Running is a means and never merely an end

Well after school today someone backed into my car so I had to stand around at the high school with the state trooper and all that until 4:10, and by the time I got to the rec and changed, I had less than an hour to get in my workout before 5:30 when I had to babysit. I stuck with my workout but had to shorten my warm up and cool down a lot. So .6 mile warm up, 3 mile tempo run, 1.3 mile cool down. My mile splits were 6:56, 7:03, 7:08 for a 21:07 3 miler (approx. 21:45 5k pace?). I felt like I was going really slow. That may have had something to do with the weather finally being so warm, I'm not sure. This was my first continuous tempo since indoor season though, and I remember now why I hated these so much. I would take a 10 mile run or any speed work over tempo runs, I don't know what it is!

Pre-meet today. 13 minutes in the grass with the girls, then I went off and did another 10 with Evan. Stretched and iced afterwards. I am really nervous about tomorrow because it is every team in our conference except West Henderson (not really worried about anyone there though). This is the first time I will see most of our conference teams.

Today was probably the easiest meet I've had so far, not because of the lack of competition (it was probably the biggest meet we have been at) but because of my events. All I did today was the 4x800 and the mile. I was anchor leg on the 4x8 and we were losing so bad at that point that Coach D just told me to take it easy so I could put up a solid time in the mile. I basically up-tempo jogged it with a 2:55ish split. My mile went pretty well. I won, but this was the first win that I felt that I actually earned (haven't had much competition in any of my other wins). Colbie Williamson was right behind me really forcing me to push my pace for the first 3 laps. She faded off a little bit the last lap, but I never really struggle with the last lap anyways. I was really thankful to have her pushing me because I was worried I wouldn't put up a good time with the heat and humidity being so high. I ran a 5:45.7 and I think Colbie ran around a 5:51 or so. I was pretty satisfied with that under the conditions, but I really need to start PRing again (sub-5:42). We have a huge meet on Saturday so I didn't want to jump in the 2 mile too, but I went ahead and did a 2 mile cool down.

Practice got cancelled so I went and did a pre-meet 3 miles easy and 6x100m strides. I'm feeling so ready for tomorrow. This is by far the biggest meet we will have gone to this season (like 20+ teams) so there should be lots of competition. I'm feeling really good mentally, I am determined to go ahead and start setting some PR's here in these next few weeks.

Opened today up around 10:15am with the 4x800! We were ranked 8th out of 9 I believe, but only 6 teams showed and we ended up 4th. So I was proud of them for that. I have no clue what my split was but I felt really strong!! It was a good warm up if nothing else.

My 2 mile wasn't untill about 4:50, so needless to say I had lots of down time today. Luckily I brought my Eno so I spent most of the day hammocking underneath the bleachers in the shade so the sun wouldn't wear me out. Warmed up a mile with Shawnda Martin. My gameplan for today was to run a fast 1st mile to bank some time for when I get tired on laps 5 and 6. It worked out pretty well I think - I usually run like a 6:10ish mile split and today I hit 6:03. I think I slowed a lot on the 5th but I know I had a really good last lap. I didn't have anyone anywhere near me the entire race, but competing for the clock gave me some solid motivation. Came out in 3rd, after this little prodigee from East Lincoln and Shawnda, with a 12:23. That wasn't a PR but it was an SB, which I was happy enough with considering the heat. Mile cool down afterwards. 

Later we went through Wofford because we were so close anyways and I wanted to stop and look at the track again. We got there and I realized today was the Terrier Relays!! Super lucky coincidence! It was so fun to end the day catching up with all my college friends from WCU and Wofford. Coach Bomar is going to send me my National Letter of Intent soon so I can go ahead and sign. I can't wait!!

Went with Nancy (she's finally home for spring break! Yay!) to Wayensville and got in a 30 minute recovery run, then hopped in the pool for a swim workout. I suck incredibly badly at swimming! But between laps, kicks, and aqua jogging, we probably swam about 1000 meters or so total but I'm not really sure. As far as recovery days go, I'm pretty exhausted!

Got in 51 minutes fairly easy on my feet today. It was raining, which felt amazing! I didn't even want to stop, but I gotta taper down a little bit for conference on Wednesday. I'm so excited for spring break training when I have time to do 2-a-days and make up my own workouts (which of course will be a lot harder than our school ones). I'm pumped to start gearing up towards my peak!!

Easy pre-meet with the boys today. Conference is tomorrow! I'm going to be running the 16 and 32. The weather looks pretty sketchy but I really hope it doesn't get cancelled, I'm feeling ready. I don't really know what I am expecting out of myself or even what my goals for tomorrow are...I am just wanting to run my absolute hardest and race smart, especially in the 1st half of my events. I don't have a very good idea about my competition so I don't know about placing, but I am ready to pop out some solid times.

Well, there went my last high school conference meet! I ran the mile and the 2 mile as planned, and I stayed true to both of my rankings (3rd and 2nd, respectively). I don't have the official results yet but I think it was either high 5:42 or low 5:43 in the mile, so possibly a PR, and a 12:30 in the mile. I wasn't very happy with my 3200 time but I didn't let it get me down because it is my last conference meet and I really just wanted to have fun with it. It was such a fun meet. For some reason I can't help but feel like I could have ran faster in both races...I didn't feel like I was about to pass out or throw up or something after either one like I should if it was my hardest. But I actually find that encouraging because those weren't bad times, and yet I know I still have lots of time I could drop. 

Recovery run day! .4 mile warm up, easy 35 minute run, upper body circuit, and stretching. 

8AM - 3.1 miles easy

Afternoon - 6ish miles. Maybe a little more. I started out easy but by the time I finished I was pushing tempo pace for the last mile or so. Honestly this was one of the best runs I have ever had in my whole life!! It was such a beautiful day and I went exploring a new place out in Cullowhee I've never ran or driven, and I couldn't stop smiling the entire time because of how in awe I was of God's handiwork! I ran through all these big open fields framed by the mountains on all sides with the sun in the back...it was so gorgeous. It is such an incredible blessing how God uses running, something I love, to show me more about his glory and just how great he is!

I had to do my workout on the 800m dirt path at western because they had their home meet today. So I did a 1.1 mile warm up, then 2x(800, 1600, 800), so 2 mile repeats and 4 800 repeats all together, with a 90 second rest between repeats and a 5 minute recovery between the two sets. My splits were pretty consistent, around tempo pace (6:35ish) except for my first 800, which was 3:02. It was like 80 degrees and blaring the sun, and the dirt track has an incline, so I felt pretty good about my performance all things considered! I cooled down a mile over to the track to watch the meet and hang out with the Wofford team afterwards. I am so sunburnt.

2 miles easy a few hours later after I left the wcu meet. Didn't feel easy. I'm excited about having dinner with the Wofford team in a little while!

Sunday long run! I couldn't find anyone to run with me today, so I put down a solo 10 miler. Felt good mentally, I was enjoying myself - I didn't even think to check my watch until I was already 53 minutes in! Physically, I felt fine except I had to stop like twice for a few seconds because of a bad side stitch (didn't drink any water all day). It is finally nice and warm out, it feels so good to be running in the heat again. Ice bathed in the river for 20 minutes afterwards. 

Went to the rec and did a 3.5ish mile tempo run sandwiched between a 2.1 mile warm up and a 2 mile cool down. For once in my life (literally) I enjoyed this tempo run! My splits were awesome, way faster than my usual 6:55-7 tempo pace. I hit 6:50 in the first mile, and then my 2nd and 3rd miles together were 13:10 or so, (6:35/mile) so I even negative split today! Hit the 5k just under 21, which made me really happy because I didn't even do that going all out in a few of my first races during XC season. Granted the rec terrain is very flat. But anyways, I finished it out at 23:10. I felt really strong the whole time and I had a good mentality about it today. I am hanging out with Tori and Taylor for the day but if I can find some time I hope I can get a little more mileage in later today!

AM- full body general strength circuit. Especially lots of abs.

PM- late night run around campus. 6.1 miler with 5x100-150m strides thrown in the middle just to keep me from getting too comfortable. Did a quick speed sesh afterwards. It was already pitch black out so I didn't want to be out there much longer. I did 2 sets of 4x200m sprints with 45 seconds between each rep and 3 minutes between sets. I was hoping for 38's and I hit 37's for every single one except the first (36) and last (35). Short cool down afterwards. I feel good about today!!

Easy pre-meet with Harrison and Caleb. I am feeling so good about tomorrow! Been training so hard this past week and I'm ready to do my thing!

Today I ran the mile and 2 mile. I was seeded 4th in the mile and 2nd in the 2 mile and I stayed true to both of those rankings, so that was fine, but I was particularly happy about my times. I set a PR in the mile with a 5:38 (& change) and a SB in the 2 mile with a 12:17 (& change). It was also pretty hot out, so considering my PR's were both previously set in indoor with perfect conditions, I was pretty excited about that. I feel like I needed a PR really badly from a mental standpoint, because I hadn't PR'd this whole outdoor season yet. And I've never broken 5:40 in the mile, so that was definitely a big milestone for me. After the mile I cooled down with Brooke Turner and waited for my 2 mile. My mindset was solid in both races, I wasn't really dreading them or wanting them to be over. I enjoyed them. It's always fun to see hard work pay off!

1.4 mile cool down afterwards.

6.5 miles on the treadmill (dreadmill), working on getting faster as I go. First 2 miles at 8:00 pace, next 2 at 7:50, 5th at 7:30 and last one around 7:25. Easy .5 mile cooldown. Lifted weights afterwards.

Easy 10 miles on this sunday funday, or a little over. Ice bath afterwards. Felt good except I had to stop to use the bathroom at one point, which made me mad because then its like I got a break in the middle of my run, which defeats the whole purpose of a continuous long run. But oh well! It was an absolutely beautiful day; completely fitting weather for the day Jesus rose from the grave!! It's so cool to be able to worship and know God more fully through my running. Happy Easter!

Crappy workout for me today. Mile warm up, then I was hoping for some speedwork. But no one else on my team had ran like the entire break so my coach wasn't about to kick off our first day back with speed work. So she just told us to go do 2 Ashe Loops (1.5 miles of rolling hills), which I thought was weak, so I planned to do 3 of those and then some 150m kick repeats. But I only got halfway done with the second loop when I had to stop and walk because I had to go to the bathroom so badly...this happened yesterday too. I was mad. I was slow and bad on the 2 and a half miles that I did do anyways. So I basically walked the last half mile back to the school and was so angry at myself and a few other things that I just left.

I went home and did 4 hard miles around Buchanan loop (2 miles of rolling hills) on my own. Being so angry from practice really fueled me and I worked hard at these. Finished at a 7:16 avg pace, which was pretty solid considering it is somewhat of a hill workout. I'm glad I got some sort of a workout in today...Lord knows I didn't get it at practice.

Awesome workout today!! I hit or went under on all my splits. Started with a 1.5 mile warm up, strides, drills.

2x200m fast but not all out w/ 200m reco jog between: I hit 35, 37. 

800m @ 2-3 seconds slower than mile race pace (2:51-52): I hit 2:49, which is my mile race pace.

800m @ mile race pace: 2:49 again. 

3x300m @ mile race pace (64-65) with a 100m reco jog between: 62, 61, 61

3x200m @ 800m race pace (38-39) with a 100m reco jog between: 38, 38, 35

1.75 mile cool down and stretching afterwards. I had such a good time with this. I kept expecting myself to get really tired and not be able to hit the next split honestly, but then I kept surprising myself. I felt like the rest time between sets (3-5 minutes) was very forgiving, so that may have helped with me hitting or going under on all my splits. If I do this workout again sometime I might modify that to a little less. The weather was also wonderful today! Pretty windy but other than that, I was running right at sunset and I just couldn't stop thinking about how blessed I am to be able to do what I do. 

I'm excited and relieved to finally be able to say I will be running D1 track and cross country at Wofford College! Livin my dream! I officially sent in my National Letter of Intent today, it's a done deal. Such an incredible blessing!

So after I signed I headed to the rec and did a 30 minute fartlek run of 5x6min intervals (3 min hard/3 min easy). The harder pace was probably somewhere near 3200m race pace. Some of the intervals were harder than others depending on the hills but it was a pretty challenging workout through and through. Afterwards I popped over to Western for some speedwork. I did 2 sets of 5x200m fast, like 800m race pace, with 40 seconds rest between each rep and 5 minutes between sets. I was aiming for 39's and hit mostly 37's, and a couple 38's. 1 was a 40, but that was because this group of guys was completely oblivious taking up lanes 1-3 so I had to veer out to lane 4 on that one. Felt pretty strong on these though and I was happy with my splits! Did some hurdle drills for my hip flexors and a 1 mile cool down afterwards. I can feel myself getting better. If I can get my mind under me too, I think I am gradually putting myself in a position to set a solid PR at regionals!

Half mile warm up, and then yet another day of speedwork. Coach D just had us do 4x800 at race pace (3200 pace, around 3:04) for the first 700, then all out sprint for the last 100m. I kind of threw the race pace thing out the window and hoped to just make them progressive and get faster with each rep. I hit 3:07, 2:59, 2:59, 2:53.

4 miles "easy" afterwards...didn't feel very easy. My legs are so tired. I guess that is to be expected though. It's a good kind of tired though, I feel like this has been a much needed productive week of practice without having to take easy days for a meet.

Core work, arms, and stretching to finish off the day.

Just over 5 miles easy, but it didn't feel easy at all. My legs are absolutely spent. The only thing that probably would have felt worse than running on them would have been not running on them though, because I could just feel all the tightness and lactic acid in them all day. They loosened up a little bit a few miles in. 6x100m strides afterwords. Then lots of stretching and an ice bath, both of which I think helped a lot. I just could not wait for this run to be over...I probably checked my watch 25 times in the 41 minutes I ran. I may take tomorrow off or just do 2 or 3 miles and then get one more hard speed workout in on Sunday.

So dang sore today. I haven't been this sore in months...maybe years. I am taking the day off but going to the Spring Formal at GWU tonight, so maybe dancing some will loosen my legs up a little.

Only got 3 hours of sleep last night and didn't get back to Sylva until 2. Then I went to the lake with my friends and paddle boarded for a few hours. That was actually a really good core and arm workout. My soreness is getting a little bit better after taking yesterday off. I really wanted to get a workout in after I got home around 6 but I just didn't have it in me after all that in addition to getting no sleep. I layed down to check my messages and ended up just passing out for an hour. I am beyond tired. I am hating myself so badly for not running for 2 days in a row...hopefully I can get a hard workout in tomorrow.

Today's workout was awesome!! I went to Western and warmed up 2.25 miles. The workout was 12x400m at 2-3 seconds faster than 3200m race pace with 1 minute between each. My race pace is 91-92 per lap avg, so I was shooting for 89ish. My splits were 88/88/89/89/88/88/88/88/87/89/87/84. I was very pleased with those, and they felt really good too (they better have seeing as I took two days off). The last 3 became pretty challenging but I think I handled them pretty well mentally. After that I did 3 kick finishes (180m, 190m, 200m), working mainly on pumping my arms. 1.75 mile cool down and stretching afterwards. I feel really good about today, and I'm getting so pumped for regionals Saturday! I definitely see a PR in my near future.

Another solid speed sesh today! 1.5 mile warmup, then I did a ladder of 200m, 400m, 800m, 1600m and then back down. I hoped to do the 2's and 4's at 2-3 seconds faster than mile pace, and the 8's and mile at 2-3 seconds faster than 3200 race pace. I hit 39, then 88 (a little slow), then 2:59. The mile was hard, but I came out with a 6:03, which I was happy with seeing as 6:05 is 2-3 seconds faster than race pace. On the way back down, I hit 3:03, 88 again, and 38. The ladder back down was really hard for me, my legs were so tired. So my splits weren't all perfect today but they were solid and I was honestly just proud of myself for finishing through strong with the workout because I had a few different ladders in mind for today that were easier that I could have done instead. I'm glad now that I picked this one though.

2.25 mile cool down and stretching afterwards.

5ish miles. I think I was going at a decent pace, maybe 7:30 or so. Felt pretty easy though.

Core work later on at night.