C Mantz Run

We had an morning practice for those who weren't on vacation. We did a mile warm up and it was super rainy.  I was still feeling my cold which didn't help. I kind of had a headache when I began running.  Coach wanted us to do 30m sprints three times with a minute recovery.  I didn't feel anything after doing those.  Then we did three 800m with three minute recoveries.  My first two felt okay, I don't think they were as fast as they were supposed to be.  My last one was pretty slow.  The next thing we did was four 1000m with a minute recovery.  Those don't sound possible in the first place and because I was sick, it didn't help much either. My first one sucked becuase my throat began to make it hard to breath and it was pretty slow.  My second was forty seconds slow, third was 35 seconds slow, fourth was 22 seconds slow.  I was feeling so sick, but the entire time I was trying as hard as possible.  The positive thing was I did improve each time by a certain amount of time.  Right when I finished my calves had knots in them.  I did a half mile cool down.  When I got home I rolled my calves which made them feel much better.  I wasn't super thrilled about how well I did, but I tried my hardest.

This run today was much better compared to yesterday's and I wasn't sick anymore, so I was happy.  We started out with a mile warm up to Mack Park.  The girls were supposed to do a 1000m with a 1 minute recovery twice, then a 1200m tempo three times with a three minute recovery, but the first and last 200 each time were race pace.  Then a 1000 at the end.  I was hitting my times the entire time pretty well and I kept up with all the girls as well as I could.  My 200s were a couple seconds slow, but it was because those parts that we were sprinting at were a little difficult.  The 1000 at the end was super nice because it wasn't as hard as the 1200s.  I had a lot of fun and afterwards we played in the water.  When everybody was done we cooled down very slowly back to Sky View.

Today it was really hot outside and we did an easy long run.  The girls were going super slow and after the first half mile Audrey and I sped up a little leaving them.  We were all just jogging easy.  Audrey and I turned around after we got to the end of the trail that we ran on which was upper canal.  I thought we had gone further than four miles, but we had only done a little more that 3.7.  When we passed the other girls on our way back they told us to wait for them at a tire swing.  They played in the canal, but I didn't want to take off my shoes and put them on while my feet were wet so I sat there and watched them.  We began running again back to the school and we were going very slow and having fun chatting the entire time.  I didn't realize how thirsty I was until I actually got to the school.  It took us around two hours to do all that, but it was very fun and easy.

So today was an early run and again Conner and I were a little late, so we had to catch up.  I didn't catch up to the lead girls, but I just went nice and easy.  When we had gone around a mile and a half Coach talked to us about getting some speed in the day before a race.  We did these wierd things where every 10 seconds we get a little bit faster until we are sprinting, then we slow down.  The second one Coach said sprint and I thought he said to slow down, so I slowed down, but realized I was supposed to be going as fast as I could which didn't work.  We did those three times.  When we got back to the school we did this visualizing thing in the dark where we were supposed to relax, but I got a tickle in my throat part way through and was coughing/trying not to cough half the time.  It was a really fun early morning practice.

So, we drove down to Murray Park on the bus.  I really hadn't had it mentally for the last couple days that this race was serious and that I had better do well, which wasn't very good.  We warmed up quite a bit.  We did a little bit of speed that I wasn't going very fast on, even though I was trying to.  I had to throw on my flats and do my static stretching quick because we had warmed up and lost track of when we were running.

I was really nervous because I had no idea what to expect.  There was one false start which I wasn't too happy about, but I didn't have a good start either, so it was okay.  When we actually started I was going as fast as I could, but I got boxed in.  I tried to pass as many people as possible because I could see the pack of the rest of the Sky View girls, I just couldn't catch up to them.  When we went through the baseball diamond I passed so many people because I got on the far side.  When we got to the point of the trees I was already super tired.  I didn't really expect what was coming up- tight corners, sand, wood chips.  Then, there was the "Murray Hill."  I had always thought it was one of the hills that was just going up the grass that wasn't much of a big deal.  Turns out it was really steep dirt with only a couple feet across and so many people are going up it at once.  A few people passed me there.  When we were out of the trees and onto some soccer fields there was a huge headwind.  We went around a post and a girl swung around it and hit me because I went around it really wierd.  I heard people on the sidelines telling other girls to get in those arrow dynamics with the wind.  I actually was playing around with my hands straight out and I made my arms pump really hard which made me go faster and pass a few other girls.  I don't really know why I did that, but it was kind of fun.  I could still see the SV girls and I was really close to them.  I just kept going and when we went around a statue, I caught up to Megan.  We were back and forth for a little while.  Then, a huge herd of Varsity boys were coming around the corner.  I was stuck in the pack.  It kind of helped, but mainly really messed me up because they were all sprinting.  They slowed down when I was supposed to begin sprinting. I hoped I wouldn't miss the turn to finish and run the race with the boys which luckily I didn't.  The final sprint I tried my hardest to catch this Orem girl and we were .2 seconds apart, I don't know who won.

I felt really good about my race.  (Wow I wrote a lot!) I wished my start had been a little better and I could have stayed with the girls.  I'm now sixth on varsity and I'm hoping I can get a little further up, but our first to our sixth girls' times were about 17 seconds difference!  We are doing so amazing by sticking together which I'm so happy about.  We did a little cool down around three fourths a mile which I did barefoot (not smart).

So, today I really wasn't in the mood to run in the morning.  Around 1 or 2 I realized I'd better get going.  I was planning on doing only 5, but Conner told me I'd better get a longer run in.  With long runs, I try to keep them at a consistant pace.  The entire time I tried to keep it around an 8:30ish.  Most of it was pretty on.  My last two miles I wasn't feeling up for it, but I pushed myself to keep that pace.  I had a lot of fun, but was really tired from yesterday.

Today I didn't highdrate at school which wasn't very smart.  We first warmed up the course we were supposed to go.  We did mile intervals at tempo pace with a minute long recovery.  Each time I did around a two minute recovery because I wasn't feeling very great and my throat was really dry.  My first time was a little slow- 6:58 and I was going for 6:50's. My next one I didn't feel very great around the half mile point and it was 7:43.  After that one Coach told me to start a little later with the girls and recover for a little longer.  The next one I tried so hard, but it was an 8:10.  My next one was 8:07 and my last part I was sprinting my guts out to go as hard as possible at the end.  I really regret my times now that I look at them because it doesn't look like I tried, but nobody seemed to have a good day because it was so hot and I feel a little tired from Friday, still.  We cooled down a little ways to the track after getting a drink.  Coach had us do 200's if we felt like it.  I was feeling much better after the cool down, so I decided to go all out.  It was 37 which was way good for me.  I wanted to do another one for fun because I was feeling even better.  It was 38.  I was really happy with those 200s atleast.

So, today we did tree of life extended, but super slow for a pre meet.  We jogged to a tree and came back, then went around a certain area on the canal really slow.  After that we did six striders and that was all.

Before today's race I didn't feel mentally very prepared.  I was really tired because I felt like I didn't get enough sleep.  When we got thereI started to actually feel a little more pumped.  We warmed up quite a bit and everybody on our team were trying to explain the course all at once so I was a little confused and worried that I'd go the wrong way.

We finally started.  I ran down that first strip really fast, which helped a lot because I stayed up in that closer to the front pack almost the entire time.  We went on a really bumpy trail, then onto a dirt road which brought us into the trees.  I knew there were three MC girls in front of me and Riley and Kaitlin.  We went on a really narrow trail down a pretty steep hill right after we got into the trees.  Right before we turned onto another trail, I slightly twisted my ankle and it hurt a little, but I kept running.  While we were going up this little hill a MC girl was in front of me going slower than I'd like to, but I couldn't pass her and my ankle slowly stopped hurting as we went up that short hill.  Then we did some crazy twists and turns and I passed one of the MC girls up a hill.  At some points I was slightly confused on where to go next, but they had the trail marked pretty well and I never got totally lost.  I did twist my ankle another time, but it didn't hurt much.  When we finally got out of the trees I thought we were almost done and I passed the other MC girl.  I thought after you go up the hill you went into the finish, but actually you went around the same loop we started.  Before I got onto that trail, a BE girl passed me unexpectantly.  I caught up to Riley and drafted off of her because there was a slight headwind.  On that final sprint I tried to pass Riley, but she would sprint which is great for her.  I tried a couple times, then we sprinted to the end.

I felt super good at the end and neither of my ankles hurt which was really weird.  I don't know why, but I was talking really loudly and easily right after which makes me kind of feel like I didn't try hard enough, but I just felt so good.  I was happy about my time and our team is doing so well which I am so happy about.

Afterwards we did a quick cool down.

For early morning practice, I got there a little late and everybody was already going up 6th south.  I caught up to the girls when I got to the top of the hill.  We did golf course extended, but the coaches were with us and made us go even more extended up the canyon which was actually really fun.  We were a little tired from yesterday and my calf was sore (I think from twisting my ankle, but it doesn't hurt anymore) so we were going slow, but sometimes the pace was pushed.  Because I'm a freshman, I have to catch the bus to NC and I only had 15 minutes to change, but I was happy I stuck with the girls.

We went to beast for a warm up and I thought it was going to be really hard, but it turned out to be super easy.  We went up it four times, and in between we did a longer recovery.  After that we did 30seconds at race pace which I felt amazing for.  Then, the team played 10 dot dot and that was really fun.  After that we jogged back for a mile.

Today, I went on a long run at a pretty slow pace.  I did have some fast parts in there, but it was mainly at a nine minute mile pace which was very easy.

We warmed up a mile to Mack Park, then did 3 400s at i pace.  I felt pretty good, but was working really hard on those which wasn't very smart. Next we did 3 800s at i pace and I was a little slow on those, but our recovery times were super specific.  Next we did 10 200s at race and i pace back and forth, which for me were really slow.  We cooled down a mile at the very end.

We jogged over to Summit and coach had us jog as he showed us a 600 course to do 200s.  We did those 200s at race pace five times, then just jogged back to the school.  It was really nice and easy compared to yesterday which I was happy about.

We jogged to Summit  which I think is about 1.2 miles and Coach had made a 1000 course there, also.  We did 1000s at tempo pace 5-6 times.  I was hitting the times really well, but my fourth time I had to use the restroom, so I bailed out.  Then I waited for everybody and did one more so I did 4 total ones and 1 partial one because I had to stop.  Then, we jogged back.  When we got home I did three 200s at race pace because I felt like I didn't do enough.  I felt really good about today.

At early morning practice we did about 2 very easy miles.  Then we played dodgeball which was a blast even though I felt really girly playing because I'm not very good at it.

Today was Aggie Ice Cream where we run to Aggie Ice Cream and buy ice cream, then ride the bus back to SV.  Because I'm a freshman, we get to SV a little late and I ended up running with the freshman.  We went VERY slow.  I had fun, but I didn't sweat much which means it felt like I was jogging at walking speed and I wasn't very happy with that. Our pace was probably ten to twelve minute miles. When we ran in everybody was cheering for us and I can't wait to be at SV so we don't get there so late becuase I wasn't happy with how slow we were going.

I did an easy 5, but I was happy because it was much faster than yesterday even though it was at 8:30 to 9:00 pace.  I should have done more, but I did a long run yesterday.

We started out by warming up a mile.  Next we did 2 tempo miles 2 times with a 2 minute recovery.  Our first mile was 30 seconds fast, then right on.  My last two I wasn't feeling super great and my stomach hurt, so they weren't as fast as they should have been, but I still felt really good.  We cooled down, then went to the track and did 6 200s at r pace and they were right on ranging from 37-38 seconds.  We had a 200 recovery in between.

3 very easy miles with six striders.  I really wasn't feeling very good, but atleast I got it in.

So, I was really pumped for today and really nervous.  We took a while to actually start warming up, but when we did I began to feel really good.  It felt like we did a mile warming up, which I'm not very sure about, but it was close enough to a mile.  Right before we started my throat began getting dry.  Storrs was giving out gum, so I decided to try it out.

When we did start, the first 100m I had already spit out my gum.  I was feeling super good, and I began following close behind Vicky Krull.  I knew she was much faster than me, and I was wondering if I could actually keep up with her for very long. I was in fourth place that entire first mile.  When we crossed the mile, I looked down at my watch and it said 6:15!  I probable shouldn't have looked at it because I knew I was going way to fast and I slowed down for some crazy reason.  I wish I could have tried to keep up with her.  I knew the girls behind me could catch up and I could try hanging on to them, which wasn't very smart, either.  They passed me pretty quickly and I wasn't very far behind them.  I could feel the mint in the back of my throat the entire time, which means the gum was not very smart to use for me.  My second mile was much slower, and at the very end I tried to sprint, but didn't have enough energy to.  I did get sprinted past, which I hope I can work on.

Afterwards, we found out that Sky View beat Mountain Crest which was our goal!  We were super happy and maybe a little too cocky about it, but we were very happy!  We were very pumped up and had a fun victory cool down which was around 1.3 miles.  I personally wished I could have stayed further up there in the lead, but I now have learned that is something I should work on.

I was really tired at early morning practice because of yesterday.  The girls were way ahead of me, so I went with some other people.  We did Sunnyside and turned to go down the canyon pretty early.  I had to use the restroom really bad!  I slowed way down and finally got to the school.  It didn't really feel like I got in very many miles and it was colder than I thought it would be.

We did a mile warm up to Mack Park, then 3 800s at i pace.  Next we did 4 1000 at tempo which felt super nice.  Then we did 6 30 seconds at race pace.  I felt really good the entire time which was really nice.  FInally, we did a mile cool down back to Sky View.

Did 5 easy miles.  My first one was faster than I had planned it and I got the rest to be around 8:30 to 9:00 minute pace.  It was kind of boring and I should have done more, probably.

We did a mile warmup where Coach showed us where the course was.  I started to get a dry throat during the warm up which effected my entire run.  We did that course 4 times at tempo pace.  It was super windy and it was very hot.  The first mile was way too fast by about thirty seconds.  The second one, I was a little behind the lead girls because I was so tired from the first one and my throat was burning.  The third and fourth were pretty horrible.  They weren't on the right time at all and all I wanted was water.  In between each one we had a 2:00 recovery which was pretty nice, I just wished I didn't feel so crappy.  We did 30 seconds at race pace six times which was also slower.  At the end we did a half mile cool down.