Running Blog

Sunrise. Well.. that was probably the worst run I've ever done. It was worse than the time I had to run all by myself with Coach right after freshman year.. and that was bad. (: But in all seriousness.. there is something wrong with me. I was wheezing so bad after the second 400 hill that I thought I was going to pass out. I'm pretty sure the cold has something to do with it. When we started the third 400, I had to stop halfway up. I absolutely could not breathe. Liz and Megan went with me into Sunrise tires and I got a drink.. but I could barely drink any because I couldn't hold my breath for that long. So I walked around for a little bit, hyperventilating. After that, I felt sick to my stomach. And all I really wanted to do was curl up and die.. because to do that would probably have hurt less than to keep feeling how I did. After a few minutes, it stopped hurting quite so bad, and I thought about going to finish the last few hills with the girls.. but the thought of doing that all over again made me stop. I guess you can call me a wimp. Maybe it is all mental. Either way.. I don't know what's going on.

AM: Arctic Circle

PM: Shoe Run. Every time I find out we only have 5 miles, I feel like getting up and dancing! And today was just a lovely run! We ran the first little bit with the Level 2's and Felicia. And I just felt quite amazing. I was a tad sore, but I don't know if it was from the few hills I did yesterday or because I went to Anti Gravity.. Prolly a little of both. Other than that, it was just a really fantastic run. Striders after.

AM: Surprise surprise.. Arctic Circle.

PM: Time trial. I don't know my time, or I'd list it as a race up there. I heard it was around 5:50, but I don't know if that's correct. Anywho, I was super nervous for this, which is kinda ridiculous, cause it's a time trial for goodness sake. But I've really been struggling mentally since the end of cross, cause my races were going nowhere but downhill. And since then, it's really been hard for me. So I was super scared. But once we got out, I was feeling okay-ish. I was sticking up with Kaylee and Stoner, which is where I wanted to be. When Kaylee made her move around the second lap, Frida went with her. And I guess I didn't really think about going with them. My goal was to stick with Stoner no matter what.. so it never crossed my mind to run up with Kaylee and Frida. But I think I might have been able to. Once we hit the final lap, my breathing was starting to go haywire again.. but it wasn't totally out of control. At the 200 meter mark, Stoner started to take off. And I kinda let her. But she said "come on" and I realized what I was doing and went up with her. I feel like I could have gone harder in the last 200, but I kinda had the wrong mindset about it. So it was more of a fast-paced coast. Afterward, my throat was super raw and I tasted blood. And my mouth had a TON of spit in it.. I had to keep spitting, which I find revolting. But there was just so much! Besides that and the fact that I got a terrible runner's cough and I'm sitting here coughing up a lung as I type, I felt great for having finished it. And I stuck with Stoner.. so I'm pretty happy about where I was, although I know I'm gonna have to work hard to get back in the 5:20's again.

Random House. I didn't go to morning practice today because SOMEONE's a terrible captain and didn't tell me about it. Anywho.. the fields run was quite lovely today. Taylor and Liz did really good at keeping up with us on the way out. We picked up the pace a little on the way back.. we had a pretty good pace going for most of it, actually. I felt really good.. I wasn't achy or sick (well, actually, Kaylee eternally scarred Stoner and I with a story, and I did feel pretty sick then) or hurt or anything! It was a tad windy though.

AM: Arctic Circle. I felt like I was going to die because I felt the need to be responsible and wear white.. and the only white I have is a hoodie.. and I was burning. The End.

PM: Hospital. A nice easy six before the race tomorrow.. augh! I feel kind of like throwing up right now. Because I never actually wanted to run this race.. but I felt like I had to because of Kaylee and Stoner. Now though, I'm actually almost kinda excited about it? I guess. I don't know. Whatever. The run was great. Nothing special. Liz and Taylor stayed with us on the way back. And we had striders after.

Well.. this was definitely an interesting experience. I wasn't exactly thrilled to be doing this race in the first place (All right, I was a LITTLE excited..) and I didn't really know what to expect. The lady at packet pick up yesterday said that we should take the first part really conservatively, or we'd feel trashed when we got to the uphill. I listened to her.. a little too well. I kept up with Kaylee and Stoner til about mile 6. Then I started to fall off, thinking our pace was a little too fast. It took them a long while to even realize I wasn't with them anymore. When Mia joined up with me, I decided to try and catch up, because physically, I was feeling fine. But mentally and emotionally, I was spent. So I just tried to hold on and make up some ground. By mile 10, I was starting to hurt physically too. My calves were tightening up and my hips felt all weird. So by then, the only thing I was trying to do was finish the dang thing. My finish was actually pretty good, considering. After the race, everything just kind of sunk in and I felt so stupid for letting Kaylee and Stoner get so far ahead. I got a medal for being second in my age group, but I didn't want to wear it, because if there had been anyone my age close to my level, they'd have beat me. But after several talks from my parents and Coach, I decided it wasn't that bad of a race, for having been the farthest I've ever run. So I guess I'm not really unhappy with my race anymore.. (I do wish I hadn't shown how mad I was after the race, because now my dad won't stop showing me articles and videos and books about how to control your mind and all this junk.. it's driving me crazy!)