Sock tans

Workout at the oval today, we did 8 laps warmup and 4 laps of speed changes. Then we changed shoes and did a backwards lap to the 400 start. The workout was a set of 4x400s, a set of 3x400s, a set of 2x400s, and one more 400. I was supposed to hit 80s, no slower than 82. I hit 75, 78, 78, 79, then 78, 79, 78, then 80, 79, and last one was 80. It wasn't as hard as I was expecting it to be, but by the end I was tired and it got more difficult to finish. My calves hurt. I felt like it was a good workout, I'm happy it was at least somewhat consistent. Felt good to be running sub-80s again. When I got home I did my core. 

Went to the oval today, my carpool was late so I only got 4 laps warmup 4 laps speed changes. I hurried to the line so that I could start with the group. Workout was 1000, 800, 2x400s, and 3x200s. When I saw them lining up at the 1000 mark I assumed it was the 5x1000 workout, so when I found out from Eleanor on the recovery what we were actually doing I was so happy, it's a much easier workout :) I was supposed to hit 5:20 pace for all of it (average pace from what we hit Saturday), so 3:26 for the 1000, 2:40 for the 800, 80s for the 400s, then the 200s we just opened up the stride. I hit right on for the 1000, 3:26, the 800 I slipped and hit 2:48, 400s were both 78, and the 200s were 33-36. The pace felt so much easier than on Saturday, it was weird. I just wish my 800 wasn't so slow. Cooled down 7 laps and I'm calling it 9.

Today was just a recovery run. We went up to foothill and did the VA loop to the cemetery and did 5 hills, then a lap, 5 more hills, another lap, then finished the lap and went backwards VA loop to the school. I was tired, my calves and quads are pretty sore still. I did my core. My knees kind of hurt so I think it's time to switch shoes. 

Today we just went for a run. We went up to 15th then over to Sugarhouse, 2 road laps and back to the school via 13th. On the way back Dakota told me to stick with him and so I tried, I was able to for longer than I thought I'd be able to, he had a good point when he said to think positively, that's what I've been lacking lately. It picked up my pace a lot which was good, thanks! Added on at the school to get to 8. Or close to it I think.

Down to Liberty and went the long way to the drinking fountain, then did 2 laps of fireman on the sidewalk. Then did a grass lap and up to the school for 8. My legs felt stiff and heavy. 

Today was the race. I warmed up 3 laps then ran a ton and did a ton of strides at the line because the timer wasn't there yet. I'm calling it 1.5.

In the race, I started pretty good but I thought I was going too slow because I was in the back. It was a 75 first 400 which surprised me. I relaxed too much because I thought I was fine. At the 800 I was 2:36, with 400 left I was 4:01. Then finished at 5:26, I started to kick but gave up at the 300. I felt like I just relaxed and ran it, I wasn't hurting or breathing too hard, and I wasn't as focused. In fact I worried about the ACT tomorrow instead of paying attention to the runners in front of me. If I could do it over I would have focused and made myself hurt.

2.5 cool down

We didn't realize how far ahead they had gotten from when we thought the 4x800s would start, so I was full of food and no warmup for me. Maybe .25. I was first and my hip started to hurt, it hasn't hurt for a while so that was really weird. I was probably really slow first lap because of it, I couldn't run right. It finally warmed up in the second lap but by then it was already over. Freak. Sorry guys! Apparently my leg was slightly longer, so my time must've been around 2:38? I don't really know. I just know I did bad. 

We did 2 miles cool down. 

Today I had the ACT in the morning, so I missed the 10k. Instead I went back to the oval for the UHSTCA meet. We did I think around 1.25 warmup. Then we did drills and strides and stuff. 

Ran the 2 mile, I was already pretty drained of energy from the test. It seemed like 85s wouldn't really be that fast, I felt like I could run 85s easily, so 11:20 was my goal, just based off of how yesterday felt. What I didn't take into account was how tired I was. I ran an 80 first 400 then slowed down too much to a 90, then I think an 87, and then back up and my splits were just kind of all over the place. I could've pushed myself harder and I wish I would have. I did 2 miles cool down with everyone else. I was going to run again when I got home, but then I had to babysit my sisters and by the time I was finished it was dark. :(

Today was speed at the oval. 4 laps warmup, stretched then 4 more laps warmup and 4 laps speed changes. We did 6 400s and 200s switching off. My splits weren't good. The first 400 was 73ish. I think the next was 76, and I can't remember how the rest went but they were slow and not the 70-73s I was supposed to hit. My last/slowest 400 was 84 so yeah...The 200s probably ranged between 34-38? I felt like I started to have an asthma attack, but it wasn't as bad as it normally is and I could recover from it for the most part after each interval. It would usually start 150 meters into each one. But I was determined to finish the workout. I don't know why my asthma would be a problem inside the oval, but for some reason it was. I was really disappointed that I couldn't do the workout like I was supposed to.

Went up to Guardsman and down to the cemetery and did 5 hills, a lap, 5 more hills, then VA loop to get to 8 for the day. Whoops I've forgotten to do my core... Did my core today. 

Up to the track, mile warmup, 2 mile speed changes, mile cool down then back to the school. My legs felt heavy and my calves were tight. 

Today was Simplot! We drove up after school and after waiting a while I warmed up with the girls, we did the normal 2 mile loop. Then we did drills and strides, and then while waiting for my heat I did more drills and strides and running and stretching :)

I got out quick because I was scared I'd get boxed in. My first 200 was too fast. But I didn't care. I was trying to hit 80s to get that 5:20. I was really focused and for the first 800 I was pretty much right on, then after that I don't know because I no longer focused on time I focused on the girls in front of me and on catching them. I felt pretty even and from what I remember of my splits I hit 40s for the majority of the laps, last 2 laps were 41. (It's a 200 meter track). The last 2 laps were the hardest for me because I knew I needed to kick and was struggling to do so. I also wasn't sure of what lap I was on, when they announced the final time of the leaders I had 100 meters left and knew it was the last lap so I tried to kick as hard as I could. The only regret I have about this race is the last 20 meters, I didn't fight the girls that came up on me and they passed me. Other than that though I guess it was a good race. I made it to finals, I'm the fastest in the slowest heat, yay me. I did 2 miles cool down with Tilda. 

Today I went to Sugarhouse and did 2 laps and came back home. Nice and easy, felt good to get some of the lactic out of my legs. I am kind of sore from yesterday. 

Today was the finals for simplot. I did the 2 mile warmup, then had to hurry to the bull pen. I didn't get as much warmup as I would have liked, I usually do drills and stretching before races and I didn't get to today. My first lap was again too fast, 400 was a 75, then 800 was 2:38, 400 left I was exactly 4 minutes and then finished way slow with 5:32. At 800 I started to make my move but then with 600 left it went downhill. People started to pass me and I didn't match, I should have. I felt so dead though, I just mentally lost it. I know that if I would have focused I could have finished a lot faster, I wish I would have. My arms, oddly, were what hurt the most. My legs hurt too but not as much. I'll just take this as a learning experience and hopefully the next race I can break 5:20. I looked back to last year and i did exactly the same thing, I crashed the last two laps. I think I just lack the strength to finish, I hope this year I can change that. At least my indoor times have been slightly faster. I was hoping I could have PR'd by now, I know it's only indoor but I'd still like to be running faster times. I did about a mile cool down.

I went to Sugarhouse, did a road lap, then went up to 17th and did the cemetery run. Instead of going back along 15th the way I came I went back along 17th. Added to get to 11. It's so nice outside, T-shirt and shorts weather! Although I'm not a fan of the wind, that made my run less enjoyable and probably a lot slower. But oh well, it was nice to go for my own run. Sometimes it's nice to take a break from running in a group and be by yourself. I felt kind of sick to my stomach, I think I ran too close to lunch. 

Speed at the track. It sure is nice to not have to go to the oval. I got there later and missed the first lap. So I did 7 laps warmup and a mile speed changes. Then we changed shoes, did a lap, and started the workout. We did 5x1000s. I was trying to hit 3:30s. I hit 3:30, 3:37, 3:39, 3:42, 3:44. I could only keep up with Bill, Jakob and Eleanor for 400 then I'd fall off. I tried to stick on them, I knew it would be better if I did, but I felt like I couldn't. My legs were heavy and I had a hard time staying focused. Towards the end there I couldn't think of anything positive, I always do better when I think positively. Today I just didn't have it. I don't feel strong, I need to get stronger. Mileage needs to go up, I let it slip last week so I need to focus now on getting it up. We did cool down, got me to 12.25.

I had to make up a math test today, so I was a few minutes late and barely missed the group. I went to Sugarhouse, I almost did a shorter version of the cemetery run, but decided not to because I just did that. So I did 3 laps on the road, debated doing another but thought I'd play it safe and make sure I was back to the school sooner. The wind was really blowing, especially along the back stretch by poker hill (I did backwards laps). I kept an okay pace, don't think I was going too slow. Got back a little after they got back, I got about the same distance as them so that's good right?

Today we went down to Liberty, went long way to the drinking fountain and then went to the mile mark. We did fartlek, 5 min, 4 min, 3 min, 2 min, 1 min all with 1 minute recovery. Then we went back up to the school. Didn't feel very good, it was a really long day for me.  

VA loop today. Felt kind of tight. 

Oh we love the winter series. Today was the 15k. I warmed up 2 miles. In the race I started out too fast, went through the mile at 6:27. Then I slowed down to a more manageable pace, 2 miles in about 13:30. Or around there. My goal was to stay under 7:15 pace because I knew that by the end I'd be struggling. Well that didn't happen. I felt horrible and had the worst cramps in the world. At the turnaround I stopped at the portapotties. Then when I started again I felt a little better, but still just struggled mentally because I was doing terrible, my time was so slow. I pretty much just ran it to run it, I didn't feel like I was racing. For the first couple of miles I felt like I was, but after that it just turned into a run. I timed myself and without the stop I was 1:09:08. If that counts as my time then that's 7:26 average pace. My splits for 3 miles each were 21:27, 22:33, 22:52, and 2:20 for the last .3. Did about a mile cool down. 

We did 2 laps warmup and stretching, then did regular 2 mile warmup mile speed changes. Workout was 6x800s with a lap recovery. I was supposed to hit 2:45 to 2:50. I hit 2:44, 2:45, 2:52, 3:02, 2:57, 3:00. I was really discouraged when I went over 2:50 and I think mentally it was really hard. I was hurting and when I no longer was in my window it was really hard from there on out. Besides the mental factor, my knee was really hurting, it hurts when running, going up stairs, or changing directions fast. But so far it's not too bad. I iced it when I got home. We did 3.75 cool down. On 2 of the recoveries I only did 200 because I was about to puke. Still haven't puked in a workout. Weird how we were discussing this very subject before our workout. Whoops I've forgotten to blog when I've done my core, I did it every other day last week which is a slight improvement. This week it'll be everyday. 

AM:

4 with Eleanor. I forgot how nice it is to run in the morning, the only part I don't like is getting up so early. It's nice to change it up and run in the dark. 

PM:

today was a recovery day. We did adventure run up  legacy bridge way and took the trail to JCC then went past Popperton park and took Shriners run back. My calves and quads hurt really bad going up to the trail. I felt like we were going pretty slow but they hurt really bad. Then when I got to the trail there wasn't as much uphill after the first part, and my calves loosened up a little. I picked it up when it got to the downhill because downhill hurts if I don't lean forward. Then I ran with Angie and Emmaline back from the fountain and we seemed to pick it up even more. At first it wasn't a good run but I'm glad we picked up the pace towards the end. It felt good. When we got back I did 4 grass laps and 200 meters so I'm calling it 8.75. 

Today we did 2 laps, stretching, and drills, then we went to fairmont and did strides and then to Liberty and went on the wood chips around the park and up 9th back to the track. It was so nice outside! I finally felt good in the run for once. On the way to fairmont we were going pretty fast, I was probably closer to 6:25-6:30 pace. Of course it's downhill there but it's nice to get moving. Then for the rest of the run I was tired but didn't die like I have recently been doing. I was still back aways but closer than I have been :) good day today. 

It was pouring rain today, so we did core in the shed, then after going home to do homework I went to Steiner and did 7 miles. Averaged 8:09 because I was tired. My calves hurt. They were really tight. 

Went to Liberty and did 2x2 mile tempos. I was kind of sore and just really tired. I didn't sleep well at all last night. I also have been really stressed out lately, so I wonder if part of the reason why I feel like I'm doing so bad in running is because of the stress. I've had maybe too much on my mind. Today I really just felt awful so I know it was more than just being overwhelmed, my first one was 12:57 and my second was a lot slower. I didn't push myself at all on the second but I wish I would have. Not a good day but everyone has their off days. Plus with the wind it was a lot harder to focus.