Patrick's Blog

AM: Half mile warm up on the grass then 2x400 with the weights with equal recovery.My calfs really hurt throughout the whole thing. Its not really my calfs that hurt but more my shins and really lower calfs. I might have Shin Splints?? Then  mile cooldown

PM: I went to the Salt Lake Running Company and bought two of those compression socks. Neon Green and Neon Orange!!! AWESOME COLORS!!! So I met up with Larry at the Highland Track. I saw a lot of people I or Larry knew there, Allie, Vuong, Gio, and some guy that used to race Larry in college. So we went out to the road for a workout. We did a half mile warm up and my shins weren't hurting at all! So I did a timed lap in 9:15, still slower than a few years ago but 22 seconds faster than a few weeks ago before I got injured! My socks make my legs feel amazing! Then we took 5 minutes recovery then a timed mile. Halfway into the mile it started raining, of course it started at the END of my workout but I did my mile from the cars up the big hill passed the gait and down the big downhill and into that weird inlet by the pond. I ran the mile in 5:19 with HILLS! It was exactly .95 of a mile so more like a 5:30 mile but still that is really good for coming off of an injury! I love my socks!!! Then I had to go home but I did two miles on the bike for cooldown. 

This afternoon I went over to practice but no one was there.... But since today was the East High School Cross Country Fun Run I decided to run with some East kids:) I did a lap on the road with Vuong, when I finished that I saw Ellie and she didn't know where to go so I walked her over to the team while catching up with her, then I stretched with her and the team catching up.... High School Kids HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Then I ran a warm up mile with Eleanor and Sarah S! Taking about summer with them, we ran a mile around the park on the grass for Sarah's foot. Then I stopped at the start, picked up Vuong then Vuong and I ran 1.5 miles around the park cheering for the High School kids on their fun run! I came home and took a 15 minute ice bath and am now currently icing my shins.

AM: This morning I got up with my dad, put on my compression socks and was out the door. I did a half mile warm up on the grass and my shin splints hurt but they didn't progressively get worse so I put on my weights and did my 3x400 with the weights with equal recovery, then a mile and a half cooldown. My legs hurt but nothing like it has and it didn't get worse as the run went on. It stayed consistent throughout the whole thing.

PM: This afternoon I met up with Sarah and Larry at Sugarhouse park for a workout. We did 3x1 mile of doing a half mile of speed changes then running the second 800 hard. We did them in the park so we got hills in also. Sarah did really well for it being her second day back running from having a baby! Then I did a few laps around the field in the park. I came home and biked the equivalence of a mile and a half cooldown to get to 5.

This afternoon I met up with Larry at Sugarhouse Park. I had a very light and easy workout! I did 8 light posts out doing speed changes then I ran the 8 light posts back. Then I ran with larry on the first two miles of the state course to keep him pushing and to keep him running. He did really well! Then I did an outside lap around the park and came home and iced my shins.

This afternoon I met up with larry to do a light workout before the 10k tomorrow. I started with 2 100 meter strides and then I did 8 light posts out and 8 back doing speed changes..... Larry and I then did a timed mile. We went around Sugar House park the way with the not as steep hills then around the pond and down that inlet thing to the finish. That was is a little over a mile. It is roundly 1.1 miles. I did that in 5:59. Then I did a lap warm up and  a little more to get to 4 miles. Then I came home stretched a lot and did another lap around my neighborhood. Came home and took an ice bath and iced my shins.

This morning I got up super early because I was racing the Porters Half Marathon and 10K. I obviously ran the 10K. We showed up at Draper park at 6:30 because we thought the race started at 6:45 but it actually started at 7:15. Then we found out the starting line was not at Draper Park but it was a half mile or so up the road. I would have ran to the start line as a warm up but I had no idea where I was going so I had to walk with the group. I got to the start then jogged around a little and did strides expecting to start at 7:15 but they were behind so we didn't start until 7:35 so I stretched at stuff but I lost all of my warm up.

The race finally started and I got a good start, I started out in fourth place and was feeling really good! The start was really fast because it was a steady-steep downhill for the first quarter of a mile. I had never ran a 10k so I didn't know how to pace myself. But I went through the first mile inbetween 5:40-5:45 I didn't look at the mile mark exactly. But I felt like I wasn't pushing at all. I went through the 5k time in 19:20ish..... The course is really easy, mostly flat except for the downhill start and a tiny bit of uphill. But I really died and my shins started to really hurt. I had to walk at the 5k mark to give my shins a rest, then I had to again at the 5 mile mark. I walked for about 200 meters each time. When I finished I was really  tired and exhausted and was so happy that I was done!

I didn't do a cooldown, I just stretched waiting for awards. I went and got my medal and since I got first place in my age division they gave me a belt buckle that says first place:)