You've got to want it to win it

This morning after arriving at the meet we took a potty break before starting our warmup for the mile.  We did 2 miles around the campus, we ran part of what had been on the Orem-Kiwanis cross country course, though it looks like there probably is a new course now because of the new track and a bunch of other construction.  Then Bill went and checked us in so Abigail, Sarah, Natalie, and I just did drills and stretched while we waited for Bill to come back.  My hips were feeling very sore from the hurdle stuff I've been doing so I'm probably going to have to stop those this next week to be careful before Arcadia.  After being checked in we still had a while before we could go into the bull pen so we did 2 laps around the block that the track is on.  Each lap is about 3/4 of a mile so that brought us up to 3 and a half miles total warmup for the mile.  Finally we got our stickers and heat assignments and changed into our spikes in the bull pen.  I was number 1 so I got to start in lane 1.  Before they walked us over to the start line Natalie and I did some strides just outside of the bull pen.  Then we did more strides when we were out on the line.  We had to line up at the dotted line before they said runners set to get up to the real line, we had to hop there as the officials demonstrated for us haha.  Going out Summer was at the front of the pack in the first 100 but I moved up and then I had the lead, and Shea came with me.  The first lap was a 73 and Shea continued to just stay with me.  At 600 meters I thought to myself that since it was only 1000 left I should try to pick it up and gap Shea.  At the 800 we were at 2:34, I guess since I'm not really used to having people with me I relaxed the pace a little bit and just went at Shea's pace.  Finishing the third lap and with 500 meters left in the race was when Shea broke away from me.  I heard her coach telling her to break hard and I knew my only chance would be then to go with her but I couldn't make myself do it so she gapped me.  Then with 300 to go I couldn't get my legs to go and at 200 meters left I got passed by a girl from Mountain View.  Then with 100 to go I got passed by a girl in purple.  My time was 5:12.52.  My hips were just too tired to push, hurdles yesterday were probably not a good idea.  Afterwards I watched the guys races, and then I put on my trainers and went for a mile and a half cooldown out to a roundabout and around it 3 times and back :) 

After the mile we played Scrabble to pass the time, Bill takes forever to take his turns!  And then after the game was over I tried to take a nap, but found it impossible when laying next to a wiggly Abigail who kept kneeing me and elbowing me :P  Finally it was about time to get warming up for the 3200, I took a potty break with Amanda and Sarah and filled our water bottles, then as we were walking back down the others caught up to us on their warmup.  Back at the tent I took my Gu and some ibuprofen and then put on my shoes and started warming up.  We did 1 lap around the block for warmup and then Bill checked us in and we got our shoes and headed to the bull pen.  Again I was sticker number one, and Natalie was number 3.  We did strides on the track while they finished up the guys 200s.  Then we lined up but it took a while to get started because some girls had the same number so we had to wait while they fixed that, I just did more strides.  When we started I got out well and took the lead immediately but the officials fired the gun because one of the girls shoes fell off.  The second start I got out probably just as well as the first one, taking the lead immediately, then I just kept creating a gap.  My first lap was a 73, and my focus for the race was to push the straightaway where the wind was to my back and try not to slip into 1:20s like I tend to do a lot...  At 800 I was at2:36, my legs were feeling really tired in my calves and shins but I was able to push through it and try my hardest to push to the pace I needed to be at.  Thanks to the ibuprofen I didn't notice my hips or my arch which was hurting a little bit, probably also from the hurdles.  At the mile I was at 5:27 so I knew that the second mile was going to be tough to try to get my pace up very much, but I pushed with what I had left.  Going into the last lap I was at 9:52, and I finished in 11:14 so a 1:22 last lap, not so good :(  Afterwards I told Bill that I thought we probably should scratch me from the mile at Arcadia so I can focus on the 2 mile since I made it into the invitational for it, and he told me he had actually already scratched me from the mile yesterday so I didn't need to worry about it.  After cheering on the other girls I changed shoes and then noticed my right hamstring was feeling kind of tight so I got it massaged out by the trainer and then they gave me ice.  They wanted to know if I wanted it wrapped to my leg but I decided to do my cooldown first, so I did 3 laps around the block and then got the ice wrapped to me leg, it felt really nice!  It was nice to continue my winning streak in the 3200, I really hope I do well at Arcadia next weekend and can stay strong all the way through the race, especially with how tough the competition is going to be and watching the races from the past 2 years.