Getting back in shape!

Four mile pre-meet.

Just a dual meet against Mountain Crest. I kept the a good pace and I like running on road so I did pretty well, getting 5th overall with 17:18. This was also the last race for my Gel Dirt Dog three. They will now be retired.

Coach had us do a short 3 mile recovery run today.

Today we did a workout I really did not like. It was an 800 meter at T-Pace with 2 minute rest followed by three miles of T-pace, the last mile of which was on the track. I really don't feel like I got anything out of it and I felt like crap, I would've really like to do 4X400s at this practice instead, being so close to the final races.

Took Saturday off and did feel like I got anything from Friday's workout so I originally planned on a 30 mile bike ride today but I guess i got to into the awesome fall colors of Logan Canyon so I went a total of 50 with a short drink break at Rick's Springs. Went at a really fast pace up with the aid of tail wind but kept just about the same speed back to Logan with headwind.

I knew I felt good on yesterday's run because I did not feel it at all today even though it was a really random long ride at an weird time in the season, well I guess I just got into deep thought throughout the ride and it really refreshed me mentally. Today I kept most of the songs I listened to on my ride for my running workout, irritating some of my teammates. Amazingly I felt really good on our 4x400 workout today. I was well ahead of everyone in my pack for most of the races, being a little ahead of pace. Still I noticed I was not as tired as them at the end. So I didn't want to slow down but it still irritated some of teammates that I was going fast, but it didn't get to me.

Just a slow short 3 mile run with 4 100 meters at race pace for region tomorrow.

It was finally time for the region meet. The one race that usually ended my season in the past, and the one race I put was the most important race of this season for our team and myself. We were pretty well matched with Mountain Crest for the final spot for the team qualification for the State meet (Top 4 teams qualify.) Box Elder, Bonneville, and Sky View where realistically out of reach for us as a team so we had to beat Moutain Crest. I had already accepted the chance that I might go my High School Cross Country Career without ever making it to the state meet before the race, but I didn't plan on making it easy for whoever would be the one to beat me out of it. This race was also the debut of my new Racing shoes, the Asics Hyper XC, replacing my long time racing shoes, the Gel Dirt Dogs series.

I got a good half mile nervous warm up and went to the line. I liked our position at the start and ended having an alright start. I felt like I was right were I needed to be the first 800 meters. I was leading the Logan pack which consisted of everyone except for Jerrell (who was leading the race.) We were well packed and I knew they were all right behind me. I knew most trusted me with keeping the pace so I sped up a bit to catch some Box Elder kids, hoping they would follow, as well as catching some Mountain Crest kids. Eventually I was right behind the Mountain Crest pack and saw that the whole pack was right behind me. After a Mile the MC pack started to loose us and I knew we were in trouble. That's when my teammate Henry Olsen came up right beside me and helped me pick up the pace again with his surge. Henry contiuned his surge and dropped me. Soon, Sylvan came and was right with me, which really inspired me due to all the injuries he's struggled with this season. The three of us were making ground on many people while the other half of the pack lagged behind. With one mile left, seeing as how MC had the majoirty of their guys ahead of ours, I lost faith in qualifying as a team and went into survival mode. At this point I made my move, going for the individual qualification in which, in between the last two teams, the first three runners qualify to the state meet. While moving up, I saw how far up Henry was and that the rest of the team was still on my tail, so I regained a little hope because I also didn't see much Box Elder kids around, which really surprised me. Assuming most of the Box Elder kids were already ahead (pesimistic thoughts are unavoidable in desperate situations) at this point I was pretty worried and again lost faith in my team beating MC or BE. So I took off harder, solo chasing after Henry who had attacked earlier. I was still third on the team in the final turn and I felt like I was going to make it to state (since the other loosing team we had already swept earlier in the season and I knew there wasn't any of them ahead of me.) Shortly after this feeling was when Sylvan and Mark passed me with about 100 meters from the finish line. My chances for state gone with them, and that somehow just made me sprint harder for an already lost cause. I finished and immediatly saw the race as my last XC race.

At the finish I was tired, really hot, and sweaty. I wasn't mad, or sad. I had already thought this scenario through and accepted the outcome. It just felt like the real. Whatever feeling it was that I had, I begun morphing it into elation due to reflective thoughts of the season and the sight of happiness in the rest of the team (the girls had qualified as a team to the state meet, and Jerrell had won the whole race.) I just kinda walked around for a while and went over the MC tent to congratulate the kids (who I thought were the ones who beat us for the last qualifying spot. To my surprise they were down with the blues too, thinking they didn't make it to qualify for state, they were kind of laughing at it too, which really cheered me up and caused me to laugh at my troubles. Then I saw fellow blogger Connor Mantz and congratulated him with his second place finish and talked to him about his race. I then went over to my fellow teammates and told most of them it was fun racing them for my last year of XC. That's when they started calling out the awards and I just sat under a tent reflecting on my 4 seasons of XC by myself. After all the individual awards they were getting ready to annouce the team results and I got curious and yondered over. That's when they announced that there was a tie for 4th place (the last qualifying spot) between us and Box Elder. Mark helped me up from the ground and I stood alongside my teammates, Sylvan, Henry, Mark, JD, Jerrell and Josh.  They announced the results and It turned out we beat Box Elder via our sixth place runner Josh and we all just got really excited since that was our goal all season to make it to state. I felt a great wave of new emotion and wandered over to my previous coach, Coach Reeder. I gave him a big hug and we were both way happy for the team and that a longtime goal of ours was finally reached. Now I have a another race to look forward to, with a whole different outlook.

Just at short like 1 mile jog to the park to play firsbee as a celebration for our performances yesterday.

A one mile warm-up, then some stretches at the River Trail in Logan Canyon. Then 1 mile at T-pace followed with 800 meters at I-Pace. Then 400 meters at R-pace on the uphill single track part. Then an 800 I-pace back followed by a 1 mile T-pace back to Stokes NC. Felt good most of the way though I did feel the fast bike ride to the trail.

Didn't feel it today unlike the last two rides. I meant to go a little farther but I guess this is good too.

Today we did a speed workout today, 800 meter warm-up with two 800 at I-Pace (2:44 for me) and then two 400s at I-Pace, though the last one we kinda raced. After that we got all the JV runners and practiced our starts by starting in a small area and funneling into an even smaller area. One runner even got elbowed in the teeth. overall I felt bad at the beginning but towards the end I felt great.

Today we did an easy three miles around willow park for state tomorrow. I'm not nowhere near as nervous for this race as I was for Region. I'll just have to see if that helps me or not.

I decided to go ahead and race in my Asics Japan Thunders track spikes at this race. I had tried them out on the road and cement an it didn't bug me as much as I thought it would.

We got to the starting line and I was behind my teammate Henry. I was hoping he would go out fast and when the race started he didn't. I can't remember how in all the chaos but I maneuvered around him and got in the middle of the pack. Going uphill on the road I realized that I wasn't the only one who was running in spikes. I crested the top of that hill pretty well and passed three of my teammates, sylvan, josh, and Mark along with the Mountain Crest pack. I got up to the two Box Elder runners, Hunter and Tanner and hung with them for a while. Eventually Hunter ell back and Tanner sped up, and then Zan caught up and passed me. Zan surged by me but I surged back and stuck right behind him until about 800 meters left where I burnt my last match and surged past him. I couldn't surge past him enough and he stayed behind but was struggling. Once we got on the track I passed a pack of about 5 runners and thought I lost Zan but I look left and he was right there. the last 50 meters we sprinted it out and he got me by a hair or .1 to be exact. I PR'ed pretty well at this course and my team struggled due to inexperience on hilly courses with the exception of the seniors, Jerrell, Josh, and me. We did beat MC in the team category so that was good. Overall I felt really good today and it was a perfect way to end my last Cross Country race.

Went on my first run, after a week long break. felt bad the first part of it but good the last mile.

Barely had enough time to fit this one in but managed to get another 4 mile run. Same thing as yesterday and felt really lightheaded during the middle of it. I hope to start running some longer distances soon in preperation of the 1st dam run 10K

I couldn't find time yesterday for a run due to studying for the ACT. I did get in one today and I felt kinda bad with stomach aches through most of it. towards the end it did go away though. Also did some swimming and strength training later in the day.

Got a few miles on the stationary bike and then went on the same run as yesterday later in the day.

Found enough time to bike and run today! Went on a 35 miler today on the bike and later got an easy 4 miles on the foot.

Short recovery 4 miler

4X400s today for race Saturday.