Awesome workout today! I’ve realized that I need to be more positive about things and make note of when I have good days, too. Today was definitely one of those days. I’m so pumped! Started with warmups and 3 miles warmup, then strides. Workout was 5x500s for the 800/1500 group. I’m actually really happy I’m in this group because I’ve forgotten what it feels like to go fast and I’m starting to remember and get back into the groove of it. Goal pace for the 400 split on them was 74-80, I forgot the full 500 goal pace. I was just focusing on the 400 splits because that’s what I’m familiar with haha. I hit: 500 time (400 split) 1) 93 (74) 2) 94 (76) 3) 96 (76) 4) 98 (77) 5) 100 (79) Averages out to 96 (76). Coach yelled out to me as we were cooling down that last year in this workout I averaged 103. I didn’t realize how much I’ve improved since then, I’m so pumped! 100 is 5:20 pace, it’s crazy that I hit every one of them, even the last one when I was dead, at 5:20 pace or under. I’ve had a mental barrier at a 5:20 mile. It kind of felt like a dream rather than a real goal. To get back and running that fast... that’s seemed crazy to me. It’s been 4 years since I’ve been able to. But now... well, I just ran faster than that pace this workout and I feel like I could’ve run faster if I would’ve pushed myself harder on those last ones. I’ve got to get used to running fast, pushing myself out of my comfort zone, and getting my feet going. I’m going to Weber State this weekend and I’m actually really nervous but excited. Because now it’s not just a far-fetched goal to break 5:20, what if I can actually do it? I haven’t really believed that I will, but now... maybe I actually can. If I can get myself into gear and push myself to hurt rather than stay relaxed. Granted it’s a mile and not 500 meters, but I’ve learned the pace and I know I can do it. I can hold it. Coach said afterwards that if I can get a few races under my belt, I’ll be back and running like I used to. I’m excited because I think that’s true. I just want to PR so bad. To break 5:10 in the mile, that was a goal I had my senior year of high school that I missed by less than a second. And then it’s always been my dream to break 5:00. And maybe I actually can within the next couple of years. That would be so amazing. Also, when I asked Coach today the likelihood of him having to cut my scholarship, he said not likely. I was so surprised, by the way he’d been talking during Cross and the sheer number of times he’s asked me to reconsider my options, see if this was really what I wanted to do, and the fact that he was almost going to cut me from the team this year, I just assumed it was going to be lowered no matter what. It helped me to relax and just focus on myself rather than trying to prove to Coach I was good enough, and maybe that was the secret all along. I’m just pumped to see how far I’ve come and the direction I’m going. Maybe now I can accomplish my dreams and be a useful player. In the last meeting I had with Coach before this, he’d said almost to himself “if we can get you back and running as fast as you did in high school...that would be a crazy story.” I want to make that a reality. Cooled down to 9. Weights and rehab. 3x25 crunches, 3x10 pushups. HR 52 | 