You've got to want it to win it

Today for the run we ran along 1500e to Sugarhouse.  Some girls were going to come with me to do a lap, but when we found out we had to do our strides at the track that changed.  So when we got to 2100s I continued alone to do a lap around the perimeter of the park before going back.  When I got back to 900s on the way back I saw Nikki walking because of her calf.  She ran with me from Guardsman and then went to the training room to take care of it.  I continued on up to the track and got there at the same time as AuraLea and Bekah as they had gone to get their flats.  We did 8 strides on one of the straight-aways on the track and ran the other 300 as recovery.  I finished at 10 miles just after finishing the 8th stride.  Then I did my drills.  My calves felt tight during the run and my hamstrings sore, so when I finished I went to the training room and stretched for a few minutes before hopping in the ice bath for 15 minutes.  An added bonus of the warm weather is quicker warmup time after icing!  

We had a mystery workout today!  And by that I mean none of us knew what it was until we were at the track warmed up and changing our shoes.  It was a set of four 500s with 75 seconds rest (100 jog), then 1000 with 3 minutes rest (400 jog), then another four 500s again with 75 seconds rest.  My times were 1:37, 1:38, then Kep told me to relax just a bit more so I hit 1:42, 1:42.  Then 3:26 on the 1000, but 200 meters into that AuraLea and Macee started theirs just a little bit in from of me so it was difficult to control my pace and not try to pass them too quickly and not get stuck doing their pace.  I finished the last 500s in 1:43, 1:42, 1:42, 1:42.  Bekah ran the last 200 of each with me, and each time when I got to that point I was at 1:01.  Talk about consistency!  I cooled down at the track with Macee, she did 3 laps with me and then I decided to stay at the track and do another 6 and a half laps.  When I finished I went to the training room and stretched and then hopped in the ice bath with Bekah and Amanda for 11 minutes.  Now I am noticing that my back is hurting, we did cattle bell swings (I think that's what they're called?) at weights this morning with 35 lbs.  I mentioned to the coach that it hurt my back but I thought maybe I was doing it incorrectly but he said I was doing it right, next time I'll just use a dumbell and do less weight.  I'm surprised it still hurts this afternoon, hopefully the pain goes away soon...

Today I went running on 11th Ave. with AuraLea, Lauren, Andrea, and Nikki D.  I was with them to the turnoff down to Memory Grove; I was hoping for 10 miles today.  I kept going on the road all the way to the Capitol, then I turned around even though I wasn't at 5 yet.  When I got to the fork I ran up to the drinking fountain and bathrooms hoping to get a sip of water, but the fountain was off.  So I just ran back down and got back on the road towards 11th Ave. again.  When I got back to Shriner's I stopped again hoping to get a drink, but that fountain was off too (which I thought was a bit weird seeing as the sprinklers were going on the other side of the fence...)  so I just kept running back to campus.  When I got to Federal Heights Drive I didn't feel like running anymore because the hill felt really hard, but I kept going anyway even though I felt like I was going slow (but my Garmin had 7:50 pace, which was my average anyway).  I told myself I would keep going and stop at 9, but by that point I was barely across North Campus and it felt like a long walk back to the lockerroom, so I decided to go for 9 and a half.  And I did.  I am really sore.  Hopefully I recover more for tomorrow's workout.  

I did a threshold workout by myself today since I am not racing until Saturday.  I left the locker room at 12:00 and did my warmup over to Wasatch Drive.  I did my strides and drills by the church, then stretched and did a few more drills and strides until Kep got there.  By then it was beginning to sprinkle just a bit.  The workout was two sets of 10 minutes on 3 minutes off.  I decided to start south.  At first it was hard to gauge my efforts to make sure I was going fast enough for it to be threshold but relaxed enough that I wasn't going too fast.  Quickly I found a rhythm and the first set went by fast.  I finished just past Thunderbird, I crossed into the parking lot behind a building right there since I just had a couple of seconds left.  When I checked my Garmin later I found I had run 1.55 miles and the average pace was 6:28.  After lightly running for 3 minutes, I started the second set heading back north.  Now it was pouring and I hadn't considered that even if the wind wasn't too bad, the water would be drowning my eyes!  It would have been a great day to wear goggles! I feel like I probably struggled more in this set but Kep would drive ahead a bit and then get out and yell words of encouragement to me and make sure there were no cars at the intersections (2100s especially!).  I finished just past 1300s about to the first speed bump.  This time I got 1.61 miles and my pace was 6:18.  I took a few minutes recovery still up on Wasatch and then for cooldown I ran back down to Foothill and back to the lockerroom finishing with 8 and a half.  By then I was drenched and my hair looked lovely, but I felt great about the workout.  I still had time to take a shower before the team meeting, so I did.  As an added bonus, the showers were already warmed up since the other girls had already showered :)  I'm excited to watch everyone race at the home meet tomorrow :)

Today I went up to the locker room to see if anyone could run with me, but everyone is either in the meet or injured, so I ended up going by myself.  I ran down to Guardsman then over to Sunnyside Park.  I did 7 strides there, and then part of a loop before going across Sunnyside and up to 1900e.  I ran that all the way to 2100s and then went down to 1500e and home, then added what I needed to get to 7.  The only stops I made were right before and after strides, I'd say it was a pretty good run :) Tonight I'm going to go cheer on my teammates at the first ever home track meet on our new track!  Throwing events start at 4:30, running events at 5 for anyone who wants to come!

About an hour before my race, I started on my warmup.  I went out and back short, dropped off some layers and ditched my gloves, and then went out longer on the trails right by the stadium.  I came back to the stadium and then joined Kate for strides and drills.  Because discus was going on in the field that cut the length of our strides since we had to stay clear of that.  We went and got our spikes and then changed into them for more strides.  We had plenty of extra time, somehow even though we were the second event they were already running behind!  Finally we went and got our stickers.  They had split us into 2 heats which seemed kinda silly since there were about 9 people in each :P  when Kep told me that I was in the "fast" heat I knew it couldn't be that competitive, knowing my time going into it...  He also told me that there was a girl who ran 2:11 in the 800 yesterday, she would probably be the toughest competition.  When the race started the ISU girl (I'm assuming the one that ran the 800 yesterday) immediately went out into the lead.  I was in second with an unattached girl, but she fell off after the first lap.  The first split was a 74, and then I was pretty much on my own since the orange girl had created a gap.  I came through the 800 at about 2:30.  With 600 to go I knew I should start to kick but I didn't want to enough to make myself actually go.  Also my teammates kept reminding me to drop my arms- since it was cold it was hard to pump them fast to get my legs moving!  Going into the final 400 another orange girl caught up to me but with 300 to go I picked it up and kicked it in.  Probably not the fastest I could go, but at least I beat that girl that came up on me.  After I finished, I changed shoes and then did five 150s in the outer lanes with 100 jog recovery and walk the rest.  I didn't time them but they were in the high 20s.  Then I grabbed my iPod and cooled down about 2 and 3/4 miles until I was at 8 for the day.