The King of Controversy

AM - 4 miles. 30 min easy. Same old. 

PM - 4 miles. Ultraspire Distance Carnival 800m. I don't even really know what to say about this race. I got out in like 61 or 62 and then just gave up on myself. I've just struggled lately with my racing. I haven't had a solid race since XC which is kind of depressing. 

AM - 3.75 miles. 30 min easy. Very sad turnout this morning. No wonder our team has struggled a lot lately. Too many people aren't doing what they should be. 

PM - 5 miles. Ultraspire Distance Carnival 1600m. Finally a good race for me. I got out pretty quick and had the lead for a second which may have been a little dumb since it was kind of windy. I relaxed a lot after that though and a bunch of my teammates got around me. The second lap was really cool because it was just a long line of Pine View guys up front. I sat right on Alex this lap and was in about 6th place. The third lap, Coach yelled at us to attack this lap and so I moved around Alex and Andrew. The last lap was super crazy because Tanner Sharp from DH passed me right at the beginning of this lap. Normally, I would have just let him fly by me but I knew that was why I had been racing so bad because I gave up too easily. So I decided to go with him and I passed him again on the back stretch. I was super tired at this point though and he came back and passed me again with 200 to go and his teammate Bryson King came and passed me too. I almost gave up again at this point until I realized that to get a medal I had to beat one of them and so I gave one last push to our kick Bryson. I was really close to Tanner and I probably could have gotten him too but I was just focused on getting a medal. Great race for me though. First time breaking 4:40 and a great step in the right direction for me. 

AM - 10 miles. 80 min easy. Nice long run with Preston, Jake, Dallen, and Andrew on our day off from school. We ran out into the desert by Jake's house where it appears they are building some big highway or something. Super fun run and I felt really good.

PM - 3.75 miles. 30 min easy. Just a run by myself around 4ish. Legs felt really good for running 10 miles this morning.

PM - 7 miles. 55 min with 13 progression tempo (5:40 to 5:20). Not a great day for me. I was suppposed to do 20 min of tempo but I was just not in the mindset to run fast today. I ran or rather jogged the first 13 min and I pretty much was at 5:50 for that whole time and I couldn't get myself to speed up. It wasn't so much that I wasn't feeling good. I just wasn't in the right mind set to run fast. Tempos are one thing I need to work on.

AM - 6 miles. 4x1000 at 91% (goal - 3:12) for first 2 and 93% (goal - 3:08) on second 2 with 3 min recovery and 2x300 all-out with full recovery. Times: 3:14, 3:05, 3:07, 3:08. I had to lend my watch to the 1600 guys today becuase none of them had a watch so these times are just estimates based on what my teammates were running. All I know is I felt really good today and I was able to get rolling today. Nick wasn't feeling too good today so it was mostly just me and Paul up front on these today. 300s weren't very good. I hardly ever have enough energy to run fast on these after the 1000s. Great workout. Good confindence builder. I know I'm capable of running fast and State Qualifying. Just got to be brave when I race.

PM - 3.5 miles. 30 min easy. Just a slow boring run by myself. 

AM - 3.75 miles. 30 min easy. Kind of chilly this morning because of the storm.

PM - 6 miles. 50 min with 2 min hard, 1 min easy, 1 min hard, 30 sec easy, 30 sec hard. I felt absolutely terrible today. I was supposed to do 3 sets of these fartleks but my legs were fried from the last two days and my stomach was absolutely jacked up. I stopped at the Green Springs Golf Course Bathroom and so that helped with my stomach but I was still exteremely exhausted so I just ran back. 

Controversial Topic of The Day -Who shot first Han Solo or Greedo? If you have ever watched the 4th Star Wars, there is a scene where Han Solo shoots and kills Bounty Hunter Greedo. Greedo also shoots at Han Solo but misses. The question is did Han Solo shoot first and that caused Greedo to miss or did Greedo shoot first and just sucks at shooting. Tell me what you think.

AM - 4 miles. 30 min easy. Feeling much better this morning but definitely still a bit tired. 

PM - 7 miles. 45 min easy with 4x200. Super fun run today. We did our classic pre race Shoe Run but when part of the Mosquito trail was closed down we took off our shoes and ran through the river. We found a dead beaver in the river which was epic. Still tired but I didn't really notice it that much because I was just having a fun time.

AM - 4 miles. 30 min easy. Classic morning run.

PM - 6 miles. Desert Hills Invite 1600m. Time - 4:39. I was looking to State Qualify today which is 4:32 for 3A in the 1600. I got out solid and was on the back of the lead pack but I couldn't hold it and lost them about a lap and a half in. I made a few good moves around some people the last 2 laps but I didn't close as fast as I did last week. Good race and I think it was still a step in the right direction. It was much hotter than it was last week so I think I definitely pushed a lot harder today. I got some stuff to work on and I know I can hit State Qualifying. I ran the 400m a little bit later but I was already exhausted from the 1600 so I only ran a 58.

AM - 9 miles. Desert Hills Invite 2015 800m. Wow. I really have never run a very good 800. I got out in 62 or 63 today and I still couldn't close. On paper, I should be a very good 400/800 runner and in reality, I'm little more than JV quality. It takes guts to run solid in the 400 and 800 and I just haven't been able to use any guts when I do either one of these races. I know I am capable of State Qualifying but I'm just not there mentally. I need to work on getting out a little quicker in order to be able to State Qualify but the major thing I have to work on is that last lap. I really need to work on picking it up from 400 to 500 meters because that is usually where I lose it. I think that is my make or break point in the 800.

AM - 4 miles. 30 min easy. Same old.

PM - 5.5 miles. 600 at 800 goal pace (2:04 800 = 1:33 600), Full Recovery (about 15 min), 300s at current 800 pace (2:08 800 = :48 300) with 1-2 min recovery. We ended up doing 6x300 (I think). Coach didn't tell us how many we were doing, he just told us to keep doing 300s until he said we could be done. He also gave us a quick 5 min break after 4. Tough workout. It's getting really hot here in St. George and this was just overall a tough workout. The 600 was about 1:34 so that was pretty good but I started to tighten up a lot towards the end. That's my biggest problem with the 800 is I always tighten up. Got to work on staying relaxed.  300s were very good, hit my times good and got a few quicker ones in there. Great workout to show how much strength I have. 

Controversial Topic of The Day - What should be your pace on easy runs? I've always wondered how fast or how slow easy runs should be. I usually like to keep it a bit slower but since I run with my team most of the time, we go a bit faster. Comment how fast you think easy runs should be or what pace you go on easy runs.

AM - 5 miles. 5x400 at 800 goal pace (goal - 62) with 1-2 min recovery. Had to get up early to get this in before I had to go to Senior Ball Assembu practice. It was super windy and so I wasn't able to hit my times but I think effort wise, I gave a good push. Times were 67, 65, 65, 66, 71. I did a lot better job at staying relaxed on these even with the cruddy wind. Decent workout. 

PM - 4.5 miles. 30 min easy with striders. We ran right before the youngster meet but I didn't get time to get my striders in so I did them after the meet. I felt a bit sore this afternoon.  

Controversial Topic of The Day - Who's your favorite U.S. President? Personally I like Herbert Hoover and his laissez faire policy. The Great Depression started during his presidency and that was one of the greatest things that has ever happened in America's history. The Great Depression helped strengthen our country and was just an awesome experience for all. So who's your favorite president?

AM - 3.5 miles. 30 min easy. I had to get up early and run by myself because I had to be to the Senior Ball Assemby practice this morning. 

PM - 6.5 miles. 45 min easy with 4x200. Another epic pre-race shoe run. This is by far my favorite run ever. It may not be as scenic as a trail run but we always just have so much fun as a team.

Controversial Topic of The Day - Favorite Villan or bad guy of all time. Personally, I have fallen in love with the genius behind Darth Sidious from Star Wars. Just think about how elaborate his plan to take over the Galaxy was. He waited patiently for many years and slowly chipped away at the Jedi and even constructed a whole clone army without the Jedi's knowledge. What a genius. 

AM - 3.75 miles. 30 min easy. Good morning run but my right calf is a bit tight after waking up in the middle of the night with a charleyhorse. 

PM - 6 miles. Dixie Invite 1600. Time - 4:40. Okay race. Opened in 1:07. Fell off the rest: 1:09, 1:12, 1:12. Need to work on not being scared to go with the leaders because they were right where I needed to be to State Qualify.

Controversy - Favorite Superhero, hero, good guy, or even an anti-hero ever - real or fictional. This is kind of a tough one. Currently, my favorite would have to be The Arrow. I started watching CW's TV series, The Arrow and I fell in love with it. The Arrow is a mix between the darkness of Batman and the archery skills of Hawkeye. He's a crazy super hero.

PM - Dixie Invite 800m. Time: 2:06. I ended up missing the fast heat by 1 place which made me kind of mad at first but then I realized this might be good for me and help me run better. It turned out that it did help. I got out quick and right to the lead. Hit the first lap in 61. I made a nice surge from 400 to 500 like I was planning but slowed down a lot from 500 to 600 because I started to feel really tired. A Parowan and Snow Canyon kid passed me right here and I almost totally gave up but when I saw the Parowan kid slow down a lot from 600 to 700, I knew I could still win my heat. I got around the Parowan kid and came up on the Snow Canyon kid but I was hurting so much at this point. My legs were dead but I was so close and so I gave in one final surge with 50 to go and was able to beat the Snow Canyon kid. Good race. Still not where I'd like to be but another step in the right direction.

AM - 3.75 miles. 30 min easy. We took it a lot slower this morning but my left calf started acting up. 

PM - 7 miles. 3x1000 at 93% (goal - 3:08). I wasn't feeling too great today but I'm so used to running these well so I had no problem hitting my times. I did end up cutting out my 300s because I wasn't feeling well. Times were 3:03, 3:08, 2:59. I mostly just sat back for the first lap and then picking it up for the last lap and a half. 

AM - 3.75 miles. Okay morning run. 

PM - 6 miles. 10x200 at 3 to 4 seconds faster than 800 pace (goal - 27 or 28). This workout was much tougher than I thought it was going to be. First 6 were solid and I hit my times but last 4 I got tired really quick and was hitting low 30s.

Controversy - What's your favorite TV show? I watch so many different TV shows that it's hard to choose a favorite. I've watched a bunch of Parks and Recreation lately and I really like it but I'm also in love with action shows like Arrow. I would have to say though that my favorite TV show of all time is The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Will Smith is just so funny. 

AM - 5.5 miles. Coe #2. This workout wasn't very tough. The toughest thing was trying to know how fast to go. Most of the time I ended up going too fast. Good workout but my right calf was bugging.

PM - 4.25 miles. Fun run but my calf was still hurting so I skipped 200s.

PM - 6 miles. Snow Canyon Invite 800m. Pretty cruddy race. No one got out very fast and I was in the lead the first 200 for only running a 30 second 200. First lap was a 1:03. Second lap was cruddy. I tightened up so much the last 200. I need to work on staying more relaxed. I always seem to tighten up on that last lap. 

AM - 2.75 miles. 20 min easy. Cut down the length of our morning runs this week as we start our taper. Championship Season!

PM - 6 miles. 800m Kosmin Test and 300, 200, 100 finishes (all with spikes). Distance - 808. Predicted 800 time - 2:01. This was really tough. I got around about 420 meters the first 60 seconds. I was really tired the 2nd 60 seconds like I always have but I some how pulled something okay out of my butt and hit over 800 meters for the first time. I felt really smooth and strong on all the finish practice. 

AM - 2.75 miles. 20 min easy. Good run.

PM - 5 miles. 40 min with 4x60 sec fartleks. Coach had us go up to Canyon View to the JV meet and get our workout in up here to get some higher elevation training. Good workout. The fartleks were pretty strong but I was more focusing on keeping good form. Coach also had me do a 200 in the JV meet but I was pretty exhausted and ran like a 26 or 27. 

AM - 2.5 miles. 20 min easy. I showed up a little later than I normally do but the team left 1 minute early so I ran by myself for a little bit.

PM - 5.5 miles. 30 min easy with striders and a little extra running with the little kids at the little kid meet. Felt pretty good. Not much else to say. 

Controversy - BYU or Herriman? Well this controversy has already floated around the blog for the past week or so as some people are mad at their Coaches for not taking them to BYU. So if you have any more input on the subject, comment. I personally am only bummed about not going to BYU because it means our trip up north is only 1 night instead of 2.

AM  - 2.75 miles. 20 min easy. Felt really fresh this morning. 

PM - 6.5 miles. 45 min with 4x30 sec fartleks. Another swag pre-race run.

Controversy - Which definition of a vampire is actually right? Twilight? Vampire Diaries? Other?