You've got to want it to win it

This morning we met to get our workout done early and enjoy the rest of the day.  But it really wasn't that early since we have to wait for it to get warm before we can run.  The oval is closed this week but I don't mine skipping the drive out and back.  For our warmup we ran along Foothill to 1300s and then up to Wasatch.  As usual when there are so many of us, the other girls took off fast on their warmup.  I slowed it down so was at the back of the group by a bit, but especially in the cold weather I am going to wait for my muscles to warmup and then ease into a faster pace.  We informally did our strides and drills, then got started on our workout.  I did the LD workout today, we were doing fartlek and ours were intervals that were by the minute (not 35 seconds, 55, 75, that would drive me crazy!)  so I was able to set my Garmin to beep every minute.  I love that about my Garmin, I can make it through the whole workout without looking once :)  The workout was three sets of 3 minutes on 2 off then 2 on 2 off.  We took off and it wasn't that bad.  I was able to push the pace probably to 5:50ish and keep my form smooth.  I was going completely by feel which was good too.  When we got to the end of Foothill during our second set I assumed we were just going to turn around but Bekah had a different idea... which was to go down to Foothill and run on the road.  With the cars.  Not the best choice.  Thank goodness the right lane is super wide at least.  That set was slower because of that and since I didn't dare pass the other girls by going out to the side where there was traffic.  For the next set we made it back to Wasatch and then the workout was smooth again.  We finished the third set right as we got back to 1300s.  I told Kep I wanted to do one more so he said that was fine, Hilary joined me.  Then we cooled down together above the zoo and by the post office back to campus and finished at 10.5 total for the day.  Then we had lifting :P  But since we missed the time which Nu'u would have liked us to come, we were under Kep's instruction but he just told us to design our own workouts so that's what we did.  Strange day off but it is nice to have all of that out of the way now.  I'm probably going to go do physics homework for the rest of the day now.

This afternoon the team started on a run down 1500e.  We all were together until 2100s, then Hilary and I kept going to get our extra mileage while the normal people ran back.  :)  We did a lap on the road in Sugarhouse, then went up to 1700e and across the freeway to run down Parkway Avenue.  We ran down to Alden and then headed south.  We ran to Hilary's sister's house and then made our way back to campus.  We took Imperial Street and then 1700e to 2100s, then went up to 2100e back to campus.  Neither of us were sore from yesterday, but our legs were tired on the way back to campus because it is uphill the whole way :P  But it was a very nice run and great loop for a 12 miler!

Today we had split groups for workout again because of class conflicts.  I was in the early group, we took Trax to 900e and then ran to Liberty for warmup.  Hilary and I added on by going part of a lap on the sidewalk and then running down the sidewalk in the middle to meet up with the other girls for strides and drills.  Once we finished those we ran a little more warmup because Kep wasn't there yet and wanted to talk to us before we started.  I was with the mid-distance group and our workout was two 1 lap thresholds and then 6-8 200s at the end.  I was with Dre and Nikki and we worked well together as a group, and hit 8:59 and 9:00 so very consistent!  For the 200s I hit 34, 35, 35, 34, 35, 34, 34, 36.  For cooldown I ran part of a lap and then back to the 900e Trax station to finish at 10 for the day.

After ice skating around campus to class this morning we had already decided we were going on the treadmill for our run before Kep texted saying it would be a good idea :P  No way Sherlock.  Hilary (it is her birthday today!!!) and Andrea and I went down to the Smith to run on the treadmills there because there aren't enough in the weight room in HPER, we thought it might be less hot, and the view is better.  I did 8 miles, I started at speed 7.9 and finished with 8.4.  It was really hot up there!  :P  So I made sure to drink plenty of water afterwards!  Andrea and I foam rolled and stretched while Hilary ran a bit more before we went back up to the locker room.  We were all glad we ran on the treadmill when we saw the ice still hadn't melted when we were done.  And I was pretty happy for making it the whole day without falling, but as I got off the bus I totally wiped out.  I hurt my hand most by breaking my fall, everywhere else is fine. Tonight we fly to Albuquerque for our first indoor meet, I am racing the mile and the 3000 on Saturday.  I'll be so glad to be where there is no ice!

This afternoon we went to the indoor track to get our premeet done before lunch and the team meeting.  We weren't supposed to be there until 1, but were there at 12:43.  One of the coaches there was really rude when we showed up, but since we were running the first part of our premeet outside anyway it's not like it mattered :P  With Andrea, Nikki, and Amanda I ran 30 minutes, 15 out and back.  We were downtown but then made our way over to some neighborhoods.  We were at a Wendy's when we hit 15.  Back at the track I did three fast strides with Andrea, then stretched and went to lunch.  My Garmin worked inside on the track.  I'm really excited to race tomorrow!

Today at the track right before I went for my warmup they announced that the meet was running about 5 minutes ahead of schedule.  So I would be at 12:15 instead of 12:20.  I told myself it was just 5 minutes so it wouldn't make that big of a difference.  I ran to the Wendy's and back for 3 mile warmup, then came in and did a few drills before heading into the track to change shoes.  I only got in 2 strides and then it was time to line up.  I had to tell myself to stay positive and not think about the need to warm up more... When the race started I was at the back but I quickly moved to the front.  I was in the lead girls through 400, and it was too fast at 72.  Two of the girls in the race I knew were pacers so I tried to stick with their teammates that they were pacing.  The second lap was 76, not so great.  The last half of the race I was just done.  I didn't respond when people passed me, and I didn't push.  Those splits were 78 and 80 I think.  This was definitely a race to take a lot of lessons from.  First was to relax the first lap and then let other people fall off and pass them instead of letting them pass me.  Next was to start warmup earlier for track, and to account for meets later on where I will have to be at the bullpen a while prior to the start of the race.  I didn't feel like cooling down after this one since I would have to warmup again soon for the 3k, but Kep told me to just go for a slow walk/jog so I did.  I did quarter mile up on the bridge over the track and back.  Have I mentioned yet that the track is under a bridge and kinda sketch?  The entrance is surrounded by a lot of trash and there are some train tracks right by too.  And the fence around the parking lot has barbed wire at the top.  I love running in the neighborhood part of the city though.  

I wasn't hungry but I knew I needed to eat before my next race, so I had a banana and peanut butter from the hotel and a protein bar I saved from the weight room earlier this week.  My second race was supposed to be at 2:50, but by that point they were half hour ahead of schedule.  I wasn't going to make the same mistake as before so I went for my warmup at 1:20.  To Wendy's and back again.  The way there was really slow because I was exhausted but I made myself pick it up on the way back.  Then I felt more ready to race.  As soon as I got back I changed to my spikes and got in plenty of drills and strides while the guys 3k was going on.  I was definitely glad this race wouldn't be as fast paced as the mile, and I was more comfortable with my ability to be able to relax and then race.  When the race started I am sure I was at the back of the pack for the first lap but after that I picked people off slowly.  Early on there were two groups, I was leading the second group.  Up in the lead were two girls who must have been twins, but the main chase pack caught them and separated them.  I caught people as they fell off that pack.  My splits were pretty consistent, mostly 40s each lap, a few 42s in the middle but I kept pushing at the end and brought it back down to 40s and I think my last lap was 39.  I felt a lot better after this race!  My final time was 10:18 but I was happy for the consistency of my splits.  I need to work on strength for those middle laps but the fact that I was able to bring my splits down after going through the rough patch gives me hope to be able to hold this pace for 5k.  Same with in my mile, although I was dead the last 2 laps I still ran around 79-80.  It was nice to be able to end the meet on a good performance and redeem myself from earlier!  And I definitely needed this before Seattle in 2 weeks.  I might race at Boise next weekend, we'll see how Tuesday's workout goes.  For cooldown I ran to Wendy's and back again for 3 miles, bringing the total of the day to 12.5.

Can I just say how much I love my team?  Tonight Amanda came over to my room and told me Hanah told her it would be a good idea for us to take an ice bath.  So we went to Kate and Nikki's room to use their tub.  We iced for 15 minutes, it was so cold!!!  Then the lady at the front desk of the hotel felt bad for us so she gave us cookie dough. :)  Best day ever!!!