You've got to want it to win it

Today at practice (or rather team run, that's pretty much what we're doing this week and next up until Christmas break) we all set out as a group.  We went through the Bonneville golf course just off Sunnyside and got up to Wasatch.  The majority of the group turned around at 25-27 minutes, but Nikki came with me to 30 minutes.  We got to Thunderbird and both decided to go up since neither of us have before.  Fortunately we were turning around soon because once around the corner we could see that it was uphill.  We just went back the same way we came.  On one of the trails in the golf course I rolled my ankle pretty bad (more bad than usual on runs) but as usual I just ran through it and was fine after.  When we got back to HPER Nikki was done but I did about another mile and a quarter to get to 9 for the day; I'm supposed to hit 54 this week.  

This morning we did more of the winter lifting routines.  I got to do most of the stuff the rest of the team was doing!  Then this afternoon after the team meeting we went for a run.  Half of us wanted to go towards Foothill and the other half wanted to go on 11th Avenue.  I went on 11th Avenue with Hilary, Lauren, Nikki, and Lex.  We were going the normal way but on North Campus there had been an accident and one of the cops there told us we had to go to the crosswalk, and he sounded grumpy.  After the small detour we weaved through the streets to get up to 11th.  Lex turned back before we got there since she's been sick, and Lauren and Nikki turned around at 3 and a half in City Creek and Hilary and I went to 4 before turning.  When we got back we did 6 strides and a couple of drills on the bailiff.  Then we needed another three quarters of a mile so did a few laps around Huntsman.  On the way back to the locker room to grab a bag of ice for my ankle since it was hurting a bit from yesterday but not too bad, but still better to play it safe.

Today most of the group ran on 11th Ave.  We ran into City Creek and then Nikki D. and I ran down Memory Grove while the others continued on City Creek to go by the capitol.  I was with Nikki until South Temple, then I ran back up on South Temple and she went to Trax.  I did a little more out and back once I was back at HPER to get to a full 9.

This morning at lifting I was able to do most of the winter lifts that the other girls were doing.  I was dead tired afterwards.  In the afternoon I went and ran on a treadmill at Steiner because there was no way I was going to fight the winds we've had since last night.  Also I knew I'd have a better run on the treadmill if I did.  I kept it at about 8.2 the whole time and I think I averaged 7:30 pace.  I only had to stop once and that was when the treadmill automatically reset at an hour but I had less than a mile left at that point.  I didn't even get off to turn up the fan, which I had intended to when I started because I only put it at the first setting.  But I realized after I had gotten off that it had turned to the treadmill next to me the whole time, it wasn't a very good fan anyway.

Today at practice I was struggling to keep up with the team.  We ran to Sunnyside and then up above the zoo onto Wasatch.  We ran along there and people turned around as they needed but I kept going until Thunderbird and then on Foothill I went all the way to the drinking fountain though I didn't expect it to be working.  At first on the run I just thought I was struggling because I was sore from lifting but on the way back I was feeling really sick.  I ran back along Foothill and then I was on Mario Capecchi when I hit 8 miles so I just walked the rest of the way back to the locker room.

This morning I went to Liberty Park for a workout.  I did a lap warmup and wasn't feeling too great but decided to run through it and then by the time I had a full lap and was over at the starting line of the lines and 2 dots system I decided to do a few strides.  They didn't feel bad so I went ahead and did the workout I had decided I'd do: three 1 mile repeats with half mile recovery.  The first one I hit 5:58.  During part of it at about the half mile mark there was a water station for some jingle bell race that was going on so it was kind of awkward running past them every time because they'd cheer for me but I wasn't even doing their event... and on the other mile repeats I was passing people in the event... On the second one I hit 5:51 and felt pretty good about it, then finished with a 5:54.  For cooldown I finished the lap I was on and then had to add just a little bit to get to 8 for the day.