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

AM: It feels like forever since I have done my 10 miler by myself on a Sunday morning. I felt great during the run, and was surprisingly not sore or stiff at all. I had a good average and it was a great start to my day!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/226267252 

AM: Easy 3.5 on my own.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/227003152

PM: We ran over to Sugarhouse from the track and went to the second state hill. We did that loop 5 times; all my times were within a second of each other so very consistent.Then we went over to the long flat hill we play Blackjack on and did that hill three times and my times were all the same. Then we went over to the small hill by the water pumps and did that 4 times. On those it is important to go down them correctly. Then we went over to the first state hill and did that four times right along the course from the patch of trees right before the road. I pushed all these hill like I would speed so I was feeling it a bit when we were down with these. Then afterwards the Varsity guys went up 2100 S to Stringham, then took that up to Foothill and dropped over to the fountain at the flag. Then we went back to the track along our usual Flagpole run. Tough day with a longer cool down. By the end I was feeling good, but really stiff so we sat down on the grass for a bit and stretched.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/227003145

AM: It was a cold and rainy morning so it was tough to get out of bed today. The run was actually not as bad as I thought it would be though. It was cold and rainy, but after a while you don't even notice it anymore and it was overall a good run. We went down 1300 E to South Temple, then up U street to 4th Ave, across 4th Ave to the cemetery, then up death hill, and then East along 11th Ave like we would normally come back form the Shriners Run.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/227003120

PM: After going to class for an hour and 40 minutes total today, I got to the track and Bill was already there and some people were beginning the warm up, so we finished the workout much sooner than usual. Mile warm up, mile speed changes, then we stretched and did another lap. Then we changed shoes. Bill didn't tell us how many of each we were doing at the time, but for the sake of brevity I will pretend like he did. We did 3X800, 4X400, 4X200. My pace was 2:30's, 72's, and 34's, so lighter turnover speed today. I knew I could get these times without much trouble. I hit 2:25, 2:23, 2:25 for the 800's. On every single one of those, there was always some football player waddling his way over to his water, without much regard for the track, so consequently I almost crashed with a few of them and yelled some unkind words at the rest. Ugh, neanderthals. Anyway, on with the workout. A lap recovery after each one of those 800's. For the 400's I hit 72, 69, 68, 67. Standing recovery. Then I hit 30-32 for all the 200's. I felt great during this workout. Temps were perfect along with an overcast sky. My hip is now back to full strength as well :D

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/227003116

AM: I got out of bed a little later than I planned so that took away from my run time. I went 2.5 on my own easy.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/227305829

PM: We arrived super late to the race. Once there they gave us these neon green/yellow shirts to run in as a benefit for a cancer patient. The girls had no time for warm up, and I only had time for just over 2 miles, which I usually like to get at least 4. It didn't matter anyway because today is just a workout. Bill told the varsity guys to stick together as a pack and told me to keep the pace in the 6:30-6:45 range. So a tempo for the lower varsity guys. Well I set the pace at just that during the race, and almost all the guys stuck together! That was good; it shows them that they can close the gap between them and me and Chris (for all you grammar Nazi's out there, I believe that is the correct way to say "Chris and I" in this scenario...) We ended up averaging about 6:15 so a little fast, but the guys were together none the less. When I finished I felt great. I wasn't breathing any harder than I do after speed changes. Afterwards I got the guys to go 2 miles with me and then I added .25 to be at 8 for the day.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/227305812

AM: This morning we went up Sunnyside to Foothill and turned South. Then at the first street we turned West and headed to the side entrance of the gulley. We did one lap in there and came out the same place, then headed back to the track. Once back at the track, we did 3 X 300 chases. I hit 49, 48, 45. Afterwards we did two flat grass laps cool down and I stopped at 4.75.

 http://connect.garmin.com/activity/227722983

PM: It took us a while to finally get going, but once practice started we did the short VA loop, cutting across Gaurdsman, back to Sunnyside to the white tree. Then we did three sets of 1 min arm swings while Bill set up some flags. We were just doing speed changes, but on the 600 meter loop at Sunnyside. We would changes speed at each of the flags. After three laps of that, Chris and I did an extra jogging lap waiting for everyone to finish, then went back to Sunnyside Ave, across Gaurdsman, and down 500 S, across 1300 E back to the track.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/227722972

AM: No school today! I slept in, then went for an easy three mile run. Felt great! Excited for the race later!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/227722961

PM: After arriving at the race, I sat around with the team since I had done my shakeout this morning. After an intense game of UNO, I took the JV boys on a warm up. We got about 1.5 before they had to go to the line. Afterwards I sat around a little more, went to the bathroom, ate a little food and kept hydrated. Then I got the Varsity guys together and we went for some warm up. It was kind of hard to time when to start warming up because they were running behind with all the races. After a good warm up of about 4.5 miles, I put on my flats and we all headed to the line. I got in some good strides in between all of Bill's pre-race advice. Bill told me I had nothing to lose at this race. My biggest problem racing is that I don't get out well enough and I have to really work to get to the group I want/should be in. Well he told me that today I was to put myself right with the leaders, and that if I died later in the race it was okay, but he wanted to me to push with the leaders for as long as possible. Well, that's just what I did.

     There was a bit of confusion at the line as to where exactly the line was. All the guys had lined up at a very faint, but distinguishable line, yet the official guy came along and pushed us all back a good ten meters. Then he told us to come forward another 2-3 meters and we lined up on an invisible line. That was annoying. Plus, the commands were "On Your Mark," then the gun. Well I'm used to stepping up to the line but since there was no line I could see, I was thoroughly confused. Right after he said "On Your Mark," he fired the gun, and it took me by surprise, so I didn't have as quick a reaction to it as I usually do. Consequently, both groups of guys on either side of me got out right in front of me and I was blocked in for the first 30-40 meters. Then a race miracle happened. The guys right in front of me were all shifting to try to get around other guys, and there was a perfect path left open for me :) Going around the first turn right off the line I was able to pass a lot of guys and before we hit the road I had reached the leaders. Then I just tucked in right behind the Heriman guys and focused on controlling my breathing, because I had caught the leaders on a pure adrenaline rush and was breathing harder than I wanted. Despite all this though, my legs were feeling remarkably fresh. I was right behind the Heriman guys for the about .75 miles until we made the sharp left turn onto the trail that took us on the hilly loop. Up until now there had been minimal movement among the lead pack, from which I could tell had about 6-7 guys in it.

     After the sharp left turn, it continues as a gradual incline until the trail turns and we head up a windy, steep uphill. Coming off the turn here, I was right next to the leaders, Chuk from Heriman and Kramer from Alta (both Bloggers!). I had seen Bill right before this part and he was yelling something about how "I had it for this race" and then I remembered the strategy he told me to take, so after hesitating a few moments, I took the lead going up the hill. What surprised me is that I really was feeling quite good at this point. I didn't feel like I was pushing the hill harder than I normally do, which scared me more than anything. Mentally, I was kinda freaking out that I had just taken the lead from some really fast guys, but then again I was feeling good so I just drove up the hill and continued to push the pace. When I was almost at the top of the hill Chuk caught me and then going down the hill Kramer went right with Chuk. I was trying to go with them, and I was still feeling pretty fresh considering the long, steep hill, but I just couldn't get myself to lean and increase turnover on the downhill. So this is my main weakness, downhill. I was going as hard as I could down the hill and then Rory from Hermian caught me. I went with him for a bit but eventually he pulled away; a little while later, all this still on downhill, Ricky from Wyoming caught me and slowly pulled away as well.

     Finally the downhill was starting to end and we came across a small stretch of flat. After that we were back on the trail right before we make the sharp left turn, and we had a small, gradual uphill before we had the long, downhill finish. I was about 40 meters behind Ricky, who at this point had almost closed on Rory. I closed on them for a bit until they got to the downhill part. From here it's just an all out sprint. It is a great finish for most, but downhill is not my friend. Here is where I suddenly began to feel the pace. I got to the downhill part and was just giving what I had, but by this point I was dying. I kicked it in as best as I could and managed to not get caught by the guys behind me. They were both closing on me, but luckily I had a big enough gap on them.

     Overall, this was a great race for me. I got out of my comfort zone and put myself up there with the leaders early on. This race gave me confidence in my endurance and strength. I know I can push with the fast guys, and this race showed me that I need work on downhills, as well as just kicking harder. I raced well and got a good time on a very tough course, at higher altitude than I'm used to. Plus I had a lot of fun racing!

     After I got a mile cool down with my phone (oh yeah, I forgot my Garmin) and then we all headed over to the awards. After I got my medal the team headed to the Loco Lizard for some dinner!

AM: I'm already over the mileage I was supposed to hit, so I just went for a seven mile run to hit 80 for the week. I was surprisingly not sore or stiff at all. I felt great from the beginning of the run and just enjoyed the rest of it. 

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/228108343