You've got to want it to win it

This morning after enjoying getting to sleep in for fall break, we had a workout at 10 at Sunnyside.  We warmed up there from the locker room and then did our usual strides and drills warmup.  Then we changed shoes and Kep gave us our paces for the workout.  We had two 200s, two 500s, two 900s, two 1000s, and two more 500s.  I was with Andrea and Giselle and we were trying to hit around 1:43-1:40, 3:13-3:08, and 3:37-3:32.  On the 200s we all started together to practice getting out fast with a lot of people.  My times were 36 and 38.  Then fore the 500s I hit 1:43, 1:44.  We started most of the workout with Amanda but on some she would start after us and work up to catch us and keep going.  Giselle was a few strides ahead of Andrea and I most of the time, and Andrea and I would switch off leading depending on the distance.  On the 900s we hit 3:19, 3:17.  Then 3:40, 3:42 for the 1000s, and finally 1:49 and 1:43 for the final 500s.  I think we all feel great about this workout, it really helps having more solid groups this year too rather than last year where we would just go with a random group each time it seemed.  This helps us in races too and we saw this work for us at Stanford so hopefully pre-nats this weekend will go well for us too!  For cool down we picked up the flags and cones marking the course and then with Alyssa and Hilary I went out on 1900e to Yale Avenue and then we cut up to Foothill and ran back to campus to finish at 10.  Afterwards I rolled out and wrapped an ice bag around my hips because I didn't feel like taking an ice bath...

This morning I got up early to go for a run before weights at 8.  It's been a while since I've been on a run this early so I forgot how cold it can be sometimes!  I noticed it got colder as I got closer to Sugarhouse Park!  Fortunately I wasn't planning on running there and just continued along 1700e and then on Imperial Street over to 3300s.  Then I went up to Melbourne and then 1800e back to 2100s.  From there I went up to 1900e and over to 900s then down to 15th and home.  I didn't feel so good during this run, I think it was probably because I had half of a banana for a quick breakfast right before starting.  Good thing this was just a run and not a race though!  Afterwards when I was at weights I noticed that my right quad is super tight and sore!  And I don't even know what from :P  I made sure to take my time rolling out afterwards and I think I will get it massaged tomorrow.

This morning we had our final workout of the week at Liberty.  I could get used to workouts at 10 in the morning rather than 2 in the afternoon!  We started with a warmup of a lap around the park, then I added some to get to about 2 miles.  We did our usual strides and drills and then broke into our groups for the workout which was three sets of 7:30 on with 90 second rest, followed by five 30 second strides.  Giselle, Andrea, and I started just before Kep and Amanda, and each of the groups started about 30 seconds apart.  We were hoping for around 6:05-6:10 pace.  I didn't track our splits but Giselle said they were 6:10, 6:08, and 6:00.  After the third one we were at the opposite side of the park from where we had started so we did our strides back.  Then we changed shoes and did a lap cooldown on the inner sidewalk of the park, then I did another lap on the outside perimeter to get to 10 for the day.  We travel to Kentucky tomorrow!

This morning I got up early to go for a run on my own before lifting at 8 again.  I started along 15th over to Sunnyside, then ran on 2100e all the way over to 2100s where I cut down to 17th east to keep going south.  After passing the freeway I turned up the first street which took me up to 20th east.  Then I went out to about 2900 south before turning around and heading home along 18th east and then 17th east.  Just after I had left the park I saw a large group of runners going the opposite way as me on 15th east.  I thought it might be a high school team but had no clue which one since I knew my sister didn't have practice today!  Then I realized it was my team :) (They started at 7 but I didn't go with them because I knew I would be running longer than an hour).  Turns out they also saw Hilary when they got to Sugarhouse.  She had run along 13th east, so if I had gone home that way I would have seen her instead.  We had an easy lift today and we are all excited to travel to Kentucky!  And to get to use the new roller bags we got yesterday! :)

This morning after an early breakfast (at least it felt early because of the time change, it was only 8 here in Kentucky!) we departed for the course.  It was a bit chilly when we got there, but not so much that I wanted to wear my jacket for the run since I knew I'd warm up fast.  We ran the whole course.  I really like it!  And I am excited to race tomorrow :)  After we finished on the course I ran a bit more with Amanda and Hilary, and then did strides with Hilary on the first part of the course.  

This morning after arriving at the course we had about an hour before we were going to warmup so I walked part of the course with Giselle and Hilary.  With 55 minutes to go we started our warmup as a team.  We warmed up around the course, avoiding the guys race that was going on, and then did our strides and drills in front of the tents.  We then changed into our spikes and headed over to the line for more good strides and then our cheer and prayer.  We were nervous about how to get out since the course narrows really quickly and there were 39 teams in the race.  I started behind Amanda, and Giselle and Andrea were on the front line with her.  This made it a little difficult for me to stay with them when the race started but surprisingly I had a lot of room where I was.  The first k I was focused on catching up to Giselle so we would be able to work together for a little bit.  There wasn't really time to relax but I was with her through the mile mark and 2k.  The mile split was 5:32, definitely PR pace and I knew I had a shot at breaking 21 if I could hold on for the rest of the race.  2k-4k was the hardest part of the race because that was when we decided we were going to pick it up but it was really hard because there were so many people and they were still running strong.  Giselle did well though and was able to get ahead, and it helped me to be able to see her in front of me because at least I knew I was gaining because she would pass people and then I would pass them.  The 2 mile split was about 11:07 so a little bit slower but close enough to even splitting...  As we kept going, the race seemed to get more strung out and at one point between k 3 and 4 I was in the gap behind the large group that was Giselle was with.  I was not going to run this by myself so I focused on catching as many people in that group as I could.  We just kept pulling people in because at one point Kep told us we were at about 90-100th place, and I could hear that number getting smaller as other coaches would yell at their athletes.  My split at 3 miles was about 17:15, and then I was excited because I knew we had just 1200 meters left and I felt like I could have a good kick.  I pushed hard on the downhill to keep catching people and to evade getting caught by the girls behind me who's coaches were yelling at them to move forward.  Coming around the corner I think a lot more people were picking it up because it became harder to close ground on people.  Passing Kep the last time he told me I was 68, so from there I was determined to pass as many people as I could down the final stretch.  I had a good kick down the straightaway which is deceitfully long, but it helped because it made me want to go all out sooner than I might have otherwise.  I passed a few people and there were still a long line of girls.  Something I really liked about this race was that there were so many people so you are never alone and you always have to keep pushing to hold your spot or not get passed.  I could see the clock going up in the low 21s... 21:02, 21:03, 21:04... so I didn't break 21, but I knew I had PRd again :)  I was really excited for Giselle because I was sure she had broken 21, but on the results her time was 21:00.1... Next time!  As I took my spikes off I found a dead spider that had been squished beneath the tongue of my shoe on my foot!  Good thing I didn't know about it while I was racing :P  After I put my trainers back on I cooled down with Nikki, Charlotte, and Giselle around the course, and then more with Nikki as we went around and cheered for our girls in the unseeded race.  After they finished I waited for Hilary to be ready so I could cool down the last part I needed to get to 5 for cooldown.

Tonight after dinner (and dessert :)) Charlotte and I went running on the hotel treadmills for 3 miles.