The Renegade

One thing I can definetley say right now is that I am very exhausted. we didn't have a hard day or anything, I've just put myself through a tough week. I ran to practice because my bike tire blew out again, and I actually like when I can do that since it just adds on a couple more miles, besides, I,m pretty sure I would be jsut as tired if I had my bike available. After our warmup we ran to the quad at Old Maine and did some core. Than Vickie, JD, and I ran some extra miloes through campus and some trails below the highway. Whe we got back we played ultimated frisbee, but I was to exhausted to really do anything. I felt okay on the run back, but I almost fell asleep standing up in the shower afterwards I was so pooped.

6 miles easy in the area around my grandparent's house in Tetonia, Idaho. This topped off my first 50 mile week, so the legs felt moderatley tired. It started with a hilly dirt road that had this long hill that kept looking like it was over but then there was more, followed by a pretty steep decline for that area of the state. Then I ran down the highway through main street until I got back to the house. With about 2 miles left I stopped and retied my shoes and discovered it is easier to run when your shoes are tight. I have no idea why I am figuring that out now. I did a couple strides in the yard when I got back and then ate more food than I could say.

Once again, I slept in for xc, so I decided to maybe go do a track workout since the field is finished. That didn't go so well. I tried to do a workout I heard about in a book about Alan Webb when he was running at Michigan. It involved a 1600, a 1200, an 800, and a 400, all with 2000m tempo in between. My goal was a 2000 of 7:44 consistently, a 6:00 mile, a 2:40 800, a 1:10 400, and I don't remember what my goal was for the 1200. Also I was going to allow myself 1 minute rest in between segments. The only part that I hit really well was the mile, which I ran in 5:59. But that really took it out of me, and I was beginning to realize how hot it was. I switched the rest to 2:00, and then tried the 2000 at tempo. Before I even got done with the first 800m, I realized I was way off pace for a 7:44, and I was suffering, so I changed it to an 800 and didn't attempt any of those runs again. then I was way off pace for the 1200, and got a pretty long recovery afterwards. I was actually debating with myself coming up on 800m if I should even go through with the next lap, but I did. I don't really remember what the 800 was, but it was was probably around 3:00. I got a long recovery, and than gave the final 400 every thing I had. It ended up being a 1:16, wich is 6 seconds slower than 800 pace, but it felt so much faster. I think I will make it a goal to complete this workout someday with the times a gae myself, but for now if I attempt it again I'll try going at I-pace for all of the sets, and maybe take the tempo segments down to and 800, and run it outside of the track for a little less redundancy.

I got lucky with the weather today, seeing that it was rainy and overcast during my run at a time when it would normally to hot for my taste. I ran twice, once at 6 PM and then again at 9 PM. The first one felt kind of hard, but I got through it. I my 3 mile run at night, I finished with a time of 21:30. About halfway through I decided to pick up the pace so I did and it felt pretty good. I really picked it up with an 800 to go and put myself mentally in the end of a race. 

We got in a pretty good workout at practice today. After our 800m warmup on the track and stretches, we ran to the river trail and went back and forth until we had done 8 x 1:30 @ Tempo w/ 2:00 recoveries. Of course I can't really say that I took those at tempo. It would have been to easy. Damon, Jake, Isaac, and I were together almost the whole time. I was the one who started taking it quick, and then they came along. We did most of them at about 2 mile pace. I was fine, and then I sort of hit a wall during number 7. Then for the last one Damon took us through it somewhere in between 800 and mile pace. After that was over with, we ran back to the school and did some strides on the track, and then a 5 minute round of core with the team.

I went to XC this morning feeling kind of soar and tired, and my warmup felt the opposite of fluid, but the run actually turned out to be pretty great. Our goal time was 45 min. and we hit it. The run was about 6.5 miles long and it was pretty much all in River Heights and Providence. The big long hill at the Nature Park didn't feel too bad, that's for sure. We did a little bit of core after that and then my run home felt pretty good.

Another great run today at cross-country. Either I'm doing something right or I'm just lucky but everybody else seemed to be feeling awful, and I wasn't. We were told to pick a group to run with and stick with them. (good thing that's what I always decide to do, because it paid off). So I ran with our coaches (Chazel and Todd), Vickie, and Jake. We ended up running all the way to Gossner's on 10th West, and then just turned south and made a big loop back to the school. We were going at a pretty good pace and I don't recall us stopping once, even for traffic, but I still felt awesome. Towards the end we did 4 20 second pushes spaced pretty far apart, and they were pretty dang good, and fun, too. When we got back the rest of the team had already started core, so we did about 3 minutes of it. I ran home again, (bike problems, but at least I get a ride to practice), but this time I didn't feel so good. Probably because I waited about 30 minutes to leave, but now that think of it I eventually warmed up again with about a 1/2 mile left.

I'm so glad to get the mileage in for the week. It's only a couple miles less than last week but it felt alot less volumonous. I did the exact same thing today as I did last Monday, the mile warmup and then the huge half-marathon loop. I timed it stopping my watch every time I rested last time and got 1:33. This time I didn't really stop it at all and it came out as 1:49:50. So not bad, I'm still super excited come raceday.m I only had 4 real stops, 3 if it weren't for the traffic on main street. I took a drink at Aggie Ice Cream in the middle of mile 4, rested a bit at the top of a big trail incline at the end of mile 6, took a brief drink in the nature park, and then waited for mainstreet to let me pass. I think I took the beginning faster than I did last time, and I'm pretty sure I held a pace the whole time, too, increasing a bit at mile 10, and dramatically speeding up at mile 12.

Pretty interesting run today. We did the Canyon Road/Canal Trail run, and when we got to first Dam, everybody who made it that far (there was five of us), decided to take a super scary trail above the reservoir that eventually took us to the top of Sumac Drive. We pretty much walked the whole way on the trail, because we were bound to fall to our deaths if we even jogged.  After Sumac we stopped by Vickie's house and had some popsicles. Then we ran two more miles to get back to the school, where we did a good round of core, and then I would have iced but I had to run home again. Hill Repeats at Gibbons tomorrow. I think it's nice that we've started to put in speed work during practice, because then I don't have to worry about doing it on my own.

Great workout today. We took a bus up to the park on cliffside and and after  close to a mile warmup, we did 6x800m hill repeats. I was a workout very similar to the one last year with Brian Mckenna at this park, but his course was flatter, although that workout is still imprinted in my mind as one of the toughest of the season both mentally and physically (maybe because it was about 80 degerees out and two days after our race at Mt. Crest. All I know is that he designed to simulate the state course at Highland so I'm assuming it was the same for this. It started out pretty flat with a couple small hills here and there, and around 600m we had to get to then top of a big hill and run back down. Then there were a few rolling hills for about the last 200m. We had a little over a quarter mile jog in between sets. My splits were 3:10, 3:07, 3:03, 3:05, 3:01 ( I think), and 2:46. (I just went all out on the last one). I ran pretty much all of them with J.D. and Ethan, but I don't think they had to put in as much effort as I was to get those times. It's funny because even though the last repeat was run harder and and being much more tired for it, it was easier than most, almost fun, actually. I geuss it's like that with alot of workouts. I didn't really have any problems other than a couple small cramps in my shoulders and neck, but they went away fast. Afterwards we had a 1200m cooldown and took the bus back. Then I iced, wich I geuss isn't such a good idea if you still have to run more after, especially if you do it from the waist down like I did today. So I had some shin pains on the run home but they went away as I warmed up again. 

4.5 easy miles with Jake and Keith, up Mainstreet to Carl's Jr. (approximatley).Then we got back and kind of got to gimp out from core because we got  there when everyone else was finishing.  Then I ran home after icing. (I don't know why I keep icing when I have to run again, it's probably just because I don't want to get left out at all)

AM- For XC we ran up to Providence and then did 8x20 sec pushes w/ 1 min recovery. Ididn't feel totally on top of it, but it was OK. For the first few pushes I was really just reaching as far as I could with my legs and overstriding, not increasing my cadence, which actually felt pretty good and satisfying. Then coach told me I shoulden't do that, so I just worked on having a quick, definitive stride. I think I'm going to work more on both of those things, increasing my natural stride length, and also being able to "slice" through the air with my legs. Back at the school I iced for a long little while and then ran home.

PM- I got the new racing flats I ordering online delivered today, and I coulden't wait to break them in a little, so I did a short little run on (mostly on grass), did some strides on a field near my house, and then ran back. I felt pretty fast in the shoes, and I'm excited to race in them. I might even use them for our 2 mile time trial next tuesday.

Good run today. I actually ran to practice, wich I think is a great warmup, bett erthan the 800m we usually do. I ran with Keith, Damon, Jake, and Isaac. We went up to the Aggie Bull statue by the stadium. I felt pretty good, and I think it was the good night's sleep I had. Then we went up the hill to Old Maine super quick, (we were sort of racing), and then a good pace until we got down to mainstreet, where we sort of raced all the back to the football field. (I geuss I started it by picking up the tempo). Then we had about 8 minutes of core, iced, and I had a pretty good run home. 

This morning I did my last long run before the half marathon. It was a big loop just like the one in the past two weeks except this time I arn all the way up center street till I hit cliffside, then once I got up to dry canyon, and ran the deer fence trail to providence and came back through the residential are and then past Macy's and the Golf Course. I got feeling pretty tired once I got across mainstreet, but it was ok. I pushed the last mile like I usually do, so that I can remember to do it on race day.

Easy run this morning after and 800m warmup and stretches. Damon, Keith, Jake and I jsut ran to the end of the canal trail and back. That was a little under 5.5. Then my run home made the total 7 miles, so not bad. We have a two mile time trial tomorrow at the cross-country course, and I'm pretty excited.

I am very satisfied with today. It feels like all my hard work this summer is paying off and it makes me excited to work even harder and get great times this season. We got to the course at about 6:30 and did a quick but slow half-mile warmup. Then the rest of the team started doing a dynamic warmup but I was changing shoes so I missed that and only got a little bit in. I feel like I definetley went out at the right speed, and in the pack with me were Damon, Keith, Jake, and Davis. I was sort of in the middle of our pack for the first mile, although we were super close together. Ahead of us were Johnny, Ethan, and J.D. The grass was pretty easy to go the same speed on thanks to numerous times that I've done grass runs and strides this summer. We came through the first mile at 6:30. Some time around here was where I started to pick it up, and the rest of the pack followed. from there on I led, and the last 400 was really fast but felt amazing at the same time. I started kicking pretty early and that's when I sort of broke away from them. The end of the course was set up weird in that there was a big straight long striaghtaway and the a sharp turn followed by maybe a 25-50 meter straightaway. That made it harder to fall into the nice relaxed but quick strided sprint that I've been working on lately. I finished in 12 flat, so a PR, and it also means that we had a crazy big negative split, with a 5:30 second mile. It felt like I had energy to spare. I think it will be great if I can run under a 6:30 first mile next wednesday and then keep progressing it from there in the next 2.1 miles. After doing some yardwork on the course for a couploe hours a few of us ran back to the school. It was a nice, slow, easy feeling three miles.

Helping make the course look great for the start of the season

This morning in XC coach had us run to Merlin Olden park and them we did a 30 minutes session of core excersices with some sprints here and there. I'm geussing I geussing I got in a mile total during that, but I geuss it was pretty beneficial. Then we ran back to the school where I iced and then played some soccer. After that I ran about 5.5 miles to the river trail and then headed home along Park Avenue, just to actually get a run in. It felt pretty good. Tomorrow we have some tempo repeats I believe, plus it's our first afternoon practice because school starts also.

First day of afterschool practice was today, and the weather wasn't super cool, even though it seemed like it would be earlier. After our warmup and drills, coach had us run to the river trail and do (5 x 3 min hard w/ 2min rests). That was one of the toughest workouts we've had, just because of the less than equal recoveries, plus the heat. the other tough one we had was the 800s up at Gibbons, but that was in the morning. Most of the sets weren't too bad. I think we may have been taking them a little too fast, though. The only one where my legs really started to get tired and and I felt fatigued was the last set. At least I made an attempt at hydrating today. The run back just felt super hard. After we did some core, but it was felt pretty tough and it wasn't good to feel all gross and sweaty and have mosquitoes attacking you at the same time either. We did this front elbow plank for like 2 minutes, and that felt really hard. After that I got some pretty good full submersion icing in the canal.

The half is tommorrow!, so I decided to take it really short and easy today. After our 800m warmup, I just went 3 miles easy with the usual group, and we were told to do some strides when we got back so that's what we did, a half a miles worth on the track. They just felt amazing, the way I cold extend my stridelength. I think I'm to try to do those after most runs.

     Wooh! What a day! I had to get up at 4:30 to catch a bus up to the start line, so last night I tried going to sleep at 8:30. It took about a half hour to get to sleep (on two meletonin), and then I woke up at 10:30, got up, took another chill pill, went to the bathroom, and tried to get back to sleep. That took about 2 hours, so I wasn't as rested as I wanted to be, but it was still pretty good.

     When I got off the bus at the park in Blacksmith Fork Canyon, it was freezing cold, and I was shivering even with my sweats and warmup shirt. This was  at about 6:00, and the race started at 7. At 6:30, I stripped into my race clothes, got in a a good 10 minute warmup, and before I knew it, people were lining up to start, and the gun went off. 

     When  I lined up, I made sure to get near the 1:35 pacer, but when the race started, he was going at a pace that  I was not comfortable with, so I kind of thought sub 1:35 was off the book once he was out my sight, but as far as I new I was way ahead of the 1:40 guy. The first 7 miles (down the canyon) were super easy, just like I was told before. One of the only splits I remember is at mile 2 where I was at 14:45, and thought yes, I have good pace and I feel great. Four of my friends from XC were at the mile three aid station, which was great. I spent the whole time in the canyon basically leapfrogging with some other runners.

Me at somewhere around miles 4 or 5, fixing my posture for the camera

       I kind of started feeling it as soon as the course flattened out, but it wasn't that bad yet. So I geuss I would call most of the Hollow Road section stage 2 as far as difficulty. I was surprised when I saw the entire girls soccer team from my school at one of the stations. Once I got onto the highway and off it, the race was at maximum difficulty. Miles 11 and 12 were the worst part. That was probably where I was at the slowest pace and sloppiest form. I got passed once in the whole race and it was at the end of mile 11. It was a kid wearing a Sky View jersey and he just had a strong finish that I wish I would have had. (I found out later that he's my second cousin).

Somewhere on Hollow Road, but I don't remember where.

Realizing I'm gonna get passed and that I need to step up my game

    Once mile 13 started, it got easier, and I was able to pick up the pace. With about 800 left I passed the 1:35 pacer, who was going way slower than when he started. I figure he must be new to pacing and went out too fast, then realized it and had to slow way down. By then I could physically see the finish line, and got even easier. It felt amazing sprinting through the finish. 

  The final kick before the finish line is undoubtedly the best part of the race   

That look of exhausted, triumphant, relief when you realize when you realize you just finished your first Half-Marathon

I was a little scared about doing a speed workout today for frear that I might hurt myself, but I actually felt pretty good. The workout had two parts. After running our warmup to Merlin Oslen, we went up Canyon Rd. for 20 minutes easy. That got us exactly 2.34 miles, or to the water treatment center, where we took a brief rest stop. The next step was to get back in fifteen minutes. We started kind of slow, and then once we picked it up, it was just me and Keith. (Damon and Jake fell behind). We ended up getting back in 15:30, so close enough. I felt super great, in the way where the running is still hard and it raises your breathing and heart rate, but you have the energy to not back down or break form at all. For the next part, we did  3 800's around the park. A good prep for wednesday, since it had the same surfaces as our home course. The first one was a 3:05 with a 2 min rest, the next one was a 3:04 with a little bit longer rest (coach said it was okay), and the last one was a 2:51. On the first set I was running with Ethan and Keith. On the next one it was just me and Keith but he fell back a bit. On the last one I was in the front until Ethan came up next to me and raced me to the line. I'm glad I had somone to push me. Then we did some core, and jogged back and iced.

Today we did an easy run on the river trail. I felt pretty sluggish and heavy, but it was probably because everyon eincluding me just forgot to warmup and stretch. It was pretty hot and humid out too. On the way back we did about 4 20 second pushes with a minute between. Then back at our spot I did some strides in my flats on the field.

     Great race today. I think I did pretty well hydrating throughout the day. I left school with a few others after lunch to go help set up the course. That took about an hour and a half. Then the team showed up at maybe 2:40. I got a mile warmup in at 3, and I felt okay. This was right after a nice roller massage, so I did feel nice and loose. I did some strides at 3:20, and was doing pretty welll as far as pre-race jitters go. the race started at 3:35. (Ogdens team is one of the best in the state, so we weren't planning on beating them, I'm gonna say that off the bat) 

     When the gun went off, we went out moderatley hard (this was the same pack as in our time trial) I felt okay still, but I think we could all tell that we were going out a little too fast. I could also tell that Ogden was already set up to beat us, with all of their varsity and more in front of me, the fourth scorer. So I focused on staying with at least an Ogden runner near us, who I remember beating in track. Mile 1- 5:50.

     That was where I realized we went out too hard, faster than the first mile of our 2 miler last week. But I kept running and tried to keep up the pace. This mile was pretty uneventful. I think we stayed in our positions, but Keith was having a hard time keeping up. At the end of the mile we dropped the Ogden runner and he was replaced with another one, a mile 3 kicker. Davis stayed right on my tail. I think he's got alot of potential. Mile 2- 6:10

     At 2.5 I started sensing alot of lactic filling up in my legs, but Davis came by my side and remided me to trya dn step it up some more. Once we had about 200 left, it got way easier mentally, and I pulled away from Davis and gained on the slowing Ogden runner ahead. When he saw me next to him in the final straightaway, he kicked and I kicked, and he beat by I think .37 seconds, so super close. After I cooled down a bit while watching the girls race.

I was way satsified with today, (wich was a PR). The fact that I PR'd makes me want to work even harder and see how much I improve throughout the season. Next meet is a week from saturday, on the same course, just more schools. Hopefully the course stays the same so I can compare times like in track. It'll be great to see what teams we beat and know sort of where we are, and know that I helped in that effort (Assuming I race my best)

Very unsatisfied practice today. That two miles includes the warmup. I've been trying to suggest that getting in more volume during the season is a good thing, but noone will listen. For now on I think I'm going to run with Mark. Johnny, and JD on the easy days, since I did notice that they went a little bit longer.

Good practice. First we ran to Merlin-Olsen and Todd had us do the same core circuit that we did last wednesday, and then Mark and JD and I put in a couple more miles, which felt pretty good.

I wasn't feeling too well so I took today off. Next week I'm definetley going to try and get more milage in. For sure above thirty and maybe above 40.

I don't usually run on sundays, but today I was feeling alot better and was mad at myself for taking a day off, so I decided to do my long run today. It didn't feel like the first run of the week, but I geuss it technically is. I felt kind of trashed for the first 3 miles, which got me exactly to the start of the canal trail by canyon road. After a little rest (and dropping my shirt, something I'm not proud of), I started feeling better. Before my head was pounding, but that stopped. Then I took the trail up to Cliffside, which was kind of taxing for an easy run, but it's a nice route. I pretty much went directly home after that, with a little detour in the ds nature park.

TOTAL TIME: 1:08 (RUN WAS ACTUALLY 8.85, I JUST ROUNDED IT UP)