Well I didn't think I'd make it this far....

AM: Easy four on my own.

PM: Today was a trimeet at East against Cyprus and Clearfield. I was only doing a 400 and an 800 again. I warmed up about two miles, then put on my spikes and did the 400. I think I ran a low 55 but I don't remember exactly. Then I ran around for about another two mile, doing some strides right before my 800. I didn't know whether I was going to push the pace in this 800, or just sit the first lap and take off the second. Well, right at the line, the gun went off a lot sooner than I was expecting, and it caught me off guard and I half stepped on the rail and stumbled, so I was in the back of the pack. Looks like my decision was made for me! I just moved up to second with John the first 300, then we both surged and swung around the leader. I took the lead before 400, and hit a 64 I think. I took off the last 400 and just brought it in and finished in 2:05. Then I cooled down four miles with John and threw some Javelin as the meet was ending. I am very proud of the fact that I threw 80-90ft on my first and only try. 

AM: No morning run.

PM: The usual pre meet stuff. Mile WU, mile speed changes, mile CD. 

AM: We got down to BYU and I went for an easy two mile warm up to get myself loosened up. Then I hydrated and did some usual pre race stuff and then did another mile WU at a faster pace. I then took my spikes over to the bullpen and did strides on the field until they called us in. I was seeded 5th with a 9:30, and I had run 9:30 before on tired legs, so I was expecting a huge PR today. 

     The race took off and exactly what I expected happened. Ben was in the lead and gapping, Conner and Jordon were holding a fast pace, Jake was trailing them by about 8 meters,  and I was sitting right on Jake. It stayed like this for a while. I didn't make a move because I thought that once Jake made his move to pass Jordon, I could just go with him. We came through the mile in about 4:32, a fast split, although not surprising. Towards the end of lap 5, Jake started to close that gap. He made several smaller surges, and then a big one to catch and pass Jordon and Conner. When Jake made his move, I couldn't go with him. There has been a bug going around my team recently, (Chris dropped out of the two mile at about the halfway point because he felt so horrible), and I could tell I wasn't feeling 'on.' Jake made his move and I lost contact to him and the other two, and from there my race went downhill. Pretty soon Brayden from AF caught me, and then the chase pack soon followed. Once I lost contact, I couldn't hold the pace and all the guys passing me just made it worse. It's been so long since I have outright down badly, horribly frankly, in a race, and I forgot what it feels like. It was hard to find the positive in this race at first, but in retrospect, it taught me so much. This 3200 was a humbling experience which put this season into perspective. I now have a new outlook and plan for what is left of the season, because this race happened for a reason.

AM: Today was the second day of the BYU Invite. I was racing until the golden hour in the afternoon, so I got to the meet at around 1:30. Once it came time to warm up, I did the same thing that I did yesterday and then took my stuff over to the bullpen for strides. I was seeded 2nd in this race, and I was hoping for a better result from yesterday. The race took off and I found myself in about 5-6th place on the inside. I don't even remember what we hit the first lap in, just that we hit the 800 in 2:12. During lap two, Jake took the lead and started to gap the group by a bit. I knew that I was not in the position I needed and I would move to the outside on the straights to pass people, but I just could not get myself to make a move. From here the race is a blur. Jake kept gapping us and I held on as best I could. There was a lot of movement around me, but I ended up passing one guy and holding off a few others on the kick to finish in 4:20.97. Overall, just not what I wanted at all. The time isn't as horrible as my 3200, but I have still run that fast on tired legs. I just couldn't move at all in this race. Jake ended up running a 4:13.20, which is only a second faster than what I ran at Davis, so I know I could have been with him.

     Racing these past two days has been disappointing in that they went nothing like what I expected, but I have definitely learned a lot. At least today wasn't state. I will be better from this bug by then, and have a new outlook which will hopefully prevent this from happening then.

AM: Went on an easy 7 on my own this morning. 

PM: Did an easy 6 after work. 

AM: Did a light workout this morning. Warmed up 1.5 miles, then did 2X (1.5 miles) at between 8:30 and 9:00 for the whole rep. I jogged a mile in between them. I hit 8:40 on the first, then 8:43 on the second. I felt good, just relaxed into the pace. Then cooled down to get to 7 miles.

PM: Did the usual track stuff, then a mile WU and mile speed changes. We were doing 2X (600, 400, 300, 300) at mile pace, but I did another set afterwards. My goal pace was (1:36, 63.5, 47, 47). We jogged back to the start between the 600 and the four, before the 300's, and had standing recovery otherwise. My times went like this (1:37, 63, 45, 46)(1:36, 63, 46, 47) and then on my own (1:35, 62, 44, 45). After the second set I was feeling it, and the third set I mainly only had to focus on the 600. But I felt strong and I hit my times. Afterwards I did four miles cool down to get the lactic out.

    Solid workout and today served to give me some of my confidence back that I so desperately have been wanting this past weekend.

AM: Easy four on my own.

PM:  After the usual track stuff, we did a mile WU and speed changes, then we did 3X200 and 2X300. I hit 27-28 on the 200's and 42, 43 on the 300's. Then we cooled down about a mile, then I did another mile and a half to be at 6 for the afternoon.

AM: Went on a three mile shakeout. 

PM: We got to Woods Cross High and there was pretty bad weather. Right as we were setting up the tents it started raining, and then thunder and lightning soon followed. The weather got worse and worse for about 40 minutes before the coaches came out of their meeting and decided to cancel the meet and make it a Thursday-Friday meet. That sucked for me because I have to take an AP test on Friday, plus it's an afternoon one, so they are going to have to do some sort of rearranging of events.

   Right after they decided to cancel the meet, we were picking up all our stuff and the weather got a lot nicer. The sun had come out, it had stopped raining, and even the wind had calmed down. Oh well, at least the bus ride home was nice.

     I just went home since it was about 5 and I was too hungry to run. I ate dinner when I got home and then did my workout right as the sun set. It was 10 minutes warm up, then 10X (1 min on/1 min off), then ten minutes cool down. As I was walking in the door my dog was giving me his puppy dog look, so I decided to take him for a walk. I was still in my running clothes, so right after we started the walk, I began to jog  a little and see how long my dog could keep up.

     To say the least, Duke's a big guy. European Great Dane and about 190 lbs. This particular breed of Great Dane isn't athletic at all and they dehydrate quite rapidly, so I was careful to see how he held up. I was surprised he made it about a mile at a medium fast jog. He drank about a gallon of water afterwards and then fell asleep until morning, but he made it a mile :D

AM: Went on an easy 3 mile shakeout on my own. 

PM: After arriving, I started warming up. I got about a mile and a half warm up, which is much less than I usually like to get, then a few good strides in. My focus for Region is just to get as many points as I can for the team, which means trying for the win in the 800, 1600, and 3200. I was feeling decent for the race and knew that it would just be a back and forth battle between Marcus and I. I put on my spikes and got over to the line.

     The gun went off and I got a pretty good start. I went right to the lead, and lead for the first lap. Marcus passed me right before 400, which I was expecting since he tends to push the pace early (62). He surged and I stuck on him. He lead for the next lap and we hit 2:08ish 800. I swung off the curve and passed him at 900 meters, but he passed me again on the second curve. He made another surge and I stuck on him. I was right on him until 300 to go, where I again swung and passed him, but this time kept surging away from him. I gapped him by about a second and it pretty much stayed that way until the finish. I kicked but not as hard as I could have. There was no need to kick that hard today. I crossed the line and had a mid 4:18 on my watch, but of course the timing said 4:19.06. Just barely didn't break 4:19, but oh well. Still a good race and faster than I thought we would run.

       I was done racing for today, so afterwards, Marcus, John, and I cooled down and we talked the whole time. Marcus is such a cool guy and we hit it off and had some good conversations. We became friends and I invited him to run with the team this summer and he said he would love to, so I'm really excited! We ran about 3 miles total.

AM: Went on an easy two mile shakeout, then took an ice bath.

PM: I had the AP Stats test today, which was supposed to start at 12 but ended up starting nearly at 1. It sucked to have to take an AP test the day of a Region, again, but oh well. They rearranged some events at Region so that those taking the test could make it. I ended up getting to the meet a little later than I expected, so I didn't have as much time to warm up. When I got there, they said the 800 would start in 15 minutes. In that time I got about a mile and a half in warm up and strides, then got to the line.

      I focused on getting out well. I'm not used to 800 starts, and I always end up getting out like in last place. So I got out well, and by 150 meters moved into the lead. I made sure to push that first lap, but I also kept some in the tank to out kick if I needed it. I hit a 57-58 first lap and then held what I thought was about a 60ish pace for the next lap. In the last 100 meters, I picked up the pace and saw that there was no one on me, so I kicked, but definitely not as hard as I could have. I got the win and it was also a nice surprise to finally break 2:00, and qualify for state on time.

      I jogged around about a mile with John in between watching some other races. By the time the two came, I put my spikes back on and got to the line. My goal for this was just to hit consistent splits, and out kick if I had to, although I doubted I would have to. I took it out a bit slower than I think was expected and saw that no one was willing to take the lead and push, so I just got ready to hit my splits. I think the first lap was a high 71, so a slow first lap. From here I just hammered out what I thought would be 4:40 pace, and I ended up hitting a 4:42-43 first mile, so a bit slower than I wanted but alright. Marcus was right on me to this point. The next two laps were the same. I slowed down a couple seconds and Marcus was right on me. Then on the last straight of lap 6 I saw by his shadow that Marcus had fallen of about 2 or 3 strides, so I threw in a surge and broke away from him. From here I just hit the same pace again, maybe a second or two faster, and brought it in to a 9:34. So a solid race.

      I then jogged around for about 3 or 4 minutes before I had to get ready for the 4X400. It was tough to throw out a fast 400 after the 800 and the 3200, but at least I held our position well enough. I got the baton in second and held it until the last 30 or so meters. I handed off pretty much even with two other guys, so John was right in their mix when he got the baton. He had an awesome kick for just having raced the 3200 and got us 3rd. Hooray for more points! I jogged around for probably a half mile right after.

      After that they did some awards and they announced the team scores. Despite how well I thought we did, the guys still finished in fourth which was a bit disappointing, but whatever. I was happy that I got the wins I did, and I have rebuilt my confidence over these past two days which I lost at BYU.

AM: This morning I met Bill, Chris, and Sarah at the track to get a workout in. We started with the VA loop over to the cemetery, then did five reps of the hill and exited after one lap, back over to the track along Guardsman, then five of the asphalt hill, followed by two progressive 300's which I hit in 44,43. I had to get home because of a family outing, so I didn't have time to do any cool down. I believe 8.5 is around what the total for me was. 

AM: Went on my usual Sunday morning run. I ran a little earlier than usual, but it was still pretty hot. Which was amazing! Did it in just under an hour and five minutes. 

AM: Morning speed workout today. It was just John, Sarah, and I. We did a mile WU and mile SC, then changed shoes. We did 3 sets of (500, then a slower 100, then 200). I had to hit the 500 in 78-79, which is about a 61-62 400, then the 200 in 30 or less. I ended up hitting 79's for all the 500's and 30, 31, 30 for my 200's. I nailed all my times except for one 200, but overall still pretty good. It was so nice to be able to do this workout in the morning, it's supposed to be 90+ later! We did like 2ish miles cool down to get to 6.

PM: I had my last AP test today! Yay! Senior year is over! (Academically, anyway). I got to practice late and just barely made the group that was going on the run. It was just an easy four mile run is the heat of the day. Lovely 94 degrees. 

AM: Went for an easy four on my own.

PM: After the JV Region wrapped up, we finally got our workout in. We did a mile WU and mile SC, then did 3X(3X200) with two minutes standing recovery between each one and a lap recovery between sets. My goal for these was 28-29. I hit the first six in 28, then on the last set I hit 27, 27, 26. Then cool down until I hit 6. Overall a solid workout, and the last one before state! Now to rest.

For the first time in a looong time, day of rest. Zero running. I just did some light stretching before bed. 

AM: Went for an easy, quick three miles on my own. Last time running before state!

AM: We got to the meet bright and early and I went on my warm up. I did two easy miles, then a quicker mile with a few pick ups to mimic speed changes. Finally I got my spikes and stuff and went over to the bull pen area to do strides. They eventually called us in and seeded us, then we were on the track and over by the start line. They only let us do like one stride before, which sucked. Finally they lined us up and after calling us up to the line, some one stepped on it, so they pushed us back, then called us up to it again.

      I don't remember much from this race, but I know I got an okay start. The gun went off and I was right behind Jake by the 100. From here the alleys merged and I don't quite remember what happened. I knew that I wasn't where I wanted to be by 400, and I think I surged somewhere around 700 and slipped into second behind Jake, who was in the lead and had a slight gap on us. I was trying to close the gap and not let him get away, but I just couldn't make myself go. I stayed in second until 400 to go, where Austin, Conner, and Marcus moved past me. There may have been someone else in the mix too. Right around 250 to go I moved past Marcus and was trying to reel Conner in, who was 7 meters or so ahead of me, but for some reason I just had no kick. With 100 left, Conner and Austin were pulling away from me, so I could tell I wasn't kicking, even though I was giving it everything I had. With like 15 meters left Rory caught me and just barely got the edge on me to the line. I finished in 4:17.29

     Overall, not a good race but not a bad one. I fought and that was good, but I still didn't do as well as I know I could have. My PR from a month ago would have taken second, and  I was hoping to PR today. The one thing that shouldn't have happened was getting caught on the kick. I got my medal, then went for a three mile cool down and relaxed the rest of the day. Once home I took an ice bath and got to bed early for tomorrow. I really want to attack my 3200.

AM: We got out to the meet and I watched some of the 3200 races before finally going for a warm up. I did the same warm up I did yesterday, then took my stuff over to the bull pen and waited until they called us over. Today it was on/off raining, and a lot colder than yesterday, so they let us keep our warm stuff on until we were by the line. Eventually wet took it off and we lined up. 

     The gun went off and I got a great start. I was right on Jake's shoulder and there was no one ahead of us. Right around 250 Conner took the lead, and I went with him. I passed Conner somewhere in lap 3 I think, and took control. I wanted to be aggressive in this 3200, seeing as lately I feel like I'm lacking that in my racing. I held the lead until 800 to go . I hit a 4:33 first mile and was just starting to feel the pace. I maintained my pace as well as I could and managed to hold off Conner with a few surges, but with 800 to go when Conner passed me I was really feeling the pace. I went with him as well as I could, but soon Jake passed both Conner and I, and started to push the pace. I could see them slowly breaking away, and I was giving everything I had to try and stay with them, but they broke away, and as soon as they got about 20 or so meters away from me, they suddenly started to gap me a lot faster, which means right there is where I totally lost contact and slowed down. I could tell I slowed way down and with 400 to go was giving it what I had. With 100 to go Chuk caught and passed me and I didn't want what happened yesterday to happen again, and managed to out kick him. I finished in 9:16.9.

     I would consider this race better than yesterday, but I know I still didn't do as well as I could have. I should not have let Jake and Conner get away, because as soon as I lost contact I slowed way down. This was a PR at elevation for me, so I was happy with that, but I didn't have the break through race I know I can have like the 1600 at Davis or the 3200 at Arcadia. I can feel that I still have one great race left in me, and luckily I was invited to Great Southwest, and will have one last chance. I know my time won't be great because it even higher in elevation, but I'm not really concerned with that. I just want to race really well, and I know that the time will follow.

      I did about 4 miles cool down with Bill, Chris, Natalie, and Susannah, then ate something and took an amazing nap before I was running the 800. I didn't have high expectations for the 800, seeing as I am not an 800 runner and I had already given what I had in the 3200. I warmed up about a two miles with strides, then did the same thing at the bull pen. It was sunny for this race, which was nice. My biggest challenge in this race was to get out well, and then just give anything I had left over. I was in the slower heat of 800's, and was in the second alley.

     Right off the gun I didn't get out fast enough. I was last in my alley, and fell right in the middle of the pack. I passed John and a few other guys, and managed to hold my position for the rest of the race, then in the last 50 meters I out kicked someone. Finished in 2:00.73, so not a fast time, but I gave it what I had so I wasn't too discouraged. After I went on about three miles cool down with Bill, Chris, Sarah, Megan from Bountiful, and Ben (who now holds every distance record in track and field for utah). That was a fun conversation, Ben is a cool, charismatic guy and Megan is such a cool girl. Hopefully she can run with us this summer!

      Finally we got back to the stuff and so ends my high school season! I had some disappointment with my races at state, but overall I'm overjoyed with my season. I ended Cross Country and Footlocker on a bad note, and I redeemed myself in track. I had some great season highlights and set some awesome PR's. I can now cross out all the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the season too! I feel such an overwhelming sense of gratitude to my Coach, Bill Cobler, because without him I couldn't even dream of being where I am. He changed me from just a typical, back-of-the-pack JV runner, to the athlete I am today. But he hasn't only changed me as an athlete, but as a student and person as well. Running has been the greatest achievement of my life so far, and now I am proud to say that running is a part of my life that I will keep for as long as I able. I can't wait to see where running will take me next. Thanks Coach.

AM: Easy six on my own. Was going to do my usual ten., but my body was a bit sore, so I decided to take it easy.

AM: Decided to take the morning off. 

PM: Met up with Bill, Sarah, Chris, and Dakota for a run. We started from the track and went along the VA loop to Red Butte, then went along the trail and up to Popperton, then back to the track the Shriners route. 

AM: Went for an easy four on my own.

PM: First trail run of the summer! We went up to Pipeline and ran to Rattlesnake and back. I was feeling good so I pushing it a little on the way there, and then held a solid pace back. Solid run; feel good.

AM: Easy four on my own.

PM: Shorter run today. Went down to the gulley and did three laps, then back to the track for 5. 

AM: Easy four on my own.

PM: We drove to JCC and we ran the usual route to the windy uphill, where we took a small, side trail I'd never noticed before and after some very steep parts, some walking, and climbing up the mountain, we got to a beautiful, hidden spring/pond that was unbelievable. It was so calm and serene. After that we finished going up the mountain, and then ran along the top of the mountain to the 4 mile turnaround on Shoreline, then headed back the usual JCC route. 

AM: Easy four on my own.

PM: I can't remember for the life of me what I did today. I couldn't make practice but I am nearly positive it was 10...

AM: Did my usual ten mile loop but added a loop on the trail to get 11.5.

PM: Went on an easy three.

AM: Went on my usual ten mile loop!

AM: Today we did a 5k at Liberty for a harder tempo workout. I warmed up about 3.5, then after they were like an hour and a half late on starting, they lined us up. It was a simple course, just two laps on the sidewalk of Liberty, then once you crossed the line the second time, we ran to the middle of the Eastern stretch and ran into the parking lot where the finish was. I didn't have a Garmin, but Sarah had it at 3.2 and she ran on the inside of the sidewalk, whereas I was on the outside, so 3.3 might even be short. It was a good workout. I hit the first mile somewhere in the 4:45-4:50 range, then held really almost perfect 5 minute miles the rest of the race. I ended up averaging somewhere around 4:55. Afterwards I cooled down and got to 10.

PM: Later in the day I went for an easy four. 

AM: Went for an easy four on my own. Just barely missed the rain.

PM: We decided to go out to the Oval to avoid the rain. We just planned for 8 miles on the track, but when I had like 2-3 miles left I was feeling good so I picked it up and ran faster each mile. I know my last mile was somewhere in the 5:30's, maybe faster. I ended up going slightly over 8, so I just went 9. 

AM: Easy four on my own.

PM: Speed today. We warmed up a mile and then did a mile speed changes, and we did 5X1000. (MY FAVORITE) I hit them all in around 2:55 so a solid workout. I was dead by the end. Then we went on a bit of a longer cool down to get to 10.

AM: Went for a little longer in the morning. Got six in, since I knew that later today it would be tough with the awards banquet. 

PM: I finally got home after the banquet and went for an easy six miles. 

AM: Went an easy four on my own.

PM: Today we ran up Sunnyside to the Zoo Trail, then took that through the U campus to JCC, then went the Popperton route above Shriners, then back the usual Shriners route. I added a bit back at the track to get to 10.