You've got to want it to win it

Today at the track we started with the team warmup of 2 laps and then our stretching circle.  Then we did 2 sets of the Flannagan circuits, followed by some fall and gos and blasts.  Then we separated out with our coaches.  For distance with Bill we did another mile on the track and then headed to Sugarhouse.  My arches were sooo sore from doing toes pose in yoga, and my legs were just about dead and ready to fall off they were so sore probably from Saturday.  I did get in some good abs work in yoga though.  We ran along 1500e to Sugarhouse, Natalie and I just missed the light going into the park and had to wait for the next one, that was a shame... I tied my shoes very loosely at this light and then my arches started to feel better, though my shoes weren't even very tight in the first place :P  In the park we started on a road lap, and then when we got to the 400 hill along the state course we ran it 5 times, though we only went to the point where the sign for the pavillion across the road is.  Then we jogged back down.  When we had finished our 5th we kept running on the road over to where the rose gardens are, where the first hill of the state course is, and we did that one 5 times as well.  Then we did a backwards outer lap and then left the park on 1500e.  I ran the light early because there were no cars and then it took the others until to gully to catch up with me, then I just stayed with them.  My legs were burning and hurting really bad but I didn't want to stop because I knew starting again would probably be really hard.  We ran up the road by the gully, and then when we got back to the stadium we finished with 2 laps to get us up to 11 miles for the day.  Bill had planned on us doing two 300s but thankfully he changed his mind on that.  When I got home I did my crunches, pushups, arm swings, then weighted lunges, squats, and calf raises.  After dinner I went to the pool with Abigail for 20 minutes of pool running which felt really nice! I'm hoping for a good workout tomorrow and then good races Wednesday and Saturday :) 

Today we started our workout at the track with the usual team warmup of 2 laps and then the stretching circle.  Then we did some drills before breaking out into our events.  With Bill we did 2 miles warmup and then a mile of speedchanges, followed by a lap recovery.  We did the warmup in opposite direction, and the guys turned around for the lap recovery but Natalie and I didn't because we decided to play chicken with them, we won :)  Then we changed shoes and got on the line for a mile.  I was supposed to hit between 5:20 and 5:30, my time was 5:30 and my splits were 1:19, 2:45, and 4:09.  Then we took 2 laps recovery.  After that we did ten 200s with standing recovery.  Bill told me to try to hit 35s in the 200s, my times were 33, 33, 33, 33, 32, 32, 33, 33, 33, 33 :)  I am glad that I was able to stay consistent through all of them, especially on the last few because my legs were really tired and I could feel it!  After those we changed shoes and did 3 grass laps and a track lap for cooldown.  When I got home I did my crunches, pushups, arm swings, then weighted lunges, squats, and calf raises.  Then I took a much needed 10 minute ice bath.

Today at the meet I barely had time to warmup before the mile.  I got in 2 laps and then had to change shoes and got in some very short strides.  They ran the guys and girls together which was awesome because its what I had hoped they would do :)  I started in lane 1 on the right side, I was next to 2 Highland guys.  Getting out into the right position was hard with all of the guys there but by 200 meters only RJ was ahead of me.  Then one of the Highland guys passed me to get up to RJ and they battled each other for the rest of the race.  My first lap was insane, 68 seconds which is actually a 400 PR for me haha.  So I knew the rest of the race it was going to be tough to keep my pace up.  At the 800 I was at 2:30, then at 1200 3:52, and I got outkicked in the last 100 by a Highland guy but I finished 1 second behind my PR which was awesome!  And considering how tired my legs were it was a great time too!  Then we changed back to our trainers and went out to the road in Sugarhouse for a distance workout.  Bill showed us a green and white line and told us about a red line, they are on the road inside the park from just south of the river to up the hill by the rose gardens.  We were doing eight 400s, for the recoveries on the uphill ones we went to the gate and back and for the other one we ran back on the road until a light post and back.  I hit most of them in 1:39 for the uphills and 1:32s for the downhills.  They were slightly longer than 400 meters but whatever.  Then we ran back into the stadium and needed three quarters of a mile cooldown so we went up to the driving range and followed the lines haha, best cooldown ever!  Later when I was home I took an ice bath for 10 minutes. 

Today we started with the usual team warmup of 2 laps and then stretching.  Then we did some drills as a team, these included lunges with twists, leg lifts, planks, high knees, butt kicks, high knees and butt kicks, pops, alligators, some crawling drill thing, arm swings, karaokes, there were a lot so I probably forgot a few.  Then we split into our groups.  For distance we ran to Fairmont Park and did 10 strides.  Then we ran back along 900e and then up 900s.  My calves felt really sore coming up the hill!  Then I just had to come into the stadium to get up to 6.5, then with the team warmup I got to 7 miles for the day.  When I got home I did my crunches, pushups, arm swings, weighted lunges, squats, and calf raises.  Later I took a 10 minute ice bath.

Today we got to enjoy a nice sunny practice with the sun right above us because we had an early out from school :)  We started with the normal team warmup of 2 laps and then stretching, then we lined up on the football field for drills.  We did lunges, then strided to the other side of the field, and then side lunges going back which I had to start over half way through because I was throwing in skips between them so I wouldn't have to as many haha... that plan failed.  We also did high knees, butt kicks, high knees and butt kicks, toe touches, fall and gos where the last person there had to do another one and blasts where we had to another one if we were last, and I was last so I had to do it again :P  Oh well.  Then we finished with all of us laying across the field in a line for high knees over everyone.  Then we got into groups with our coaches.  For distance we stayed on the track, we did laps in a clockwise direction the whole time.  We did a mile warmup, 2 miles of speedchanges, then a mile and a half cooldown.  Then I practice hurdles for a little bit with Abigail.  I did some at the 300 hurdles marks and I practiced 100 hurdle marks too, its hard going over them when they are so close together!  And on one of them I collapsed after I landed, I didn't even hit the hurdle anything so it was just weird :P  After I decided I was done with hurdles for the day I went and got an ice cup which I stocked the freezer full of yesterday and I massaged mainly my calves and shins, and I did my hips a little bit too.  Then I had to make more ice cups because we went through almost the whole freezer full today!  I don't know how there is going to be enough room in the freezer for the otter pops that the freshmen are going to bring, we'll figure that one out when the freshmen actually bring them I suppose.  When I got home I did my crunches, pushups, arm swings, then weighted lunges, squats, and calf raises.  Then I stretched for a few minutes before getting into a 10 minute ice bath.  

This morning after arriving at the meet we took a potty break before starting our warmup for the mile.  We did 2 miles around the campus, we ran part of what had been on the Orem-Kiwanis cross country course, though it looks like there probably is a new course now because of the new track and a bunch of other construction.  Then Bill went and checked us in so Abigail, Sarah, Natalie, and I just did drills and stretched while we waited for Bill to come back.  My hips were feeling very sore from the hurdle stuff I've been doing so I'm probably going to have to stop those this next week to be careful before Arcadia.  After being checked in we still had a while before we could go into the bull pen so we did 2 laps around the block that the track is on.  Each lap is about 3/4 of a mile so that brought us up to 3 and a half miles total warmup for the mile.  Finally we got our stickers and heat assignments and changed into our spikes in the bull pen.  I was number 1 so I got to start in lane 1.  Before they walked us over to the start line Natalie and I did some strides just outside of the bull pen.  Then we did more strides when we were out on the line.  We had to line up at the dotted line before they said runners set to get up to the real line, we had to hop there as the officials demonstrated for us haha.  Going out Summer was at the front of the pack in the first 100 but I moved up and then I had the lead, and Shea came with me.  The first lap was a 73 and Shea continued to just stay with me.  At 600 meters I thought to myself that since it was only 1000 left I should try to pick it up and gap Shea.  At the 800 we were at 2:34, I guess since I'm not really used to having people with me I relaxed the pace a little bit and just went at Shea's pace.  Finishing the third lap and with 500 meters left in the race was when Shea broke away from me.  I heard her coach telling her to break hard and I knew my only chance would be then to go with her but I couldn't make myself do it so she gapped me.  Then with 300 to go I couldn't get my legs to go and at 200 meters left I got passed by a girl from Mountain View.  Then with 100 to go I got passed by a girl in purple.  My time was 5:12.52.  My hips were just too tired to push, hurdles yesterday were probably not a good idea.  Afterwards I watched the guys races, and then I put on my trainers and went for a mile and a half cooldown out to a roundabout and around it 3 times and back :) 

After the mile we played Scrabble to pass the time, Bill takes forever to take his turns!  And then after the game was over I tried to take a nap, but found it impossible when laying next to a wiggly Abigail who kept kneeing me and elbowing me :P  Finally it was about time to get warming up for the 3200, I took a potty break with Amanda and Sarah and filled our water bottles, then as we were walking back down the others caught up to us on their warmup.  Back at the tent I took my Gu and some ibuprofen and then put on my shoes and started warming up.  We did 1 lap around the block for warmup and then Bill checked us in and we got our shoes and headed to the bull pen.  Again I was sticker number one, and Natalie was number 3.  We did strides on the track while they finished up the guys 200s.  Then we lined up but it took a while to get started because some girls had the same number so we had to wait while they fixed that, I just did more strides.  When we started I got out well and took the lead immediately but the officials fired the gun because one of the girls shoes fell off.  The second start I got out probably just as well as the first one, taking the lead immediately, then I just kept creating a gap.  My first lap was a 73, and my focus for the race was to push the straightaway where the wind was to my back and try not to slip into 1:20s like I tend to do a lot...  At 800 I was at2:36, my legs were feeling really tired in my calves and shins but I was able to push through it and try my hardest to push to the pace I needed to be at.  Thanks to the ibuprofen I didn't notice my hips or my arch which was hurting a little bit, probably also from the hurdles.  At the mile I was at 5:27 so I knew that the second mile was going to be tough to try to get my pace up very much, but I pushed with what I had left.  Going into the last lap I was at 9:52, and I finished in 11:14 so a 1:22 last lap, not so good :(  Afterwards I told Bill that I thought we probably should scratch me from the mile at Arcadia so I can focus on the 2 mile since I made it into the invitational for it, and he told me he had actually already scratched me from the mile yesterday so I didn't need to worry about it.  After cheering on the other girls I changed shoes and then noticed my right hamstring was feeling kind of tight so I got it massaged out by the trainer and then they gave me ice.  They wanted to know if I wanted it wrapped to my leg but I decided to do my cooldown first, so I did 3 laps around the block and then got the ice wrapped to me leg, it felt really nice!  It was nice to continue my winning streak in the 3200, I really hope I do well at Arcadia next weekend and can stay strong all the way through the race, especially with how tough the competition is going to be and watching the races from the past 2 years.