Keep Calm and Run On

Recovery day. 9 in the morning and 5 between classes. My legs were quite dead today. 

AM- we ran temple hills. I did 3 and ran 85's (I usually run that every time we do this workout. I ran a lot of cool down to get to 11.

PM ran 5 more and felt a little better than the miles this morning.  

AM- 9 miles. Legs are tired/sore

PM- 4 more

Running only 6 today was glorious. We ran the course and did some strides. 

I am so happy we got to race at our home meet this year! I also haven't raced a cross country race in almost 2 years so it was nice to race early in the season and get back into racing. The plan and what actually happened were a little different but I did very well at responding and being flexible. Our top 5 were running this meet as a workout and just supposed to stay with our 6th and 7th girl. Weber went out hard and deep and so not even a mile in, coach told us we needed to move up. It took me a bit to transition into racing instead of just a hard workout. I moved up each mile passing girls and closing into the front runners. The last mile coming down from the baseball fields, I realized I did feel pretty good and strong and could close the gap. Carrie and I pushed the next 400 together and then I saw Weber's 3 and 4 runners falling off the lead group. Carrie and I were our 4 and 5 so I knew we needed to get them before the finish. I passed them on the grass stretch right before the track and pushed hard the last 300. Carrie was right behind me. We had our top 5 place 3-7 and only 5 seconds apart. I am really excited about the team this year. We have fast, talented girls and depth that we have lacked in past years. It will make workouts a challenge but I am so excited! I watched the high school boys race then ran 5 cool down with the East group. After lunch and resting I ran 4 more to finish my mileage for the week. 

I was in Salt Lake and ran on my own. AM I ran 10 miles Shriners run and along 11th Ave. PM I ran Sugarhouse loop for 5 more. I felt pretty good and ran a good pace for a Monday run after a race weekend. 

AM- Temple hills. I ran 2 at 85 then Coach told me I was done. I finished 6 miles outside. 

PM- ran 4 more on the treadmill between classes. It was really smoky outside today and it didn't feel good to be breathing in. 

AM- after team pictures, we ran a 2x2 mile workout around the grass fields and track. I really liked this workout. I am LOVING the longer type workouts we are doing this season. I do better in longer stuff and I think it will help everyone build endurance to be able to finish races better. Anyways we were supposed to run 6 minute pace. The first one we ran the first mile in 5:55 then finished (on the uphill) with a time of 11:25. So we picked it up a bit and ran the second one at 5:30. Second repeat the first mile was 6 and we finished in 11:35 (5:35 mile second mile). It was harder to pick it up faster than what was expected but today I focused on running with the group and it felt good to push with them. I finished with 7 miles. 

PM- ran 6 more

AM- Provo River to Center street run. I did 7 and felt ok. 

PM- ran 4 more and I felt SO awful. I was light headed, so tired and my legs dead. The rest of the night my legs felt like bricks and like I had just raced a 10K. It was a rough night. 

AM- I didn't think I would do a workout today with how awful I felt yesterday but today was a new day. We did a 30 minute tempo along Carterville. We started conservative and I felt really good and knew it would be an excellent day to push with the team. Our mile splits were 6:39, 6:36, 6:16, 6:02 and we finished at 4.7 miles and running 6 flat pace the last .7. There were some hard parts to push through but all in all it felt good to move in a group and open up the stride and roll. 

PM- ran 4 more. Tired and glad the week is almost over. 

Long run was on a trail along Deer Creek. It's a really nice trail just pretty hilly which is rough for an end of the week finisher. I felt pretty good on the way out but after we turned around, I felt so dead. It was a rough last 6 miles to finish and my body felt so empty and heavy. My legs felt so trashed tonight. 

AM- I felt crappy all of Saturday and Sunday. My legs were so tired I was unsure how today would go. My morning heart rate was low so I told myself I was fine and ready to roll. We did a 2 mile warmup then the workout was progressive mile repeats (again on the grass and track) with 5 minutes in between. First one, we ran 6 flat. It felt good. Second one, I paced myself to run a 5:50. The group pushed harder and ran a 5:40. Coach told me to rest one but I knew I could run a 5:40 and told him I was just pacing myself well. So the next one was 5:40. That was harder and I was starting to feel more tired. The 4th mile we started a little slow. We hit the 800 on the track at 2:50 and it hit me that I REALLY wanted to get that 5:30. So I surged and Jenn matched and we cruised the last half to hit a 5:30. It was hard but felt really good to open up and go. I am proud of myself for pacing myself, being patient and getting through a long workout. I felt really good when it was slower and as it picked up I was able to match and push when it hurt. This was a really good workout. I finished miles to 12

PM Ran 5 more. 

AM- Recovery day. I did 9 in the morning and felt pretty good. 

PM- ran 4 more on the treadmill because it was pouring rain and I wanted to listen to music. 

A.M. Coach is really loving hills this year. We did temple hills! This time I was able to do 5. I started slow but consistently got better and worked hard each one. As coach said.... I am definitely a 10K runner. I hit 86, 85, 83, 82, 80. Cool down to 10 miles. After doing the biometrics study, I ran 4.5 more for the day. 

A.M. Ugh. My hammies. I do get sore from hills. We ran Provo River and I came back Center Street way to get 7.

P.M. 4 more between classes 

Recovery run- yay! We ran Carterville. It was a beautiful day to run. 

Long run to finish the week. We drove up to the Deer Creek trail again. After 2 miles warm up we did a 40 minute tempo. A few girls started really fast and I wanted to ease more into it and hit 6:30 first mile. I had people to run with for 3 miles of the tempo then they turned and I was by myself for the rest of the run. The tempo was hard. It was pretty uphill and hard to run by myself. I ended up averaging 6:43 which was slower than I wanted but I was by myself and it's a hilly trail. I did feel better coming back on the trail which was nice because the way back last week was ROUGH. I felt like I finished stronger and felt better through the entire run. 

Gratefully, today was a recovery run. I feel pretty tired and wiped out from Saturday's long run/tempo. I had a little bit of a sore throat yesterday and I am taking my Vitamin C and really hoping I don't get sick. Ran 8 in the morning and 5 later.

AM- workout at Kiwanis Park. We ran 2x2 mile around the grass. The goal was to hit 5:40 first mile then run a 5:30. First one, hit 5:40 and then second mile got gapped by the leaders and finished in 11:55 (It was 2.07) and averaged 5:45. It was hard to hit that and I was breathing really hard the whole time. My morning resting heart rate was higher this morning so I knew it would be a harder workout. Coach just told me to be consistent. Second one I ran 5:40 again and finished in 11:55. Same times and just as tired. This 2x2 mile was definitely harder than the last one. There was more uphill in the second mile and it wiped me out. Finished miles to 10.

PM- ran 5 more

Recovery run. Felt pretty beat and tired. Heart rate high. 

Heart rate still high and woke up a little congested. A few girls did a hill/tempo loop workout by the temple and MTC fields. I decided not to because I felt crappy. I am hoping to feel better by the end of this week to be ready to race next week. Decided to this week. 

Ran Harvest Loop with extra grass laps at the track. I felt really good today and enjoyed the run. 

Long run today we went to a trail in Spanish Fork. It was awesome and I really liked it. Not hilly, open, beautiful and goes forever. Ran 13 with Jenn and added on a mile. Felt better today. 

A.M.- workout at the track. We did 2x 1600 in flats. There were 2 groups going and coach thought I should go in the second group since I felt pretty crappy last week. I got to pace the group which was great. We ran 5:40 (and exactly  on every lap which is always satisfying) and I felt really good.  5 minutes rest then another one. We were supposed to hit 5:30 and were on pace but at the 800, girls were feeling good/antsy and we ran a 5:25. I felt good today which made me feel good that I am over the crappy feeling of last week. But I was a little bummed I didn't go in the fast group. I want to be top 5 and today I didn't run with them. My confidence feels a bit shaken since last week and I need to race and see where I am at. I am excited it is finally race week. 

PM- ran 5 more. Back of my right knee was tight and hurting. 

A.M.- We ran a few grass loops in spikes at the track. Back of my right knee was killing again and I was limping on it so I only did 8 and went to the trainer to get it massaged. Who knew the popliteus could cause so much pain? It killed to get worked on and was tight walking around all day. 

P.M.- did 5 more. My calf/back of knee was really tight and hurt. 

Recovery run. My calf/knee was still sore but it warmed up and felt better than yesterday. Feeling really good about only having to run once!!