You've got to want it to win it

Today kinda sucked.  After lifting when I had a break between classes I went up to the training room to ice and stem my knee.  My quad has started hurting too.  For the afternoon workout I was really excited that we were doing 600s and 1000s, and Bekah and I were supposed to try and hit around 2:00 for the 600s and 3:32 for the 1000s.  It was going to be challenging, but I was really looking forward to a real workout!  But when we got to the park, on the warmup I had to pause for a moment because I had pain in the back of my knee :(  I ran back up to the pavilion without pain, so I decided I'd go by feel.  After strides and drills, I decided not to change shoes.  Kep talked for a while about the workout, so I feel like we sorta lost our warmup... and only Andrea would do a stride with me, and we only got one in and everyone was waiting on the line.  I'm surprised Kep didn't tell us all we needed to do more strides.  Bekah and I started the first one, and it felt ok, for the first 200... my final time was 2:07.  After two minutes recovery, we did our first 1000.  3:42.  Not looking so good...  After 3 minutes rest we did another 600, this time on the big loop, and I hit 2:11.  Not getting better.  The next 1000 was also on the big loop, this time I hit 3:55.  I know Kep says not to let B days turn into C, D, or F days, but this was never an A day... probably a C-, but I pretended it was a B day so that I would at least finish the workout.  This time Kep changed the rest to 4 minutes.  I hit 2:07 for the next 200.  Then 3:52 on the final 1000, and 2:14 on the last 600.  What a day... but I finished.  I want a do-over on Wednesday.  But we are going to Liberty Park for some 800s and then threshold.  I cooled down back to the locker room and then did my rehab.  I wanted to talk to Hanah about my quad hurting too and the pain in my knee spreading, but she was with the track girls for a while.  I'm talking to her tomorrow morning though.  I really wish today could have been a better day, and it is really hard to decide to stay positive right now. One day at a time I suppose.

This morning I got a massage from Tim, he worked on my quads and hamstrings and my knee for a bit.  In the afternoon I went running.  We started on Foothill, then I wanted to run through the golf course so Jessica and Becky came with me.  We ran up to Wasatch, then they were with me until they turned, and I kept going to the drinking fountain on Foothill.  I turned and ran back along Wasatch, and then up above the zoo and back down to Sunnyside.  Then I took the road by the post office back to campus, and did my 6 strides on the track, and then some drills.  The back of my knee hurt after I stopped, but when I stretched it felt so much better!

This morning we had lifting, and I ran 4 miles after I was done.

In the afternoon we had a workout at Liberty Park.  We warmed up there from the 900e station, and were waiting to start our strides and drills but didn't know where Nikki was... after several minutes we went ahead and started our strides and drills, but when we finished those and she still hadn't showed up we had Kep go look for her in the van.  After he had left, another van pulled up and said he had talked to a girl who had sat down crying after rolling her ankle... so we called Kep and he found her!  He took her back to campus so we were sorta on our own for the workout, but it was low maintenance anyway since we were doing mile repeats and the park has half mile marks.  I did 4, with 70 seconds rest, and my times were 6:04, 6:00, 5:55, 5:59.  So much better than Monday!!!  Then to make up for Monday I did 6 strides, alternating 35 seconds and 50 seconds.  For cooldown I ran a bit with Bekah until she left the park, then I did another lap before going back to the 900e station.  It was only during the last mile of my cooldown that I had forgotten to calculate in the 4 miles from this morning... But it just means less miles I am doing later this week!  Back at the training room I did my rehab, and at home I did a 10 minute ice bath.

This morning I ran 6 miles before going to class.  I ran over by Sugarhouse and then across the freeway and down Parkway Avenue to Alden, then over to 2700s and up to Imperial, then then back up to 1700e and home.  After my lab was done I got a massage from Tim.

In the afternoon I was able to convince the girls that to get to the golf course we should go through upper campus, and by doing so avoid Foothill!  Hilary and I do that route all the time, and the other girls really liked it.  After going through the golf course, we got water at the tennis place, then Hilary and I continued up Wasatch towards the zoo.  We went up Emigration a mile and then back down, and our distance was perfect when we got back to the post office, 6.2, because the way out had been 1.8!  After the team meeting I did my rehab in the training room and then iced my knee.

After the bus ride to Montana, we went to a little park to do our run since the course wasn't open until later.  Nikki and I started on the trails while the other girls ran around the lake.  We turned around and then did a lap around the lake when we got back.  The bus was still not back from an errand so I did another lap, and right as I finished the bus arrived.  We went to the course for strides, so we did them on the lower loop.  I went until I had 6 for the day.

1 mile shakeout this morning before breakfast.  Felt great!

With 50 minutes until race time we started our warmup.  We went on the lower part of the course, and then went back up to the starting field for our strides and drills.  I changed into my spikes and dropped my sweats and then we went to the line for a few more strides and our team prayer and cheer.  The race plan was to stay in our assigned groups for the first mile and a half, then go if it felt good.  Bekah and I quickly found our way to the front of the pack at the beginning of the race, and were in the top 4 for the first mile, which we hit at about 5:49.  Ahead of us not too far was a girl in blue, and then a bit farther up was a Montana girl.  I said to Bekah "Let's catch the next girl and work with her" but she didn't really come with me... so I spent the next mile trying to stay with the girl in second, but it was tough.  The 2 mile split was about 11:44.  Bekah came back with about a mile to go, and then her and the other girl were gone.  In the last 800 I felt like I was gaining ground, and on the final stretch I watched Bekah outkick the other girl, but the rolling hills were hard for me to make a kick on, and I felt like I had to puke, so I finished 4th.  I was 15 seconds faster than last year on this same course!  After a few pictures, I got started on my cooldown so I could get in the 3.5 I needed to finish off the week at 65.