Sock tans

Windy run. Starting to feel a little better, but I’m still nervous for practice tomorrow. 

Practice today! It wasn’t half as bad as I was expecting. I still didn’t feel great but you know that’s okay. Warmups, 2 mile warmup and strides. Workout was 4x400s with 4 minutes recovery, 4x200s with 2 minutes recovery, then 8x100s with a 100m recovery. With the active recovery I avoided any coughing fits until the end (which I was worried would happen in the middle of the workout) so I was quite happy. Also, the wind was out of control, on one of the 400s a huge gust came and it literally felt like I was gonna be blown off the track haha. You know it’s windy when the football posts are leaning back so far that it legitimately might tip over, Coach told us to run on the other side of it for recovery haha. Anyways!

400s: 76, 74, 76, 84 (the REALLY windy one).

200s: 35, 35, 34, 36 (wind to our backs was nice)

Didn’t time the 100s

1.25 cool down to get to 8.

Super windy still. Tried not to look at my watch because I knew the pace would be slow, 8:01 average. I’m feeling a lot better, though my energy is still a little down. Didn’t eat before I ran, probably contributed to that haha. 

4 days of speed this week, hooray! Today was an 80% and whistle hills. We did a mile on the track, a mile on the block lap and added a little on the track (it ended up being .97), then another mile on the track. I was in the group that was trying to hit 92-95. First mile 6:10 exactly then missed the next two splits but daaaanng my calves were dying. I also just didn’t feel great. Finished with 19:42 (6:38 average). Yeah not good but decent  effort at least. Then over the overpass and did whistle hills (3x15, 20, 25 seconds), then cooled down to 8.

Weights later. 

Side note: Coach said I’m almost borderline between the two groups (Josie’s straight up borderline, yay Jos!) so that’s pretty sweet. Ever since I stopped trying to  hold myself to such high expectations I’ve been able to enjoy running more and actually run faster, so note to self: enjoy the journey and be happy with the small improvements.

AM: 2 miles plus steeple. Today Coach filmed us jumping and we rewatched it in slow motion, we get to me and Coach goes: “What are you jumping, an elephant?” Lol. Apparently I’m jumping really high but my trail leg is coming down too low so I need to work on that. 

PM: Mile warmup then strides. Workout was 8x1000s with 1 minute recovery, but after the 4th coach had a “fun surprise!” For us. Which was decreased recovery to 45 seconds, whooo! I love Coach. He’s so positive knows how to get us to have the right mentality, and even though he jokes about hard twists to workouts being a present it’s actually got some truth to it, because in the end it’ll pay off!

I was put in the second group, our goal was to hit 3:50 (92 a lap). The only downfall was that my group consisted of 800/1500 runners who were only doing 4. Which I thought meant I’d be on my own for the last 4. I did the 5th on my own then remembered that Coach had a surprise for us after the 4th and since I wasn’t in the other group I missed it, so I asked coach and he had me just sit the next 1000 and start with the other group. So really I only had the one shortened recovery time and ended up only doing 7. But it was still a very solid workout. Despite being tired and my legs being sore and heavy I managed to pull off more consistent times than the last time we did it. 

Times went: 3:47, 3:46, 3:52, 3:58, 3:59, 3:53, 4:00. (3:53 average).

Then practiced going over the water barrier which I think is easier than hurdling. I’m not half as bad at it as I was expecting to be, Coach said I didn’t stand out as one that really struggled so whooo! Oh and then 2 miles cool down.

AM: 2 miles easy. I’m pretty sore. 

PM: My goodness that was a hard workout. Mile warmup, strides then started. 20x400s divided into 4 sets, starting with less recovery and increasing recovery with each set. Goal pace started slow then got faster with each set. 

Set 1: 86, 86, 86, 86, 85 (Goal pace 86-88) with 45 seconds recovery between each

2: 84, 85, 83, 83, 84 (Goal pace 83-84) with 1:00 recovery

3: 80, 81, 82, 82, 82 (Goal pace 80-83) with 1:30 recovery

4: 85, 84, 84, 82, 82 (Goal pace 73-79) with 2:00 recovery.

83.6 average. 

I was really struggling that last set, I actually wanted to drop after 15 but decided to finish. I’m glad I stuck it out. I was with the group (Angie, Madison, Julieta and Morgan) all the way up until the last set so I was pretty happy. I died at the end but I finished and that was honestly my best for today.

Cooled down to 9. 

Weights later.

AM: 2 miles and Steeple. Woke up at 4:30 this morning and couldn’t fall back asleep. Strange? Hurdling form is starting to come together. I know my form is still quite awful but it’s not as horrendous as when we first started Steeple practice.

PM: Mile warmup. 60% today at the track. I was exhausted before we even started but I just tried to power through. The first 2 miles were good (6:32, 6:33) then I died and just tried to finish. I’m just glad we’re done with workouts for a while. Finished with 34:23 for 5 miles which is 6:53 average, yikes. Oh well, I tried. Cooled down 2 miles.

8 slow miles on Dikes. My legs are dead. 8:00 average

Wasatch + VA loop and added on Foothill. 13 miles, 7:32 average. I love running in Salt Lake.

AM: Beautiful day today. 7:39 average.

PM: 2 miles with Olivia

HR 42

I’m feeling some pain in my thigh different from other pain I’ve felt before, I’m a little worried about it. I’m going to take some time off until I can get Nate to check it out and err on the side of caution. Better safe than sorry. 

Pain in thigh is gone, hip is pretty tight now. Hip has probably been the culprit all along. Now I feel a little dumb for being so worried about it yesterday. I think I was mostly worried because I realized how stupid it was to do a 13 miler after 4 days of speed... but it felt so good haha. I need to be more careful though. Dikes and Canyon, 7:43 average. Super windy and hail that felt like rocks, yay! The end was pretty nice though.

Coach cancelled practice 10 minutes before and I was already on my way yahoooo. Snowy run with Angie, Morgan, Madison and Alison. 8:00 average cause it was slick. 

Weights later. 

Tough workout. It was pretty windy and I’m sore from weights yesterday. 

Warmups, mile warmup, then 2 laps easy and straight into an 80% for 3 miles. First mile on the track, block lap and added to make a mile, last mile on the track. I tried keeping it more even this time around instead of killing the first mile and dying hard. I like this way better. Hit 6:19, 12:42 (6:23), 19:37 (6:55). That last mile I struggled, again just tried to finish. On the bright side it’s 5 seconds faster than last week’s 80. Next was 9x400s in place of the whistle hills we usually do. I seriously considered just doing 2 and dropping because I felt like crap and mentally didn’t think I could handle it. But, when it got around to it I couldn’t drop. I just couldn’t. I knew I’d hate myself too much. So I took it one at a time and told myself the pace didn’t matter, just finish. I am discouraged that my times were so slow when it felt so hard to run them, but I did what I could. I will have to work on having a better mentality the next time around.

400s: 94, 94, 94, 93, 95, 94, 94, 92, 90.

1.25 cool down to get to 9.

Hip/piriformis is tight again, stretched it out well after practice. Also, I have a minor strain in a tendon in my ankle (forgot the name). It’s been bugging for a good month but I ignored it haha. Probably not good but I knew it was something I could run through. But it flared up pretty bad today. Nate says it’s fine to run on still so sweet! Iced that real well.

Windy run. 7:43 average.

Mind was racing last night and I couldn’t fall asleep. Also was really confused when I woke up from my nap because I had a dream within a dream and I wasn’t sure if I was really awake hahaha. Inception status. 

AM: 3 miles easy

PM: 50% today! But it was still pretty quick because coach wants us to stay as a pack and my group wouldn’t slow down for the life of them (the range is 7:15-7:45). I gave up trying to keep it relaxed like coach also wants because I didn’t want him mad at me for not staying with the pack. Ahhh 50%s are always just a struggle. Cross Hollows, 7:05 average. 15x100m strides after with 15 seconds rest and added to 8. 

Weights later. I was actually amazed because pull-ups and pushups aren’t as hard anymore. Pull-ups are still friggin hard even with the bands, but compared  to earlier in the semester not too bad. 

AM: Steeple practice + 1 mile. My knee’s been bugging for a couple weeks from when I landed bad while practicing the water barrier, but it was going away. I think jumping today aggravated it more. 

PM: 1 mile in Exercise Physiology lab as warmup/cool down for the Wingate test and vertical jump right before practice

Warmups, 1.5 mile warmup, then a few jumps over the barrier before starting the workout. Today was 12x400s, we alternated repeats of regular 400s and 400s with a barrier and a hurdle. First set had 90 seconds rest, next had 60, last had 45. Paces were a little all over the place partially because of the barrier, which is much more intimidating than a hurdle I must say. On one of the repeats, I don’t even know what happened, I just lost confidence going over the barrier and slowed down and did something weird, my trail leg ended up catching the barrier and I biffed it. In front of the guy I’ve been eyeing, no less. But he’s still cute and still talked to me afterwards so. Did a few more repeats and idk if my fall twinged something more in my knee but it was killing. So I dropped, did like .25 cool down and went to the trainers. 

Times: 87 (steeple), 88, 91 (steeple), 91, 92 (steeple), 90, 96 (steeple), 93, 94 (steeple), 91. I did more repeats than I thought so that makes me happy. And considering how sore my legs are it was a half decent workout.

Today's workout was tough. 9x400s followed by an 80% for 3 miles. The 400s had 90 seconds rest and 2:00 between the last one and the 80.

400s: 78, 80, 79, 80, 81, 86, 86, 86, 89 (82.8 average). 

Coach pulled me aside and wanted me to try to stick with the group once I had fallen off, as it's the only way I'll get over that threshold. I really tried, but it was like I hit a wall after the 5th repeat. I'm sad because I feel like I let coach down by not sticking with the group, but I was really trying. But I'm glad that he talked to me because it did help me to focus, and I think that next time I'll be able to hang on longer.

The 80% was a struggle. I was already super tired from the 400s and, I know it's bad and I really just need to get over it, but I wanted to drop again. I know I shouldn't want to, but I hurt so bad. And I know practice is always going to hurt so really I shouldn't complain because what do you expect? But understanding that and pushing through the pain are two totally different things. But I'm getting better at it, slowly but surely. And even though I told myself I wasn't just going to float through workouts anymore with the mentality that I need to just finish, today was honestly such a hard workout that after the first mile of the 80 that's all I could think. Because if I thought about trying to hit a specific pace I knew I wouldn't be able to hit I would mentally lose it. So I have a long ways to go to perfect my mental game, but as for today I did what I could. I'm not satisfied with it, but everyone struggled today and no one was on pace for the 80%. That makes it a little better. 21:47 for 3 miles (7:15 average), yikes.

Weights later. Coach I took one look at us and said, "you guys look really fatigued," so instead of making us go up to workout 2 he said we could do workout 1. That was a little tender mercy.

AM: 1 mile + Steeple. Knee is painful after, probably shouldn’t have jumped. But it was fine during. Anyways, I’m finally starting to understand when I’m supposed to jump. Had a couple decent ones today, and yep I can definitely jump a lot sooner than I have been (my fall on Tuesday was largely caused by jumping too late as well as slowing down right before).

PM: Practice was cancelled due to forcasted rain and strong winds. 50% on Dikes and Canyon earlier to try to avoid the bad weather. Strong winds were definitely there, started sprinkling at the end. 7:43 average

9 miles at 50%, 7:34 average. What a beautiful day!

7:53 average. Very windy

50% today, I was expecting a workout so woo! Main Street and added, 7:08 average. Mid thigh is hurting again and shin is twinging a bit. Knee was good, hip is still tight but not too bad today. Also I’m racing the 5k this weekend and I’m super excited!

Weights later.

AM: 2.5 miles + Steeple. Today things just clicked! Coach said my form looked better than it has all year so I’m stoked about that. 

PM: Steepling while going slow and steepling during repeats feels so different. Leading up to it is so much scarier when going fast. Even though I know I need to pick up speed I’m already going as fast as I do in my speed pickups at steeple practice...it’s just different and I’ll have to practice it more. Also harder to do going into the wind, which was strong again today.

Workout was 6x1000 but wait, there’s more. 3 of them were barrier repeats, meaning each lap had a barrier jump and hurdle jump, total of 6 jumps a repeat. Alternated between normal 1000s and steeple 1000s. 

Times: 3:49 (steeple), 3:54, 4:00 (steeple), 3:57, 4:00 (steeple), 3:55.

Had some pretty intense stomach pain today. Don’t know what’s up with that. Also finally asked Nate about my thigh, it’s weird. He guided me through range of motion and it’s all fine except for one where I lay on my back and bring my knee to my chest as he resists, literally the muscle like twitched or caught both times we tried. It was the strangest feeling. But phew I’m glad it’s just a muscle tightness thing, was worried it was something else because I don’t ever feel a stretch doing quad stretches. Turns out that’s just because my quads are too flexible haha. Never thought I’d have that problem! I feel dumb for assuming that because I didn’t feel anything while “stretching” it wasn’t tight. But in the past I’ve always felt a stretch so... I guess steeple is helping in more ways than one. Nate helped me stretch it for real because I can’t get a stretch by myself and got my quad massaged out. Then iced. 

50% today! Dikes, 7:21 average. Then 10x100 meter strides at 1500 pace with 15 seconds recovery.

Weights later.

AM: Steeple practice. Dylan said not to do the 5 continuous minutes because I’m racing tomorrow, that was a surprise.

PM: Pre-meet with Jake at the East High track. 2x400s, shooting for 86. Hit 86, 84. Felt good. 

Later did 3 easy miles with Olivia

Raced at UVU! Nice day, great racing conditions. Warmed up way too soon because I didn’t realize they were running guys first, but it’s all good. I’d say I ran about a mile plus strides and drills and such. 

There were only 8 of us in the race. I just stuck on the BYU girl for a while and then after like 6 or 7 laps I fell off and died. First mile was a 5:40, 2 mile 12:06 (6:26), yep began to die. I should’ve hung on longer. One girl caught me with 2 laps to go I think but at that point I was struggling real hard, sorta picked it up but not really. Last lap I did a little and gave what I had last 150ish. Not a great race but a good learning experience, good starting point I guess. 

4 mile cool down. 

4 more miles later on VA loop

AM: Shortened Wasatch loop before heading back to Cedar with Jonah. Legs are dead, calves especially, most likely from wearing spikes yesterday for the first time in a while.