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

AM: Woke up to an unbelievably beautiful morning. Sunny and no wind! It was one of those mornings that you can't wait to get out there and run :) This was also the first time in awhile that I've done my 10 mile loop by myself. It went by quickly and I felt great! Just a great start to my day. 6:22 avg.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/291544529

AM: Went for an easy four on my own. Felt good. 6:11 avg

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/292130315

PM: We are finally on Spring break, and today we had our last hard workout before Arcadia. A lot of people were out of town and everyone was pretty busy anyway, so this workout was more of an individual one. I got there a little late and was behind Dakota and John, but caught up to them by mid-workout. We did a mile warm up and speed changes, then 1 mile at 2 mile pace with equal time recovery, then 4X400 at about 2 mile pace, then 3X(300,200, 100) with one lap recovery in between each set. I hit good, consistent splits on the mile (69, 71, 71, 70) for a 4:41, which was a bit faster than my actual two mile pace, but it certainly is my goal pace :) I did two laps recovery in the time I had, then did the 4X400 with John, handing off the baton with him. I did one while he recovered, and vice versa. I hit 66, 66, 65, 66. Then we started the ladder sets. We didn't have a goal pace for these, so we did them as quick strides. All of the 300's were 48's, all the 200's 32-33, and all the 100's about 12. Then we did two grass laps cool down and a little extra to get 8.5 for the day. I still felt good after this workout, which was surprising for the type of workout and the wind, which I have failed to mention prior to now, but nonetheless, sucked.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/292130311

AM: Went for an easy four on my own. Felt great. 6:11 avg

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/292560461

PM: Some people are already down in Cali, so today those of us still here ran on our own. My workout was 2 miles warm up, 4 miles @ 6:00 pace, then 1.5 cool down back to my house. I did this workout somewhat on my ten mile loop, so there was equal parts slight uphill and slight downhill. Plus there was shifty wind, so no matter which way I ran, it never quite seemed like the wind was to my back, but I was also never running against it. I felt really good after my warm up, and ended up hitting a 5:45 first mile, so I just decided to lock onto 5:45 pace. I finished the tempo almost exactly 1.5 miles from my house, so that was perfect cool down. I averaged 5:42 for the tempo, and coincidentally enough, 6:00 for the entire run :)

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/292560435

PM: Didn't go on a morning run. I flew down to Long Beach today, and after some dinner, Chris and I did 4 on the treadmills at the hotel. Finally, beautiful, warm Cali :)

AM: We slept in a little bit, but finally we all got out of bed and got going with out run. We are all racing tomorrow so we kept it light. We ran along main road until we saw some stadium lights off in the distance, so we turned on a street that crossed over the highway and worked our way over to the lights. We lucked out and actually found a nice track. After circling it and finally finding a place by the fence loose enough on the bottom to crawl under, we did about a mile of fireman, then worked on some hand-offs, then I did some strides on the field, and we headed back to the hotel. After getting some food and picking up Sarah from the airport, we spent the rest of the day at Knott's. So much fun for just one day!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/295454526

AM: Went on a quick three miles shakeout on my own this morning.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/295454510

PM: We were at the Tiger meet first, where the guys and I practiced hand-offs in the field and I got about 1.25. Then we headed over to Arcadia. I warmed up some on my own and some with the guys and some with Bill. Pretty soon we were all in the bullpen getting ready to race. After some strides they marched us over to the starting area. They are very prompt and organized at this meet. Finally I got a baton and lined up since I was the first leg.

       I remember practically nothing from this race. Honestly, I have never had more fun racing than I did today. We started and like always the pack was tight. I kept good position and eventually moved up to the point where I took the lead at about 1000 meters. I held it until about 300 to go when a guy swung on me and I went with him pretty well. He didn't gap me by more than a stride or two. One of my contacts had ripped the day before so I couldn't wear them, and I wasn't going to race with my glasses, so it was a bit of a challenge finding where Chris was on the line with my eyesight, but I got it to him well enough. Afterwards, I wasn't the least bit tired. I believe I ran a 4:22, so a second PR, but I felt like I could have run another 4:22 right after. I felt like I held back a good amount in this mile, because I wanted to save my real energy for tomorrow. It was fun to get to race with the guys as one team. We all PR'ed and ran faster than we were seeded as, so all in all a great race. Afterwards I cooled down some between watching some race and a little more after.

AM: Got over to the race and I started to warm up. I was the only one racing today, so I warmed up by myself, just getting into racing mode. I did some strides and drills by the basketball courts and got my spikes and headed over to the bullpen when the called my race. I was in the fasted Rated Mile, so I thought I was in an appropriate race. Like yesterday, they were very prompt with the races and we were taken over to the starting line right on time. 

      The race went out decently fast and I got a mediocre position. Unlike yesterday where there were three aisles of starts for the 4X1600 to accommodate 30+ runners, there were only 11 of us on the one curved line, and I had hip #1, so I had tons of room on the line in lane 1. Anyway, I just stayed on the inside for the first lap, and I hit a 64. I was about sixth or so at this point. There was a lot of movement going on for the lead and for the inside, but I just sat as far inside as I could and went with the group. The last lap rolled around (I was about 7-8th) and a spot opened up and I scooted out to lane 2 and swung around some guys with 300 to go and slid into sixth. I started to close on the two guys in front of me, and swung off the final curve and kicked hard past them finishing fourth in 4:20.17.My splits were pretty consistent, 64, 65.5, 66, 64.5. (Those are approximate)

     I definitely did not feel as good after this race as I did after yesterday's mile. I also didn't feel quite as fresh for today. More than anything that scared me for the two mile later. I'm indifferent about this race, really. I did PR and that's good and all, but I feel like I could have run so much faster. I kind of feel like I never got mentally 'in' to this race. I really wanted to break 4:20, but this was a full mile, so for a 1600 I guess I did. Anyway. I cooled down to get to 6 for the morning, and then we went and got some food and then spent some time at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, before returning to the hotel where I took an ice bath and relaxed some more for my race later.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/295454472

      I would like to note that this will be the longest entry I have ever written....

      We finally got back over to the race and I immediately started to warm up. It was darkening fast and I was excited to race under the lights. On my warm up I mentally prepared and told myself that I wasn't going to mentally skate by this race like I did the mile earlier. I made sure to do everything I could to get myself mentally 'in' to this race. In the back of my mind I had the fact that I have already raced twice looming, but I just told myself that I am well tapered and am just as fresh for this race as the first. After some strides and drills, I grabbed my spikes for the last time and headed into the bull pen. I was seeded 11th this time, and they promptly worked us over to the starting line. There were more of us in this race, so they divided us into the three aisles. I was the first one on the second aisle.

      The gun went off and I got out in front of my aisle. When the three merged, I settled into the front of the pack and eventually worked my way inside. There was a lot of pushing and the bottom of my foot got kicked/scraped several time by guys running to close behind me, so it was a really tight pack. There was guys running in front by a couple meters, but the entire race the announcer kept saying "so and so is in the lead, but right on his heels is that pack of 20 boys," so I knew that there could potentially be some falls. It seemed like after every curve, guys would try and move around one another to get a better position, and every time that happened, lane one in front of me would open up nice and clear, and I would just scoot up and continue running on the inside. I did that literally after every curve, so I had a good position for the majority of the race. We hit the mile in 4:36-37, and the pack was still really tight. After this point, I totally forgot about times and just focused on not tripping with all the guys around and behind me. I never realized that the pace was getting faster, just that I had to keep running in lane one. With about 900 to go I swung around a huge pack of guys and settled into outer lane one running right on the heels of the two leaders. Two guys, I think, surged at some point in lap 7 and one took the lead and the other crammed himself between me and the two previous leaders. With 500 to go I swung around more guys and got into 3rd. I ran right behind him and with 300 to go swung on him and just gave it what I had. The leader had broken away and was 20 or so meters ahead of me, and with 100 to go I kicked hard and closed that gap to exactly 1 second. I finished and felt strong while doing so. I have never really felt like that before. I don't really know any splits, but a 4:37 first mile means a 4:30 second mile, which makes me happy:) Plus, my last lap was a 62, which also made me happy :) (I know I mentally skated the mile because my last 400 was two seconds faster in the 3200 than the mile) I was happy with second and as I was crossing the line, looked for the first time since the mile at the clock and saw 9:07.94. 

       I am really happy with this race. A PR by 28 seconds, and another medal :) I was aggressive and focused on just racing, and in the end the time came with my place. The only thing I could have done better in hindsight was not let the leader break away and have him beat me, but overall I am still pretty pleased with the race. The best feeling in the world comes when you have a great race under high pressure, so the rest of the day I was on cloud nine :)

       After my race I watched Ben pull out an insane kick and win the 3200 over Montoya with an incredible 8:45.74. That race was an absolute pleasure to watch and I am so happy for him. He is now US #1. After that race I cooled down with Chuk and Jaydn for like 20 minutes. They talked to me about UVU and the program there, and we talked about other things as well. After that I cooled down a bit more with Bill until I got 6.5 for the afternoon and then we went to dinner. Just overall a great racing day and I am so happy we came out here to Arcadia.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/295454463