Running, running, and more running!

So, last time I blogged I had just finished my first blog in a year. I had just finished my first indoor race of the season..and now, I have just finished my second meet on the wonderful season that we call indoor track..The week leading up to the meet at Robert Morris wasn't too bad, running wise. On Tuesday, I actually felt that I had a good workout or the best of this type of workout. We had to do 6 1200m repeats, starting at a tempo pace and working up to faster than race pace for a 5k. I started out where I was supposed to, and was very happy. I ended the 1200 workout faster than I am sure I ever have because I have never been good with cutting down workouts or long repeats..So coming off of this workout, I thought I would have a pretty good race day on Friday night.

For this race at Robert Morris, my teammates and I were doing the 1600 and the 1000, just as a workout. I was shooting for a 5:45 for the mile and whatever I had left in the 1000. Now, when starting the mile, I didn't know what I was in for because the first few laps felt like I was sprinting!!! Last week I did a 5k so this was totally different! I ended up finishing in a 5:43! The 1000 was a different story. My legs were dead from the mile and I was really hungry so I ended up cramping up really bad..But all in all, I got a good workout in which was the point. After waiting for the last flight of throwing to be done, we headed back to campus. We didn't get back til 12:30, I showered, and went to sleep. I ended up waking up at 9 to get my long run done and over with! It was a beautiful day to run, and was very happy to be getting a long run in today! I came back, showered, and went out to eat at Chili's with my roommate :)

It's Been A Year..

So, it's been pretty much a year since I have blogged. I got real busy with school and running and I just got plain lazy. But I am back, and hopefully keep up my blogging for awhile! So today was our first indoor meet of the 2010 track season. We competed at Kent State University among some D2 and D1 schools. This year, instead of waiting around, I was running the 5k, which was the first event! So I woke up this morning around 7 o'clock and made some toast. I think I should have eaten more but didn't want to chance it. I had come home a few days before so I could go to the meet with my parents and come home afterward, so I wouldn't have to sit around all day. We rode up with my grandparents and ended up being one of the first cars there! I wondered if the meet was even a Kent today..but yes it was so I was good! We waited for a few minutes for my team to get there, and once they did, we made our bathroom trip and decided to warm up! I felt really good warming up so I was really looking forward to this race. I was planning on breaking 20 minutes for my first time and was excited!

After we warmed up we sat around and stretched for about 15 minutes. As I was stretching, my Aunt Kim and Uncle Dave, and my cousins Drew and Zoe, suprised me by showing up to watch me run! I was very excited to see that they had driven out to Kent to watch me run!! So after we exchanged hugs and they told me good luck, I went back to stretching. While sitting there, I saw my old superintendent, Mr. Bloniarz, show up. He must have seen my facebook that morning that said I had a meet and texted me around eight to see what time I ran. I texted him back to say that I was running at ten! And here he was! Very nice guy, we all missed him so much when he retired but he has supported us very much since his retirement and I enjoy having him around.

So my teammates and I got our racing flats on and headed to the line. At this point I was super nervous and excited at the same time. I wanted the race to be over, mainly so I could eat because I was hungry :) So we lined up, said our good lucks, and the gun went off and we were off. I went out a little fast, but I felt good so I just thought "What the heck!". Eventually I did slow down enough on two of my laps that I would not go under 20 minutes. But it was all good. I ended up finishing in 20:15, which is where I was in cross country and a lot faster than I was last year in track. I was happy, my parents were happy, and my family was happy. After the race I got to talk to some good friends, the Mahue's and they told me good job and we got to catch up for a little bit. Then I saw my good friend Erin and her fiance and I talked to them for a little while.

I then met up with my teammates to head out on our cooldown, which is always the worst part of racing I feel!! After that, I said goodbye to my team and headed out to go eat with the family and Mr. Bloniarz. We ate a wonderful meal at Bob Evans and headed home after that. Overall, I feel like I had a good day of racing and am hoping the next time I blog about a 5k, I will be a sub 20 minute 5k runner :)

Tomorrow I will be heading out with my dad for my long run..should be fun! Until next time..

Kent Meet!

This weekend was my first indoor meet of the season and it was held at Kent State University. I woke up at 5:15 AM to get ready and finish packing before I walked over to the cafeteria for mandatory breakfast at 6 AM. Once I ate my two bowls of cereal for breakfast, I headed to the bus to load up. Our bus was a little late and our coach wasn't too happy about that. I think the bus driver drove extra fast because we got to the meet in about two hours and it should of taken about two and a half hours. Once we got to the meet, we set our stuff down, and being a typical girl, headed to the bathroom! And I think this is the one downfall of the facility. They only had three stalls in the girls bathroom so there was always a fifteen minute wait to use the facilities!!!

We got back to our team area to be reunited with our coach from last year, Coach Tom! It was nice to catch up and see what he has been up to. He is now a jumping coach at Notre Dame College and says he likes it, but nothing compares to us :) Once me and my teammates were done talking to him, we layed down and just hung out for a little bit. We had until 2:50 to run so we just relaxed.

So after realizing that the meet wasn't moving along as fast as they would have hoped..we sat around some more. Eventually some of my family showed up and a couple friends of mine! My mom was there, along with my brother Taylor and his girlfriend Sarah. My grandparents came and my godfather also showed up. I thought that was it for my "fan club" but shortly after I talked to my family, I was tapped on the shoulder by Brian Musick and Jeff Musick! Sadly, Brian had to leave because he had more important things to do.. But Jeff ended up leaving and then coming back!

Anyway, by the time we raced it was five oclock and I just wanted to be done and go home. I was tired and hungry and just wanted to sleep in my own bed. I was very nervous standing at the line waiting for the gun to go off. I was trying to run under twelve minutes and my coach was pacing me. We were supposed to run consistent 95s for the 400s but that didn't happen..We started out at 92s for the first three laps and I was getting worried. I ended up dropping back from my coach a little and my 400s slowed. I was eventually at 100 seconds for one of my 400s. With a few laps to go, I started catching people and picking up the pace again. With 200 meters to go, my coach yelled to me that I was at 11:12 and I would really need to pick up the pace to break 12. I came down the last stretch hoping I would do it.. And I did!!!!! I ran an 11:57 and I was so happy because it was a 27 second pr from last year! And I did it in my first meet of the season! So after I exchanged sweaty hugs with my family, I went out to do a cool down with my teammates and coach. After I got back, me and my friend left to go home with my mom so I could spend a relaxing weekend at home before classes start :)

Steps, Steps, and More Steps!

On the last post, I was describing the Seton Hill Drive workout I was supposed to do at 4 oclock that day for practice. A few hours before practice, the weather was not looking promising. Altought we didn't get the eight inches of snow that my hometown got, we did get the freezing rain. The freezing rain raised my hopes that the Seton Hill Drive workout wasn't going to happen. It wouldn't have been too bad coming up the hill, but having to go down the hill would have been treacherous. So there was a rumor that if the weather didn't cooperate, we would be doing stairs. So before heading over to practice, I packed a pair of shorts, just in case!

When I arrived, I was talking to some of my teammates about how the sidewalks were very slick and I lost my balance a few times of the way over. They were very hopeful that this workout wasn't happening. Then, the coaches showed up, giving us a choice. We could attempt the hill workout, or settle for doing steps in the Administration building. While we contemplated the choices, our coach said that we would get a better workout with the steps instead of doing hills. Before deciding, I asked how many sets of stairs we would have to do. He informed me that we would have to double the number of hills we would have done, so that meant 14 sets of stairs. To explain the stairs, the sets would consist of us running up from the first floor, to the fifth floor. This also consists of about 12 flights of steps, give or take a few. This would be tough. I am usually tired walking up the stairs from second floor to the fourth floor. Eventually we decided that steps would be our fate. And we were off to get changed, warm up, and start the step workout.

While we were stretching after our warmup, our graduate assistant Hanna told us that we would alternate the way in which we would go up the stairs. Every other set would alternate between stepping on each step, and then skipping a step. As we got started, it didn't seem too bad. I was used to doing step workouts in high school so I think this helped. I also soon realized that I had an advantage with my long legs when we skipped a step and soon I was leading this workout. We stopped halfway through to get a quick drink and then we started up again. For our recovery, the girls chose to run down the other set of stairs, while the boys took the elevator(which was oddly the assistant coach's idea). When we finally ended the workout, our legs were shaky and we were out of breath. But it was a tough workout and ALOT better than the hill workout. Unfortunately, a little after we finished, me and my teammates could already feel the soreness setting in, which would last for a few days I would soon find out!

Seton Hill Drive!

This is my first time blogging so we will see how this goes. For those of you who don't know, I run for Seton Hill University. I am a sophomore here. Today, at four oclock, I will be starting a workout that will probably have me laying on the couch for a while later tonight. For those of you who don't know what Seton Hill Drive is, it's a menacing 800 meter hill that I don't think anyone can be prepared for. It leads up to Seton Hill University, which is obviously where I go to school. The time makes a turn 3 times while still going up and up. We start at the marquee and the bottom and end at the statue at the top. Our coachs like to think that the Seton Hill Drive workout is such a good idea, but to us runners, it's a killer. Usually, during cross season, we do a maximum of five hills. (Our recovery is jogging back down the hill) But today, freezing rain making not mattering, we have 7 hills to do. Me and my teammates have been dreading this workout since we arrived at track camp. I guess we will see how it goes. I will be so happy when it's all over. I'll let you all know how it goes later!