stop coughing.

      The coughing has died down a little, but my nose is still really stuffy. I did some 800s with 2 min. rest and then a 200m for good measure.  I wish I would've done more 800s, but I was a bit of a mental case today, but they were farely quick, so that was okay.  200m was 27. 

      I will go more later, just had some stomache problems and didn't feel good after the workout.  I did 4 miles tempo.  I planned on 5, but went out on my first 3 miles too hard, so my 4th burned and I stopped, but it was still a great day.  Splits: 4:41(way too quick) 5:29(slow, but that mile is uphill), 5:01, 4:45. During the cool down I had a bad stomache ache, hopefully it goes away quick. 

     3 miles when my stomache ache went away

     7 miles with Ethan and Jordan for a bit.  I have about a week and a half until USA's, so hopefully it goes good. I felt really fresh today, so tomorrow I'll hit it hard. 

      Ran to Beauty, then did 5XBeauty/Beast loop(hill repeats.  One is about 300m and the other is about 200m.) Then ran 2 easy miles, then 1 more hill repeat at sunnyside, then 3 grass hill repeats before cooling down home.  It hurt, but I know it was good for me.

     For some reason my legs felt super fresh, so I had to run a little more later. 

    8 miles. I felt sluggish, but it was good. 

       A little over 70 minutes in Kearns while waiting for my flight to visit Princeton and for Claire's(my younger sister) race to start at the oval(sadly she didn't race until after I had left)

      7 miles with Noah, Wolfgang Beck, and Kenan around the Princeton campus and inside.  It was freezing and really wet.  The sidewalks had atleast a half an inch of water, but there were also a lot of big puddles.

     Ran with Ethan and he was feeling a little sick, but we still averaged around a 6:30, then after 8 miles I hit the track and ran a 400m and 2X200m. I felt a little sluggish, but that was expected from the lack of quality sleep and the flights yesterday.

      4 miles with Ethan, 2 on grass, then an 800m on the track at goal race pace(so for an 8k, that isn't too quick), then 4 more miles. 

     4.7 miles easy and then some strides.  I didn't feel particularly good, but I have two days to get feeling better.

     I did 2 loops of the course with Johnny and then did some strides and a little part of a lap.  I felt really good and the course looked fast, so I'm pretty excited about tomorrow. 

Today went perfect for me. I did a shakeout at 7(I couldn`t sleep well so I decided to do the shakeout early.). I warmed up with Johnny Dressel and Thomas Pollard for a bit. I got to the start and started in box 7 near the end. I got a perfect start for how I wanted to race, found Cerake and just decided (at this moment) to stick on him because he, from what I heard, was having some great results(which he was) recently. It felt slow, but I just stuck in the front of the pack. After 2k Paul Roberts kicked the pace up a bit, but it was still quite relaxed and a big pack. At 4k(the race was in 2k loops) Cerake put a move in, so I thought the whole pack would run with him, so I just pushed to stay with him, but he was flying so I wasn`t able to catch up for a while. After a few hundred meters he had to walk and massage out his quad. Right after I caught up to him and we ran together for the next mile. I was so scared that the 6th place guy would pass me, so I tried to keep the pace strong. With about a kilometer to go Cerake fell off. I still thought he would outkick me, so I just kept trying to put some room between me and 6th place. The rest of the race was hard, but it felt great to be racing. There was a bunch of Utah guys cheering me on for a lot of the race and after(if you`re reading this, thanks!) and I saw Ben with his shirt off cheering me on at 600m to go, which was pretty funny. All the cheering helped motivate me. After I felt great, did a cool down, watched the pro races, then went and did processing/paperwork for worlds. Thanks everyone for the support all season long!

     12 miles.  I just kept trying to get a good effort. I was fairly tired, so it probably wasn't that quick, but it was amazing weather so it was fun. 

     8 miles with Ethan. Felt not the greatest, but the pace wasn't bad. 

     2 miles later.

     8 easyish miles. 

     5 miles tempo. It hurt, but went really well. About a 5:09 average. 2 miles cool down then 3 more miles later in the evening. 

      11 miles really easy.

     9  miles.  I was planning on some hill repeats, but my legs weren't feeling the best so I just played it safe. 

     10 miles. I ran to Mack Park then did 4Xtriple crown(a loop including 3 different hills; Beast, Beauty, and Lions park). It didn't go good at all.  I just felt slow the whole time.  I did 4.4 afterward to bring it up to ten. Maybe I'll run more later because I'll be traveling all day on Wednesday and might not be able to run.

     10 miles.  I ran 2.5 miles waiting for Ethan, then did an 800m at what was supposed to be race pace for this weekend, but I started out way too quick and just cruised the last bit.  2:11, so way too quick, but it didn't feel way bad.  After my left quad area started hurting again and hurt for the rest of the run.  It doesn't feel good, so with the flight tomorrow, I'm just going to take it off. 

Long day of flying

     3 miles.  My legs hadn't started feeling much better, and the 2.5 hours of sleep due to layovers and missed flights didn't help.  I ran with Fred Huxham, John Dressel, and Conner Hendrickson.  We ran in a huge soccer stadium that had a track around it.

      3 miles around the course.  The course was all dirt, no real markings and it was really trashy.  Lots of wind as it was by a beach.  The course was in a dry river bed where they chopped down a lot of cat-tails and plants, and in a dirt area in between two roads.  Pretty Ghetto.  I qualified for this race on the nicest xc course I've ever ran on, and this is the most ghetto xc course I've ever ran on. 

    Pre-meet.  The right leg didn't hurt yesterday, but I played it safe, and today it hurt a bit.  3 loops on the course with strides.  I feel ready for tomorrow.  I had the trainer/massauge therapist help massauge it out before the run the last few days.

    Maybe 8 miles, and I don't know how long the course was. They told us 7km, but on that course with those conditions, I would be surprised if it was even 4 miles.  But it was at sea-level, so maybe 4 miles, but I still doubt it.

    We warmed up together on the junior USA team.  It was a great experience, and those guys are some great athletes(Fred Huxham, John Dressel, Conner Hendrickson, and Eric Hamer) and individuals.  I was very nervous going into it, but we heard that many of these teams were going to go out hard, and in a humid 90-degree day with lot of wind coming, it was more important to run smart than fast the first 3 laps.  We did just that.  The gun went off whistle blew and with the wind at our back, everyone went out super quick, so we just relaxed near the back.  When we hit the first U-turn(there were 2 per lap and a lot of other quick turns) and the rest of the field slowed dramtically.  We relaxed and started passing people.  We crossed the street and went into the dried riverbank/weed area.  I went a little hard here because we were running so slow at this part, so I just passed a bunch of individuals.  I kept the pace comfortable.  The second lap started and a pack had started to form up front, so the USA team worked together and we stayed within kicking range of them.  Conner Hendrickson took the lead of our pack when we went into the wind the second time and we just kept going.  I got a water at the 2nd U-turn on the second lap. It was water in sealed small bags, so you had to pop them with your teeth or squeeze them hard with your hands. 

      About at half-way, John and I started to work up to the pack some more, but we didn't work hard enough and just passed the people dropping from the pack and the pack got slowly farther away.  More my mistake than John's, I slowed because I thought we were going to early, but we weren't.  John led into the wind, and we stayed together just passing people. John was in 3rd, and I passed 4th right before the river area, and then we ran up the sand hill and I got another water.  With a lap to go we were right next to each other and I tried to focus on catching the two guys that had survived leading the front.  One guy from Canada, another from Brazil.  Into the wind I saw the Brazil kid was fading a bit, so I picked it up and worked hard and caught him near the end of the riverbed area.  I ran up the hill quick, but the Canadian was too far away.  He's a great runner and had a lot on me, so I just tried to make a gap on the Brazilian.  I finished 2nd, which I'm happy about, but I feel a little disappointed.  I know I shouldn't, but I feel like I could've raced more aggressive and atleast tried to mix it up upfront.  Oh well, I still have worlds in a month.

     Cool down later. Our team won, everyone finished in the top-9, which was great. 

    12.5 Easy miles. I just got new shoes, so they hurt to run in, but hopefully I'll have them broken in soon.

    It was freezing, so I ran home, got tights, gloves and a hat, then ran back.  After I started the workout, but my hamstrings and whole body just hadn't recovered from the trip.  I just felt out of it.  I did my first 1600m in 4:40ish, but then asked coach what to do and he said not to worry about it with the travel. I then did 5 more miles.

      Rough day, so I just kept it at an easy 10 miler. 

    1.5 miles warm up, then 5XMile with 1 min. in between each mile. It was windy and I wasn't feeling it at first, but as the workout went on I felt better.  4:56, 4:57, 4:54, 4:54, 4:48.  1.5 miles cool down. It was snowing, so that was cool. I used my old trainers because I haven't broken my new ones in yet.

    Long run up Smithfield Canyon.  The campgrounds had a bit of snow. It was great and peaceful. I was sore, but it's great to be running.

     1.25 warm up(atleast), then 8X1000m with about 1:00 rest at the same pace as Friday.  First two were a little quick, but I felt good. 2:57 and 2:59, then 3:00, 3:02, 3:03, 3:03, 3:04, and 2:59.  I then cooled down with the team(they did some 200s and 400s. Coach has me doing different stuff to get ready for worlds), then I did 4 at home after I recovered.  It started snowing during these and it was quiet and nice. 

      12 miles.  I wore a GPS watch to see how fast I go on these days.  It turned out to be 5:57 pace, which was quicker than I thought I was going today because I felt super sluggish and tired, but that's okay.  I did 11.5, then ran and jumped some hurdles to get ready for the obstacles in China.  I need to work on jumping. 

     6 miles.  We did some easy hill stuff where we counted our stride and tried to see if we could get it faster, then Ethan, Stockton, and I extended.  

    About 5.5 at Blue and White  My legs still felt very tired so I switched my schedule so I could do my workouts on Friday and Saturday, which will make it interesting, but hopefully it'll still workout.  I did 2.5 miles before the meet, warmed up a tiny bit with Ethan(we didn't know when the 2 mile was until 10 min. before), then got to the start line, stalled the start so some people could switch into their spikes, then we started.  I planned on pacing Ethan to run a sub-10 again, but I paced awful, so he hit 10:03. I sprinted my last 200m, so I hit 9:56.  Then ran a lap with Alex, then 4.5 miles when I got home. 

    I had a rough day on the track. I did a few russian intervals, but went too fast on them and I ran the rest too quick(22 sec, so I had to wait for 8 more), but I think it was still a good day.  I did an all out 300m after in 42, which I am happy with because I was alone and it was after the workout.  I then ran to Mack Park and found Ethan and Stockton, ran back to the school, ran 2 more miles with them, then 2 more when I got home.

    A little over 10 miles today.  5 miles tempo. I didn't feel great, and my left leg just felt strange, like it was .. shorter than normal or something. Anyway, after my first two miles, I was able to get into a good groove push myself a lot.  5:14 average.  Then I ran to Sky View, did a few laps, then we got the hay bales out to practice on.  2 miles with 50m strides every lap(when I jumped the hay bales). 

    Oh, one more thing. I got my mission call yesterday.  I have been called to the Ghana Accre West mission, and report to the Ghana Missionary Training Center on July 23. 

     Speed workout today. I struggled, but it was still a good day. The original workout was 8X400m at mile pace, but after the 6th, everyone else was starting their 200s, so I asked coach if I could just do 4X200 instead of the last two 400s.  He was nice and let me.  The 400s were 59, 59, 61, 60, 63(this one was just hard.  Felt like I hit a wall), 61, then the 200s(supposed to be at mile pace, but since I was running with people I got competitive) were 27, 28(relaxed start, then kick), 29?(forgot to start watch), and 28. Warm up before, Cool down after. then 4 miles later at night. 

     8 miles.  Rough day.  I need to stop having those.  Did a few hay bale practices after.

   Leg hurts a bit. I did some 1000s at 4:40(too quick for the day. They were supposed to be slower) pace then my leg that had hurt yesterday started hurting so I cut it short and ended it there.

    Pre-meet. Leg hurt a little less than yesterday. We did a few 200s that were supposed to be at mile pace, but they were a bit quick. 

    Started a shake-out run, but my leg freaked out on me and it really hurt, so I was told to be better safe than sorry and take it off. 

     3100 yards of swimming later and some aqua jogging. I hate the pool.

Pool running for about 80 minutes.  It felt a bit better than yesterday, but I didn't even try running on it. My team did pretty well at Weber, and it was cool to cheer them on, but it was hard not to be running.

    About 2.25.  Ran to the golf course hill, then ran back because coach said it was better to play it safe than sorry and it hurt a bit. I then did 50 min. on the bike and I attempted to simulate some russian intervals.  Later that night I did an hour of pool running.  This was actually a pretty good day as training goes, but hopefully I'll be running tomorrow.

     1 mile running, then an hour of pool work(50 min of aqua jogging, 10 of swimming), then a bunch of core stuff.  Hopefully tomorrow it won't hurt my leg to run.

    2 laps of shake out before a mile of jogging, then cutting it because it kept hurting.  I need to get better.  After I did a bunch of pool stuff and core.

      Today I said screw it and just ran 8 miles. It hurt, but I think it's going to get better.  It felt better as the run went on. 
      2 miles later.

    Kept it pretty easy on the leg in the warm up, then coach had the team do 6X1000m at Tempo effort/pace.  I went out way too quick, but haven't ran anything fast in a while, so I didn't have anything to go off of.  Goal was around 3:00, but anywhere lower than 3:03 was good.  Splits:2:51(a bit quick), 2:56, 2:57, 2:56, 3:02(before this one I thought of quitting because I was hurting, but it was just fatique and not my leg so I kept going), and 2:58.  Usually I would've done 2 more, but I'm racing in a week, so I kept it at 6 with the rest of the team.  Cool down, then a few more laps with Ethan and an extra mile when I got home.

     8 miles up the canyon. Pain in the right quad and left leg, but it'll be good by next week.

      We just got to China. They designated a "park" for us to run on. It was mainly a road around a lake, but it was still beautiful. It is a bit dreary here, thick clouds cover everything, so it's a bit strange compared to the weather I left in Utah.  The run was fairly easy.

     Ran with Eric Hamer, Paul Roberts, and John Dressel for my warm up, then did about 6:50 at tempo effort, then 4X200 at a quicker pace to get my legs moving. They were on a road marked every 100m for 400m. They went 29, then I missed the timer, 29, 26. Then I cooled down back to the hotel. 

     I ran with the same guys as yesterday, then did strides and ran back to the hotel.

     3 miles around the course with some strides.  The course is in 2 kilometer loops and windy with lots of short steep hills and one big not as steep hill.

     Not my greatest race.  I'll write more when I have time.  Time for track.  Caution-long report below.

     Did a shakeout in morning.  I didn't get much sleep, but it was more than the night before.  I just never adjusted to the time.  People would tell me to stay up late so I would sleep in, but I would stay up late and wake up at 2-4 AM.  That's not good.  Anyway, the course should've played into my strengths(hills and it was 8 kilometers instead of 5) but I wasn't as mentally ready today.  We got to the course and I warmed up with Eric Hamer. My goal was top-10(possible a bit un-realistic) and if that wasn't happening, sub 25 minutes or top-20.  We did our strides and the team was focused.  I was a bit over-confident and not ready to work hard.

      The gun went off and everyone else did too.  It was a quick start, but unlike any race I've ever run, it didn't slow down after 200m.  It actually sped up. I got spiked by a Qatar runner, and was stuck in the back.  I slowly moved up, but had to run on the outside of the all the turns on the windy course.  I got stuck behind a South African barefoot runner because I wanted to be super cautious around him with spikes.  I ran a sprint around him at the top of the hill and after the first loop I could start to see the other US guys; Eric, Cerake, and John.  I was struggling. I just told myself to hang on until the last loop, then explode and pass a lot of people.  I was about 6:07 at 2k and in about 54th place.  I moved up on this loop but slowed signficantly. I was about 12:30 at 4k and in 46th place.  I had thoughts of dropping out here, but couldn't because that would be betraying my teamates. 

      The next loop I really had more in me, but emotionally and mentally wasn't there.  I know I could've given it more, but I wasn't ready to hurt.  I was at 19:00 at the 6k mark.  Way too slow.  I'd have to kick hard to get my time goal.  My place was 35th. There was a big pack ahead of me with John Dressel falling off.  I caught up to him and then he saw me and threw in a surge and got back in the pack. I fell off the pack and just passed anyone else who fell off harder than I did.  With 600m left I tried to pick it up, but it was hard and mentally I had given up on the second loop, so I wasn't able to really dig deep.  I passed two guys with 250m left, but they were mentally ruined too. 

      After the race I just felt awful. I felt as if I let myself, my family, and teamates down.  I haven't given up like this in a race before.  I've had days where I'd had trouble pushing it and taken it a step easier, but not like this. I had a lot more left after.  My last 4 kilometers were pitiful and while I passed plenty of people, they weren't where they could've been. 

     Overall, this was a great experience and it motivates me to want to be better.  I need to work harder.  The Africans destroyed me, and this shows I have a long way to go to be where I want.  I'm going to work a lot harder this track season than I ever have.

      71 minutes of running in Bejing because our flight got delayed so we missed our flight back home. 

     Got home and ran.  I didn't feel that great, but I haven't had any good sleep in the last week and a half and I haven't eaten too healthy either due to limited options, so hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things pretty soon.

      Very rough day. I just haven't had any motivation recently, and when I tried to do a workout today it showed. 

      I'm still trying to get back into the groove of things, but it's hard. I must've just gotten lazy on the trip because it's felt hard just to do anything.  Anyway, I tried to do 5 miles tempo.  It wasn't fast, but it hurt.  5:17 average.  Splits:4:49(downhill), 5:39(uphill), 5:17(uphill then downhill), 5:08(downhill), 5:30(uphill).  2 miles cool down. I think I'll run 4 more miles tonight.

     4 miles later tonight. 

     9 miles.  I've really struggled getting back into everything. Luckily, this week has been our school's break because I've been sleeping anywhere from 10 to 13 hours a day and still feel tired. Hopefully this jet lag ends soon, because it's been hard to catch up on schoolwork when I've been sleeping that much.

       Met up with Ethan in between conference sessions. We ran to Beast, and the hill and Ethan kicked my butt.  Ethan did 10 repeats, and I did 8. I just didn't have any energy.  Ethan was killing it though, and he ran 8 miles, plus a 5 mile "hike trail run" and a 16 mile bike ride. What an animal.  We ran back to my house just in time for conference.  I might run more later.

      Ran to Beast, did 2 more repeats at a faster pace than earlier, then ran up the canyon for enough to bring it to 12 for the day. It's been a good week of mileage, sadly the workouts haven't gone great, but hopefully I'll be back by next week so I can race well.

     5 laps warm up, then 20X200m at mile pace with 200m jog. I struggled and it was windy.  I did the first three into the wind, but was the only one, and I wimped out into running them part way with the wind.  I need to start having good workouts again. Our last few were supposed to gradually get faster until we were all out sprinting, but this workout just felt like a sprint the whole time.  Splits:30.6, 30.7, 31.2, 30.8, 29.2, 29.7, 29.8, 30.2, 30.9, 30.1, 30.0, 30.7, 30.6, 30.1, 31.2, 29.1, 30.7, 30.6, 30.4, and 30.8.  Cooled down about a mile and a half after.  I just didn't feel any spring in my step, like I couldn't sprint.

       3 miles later. 

     Warm up, then 2 miles tempo(coach had me cut it short to 2 miles because I have a big race this weekend), then cool down.  At about 1.5 miles there was a big headwind, and I felt pretty good going into the wind.  It was the first time I've felt that good in a while, but then I stopped. We went and talked to Ethan after he finished yesterday's workout(he was sick so the speed was better for him today) and I ran with him then ran more when I got home.

    Kept it easy and fun.  Ran with the team for 2.25, then with Stockton for a bit, then no one else wanted to run more so I ran by myself. 

    Pre-meet in and around the dome in Alaska.

      Interesting race to say the least. I did a shakeout(about a mile), then warmed up about an hour later(1.3 miles) then a little more jogging before the start.  They decided to give Allie a 70 sec. head start, instead of the 60 I had originally heard. It was for the best looking back at it.  She started, then we had 70 sec. of waiting before starting. Levi had 2 teamates pace us through the 800m(for one) and the 1600m for the other.  We hit the first lap in 66(perfect!), but then the second pacer slowed down and let the other one get a little gap.  I hit 2:14, the first pacer was right where we wanted to be(2:12).  I just stuck with Levi Thomet and Levi Freed.  We hit two more slower laps and came across 1600m at 4:31.  The next two laps just happened, I took the lead and just was cruising.  I wasn't thinking about going fast, I don't know what I was thinking about, but I wasn't focused.  We hit the next two laps way off pace(about 1:08 and 1:09 we were at 6:47).  My fault, I should've sped it up, but it felt super easy.  I then realized we might not break nine, so I took off and tried to give it a big push.  We hit the next lap in 65, and then I decided to throw in a surge at 300m to go, because when I do with 400m, I tie up in the last 100m. Well, I still tied up with 100m to go and Levi flew by me.  We finally could see Allie here.

      A little dissappointed about the 5th and 6th laps because I feel like I could've ran a lot quicker if I was more focused. After the race I felt great, so I know I had more left in the tank.  I haven't done much speed work, so this makes me pretty excited about the track season. Cool down after around the dome and then a bit more later. 

     We ran the mile. I warmed up the same as yesterday, then we got ready. Levi Freed paced us through 800m and did a perfect job this time. I got up on his shoulder to try get him to go faster in the first 600m.  I felt good. At 600m, another guy jumped in to race us for the last 1000m. I kinda got boxed behind them and panicked. I wasn't sure what to do, but I just was running funny. We hit the third lap and it felt easy.  I think we were at 3:08 with a 400m and a bit(it was a full mile) to go.  I had a huge push with 300m to go and heard I gapped Levi by a pretty big amount.  With 200m left I slowed down way too much, and then Levi passed me and raced the other guy to the line. I finished, but didn't kick too much.  I'm a little dissappointed in myself for the last lap, I know I could've gone atleast 4:10, maybe 4:09, if my lat 200m was good.  Oh well, maybe next time. This was a shock to the body, so hopefully I'll be full tilt into track mentally.

      After, Levi and I ran some trails for 60 min(we only went 6.5 miles though. There was a lot of mud, but it was a sweet place to run), then I ran for somewhere between 4 and 5 miles(30 min.) Overall a good experiene, but I wish I would've raced better. 

      Tough workout, but a good one.  3XRussian intervals(300m at mile pace with 100m jog in 30 sec.X4) And after 3X300m all out.  I took it out pretty conservative on the first set. 1st set:46, 47, 47, 47.  The second set was good, but it took some digging and hurt.  2nd set: 45, 46, 47, 48(ooh, way too slow) 3rd hurt, but was good to dig deep. 3rd set:  45, 47, 48(ran into a sprinter on accident), 47(got stuck behind some people and had to run pretty far out).  After I was pretty tired.  The little rest takes a lot out of you.  300s all out(more than 30 sec. rest): 41(Landon kept me running fast), 42ish(Landon again helped me push myself), and 44(I ran this one solo.  It hurt, but was good for me.) Cool down after.

     4.5 miles when I got home.

     Calves were super sore, and I just didn't have any pop in my legs.  The workout was 8X1000m at 4:50-5:00 pace with 1 min. recovery.  After 2, my legs just weren't moving at all, and the 30 mph winds weren't helping. The wind was probably the craziest I've ran in before.  I asked coach if I could just take it easier today and then hit the workout tomorrow.  He let me, so I ran with Jordan and Landon for part of one, and then ran with Ethan for 4(or 5) more to help with the wind.  Ran some more later.

     Warmed up 1.5 miles, then 1 mile at 5:00, 30 sec. recovery, 5:00 for the next mile, 30 sec. recovery, .5 miles at 5:00 pace, then had to stop for the bathroom.  Then 2.5 miles in 12:30.  1.5 miles cool down. I wasn't feeling great at first, but after realizing that I only had to run for 12 minutes during the last 2.5 miles made it not bad at all.

     2 miles later. So much snow(for April). It is still snowing.

     8 miles. Pretty easy the whole way, but my legs were quite tired.  We ran to Stockton's house to see if his call had come. It had, so after that he was pretty pumped, so the pace was definately picked up after those first two miles.  Great weather, sunny and half the snow has melted.

     Around 3 miles. I should've done more, but got busy.  Got strides in. Leg's didn't feel great.

       The 3200m was first.  Prior the 3200m, I got to watch my little sister run a ten second PR and qualify for state! She's great and still improving. In the 3200m, I tried to pace Ethan for the first 5 or 6 laps and just hit 72s the whole way, but I didn't know how close he was. A Fremont kid was right on my tail for most of this, so I thought Ethan was right behind him. Nope, Ethan was 50 meters back(at the mile), running a bit conservative.  A few of my laps were a bit quick(like a second or half second) I ran my last lap in 1:06 and it felt pretty relaxed.(Ethan did PR by 5 seconds, so I didn't completely fail at pacing)  Cool down then warm up almost immediately for the mile. I felt super good in the 3200m, but the mile was a different story. I started out in a 1:04, and after that I just wasn't feeling it, so I just kinda finished without really laying it all out there.  4:20, so it wasn't easy, but it wasn't all out.  Cool down after, and then a bit more with Ethan.  Maybe some more tonight.

      8 miles.  The workout was pretty hard, but I messed myself up pretty bad by going out too hard during the first 1000m.  It was 2X1000m at two mile pace, then 2X800m at same pace, then a full recovery, then 4X300m with whatever you had left.  The first lap of the first 1000m was too quick, but I slowed and finished(still too fast) in 2:38.  1:30 rest, then the next one I was pretty beat for because I went too quick.  2:49 or 2:50.  Not awful, but still slow.  Then I struggled at the start of the next one and gave myself some more rest before starting it.  2:14.  Then I broke the next 800m in 400s.  1:08 and 1:06.  After, I was tired and let Stockton and Ethan start the 300s without me(300m jog recovery).  I hit 42 and 44 on the first two, then got a drink and ran with Stockton(he saved me, I was struggling really bad) on the next two(43 and 43).  Cool down after.  Maybe some more tonight.

It's a little rough not having Alex with us. He always pushed the team through the sprint workouts. He has had a stress fracture in his femur for almost a month.  He still was able to run fast(4:22 full mile and 1:58 800m) with it though, but he said he felt "off" before the race.  Luckily, he'll run at state still. 

      6.5 miles with Ethan.  First two were with all the guys running this weekend.  Then .5 on the track, then 2 more later.  All easy, and my legs felt pretty good.

       Warm up, 3.5 miles at tempo pace(4:55 average) and cool down. 

      8.2 miles.  One at 5:20 to pace Jordan Thomas for the 1600m and a 400m in 54. 

      Pre-meet.

      Rough day. Wasn't focused, driven, or anything. I just kinda let things happen.  It was good though, because now it shows that I can't ease up and still win.  Lots of mental stuff to work on.

     Great workout, I hit all my times right on and it felt pretty easy.  4 miles when I got home and I feel strong. I wonder what was up last weekend because I just felt so slow then.

14X200m at 1 or 2 seconds faster than mile pace with 200m jog(around a minute to 1:20). Slowest at 29.

     Good workout again, but it was pretty easy.  I think I'm ready to run some PR's at BYU this weekend.  We'll see how it goes.4X1000m with 1 min. rest at tempo pace.  2:52, 2:57, 2:58, 2:59.  All faster than goal pace.

     1 mile, then we drove to upper cannal, ran for 4 miles, then strides and a bit more.

     About 2.75 easy with strides. 

     7ish miles overall. We got there kinda late, so I was able to run a shakeout on the track.  Ethan and I warmed up a little over a mile, then we did our strides on the track.  Ethan almost got DQ'ed because when he went to highlight his name, they had already scratched him, but eventually was let back in.  I felt sluggish, but it was alright, I was pretty ready to run fast.  I planned on running 68s for the first 5 laps before bringing it down to 65s or faster. 

      The gun went off, and I moved a bit, but someone pushed me from behind into a good position. We came off the curve and I made a small surge from third to first so I didn't run on the outside of the curve.  We came across 400m pretty quick, about 63, and after that I was too concerned that I went out too fast so after that I just went into a sort-of cruise mode.  I hit 68s/69s for the rest of the laps. I was expecting myself to hit a wall, but even at 2400m I felt pretty strong. I had planned to make a move with three laps left, but I was underconfident in my abilities to finish strong if I made it then, so I waited until two laps left to start speeding things up a bit.  I didn't speed it up too much, but on my last lap I felt pretty good still.  My last 100m I was hurting and I gave in to the pain.  I knew I could've closed atleast 2 seconds faster, but oh well. I missed the 4A record by .03 seconds.  More motivation to run fast at state.  After I finished there was a huge group that ran phenomonal times, especially for altitude. Ethan PR'ed by almost 10 seconds and qualified for state, so that was great to see. 

      Cool down after with a big group of AF, Davis, and other guys.  Then some more later to just get moving.

     Strangest race.  I ran to Einstein Bagels with Ethan for a shakeout/to get lunch.  I warmed up about 45 minutes before the race was supposed to start(I felt pretty awful).  Then again with Josh Collins and Krey Ramsey 45 minutes later because the meet was behind(I felt a lot better this time, but still not 100%).  I did a few strides before the start, but I didn't have much of a bounce.

      The race started, and I didn't want to lead it.  I was feeling a bit lazy, so I wasn't going to be the one to push the pace.  I slowly moved up in the pack though and there was a bit of jostling.  We hit the first lap fairly slow(1:03) for the time I was hoping for, but I just stayed relaxed behind Garek. I tried to pass him at about 500 meters, but he sped up, so I just let him lead.  We slowed down on the homestretch right before 800m, so I took the lead.  I felt nervous about others kicks, so I tried to keep it quick, but for some reason I couldn't speed up.  I didn't feel fatigued at all.  My breathing felt really relaxed, and I could hear the loud breathing of those around me. With about 400m left Josh passed me.  I wasn't giving up lane one easily on the curve, so we had a bit of jostling before he sped up and took it from me. I can't actually what happened for the next 100m, but I think I tried to pass him.  We got to the curve, and I remember my coach telling me that if I'm with anyone with a 100m to go, I can outsprint them, so I just hung on his tail until the straightaway.  Everyone was still in it, so I tried to go outside to pass Josh, but he was going oustide, so I swung back into lane one from the outside of lane 2 and I still felt really relaxed(this never happens when I sprint). I sprinted and was able to get the win.  It was a little slower than last year, but I'll take it.

       Cool down with Ethan, Connor Compton(Pr'ed with a 2:00 today) and Jordan Hunt after.  We ran with a few of the Davis guys for a bit too.  When I got home I ran two more miles to shake off the long bus ride.  Also, shout out to Connor Baller for qualifying for state and shout out to the rest of the Lehi team for running well also. 

      10 miles. Same workout as I did this time last year. 2X(200m at mile pace, 600m at tempo, 300m all out. )  200m was 29 on both, then the tempo was about 1:50, so a little slow, but not horrid, then 300s were 42 and 43.  I like this workout because it makes you feel fast and it doesn't hurt much.  The first 200m you're still fresh, and the next 600m feels like a jog before you do an all out sprint.  Overall was 3:03 and 3:05.  Kyle Peterson ran with us today too, so that was cool. 

5.5 miles when I got home to get up to 10.

      4 miles for pre-meet.  2.25ish with the guys, then .75 while waiting to practice handoffs for the medley, then about .25 practicing/getting strides in.  After I ran more when I got home. 

      I wanted to either not run the mile, or just take it easier to help Alex or somebody else help qualify for state, but the coaches wanted me to just run.  Stockton, Landon and I did a shakeout for a mile, then waited for a bit before warming up with Connor and Ethan.  Landon was in the 400, but he still warmed up with us.  After, we found out they were about 20 minutes ahead of schedule, so we got our spikes, went to the track and ran.  Ethan was in the second heat and ran a PR of 4:41, leading the whole way and it being windy and rainy.  I had the plan of going out with the pack for the first 1000m and then kicking it in. Garrett Barton didn't run due to an injury, so that got some of the guys on the line excited because it gave them the chance to qualify.  Sadly, the excitement didn't translate to running fast. We hit the first 200m slow(35?).  And Alex and I were in last.  Alex busted out quick, and I followed. It was windy, so I passed him and took the wind.  We hit 400m in 66.  After that I just tried to relax and hold the pace.  2:11 at 800m, then 3:15/16 at 1200m. About here I couldn't hear anyone breathing on my neck anymore.  The first 200m of my last lap I sped up, but then remembered it was region and I had the medley in an hour or so, so I just let up. 

       Alex ended fifth, Connor was 6th(PR), Stockton was 7th(PR), and Ethan was 11th(PR). After, Stockton, Cameron Anderson(PR also today), and I cooled down inside for about a mile(maybe a bit less). I got ready for the medley, but our 200 runners had a bad hand off, so we got DQ'ed.  I wasn't running if I didn't need to.  Ran 5 miles in the rain when I got home.

      Around 7 miles for the day.  Warmed about a mile.  Then we ran the 3200m. It felt really relaxed, and I stayed back for the first 550m, then just kinda ran. I just kept hitting about 72s for the first few laps, then slowly picked it up to 70s, then an all out last 100m for fun/practicing to kick.  After, Ethan, Stockton, Jordan, and a bunch of kids from other schools went on cool down for  over a mile. That was pretty fun.  Watched the rest of region.  It wasn't the best day for us as a team, but we still won by 80 points or so.  A few of us ate out after, then I ran 3 miles late when I got home.

       We did Golf Course unextended and had a light fartlek workout.  We would race to a random object ahead of us, and the winner got to choose the next object, and when we would race again.  It was fun. 

       6 miles later.

       8 easy miles.  I was tempted to keep going, but with state next week, I better play it safe.

      Warmed up, then we did an 800m at 3200m pace and 3X300m all out after.  Well, I was kinda stupid and felt pretty good, so I just relaxed and paid attention to feel instead of my watch for the 800m.  At 700m I saw I was going pretty quick(1:49), so I kicked my last 100m to a 2:02.  After I let Ethan and Connor go in the 300s because I wanted to stretch more.  First one was 40, the next one I started feeling beat, but just paced the first 200m and ran a 42.  Next one I started pretty slow, but closed fast to a 42.  Cool down after.

      5 miles when I got home.

     About 5.5 miles.  Warmed up, then did 3X1000m at tempo effort with a minute break. I can't believe we used to do 8 of these.  It was fairly windy.  Cool down after, then later at JV region I ran a warm up with some kids.

      Easy with 2(4X15 seconds at 4:00 pace, 15 seconds easy) With a 3 min. jog in between the intervals.  It felt pretty easy, but I could feel I was going fast.  I'm way excited for this weekend!

      3 miles pre-meet at UVU.

       Rough day. I just didn't have the mental preparation I needed to have just in case things went wrong. I kept invisioning things going right, but between schoolwork/teachers that weren't very good at cooperating/bad sleep/forgetting my race socks, and other stuff led to it not being an ideal 24 hours before the race.  I should've mentally prepared for it just in case things didn't go perfect(they never do, but I still thought they would for some reason).  Shake out by the hotel, then the coach drove me to the meet because people weren't ready to load the bus. We got there late, so I wasn't sure if I had enough time to warm up fully, so I cut my warm up short.  After I got my stuff and had my dad hold it.  This helped out a lot.  I decided to just not wear socks.

      The race started, and I was sure I knew Josh's plan, and he knew mine. I wanted to run fast, and he wanted to win. I took it out fast, but after 300m I hit a mental wall.  At 600m my right hamstring got super tight.  I knew I had to keep it fast to win or to make the dream mile.  At 800m I was 2:04ish I think. Slower than where I wanted to be(2:02).  After that I just kept getting distracted mentally and wasn't in it.  I kept thinking about how it was super rainy and the water between my foot and the buttom of my shoe. I just wasn't in it.  With 200m I could hear Josh, with 110m left he passed me and I just couldn't get moving. He finished quick and I just didn't have any motivation after that. 

       Cool down with Josh after. Even though we're tough competitors, we're still friends.  I'm super dissappointed I didn't run faster or give it my all.  Hopefully this isn't my last mile race before my mission.  Shake out again later in the evening.

      Rough day again. The 3200m was the same as the 1600m, but Josh was tired from yesterday, so he didn't catch me.  I went out fast, but just wasn't into it. I started hitting 70 second laps after the 4th lap, and it wasn't a good day.

      In between events, it was great to be by the Lehi team. What a great crew of guys. ConnorBaller was hilarious with his high jump commentating.  The 800m was later, but I was in slow heat.  I was hoping someone would push the pace like last year, but it didn't happen.  I got a really bad start and was in last in the first 80m.  First lap was about 60-61. After that I knew I wasn't going to podium or score points, so I thought about dropping out.  Our team needed points, and in just one minute I let the race go slow.  With 300m left, a kid from Spanish Fork made a push, and I realized, I can run faster, so I pushed to the curve, relaxed and sat in 4th or 5th on the curve, and then kicked around everyone with 80m left.  I won the heat, but the time was slow and it took 10th overall.

      Sadly, my last races as a bobcat weren't PRs or close to what I wanted, but I after my mission, I will continue running. Hopefully I will be able to get more competitive in college.  Thanks everyone for the support, it's been great to be part of an amazing running community.

      7 miles. Connor Compton drove Ethan and I to the start of dry canyon, where we ran up the trail that leads to flat top, but it was super muddy and a stream was going right through the trail, so we ran back to the school.  After I ran home and a bit more to get 3 more miles in. 

      Around 5.5 miles.  Tried some 200s, but just felt stiff and couldn't get moving. 

      Felt easy for the day.   Warmed up, 1 mile tempo(okay, maybe it was a bit quicker) in 4:45, then relaxed and did 2X200m, one was supposed to be at goal race pace, but was quick, and the other was all out(29 and 26).  Cool down and strides, then ran with some 3rd, 4th and 5th graders at the northern utah mile race(the top milers from all the elementary schools in the Sky View area run a mile race).  Some of those kids were quick, like a 4th grader that went unter 6 minutes.  It was fun to watch.

      4 miles with Stockton. We did Cedar Ridge run. 

      Hey everyone, there's a mile race being put on in Cache Valley over the Fourth of July that is trying to imitate the 5th Avenue Mile. There is going to be an open division, and an elite devision, and it would be sweet to see a big group come out to run.  It's right before the Cache Valley Cruise in, which attracts anywhere from 20,000-30,000 people, so the cheering is going to be unbelievable.  For more information, visit the facebook page for the 2015 Motor Mile (https://www.facebook.com/semmotormile?fref=ts) or find it on instagram under Motor_Mile.

        15 minutes easy.  Being at sea level makes it feel easy to run, so I think my last mile was at about 6:00 or faster(oh well, it won't make much difference going a little quick before a race).  I did some strides after. 

     First, I just want to thank my parents for sending me to Orlando to compete at this meet to try and qualify for the dream mile. While I wasn't able to get my goal, I was close. Around 9 miles overall.  Warmed up early because I thought there was only one heat of everything and they were cruising through the schedule earlier in the day.  I felt great.  It was really hot, humid, and windy.  I planned on letting the race go out and sticking in the pack the first lap or so. I talked to a few guys before the race and there was a cool group running in the race.  Bryce from Oklahoma was seeded second and asked before if I was going to start fast and if I wanted him to keep some guys from cutting into us early on.  I didn't think it would be necessary, so I said I'd probably be good. 

       Well, the race started and it was violent. There was plenty of pushing, and about 150m in, nobody would let me get into the outer lanes, so I slowed and put in a surge to get back up to the front area. I was in about 2nd or 3rd.  From here, Bryce led most of the race.  We came through 409 meters at 1:04, so fairly slow, and then 2:07/08 through 809 meters, so we were just on pace to beat the slow heat.  I wasn't feeling the greatest, it felt like a fast race, but wasn't.  Somewhere around here Avery passed me.  I just kept trying to draft on these guys, but the wind was at a weird angle and I seemed to always have a headwind on the first 200m.  We cam around 1209 meters at 3:09/3:10, and those two started to gap me.  They had about 5 to 10 meters on me with 175 meters left in the race. I just tried to stay close enough and hope to kick well.  With 100m left I cut out to pass them, and they both cut into the outer lanes.  Crap, I should've stayed in lane one.  With 90 meters left I passed Bryce, and then 50-60ish I passed Avery, and thought I have it. This thought lasted 2-3 seconds, and I had stopped giving it 100%, and he just passed me.  I kept trying with 10 meters left, but just came up short as could be.  He beat me by .02 seconds right at the line.  4:08.55 to 4:08.57.  

      I cooled down with Frank and another guy from Georgia, then watched the 800s, got my spikes back on and ran the 3200m. I wasn't mentally ready at all, and was just tired from the mile. I just ran it to run it.  The meet record wasn't extremely quick(9:22), so I just went for that. My last two laps were pretty slow, but I just didn't have much motivation.  I think I ran a 9:17 or something close to it. I ran solo from 600m to the end, but started leading at 200m.

      I cooled down with Steven Cross after.  He was actually also at Footlocker this year, so it was cool to talk to him about that stuff after.

      Ran up Smithfield Canyon to the campgrounds and back. I didn't feel that great, but it's alright.  It's been a little demotivating not making the dream mile this year and not getting any PR's, especially because I had plenty of chances where I should've ran some fast times, but it's alright.

     8 miles with Stockton. We both didn't feel very good, but when one was feeling bad, the other one dragged him along. On the first 4, I felt pretty decent and got him going, but on the last 4, he kept me going. 

      Felt tired for most of the day, then got vaccinations for my mission (3 shots, then an oral vaccine I still need to start taking.), and then I just felt very off. I started a workout, but after two 800s at 2 mile pace, I felt completely drained. I told myself I'd run later, but when I tried, it felt like an all out sprint to go 7 min. pace, so I just cut it and hoped tomorrows workout will be better.

       11.25ish.  I ran a mile, then met up with John Coyle who was in Logan visiting his in-laws.  We warmed up approx. 3 miles, then did 12 min. tempo wtih about 2 min. break before doing another 12 min. tempo. Last year we did a similar workout, and this time we were a lot quicker.  The first tempo I led, and then on the next one he kinda dropped me by about 10 meters by the end, and about 15 meters mid-way through.  If I wasn't running with him, I might've cut the workout because I felt like I did yesterday, but not as bad.  2nd half was uphill and quicker(covered about 200m more). About 3 miles cool down after. It was good to catch up with him, he ran a Weber and had a pretty good career there, and is just getting better.

       8 miles.  I wasn't feeling good at all. I've just been in a slump this week, but I'll hopefully get out of it soon. My parents think it's the vaccinations that are making me feel rough, but I also wasn't feeling good on Tuesday, so I'm not sure.

     Not the best week, but still a good one.  I wasn't able to run until late, so I missed running in the nice weather.  Oh well.  I ran to Sky View to run at the track. Well there was a football game going on, and weren't going to let me in to run, so I ran home and the drove to Utah State's track.   I warmed up about 1.25 miles, so I had already run almost 6 miles before starting the workout.  I tried to do 4X400m at sub-60 with a 400m jog in between and then 4X200m starting at 30 and getting progressively faster.  400s were 59.9, 58.9, 59.1, and 57/58ish(I forgot to stop my watch), and the 200s were 31, 29, 28, 26.  Cool down after.  I felt better than I did during any other run this week, so that was positive.

      Warmed up and planned on doing a faster 5k tempo today, but after my first 400m I wasn't feeling that great.  I hit it at about 1:11, so after the next half a lap I decided to just run a mile and then see how I feel.  Well, I slowly sped it up and hit 2:19 at 800m, then just slowly bumped up the pace a bit and finished the mile in 4:30. After the high school band took up the track, so I did 2X200s until the got onto the field. Both were in 28 and felt pretty relaxed.  Then I did and 800m and 400m.  The 800 was originally going to be another mile at hopefully the same pace, but it hurt and I knew I went out to fast so I stopped it at 800m in 2:04.  The 400m felt surprisingly relaxed and hit every 100m in about the same time and ended in 56.  Cool down after and then 5 miles when I got home. Kinda a strange/spontanious workout that I changed every repeat, but I felt worked.

      I started a workout, but after a while I knew it wasn't going great, so I decided to take it easy for the rest of the day and try again on Thursday.  I think it's smart because yesterday and Saturday were hard, so I think I'll bounce back well.

       5 easy miles with the Sky View team. It was nice to run with people again. Tyler Roberts(one of the greatest runners ever to come out of Sky View. We ran together my freshman year of cross country, and raced together in track too) just got back from his mission and I ran with him. It was nice to catch up.  1 mile easy after I got home.

      Later a few of my friends and I went on a 10.4 mile hike.  It took about 5 hours, maybe more. 

      5 miles about. I did a warm up and felt tired. My quads, hips, and back were super sore. I decided to change the workout again to play it safe.  I did a mile at tempo, then 2X200m at 27, and 2 strides.  The mile was rough and the 200s weren't as bad as I was expecting. Extended cool down after. 

       7 easy miles.  Still a bit sore, but feeling better.

        A good workout today.  I worked on pacing.  I did this workout last year, but this year I wanted to make sure I was fresh afterward.  100m at starting pace, 200m mile pace, 200m at 3200m pace, 200m at finishing pace.  On the first one everything was right on or close(the 200m at 3200m pace was a second slow) with the finish in 28. The next one I broke up into the 300m and 400m.  300m was 43 with a fast start and then a 200m where I worked on staying relaxed and mile effortish, then the 400m I went 31 for the first 200, and 27 for the all out 200m.  After I did 2X100m start and 200m at all the paces again to make sure I had it down.  Cool down after.  Not a very hard workout, but a good one to get ready to run fast.

       Went to practice today. They were doing a mile time trial to see where everyone was at as we start practices. We warmed up, then I ran 1.5 miles at about tempo pace, then we cooled down. After I did 2X200m, one at mile pace, the other just hard.  28 for the hard one and 30 for the pacing.  Then cool down home and 2 more miles when I got home.

      My dad was kind enough to drive me to the track. I did the same workout as I did last year.  200m at mile pace, 400m at 2 mile pace, and 200m all out after.  I was supposed to do 2, but like last year I decided one would be alright because I want to make sure I'm fresh this weekend.  The first 200m was in a high 29, then the 400m I tried to relax and ran a 65, then the next 200m was another 29.  I struggled that last 200m. I just couldn't stay motivated, but I'll be good by the time the race rolls around.  After I did 2X200m, one all out and another at mile pace.  27 and 30, so that was good for after the workout.  Cool down home after.

      4.75 miles with the team, then another mile and a bit when I got home.  I did some strides during the mile when I got home.

      Pre-meet on the treadmill with Coach Wright on the other treadmill.

       Ran on the track for a bit alone, then with Olan Hacker, then his coach and Coach Wright ran with us.  Then we did strides. I felt great, better than I have before a race since Boulder.

       Poor race for me.  Other than the 800m at state, possibly one of the easiest efforts for me physically, but I just wasn't mentally there.  If I would have been tired afterward and thrown up, or even out of breath and had to bend over and catch my breathe after it would have been different.  The pace went slower out front then I had anticipated(I heard 1:56/57 at 800m), so when I was at the back and quite a bit slower, I wasn't ready for it.  I reacted very slowly on my part and felt demotivated when trying to catch the front pack on the last lap.  I am thankful to be able to compete though, I feel I could've been in the top group fighting for the title.  I'm thankful to adidas for putting on the great event and for the invitation to compete at a high level. 

Atleast I'll be fresh for Brooks PR next week.

       2 miles early, then did a workout about 30 minutes after.  Warmed up, then 2X800m at goal 2 mile pace, and then 2X200m working on start(on the first one) and going all out(on the second).  800s were too fast.  I went 2:03 and then 2:07 with a 2 min. rest in between, and then the 200s were 28 on the first and 26 on the second with a 200m jog in between.  Cool down after

      I wanted to run 8 miles, but cut it short because I'm racing Saturday, and it will be my last track race in 2 and a half years.  It felt nice to run outside and just enjoy the run.

     Not sure about the mileage, but I did some short tempo at 4:50ish pace, and then 2X200m. It felt pretty easy. I used my IPod so I could time the tempo with music, but didn't want to run with it in the 200s, so I just ran hard.

      Pre-meet.  Ran with Elijah, Thomas Pollard, and Paul Ryan.  I stopped early and waited for them to turn around because I didn't want to go too far.  I did two strides in the dorms because I forgot to do them outside.

     Ran to the track, then did 4 strides with Josh Collins. 

       Did a small shakeout in the morning. I usually eat french toast or pancakes the morning of races unless I race pretty early, so I stuck with the french toast they had and some fruit.  Well, it was probably the nastiest french toast I've ever had, but it's what's worked best for me for race-day meal.  After a while of waiting, we went to the meet.  I raced at 1:45, so I didn't eat anything before.  I thought I'd be alright. I did a few laps on the track, then waited inside, then warmed up alone, got to the start with perfect timing so I could do my strides and felt ready to go.

     The gun went off, and Levi Thomet and Grant Fisher (they were next to me) started fast.  I wasn't ready for the gun, but then I just went with it and slowly moved to the top-3. I stayed in the the top 4 for the next lap and the pace was quite slow(for this field).  Mikey made a push around here, and then slowly people got in front of me and kinda cut me off, so I gave them a little room. Well, this kept happening and I wound up in last place(I think).  I just stayed here and let the race go on. It went by pretty quick.  My stomache had started to hurt during the 4th lap and I thought about quitting, but it's my last track race for 2.5 years, so I couldn't not finish.  My stomache just felt like something was churning, so it wasn't the best thing.  I slowly started passing people who were falling off pace.  During the last lap I was too far back to get my goal of a medal/sub-8:50.  I passed quite a few guys that last lap and I felt great during it.  If I could take something from this race it would be to stay at the front of the race, even if I'm not feeling great because I will feel better during the race. 

      Cool down after and cheered on some guys. Congrats to fellow blogger Paul Ryan for winning the mile with an outragous kick.  Crazy to think this was my last official high school race, but I'm considering time-trialling a downhill mile sometime to try and break-4 minutes. While it will be cheating for it being downhill, it would still be fun to do. 

     Also, thanks everyone for the support in my running over the blog, it's been a lot of fun and a great learning experience. I'm excited to keep it going!

      Went to practice with the team, ran tempo with Ethan. He did well and ran 15:45ish comfortably for 3 miles.  Cool down and warm up made it about 6.75.  Then I ran 5 more miles when I was home because I can. I don't have to taper or do anything like that for races for the next two years, while I still do want to run hard when I'm allowed to even if it's not racing. 

      I'm really excited to try and break-4 on this downhill course I have set out. I just need to measure a full mile on it. It'll be unofficial and will just have someone with a stopwatch time it, but it's going to be fun.

      12 miles up the canyon.  I didn't feel the greatest, but it was still a good pace.

      6 miles. I felt tired.

      5 miles. I measured out a mile course that has a good amount of steady downhill the whole way.

      5 miles.  I had family things come up, so I wasn't able to try the sub-4 downhill mile.  I felt super sick, probably the worst I've ever felt during a run, atleast stomache-wise. Good thing I felt like that this week instead of last week or I'd be in some trouble.

     8 miles in about 50 minutes.  My last .67 miles were sub-5 pace, but I was on limited time.  My mission farewell is tomorrow, if anyone wants to come.  It's at 1 PM at the Smithfield Stake Center(600 East, 120 South). 

Hey everybody, you may have family plans over this weekend, but if not(or if you happen to be in Logan over the 4th) it would be great to see a lot of you at the Motor Mile this weekend. It's a fun 1 mile race down a very crowded street in Logan. 

Ran with Claire at night in Lake Powell.

       4 miles with Claire, during the first 3 I paced her for tempo.

       6 miles in sand and dirt at Lake Powell.

        6.35 miles with Claire.  We averaged 12 min. miles in the sand and dirt.  It sucks running in the dirt/sand.

      4 miles around the area and then a little under a mile to a cliff with my siblings.

       9.25 miles overall. I went to "practice"(It's moritorium this week so we can't practice with the coaches, so we just met up anyway), and one of the future juniors took charge and had us do some tempo 1000m repeats with 1 min. rest, and we ran it in the fields/canal by Sky View.  The canal was very overgrown and you were likely to get hit in the face by some weeds, so it wasn't very enjoyable.  I paced Ethan for all of his 8 and then Connor Compton for his last 2.  After I went to Ethan's where we ran two more miles. 

      Went hammocking/hiking last night with some friends, so after Ethan and I just decided to get a run in.  We did 8Xhill repeats at a hill by the Utah State Campus that kicked my butt.  I just ran with him for them to help him out(I'm not really training for any races with the mission).  We then cooled down to his car.

      2 miles later. My butt is extremely sore.

      Ran up the canyon.  Did some "tempo" for about a mile and a half just for fun, but it wasn't too quick.  Overall it was a fairly good effort.  2 weeks until I leave to Ghana.

       5 miles easy. I went on a fairly hard hike last night, and I felt pretty tired from the hill workout two days ago, so I felt pretty dead. I may run more later today.

      5 easy miles. I didn't feel the greatest, but it's alright, I don't have and races coming up anytime soon.

      Warmed up for a mile, then did the "downhill death mile" attempting to run a sub-4.  Because you lose 500 feet in elevation, it's more of a sprint.  We used a couple Garmins to measure the distance, so it really wasn't too accurate.  I ran under four, but it may not have been the most accurate. Ethan paced me on his bike and his bike's MPH was over 15 the whole time, so hopefully it was.  Anyway, it was just for fun and wasn't too accurate. Ethan filmed it, but before he stopped it, the camera fell and the SD card fell out and so it didn't record it all the way. We might redo it so we can get a video and next time we'll try to make it as accurate as can be.  After I paced Ethan for 4 miles of tempo, then we cooled down and ate crepes after.

Here is the garmin thing that shows all the information.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/832313685

      Ran at practice with the team. I paced Ethan for his first two miles of tempo, then I saw C.Comp was struggling, so I paced him for the next two miles. After we cooled down. 

     5 miles. I had stomache ache, which made the run quite unenjoyable.

       6 miles. I felt pretty good. I may run more today or I may try to do another downhill mile tomorrow.

      8. Did a downhill mile with a warm up and then ran some more later.

       10 miles. I felt okay.

       4 miles attempting to run the Wellsvilles with Ethan, but it was way overgrown and made it just flat out miserable.  Then we heard something that sounded like a really loud growl close to us. Ethan thought it was a mountain lion, so he started running down pretty quick.  I went with him because I was tired of all the trees and brush surrounding the trail that made it impossible to run through. 2 miles later that night.

       7 miles I think.  We warmed up for a bit over a mile, then the team was doing 5 miles tempo, so I ran with Ethan.  He killed it today! I'm super excited to see what he does this season. We did about a mile cool down after.

       Also, out of the two downhill miles, we actually got a video of the second one. Ethan wanted to make it for his Youtube channel, so it's on there.  The link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWu5fswN3Fo .  It was a fun run and the pace is a bit inaccurate, and the distance is about .05 or something off.  Anyway, I still don't consider myself a sub-4 guy until I do it on a track.  It was just something fun I wanted to do with some friends.

     This is my last post for the next two years.  I'm leaving to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the country of Ghana. After I return, I plan on attending and running for BYU.  I'm thankful for the opportunities that running has brought me. I've met so many wonderful people and been able to make many friends on my way. If any of you want to receive my weekly e-mails, either put your e-mail in the description or send me an e-mail on my mission e-mail at conner.mantz@myldsmail.net.

     While running has brought me much happiness and excitement, it is very small compared to the joy that the Gospel of Christ has brings to my life.  I've read The Book of Mormon, The Holy Bible, and The Doctorine and Covanents and I know those to be true books. I know that God loves and cares about each and every person.  He wants you to be happy.  Jesus Christ suffered for our sins, and through him we can be saved.  I have been blessed to have such a wonderful family, and they have helped me want to continue in running and to serve a mission. They did not push me into either of those decisions.  I decided to serve a mission, just like I decided to run cross country and track, no one else made the decision for me or pushed me into it, but I have been blessed to have my family's support in both those decisions. 

        Also, about the downhill mile, while I'm rambling, it was more of a fun thing that was just to see what would happen, it isn't very official.  Wish all of you luck on your running, health, and happiness.

-Conner