C Mantz Run

I did 12 miles up Smithfield canyon with my dad.  When we started out I told him we should go slow and not hit a six minute mile.  Instead it ended up being around seven minutes, so I was happy.  I just didn't want to start out fast and later die.  It felt really good going up around an 8-8:30 pace.  We were trying for 8 minute miles and we were pretty close.  After 5 miles, I started to really struggle because I've rarely gone that far up.  When we got to the top I was happy.  After a drink out of the top we began going down.  It felt SOOO good!  I think our first three miles were under 21 minutes.  We were hauling.  Then, my legs caught up to me.  When we were down I was just looking forward to going home.  It was a ton of fun and I love talking with my dad as we run.  We averaged a 7:50 mile.

Today we did upper canal at practice, but I had to leave early!  It was really fun and slow, but after 2 miles I had to turn around. Later, I found out that they had gone 8 miles!  I was still happy I was able to run with everybody because it was really fun!

I couldn't find a time to run until later in the evening while the sun was setting.  Because I went on a hike I was pretty tired, so I went 3 tempo (instead of 4 or 5 which I was supposed to do).  My first mile felt really good, but I was a little hungry.  It was still really good: 6:45.  My next mile I almost gave up because my stomach began hurting (like it did a couple weeks ago) and I slowed down.  When I turned around I though: 'If I go the right pace I'll hit a 7 minute mile!' but I didn't... it was 7:11.  The next mile was also difficult because I didn't want to try, but it was still 7:07.  It was under 21 minutes, though! :)  (20:54)  I then took Ruby for an eventful cool down where five dogs came after her.  She's afraid of other dogs so she either yelps, curls up, or runs away.  All three occure, but I knew all the dogs and they're nice! :b  But it was still a good cool down.  I was also happy to get atleast some tempo in this week.

So, I got to practice pretty late and nobody was there.  I had my dad drive me around where the usual courses were and after a quarter mile we found them!  I was so happy that I didn't have to run alone today.  We did Sunnyside.  I tried to catch up to some of the varsity girls, but I sort of gave up and chatted with people as I passed them.  I caught up to Amber and she stuck with me.  We had a fun time, then caught up to Katelyn and Rilee.  We slowed down a bit our last mile, and never caught up to the boys and Megan and Lauren, but it was a ton of fun.

Just ran 5 easy miles before Ragnar.  Tried to stay under 9 minute miles, though.  Was really fun to go easy. Ended up taking 43 and a half minutes total so I felt really good.

Ragnar:  I don't want to put it as a race because it wasn't exactly a race, it was more of a party.
I was the third runner in my van.

my 1st leg) I was super excited and pumped because the excitement around us was so much!  My first leg was 6.7 miles and I thought it was my 7.7 mile leg, so on my watch I planned on getting a sub 53:30 (for 7.7 at about 6:30 pace).  When I started I sprinted, but then finally remembered I had more than five miles to go.  I passed a bunch of people which felt really good. It was overcast and we were hoping the rain wouldn't catch us.  It did rain a little, but it was so humid it felt good. Towards the end there was almost nobody and I passed a guy who tried to keep up with me.  When we got close to the end we sprinted and I went really far ahead.  I noticed I got barely under 50 minutes and I thought I had hauled! But then I found out it was a mile shorter.  I was still happy though, it felt really great!

my 2nd leg) This one was a 4.9 mile leg.  I was mentally ready and hoping it would be very easy.  But, then we found out the time was 7:20ish and I had to have a vest by 8:00pm.  I decided I'd have to go quick (like a sub-7 mile which would be 35 minutes total.) The sun was beginning to set and it was cooling down.  When I started I sprinted for fun.  I was racing the clock.  After a mile, though, I had to go to the bathroom!  I kept going and slowly caught some people.  I had no idea what my speed was, but I didn't feel very fast.  Only one guy passed me and I kept with him for a little while.  He seemed like a really good runner.  Finally, I dropped off because I really wasn't feeling good.  When I hit the final mile marker I sped up knowing I wanted to beat the clock. At the end I sprinted again which is really fun when there are a lot of people around.  It took me a little more than 40 minutes.  I was happy to be done with that one.

Ragnar (continued):

My 3rd leg) It was early in the morning and I barely remember what was going on.  I'm pretty sure, though that I started around 5:00am.  The sun was barely shining.  It was the only leg I had to wear a night-vest and headlamp.  When I started there was nobody in front of me for about a quarter mile.  Slowly I caught up to them when I went down a super steep hill.  Then, we climbed up this canyon that was really pretty.  All the runners were way far apart and it took about a mile to pass them.  When the sun was rising I looked back to see it because I was running away from it.  It was so PRETTY! The bottom of the clouds were hot pink and the top was a light purple.  I wish I had been running towards it, but instead I had to climb a long hill.  When we got to the top there was a gradual downhill and I sped up.  The first 6.7 miles took me about 55 minutes.  The last mile took me 7:56 minutes and I felt like I was hauling.  I was happy to be done when I finished. 

Ragnar was a blast and a very fun experience (other than the lack of sleep).  I would definitely recommend it.

It was the practice after Ragnar weekend and I was still tired.  Coach had us do tree of life.  I stuck with Megan and we turned left at the end of the canal.  Everybody else turned right (which makes it a 2.5 mile loop).  We kept going.  I was feeling really good as we were running until we got to the last mile.  Then, I was struggling.  I'm pretty sure we were speeding up, then gradually slowing down, so it felt like we going so fast when we really weren't.  We sort of sprinted at the end, but it was a slow sprint.  It took us about 40 minutes (8 minute miles).