Road to Nationals- Pre-Regionals (Wartburg)
So last week was hard. The running portion of the week was good but challenging and I got a lot from it. I think I am starting to get back into good shape. But emotionally I am still doing pretty crummy. But I have amazing people around me who love and care for me. They also want to see me suceed, which is amazing. With all that being said this week I am going to do everything in my power to get right emotionally, as well as prepare well for the race that we will be having on Saturday. I don’t think this will be a shock to anyone reading this but I will be dedicating my race to my beautiful Grandmother. Enjoy this weeks blog people. You all rock!
MONDAY
6:31 A.M. 4 Miles in 31:38
This morning I went early with Evan so I could make it to Monday Morning Prayer for Salt Company. And boy, I learned something about Evan today, he is a morning person. But I like the kid so I’ll put up with him (just kidding he is awesome and one of my favorite people). Anyway we got the chance to talk about things and I love hearing about his prespective. See you guys this afternoon for an easy run with the team!
3:46 P.M. 6 Miles in 43:22
Today was a good day to recover, until I had to go to the bathroom with one mile to go. So I got a little bit of harder running in than I wanted to but it is okay because I am strong enough to handle it. Hopefully I can eat better and not have that problem tomorrow. See you tomorrow at 6:00 A.M. for a BIG workout!
TUESDAY
6:13 A.M. 2 Mile Warm up 5xCruise Mile 1 Mile Cool Down
Hopefully this is our last early morning practice of the cross country season! I love going in the mornings because it is slightly cooler in the beginning of the year. But boy, is it hard to get up for these early morning workouts. And I always feel down after the warm up because I go really slow. But man, today after the warm up I could have had one of my best cross country workouts ever. We did cruise miles on a grass loop about a mile and a half away from campus. And the first one was slow but we continued to work down the pace. My last mile of the workout was a 5:33 which I am very proud of. And most of all the effort of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th reps did not feel horrible. So if I keep putting together these awesome workouts, hopefully that translates into a great race this Saturday! See you all for a double this afternoon after class.
3:16 P.M. 4 Miles in 29:31
This afternoons run was solid, I ran with Paul, Austin, and Mason. We talked a lot about this week and how we should perform well. I think that I have put myself in a very good place to run very fast on Saturday and hopefully that comes true.
WEDNESDAY
7:30 A.M. 4 Miles in 30:52
Today was another morning double. And it makes me happy that I am not missing these runs because last year I had a really bad habit of not showing up. This morning was chill, most of the people doubling took off pretty quick from the start so Austin Bach and I got dropped and we ran together the whole time. Man, Austin is one of my closest friends here and every conversation I have with the dude I always come away from it feeling better than I did before. So thanks for being a great friend bro! The double was nice we started slow but picked up the pace throughout the run and it ended up being a pretty normal double. I like shaking out the legs in the morning because I am not as sore for practice in the afternoon. Speaking of the afternoon we have our steady segments day today so I will see you then.
3:45 P.M. 7 Miles in 47:41
This afternoon was a steady run day. I love these runs because it gets some junk out of my legs from the hard day that we had yesterday. All of the segments felt smooth, which is a really good sign going into Saturday! Had a solid group of 5 going at 6:15 per mile during our segments. One thing as a team that we need to focus on is actually translating good training to good racing. And for me this week that means finishing the race and being top seven for our team like I know I can. See you tomorrow for two easy recovery runs.
THURSDAY
7:17 A.M. 4 Miles in 33:19
This morning I was a bit tired. Probably from the two workouts that we did back to back. But I know I am going to be stronger in a month because of these and on Saturday I will have to get through it. See you in the afternoon with an easy run with the boys!
3:53 P.M. 6.22 Miles in 45:20
Today coach said something that struck me very hard as he was going over race stragety. I have had a great two weeks, maybe the best two weeks on the team. Now I need to race like it. It challenged me and I am glad he said it. Now today was six miles easy with some hill sprints. Good recovery and I think I will be fresh for Saturday. Probably going to do a town loop tomorrow for pre-meet super slow so I can get the junk out of my legs. See you tomorrow.
FRIDAY
4:02 P.M. 4 Miles in 30:37
Some thoughts before I talk about my Pre-Meet run today. I am a part of this team, and I am one of the better runners. Tomorrow I need to act like it, I need to race boldly and with confidence. Today I ran 4 miles with Mason and Austin. And boy are those guys fun to run with! I am feeling fresh and I am going to run fast tomorrow.
SATURDAY
10:25 A.M.
2 Mile Warm Up
8k @ 28:10
3 Mile Cool Down
Today I am happy that I finished the race, but in no regard am I satisfied. The last time I ran over 28 minutes for a 8k was my sophmore year. Now, I have had to take some time off for injury but not running under 28 minutes is horrible. In two weeks the training that I did in this block of training will pay off and I will be in a much better position. I have to focus on each day, getting better so I can help this team get to Nationals! I have a long run tomorrow and that is where it starts so hopefully I get some good work in! See you all tomorrow :)
SUNDAY
3:32 P.M. 12 Miles in 1:20:24
Well, the team got after it yesterday with our sub par performance. And I think it will serve as a very good spring board into this next training block. For me this week I am very happy with how the week turned out. I know I did not have the best result that I wanted this week. But the races that matter are ran in the end of October and middle of November so I am ready to be fast for those races!
