Well I didn't think I'd make it this far....

AM: To say the least, it was a hectic morning. I got off work past midnight yesterday, so I slept in until 10, and  only woke to my mother dragging me along to go shopping with her. Once at the mall, my mom locked the keys in the car, so while waiting an hour and a half for my stepbrother to bring the spare, we went over to Ihop and pigged out. It was past noon and I still hadn't eaten a thing. By the time I got home it was past 2. I had to be at work by 3 but still needed to run, so the second I got home I went for 5 miles on a totally full stomach, which surprisingly wasn't that bad, and was only a half hour late to work!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/272434219

PM: I got off work around 10:45, so I got home and managed to convince myself to go for a run. I finished another five miles at around 11:30 at night. I surprisingly felt great and the skies had cleared up by this time of night.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/272434206

AM: Easy four on my own.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/272434200

PM: I didn't realize we would go to the Oval today because of Simplot on Thursday, so I didn't bring my flats, which was annoying. I hate not doing speed in my flats. After 8 laps warm up, 4 laps speed changes, then a lap recovery, we did our speed workout. 1 X Mile, followed by three sets of 3X300 with a lap recovery between each set. I was supposed to hit a 4:50 mile, but my Garmin shut off for some reason right as I hit start, so I didn't have any time for the first lap. I started it at 400 when Maureen called out 75. Great. All the confusion caused the first lap to be way too relaxed. The next three laps weren't fun, but I managed to pick up the pace enough to finish in 4:51. After two laps recovery we did the three sets of 300's. I hit two 49's, followed by six 48's, then a 47. We did five laps cool down to be at 10 for the afternoon. This was the last speed workout before Simplot!

AM: Went for an easy four right after first period.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/272885341

PM: Today we went over to the cemetery for our workout just like last week. We did a lap, then came over to the hill and did that four times, then did another lap and did four more hills, then we finished that lap to the gate. We waited for the rest of the group to catch us and then we went out 1.25 on the Shriner run, and then we went back the usual Shriners way to the school for 8.5.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/272885325

AM: Went for an easy four on my own.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/272885305

PM: We went down to Liberty and did one lap of fireman, then one lap of postal. Then we headed back up to the school. I booked it back up to the school because I had to be at a dinner at 5, so I stopped at 5.5 just outside the teacher parking lot.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/273676283

AM: Went on an easy three mile shakeout during second. My curse of forgetting my Garmin on race day is back :0

PM: We drove up to Pocatello and got situated in the Holt arena. The track would only be open to athletes for about another 10 minutes, so I quickly went down to get a mile in on the track before it closed. After that I waited around for a while just watching races, until it finally came time to warm up. We did our usual loop on campus and then I did some drills and strides right outside the arena. That was two miles. Then I went inside and got down to the bull pen area just in time to be placed in my heat. I felt good before my race, but my legs were a little antsy. I was seeded fourth in my heat. I got a decent start and was towards the back of the pack. I passed maybe one or two people in the second lap, and in the third lap I surged and passed the core group of the race. Probably about 6-7 guys. In lap four I passed another guy and in lap five I passed one more guy and was second. The leader was about 7 meters ahead of me. During lap 6 I should have made the surge to catch and pass him, but didn't make myself surge. Probably subconsciously due to the fact that it was only a prelim and I needed to 'save' for the final. I closed on him a bit, but he still had about 3-4 meters on me. I held off the guys behind me until the last lap, where two guys out kicked me.

        My time was slower than I was expecting, because I felt that my effort matched that of my races at the oval. But then again, this track has turns more than twice and tight as the oval, so that probably contributed to my slower time. Plus, I feel that I could have gone harder had the stakes been as high as the final. As much as I don't want to admit it, the race being just a prelim probably did affect my mentality when it came down to fight. Although, I'm happy to have made it to the final even with my slower time, and now I get to race in spikes! Excited for Saturday!

PM: I went for my run on my own today. I went along 1500 E to SHP and ran on the road until I hit three. Then I did 8X(1 min on/1 min off) on the road. I went out and back on the second lap to finish my last one at the 1500 E entrance to the road, and then went back to East the same route. I finished at 7.5 right in the teacher parking lot.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/273676277

We arrived in Pocatello and I had about an hour to my race, so I went to the bathroom and put on some cold gear to warm up outside. I did two miles, then did some drills and fast strides in the field right outside the stadium. My legs felt good, but not antsy like my past race, which was a good sign. I came inside and took off all my cold gear and grabbed my spikes to head down to the bull pen. I decided to race in my Matumbos with needle spikes, which apparently are better for the wooden track. They were an okay choice, but I think wearing a more cushy spike would have probably been a better choice. The spots where the spikes sat in my shoe put a lot of pressure on my foot. But, they weren't so bad that it in any way impaired my race, I don't think. For the sake of comfort, a more cushy spike would have been best. Anyway, they seeded us and eventually we got over to the line. I was right in the middle of the big waterfall, right where I like to be. The pack took off and just as in the prelims, I was towards the back of the pack. I stayed there through the first 400, which was a 65, right about where I thought we'd be. During lap three I made a big move and passed maybe 6-7 guys and slipped into fourth. I was right behind one guy and the two lead guys were probably 7 or so meters ahead of us. During lap four I swung off the curve and moved into third. Over the next three laps I closed the gap between me and the two lead guys, which went from about 7 to 4 meters. It was here that I should have made the surge to catch and pass them, but I was scared that if I did I would have nothing to kick with, which might have been true. I stayed behind them and off the last curve Skylar from Davis kicked passed me, at which point I kicked as well and held off the approaching footsteps (which on this track are quite loud) behind me.

       I am content with a 4:30 flat. I didn't think I would get here until outdoor, so I surprised myself in that sense, although to break 4:30 would have been nice. Plus, I learned a lot from this race. I need to be more patient with my moves. I made my move really early (lap 3) in the race, and in doing so used up some of my surge energy. I could have moved up during laps 3-6 slowly, and then had some more fuel in the tank to surge to the lead guys or kick harder. So, at least I know what to improve on. But as Bill always says, you can't be disappointed with a PR, in my case by three seconds. Any day you can go from the oval's track to this one and still PR, is a good day.

       After Bill, Sarah, Chris, and I went for the run that Bill, Natalie, and I did last year for cool down. We went over to the Red Hill Trail and took that to the cemetery, where we did two laps, and then headed back the same way to the Holt arena which put us at 6.5 cool down. It's sad to think that I would get to race Simplot again:(

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/275030807