8-31 Holman Vista: Long, but Good

Ran 47:41 for 6.5 miles or so at Holman Vista. 23:15 on the way out, 24:26 I ran on the long trail to sutton boat launch and back on the long trail. I felt pretty strong for this run, although I was a little sore and my legs were feeling powerless at points, such as after the last two large hills. Overall, it was good. I had to run by myself because I was foolish and forgot to turn on my alarm, even though I set it. It was a little more difficult. I had to encourage myself to stay strong on the last half. It was the longest run I've done this year, but it felt good.

TIME TRIAL

Well, I ran the time trial 5k in 20:45 on the old rhody run course. It was 1 minute exactly off my goal, but I'm actually satisfied. I'm not too far off my time from last year. I felt pretty good the whole time, as well. I may have been able to have a larger sense of urgency. My first mile was 6:24. It shows that I've been able to work back into respectable shape. That's good to know. I think I can continue to improve and get back to where I was last year. I think at this rate, with good sleep and with taking ferrous sulfate, I'll be able to run in the 18's this year. Definitely. I'll make my goals soon. If time, I will make them tomorrow. THat's pretty unfortunate Will ran into that glass. That was a pretty wierd occurance. Travis, Joe, Jacob, and Brad all did really well. We're going to have a good team. Brookings is going to have to watch out for us, and North Bend better not forget about us as well.

TIME TRIAL GOAL

=19:45
I know I ran 20:22 last year, but I feel my form is better this year, and I am stronger. Stay relaxed, take big breathes, push with my calves, keep my head up, stay consistently paced....if I can do these, I'll be good. Stay tough.

8-29 EASY minimum

Well, ran this minimum, 4 miles, in about 28:25. Those 25 seconds are roughly accounted for in waiting to cross 101, so we were right on 7 minute pace. The girls were right on our tails at the beginning, and they said we were going slow. They were smoking. That's good. My left ear was plugged the whole run and in fact still is now. It kind of makes me feel disconnected. No me gusta. The other guys were talking about Halo while we were running. I should play that some time in my life.

8-29 Morning: EASY shadow

We ran 20 minutes this morning, close to 3 miles. We were running pretty fast seemingly, probably a little under 7 minute pace. I felt somewhat tired at the beginning, but I felt fine once we turned around. Again, I need to get a new watch. We're in the easy shadow of the time trial Right now, I'm thinking my goal for the time trial is 20 minutes. I ran 20:22 last year, and I think I can do better. I'm not sure if that is too conservative or optimistic to think I can run faster. I think I can.

8-28 Tuesday's Identity Crisis Run

Well, ran a Sunday run on this Tuesday. It felt quite good. I ran it probably in 40-43 minutes, I'm guessing. I'm not sure because I accidentally pressed the stop button on my watch while I was running. I think I just need to get a new watch. The stop button must be wearing out. This run went well. I kind of slowed down some until we reached the meadow on the way back to stay with Henry, because we were doing a buddy run. Will was also one of my buddies, but he fell behind mysteriously in the first ten minutes. After we reached the meadow on the way back, I went the pace I thought was a more honest effort. I think I was able to go a good speed.

I need to remember some things you said, Mr. Johnson, because there was some good stuff. Although showing up everyday is quite important, just being there isn't enough to improve. You have to put an honest effort into it. Honesty is critical. Also, he brought up a good example of how Jennifer Young transformed over the course of her career. That was a good example to show how things are happening that'll make you improve every time you are out working, even though it may seem like you aren't improving and you are just wiping yourself out. This is good to keep one on a long term focus. YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHY YOU ARE OUT THERE. key. He also talked about how it is pointless to care about losing to teammates, and I definitely do not have a problem with that. I only have a problem with that if that shows I am not running to my potential. Whatever works best for the team is best.
so, 1. don't be drapes (honest effort), 2. know why you are out there, 3. love thy team.
I can't quite remember if he said everything else. That is what I remember. They were good words. OH YES! I remember one that has motivated me before. It is, bring something positive to practice everyday. Whatever your mood is, it ultimately affects the team. So, I shall rewrite the now 5 cross country commandments as follows:
THOU SHALT
1. ATTEND EVERY PRACTICE
2. NOT BE DRAPES
3. KNOW WHY YOU ARE OUT THERE
4. LOVE THY TEAM
5. BRING SOMETHING POSITIVE TO PRACTICE EVERYDAY
to extend these, I could say the following
6. SLEEP MUCH
7. EAT HEARTILY AND HEALTHILY
8. DRINK 1/2 THY BODY WEIGHT IN OUNCES EVERY DAY
I shall expand on these later.

8-28 Good Morning, Mr. Kingwood

Well, we ran our first kingwood hill workout. We did drills and a mile warm up to the base of the hill. Our first hill was extremely slow, about 1:45. Mr. Johnson had us start over at that point. From there, in the pattern of easy, medium, mediumER, I ran a 85, 71, 66ish, 81 69, 65. So, they were pretty similar. I actually felt good after the last one. I probably could have run another set. I'll try and speak up next time if I feel that way. I felt pretty strong, though, overall. I guess I just looked at my splits from this workout last year, and we ran it quite a bit faster then. It was 71, 67, 67, 65, 62, and 67 or something like that.

REMINDER: I NEED TO MAKE GOALS SOON!

8-27 Afternoon: Solo Home Run

Well, I ran from my house on my own because of my physical therapy appointment for my elbow. I ran 4 miles in 28:40, so about 7:10 miles. I ran from my house to the bridge and back. I took about 14:08 on the way there and 14:32 on the way back. I was going to go to do a minimum at Woahink, but I ended up wanting to save time. This run felt pretty good. My legs were feeling sore on the way up the long hill. I figure it has to be at least 1 kilometer. Anyway, it was a good run overall. I wasn't wasted afterwards. I had some energy left.

8-27 Morning: A Return to the Familiar Wrestling Mats

Ah, I guess wrestling mats always make me think of diseases like wring worm. Anyway, we ran a nice easy 24 minute run. About 3.2 miles, I'd say. We ran towards Fred Meyer, around it, out a short distance on 101, and came back. This run felt pretty good. I was cruising the whole time.

8-26 The Keck Fun Run

I ran ran about 38:40 minutes with my Dad on this Sunday. I went 5 miles. The first half I ran with my Dad, and it took me 21 minutes. It took me about 17:40 on the way back. Almost 7 minute pace. I actually ran pretty late, at about 7:15 p.m. I ran the usual route, down the road. My Dad never tires of it. As long as he's there, it's not bad. It is starting to feel somewhat repetitive, though. It's essential to have someone to talk to on this type of run.

8-24 A Woahink Morning

Well, ran 5 miles at Woahink. It took about 38 minutes. I actually run this one to easily. I was kind of in charge of making sure Dalton went the right way, so I slowed down so that he would be able to be in sight the entire time. I could have gone faster, but I felt like I shouldn't lose him. It was a enjoyable run because of that, though.

8-23 Siltcoos Lake Trail: The Devil had Nothing On Me ( I had sleep)

Ran at the Siltcoos Lake Trail. 1 loop, 4 miles, about 30:45, similar to my uphill 5k time. This run felt surprisingly good. I felt strong the entire way. Strong proof that sleep is a huge factor in performance. Before when I've ran at Siltcoos, I've kind of imagined that the hill was an obstacle placed before me by the devil. It kind of motivated me to overcome it, I guess. Anyway, I defeated the devil with sleep. I also probably could have run this faster, but Travis, Joe, and Jacob ran fairly slow on the down hill section. I like to zoom down the hill.

8-23 Steady Morning

Ran about 4 miles in 29:30. Ran from the track to miller park, around miller park, out the trail to kingwood, and back following the same route from the other kingwood hill. I went a little easier this run than the day before, because I was kind of driving my self crazy. I let it get to me to much that I didn't do as well as I wanted to. I ran this run steadily, but I didn't kill myself to stay up with the other guys. I kept with them till about 15 minutes. I felt better after this run. I believe I got between 8 1/2 and 9 hours of sleep last night. It noticably helped for this run.

8-22 Tommy low

Well, ran 5 miles in 36:38. I felt pretty tired. I made it to the road in about 20:15, but I kind of lost it. I didn't get enough sleep last night, and daily doubles must be getting to me a little bit. Wasn't the greatest of runs. I hoped I could average 7 minute miles like I did last time. Oh well.

8-22 Two faced North Jetty

Well, ran at North Jetty. Ran 30 minutes, probably 3.8 miles. I died after 20 minutes, although not for lack of trying. I'm not a good morning runner. Mr. Johnson gave a good speech about commitment to always showing up. He also mentioned running with the top seven if you want to be varsity. I felt that this was at least somewhat directed at me, as I'm right on the fringe and turned back early yesterday. I tried hard to stay with the other guys, but I really did die. This was a tough run. North Jetty is either easy or rather hard for me. It's somewhat puzzling. Of the 4 times I can remember practicing on it, it's been hard-easy-hard-hard. Oh well. Moving on. Ready for Tommy. I didn't get enough sleep tonight. I wanted to play a little bit of Resident Evil 4 before I went to bed, but it woke me up. I couldn't go to sleep for a long time. I should have learned this stuff by now! crap. oh well. Next time I'll remind myself the right thing to do. Also, I took ferrous sulfate last night for the first time. No more repeats of last year's collapse. It was 49.1 at the beginning of the summer, but it couldn't have gone anywhere but down. I need to get it up to the 60's.

8-21 Minimum Deux

Ran the minimum again, although this time it was not planned. 4 miles, 28:11 (with two short stops on 101) I planned on running 5 miles (and should have) but decided and the minimum turn that I was feeling like I was fairly tired, so I turned back. I was able to be pretty strong all the way back. AVeraged 7 minute miles, at least. Not a bad run. I kept up with the other guys till I turned back.

8-21 the Morning of the Magicians

Excellent little run, ran 22 minutes, about 2.5 miles. We ran follow the leader style, so everyone on the boys team, all eleven of us, got to lead for 2 minutes. We took some pretty wild routes. WE were just supposed to run on soft surfaces, so we ran all around the field by the track and in the bushes all around. I just kind of went crazy and started running through the bushes. It was fun. I ended up trying to run into the bushes, but I couldn't make it through. I had to turn back. It was fun, though. People got scrapped up. We went through the tire, wentover the fence to the track by the high school, did Allen's creek run, run in countless circles, and other stuff. It was good.

8-20 Bare Minimum

Ran the minimum at that Woahink Lake. 4 miles, about 30 minutes. About 2 minutes had to have been waiting for the traffic. The traffic took forever. It was a good run. I felt good. I actually felt like I had a minor break through with my legs. I felt like I was pushing more with my calf, and I felt stronger. I also was able to keep up the whole way. It was good. Another good thing was that Brad the Bard showed up. He is key. Dynamite to our Demolition Derby. We also discussed the state of 4a state. North Bend is going to be an unstoppable powerhouse barring any injury to their top 5. Marist returns everyone, but isn't appearing to be able to compete with North Bend. Hidden Valley had someone get into a biking accident and break his leg, Brookings will definitely be our focus. We can get in there. We'll be right in there. We have to believe.

8-20 Inaugural Morning

First team practice. 20 minutes, 2.8 miles. Felt pretty tough, actually. I was starting to die a little bit. Oh well. It's the first practice. Maybe could've gone slower, but it wasn't a big deal.