Running is a means and never merely an end

2.1 mile warm up + 6x90sec hills at tempo (jog back down) + 1.5 mile cool down. Definitely felt the hills in my quads but after not having anything but sand & flat sidewalks all summer, I am pretty overjoyed to be running some hills again.

Started at the rec for 1.3, then ran to Western and then up to the trails below the airport above Western. 3.5 miles of brutal straight-up-straight-down hills on those, barely moving at some points honestly. Shook out another few miles on the xc course and gravel path's when I got back down to campus. I was gonna go 13 but my legs were so tired after those trails when I got back to the rec at 12 that I just listened to them and finished there. 

 Core work + some upper body lifting for an hour or so at the rec afterwards. 

8 easy around the high school / Fairview / Ashe Loop. Legs are pretty sore from all the hills on that trail, definitely not something I am used to yet given my summer at the beach. I feel like I worked out some soreness though.

10 mile loop from the rec up to Western, around NCCAT, around Western, and back. Felt great! Still a little sore but much better. 

Side note....I have GOT to get my dessert habits under control. Ate over a dozen cookies tonight (lol). Writing this for the sake of keeping myself accountable now that its out there. There're more work that goes into training than just the running. Time to get some discipline going in my diet too.

AM- 7.1 mile fartlek! 2 miles warm up/cool down with a 3.1 middle section of 6 x 2min on / 2min off, on being race pace and off being however slow I felt like jogging to recover. My off got progressively slower I'd say, but I'd rather it be that way as long as my on's stayed hard and consistent.

7 miles easy + 6x100m form strides. Core work & stretching afterwards!

I run the Maggie Valley Moonlight 8k tomorrow night. My first 8k, and under the lights! I'm excited. It's 1.2 miles up, 2.4 miles back down, and then the last 1.2 back up to the finish. Hoping to really use those 2.4 miles and gain some speed. Probably won't go all-all out because we usually have a time trial the day after we get back (Tuesday) so I don't want to be sore for that, but still probably a harder effort than tempo. Shooting for 90-95% effort. Really just super excited for the whole night though, I haven't done a road race in a year or so and I love love love the fun, light-hearted, encouraging atmosphere of road races! Can't wait!

Welp. No race :( I went to Knoxville for Tori's birthday for the day - we jumped at a giant indoor trampoline park! So I did get a little exercise in. But on our way home around 3:30, Amanda's car got a flat. It really turned into quite the adventure, and we met lots of people with great hearts, but long story short I didn't get home till 8:30-9. So I missed the race, which I was sad about. I know my dad was really looking foward to seeing me run it as well.