You've got to want it to win it

This morning we had practice at Sugarhouse again. It was easy, we started with a warmup lap around the perimeter, and then we split into three groups for our workout. We ran in lines, and the person in the back would push to get to the front of the line and then they could set the pace when they got there. So we did that for a lap and then we went and did some strides. Then we did a cooldown running along the river which ended up being about 5 miles. I timed it as 43:16.

I did speedwork this evening with Wasatch Athletics.  It was hot when we started, but at least the workout wasn't too hard.  We started with a warmup lap around Sugarhouse Park and then on the track I did 3 laps of speed changes with a 1 lap cooldown.  Then we did an 800 with 1 lap recovery.  My time was 3:06.  Then we did two 400s with a 1 lap cooldown after each.  On my first one I got a 1:23, and on the second Bill told me to push and try not to let a gap between me and the group ahead of me.  It was hard, but when I got a time of 1:16 I was glad because that is a PR for me.  After the 400s we did three 200s with a 200 for recovery.  I went hard on the first 2, but I took the third a little easier.  After I was done, Kiley and I ran a lap around the park to cooldown.  When we were done we were treated to watermelon, it was good.  A few minutes after finishing I feel a little sore, so I'm going to take an ice bath.     

This morning for practice we met at Sugarhouse Park.  We started by running up 2100s and then went north on 1900e.  I was running with Bre.  We went along that road until Sunnyside, and then we went west to the light and turned left.  Then we went down a few streets by the Bonneville glen area and went back to Sugarhouse along 1500e.  We stopped for water just after 1700s and then kept going.  We were passing the radar detectors that tell cars how fast they are going, because I wondered if it would pick us up, but it didn't.  Near the end of our run we pushed a little bit because we were trying to hit an 8 minute pace.  We were done at about 41 minutes, so we were close.  When we got back we did three sets of 25 crunches and 15 pushups.  I was a little sore from last nights workout, but other than that I think I was fine.

This morning we were at Sugarhouse Park again.  We started with a warmup lap around the park as usual, and then we went back into the park for some strides and hills.  We did I think 3 strides, and then went and did 3 hills.  Recently, hills haven't been too much of a problem for me, but thats probably because they weren't as steep as the one we practiced.  After that we did a slow lap around the park, and then on the way in ran to a drinking fountain and back to get up to 5 miles.  Then we had some yogurt, fruit, and cupcakes that Emily, our assistant coach, brought.  It was nice weather, and I think it was a good workout.  

I had a good race today.  When we got there I started with little warmup, about 1/2 mile because I had to wait in a line for a while to get my running number.  I then just ran along State Street for a few minutes and then looped back to the start through some parking lots.  Then I did some strides from the start out a little  and back.  When the race finally started, I went out fast.  Probably too fast, but I think it wasn't that bad.  I pushed hard the whole time, and at the 1 mile mark I was at 6:12.  Mile 2 I was at 12:38, so not a bad pace.  My average pace was 6:19 so I think I did well.  I almost beat my brother, but he pushed harder when I was up to him.  At the end, he finished 1 second ahead of me.  It was a hard finish, and I almost was sick, but I was all right.  It was a bit hot during the race, but not as hot as right now in the afternoon.  During the awards ceremony for age groups, I did about a 1.5 mile cooldown with Bre and Kiley.  We just ran through the park and did some parts of the Murray High School course.  We were planning on going up to the soccerfield but the fence was locked, so we just ran along the fence until we found an opening.  We went back to listen to more of the awards, and towards the end I won a drawing for 2 passes to Chuckarama.  Those will be fun.  I am glad with how well I did today, I hope to keep improving throughout the season.     

This morning I went on a long run with Bre and Kiley.  We started at Liberty Park by the drinking fountain, and then we ran along 1300s to 800e and went north.  We stayed on 8th until South Temple and then went east a bit and went to I think 3rd Avenue.  We ran west then, and then went to 11th Avenue and up through City Creek Canyon.  We went up a bit all the way to the gate where we stopped to get some water.  The way there was 5.07 miles, with some gradual uphill.  We headed back down the canyon the same way we had come, and then went along State Street to South Temple, where we turned and went up to 900e.  We ran until 1300s., and then turned and went back down to the drinking fountain at the park.  So far, this has been the longest run I've been on, and it was great.  I felt a little sore from yesterday, but I think this will help me to recover quickly.  

This afternoon I just did 2 miles on treadmill.  I didn't do anything like listen to music, I just ran 2 miles on the treadmill.  It was very boring. 

This morning we had team practice starting st Sugarhouse Park again.  We ran up to 1500e and then went over to 900s and down to Amanda ave. where we cut over to Sunnyside.  Then we ran down just behind the school to 1200e and went back to 900s.  We went down to 900e and then went all the way over to 2100s, and went back to the park.  We have done a similar loop in the winter, but that loop is only 5 miles.  I ran with Bre, and on 1500e Bill caught up to us and told us to try to stay at his pace.  We did, but along 900e my stomach ached and I slowed down a bit.  But then I caught back up at a light going up 2100s.  It took 48 minutes, so we had a good 8 minute pace.  When we got back to park we did three sets of 25 crunches and three sets of 15 pushups, I did girl pushups.    

This morning we had a team workout again at Sugarhouse Park. We started in that park and ran out to 2100s and then up to 2100e. We then went over the where there was a church and then we turned right, and took the next left which goes under the freeway. We kept going until I think 2700s and we turned right and went down to Alden Street. I wasn't paying that much attention, and I would have missed the turn but I was running with Bre so when she turned I realized where we were. Then we ran until Alden ended and turned right and went back up to 1700e and went back into the park. We pushed a little at the end, which put us at an 8 minute pace. When we got back we did three sets of 25 crunches and 15 pushups. Then we did some drills, not too hard. We only did high knees, power skips, butt kicks, lunges, and squats.

This evening I had a speedworkout with Wasatch Athletics.  Few people showed up at first, but at about 6:30 we finally started our warmup.  We did a lap around the outside of the park, I ran with Bre and Greg.  After that we went to the track and did 3 laps of speed changes with a lap cooldown.  We were going to do 800s, but when everyone looked sad about it the coach only had us do 400s.  He wanted us to do as many as we could, and he gave each of us a goal to reach.  He told me to try to do 10.  I was a little sore from my long run a few days ago and probably from some of the drills this morning, so I didn't go very fast. but I wasn't that slow either.  I got about 1:23s on most of them, going no slower than 1:26 one time.  Then on my last one the coach told me to try to  push up to the lead of the group, and I did well with a time of 1:16.  I was glad, but I wish I had tried to push harder on some of the other 400s.  After that I stretched a little bit and then went and did a cooldown around the perimeter of the park again.  It felt nice and relaxing other than being sore.  I can feel that I am getting stronger.      

I went camping today and wasn't familiar with the area that much so I just ran on the road.  It wasn't that bad, I saw lots of wildlife.  I started with running down from my campsite and then I went east on the road.  Someone from the camp followed me on a bike to make sure cars were able to see me.  I ran out 3 miles, and I saw quite a few roadkill, and used some of them to determine how far I was.  I went out about 3 miles instead of my original plan to go to a turnoff for the Smith-Morehouse Reservoir, which when we drove later found it was 4.  So when I reached 3 miles I turned around.  I saw the same roadkill in the middle of the road, like a raccoon, and since I was running on the opposite side of the road I saw a dead deer off the side of the road as well.  The run was nice and cool, just starting to get dark when I returned.  While walking back up to my campsite I saw 6 or 7 deer in a field by a stream getting water.  That was neat.    

I started the day out with a hike.  A friend and I decided to run parts of it.  I didn't have my running shoes and I thought it was going to be too hot at the time we were on the hike to run.  So we ran parts of it, and we carried our water bottles.  I'm not sure how much of it we actually ran, or how long the hike was, so I'm not counting it in my mileage.  On the way down we tried to make it back faster than we had made it up, which we did, and then we took naps for almost 2 hours while we waited for others in the group.  

For my 4 miles I went running in the evening along the same road I had the other day.  I saw some deer on both sides of the road of me so I watched them for a while.  I didn't go out quite as far as the raccoon, but to a spot just past the deer I had seen.  Then on the way back I identified one of the roadkill as a snake.  Something else I thought was kind of funny was on one of the ranches there were a bunch of no trespassing signs that said "We can make it to the fence in 3 seconds.  Can you?".  I had a good run again, and I felt good when I was done.   

I went for a run in the evening a little earlier than I had the other days because we were having guests visit for dinner.  This time someone else rode on the bike behind me as the previous rider was working on dinner.  I had originally planned to run all the way to the turnoff for the reservoir, but since the water bottles were falling off the bike and since it was a run where shortcuts wouldn't be possible on the way back, I only went out 3 miles.  Just past the dead raccoon again.  Since it was a little earlier and the sun was up a bit more, there weren't as many bugs to swallow so that was good.  There were little cotton things floating around in the air, and when one of them flew into my eye I had to stop for a moment.  I didn't realize until there was noise in the bush by the road that there were some deer in the bush, so it was cool to see them.  It wasn't so bad with the extra sun.  As we were just reaching the turnoff to go back up to the campsite, and old couple driving by offered us a ride but we told them we were just at our turnoff but were glad for the offer anyways.  When I got back I had a nice dinner which felt good :)  

I returned from camp today, and it took a while to get everything put away.  Then I went to dinner with the family, and we played games afterwards.  We left those at about 10 so there wasn't much time for running.  So I just did another boring mile on the treadmill.  My little sister did read a children's book to me though.  

I ran on the treadmill this afternoon again.  I listened to music, and I distracted myself from being bored well enough that I missed my time on 1 mile and at 2 miles.  After that I got a bit bored and I think one of my earbuds is broken which bugged me.  2.5 miles isn't bad though. :)  

Today we had practice at Sugarhouse Park. We did the cemetery loop, I ran with Bre. Today was the first time I actually did the whole loop not going backwards. I've done the to the cemetery and back part, but I've never gone through the cemetery on the run. So that is pretty cool for me. We were just under an 8 minute pace so that was cool too.  When we got back we did 3 sets of 25 crunches and 15 pushups.  I didn't do any girl pushups which shows I am getting stronger.

This morning we had practice at Liberty Park. We started by running to Collin's house to wake him up, because he said he would come. There and back was about a half mile. Back at the park we did a workout where each lap we would try to run 15 seconds faster than our previous lap. I ran with Bre, and for the first lap we got 13:20 (1.5 miles a lap). We didn't want to start out too fast because we thought it would be hard and we are doing speedwork later so we didn't want to be too tired. We sped up on the second lap, and then nearing the end of that lap decided we were speeding up too much and slowed down a lot, bringing us to 25 seconds faster. For the third lap we hit it right on 15 seconds faster with a 12:40, and then the last lap we went a bit harder coming in with an 11:25. When we got back we did 3 sets of 25 crunches and 15 pushups, and again I did all regular pushups. We probably didn't push as hard as we should have, so maybe if we did this workout on a day when we don't have speedwork later we might not start off as slow.

For the evenings speed work, since it was cloudy I feared that the coach would have us do 800s. But I was wrong, because of Draper Days this weekend we took it a bit easy today. We did our lap around the perimeter of the park when we got there. Though we arrived only a few minutes later than we had the previous week, the group had already left. I was a bit disappointed about that becuase the previous week we were on time and waited for 30 minutes before starting. So everyone started the workout at different times. After our warmup we went to the track and did 3 laps speed changes with 1 lap cooldown. After that we did an 800, my time was 3:14. I ran with Kiley and for each lap we got 1:37 so it was good that we had an even pace. We then did a lap cooldown, and then did ten 200s with a slower 100 between each. Finishing, it was just 100 meters into an 8th lap, so I finished the lap and then went for another cooldown lap around the park. Afterwards Kiley, Bre, Amanda, my brother and sister, and I all went to Baskin Robins and used some coupons with some buy one get on free deals. It was a nice treat. Since I didn't nap earlier today like I did yesterday, I'll be able to get to sleep easier tonight.

This morning for practice we met at the park and ride lot and then carpooled up to the pipeline trail.  I was letting my friend Nia use my watch because she needed to run for a time limit.  I ran out about 3.5 miles to a fork with a trail marker sign.  I followed Bre most of the way, but being at a high altitude it was hard for me to breathe.  She kept getting farther ahead and then I caught up to her when she was stopped to stretch before turning around.  I was so happy when I made it to the trail marker at the turnaround point, because I've never done that full run before because I've always had too hard a time breathing to make it all the way.  On the way back I went slower and I felt much better when I finished.  Afterwards I wondered where Nia and Bre were because I knew they would have finished before me. Nia came up from the river a few minutes later and told me Bre was sitting in the river.  I went back with Nia and I sat in the river for 5 minutes.  I got so muddy from sitting in the river, and I had to stand and dry off a bit before getting in the car.  I loved the run today because I actually finished it and it was a great reward to sit in the icy cold river afterwards.  

This morning we had practice at Sunnyside Park.  We started with 2 laps around and then across the field and back putting us at 2 miles.  Then we did fartlek workout with 3 minutes on 2 minutes off six times.  On the recovery part the people in the front would turn around to come meet the people behind them who would join until we had everyone.  I pushed hard on the first one, and the second one. But in the last few seconds of the second one I was running down the sidewalk and I accidentally stepped off the sidewalk half a step and lost balance and almost fell.  The way I had turned was how I've sprained that ankle twice.  It didn't hurt as much this time though, and it doesn't look swollen.  It still hurts a little bit now but I'm sure its ok.  Doing the fartlek with turning around to get everyone caught up was about 4 miles, and then after that we did another lap around the park brining my total mileage to 7.  After that we did crunches and pushups.  Instead of doing crunches in sets I did 75 without stopping and then I did three sets of 15 regular pushups.  I think it took longer than doing them in sets though because I had to rest for longer between the pushups.         

This morning we had practice at Liberty Park.  We started with a warmup lap around the park.  I ran with Bre and Ashleigh.  Then we did another lap in a line and the person in the back had to push to go to the front of the line and then they set the pace.  I was with Bre, Ashleigh, and Taylor.  After that lap we did a cooldown and then when we were done with that we did crunches and pushups.  I didn't want to get mud on my clothes so I did them on the sidewalk.  It hurt a little, but at least I stayed clean.  After the workout me, Amanda, Spruce, Bill, and Bre went to breakfast at the pancake house.  It was good, especially because we were all so hungry. 

I got up at 5:30 this morning to get ready because we had to leave early. When we got there we met the Coblers and then got our running numbers on and warmed up. We went out for a mile and then came back. It was crowded at the start so I didn't do strides. It also meant that I didn't start out as fast as I would have liked, but I did well anyways. At mile 1 I was at 6:20. Mile 2 was at 12:40, I don't think I've ever kept my pace that even before. Mile 3 I pushed harder hoping to keep an even pace, but it had some uphill which slowed me down a bit. I caught a few people on the hill, and then at mile 3 I think my time was at 19:10. I started to speed up a little before mile 3, and then I came in about 5 seconds behind Bre. Again I won in my division, now only 1 more race until I move up a division.

For my evening run I ran with my dad and sister.  We went to Sunnyside Park, but at the top of our block my sister changed her mind and went home.  So I ran to Sunnyside with my dad and then I did 2 laps around and out to a tree in the field and back.  Then we went back home.  It was 4 miles.  I was really hungry on this run, even though I had just eaten dinner.  My legs were sore from the race today, but I needed a few more miles.   

I went to my room to get my running clothes, but then I fell asleep and I didn't have time to go running after I woke up.  But I had a nice nap :)

This morning we had practice at Sugarhouse Park. We started with a warmup lap around the perimeter of the park. After that we went and did 2 miles of speed changes on the track. Bre and me went to get water, and ended up starting 2 laps after the guys. After the guys had done their first mile they turned around and were going the other way. Bre didn't want to move out of the way but did anyways the first time. Then on the other side of the track everyone kept going and we ran into them. After that the guys stayed out of the way. When we reached 1 mile we turned and went the other way, and we moved for people who were going the right way. When we were done we stopped and did some stretching. Then we went for another lap around the park for our cooldown.

This morning for practice we met at Liberty Park.  We did the last 2 miles of the Deseret New 10k, but we started from the drinking fountain which added a half mile each way.  We ran from the park along 900s to 200e and then went to South Temple and turned around.  I ran with Bre, and after going up the hill at South Temple we stopped for water.  On the way back Ashleigh joined us.  The time was 39:21 so we were under 8 minute pace.  

There wasn't practice this morning so I slept in.  But not really because I only could sleep until 7:30.  I didn't run in the morning but I probably should have.  Instead I ran at about 5:30.  2 miles.  90 degrees.  Oops!  I forgot that it would be extremely hot outside.  Luckily it was a short run.  I ran from my house, along 1500e and then up around Guardsman to go down Sunnyside, and then came back along 1300e.  I was on the east side of the street coming back, so the sun was really hot and there wasn't shade.  Big oops.  I miss being able to go running at anytime of day during the winter, but I like not having to wear warmer running clothes.  The seasons all have high and low points to running I guess.  

Today was my second 10k that was the correct length.  I messed up with my timing though.  I started with a mile warmup, and then I went to try for a good spot at the line.  While waiting, the race started about 5 minutes late, so I lost some of my warmup.  Right before the race began everyone was really tight up at the front and there was little room.  It took almost a minute to get up to the line so that I could actually start.  I started timing when I got to the line, so I would know what my chip shoe time would be.  It was a slow start, and I kept passing a lot of people up until after mile 4.  At mile 1 I was at 6:29, and mile 4 I was at 26:13 so I had a pretty even pace.  Sadly I missed the first water stop because the volunteers weren't holding it out to the passing runners.  Some runners were picking it up from the table, but I was too far on the right and missed the water stop.  I did horribly after that until the next water stop.  My back hurt a lot and I had a hard time keeping going.  I was so happy when I reached the other water stop.  After getting water I felt a lot better and it was good timing for before the last 5 blocks of uphill to the finish.  When I was done I went for a 6 miles cooldown, 4 laps around the park.  It felt really nice and afterwards I felt great.    My chip time, or my time from crossing the line was 41:29, which is a new PR for me.  Because of the differences in chip and gun time, I don't know what place I was overall.  I thought I was second in my division, which is what showed up on the results, but after I got a medal they asked me to come back up because they said I really was third.  My friend had the 3rd medal, but I think she left and I didn't want the awards people to take it from her to give it to me.  I don't even know which medal I was supposed to get, because my dad says that one of the other girls traded a shoe chip with someone.  In the end I was getting really confused and decided that I have plenty of other medals and I didn't care if I didn't get one. 
 

I slept in this morning, and it really was sleeping in.  Actually I only made it until after 8 sometime but I needed the sleep.  So I did an evening run.  I was planning on doing 10 miles, so I got out my bike and I rode it to meet my cousin and then she rode by me while I ran.  We went down 900s to 900e and then over to 2100s and up to 1300e and along it to where we had started.  I originally wanted to do that loop twice, but I think we started a bit early so I got dehydrated quickly because of the heat.  After that we did 3 sets of 25 crunches and 15 pushups.  I haven't done pushups all week, and I wanted to do girl pushups but my cousin wouldn't let me.  But I was glad she made me do them.  I was a bit sore from yesterday so maybe tomorrow I can get in some good miles.

This morning I got out my bike again and rode to meet my cousin.  We did the same run we did yesterday, but we went the opposite way.  It wasn't as hot because we started early, and I only stopped to get water once.  When we reached 9th and 9th we stopped at Great Harvest and got some cinnamon rolls.  We ate our samples they gave us, I had half of a cookie, and then we went up the hill.  When we got back, instead of doing the usual crunches and pushups, we did a set of 50 crunches and then a set of 30 pushups.  We did that twice.  I didn't want to, and it was very hard I thought.  But I guess I'm glad my cousin made me do them, it'll just make me stronger.  After that we enjoyed our cinnamon rolls.

Its my birthday today :)  Since I'm turning 15, I wanted to see how many miles I could do, but since its a Sunday I guess that cancels that idea.  I ran from my house over to Sunnyside and down to 1300e and came home.  It was really hot because it was in the late afternoon, but I figured it would be better than the last time I did that run.  This time it wasn't sunny, and it was 10 degrees cooler.  Also, my brother gave me some running shorts I wanted for my birthday, so I got to run in them.  And tomorrow, I am going shopping to get some racing flats as another present. 

This morning we met for practice at Sugarhouse Park. We ran to Shriners drinking fountain, a run we do from our stadium sometimes, and back.  I ran with Bre. On the way there we had a few hills and it was tough. Finally when we made it we got water and then went back. Luckily on the way back we got to run down the hills. When we got back to the park, we ate muffins that Bre made. They were good :)

This morning we met at the parking lot at the JCC. We started by running up a hill at the beginning of the trail. Then we all stopped and we each had to get rocks to carry while we ran. We had to carry them to an overlook of the city, where we dropped off the rocks. It was about 1.5 miles to where we dropped off the rocks. After that we had some steep hills, which were hard, but we made it. I ran with Bre most of the way, but when we turned around I went faster on some of the downhills and she caught back up to me not too far from the end of the run. After that we did 3 sets of 25 crunches and 15 pushups as usual. I found the pushups easier than previous times, probably because my cousin made me do sets of 30 last week. I'm glad that I've been able to show improvement.

For the evening workout, we met as Sugarhouse Park.  We started with a lap around the outside, and then we were supposed to do 10 1 minute fartlek.  I only did 5, which ended up being about a lap, because my hips were hurting a lot.  So I stopped and I stretched it out a bit, and massaged it a bit.  Since the pain is pretty high up at my hips, and I don't want to have to fill the tub that high. I just put on my swimming suit and put some ice in it by my hips.  It feels pretty good.  I'll find out if it works by how my hips feel during tomorrows hills. 

This morning we met at Cottonwood Complex. We started with a warmup of going around the baseball fields and then up to 1300e and over to 3900s and down to 1100e and back into the park. After that we did some strides, and then went and did hills. Because the sprinklers were on, we only had to get up to the top of the hill we were running. We did 3 of those hills, and then we did 3 of the same hill, but we kept going after we reached the top. After the hills we did 3 sets of 45 seconds leg lifts, followed by 3 sets of bridges. Then we did lunges, and jumps, and then some balancing knee lifts and putting one foot behind ourselves. After that we still had to do the usual crunches and pushups. Then, after that we had to go do a cooldown. We went over 2 miles of our region course for our cooldown. It was a tough workout and now I'm really tired.

This morning we met out at the Jordan River trail and ran on it.  I pushed my pace a little bit to see how long I could keep it up.  After about 2 miles I caught up with RJ and ran with him for a while.  We went 400 meters farther than the turnaround point, finally turning around when there was a fork, so that added a half mile to the run.  On the way back I still kept a fast pace, and pulled ahead.  When I got back to where we started I forgot about the 2 mile loop which our coach said to do afterwards, and then was reminded by Emily when most of the others were coming back.  I'll just go running some more tonight.

This evening I started my run a little after 8.  The sun had gone down so it was nice and cool.  I ran from my house up along 1500e and then aver to Sunnyside and up to Foothill Boulevard.  Then I ran down that to 1300e and 500s.  From there I stayed on 1300e and ran back to my house.  I felt a little sore at the beginning of the run, but its not that bad.