You've got to want it to win it

Sick again this week, this time with a cough and cold.  But today I felt up to exercising again, so I went to the gym for 17 minutes on the bike and 13 on elliptical.

25 minutes on the bike and then 5 minutes walking.

20 minutes on the bike and then 10 minutes walking.  

25 minutes biking.

25 minutes biking and 5 minute walk.

20 minutes on the bike and 10 walking.

20 minutes biking and 10 minutes of walking.

20 minutes on the bike and 10 minutes walking.

First day of school!  I got my workout of 20 minutes biking and 10 minutes walking before going to class.  Then I realized I don't have class again until Wednesday, so I feel like I have all the time in the world!  

20 minutes biking and 10 minutes walking.  I weighed in 5 pounds heavier at my prenatal appointment this week than I did last week :-P

I was feeling ambitious today so I biked 25 minutes and then walked 10 on the treadmill.  That extra 5 minutes must have been just what I needed, I had my baby tonight!

I took Ellie for a walk today!  And taught a senior exercise class.  Then I decided it was time to try running!   I ran around the block.  My pace was 10:33 average, hopefully I'll get to watch that time come down over the next several weeks. :)

2 miles around the neighborhood today.

This morning Jesse and I went to Jordan river trail to go running. We ran from 4700 to a little past 5400, and walked most of the way back. My average pace for the run was sub 10:00 today!

This evening Jesse and I went running around the block two laps.

This evening I went running with Jesse again, same as last night.

Tonight Jesse and I went running at Liberty Park. We just did 1 lap around the perimeter.

Today I was able to run in the morning and enjoy the sunshine :)  I did an out and back run through the neighborhood.

3 miles at Liberty Park.  I did a lap on the woodchips and a lap around the perimeter.

This afternoon I went running with Jesse at Sugarhouse Park.  We did 1 lap around the perimeter.

Today I went running with Jesse at Liberty Park.  Ellie wasn't the only one who needed a change afterwards. 

3 miles around the neighborhood later this afternoon.

Ellie slept 5 hours straight last night! So I was able to be up early enough to get my run in before class :)

Late this afternoon I went for a run around the neighborhood.  The nice thing about doing short runs is that exploring the neighborhood isn't so boring.

This afternoon I ran 2 miles out and back in the neighborhood.

Jesse and I went running on the Jordan river trail today. He ran with the stroller on the way out and I ran with it on the way back.

4 miles on the treadmill at my parents house today while my mom tended Ellie. :)

Today I took the stroller and went running at Liberty park. I did 3 laps and then a little extra to get to 4.5.

Today for the first time in a long time I went running from the locker room. I ran to 11th Avenue and back.

Today I went running in the snow! I ran from my parents house to Sugarhouse, did a lap, and ran back.

This afternoon Jesse and I went running on the Jordan river trail.  We went out 2 miles and back.

Today I took Jesse to Salt Lake Running so that he could get some new shoes, which he badly needed!  Then we went running together :)  We ran from my parents houe to Sugarhouse Park for a lap around, and then up to 2100e and over to 1300s back home.  

This evening Jesse and I went running in the snow :) we ran from grandma's houseto Sunnyside, up to Foothill, and down 500s to 1300e and back to grandma's.

5 miles on the treadmill today. Ellie slept the whole time :) and then later in the afternoon she slept while I taught exercise class :) she's such a sweetheart ♥

I had a test in one of my classes this afternoon so I enjoyed a nice run after. Running after taking a test is seriously one of my favorite things because it helps me take my mind off the questions and not be so anxious to get my score back. I did the same route as Monday but cut across Guardsman instead of 13th so that I could stop by the track at East for some strides. Planning on my first workout tomorrow!

Threshold at the oval today! I warmed up 5 laps and then did drills and strides. I couldn't remember the order of the drills my team does for warm-up, I'm sure it'll come back to me eventually... Before getting started on the workout, I did some 200s at what I felt should be threshold. 44 and 46... quicker than I expected, so I eased up a little for the 800s. I hit 3:10, 3:11, 3:10. 40 second recovery back to the start for each. 5 laps cool down and stretching afterwards.

Beautiful day today so Jesse and I went running up City Creek :) I pushed the stroller from the ranger station to where it started to get really steep, then Jesse caught up to me and I ran just a little more to get the last .25 I needed before turning around.

5 miles this morning on the Jordan river trail. Jesse and I took turns pushing the stroller.

5 miles at Sugarhouse with the stroller. I felt adventurous and decided to continue along 1700e out of the park. Ran to 3300s and back.

I did my second threshold workout up on the track today. I warmed up a mile and a half and then did the routine drills and strides on the track. I did two 200s before starting on 1200s. My times were 4:50, 4:49, & 4:51. 1 minute recovery in between. I finished with another 2 200s and then cooled down 2 miles.

This evening after class I went for a run from the library while Jesse tended Ellie in the family reading rooom. It is a really neat place.  I ran up to 11th Avenue and then down past the firestation to the next street, where I turned and ran down by the cemetery to South Temple.  At 1300e I turned and ran to 800s, and then up to Guardsman.  I saw Bill leaving the track as I ran by.  I finished with 6 just before getting back to the library.

Today Jesse and I went running in Bountiful.  We ran to Mueller park for warmup, then did 8 sets of fartlek 2 minute on 1 minute off.  I was thinking I was going to give up at 6, but I lost count and ended up doing 8 anyway.  Cooled down to finish with 7.  

This afternoon Jesse and I went running at Sugarhouse Park.  We did 2 laps around the perimeter. I pushed the stroller for the first lap, and Jesse pushed the stroller for the second lap.  Afterwards I did some core.  I've been hesitant to get back into core because I am not sure how healed my abs are and there still is a space (a lot smaller than it used to be) between my rectus abdomini, but I want to be careful to not widen it.  

This morning Jesse and I went running on the Jordan River trail.  I pushed the stroller on miles 2 and 4.  I started slow-ish but really picked up the pace by mile 3, and ended up finishing with a 7:32 average :)

This afternoon I went to Liberty Park for a workout.  I warmed up about 2 miles and then did the team strides and drills.  I did 4 threshold 800s, my times were 3:14, 3:13, 3:12, 3:14.  Cooled down 2.5 to get to 7 total.

This afternoon Jesse and I went running at Sugarhouse Park.  I pushed the stroller for 2 laps while Jesse was doing his miles, then ran another lap and a half to finish with 7.  When I got home, I finally got on Amazon and bought a bob!  Can't wait :)

This morning I joined my team at the track for workout :) I ran the warmup with Sarah (I kept up!) and then did the usualy strides and drills with the team.  My workout was 200s and 300s, half of what the long distance group was doing although mine was for turnover... and my pace was what last year I would have been trying to hit.  My recovery was equal distance jog.  My times were 40, 60, 39, 61, 39, 61, 40, 62.  The last 50 meters on the last 300 I could start to feel tired in my legs, so I just did the 4 sets.  I cooled down 2 miles to finish with 6.5 for the day. 

We're in Moab for a short spring break trip!  This morning I ran from the hotel around some of the residential streets of Moab.  Being in Moab reminds me of being in Hawaii because it seems that a lot of the economy depends on tourism.

After a day of scenic driving in Canyonlands, we headed home.  Arrived back later than we had originally anticipated, so I just did 4 miles on the treadmill.  

Took Ellie for a run in the bob for the first time!  Jesse and I went running on the Jordan River trail.  I pushed Ellie for about the first mile and a half, then Jesse had doubled back to run with me and was ready to turn around so he took the stroller.  I ran out 5 miles in 39 minutes and took a few moments to stretch before heading back.  The last half mile was hard, but I finished!  I realize this makes of 25% of my weekly mileage, so that was difficult.  Total time was 1:17.  While I was running I was thinking about how I used to do 10 mile runs every day for a while and they weren't so difficult!  I'll get there soon. :)

I'm a little bummed that now I have a jogging stroller it is too cold to take Ellie in it, but I look forward to the warmer weather to come! Today I ran from my parents house up to Wasatch and over to the trail just past the drinking fountain and back.

Fast workout on the track this morning to determine if I would race Friday. I warmed up 2 miles and then did the usual strides and drills. The workout Kep gave me was two sets of 400, 400, 400, 300 with 3 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute, and 5 minutes rest. I could definitely feel why it was a good workout for 2015006 prep! My goal pace was 78 (my old 5k pace... that'll take some work and several more weeks training!). I did a 200 first and hit 39. On the first set I hit 80, 79, 79, 58. On the second set I hit 80, 79, 81, 60. By the last 400 and the last 300 I was exhausted. I cooled down 2 more miles to get 8 for the day. I decided no race Friday and that it will be more worth my time to keep working out. :)

Got a quarter mile running to the locker room from the parking garage because Nikki told everyone to wait for me so I could run with the team! :) it was me, Nikki, Jessica, and Shaylen :) we ran Trax! The short route, so we cut down Memory Grove. Nikki and I were both sore so we fell behind Jessica and Shaylen on the hills up to 11th Avenue, but caught up with them in Memory Grove and ran the rest of the way together. 7:41 average pace :)

Today I did a threshold workout at Liberty. I warmed up 2 miles and then did strides and drills. I did 3 sets of 5 minutes with 1 minute recovery. I originally intended to do 4 sets, but last night's dinner wasn't sitting well so I called it. I cooled down to finish with 7 total.

This afternoon Jesse and I went running from the capitol.  He pushed the stroller the first mile and I pushed the stroller the rest of the way.  Ran to the firestation on 11th and back.

This morning Jesse and I went running on the Jordan River Trail.  We went out 3.5 and back.  I pushed the stroller the whole time and managed a 7:44 average pace. :)

Today I went running from campus with the stroller.  I ran down to Foothill and then 2100e to 2100s, down to 1900e to Sunnyside and Guardsman to campus.  

Workout on the track this morning.  This time I wanted something that would be good for 3k prep.  I warmed up 2 miles and then did the routine strides and drills.  I did a 200 first to get a feel for pace, and then started the workout.  It was 4 sets of 2x500, with 90 seconds rest the first time and 10 seconds less each time, with 4 minutes between sets.  Kep said to try and hit 82-83 for the 400 split.  My times were 1:45 for the first set, 1:44 for the second set, 1:42 and 1:44 for the third set, and 1:42 and 1:45 for the last set.  The wind was awful on the second 100 of each rep, but having that resistance helped me focus on trying to keep a pace rather than maintain the effort because I really had to focus on not slowing down into the wind.  Cooled down 2 miles to get to 8 total for the day.

Today I went running with Nikki and Jessica. We did fruit loops and then went through the golf course to 1300s, and back to campus along Foothill. I added on at the end, to 11th Avenue and back.

After I got done teaching in the afternoon, I went for a run in my parents neighborhood while they tended Ellie. I ran to 3300s and back.

This afternoon I did a workout at Liberty park. I warmed up 2 miles and then did strides and drills. The workout was threshold miles with 1 minute rest. Kep said 3 or 4, so I planned on 3 because I wasn't feeling too confident after last week's threshold. My first one was 6:30, the second 6:26, and when I hit the third in 6:23 I decided I could do 4 and hit 6:17. I guess I warmed up along the way

My left hip was hurting a little bit but that went away as I got going as well. Cooled down to finish with 8 total.

Today I went running on the Jordan river trail. I originally intended to do 8, but at 2.5 I didn't feel like fighting the wind anymore and my hip was hurting so I turned around.

I did heat and stem on my back today to see if it would help with my hip pain.  Later I went running at Wheeler farm so I could be on a soft surface.  My hip still hurt, so I just did 1 lap and called it.  The uneven surface probably didn't help, but I'm sure it would have hurt even on a smooth surface. 

30 minutes on the underwater treadmill this morning.

30 minutes on the elliptical.

I saw a machine yesterday that I haven't seen before so I decided I'd try it today.  It is one that basically you set the stride you want.  I tried it for 10 minutes and then decided to hop over to the elliptical so I could get some turnover, did that for 35.

45 minutes on the elliptical.

Tried underwater treadmill again today, but it was hurting my hip :(  even lowering it twice still didn't alleviate the pain.  So I biked for 20 mintues and then ellipticaled for 20.  

Today I biked.  I warmed up 10 minutes and then did 10 sets of 2 minutes hard 1 minute easy, followed by a 5 mile cooldown.  I got 12 miles in! My hip is feeling mostly alright, though it hurts with odd movements or walking on uneven ground.

My back has been feeling much better today, but I thought I'd better cross train another day before running again.  So I biked 45 minutes.

Today I ran on the treadmill.  I did 3 miles, and then ellipticaled for 20 minutes.  My back felt alright, I just want to make sure I don't come back too soon.  Also I have to keep reminding myselt that I have plenty of time to get back, so no rush.

Today my sister was my workout buddy at the new student life center. :)  We hadn't been running together in a long time!  We did 2 miles together on the indoor track, then I did another mile before joining my sister on the elliptical.  Then she hopped off and ran 2 more miles.  I just stayed on for 20 minutes.  Afterwards we did core together.  My abs are sore!!  So is my Abs. 

My back was hurting a little again today so I decided to cross train.  I warmed up 10 minutes on the bike and then did a ladder workout.  1 minute hard 1 minute easy, 2 on 1 off, 3 on 2 off, 4 on 3 off, 5 on 3 off, 4 on 3 off.   Cooled down about 10 minutes to finish with 12 miles total.

Today I went running with my sister and Jesse on the Jordan River trail.  Jesse had a faster time goal, so my sister and I stuck together with the stroller.  We went out 2.5 and back.  Afterwards we had delicious smoothies. :)

Today I went running from campus after class.  I did the Albertson's loop.

Today I ran with the stroller in my parents neighborhood.  I ran to Sugarhouse Park, did 2 laps, and back.  

Today I took the stroller to Jordan River Parkway trail.  I ran out 2.5 and back.

This morning I took Ellie in the stroller up City Creek and 11th Avenue.  I started at the capitol and ran past Popperton Park, then turned around.

Poorly timed run today. I had made it less than a mile and then there was lightning so I turned around and hurried home. Got drenched when I turned onto my street.

Today I went for a run in my parents' neighborhood. I ran up 1300s to 2100e, over to 1700s and up to Foothill. I took the paved Bonneville trail above the freeways and over to Tanner Park on the other side. Finished with 9.25 total.

Today I took Ellie in the stroller on the Jordan river trail. I ran out 3.5 and back. 

Today I took Ellie running in the stroller. We went along 1300e to 500s, up to Foothill over to 2100e, to 2100s, and back to my parents' house. 

Today I took Ellie for a run in the stroller up City Creek. I started at the Capitol. I was originally planning on just going up 3.25 miles, but when I got to that point I knew I had already passed the hardest part and it was beautiful so I went another half mile. I stopped just before the signs saying the water shed was close by, but I didn't need the extra mileage. Ellie was awake by then so I got a few pictures. And she was talking to me on the way down. She's a sweetheart. ❤️👌🏼

This morning I ran in City Creek again because Jesse wanted to run with me today 😊 we ran up 2.5 miles and back, and we counted more than 100 potato bugs. 

This morning when it was time for a study break I took Ellie for a run in the stroller. We went out 3.5 on the Jordan river trail and back.

This morning I took the stroller and ran 7 miles with Jesse on the Jordan River Trail. 

This afternoon after a long day of studying I took a break to go running. From the library I ran to 11th Avenue, down City Creek and Memory Grove, and back to campus via South Temple. Tomorrow I take the last final of my undergraduate career! And I'm very grateful that I've been able to earn my tuition through running.

This afternoon I went for a run on the Jordan River trail. I wanted to do a bit of a workout today, so I decided to do a 4 mile Kenyan run. After mile 3 I started timing so I would know what to hit for my next one. That one was 7:08. Next I hit 6:50, then a 6:33. Came through the next half in 3:12 and didn't finish that mile. Sushi for lunch was a mistake. I cooled down one more mile to finish with 8 total.

I gave my brother some babysitting experience while I went on my run today. I ran up 1300s to Wasatch, over to Thunderbird and down to Foothill up past the drinking fountain and back for 7 total. Only caught a few sprinkles but was glad to not have the stroller. The rain picked up when I was driving home, making me glad to have gotten my run in early.

This morning I was planning on running by the Capitol, but as I drove towards there it looked dark and gloomy like there were some storm clouds on their way, so I went to Liberty park instead. As I was setting up the stroller, my brother came running over! He had just arrived a minute before I did! So I had a running buddy. We did a little over 5 laps to get 7.5 miles.

Shorter run this morning because I had plans for graduation! I ran from my parents house to 500s up along Foothill to where it turned into 2100e, then down a bit past 1700s before turning down to go back to their house.

5 miles in Bountiful this morning in the rain.

This morning I took Ellie for a run. We started by the Capitol and ran up City Creek and 11th Avenue. When we got to Virginia Street we turned and went down to South Temple. We took that down to State Street and the headed back to the Capitol. Then I sprinted up the hill with the stroller. Just kidding. I finished in Memory Grove with 6 miles. I was thinking that the switchbacks would make it easy to get back up to my car, but I forgot about the stairs. A nice lady stopped to help me carry the stroller up the big flight of stairs, it was very kind of her.

A little while later, I helped Patrick with the Girls on the Run team that he helps coach. Today was their practice 5k and one of the girls needed a mentor, so I got to go run with her. 

Today I started my run at Sugarhouse Park. I ran up to 1700e and south to 2700s, and then up. I went up to Parleys trail, intending to run up and over the freeway and to the park from the other side, but there were signs that said the trail was closed and it looked like there was some construction going on. So I turned at 3.5 and started to head back to the park. I wasn't too disappointed to not be pushing the stroller up that hill. Back at the park I entered on the side where the freeway is and then when I got to 1300e cut into the park to do a lap on the road so I could finish with 8 total for the day. 

This morning I took Ellie in the stroller for a run starting at Liberty Park. I started by the northwest corner and headed south. I exited the park and ran on 500e almost to 3900s, turning around when I reached 4. On the way back, I had to stop a few times in the last 2 miles because Ellie was so done in the stroller. But eventually I got to the park and got her out so she was happy! One of her socks was missing, but I guess that is unavoidable sometimes. 

Sock update: After I finished what I needed to on campus, I decided I would drive home along 500e just to see if I might find that missing sock. I actually found it! It was a little past 1700s. Call me crazy, but I had to at least look one time.

This morning I took Ellie in the stroller at Jordan river trail. Just did 3 out and back since I had to be done in time for a meeting with my advisor for my grad program. I start classes next week!

Too rainy and cold for the stroller today, but I was able to get a sitter to listen to my baby monitor while Ellie napped so I could run. I did 6 miles in the neighborhood. Ellie slept the whole time, plus long enough for me to shower and mop my floors!

This morning my mom tended Ellie while Jesse and I went running since rain was on the forecast. It wasn't raining when we started so I decided to leave the rain coat home. We ran along 1300e to the U, then Jesse turned around and I kept going. I ran up Virginia Street to 11th Avenue, which I took all the way to B Street. I turned there and then cut down one of the streets which took me to the switch backs into Memory Grove. By this point I was wishing I'd worn the rain coat. I got drenched coming up South Temple so I was a little cold when I got back to 13th. The route ended up being a little over 9 so I walked the last few blocks. One of my favorite things about finishing a Saturday morning run is not having to run again until Monday. 😊

This morning I was out the door and starting my run with the stroller on the Jordan river trail by 9:45! That might be a new record for me. I had planned on going out 4.5 and back, but Ellie was fussing a bit after mile 4 so I decided to turn around early. A few minutes later she was back asleep, so I decided I'd stop and do some strides in a field about a mile before the finish so I could get the 9 I had hoped for. I did 6 strides with drills in between and then finished my run to my car. I'm glad I was able to get out and enjoy the window of sunshine today before the storms hit in the afternoon!

Ended up sleeping in this morning because Ellie was up at 6 and I wasn't ready to be up yet... So I had a short window to try and get my run in. Sugarhouse looked like a good bet, so I took Ellie and the stroller to the park. I did 4 laps around the perimeter. It looked beautiful when I was running south and east, but when I turned to go north and west I was able to see the storm clouds moving in. But I still managed to get my miles done before the rain came!

This morning Jesse decided to tend Ellie while I ran, so I was solo today. My form is so sloppy, but with the stroller that gets easily hidden. It is a good thing I get the chance to run on my own occasionally, though I do miss Ellie. I ran out 4 miles on the Jordan River trail, then did a fartlek on the way back. I did 10 sets of 1 minute on 1 minute off. Finished in 59 minutes total!

This morning Abigail met me with her bike at the Jordan river trail so she could bike along while I ran with the stroller. It was nice to have company, the way back on this trail can feel long sometimes.

This morning I went to the Smith to do my first real lift in a while. This meant I hadn't done a lift with the new coach yet, so it was a completely new routine from any I've had before. I was tired afterwards (this might be more due to the fact that it's been so long since I lifted) so I made myself wait before going running.

4 hours later I went for my run. I caught some raindrops for the first part but it stopped about halfway through. This kept it nice and cool. From my parents house I ran to Sugarhouse and then did the cemetery loop route and back to the house to finish with 8 total. 7:40 average pace.

This morning as Jesse and I were arriving to the Jordan River trail I saw Emily! So Jesse and I started running with her. Jesse was with us the first mile and a half and then rejoined me for the last mile and a half. This run was the fastest I've gone with the stroller but I managed, even with sore muscles from lifting yesterday. In the last half mile Jesse and I saw a snake! Average pace was 7:26.

10 miles with the stroller this morning! New record for me! I went out 5 and back on the Jordan River trail. Towards the turnaround there was a bridge closed and the detour was muddy, so I crossed a different bridge and ran on the east side of the river for the last quarter before turning around. Today Ellie discovered the window that I have to see her, so she was looking up at me for part of the run. :-) she's a cutie. Average pace was 7:30.

This morning I started my run at the library and ended it at the Smith. In between I ran up campus all the way to the dorms and then over to Sunnyside. Then I ran up Emigration canyon. I hit 5 miles just past Ruth's diner and decided that would be a good place to turn around. My quads took quite the beating on the way down. I finished with 9 a little before the Smith, but was glad to have a few minutes to walk before going and getting my lift done. Today's lift didn't kill me as much as last week.

Flat run today with the stroller. My quads were hurting a little but they seemed better once I was warmed up. I started at Liberty park and ran south on 500e, turning around at 4.5 which was a little past 3900s. A few minutes after finishing it started to rain. I guess I got done just in time! Average pace was 7:40.

This morning I started my run with the stroller from the Capitol. I ran City Creek to 11th and took that to Virginia Street. I cut up one more street east just below the hospital to break up the downhill. Then I took 3rd avenue and U street down to South Temple. I ran down to State Street and then up Memory Grove, and finished with 8 on the City Creek road. It was a good route but the second to last mile is rough after coming down South Temple. 

Took the stroller to Sugarhouse today.  I did a lap and a half around the perimeter before going out of the park.  I took 1700e and then Imperial Street to 3300s, up to Melbourne and back to the park.  That was about 3 miles, so I did another lap and a half to finish up with 9 for the day.

Went hiking this morning, so I didn't get the chance to run until later.  I think I got altitude sickness while I was hiking because I did not feel well at all... but after a much needed afternoon nap, Jesse and I went running at Liberty park.  I didn't realize there was a bike event going on or I would have chosen somewhere else.  But I guess that's what I get for not running in the morning... I pushed the stroller for a lap and then Jesse took over, then I went to the outside for another 4 laps.  I was hoping for 10 but my body was tired so I called it at 8.5.  This week my miles are higher than they were all through my pregnancy so it makes sense that it was exhausting.

I started my run around 10 and it was already 80 degrees... so I'm glad my sister was willing to babysit!  I seriously need to try and get myself up earlier and go.  Probably at 5 since Ellie has been waking up at that time every night for about the past week.  From my parents house I  ran along 1300e to campus, then along 1400e and Virginia Street up to 11th Avenue.  I took 11th all the way to B street and then cut down and took the switch backs down into Memory Grove.  This was a good stop for a bathroom and water break.  I ran out of Memory Grove and then to South Temple to go back east.  I went up to 1400e when I normally would have just gone to 13th, knowing my route would be a little short of 10, but it turned out to be a really good idea because of the water fountain just east of Reservoir park!  Then at 500s I went up to Guardsman and was able to get more water at Sunnyside.  Finished with 10 back at my parents house.  So glad to be out of the heat and enjoying the air conditioning of the library!

This morning Ellie got to spend time with Jesse at the library while I went for my run :)  I went to Sunnyside and did the old flagpole loop.  7:21 average pace.  Afterwards I went to the Smith and got my lift done, I had the whole weightroom to myself!  A sure sign of summer.

This morning I took the stroller for a run up City Creek.  I started at the Capitol.   As I was starting I was noticing how tall the grasses were on the side of the road and decided to run more in the middle of the lane to avoid anything that could be hiding in them.  Sure enough, a quarter mile in there was a snake on the road!  I picked it up and let Ellie play with it :)  Only joking!!!  I had to stop and get pictures because it was the second biggest wild snake I've ever seen (the first was in Yellowstone several years ago and my brother was about to step on that one).  I'm pretty sure it was a gopher snake, so it was harmless.  I put a picture on instagram, username runsusannah if anyone wants to see.  The rest of my run was uneventful as far as wildlife goes.  3 miles later I saw a lizard on the road, but it got away before I could get a picture.  I was planning on just doing 8, but when I got to the 4 mile mark I had already passed the signs saying the water shed was close so I decided to go until I got there. 4.25 miles and I was at the water shed.  The road narrows here, I've made it to this point once before.  As I stopped to catch my breath a biker complimented me on having made it with the stroller.  I was sure looking forward to the downhill on the way back!  My quads and shins felt tired on the way up.  Finished back to the car with 8.5 total.  Didn't see my snake friend on the way back.  

This morning I took Ellie in the stroller to Jordan River trail.  I went out 4 miles and back.  Ellie serenaded me with her cries the last 2 miles.  She just wanted me to be done running, because she stopped as soon as the stroller stopped, and she was just fine on the car ride home.  She's a sweetheart.  In the last half mile I saw another snake!  Much smaller than the one yesterday.  Barely snapped a picture as it reached it's hiding place in the tall grass.  7:28 average pace.  

This morning I started my run from Sunnyside park again. I did the Albertson's loop, but ran along Guardsman and up 500s to get to Foothill on the way out and again on the way back to get to 8 total. Lifted afterwards. My shins were hurting later, I'm sure from lifting because the packet includes a lot of jumping. 

This morning Jesse and I went running on the Jordan River trail. I pushed the strolled the first mile and a half, then Jesse took over and I ran the rest of the way on my own. 7:21 average pace.

Long run Monday! I went to Sugarhouse and started my run from there. I saw my teammate, Becky, as I was pulling into the park and I thought about running with her but she was out of sight by the time I was parked. I started around the perimeter and then went through the streets on the south side of the park on the old cemetery loop. I did 2 loops of that and then another 2 miles on the perimeter of the park to get to 11. 7:18 average pace.

This morning I took Ellie in the stroller to City Creek.  I decided I would go up a quarter mile further than last time.  If I keep doing that each week this summer it will work well for building miles and make an interesting hill route that I'll look forward to each week.  So I started at the Capitol and ran 4.5 miles up the canyon.  This was the first time I went up where the pavement narrows.  It sure is beautiful up there.  When I was done I went to campus for a 10 minute ice bath.  When I was getting ready to get in the water was when I realized that my shorts were on backwards.  I guess that's what they call mommy brain.

This morning my sister and I met up with Hilary and Andrea for a run. It was so nice to catch up with them! We ran along Foothill since we wanted to stay flat. They turned at 2.5 but I continued and did Albertson's loop, coming back to Sunnyside on 1900e. To add on I went down to Guardsman and the long way to Mario Capecchi, and then did strides in balliff to get 8 total. Lifted weights with Andrea afterwards. She made me do planks at the end, and they were hard. But we got bagels afterwards which made it all worth it. 10 minute ice bath to finish up.

This morning I went running on Pipeline trail for the first time in forever. I ran out to the overlook and back, then up the road and back to get what I needed to make it a full 10. I didn't enjoy it as much as I used to, there were a lot of dogs up there today and some bikers. 

This morning I went to campus for my run. I ran through upper campus and then by the post office on Sunnyside. I ran up above the zoo and then on Wasatch all the way to Thunderbird. Then I cut down to Foothill and took that all the way back to campus. I did strides in the field behind the institute parking garage to get to 9 total. My legs are tired.

This afternoon I went running with Nikki. We started by the institute garage and ran to Foothill. We took that to 1300s and then went up to Wasatch. We stopped for water at the golf course and then continued south on Wasatch. We turned around at Thunderbird and headed back. Nikki pushed the stroller to the golf course, it was nice to have a break. Then we went back down to Foothill to go back to campus.

This morning I went running with Nikki again. We met at Sugarhouse and ran two loops of the cemetery route, because they ended up being 4 miles each from where we started in the park. It was nice to get our run done earlier today, but it was still hot. Yay for summer running!

This morning I went running from campus. I did the Albertson's loop to get 6 total. Lifted weights afterwards.

This morning I went running with the stroller from campus. I ran through the avenues up to 11th. I took that to City Creek and then down Memory Grove. I went back to campus along South Temple, and then cut up through President's circle on my way back up to the locker room. It probably isn't very often that you see someone wearing a U athletics shirt running with a stroller through campus.

This morning I went running with Nikki. We did 7 miles, starting on the fruit loop route and then going above the zoo onto Wasatch. We didn't want to run on Foothill so we ran back the same way. Weights afterwards.

Knowing it was going to be a hot day today was incentive to get up and run early. I just ran in the neighborhood, creating a nice big loop. I ran to 3200w and then went south to 6200. Then I headed east to 2700w and headed back north. I stopped for water in a park behind the rec center, partially because I've noticed the park driving by a few times but had never been there. It is a lot bigger than I thought! I continued along 2700w to 4700s and then back to 3200w and home. 7:19 average pace.

This morning I did the same loop as I did yesterday but I ran it the opposite way. It is nice not having the steeper hill going south on 3200w, but it is also nice having the water stop later in the run. 7:16 average pace.

This morning I took Ellie in the stroller to the Jordan river trail.  I went out 3.5 miles and back.  Average pace was 7:24.  Set a new record for how early I made it out the door with the stroller, but I don't remember what time it was.

This morning I went running from home.  I did the same loop in the neighborhood that I did Friday. 7:25 average pace.

This morning I ran from home again since Ellie didn't wake up at 7 like she usually does.  The extra hour of sleep was nice though!  I made a loop down to 3600w, over to 5400s, to 2700w, and back to my house.  7:23 average.

This morning I went running with Nikki.  We started at campus and did the Trax route.  When we were passing the cemetery on 11th Avenue I had to do a double take because there was a raccoon on the side of the road and it was alive!  We kept running down 11th and then ran down City Creek and behind the capitol to downtown and to the Trax station by the library.  I think Ellie liked riding the train for the first time.

Fever of 102 last night, still had a headache and fever when I woke up.  Taking the day off.  

7 miles in the neighborhood to see how I was feeling.  I'm glad I didn't sign up for the Murray race this Saturday.

5 miles around Sugarhouse Park.  Cut it short because I was still not feeling that great.  

8 miles in the neighborhood again.  7:31 average pace, so I guess I am doing a little better.  Started antibiotics today so hopefully I'll keep seeing improvements.

8 miles in the neighborhood this morning.  7:24 average pace.  I am considering doing a threshold workout tomorrow since I felt pretty good today and I was planning on it earlier this week, it'll depend on how I feel the rest of today.

This morning I did a threshold at Liberty Park. I warmed up a lap with Jesse, then did another half mile and then drills and strides to finish the warmup. The workout was 6 half miles with 45 seconds rest. My times were 3:01, 3:03, 3:02, 3:06, 3:02, 2:59. Cooled down to finish with 8 total, 2 miles of the cooldown were with Bill.

4 miles on Jordan River Trail today with the stroller. I felt really tired. Possibly from yesterday's workout and then paddleboarding all afternoon.

10 miles with the stroller this morning. I started at the Capitol and ran City Creek road to 11th Avenue over to Virginia Street. I turned around and ran back to City Creek and up the canyon a little bit. Ran to 11th one final time before going to the Capitol to finish with 10. Lots of zigzagging today because I didn't want to do one continuous hill. Still got plenty of intermittent hill work in.

Started my run from Sugarhouse this morning.  I did a lap and a half around before exiting the park to run the road part of the cemetery loop route.  Finished back at the park with 8 total.  7:20 average pace. 

8 miles at Liberty park today with the stroller.  It was nice that it was overcast so it didn't get too hot.  Right when I started my run, it started to rain so I just did laps around the park so Ellie wouldn't be copmletely in the wind for half of the run.  7:25 average pace.

Not feeling too great today.  I have 3 days left of antibiotics but I'm not sure if I'm up to finishing them.  I started my run with Jesse today on the Jordan River trail.  I pushed the stroller on the first mile and then Jesse took it the rest of the way since he was going shorter.  When I got to the closed trail at 5400s I turned around to let Jesse know, and decided to run home from there so he wouldn't have to wait by the car for me to finish.  It was 7 miles back to my street, so I'll just do the extra mile tomorrow or Saturday.

This morning I did a threshold workout at Liberty park. As I was pulling into the park and saw all of the tents set up for the froyo 5k I was glad I had decided not to put this off until tomorrow. I warmed up 2 miles and then did strides and drills. I started at the .5 by the northeast corner. The workout was 4x5minutes with 1:30 rest. The distances I got were .79, .70, .78, and .80 miles. I cooled down another 2 and a quarter miles to finish with 8 total. When I got home I did the post workout GS (Heather says I need to make sure to do those so I can have an easier transition into lifting again) and core.

This morning I ran 9 miles in the neighborhood. I went as far west as 3600 and as far south as 6200. 7:19 average pace.

Decided to do my long run today because sometimes it is easier on Monday (easier to push back if you don't feel like it) and to free up my Saturday run for Draper Days. I started at the institute parking garage and ran up campus and then over to Sunnyside so I could run Emigration canyon. The way up was challenging enough, and then the way down hurt. It was really hot by the time I was finishing. 7:48 average pace. Definitely could have gone better. At least I got the miles in though.

8 miles with the stroller today. I started at Sugarhouse and ran out of the park on the cemetery loop route. To add on, I went back down to Alden again after the stretch on Melbourne. 7:46 average. I felt better than yesterday but it was still late and pretty hot when I got started. Afterwards I went hiking with Giselle in City Creek canyon. I've been missing out on some good trails up there because I've never gone off the road. Something to explore on my next run up there without the stroller.

I officially registered for Draper Days last night so I had some motivation for my workout this morning. At Liberty Park I warmed up 2 miles and then did my strides and drills. The threshold for this week was three 8 minute reps with 2:15 rest (actually it didn't say rest on the schedule but I calculated it based off of the other weeks). I took the first one out slow since the workouts from the previous weeks were shorter, and I wanted to make sure I wasn't pushing too hard at the start. The mile split was 6:31 (too slow) and I covered 1.22 miles in the first set. I was able to use the recovery to get to the same starting point so that was nice to run the same leg every time. On the second one I came through the mile in 6:27 (still too slow but at least I picked it up a little bit) and covered 1.24 miles. On the final one I hit 6:18 for the mile and covered 1.28 miles. I think maybe a little longer warmup would probably help, and a few more strides before starting. But since this is longer than I've been doing I'm ok with it. I finished it up with four 20 second strides and then cooled down 2.4 miles to finish with 10 total.

This evening I took Ellie for a short run in the stroller. We went to the corner of 3600w and 4700s and back. 7:41 average, it was all uphill on the way out so all downhill on the way back.

This morning I started my run from Sugarhouse with the stroller. I ran a little bit past Olympus high and back. Right after I turned around, I got cut off in the crosswalk by a lady making a left hand turn. I was yelling at her and she was waving her hand at me, and then a police officer who was approaching the intersection turned on his lights and pulled her over right there! Sweet moment of victory. I don't know how many times I've almost been hit in the crosswalk, even with the driver watching, so it was nice to see someone get pulled over for it. Thank you police officer. Average pace 7:34.

7 miles this morning from campus. I did the Albertson's loop and then finished with strides and drills in the field by the institute garage. 7:26 average pace. Afterwards I went and met the new coach. Lot tally not what I expected from the way Kep described her, but I can already tell there will be a higher accountability for training and recovery runs this upcoming season. It's gonna be great!

This morning when my alarm went off at 5:15, I began to question my motives for signing up for this 7A.M. race.  But I dragged myself out of bed and started getting ready.  I squished 2 spiders before getting out the door, so I was fearless.  I got to Draper and started my warmup on the Porter Rockwell trail.  I took a bathroom break and then changed shoes for strides and drills.  On the starting line I was thinking about how nice it would be if deodorant were included in race packets, because when you're that close to a bunch of runners for a few minutes before the race starts it can be smelly.  When the race started I just went out at a pace that I felt I could hold, and when it got more spread out as the runners around me found their pace I just picked a few people to stick with and made that my pack.  There was a lead group in the front, and I ended up with 4 guys a little ways back from them.  I was disappointed that there wasn't anyone calling splits at the first mile, but I heard the other runner's watches beep at the mile marks.  Just past the first mile we caught up to someone who had fallen off the lead pack, and he looked several times when he realized he was being caught and passed by a lady.  I stayed with two of the guys for the second mile and let them do the leading, but when we got to the second mile mark I took off and didn't see them again.  The last mile felt long, but that might have been because I was by myself and no one had fallen far enough off the lead pack to catch.  I started to kick when I turned the final corner and could see the finish line in the distance.  It was a long stretch and felt endless.  I saw my parents and my dad called out the time at 17:35, I realized there was a chance I could break 18!  Which was awesome because I felt that my pace was more of threshold effort but it must have been faster based on that time.  I finished around 17:55 (waiting for results to be posted so I can be sure) and almost puked, but held it in.  I cooled down to finish with 10 total.  It is so nice to have this first race post-baby behind me!  I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I felt that I ran a smart race with the people around me and it was good preparation for what going back to racing in the fall will be like.  

This morning I did my long run for the week. It was nice to be able to have it overcast with a few drops of rain here and there so it didn't get too hot. I started at Sugarhouse park and went up 2100s to 2100e. I was thinking a loop above the zoo and then along Wasatch and over the freeways should get me pretty close to the miles I needed, but as I was passing the library I saw Becky and Jess! They were running south on Foothill so I crossed the street and turned around and ran with them. I got 6 miles with them, to 2100s and 1500e back up to campus, before heading back towards Sugarhouse again this time on my own. I was only a quarter mile short of what I needed when I got to my car, so that was an easy add on. 1:36 total time with 7:26 average pace. Great run!

This morning I did a workout at Cottonwood Complex to incorporate some hills and decide if I would race on Friday. I warmed up around the block and then did strides and drills in the field. I ran up Bessie (or Helga? is that the last one on the region course? It's been too long... I can't remember) and around the trees at the top to loop back down and finish by a tree close to the start. I did that one 6 times, getting .31-.32 miles and between 1:52-1:55 each time, with aroung 70 seconds recovery. In the 5th and 6th reps my right hip and back were starting to hurt. Once I was done with those, I did the hill twice more but running all the way to the fence for .25 miles. On the way back down on the last one my back had some spasms (had them last summer too, doesn't concern me that much) so that leads into my decision to not race Friday. My mom was waiting at the bottom of the hill with Ellie in the stroller when I finished the second hill, so our timing was good (she took Ellie for a walk so I could workout, she's awesome). I cooled down with the stroller a lap and a half around the block to finish with 10 total.

This morning I went running from Sugarhous.  I started on the cemetery loop route, then when I got to 3300s I went up to 2000e to head south some more.  I cut up to 2300e and over to 3900s before turning around.  I ran back mostly along 2000e and then 1700e.  Did a backwards loop on the road in the park when I got back to finish with 10 total.  7:24 average pace.  My body is tired!

This morning I  took the stroller for a run from Liberty Park.  I did 2 laps in the park and then ran out to 3300s and back on 500e.  A bit slower today, 7:48 pace (the way back was quicker because it is slightly downhill... barely) but I felt like it was needed after how I felt yesterday.  If I'm up to it I'm really hoping to get a double in tonight.

Happy Pioneer Day! I did 8 miles in the neighborhood. 7:34 average pace.

This morning I started my run with the stroller from Sugarhouse. About a quarter mile in as I was passing Sizzler, I saw Kate from my team! She was doing a Kenyan run so I didn't run with her, but she was done by the time I got to the opposite corner so I ran with her for about 2 miles of her cool down. I did the cemetery loop route, adding on extra once I got back to 2700s. I found a park on Atkin by Fillmore that has a drinking fountain! That is nice to know for the future. When I have Ellie with me I can take a water bottle. Or take a drink from her sippy cup since she usually falls asleep. Finished back in the park with a backwards lap on the road with 9 total.

It's my birthday!! I don't know about you, but I'm feelin' 22! I did my run from my parent's house so they could babysit. I started along 1300e and ran up to 11th Avenue. Up there it was windy and I got a lot of dirt in my eyes. I was glad then that I didn't have the stroller. I ran down 11th and into City Creek, and up to the drinking fountain. I then turned and ran down Memory Grove. From there I took State Street to South Temple, back up to 1400e through campus for another drinking fountain, then back along 1300e. My hip had a really weird pain towards the end that I had to stop for, not sure where that came from.

I helped with high school cross country camp this afternoon. Because my car is in the shop, I ran there for some mileage. I got about 6 in before I was supposed to meet them (not realizing it would be 45 minutes before we actually took them running) and then did another 2 miles of a loop going up onto Shoreline Trail and then back down and across Legacy Bridge over to the track. Then I got to watch and critique on form as we had them do strides.

9 miles in the morning around the neighborhood. I did my usual route because I'm boring. 7:18 average pace.

This morning I took Ellie in the stroller up City Creek. I went up 4 miles and then turned around. With about 200 meters before the turnaround point I saw a snake! It was smaller than the one I saw several weeks ago, but still a decent size. My guess was a king snake or a gopher snake.

In the afternoon I helped with high school camp again. Jessica and I helped lead the group through a warmup and then ran with them so they could get a feel for threshold effort. Short cooldown and stretching afterwards.

This morning I took Ellie for a run on the Jordan River trail. I was short on time so I was just going to do 7, but when I hit construction just past the 3 mile mark I went ahead and turned around to cut it shorter. 7:31 average pace.

This morning I did a threshold workout at Liberty Park. I started with a warmup lap around the perimeter and up to the northeast corner of the park, where I did strides and drills. I was sort of dreading the 20 minute threshold as I was doing the warmup, but once I got going it wasn't so bad. My splits were consistent for each leg of the park (cement .5 to cement .5). The times I passed the cement markings were 3:04, 6:13, 9:18, 12:23, 15:30, and 18:34. Total distance was 3.18 miles. Afterwards I ran to the drinking fountain for a drink before doing four 35 second strides. Cooled down to finish with 9.5 total. I'm glad this workout is behind me now!

Rainy Monday mornings are great long run days! I started at Sugarhouse park and ran up to 2100e and headed north. I ran to Sunnyside and then up above the zoo and onto Wasatch Drive. The tennis place at mile 4.5 was great timing for a pit stop. I ran Wasatch until it ended and I had to cut down to Foothill, where I then continued on the paved part of the Shoreline trail. I took that over the freeway and where it led out to Tanner Park. I headed back towards Sugarhouse and added on around the perimeter of the park to get the full 13. 7:34 average pace.

This morning I forgot that the stroller wasn't in my car. Oops. Luckily, my sister was able to tend. I started at her house and ran along 1300e towards campus. I took 500s up to where it turned into Foothill, and took that to 2100s. Then I went down to 20th east before heading south some more. As I was almost to the freeway underpass, there were some tall weeds on either side of the sidewalk, and my iPod cord got caught and pulled to the ground. My iPod screen was broken :( But because of the Zagg shield on it, there are no sharp edges or missing pieces. I continued to about 2900s before turning and heading back towards my parents house. I added on going the long way around the perimeter of Sugarhouse before going back to finish with the full 10. 7:28 average pace.

This morning I did 9 miles in the neighborhood.  7:24 average pace.  

After taking a final in the afternoon, I went for a run with Jesse and Ellie on the Jordan River trail.  I pushed the stroller out and Jesse took it back.  7:42 average pace. 

My legs were tired today!  But I still got a good hill workout in at Cottonwood Complex.  My mom is finally back from Boston!  So she met me there to take Ellie for a walk in the stroller while I did my workout.  She's awesome.  I warmed up around the block and then did strides and drills in the field.  I did 8 of the 400 meter hills.  My times were between 1:27-1:34 (lack of focus on that slow one, they were mostly between 1:29-1:30) with recovery jog back to the start.  I cooled down to finish with 9 total.  I was hoping for 10, but didn't have the last mile in me today.  

9 miles in the neighborhood again today.  I don't remember my pace and don't feel like getting off the couch to go look at my Garmin.  

Finished my last final yesterday!  And had a great run today!  I started in Sugarhouse with a half lap around the perimeter and then towards 3300s via the cemetery loop route.  At 33rd, I went up to 20th east and then more south to Keller.  There I turned and went up to 2300e, where I went south some more until I was at 6 miles, which got me almost to 4500s.  I turned around and headed back on 23rd and 20th east.  I had to add on a quarter when I got back to the car.  7:06 average!  I guess sleeping in after finishing finals gave me an added bonus.  Or maybe it was the sugar in the cupcakes last night...  Anyway, I'm glad to have finished my first 65 mile week in 2 years!!

This morning I got my long run in!  I started at Sugarhouse and ran along 1500e and through campus.  I went up to 11th Avenue and then ran into City Creek.  I was at 6.5 when I got to the gate at City Creek, so I went up another half mile before turning around and heading back the same way.  The last 3 miles I was exhausted, but finished with a 7:14 average pace.  I'm not sure how my legs are still working.

This morning I took Ellie for a run in the stroller.  We did 6 laps at Liberty Park.

This afternoon Jesse came running with Ellie and me on the Jordan River trail. The storm was getting closer as we kept going out so I cut it a mile short and just did 3.5 for the afternoon. We got poured on at the end.

This morning I did a threshold run at Liberty park. My mom met up with me to take Ellie in the stroller. I warmed up 2 miles and then did strides and drills. This week's threshold was 3 sets of 10 minutes. I was able to get just over a lap each time, splitting 3:06, 6:07, 9:09 on the first; 3:04, 6:08, 9:11 on the second; and 3:06, 6:09, 9:13 on the last one. My legs were so tired on the last set! I can definitely feel the mileage from yesterday and the day before. I couldn't bring myself to do strides at the end, so I just finished with a cool down to get to 10 miles.

This morning I took Ellie for a run in the stroller. We started at Sugarhouse and ran to 33rd south and back, and then did a few laps to get to 10. I was exhausted so this run felt like it took forever.

Today I started my run at the Capitol and ran up City Creek. I went up 6 miles and turned around. Once you get past the water shed, it isn't as steep and is actually quite nice. This is the farthest up I've ever gone. It took me 50 minutes to run up and 45 to run back down.

This morning I started my run from Sugarhouse. I ran along 15th and through campus up to 11th avenue. I ran down 11th and into Memory Grove, then back up South Temple to 1300e. This was a bit farther than I thought it would be, so I finished with 12 at my parents house where I caught a ride back to my car because I literally didn't want to go the extra mile. I got my 70 in for the week and I am exhausted!

This morning I had my last lone run of the summer! I did 9 miles in the neighborhood, 7:27 average pace.

This morning was the first day of team practice! We met at the track and ran together there for 10 minutes and then went out on a run. We went out on Foothill and groups turned around when they needed to. I ran with Shaylen and Jocelyn to 1700s and turned down to 2100e to head back to campus. We finished with some general strength at the track led by Coah Mack.

This afternoon we arrived at camp. I made it through the drive up without crying for missing my baby, though I almost lost it in the Costco parking lot when we said goodbye. We did a 4 mile run and then strides and a cool down routine with Coach Mack, followed by some planks. 4.25 for the afternoon.

This morning at camp we went to the trail by little deer creek reservoir. We started out as a group and everyone except me turned around at 3 miles. I wasn't lonely though, I saw 5 bunnies before turning around a mile later. Then somewhere in the last mile I ran into Hannah and Giselle while they were adding on. Did the cool down strides and exercises afterwards.

In the afternoon we did an easy run from the house. Most people did 3 but I did 3.5 with Kate so she wouldn't have to run on her own. We did our cooldown routine and core afterwards.

This morning at camp we got to run the ski course at Soldier Hollow. There were lots of turns and ups and down hills so it was challenging, but at least we had a biker guide to follow. The last 3 miles I think several of us hit a wall because we ended up strung out and it became a real struggle to finish. But we made it. We did the cooldown strides and drills afterwards, then 500 reps of core. 

This afternoon we got a break from running and got to go to the reservoir to swim or pool run for 30 minutes. There are 3 people on our team who can actually swim, so they were gone fast, and most everyone else decided to pool run. Nikki and I switched between swimming and pool running, though partially that was just so we would actually move and wouldn't just be running in one place. It also might have included going to where we could touch the bottom and just keeping our shoulders covered so that it looked like we were pool running. Because we're awesome. When we were done we had plans to eat lunch there and hang out for a while, but we forgot to put the bread in the car so we just made wraps with meat and cheese and spinach and didn't stay as long.

I came home from camp early because of orientation for my grad program. But really because I missed Ellie and Jesse. This morning I just ran in my neighborhood. I got practice on tangents doing the strides in my neighborhood.

I was really sad when I got to practice today and found out that we were doing our long run at Liberty Park. And even more sad when I asked if we could leave the park and my coach said no. At least the color run was going on along the west side of the park so there was entertainment to look forward to every lap. We did cooldown strides and core afterwards, and then enjoyed some of the leftover food from camp for breakfast. 

First day of school! But since I didn't have class today I only went to campus for practice and to get my books. For such a simple task, it took way too much time. I went to practice at 11 and didn't get done until 1. We had to run the first 10 minutes on the track before we were allowed to go anywhere. We took fruit loop to Sunnyside and then cut through the golf course to get to Wasatch. Everyone else turned around a little after 1300s, so I continued on my own to 2100s before cutting down to Foothill to go back to campus. Back at the track I did my cooldown strides and drills and then joined Becky for hurdle drills and core. The coaches weren't able to arrange for an early lifting group yet so I had to come back at 3:45. Then the lift that was supposed to be 25 minutes was really 45. I'm a little irritated with how things are going right now because all of us have lives outside of practice. 

This afternoon we had a hill workout at Red Butte. We warmed up to the trail and then did a little bit out on the Shoreline Trail and back. We did our strides and drills on the dirt road and then got going on the workout. The workout was six 60 second hills with 3 minute recovery jog according to training peaks, but Kep forgot and said 3 minutes between each sendoff. So my group sorta got in trouble on the second one because I told them we were supposed to rest a minute longer. Afterwards Kep looked at the app and realized I was right. Oh well. On one of the reps we saw a snake coming out onto the road by our starting line, so we moved that one up a few meters. Once we got through those it felt like forever until we were ready to jog over to the Shoreline trail for some 40 second repeats. I thought it was just 4, and that's what we did, but later on training peaks I realized that one was supposed to be 6. But I don't think Kep minded us cutting that one short because we were in the sun way to long. Seriously, we were working out from 2:00-4:35 including the cooldown and cooldown strides and then GS in the training room. Way too long! I cooled down with Becky and she told me she was glad to have me back :) she had a class after practice and she was barely on time for it, so she appreciated that I was trying to keep the workout rolling.

Today was a sad day for me because new coach said we weren't allowed to run longer than an hour on our base mileage days. What. is. going. on.??? So we did our warmup on the bailiff and had to go "slow" in coache's words, and then were allowed to take off. I had a hard time finding my rhythm after that. Plus it is a little awkward when you take off from your team and then they catch up to you at every red light. I ended up running with Becky again, we did Albertson's loop and then finished the last couple of minutes on the track before doing our cooldown strides.

This afternoon we had our first threshold workout at Liberty. I ended up driving because I had class afterwards, and everyone else ended up driving too. A little sad to miss the Trax experience. We warmed up 2 miles (I went extra with the late arrival group) and then did strides and drills. The workout was 3 8 minute threshold with 1:40 recovery. We had 3 large groups which was really nice because there was always someone to pull the others along. We were supposed to go 6:20/mile pace for the first one, 6:15 for the second, and 6:10 for the third. On the last one I took off with Dre and Hannah and maybe we got a little excited because we were closer to 6 minute pace. But we all finished strong. Afterwards we did four 30 second strides and then did GS. The V sits irritated my back and then it hurt all evening as I sat through my 3 hour class.

This afternoon everyone met for 2:00 practice. We had the option of running the first few minutes at the track and then going to Sunnyside to run laps, or to drive to Sugarhouse to run. We opted to stay on campus to save commute time. The warmup was so quiet because I think we are all sick of this no going for a real run on any of our old routes business. I kinda thought that the reason we got garmins was so that we could keep the freedom of running where we wanted and to be held accountable by the fact that the data would be uploaded to training peaks for the coaches to see. I guess I was wrong. When we were done on the track everyone else decided they wanted to run on bailiff instead. I ran there enough when I was pregnant last year, so I went to Sunnyside by myself. I did a few laps there until I had just over 6 miles, then took Guardsman back to campus and finished at the track with strides. I did GS with everyone afterwards in the weight room. I had a nasty headache this morning that was still lingering when practice time rolled around, and the burpees really did not feel that great. Anyway, I don't have to run again until tomorrow!

It was a busy day. I had an awful headache again this morning so I went back to bed. Then I didn't get a chance to run until after fan fest. I did a few laps at Sugarhouse and then left the park. I didn't feel very good so I stopped for water, then when I started running again my head started pounding so I called it for the night. I need a day off to mentally come back for a better week next week.

Today I finally woke up headache-free! But as soon as I got started on my run, my lower back really started to bother me. I was hoping that it would warm up and the pain would go away, but that never happened. I partially wondered if just running on the turf/track was hurting it (it hurts my feet) but it persisted the rest of the run so I guess not. Except it didn't hurt going uphill. Yay for hills. It didn't hurt as bad when we picked up the pace towards the end. During cooldown strides it was ok, but slowing down to a stop was painful. I did heat and stem afterwards and then took some Tylenol before lifting.

Running with Becky, Andrea, and Shaylen today.

Workout at Sunnyside today. We warmed up to the park and then did our strides and drills. The workout was 3 sets of 4 400s. The first 3 were a slower pace, then the last one each set we were supposed to hammer. I was in a group with Hannah, Nikki, and Andrea. I have no sense of pace right now so I just sorta ran with them where I could. We were supposed to hit between 85-86. The first one was too slow, 88, but after that I think most of them were where they were supposed to be. On the hammer ones the best I could do was 84, but I'm sure my speed will come back with practice. We cooled down back to campus and then did our core work.

Running with Andrea, Shaylen, Becky, and Kenzie again today. We ran through upper campus and then through the golf course to Wasatch and back.

Today was another Sunnyside workout for those racing on Saturday. We warmed up to the park and did our strides and drills. Today's workout was three sets of 200-200-400 with equal distance jogging recovery. I was in a group with Nikki, Jocelyn, Dana, and Kenzie. We took turns leading. The times I clocked were mostly 42s for the 200s and 84 for the 400s. On the 400s I felt that the rest of the group was going really hard, and I was right when I saw 40 as the 200 split on those ones. I shouldn't have negative split so much, but I don't blame myself for going out too fast on those. But at least because I could tell it was fast I think means that I am getting back some of my feel for pace. Yay! I cooled down back to campus with Jocelyn. 

Today was a short pre-meet run for those of us racing tomorrow. We started on the track and then did laps on balliff the rest of the time before coming back up to the track for strides. I ran most of the time with Jocelyn again. When I was doing strides in between my drills I noticed that some of them just bothered my right lower back. This is more similar to the pain I've experienced before from running. So it is nice that it isn't something new that has been bothering me. But I wish I didn't have to deal with it. Fortunately, it seems to have been getting better throughout the week.

This morning I ran my last first cross country meet as a Ute! 50 minutes before the race we warmed up as a group around the course. There was some confusion as to how the course actually went, but after running some of the main part of the course and looking at the map, it made sense. The course was different from last year, which is typical for Utah State. We did our usual strides and drills and then got on the line. The race plan was to run the first mile as a group and then focus on racing. Sorta made sense but not really. Our team took the race out, leading the group for at least the first 800 meters. At about the 1k mark, two USU girls came around to take the lead, significantly changing the current pace, so I went with them. I knew it wasn't the mile like coach had asked for, but to really race I knew that I would have to go with them then or I wouldn't go at all. Nikki came with me :) so probably 300-400 meters later the two girls had settled into a rhythm, and Nikki and I just tucked behind them and let them do the work. It helped me so much to have Nikki there, especially since we do most of our workouts together. During the race to keep myself going, I kept thinking of a picture I found on USUs XC home page, of my sister in front of their pack of runners. Thinking about how awesome my sister was helped keep me going and focused. It seemed the USU girls were trying to make moves on the gradual hills (we heard their coach telling them to) but they never opened up or got far away. Coming around to the bridge the second time to cross back over to the main grass field was where the race changed. One of the USU girls faltered, so I passed her and tried to go for the other one. She still had a few meters on me, and I could hear someone still behind me. About 200 meters later, she caught me, and it was Nikki. I told her to go get the USU girl and she was gone, though by then we were in our finishing positions. At about the 3 mile mark I started to feel sick but I knew I was so close to being done. Kep said 1 more minute, but if that was a minute it was a very long minute... Anyway, the USU girl won, then Nikki, then me. Jocelyn was the next girl from the team :) It is so nice to have this race behind me! Although I haven't figured out a feel for pace in my workouts yet, I feel like I still know how to race, though there are still things I could have done better today. And the best part was getting a hug from my husband and baby at the finish line. :) Afterwards I cooled down 6.25 with Jocelyn and Dana to get to 12 for the day.

This morning we drove to Sugarhouse for practice.  We were supposed to run the first mile together and then could go in groups.  I ended up running with Jocelyn and Sarah.  We did 4 laps around the perimeter and then a little extra to get to 8.  Then we did our cooldown strides and drills before going back to campus for weights.  It was kind of nice to have everything together, though driving time to and from the park was lame, and some of the transitions between exercises in weights took longer than they should have.  It was nice to have everyone together today, but it is also nice to have smaller groups like we have been. 

Today we had a workout at Sunnyside Park. We warmed up to the park and then did our usual strides and drills. The workout was 3 sets of 400 400 800 with 1 minute, 2 minute, and then 4 minute rest. The idea was to go goal race pace at the end of season. For my group that was 81-82 for the 4s and 2:45 on the 8s. The first set I struggled to find a good rhythm, so my times were 85, 84, 2:57. The next set felt better and I was able to hit 82, 81, 2:49. On the last set I felt tired towards the end but still managed to run 82, 82, 2:54. It was nice to be in a big group so that we could help each other out when we got tired. Hannah looked really strong throughout, as well as Shaylen for the sets she was with us on. I ended up doing a longer cooldown to get my miles in for the day but met everyone back at campus outside the Sorensen for GS.

The 11am group lost a few more members as Andrea and Kenzie switched to the 2pm group. But I had a nice run with Shaylen and Sadie. We did the first mile on the track and then did the Albertson's loop' since coach said we had to run somewhere flat. Finished with strides outside the Sorensen and then instead of a lift did a long foam roll and stretch.

This afternoon we drove to Sugarhouse Park for a longer pre-meet today since the only people who are really racing tomorrow are Nikki and the freshmen. As usual we did the first mile together before we were allowed to separate off into groups. Jocelyn broke off the group with me again, and it was really nice to chat. After 3 laps we ran to 1300e and back up to finish with 7 miles before doing strides. I did drills and then stretched before heading back to campus. I can't believe tomorrow is my last local cross country meet! After 9 years! Wow.

I had some nice sister time with Abigail today :) At the park I warmed up 2 miles with my team and then we did our strides and drills. We changed shoes and headed to the line for strides. The "workout" plan today was to run the first 2k as a group and hit between 3:40-3:45 on the ks. Then we could run the last 2k as a race and see where we could get. Going out I felt that the pace was kinda fast, even for our team and trying to hit the pace our coaches wanted. So I was towards the back, though there were a few other girls on our team that were towards the back with me. Coming off of the first field and down the hill, I heard coach Mack calling times and I was at about 3:44 for the k. So I was still in the time range the coaches wanted. The next part of the course was 2 lower loops, each about 1k. Going out on the first part there was a homeless guy walking on the course. That was a little weird. I passed a few teammates as we went around the curve and I encouraged them to pack up and come with me but they must have been tired because no one came with me. At the 2k my time was 7:36-37 so it was a little slower than the first. But from there it was ok for me to pick it up, and I started to pick people off and kept it up the rest of the time. Going up the hill again I passed 2 Boise girls and then at the top of the hill I passed Jocelyn and Jess. Up ahead of me were another Boise girl and Nikki in the lead. At this point I started to feel like I might puke, but I knew I was so close to being done and that I needed to keep pushing. With probably just over 400 left I caught the Boise girl and I could see that I was closing distance on Nikki. I kept pushing but the final straightaway was longer than I thought when I turned the final corner. Mentally I might have let up a bit as well knowing that Nikki was ahead of me because I know her reputation in track. I finished 15:15.4, second overall but first collegiate since Nikki is done. I cooled down to get to 5 miles total.

Long run in Park City this morning. We started at the Smiths parking lot because it is closer to the part of the trail where it becomes dirt. Since the dirt part is enclosed completely in the middle anyway I'm not sure if it made a difference but whatever. I ran out with Sarah and Hannah until they took off, and ran a mile with them after turning around but after that was on my own. 7:28 average pace.

4 miles in the morning with Ellie in the stroller. It was raining on the way to the Jordan River trail so I considered not running with Ellie and maybe trying to double in the evening, but it stopped by the time I got there and didn't rain at all during. It was a nice run.

For practice I joined the afternoon group. Because there was lightning, we weren't allowed to run outside, so we went to the student life center instead. I did 8 miles on the track, the first few miles with teammates before they hopped on treadmills.

There was lightning again today at practice time and on the forecast it didn't look like we would catch a long enough gap between flashes to get our workout in outside, so we hit the treadmills. I went to the Smith with Hannah, Giselle, Sarah, Shaylen, and Andrea. The treadmills were set in two groups of three so I ran next to Hannah and Sarah since they were in my group. The workout was a 7 mile tempo. My group was supposed to warm up the first mile, getting to 6:40 pace. Over the next mile and a half we had to drop 10-13 seconds in our pace, and the next two sets of mile and a half after that. Then we were supposed to maintain pace the last mile and a half. I used my watch for splits and got 7:28 (finishing at pace), 9:49, 9:31, 9:13, and 8:59. It was hard! And I rained sweat all over my treadmill, but it was a good workout. Cooled down 2 more miles before finishing with strides. Weight out was only .5# less than weight in.

There was lightning again before practice today so Shaylen and I started our runs on the treadmill. After about a mile we had the all clear so we went outside. We ran fruit loops and then after Shaylen turned around I continued above the zoo and onto Wasatch on my own. The wind chill on the way back was awful! I was glad to finish that run.

We had a workout on the balliff today. We did the usual warmup (we saw a snake in the gutter!) and then strides and drills on the field. The workout was three sets of 200, 300, 300 with equal jog recovery. I hit 41-42s on the 200s and 61-62s on the 300s. Cooled down to finish with 8 total.

Rode the bus to Montana today. We did a run at a park and then did drills before going to the course. We ran the last mile of the course and then switched to spikes for strides. 

This morning at the course it was cool and frost covered. 50 minutes before the race we started our warmup. That plus the strides and drills got me 2.25 miles. I changed shoes and then did strides on the starting line. The plan was to work on our pack running again. Kep determined our starting positions in the box, I was second row center because I don't get out as fast as my teammates. When the race started, I found myself too far back once we had to collapse in after the opening field. But I didn't think my team was in the best place either, with the complete Idaho State and Utah State teams in front of them. After about 800 meters I finally was able to get in the pack with Andrea, Jessica, and Jocelyn. The first mile was around 5:53-54, slower than my two previous mile splits on this course (so glad I documented it all in this blog) but knowing I got to that point with my teammates and there were still two miles left in the race I knew it was ok. We didn't really have a set point where we were going to break away and really race, but I wasn't going to sit behind the other teams and wait because that's not a race. I started to move up through the packs, and then once we were through the wooded part and back on the grass again I was towards the front of the Utah State pack. A few of their girls pushed up so I just went with them. There were a few Montana State girls ahead of us, and two who had really gone out up there, so they were the targets. Coming up on the 2 mile mark there were two Utah State girls up there, one had caught one Montana girl and was working on the other. Another Utah State girl and I passed the Montana girl as well and kept moving forward. During the last mile with probably around 800 to go I felt that I was closing the gap on the Montana girl and USU girl. Andrea caught up to me at that point and I really wanted her to come with me, but she fell back and I was on my own again. The two girls ahead of me were contending with one another and I was too far back to be in it with them. The USU girl passed the Montana girl on the home stretch (those rolling hills are the worst) and then once I got past the rolling hills there was a USU girl on my shoulder and she really made me kick. I got her by .13 or .23 seconds. Also I ran the same time and got the same place today as I did on this course two years ago. Talk about consistency. Afterwards I went and called my mom and told her I got third. I didn't realize until awards that I was actually 4th because there was one girl who had taken off at the beginning and finished about a minute before everyone else. I didn't even see her at all. I guess that is what happens when you don't get out fast enough, you miss things. I cooled down as much as I could before awards and then after until we had to get on the bus. I was just a half mile short of what I was supposed to hit today. I'm really happy with how the team did today, there was just 14 seconds from our first to fifth place! And we won by 4 points!  All of our top 5 made top 10, so that was also really neat! It's always a great day to be a Ute!

Today for practice we started on the track for a mile before going out.  To keep it flat, we did the Albertson's loop.  I was running with Sarah, and the two recruits came with us, so it was a great opportunity to talk to them.  I'm not sure what happened to everyone else, but they probably should have been with us since the recruits were...  At the track we finished with strides.  The hurdles got put away before Sarah and I got to do our hurdle drills, oh darn...  Weights took a while but I was with Nikki and Claire so we got them done quickly.  I have a test and a paper due this week and a book report and another paper due next week so yippee!  At least we aren't traveling.

This afternoon we had a 7 mile tempo on Jeremy Ranch Road.  Not my favorite place to run.  Or anyone's I'd bet.  It was only slightly better than on the treadmills, because around mile 4 there is loose gravel and rolling hills and the effort we were supposed to be at by that point felt pretty much impossible.  We warmed up 4 minutes out and back and then got into groups for distance and pace.  I was with Sarah and Hannah.  The first mile was 6:52, so a little on the slow end of what our goal was for the end, but Kep said to error on the side of too slow.  Then we picked it up too fast after that.  The next mile and a half were 9:50, right around last week, but the next were 9:25.  After that I was able to hang with Sarah and Hannah for another mile before I started to lose it.  The last 2 miles dragged on forever and I was by myself and couldn't make myself pick up the pace to where it needed to be.  I was so glad when I finally got to 7 miles and was able to be done.  We cooled down a mile and then did our drills before piling in the van to go back where we had started.  It was a long drive, I can't believe we ran all that way. The end.

This morning I went running with Shaylen and Sadie.  We did the first mile on the track, and appreciated how flat it was especially after our terrain yesterday.  Then we did the Albertson's loop.  Sadie turned around early but it was nice to run with Shaylen.  Running is a great way to get to know people.  We averaged 7:36 pace, then did 50 meter strides and cooldown drills. 

Today I went running with Sarah, Nikki, and Shaylen up on 11th Avenue.  Albertson's loop and Wasatch get old really quick.  Sarah and I ran up City Creek a little past the gate, turning around when we got to 4.  On the curb at a house on 11th, there was a carseat base that matches the one Jesse and I already have!  So I drove back later to get it :)  running is the best way to look through trash piles/ see what people are getting rid of for free!  I might be doing a lot of runs in the avenues next summer come garbage pickup time... 

Today we had a workout at Sugarhouse.  We warmed up around the perimeter of the park and then did our strides and drills.  The workout was two sets of 500, 1k, 1k, 500.  The 500s were at goal race pace (82 for my group) and threshold pace for the 1ks (3:45 for my group).  The recovery after the first 500 was 1:30, we had 45 seconds between the ks, and 1 minute after the last k.  6 minutes between sets.  My group was Sarah, Hannah, and Giselle.  My times were consistent at 1:46, 3:40, 3:51, 1:47 for the first set and 1:47, 3:45, 3:50, 1:46 for the second set.  And for the first time in a while I felt that I was able to feel what the pace was supposed to be without dying just trying to go whatever pace my group was going :)  Cooled down to get to 9 total.

Nice morning long run in Park City.  I ran out with Hannah and Sarah, then back with Sarah since Hannah had to turn around early.  7:25 average pace.  It is really nice to get to run up there in the fall and get to watch the leaves change.

For today's run we weren't specifically told to run the first mile on the track, so we didn't.  We did a version of Albertson's loop but backwards, and going out on 1900e.  We stayed together for the first mile, then I ran with Sarah the rest of the time.  Strides afterwards and cooldown drills before going to lifting.

Today we had a threshold workout at Liberty Park.  We took Trax down to 900e and then ran to the park and the long way around for warmup.  Then our strides and drills.  The workout was two sets of 11 minutes with 2:10 rest.  Each half mile we were allowed to drop 3 seconds on pace in the first set, 1 second on the second set.  I was in a group with Giselle, Jessica, Shaylen, Andrea, and Nikki.  It was a great group to work with!  And we hit our times right and it felt like it was supposed to for the efforts.  Afterwards we did four 30 second strides as a group and then cooled down to the Trolley Trax station.

This morning I took Ellie running in the stroller.  We ran on the Jordan River trail.  It's no Park City, but watching the leaves fall along the trail is a pretty fall sight.  It helps also when you don't run this trail every day.  Also I avoided here for a while because there were some construction projects, but they seem to be done, at least on the part that I ran.  Made today a fun day with my baby, going to Chicago with the team tonight en route to Notre Dame to race Friday.  I have the best husband. :)

Preview of the course today.  Got to 4 miles before doing drills and strides.  Finished with 5 total.

This morning we went for a team walk as our shakeout.  This afternoon at the course we warmed up the first 2 miles on the course and then did our drills and strides.  The race plan was to get out fast and work in groups, with any error on the side of being out too fast and fading.  I didn't get out fast enough.  And it's been so long since I've been in a race this big that I wasn't ready to be aggressive enough to get in and start moving up as soon as I needed to or to dominant in making a place on the course mine.  Shaylen was a little ahead of me so I just kept my focus on trying to get to her and have her be my group.  I had a hard time getting past people on the same side of the course so I didn't end up running next to her for a while.  At the mile I was around 5:40.  Shay and I kept passing people as we kept going, and I finally caught up to her as we were passing by the starting area again.  We kept moving up, and around the 2 mile mark Jessica was in sight.  I passed her and then focused on getting up to Giselle and Andrea.  I followed them going around the edge of the course and behind the starting boxes and then Coach Mack told us to each pass 10 people before finishing.  I noticed Andrea and Giselle pick up the pace and start passing people, so I focused on passing the people who were falling behind them next.  With probably 300 to go I caught up to Giselle and kept going, and had a kickoff with a girl from another school, both of us passing at least 3 other people before finishing.  Afterwards we cooled down around campus and a few loops around a lake, Shay and I did 6.25 to finish with 12 total.

Notes:  If I had gotten out faster I would have been able to place higher by being further up to begin with and not just trying to make up ground the whole time.  Mile time (chip in bib timing) was 5:34.60 and I was in 110th place.  At the 4k I was at 14:03.56 and 61st place.  Average mile 5:35.3.  Average km 3:29.2. I finished in a string of girls finishing .1 seconds apart.  They were 17:25.6, .7, .8 (me) and .9.  I guess I could have benefited with a little more lean into the finish.  

For practice today we took fruit loops through the golf course and onto Wasatch.  We were going really fast, and when we realized that everyone backed off a bit.  Except Jess and Sarah, who were up ahead of us a ways.  I knew everyone was turning earlier than me, so I pushed the pace to try and catch up to Sarah and Jess since they were going longer.  I finally caught them when they stopped at 4.  Jess turned around but I kept going with Sarah.  We went to Thunderbird and then cut down to Foothill to go back to campus.  On the turf up at the track we did some fast strides, and then our cooldown drills before going to lifting. 7:14 average.

This afternoon we had a workout at Sugarhouse.  The workout was a set of ladders that was on 2 loops at different areas in the park, so we warmed up on each of those to get familiar with them.  After our strides and drills, we changed shoes and headed over to the first loop.  My ankle was hurting with inverted steps on the uneven ground so I had Olivia tape it for some extra support.  I can't really remember if I did something to it since I roll my ankles a lot, but I did roll one of them yesterday on some uneven pavement though I don't remember if it was the same one.  The first loop starts in the same field as the state course andg goes up a hill to the top and then loops back down towards the pond, the whole loop being 1030 meters.  Sarah and Hannah were a group, and then the rest of us were a group.  I was towards the front on the line but I think I took us out to slow.  And I was still struggling to warmup I think, because it took until the 1200 before I felt like I was really there.  The workout was a 800, 1000, 1200 ladder on the first loop and then 1200, 1000, 800 on the second loop.  The recovery times were 2:40, 3:20, 4:00.  My times on the first loop were 3:07, 3:46, 4:25.  The second loop was over behind the pavilion near the basketball hoops, just below 1700e.  It goes around the creek and then alongside the paved trail on the south side of the park.  Then past the softball fields it loops back and passes by the playground again and finishes inside the soccer field.  The times on this one were 4:23, 3:35, 2:53.  Way better!  And not only because the loop was more flat.  Afterwards we cooled down picking up the flags for each loop.  

This morning I went running with Shaylen and Becky.  We ran 11th Avenue out and back.  Becky was going shorter so she turned around early, but Shaylen did the full 8 with me.  Afterwards we did cooldown strides and drills on the track.  My ankle was hurting a little bit on the way out, probably because of the way the road is crowned and taking the inverted steps.  On the flat part it was fine.  It wasn't hurting before I started running so I hadn't gone to the training room...  Lifting later.

Today we had another recovery run day. We did the first mile on the track and then the groups that wanted to go separate destinations separated. Meghan was the only one willing to come up to Shoreline Trail with me, but it was definitely nice that she was willing to come! We ran up past the dorms and got on the trail at Red Butte. She turned around just before the JCC area, I kept going and ran up Drycreek to the overlook where we used to carry rocks up to. I ran back down and exited the trail by the JCC and then went down to the track for strides and drills.

This afternoon we had a threshold workout at Liberty Park. We warmed up to the park from the 900e Trax and then the long way around before doing strides and drills. The workout was 15, 10, 5 with 3 minutes, 2, and 1 minute recoveries. I was in a large group, and we were supposed to go about 6:12 pace for the first set, 6:05 for the second, and 6:00 for the third. Our first set was a little fast, and after that it felt like we were just trying to maintain the pace that we had in the first set. While it is nice to have so many people to work with, I feel like it can also be rough when someone gets excited and messes up the pace for everyone else... Anyway, after we finished we did our strides and then ran back ot the Trolley Trax station, barely catching the train. Yay!

This morning was rough. Jesse stayed up late tending our sick baby so I could go to bed early since I had early morning practice, but then I was up at 3:15 with our baby who would not go back to sleep. Until 6am. And my alarm was set for 6:15... At least we got in two episodes of Gilmore Girls, if there is to be a plus side to this story. I thought about texting my coaches and letting them know what was up and asking if I could just get some sleep and run on my own later. But I'm glad that I didn't, because there is no way I would have been able to get a quality run in on my own. We drove up to Park City and started from the Smith's parking lot. I ended up running out with Shaylen, Jess, and one of the recruits. We were basically running into the sun the entire way out and I just wanted to close my eyes and go to sleep. I seriously considered just laying down on the trail and going to sleep. But I just let my teammates pull me along. Jess turned at 5.5 but I kept going on my own, hoping that Sarah would catch up since she had stopped to wait for Hannah to use the bathroom. Just after I turned around at 6, Sarah was coming my way so she turned around with me and I was so happy!! It was nice running back with her. When we finished we did our cooldown strides and drills, and then enjoyed bagels, chocolate milk, and some homemade pumpkin chocolate chip muffins that Shaylen made :)

Fall break!!! We had practice this morning as a team. We did the first mile on the track and then ran Albertson's loop. When we got back we finished with strides on the track and then went to lifting.

This morning we had practice at Liberty park. I was a little disgusted when on the warmup run, no one washed their hands after coming out of the restrooms... Actually I was a lot disgusted! I delivered a public health message afterwards about the importance of handwashing, especially since most everyone handles the team water bottles during workout. I definitely am setting the repuation of the mom on the team, and I take no shame. The workout was a mix of quick 400s and threshold miles. The first set of four 400s was at race pace and we had 90 seconds rest. The path was narrow so we went in small groups, which was kind of nice. I went with Andrea and Jocelyn, and my times were 1:25, 1:24, 1:23, 1:23. Then we joined our threshold pace group for two mile repeats with 75 seconds rest. The group was TOO FAST on the first one. I was at the tail end and came through at 5:58. Which messed up the pace on my second one, which was a 6:08. We jogged back over to our 400 path for recovery and then did four more 400s at goal race pace. This time we hit 1:22, 1:21, 1:21, 1:19. We cooled down another lap at the park and then had to hurry to get ready for a team activity at the Air Force base. It was awesome!

Fall break today!!  For one day since today is the only day we don't have to meet as a team for practice.  So I took Ellie for a run in the stroller on the Jordan River trail.  Went out 3.5 and back. It was a bit windy on the way out, fortunately not very cold though.  

This morning it was (almost) unanimous that workout was going to moved earlier.  Then it was executive decision to move it earlier because so many people wanted to go sooner.  We dropped off our shoes on balliff and then did our track warmup route.  Back on balliff we did our warmup strides and drills and then changed shoes for the workout.  The workout was four sets of 300, 200 with equal jog recovery.  We went in the groups that we will be racing in on Saturday.  So my group included Sarah, Hannah, Giselle, Jessica, Shaylen, and Andrea.  We took turns leading.  We were supposed to hit between 55-58 for the 300s and between 36-38 for the 200s.  My times were 1:01 (too slow... but I wasn't leading that one so not my fault!), 37, 56, 36, 56, 36, 56, 35.  I feel ready for track again!  Haha just kidding.  But it was nice to get some good turnover work in, and to be able to keep up with the group too!  I think the strides I have been doing at the end of workouts have been helpful, and I really hope to be able to get out well this Saturday.  We fly out to Louisville later today and then we get to preview the course tomorrow.  

This morning we went and previewed the course. So much nostalgia and memories from 3 years ago... After running through the course once we did drills and then spiked up for strides. We practiced coming out of our box (25) as a pack to help get a feel for what we will need to do to get out well tomorrow. After a few of those, Hannah ran over to the wooded area before the finish for a few more strides so we could get used to the terrain. I'm excited to race tomorrow!! 

This morning at the course it was cold!  I wished I had overpacked so that I would have had a few more layers.  At least we know for when we're (if all goes well) back in 6 weeks!  55 minutes before race time we started our warmup as a team.  The men's race was going on so we stuck to the back part of the course where they wouldn't be for a while.  It was nice to get familiar with the finish area because when you are tired, it really helps to know how far you have left to stay motivated to keep going.  After doing our strides and drills, we got our spikes and headed to the line.  It was definitely a day to keep your sweats on as long as possible, but the warmup definitely helped.  In the race I knew the temperature would feel alright, but other than that all spectators and athletes not currently competing were bundled up.  When the race started, I was with Shaylen and Giselle like I was supposed to be, for about 50 meters.  I settled back too soon and then lost my chance to be in a pack with them for the first part of the race.  I stuck to the right side of the course on the first part and around the hairpin turn like Kep had asked us to, and then I started to work my way back up to where I should have started.  I'm not sure what my 1k time was because I heard 3:24, 3:30, and 3:34 by 3 different coaches at the 1k mark.  I could see Giselle ahead of me, so I just focused on trying to pass everyone she passed and to keep her in my sight.  The mile was 5:44, 12 seconds slower than 3 years ago...  Around the 2k mark I got next to Giselle and tried to get her to come with me.  She had been getting muscle cramps during her strides before the race, so physically she wasn't feeling too great and mentally she was letting up a little bit.  She told me to just go ahead, so I went on and made my way towards Shaylen to try and work with her.  By this point in the race though, it was too late to really help my teammates by being able to run up with them. I had conserved at the beginning and they were getting tired and couldn't stay with me when I caught them. I have a hard time with the strategy of going out hard and it being ok to have the error of crashing and burning in the end because of it. I know it helps some people, but I am not one of those people. This year I actually have been doing better at running even splits within my races. Probably more useful for a longer distance race, but can't complain. I never mastered the keep it slow and have a crazy kick racing style. Back to the race, I came through 3k in 10:32. I knew if I could negative split by a few seconds that I could finally break 21. I kept picking people off and targeting entire groups (I was surrounded by so many people there was no need to single out individuals) and had caught up to Shaylen and Andrea by the 4K mark. Kep was there and he told me I was about 130th place. A lot lower than my finishing place 3 years ago at this meet on this course. I had some serious passing to do. I just kept picking people off as I kept going, but knew with only 2k left that I would be out of time soon. Around the 5k mark it was spread out and I was finally up to people of my pace so passing them was more challenging. I would have needed to be with them from the start to really be able to race them. I was almost up to Jess, so I focused on passing the people that she passed. Coming around the corner with less than 800 to go I told myself to start pushing it in. With a little over 600 to go I felt really nauseous and had to back off just a bit, but only to prolong the onset of my puking until after I crossed the line. I had got it together by 400 to go and then brought it in. As soon as I was across the line, I was off to the side puking. I must have passed several people in the last stretch because I was 15 places in front of Jess. The spread between our 3-5 runners was short, though I don't remember exactly what it was right now. After having the chance to get some food, we went on a longish cool down. I did just over 6 to finish with 13 total so that I could end the week with 50. As far as thoughts on the race of what I did well (or ok) at or where I need to improve, I only negative split by 3 seconds, but I passed 80 people in the last 3k. I need to follow through on starting fast and really get in the race and battle it out. 

Today we started the run as a group from the locker room. The plan was to run Wasatch through the golf course, so we all went out on Foothill together. Nikki didn't really want to run Wasatch, so together we ran up Sunnyside and into Emigraton Canyon. We ran up to 4 miles and then turned around. It went by a lot quicker than Wasatch feels! Back on campus I went up to the track for strides. This is where I think the most improvement in starting races can come. So I like to make sure to really focus on form and speed during these strides. Lifting afterwards. 

I wore new shoes today! And we had a threshold workout at Liberty Park. We warmed up there from Trax and then did our usual strides and drills. It was unusually quiet with only 7 of us, minus teammates who are on break and/or serving jury duty. The workout was 3 1 lap threshold repeats with 1:45 rest. We all ran in a group. And we (not really we, just one person in the group) went too fast on the first one and then Kep didn't want us to pick up speed on the remaining reps as he had originally planned. My times were 8:53, 8:55, 8:52. My shins and calves felt really heavy. After we finished the threshold part, we had four 40 second strides. They felt so long in comparison to the 25 second strides we've been lucky to have all season. We cooled down in the park and then drove back to campus in the vans. 

State meet today! We had practice off to go watch. We were supposed to run in groups, but both my group members changed their plans last minute... So I ended up running by myself. But not really, because I had Ellie with me in the stroller for the first 2 miles before Jesse came and picked her up. Then I did another 5 miles before going to watch the 4a girls race. A few errands later I was back at the park for the 4a boys race, which I watched with my sister before giving her a ride home since she got her wisdom teeth out yesterday. I love my sister!!! 

We got an extra recovery day today before tackling a workout tomorrow.  We did the first mile on the track and then went out on Albertson's loop.  I ran ahead with Sarah, and we came back on 1900e and then went down to Guardsman to get back up to campus.  Finished with strides on the turf.

Today we had an interval workout at Sunnyside Park.  We warmed up to the park and then did our usual strides and drills. The workout was a fast 500, then a 2k threshold (which due to space restrictions we just did 3:45 out on Guardsman with a brief pause and 3:45 back), followed by three 1ks with 3 minutes recovery, then a fast 600 and a fast 400.  The first 500 was fast and definitely felt it!  I ran 1:39 with Shaylen and Kate.  It was supposed to be like the start of race, so it was good that I stuck with Shaylen.  The threshold part next was really helpful for me to actually feel like I was warming up, because we rocked the 1ks after that!  Each one was supposed to be 5 seconds faster, so that's what we did.  I ran next to Andrea on the outside, same place for each rep which really helped because I hate being on the inside because I usually get cut off there.  But having Andrea next to me for each of them really helped because I knew she was really trying to help me and work together, which we did!  Times were 3:41, 3:36, 3:30.  Yayyyy!!  Then on the final 6 we were supposed to go the same pace as on the last 1k, I hit 2:05 (4 seconds faster than 600 split of the last K), and we were allowed to hammer the 4.  We did that in one big group and were supposed to run it as if kicking for a race.  Sarah and Hannah were up at the front, then I was with Andrea a little behind them.  Our 200 split was 34 (fast!) and final time for me was 1:13.  It was so nice to be done with that workout, I felt like as a team it was great quality and we really did a great job working together and helping each other out.  Cooled down back to campus with Sarah and Hannah to get to 9 total. 

This morning we had a cold long run in Park City.  We started at the Smith's and ran out on the trail.  We were in a large group until around 2 miles, then packs started to form.  I ended up running with Shaylen, Becky, and Jessica.  We turned around at 6 and picked up Andrea along the way.  As we ran back I thought we were still doing a good job as a group, but a certain someone in the group who is notorious for one-stepping started to do that, so I was grateful when Nikki showed up with 2 miles to go (her alarm didn't go off because her iPhone did the overnight update thing so her alarm got reset) so I could run an even pace with her.  Finished with strides and walking drills in the parking lot (danger zone) before enjoying bagels and chocolate milk. 

Today for practice we did the usual first mile on the track and then decided to go to Wasatch.  We ran along Foothill to Sunnyside, and then went up and through the golf course to get onto Wasatch.  I ended up running with Sarah, and we went the farthest.  We turned around at 4.5 and ran back the same way. We finished with strides on the track.  Light day at lifting afterwards in preparation for PAC-12s this Friday. 

This afternoon we had a workout at the track and balif.  We did the usual track route warmup and then strides and drills on the turf.  The workout was three 1k thresholds with 40 seconds recovery on the track, then four 200s on ballif with equal jog recovery, then five 400s on the track at goal race pace with 2 minutes rest.  For the thresholds we were in just 2 groups.  Having such a large group is helpful sometimes, but not on the track.  We made sure to switch leaders for each one so that everyone could have the chance and get the experience.  This made one person in the group mad but she is notorious for an attitude at practice and being bossy so it was probably to be expected.  Times were 3:48, 3:45, 3:48.  Next we ran down to ballif for our recovery before starting the 200s.  We went in smaller groups for those, which was nice, even if it was short lived.  Times were 36, 38, 38, 39.  My stomach was not feeling so great so I took a potty stop before getting started on the 400s.  And when I was in the bathroom I missed the instructions for the 400s, which I guess were different from the goal race pace like it was posted in Training Peaks.  The first one was an 83, which was ok for our GRP, but the next one was an 80, (I had to change shoes after this one because my arch was hurting too bad.  Also I asked Hannah what was up because I led the first 200 on that one in 40 and then someone blazed past me on the last 200 even though the pacre was fine, Hannah said no faster than 77 was the only instruction...), and the one after that (for me anyway, I was a little frustrated and confused each time on the back half when everyone pushed ahead and I was last in the group),  then 79, 77 for my last 2.  On the last one, I was at the back by a bit, which was especially frustrating since Shay and I led in 38 which was plenty fast, especially for a no faster than 77 instruction!  Uggh.  Anyway, it was nice to have it done so that we could cooldown and go home for the day.  I asked Becky on the cooldown what it was actually supposed to be, it was dropping 2 seconds each rep.  I do feel bad for not being able to help out with this part of the workout, I guess I should have asked.  But it would have been nice if anyone that heard the instructions would have told me that there was a change in instruction from what was on the app. And if Kep didn't change the workout from what he posted in the app.  But the second one was too fast compared to the first one anyway, so I don't know why a certain other teammate was freaking out so much about picking up the second one... Oh wait, yeah I do, that is just her.  Anyway, finished my cooldown with Hannah and Sarah, since they were the only other girls who went the full distance, and then rolled out my foot when I was done.  I'm just glad that not all days are like today. 

Shorter run today in preparation for Conference on Friday.  We did our first mile on the track and then ran out on Guardsman and 15th.  At 1300s, we were at 3.3 and most of the girls turned around and were confused why Sarah and Kate and I kept going.  We wanted 6, so we needed to go out 3.5... and they didn't get that we could just turn around on a random street when we were at the distance we needed.  That is what the Garmins are for. :)  On the way back I started to feel awful, and had to make a potty stop on Guardsman.  Ran the rest of the way back on my own.  To fill our lifting time today we just did core and stretched.  I saw Tim for a massage afterwards.  He gave me a golfball to use on my foot since it's been having issues.

We went and checked out the course in Colfax, WA today.  It is a flat 2k loop that we will run 3 times.  Because of how it is set, in a ditch between two mounds (too short to call them mountains), it creates a passage for the wind, which will definitely play into the strategy tomorrow.  We only did one stride from the start, the rest of them we did with the wind to our backs to not waste energy.  I can't believe this will be my last Pac-12 Championships!! I am excited for the team :)

This morning there was rain at our hotel in Moscow, but not at the course in Colfax which was awesome!  And the wind wasn't even that bad either.  With an hour before start time, we started our warmup.  We ran a little longer today because it was a little chilly, but also because we had the extra time.  We did our strides and warmup drills before going to our tent to put on our spikes.  The tents are really fancy, they each have a portable heater in the middle and a porta-potty for each team at the back of the tent.  We had to be on the line 15 minutes early, so we had plenty of time for strides.  Mack told me to remember to whisper to people as I passed them.  I knew she meant my teammates, and encouraging words, but I joked that I would say to girls from other teams, "I had a baby this year", as I ran by.  Too giggly for the start line.  I had to make myself not think of that when we were lined up for the gun so that I wouldn't lose it.  The boxes were wide enough for us to start in two rows of 5.  Which was actually really awesome because it helped us get out together.  Also because we were in box 1, so no one was to our left, and the first turn on the course was left.  We did a great job sticking with each other, and there was a group of 7 of us together at the k.  By the end of the first 2k loop, I was running next to Shay.  We just focused on keeping up with each other, knowing that we would be able to find our rhythm and work together to pass anyone we could.  The first big place to make a move for us was on the second lap, just after making the turn so that the wind would be to our backs.  When this part was coming up, I called to the team that the time to go was now.  I didn't see Shay after that point, but I knew Andrea was with me, and suspected that Jess was probably nearby as well.  It was from here on that Andrea and I helped push and pull each other along, as we switched places many times.  My 3k split was 10:20, so I knew that I had a good chance of finally breaking 21, if the second half went well.  Going into the third lap, Andrea had passed me and gotten momentum on the one downhill (it is literally a bump, not really a hill but it is enough to give you a rush going down it for the 3 steps) and caught a few girls.  I followed in her footsteps, and passed the same girls.  I ran by her side again, and kept giving her encouraging words and together we kept passing people.  Again when we got to the part where we turned and the wind was at our backs, Andrea had a good position to pass some more people.  I was boxed in, but once outside the curve I was able to pass the same people and run with Andrea again.  During that stretch of the course, Jess caught up to me and I could tell that she was really tired, but I tried to pull her along with me and work with Dre as well.  At this point, we could hear spectators from other teams saying "You've gotta get Utah" to their athletes, so I knew that we must have looked good and were wearing the targets on our backs.  We kept going, and focused on catching the people that the coaches said we would need to in order to place well as a team.  Mack pointed at an ASU girl and said I needed to catch her, and I was getting tired at this point, so I thought to myself that maybe on this one I would say "I had a baby this year", but it wasn't as funny in my mind as it was on the starting line, since I was really tired.  But I caught her, and Andrea caught her, and I'm pretty sure Jess caught her too.  Going around the corner with about 600 to go, Mack told me to catch 2 purple.  They seemed so far away, but I did my best to close the gap.  I caught another girl or two going up to the hill, and then there was some space between me and the next girls.  But I could tell I was gaining distance, and I caught one purple girl before finishing.  And I finally broke 21!!!!!! And so did Andrea!!!!!!  I was 39th, she was 41st, and Jess was 45th, also getting a PR.  If I am not mistaken, there were 7 maybe 8 PRs on the team today :) And we met our goal of having our top 5 in the top 45! And as a team, we took 5th!!! A huge improvement from the 9th place finish last year, and our first time placing in the top half of the conference.  It is amazing what can be accomplished with teamwork.  I can't imagine a better way to have ended my final Pac-12 championships for cross country.  

For cooldown I did 3.5.  I was exhausted and had a hard time keeping up with the team, and my foot was really starting to hurt.  I didn't notice it during the race, but it sure hurt a lot afterwards.  I iced it on the way to Lewiston in the car.  

7 miles in the neighborhood after the flight home this morning.  My arch didn't hurt at all, but my heel sure did.

This afternoon for practice we started with the usual first mile on the track.  After that, we ran fruit loops over to Sunnyside, where the group split.  Nikki and I went up Emigration Canyon, and everyone else went through the golf course.  They didn't want to run the hills, but honestly the hills we run on the fruit loop route are harder than the gradual incline of Emigration.  Anyway, Nikki and I had a nice run.  Finished with strides on the track before going to weights.

This afternoon we had a workout on ballif.  I'm glad I wore long sleeves and capris, even though I was thinking I might lose a layer during the workout, because when we got out there it cooled down a lot!  We did the usual warmup and then did the strides and drills on ballif.  The workout was two sets of 6 300s with equal jog recovery, and 3 minutes between the sets.  We started by the humanities building and ran to the fire hydrant.  It was actually a little short of 300, but we didn't have to time them, it was all effort based.  We did the first 4 all in one big group, then started to separate as the different effort levels created natural packs.  I stuck by Andrea the whole time.  Well almost.  The last 4 I really struggled, but Nikki was also there to help pull me along.  And on the last 3 we ran them in the opposite way we had been going because the wind had completely switched direction.  I was exhausted by the end.  I made it through 2 miles of cooldown and needed to rest for a bit before thinking about abs... I took an ice bath for my foot, again the arch feels fine but just the heel hurts. 

6 miles with the team at Sugarhouse today.  We did 3 laps around the perimeter and then a little extra to get the full 6.  Cooldown strides and drills afterwards.  The colors of the leaves in the park were beautiful, along with the clouds above.  The darkness due to daylight savings is a little weird to adjust to, but I guess that's winter.

Today I took a much needed cross training day.  I must be getting old.  Just kidding.  But the wear and tear of the season's training is starting to get to me.  I went to the life center to go pool running.  Having the long lanes is awesome!!!  I warmed up 8 minutes (limited time before closing) and then did 10 sets of 2 minutes on 1 minute off.  Then I cooled down with whatever time was left before closing.  It was a good workout.

Workout on the track today.  We did the usual warmup and then strides and drills.  It was wet from the rain earlier, but that didn't stop us from laying on the ground for our laying down drills.  Today we were unstoppable!  The workout was threee (it should have three es to demonstrate the definition) 1k thresholds with 45 second rest, five 200s with equal jog recovery, and then a progressive 2400.  The thresholds were supposed to be at about 92-93 per lap, so fairly easy.  We took turns leading.  Times were 3:56, 3:50. 3:48.  On the 200s I hit 37, 38, 37, 36, and 37.  Then on the progressive 2400, I think we had the best run on record!  I split each lap.  The first one was supposed to be a 1:44, and we were supposed to drop 4 seconds each lap to finish with 1:24 on the final lap.  The lap splits were1:44, 1:37 (too fast), 1:34, 1:31, 1:26, 1:21.  I think we got a little excited at the end, but that was probably because the last 2 laps weren't as bad as we all remembered them to be!  Cooled down with Andrea afterwards and finished with 9.5 total.

Long run in Park City this morning.  It was colddddd!!!!  But on the bright side, this is my last 7:30 A.M. long run in Park City ever!!!!!!!!! At least with the team.  And I will miss them.  But there are other things I would like to do besides going to Park City on Saturday mornings to run in 27 degree weather.  Also it was a shorter long run than the other ones, since it is taper time.  I did 10 miles.  On the way back I caught up to Becky, and was a little confused when she said she had also turned around at 5 miles, because I didn't see her until about 3 miles left.  Whatever happened, it was nice to have someone to run back with :)  We got a senior pic afterwards since we were all wearing our black fleece lined tights and thermal top.  And we were quoting The Incredibles.  "Where is my super suit??"  Great run :)

This afternoon after our mile on the track we ran out on Foothill and then 1900e.  We hit 4 on a random street so we took that up to 2100e and went back to Foothill.  Finished with strides on campus.  It was a really nice day!  And then we had an easy lift.

We had a workout at Liberty Park today.  It was cold!  So we got to take the vans down instead of Trax.  After our usual warmup.  Actually not really usual, we did our drills and strides by the fountain since the first part of the workout was by the pond.  The workout was 3 400s with 90 seconds rest, and then 2 1 mile thresholds between 6:00-6:10, and then another 3 400s.  My times were 1:25, 1:23, 1:23 for the first 400s, then 6:08 and 6:11 for the miles (I erred on the side of too slow since I knew it would feel slow after the 400s), and then 1:23, 1:22, 1:21 on the final 400s.  Cooled down 1 lap in the park and then was happy to be done and go get out of the cold!

Cross training day in the pool.  I warmed up 10 minutes and then did 6 sets of 3 minutes hard 2 minutes easy, followed by another 10 minutes cooldown.  The end.

Premeet today in Albuquerque.  The course seems alright, though some parts are so narrow!  Anyway, I'm excited to race this course tomorrow!!!

This morning at the course we started our warmup about an hour before the race.  We ran just part of the lower part of the course, then came back up and ran the latter half of the course.  We did our strides and drills from the starting line, and  then got our shoes changed and went to the line for a few more strides before it was time to go.  We were in box 19, right between Colorado and New Mexico, and just a few boxes away from BYU and Weber.  This was great since it would allow us to know where they were from the start and the gauge our starting pace and positions off of theirs.  Going out I stuck next to Shaylen, and we were together for at least 1k.  Due to how the course got packed up, I wasn't right next to Shay, but we still passed the same packs at the same time, just on opposite sides of the course.  We were together around the next curve, and the one after that, and then we were with Joc, Dre, and Jess.  It was coming out of the second hairpin turn that I moved up, but sadly my team missed me because they were on the outside of the course and I was on the inside of the course.  A gap was starting to form off of the main pack, and given our mistake at conference I knew that I would have to move up then to prevent it from widening on our team.  So by the 2k mark I was ahead of the girls I was supposed to be with, according to our team race plan.  And I was getting conflicting messages from the coaches, because they were telling me to relax and that the girls were 10 meters behind me, but I was just trying to hang on to the back of the pack.  Finishing the first lap I was in a string of girls not really on a pack, but I kept moving forward and matched any moves that other girls made.  After the 4k mark there was a Colorado girl that was with me, and I ran with her up to the second hairpin turn, and then passed her on the slight decline that was there as soon as I turned.  The course isn't really hilly, just on a grade, so when it feels hard and you feel tired, when you turn the corner you are headed back down and can let it carry you instead.  It was along that stretch that I heard Kep say I was in 28th place.  Just 3 more people and I would have a medal.  I made that my goal and kept pushing forward.  The BYU pack had started to break up and fall back, so I focused on catching them since I knew we would improve our chances of going to nationals if we could beat them.  During the last part of the race I was starting to feel sick to my stomach, so I just pushed as hard as I could to give it what I had without puking, since I knew that would slow me down.  The finish was along an uphill grade, which was kind of awful.  Rounding the corner before that, Coach Mack told me to get 3 girls, which would have placed me just in front of Nat.  She was moving forward, so I focused on passing the girls she was passing.  At one point it seemed like I was gaining ground on her too, but I could tell when she turned on her kick and I knew I didn't have a chance then.  But I still passed a few people in the last stretch, including Sarah from my team.  I finished in 20th place, just one place lower than my junior year at regionals.  We got going on our cooldown as we waited for the results, then were excited to the point of tears when we found out that we placed 3rd!!!!!!!!!  Finished cooldown with 4 total to get 10 for the day. :)

7 miles in the neighborhood this afternoon.  And today it was officially announced that WE MADE IT TO NATIONALS!!!!!!!!! So excited for the team :)  Also BYU and Weber made it too, it will be nice to have some Utah schools represented :)

Felt awful today.  Puked about 20 times last night and this morning.  Needless to say, took the day off.

30 minutes of biking today.  I feel better than yesterday, but not up to running just yet.  Still working on rehydrating and resting up.

I went running today!  I went to Jordan River trail, then found out the bridges on the trail were closed at 4700s, and because I didn't quite know the way around to start on the west side of the river and eventually cross over, I just ran north.  Pretty sketchy, I know, but it was in the morning and there were a few other people on the trail too.  That part of the trail also smells gross.  Anyway, I went out 2.5 and back.  My calves were sore.  Flew to Cincinnati and drove into Louisville at night.

This morning we had a brief workout to keep us sharp for nationals.  We started at the Tom Sawyer park and ran out on the road and across the street to an old golf course.  We did our usual warmup length and then strides and drills on part of the course, around the 1k to go area (we had permission, because of heavy rain earlier in the week the course was closed but this part wasn't bad).  Our workout was three sets of 300, 200 with equal recovery jogs.  The 300s were supposed to be about race pace, and the 200s just a little bit faster.  The distances weren't actually measured, Kep just counted steps and used a coffee cup for the start, a snow scraper for the 200, and a water bottle for the 300 meter mark.  My times were 56, 36, 56, 37, 56, 38.  It felt nice to get in and do this short workout especially following a few sick days.  Cooled down in the old golf course again just short of 2 miles to finish with 6 total.  It is so neat to think about how 6 weeks ago when we were here for prenationals we talked about how cool it would be if we could come back in 6 weeks for nationals, and here we are :)  We went to the banquet tonight at Churchill Downs, that was a really fun experience :)    

Ran my last cross country premeet ever this morning!  Like ever. !!! Andrea and I were happy about that :)  We ran the course once, at least the parts of it that weren't closed while they still are trying to dry it up.  Then we did drills, spiked up for strides, Hannah and Shay and I went to the finishing area for a couple, and then changed back to trainers and did cooldown drills.  Had to take a couple of pictures afterwards. :) But I don't remember how to post pictures.

This morning was full of a lot of last evers since this was my last college cross country race, ever.  About an hour before race time, we started our warmup as a team.  We ran about the last half of the course to refresh our minds and get a feel for any parts that had to be filled in last moment due to any of the rain from earlier in the week that hadn't cleared up.  We did our usual strides and drills, and then put on our spikes and headed over to the line.  We were in box 31, which was good because it put us towards the right half of the field.  After a few more strides, it was time to go.  The plan was to go out with Shaylen, but to get up to Jess, Andrea, and Sarah (who had been sick all week) before 2k.  Going out I felt like I had lost some of my warmup, so it was a struggle to get that back.  But I was able to stick with Shaylen pretty well.  Because the field was smaller than at pre-nats, it was a lot easier to get out together and not get lost.  But I was also very aware that I was at the back of the pack, because the field was really thin about where I was.  Shay and I kept moving up, towards Jocelyn to help her out, and then towards our other teammates.  I came through the mile in about 5:35, so a lot better then at pre-nats.  It was between the mile and 2k that I think Shay and I got separated, so I focused on getting towards Andrea, Jess, and Sarah.  When I caught up to them, Sarah and Jess stuck with me for a little bit.  Jess fell off, but Sarah was with me for pretty much the rest of the race.  There were times when one of us was a little ahead of the other, and times that we were running side by side.  Still, having each other within sight was extremely helpful.  And seeing pictures of the race afterwards, Andrea and Jocelyn weren't far behind either.  Around the 4k mark I heard Coach Mack tell me I was about 180th place.  I knew I would have to be able to move up a lot to get close to where the coaches said we could be last night in the team meeting.  Because I had gone out faster than at pre-nats, and this was a more talented field, I knew my chances of catching as many people in the last 2k were slim.  I just stuck with Sarah and we worked up together to keep passing people and gain any ground we could.  Around 1k to go we saw Mack again and she told us to catch 10 people.  I don't know if we did, but I just thought about picking people off one at a time.  But it was really difficult because everyone was giving it their all now, so a lot of my efforts went towards not getting passed.  I tried just kicking with Sarah and to make moves when she moved.  There were so many people down the finishing stretch it was crazy.  And so many people posting times so close to one another.  I finished in 168th place, 2 places and 1 second behind Sarah.  I scored 131.  Being able to be here as part of a team made the experience so much more meaningful.  Not like I would know from individually qualifying, but whenever I saw people there on their own I really appreciated my teammates and getting to share this experience with them.  It was working together in every workout and every race this season that made it possible.  As a team we finished 26th.  As our coach said to us afterwards, he could sense a little disappointment from us, but it was a good thing because it meant that we had gone into the race with goals.  From the team meeting last night, he had told us about the point range we would need to get below 20th as a team.  Given the illness that hit our team this week, and the novelty of the experience at nationals, we still performed well.  We cooled down 2 miles and then took a large group picture with all of our family members who traveled out to Louisville to support us.  While I wish the end results could have been a little better, I hope that this experience will serve as a chance for the coaches and returning team members to take as much as they can from it and be ready to do better next year.  Results from the race can be found here 

http://www.ncaa.com/ncaa-cross-country-championship-live-timing 

Didn't have to run today, and it was awesome.  Except we still had to lift weights, which was lame, but at least it is only once this week.  And I guess Andrea and I got in a little bit of running today since we ran to weights from the locker room so we wouldn't be late.

No more than 2 days in a row off is the rule (though I ignored that rule my freshman, sophomore, and junior years) for break, so we had a group run today.  Also because it is the last day of practice before Thanksgiving break.  The other rule for break is we have to do between 5-7 miles.  So I did 5, but then we still had to do strides afterwards.  We also had to do the first mile on the track.  After that we ran out on Foothill and 1900e and then back.  Was sore from weights yesterday, probably because we went from 1 set the previous weeks to 3 sets of everything, and we didn't warmup since the run beforehand is usually our warmup.

6 miles in the neighborhood today.  No more than 2 days in a row running, so by running today it would be against the rules for me to run on Thanksgiving. :)

I enjoyed my 2 days off for Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping.  Even though I only went to Michaels yesterday, and it wasn't until the afternoon.  This morning I had to break out my running tights to run in the cold and snow!  I'm glad that after running for my 9th year I've been able to accumulate plenty of warm clothes to run in!  I was wearing 4 shirts.  And it was only just below 30. 

Team run today. Most everyone came since we had lifting afterwards anyway, and I think everyone who still has break wants to take tomorrow off. We did the first mile on the track as usual, then went out and back on Foothill and 1900e for the remaining distance. Finished with strides on the track and then weights. 

Last day of break before returning to daily practice.

Break is over. It is back to daily runs now. We did the first mile on the track and then ran 15th. The 6 mile group turned around just before 1700s. The pace felt fast, and the way back uphill was rough. But we did it. And then did strides at the track. Lifted afterwards. I doubled my PR on chin-ups! By going from 1 to 2 💪🏼👄

I was late to practice today because I was working on a group project for my biostatistics class. Student first, athlete second. Now I understand why Bekah wasn't able to make a lot of the runs her senior year while she was also in a masters program. If more people on the team were graduate students then they would understand. Yay for end of semester projects. But it is about time I get caught up on homework, missing two weekends in a row for regionals and then nationals made it's mark on my homework pile. Anyway, I started with a mile on the track and then took advantage of being on my own to run 11th Avenue, since no one ever wants to run there. I enjoyed it :-) finished with strides at the track. Skipped my GS because that's what I've done all season. Ha ha ha...

6 miles on one of the cool looking treadmills in the Sorenson that I haven't used yet. The belt is thicker and in segments, I think designed for lower impact running. I finally got to see a doctor about my foot!!! Since my heel has been hurting all season, and somehow getting my arch taped was supposed to take care of it. Anyway, X-rays were unrevealing of a stress fracture, but I am getting an MRI next week to take a closer look. The treadmill was partially for lower impact but also to avoid the yucky Salt Lake inversion air. 

One of the freshman asked if we had practice today. So the answer became yes. It was cold at 9am at Liberty Park. But at least my "long run" max is 7 right now, so it was less than an hour. And it got warmer as we went. We were supposed to do the first lap at the park, but were allowed to go out after that. So we did, out and back on 500e, and one more lap in the park when we got back. Kep was out of town for Footlocker or Nxn, so Coach Mack brought us donuts and hot chocolate!!! That made it worth it :-) foot hurt really badly the rest of the day. 

For our run today we did the Albertson's loop after a mile on the track. It would have been long had we gone all the way to 2100s, so we turned down the street we were on when we hit 4 miles. Finished back at the track with strides before lifting.

I had an MRI for my foot today and missed meeting with the team to run, so decided to run on the alter-g. I started at 75% and worked up to 82% with no pain. It was my first time on the alter-g, and I'm not sure that I like it. The most annoying thing was not being able to have a regular arm swing, and the feeling like I was getting thrown side to side in the bubble. But it was cool to experience once I suppose. And to feel the effects of running at a lower body weight and how it is easier to go faster.

Got the results back from my MRI today! No fractures, which is good, but my plantar fascia tendon has thickened just below where it attaches to the calcaneus, and this is causing some bone stress. It is nice having a diagnosis because now I know what is ok to do and how to treat it! So yay!!! We did another shortened version of Albertson's loop again today, this time cutting down before 1700s. It is nice to change things up a bit!

Before today's run I got my foot scraped to help with that thickened tendon. It felt like it helped a lot! Though it didn't completely suppress the pain. For the run today we did fruit loops through the golf course onto Wasatch, and then back through the golf course and down to Foothill to return to campus. I was hoping to do fruit loops back since I hate running on Foothill, but at least we only had to run it once today!

Today was the last day we are allowed to meet for official team practice, so we ran Trax!!! Yay!!!! Except it has been so long since we've done it that it was hard to remember which route was what distance. So Andrea and I, even with the first mile on the track, ended up just having 7 after going behind the capitol before going to the train. We didn't want to do the extra mile tomorrow, so once back on campus we ran one more mile.

I had to go to campus for treatment on my foot, so figured it would be nice to run in my parents' neighborhood again :) I started at their house and ran along 1500e to Sugarhouse, then up to 1700e and along the cemetery loop route. Doing that and then finishing back at my parents house got me another 8 mile run.

While my teammates on campus suffered on the treadmills because of the heavy snow, I for once enjoyed that there is less snow in West Valley because I was able to run outside. I ran out to 6200s and 3200w and back. The way out was nice, but I was running into the wind on the way back so that was cold!!

Today after getting treatment on my foot I ran on the treadmill at the Sorenson. The melted snow from yesterday froze overnight to make dangerous, icy sidewalks, and running outside an unsafe option. But the snow was pretty to look at, so the miles passed quickly. When I was done I got my first lift in for the week as well.

I bought a month pass to the gym by my house since trips to campus every day winter break won't be the most convenient. Also because I got in a car accident on the way home yesterday (not my fault) and it isn't really freeway safe, so while I wait for insurance I can't really drive far away places in my car. I did 7 miles on the treadmill at the gym. Change of treadmill scenery sure helps on weeks like this!

I missed getting up to campus to do rehab yesterday, so today I went to get my foot scraped again in addition to regular rehab before running. I did 7 miles on the treadmill, sad to have to cut it short and to skip lifting since I was going to be late for work :( It sure is frustrating when non-athletic people don't understand how time consuming training for a sport is.