You've got to want it to win it

Today at the track right before I went for my warmup they announced that the meet was running about 5 minutes ahead of schedule.  So I would be at 12:15 instead of 12:20.  I told myself it was just 5 minutes so it wouldn't make that big of a difference.  I ran to the Wendy's and back for 3 mile warmup, then came in and did a few drills before heading into the track to change shoes.  I only got in 2 strides and then it was time to line up.  I had to tell myself to stay positive and not think about the need to warm up more... When the race started I was at the back but I quickly moved to the front.  I was in the lead girls through 400, and it was too fast at 72.  Two of the girls in the race I knew were pacers so I tried to stick with their teammates that they were pacing.  The second lap was 76, not so great.  The last half of the race I was just done.  I didn't respond when people passed me, and I didn't push.  Those splits were 78 and 80 I think.  This was definitely a race to take a lot of lessons from.  First was to relax the first lap and then let other people fall off and pass them instead of letting them pass me.  Next was to start warmup earlier for track, and to account for meets later on where I will have to be at the bullpen a while prior to the start of the race.  I didn't feel like cooling down after this one since I would have to warmup again soon for the 3k, but Kep told me to just go for a slow walk/jog so I did.  I did quarter mile up on the bridge over the track and back.  Have I mentioned yet that the track is under a bridge and kinda sketch?  The entrance is surrounded by a lot of trash and there are some train tracks right by too.  And the fence around the parking lot has barbed wire at the top.  I love running in the neighborhood part of the city though.  

I wasn't hungry but I knew I needed to eat before my next race, so I had a banana and peanut butter from the hotel and a protein bar I saved from the weight room earlier this week.  My second race was supposed to be at 2:50, but by that point they were half hour ahead of schedule.  I wasn't going to make the same mistake as before so I went for my warmup at 1:20.  To Wendy's and back again.  The way there was really slow because I was exhausted but I made myself pick it up on the way back.  Then I felt more ready to race.  As soon as I got back I changed to my spikes and got in plenty of drills and strides while the guys 3k was going on.  I was definitely glad this race wouldn't be as fast paced as the mile, and I was more comfortable with my ability to be able to relax and then race.  When the race started I am sure I was at the back of the pack for the first lap but after that I picked people off slowly.  Early on there were two groups, I was leading the second group.  Up in the lead were two girls who must have been twins, but the main chase pack caught them and separated them.  I caught people as they fell off that pack.  My splits were pretty consistent, mostly 40s each lap, a few 42s in the middle but I kept pushing at the end and brought it back down to 40s and I think my last lap was 39.  I felt a lot better after this race!  My final time was 10:18 but I was happy for the consistency of my splits.  I need to work on strength for those middle laps but the fact that I was able to bring my splits down after going through the rough patch gives me hope to be able to hold this pace for 5k.  Same with in my mile, although I was dead the last 2 laps I still ran around 79-80.  It was nice to be able to end the meet on a good performance and redeem myself from earlier!  And I definitely needed this before Seattle in 2 weeks.  I might race at Boise next weekend, we'll see how Tuesday's workout goes.  For cooldown I ran to Wendy's and back again for 3 miles, bringing the total of the day to 12.5.

Can I just say how much I love my team?  Tonight Amanda came over to my room and told me Hanah told her it would be a good idea for us to take an ice bath.  So we went to Kate and Nikki's room to use their tub.  We iced for 15 minutes, it was so cold!!!  Then the lady at the front desk of the hotel felt bad for us so she gave us cookie dough. :)  Best day ever!!!