You've got to want it to win it

This morning I met Andrea and Amanda at the track for workout.  We warmed up to the same spot across North Campus and back that we usually do, then added a lap at the track since we didn't start from the locker room.  We did our strides and drills and then Kep came and told us our workouts.  I forgot to grab my flats as I left my house, even though I did remember to go grab my summer lifting manual and had to run back in to grab it!  So i just did the workout in my trainers, but I was fine with that because then I wouldn't get too sore.  My workout was four sets of 800 then 600, with 2 minutes (200 jog) recovery for each.  I was supposed to try and run about 2:40 pace for the 8s and a little faster pace for the 600s.  I hit 2:45, 2:02, 2:44, 2:03, 2:46, 2:05, 2:50, and then instead of the last 600 I did two 200s both in 41.  Then I cooled down to North Campus and back with Amanda and Andrea and then ran down to the weight room to finish my cooldown.

This morning I took my iPod for a run at Sugarhouse.  I did 3 grass laps there, two counterclockwise and one clockwise, because I wanted to stay on soft surface.  I was worried about my right gastrocnemius because I woke up in the night with a charlie horse! It hurt so bad!  And the muscle was flexed all the way!  Fortunately it didn't hurt while I was running.  It better behave this weekend too because yesterday Kep called me while I was at work to tell me that someone scratched the 5k so I'M GOING TO REGIONALS!!!!!!!! :)  I race Saturday night in Texas and I am so happy that I have another chance :)

This morning I did a workout at Liberty.  For warmup I ran over to 1700s and then down to 900e, over to 1300s and down to 700e into the park.  I didn't feel like doing strides since I just wanted to get going on my workout, but I made myself do one before starting.  I did a mile at threshold, hitting 6:17, and then after a half mile recovery started a fartlek.  On the outer perimeter I did a ladder of 30 seconds on (double recovery for everything), 60, 90, 90, 60, 30.  I did a lap and a half, reaching the entrance/exit at 900s as I was finishing the last set of 30 seconds.  For cooldown I turned around and stayed on the perimeter of the park over to the drinking fountain.  Then, because I needed a shorter cooldown, I ran home up 13th.  The hill wasn't too bad though, I think it might be an easier hill than 900s, haven't done that one in a while...  Tomorrow I will probably run when I get to Texas.  

This evening I went for a run in downtown Austin.  Kep told me how to get to the river trail, which involved going across the freeway overpass at MLK and going down Congress until I reached the Texas state capitol building, then going around until I was back on Congress, and followed it all the way to the river.  I was crossing the bridge when I realized it was going over the river I wanted to be running by, so I turned around and went back to some stairs that go down to the trail.  There were a lot of people on the trail, running or walking or biking, which was kind of neat and also made the run better since I knew I wasn't just the weird one for being a runner...  I turned around at 3.5 and ran back about the same way I came, but instead of going back to the hotel I went to the track so I could watch the 800s.

This morning I went for a run with Amanda and Kep.  We drove down to the river trail, this time on the other side of the river.  I was with them for the first half hour but then they were finished, so I finished my 5 miles on the trail and then did strides and drills for my premeet.  I think I will do a shakeout run tomorrow morning so that there isn't such a gap between this run and my race tomorrow night.  I hope the humidity doesn't keep me from being able to run a good time, but at least we're all running under the same conditions!

This morning I went for a mile and a half shakeout run.  I stretched my calves when I turned around at halfway since they were tight, but as usual they felt better after stretching.  Excited to race tonight!!!

Just under an hour before my race I started my warmup.  I did laps around the football stadium and then went in onto the field to do my strides and drills.  Then I went and changed into my uniform (my warmup clothes were drenched because of the humidity!) and grabbed my spikes and went over to the checkin spot.  I took a Gu, which my sister and I finally restocked up on this week, and then put on my spikes.  The officials then walked us over to the track where we had to wait under some tents until a few more laps of the guys 5k happened.  When they finished we were allowed to do strides.  We had a good few minutes for this since because it is regionals they have to stay on the same schedule as the other region.  I was in the second alley, and had sticker 23.  Someone else must have scratched since there was someone with a higher number than me!  Going out I quickly moved to the inside of the alley behind the other girls.  It went out fast!  The first 200 was 35, and at the 400 I was at 74 (also at the back of the pack) but I knew that soon girls would fall off so I wasn't going to panic!  I was right, and as we entered the third lap (splitting 800 at about 2:33) I passed some of the girls back and forth for a bit.  The first mile was about 5:14 so not bad.  Finally I was able to break some of the girls I had been passing back and forth, and one that fell off of a pack, but then pretty much the rest of the race I was running in no man's land behind a pack of 7.  My best chance to catch them probably would have been right then, but because they were so far up I told myself to be patient.  This has worked for me before, but in this situation I think it might have been better to throw in a speed change to get them while I was breaking away from the girls behind me.  I could still hear Kep yelling out 81 for my splits so that was good.  But gradually I would slip and then realize I needed to be pushing, so from there my splits fell.  With 4 laps to go I was at 11:40 so knew I would really need to work to get a 5:20 and go under 17!  But that didn't happen.  I wasn't gaining or losing on the pack in front of me, and when I had 2 laps to go I got lapped by some of the girls on their final lap.  I think I was going faster than them, but that doesn't do any good when you are a whole 400 meters back!  And then I wasn't sure if I was supposed to move over to lane 2 so they could pass?  Anyway at that point there were just 2 of them, but then a girl was coming up on me when I had 500 to go, and I let her go thinking that she was finishing, but then when I realized she still had a lap to go it hit me how dumb that was.  I didn't even kick that hard on my last lap, and I think it might have been as slow as 85.  Definitely didn't break 17, but I was happy for not getting dead last!  Afterwards I cooled down 2 and a quarter miles on the little practice track by the lacrosse field.  My right quad hurt during that so when I finished, Tim worked on that and my hamstring.  I iced it when I got back to the hotel.  Also I talked to Kep a little bit after the race, and brought up the idea of doing 400s at faster pace and just have race pace be for longer stuff like 1200s.  Obviously I didn't die after the first lap being a 74, but since my times have been going downhill all season I think I need to get in some faster 400s... so that the race pace feels easier in comparison.  So we'll see what workouts he comes up with the next few weeks.  After getting back to the hotel I went out with the team to get fro yo and we had a great time :)