We are who we choose to be.

PM- 4 miles easy grapevine trail. Felt pretty sick today so I decided to hold it back and take my short run today. Ran into grapevine at dusk which I have decided is one of the scariest runs ever! Anyways, Happy New Year! 

PM- 6 miles easy Sunrise Tire Loop. Ran with the team today and it was feeling good and easy for the first 3 miles, but then we sped up a bit for the last three (from the long downhill, to the highschool) and that ended up making our average pace from around a 7:50 to a 7:20. I love my new Pegs and I think I will end up using those for the 1/2 coming up.

PM- Core Exercises, 7 miles easy Hospital Modified Loop, then some streching afterwards. Felt a lot better than yesterday although we did go a bit slower at a 7:40 mile pace. But it was really kewl to have such a big group up there today (even if some people did fall back). Decided that I'm going to start doing some yoga at home every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Checked out what tabata training is today and I might try some low intensity of that tomorrow and see how it goes. To hit my 30 mile goal, I only need to run 2 miles tomorrow, but I'm going to do 3.

AM- 3 miles easy F5 Modified, Streching/Yoga. Got up this morning and ran the F5 course with the F5+Cam. Let me just say, that is the hardest course ever. We only did one lap of it and were to tired to do another so we then ran around Jake's neighborhood. Got some good yoga in afterwards. Hit my mileage goal this week, but for some reason I have been WAY tired after all my runs. Not sure if it's dehydration, bad diet, or just that I'm just getting back in the program or what.

PM- 2 warm, 2x1600@85% (with 1 lap recovery in between), 1.5 cool. Felt pretty good today with an exception of a ton of side stitches. My goal time for 85% was 6:10ish so not too fast. First mile came in at a 6:09 and my second was a 6:04 and it really didn't feel too tough. Afterwards we got into the weight room. 

PM- 5 miles Trail Run Tuesday. Felt really good today and actually was breathing pretty well today. I've been trying out some breathing exercises that are supposed to help me and I guess they're working haha. Anyways, the trail was pretty tough, but not as tough as I had anticipated. Everyone, for the most part, kept up pretty well. We were going a little faster than maybe I would have liked, but it was still good.

PM- 6 miles easy w/12 minute tempo (goal pace 6:15). Felt really good going into the run today and we started the tempo at a really good pace, but then my stomach started feeling really bad. I just about threw up but I kept up and finished it with my average pace being around a 6:08. After the tempo, I still felt pretty bad but we went pretty slow so it went well. Weights afterwards.

PM- 2 miles warm, Kosmin Test (sorry not sure how to spell it), 2 miles cool. We ran the warmup and I was feeling really gassy (like my stomach) and it worried me because I usually run super slow when I'm like that. Anyways, we started and I put myself into position and finished the first one with Krenny and Cam. 2nd one cam and I pushed a bit ahead of Krenny I think. 3rd one Cam just took off which kind of helped push me and I really got a good gain on Andrew on this one. Last one I was just trying not to die honestly. I finished with a 1424 right behind Josh. Felt pretty good about this workout.

PM- 3 miles easy w/8xstriders. Felt really good today for just a nice easy day in the midst of all these workout. Have an 8 miler with some LT tomorrow and I'm kind of forced to do it on my own :( (sidenote to all the nonbelievers, I can prove that everyone else only did 7 striders and I did 8).

PM- 8 miles w/10 minute LT tempo. Goal tempo pace: 5:30. Achieved pace: 5:41. Got up too late to go running on my own this morning so I ran after honor orchestra on my own. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I went into green springs and didn't even start my tempo until 4 miles into the run. Not the best idea. My watch was showing my pace anywhere from 5:33 to 5:48 throughout the ten minutes, although the computer says I ran much much slower (which is why I am starting to not like the Nike watch for fast timed runs), so that's what I'm basing my average off of. I'm hoping the computer is wrong because I felt like I was going speed demon fast! Plus it was mostly downish hill. I feel like I pushed really hard and stayed mentally in it. After my 10 minutes, I stopped for a second and then ran to 8 miles. Never again will I run one of these on my own. So many people honked and cheered for me today that I don't even know with an exception of Nick. Guess it's the neon shorts

PM- 1.5 warm, 3x1600s @ 85% (goal time:5:41), 1.5 cool, weights. Felt pretty nice prior to the workout and my legs were feeling fine. Ran the workout with Logan, Josh, and coach. Started the workout and was right were I wanted to be at around a 5:41. On the second one we stayed consistent with a 5:42. Josh dropped out on the last one but me and Logan kept in strong and finished with 5:41 again. It felt so weird and great to be the first guy behind Paul on some of these. Super cool and feeling freaky fresh.

AM- 3 miles easy AC route. Did some yoga afterwards and it felt really nice this morning.

PM- 5 miles trail Mustang Mass route. Felt good on this run but the ground is so uneven on this trail! I swear I rolled my ankle like 5 times! No biggy though. Ready for the long run with some tempo tomorrow.

PM- 9 miles with 18 min AT tempo. Ran about 3 miles before starting the tempo and then we were off on the 1.5 mile loop. My goal pace was 5:50 and I was hitting that or at least around that for the whole first lap, but then about a quarter of the way through on the second lap I just died. I fell off of Logan and Jake caught up to me with about 3 minutes left and he pulled ahead with about a minute left but I stayed somewhat close behind him for the rest. Ended with a guestimation of 6:03ish. Good preface run for the 5k this Saturday! Super pumped for it. Weights afterwards.

AM- 3 miles easy AC route. Talked a bit about Elite MInds afterwards which was fun.

PM- 3 miles easy+2xoldmanhills. Felt super dehydrated and congested today going into it and didn't really have high expectations, but I did pretty well under the circumstances. Finished strong on the first one and had a nice push on the second. Legs killed me today from yesterday, but hey that's life. Stretching, Rolling, and Yoga will be the rest of my day.

PM- 3 miles easy and striders.

St George 5k- Ran a 2 mile warmup because it was flipping cold! Me, Cam, Paul, and Nick were all registered for the race and Matt was helping to pace Paul and Nick, and Krenny and Dave helped me and Cam. Started out super fast with a few legit runner guys and I stayed with the top pack (about six of us) for a while, but then decided to conserve my energy. A guy about my age ran next to me and passed me, but then I just kind of drafted off him until he started to slow down. At about mile 2, I started to take off to try to catch Rodney (who was in 5th at the time), but I didn't end up getting him. Ran a 17:37 though for the 5k which is good. Cam finished a few seconds behind me in seventh and Paul was 4th and NIck was 3rd.

AM- 1.5 warm, 4x1600s 85% (goal time: 5:40), 1.5 cool, weights. Felt pretty congested and gross going into the workout, but it didn't bother me too bad. Tried running these with Andrew and Cam and I was successfull! 1: 5:42. Felt good on this one, but it was kind of harder than I had expected. 2: 5:40. Was stronger overall on this one and hit my time perfectly. 3: 5:39. Kind of just tried not to die on this one. It was a really tough rep, but got my time. 4: 5:35. This one felt kind of sloppy. Was with Matt on the first 3 laps, but then finished up with Dave. Finished 5th on the team on the last 2! Was super surprised at that (although it's because some of the varsity guys weren't there)! Cooled down and hit the weight room afterwards.

AM- 3 miles easy AC route. Felt pretty nice this morning... Very quiet. Did do some yoga afterwards which was great.

PM- 5 miles TRT fun trail surprise. We showed up to the trail late because Matt had to return his tux so we had no clue where we were going on the trail so we just ran the main trail talking about the dangers of addiction ??? haha then we found a nice little trail and started running on that. It was super sandy and we probably should have just kept going on the main trail. On our way back, we ran into the other guys and then just stayed with them for the rest. Felt good to have some quality easy running with Matt, Dave, and Bryan.

PM- 10 miles 18 minute tempo (goal pace: 5:50). Started this run off with running to Starbucks and then to the tempo loop to make about 4 miles. After that, we started the 18 minute tempo. I started off with Logan and Cam, but then Cam fell off a bit then I fell off Logan about 1.5 miles in but stayed a consistent distance behind him for the rest of the run. Did much better than last week at a guestimated 5:56 pace which means I will be attempting a 24 minute tempo next week :) after that, we just added on until we got to 10 miles total. My legs felt really dead after this workout. Goals for tomorrow: Hydrate, kill the 400 hills (avenge my last week's hills)

AM- 2 miles to old man, 1x800 and 2x400 hills, then cool. Did my workout on my own this morning because of a poor scheduled orthodontist appointment. Kind of tough getting into it mentally when you're by yourself and tired! Legs felt okay and my breathing was good. I think I did well under the circumstances. Afterwards we talked about chapter one of the book in coach's room. 

PM- 3 miles easy Straight to Hell and Back route. Took it nice and slow on my own because of the orthodontist. Ran to almost Hell's hole, hence the name of the route. Life Lesson: never eat a chili dog right before you run... No matter the distance!

PM- 3 miles easy with striders. Follow the leader friday! We followed Byron around and ended up at 2450 park where we did our striders and ran back. Felt good.

AM- 6 miles 15 minute LT tempo. Goal pace: 5:30. Hit: 5:38. Met up with the guys at Sullivan Park and we ran the river trail for the tempo. Started the tempo off just behind Matt and stayed right behind him pretty much until the end. Things were looking good until we had to turn around and that kind of threw off my groove. Ended the tempo about 10ish seconds behind Paul and Matt. Kind of disappointed that I didn't hit my pace, but I was closer than last week when I was racing! Overall a good workout.

AM- 3 miles easy AC route. Felt pretty nice this morning. Kind of cold and very quiet run with the guys.

PM- 1.5 warm, 4x1600s@87% (goal time: 5:33), 1.5 cool, weights. Started out the workout very nicely with a time of 5:33 on the first rep next to Andrew and Cameron. Second rep was equally as nice with a 5:33 again with Andrew. Starting to feel very dehydrated at this point and I was sweating like none other (despite the short shorts and the sleeveless). On the third one, I started out the first lap very nicely, but I just kind of was not in it mentally and had to go to the little men's room. Finished around a 5:45. Didn't start the last one with the rest of the guys because I made a stop to the loo. Really was trying to get myself in there mentally and went into the last one feeling strong. Started with Andrew while he was starting his 3rd lap and kind of helped him push his last 800 and at this point I was right on target at a 2:46 (at the 800) and then my 3rd lap was crap. Maybe threw down a 1:30 at best on that lap just because I didn't have Andrew anymore. Then coach came in and helped me with my last lap and I threw down a 1:16. Just goes to show that you can do anything if you get in the right mindset. Last rep: 5:30.

AM- 3 miles easy AC. Felt nice.

PM- 5 miles Trail Run Tuesday. Went to the Temple Quarry Trail and ran 5 miles there. Very rocky, steep, narrow trail. Felt so easy though! Last year I remember it being awful! Well, just goes to show how far I have come and how much farther I have to go. On another note: Who's a better runner? Galen Rupp OR Steve Prefontaine?

AM- 3 miles easy AC with the guys. Was really nice temperature wise! 

PM- 10 miles w/18 minute AT (goal pace: 5:50). Felt really good going into this. Ran to Starbucks then to the tempo loops. Decided to start off just a little slow on the first lap and then speed up on the second. I didn't exactly speed up too much on the second (if any) but held my ground with Josh, Logan and Cam! Finished right on pace. Pretty successful workout. Worst part was after the tempo when we had to add on 3 more miles :P

After practice, I went to the Running Center and got the new PureFlows!

AM- 3 miles easy AC route with the guys.

PM- 6 total. 3x800 Old Man Hills. 2:45, 2:30, 2:47. Feel kind of bummed by my performance on these but I will run smarter next week. Why can't I just be super fast already?!

PM- 3 miles easy 8xstriders. Follow the Leader Friday! Followed Paul today to a rendition of a reverse Sandburgs. Would have been super kewl if my shoes didn't get all dirty! But other than that it was a super great run. Finished our striders right before all hail broke loose.