The Renegade

Today we had no school because juniors had the ACT, so that was great, I got a ton of sleep. Rode my bike to practice. The entire team did a warmup jog and drills together and then we separated. We ran to Willow Park again and did an awesome fartlek workout! I felt pretty great. It was 

4x (3 min hard, 2 min easy, 2 min hard, 1 min easy, 1 min hard) w/ 3 min easy in between sets

We went out pretty hard on the first one, I don't know what the pace was, but then we settled in and I stayed at pretty much the same pace for all the pushes, which was probably and average of 5:40 pace, so my 5K PR pace. Pretty sure I could do a 5K faster now but that's my PR. It was basically all on grass, but I didn't mind too much, I just pretended I was in a cross country race again and it was good. Did it all in my trainers too.  I tried to push it hard in the last 3 min segment, I was probably around 5:20 pace for that one, than I ran the 2 min part slower, oops, and pushed it super hard on the last part. The sun came out halfway through the workout so I dropped my shirt, it was glorious! When we got back we did 4 40 yard flys on the turf barefoot it was great.

 I love outdoor track practice. I just can't wait to get back on that rubber again and feel way fast. We've got a threshold on the road this week, so no track work until later. I got waymore mileage than I actually wanted to today, I'll just take it super easy tomorrow, but I'll still go over 5. 

Easy day today! We had a dumb little meeting for the people that are being slow about registering in the media center and then we got started at about 3:15. Did our warmup jog, drills, and left on an easy run on the river trail. The pace felt relaxed, but it was pretty good, we averaged about 7:05 pace. It was so warm! I'm already falling into the bad habit of losing my shirt as soon as I start to feel uncomfortably hot. Paul and I ran with Jack until the turn around and then he picked it up, which must have been pretty fast because we were sub-7 on the way back. Then we did 4x100m on the track, with 300m jogs. I was probably high 13s low 14s on all of them, didn't time em. Finished with hip drills and core. We did flutter kicks, I hate flutter kicks smh. I've changed my weekly mileage goal from 40 to 45 because I'm already over and still want to run 10 miles on Saturday, and I feel good. 

5 mile threshold today broken up into a 3 and 2 mile run. I have been looking forward to this all week because I wanted to see how fast I could go. Ran a really slow warmup with the girls up to Ryan's Place Park, we did drills and then got started on the same 3 mile loop as always. Didn't feel super great at the beginning, but that's because we were going like sub-5:45 pace. First mile ended up being 6:03, but my watch didn't beep so I didn't know. But I did look at my watch for the average and knew it was a decent day. Mile 2 was 6:08, I felt kind of tired but I definitely didn't feel really bad. Bjorn (a friend of mine who is an assistance athletic trainer) was there and he road his bike while we ran, and he rode next to me for the second half, so that was cool. I just really tried to focus on keeping good form for the rest of it and ran a 6:06. My shoe lace came untied toward the end but I just made sure not to trip.  That was an 18:17 3 mile. So I was pretty beat but I recovered super fast. We had about 8 minutes in between runs, which is a lot, but oh well. I didn't feel too bad for the 2 mile, it honestly wasn't much worse than doing another mile. I ran that in 6:10 and 6:01, with the the first mile being downhill and having to run uphill coming back. I'll admit, it felt like a race at the end, but it was the end of the longest threshold I've ever done. So I was super satisfied. Then on the cooldown Paul lead us on this weird side trail that still had a bunch of ice on it, but it was fun. Did strides when I got back but didn't have time to do anything else. 

I've been hesitant to say this on here until now, but I think I am in the best shape of my life right now aerobically. I wish I could race a 5K right now, I know I would at least run under 17:30 since my PR is 17:39. But I am really looking forward to running the 3200 at Hurricane and getting another big PR from Boise. Did I mention that a year ago I was running 2 mile thresholds at 6:15 pace at the fastest? I've been climbing the ladder ever since but I think I've made a big jump in the last month. Who knows, maybe sub 10 could be possible? (at the end of the season) :D

Half day today so I got to chill out for a few hours before practice. Boy is it warming up quick! Rode my bike again, that was fun. Started with a half mile barefoot on the turf and then the distance group did our warmup drills. Then we ran canal! The canal trail has been treacherously covered in ice and snow until this week so it was great to get on it again. A large stretch of it was completley melted and almost dried. But further east it was pretty wet and muddy, but that was fun to run through. I just ran with Paul for most of the time. I kept my shirt on! I know, you're proud aren't you. Probably because it was my HJP shirt and I really like that shirt. The run was 7:17 AP. When we got back we did strides, I felt pretty dang rusty for those, and then we did a bunch of hip drills and core. Seems like that'll be the routine on recovery days. We have a pretty hard week next week so recovery days are going to have to be just that from now on: Recovery days. After the core Paul and I went into the weight room and lifted like always. It seems like my coach doesn't really care much about lifting any more but I'm going to try and do it twice a week until the end of April. 

Oh yeah last thing, I hit 4,000 miles today (going off Strava).  For the blog I hit it a couple days ago. 

I finally was able to hit the trails again after a long winter. I woke up at noon and met Paul at Dry Canyonat 3:00 to run the Deer Fence trail. The only snowy parts were the little hills facing north, but other than that it was dry and clear. I felt pretty good from Dry to Prov, but then after we crossed that canyon I started to not feel that energetic. Paul already wasn't feeling good and I kept dropping him tho. I was hitting low to mid 8s. It start to get pretty hot on the way back and I got thirsty. When we got back to Dry we were at 7.2 so we just ran back and forth on the flat stretch at the end to get 8. 7:47 average. I haven't run that slow in a while. Paul left and I did some strides and then drove home.

This week was higher mileage than I've done since XC season, and I don't plan to hit again except for maybe spring break. Running 40 mile weeks has really worked for me verses trying to run a ton. But yeah as long as I hit 40s I'll be good and then I'll drop down in May. I was telling Paul that I've changed my official 2-mile goal from 10:20 to 9:59 because it's starting to look more realistic. We'll see. I'm conflicted on what events I want to focus on. 

actually feel trashed from the past week.... better make sure to recover well between workouts this coming week. 

Temple hill repeats was what we did today. Same as the week before Simplot (8x200m, 2:30 rests, pretty steep) We jogged up there right away after the team meeting and did our warmup drills. We had quite a group of people out for it. Temps were nice, prolly mid 40s. I started with Jack (he said he would pretty much just stick with me on em, although he isn't too much fitter than I am) So I got through them without too much grief until the last one where Ryan, a sophomore, took the lead and ran like a 28, I tried to cover his move but I literally couldn't. In the last one fourth of that sprint I tied up so bad and couldn't go any faster. I still ran like a 32. I was on the ground for a few minutes after that, I just couldn't get up and I was in a lot of pain. I had to walk back down the hill slowly because my glutes were still on fire. Layed down with my legs up a bit, Jack massaged them some, and they felt better. Got up and after about 10 minutes we jogged back to the school, did strides on the turf, then hip drills and stretches. Lastly Paul and I rana mile barefoot and that was it.  I would put down the exact splits but I think I lost my watch (my timex not the GPS don't worry) so I'll put them on here later if I find it. I think I averaged like a 33 mid tho, my previous best was 34 flat. 

I'm gonna take it super easy tomorrow. Here's something my freind Mark Summers (serving a mission in Argentina) said in an email today: "Remember, the season ends the [third] week of May, that is a long time. Be careful, don't get burned out".  I think I'm gonna be careful. 

Easy recovery today. We did our hip drills and core first because there was a soccer game about to start, and then we headed out on our run towards First Dam. I wanted it really easy today and didn't want any big hills, so Paul and I cut through Merlin Olsen Park and then ran up Canyon Rd., then got on the canal on the way back, where we me the rest of our team and Isaac turned around with us. On the way out I made sure we didn't go under 7:30 pace. It was kind of hard not to but it's a good strategy to use for a recovery run. Picked it up with Isaac though. 7:14 ap, so a bit faster than I would have liked but the way we ran it, I feel well recovered. My inside left shin was kind of bothering me the whole time, that's the first time I've had shin problems all season. Probably from goin 5 over last week. When we got back we did 4x100 and then I jogged a lap to make it six. Ice cupped my shin, so hopefully that'll help. We have another threshold tomorrow.  

I realized today that I'm the only guy on our team that doesn't train in basketball shorts... lol

We ran our usual threshold/tempo today in River Heights and Providence. I tried to jog up slowly. Bout a mile and a half warmup. After our drills we started and I told Paul we should go out relaxed and conservative at the start, so we drafted behind Davis because it was windy (and kinda cold brrr). That made sure we weren't under 6 minute pace the first half mile. I thought Davis was doing the three mile loop but it's his first week back so he did two miles. It was going to be fun to drop him so I was a little dissapointed (I know that sounds mean). Paul and I stuck together for the rest of the time and I let Paul do most of the work. It was great because I got a pr on the 10th East segment, 5:53 pace for 4th ranked. I didn't feel any kind of burning in my legs. They were tired by the end but not the lactic acid tired. Our splits were 6:07, 6:03, 5:58. Jack freakin ran a 17:02, he killed it. We ran like 18:08. I was planning on just doing another mile after that but I felt good so I went 2 with Paul. Again we stayed together and we ran 5:58 and 6:05 splits (downhill then up coming back). Again, it felt good! We jogged back slow and did strides on the turf. Finished with bench and squats. We have a killer track workout on Friday that I'm actually looking forward to. 

.5 miles team warmup, hip drills, and then a super slow group run of about ten of us on the river trail. I'm glad we went slow because of the workout tomorrow and it felt super hot. So that was a 4 mile run 7:55 avg, it was great to chill and it's a nice day out. Back at the track we did 4x100m sprints w/ 300m jogs, that brought the run down to 7:45 ap. It's funny because we've left the track everyday so far and everyone else has only seen us running really slow or doing short sprints, so they must not think we do much, lol that'll change tomorrow. After the strides was some hurdle mobility drills, it was good to do those again. Finished with a bit of core and stretching. 

The much anticipated track workout was today. It was a nice temperature out, but it was overcast and gloomy, which I don't like. It psychs me up more when the sun is shining brightly against blue skies. Oh well. Did a little less than a mile warmup and drills. Then after coach explained the workout the team got started. It was 4x1000m @ 3200 pace w/ a 400m jog in 3 min rest, full recovery, than 4x400 @ 1600 pace w/ same rest as before. I got started and heard big loping steps behind me, it was Ryan, he's new to the team but he's done decent. He sat on me until the 4th rep where he fell off pace. My times I hit were 3:26, 3:24, 3:20, 3:20. I wanted to get 3:20 average because thats my pr pace but I think that it is really hard to hit 3200m pace on those. I felt good for the first one, kind of good for the second one, and the next two just hurt bad. I am not going to gauge that for my 3200 next week, like I said I really think it's just hard to hit that pace, and it's my first track workout in a while.

After the recovery and spiking up, I started the 400s. Tried to stay relaxed for the first one, so I was happy when it was a 68. Next two I pushed it a little more but at basically the same effort for both of them, and hit 66s. On the last rep Coach Strand ran with me which I was really glad about because he helped push me. I went out hard for the first 200 and was like oh crap this is gonna hurt, but the next half went by pretty fast. That was a 62. One of these days I'm gonna dip below 60 in a workout I'm sure. But after that I was hurting alot and was on the ground in a fetal position for a couple minutes. I feel like if you do that once, you will do it at the end of every single hard workout. So there's some advice lol I already have the habit bigtime. 65.5 avg. (aprx. I didn't get the decimals). So that very much exceeded mile pace it's 4:20. I figure if I can do those at 4:20 pace pace than I can run a 4:40 mile. 

Got up, got the "skin shoes" on and did 4 barefoot laps on the turf. Then the team did hip drills and Jack and I went in the training room and took an ice bath, I have'nt taken one in a while, so it was shock but I'm glad I did it. I'll be in Salt Lake tomorrow, I think I wanna do my long run somewhere cool but we'll see. (sorry for the long entry)

Today I went on a moderate paced semi-long run up City Creek Canyon (SLC). It was super cool, I just wish it was dirt and not pavement. Once I found the right path, I went high scvens up the canyon and low 6s down. Felt decent, but my left foot was bothering me going up, kept having to rub it out a bit. Once I turned around it was all good. It was fun going down, but I knew I was giving my shins a beating. Beautiful day, a little hot actually. 

So today I didn't know if we would be on the track or the treadmill because the weather was super sporatic, but it ended up being nice for the time slot of practice. We have a dual meet and an invitational this week and varsity is running at both, so we had an easier workout. After .5 warmup ad stretches (I don't like that coach only has us warmup half a mile) we did 2 x Mile @ Tempo with mile jog in between. So pretty easy, but it felt harder than it should have (the track psychs you out). Ran in a pack with Paul, Davis, and Isaac the whole time. Our goal was just to hit 6 minute miles, and we went 5:58 and 5:58. It was kinda cold too so that prolly had something to do with it. Stayed relaxed. Went to the restroom, changed into my spikes, and then did 4x200 w 200 jogs, continuous. Wore my vics for these, and it felt really weird running in them again after over a month. Don't know the exact splits but I ran em all in 29-30s. On the jogs I kept feeling a shooting pain in the arch of my right foot, and I had to stop and rub it. Only happened with those spikes. It happened at USU also during races, but it would fade away after the first lap. I didn't feel it when I was running fast and on my toes today, so racing I should be okay. Did a mile cooldown, hip drills, and lifts. I wanted to get 8 today but it's probably for the best that I kept it low. 

Today the weather was just awful for our run, way worse than yesterday. Me, Paul, Jack, and Dallin did an easy run on the river trail, five miles. On our way out going south we had the cold wind and the snow blowing in our faces and it was terrible. Then it stopped after we turned around, and I was wearing a very warm fleece jacket so I got pretty toasty. We did strides on the track (4x100) and then Paul and I finished to 6 on the tread. This was all a premeet for the lowkey four team meet tomorrow in Draper, then we have an easy day, then we head down to Hurricane, so this week basically consists of strictly racing and recovering. 

Today was sort of a long day. We took the hour and a half bus ride down to Draper and it was actually nice weather and sunny down there. I basically waited around for my race which was near the end of the meet and jogged a little here and there. When it was time for the boys 800 it was already like 7:30, it took them way longer than they needed to to run the meet, because they were only putting eight to a heat in the distance races, and they usually only used half the lanes in each sprint event. It just didn't make sense. To add to it they randomized the heats, they didn't even have us like self seed or anything. I hadn't done my warmup yet when they called for us to check in, and after we did, I thought I had enough time to, so I ran about a mile. When I got back to the track heat 1 was already on the line, but luckily they let me be in the next heat, which was great because Christian McClellan from Morgan was in it. I didn't have time to do drills.

When the gun went off, Christian bolted from the line faster than I did, which was surprising. He took the lead and I kind of hung back, but I felt anything but comfortable. Came through 400 in 63 so slow. I started to reel him in from the 500m mark and I got up to him at the start of home stretch, and we were neck and neck for about 50m and then I pulled away in the last 50. Identical to my finish at Region last year in the 4x800.  I think my whole team was screaming and cheering for me so it was awesome. After the race Christian told me he was trying to break 2. lol.  I've never won a race before but now I can say I did (I know it was just a small meet) I wasn't too happy with my time, but this was just kind of an ice breaker for this weekend, and the track was terrible, and my warmup was sub-par. Did a mile and a half cooldown with Paul. 

Easy recovery/pre-meet. It was very cold and gloomy. I jogged a mile before practice started, than we went on a short 3 mile run out by the island market and merlin olsen. Got back and I did 4x100 and practiced some starts in my spikes, then jogged another mile barefoot backwards on the turf.

Felt really good, one race yesterday obviously didn't take much out of me. I'm seeded with a 4:40.63 for the 1600 tomorrow, it's a little bold, but I ran my pr almost two months ago. I know I can at least get in the 4:40s, matching that time will just depend on how much I push myself. And hopefully a 6 hour bus ride will be okay on me. 

So we left for the 6 hour drive down to Hurricane at about 7:30, stopped at our hotel in Cedar at around 1:30, and headed down to the meet and got there at like 2:10. I was sooo hot, but I was expecting it. We did our team warmup and then chilled till Jack thought it was time to warmup. We ended up having plenty of time to do everything, thankfully. We waited on the football field for the race and did some strides and warmups, trying to stay in the shade as much as possible. Jack and I were both in the fourth and fastest heat.

The starter pulled the trigger a couple times in a row and the gun didn't go off and I think everyone was ready to stand up but it was a delayed reaction and the gun went off. I had a pretty good start, and immediatley found myself up next to Joe Benson and Will Handley for the first fifty meters, and I was like oh crap, better drop back, so I did a little bit and settled in. The air was so dry, my throat was super scratchy for the entire race. Don't remember the first 400 split but I came through the 800 in around 2:23, and new I just had to keep it up to PR. This was when coaches started shouting to push it as always, so I made sure to do that too. I was hurtin pretty bad and just tried to push it even more on the last lap. I think I passed one or two guys in the last 200. Fun race, but it definitely hurt. There was one 3A state qualifier in this race with a 4:31, and I think he is the only one qualified in the mile as of now. Jack ran 4:36, so three seconds. I think everyone could have run a few seconds faster if not for the heat, especially the northern utah people.

I thought was done so I did close to a two mile cooldown, part of it barefoot on a church field and came back. Later my coach told me that I was running the 400 leg of the medley. Luckily the medley didn't come until hours later partly because of some camera problems. When it was time to warm up, the sky was already pitch black and the lights were shining brightly. I was actually really pumped. We were in the slower heat. Our sprinters (really 400 runners) put us in about 3rd place out of 4, and I had kind of a bad handoff with Isaac. I ran the first 200 (into a strong headwind) kinda drafting behind Wasatch and a 2A school. We hit halfway and Millard passed us all, and then those two slowed down a ton and I easily passed them. I felt great. Split a 56 matching my official PR. Gave the baton to Jack in second and he opened in a 55, and ran a 2:03 800. Overall time 3:47, three seconds off of state qual. In the next heat Timpanogos won with a 3:45. We all wished we had been in their heat because we probably could have won. It's exciting that we almost qualified for state, because the 3A standard is actually faster than 4A.

Jogged a bit on the infield, grabbed a something to eat, and we headed back to the hotel. 

I got about 7 hours of sleep, so not bad. Got up at 6:30, ate breakfast and we left and got to the meet at 8. The 32 was the first event but we had longer to wait because of some more technical difficulties. I guess I felt okay, just a bit tired, but when I jogged a bit I felt better. Did the whole prerace thang and we ran at about 10, so it wasn't too hot. I was in the middle heat for this, seeded fourth behind two Timp guys and Copeland Anderson from Delta.

The gun went off and I immediately found a spot next to Copeland. This time there was a bit of a headwind on the homestretch, so I would tuck in behind him on this part for the first half of the race. But when I did that the pace felt really slow. I guess I figured that I was saving energy for the rest of the race. For the entire race it just felt like it was me and Copeland running, nobody else. We stayed together for the entire race. Came through the mile in like 5:24, so I was bummed when I heard that, but at least knew I had to push it. We pushed eachother for the rest of the race, and then I outkicked him the last 200. It still wasn't enough, because I was 4 seconds off my two mile PR, which would be 8 seconds behind my hypothetical 3200 PR. BUT it was technically an official PR of 47 seconds (postal don't count). I think what I should have done was gone out a bit faster and set a rhytham at a quicker pace. So I think I will definitely race this again once before BYU, probably at Orem, and go after a time that would be good enough to get into the Friday morning BYU race. 

Jogged a mile and a half on the infield barefoot watching Jack's race. He ran 9:56, state qualified. Then me Paul and Kalin went to subway and got footlongs. We got back to the track and the 800 was coming up quick. Uh oh. I ate a fiber one bar and I think that helped get the sandwich out of my system quick. It was blazing hot when it was time to warm up and race and stuff. I decided to go sockless in my Victories, I actually felt a bit faster. I was once again in the fast heat, seeded 8th next to a Delta kid and Gabe Prettypaint from Timp.

When the gun fired we all shoved eachother a bit, and the Delta guy got pushed infront of me. Nasty start. On the backstretch I made a push to pass a guy and I was already exhausted by the 200 mark. Conner Cox from Millard had forgotten to change shoes, which made for a good laugh at the starting line, but when I saw him pass me at the 300 mark in his heavy trainers it was a little discouraging. I thought about dropping out because of how bad I felt coming into the second lap, but I stayed with it. Held my position until 200 to go where I mad a move and passed about 4 or 5 guys within 110 meters on the curve, including Isaac my teammate. Shoulda told him to come with. And yes I passed Connor Cox thank goodness. Held position in the homestretch and felt like I had a good finish, my form didn't fall apart. My coach told me after that I ran a 2:06, which made me happy, but when I checked runnercard that night it said 2:09. Think I got like 10th. 

Afterwards I tried to find this canal trail that a Hurricane kid told me about with Paul but we couldn't find it, so our cooldown was just on the streets. It was sooo hot and dry. It was nice to relax for the rest of the time. 

Pretty good workout today! Conditions were pretty good, about 60 degrees and overcast. It was the 4x1000m and 4x400m again, all with 3 min active recoveries, but full recovery between the two parts. Decided to wear the streaks today, and the new spikes I got for the last little bit. There was a pretty strong headwind on the back stretch, so two of  the 1000s had more headwind than the others (first and third). First one was 3:25, so under pace by five seconds, but it had the headwind. Felt pretty good. Next I ran a 3:22, and still felt pretty good. Finished with 3:18 and 3:15. I like the Streaks alot don't know why I havn't used them in a while. Those ones hurt, but looking back it doesn't like they hurt too much. I dunno, you can't be taking it 100% in every workout. Jogged for some recovery and pretty soon I started the 400s. Opened with a 66.7, it felt really good, despite almost knocking a kid over who was stopped in the middle of lane 1. Kinda strided it out the last 20 meters. The next one was 67.7, so a little slow, but my slowest last time was a 68. I knew I needed to run the next two fast. Switched into the Endorphins and (had to skip the jog oops) and went 64.XX (we'll call it 64 flat). It kinda hurt cuz I was trying to keep a constant pace the whole time. Coach told me I needed to be more aggressive starting out with the next one, and be "patiently aggressive". So I kind of sprinted off the line and then settled into the same pace I started with on the previous one. Then I tried to kick as hard as I could the second half. Good race simulation. Ran a 60.9, so I was pretty happy with that considering I wasn't in a fetal postion on the ground like last time when I ended with a 62. Pretty soon I'll be gettin under 60 with a better average. Jogged a mile, did hip drills, and iced the lower legs in the wirlpool with Jack. We promised Coach that next time we would sit in the tub, but that's a little scary. But yeah, great workout, my morale was at a good place, I stayed upbeat, and I think that helped, surprisingly after a rough day on Saturday. 

I woke up this morning to a massive charlie horse in my right calf. I thought that was that but the soreness didn't go away, I've had what feels like a knot all day. I did 30 min of elliptical in 7th period, along with some lifting, than at practice I talked to my coach and he said that it might loosen up if I went for a run, so I did 3 miles pre-meet with some of the guys on the river trail. (I'm counting the elliptical for 2). The soreness faded away while I was running. Did a few strides on the turf and then I went in the training room and rolled it out a bit. Now about half an hour later it's tight again so I'm still trying to decided if it's just really sore or I pulled it. Using a golf ball rn, hopefully that'll help, but it hurts like heck.

Decent meet, kinda training through it but yeah. The 800 was finally before the mile for once, so I was fresh for it. This was a home meet for us and everyone in our region was there, so that was cool. After the team warmup, I waited around for like 2 hours for the 800. Shoutout to the MC guys for coming to watch for a bit. I was actually pretty nervous because I really wanted to PR.

We got off the line and I was in the front for the first 300 meters, and then Luke, Ethan, and maybe Christian got in front of me. We came through in 62, so I already knew it was going to be slow. With 300 to go Luke and Ethan were ahead of me and I told myself I had to stay with them, but then they sped up and I couldn't go any faster, just couldn't get my legs to do it. Held that position while they pulled away from me for the rest of the race. I just didn't feel that energetic. So I took third.

I decided I wanted to do the mile because we wouldn't race again until April 9th, but just as sort of workout. So I ran with Kalin and Paul for the first 800 meters, we came through in 2:34 so suuper slow. Than (my coach had told me to do this) I started to push it pretty hard from there on and reeled in Ethan Hurst and a Morgan kid. I passed both of them at 1200m and stayed in front of them, I felt pretty good. I almost wish I had reeeeeaally tried to go H•A•M there now that I think of it. Finishing time was 4:58. A year ago this week was when I broke 5 for the first time, and I was fresh for it plus I was pushing it really hard and it hurt. Now it feels like a breeze even after racing an 800.

I'm not letting the slow 800 time discourage me too much because we haven't done a ton of speed work so once we hit that stage in the season that'll come down pretty far, I hope I can qualify before BYU. I just really have'nt been training for the 800. 

Pretty good day today, we were finally able to go on a solid run for the first time in about two weeks. (Not a premeet) So kind of a medium day. We did about 6 on the canal trail, or it was six for me because I had to turn around at one point to grab my gloves that I stashed. (was warmer than I dressed for). 7:14 ap. Then I did some barefoot turf strides, those felt good. Also in seventh hour before practice I did bench, cleans, and a bunch of core, so I'd say today was pretty productive. Next week is spring break, so I'll be able to get in some quality training. I wish the weather would be nicer than it has been though. 

So today was below average, but it was a good effort I guess. Same old River Heights Providence tempo. One of the reasons I hate spring is because you never know how to dress. I wore tights but I started to feel warm, but luckily I had shorts on underneath. I also had a long sleeve shirt but I lef tit at the school. We started it and I tried to go out slow, and it felt good, we were right around 6 minute pace. Then after the first half mile I had to retie my shoe, so Paul kept going and I was about half a block behind him for the rest of the time. It was mentally really tough because I felt like I was sucking if I didn't catch him, so I tried to catch him for the rest of the time, but we stayed the same distance apart. Having to stop also knocked off my flow, so it made it terrible. Finished in 18:36 not counting the stop, 18:48 with it. So 6:10 average with a 6:20, 6:06, and 6:03 (no stop). I was so exhausted after that I didn't want to do any extra. Ran back with Jack and then I wished I had the long sleeve shirt because it was really chilly. Hopefully it will warm up within the next few weeks. Did some intense 100s afterwards, with hip drills. Also, I lifted a solid amount in 7th hour so that probably made the workout harder. 

Great run up Logan Canyon in the afternoon, 7:20 average pace. I didn't feel too bad, and there was a very manageable amount of snow. I think this canyon is my favorite trail run just because of the moderate grade, and it't really pretty once the leaves come back in.

Looking forward to a good week of training for Spring Break, I'm not being stupid and upping my mileage like I did last year, just getting quality work in. 

So, to start off #SpringBreak2k16, we did 6x800m in weather that seemed more like #WinterBreak2k16. Worst conditions I have ever had to do a workout in. Basically a blizzard, it made for slower times but added some mental toughness for later. After a half mile warmup inside + warmup drills, the distance team headed our for some fun. Same recovery that we usually have for all our workouts (3 min active) I went 2:49 for the first one, was not feeling good. Next one I didn't get the time but it felt slow so we'll say it was also 2:49. Then on #3 Strand jumped in with me for the second lap so I ran a bit faster, was a 2:42. After that I realized that I was half way done so I had a better outlook on it, but the snowstorm only got stronger. He ran with me for the next one and it was a 2:37. Then I ran a 2:38, I was not having fun. On the last one I pushed as much as I could convince myself too, which wasn't a ton, and ran a 2:35. So decent workout, I would take off a few seconds for the weather, so that's pretty good, cuz it was faster than the last time I ran this workout in good conditions. On the treadmill, I did 4x30s at 15mph (so 200s), a mile cooldown, and then lifted. 

Today was just terrible. I didn't feel good at all. Ran at about noon and luckily the snowstorm had stopped, hopefully for good. I wanted to go six but that didn't happen, just went five, out to the river trail and back. My left lower leg had that weak feeling again like it has before, it just wasn't able to work as efficiently as the right. And I was just tired, hopefully I'll be feeling good tomorrow for a little something called the Michigan. 7:48 average. 

Watching some world half footage gets me really excited for stuff. Freaking Kamworor, I think I'm a new fan of his. 

Well, this week has confirmed that Logan's weather really is crazy as heck. By the time pratice rolled around (3:00) a ton of snow was melting, including almost all of what was on the track, and the sun came out for us. Also coach was gone, so I had to explain the workout, luckily I had papers printed. Today was the MICHIGAN workout, made famous by the book Sub-4:00 about Alan Webb his freshman year in Ann Arbor.  There are lots of modifcations of it though. I will lay down all the reps and splits right now: (3 min recoveries in between all)

1600- 5:34

Road Mile- 6:10

1200- 4:04

Road Mile- 6:08

800- 2:31

Road Mile- 6:05

400- 59

So I wanted to be 5:30, 4:00, and 2:20 for those track reps, but at least I hit my 400 goal. It is a hard workout and I just like saying I did it, even if the rest was longer than typical for most people doing this workout. What matters is that it was a good effort, and it was a pretty good effort I would say. Great race simulation. I had to do it all by myself basically just like last year. After getting fully recovered, I did 3x150 at around 20 seconds each. Those felt really strong, and I tried to use my best form and drive everything into the finish. Last year I did this at Highland High School, also on the Wednesday during Spring Break, here's a link to that: http://cameronanderson.fastrunningblog.com/blog-04-2015.html Great workout, beautiful day to do it! I got my lift on after. 

So today the front-bottom or ball of my left foot has been hurting more than ususal, and I think it has been the root of some form problems I have been having, so I decided not to run. Plus I haven't been that motivated today, even with pretty nice weather. I did some core tho, if that counts. Hopefully I'll be good tomorrow.