Thatcher's Running Blog

Ran with Sean, Ben, and Gemachu. This was faster than yesterday and it still felt good. We started out at like 7:30, and picked it up later. I felt good at the end. No injuries. About 7:15 pace overall. 34 minutes

Four 1000's plus warm-up. First one 3:07, 3:14, 3:14, 3:16. Felt pretty good. 

 Early Morning run. Ran with Morgan. It was easy, about 2.75 miles. About 8:30 pace.

Me and Gemachu ran with Steve for the first 3 miles. It was about 6:50 pace overall. The first mile was about 7:45, second 6:29, third 6:39, fourth 6:56 (uphill), last .75 was 4:56 or 6:38 pace. I felt pretty good, my knee hurt a little bit. (front of knee, same pain as summer) but good besides that.

40 minute fartlek. It was very windy on the way out, and wind pushing me on the way back. (Out and back on Wasatch) I was easily ahead of Morgan, Ben and Isaac on the way out, but Morgan stayed with me on the way back. I didn't go all out, I saved some until the last push. It was just under 7:00 pace total.

Did sprints at the oval and ran some. It ended up being about 4 miles with warmup. I felt good, pretty fast.

I ran with Morgan and Coach during class, about three miles at 8:00 pace. It felt easy and good.

After school, 7 400's up Brookburn. I felt decent, but not great. The first two were pretty easy, I stayed barely in front of/with Morgan and Gemachu. On the third and fourth though, Morgan pulled away from me after the last steep hill and I couldn't stay with him. Gemachu struggles more than me though on those two. But on the fifth, I pushed through and pulled away from Morgan at the end. On the sixth, I stayed with Morgan, and on the seventh, I was just behind him. All my injuries were fine, though my knee hurts a little now.

I lifted weights tonight, felt good.

I ran with Ben. It was pretty easy, until the last mile, we pushed it.

Five 800's plus warm up, cool down and two 200's. 2:25, 2:24, 2:24, 2:26, 2:23. They felt really good. I was with Gamechu on the first two, third one with Morgan, fourth a little ahead of Morgan, and the last one right behind Morgan.

Pretty good run with Ben. We started out easy on the bike path down to the pit, came out, pushed it a little, went up brookburn and did a hard last mile around the school. It felt good, last mile was pretty easy. Mile splits were: 8:29 7:12 8:28 7:22 8:06 6:22 and jog last 400

32 minutes

I also ran 8 miles on the treadmill in 51:26.

Canyon Intervals. 2 800's, 2 600's, 4 400's. Felt pretty good, with Morgan on all but one 400. (Right behind him)

Morning run with Coach, Morgan, and Shalaya. It was pretty fast at the end, but It flet good the whole time.

6 600's at the oval. With Morgan and Gemachu on all of them. I was able to keep up with them the last 200 on everyone. I even out-sprinted them on my last one. (they started later) 1:45 - 1:47 on all of them.

Jogged a mile on the treadmill before lifting weights. (Went to Hawaii in the morning) My knee hurt a little bit.

Pretty good run in Hawaii. I ran with Mom for about 4 miles. Last two went faster. I felt very good and fast. 8:26, 7:25, 7:37, 7:36, 5:58, and 5:53.

Long run. It felt good and was pretty fast. 7:03, 6:48, 6:28, 6:40, 6:40, 6:27, 6:11, 6:48, 6:18, 6:27, and 6:11. 

My last run in Hawaii. It wasn't very long because I was short on time. About 6:58 pace. I felt tired from the 11 miler the day before though. I was a little bit sluggish.

Jogged some on the treadmill. I was very tired from an all-nighter plane ride. I need some sleep. About 7:40 pace.

4 400's at the Oval. With warm up and a long cool down. They felt good. I was with Morgan and Gemachu all of them. We hit 68, 67, 67, 67, 67, 67, 66, 65. Gemachu slowed down about five seconds on the seventh, but was a few seconds ahead of me and Morgan on the last one. We ran very even, and it didn't feel really hard. I felt very good today.

50 minute run. My Garmin wouldn't get a signal so It's a guess. I felt pretty good, and took it fairly easy.

Two four mile runs. One in the morning, one after school. The morning run was pretty easy, but me Morgan, and Gemachu pushed it the last five minutes or so. The after school run was easy. I felt good.
 

First two mile of the season. A 26 second P.R. My laps were: 36.9 37.8 38.5 37.8 38.5 38.4 39.3 39.9 37.4 39.2 38.2 38.6 38.9 38.5 36.5 32.4  I started out in the back and stayed near the back for the first mile. On the seventh lap, I passed a group of guys, got up with Spencer and passed him on the straightaway. I then moved up to Seth on the next lap or two and passed him, I then help my spot behind Mike Bills for a few laps. I passed him on the second to last lap, and went into the last lap with about a 1 second lead on him. I then did a 32 second last lap, and beat him by five seconds. I felt really good the last 200, and was faster than ever before. I told myself to not give up, and was able to push hard.

Pretty easy run through the pit. Pushed it at the end. My knee was hurting. 

Two pretty good runs. First run in the morning felt good. Me, Morgan and Gemachu pushed it hard at the end.

After school, me and Morgan ran pretty fast, low 7:00's. 

Really snowy run, intervals on Frontage. 4 2:00 pushes, 3 1:10 pushes. It felt good, but was hard in the snow. 

A good, long run with Morgan and Coach. It was harder because I'm sick, but it felt pretty good. I'm not sure on the time, but a little over an hour sounds right.

Me, Morgan and Isaac did the Brookburn loop in 29:00 minutes. It felt okay, still sick.

Workout at the oval. 2 800's. 2:26, 2:26. 2 600's. 1:47, 1:47. 2 400's. 1:05, 1:10. 4 200's. 32 30 32 30. I didn't feel good doing them though. I was coughing a lot and felt really sick.

No run. I felt too sick.

A pretty good run by myself. (Except the end when I met up with coach.) It felt good. I'm still sick and was coughing though.

Pushes on Frontage. I didn't feel good so I didn't do them all.

A fairly fast 47:00 minute run with some pushes in the middle. I felt good.

Just a thirty minute jog.

This race was good. I was in pain, but I was able to do better and move up at the right time. I also finished fairly strong.

A run outside to this wierd hill.

I didn't do very well in the final mile. I was on pace for about a 4:40 going in to the last lap, but I didn't have anything the last lap. I didn't push it hard enough and I was too tired. I need to be tougher at the end and think about that.

Around 7:00 pace. It felt okay. I was hurting, sore at the beginning and felt a little sick to my stomach, but I pushed it and finished my last half mile in 6:20 pace. (Which was mostly steep uphill.) My miles were: 8:19 7:20 6:35 7:02 7:11 7:10 and 6:24 (pace). In the first couple of miles, there was quite a bit of snow/ice I had to run through, so those would of been faster.

Today is the first day of my "official track season" training, and I had to tell myself to push harder on some spots when I felt sick and wanted to stop. Every run I have to do that to practice for races.

Today was a pretty good day. The morning run felt good 27:00, pulled away from coach and Shalaya in the last half mile, by quite a bit. But it was pretty easy, I felt good. I also did some lifting, push-ups and sit-ups.

After school I was somewhat sore, but it felt good. I did 6 miles at about a 6:15 pace. The splits were 6:32 6:43 5:51 6:06 6:34 5:40. It felt good, I wasn't even too tired until the fourth mile which was uphill, and the last 1.5 wasn't too hard. The last mile, even though I was pushing hard, was pretty easy for a 5:40.

This is what I need, more runs like this that really help me keeping up the pace.

29:00 minutes. about 7:15 pace. 7:55 and then 7:00 for the last three miles. I was cruising, pretty easy.

A pretty good morning run with coach. I didn't really like it though, because it was snowing. But it felt all right.

Pretty easy run on the treadmill. Around 7:15 pace. I didn't feel too good. My foot is hurting. (Right side on the top)

This was a good run. I started out thinking I would take it pretty easy, but lately I haven't really been able to take it easy. I did feel really good at the beginning and decided to start out at a pace that felt good, and not to look at my watch until a mile. So when i got to Wasatch, I looked at my watch and it was at 6:50! That was a lot faster than i thought and half of it was steep uphill. So the next mile I didn't really push and ran a 6:42. I then had some downhill which helped me run a 6:06 next mile. The first three were painful because of some icy rain in my face. (which stopped shortly after the third mile)

So the next mile I pushed it a little more and got a 6:29. On the fifth mile I thought I should slow down a little so I wouldn't kill myself before I made my way back. I backed off a little and ran a 6:44. I stopped and stretched for a minute, felt good, and decided to start out strong. My next mile was a 6:08 and mainly flat. The next two were 6:20 and 6:36. The eighth was up a very steep hill and tired me out quite a bit. So, going into the ninth I thought I should pick it up but realized I was at a 6:40 pace a half mile in. So I pushed it a little harder and finished at a 6:14. I stopped at the top of Wasatch right at the start of the tenth mile and decided to give it all I had. So, I powered down the hill for a half mile, and kicked in the last half mile flat in 4:59.

4 easy miles in the morning. They felt good. After school I ran 7.25 at about 7:05 pace. It felt good, but I just felt like taking it pretty easy. It ended up being longer than I thought it would be, but I'm not very tired. I've been running by myself since last Monday, and though I'm sick of it, I've been able to get some of my bust runs in, and now can continue that with Morgan and Gemachu. Since track starts tomorrow!

Four easy miles at 7:12 pace. The last mile was 6:34. This run felt very good, and very easy. I ran with Ben and Isaac. They are in better shape than I thought, and they stayed with me until the last 400, until I pushed it and gained 20+ seconds on them. But nice to run with someone.

I ran 3.5 in the morning, a pretty good pace about 7:00 with Morgan.

After school, 4 800's up heartbreak. I beat Morgan and Gemachu quite easily, by at least five seconds on every one. I actually had a heartbreak interval workout that felt good. We warmed up to heartbreak and cooled down to Skyline. My body feels good. My foot hurts, but now while running or walking.

Pretty good run, from Skyline to the overpass, and through the pit, up brookburn. Me and Morgan pushed it at the end. About 7;:10 pace.

I didn't feel very good. I ran 3 miles on the treadmill 7:30 pace.

Today was a pretty hard day. I was planning on running a 10 miler, but when dad came by to give me water, I went with him because I had something at 10:00. So I got 5.7 in the morning. Later, I got 6 on the treadmill in 39:40.

In the morning me, morg, and coach did 27:00 at a pretty easy pace. (Around 7:30) It felt easy and good; there was no pain.

After school we had two 1.5 mile intervals at Liberty Park. They felt good.The first one me and Morgan started out at about 5:23 for the mile and then a little faster the last 800 to end at 7:57. I felt tired, but not too bad. The first mile was pretty smooth, it was the last 800 where it started hurting(a little). Morgan finished up right with me. The second one, i started out and could tell Morgan was hurting, but he got up with me and stayed for about a half mile. After that, I could tell I needed to push it, so I started pulling away from him. I felt good the first one, so I started pushing earlier. I came through the mile at about 5:18. I then pushed it really hard and kicked in the last 800 at 2:31! This felt really good and easy for how fast it was. Morgan finished up at about 8:20, I was at 7:49. Brett and John did well, about 9:20 or so, they will both break five I think.

A pretty good run, at about 7:00 pace. We started on the way out with Morgan, Shalaya, Ben Isaac at a pretty slow pace. I started picking it up with 2 to go, and we lost Isaac. Morgan and Ben finished pretty close to me and Shalaya a little bit back.

Really easy morning run around 3.5

After school we had 10 400's. Coach wanted us at 75 (2 mile pace) with two minutes rest. (We actually did two minutes rest) So we started out, and it was pretty easy. 71, 72, 72, 71, 70, 70, 69, 68, 66, 63. They felt pretty easy until two left or so. I felt pretty good so I pushed it on the last several. The last one I tried my hardest on the last 200 and did a 31. There was a pretty hard cross wind on the workout, and it felt good.

We did a 5.4 mile run with warm up and cool down, at about 6:55 pace.

In the morning we did a short run, not very fast, it felt good.

After school we had heartbreak intervals. We did 1000, 800, 600, 400, 400, 200, 200. For the 1000 I was right with Morgan, the 800 right ahead of Morgan, 600 right behind Morgan, 400 a few seconds behind Morgan, 400 right behind Morgan, 200's pretty much with Morgan. I didn't feel good today, but I was able to stay with Morgan for the most part and i did pretty well.

10 miles at about a 6:40 pace. I felt all right, but pretty tired from yesterday and the mileage I ran this week. It was all right though.

1 mile warm-up

800, 800, 800, 400, 400, 400, 200, 200, 200.

400 jog between first three, 200 between last five.

1 mile cool-down

My first 800 was 2:20, second 2:21, third 2:21. They got harder each time but I was with Morgan. (Maybe a step behind him on the last one.) Our first 400 was 69 and my second was 63 (coach had us pace Steve in his 800) Steve ran a 64 and like a 68 second 400 about 2:13- 2:14 just for comparison. He apparently wasn't feeling well today. So that's why it was so fast. Morgan did a 67. On the last four Morgan did a 64 and I did a 67. On the 200's I wasn't feeling well, i did two 30's. Morgan did like 29, and Brett and John beat me on the first, i beat them on the second.

It was a pretty fast workout, but I didn't feel very good. Morgan and I were pretty close together, next time hopefully I feel better, because when I feel better, I've been beating Morgan.

The morning run felt good 3.5 in 27:00, easy with Morg, Coach, Shalaya, Sean, Ian.

Today was pretty easy, not sure on the mileage. We ran through the pit, probably 7:30's.

Today was the first outdoor meet of the season. I ran the 1600 and 3200. In the 1600, I started out in a pack of five people for about the first 200, with Kyle out in front. I passed the other guys and was a little behind Kyle a lap in. On the second lap, I pulled closer to him, and on the third lap I was right with him on the backstretch, and pulled in front of him before 1000 meters. I then picked it up a little and pushed it the last lap and won by (2-3 seconds?). The results aren't up yet. It felt good, but my last lap wasn't very good, but good enough for the win.

In the 3200 I started out trying for a 10:00. I was at 5:05 for the mile, but slowed down from there. I finished at 10:22 which was okay for an hour after the mile. I was quite a bit ahead of Garret and Reid, though Garret did gain on me on the second mile after I had built a good lead.

In the morning me Coach, Morgan and Shalaya ran four miles at about a 7:30 pace. We started out pretty slow and Sean stayed with us for most of it. I felt good after it and not too tired.

After school I was planning on doing four or five miles. We had fun, ran slow for the first 1 or 2 and Morgan turned around, but Steve was running with us and I decided now was a good time to go with him. We did a 5:38 third mile, which was about a half mile downhill. Then we did 6:09, 6:23, 6:10, 6:11. it wasn't too hard, until the last mile. it felt good and I was glad I pushed it. My left hamstring is a little sore, I might back off tomorrow.

This race wasn't very good. I started out at a good pace but got a side-ache the last mile.

This morning, me, coach, shalaya, and ethan ran about 3.5 miles. It felt good, and we ran it pretty easy.

After school I had a workout all alone. I say that, because Morgan, Ben, and Isaac were all gone so the closest to me was Brett and no one was even close to pushing me. That was fine, because I was still able to push hard. The workout was 800 600 400 200 200 400 600 800. Coach said to try for goal mile race pace. I did 2:18 1:44 68 30 28 67 1:43 2:13. This workout was very hard, but very good. I started out, and it felt good, but I was getting tired near the second half. The 67 started out at a 32, but I knew I had to save something for the last two intervals. On the 600, I kept it on pace, but didn't really have much left on the last kick. On the 800 I really pushed it, and came through the 400 at 67. On the last lap I really pushed it and ran the last 200 in 32. The last interval was very good and I finished very strong.

Ran with coach, shalaya, and for most of it, sean. It was easy, about 7:30 pace.

In the morning we ran around the school a few laps, and paced some Sean on his workout. It felt good.

After school I had 1.5 miles two times. I didn't feel that great, and hardly anyone was there. Here are my splits.

They were both at 7:42. 5:08 pace. Last time I did this it was 7:57 and 7:49 I think. and those were at Liberty Park. My last 800 on both was under 2:30. these were both great times, especially considering how I didn't even feel very good. After Monday's workout coach said I'm ready for 4:30 and after today's he said I'm ready for 9:50.

This morning I ran 6.6 miles at about a 7:00 pace. I felt pretty good while running it, but was tired.

Later, I ran 4 miles on the treadmill, tired.

I ran five pretty fast miles in Venice! On a road by a canal. It was way fun!

This week was on the cruise. I'm not sure what I did every day, but I did a couple hard longer runs, and several runs in the morning. I did two workouts. (all on the treadmill) One was 1000, 800, 600, 400, 400, 400. The other was 400 8 times. The 400's were 66 I think. One run was in the low 6:00 range for 7.5 miles. Overall this week was pretty easy, but I got some good workouts in.

Not sure on the distance, but I know it was a little over 10 miles. I ran 69:30. I ran with the group for a while, and everyone fell off but Steve and Morgan. Steve turned around, and Morgan and I continued for about five minutes. We then picked it up going back, but it was windy, so it wasn't much faster. The last eight minutes I lost Morgan, he finished up maybe a minute behind me. It felt good, and Morgan looked strong also.

Not sure because my Garmin didn't get a signal until partway through. It was about 37:00.

In the morning I ran 3.5 with coach and morgan, pretty easy pace.

After school morgan and I did a workout. 800,600,400,200,200,800,600,400,200,200

It went 2:16, 1:43, 64, 30, 30, 2:18, 1:42, 63, and we didn't time the last two 200's.

It was really hard, and I felt really tired, but it was a good workout.

Warm up and about a 52 minute run. It was easy until the last twenty minutes was a little faster, but overall felt good and was easy.

2.5 in the morning. It was a fun, easy run.

After school about 32:00 minutes, a 400 and 2 200's. Half mile warm up and cool down.

After school I did the workout 1200, 600, 400, 400, 400, 400, 200, 200, 200, (200). The 1200 was 3:38, about a 72 second pace. It was harder than I expected, and Morgan was right behind me. the 600 was right at 70 second 400 pace, and I was right with Morgan. I had some breathing trouble, so I went in and took my inhaler. the next one I ran with Morgan and did a 65 and I was with Morgan. The next was a 66, and Morgan was a 64-65. I held back a little, because I had two more. Morgan didn't run the next one, and I ran a 67. On the last one, I couldn't quite stay with Morgan, but ran a 65 and was just a little behind Morgan. after those, Morgan and I were both really tired and felt sick, so we didn't time them, but just ran three pretty hard. (We didn't do the last one.) Morgan was a little bit ahead of me on all of them.

Later I lifted weights and ran. I did 3.5 miles on the treadmill at 25:00. It felt good, and I wasn't too tired.

This morning we did a pretty good 26:00 run. About 3.8 miles. It felt good, but my back is sore.

After school we ran about 40:00 about 5.7 miles, felt pretty easy. But, my back is still sore.

Me and Morgan did an interval workout, it wasn't too hard. It was four 800's. We did them at about 33,42,33,42. We then did a 3.5 mile run after. They weren't very hard, but I was tired after.

This morning we had an assembly, so we ran longer and played basketball after. (We didn't go to the assembly.) Me and Morgan did around 40:00 probably about 6 miles. (My Garmin hasn't been getting a signal lately.) The last half mile we really picked it up, Morgan out-kicked me at the end, but I didn't go all out, so I let him go a little. It was a pretty hard run, and it felt good. We lost coach on 2700, Ian and Ethan earlier.

After school we did an easier run, just relaxed. About 40:00. About 5.75 ( with warm up and cool down)

Today was a pretty easy 40:00 run. I did it with Ben, and it felt good. My lower calf is tight, but it's not bad.

Today wasn't a very good race. I was going for a 9:48. I started out on pace, at about 4:53 at the mile. I then felt really tired in my legs, and I fell back some. By the time I got to eight hundred left, I had sort of given up, and didn't have a good kick.

After I got home, I went for a run. I was able to get that focus back, and did a 35:00 run, with a 400 in 59 and a 200 in 27. It was hard, but I hadn't worked hard enough at my race, so I needed to do more.

This morning in class we ran 4 miles in 27:52 I didn't get the first two, but the third was 6:49 and the last one was about 6:00. (5:46 for the last .70) I was running with coach, Ian, Shalaya, and Gemachu. Right before Brookburn, Gemachu picked it up and I went with him. We pushed it hard, and I finished about 10 seconds ahead of him. It felt good to run with him again, and he's in pretty good shape.

After school my workout was 800, 600, 400, 200, 200, 400, 600, 800. It was supposed to work down to mile pace. My first eight hundred was 2:18. The 600 was 1:41. The four hundred was 66 and the 200's were 30. The next 400 was 65, the 600 was 1:41 and the 800 was 2:16. It was pretty hard, and pretty good times. There was a really strong wind coming down the straightaway which slowed your finish down a lot also. Overall it was a good workout, especially considering Morgan's sick and not there to help me.

It was really snowy today and cold. We went on an easy run. My knee hurts, but I talked to the trainer and she doesn't think it's anything serious. 

The meet was canceled, and we did about thirty minutes. My knee doesn't hurt too bad, but it still hurts.

Today was the Brighton Tri-Meet. It wasn't too good. I wanted to get a pr in the mile, but I didn't do very well. It was hard because I won by a lot, and the track was terrible. My splits were pretty bad, but I didn't really push it very hard. Also, I ran the two mile in 10:22. I started off at a 5:08 and finished with a 5:14. So, both times weren't very good, but it was more like a workout.

My knee felt all right during and after the run, but I didn't push it too hard. It was about 48:00 a fun run.

Today I did intervals. It was 800 400 400 400 400 200 200 200 200. I did 2:14 64 64 63 62 and about 30 30 30 29. (Morgan said I was about 30 on them, I didn't use my watch) Morgan did the first three with me, but his knee hurt. My knee felt great during them and doesn't hurt very badly now, either. The eight hundred was pretty hard, but I pushed it in and it felt hard. The four hundreds were also hard, but I kept the same on the first two, pushed a little harder at the end on the third, and pushed it really hard on the last one. This was one of my best workouts, and it was hard, but felt good.

Today was a different workout. We did 100 200 300 400 without stopping. In between intervals we jogged. There were 3 sets, in between sets there was five minutes. I'm not sure on all of the times, but it was approx. 15, 31, 48, 67 15, 31, 48, 64 16, 31, 46, 61. It was very hard, but it was a good workout. I pushed it really hard on the last four and was able to beat Morgan. My knee also feels fine, but my left calf is tight.

This morning I ran 3.5 in about 22:00. That's the fastest i've ever done the morning loop. Morgan was about thirty seconds behind me.

After school we did a pretty easy about 6 miles. About 7:00 pace.

Today we did 9 300's. They were in three sets of three. We were supposed to get faster on each one in the set. They went 53, 49, 45, 53, 49, 46, 53, 50, 42. They felt pretty good, and the last one was really fast. My calf hurts some, but not a lot.

My calf was hurting, and I didn't want to injure it more. (It's been hurting since Monday.) I did twenty minutes on the elliptical in the morning, and 1 mile on the treadmill later. (I was going to do more, but my leg hurt.)

Today I decided to run, and my leg felt good. It was a pretty easy five miles 7:30 pace. I felt really good, and I feel ready for tomorrow.

Today I ran in the Davis Invitational. It was pretty good, and I was going for state qualifying time. I started out at a 65 something, then a 67, (2:13 at the 800) then about a 67, then about a 70. I was doing really well on the last lap, and was feeling strong, but on the last 150 I hit a wall and died. My last 100 was about 18.5. So, it was a pretty good race, but I should have done better at the end.

I also did the 4 by 800. We won and I got a p.r. in it. I ran a 2:05.

In the morning we (Me, morg, coach, and gemachu) ran 3.5 miles at a 7:00 pace. It felt pretty good.

Today we did 800 600 400 200 200 800 600 400 200 200. It was pretty good, but I didn't feel good at all. It went 2:16, 1:41, 65, 31, 31, 2:13, 1:40, 63, 29, 29,(One more with Steve 30) These times were good, but Morgan beat me on the fours and a couple twos, and was with me for the others. But great times, and I didn't feel good, so overall it was good.

35:00 easy run through the pit. It felt pretty good.

AM: Today we did a pretty fast workout. It was 400 400 400 300 300 300 200 200 200 150 150 150. It was fast. My splits were about 62 63 62 47 46 46 32 30 29 21 21 20. It was hard, but it was a good workout. I was about with Morgan on all of them. He beat me on the first two, and was barely ahead on a few others, but I beat him on the last two 150's.

PM: Later I ran 4 miles at 7:10 pace on the treadmill.

I ran later on the treadmill because I had to take a test after school. I ran bout 6 miles at like 7:00 pace.

Today was the BYU Invitational. I was running the 3200 and 1600. I got there about 7:30 for the 3200. I got out pretty good, luke took it out really fast, but no one really stayed with him. I dropped into the back of the pack and stayed there for a while. I moved up a little and came through the mile at 4:53. I pushed it and got up with Kyle, and Oliver. I stayed with them and pushed it the last 800. I did a 2:23 last 800 and lost both of them. I was barely able to get the state qualifying time also!

So I sat around for about 8 hours and then got ready to run the mile. I started out at 67, 69 but on the third lap my legs started hurting really bad. I did my third lap in 70, but I was dead and couldn't go any faster the last lap. I finished in a 77. It was bad, but I could tell my legs were just too tired.

Today we did 800 400 400 200 200 200. I did 2:13, 65, 63, 28, 28, 28. I forgot my flats and had my orthotics in, so my shoes were a lot heavier than usual. But it was still good. My calfs were also still really tight. I was ahead of Morgan and Gemachu on the 800, with Gemachu on the 400's and with Morgan on the first two 200's. On the last one Morgan pulled away. Gemachu did like 26 on the 200's.

We ran 35 minutes followed by a 400 and 2 200's. We did the 400 in 68 then 35 33. They weren't supposed to be fast.

Today was our Region meet. I was running the 3200. It was postponed for an hour or so, until the 3200. The track was really wet, but it had mostly stopped raining. We started out in a big pick for the first mile, with Kyle taking it out. We came through the mile at about 5:01 or so. After that Steve really pushed it and easily pulled ahead. Jason tried to stay with him, but couldn't. I sticked behind him, but he dropped back. Oliver moved up, and I stayed right with him. With 800 to go he really pushed it, and I stuck with him. I took the lead going into the last lap, and he pulled in front of me on the backstretch. he had a couple of seconds on me with 200 left, and I didn't have much left. I sort of backed off the last 100, because I had more races tomorrow and he got me by about 4-5 seconds. Third and fourth were about 9:59 or so.

Today I did the 1600 and 800. In the 1600 I was seeded second to Steven. It started out all right, Garrett took the pace out at a 67-68. Next was about a 68, I stayed right behind Garrett. On the third lap, I took the lead. I pushed it, and had the pack right behind me. With about 500 to go, Steven took off, and I tried a little too hard to stay with him. So going to the last lap I had a pretty good lead, but wasn't feeling good. I managed to hold a 68, but it wasn't very good. I ended up 4:33, with third and fourth about 4:35. I really didn't feel good the last lap, and was looking back! But I held on.

After the 1600, my legs were really sore and tired. I wasn't expecting much of the 800, but decided to give it a shot. It started out with Oliver and Steve leading the pack with a slow first 200; 33. The next 200 was a 31, so the first lap was 64. It was slow, and on the straightaway I made a move up in the pack. I couldn't stay with Steve or Oliver, but I was able to push it really hard into third place. I had a pretty good kick, and pushed it hard, but barely got edged out by a kid from Alta, being beat by .08 seconds! But, I qualified for state, and it was better than I thought.

Easy run.

Today me and morgan did 500 400 300 200 100 500 400 300 200 100. It went 1:19 63 44 29 14 1:19 62 44 and we didn't time the last two. I was with Morgan on all of them but one.

In the morning we did 27:00 at a pretty easy pace. 

After school we did 800 500 500 200 200 200 200. 2:13 1:19 1:18 29 29 29 27. I was ahead of Morgan on the eight, with Morgan on 500, ahead of Morgan and right behind Gemachu on the second 500, with Morgan mainly on the 200's. 

We watched the J.V. region meet and did some pretty easy running. 

This morning we did our workout. 400 400 400 400 200 200 200. We did 67, I was right with Morgan. 64, I beat Morgan by a second or two. On the third he kicked it, he did 62, me 63. On the fourth I barely beat him, 67. On the 200's 30, 29, 29. I was with Morgan on the first two, a little behind him on the last one. 

After school I did an easy four miles with ethan. It was nice. 

I didn't run today. I rested for state. My hamstring and foot were sore.

Today was the 1600 for state. I got a p.r. at 4:27. I split 66 69 67 65. It was a pretty good race. I had a pretty good last lap, one guy caught me. I also beat Morgan, he didn't catch me.

In the morning, I ran the 3200 M. I was seeded seventh. I started out slower in the second pack. I stayed behind Seth for a while and came through the fourth lap at about 4:47. I stuck behind Oliver for a lap, and passed him to move in behind George Barlow. I stayed right behind him for as long as I could, and passed Trevor Sharp. I then stuck with him and we caught Nate. I stayed close on the last lap, but they started pulling away with 200 to go. I didn't have much left, but still hung on for fourth.

I ran about 5.5 at 6:50 pace. It felt good and not too hard. I then did some striders.

I was a little tired, so I went slower 7:30 pace.

No running today. I'm sore, and I should keep it light this week. I played frisbee for a while though. I think I'll run some more this week, but keep it easy and start strong next week.

Ran 4 with Gemachu today. It felt really easy. About 7:15 pace. I feel good.

I ran pretty easy again with Gemachu. About 5 miles at 7:15 pace. My right hamstring is a little sore, but besides that my legs feel great. 

I ran the Fill The Ark 5k course with my dad, Gemachu, and his brothers. We ran easy with them. About 3 miles at 8:45 pace. I then went more with Gemachu. We went about 7:00 pace. It felt good. My hamstring is still sore, but not as bad.

8 miles today. I warmed up a mile to school and met Gemachu. We  went sorta hard for three miles on Wasatch, then turned around. On the way back, I pushed it harder and lost Gemachu. I finished up about 38:30. About 6:25 pace for six miles. It felt okay, but it should of felt easier.  

I didn't get a run in today. I was going to run after my senior awards banquet, but it went way longer than expected! Oh well, a little more rest won't hurt me.

I went on a pretty easy run. It was about 7:00 pace. It felt pretty good. 

I ran about 5.5 with Gemachu, pretty easy. About 7:30 pace.

I didn't run a lot today. In the morning, me and some others helped run with kids in a fun run. I got in about 4 miles at an 8:00 pace. It was easy. 

After school I ran a little bit, not much.

Today was harder that I planned on. I went on a long run with Gemachu. We started out with a 8:30 just to warm up. The next several miles were 6:50, 6:38, 6:43, 6:56, and 7:07. Those were pretty easy, and Gemachu was right behind me. Then on the seventh mile, I picked it up. We ran 6:16, and then on the next mile Gemachu got with me. I stayed ahead, and we ran a 6:07. The next mile was a 6:07, and Gemachu pushed hard on that one. I stayed with him, and it felt pretty hard. On the last .75 Gemachu really pushed it, and I was a few seconds behind him but I got stuck at a stoplight before I could catch him. The last .75 was at 5:19 pace. It felt good, but I was hurting the last couple miles. It was faster than I had planned on pushing, but it wasn't too bad. That's the longest I have run for a while, but it didn't feel too long.

Today was a pretty good run. I ran with the team for four miles, then ran some more by myself. I ran 7.55 miles at a 6:47 pace. It didn't feel very hard. My fourth mile was 5:59, because I stayed with Morgan when he pushed it to end his run, that was a good faster mile. The rest were pretty easy. It felt good, but I have a blister that hurts. 

In the morning I hiked Mount Olympus. It was harder than I thought it would be. There were some really steep parts. On the way down I ran most of it. I think it's 6.6 miles round trip. 

 Later, I ran 4.5 in 33:00. I took it easy, and it felt good.  

I was very sore from climbing Mount Olympus. I ran four easy miles.

A pretty easy run with Gemachu and his brother. I am still sore. 

I ran pretty slowly. My left hamstring was sore. About 7:40 pace. 

Today was the Corona Del Mar 5k. I'm in California on vacation. It was a pretty good race. I was in second pretty much the whole race. First place was 15:25, I was 16:06. My first mile was 5:00, second was 5:05, and my last one was the slowest. I hoped to break 16:00, but it was pretty good.

Today wasn't very fast, but it was a good run. I'm still in California, and I went for a run with Ben and Gemachu. We went running on the streets and found a cool wooded trail that went for a few miles. The run ended up being a progression run. The mile splits were 7:24, 7:49, 7:48, 6:33, 6:11, 5:29, and the last 400 around 75. I felt good.

Today Ben and I went on a pretty easy run. We went up to the same trail as yesterday, but only about four miles. We didn't push it until about the last 800. The mile splits were 7:00, 7:38, 6:55, 6:05. It was a nice run, and not very hot. It was a lot more humid than Utah though! 

Later, when I got home from California, I ran again. I ran six miles at a 6:20 pace. I didn't push it too hard until the last mile. But the second half of my run was hard because it was pretty windy. My splits were 7:15, 6:18, 5:58, 6:24, 6:27, and 5:21. On the last mile I pushed it hard to see how fast I could do it in. I then cooled down about a half mile.

I felt pretty tired when I woke up, but I got out on my run later and I felt pretty good. My legs feel fine, no injuries, and I'm not sore at all. I ran an eight miler at 6:51 pace. My splits were 7:04, 6:43, 6:29, 6:48, 6:54, 7:17 (mostly uphill), 6:56, and 6:33. I didn't push it very hard and it felt good. 

In the morning I did some sprint timing. I ran some 10 meter tests, and then a 300 meter tests. My 300 time was 41. I hope to get that down by the end of the summer. I warmed up and cooled down 3 laps each.

 I ran later on the trails. About 45 minutes with Ben and Isaac. It was pretty easy, I pushed it a little bit the last 10 minutes, but it wasn't a hard run. It was fun. 

I ran with the guys from the team today. I didn't push it too hard. It was about 6:50 pace. 

Today I ran in the Fill The Ark 5k. I was feeling okay, but a little sick. This race is always fun. My parents started it about six years ago. I have won it four out of six times. This year the new course was a lot harder, (I think) with more hills. I wanted to push it and get a pr, but I this course was too tough to do that, especially with no one near me.

The first mile was pretty hard, I ran a 5:27. My friend Gemachu was a few seconds behind me at that point. After that, he dropped back a lot. The second mile was a little bit easier, but I only ran a 5:26. At this point I was quite alot ahead. The last mile had about 800 meters of uphill and was very hard. Once I got to the downhill for the last 800, I didn't push it very hard and just coasted in for the win. I did okay considering it wasn't my best effort on a hard course. I also won a cool watch. I looked it up and it is worth about $400!

Later I ran 5.75 miles. I had a sideache, but my legs felt surprisingly fresh. I kept it really easy though, 7:45 pace. It felt good to take an easy run.

This morning I did a hill run. (Canyon Run) I ran up Millcreek Canyon for 40 minutes. I didn't feel great, but I did pretty well. I managed to make it two minutes past where I made it last year at the end of cross country. I felt pretty tired after. I warmed up and jogged down a little bit until my ad picked me up, so it was 7.25 miles. It was 7:40 pace, which is pretty good compared to last year.

This morning I ran 6 miles at a 7:48 pace. I took it easy. I have a cold also, so I didn't run more. If I feel all right later, I will run more. My splits were 8:04, 8:17, 7:53, 8:22, 7:14, and 6:54. I started out feeling really tight and sore, but once I got going, I felt better.

 Later I ran 4 miles on the treadmill. I felt a little bit better, but I'm still sick. I did 4 at a 7:49 pace. It felt easier than this morning.
 

I ran eight miles today with a mile warm-up and a mile cool-down. I was going to run hard today, but I'm still sick. I ran a 7:16 pace. I'm feeling better than yesterday, but not completely better. Also, my left knee is a little bit sore.

I'm not sure on the distance. I ran on pipeline today for 40 minutes. I kept it pretty easy. I'm feeling a little bit better than yesterday, but I'm still sick. My left knee is still a little bit sore, but not bad.

Later I ran 4 miles easy. On the road up the canyon and on pipeline. It was nice and cool, and I kept it easy. 

Today I ran 6.14 miles with a mile warm-up. I'm getting better, but I'm still not 100%. My average pace was 7:12. It felt pretty good.

I got up and did some sprints on the track, with a warm-up. I did 5 by 85 meters. I was tired and didn't feel that great.

A little bit later I ran from my house to Sugarhouse Park. I did a few loops around the park as well. I ended up with eight miles at a 7:22 pace. I was going to do a couple more miles, but I was too tired. It was very hot.  

Today I ran up the Canyon again. This time I ran for 50 minutes up. I ran at a faster pace this week, even though I went 10 minutes longer. My pace was 7:32. I warmed up one mile and ran down a couple miles. I drove the rest of the way down. I felt pretty good doing it. 

AM: I ran with Gemachu today. We ran down to Sugarhouse Park, ran in the park a little bit, and then went back. I kept it easy today, 7:31 pace. It ended up being nine miles. Even though we started at 7:30, it was still too hot. We had to stop for water at the park and run through the sprinklers! My mile splits were pretty even, and the run was pretty easy. The only hard thing was all of the uphill was on the way back! My mile splits were: 7:32, 7:19, 7:16, 7:16, 7:14, 7:36, 7:34, 7:43, and 6:50.

PM: I later went to the track to do some sprints. I did 6 times 90 meters. My fastest was 11.570. They felt pretty good. I did a mile warm up, and then cooled down about 3.5 miles. I cooled down at about 7:35 mile pace or so. There were quite a few people at the track for  how hot it was outside. I even saw two guys there who looked like pretty good runners. I usually only see really slow joggers!

On a side note, I am almost finished with Once A Runner. Has anyone read it? I like it so far.

So today I did a Tempo Run. I was going to do six miles, but decided to cut it to five. I didn't really have a goal time, I just wanted to see what I could do on a longer tempo run. I wanted to at least go under six minute mile pace. I went to Jordan River Parkway to do it. I started out with a slow two mile warm-up.

My first mile was 5:38. I started out a little bit too fast, but it felt pretty good. My second mile was 5:42. It wasn't too hard, but I wasn't feeling that great. The third mile was where I started to get fatigued. My quads were sore from doing sprints last night, and they started to get tired. I pushed and got a 5:48. My fourth mile was just bad. My quads were really tired by now, and going up the biggest hill (not very big though) on this mile didn't help. I ran a 6:04. I was going to run six miles, but at this point, I knew my legs couldn't handle that. So I decided to push hard for one last mile. My last mile was 5:41.

So my mile splits were:

1: 5:38

2: 5:42

3: 5:48

4: 6:04

5: 5:41

After that I cooled down a couple more miles. Another thing that could have contributed to my fatigue is that I didn't get much sleep last night. I should of gone to bed earlier. It was too hot when I did it. But overall, it was pretty good.

I took it easy today. Seven miles at a 7:49 pace. I am still sore, and pretty tired. My legs were just tired, and I didn't really feel like going any faster. 

I didn't get my run in until tonight. I was working all day. I got a job working at the Energy Solutions Center for two days helping with the Blaze game. It was pretty cool. I got to stand on the field and see a bunch of players. (I wish it had been a Jazz game though!)

I was going to do 8 miles pretty easy, maybe a 7:00 pace, but I changed my mind mid-run. My first mile was 7:04. I picked it up a little from there, and saw that I did a 1:25 next 400. I felt good, so I kept going at a pretty good pace. My mile splits were: 7:04, 6:09, 6:06, 6:17, 6:06, 6:24 (uphill), and 5:54. I jogged the last mile in 7:37. It didn't feel very hard, and my legs felt much better than yesterday. I was surprised how good I felt.

I am also going to start keeping track of my weight lifting. Today I did four sets of ten push-ups to start out. I then did two sets of deadlifts. 2 by 265, and 5 by 245. I then did some ab work.

I was planning on doing a long run, but I didn't have enough time. I had to go to work early, so I did 5.5 miles in the morning, and 6.5 at night. In the morning I ran at a 7:18 pace. I was tight at first, but I felt good by the end. My splits were 8:11, 7:07, 7:10, 7:10, 6:51, and 3:30 for the last half mile. I went out on Wasatch Blvd.

Later, I didn't feel that great. I wasn't too tired, but I felt really sick to my stomach. I don't think I waited long enough after eating. I went through Tanner Park. I went pretty slow, 7:59. It was an interesting run though. I ran by a wedding reception, had several dogs jump up on me, and scraped my knee going down a hill. It wasn't my favorite run.

Today I did a 60 minute Canyon Run. I'm not sure on the distance because my Garmin lost signal a couple of times, but I would guess about 7.8 or so. It was a 7:40-7:45 pace going up the canyon. Not as fast as last week, but pretty good. I should of taken my inhaler before, I had some breathing trouble at about 35:00. My legs feel pretty good, but my right ankle hurts a little bit. I don't know if I twisted it going up or what. I warmed up about a mile, and ran down about 2.75 until the gate. Morgan did well, he kept up with me for 30 minutes. Gemachu was behind us, but he went until the gate and was a minute or two behind me. 

Today I ran an easy 7 miles with Gemachu. We ran on pipeline for about 50:00. It felt good, nice and easy. It wasn't too hot up there either.  My legs feel good.

I did sprints later with some other guys at the track. I did six 70 meter sprints. My fastest was 9.032. I felt pretty good, but I was tired by the end. I warmed up and did a pretty good cool down.

Today I wasn't going to go too hard, but I did a short fartlek in the middle of my run. I started out and ran to Sugarhouse Park. That was about 3.75 miles at 7:30 pace.

I then did two laps around Sugarhouse Park for my fartlek, ending my last lap on the road to finish my push. I did 4 minutes easy, 3 minutes hard four times. I averaged 6:29 for 4.3 miles. My pushes were about 5:20 pace. I then went and got a drink and ran back home.

The total for the run was about 90:00. 7:19 pace. It felt pretty good, but my legs are tired. That's one of my longest runs ever. I saw Alta's cross country team running there. It looked like they had quite a few guys there.

I ran eight easy miles today. My legs feel pretty good, a little sore. I went down with Gemachu and went over the course a little bit. I averaged about 7:58 per mile.

Today I ran in a local 5k. There is usually not a lot of competition, but there are usually a few pretty good guys. I ran from my house for a warmup. I felt pretty good, but my stomach was hurting and my legs were still a little sore. But I was ready to go. I thought I could win, but there have been some pretty good people before.

It starts out downhill for about a half mile, then flat and downhill. My first mile was 5:00. One person was with me for a half mile, but after that I was alone. I then pushed it pretty hard, but it was hard to do it by myself. I had a big enough lead, so I pushed it enough to win. I felt really strong the last 400 and pushed it in. My second mile was 5:31, and my third was 5:29. It was a pretty good race. I then cooled down about a mile.

I wasn't feeling great today. I was planning on doing more, but it didn't happen. I ran four on the treadmill at about 7:40 pace.

Today I ran up the canyon for 70 minutes. My pace was slower than last week for the first 40, but I was faster overall. I ran by myself today, and I felt pretty good. I made it 9 miles in about 70:00. That was about 7:47 pace overall. I should make it up to the top next week in 70 something minutes. I jogged up a little bit more to Dog Lake Trail, and I got a ride down from there. I also warmed up a little bit, and cooled down a little bit for about 11 miles.

Later I lifted weights. I did two sets of four dead-lifts at 265 pounds. I also did push-ups and abs.

I just ran an easy eight miles today. I felt good, not really sore. I went out by Churchill onto the trail, and back. My mile splits were 6:52, 7:25, 7:11, 7:43, 7:40, 7:10, 7:10, 6:55. I slept in some, but it wasn't too hot outside.

I went to the track later to do some sprints. I did four 95 meter sprints. I felt pretty good, but they weren't very fast. My fastest was 12.54. I warmed up three laps and cooled down about three laps.

Today I did five 1000 meter intervals. I was going to try and do them at 5:00 pace, but that didn't happen. I just didn't feel very good the whole workout. The intervals started out uphill, then had a little downhill, and ended up mostly flat. I went to Cottonwood Complex.

I started out warming up about two miles, and found a pretty good 1000 meter course. I was shooting for under 3:07. (Under five minute mile pace) My first one was 3:19. I felt pretty good the first 400 or so, but after that I just ran out of energy. The next one was about 3:20. I felt the same way as I did on the first one. I just didn't have the energy to go any faster. The third one was once again 3:19. I felt the same way as the first two. On the fourth interval I changed the course. I went where we did 800 meter intervals last year, but added some on. This one was about 3:17. I felt a little better. On the last one, I pushed it hard and got 3:10.

These are my first intervals so far on grass, so I guess I can't expect too much. Hopefully I feel much better next time.

When I was done, I cooled down about 2.5 miles around the park.

I lifted weights later. I lifted a new max deadlift tonight, and did it two times! I did two reps at 270, and five reps at 240. I also did push-ups and ab work.

Today I ran with Gemachu. I met him at his house, and went from there. We went to the end of 2700, down to 2300 and back up 4500 to 2700. I dropped him off and added a little bit more. It was easy, and I felt good. My splits were 8:10, 7:23, 7:21, 7:12, 7:23, 7:17, 7:17, 7:32, and 3:25 for the last half mile. It was a fun, smooth run. We had fun imitating other people's running form. There were some funny ones.

 Later I went to the track to do some sprints. Today I did six 75 meter sprints. My fastest was about 9.6. There was a strong cross-wind, which made it difficult. I switched directions part-way through. I warmed up about a mile, and cooled down about a mile.

Today I ran with Shalaya, Gemachu, and Sean. I warmed up a mile, and then we went down into the pit and back to Skyline. I then added on a few more miles to Churchill an back. The total was about 9.8 miles. It felt easy and pretty good. I averaged 7:25 pace. My left heel is hurting a little bit, but besides that, I feel fine.

This afternoon, I lifted weights. I did three sets of three reps at 255. It wasn't too bad. I also did push-ups and ab work.

I was in Provo, so I ran with Sasha and Jeff. It was my longest run yet, but it wasn't too bad. I think my longest run before this was about 13 miles. I felt good and relaxed. The pace was about 7:34 per mile for 14.1 miles. We started out nice and easy, and then did most of our miles around 7:15 after that. It was a fun run, and nice running with Sasha and Jeff.

Today I did a four mile tempo run. I drove to Liberty Park and warmed up about two miles there. I then did some stretching and drills before I started. My goal was to do four miles under 5:30 pace.

I started out a little too fast. I guess I had a little too much adrenaline. My first mile was 5:12. My second mile felt a little harder, 5:26. My third mile I felt okay, but I was feeling pretty tired from the fast first mile. It was 5:29. I was struggling a bit on the last mile, but I pushed it in for a 5:29. Overall, it was a good tempo run. I did better than expected and was able to do well after starting out fast. My overall pace was about 5:24. I then cooled down about four miles. My achilles isn't really sore anymore, and my heel is fine, but I will ice them to be safe.

Today I ran with Gemachu on pipeline trail. I was sore from yesterday's workout, but it felt pretty good. We went out for 30:30, and back in 26:30. So on the way out we went 7:40 pace, and on the way back we went 6:38 pace. We ran eight miles in 57:00.

Later, I went to the track and did sprints. I did eight 75 meter sprints. They were slower than last week, but I forgot my spikes. I think my fastest was 9.954. I started out slow, but I felt good at the end. I warmed up about 1.5 miles and cooled down on the grass about 1.5 miles. It felt good.

Today I went and ran 800's at Sugarhouse Park. I did six with the team. We warmed up about a mile or so and did some strides.

The first one was 2:32 with a big hill to start out and then flat. The next one was about 2:42 which had some downhill, flat, and then ended on a really steep hill. The third one was about 2:32, mostly flat. The fourth one was about 2:33 with a long hill and some downhill. Gemachu joined us on this one, and he did about 2:25. The next one was flat, and I did about 2:25. Gemachu was right in front of me. The last one was hard, mostly flat, about 2:32.

So here were my times:

2:32

2:42

2:32

2:33

2:25

2:32

It was a pretty hard workout, but I know I could of done better. I wanted to do around 2:30, so I was pretty close. My legs are still sore from Monday, and pretty tired from last night. I then cooled down with a couple of laps around the park.

I was really tired today, so I slept in. I went up to pipeline later and did nine miles in 65 minutes. It was about 7:13 pace. It felt pretty easy, but my legs are pretty sore. It was a good run though.

Later, I went to the track and did sprints. I did eight 75 meter sprints. I warmed up about a mile and cooled down about two miles. My legs felt better, but still sore.

My legs were pretty tired, so I didn't do too much. I warmed up a mile, then did a 40 minute fartlek. I did four three minute pushes. The overall pace for the run was 6:25. It was hard, but not too hard. I think the pushes were around 5:30 pace. I cooled down about 1.5 miles.

Today was once again my longest run ever. I did 16.3 miles today. It wasn't too hard, but it was long. I averaged about 7:02 pace. My legs were tired by the end of the run, but they feel better then yesterday.

Today I went up to Jeremy Ranch Road to run with the Skyline team. We were doing ten miles. (It ended up a little more)

The first mile was pretty easy, 7:11. The second, third, fourth, and fifth were also pretty easy but we picked it up. It was comfortable, but pretty quick. (6:38, 6:37, 6:41, 6:47)

On the way back we kept it relaxed, but slowly picked it up as we went on. We went 6:47, 6:44, 6:34, 6:24 for miles six, seven, eight, nine. Morgan dropped off at about eight miles, and I was with Gemachu from then on.

The last mile was fast. We were going pretty fast, and Gemachu decided to push it hard the last half mile. It was hard, but I stayed with him. I think the last half mile was 2:33, and the last mile was 5:35. It was a good run, and it wasn't too hard except for the last couple miles.

My legs feel good, not sore from Saturday, and no injuries.

I got up a little later than I should have, and it was pretty hot. I warmed up a mile, then ran 7.5 miles easy. About 7:50 pace. I then did some strides and cooled down about a mile. It was slow, but I wasn't feeling very good. I was pretty tired. My legs weren't sore, but a little tired.

I ran with Ben through the pit and back to Skyline. We kept it pretty easy. About 7:30 pace. I was originally going to do more today, but since I wasn't feeling great yesterday, I decided to back off. I felt fine today. I'm ready for the 10k tomorrow!

Today was the Des News 10k. I was excited. I had put together a Fast Running Blog team for the high school division. The team was composed of Hayden Hawks, Neal Ferrin, and Nate Jewkes. (I was on the team as well) We were excited and wanted to beat the Utah team, and try to beat the US team. I had two personal goals: break 31:00 (which I thought would be a stretch), and beat some guys who already have spots on the BYU team. I went with Neal, and we got there about 5:20. We warmed up about 1.5 miles and did some stretching. Our team then met together and went to the start. I also met Michelle at the starting line. (I think it was Michelle)

The race started and I was in the pack near the front. It was mostly high school age and some older guys. I knew it was going to be fast. My first mile was 4:39. That was faster than I wanted, and than I expected. I knew I was going too fast, so I backed off a little bit.

The next mile I was running mainly with Karl, and I passed him near the end of it. But it was still fast. It was a 4:47. That beat my best two mile time by ten seconds! I was just hoping to keep going.

The next mile was a 5:09. This was where it was getting harder, and I was starting to regret the fast start. My three mile time was 14:36. That is also a 5k pr. I guess about 15:10 for the 5k.

For the fourth mile, I ran a 5:18. On this mile, one of the US all-star guys passed me. I tried sticking with him, but I didn't for too long. I was hurting more this mile.

The fifth mile is where I really started suffered for going out so fast. This is also where the course flattened out more. I ran a 5:32. At this point, I was just trying to hang on.

The sixth mile was really hard. I was really trying to keep the pace faster, but I didn't have much left. It was a 5:43. At this time, I was thinking how much I wished I had gone out slower.

I didn't have much left for the finish, and it seemed like it took forever to get there. Hayden caught me with about 150-200 meters left, and I tried to stay with him, but he beat me by a second or two.

Overall, it was a pretty good race, and a good learning experience. I wanted to do better, but I am satisfied. I learned how not to race a 10k, and it will help me in the future. I haven't raced a 10k in a couple of years, so I guess I forgot how long it was. So far, I'm not too sore, but my right hip hurts and I have some blisters on my feet. I cooled down with Hayden and a bunch of other high school guys, and it hurt. Our team also beat the Utah team, so that was pretty cool. I didn't break 31:00, but I did beat Trevor Sharp and George Barlow, who both have spots at BYU.

I was pretty sore today when I woke up. I was sore all over, but mostly in my calfs. It took me a while to warm up, but by the end of my run, I felt pretty good. I did 8.5 miles at 8:00 pace. It did hurt a lot to run downhill. It was an easy run, and I felt better than I thought I would.

Later I ran on the treadmill. I was planning on going outside, but it was too dark. I warmed up slow a half mile, then did three at about 7:10 pace, and finished with a half mile cool down. My legs felt better, but my calfs are still sore.

I'm in Tahoe now until Friday. We didn't get here until late, so I didn't have very much time to run before it got dark. I ran with my mom for 6.7 miles at a 8:13 pace. My legs felt pretty good, even though my calfs are still sore. But I felt really sick to my stomach the whole run. I was going to do some more miles on the treadmill, but I felt too sick. Hopefully by Monday, my legs will feel 100% and I can build my mileage back up to what it was before last week. I want to hit 70 miles the next couple of weeks.

Today I was going to do hill intervals, and I found a good hill in Tahoe to do them on. It was pretty steep for a good 800 meters, so I did 800 meter intervals. The first half or so isn't too steep, but the second half was incredibly steep.

Here is the hill.

I warmed up about a mile and a half and did some drills before. I started out not knowing what to expect, and it was hard. My first interval was 3:34. That was hard, so I tried to keep them around that time. The second interval was 3:35. It felt all right. The third was 3:35. The fourth was hard, it was 3:34. I was really tired after that one. The next one was 3:37. The sixth was 3:37. After this one I was really lightheaded, but was all right to do a couple more. The seventh was the slowest, and the hardest. It was 3:39. The last one was the fastest, 3:33.

When I was done, I cooled down 3 miles. It made for a total of about 12 miles. I think that this was a good workout. I felt strong, and pushed hard on the hill. One thing I liked was that left at seven and it was a little bit chilly outside. My hands were cold when I started out. That was a nice change. I didn't really notice the higher elevation, and I wonder if it made a difference.

I went and ran at trail behind the South Lake Tahoe High School. It was a nice trail, but not very long. I did five miles at about 7:00 pace. I am going to do a longer run later, hopefully I can find a better trail. I feel pretty good, a little sore from yesterday.

I went out again later and ran 8.25 miles. I ran a 6:55 pace. I kept it really easy, at least it felt easy, and I felt good. I noticed my fifth mile was at about 6:30 pace about a half mile in, so I decided to do about a half mile push. I felt great and did that mile in 6:08. Overall, this is the best I've felt in a while. It was a great run and I felt very strong.

I felt good this morning and kept it fairly easy on the way out and pushed it going back. I averaged 7:00 for the run, and 6:40 on the way back. I ran on a bike path right by our hotel. It was nice outside, but I could see my breath when I started!

I later went with my dad to a gym we found near our hotel. (one where we could do deadlifts) I did some push ups and ab work, as well as doing three sets of three reps at 265 pounds for my deadlifts. It felt good. I then ran back from the gym to my hotel. It was about 5.5 miles. I ran at a 7:45 pace. The run didn't feel too good. I was sick to my stomach after eating not too much before. But I wasn't too tired.

Today I also hiked about 4 miles, which was pretty easy. My sister and I also went swimming to this island in the middle of Eagle Lake. The water was cold! I realized I am not a very good swimmer. Once I got in the cold water and started swimming, I got really tired!

I'm not sure on the mileage today, because my garmin didn't have a signal. We drove to a trail called "Powerline Trail" today. It was a pretty good trail, but had quite a few hills. The total time was about 85 minutes. I didn't push it too hard, but it wasn't really easy. On the way back, two bikers asked me if I had seen the bear! I hadn't, and I didn't want to, so I got a tempo run in as well. I felt pretty good, but was a little sore from weight lifting.

I got in seven miles on the treadmill before we left to go home. I averaged 7:20 pace. I felt pretty good, my hamstrings are sore.

Today was the Minuteman 5k. I got there about 7:00 and drove the course with my dad. I then warmed up and went to the bathroom. I stretched and got ready. I got to the line and it was very crowded. There were a lot of good runners at the race. The race started out very fast. I backed off a little bit and was a little bit behind the front pack at the beginning. The first half mile was 2:20 something, and the mile was 5:00. I was more tired at the mile than I should have been. I remember thinking that a five minute mile should not seem this hard.

The next mile was painful. There was a group of about three guys right ahead of me, and I tried to stay with them, but I couldn't. I wasn't breathing especially hard, but my legs wouldn't move much faster. I don't know if I need more speedwork, or if my legs are tired from the higher mileage this week, but I just couldn't push to get with the guys. After that another guy passed me, and I stayed with him for a little bit, but my legs were just so tired. The second mile was 5:16.

The third mile was the hardest. I tried to push it to close the gap on the group in front of me, but it was hard. I didn't have much of a kick at the end, but I pushed it in. It was also the slowest, 5:30.

I was disappointed with this race, but I guess I just have to move on. I'm sure that the high mileage and a ten hour car ride yesterday didn't help, but I can just focus on getting ready for the Autumn Classic now. I think I will hit around 70 miles for the next three weeks, then taper to 60 and 50 the week of the Autumn Classic.

After the race I felt sick to my stomach and wasn't going to cool down much, but Bill Cobbler asked me if I wanted to cool down with the East xc team. I did, and we ran 5 miles at a 7:59 pace. We pushed the last half mile to get under 8:00 pace. It felt pretty good and it was nice cooling down with them.

Today I ran to the top of Millcreek Canyon. I felt good today, and it was my fastest pace. Morgan stayed with me until 50 minutes, when he turned around. I made it to the top in 76:45. I then cooled down until my mom picked me up. I averaged about 7:30 until 7 miles, and it slowed down a little bit from there.

 I saw a sign at the top that said "elevation: 7200 ft.". That means I gained about 2500 ft. in ten miles.

I didn't have time to run in the morning, because I went backpacking yesterday. I was tired all day from a lack of sleep, but my run went pretty well. I ran 11 miles at about a 7:20 pace. I ran from my house to Sugarhouse Park, did a few laps and ran back. I felt surprisingly good, but kept the pace pretty easy. I saw Bill Cobbler at the park, and he mentioned that I could have run with them a little earlier.

Today I did 800 meter repeats. I wasn't feeling great, I think I was tired from a longer run in the evening than I am used to. I warmed up about a mile. The first 800 was 2:34. (The gramin said .54) It's pretty hard, with a steep uphill to start out on. The next 800 said 2:50. I would guess that the distance is wrong, because I know I was going faster than that. It starts out downhill, and ends in an uphill. The third interval was 2:34. This one felt all right, and I had to run right through some sprinklers in the middle. It starts out flat, and ends in a slight uphill. The fourth interval was 2:38. This one starts out uphill, and ends downhill. The fifth interval is the fastest one. I'm not sure if the distance was right, but it was about 2:30. The last one was a 2:35. I had to push hard at the end to keep going. After that, I did ten hills (with the skyline team) and cooled down about a mile.

The workout was pretty good, but I wanted to go under 2:30. I still feel like these intervals are too hard, they feel harder than they should. After all, I was doing 2:13-2:15 during track season(on the track). I'm hoping that as I do more shorter intervals, they will get easier. I also guess that running on the grass is harder, and that will take some getting used to as well. Any ideas or suggestions?

 I later ran on the treadmill. I did three miles easy. I felt sorta sick to my stomach. I also lifted weights.

I ran with Oliver Williams today. He went to Brighton high school. We went to a trail up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was a long was up, and I think I felt the elevation, The elevation was around 10,000 ft. I started out and it took me a few minutes to get my breathing under control. We went out for 41 minutes. It started out really steep for a mile and a half or so, then it wasn't as bad. It was harder than I planned on though, and the hills were hard on my legs. My quads were sore still. It was a good run, and I would guess it was around 7:30 pace.

Today I went to Liberty Park for a tempo run with Skyline. It was a three mile tempo run. I'm not sure on my splits, because my Garmin didn't have a good lock there, and I wasn't exactly sure where the mile markers are. 

We started out with a warm up around the park, and some stretching and drills. My plan was to start out at five thirty for the first mile, and get faster from there. I started out and my legs were very tired. I tried to not start out too fast, and I think my first mile was five thirty. I then picked it up a little bit from there. My next mile was about 5:27. I should have picked it up more that mile, but didn't. I picked it up more on the last mile, but still only managed about a 5:20. After we were done, we cooled down a lap.

It was a pretty good workout, but I think that I could have gone faster. It didn't seem very hard once I was done, and I recovered very quickly. I also realized that it was only a little bit slower than what I did in the Minute Man 5k (for three miles), and it felt much easier.

 I later went out and ran 5.5 miles at a pretty easy pace. It was around 7:30 pace. I felt fine, and kept it easy.

Today I did a long run. I didn't push it very hard, because I had three pretty hard days in a row. I just wanted to get the mileage in. The pace was about 7:20 per mile. I ran 15.3 miles. It felt pretty good, and it didn't feel too long. This is my first week over 70!

I went up to Jeremy Ranch this morning with Skyline. I went out five miles easy, about 6:55 pace, and came back faster. I came back at about 6:20 pace. Overall pace was 6:37. My last mile was 5:54. It felt pretty good, but I was feeling a little bit sick after.

 Later I was at Skyline for their cross country fundraiser. It's a "24 hour running marathon". I did three miles in 17:55, then finished off with a 65 second last lap for fun. (I wanted to beat my friend Morgan, who did three miles in 18:30) Everyone is running 20 minute legs at a time. I might have to run another one tonight.

About 3.5 at three in the morning for the "running marathon" went with Brett around to the school and around. It was peaceful and slow. But it wasn't nice running at 3 am.

Later we all ran the last mile together of the running marathon. I am really tired from almost no sleep, but it was fun. I also took a long nap.

Today I ran with Skyline at Sugarhouse Park. We did 5 1000's on the grass. I think some of the distance was off, because the splits were all over the place.

We warmed up and got going. The first interval had some uphill and downhill, and was at 3:12. I felt pretty good, and it wasn't too bad. The next one was 3:33. It had a steep hill, but I think it must have been long or something. I felt okay on that one, but not great. The next one was 3:27. This one was flat, then had a long hill. I felt really tired on this one, and struggled to stay ahead of Morgan. The fourth one was 3:30, but I think it was a little bit long as well. Morgan was right with me on this one, and I was pretty tired. The last one felt pretty good, and I beat Morgan. The time was 3:00, but it was short.

After, we did ten hill sprints. I felt pretty strong. I then did a cool down.

I talked to the my coach (really my old coach), and he suggested I drop my mileage down a lot starting now. My race is three weeks from Saturday, and I need to taper for it, so I have the best race possible. I have been feeling fatigued in intervals and workouts, and it is probablly from the high mileage. I'm going to drop somewhere around 50 miles, and maybe even lower than that the next couple of weeks.

I slept in today because I was up late watching the olympics. I ran six miles easy, at a 7:42 pace. It felt pretty good. I did seven strides after.

I didn't have time to do my run in the morning, so I did it this afternoon. It wasn't too hot today. I ran six miles at a 7:25 pace. It felt really easy, and my legs felt good. I did eight striders after.

Today I went to Liberty Park for a tempo run. I did three 1.5 mile tempo runs. Going in, my goal was to start out at 5:15 for the first mile, then speed up the last half mile. I warmed up one lap and did some drills.

My first repeat felt pretty good, and I was at 5:12 at the mile. I tried speeding up, but I didn't push hard enough and did my last 800 in 2:40. My overall pace was 5:17 for the first one.

On the second one, I came through the mile at 5:12. This time I picked it up more, and did a 2:32 last 800. My overall pace was about 5:10.

On the last interval, I pushed it the hardest. I came through the mile at 5:02, and pushed it really hard the last 800, to finish it in 2:25. My overall pace for the last one was 4:58. 

This was a great workout. I didn't get much sleep last night, so I didn't know how good it would be, but I guess the lower mileage is helping me. This was my best workout in a long time. I cooled down about two miles.

I had to get up early and run today. I'm leaving to go backpacking until wednesday. I only had time for four miles. I averaged about 6:45 pace, with the last mile in 5:45.

We hiked in eight miles backpacking, and even though I usually only count running mileage, I decided to count half of it. 

We hiked about 18 miles today. It was pretty tough. We hiked to the top of King's Peak, and then backpacked out. 

I watched the region 2 pre-region meet, so I didn't run until later in the day. I did six miles at a 7:15 pace. My legs were tired, but not too bad. I also did some striders after.

Today I went to Sugarhouse Park and did 400's on the grass. I did eight of them. I didn't push too hard, but was feeling pretty good. They were 72, 75, 68, 72, 70, 72, 69, and 64. It felt pretty good, and the last one was the best. I then cooled down.

I went out to the Jordan River Parkway today with Skyline. I ran six and a half miles. I ran pretty easy, about 7:15 pace.

Today I ran a 5k. It was the Dimple Dell 5k. (I can't remember the exact name.) I wanted to get a pr and break 16:00, but it didn't happen. I don't know what happened. I warmed up and my legs felt good, but I had a bad stomach-ache. I was hoping it would just go away.

I started out and felt pretty good. I wanted to hit just under 5:10 for the first mile. I was at 2:34 for the half mile, but I was only at 5:15 for the mile. I don't know what happened. After that, there was some downhill, but that mile was slow. It was a 5:34. I really don't know what happened there. I tried pushing it, and it felt harder than a 5:34. After that, I knew I had no shot at breaking sixteen, so I didn't try very hard. The last mile had a steep uphill and was 6:00. I really didn't care at that point what happened. I just jogged in the last 200 meters, didn't even feel like pushing.

I tried cooling down, but I had a side-ache, and still had a bad stomach-ache, so I didn't do much. This was a really bad race. Last week in my tempo run, 5:13 pace felt comfortable(for 1.5 mile repeats). A few weeks ago, I did a three mile tempo run in 16:20, and I felt I had a lot more to give. It was very frustrating, and I don't know what went wrong. At least I won some Jazz game tickets!

Today I did a track workout. I was planning on doing 1000, 800, 600, 400, 200, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000. I started by warming up a mile. The first 1000 was 3:02. It felt okay, but not great. The 800 was 2:25, and it didn't feel good. I was at 69 at the first 400, and the second 400 felt horrible. The 600 was 1:44. This one felt okay, but I was struggling the last 200. On the four hundred I was hurting  lot, but still managed a 65. The first 200 was hard, and it was a 31. The second 200 was better, 29. The next 400 was worse, 68. After that, I just felt really bad. I had a headache, and was really lightheaded. The 600 was 1:50. I could barely finish. The 800 was the worst one. I came through the 400 at 72, and was hoping to finish in 68, but I fell apart. The last 200 was really slow, at least 40 seconds. I got a really bad sideache, and couldn't breathe. I called it quits after that one, considering I could barely move.

This was not a good workout. I only hit my goal times on the first 1000, 400, and the second 200. I still had a stomach-ache, like on Saturday, before my race. The only other thing I can think of is dehydration. I fasted yesterday, and I got a really bad headache the second interval into the workout. I'm taking it easy the next two days, and then on Thursday, I'm doing a Tempo run in Provo. (I'm moving to Provo on Wednesday.)

I went on a pretty easy seven mile run today. I averaged about 7:25 pace. I went out on Wasatch Blvd. My body felt good, but I had another stomach ache. After, I did eight striders.

I'm going to Provo today, so I ran with Skyline for the last time today. We did the Brookburn Loop. It felt good. We finished it in 27:57, and it's four miles. It felt pretty easy. We pushed it a little bit at the end to finish. Morgan and I sprinted the last 75 meters, and I kept up with him for once. I warmed up a mile to the school, and cooled down a mile. After, I did six striders.

I was planning on doing a tempo run today, but my alarm didn't go off! Or at least I didn't hear it. So I got up at seven fifteen and just did a run around campus. I felt great. I wasn't even pushing it, and I averaged 6:47 pace for 5.5 miles. On my way back, I ran by the track and did a couple of laps on it. I did a 35 second 200 and some striders. It all felt good. 

I later ran to the gym and back to lift weights.

This morning I was going to do my tempo run, but I didn't wake up early enough to get it done. I ran 2.5 miles.

I later went out and did my tempo run. I tried to find a good spot on the Provo River Parkway, but the spot I went to wasn't very good. I remembered it from Cross Country camp, but it was more uphill than I remembered. It was at the base of the canyon. I decided to do a three mile tempo run. I started out pretty hard, but then settled into the pace after about 200 meters. My first mile was about 5:27. It wasn't too hard, but it was more uphill than I thought. The second mile was about 5:33. I turned around half-way. I pushed it more the last mile, and it was about 5:10. I'm not sure on the splits, because my garmin had a bad signal, so I had to use the markers. But the total was about 16:10-16:15 for three miles. This run was pretty good, but I felt pretty bad. I was tired and didn't really feel up to it. But for feeling bad, it was about as fast as my last one.

I ran from my  dorm to the Provo River Parkway. It was an easy run. I kept the pace at 7:30. I saw a lot of runners, and it wasn't too hot outside.

I did six miles pretty easy today. 7:00 pace. It felt pretty good. I also did some striders after.

Today was my first day with the BYU team for tryouts. We met at 2:30 and had a long, boring meeting. We then ran straight from there to Kiwanis Park. (I forgot my flats, and I wasn't very happy about that.) I learned that we were doing four or five mile repeats. (Coach would decide.) So we warmed up to the park and did a little extra around the park. 

Coach put the team into two groups. 1.The varsity returners and a few of the better guys, and 2.The freshman, return missionaries, walk-ons, and some others. He wanted the top guys hitting 5:00, and the second group hitting about 5:10. Naturally, everyone started out faster. On the first one, I felt good. After some 800 guys stopped halfway, I was second in the second group behind Spencer Gardner. I kept the pace the last 400, and a few guys passed me at the end. It was 5:01. The second one was 5:07. It was a little harder, and I was in the middle of the group. The third one was 5:14. I was in about the same position. On the fourth, I started fading. I had a sideache, and felt dehydrated. I did a 5:22. The last one I felt the same, and did a 5:22.

It was a pretty good workout, but I didn't feel good on the last couple. I think I need more water during the day. The good thing is, I beat Trevor Sharp (who is on the team) on at least three, I beat George Barlow (who has a scholarship) on at least two, and was close to, and beat some of the other guys on the team. After the workout, we did a lap and ran back to school.

I ran with the team again today. It was a recovery run. It was a little harder than I would have liked, but it felt pretty good. We ran in a big group on the Provo River Trail. (It got spread out some) I ended up running with Trevor Sharp, and a few freshman and return missionaries. We went out for thirty and back for thirty. We averaged about 6:37 pace. My legs are a little bit sore from yesterday, but not too bad.

Today we went to the field by the track and did 800's. We warmed up to the track and did a couple loops around the grass. Coach had us do 4 so we would be more rested for the race. (He had the top guys do six.) I was in the second group again. Ever since Monday's workout, my legs have been pretty sore. I wasn't sure how well I would do, but I decided I would give it my best shot. We started out and I was in the middle of the second pack. We came through the 400 at 70. I then moved up to the front of the pack, behind Spencer and a few others, and finished in 2:20. The next one, I finished up just behind the lead pack, at 2:19. On the third one, I held back a little bit, and kept it at 2:20. (The top guys in my group were at 2:16) On the last one, I took the lead in the beginning, and Spencer and another guy passed me about 200 in. I caught up to them, and finished right behind them at 2:20. 

This workout felt very good. My legs felt really sore, but it didn't matter. I beat George Barlow and Trevor Sharp on all of them. (Maybe not the third one) I also felt like I had a lot left after the workout, and during each interval. I am ready for saturday.

When we finished, we cooled down for twenty minutes.

We went over to the course and ran it today. It was easy. About 7:15 pace. I did four striders after. I'm excited, and the course isn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Today was the BYU Autumn Classic. I ran unattached in the college race. My goal time was 21:00, which obviously didn't happen. The course had to of been long, considering the winning time was 21:00. (I ran a 22:51)

I started out pretty fast, a little too fast actually. I realized I was a little bit too far up, so  tucked in behind the BYU guys instead of next to them. The first lap went pretty well, and didn't seem to bad. I came through the mile at about 5:20. (I'm not sure) After that, it got harder. I managed to pass some people during the race, but not many. I don't really have much more to say, but it was a pretty good race. It was very slow, but I beat most of the people I wanted to beat. I beat Trevor and George, who are already on the BYU team; and I beat Neal and Anthony, who are also trying out. I was also pretty close to others on the team, with the fastest freshman about 50 seconds ahead of me.

I talked to Coach Eyestone after the race, and he said it was good. He said we will have hard workouts next monday and wednesday, so that's all I know. I'm assumming that I will know for sure if I make the team next week.

Today the team did a tempo run. Coach told us we would be doing a five mile tempo run. We warmed up on the Provo River trail for about 2.5 miles. We then stretched and got our flats on to get ready. We did the tempo on a five mile loop on the road that goes by the lake or something.

I started out near the pack of the pack by some of the freshman and some guys who were turning around early (800 guys and others). The first mile felt pretty easy and controlled. It was about 5:17. During the next mile, I settled in with George and ran right with him. The second mile was about 5:21. The third mile felt good, and I stayed right with George. We caught a couple guys this mile, and it was at about 5:21. The fourth mile wasn't quite as easy, but it felt nice and controlled, at about 5:13 or so. I felt good there, but coach stopped us after four. It was pretty hot out, and he didn't want us doing to much after the race. I was disappointed that we didn't have another mile, because I had a lot left. We were gaining on a group of four or so in front of us, and I was pretty sure I could of caught them with another mile. I made sure to have some left for the last mile. But, it was still a good workout. My total time was 21:12, which is a 5:17 pace. It felt great, and I never exerted myself like it was a race, I just kept it controlled. I jogged the last mile back to the car with Neal.

I cooled down with Neal and Anthony. We accidently went back the wrong way, so we got in a little extra. It didn't matter though, because we couldn't lift with the other guys yet anyway. It was about a three mile cool down.

We did a recovery run today. I'm not sure on the distance (someone said eight miles), because my garmin didn't have a signal. I would guess the pace was in the 6:40's. We started out slower and got down to around 6:30 for the second half of the run. We went out on the road and eventually got back onto the provo river trail. My legs felt slow and tight the first little bit, but they got better about five minutes in. The run felt nice and easy, but I felt sick to my stomach. 

The guys who are traveling to the meet on Saturday did their hard workout today, and the rest of us went for an hour run. We are doing our hard workout tomorrow. We went on the Provo river trail, and ran as a nice group of eight. We had seven freshman and one sophomore, it was pretty cool. We started out at a pretty nice pace, but picked it up a little but. We had one mile at 6:08 which didn't even feel hard. I turned back at 31:30 or so with George and another freshman (I forgot his name). We were going about the same pace, but backed off a little for the last three or four miles. That felt much better. I think our average was around 6:40 for 9.6 miles.

Today the guys who weren't traveling to the meet went to Kiwanis Park for intervals. We warmed up about 2.25 miles to the park and around. My goal for the workout was to be near the front of the group. We did 1600, 1200, 800, 800, 400.

The mile started out pretty fast. I started out near the middle of the pack and slowly moved up. I finished third behind Spencer and Brandon. The crazy thing is that I did a 4:48 for the mile! Spencer was at 4:45. 

I started out the 1200 about the same. After 800 meters, I passed George and pushed it into third place again. I ended up about two seconds behind Spencer and Brandon at 3:37. 

The first 800 was uphill. I started out near the back of the pack for the first 400, but moved up after that. At about six hundred in I passed George and Trevor. After that, I sprinted to the finish and almost caught Brandon. I finished at 2:21.

On the second 800, we started out a lot faster. I was at about 67-68 at the 400, and I moved up a little bit after that. I finished at about 2:16, but the leaders were at 2:10.

On the 400, I started out fast, right behind Spencer. I just tried to hang on, and ended up at 68. Trevor and Brandon passed me, but I stayed right behind Spencer. It was mostly uphill.

I felt pretty tired afterward, but it was a good workout. We cooled down about 2 miles to the school.

Today I ran with Neal, Anthony, and Miles. We went out for four and back for four. We started out at 6:55, and got faster. I didn't really want to go that fast, but it wasn't too hard. I just stuck with them. Our splits were: 6:55, 6:48, 6:37, 6:41, 6:24, 6:22, 6:23, 5:40. Total was eight at 6:30 pace. It was weird though, I was carrying on a conversation at 5:40 pace. I've never done that before. It wasn't easy, but it felt moderately hard.

I ran with Neal today. We went out on the Provo River Trail. I wanted to keep it easier, and we kept it a little bit easier, but my legs were pretty tired. We averaged 6:47 pace.

We were going a little bit too fast on the way out, so we slowed down a little bit on the way back. We had several 7:00 miles on the way back. We pushed the last mile a little bit, and it was 6:19.

It was a good finish to a good week, but also a tiring week.

Me, Neal, and Anthony stayed back a little bit from the top guys today. We weren't feeling great, and didn't want to be tired for tomorrow's hard workout. We did nine miles in 60 minutes. It was about 6:40 pace, but actually felt quite a bit slower than that. We picked it up a little bit on the way back, but I told them we should back off some the last couple miles, so we did. It felt okay, not great, just okay. 

Today we did ten 900's. The plan was to do 1000's, but the course was short. It was at least around 900 meters. I warmed up about two miles and did some strides.

This workout wasn't supposed to be especially fast, because the rest was only one minute. My times were: 2:53, 2:50, 2:50, 2:50, 2:49, 2:47, 2:49, 2:46, 2:46, 2:45. I slowly moved up in the second group throughout the workout. (Because my times got faster, others didn't.) By the last three, I was pretty close to the front of the second group, and close to some guys who were on the traveling squad. I didn't really kick all out until the last one, and I passed two guys the last 20 meters. It was a good workout, and it felt great to be with some guys who are in the top nine.(on my last three)

I only cooled down about a mile because I had a really bad sideache.

Also, I talked to Coach Eyestone, and I made the team. I'm not sure exactly what's going on, but he said I'm on at least until December. In December, he has to make more cuts. I hope by then I don't have to worry about cuts, because I hope to be much better by then. (relative to the other guys on the team) I'm glad I've made it at least this far!

Nine easy miles today. I got there a little bit late, so I ran with Trevor. We tried to catch everyone else, but we got stuck at a stoplight. We just took it easy from there. I'm not sure on the distance, because I forgot my garmin, but Trevor said it was about nine miles. The total time was 61 minutes. The run went by nice and fast, because we were just talking the whole time. It was a fun and easy run.

We did an easy 40 minutes today. It was about 6:55 pace. It felt easy, but I felt sick to my stomach. It was probably the big lunch I ate an hour and a half before I ran. Tomorrow there is a time trial for all of the guys not on the traveling squad. I hope to be up near the top.

Today we had a time trial for the guys not on the traveling squad at Kiwanis Park. It went pretty well. My time wasn't great, but I think this is a pretty slow course. I warmed up about two miles, and I was feeling good. I was ready to have a good race.

We started out at a good pace. I settled into third place to start out. I thought about going for Spencer and Brandon, but decided not to. About 500 in, a few guys passed me, but I stayed with them in the second pack. We came through the mile at 5:10.

I stayed with the pack on the second mile, and we kept about equal distance behind Spencer and Brandon. We came through the two mile in 10:30.

On the third mile, the pack got closer to Spencer and Brandon, but it wasn't feeling too great. Somewhere in this mile, James passed me, and I passed Aaron. I tried to go with him, but I didn't have it. I came through the three mile in 16:00.

On the fourth mile, I was by myself the whole time. James had passed Brandon, and was up with Spencer. I tried to get up to Brandon, but he pulled away the last half mile. I didn't finish very strong, but my last 100 or so was good.

I finished up in fourth place, with a time of 21:28 or so. I didn't think this was a great time, but I looked at the Provo Bulldog Invitational results, and the winner was at 17:06. The course is essentially the same, minus one lap. I was at 16:00 for three miles, so I think I could have done around 16:20 for the 5k. (Since my third mile would have been faster.) So it looks like this is a pretty slow course.

I think I raced well, but I need to work on my last half mile or so. Usually my problem in races is the last 200 or so, but today was different. I kicked in the last 100 much stronger than I usually do, but today Brandon gained at least 10 seconds on me in the last 800-1200 meters. I think most of it was mental, and I need to concentrate on that last 800 meters.

I ran with some of the guys on the team today. I did about twelve miles. I actually felt pretty good after the time trial yesterday. My average pace was about 6:30. 

I did a 60 minute run today. Plus a half mile warm-up. It felt easy, about 6:40 pace. We just ran on the Provo River Trail today. It was really nice outside. I think I'm going to add morning runs in a few days a week, starting tomorrow.

Today we did a 5000 hard, and a 3200 hard. We warmed up to an elementary school about 1.5 miles away and also did one loop on the grass. We did a fartlek, at least that's what I would call it. We did 400 hard, 400 easy, 400 hard, 400 easy, 400 hard, 400 easy, 1200 hard, 800 easy, 600 hard. The hard was supposed to be at 5:00 pace (so 75 for each 400), and the easy at 5:40 pace (so 85 for each 400). I didn't get my splits, but I finished up at 16:40 for the 5k. I think I was about 10 seconds off of the goal pace. I was the fifth guy, right behind James. It was six seconds off of my best 5k on grass, which was at the region meet last cross country season.

After that, we had a ten minute break. The 3200 was broken up with 400 easy, 400 hard, 400 easy, 800 hard, 400 easy, 800 hard. My goal pace was 72, 82. I started out in fifth place, and basically held it. One guy passed me, but I passed him back. Going into the last hard 800, Trevor blew by me, but I went with him. I was able to stay right next to him the whole time, but I think he barely beat me. (By less than a second.) So I finished in sixth for that one. My finish time was 10:22. We gained on James a lot in the last 800, and he was about 10:19. Aaron was about 10:17. Brandon was 10:05 or so. It was a good workout, and I ran good times, but my goal is to be with the top guys in this group. After the workout, we cooled down about 2 miles.

This afternoon I ran by myself. I just did eight at about 6:50 pace. It felt really easy, and really good. It was pretty hot outside, but not unbearable. 

Tonight I helped pace little kids in a mile race at the BYU Track. I did two miles, one at nine something, and one at eight something.

Later tonight, I ran over to the Fieldhouse and lifted weights, one mile total.

Today we did 800's on the field by the track. Coach wasn't there, because the top guys left for Griak today. He said that he wanted six eight hundreds at 2:15 (65, 70) with three minutes rest. This was easier said than done.

We started out warming up about two miles. I felt okay, but not great. My legs were feeling a little sluggish, and I was sore from lifting weights yesterday. We got started, and it felt fast. These were the fastest intervals we have done. (So the 65 felt pretty fast.) I started out pretty good, at 2:18. The first one wasn't too bad. The rest was really short. We had to jog back to the start, and by the time we got there, we had about thirty seconds before we had to start. The second interval was about 2:19-2:20. Brandon was about 2:15, James 2:19, and I was right with Neal. The third one was 2:17. I was in about the same position. On the fourth one, I did 2:17 and was about the same position. The fifth one, I beat James, and was only a second or two behind Brandon. It was also 2:17. The fifth one hurt a lot. The sixth one, I was also 2:17, maybe 2:16. I was right with Aaron and Trevor barely ahead, Brandon just ahead of that.

I was the third or fourth guy on average. I beat everyone except for Brandon on at least two intervals. I wanted to be up front, but I was feeling off today. The leader on every interval was at most three seconds ahead of me. I think that I should be up with Brandon, I just need to push it a little harder, and make up those couple of seconds.

 When we were done, we cooled down two miles. I didn't feel good today, I felt pretty sick afterwards.

I started off running on my own today, but I stopped and at the bathroom, and saw Trevor run by. I ran with him the rest of the way. We averaged about 6:50 pace. It felt easy.

I did my long run today with Neal. We went out on the Provo River Trail. We averaged about 7:00. I wasn't feeling great, but it was a pretty good run. I just wanted to get it done. My legs didn't really feel tired, but I just didn't feel like going any faster. 12 miles total.

Tonight I went and lifted weights. I jogged there and back.

We did intervals at Kiwanis Park today. The workout was 1600, 1200, 800, 800, 400. We started out by warming up 2 miles. The 1600 was okay, I did 4:45, but wasn't in the best place. The 1200 was bad. I was at 3:45, and near the back. The 800 was also very bad. I was near the back at 2:28. The second 800 was a little better, 2:18 (but also more downhill). I beat a few more guys. The 400 was okay, 69, but I didn't feel great.We finished by cooling down two miles.

This was a very bad workout. I felt tired on the warm-up, but didn't think much of it. The 1600 felt okay, but after that, I felt terrible. My legs just felt tired. They weren't tired like they are after high mileage or something(like they were in the summer), but I just couldn't get them going any faster. I also had a terrible headache after the workout, and I may have been dehydrated. I need to get more sleep, and I need to drink more water during the day, and I will be ready for the UVU meet on Friday.

Went running on the provo river trail. It was pretty uneventful. We averaged 6:45 for nine miles. I am feeling a little bit sick, I hope I'm fine for Friday. My legs felt great on the run today, much better than yesterday.

We just did four 400's to get ready for the race Friday. I'm still sick, but I felt great running today. When I warmed up, I wasn't feeling good, but once we got going, the 400's felt great. I did 71, 68, 66, 65. I wasn't even too tired after, and  felt like I could have pushed harder on all of them. It felt pretty easy. We did a long cool down after. 

1 mile to the weightroom and back.

We just went thirty minutes today. A little over four miles. I felt pretty good, and am ready for tomorrow.

Today was the UVU Invitational. I ran unattached again. I didn't have a very good race. I came through the mile at 5:08, and felt pretty good. I passed a few people in the second mile, and came through the 2 mile at 10:44 or so. I don't know if the second mile was off or what, because I passed people on that mile, and felt like I maintained the same effort. The last mile was bad. I was passed by quite a few people, I don't know how many. I was feeling terrible, but in the last 600 or so, I passed two people. In the last 100, a kid passed me, and I tried to catch him, but he barely beat me. I at least tried to catch him, and put in a pretty good kick. George and Trevor beat me by twenty something seconds, and I had beat them in both of the other races.

This was a really bad race, and I felt really, really bad. I don't know what happened. I felt good the first mile, but after that, I felt like I was just hanging on for dear life. My past three races have felt just like this. I haven't been able to race anyone, I just have tried to hang on until the end of the race and finish. If someone passes me, I try to stay with them, but I can't do it at all. It was especially bad during this race. The only thing I can think of is going out at 5:15 or 5:20, and maybe try to bring it down to 5:10, 5:05 after that. 

I went and watched the Kiwanis Invite High School xc meet. I ran around cheering my friends on, and got in about two miles.

Later, I ran four miles at my house. I went home for conference and did it right before priesthood. I was supposed to do a long run, but I didn't feel like it. I really wasn't going to run at all, but I finally decided I should. I ran in the rain, and didn't pay attention to pace. My garmin was dead. I just pushed it when I felt like it, and went easy when I felt like it. It was a pretty good run.

I felt much better today. It was really nice out today, and I felt great during the run. We went somewhere new today, on a dirt trail for a little bit, and it was awesome. I was running with Neal, Trevor, and George, and we all thought it was really nice to run somewhere new. It was just what I needed, and I loved it. We averaged about 6:27 pace, and it felt way easy. I wasn't even breathing hard a the end of the run. Our last mile was at 5:57 pace, and it felt awesome. I was just cruising along, and it felt easy and smooth. 

I also got my locker today, and shorts and a shirt. My cross country season is essentially over, and I don't know if I have any other races. I might be running in the BYU Homecoming 5k this Saturday, but I will have to see.

I was finally able to drag my self out of bed this morning and get a run in. I ran 3.7 miles easy. It was about 7:20 pace. It felt short and easy.

This afternoon, we did 1000 meter intervals.We warmed up about 2.5 miles.  We were originally going to do ten of them, but we ended up doing eight. Coach told the traveling guys to hit 3:07, and us to hit 3:14. (they were slower because we only had a one minute rest) Our first one was around 3:12. It was a little fast, but it was good. I was around the middle of the pack. The next several were around 3:10-3:12. I slowly moved up. I was in the front of the pack, and there would be one two people who were ahead of the pack. On the seventh, I was feeling strong, but I got a sideache with about 300 meters left. I managed to finish at about 3:12. After the seventh, coach told us we would only have one more. I managed to work my sideache out, and I pushed it really hard on the last one. I came through the 200 in 33, and realized I was in front of the pack, with no one with me. I decided to keep pushing it, and I felt really good. I came through at 700 or so, and was tiring, and was sure they would catch me. But I gave it my all, and no one caught me. I pushed it in and was at 2:54 with James about a second or two behind, and no one else very close to us. For reference, the top guys did about 2:54, with Stephan the fastest at 2:52.

I felt great on this workout, and it gave me some confidence. I realized going out slower helped me on this workout, and I was able to finish very strong. We cooled down about 1.75 miles.

I ran for fifty two minutes today. I'm not sure on the distance, but I think it was around 7.5 miles. We started out slower, and picked it up at the end. I felt pretty good today. We went on an new run today, and it was fun. The next couple days will be pretty easy, and I'm running the BYU homecoming 5k on Saturday.

I ran pretty easy today with Neal. We just had a good easy run and talked the whole time. I just wanted it to be over today. I didn't feel bad, but I didn't feel great.

I didn't run much today. I went and watched the Region 2 Cross Country Meet. I ran around cheering, and I warmed up with Gemachu about 25 minutes.

I really wanted to break sixteen minutes today, just like I have every 5k since June, where I ran a 16:06. But once again, like the last four or five races, it didn't happen again. I started out by warming up three miles. I thought warming up longer would help my race, because I've been doing better with a long warm-up in practice, and with starting the first couple intervals out slower.

I felt pretty good, but I didn't have my flats, and I wore my normal running shoes. When the race started, I tried going out slower, so I wouldn't die like I did in my last couple races. I didn't push it too hard up the first hill, and I was able to recover pretty well. After that, I pushed it harder, and my first mile was 5:15. (this was about where I wanted to be) The second mile was much faster, and I could tell. It was still only five minute pace, but it felt too fast. I don't know why a five minute mile should feel so fast in a race, when I can do four fourty or fifty something in practice, and it doesn't feel too fast. But anyway, Michael Vick passed my right around the start of the second mile, and I tried to hang with him, but I couldn't. I really just couldn't move my legs any faster. I don't know why. I came through the two mile in a pretty good time though, I was at 10:15. That's about the best I've been at two miles for a 5k ever. A guy passed me, and I told myself I could go with him. I stayed with him for a little bit, but then I couldn't do it anymore. After that, it was terrible. The guy in front of me gapped me by quite a bit. My third mile was 5:50, I slowed down fifty seconds on the third mile. I also got a sideache on the last mile, which didn't help at all. Even though I slowed down so much the last mile, I didn't get passed by anyone but the one guy. I almost did, but I was able to hold two guys off with a decent kick. 

 I felt pretty sick after,  and my ears hurt a lot. I managed to cool down four miles about 7:30 pace, and work out my sideache. I don't know why I'm racing so poorly, but I would be satisfied to be even close to as fast as I was at the beginning of the summer, even though I expected to be much faster than that now. I don't really know what my next race will be, or if I will even be racing anytime soon. I'm just going to keep training hard with the team, and improve in workouts, and play it by ear.

It was cold today, but it was a pretty good run. We went out for 30 minutes, and back in 27:30. I ran with the freshman guys. Our average pace was 6:34. Our last mile was 6:00, and it felt easy, which bugs me because on Saturday my last mile was 5:50, and it felt very hard! My hip flexor is a little sore, but I'm going to ice it tonight. 

Four easy miles in the morning. Today was the coldest it's been so far, but it wasn't too bad once I got going.

For practice today we did a 5,000 meter fartlek and a 3200 meter fartlek. For the 5,000 we went 400 hard, 400 easy, 400 hard, 400 easy, 400 hard, 400 easy, 1200 hard, 800 easy, 600 hard. The hard pace was supposed to be 74 second 400 pace, and the "easy" was supposed to be 84 second 400 pace. I was right at the front of the group for most of the 5,000, but dropped off a little bit at the end. I finished up at 16:08, the fastest was Brandon at about 16:00.

We had a ten minute rest, and we went into the 3200. For this, we went easy, hard, easy, hard(800), easy(400), hard(800). I stayed back a little bit on this one, and I moved up on the last easy 400. I pushed it really hard on the last hard 800, and I was about 2:19 on that. I finished up behind Trevor and Miles, and I almost caught Miles. My time was 10:03 or so. We measured it after, and it was a little bit short, maybe ten seconds or so. But it was still a good workout, and the top guys were only about ten seconds faster than me on their 3200.

I warmed up 2.5 miles and cooled down 2.5 miles, so that makes ten for practice, and 14 for the day.

I ran with Neal and Blake today. We kept it pretty easy. My heel was hurting today, and I iced it. Besides that, I felt good. We were about 6:50 pace.

I planned on running this morning, but my foot/heel was hurting, so I decided not to.

I didn't really feel like running this afternoon either, but I did. The traveling team and coach were gone, and some guys who were here decided not to do the workout today, so our numbers were limited. I guess only the truly committed guys ran today.

For our workout we did six 3:00 intervals. We weren't really pumped for this workout, but it ended up pretty good. I'm not sure my position on the first five, but we were all pretty close together on all of them. The last one was my best though. I was feeling sorta sick to my stomach, but once we started, I cut in right behind James. I stayed right with him until thirty seconds left, and pushed it hard, finishing just ahead of him. We finished a lot ahead of everyone else. I'm not sure how much, but I would guess ten seconds at least. My heel hurt pretty bad, but I iced it and it's feeling better. I don't want to get a bad injury now, so I'm going to talk to the trainer tomorrow, and if necessary take some time off. I figure now is a better time to take a break, because I won't be racing for a while.

Does anyone know what my injury could be? My heel hurts on the outside near the bottom of the heel. It doesn't seem like a muscle pain, but it doesn't hurt when I push on it. It seems to warm up as I run, and it hurts when I push off of my foot, and hurts more when running on my toes.

Nothing today.

I went  easy today. I ran in Salt Lake with Morgan, Shalaya, and Gemachu. My heel felt pretty good, but still a little pain. It felt better though. We averaged about 7:00 pace. The last 400 was about 74, I had forgotten how fast Gemachu likes to finish.

My heel was feeling better, so I ran today. I didn't do too much though. I just ran 40 minutes with Blake. My heel hurt a little bit, but not much. We finished pretty strong, and it felt good.

Today we did four mile repeats. My heel was feeling pretty good, and I can hardly feel it now. It was really windy, so that may have slowed down the times. My splits were 4:59, 4:58, 4:58, and 5:04. My times were good, especially considering the wind, but I didn't feel good, and I didn't do great relative to the other guys. On my first one, I was in the middle of the pack, and I didn't push it too hard. On the second one, I was in about the same position. I was about the same on the third one. The fourth one was the worst. I tried to stay with the other guys, but didn't. My arms tightened up in the cold, and I couldn't move any faster. I was close to them with four hundred to go, but the last four hundred was really slow. At 1200, I was a second or two ahead of where I had been on he others. It was an okay workout, but I should have been closer to the other guys. I am improving, and it was good considering how I felt.

I didn't really run today. My heel was hurting, and I didn't really have time. I went to the high school state meet and watched. I ran around some, and warmed up and cooled down with the skyline team. It was fun to watch and there were some really great performances.

Today we did a five mile tempo run. After watching some of the races yesterday, I was pumped up and wanted to see how much I really had. I decided to push it hard and try to stay with the top group for as long as I could. We started out by warming up 2.5 miles. I was feeling pretty good, but not great. It didn't matter though, because I've realized I don't have to feel great to have a good workout. 

We started out and it didn't feel very fast. I tried to stay with the top pack, and I was able to. We came through the mile in 5:08. I was feeling pretty good, but it got harder as we went on. I came through the two mile in 10:02, so I ran a 4:54. I managed to stay pretty close to the top pack, but by 2.5 I started falling back. I came through three miles in a p.r. though, I was at 14:53 or 14:57, I can't remember. So that puts my third mile at about 4:51 or 4:55. After this I dropped back more. I could tell I was hurting from going out that fast. I came through four miles at about 20:15, so that mile was about 5:18-5:22. On my last mile, I pushed it a little harder, and finished at 25:27, so a 5:05 average for the five mile tempo run. I had more to give in the last mile, but I didn't push it too hard. This was one of my best workouts ever, even though I could have run it much smarter. I decided to push myself harder than ever before, and see how it played out. If I had stopped at 5k, I would have beat my best time by over thirty seconds. This helps me know how much I've improved, and I feel that I could have taken run at least a 15:20 if I had pushed it even harder to end at 5k.

We cooled down 2.5 miles, and I feel pretty good, but my calfs are sore.

The run started out with a bunch of people, but we ended up with me, Trevor, Neal, and Brandon. We went out pretty easy, but hit a couple sub 6:20 miles going back. The overall pace was in the 6:30's

So today I was going to get up around six, and go running before a 5k my parents were running in. After that, I was going to run with my mom and pace her to break 21:00. I was really tired, so I didn't get up at six, and I only had time for 4.5 miles before the 5k. I ran those at about 7:00 pace. After that I ran with my mom. The first mile was 7:07, the second was about 6:54, and the third was around 6:35. Her time was about 20:57. After that, I added 3.5 miles at a 7:00 pace. I was planning on doing fifteen miles total, but my calfs and shins were really sore, and my heel hurt some.

Today we just did five 400's. We're doing a "race" on Wednesday. Everyone but the top nine (who are going to conference) is running. It will be four miles at Kiwanis Park, where we did the last one, so I can compare my time. I'm not going to go in with any plan, just go out and race. I'm going to try not to think about it too much, just have fun. But today the four hundreds felt pretty good. I didn't feel great, but it was okay. My times were 65, 64, 64, 64, 62. Everyone was pretty close. 

Something interesting happened today. While we were warming up to the park, I tripped on some metal thing on the ground and face-planted. I landed on my knee, shoulder, and cheek. It didn't hurt badly, but there my knee was bleeding a lot. I got it bandaged up after my run. I bet my shoulder and knee will be sore tomorrow. 

We just did six easy miles today. I felt pretty good, but I felt a little sick to my stomach.

We had another time trial today at Kiwanis Park. Coach said it was a race, but it was basically a time trial. I tried not to focus on a race plan at all, just go into it like I do in practice, and give it my best shot. I didn't want to think about it too much. I warmed up two miles, and my knee was hurting, but it was bearable. This time, we ran the loop the opposite way than we did last time. Also, more guys were running, since not as many go to conference.

I started out in decent position, right behind the front pack, with Trevor. The first mile was pretty good, about 5:03. On the second mile, Trevor pulled ahead, and I stuck with Neal. I didn't feel great, but I stuck just in front of Neal. We came through the 2 mile in 10:20. I was on a good pace, and I was still with Neal. I don't remember where Neal passed me, but it was somewhere in the third mile. George also passed me, and passed Neal. At this point, I was way back. I don't know what the problem was, but I couldn't push myself any harder. I didn't get my split on the third mile, but I'm sure I slowed down a lot. I still wasn't far behind Neal, but he was building a lead on me. With about a half mile to go, I figured I was a little bit more than ten seconds behind him. I tried to push it to catch him, and I gained on him, but he pulled away in the last 400 meters or so.

I'm not sure what my time was, and I don't really care. Neal was at 21:27, so I guessed I was at about 21:40. I was slower than last time, and everyone else improved a lot since the last one. I really don't know what the problem with my races is. In the last tempo run I beat at least five of the guys who beat me today, and I beat them by a lot. I know I had a lot more in me, I just wasn't able to push myself like I should be able to in a race. It's obviously a mental block, because I know I'm much faster based on my practices.

I decided to take it easy the rest of the week. I'm going to keep the mileage low, and then start building a base for indoor track next week. Coach said we'll be backing off the speed workouts for a while. I'm also going to start lifting weights three times a week, because I haven't been doing that. I really think the weights helped me achieve what I did in track, when I lifted consistently during the winter and spring.

Today I was planning on going thirty minutes easy, but I felt good. I did 27:00. My splits were 6:45, 6:17, 5:52, 5:20, and I was at about 4:40 pace for the last half mile or so. I just felt really good, and decided to push it.

Today we dressed up in costumes for our run. We ran around Provo and around campus. It was pretty fun. We did about 55 minutes, eight miles.

My heel was hurting a little bit today, so I took it pretty easy. I did 5.75 miles at about a 6:50 pace.

Before practice I lifted weights.

I ran with Neal today. We took it pretty easy, I'm not sure how fast we went because I forgot my watch. I would guess around 6:50 pace. I added on a little more after to make it eight miles. I've never lifted before I ran, but it turned out pretty good. My legs felt suprisingly strong and fresh.

I did three easy miles this morning. I felt tight when I started, but I felt good by the end. It wasn't nearly as cold as I thought it would be.

 Later, we did six eight hundreds. We did them on the indoor track. They were at 2:17, 2:17, 2:17, 2:18, 2:18, and 2:24. I wasn't feeling very good, and should have been faster. I started out in the front of the group, but was near the back at the last one.

I ran by myself today. I have class, so I had to run earlier. I didn't look at my watch too much, and tried to keep the pace pretty easy and controlled. I ended up averaging about 6:40 pace. I started around seven, and the second half was about 6:30 pace. I felt pretty good, and I wasn't very tired from yesterday. I'm going to lift weights later tonight.

We did ten one thousand meter repeats today. They were supposed to be more pace intervals, and we had a one minute rest between. We started out by warming up 2.5 miles. 

My first one was about 3:12, in the middle of the pack in the second group.(the first group was the top nine, the second group was everyone else) My second one was about 3:11, same place. I don't remember how I did on every interval, because there were so many, but I averaged 3:07 or 3:08 for the next 6 or 7. I was about in the same position, I was near the front one of them, but about in the middle. One of them was slower, about 3:10. On the last interval, I really pushed it and ended up with James, and pretty close to the other guys. This workout was a big improvement over Tuesday. I consistently beat 6-7 guys, and beat a few others on a couple intervals.  This is where I should be at, and hopefully I can improve by indoor.

I ran easy with Anthony today. He did seven miles, and I added a few more on. The total time was 64 minutes.

I was home today, and I ran with Gemachu. We did our usual run down to Sugarhouse and a loop, but we went back a different way. We ended up going up evergreen, to 2700, and up 3900 to skyline, and we both jogged home after that. It was a fun run, and our average pace was about 7:00. We were under 7:00 on some downhill miles, but over seven on some uphill miles. We kept the pace easy and didn't really push it. I felt good, but my heel was bothering me a little bit.

Today we did two 2 mile tempo runs. It was essentially a four mile tempo run, because we only had about 45-60 seconds between them. On the first one, I just stayed with the pack the whole time. We were all together within three seconds. I did a 10:07. It felt pretty good, and wasn't too hard. The top group of nine actually only did a 10:10, their first mile was really slow.

On the second one, I was feeling pretty good, so I started out near the front of the pack. (Maybe fifth out of thirteen or so) They started out really fast, and I should have hung back a little bit. I think I was at 2:22 at the half mile. I came through the mile in 4:47, but I think it was off a little bit. My garmin had the mile at 4:54, so it was probably around 4:50. Like I said, I should have started out slower, and I fell back a little bit. Trevor and Neal caught me, and I stayed with them for a while, but they pulled away a little but at the end. I ended up at 9:59, and Neal was 9:49, Trevor 9:51. The top guys in my group were in the 9:30's. It was an okay workout, but I could have run better if I didn't start out so fast. 

I did 8.5 miles today. Average pace was somewhere around 6:45. We started out pretty slow, but the last couple of miles were pretty fast. I felt pretty good, but my achilles tendon was sore. I lifted weights after. 

I was going to do 400's today with the team, but my achilles tendon was hurting a lot. It was okay at the start of the warm-up, but it hurt a lot after about a mile. I decided I shouldn't run on it today, so I just ran back to the school from Kiwanis Park. It hurts more now, than before I ran. I hope it gets better soon, but I will take off as much time as necessary. 

This is my first time running since Wednesday. My achilles was hurting a lot, but it's feeling better today. I'm going to take it easy until it feels totally better, just play it by ear. If it hurts at any time, I will stop running. On the run today, I could barely feel it, and it doesn't hurt more than it did before. I did 30 minutes today, about 4.25 miles.

My achilles was feeling pretty good, so I decided I would try doing the workout today. We only did five four hundreds today. It felt good during them, and it doesn't hurt anymore after doing them. I think it's almost better now. My times were 65, 62, 64, 65, 64. They felt pretty east and pretty controlled. I kept the first one relaxed, and was in the middle of my group. On the second one, me and Trevor lead it and pushed each other to finish in front. On the third one, I was a second or two behind the front. On the fourth one, I pushed it the last 100 and was just behind the leaders. On the last one, I kicked the last 100 to get up in front with Trevor. My legs were pretty tired, but I had a lot left in me.

I did 42 minutes today. I went out with everyone and me and Dylan turned back early. My achilles feels fine, a little sore, but getting better. I'm just going to increase my mileage slowly, doing a little more each day. We did 6.25 miles, and it felt pretty easy. We averaged about 6:30 on the way back, and it felt really easy and good.

Today I did a race. I originally thought it was a 5k, then 2.5 miles, then we were told it was 3000 meters, but it ended up being about 2.15 miles. I didn't decide to run it until this morning, so I didn't really care how I did. I was just going to see how I felt. All the guys who weren't running at nationals did it. I started out in the pack, and it felt a little fast. After a half mile, I settled in, and I felt pretty good. A mile in, I was behind the main pack about five-ten seconds. My garmin had the mile at 4:43, but I would guess I came through around 4:50. After an uphill, I started gaining on the pack. I got closer to them, but couldn't get up with them. After this, I didn't really push too hard. Trevor passed me, and I let him go. I didn't really kick much at the end, and one other guy passed me. My time was 10:34. The winning time was in the 9:50's. Most of the other guys were around 10:10-10:20.

I'm not too dissapointed about my time, because I didn't really try my hardest. I should have pushed myself harder mentally and tried to stay with the pack, but after I fell back, I backed off and didn't push my hardest. I think if I would have gone all out, I would have been at at least 10:20 if not faster. This was a good tune up for the the Thanksgiving Race I'm doing next week, and I'm going to push myself a lot harder there. I'm doing the four mile race by Mountain View. I felt my achilles a little bit still, but it felt better and I was able to get in some decent mileage today.

I ran with Trevor and Neal today. We started running on the Provo River trail, but it was closed, so we went out on the road. It was a fun, easy run. I did 8.5 or so. (My watch died)

I was back home to see a musical my sister was in, so I ran with Gemachu. We went from Skyline up to Wasatch Blvd. and to the street above Foothill. I think it was Wasatch Drive or something. We did about 12.5 miles. It felt good and the pace was around 7:10. 

I ran with Neal today. I felt pretty good, and we picked up the pace a little today. We averaged 6:27 pace. We started out in the 6:40's on the way out, and on the way back we averaged about 6:15. It felt pretty easy, and it felt good to get a faster paced longer run in. My achilles felt good, no pain. 

I was home and I ran with Morgan and Gemachu. They were doing six eight hundreds, and I decided to do it with them. I didn't push it too hard, but it was still a good workout. I did 2:24, 2:22, 2:22, 2:19, 2:25, 2:15. The first couple were pretty easy, and Gemachu was a couple seconds behind me, with Morgan a little bit back. On the third one, I pushed it a little harder, so it was a little faster. On the fifth one, I could have gone faster but I didn't push myself hard enough. I backed off a bit thinking I would take it easy, but I overcorrected and it ended up too slow. This caused Morgan and Gemachu to slow down, which was my fault. I was feeling pretty tired, but I wanted to hit a 2:10 on the last one. I went through the first lap at 65, and was feeling pretty good. With 200 to go, I seized up and couldn't go any faster. I just struggled to sprint in, but wasn't going very fast. I ended up at 2:15, Gemachu 2:17, Morgan 2:18. It was a good workout and it wasn't too hard. I should have been better prepared for it, because I think I was pretty dehydrated and got a really bad headache and blurry vision after. I cooled down about four miles with Gemachu after.

I ran at Sugarhouse Park with Gemachu and Ben. Our average was 7:00. I only did about 6.7 so I would be ready for my race tomorrow.

Today was the Earn Your Turkey four mile run by Mountain View High School. I wanted to get a good time, but most important, I wanted to feel like I put in a good effort and ran a good race. I warmed up for 15 minutes with Gemachu. I didn't get as much stretching in as  would have liked, but I felt pretty good.

I started out pretty fast, and was right up in the front. I stayed close to the front pack, but a little before the mile, the top six or so pulled away. My first mile was about 5:05. After this, I tucked in beside Aaron and another guy. I stayed with him for a while, but he started pulling away a little before two miles, and I let him and two other guys go. Looking back, I really wish I had pushed to stay with them, because I would have done much better. My second mile was 5:15. After this, I was by myself the rest of the race. This caused my third mile to be really slow. It was 5:30. I pushed myself to catch a guy in front of me, and I gained on him, but he was too far ahead. He pulled away in the last half mile. I finished fairly strong, but I discovered that Gemachu and Sasha were gaining fast on me. My last mile was about 5:20.

 This wasn't a great race, but it wasn't horrible. I felt better in the middle of the race than my last couple of races, and I didn't die at the end. I felt like I gave a better effort, but I should have stayed with the group in front of me, and I would have had a better race. I cooled down with Gemachu after.

I ran out by Churchill and on the trail by Wasatch Blvd. I was a little sore, and didn't go very fast. I did eight miles in about 57:00.

I added 5.25 on the treadmill later. I felt much better than this morning, and I did a mini-fartlek. I added in a few 400 meter pushes at 5:20 pace, and I ended with half a mile in 2:30. I felt great and averaged 6:39.

I did thirteen miles today. I ran to Skyline and did three miles around the school until Ben and Gemachu came. Gemachu wanted to run on the grass for his leg, so we did ten miles at sugarhouse park. It went by pretty quickly and it was a fun run. We averaged 7:12 pace. I was planning on doing a couple more miles, but my legs were too sore and tired.

I ran with Neal and Trevor today. We went out on the Provo River Trail towards the canyon. We went out a little over five miles. Our average pace was 6:34. I feel a little sick today, but I felt good during the run. It was really nice out today, and we ran with our shirts off in December!