Failure makes me work even harder.

AM- 4 miles E.  Had to add on this morning, because I am going to an SUU Leadership event this weekend.  Pretty excited.

Got home from a good, but long and tiring SUU leadership thing.  I got home and just wanted to be lazy so I knew I would have to get the run in right away if I was to do it at all.  I just felt blah and had no one to push me this workout, which is what I needed today.  First mile was what killed me I averaged high 5:40-low 50's.  The next bit I hit it dead on!  I was so impressed cause I was more tired than the beginning and I felt like I had to focus on my form a lot!  I averaged 5:40 for the whole workout.  I feel fine about it though cause I hit the last 2 miles really well (2nd mile I was like 5:20's and the 3rd mile I was like high 5:30's).  I think I learned from this even though I didn't hit my times perfect all throughout.

Oh and its 6.3 because I thought we were suppose to go eight then realized we're suppose to go six. haha my bad :-)

AM- 3 miles E.  It was nippy this morning.  I felt like I usually do in the mornings, fine.

PM- 4x1600m (5:20 per) w/ 3 min recovery.  Harts warm/cool.  I wasn't feeling amazing before hand, but I wasn't feeling terrible.  First one was fairly easy.  We had to slow down the last lap in order to not get too antsy. (5:19)  The next one was a little harder, but wasn't too hard (5:19).  The third one was the hardest one, but with me and byron switching every 200 meters it really helped.  We pushed it in the last lap. (5:16) The fourth one I was tired, but I stuck it in cause I felt obligated to stick with Byron to take my turn.  We pushed it in to seal off a great workout (5:17).

Overall-  I think this idea of switching off is a good thing for me, because it doesn't allow for me to give up on myself.  I am going to have to use this in a race! :-) 

AM- 3miles E.  I felt fine.  My calf is bugging a little bit and I'm a little sore, so I should stretch better.

PM- 5 miles on the Ice House trail.  The hill going up is super long (1/2 mile) and is pretty steep, which I oddly love haha.  I liked today's run, because I love trail and I felt decent.  The tightness and calves were bugging but nothing stretching and rolling can't fix!

Side note- my shoes have both hit over 200 miles on them which usually I am pretty hard on my shoes and they are dead by then and I just squeeze out about 50 more miles of easy runs with them but these are holding up super well.  It's probably cause I have switched off so well between them and I think they are well done shoes.  

AM- 3 miles E.  I am still tight cause I forgot to stretch.

PM- 10 miles total.  30 min AT pace (5:46/mile).  The first half of it on the trail was easy really, but I felt the ramifications of not taking care of myself well enough.  When turned around after about 1/2 mile I fell off a couple feet, but then fought my way back up twice.  Then, I settled immediately after and fell off and was by myself (byron had to go to the bathroom or something) so then the gap grew around 20 min into it averaging 5:38/ mile before that.  I was isolated and my legs were spent so without anyone to push me I fell way behind (like 1/4 of a mile or it felt like that) so my pace probably was around my time I think so I'm not too worried.  I just will improve my finishing next time, because I felt I at least fought this workout to stay up with mike.

AM- 3 miles Easy.  I felt pretty good, but a little sore.

PM- Old Man Hills 1x800m, 2x400m, and 4x200m.  I felt alright going there, but I felt a little sluggish.  first 800 I was not feeling awesome but I stuck just a second or two behind mike and abel pushed me from behind.(2:35)  first 400 was alright, but abel and mike were almost racing it felt like!  So, I was just behind them. (1:09) second 400 they seemed to calm down more and I felt stronger on this one and could have went faster(1:10).  First 200 felt really hard to get my legs moving that fast and I would start out behind able and mike and make up space on the meat of the hill (not really steep but enough to slow down their speed) I felt good on it at the end though (33 sec).  Second, third, and fourth were all about the same as the first (not time but feeling wise) hard to start, had to catch up and finished with mike and abel. except the second one I don't think we went fast enough. (37, 34, 33).  But that's not all folks!  Coach made me and mike pace rachel for her last one.  Holy cow!!  She's so fast!  She got a 35!  Except I thought he said do an 800 with her so I started out too slow and was behind them...oops!

Overall-  I felt really strong and it was nice to stick with mike...I think abel helped a lot cause it didn't feel as much like I was running out of my league with him up there! 

5 miles plus striders!  It was a really fun and funny run!  Byron mike and Coach were real funny boys today! haha I felt good though!  The stretching I did yesterday helped.

Was going to run a 5k today with the team for a good cause, but my interview with the Stake President for my mission took too long because he was running a little late.  So, I had my dad pace me on his bike after I warmed up 2 miles.  I set my watch to average pace and gave it to him to keep track.  I was running for the first mile really well and it felt easy, but it took my dad a bit to figure out how fast to go, so I think I would've been closer if it didn't take him almost half a mile to go the right pace.  The last mile I was really struggling but my dad riding right next to me helped me stay with.  My average pace 5:35 pace which is about 5-10 seconds slow, but it was also almost 12 seconds faster than last week so I think I am slowly getting this down.  I think I'll have my dad pace me next week it really helped! 

AM- 3 miles E. It was a bit cold this morning!

PM- 1600m time trial with DI warm and Harts cool. This wasn't my best race, but I think I just need to improve my third lap and I just need to respond when I recognize myself settle and others pick it up. I don't think I wasn't totally feeling good today...I just was a little off, but it was around the time I got last year at the beginning, but I think I will shave tens of seconds off my time by the end of the year!

AM- 3 miles E. It was a little chilly this morning. My face felt frozen! But its not near as cold as I've heard up North is! Stretched after

PM- 30 min. Tempo AT pace. I felt alright physically today, not like 100%, more like 90%. But mentally, I felt like it was the first time I've really clicked. The whole time it was just so easy to turn off my brain and when it came back on I'd just tell myself "trust yourself, shut off your brain." I was right next to mike the whole tempo until the last block (I fell behind cause I didn't take the corner as well as him and abel) and I ended only like 10 feet behind! By far my best workout mentally in a while! I discovered a lot today and built some positive vibes!

AM- 3 miles E. I felt good.

PM- 8 miles E. I felt really good...probably cause we were at a pretty casual pace. I needed this run, because I felt like I was getting tired lately. I had a good time too which is nice. Looking forward to track and even dog town half coming up!

AM- 3 miles E.  I felt good. Still a little cold in my facial area in the mornin'!

PM- 10x200m (race pace)- I wasn't quite sure what to run for these because I know my time trial wasn't where I'd usually be at so we decided I stick with Byron on them.  Splits were 37, 35, 34, 35, 34, 33, 35, 34, 35, 33. I felt pretty good and I didn't really feel even phased by this workout!  When we were done I felt perfectly fine and ready to do more!

AM- 3 miles E.  I stretched and rolled after which felt good.

PM- 5 miles Trail. I was a little sore today, but I felt fine by the end.  I like trail runs.

15minLT- We warmed up out towards staheli farm where they were having some soccer tournement.  We started our tempo in the middle of nowhere and it took me about a quarter of a mile to get into the groove of things.  After that, I felt like it was easy.  It was flat with a slight downhill for the first mile-mile and a half. Then, we hit the hill by hunters house and it really killed our average I think.  On the backside I felt like we were flying!  I stayed with Mikey the whole time and we averaged 5:20!  I think I have finally figured out this tempo thing!  I am so ready for dogtown next week. 

AM- 3x800m old man hills. First one I felt alright.  Stayed with mike until the very end and was 2 seconds. (2:32) Second one I was feeling kinda sick and had cramps because I didn't eat before hand, not a good idea, and so I fell off mike in the middle but at the end made up some ground to end at an even time (2:33).  The last one I was feeling a little better, not as sick feeling and my sideache and shoulder cramps were almost gone, so I stuck with mike until the last half I just died a little off, but got a good time (2:32). 

PM- 3 miles E. Ran in my new shoes.  I felt really smooth and good. 

I can't wait for dogtown and our first track meet!  I know I can reach my goals for the track season!! :-)

AM- 3 miles E.  I set the wrong alarm, so I woke up late and ran by myself.  I felt pretty good.  It was a really slow pace. 

PM- 4x1600m. Pace was 5:20 for a 1600. Byron and I are getting really good at these! He pushes me so much it's ridiculous! Hopefully we can somehow translate this into races, because that'd be cool and really helpful! First one I felt really good and thought maybe we went too fast (5:16). Second one I was feeling good still, me and byron once again were switching every 200m in this workout, but this one we slowed down a little too much compared to the others but still under our goal time (5:19). Third one we basically stayed right behind mike the whole time and was at most a couple feet behind him! This one byron really pushed me (5:17). The last one I was feeling fatigued so this is when the switching off REALLY helped and really we were just a step behind mike (5:16).

Overall- an awesome workout! I have felt like I've nailed workouts these past 2 weeks and I am ready to translate that into some serious times!! It's gonna be a WAY better track season than my first year last year!!

AM- 3 miles E. It was like sleeting when we ran and it was soo cold!! But I felt fine other than that.

PM- 4 miles E. It was nice to go at such a nice pace. I really needed this recovery day! I am so excited for Dogtown this weekend!

AM- 3 E. Felt fine.

PM- 16x200m (35 time goal). I felt really good on these and I felt like they were all easy. I ran everyone of them 35 or lower, the majority at 34. I think this was a good workout overall.

AM- 3 Miles Easy. I felt good.

PM- 4 miles easy around sandbergs pond. I liked how easy and fun this run was. Dogtown is tomorrow and I know I'm going to do super well!! SO ready!!

Got to the race really early because I got a ride from hunter who was in charge of setting it up. I didn't eat a lot, but just enough so I wasn't too hungry. After like an hour and a half of just waiting around, I warmed up with the team and I was ready to go!

RACE- I started out at around 5:39 pace, but it was downhill for the first 3 miles and I was really holding back so I could have energy for the whole race. We had a nice pack of PV kids and the guy from dixie state (I believe its Rodney Warr or something like that). Going into mile 3 I felt 10x better than last year and I was positive this was gonna be a good race. Through the canyon byron and I led the way and set the pace and I think we were doing well. I picked up the pace for us around the bridge just out of the canyon and I think it was just Rodney, Mike and I in 3-5 places. This was the time I really knew I had to push it if I was to keep up with them. So, as we hit the first hill on the dam road and so I picked up our pace to around 5:39 (like it was in the canyon) but I think by the end we were averaging around high 5:40's or a little lower. I kept up on the downhill of the dam road until we hit the main road by the double churches and I was still with them! I was so calm mentally and physically I felt like I could run that pace forever! We hit the hill by hunter's house and I was pushing to keep up with mike. Rodney started to fall a couple feet back on the downhill, because mike and I were hauling but he kept up. I really thought in my head hey I could maybe beat mike! As we hit majestic hill (the worst hill at mile 10) Mike just took off and Rodney was just ahead of me about 15 feet ahead of me. The last two miles I was just pushing to catch Rodney, because I wanted to at least be the next place behind mike. I was going about 5:50 pace. I caught him with about 1.1 mile to go by amping up my pace a little around 5:30 pace. I paced him and I knew I had broken him or something, because I gained so much on him. He was great to run with though because he was so positive. I finished with coach pushing me to kick like I would at the end of the 1600 and I felt like I was flying!! I finished 4th overall and 1st in my age group, because they didn't count mike.

Overall- SO awesome!! This proves to me that this track season is gonna be awesome! I think if I had stuck it in on that hill at mile 10 I would've finished with mike, but really that was my only moment I felt like I backed off mentally and that's pretty great for 13 miles of hard running!! Some said it wasn't short, but I don't think it was too short of 13.1...maybe 13 because I think some of the GPS watches get a little jacked in the canyon, so maybe 13 miles I would say. Finishing only about a minute behind mike is really good for a half marathon and my team took around 5 of the top 10! I won a medal and some money to the running center! That's always nice!

AM- 5 miles E out to Target and back. I wore my sleeves I got from the 1/2 marathon and they kept my arms really warm! I'll have to use them in the future! It was a fun/ funny run! I needed that after a rough night and poor sleep.

PM- 4 miles w/ striders. We did a nice, easy run to the greensprings churches and then did a couple of events for our decathalon. I figured out I was bad at the shot put and the high jump, but I was decent at the hurdles. I think I was too uncomfortable with be embarassed that I didn't do as well as I could've for the hurdles. I think I could be really good if I put in the time, but Idk I want to just focus on distance and maybe every once and while try working on some other events just for fun and to keep things fresh. It was a rough day, so I'm glad it's coming to an end...which is sad, but true.

AM- 3 miles w/ 4x fartleks. I felt a little sore. I felt fine though.

PM- 4 miles E. It was just an easy run of 3 with me adding on a mile. I felt fine

AM- kosmin test. The first min I felt alright, but the second one I started to feel sick to the stomach. Same for the third. The last one I made up some ground on Byron. I think I was sick, because I am under a little bit of stress. I just need to find a way to relax. Things like this happen...hopefully it will blow over. I got about 1460m.

PM- 3 miles E. I felt fine.

AM- 3 miles E. Felt good. Need to get more sleep and stop stressing. It's just really hard.

PM- 3 miles E plus striders. Did it on the track. I felt good. I keep feeling sick to the stomach due to seeing someone I care about not want anything to do with me all the time. We did the long jump and 300m hurdles. I was decent at both. I think I'll stick to distance though, because I think the longer the distance the better and more comfortable I am.

GOT MY CALL!!! Canada Montreal Mission!! I am soo excited!!! :D