Christmas Break Training

These past couple weeks have been stressful but at the same time so great. Finals are finally finished, thankfully! I can't believe my first semester of college is already over! What? Running is awesome and I am grateful I can say I am healthy and feeling faster. Last week on Monday we ran a 60% run and I killed it! I couldn't believe it, but I was running up there with our fastest girls. I stayed with them for 4.5 of the 5 miles and averaged about a 6:27ish pace. I felt so good! It's so exciting. I also ran another 60% run by myself on Saturday and it was crazy because my last mile was a freaking 6:16! Man, I hope my body keeps adjusting to this intense training and I hope I get faster. Yesterday I did hill repeats and it was brutal doing it by myself but I pushed through it and felt so good after. I'm so glad I have a 3 week break now and I can just eat, sleep, and run.

Just yesterday I was reading one of my favorite runner's blogs and found out she is pregnant! I would definitely recommend reading her blog, she's so funny. Lauren Fleshman is amazing, visit her website asklaurenfleshman.com

1st Week of 4 Days of Speed

HOLY CRAP college running is hard. This week was pretty much brutal. I ran 48 miles again this week, 8 miles a day, and we did 4 days of speed. Monday was 10x400's at 80-83 pace. Tuesday was a 50% run and Wednesday was also a 50% run but with 10x100 meter strides. Thursday was 7x2 minute pickups and this was freaking hard because my body felt dead. Friday I thought I was going to have to do what the 5K girls ran which was 800 repeats, but I ended up only having to run 500 repeats which was a relief. It was only four, but they were really fast. Saturday was hill repeats and I felt really good running these! My body handled this all right, but the first week is over which I know is always the hardest. I hope this next finals week is a little easier.

2nd and Last Progression Run of the Season

Today was the second progression run to see how we have improved this past season. I was really excited for this because, even though it's a really hard workout, I knew I could do it due to the fact we did it at the beginning of the season. I mean, so far I can't finish the whole thing because my coach pulls you out if you fall off pace, but I can still get through a lot of it. Today my legs felt kind of tired and I think it definitely showed today in the progression run. I didn't do as well as I wanted, but I guess it was just an off day. Everyone has those days, so yeah I guess today was my day. I think I need to become more mentally tough though because I probably could have kept going if I didn't let my head get in the way. I need to work on this and stay positive!

Most Mileage EVER + Canyon Run

It's been forever but don't worry, as Nacho said it, I am still alive. Last week was really exciting running wise because I ran the highest amount of miles I've ever run in a week in my WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE! Yep, it was 48 to be exact. Eight miles every day. The cross country season is officially over and we had one guy from SUU make it to nationals and one of our girls missed making it by one spot! Hope she can make it in track. Anyway, that means all the girls are taking a week off hard workouts and just building mileage back up. So our coach told us to run our high mileage every day last week. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and I feel like my body handled it really well. I'm so encouraged! It really helped to do two a days because it broke up all the miles and made it feel not as long. I am grateful for Sundays though, as they really have become days of rest. Monday we ran the canyon run, and I didn't know how my body would do with this because I ran such high mileage last week, but I felt SO GREAT running up that canyon. It was two miles up and once I found a girl I knew I could stick with we pushed each other til the end. I came through about the eighth girl. There are the girls who travel because they're so fast and then a couple seniors that beat me. So that means I am getting better woot! Today I ran 12x60 sec pickups and felt so good too. I am so grateful I'm not injured and I'm starting to get excited for the progression run we are running Wednesday after the break. I love to run, and it's especially fun when you're not injured and feeling healthy!

The no sugar thing has been great. I'm doing this with my mom and I decided since she's still drinking Diet Coke then I can drink hot chocolate. Yes, hot chocolate has way more sugar than Coke but .... whatever. Otherwise, yeah it's been great with no sugar or junk food. This week on Thanksgiving and today I allowed myself pie and some other treats, but tomorrow I'm going to keep going with my mom. She decided to keep going until Christmas so I decided to do it with her! I like doing this because it makes me feel healthier. Pumpkin pie is SO GOOD though! I love Thanksgiving!

Liquid Iron Plus Random Stuff

EW. DISGUSTING. MAKES ME WANT TO VOMIT. YUCKY. BLECH. GROSS. NASTY. SICK.
Okay, enough of that. These are all the words I think when I have to take disgusting liquid iron every night. It's the grossest stuff I've ever tasted. My coach requires us to take this stuff because we run so much. I know I need it but its so nasty. AND iron sometimes turns your teeth grey so I have to shove it in the back of my throat. Sometimes it goes down the wrong tube and I can taste it when I cough. It's the yuckiest taste ever! EW.

Okay, so I had to write a paper on a commercial and analyze it. I chose this one and I think it's so funny! I laugh every time! Sorry this is so random but I love it :)

Speed

Monday = 5.4 miles + 10x100 meter strides
Tuesday = 7 miles with 4x1000 meter repeats with 2 and a half minutes rest in between + weights
Wednesday = SORE + 8 miles @ 7:45 pace

So gradually incorporating speed back into our training, well speed on the track, is going to take some getting used to. Tuesday's workout was not as bad as I thought it would be though, which is a good sign. We had to hit in between 3:20-3:45ish for the 1000's. My splits: 3:31, 3:29, 3:41, 3:30. Average=around 3:33 pace. I was so happy with how I ran these. I wish my third would have been a little faster but on that rep I felt like I pushed harder and it turned out being slower. It is what it is. This workout was really fun because we had the chance to run with the girls who are going to XC pre-nationals on our team. Usually they do separate workouts from us at a different time. It was really encouraging because our coach was so proud of how the other freshman and I ran the 1000's. He told us we are far ahead of the top girls on our team when they were freshman! Besides being sore from weights yesterday I feel so great. I am so grateful I'm not injured and feeling healthy.

Thursday = Most likely pick ups
Rest of the week = Distance

SUU Track

Favorite Running Songs

Born to Be Wild - Steppenwolf

Sail - AWOLNATION

Fade Into Darkness - Avicii

Back in Black - AC/DC

Too Close - Alex Clare

This is the New Year - Ian Axel

Track Workout & Party

Yesterday was such a great day. We did a workout that felt hard but not too hard, it actually felt good to be done and I felt like I could have even gone further which is a good sign. Anyway, weights have been killing me. I am so not used to pull-ups and all the different variations of dead lifts we've been doing! This morning when I woke up for my easy run I felt like I'd been hit by a bus :) This is good though because the fact I'm sore tells me I really need it. The track party last night was a blast!! It was hilarious watching everyone trying to run around the track in their costumes. The first event was the 4x600 which I ran. My team placed 2nd in that event for the girls. The second was shot put, then 4x100, then twinkie eating! So I asked my coach if I could do the twinkie eating, and then I took one look at the girls participating and instantly knew I had no chance of helping my team. All the girls in this event were thrower girls and yeah... let's just say those girls could cram! I'm glad I didn't participate because they looked so sick after. The root beer mile came after that and I luckily didn't have to participate in that either! It was so gross though, lots of puking. Anyway, it was pretty entertaining and I'm so pumped for track season! Hope I'm not redshirted but if I am then no big.

So I still haven't eaten junk/straight sugary desserts! 30 days here I come...

An Exception

Okay, so when I say I'm doing no sugar it means no sweets. I will still eat wheat thins or kashi cereal which contain sugar. Anyway, I challenged my mom to do this with me and I'm so proud of her because she has been passing up cookies and desserts galore left and right! It's not bad avoiding desserts and such when I have someone else doing it with me. I feel so much better though. Healthier, at least. Now here's the exception: SUU's track party is tomorrow and I'm on my coach's team. There's four different coaches and each picked certain athletes to be on their teams. As far as I know, there's a root beer mile and a twinkie eating contest! I talked to my mom and I'm going to participate in the twinkie eating! She said it was okay if I took one day off. I know I'm going to feel so sick! Hopefully it'll be fun though. I am so excited because my coach talked to me and another freshman girl today and told us we're going to be training with the top girls once cross is over. We might be red shirted track however. This is because the fastest girls are all seniors and juniors. Whatever happens happens though because a red shirt year is meant for getting stronger. Monday we did 6x400s really fast. It was definitely a shock to my system. Splits: 71, 72, 70 (may have even been a 69), 78, 77, 81. My legs died the fourth rep, as you can see. Training has been going well though. I have luckily stayed on top of my sleep and health. NO injuries either! I love college and running. Life is good :)

Here's a little of the college life: karaoke night with the team!

30 Days

I saw this video in one of my classes and thought it was inspiring. If you think about it 30 days really isn't very long. Watch this video:
http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_cutts_try_something_new_for_30_days.html

Being in college, it's not easy to eat healthy and lately I've been feeling bleh. So, after watching this clip I've decided to not eat junk food or sugar for 30 days. In high school it was easy but I've been slacking off big time. It's probably going to be hard now because I'm constantly surrounded by crap, but I want to feel better so I'm going to do it. Wish me luck and I'll probably post some more soon about how it goes!

Mary Cain

Just read a sweet article about a high school girl named Mary Cain. She's training under Oregon coach's legend Alberto Salazar and forfeiting her eligibility to compete at the high school level; however, she can still compete at national races such as footlocker and Nike cross nationals! This is amazing. I would recommend reading this article, it's so cool.
http://news.runnersworld.com/2012/10/20/alberto-salazar-to-coach-high-schooler-mary-cain/

Hey, I love motivational quotes

SUU Running

I LOVE SUU and especially running for them! Seriously, I am so grateful for this amazing opportunity in my life. I love when my coach gives us motivational speeches about how fast we may possibly be in the future. I love all my hilarious teammates and the feeling of running fast. There’s really nothing like college. I’m having so much fun. Workouts are going well and I recently finished my first rhythm. My coach does this rhythm training where we run 3 days for a certain distance and 3 more days at a higher distance and then 3 more days with an even higher distance. So for instance I run 3 days at 4 miles, then 3 days at 6 miles, and finally 3 days at 8 miles. All the while my crazy coach sometimes has us do 4 days of consecutive speed workouts! Due to my previous injury and conference for the rest of my teammates coming up, I only did 2 days of speed on Monday and Tuesday. Monday’s workout was so much fun and I felt amazing! We ran 8x60 second pickups on the grass. Tuesday my coach had me come up the canyon with the faster kids on my team and do a really intense workout! It was 3x4 sets of 400 meter repeats. The first set we had 30 seconds rest in between the 400’s, the second set we had 60 seconds in between, and then the last set we had 90 seconds rest in between. Gah! We were at 10,000 feet and each time we received more rest then the repeats had to be faster. I made it to the 2nd 400 in the 3rd set. It was so hard. Really. THEN after the 400’s my coach made them run an all-out mile! It was brutal, but I was glad to think if I was in shape I probably could have made it through the whole thing. Coach Houle’s workouts are so hard but I’m glad they’re hard because I know I’m going to improve by doing them. I was just thinking about this the other day and how much better college running is than high school running. The training, individualized attention, and overall help you get from so many people is much better. I love it and am so glad I chose the college I did! The people are mainly the reason it’s amazing. Hopefully I can stay healthy so I can come back stronger.

I'm not in this picture because I had to leave the home meet early but here's my team!

Running Again

So much has happened this month! But not with running... However, I am back and feeling healthy as ever! September consisted of biking, swimming, stem, and icing. No running whatsoever. It was also a ton of junk food eating because I had zero motivation to eat right. I thought, "If I can't run, what's the point?" Well, today was the first day back of speed. Yesterday I ran 3 miles with the girls at 50% which was easy for me because, well, it was 50%. But today I did about half the workout and man it was KILLER. I don't think I've ever had to come back from something like this before and I cannot believe how hard today felt! First of all, practice is at 2 pm everyday. That means the heat destroys. Secondly, I haven't run speed for over a month. My coach told me, "Run with the girls until you see Zions Bank... if you're still alive..." I thought he was probably joking but boy he wasn't! It really was HARD. Now I can see why it's so difficult for people who slack off on working out to come back. It's painful, period. Today was encouraging though! I ran about four miles and my back felt great until the end. I could feel it a teeny bit at the end, but otherwise everything else was great. I really need to get my cardio up. I can tell I haven't been running and I feel so out of shape. I know everything will work out though. The workout today was an 80% run. It went like this: two lap warmup on the track, then 80% (which is about 6:10 mile pace) mile on the track, then 2 more miles at the same pace on the road. Then we stopped and coach recorded our times. This is where I stopped, but the girls continued. They all lined up and then they ran 2 more miles up a canyon at 80%! I felt like I was going to die after the 3 miles and cannot imagine going 2 more up a freaking canyon. This makes me want to work harder though because I want to be up there with the other freshman. I am so grateful my back doesn't really hurt anymore. It was definitely a learning experience and now I know exactly what to do if I get injured again. I am so excited to be back! I didn't blog much when I was injured because I didn't have anything to write about... But now I am going to train hard for track and I hope to do well!

Injuries

My knee is all better. I can fully bend it 3/4 of the way and am able to run on it now! However, my back is killing me. Why? I think it's because I was walking on my leg with stitches funny and so now the other side of my body is paying for it. The stitches are on my left knee and now the back of my right hip hurts. I went to the trainer yesterday and I told him what happened. I told him that my back/hip is hurting now and asked him if there was anything he could do to help me. He told me if I've been walking on my leg funny then if I start walking on it normal then it will probably heal itself. I really questioned that. It sure doesn't feel like it's going to heal on its own! He put a heat pack on it and sent me on my way. Today I decided to try to run. I made it through the warm up, drills, and even 5.5 miles with the team (the total was 6). But after a while I just couldn't take it anymore and I had to stop and walk. I went to the trainer again and he put me in the whirlpool for 20 minutes but it didn't do anything. I really feel like I can't even walk, by back hurts so bad. I don't know what to do. The trainer is no help, and I seriously doubt he knows what he's doing. The team has a chiropractor that does wonders apparently, but that's my last option. It hurts so bad, I feel like a grandma when I walk. I guess I'm going to have to take some time off... that's really the only thing I can do.

This is how I feel!

Progression Run/Brian Head Altitude Camp

I survived the progression run!! I was really nervous for it, but it really wasn't that bad. I also was the 12th fastest girl so I had the amazing opportunity to go to the altitude camp up at Brian Head. It was so fun. The first day we got to a really nice hotel and ran a little. Then we ate dinner and played minute to win it. That night we also watched a movie. The second day, we went about a mile in the morning and then planned on finishing our mileage that afternoon on the Navajo run. It was such a cool trail and I was so excited to run it. About a mile into our run I tripped-either on a rock or on my own foot and fell. I thought it was fine and I got up to continue running when the girls told me to stop and really look at my knee. I looked down, and there was about a 1/2 inch deep gash in my knee cap and I could see the bone. My coach came and picked me up in a van and about 3 hours later I was in the ER getting stitches. It was only three, but boy it was so stiff the next day! On the way down to Cedar I actually talked to one of the new coaches (Coach Willie) who was an Olympic gold medalist in the 4x400 relay. It was so cool talking to him about his Olympic experiences. That night I stayed at my aunts house and watched a little bit of a movie with my cousins. The next day I went back up and rode in the van while everyone else ran. It was so annoying not being able to run with them! We hung out and prepared our talents for the talent show that night. The talent show was hilarious and I love the team they are so funny! Then we played cards until really late. The next morning we got up early and came home. I was so glad I got to go to camp and get to know my teammates better. I hope I can recover and get faster!

First Day of Practice

Well today I got up at about 7:30 am and drove with my cousin to the SUU track. When I got there, most of the athletes were there. The coaches eventually came and they brought us over to a spot on the grass to talk to us. Coach Houle really gave it to us straight. He said if we didn't train during the summer then we basically screwed up our season. Luckily I did mostly everything he told me to do so I hope my season is not screwed up... Another thing I liked that he said was that we need to take care of ourselves as athletes and stop thinking about what we're doing. He told us to let the coaches do all the thinking for us, because if we start thinking then we start doubting, and if we start doubting then we begin to make excuses, and if we begin making excuses then we won't go anywhere. He also told us to dream. Anything is possible. Then we all introduced ourselves to the team and signed our lives away if anything happened to us (such as paralysis or death :0). After that we went on a 6 mile run in the dead heat of the day. The girls were so nice, and I am so happy because I know I've made the right school decision. However, the run was really really hard because I only ate a banana and a piece of bread for breakfast at around 7:30 am. By the time we started running it was lunch time and I had definitely burned my breakfast off! It was so HOT too. AND I totally biffed it when we started running. It was embarassing too because the boys team was right behind us! Ha well it happens... I hope tomorrow I am rested and my legs feel okay. My goal is to make the top girls, good enough to attend the altitude camp. I know I can do it if I am mentally strong. Wish me luck!

And so it begins...

Well, I'm here! I'm in Cedar now! I can't move into my apartment yet because the lady won't let us move in until a couple days before school starts, so I'm staying with my aunt for about 10 days. Though practice starts TOMORROW. I'm nervous and excited all at the same time. I'm really nervous for Thursday! Apparently Thursday we have to do a progression run. I've seen this workout before and it's a killer, but I've never run it. My high school coach gave it to our boys team to run once and they seriously died during it. A teammate told me we start with a half a mile warmup and then run like a 7:00 mile, then progress to a 6:50, then 6:40, 6:20, then all out as fast as you can go. All the while if you don't hit the mile pace, then you drop out and watch the rest finish. It's basically a last man standing kind of workout, all on the track. Hopefully I can last until at least the last mile. I want to survive it, that's my goal! I'm so excited to meet new people and start new. Well, wish me luck! I will probably post about my first day of practice tomorrow, so until then!

Timp Half Marathon

OK, so on Saturday I ran the Timp Half Marathon with my aunt. It was so much fun, and I found out I set a personal record! It was only by about 20 seconds, but hey, a PR is a PR. I was also really surprised at how great I felt. I mean, just take a look at our splits: 7:08, 7:52, 7:17, 6:57, 6:52, 6:52, 7:00, 6:54, 7:03, 7:11, 6:53, 7:02, 6:49! I'm also really proud of my aunt Heather she set a PR too but by a lot! If anyone is ever wanting to a half marathon, this is the one. It's all downhill and very enjoyable. Yesterday I did P90X Stretch which really stretched out my muscles and left me feeling great. Then today I ran 12x60 second pickups with a total of 7 miles. I can't believe I wasn't very sore after that half. I haven't done one in a little under a year. I'm getting so excited for college! Countdown: 16 days til the first day of practice.

I love this because everyone can find greatness in their own way. This not only applies to running but in every aspect in life. We can be great at anything we want to.

Sometimes I ask myself why I run... It's because in the end IT WILL ALL BE WORTH IT. Monday: 6 miles w/ 5x60 second pick-ups. Tuesday: 6 miles ( hilly run ). Wednesday: 5.25 miles ( Taking it easy ). Thursday: Going to do hills ( 90 seconds each ), not sure how many yet. Friday: Going to take it easy again. Saturday: Timp half marathon! ( Not going to race this b/c I haven't been building up to it, shooting for 7:30 to 8:00 pace ).

Words from Steve Prefontaine

Quite often I'll probably post some pictures and facts about runners who inspire me. Steve Prefontaine is a runner who is probably one of the most famous in the running world. This dude was insane, in the 1970s right before he died in a car accident at the age of 24, he held 7 American records in track events ranging from the 2000 meters to the 10,000 meters. Pretty amazing I'll say. He also said some pretty cool things too, here are some quotes...

"A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more." "Success isn't how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started."

Summer Training

Well, this summer I feel like I haven't had the chance to up my mileage to where it needs to be. Youth Conference, NY, Girls Camp, etc. don't get me wrong, they were so much fun and I don't regret I went, however I am freaking out because I don't know if I will really be prepared for what college training has to bring. Let me just say, last week I ran 12 miles. TWELVE. That was because of Girls Camp, and the week before I ran 36. My mileage has been like that all summer. Today I went on a run with a future teammate and her old coach. They are in such better shape than me. My college coach, (Coach Houle) has given us workouts to run, where some days we go 60% and other days we go 80%. Today was a 60% day. The girls I ran with (or, ran the warmup with) took off once the warmup was over and ran a 6:35 pace for 5 miles. I was literally about half a mile or more behind them running as fast as I could without killing myself at a 7:20 pace for 4 miles. I am glad I have these girls to push me though. It motivates me to become faster than I ever have before. I came home after that workout though and found that I'm supposed to be doing my 60% days at 7:50 pace! It makes me feel better that I'm supposed to be doing those runs slower, but at the same time stressed that the girls I'm running with are so much faster than me. Anyways, I have just 4 weeks left until I leave for college. Luckily, I don't have very many trips that will interfere with my mileage/training. So my goal for this week is to run 30 miles. Next week 35, then the last two weeks I have left at home 40-42 miles. Hopefully I'm not injured by the time I leave...

Lastly, I may just have to take some great advice from Nacho Libre to motivate me!! "You are tall and fast like a gazelle, YOU CAN DO IT!"