Sock tans

Today we did legacy bridge run through the U campus. I ran with Bill for the first half. We went all the way up to the second gate, then got on a trail instead of the gravel, then went back the same way. I went with the boys when they came up behind me, for those two miles I hit 6:51 and 7:04 using the downhill. When we got back to Sunnyside, I started to go back to the track because I was following Jakob and Toph, then remembered that we were going to add on. So I turned around and took 15th to 17th, (at this point Bill was in front of me, I could see him ahead) and stopped at the fountain on 15th just past 17th. Down to 13th and took it back to 9th and up to the track. I slowed down a lot on 13th. This run felt short, at least compared to Saturday. Felt more like 7 even though it really was 9. Guess that's good though :) 8:10 average pace.

Mile warmup, mile speed changes. Then changed into flats and did two strides on the track. Then we did 3 x 1 mile repeats. I sort of did backwards of what we supposed to do. I was supposed to hit 6:15, 6:10?, 6:00 or a bit under. I actually hit 6:01, 6:10, 6:19. Whoops. But our pacing was terrible, the first one we started too fast with an 82, second we started too slow with a 95, and third I hit 87 while the others were faster, but I didn't want to go with them. Maybe I should've, it would have made the last one easier to hit. Man my core hurt the last one. Time to crack down on core after workouts. Mile cool down.

AM:

VA loop with Eleanor and Jakob. Easy and relaxed.

PM:

Pre-Regions was today, but because of the race on Saturday I didn't race. We want to do well on Saturday and this meet was not very competitive. So I ran to Cottonwood Complex with Eleanor and Jakob. Garek, Chris, and Toph ran there too but they started before us. It was 5.3 miles, averaged 7:13 for that part. Then we added and did the regions course, and 8 strides then to the hospital and back. Finished to 10. I need new shoes BAD. They squeaked on the downhills at the course, Eleanor and I were making fun of them :) I think maybe they're a bit worn down.

I decided to switch shoes cause I noticed my orange ones have 100 miles more than my blue/pink ones, and even though my blue/pink ones aren't new I actually felt a difference. They felt like they had more cushion. We went down to liberty and went long way to the fountain, then did 8 strides and a fartlek around the pond. I ran with Toph. I pushed myself and was happy with it. It was 1 minute on 1 minute off 10 times. Then we went back to the school the long way and added .25 to get to 8.

Went up to Sunnyside and did a lap then to the white tree. We did 8 strides and then 2x800s at about 80%. My times were 2:54 and 2:46. Then finished the lap and back down to the track.

Did about a half mile at the Grass Relays race cheering the team on. Then we hopped on the bus and drove over to the Utah County race. I only got in about a mile of warmup because we got there late. Did a few strides at the start.

In the race I started a little slow, but made my way up to Eleanor and Mary. I ran with them for about a mile, then I started to fall off. First mile was 5:50. I stayed focused and tried to close the gap but I think I just made it stay the same. Then I fell off even more and they got away. I kept working though. Two mile was 12:12. At one point I was trying to hold off some girl I could hear behind me, I held her off for about .75 I'd guess. She passed and I tried to match but she was going fast and I wasn't mentally in for it. Last half mile I tried to catch up to a girl in front of me, she started kicking and I tried to kick too. It's hard for me to switch from the rhythmic run to the full out sprint at the end. I may have been out kicked but I don't remember. I only got passed by 3 girls though, placing 7th.

At first I was disappointed with this race, mostly because it was a slower time than Highland, but then I realized it was over 3 miles while Highland was short of 3. I wish I would have worked the last mile harder though. I feel like I am pretty strong and I have more mental toughness than last year, I have been more focused and have worked through. I still need to work on pushing through pain, I am getting better at it but it gets me sometimes. I did feel kind of tired coming into this race, my quads were a teensy bit sore and my legs a bit worn out. I know my times aren't as fast as I'd like them to be but I hope that by the end of the season when I start to taper they'll go down. 

Did cool down with Eleanor doing loops by where they were giving out awards. This time I was happy to get a medal and a shirt :) no more barely missing one.