Thatcher's Running Blog

5.3 miles at a 6:54 pace. I ran in California with my family.

I ran with Shalaya, Gemachu, and Isaac. It was a cold run but it was fun. The pace was pretty slow and we were running in the snow a lot. We ran pretty easy for most of the run.

I did about eight miles with Neal today. I'm not sure on the mileage, but it was around eight. It was very snowy and cold. The pace was slower today.

I did a workout with Neal today. He was doing 4 mile repeats, but I decided to only do three eight hundreds. I paced him on the second half of his mile. My first one was 2:23, and my second one was 2:23. It wasn't very hard. On the last one, he did an 800 as well. I was feeling good, so I pushed it and ran a 2:13. Neal was at 2:20. I cooled down 6 miles after.

9.15 miles at a 6:50 pace. It felt pretty easy. There wasn't much snow, but a lot of slush.

I did a tempo run with Neal. We did 1.5 out, stopped for 30 seconds, turned around, and 1.5 back. I was at 7:40 on the way out, and about 7:59 on the way back. I warmed up three miles and cooled down three miles. I ran with Neal on the way out, but I felt really sick so I waited for about a minute and Neal went back.

I ran with Neal and Pete this morning. We averaged 7:00 pace. It was pretty cold, but not too bad. Our seventh mile was 6:35, and the last half mile was at a 5:25 pace.

I ran by myself today. I did twelve miles on the provo river trail up to the canyon and back. I kept the pace easy until the last mile. My average pace was 6:52. It felt good.

Nine miles this morning with Neal and Pete. Our pace was 6:50. It felt pretty good. No injuries, but a little sore. 

Today I did a track workout with Neal. We did 800s. Neal did five, and I did four.  Since I haven't been doing a lot of running, I'm starting out slowly with the hard workouts. The first one was 2:17, and I was with Neal. On the second one I was at 2:18, and Neal was 2:17. The third one we were both at 2:17, right together. On the fourth one we were both 2:17 again, right together. This workout went pretty good, and I did better than I thought I would. I was hoping for 2:18-2:20.

The splits were:

2:17 (approx. 67.5, 69.5)

2:18 (68.5, 69.5)

2:17 (68.5, 68.5)

2:17 (68.5, 68.5)

Another interesting thing about this workout was my kick. On the first, third, and fourth intervals, I had a very good kick. I was a second or two behind Neal, but easily caught him on the last straightaway. I had to push to catch him, but it wasn't near all out. I wonder if my kick is improving or if I was just feeling good today.

I warmed up 3.5, and cooled down 3.5 miles.

Ran with Pete and Neal on the Provo River Trail. Same way as Monday. It was a little slower. We were closer to 7:00 pace. It felt pretty good.

Later today I added four more miles easy. About 7:45 pace.

Today I did a tempo run with Neal and Pete. We did four miles. My time was 21:49. My mile splits were 5:27, 5:17, 5:17, and 5:35. (approx.) I didn't feel very good, but it was okay. Neal was around 21:10-21:15. I was with for almost three miles until I fell back. I think with a couple more weeks of mileage, I can do much better on the tempo runs. It will also be easier when I have my flats and spikes, considering my workouts the past two weeks have been on my normal shoes. (I left my spikes and flats at home.)

I warmed up 3.25 and cooled down 4.75. 

I ran with Neal and Pete again this morning. I didn't need much mileage, so I only did 4.75. We were at about 7:00 pace. It was really cold outside this morning. 

I ran with Gemachu and Shalaya today. We ran up Millcreek Canyon easy. My total time was 62 minutes. 

I did a 400 meter workout with Neal and Pete today. We did eight 400's today. My times were 63, 64, 63, 64, 64, 64, 63, 63. This was one of my best workouts ever. I didn't feel great today, but 64 felt really easy and smooth. I was right with Neal on every interval but the first one, he was just ahead of me. I warmed up three miles and cooled down five.

I ran by myself this afternoon. I kept the pace pretty easy. It felt okay, but I feel a little sick today.

I was sick with the flu the latter part of last week, so I haven't run since Wednesday. The conditions outside weren't very enjoyable today, but I ran nine miles in 63 minutes. I'm not sure about the mileage because my garmin wasn't working, but that's close. I felt okay, a little sick still, and I had a slight cramp in my calf mid-run.

I was going to do a workout with Neal, but my calf was hurting and I was still a little sick. I did the first interval and part of the second. I did the first mile in 4:48. It felt pretty good. The second one I did a 400 in 68. My calf was hurting from yesterday, and I wanted to be safe and not overdue it. It felt fine on my cooldown. 

I ran 6.5 miles with Neal and Pete today. It felt pretty good.

I went 5.25 this morning. I went out in 18:30, and back in 15:00. It felt pretty good. I slowly picked it up on the way back. I figure I went out at about 7:00, and came back in about 5:36 pace. It was pushing it pretty hard the last half mile, but it wasn't very hard before that. My overall pace was 6:22.

This afternoon I ran 6.5 miles and lifted weights. I deadlifted 1 set of 5 reps at 255. I was a bit apprehensive because of my back, and I was really careful. I realize now I could have done the second set, my back is fine.

I ran with Neal and Pete today. We went the other way on the Provo River Trail and it went by much faster. It was cold today, but I think it's getting warmer. On our run we saw Sasha and his group. Our average pace was about 6:55.

I did a long run today. I was home and went North on Wasatch Blvd. My average pace was 7:17. It would have been faster, but a couple miles were in the snow and were really slow. My last two miles were 6:35 and 5:35, with the last 800 in 2:40.

I went about 9.75 miles today. I didn't have my garmin, so it is an approximation.

I went out on the trail by University Parkway and saw a guy who tried out for the xc team named Jeremy and his friend running. I ran with them for a while, and eventually hooked up with the provo river trail heading north. I went out for a little bit longer and turned back.

I had a sideache for part of the run, but I felt really strong today. It was also really warm today. I wore shorts and a t-shirt with gloves. I saw a sign that said 50 degrees!

I did a track workout with Neal and Pete today. Neal and I are running the mile at ISU on Saturday, so we wanted to get ready for that.

We did 800, 400, 400, 400, 400, 200, 200, 200, 200. We wanted to hit at or around our goal race pace. The eight hundred was at 2:11. I'm not sure on the splits, but I was at either 64 or 65 on the first four hundred and 66-67 on the second four hundred. I got a little anxious and took it out too fast.

The four hundreds were at 64, 64, 64, 65. They were a little harder because I went out so fast in the 800, but they weren't too bad. I then did four 200's at 30.

So my splits were:

800-2:11 (64-67)

400- 64

        64

        64

        65

200- 30

        30

        30

        30

This was a pretty good workout, and I think I'm ready to pr in the mile, and maybe even do something in the low 4:20's. I cooled down 4.5 miles after.

I did seven miles with Neal and Pete this morning. It was a little bit faster, but not too fast. 

I was feeling tired today and wanted to be fresh for my race, so I only did five miles pretty easy.

I ran easy with Pete in the morning. I felt good.

This weekend I went to Pocatello, Idaho for a track meet. I went with my dad and Neal. We were both running the mile and were shooting for low 4:20's. We got there Friday at 5:30 and got to the track in time to watch the 5000. It was pretty impressive to see Nate Jewkes run a 14:42 (I think) and finish with a 30 second last lap.

We got plenty of sleep Friday night and headed over to the track after picking up some spikes that worked better with the wooden track. We got there at 10 and learned our race had been moved up, so I went out on my warm-up. Neal didn't want to go as far, so I went a little earlier. I got in a good warmup, and was ready.

We got down to the track and got ready. Neal was seeded second, and I was seeded fourth. The gun went off, and they called us back after shooting it again. (I heard them say someone was slipping or something.) We went again, and I got in a pretty good position, sixth or seventh place. I stayed there and went through the first two hundred in 33. It felt smooth, and not nearly as fast as I expected. I stayed in fifth for the next lap and came through in 66. I was still suprised at the slower pace. The next two laps I stayed in fifth, and came through the 800 in 2:13. At this point, I should have moved up into at least second. This was my slowest lap, and looking back, I felt far too comfortable. It didn't hurt as much as it should have, and I know I should have taken a few seconds off those two laps.

At the 1200 mark, I made a move and passed the fourth place guy. This was a good place to make a move, and I was feeling pretty good. I stayed here until the last lap on the backstretch, where I made another move. I really pushed it on the last lap, and I moved up into second, right behind Neal. At this point into the race, the floodgates opened. Two or three guys flew by us, and I pulled right alongside Neal. Another guy passed us, and Ben Felix pulled right alonside. Neal, Ben and I kicked it to the finish, and they both beat me. I finished at 4:30.99, with me last lap in 32. The winner did a 4:27, and the next six guys were 4:29-4:30. It was a really close race.

I'm not thrilled about this race, but it's a good opener. I haven't raced in nearly two months, and I think I had a faster race in me, I just was a bit rusty. This is a pr, because it's the first full mile I've run. I figure I was about a second off my 1600 outdoor pr (when converted), which is pretty good. I realized how much I missed racing, and It was really fun.

I ran six miles with Neal and Pete this morning. We averaged a little under 7:00. I felt pretty good, and wasn't really sore. I wanted to do a few more, but I was sick to my stomach.

 I went and lifted weights later in the afternoon. I did 2 sets of 3 reps at 265. It felt pretty good. I was going to do four or five miles after, but it started snowing really hard. I wasn't prepared for it, so I only got in 2.5 miles.

Today the workout was mile, 1200m, 800m, 800m, 400m. I warmed up 3.25 miles to start. My goal on the mile was 4:48. Neal led it, and we started out WAY too fast. We came through the first lap at 53, which is 4:25 pace. The first four hundred was 67. After that, Pete took the lead and pushed the pace! I decided to back off there. Pete and Neal went through the 800 in 2:15, and I was at 2:17-2:18. I knew that was still way too fast, so I coasted in from there and hit 4:48. Neal was around 4:40, and Pete was around 4:43. 

After that I was pretty tired. I came through the 1200 at 3:32, just behind Neal. The first 800 was 2:18 right behind Neal. The second 800 was 2:19 right behind Neal. I was really tired after that, and I just wanted to finish the 400. Neal started out in front, but after 150 I was feeling good and I pushed it all out. Pete passed me, and Neal passed me down the last straightaway. Neal and Pete finished in 62, and I was in 63. 

 I cooled down 3.5 miles easy.

I didn't run today because I'm sick again.

Still sick.

I tried running on the treadmill, but I was still sick and coughing. I decided to stop at two miles.

I ran with Ben and Isaac today. We didn't go far because it was really cold and snowing like crazy. It was really slushy and we went really slow. We went three miles.

I ran with Morgan today. We went thirty minutes pretty hard. I think we went around 4.75 miles. I didn't go really hard, but I didn't feel good after. I was planning on adding four more, but I felt pretty sick.

I ran ten miles today. I felt pretty good after about ten minutes, and I enjoyed it. I pushed it a little but, but not hard. It wasn't too cold when I started, but it started snowing pretty hard near the end of my run.

I did ten miles again today. I went the opposite way on the trail as yesterday. It felt good, but my hip and shins are sore. I picked it up on the way back to finish at 66:45.

I hurt my back today lifting. 

I ran with Ben and Isaac today. We kept it pretty easy. Average pace was about 7:15. We went down to 2300, and up 4500, back to Skyline. My last half mile was 2:50, it felt good.

I ran in Salt Lake today. I had a physical this morning for my mission, so I ran before going back to Provo. I did eight miles. My average pace was 6:52. I went down to 2300, up 4500, along Wasatch, and back home. All of my miles were under 6:50 except the one going up 4500, it was 7:54. I forgot how steep the last half mile of 4500 was, it was hard. It felt pretty easy averaging in the 6:40's for the other miles though. It was also very nice, and I wore shorts and a t-shirt.

I did ten miles today. Even though I ran a little bit later today, it was still really warm. I went a little bit faster today and even threw in five or six thirty second sprints in the middle. I felt pretty good.

I went out south on the Provo River Trail for ten miles today. I felt pretty good today and went at a moderate pace. I picked up the pace on my sixth mile and did it in 5:55. I averaged 6:40.

I ran with Neal, Pete, and Taylor Gardner. We did a fartlek today. I wasn't feeling great, and it was my first hard workout in a while. The plan was 10 hard, 10 easy, 5, 3, 2, 1. I started out on the ten and didn't feel very good. I stayed with Taylor and we caught Pete. We all three ended up about 15-20 seconds behind Neal. On the five minute push I stayed with Pete and Neal for a minute and a half, then they pulled away. I caught Pete three minutes in and Taylor and I almost caught Neal in the last minute. He was really pushing me and we were going really fast at the end. Taylor's ankle was hurting and I wasn't feeling very good, so I jut went easy back with him the rest of the way. It was a pretty good workout though. 

I ran by myself today. I did six miles at a moderate pace.

I got in a good long run with Neal today. We went after the BYU basketball game, so it was dark the last 25 minutes, but it was still nice. We averaged around 6:40 pace. It felt really smooth and relaxed, and it went by really fast. I like running with someone a lot more, it goes by quicker. We pushed it a little bit harder the last fifteen minutes, and sprinted the last 100 meters. This was a pretty good week, and I'm planning on increasing to 60 next week with a couple hard workouts. 

I ran 7.5 miles in the morning with Neal. My legs were still a little bit tired from Saturday.

I later did 4.5 by myself really easy. I felt less fatigued than this morning.

I did 400's with Neal and Pete today. I did six, they did eight. My times were 64, 64, 64,  64, 64, 60. I also did a 200 in 28. I was pretty sore and tired, but I was able to stay with them on the first five, and I was several seconds ahead on my last one. 

I went home to open my mission call today, so I worked out with Skyline. I warmed up with them and did four 1200s. I only did one hard though. I did the first one with Morgan in 3:45. I did the other three with other people and they were more like 4:45. I then cooled down with them.

By the way, I got my mission call today. I'm going to Albuquerque, New Mexico. I leave May 20th.

I did a fartlek with Neal and Pete today. We did 5 three minute pushes. I was a little bit back on the first, ahead of Pete on the second, a little bit back on the third, same on the fourth, and ahead of Pete and right with Neal on the last one. The last one was really hard. Neal and I both pushed it really hard. I think that's the fastest I've finished an interval, and the hardest I pushed at the end. We both wouldn't give up. I cooled down about four miles.

I didn't run today. It was snowing pretty hard and I just couldn't get myself to go out and run. 

I ran fourteen miles with Neal today. We did the same loop as last time, I just added some more on at the end. We kept a pretty good pace, but not very fast. We saw Mary Ann on the trail and ran a few miles with her. I didn't feel very good and was glad to be done. 

I did the same loop as Saturday without extra added on. I took it pretty easy, and I felt good. I enjoyed it and didn't feel any injuries. 

I did a workout today. We were doing a mile breakdown. I did the mile in 4:52, I didn't feel great. I was about ten seconds behind Neal and Pete. My 1200 was a lot better though, I did a 3:25. I was right behind Neal, I gained a lot on him over the last lap. I did my 800 in 2:19, four seconds behind Neal and Pete. While running the 1200 and 800, I developed a really bad blister, probably from the socks I was wearing. It was really bad, and I couldn't finish the other two intervals. I was able to cool down 3.5 miles though, and hopefully it is better tomorrow.  

I went out on the trail. I wasn't too sore, but my foot hurt a lot with the blister. 

I ran 7.5 with some strides. I felt a little tired today.

I just did an easy four miles today. I'm running a race tomorrow. 

I ran the Rex Lee 5k today. I didn't know if I was in good shape or not, but I decided to just go for a sub 16. I thought that was a pretty good goal. I warmed up about three miles and stretched. I didn't feel great, but I felt pretty good. I was a little sore. 

I started out in fourth place. One guy went out fast, and I was with Pete and another guy. About a half mile in, they pulled away a little bit. I wasn't too worried, because Pete starts out pretty fast. This was also where the 5k met up with the 10k, and we were dodging slower 10k runners for about 3/4 of a mile. (That's the only bad thing about an otherwise well put together race. They really need to fix that.) I tried to stay close, and the three guys in front were in a pack. I was about seven seconds back. I went through the miles in 5:13, and I felt pretty good.

At this point, Pete had pulled away from the other two guys. I decided I needed to catch them if I wanted to win. I pushed and caught them within a half mile. I stayed with them until the long downhill path and passed them on that. I came through two miles in 10:20, so a 5:07 second mile. I was about seven seconds behind Pete at that point.

Over the next half mile I was able to catch Pete. I could tell I was pushing it, but it was easier to catch him than I thought. He didn't really fight back, and I gapped him pretty quickly. This was at about 13:00, and I wasn't feeling great, but I managed to put enough space on him so that I didn't have to worry. I came through three miles at 15:15 (about), which means my third mile was a 4:55. My last 200 was 34-35. I was struggling a bit, but I had a big enough lead. The three other guys were all at about 16:04, with Pete in fourth.

This was one of my better races. I didn't think I was in very good shape, but I got a 15 second pr. I think that if we didn't have to dodge the 10k runners, I could have been 10 second faster. I was also very happy that I went 5:13, 5:07, and 4:55. Those are the best splits I've run in a 5k.

About an hour and a half later I did ten miles at a 6:45 pace. I felt pretty good.

I only did thirty minutes today. My legs were really tight and tired. 

Today we did 400's. We were supposed to do twenty. I did twenty with Andrew, Pete did twenty five, and Neal did thirty. Yes, thirty! The first ten were between 69 and 71 mostly. Then next five were 67. The next four were 64, and the last one was 62. The last four I was five I was right with Andrew. He barely outkicked me on the last one. This was a good workout and I felt good. 

I ran 6.25 with Neal in the morning.

I ran ten miles with Neal today. I was still pretty sore and really tired during the run. Once I got loosened up though, I felt pretty good. We went 6:30 pace or a little slower. 

I had some nagging injuries and was feeling sorta sick, so I took the day off. I just need to get better.

I got up pretty early and did 15 miles with Neal. I felt pretty good, my injuries are feeling better. (hip and heel) I'm pretty tired now though, because I went out and played frisbee after.

I ran with Neal this morning. I went eight miles. It was a little cold today, but not too bad. My right shin was hurting on the way back. We also ran into Jon Kotter and ran with him for a couple miles. 

 I went out later and did four miles. My shin was still hurting, I should ice it. It was really windy and pretty cold. I was glad to get done quick.

I did a workout with Neal today. It was cold and pretty windy, but we didn't feel like doing it on the indoor track. This made the times a bit slower. The workout was a mile breakdown.

The mile was at 4:52, Neal was at 4:46. I felt decent, but it was hard with the wind.

I was right with Neal at the 1200, at 3:27. It was hard staying with him on the second lap, but I knew that if I did, I could stay with him for the rest of the way. 

The next two were supposed to be eight hundreds, but I just did the first four hundred of each. My shin was hurting. I did 68 and 69. They felt a little harder than they should have, the wind really picked up on these two.

 The last interval we both did a four hundred together. I started out behind Neal and was going to pass him on the backstretch, but he pushed the pace. I stayed behind him until 200 meters left, and passed him. I picked it up and finished in 59. I was really surprised, and I figure it would have been worth a 57-58 without the wind. That's my fastest four hundred in a workout ever, and it felt easy.

I cooled down 3.5 miles. My shin hurts, but it's not too bad.

I did my normal ten mile loop today. I started out feeling pretty tight, but I loosened up. 

I went running with Neal today. I warmed up a mile, and we did five miles. We then went to the indoor track to do some four hundreds. We kept them really easy, just getting ready for the race Saturday. The first was 75, the second 71, and the third 71. They felt pretty easy. We then just did a couple strides to loosen up. I cooled down a half mile to my dorm. I felt good and am ready for a huge pr on Saturday. 

I ran with Neal in the morning. It was pretty cold, but I felt good.

Today I ran in the first annual Running with the Leopards 5k. I thought a good goal would be 15:15, but Bill Cobbler thought I could break 15:00. I decided 15:00 was a good goal. I warmed up two miles and drove up to the start where I did a little more warming up. I felt pretty good even though it was cold.

The race started, and four hundred in I was in sixth place. There was a pack of five in front of me, and I was by myself. I stayed close to them, and a pack of four guys came from behind and caught up to me. I stuck with them. I came through the mile at 4:45. 

Nick McCombs started pulling away at this point, and I tried to stay close to him. It payed off because I was able to use him to catch the guy in front of me. (I think it was James, or fiddy from the blog) I stayed with him for a while, and there were two guys with us. It was pretty hard and he stayed right with me for a while. I came through two miles at 9:40.

Just after two miles another guy came up alongside me. (I don't remember his name) We picked it up a lot and dropped the guys behind us. I stayed right with him until the track and we started kicking. I put in a really strong effort, but he pulled away from me the last 150. I think my kick would have been good enough to beat most people, but he had a really good kick as well. I finished in 14:52. I think my last mile was 4:40-4:42.

I finished in eighth place, first in my division. I think I was the youngest in the top ten by six or eight years, I can't remember for sure. I was happy about the race and got a 58 second pr, which I set two weeks ago. It was downhill, but I don't think it was a minute fast, so it was an improvement.

When I got home, I put in some more miles. I ran with my friends and took it easy. We went to Parley's Crossing and went on a trail up there. I was tired, but it wasn't too bad. We did seven and a half miles.

I ran 7.5 miles with Neal this morning. It was cold, snowy, and slick. We did five miles and a few more on the indoor track. I felt pretty good, but didn't like the weather.

I did four a four hundred workout today. We had me, Neal, Pete, and Andrew. We did eight four hundreds I warmed up four miles. My first one was 63 with Neal and Pete. My second was 63 with Neal and Pete again. My next two were 64, with Neal and two seconds back from Pete. The next one was 63 with Neal. The sixth was 63, a second back from Andrew and Neal. I was right with Neal on the seventh, at 62. The last one Neal barely beat me, we were both 61. I was pretty tired on the last one, but I was glad to be able to finish with a 61. 

My intervals were:

63

63

64

64

63

63

62

61

I ran nine miles with Neal tonight. It was nice because it actually warmed up a little bit. I felt good. 

I ran 6.5 pretty easy with Neal today. We sorta made up a new loop. We went on ninth, down past the graveyard, and past the train tracks onto University. It was a pretty good loop, something new. We then did some strides on the grass. 

I ran the 1500 today. I was hoping to get anywhere from 4:00 to 4:10. Which would have been a pr equivalent. 

I warmed up about 2.5 miles and stretched. The weather was not good, 36 with a light snow. There were about twenty two guys in the race, and I was seeded 12th. I got a good start, and was in sixth or seventh place through the first 400. I came through at 65. I was passed by two guys on the backstretch. I should have tried to keep up with that front group, but I thought I went out too fast. I went through eight hundred meters at 2:12-2:13. I was still in pretty good position, but not feeling great. Neal caught me on this lap with five hundred meters to go. My third 400 was 70, and I was slowing down. The last 400 meters of the race I did in 73. I don't know what happened, it was just really, really slow.

So my converted time for a 1600 was about 4:35. This is eight seconds off my pr. I know I am faster than last year, I think it was just inexperience. I wasn't used to running a  mile, and I may have gone out too fast for the conditions. The funny thing is, I wasn''t very tired, and I'm not even sore the next day. I think I can push it a lot harder, and will try again next weekend.

I cooled down 2.5 miles with Neal.

I didn't run today. It was snowy and I didn't really have the motivation to go out and run by myself. 

I ran with Neal after class today. I warmed up two slow miles before I met Neal just to get more mileage in. We then went out on University towards UVU for three miles, and came back. I then added 2.25 more on up to Neal's dorm and back. I felt really good today. The weather was nice, and the run felt really easy. My average pace for the whole run was 6:27. If you take off the first two slower miles, then the pace was 6:18. My total distance for the run was 10.25. 

Today I did a workout with Neal. I did 400, 800, 1200, 1200, 800. My times were 63, 2:17, 3:35, 3:45, 2:14. I was having breathing trouble and had to run and get my inhaler, so I skipped the 1600. I was feeling pretty tired, I think I pushed it too hard on Monday. I was with Neal on the 400 and felt pretty good, but I had some trouble breathing. The 800 felt pretty good. I felt all right on the first 1200, but was really struggling on the second 1200. I was just going to do the first four hundred of the 800, but was feeling pretty good. I went out too fast, at 65-66, but still finished with a good time. Neal finished at 2:12. 

I was planning on doing ten miles, but my shin was hurting a lot. I cut the run short to be safe. My average pace was 7:00 and it was very windy. 

I ran with Neal tonight. We did 4.5 miles at a 6:30 pace. My shin felt fine when I started, but it hurt quite a lot when I finished. I just need to be careful and ice it. I think at this point I will run through it unless it becomes really bad, because I'll only be running for six more weeks anyway. After our run I did some strides and two 200s. My times were 29 and 28. 

I was planning on running, but I was hurting too much. I went in the morning for a mile, but had to turn around. I didn't have time to run later because I had a funeral all day and then had to take a test. 

This will be the short description. I might do more later. 

I put down my seed time as 4:05, and I got put in the fast heat. This was a mistake, and I was way behind. I was in last and came through at 63 and 2:08-2:09. This was too fast, and I wasn't able to finish strong. My last 400 was 72. I think I could have done better in the other heat going out in 66 and 2:12. 

I ran with Neal this afternoon. It was really nice outside, and I had a good run. I was really tired because I didn't get much sleep, but I felt good the last several miles. I did 8.5 at 6:19 pace, and it felt really easy. I only pushed the last mile and did it in 5:30. I felt really strong and amazing. I may or may not do any hard workouts this week due to time constraints. I have finals this week. 

I'm counting these as fast miles today because they were faster than normal. I'm not doing any interval work this week, so I decided to take my runs a little harder this week. Neal and I decided we would push it a little this run. We averaged 6:06 pace for seven miles. It was actually pretty easy. We pushed it a little bit, but it wasn't as hard as I would have expected it to be. Our splits were 6:19, 6:25, 6:06, 6:08, 5:52, 6:03, 5:46. We did push the last four hundred meters to finish strong. I did one mile after at 7:00. 

The weather was bad, but I enjoyed it. It was really rainy but not too cold. I came back and I was soaked and muddy. It was one of those runs that really make you enjoy running. 

I wasn't going to run today because of the slush and snow, but it stopped snowing around 4:30, so I decided to go for a run with Neal. My legs were fine, but I felt pretty sick to my stomach. Even though I felt sick, we averaged 6:20, with our last three miles in 18:14. 

Ran for the first time in five days today. I was busy with finals last week, and then I developed a cold. I was in Boston today with my family, my parents were running Boston today. My sister and I did four miles, probably 7:30 pace or a little slower. It was easy, but I can tell I'm still not completely over my cold. We then went and watched the finish of the Boston Marathon, and it was pretty excited, but really crowded. 

I ran on the treadmill in Boston today. It was raining outside. I did my first two miles in 15 minutes, my second two in 12 minutes. My miles were 7:45, 7:15, 6:30, 5:30. I just kept increasing the speed. I realized that the treadmill went up to fourteen miles per hour, so I finished with a 64 second last lap. It felt good. 

I didn't have time to run today, I moved out from BYU, went to the temple, and lots of other stuff. I was gone all day. 

I did six miles today with Ben and Shalaya. Our average pace was 6:45. I pushed it with Ben the last ten minutes, and that was under six minute pace. I sprinted in the last 400 and felt really strong. 

I didn't run again today. I was sorta lazy. My hamstring and ankle were sore, but I just didn't get out today. 

I ran with Skyline today. I warmed up two miles. I did 800, 800, 600, 600, 400, 200, 200. I was 3-4 seconds ahead of Morgan and Kevin on the eights, at 2:17-18. They actually felt pretty easy. On the 600s, I was just ahead of them at 1:39 and 1:40. After that I felt really bad. I think I was really dehydrated. I just did one 400 at 66(supposed to be three 400s), with Morgan, and two 200s at 29(supposed to be 3 200s). I felt horrible after, but it was a decent workout. I didn't cool down because I felt so sick, and I think I'm feeling sore now. 

I ran with Skyline today. We went down through the pit and up Brookburn. We went at about 7:00 pace.

I did 200's with Skyline today. They were with Ben, Morgan, Isaac, and Kevin. We did twelve. The first eight the five of us were right together. The time were 30, 30, 29, 29, 29, 29, 29, 29, 28, 28, 28, 28. They kept getting harder, but they weren't too bad until the last two. I was able to stay with Kevin and Isaac halfway through the last two intervals, but I couldn't pick it up anymore after that. It was a good workout. 

I ran with Isaac today. We were both pretty sore from the 200's the day before, so it was pretty slow. We also stopped at Brett's house and played some basketball with him and Derek which was fun. I did 4.5 miles. 

I ran by myself today. I did four miles easy. My hamstring was pretty tight.

Today I ran the Law Day 5k. My dad put together a team for the competition to which consisted of me, Neal Ferrin, Teren Jameson, Emily Jameson, and Susan Nielsen. We were trying to beat the law firm that had won ten years in a row. 

I got there pretty early and did some stretching inside. The weather was pretty bad, about fifty with rain. But it was bearable. 

Neal got there and we warmed up together. We are at about the same level, and have been training together for a while, so we decided we would just run together and push each other.

The race started after about ten minutes of waiting at the starting line, and Teren was off really fast, followed by Jeff right behind. I started off behind them, and Neal came up on my side a minute in. We were in third and fourth when Josh Steffen passed us maybe three minutes into the race. We should have tried to stay with him, but it was really hilly and I didn't want to kill myself.

We worked together through the whole race, staying side by side until about four or five minutes to go. This is where the downhill started and Neal was pulling away a little bit. I tried to stay close to him, but I wasn't feeling great. With about four hundred to go, I felt good again and saw that he was hurting. I took the opportunity to pass him and picked it up a lot. I encouraged him, and finished really strong. 

Teren was first in 15:53, Jeff second in 16:09, Josh third in 16:32, me fourth in 16:50, and Neal fifth in 17:06. Susan came through in 19:15, and Emily in 19:38. Our team ended up taking second by three seconds. (The total time for all five runners is added up) It was a fun race, and our team did well.  

I'm in San Diego until Wednesday, so I ran here today. I went out on on the highway in front of the condo we're staying in. I warmed up with 1 mile at 7:00, then did four miles fairly hard. I did 5:58, 6:04, 5:54, and 5:37. I didn't push it hard until the last half mile. It did feel pretty good though. I then cooled down 1.32 miles. My total pace was 6:22.

I haven't run since Monday. I wasn't able to fit it in Tuesday or Wednesday with traveling and other thing, and Thursday and Friday I was lazy. It felt good though, I did 4.22 in 6:40 pace, 6:19 on the way back. It was really nice weather. 

I did 4.56 miles today at a 6:30 pace. My last mile was 5:45. It felt pretty good. 

I did 4.25 miles at a 6:37 pace. I went out at a seven minute pace, and back at 6:15 pace. It felt pretty good and easy.

I've been doing some running the past couple of weeks, but I haven't been keeping track. This is the last time I will be getting on the blog for two years. I'm leaving for my mission on Wednesday. Thank you for everyone who offered support and read my blog. It was fun to meet some of you, and I hope you all have success with running the next two years! See you in two years.