Running From Finals

Today I went 95 minutes. The run was actually super cool. Sadly I wasn't with the team because we had to drop my dad off in Vegas for his trip, but I ended up actually having someone to run with. I was running a trail that went from Henderson down in green valley to the M hotel. About .6 of a mile in I ran into a college guy who was out running. He asked if he could run with me and we did the next 3 or 4 miles together. It was nice having someone to run with. He was a super cool dude. He ran he 800 and had a pr of 1:52. He went to University of Virginia, but grew up in Vegas and took state in the 800 there. He said he wrestled did track and XC in high school. It was fun running with him for a while and he told me good luck with my season and to be a leader. It was really cool. After that I kept going and tried to keep my pace quick. I ended up making it to the M and flipping. I totaled 12.8 miles on the run and kept a 7:25 pace. It was difficult, but I felt good when I finished. I'm excited I've been able to keep up with the 3s and hope that might be able to get me into a varsity spot. Whatever happens I'm going to keep running with them and trying my best. I can't wait to see what the season has in store for me. I'm looking for some really big PRs and bringing my intensity with running up a little bit while avoiding injury. I read up on shoes a little more and am honking I might get an alternate pair to try and prevent injury. Not quite sure what to do yet, but icing and stretching will also be a big focus. Yoga has been helping a lot too. 

We went 54 minutes today accidentally going over on striders. The run felt good, but I'm feeling pretty tight from yesterday. I'm still trying to keep running the level 3 workouts. Kids club was awesome. Unfortunately I've been gone almost every Tuesday so this was my first time but it was tons of fun.

I went 20 minutes with the team my shins and calfs are feeling pretty tight. My strides are good though. I'm finally back to lifting and I'm hoping to work on getting my weights up even more without sacrificing form or how fast I move during my runs. Also Addi gave a talk on how important the little things are and how small victories are important. That was cool. Coach also mentioned how fear can hinder us. Lately I think I've been doing better than normal because I've let go of my fear of failing. I am going to work my hardest to keep that attitude. While coach was talking about it I was thinking about how difficult the beginning of a race can be sometimes. There's so much nervousness built up around it. Im trying to visualize more to prepare myself for that this year. I was also thinking about how I want to react when I start a race. I think the best approach for me is to stay calm and just think about running with my teammates. Just focusing on being part of that pack. We've got another tempo coming up this Thursday. I'd like to keep this same attitude for that workout. I can't wait go out and try my best on it.

Today was awesome. We went and ran the tortoise trail to sand hill. I'd heard of the trail befor, but had no idea what I was in for. We got to the sand hill trail and began working our way up. It felt never ending, but I didn't feel exhausted. I just felt as though I was unable to move fast enough. I'd forgotten how much I struggle running on sand so today was a good learning experience that fave me an opportunity to better a weakness. I figured out that keeping light strides that don't take too much energy seems to work the best, and that running on compact sand where others have not already ran helps a lot too. Sadly I figured that out about 3/4 way up the hill. By the time I got to the top I couldn't see coach or the others. I was still happy I didn't stop on the way up though. It was hard but a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the trail. The view from the top was really rewarding. You could see from snow canyon to sand hollow. I also checked my watch and we had a total of 1000 feet in elevation gain so that was pretty cool. Eventually I caught up with the team and we finished with a total of about 80 minutes. Afterwards I went home and took an ice bath. That was really nice. This has been the most minutes I've ever done in a week so I figured hard be smart. Also I read a little bit of my new book while icing called running and philosophy. It had a lot of familiar messages. One talks about amor Dari which is a term coach robs brought up a while back. It's one of my favorites. It is the love of fate. In philosophy it talks about one not wanting anything to be different, but accepting their fate and facing the music. I think this is useful in not necessarily progress because one always wants to improve, but the process. It deals with accepting that running will be hard, races will hurt, and it will take effort, but one has to accept that and move on. You should learn to love the process. It helps work be more rewarding. I like this a lot and have felt like I've been doing this lately, and that has been helping me reach goals I didn't think I could while enjoying it even more. I've been really nervous for Thursday's workout because I did really well last time and don't want to fail the next time I try. I don't want last time to be a fluke. So I think this was good for me to rea. It downed my worries and has me excited to give it my all tomorrow. Can't wait for the workout. I'm planning on running all 28 with the top guys.

Well I wrote a really long description of this run so I could refer to it later in order to know what worked and what didn't, but it didnt save so I'm going to try and keep it brief and sort of outlined. 60 minutes overall 

POSITIVE: 

My 3 quickest miles added up to a 17:59 ( 8 seconds from last week and 16 seconds off my PR )

I ran all of the minutes for the tempo today ( about 4 more than last week )

I fought through when things seemed to fall apart

I ended about 200 meters away from Carson logan and alex ( that's 200 closer than last week) 

I stuck with the top guys up until the last .65 miles where I went just a  little bit slower than Carson logan and Alex 

My average split was the exact same as last time.

THE NOT SO POSITIVE: 

Things seemed to fall apart just a little bit earlier than last time

I was a little more panicked this time

My back kick could've used some more work while running

My breathing fell apart just a little sooner.

GOALS FOR NEXT TEMPO:

Finish right with the top guys

Keep calm and relaxed. 

Encourage others to stick with us

Focus just a little more on form

Conclusion: Although there wasn't tons of improvement I still stuck with the top guys up until the last little bit and managed to improve ,altogether, just a little more in comparison to last time. This reminds me of Addi's talk she gave. The little victories count and in the end have profound affects on what we do. I think this workout was one of those kinds of victories for me. This run was fun but difficult, and I'm glad I took that ice bath last night.  I'm pumped to keep working and enjoying the process. 

20 minuter with the team felt good after weights

This mornings run was good. It had been so long since I'd been to the park i got a little lost on the way there but luckily made it just a minute after 7. I felt pretty tight today cause of yesterday's workout. I had a few areas that were really tender. My right foot and hip have been this way, but luckily I'll have time to ice and stretch tonight. Hopefully some yoga will help.

Today we ran at north Bloomington hills park. We started the run by running the usual racing course. While we were running it I tried to visualize running the upcoming time trial. I think that helped me focus on how I want perform a little more. I'm really nervous for it because I'd like to do really well but at the same time I'm really excited to get to run it. My goal is to run it with our top guys for as long as I can. I know Carson Julian Alex and all of them have a really quick two mile time so hopefully staying with them will help me a lot. I am going to keep working hard these next few weeks so I can run my best at the time trial. After running the course, we got onto the river trail. I'd never done it before but it was a lot of fun. Miley almost lost his shirt, we kicked a ball for about a mile, and had some quality golf water. It was nice to have a more loose run after yesterday being so intense.

After I ran, i read some more from running and philosophy. It talked about happiness and defined it as becoming fulfilled through striving for good. It then explained that running does this by helping us strive for improvement, developing good relationships with our teammates, and helping others through charity events and other similar activities. I can say that I've found a lot of fulfillment with my team over the past year of running with them through each of these things. I'm sure this year is going to bring several similar and great experiences helping myself and others reach for that fulfillment. I can't wait to see how this season goes.

Today's run was really tough. It probably felt the hardest one we'd done this week. I got up at 7 and met Julian, Carson, Jose, and Mikey for our run. We did the chuckwalla trail. After about 20 minutes in everyone was starting to get a little wiped out. Most of the run was uphill so that might have been part of it. Still, the run was really fun. We saw a lot of great views of icons and found a cool cave called scouts cave. After that we flipped cause we ran out of trail so we had to extend a little bit at the end of the run to make up for it. On the way back we were at least a little more consistent in pace, and we got our pickups in which was good. On the third pickup we were running past some dogs towards the top of a rocky slope and Julian slipped and fell down the slope. We didn't realize we'd lost him till Carson looked back. Luckily it wasn't too bad of a slope so we ended up meeting up with him at the end of the run and he was good. At the end we extended our time on to the paved trail to finish our minutes. It was a super hard run, but well worth it. It gave me a chance to work on my form while trail running as well as work on running hills after a long week. After the run we also went to orange peel it was nice getting to hangout with the guys for a bit especially before I head out next week. Although I'm thinking we will luckily leave after the long run Monday. Also, I'm pretty bummed I won't be running with the team the next few weeks but I'm going to try and keep pushing myself and maybe keep an eye out for some other runners to keep pace. Overall this week was fantastic. I'm pretty sure this is the longest I've ever gone minute wise in one week, and I met all my goals which was great. 

I read another chapter from my book and it talked about 7 things that bring success. 

They go as follows: 

1) setting a goal

2) knowing what it takes to obtain that goal

3) persistence 

4) passion 

5) A good character 

6) enjoying the process 

7) confidence in your ability to achieve that goal

I thought about my own running experience as I reflected on each of these things. I thought about my goal to grow to a point where I'm able to run at a varsity level. I also thought about how running with the higher level runners during workouts especially the speed workouts would help me reach that goal. As for persistence, enjoying the process, and being passionate, I've found that just having fun while your out spending time with your team is one of he best ways for all of these three things to come together. They also seem to fuel each other in different ways. I then thought about having a good character. The book talked about a large part of this dealing with you holding yourself accountable and being self aware. This helps you keep your goals in perspective and recognize what you're doing well and what you could work on. I think this would definitely be a good one to keep focused on this season so I'm able to perform my best. The last one I thought about was confidence. This is the one I often struggle with the most because I can sometimes be a little self skeptical. Although it's good to know ones limits, being skeptical of your ability can be a hindrance when trying to improve because it can put limits on your abilities even before you try to achieve your goal. This can cause a huge problem mentally when it comes to the harder workouts and races. Lately, I feel like I've done a lot better at this by just being willing to try something that I normally would find myself thinking is out of reach for me rather than not letting myself try it in the first place. This is definitely something I'd like to keep focusing on throughout the season.