You've got to want it to win it

First day of school!  Having just 2 classes that are each less than an hour was a great way to start the day :)  when I came back to campus later for practice, I did my PT and then when I got back to the locker room saw my name on the board to go talk to Hanah... the results of the blood testing came back and my ferittin is 22 so guess who is going to be getting tested every 4 weeks until it gets back up :(  I started on my run with Megan and Giselle.  We ran up Legacy Bridge and through upper campus up to Shoreline Trail over to Drycreek.  Megan and I decided to go up a bit, but then she turned so I was by myself.  Not wanting to run the rest of the way on the trail for lack of water, I turned before getting very far.  On the way back a bee flew up my nose, it was gross!  Next I ran down the road that connects to 11th Ave. and ran to the drinking fountain by the fire station.  I wasn't feeling like 11th today so I ran back and then down Virginia Street.  When I got to 100s I ran up and then through campus, over along Guardsman, threw in a lap at Sunnyside to get water, then down to 1300e, over to 500s, a lap in the cemetery, and back to the locker room.  

We had our first lift this morning with our new coach.  We did some glute stuff there so I didn't worry about doing my PT today.  I like this guy so far since he isn't going to push us into the Olympic lifts unless he knows we are absolutely ready.  This afternoon for workout we did hills at Red Butte.  We did our usual warmup up on the trails with our substitute drills for not wanting to lay down on the dirt.  We did a similar workout to last week's hill day at camp.  We did a 200, then a 200 and a 300, followed by 200, 300, 400, and finally 200, 300, 400, 500.  Recovery was walk half and then jog half.  I was in a group with Hilary, Lauren, Nikki D., and the two girls that are trying out.  The workout was hardest at the first for me, but we adjusted to different paces for the different lengths of the hills which really helped.  It was also nice to be broken into groups so we could run at a comfortable level for us an not have to worry about the other girls breaking away and having that shatter our confidence.  When we finished, I cooled down with Hilary a little bit up the road to pick up the cones and then we went north on Drycreek until it was too windy to continue, then we just turned around and ran back to Red Butte and then looped around upper campus until we were at 10.  Towards the end I started to notice that my right calf was hurting really bad on the outside, more above my ankle, and it hurt worst every time I would start and stop.  I think it is from one of the drills this morning so if we do that one again I will be careful.

I graduated from physical therapy today!  I will just continue to do the exercises a few times a week because my hip hasn't hurt in a while.  So great to have positive news after being put on the iron protocol.  For practice it turns out most of the girls ran earlier so at 2 I ran with Alyssa and Charlotte.  Fortunately the clouds kept it from being too hot.  We did the zoo loop, and then I showed them where the bailiff was so they could do strides.  I wasn't feeling up to it since I was cramping pretty bad, but I was planning on a second run tonight anyway so I think I will do them then.  

This evening I grabbed my iPod and went for a nice 7.5 mile loop.  I started out on 1300e over to 500s, up to Guardsman to Sunnyside, then on 19th east over to 2100s, clockwise lap at Sugarhouse and then home.  Amazingly, the only time I had to stop was at the light at Sugarhouse on the way home.  It was a very nice night out, and I even saw my dad and brother out for a bike ride when I was coming home from Sugarhouse.  I had such a nice time, I forgot to do my strides... oh well :)  I did have a nice stretch afterwards though. 

This morning we had our second lift of the season.  It was a bit tougher than the first time, but I definitely feel like we got some good work in :)  For workout this afternoon we did threshold at Liberty.  We warmed up from Trax on 9th to Liberty, then I added about to the corner and back before joining the team for our drills and strides.  Then we changed shoes and Kep grouped us up for the workout.  It was 4-6 1 mile repeats with 80 second recovery, five 200s afterwards.  He told me to try and hit 6:05-6:10 so I decided I'd go with it since I think the most repeats for miles I've ever done was 3... The other girls in my group had a target about 10 seconds behind me so though I wasn't exactly able to work with them I could still hear them which helped.  The first one I hit 6:04, then 6:05, followed by 5:59, and then 6:09 after which everyone else was done but I decided I'd go for one more and hit a 6:02.  That was the hardest one but Amanda rode her bike on the sidewalk and was calling out words of encouragement which really helped.  She told me that towards the end my form was starting to go crazy so I knew it was time to be done, but I'm glad I went the extra mile (no pun intended) and was able to work hard even when I was tired.  Afterwards I did my strides back to the cars, changed shoes, and then rather than go back to Trax I decided I'd run home for cooldown, so I ran to 1700s and up to 14th and then home, finishing at 10.5.

Today for our run we had a larger group than the usual which was great :)  Together we ran down Guardsman and 1500e to Sugarhouse, then everyone went their separate ways depending on what their need for the day was.  I did 2 laps around the perimeter of the park and then went up to 1900e and took that all the way over to Sunnyside.  I did my strides there because it is a lot easier to decide not to do them on campus than in the middle of a run.  When I finished those I ran up Sunnyside Avenue to Foothill and went back to campus that way, and I was able to avoid the hill up South Campus Drive. :)

This morning the team went for a long run up in Park City.  It was a bit chilly when we started but fortunately it is still early enough in the season that at least we warm up.  We stayed as a group pretty much the whole time, people would just turn around as they needed to get their miles.  Kate was with me up to 5 and a quarter mile, then I just had to run out one more mile on my own before heading back the same way.  The way back is always faster though so I enjoyed it.