The Mongoose

Another fartlek-type workout at the high school today. 1 2 3 4 4 3 2 1 w/equal recovery. We did our last minute on the track and Spencer and I came through at 57ish for 400m. Nice to know that the speed is still sort of there. Short cool down afterwards. Good workout today, good push from all the guys. 3 more later. 

6.5 easy behind the school with 8x100m strides and another mile at kids camp afterwards. A little tired but okay. 3 later in the afternoon.

Met out at Warner Valley for the tempo this morning. 2 mile warm up, 30 minute tempo, cool down. My legs felt pretty trashed from Monday, so it was a little slower than usual, but not too bad. 

Later we drove up to Eagle Point for our team cross country camp. We got settled in then did an easy 3 on the Monarch Loop. I felt pretty good considering the elevation change. 

In the evening we heard from Coach Madsen and Coach Powell. They shared some of their running experiences and it was fun to hear from them.

Day 2 of team camp. In the morning we ran around Puffer Lake, a little under 7 miles. There weren't many flat sections, but it was still quite an enjoyable run. After that we sat in the lake for a nice, natural ice bath.

Monarch Loop in the afternoon again. This time we ran on the road back to the lodge instead of waiting for the cars, so it ended up being just a little under 4. 

Later in the evening we heard from Coach Fielding and Coach Thatcher about their different experiences with running. I am blessed to have the coaches that I have! 

Headed up to Big John's Flat pretty early in the morning with some of the team. We took the Skyline Trail up until we got on the ridge, then we pretty much bush-wacked along the ridge through the trees until it opened up. When we got to the opening, Coach Thatcher said that he would give a pair of Smartwool running socks to the first person to Delano Peak. It was a little less than a mile of steep running/hiking to the top. I ran with Spencer for a little bit, then we took a short rest to grab some water and Scott joined up with us. We hiked for a little more, then when we could see the peak, Scott put on a little surge. Spencer took another rest, but I decided to reel in Scott. I caught him with about 100m to the peak and pushed through the burn to pick up the prize at the top. When everyone got to the top, we headed over to summit Mt. Holly. Some pretty technical running for the first little bit, but it was really fun. After that we ran back to Delano to meet with the team and come up with some individual and team goals. When we got there, we saw a group of 30+ mountain goats, pretty cool! Ran down from Delano back to the trailhead afterwards. Very fun run! 

In the afternoon we did our camp relay by Puffer Lake. 7 runners on a team, and each runner ran 6x400m legs. I had high expectations, having been on the winning team for the past 2 years. We fought hard, but we just didn't have it this year. I ran an extra leg to try and pace Sage to go sub 70 on the tough loop. 

Talent show later in the evening. It wasn't technically a competition, but me and Riley definitely won. After that we heard from some of the team alumni. Watched 'Prefontaine' after that. That movie is the bomb!

Went to the Skyline Trailhead again, but this time we ran towards Blue Lake. Still not very many flat sections, but what else would you expect while running in the mountains. We ran to a place that overlooked Blue Lake and Mt. Baldy. It was a really cool sight. Great run to wrap up a fun week at camp with the team, it was a very memorable one. I'm glad I was able to have this opportunity.