You've got to want it to win it

Today I went running with Hilary.  We started with the team but were behind them for the first bit, then ahead of them for a little bit, and then alone since they turned around.  We did the zoo loop.  Hilary and I turned around at the end of Wasatch, and went back through the golf course.  We didn't want to go on Foothill, so we ran up to the road just below the post office and back to campus up by the dorms.  Afterwards I did my rehab and then Tim worked on my calves.  

Today we had our one workout of the week!  I warmed up on bailiff with the others and then did strides and drills at the track.  I sorta got to pick the workout right before we started the warmup, which was kinda cool. :)  It was four 800s and four 500s.  The recoveries on the 800s were 2:10, and for the 500s it was 300 jog.  My times were 2:37, 2:34, 2:40, 2:40 (Kep told me to relax after the second one.  He wanted them between 2:38-42).  On the 500s I tried to get faster each one, my times ended up being 1:37, 1:35, 1:36, 1:35.  The last one felt really hard so I was surprised it was still 1:35.  For cooldown I ran some on bailiff with Hilary and Giselle, and then finished with some laps in the opposite direction on the track.  When I got home I took a 15 minute ice bath.

Today I started my run with the team on Foothill.  Everyone else went short, but Hilary and I continued past Foothill Village and ran down 2300e to 2100s.  Hilary was with me until 1900e, then she kept going since she was going for more miles.  I ran back on 19th, and then when I got to Sunnyside I wanted to add on by going up and then going back to campus.  I ran through the golf course and then up on Wasatch, then around the zoo and back onto Sunnyside.  I ran back to campus on the road by the post office, and realized this add-on was a bit longer than I thought.  I hit 9 just below the dorms, and had a nice walk back to HPER from there.  I did my rehab in the training room afterwards.

Today we went for our premeet from our hotel to the track at Stanford.  Then Giselle and I did a loop on some of the trails nearby, and finished with strides on the track.  I am in heat 4 of the 5k so I am racing in the morning.  It will be nice to be done early and enjoy the rest of the day!  Before we left the track we saw Shalane Flannagan!!  I really wanted to get a picture, but she was in the middle of a workout.  Another time, perhaps.

Happy race day!!!  About an hour before my race I started my warmup on the trail near the track.  I did three miles and then went and did strides before grabbing my numbers and putting on my spikes.  On the track I did a few more strides until they lined us up.  I was second on the waterfall in the outer lanes.  I was right next to an Oregon girl who I know I have been ahead of during indoor, so I thought going out it might be good to make sure I was in front of her.  Just like last week, I wanted to get into the pack and work with everyone and then kick at the end and see what I could do.  I also really wanted to get a PR.  I did not want to have a repeat of last year's race (flashback: I ended up in the lead the first lap and panicked because I didn't want to lead, and the result was getting passed by everyone and struggling to get a good position for the rest of the race).  Going out I relaxed and just went at a pace I felt was comfortable.  Coming out of the first curve, none of the girls from the inside alley were there to fill in, and I found myself at the front again.  No one was next to me or near me.  Fine then, I would just stay at the front and run by myself.  For 12 and a half laps.  Cool.  The first lap split was 75, but I felt awesome.  The next split was 78, that would be a good pace to hold for a nice PR.  I don't remember all of them after that, but my mile was 5:13.  I would watch the race on the screen when I was passing it, and could see that there were 2 girls that were following me that had broken away from the pack.  At one point in the race they were right behind me because I could hear them breathing, but I never saw them or their shadows even.  Kep and Amanda and Andrea kept reminding me to drop my arms, which really helped me to refocus and work on keeping good form.  I dropped the two girls that had come up, and when the race was back on the big screen I was able to see that I had opened up on them again.  And the cheering for them was becoming more distant, so I just focused on opening my lead.  I think my 2 mile split was around 10:34.  The last mile I kept pushing and was determined to not let my splits get slower.  I picked it up with 600 to go and then each 100 less I would pick it up more and more, and I even lapped a girl as I was in the final 100 stretch.  9 second PR!!!  And according to my sources, I had 50 meters on the next girl.  She got a PR too, she was happy to have gone ahead of the pack as well.  For cooldown I ran 3.5 miles with Natalie and Andrea.  We enjoyed Stanford's campus, I always love coming here!!!  

I went to bed and woke up before everyone else on the team, so I was out of the loop on running plans this morning.  So I went for a run with my iPod around Stanford's campus.  I ran by the golf course and then across campus and past where my cousin's apartment last year and her old ward building.  Then I looped back towards the golf course and tried to go back to the hotel.  I made a wrong turn somewhere and realized I was going further away from the hotel... I intended to just do 8.5, but because of my detour and trying to find me way back I finished with 11.5, no big deal...  But it was a great run :)