*Qualify for NCAA Nationals (XC and Track) *Marathons after college - FAST! *Keep working hard & improving
Personal:
In my fifth semester at Utah State University. A sophomore Cross Country and a junior in Track and Field. Majoring in Math Education, planning to graduate in 2013.
Joy = {roller-blading, running, fancy cheese, friends, ultimate frisbee, Jones Cream Soda, Star Wars and turtles}
At track today, we had an odd day. First off, we held an unofficial "race" day today for those not competing at BYU on Saturday. Then I practiced using the starting blocks since I'm running the 400m at BYU! By the time I started my run, everybody was done. So, I went on an easy 4-miler out into Green Springs and back. I almost died on the way out, but the way back was much better. Excited for the trip tomorrow!! (Adrenaline 203.2)
AC in the AM with Kimz and my brother Jon. I was slow and tired, my bro was crazy and Kimz tripped, same old, same old. Going to BYU!!!!!!! (Adrenaline 206.7)
Up in Lehi, warmed up, then did handoffs, starts and ran around the track for a while. (DS3 205.7)
AP tests suck. The statistics test today made me late for practice, too. But now I'm all done with them! Yes!
So, I warmed up and stretched and did some medley handoffs with Green (which were amazing, as they always are) for tomorrow. Then I ran a nice easy church 4-miler out in Washington. At the church, I caught a ladybug and carried it all the way back to the high school without killing it! I was so excited! Feeling fresher than yesterday, Regiontomorrow (and Thursday...) is going to be AWESOME! (Adrenaline 211.2)
Goals: 1600m - win, PR, time < 5:10 medley (800m leg) - win, PR, split 2:20, total < 4:20 3200m - win, PR, time < 11:20 800m - win, PR, time < 2:20
Region 9 Championships (4A) (1 Miles) 00:05:13, Place overall: 1
Slow miles
Fast miles
Total Distance
3.00
1.50
4.50
Woo hoo! I finally PRed in the 1600m! I was hoping for a bit faster, but oh well. There was a killer intense wind happening on the back stretch, so I think my time goal would've been met had it not been so windy. My splits were also questionable (1:16, 1:19, 1:21, 1:17), but not quite awful, so I'll keep working on those 2nd and 3rd laps. Still, I won by 15 seconds and got a PR, so it was a good race to start off my last Region meet EVER!
Then in the medley 800m, we adjusted our goals and decided not to kill me - go for the win, and not worry about time - so when Green handed off to me and we were in first place already, I ran kinda hard, but not very. Holt even told me to slow down on the last lap! We ran a 4:29-ish and my split was 2:30, but we qualified for state by place and won the race by a lot! YES! (V spike 11.1) (DS3 217.2)
Our team scores are really close so far - with SC at 20, us at 17 and Dixie at 15, but with some sweet wins and some awesome people stepping it up tomorrow, we can be Region Champs tomorrow!
Just so my time (and place) in the 800m tomorrow is stellar, I'm planning on taking it pretty easy in the 3200m. So I'm adjusting my goals to just win in the 3200m (kinda like we did in the medley) - I'll worry about my times in that one at state!
And I got some more scholarships today! I'm officially part of the USU track team now and they're giving me $500/year more and books! So total, I'll have 4 years full tuition and fees, books, $500/year housing, $2000/year stipend. Sweet!
Ouch. My pride is wounded. I ran 6 slow, tiring,
icky and pathetic miles. Holt was nice enough to stick with me for the
first 3 miles out into Green Springs. We talked and it was fun! My guts
were hating me the whole way. And I think I have one of my
perma-sideaches. At one point, I had 3 different sideaches. I think
that's illegal... somehow. Avg. 8:07/mi. It felt lots slower, though.
And harder. I'm sorer than is normal the day after a meet, probably
from that crazy fast angry running I did at like, 11 pm last night. Ah,
well. (Adrenaline 217.2)
Easy out-and-back AZ strip run. Jonny ran with me for the first bit, then I finished up by myself. The way out was pretty slow going, but on the way back I picked it up a bit. Avg. 7:54/mi. There's still sand in my shoes from the buried car run last week, dang it. (Adrenaline 223.2)
Fast and fun 4x400's today! Started off with a DI loop warmup, then ran the 400's, each with 400m jog recovery between. I ran them all in my spikes and it was awesome! Times were 1:12, 1:10, 1:10 and 1:09! YES WAY! Then we cooled down on a couple of backwards big grass loops as usual. I'm so excited! (V spike 13.6) (DS3 227.2)
Today Holt showed us the rankings for the 4A State Track Meet this weekend and it should go pretty well! I'm ranked 2nd in both the 1600m and 3200m - by 6 seconds in the 1600m and by .03 seconds in the 3200m. So, I should definitely own the 3200m and have pretty good chances to do so in the 1600m as well! Also, with the lineup we have for our medley relay, we have a good chance at that state title as well as our school record! Sweet!
Easy Bank/Mall run by myself during 8th period. Killer winds, dude! Then warmup and all that stuff at practice, but no handoffs because Greenie said so. (Adrenaline 228.7)
Afterwards I got a massage with April and it
hurt. But now I feel awesome and ready to rock state! And later I got
"Outstanding Athlete of the Year" at my school's Senior Honors Evening
- with an engraved watch!
Went to Lehi's track and ran around for a bit to get the legs moving after the long bus ride. Did warmups, handoffs and ran a couple of miles on the track. Legs feeling fresh and ready! (DS3 233.2)
State Track Championships (4A) (1 Miles) 00:05:08, Place overall: 1
Slow miles
Fast miles
Total Distance
2.50
1.13
3.63
1600m STATE CHAMP!!!!! Yes way! It feels SO awesome to finally do it! I went into the race ranked 2nd (by 6 seconds), so for the first three laps, I stuck right on the girl ranked first and another girl was right behind us. As the last lap started, they both started to gap from me, and I almost let them, thinking "Man, this hurts and sucks, why do I even do this?!" Then the other half of me said, "Go GET them, you idiot, you want to win, not lose again!" So, I took off with 300m to go and ended up winning by 4 seconds! And I PR-ed by 5 seconds and got the school record! I literally couldn't stop smiling for the next couple of hours. Splits were 1:13, 1:19, 1:20, 1:16. Woo hoo!!!!!
Then we had a downer of an afternoon; our medley got DQ-ed because our 200 to 200 handoff went past their zone. So, I started my leg of the race, then Holt yelled at me to stop since we were already out of the race. So, I ran 100m of that, then walked back around to the start line and was frustrated for a (long) while. But it's done and I can't do anything about it and... I'm still 1600m State Champ! Yessssss! (DS3 235.7) (V spike 14.7)
State Track Championships (4A) (2 Miles) 00:11:15, Place overall: 2
Slow miles
Fast miles
Total Distance
2.00
2.50
4.50
The 3200m was not quite as AWESOME as yesterday, but it was pretty
sweet anyway! I got ganged up on by the Orem and Timpview girls! My
legs were a bit stiff and tired from yesterday from the get-go, but not
awful. It was a crazy race, way tactical and lots of surging
throughout. I came into the race with a time basically tied for 1st,
but since I'd won the 1600m, it seemed like I was "the one to beat" or
something. As a side note... at one point, the announcer said something
like, "We have Hilton in the lead, she won the 1600m yesterday..." and
I did a little dance... it was way fun. :) Anyway, I think I got passed
about 20 times and passed them back about the same number, it was
insane. The whole race was pretty up-in-the air until the last lap
where Krystal Harper and I pulled away and I surged at the start of the
lap and she got me on the last 300m and ended up beating me by 4
seconds. I really gave everything I had, though, so there aren't really
any regrets about the race, which is all you can really ask for, I
guess. Holt got my splits as 1:19, 1:25, 1:26, 1:25, 1:27, 1:29, 1:24,
1:18. The crazy thing is, Krystal must've run a 1:14 last lap, since
mine was still a 1:18, and it was the fastest of all my splits! So, I
just re-broke the school record and PR-ed by 9 seconds! And got 2nd
place in the state, SWEET!
Then I had the 800m, ouch. My legs were totally sucked dry from the
3200m this morning, so it was rather questionable. Even with ample
warmup, my legs still were stiff and sore for it. By the time I was
200m into the race, my legs were tired and I felt hammered. So, I
gutted it out and got the place I was ranked to begin with - 8th - with
a pretty slow time - 2:24 - and finished my last high school race EVER.
It
feels odd; I think that it hasn't even really hit me yet (otherwise, I
think I would've started crying) and I'm nervous for how different
college is going to be. My years of high school track and XC have been
awesome, my coaches are amazing (the best ever) and it's sad for it to
be over. (DS3 237.7) (V spike 15.2) (DD spike 52.5)
When I got home, I found an awesome/hilarious message on our answering machine from Coach Patrick Shane of BYU. Click HERE to HEAR! He apparently has forgotten that I attended his XC camp this summer. And I think he's a little late for recruiting, since I've already signed onto USU's team. Funny, though, and a definite confidence boost!
Still not feeling too hot today. I don't know exactly how long I'm going to take off, probably just go out when my legs start feeling like legs again. Maybe in a day or two. We'll see.
At about 1-2 am Jeff and I ran around barefoot on the not-track, played leapfrog on the field, did roundoffs and handstands and overall went insane! Then more Indiana Jones until 4 am!
Since I was already feeling somewhat sickly, my mom decided to compound the problem by taking me in to get immunizations for staying in American Samoa all summer. Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Meningitis, I don't know what all. No fun. So, now my arms both ache and so do my neck and back, in addition to an already upset stomach and a severe lack of sleep (only 2 hours = masochism).
Had a weird urge to run Webb Hill today. So, I did! I ran up the road on one side (w/o stopping!), then down the trail on the other side and back home by way of Vermillion. Pretty crazy and fun! My downhill mile was actually slower than my uphill mile, not that either were anywhere near fast. Rolled my invincible ankle at one point, that's always enjoyable... or not. (DS3 241.2)
First legitimate "workout" type run since state and it was pretty good. Went out on an easy/fun 5 just to see how it was. Mostly the run was smooth and awesome, though it turns out that my
invincible ankle isn't as invincible as I thought... it's a bit swollen
and bruised-looking and is a bit unstable and sore esp. when the ground
is sloped. Not the most fun, but not awful. The run went around on Brigham Road and back along the freeway and on the Vermillion trail. And the weather was completely PERFECT! Avg. 7:41/mi. (Adrenaline 233.8)
Around noon I ran to the Cox's house with Jon, then he had to drive the car home from there, so I ran back by myself. On the way back, I stopped at Green's house and we watched the state track video she made and it is AWESOME! So, I had a long break in the middle, then ran the rest of the way home. Avg. 7:48/mi. (DS3 248.3)
Ran Webb loop with Lauren Whelchel. We ran slow slow, but I had a fun time talking with her and running circles around her and cheering her on! It was kinda weird, my legs got really tired out running at that pace (no watch, but probably around 10:00/mi pace) for so long - it really got sore by the end. That wasn't all that fun, but I'm glad that I got to run with Lauren before I leave! (Adrenaline 238.8)
Early morning run with Marcie over by her house. A little chilly out to start, but turned out just right. Had a fun time running and talking with Marcie, she's so awesome! 7:48/mi avg. (Adrenaline 254.2)
Only 3 hours left!!!
In the evening, I went and ran with the PV WBR team for fun, though I ended up getting pretty thoroughly thrashed. I probably shouldn't have run as fast as I did or as much as I did, but it's done now, so oh well! By the last couple of miles my knee was getting pretty tight. Not so good, but the rest of it was fun, I ran with Decker for most of the middle and that was awesome! 6.25 miles at 7:15/mi avg, then one slow cool down mile back to my house. I ran a half-marathon today! Too much is right! It's sad to say goodbye to so many awesome people - and I won't see Jeff F again for 2 years! :( (Adrenaline 260.5)
I made it to Hawaii so far and am hanging out with Ally! I'm going to stay here until Sunday when my flight to American Samoa leaves, so I get to run with her lots! After we go to her Spanish Tutor, we're going to run on the beach and stuff. Woo hoo!
We ran to Temple beach, then took off our shoes and ran to Kahuku point barefoot and walked around there for a while. Then we ran back to Hukilau beach and stood in the ocean and hung out for a while until we decided to walk back to Temple beach to get our shoes and go back to Ally's house. I got big blisters on the bottom of my second toes, but it was so beatiful and lots of fun, so it was worth it! (DS3 248.8)
Jet lag! I woke up at 5am and couldn't sleep anymore, even though I'd only slept since midnight thirty. Sad day! I'm so tired and dead! Anyway, when Ally woke up we went on a run from her house to Kahuku, this time we ran along the highway instead of along the beach. And had shoes on. No more blisters! :) Easy 4.6 at 8:00/mi avg. (DS3 253.4)
SO FUN! Ally and I ran out on the Laie Falls trail this morning and is was so crazy and awesome! The way out to the trailhead was about 1.3 miles, then the loop of the trail was about 3.1 miles. There were some absolutely insane parts with this way skinny trail twisting and turning up and down incredibly steep hills and it was a blast! This is my last run in Hawaii and it was an awesome grand finale! Thanks Ally! (DS3 259.1)
