Thatcher's Running Blog

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.