You've got to want it to win it

1 mile shakeout run in the morning on the treadmill.

After watching Steph race in the invite 400, Bekah and I started our warmup, and Andrea did her cooldown with us :)  We went on the trails by campus for 15 minutes and then went inside to stretch for a minute before going back out to do our strides and drills.  When we got back in I had Heather tape my ankle since my Nike spikes have about zero support, better safe than sorry.  We did a few more strides on the track and then lined up.  I was hoping to run in the 9:30s.  Kep said if we did abot 60 second laps we could both be below 9:50.  When the race started I ended up at the back, but I knew it would be ok and the pack would come back.  They did.  The first 400 was 77, not bad.  I decided to make moves coming around to the straightway where we had started, then to tuck back in to go around the curve.  I think it was probably lap 3 where I realized I would have to pick it up because there were a lot of people in front of me... All those speed changes in high school came into play today!  The first mile was around 5:10.  At some point when I did a surge I passed Bekah, which afterwards she said helped her to refocus and pick it up - she passed me right back.  If it were anyone else in the race I wouldn't have let that happen, but it is different when it is your teammate.  I made it my goal to pass the same people she was passing.  During one of the laps I was thinking there were 3 laps left so I would have to get ready to go soon, but then I realized there were just 2!  So I got going.  It is confusing trying to start to pick it up for your kick with 500 to go when it is close to 2 laps... Same with 400 being more than one lap, but I picked it up and passed some girls.  Going into the final lap someone was trying to pass me on the inside of the curve, I elbowed her like "umm who does that" and she didn't try to come around the other way either.  If that were me, I would have gotten mad and found the energy to go around me for elbowing me and beat me (flashback to how I qualified for Footlocker Nationals).  But that girl wasn't me, so she didn't pass me, and I kept going.  I finished right behind Bekah, and we both got new PRs in the 9:30s!  Maybe in a few weeks if we feel like doubling we'll break the school record.  For cooldown we did 3.5 miles.

Today after rehab I went running with Nikki and Andrea.  We ran 11th Avenue down to City Creek and behind the capitol, then down behind Temple Square.  They went back on Trax but I ran back to campus on South Temple.  It was nice to spend time talking to them :)

After driving to the oval and warming up while dreading today's lengthy workout, Kep informed me that Bekah wanted to do the threshold workout today.  Ok!  It was 15, 10, 5 with 3 and 2 minutes recovery.  We did the first two sets as backwards laps, then the last one the right way since the track was becoming more crowded.  We got in almost 9 laps on the first one, about 6 on the second one, and 3 for the last one.  Then we did four 250 meter strides, at about 3k pace for the 150 and then picking it up for the last 100.  Then I did 5 laps cooldown to finish with 10.5.  And Nikki and I wore our minion shirts :)  

I started my run today out on Foothill with Becky and Jessica. Jessica turned early, but I kept going with Becky to 2100s and then to 1900e.  Becky pushed the pace since she had to get back for her massage, so I was on my own from there.  My lower back on the right side has been hurting, and today that hip was hurting too.  When I was just past the elementary school I had slowed down a lot so just called it and walked from there to Sunnyside, where I took the shuttle back to campus.  For my massage I had Tim work on my lower back and quads.

Today at lifting, the impact stuff such as jumping jacks and jog-backs during the warmup were irritating my hip.  So no workout for me today.  Instead I heated up in the training room and did ultrasound before going to the pool for a workout.  I warmed up 5 minutes and then started on sets of 2:30 on with :30 rest.  I was originally going to do 7, then when I got there I thought might as well do 8, then figured what the heck I'll just go with 10.  The last one was hard, but I finished.  Then I did 5 minutes cooldown before going back to the training room for rehab.  I got 3 hip exercises.  Then I took a 10 minute ice bath up to my mid-back. Brrr!!!

Today I heated up my back and hip and did ultrasound before going pool running with Giselle.  We did 45 minutes, the time passed quickly since we had a lot to talk about :)  Afterwards I did my hip rehab and then took a 15 minute ice bath.  

Today after heating and doing ultrasound I went running!  On the treadmill in the HPER weightroom.  Hannah and Giselle were there too.  My back felt ok for the first mile and a half, then it started to hurt.  I noticed that if I tried to toe-strike instead of heel-strike then it didn't hurt so bad.  I made it 4 miles and then ellipticalled for a half hour.  I did ice and stem when I was done.

No back pain yesterday or this morning at weights meant I went running today!  Outside this time.  Tim worked on my back and quad and hip flexors this morning, I could tell that it made my run so much better :)  I ran on Foothill to 1300s and then back to campus along 1900e.  After that I went to the pool for a pool running workout.  I warmed up 5 minutes and then did a ladder of 1 minute on (1 off for everything), then 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1, followed by a 5 minute cooldown.  Ice bath for 15 minutes afterwards.  I am still planning on racing in Seattle this weekend, just one event.  I am going to see how tomorrow's workout feels before deciding which event.

I brought my own warm-up-in-the-microwave heat packs today so that I could heat up on the way out to the oval.  I warmed up inside and then stretched before joining the others for strides and drills.  My everything that was hurting was iffy during the warmup and I wasn't sure how the workout was going to go, but I knew the only way to find out would be to just go for it.  The workout was two 200s and then 7 800s, 1 and then three sets of 2 in which you drop 4 seconds a set.  On the 200s I hit 38 and 37.  Bekah and I were starting out 800s at 84 pace and then our end goal was 78 pace.  I hit 2:47, 2:44, 2:43, 2:41, 2:41, and 2:37.  On about the 4th one my hip flexor was hurting but it wasn't that bad.  Kep pulled me from the last one, not wanting to overdo anything today (not like one more 800 after 6 was going to be that bad, but the last one felt kinda hard so I agreed to stop and cool down 15 minutes on the bike.  The track was kinda crazy with the sprinters there taking up a lot of lanes.  I was entertained by Carole Mikita from KSL trying to film something, she kept standing in lane one and then had to keep moving every 10-20 seconds or so since we were coming by.  So if anyone saw her story in bits and pieces, that was courtesy of us!  I stretched and iced on the way back to campus, sorta skipped rehab since I was in a hurry.  I'm thinking tomorrow I will do a run and pool run combo again, depending how I feel.  

I heated up and stretched for a few minutes before going outside to run.  I was hoping between 4-6 miles.  I ran out on Foothill and then down 2300e ot 1700e, down to 2100e and back to campus.  Only a little bit of pain but it went away.  After I got back I went to the pool for a workout.  I warmed up 5 minutes and then did 7 reps of 1:30 on with 30 seconds off, then took 2 minutes rest before doing a set of 5 of the same.  Then 5 minute cooldown.  Next I went to the training room for rehab and stretching.  I had just gotten into the ice bath when Hanah realized she had forgotten to tell me I had a massage with Tim...  So after the ice bath Tim worked on my lower back.  My left piriformis/glutes were really tight, that probably has to do with the right hip flexors being weird too.  Gotta love track...

Today we got to do our workout on the track!!! And I think we caught the small window of sunshine, finishing just as it started getting windy and the storm came in.  We did our usual warmup and then strides and drills on the track.  The long distance threshold workout was two 2000s with 90 seconds rest, then a 1000, then four 200s.  On the first 2k I hit 7:18, hitting 1:28 for the first three splits and then just a bit faster for the last 2.  On the second one I went the other way (it felt weird to my hip flexor at first but it warmed up ok) and hit 7:23.  Then Kep wanted me to skip the last 1k so I could focus on the 200s instead, I hit 35, 36, 36, 35.  Afterwards I cooled down 2 miles with Nikki and then had a nice long stretch.  Leaving for Seattle tomorrow morning!

This morning I went running with Jesse up by the capitol. We ran City Creek to 11th Avenue and then finished down Memory Grove. We did a few strides at the end when the grove had flattened out a bit. The downhill irritated my hip but the pain eased when we were running more flat again. My race is tomorrow afternoon so I'm sure my hip will feel better by then.

A little before warmup time I decided I should heat my back and hip for a few minutes.  About an hour before the race Bekah and I started our warmup.  We ran out on the trails just to the neighborhood there and back for about 2 miles.  My hip was bothering me the first part of the warmup, so I took some ibuprofen when we got back to the track.  I stretched for a bit before doing my strides and drills, then went and changed shoes.  Bekah had told me that the pros were in our heat so that the faster college kids could be in their own, so I was expecting the race to go out fast and to probably be hanging on to the end.  Nope.  When we got to the end of the first straightaway I somehow was in the lead.  I didn't think I was pushing the pace or anything, so I was confused that first lap when I was still in the lead.  After coming around the first lap in 61 I knew I wasn't going crazy with pace, the race went out slow.  People picked it up and passed on the next bit, but I didn't worry about them then since it was early in the race.  The first 400 was a 78.  At the 800 I was at 2:35, still doing good.  The mile split was 5:08 and I remember thinking to myself that there was only 1400 left and I should start making some moves, but by now it was getting hard to hold on.  Somewhere around 4 or 3 laps to go I remember someone passing me and trying to break away, but I wouldn't let them.  I passed them and moved up, deciding then that I needed to gain a few positions.  In the last 2 laps I moved from 6th to 5th, then on the last lap I was challenged 3 times for 5th by a BYU girl but I always was able to pull out a little more kick, and secured 5th, and getting a PR by a second!  So did Bekah, it was awesome :)  For cooldown we ran 2 miles on the trails again, the light rain felt so nice after sweating buckets in the arena.  Afterwards Hanah massaged my calves for a few minutes, they hurt pretty bad.  My back and hip didn't bother me during the race or on the cooldown.

This morning I went running with Bekah from the Smith before weights.  My garmin died before starting the run... Bekah wanted to run along 15th, so I decided that would be great!  We ran to my house and I borrowed my mom's garmin and got some gloves for Bekah, it was colder than we thought it would be this morning!  We continued on 15th to 2100s and then went up to 1700e to keep going out.  At 2700s we went up, then went under the freeway at 20th east and ran back to the Smith via 1900e and Sunnyside.  We had time to stretch out before lifting, which was nice.  After lifting I saw Tim for a massage.  My hip flexors are getting better!

Today the distance group had the choice between a threshold or a fartlek workout on Wasatch.  My quads are super sore, so I opted for the fartlek.  The other girls did too.  With Alyssa, Jessica, and AuraLea I started the warmup.  We took Foothill to Sunnyside and then ran up and through the golf course to do the workout.  We didn't have to do the usual drills and strides, but we took a few minutes to stretch and do a stride or two.  The fartlek was 2 minutes on with 1 off, 1 on with 30 seconds off, 30 seconds on with 30 seconds off.  The number of sets depended on how many miles we were at.  For me it was 3 sets.  The 2 minutes was kinda hard, but everything else in the set went by fast.  I ended up going to Thunderbird and turning, then finishing arond Kensington.  I cooled down back to campus through the golf course again to finish with 7.  Then I had a nice long stretch in the training room.

Today Becky was the only one willing to run outside with me. So we started our run together towards 11th Avenue. It was windy and snowy going down 11th, but I knew the way back would be better. Becky turned at about 3 miles, but I was going for 7 so I continued on my own. When I got to City Creek and turned, the wind wasn't so bad. By the time I had turned around and got back to 11th, it had stopped snowing! It was beautiful. After I got back I stretched for a while and then Tim worked on my calves and hips.

Today we had a workout, and we got to stay on our beautiful track again!  :)  We did the usual warmup and strides and drills.  It was feeling warm enough to run in short sleeves, but with the wind that idea was gone quickly.  The long distance workout was three 1ks at threshold pace with 40 seconds recovery, followed by five 200s with 2 minutes recovery, and then a progressive 2400 ending at 3k race pace.  Bekah was willing to do part of the workout in the opposite direction with me.  So we did the 1000s in the opposite direction and in lane 2.  Bekah even counted steps from the 400 start line to figure out how far ahead of the start line we could start... On the first one we hit 3:45.  On the second I'm not really sure what our time was because after we started I realized we should have started on a different side of the line, but it was probably 3:42.  On the last one we hit 3:39.  For the 200s I hit 35, 36, 34, 35, 35.  On the progressive 2400 we were supposed to start at 96 and drop 4 seconds a lap to end at 76.  I got distracted at the end of the first lap and completely missed the split on that one, but at the 800 we were at 3:09.  At 1200 we were at 4:37, right on, then 6:01 at 1600, again right on.  I couldn't keep up with Bekah at this point and was 7:23 at the 2k, still an 82 was faster than the previous split.  The last one was hard and I couldn't make myself push the pace into the wind (we were running into it the first 200 so it was hard to feel the pace, and even if it were off I think having the wind to our back for the last 200 of each lap probably made up for it) and I finished in 8:47, another 84.  Not the best.  Getting used to running in the wind again after training indoor for a while is kind of challenging.  For cooldown I ran on the Bailiff with Nikki, Andrea, and Dana until we were at 9.

Today I went running with Alyssa, AuraLea, Lauren, and Nikki.  We ran up on 11th and then into City Creek.  The other girls took a trail, but I kept going on the road for a few more minutes with Nikki.  The trail reconnected us on City Creek on the way out to the capitol.  We ran behind the capitol and then downtown weaving our way towards 400s and 200e so we could grab Dunkin before taking Trax back to campus.

This morning I ran along 15th to Sugarhouse, then up to 17th.  Then I ran to Parkway and then down to Alden where I continued to 2700s.  There I ran up one street above 17th and then headed back north to go home.  

This afternoon I started the run with Nikki, Lauren, Kenzie, and Dana.  We ran down Guardsman and 15th. After 2100s I was on my own as everyone else didn't need as many miles.  I did 2 laps around the perimeter of Sugarhouse and then ran up to 1900e and returned to campus that way and via Foothill after Sunnyside.  When I was done I stretched for a few minutes and then saw Tim.  Everything felt great!

Today was a beautiful day at the track!  We did the usual warmup and strides and drills on the track.  The long distance workout was three sets of 800, 500, 300.  The recovery for the 800s was 2:20, 50 walk 50 jog for the 500, and 400 jog for the 300.  Bekah and I were supposed to start at 82s for the first set, then 80s for the second, and 78s for the last set.  We did two 200s first to get a feel for the pace, I hit 38 and 39.  On the first 800 we were right on at 2:44.  I jogged 200 for the recovery, then we hit 1:42 for the 500.  Then we hit 59 for the 300.  On the next set we were right on again at 2:40.  We were 1:39 for the 500, then 57 for the 300.  On the last set Bekah was pushing the pace... I dropped back before the 400 and still came through at 1:17.  I finished in 2:37, I am disappointed I let myself slip so much.  It is hard to focus on running the pace I know I'm supposed to when Bekah decides to push the last set... I feel like that happens a lot.  On the 500 we were 1:36, and 55 for the final 300.  For cooldown I ran 2 miles with Alyssa, then took a 15 minute ice bath.

Today I went running with Jessica and Becky.  We started the fruit loop through upper campus, then through the golf course and onto Wasatch.  We kept going until the road forked and went down to Foothill, which we took back to campus.  Afer we were finished, Jessica and I went and got our lift done since we won't be able to tomorrow.  We are leaving for Seattle again, this time for MPSF.  I am racing the 5k on Friday night.

This morning it was warm enough to run in a t-shirt and shorts in Salt Lake! :) It was windy when I started, but it died down.  I ran to 2100s and up to 2100e and down 1300e to home.  And now I'm off to Seattle!

1 mile shakeout in the morning.  Legs felt great.

About an hour before the race I started my warmup with AuraLea.  We did 2 miles and then did strides and drills just outside the Dempsey.  I changed shoes and then did a few strides on the track.  I was really hoping for a PR today.  Kep told me everyone in the race who he thought would be in a pack around or below the 16:20s.  When the race started it was slow.  And it stayed slow for a while.  I came through the mile at 5:22, and everyone was still in a pack.  I found my rhythm and stuck to the inside as much as I could, with only a few surges on the outside to get up into better position.  About halfway through the race the pack began to move, but I had just made a surge and didn't have the energy to pick it up with the group.  I was one of the girls strung off from the pack, and now I had to do the rest of the work alone and try and catch other girls who had fallen off the main pack as well.  I caught one, and then was scared that other girls would catch me too because I could hear people cheering for them.  With 2 laps to go I could tell I was gaining on two more girls, so I just focused on them and continued to reel them in.  I caught both of them in the last lap and finished in 17:01.  Bekah won in 16:30.  It was frustrating that the race went slower than I would have hoped to be able to get a PR, but given the circumstances I think I did my best.  I think if I had had a better start and perhaps the courage, I could gone for PR goal pace.  I also think getting my miles up would help, but again given the circumstances of the past few weeks dealing with injury...  I cooled down 2 miles with Bekah and AuraLea, telling myself I needed to do the 3k tomorrow so I can have a better race.  Kep said I don't have to, but I will see how I feel tomorrow.