You've got to want it to win it

This morning we had an hour of lifting with Coach Rufino.  We did less time at each station today than on other days since we are racing Saturday.  In the afternoon we had a workout at Liberty Park.  For warmup we ran to the park from the 900s Trax station.  We did part of a counterclockwise lap over to where we would be starting.  Then we did our drills and strides and then changed shoes.  Kep put us into groups for three 1 lap repeats with 2 minutes recovery after each.  I was with Macee, Lauren, AuraLea, Bekah, and Theo.  We were supposed to be running 6:20-24 pace but we were actually going closer to 6:10 pace, it felt great.  I don't remember the time for the first one but the second and third ones I hit 9:12 and 9:10.  Then we did four 25 second strides.  Then I changed shoes and for cooldown ran with the older girls who were going the longer way that included the drinking fountain.  

This morning I went for an easy run with Alexis L. for recovery for preparing to race tomorrow.  We went north from HPER and went into the Avenues and made our way past Shriner's drinking fountain and up onto 11th Ave. and went until we were at 2 miles and then turned around and went back the same way we had come.  Then we did our 8 strides on the grass between the Burb and the swimming pool.  Then Alexis ran back up to her dorm and I cooled down until I was at 5 miles.  After class when I got home I took a 15 minute ice bath.  I'm excited to race tomorrow!

This morning after arriving at the race, as a team we walked part of the course to get a feel for the terrain and decide if we were going with flats or spikes and what size spikes.  We walked part of the loop and then ran the rest of it for warmup.  I did a little more with Hil and AuraLea since they were doing a few more minutes, and then I kept warming up until I was at 3 miles.  Then I joined the team for drills and strides.  Then Abigail helped me change the spikes in my Footlocker pair to quarters instead of the 3/8ths I had in from Tuesday's workout.  Then I went over to the line for strides.  We did a team prayer and cheer and then got in our box.  We were furthest over to the right, and when the race started most of the pack went left so I was easily able to get where I needed to be on the right and into a good position going around the first turn.  We hit some mud puddles right after the first stretch but its cross country so its to be expected.  The whole first lap I focused on just staying with the first group and not going out crazy or trying to take control since it was my first college race so I wasn't sure how I'd do at the college level.  My first K was at 3:37.  Towards the end of the first loop a Weber girl took the lead and I was still in the lead pack with a BYU and a USU girl, and when the Weber girl took off I went with her though I stayed behind her.  Starting the second lap as we got to the first turn again, I began to lose her a little bit but I didn't want to use all my energy making it a chase then and then run out of gas and get caught by the pack.  At this point she opened up on me but at the same time I must have opened up on the pack behind me.  The whole rest of the lap I was trying to catch her but was only able to get to the point where she wasn't getting any further, though I wasn't closing much.  Going down the final stretch I pushed really hard and I almost even puked twice, just like Abigail in her first race!  I didn't puke until after I crossed the line though.  I got a new PR, and broke 18 for the first time!  :)  So it was a good day :)  Afterwards I joined the team for a cooldown, we went out about 10 minutes and back but then when we got to where we could see the guys race I fell behind the other girls because I stopped to cheer.  I ended up getting 2.5 miles cooldown though.  Then I went and enjoyed the bagels and vitamin waters that were provided by USU :)  It was a good day and I'm very happy with my race today :)

When I got home I still needed 4.5 miles cooldown so Abigail and Sarah came with me, even though they had just been to Maddox on the way home from the race.  We ran along 1500e to Sunnyside and then up to Foothill and down to 1300e and home.  Abigail felt sick so went back along Guardsman but Sarah and I were together the whole time.  When we were finished we went and got some delicious smoothies! :)

This morning I went up to campus and ran up the road by Red Butte to the gate and back down to the lockerroom to get 3 miles before meeting up with Macee, Alex, and Andrea to go for an easy run.  Macee and I were doing 60 minutes and Alex and Andrea were doing 30 so they ran with us for the first bit.  We ran through the Avenues to get to 11th Ave., that's about where Alex and Andrea turned, and Macee and I ran on 11th Ave. all the way down until right before it turns to go up City Creek.  We stopped to stretch for a bit before running back, the way back felt so good and very nice for recovery after Saturday.  When I got home I took an ice bath for 15 minutes.

This morning we did our hour of weights.  We did a lot of the same stuff we've been doing the past few times, though this time on the bar the freshmen got to do a little more than what we've been doing! We've definitely been getting better and I feel that working in the weight room has really strengthened my core. 

This afternoon we did a hills workout.  For warmup we ran up to the road by Red Butte and then to get a little more we ran on part of the Drycreek trail to a tree and then turned and went back to the road and up to the yellow gate.  Then we did our drills and strides and changed shoes.  Then Kep explained the workout to us.  He had placed cones at the 200, 400, 500, and 600 meter marks so that we could judge about how far we got each time that we ran up the road for 2 minutes.  We started in small groups but it ended up being a small group and then a large group.  I got to about the same spot each time.  We did it 4 times, and for recovery on each we ran back down to the start.  After 4 then we ran over to the tree we had turned around at earlier and then in groups of 2 we ran up the hill for 1 minute and then walked partway down and jogged partway down.  I was with Andrea.  We did 4 sets of that as well.  When we were all finished with that we changed shoes back and then ran cooldown.  I ran that with Hilary, Alyssa, and Bekah since they were going longer.  I did the last mile and a half by myself to get up to 10.  

Today for workout we had a recovery run in the afternoon.  We were supposed to do whatever we needed.  Since we started at 2:15 and had a meeting at 3:45 I didn't have time to get in all 10 miles that I needed :(  But with Hilary I ran along Foothill over to 1700s, and then down to 2100e and over to 900s and into Bonneville Glen.  We did a lap there and then ran back to campus along Guardsman.  We went to the field below the track where Hilary did strides, but I kept running to try and get in as much as I could before the meeting.  I ran out to the road just north of campus and then went up above the track and then back down the way I had come, and ended up just finishing with 8 and a half so I could grab my stuff and get to the meeting.  

This morning we had lifting.  We got to a little bit less today since many of us are racing Saturday.  

For the afternoon workout we took Trax to 900e and then ran to Liberty Park for warmup.  We did our strides and drills and then changed shoes.  The workout was a Kenyan run.  It was a 4 mile tempo where we'd pick up the pace by 20 seconds each mile, gradually throughout the whole mile.  I was with Hilary, Bekah, and Lauren.  Our starting pace was 6:50.  We had two full laps and then 2/3 of a lap to get to 4 miles.  The splits I got were 6:55, 6:28, 6:13, 6:00.  Then we jogged back to our shoes to change them and then I went with the group that was going longer for cooldown. 

Today we had an easy day to recover from yesterday and taper for tomorrow.  We went out on Foothill and turned around as we needed.  I ran with Hilary out 15 minutes, which got us just past 1300s.  When we got back to campus we did strides on the field with the softball pitches in it.  We did ours barefoot and we did 6.  Then we did about a quarter mile barefoot cooldown to get to 5 for the day.

This morning I ran an easy 2 miles out to 1700s and back.  I got my mom to run a block with me going each direction, she had just started walking before I began my run.  Afterwards she took me to get a bagel :)  Now its off to Reno for the race tonight!

Tonight after arriving at the race course we had a little while to get settled and ready before we began to warmup.  About 45 minutes before our race we went for a team warmup.  We did a few laps in the baseball fields where we were set up and then we went and ran part of the loop on the course.  Then we returned to the baseball diamonds to do our drills and strides.  Then we went and changed shoes.  I got about 2.5 miles warmup including the strides we did on the line.  We circled up and did our team prayer and cheer, and then we got on the line.  When the race started I got right up to the front and ran next to Alyssa and we led the pack for the first little loop.  Since we were running under the lights, it made it so that just after passing each set of lights we could see the shadows of the girls behind us, which was useful every lap in figuring out where the other runners were.  Going into the second loop Alyssa picked it up and broke away, and Bekah went with her.  Then going up the hill I got passed back and forth by Lucy and two of the UNLV girls, who were also wearing red so from the corner of my eye it was hard to tell who was who.  Getting to the downhill portion I was able to pass them back, but then on the next lap which was a bigger lap a UNR girl passed me on the uphill.  At that point I knew that when I passed back on the downhill I was going to have to go hard since it was the last lap and once we were off the little mountain it wasn't that far to the finish.  I was able to breakaway from them and I pushed all the way over around the field and then kicked it in down the final straightaway not too far behind Bekah.  When I was leaving the finish chute I turned and saw that Hilary had finished 4th!  A few places back, Lauren finished 10th bringing our final team score to 20, earning our team first place and winning an engraved plate for it :)  Afterwards we started to cooldown in the baseball diamonds, and Kate, Lauren, and I decided to get our iPods and then we ended up going out on the road for a bit so we wouldn't get bored going in circles.  We ended up with 3 miles total for cooldown.  

Today for workout we ran on not Foothill!  We went through the Avenues to get to 11th Avenue and took that all the way to City Creek.  We were in one big pack the whole time, though I admit going up the hills on Alta and Virginia Streets to get to 11th I fell behind the group and took a while to catch back up but I made it.  The group turned down Memory Grove but I ran up just a bit farther to hit the bathrooms and drinking fountain because I knew they were less than a quarter mile away and I wasn't feeling so great, but I wasn't feeling horrible.  Just about the whole run I was at 7:25 pace.  The rest of the girls ran around downtown and took trax back up, but I ran back up to campus along South Temple like in indoor track.  I ended up with a total of 9 miles in 70 minutes, and I actually beat the other girls back because they had to wait for the train.  I was pretty slow as I got closer to campus because it got steeper there, I really need to do a good hills workout because I have not been doing so well at those lately :P

This morning I didn't make it to weights because I was puking my guts out last night and in the middle of the night.  It took me a while to fall asleep after both times so I needed the extra sleep in the morning, and I wasn't feeling that I'd be able to have a good lifting workout since I hadn't kept any food down since yesterday lunch.  After class I went and saw Hanah and she called Kep to see what he wanted me to do about the workout.  He wanted me to come and try anyway, so I did.  We were at Sunnyside today, we ran there for warmup.  Then we did our drills and strides and changed shoes.  I decided not to change shoes because I know you are more prone to injury when you are sick so I wanted to be careful.  The workout was three sets of 700, 800, 900 with 2 minutes after each.  I was in a group with Hilary, Bekah, and Lauren.  When we got going on our first 700 I kept up with them for the first stretch but then I fell back and even though I was pushing as hard as I could I couldn't keep up and then I was nearly in tears as I finished in 2:45, 13 seconds off what I was supposed to hit.  Then Kep came over and told me to just do a cooldown and focus on getting better.  I just did a few laps around the park, stopping on some of them to drink some Powerade since I am dehydrated from being sick.  I finished with 5 miles.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

This afternoon for workout we had a recovery run.  I wasn't sure how much I was going to run so I just ran by feel.  I started in a group with Nikki, Lucy, Alexis, Andrea, and Alex.  We ran along Foothill and then down 900s, where a few of the girls went into Bonneville glen.  I was with Alexis and I wasn't feeling too great so we didn't go into the gully but we ran with Alex and Andrea down to Guardsman and then back to campus.  We did strides and drills in the field by the humanities building and then ran just a little bit more until we were at 4 miles.

Today we didn't do lifting as a team because most everyone is racing tomorrow.  In the afternoon, those of us who aren't racing because of Stanford next week did a workout.  We drove to Liberty Park and did part of a lap to get to Cassie, who was already running, and then we turned around and ran a full lap and then we did our strides and drills before changing shoes.  The workout was two, 12 minute thresholds with 2:30 rest after each.  I was in a group with Hilary, Bekah, and Lauren.  On the first one I was able to keep up for about the first half mile and then I fell back a little bit as we kept going.  Coming along the bottom stretch almost to a full lap I really fell back and then by the time we were over at 1300s almost done my stomach was really hurting.  I jogged a little bit to get to the drinking fountain, and then Kep changed the workout for Lauren and me.  He had us instead of doing the second 12 minutes do two 1 mile repeats with 45 seconds after each.  We hit 6:27 for the first and we're not sure for the second but it was so nice to be able to break up that second set!  Afterwards we did our strides as we went back to change shoes and then we did a lap cooldown.

Today I finally got my lifting in, my arms felt just about like they were going to fall afterwards!  And I still can't do a pullup :P  it was a good workout though and I gave it my best effort, it will truly be a momentous occasion when I finally can do pullups all by myself!  A few hours after I was done lifting I went for a run from my house.  I ran to Bonneville gully, did 5 laps, and then went back home.  Then I went up to campus because I decided I would go cheer at BYU but they must have changed the departure time because I didn't see anyone so instead I decided to take trax to Murray and see if I could catch any of the invite but I missed all of the girls races.  Eventful day.

Today for practice we met at HPER and then drove up to Park City for a long run.  It was cold because it rained last night, its finally starting to feel like fall!  I ran with Hilary the whole time, she was going 13 miles.  Lauren and Kep and Lucy and Nikki were with us for part of the run but it was just Hil and me where we turned at 6.5.  Trail ended we think so we followed this sidewalk and ended up to where the trail continued most likely but that was about where we needed to turn so it was good.  Our average pace for the way out was 7:44 but we had got it down to 7:28 overall for the way back.  Cassie ran back after she had finished and joined us for our last mile.

This afternoon we had a workout at Sunnyside Park.  We ran there and did a lap around the fields for warmup.  Then we did our drills and strides and changed shoes.  Then Kep put us into groups.  I was with Hilary, Bekah, and Nikki R..  We were doing 8 sets of 3 minutes with 3 minutes rest between each set, though on the last 2 we had 2:45 rest.  The first 2 Bekah was in the lead and I was just ahead of Hil and Nikki, but then Bekah moved up a group and then Lucy joined us.  I struggled during some of the next few to keep up but I was usually able to close the gap by the end.  I think the portion with the uphill was what got me, I really need to work on those!  For the recoveries I usually jogged around a bit and then stood for the last few seconds before getting on the line to go for the next one.  Afterwards we changed shoes back and Hilary and I did laps around the field while we waited for Lauren to be done so that we could cool down with her.  We needed 2.5 miles cooldown to be at 10 for the day and we finished just by the entrance to HPER W.  

This morning we lifted.  The freshmen just did stuff with the bar for most of the time.  In the afternoon we had a recovery run.  We ran down to Guardsman and then over to 900s, then cut up to Military Drive which turns into 1700e.  We ran all the way to Emerson, where it ended, and cut down to 1600e and took that to 1700s and cut down again to 1500e.  We ran until about Garfield Avenue and then turned around and ran back the same way.  Then we did 6 strides, 3 drills, and 3 hurdle drills at the track to finish.

This afternoon we did our second workout for the week.  We took trax down to 900e and ran to LIberty Park for our warmup.  We did our drills and strides and then changed shoes.  I wore my new flats, the Saucony fastwitch 5s, that I picked up yesterday.  The workout was a 20 minute tempo run at 6:15-6:10 pace.  I was with Bekah, Hilary, Nikki, and Lucy.  The first lap I felt alright until I got to the part along 500e and then I started falling behind Lucy and Bekah.  I knew Bekah was going to stop for a minute and wait for Amanda before going again but I didn't know that Lucy was stopping too until we got to the entrance at 1300s and both of them dropped.  Then Hilary caught up to me and passed me and then going along 500e again Nikki passed me and I wasn't able to catch either of them.  I finished the workout and was glad to be done.  Then we did four 30 second strides.  Then I needed 1.75 miles to get to 10 for the day so I ran part of a counter clockwise lap and over to the trax station at trolley with Amanda and Hilary.  When I got home I finally took an ice bath!  I did 15 minutes, and I was able to clean out the ice box of the giant ice cube that formed when our freezer door was somehow left open when we weren't home a couple days ago :P

Today we had an easy run and strides in preparation for Stanford on Saturday.  I ran with Hilary, we went out on Foothill to 1700s and then down to 2100e and back to campus.  When we got back we needed to do strides on the track and we were cutting through the parking lot above HPER and then a car was coming really fast towards us and be both screamed!  It was terrifying!!!  Then as we continued through the parking lot, Hil cut her shoulder on a sign.  Intense 30 seconds in the parking lot.  Then we did 8 strides and 4 drills and we were done for the day.  I did half of my strides in my socks.

This afternoon after arriving at the hotel I went for a run with Amanda, Alyssa, and Cassie.  We went along a trail starting at the Yuba Drive trail head.  We turned around just after 2 miles.  When we got back to the hotel I took a 15 minute ice bath.

This morning after arriving at the golf course at Stanford and getting settled, we did a warmup around the course to familiarize ourselves with the course.  Then we did our routine drills and strides.  We had a little over 2 miles then.  Then we changed shoes, I wore my pink spikes, its been a while!  We went over to the starting area and got in our box, we were in 35.  We did a few strides and then did our team prayer and cheer.  The boxes were narrow and they had us put 2 on the front and 2 behind and everyone else behind another line.  When the gun went off and the race started, it was crazy packed!  Right next to me I saw a girl tumble to the ground, taking a team mate with her.  I was lucky not to have been dragged down as well.  The whole first loop I didn't even know what part of the course I was at because of how packed it was.  I just kept passing girls the whole time.  Going up the hill towards the turnaround of the first loop I could see a team in yellow in a pack so I decided to make them my target and focused on catching them, which I did.  On the second loop when I got to the turnaround I had a panic moment because I saw where the course continues for the guys race and thought that we were actually on our small loop and I was really confused.  But then I was relieved when we passed the part of the course where the small loop actually cuts in.  On the last lap I was almost in no-man's land but then I counted the girls in the pack just in front of me and found that there were 10.  So I made it my goal to pass all 10 of them before the race was over.  Going up the hill to the turnaround I caught 1-4, and then coming back down I caught 5-8.  The rest of the race was a battle to get numbers 9 and 10.  At one point I could tell that we were all going the same speed, I wasn't closing on them at all.  Going down the final straightaway I passed 9 but I think she passed me back, but I did pass a girl who started walking before the finish.  I felt that I had a great race for my first college invitational.  However, I am in the same trap as in high school of not getting out fast enough and having to work my way up.  I know that I can place higher up if I get into a better position from the start.  I'll just have to keep working on improving that.  Afterwards I changed shoes back and I ran a cooldown with Macee.  We followed Amanda, Alyssa, and Cassie on the bike path.  We turned around at a mile, but we missed the entrance to the course where we had left for our cooldown so Macee and I actually ended up with 2 and a half miles cooldown instead.  

In the evening after returning from a night in San Francisco, I went for a 20 minute run with Bekah.  We just ran out on the road by our hotel and back.  I needed a little bit more mileage so after that I ran on the treadmill until I had 3 and a half for the evening.

This afternoon for workout we did a recovery run.  I ran with Macee, we went along Foothill to 1700s and then up to Wasatch Drive.  We took that all the way back to Sunnyside and then we ran down through the parking lot at This is the Place.  We turned right at the post office and ran until we were on the road just south of campus by the orthopedic center.  We ran on a sidewalk which looked like it would be a shortcut but it ended up being longer and just took us a full loop around the orthopedic center because we ran into a fence with barbed wire and the top and then we went down but there was a wall but we were able to get around the building without having to go back up.  Then we went to the track and did barefoot strides and drills.  Then I ran about a half mile for cooldown to get to 8 miles for the day.

This morning we had an hour of lifting.  Most of the time we did stuff with the bar.  In the afternoon we had a workout.  At Sugarhouse we started with a lap warmup and then drills and strides.  Then we changed shoes and Kep explained the workout.  The was he explained it was really confusing but it was pretty much just fartlek with 2 minutes on 2 minutes off, then 5 sets of 4 minutes on 3 minutes off, and another 2 minutes on 2 off.  We did two 200s before we started to get warmed back up.  Afterwards we did a cooldown of picking up the course.  We realized we had missed one of the cones so I went back to get it since I had ridden my bike to the park so I didn't need a ride back to campus.  I got about a mile and a half total for cooldown.

We had our second workout of the week today so that we can have more rest time before the meet Saturday.  We took Trax down to 900e and ran to Liberty Park for our warmup.  Then we did our usual strides and drills and changed shoes.  Then Kep explained the workout and we did 2 more strides to get our heart rates back up.  The workout was four 1 mile repeats with 90 seconds recovery in between.  I was with Nikki and we were supposed to hit 6:20 pace.  Since the older girls weren't working out today Nikki and I were the first group.  We ran the first one in 6:18 and it felt pretty easy the last half mile because we had gotten into a good rhythm.  After our recovery we started again but this time we must have started too easy because of how nice we had felt after finishing the last one so we were really picking it up the last half but we ended up getting a 6:31.  For the next one Kep told us that if we were more than 5 seconds off pace at the half mile to stop for 30 seconds and then finish.  We took this one out a little faster and Nikki was falling back a bit but then she caught up to me before the half mile and we were on pace so we did the whole mile.  We hit 6:20 for this one.  Then for the last one Kep told us to just do a half.  I felt like I could have probably done another mile but during the last half I was beginning to feel the fatigue in my legs.  We finished in 3:13.  Then we had five 25 second strides, we did some of them on the way back from the drinking fountain where we had finished.  Then we changed shoes back and ran back to the Trax station at Trolley to finish.  We were at 7 and a half miles there and I wanted to get 8 so I ran up to the 900e station.  

This afternoon I did a recovery run with Nikki, Alex, and Andrea.  We ran to 11th Avenue.  Alex and Andrea turned around at about 20 minutes but Nikki and I went for a little over a half hour which was 4 miles and took us to the drinking fountain at City Creek.  We stopped for a drink really quick and then we ran back the same way we had come.  Then we did our strides and drills on the grass between the Burb and the swimming pool.  When I got home I took a 15 minute ice bath.  

This morning in the hour after institute and before the bus left, I went to the track and did 4 laps warmup, 8 laps of speedchanges, and 4 laps cooldown.  All of them except for the cooldown I did going clockwise.  As I headed to the bus I stopped by the training room to grab a bag of ice for my quad.