Pretty good run, just ran the maverick route and then ran around Daybreak for the other 4 miles. Took me just under 56 minutes to finish not counting the bathroom break at mile 6.

1st day of Utah Indoor Championships

Around a 2:16-800m (4x800)

4:48-1600

 2nd day of Utah Indoor Championships

10:03-3200m

Easy run

Speed Work/Long Run

6:30 minute average pace

"Easy" run

"Easy" run with squats, wall-sits, calve raises, and lunges 

6.1miles / 39miles 32.9 miles left

up to the cove.

Long-ish run by myself. ran with ipod, actually not as bad as I thought it was.

Ran

Ran Again

Still Running

Still haven't stopped

Ran a bit more

Ran up to DDD ranch

Around the Lake, Down around The District, then up past The Temple then back to the south east bridge

ACT day. Ran around the highschool for about 6 miles cuz it was really cold and snowy.

Windy run at the high school down to monarch meadows then back. it should have been an 8 miler cuz the wind sucked

Rosecrest up to the resevoir

First day of XC practice 

6:26 pace

6:40 pace 

Trail run up at Yellow Fork Canyon, pace was around 8 on the way up but on the single track on the way down we were hitting 5-6ish minute miles. Not really sure how far the run was though :/

Quick run with the boys, Connor wasn't here so we didn't know the time or the pace.

7.1 miles at a 6:26 pace, we decided to go a bit further than the rest of the team even though everyone ended up coming with us which is awesome, we are going to tweet all of our runs now also under the hashtag #ComingForYouMountainView as a motto for the season when we will take down MV.

Run up to the reservoir, went easy because Coach Barnes told us to because our previous runs have been 6:30 pace for the past few days. It was around 36 minutes which is around a 7:30 pace which is what Barnes wanted us to hit.

Up to the cove from Rosecrest at an average pace of 6:26 per mile, we would have been faster but we decided to slow and run with Greg for the last stretch.

First day of wearing my new Kinvara 3's. They felt really good for the 5 miles then they started to rub on the back of my heel which was not fun at all. We ran on Mountain View Corridor for the first little bit of the run (about 2 miles) which was kind of good I guess.

The run was about 7.2 miles 

Ran up to the end of the private road and back down. pretty good pace at around a 6:40 so that was pretty good I guess.

Pretty brutal run. We ran up to the Cove from Rosecrest Park at around a 6:46 pace. It was so hot and humid I felt like I was going to die. I need to get used to running through that if I am going to do well at Farmington in a couple weeks

 Easy 5.5 with the Connor Jones, we decided to leave the group and go a little extra so that we can hit 33 this week. we are upping our miles by 10% each week so next week we will hit 36, then 40, 44 etc... about a 7:15 pace for the hole run

Fast run up Butterfield Canyon at around a 6:12 average pace (7:40 up, 5:00 down). I pushed really hard on the last mile and I think I got it at around 4:45 pace, It felt really good actually and my hip didn't hurt at all which is a really good sign because it would only hurt if I go really fast on it like at Davis, BYU and State and had to drop out of BYU because I couldn't even run.

Ran around on Mirabella today for a total of 4.5 miles. We hit an average pace of 7:48 per mile so we decided to push it the last 400 meters to pass these kids that were trying to race us and we ended up out kicking one of them. I felt kind of mean but they shouldn't try and race us haha. I definitely need to do an easy run tomorrow to recover.

Easy run by myself around the neighborhood and up around Maverick. Just an easy 3 miles at around a 8 minute pace because I am sooooooo sore. I guess I'm going to hit 34 next week haha.

Pretty good run today. We went up the trail to the top of the private road then down to main street on 6400 then we started down towards MVC. When we got to MVC we were told by our coach to race it back to Monarch. So thats what we did, when we got to the stoplight at 13400 I made the decision to just cross and I guess just Tommy decided to come with me, while everyone else stayed on the corner and waited to cross. Our average pace was around a 6:45 but our last mile was definately in the 5's because it felt like I was hauling.

Just an easy run with Christian and Mckay (other guys went further) before our races tomorrow, I am doing the Honeyville 5k and Mckay and Christian are doing the Riverton Country Mile 10k. I felt pretty good just a little beat up from yesterdays run but other than that I feel really good and I am hoping to run a 15:10ish to beat Braden Perry's course record from 2010. 

My strategy is to take off and leave the lead pack as there will be no-one that will be going that fast at this race this year (Box Elder's XC team is doing the Brigham City 5k the same day) and then at around 5 minutes I am going to settle in and keep trying to open up a gap on #2 if I feel good enough. With this I should be able to finish safely in the low 15's and will probably get me the win even if I tire a bit at the end. 

Got to the race about 45 minutes early so I got out of the car and went and walked around. Then I went for a mile warmup and scouted out the competition but the only one who would give me any pressure would be Adam Hendrickson from Box Elder because two of the Terrible Three were up at Blacksmith Fork 15k. Got to the line and started to talk to some of the competition and I met a girl from Box Elder (who actually won the girls race) and I talked to Luis Vidal from Logan who confirmed that Jerrell Mock, Conner Mantz (two of the Terrible Three) and Adam were not going to be here.

The gun sounded and I took off but the course was kind of confusing at first so I kept looking back to see if I was going the right way. I was moving pretty good for the first mile to try and open up a gap on the second place guy (Luis) which but me at least 200 meters ahead of him and 500 meters ahead of the rest of the people. The race was on a true cross country course which was super cool because I got to wear my Kilkenny flats for the first time. I got a side stitch at about 1.7 miles to go and it didn't go away till the water stop at mile 2.

After the water stop I was super bored and I just wanted to get this race done with and win so I started my kick and came  in 1st to finish at a 17:03 which was terrible for me. I wasn't in any kind of shape to beat Braden's course record of 16:09, but oh well I will do it next year. I got a huge jar of honey for winning (which is really good) and a gift certificate to a local grocery store so I went and got some ice cream.

I went on a lengthy cool down after I got home which turned out to be another 5k so I should be safely in my weekly goal of 34 miles. It was a well put on race by such a small town (population of about 1500) whose population nearly double this time of year. I'm going to turn all my focus on the half marathon on the 14th so I can have a shot at winning it.

I was planning on going just 3 miles today because I felt so beat from yesterdays race and last night but when I got to a quarter mile left I decided to make it a 5 miler. Then when I got to the lake I decided that I felt pretty good so I went to the temple and I kept making it just a bit longer. Mostly because the rain felt really good and I needed some thinking time. I ended up going 7 and a half but I felt like I could go way more which is kind of odd considering I raced yesterday. I need to start upping my miles this week in preparation for the Farmington Half Marathon on the 14th but I don't want to hurt myself so I think I'll just get my miles up to 40-45 this week and hopefully my body will respond positively.

I am beginning to understand why people blog, it helps me to get things out that I wouldn't normally say. 

Easy run with some of the guys, we decided to cut it a bit short because of our longer run yesterday and my 10 miler tomorrow with the coaches. I should be at about 40 miles this week so thats good I guess. Felt like pushing it today so I started to push the pace at the last mile and when I hit 1/2 to go I started to go as hard as I could because I wanted to practice going fast so i can get comfortable with it. Finished about 15 seconds ahead of Tommy who was surprisingly close considering how hard I was pushing it. 

Didn't get much sleep last night so I woke up way late and missed the 10 miler with the coaches so that kinda sucked. I went out and did the Mav route and then remembered that Connor's Half Marathon was today so I ran down to the district to see him finish. By the time I had gotten there he had already finished but he was second with a time of 1:25 which is pretty good for a first half marathon. The winner was Dave Rasmussen with a 1:21.

I got Connor to come with me for a cool down for about 20 minutes and we talked for a bit before I had to get running again. I went up to 4000 west I think and took that to 12600 and then up to Maverick (for the second time this run) to poo and then home on the trail. 

AM- 4 Run up to lava. We got to the start way before anyone else so we were standing around waiting for a while before we got going. When we started we were going a reasonably good pace for the first 1.5 then we hit a huge hill which hurts just as bad every year. Then when we got to the water stop we slowed a bit before the last push up the last 2 miles of the run. We got to the finish with Me, Connor, Tommy, Mckay, Jesse J. and Rory

PM- 5 Evening jog. Easy jog with the guys around camp we did it pretty fast but not fast enough to hurt us the next day.

AM- 3 Morning Mile. Me, Rory and Tommy got woken up way late this morning because our tent was way far away and nobody knew we were up there so we didn't get much preparation for the mile. We ran up to the starting line and I was feeling like crap, I was sick to my stomach and my throat hurt so I was just going for a little faster than last years time on this course which was a 4:51 putting me in around 15 seconds behind Connor. So when Barnes honked his horn to go we took off really fast and I settled in 3rd behind Jesse J. and Connor but I was feeling crappy so I didn't try to push the pace but Jesse dropped off and Connor started to slow so I took the lead and with a quarter mile to go and began to pull away from Connor. I started kicking with whatever was in my tank (probably nothing) and when I came across the line I felt like crap and I was thinking I would run like a 4:45 or 4:50 again, but no I ran a 4:25 beating the previous record by 11 seconds and beating Connor by 4 seconds giving me the fastest time on the course. We cooled down a mile afterwards with the guys and some of the girls.

PM- 9.1 Run to lava. This is the worst run we have ever done. Even though this is my third time doing I keep coming to camp. I hate this run more than anything but anyways we ran down the first two miles in about 11:30 which was really impressive considering our mile earlier that morning. Then we pretty coasted until the second water stop which was brutal but we kept our pace for a while. When we got to the water stop I took my GU which tasted really funky but good at the same time. We kept going and at the 2 mile left point Rory decided he was going to try and race so I just let him. I was feeling so crappy because of the heat that I was just trying to go fast enough to finish the run and at least finish sub 55 minutes. At a mile to go I finally decided to try and catch up to Rory and then at the half mile to go I blew past him and I came threw my last mile at a 4:52 pace which hurt like nothing I have ever felt. I beat Coach Brown's record who ran 55 high here two years ago when I was a sophomore Rory came in about a minute later (there was a bit of an argument over this because he thought it was less than that but I had a watch and he didn't.) We iced our legs in the water afterwards and then it started raining and thundering so we couldn't go swimming today :(

AM- 5 Team relays. We ran up to the starting point after a talk from our coach about some "hazing" last night. We got our teams and I was on a team with Mikie and Adam who were both pretty good at the mile and I was glad I got them on my team. But when we got to the first exchange Mikie gave it to Adam in second to last place and Adam gave it to me in third to last place which I then moved up quite a bit and caught Mckay and Tommy on the final hill. On the second exchange Mikie moved back into third to last and Gave it to Adam who went as fast as he could to put me in striking distance of a few guys. On my last leg I took off with everything I had left after the last few runs and caught Mckay, Braden and Tommy putting me in second, I then began to catch Rory's team (who won) and I came across the line at a 7:20 which was a 4:56 mile pace and a new course record (3 for this camp) and I was 30-40 seconds behind Rory's team.

Dead-beat tired today, I couldn't get out of bed so I decided to run a little later than usual but I was so sore from camp that I could only manage a 12 minute pace. I haven't gone that slow since I was like 8 running with my dad but I'm feeling much better after running and stretching a ton. I have been planning my race on Saturday, I am going to stay with the leaders for the first 7 miles and then when I hit the 10k left i'll make a move to lead and hopefully my speed will be enough to beat some of the more experienced marathoners and hopefully get a good time and place. 

Easy run up with the guys at Monarch up to Juniper, then to Rosecrest then back down to 134th. I took it really easy as I didn't want to be sore for my race tomorrow.  I am running the Farmington Half Marathon with a couple guys on my team.

Woke up really early to head over to the bus at Run Gr8, when we got there I got my bib, and packet and then got on the bus. It took us about 45 minutes to get to Farmington but I just listened to music the whole way and tried not to psych myself out because this is my first half marathon. I got out of the bus when we got there and I headed to the bathroom then did some striders and stretches to get my body ready. I saw a few Davis guys and some older guy with no shirt on who looked way familiar. 

When we started I got to the lead pack and some guy broke away immediately and none of us wanted to try and go with him so we all just stayed together. We came through our first mile at a 5:55 and I talked to the shirtless guy and found out he is Devin Lang from Utah State, he is one of the guys that coached me in the Steeplechase last summer. Our next two miles were 5:41 and 5:42 which seemed really slow at the time but I payed for it later. At around Mile 4 the Davis kids fell off and it was just me and Devin and we came through at a 5:49 but it was down hill so I guess it was okay but I started to cramp up.

Mile 5 was a 5:37 which totally seemed way slower but I started to fall off Devin but he didn't get too far. Mile 6 was a 5:48 and I kept Devin in sight because I didn't want to lose sight and then lose hope off catching him. Mile 7 I slowed for a the waterstop and couldn't get back into the pace and I ran a 6:03. Mile 8 was a 6:10 and I was just hurting at this point I kept forgetting to take my GU and this came back to bite me later on. Mile 9 was a 6:03 but only because I hit a massive hill (it may not have been that big but after 9 miles off fast racing and no training for it I was hurting) and Mile 10 was a 6:21 which was probably because I was trying to recover form the hill and I kind off lost track off where I was.

Mile 11 I got back into speed for a 5:57 and I kept thinking to myself 5k left and then I'm done. Mile 12 was a brutal hill and I could only hit a 6:26 on the way up it but Skylar Williams began to gain on me and I wasn't going to go down with out a fight. Mile 13 was a 5:48 and I pushed as hard as I could so Skylar wouldn't catch me because I know he has some speed as he ran a 4:19 mile in Track. The last .1 was downhill so I hit a 5:58 pace as I was so beat from my previous mile I couldn't get very far away from Skylar though.

I finished 3 minutes behind Devin Lang and 4 and a half Minutes behind the winner (who I later found out was Jason Nance from Weber State). I ran up against the course and found Braden and Jesse and ran with them till the end, their times were 1:25:20 and 1:25:21 as Braden out kicked Jesse. Christian Roth ran a 1:27:49, Haeden ran a 1:30:34 and Coach Haag ran a 1:42:10. Me, Braden and Jesse ran up to meet my dad but stopped to stretch on the corner, around 15 minutes later he came by and we ran with him to the end and his time was 2:08:26 which was good for him as he hasn't trained at all for it.

Easy run with Connor and Rory, we saw the team as we headed up Main Street but we crossed because we didn't want to start any drama. We ran up to the High School and we walked around a bit and got some water then went and looked at our trophies and talked about last XC season. We headed back and went and walked around but Barnes was waiting by our cars to talk to us. He talked to us for about an hour before he let us go. I stretched when I got home.

I woke up a bit later than I wanted to and MVC was shut down so I had to take the long way to practice. Coach Jones and Coach Linkletter called me and I told them to head up to the mistress and I would meet them up there. We did 6 repeats up the hill and I was so close to just killing myself but I wanted to get better. We cooled down a mile and I decided to stretch at home because the grass was wet.

Met Connor and Rory at Rosecrest park, we decided to do a longer day so we went up to Juniper then to Emmaline then to the cove and back on 134th and the trail behind treys house. We talked a lot about Deseret News and how fast we should go. Easy pace around 8:30ish. So excited for Duck Creek.

Drove 4 hours up to Duck Creek (ouch) then got out and unpacked our stuff and we got a really good spot for our tent and then we decided to go on a run. We ran up Lost Hunter Trail (which really is a bad name for a trail, LOST hunter?) which was really tough but we kept going at a fast pace even though it was up hill for the first 1.2 miles. We got to a split in the paths so we decided to go right and it took us down this big hill were we found this huge concrete circle (I figured it was probably for storing water for fighting forest fires) where we hit 2 miles. We turned around and headed up the road and got back on Lost Hunter trail and headed back down the mountain but we decided to go a bit further. We headed up the road away from the campsite and talked a bit about college choices and how pretty soon I should start thinking about where I want to go.

We hit about a 7:30 pace for the run and for the last bit on the road we picked it up and I hit a 4:50 pace in the sprint, I really need to work on that because Im tired of losing to Jake in XC because of his speed.

Ran up to Cascade with Connor and Rory at a pretty slow pace because I ate so much food for breakfast. We hiked the 1.25 miles into the falls and went on a little climb above the falls. We got down into the falls and soaked our heads and took a drink before heading back to the trailhead. We got back to the trailhead and Nik and My Dad were sitting there waiting for the rest of my family. Rory, Connor and I decided to race back to camp so they took off going way fast but I stayed back a bit to avoid tiring myself out. I took the lead at about .5 miles into the race and Rory surged up to try and catch me but I sped up and denied him any mental boost (it's a race) and maintained a huge lead and made it even bigger on the downhill which I thought Rory would try and catch me on the downhill because he is good on the downhill but he didn't.

I finished at around 15:50 Rory was 16:30 and Connor was 16:45. We ran around a .4 cool down back to camp as we only raced 5k. 

Woke up at 6 to head up to Angel's Landing. We got to the trailhead relatively early and hid our water bottles. We ran all the way up to the top which was one of the hardest climbs I have ever done. We got to the chains and I put my climbing skills to good use and pretty much ran up the chains as they were relatively easy compared to the previous climb. We go to the top and took pictures of the three of us on top of Angels Landing (I'll post them on the Sunday slot).

We got down the chains fast and ran down the switchbacks and cliffs and got back to the trailhead really fast. We decided to run up to the Emerald Pools and take some pictures which was way cool and added another 3 miles to the run. 

Ran by myself this morning for 3.1 miles as a sort of recovery run before my big race tomorrow and decided how I was going to run it. I'm going to take off at a sub 5 minute pace and then pretty much try and maintain it for as long as possible and then give it everything I have left at the end.

Woke up at around 4:30 and took a shower. I got my stuff on in the car and we went to pick up Jesse and Rory and were out of Herriman by 5. We got there with plenty of time but Rory forgot his number and chip at home so he had to rush around trying to find a replacement which he found. We got to the line with plenty of time and talked to some of the people there who were mostly high schoolers. The wheel chairs started first and then 5 minutes later we did.

I took off really fast and was in 6th place for quite a long way but Coach Brown caught up and then the other people did too. We came through our first mile at 4:45 and then I dropped Coach and went with the other high schoolers. The race pretty much went like this, some one passed me then I was alone then another person passed me then I was alone and so on and so forth. I did actually do some passing but it was only people who passed me. I finished with a 30:32 which was really surprising to see.

We cooled down around liberty park for 10 minutes and then headed home. I got home and then slept for 4 hours haha. 

Easy run by myself at a 8 minute pace. Still feeling Des News in my legs, I'll go harder tomorrow.

Still feeling really sore from Deseret News but I decided to push a little further and a little faster. My average pace was sub 8 but I deleted the run off my watch so I don't know for sure.

no sleep i need to go to bed sooner /: 

Easy run with rory

Easy run with rory,

Ran by myself.

Ran with the team, actually by myself because everyone fast was at camp and Rory and Connor didn't come.

Ran by myself in Dimple Dell. Didn't have a watch and didn't know how far I went but I just tried to go out for 30 minutes.

Ran with the team for the first time since I have been back. Did 3 miles of easy warm-up then 2 miles of tempo. I took it easy cuz I was not feeling very well so I just stayed behind Connor so he didn't try to speed up, Braden caught us at McDonalds but we just sprinted to the finish. Rory was like 20 seconds back and Jesse J. was even further.

Extremely hot run. I think I got sick from something that I ate. I need to take better care of myself.

Worse day of running yet. Got next to no sleep last night and woke up at like 4 to go throw up. Decided to go meet with the team any way though. Got to practice and couldn't get my body moving because I had no energy from no food in my stomach and no sleep. For our workout we went to our course in Hell's Playground and did speedwork. Stayed with Connor for the first repeat but couldn't get moving on the next two. On the last one I had to stop to throw up whatever was left in my stomach. Cooled down back to the Stake center afterwards.

Easy run. Feeling better but still drained from being sick.

Easy run before the stampede. Still feeling sick.

I am just barely puting this in so there will be less written. Warmed up with Macy and Mike Felix for about 2 miles then did striders and idiot drills with Connor and Rory. Got to the starting line a bit late but Barnes didn't start till much later. We took off at a pretty fast pace and I ran with Braden in 4th for the first mile then we started to head downhill so I pulled away a bit. At the water stop I tried to grab some water but ended up spilling it all over me and the lady handing them out instead lol. For the last two miles I ran by myself and kept a good pace but I had such a gap that I knew Connor and Braden wouldn't catch me.. I looked back and saw Braden and Connor racing each other so I kept looking back in interest to see who would win.

I came through the finish in a time of 21:19 and Braden outsprinted Connor for a win of about .03 seconds with a 21:35. 11 guys beat my time from last year and 9 beat the course record. Macy outsprinted Mike Felix from UVU for a 20:15.

Felt awesome today. Ran a mile and a half warm-up to the Motha Cussa. We got their and did idiot drills and striders then Barnes told us our workout. We were doing 6x4/10 repeats up the Motha Cussa. I took off on the first one and stayed with the team. The next four I went as fast as I could and the other guys were quite a bit behind me. The last one I decided to race and just about died when I finished. I was too far ahead of Connor so I don't know my times for the repeats but they were all at least 10-15 seconds ahead of the rest of the team. We ran a 3 mile cooldown and when we got back Barnes gave us a high five for having such a great workout.

AM- Dimple dell 6.5

PM- Rosecrest Park 4.5

PM- Butterfield park-7.2

Ran speedwork.

AM- Butterfield Canyon 7.1

PM- Monarch Meadows 4

Met at Monarch Meadows then did core and warmed up. For the warmup we did 2 miles up the trail then back then we did idiot drills. Our workout was 8x400s on the grass but I was feeling better than on Wednesday. I only had my GPS watch on so It was hard to get our times but I just counted the seconds I was ahead and cut it off what Mckay got. Our first one was around 74 but we went kinda slow cuz we didn't know the course. The others were around 72 70 69 68 67 68 69 70. Pretty good workout though.

AM- Canyon run up Yellow Fork for a total of 4.4 miles

AM- Ran on my own for 3 miles

PM- Time trials. Ran a mile and a half warmup then did some striders. We started our race and Braden B. took off and led for a half lap before I took the lead. I slowed the pace down a bit to loosen up before taking off on the last 3 laps. I moved away from the rest off the pack and Rory and Connor tried to go with me but they faded back. I came across the line in a 7:14 and Connor was second with a 7:16 and Rory was a bit further back with a 7:22.

We cooled down to the church and back. 

AM- 6.0

AM- 8 miles

PM- 4 miles 

PM- 2.6

Probably felt the worst I have felt before a race and probably my worst race since State XC last year or even State Track. 2 mile warmup, 3 mile race, (rounding up) and 1.5 cool down. Really hoping to redeem myself tomorrow at American Fork Grass Relays.

Got to the race early to get a good spot then Connor, Rory and I went to spot out our competition (MV). Got Barnes to put me on the first leg so I could give it to our second guy in a good position. Warmed up for 2 miles around the course and practiced on the hay bales which are wayyyy easier to jump over than the barriers in steeplechase. I practiced by myself trying to get them just right before my race. The girls race took quite a bit longer than they had planned so there were still girls on the course.

When we started I got to the front and ran with B-Mac from AF and Alex Hedquist from Davis, Austin Brower was up with us for the first mile but he faded quickly. Paxton caught me at around the first hay bale and Kramer caught me a bit later. I finished fifth in my leg but I think if I had not ran my guts out yesterday I probably could have contended with the leaders and probably beaten them.

AM- 3

PM- 9 

PM- 7, 5x800m hill repeats. Kept up for the first 3 then fell back.

I need: to stop pushing on easy days (like yesterday where I went sub-6 for the last three miles), eat healthier food, go to bed earlier, take better care of myself, and stretch and roll out more often.

PM- 4.6 miles after our team goal meeting session. I set my region goal for 14:52. I truly think I will be able to accomplish that this year. In the run we ran with the top 8 and talked about our individual goals and I made sure that they were aiming for my course record of last year (15:29). We went a little faster than I wanted to but oh well. Team dinner afterward.

Got to the race at around the time where the girls ran and checked out the course. They changed it from the last time I had ran on it (where I set the record) It involved quite a bit of looping and we only did the big loop once :(. I took off pretty fast to get to the front and made sure that my team was doing the same. Austin and I broke away from the pack pretty soon.

I tucked in behind him for the first mile and a half while he decided to try and surge away and make me die. I just kept going and caught him each time he surged. He eventually died and I had to finish the race alone. Rory came in 10-11 seconds behind me and Brower was around 10-15 seconds behind Rory. Did two miles for the cool down. 

PM- easy 4 miles plus striders and stretching.

Got to the race early and Connor and I went to go walk the course. There were parts that were muddy which was cool and I was pretty cool outside so I knew it would be a fast race. I sat down to put on my spikes and Rory decided to put his on right next to me and stomped on my foot with his 1/3 in spikes. I swore at him.

After cleaning my self up from Rory's spikes I got to line but they didn't start for a long time. I told the boys to just stay with me as long as they could. Rory and I got the front and made sure the pace stayed fast, the rest of the team all stayed in with us which was good. Rory and I led the race for the first two miles coming through the mile-to-go in 10:10 (our first mile was 5:00) We took off and Rory began to fall back and so did I but I tried my hardest to stay with the lead pack. I passed Paxton but Jaydn Asay was still quite a bit ahead of me.

I finished fourth behind Ben Saarel (14:58), Jake Heslington (14:59), Jaydn Asay (15:13) and I ran a 15:18 which would have had me winning this race last year. I did a 2 mile cool down with Ben and Paxton and we talked about our race. Ben noted that at one point in the race he saw our entire varsity team ahead of him, I lol'd at that. Our team finished second behind Mountain View's 64 with our 88. I am disappointed that we didn't beat them but I think by the end of the year we will. 

PM- Little Grinder

PM- intervals on our home course 4 x 0.82 repeats.

AM- 4 

PM- 5 plus striders. 

PM- 3.5 plus striders so a total of four. Went to the high school with Connor and had an ice bath (sooooooo cold) and then went to the team dinner. Ate some nachos at the team dinner and decided to go to Costa Vida and eat some healthier food. Went to Smith's afterwards and got some Powerades before going back to the team dinner.

Woke up at 6 then took a shower and ate a banana and drove to the high school. Slept on the bus and got to Soldier Hollow pretty early. Connor, Rory and I all went and walked the course but turned around after the first mile. Went and got the team and warmed up for about 20 minutes. Got to the line and did some striders and idiot drills.

They shot the gun and Andrew Brewer and Isaac Faux all took off while Rory decided to stay behind and spike me. I got around Rory and Connor and began to try and catch Andrew and Isaac. Isaac fell back and I stayed a good ways behind Andrew before catching him at around the halfway point. I passed him and I decided I was going to try and win but Andrew held on for quite a ways.

I surged before the last hill and opened up a gap and flew down the last hill before hitting the uneven ground at the bottom. I gave it everything I had in the last 100m then looked back and realized I had won by 19 seconds. Connor McMillan led the 4 AFers behind Andrew and Rory came in 7th. We were 2nd as a team to AF by only 14 points.

Rory and I went and cooled down with the AF boys and realized that they are just as immature as our team maybe more! I really need to work on my consistent stretching as that has seemed to help me perform at a higher level.

AM- 4, Pushed hard at the end getting my last mile in 5:30 going uphill.

PM- 5, Warm up and idiot drills to the Little Grinder. Took off pretty fast but fell behind Connor and Rory but decided to race smart and take Rory at the end finishing 2nd 5 seconds behind Connor. I'll get him next time. Ran 3 miles back to Monarch and did idiot drills. 

PM- Fartlecks on our homecourse while JV raced it against Hillcrest. Rory and I were still second place though.

AM-4 

PM-5 

PM- 5 easy, but a little sprint at the end.

Warmed up with the team on Mountain View Corridor. Got back and put our spikes on and did striders. Our first mile of the race was 4:50 which I blame on Rory but I should have just stuck back. Second mile was 5:40 which was much slower because of our first mile. I started to hurt really bad and started to loose pace. I finished third behind Michael and Kramer. I need to work on my hills.

AM- Long run up to the mouth of Butterfield Canyon with Connor and Rory.

PM- 7 2:39 little grinder then 6x400 hill repeats. 

PM- 4 

PM- easy run with a sprint and striders afterwards

Warmed up around the course and ran on the sand to practice for the race. I was staying really positive and I felt like I might be able to place top 10 or even 7th. I knew on a good day I should be pretty close to the leaders. Went and got my spikes on and headed to the start and got our lane assignment, by the luck of the draw Mountain View got the box right next to ours and we talked to them a bit.

RACE: I got a pretty bad start because I got pushed into Orems box by Mckay but they aren't that fast so I didn't have to much trouble getting around them. Rory and Jaydn got great starts so I had a lot of ground to make up. I had to pass just about 100 people to get in position with Rory. We worked together for the next mile to pass some people and we caught like 5 or 6 but 3 passed us. At around the 2 mile point I pulled away from Rory and began to chase Jaydn because I didn't want to lose to him again. Brayden Cromar from Davis got up with us and I had a hard time losing him but once I did I was pretty much home free except for Jaydn and Ricky Faure. I pulled away from Jaydn but couldn't get away from the 1:53 800 runner (Ricky) who passed me in the last 150m putting me in 13th.

Afterwards we went on a cooldown and we passed Davis who thought we were Highland (or they were just being jerks). We talked about the race and pretty much came to the conclusion that we had beaten MV but weren't sure about who else. We waited around a bit and then they put the results out, We had beaten Davis by 1 point and Ogden by 4. We got our trophy and the Coach Strickland came up to talk to me about my race. 

AM- 4

PM- 7 Lil' Grinder today, I took off pretty fast and tucked in behind Rory but Connor pulled away and I couldn't catch him. I passed Rory at 400m and began to gain on Connor but he had to much of a gap and we couldn't even get close. Afterwards we did 12x200m hill repeats. 

Easy run up to 6400 then down to MVC then back to Monarch.

AM-4

PM-7 We did a mile and a half warmup then striders and idiot drills. Our workout was 5x800 but we would have to redo them if we didn't have 5 of us break 2:27. We ended up doing 6 because one of our guys couldn't get under 2:30. My times were 2:24, 2:23, 2:23, 2:24, 2:22, and 2:19. Barnes let me, Connor, Rory and Jesse D. go early because we were so fast on all of our repeats.

PM- 4. 3.5 with barefoot striders on the grass. Really stoked for Park City tomorrow.

Got up to Park City pretty early (about 3 hours early) and walked the course then waited for the spectator race and all the other races to start. We started warming up when the varsity girls started and did about a mile and a half. My legs felt really heavy and non-responsive, but that was because of our tough workouts this week. I did some striders and idiot drills but my legs were still way heavy and I was a bit worried about the race. We got to the line early and saw that Ben wasn't there so it would be winnable.

RACE: I took off as fast as I could go and got to the front with Rory and Jesse D. and made a wall up front so no one could pass us. We maintained this wall till Jesse fell back and Ricky Faure from Rock Springs Wyoming took his place and some Wasatch kid surged away but we didn't chase him because we knew he wouldn't be a threat. We came threw our first mile at 5:19 and Ricky Faure tried to break away from the pack but I didn't let him. We caught the Wasatch kid but Tomy from East decided to do the same thing and took off.

Kramer Morton moved up next to me and we chased Tomy and worked together to move away from the pack and we came through the 2 mile at 10:09 (4:50). The next mile I tried my hardest to surge away from Kramer but I couldn't open up a gap or even pull away from him. I fell back at around 600 meters left and I couldn't get my body moving and took a look back to see if I was safe, which I was. Kramer finished with a 15:09, I was a 15:17, Ricky was a 15:22 and Rory was right behind him.

Cooled down a half mile because the guys were complaining that we had to be at the awards. 

AM- 8. Traverse Ridge. Our mile splits were 9:27, 8:40,  9:13, and 8:35 and the other four were 5:53, 4:45, 5:07, and 4:50. This was weird because I though we would be faster on the downhill but me and Connor slowed down a bit.

AM-4

PM-7. Lil' Grinder and 7x300 meter hill repeats on the mistress all around 2 minutes 

PM- 6

AM-7.5 Warmed up about a half a mile then went to the starting place of the state course. We did some striders and Barnes told us our workout. We were doing 10 quarter mile repeats with 2 minutes of recovery in between. We were around 70 on all of them except on the uphill parts we slowed to a 72-73. We ended up doing the first mile a second time because we went through the course so fast the first time. Then we did a mile and a half easy afterwards.

PM-4. Easy run with Mckay and Jesse J.

PM- 6 at a 7:50 pace.

PM- 9. Warmed up 1.25 miles to Butterfield then did striders and got our workout. It was 8x600m repeats on the grass/gravel. We were 1:47 for the first two then dropped down to 1:45 for the next 4 then up to 1:46 and our last one was 1:45 again. Then I cooled down back to Rosecrest.

AM- 9. Got up at 6:00 and picked up Kami, Lucy and Connor and went to Provo to watch Region 8 championships. We got there and it was 33 degrees and put on our warm stuff. We ran the course for 2 miles then went on the road for the next four. We went down to BYUs campus and ran around and looked at buildings and talked about how cool it would be to run there. Got back to Kiwanis Park and watched Summer Harper win the girls title.

Went to the line and talked with some of the coaches and got our stop watches ready. Jake won and MV took the team title but Timpanogos was a close second. Drove back to Herriman and did another three with Connor up to Butterfield park.

PM- 3. Easy 2.5 up to Rosecrest and back then striders on the grass. Afterwards we went and took ice baths.

Listened to music on the ride up to Westlake to focus and zone out distractions. When I got off the bus I went to the bathroom then walked around the school with Big Al. Westlake, I have noticed is really into their athletes, more so then Herriman. I then had to re-park her car because Doug Padilla pulled in right behind her so it would be really tough to get out. I had to do a 12 point turn because he wouldn't move but that was fine because I needed a challenge. 

I watched the JV races and Tommy Mohan won the JV title and Lucy won the Varsity Girls title over Kami by nearly a minute. I went and warmed up with the team for about a mile but I had to go to the bathroom. After I got out I did another mile by myself then went to find the guys. We went and put our spikes on and headed to the line and did striders and Idiot drills. My legs felt recked but I knew I would be fine once I got started. 

RACE: I took off and settled right behind the lead pack of Jack Evans, Austin Brower and Rory. I sped up and caught Rory and settled in behind Brower who went out really fast the first mile. We came through our first mile 5 seconds behind Brower and we were 4:50. I caught up to him about a half mile later and never saw him again.

I made my move after passing Brower and put on a 400 meter surge to discourage any followers (Rory) and I thought he was further back but he was only about 7 seconds but oh well. I started my kick at the practice field and when I was 200 meters away I looked back and saw that Rory was close (but not close enough to catch me) so I sped up a bit and when I saw the clock said 15:00 I slowed down a bit because I had missed my goal and was a bit disappointed. Rory finished 2.6 seconds behind me but I had no idea he was that close or else I would have kicked a lot faster.

After we took pictures of our team with our spikes on because we knew we had won by a lot. We went to cooldown about a mile and a half but the guys were worried that we would miss awards. I found a Westlake XC flag and decided that it was mine. We went to the awards and saw our team score was 18 (three away from a perfect score) and 6 of our guys went sub-16 and had a 5 second spread between our 3-6 runners. We went 1-2-4-5-6-(7)-(8) because Brower was third. Now, State. 

PM- 7.2. Easy run up to the Cove pond from Monarch. 

PM-8.25. warmed up to Butterfield then did some striders and Idiot drills but I felt pretty crappy just like how I felt at Region. I took off pretty slow but caught up to the guys after the first 200 meters. I went 1:26, 24, 24, 24, 27, 22, 26. I had to start slow on all of them and pick it up and I won all of them except for the fifth and last one. We did a 3 minute cool down after each one and then a 2 mile after we had finished.

PM-5.5. Easy run.

AM- 7. 2 mile warmup with idiot drills and striders. 8x200 meter sprints with 3 minutes recovery in between. then 2 mile cool down.

PM-4.75 Easy run with long striders.

PM- 4 easy run with some long striders

 Couldn't get to sleep last night because I felt really sick to my stomach and then I woke at $ in the morning to throw up and couldn't fall back asleep afterwards. Got to the race pretty early and watched Lucy win the girls race. We then got warmed up and watched 3A boys start and I went to the bathroom to puke my guts out for the third time today. Did some striders back at our spot and then put our spikes on and headed to the line. Did some idiot drills and some more striders and then our cheer which is just the Husker Prayer. We got to start and the starter expained what we were supposed to be doing (everyone already knows).

RACE: I took off pretty fast but Connor and Rory went off a bit faster and cut me off, so I jumped around them and got up to the lead pack. I ran right behind the leaders for the first mile and moved to the front around the lake. I stayed in first until we hit the lake and then my little sleep and nearly no food in my stomach finally caught up to me and I ran out of energy and got passed by Jerrell, Jake, Connor and Rory at the lake. I didn't have a very strong finish after that. I was 7 seconds behind Rory and 23 behind the leader.

After the race I stood around for about 20 minutes to see the team results and we had won by the tie-breaker. We went and got our trophy and then went to cool down. We watched 5A boys finish then finished our cool down. 

AM-8.25 easy run by myself that was supposed to be 4 miles but turned into an 8 miler than only ended because I got tired.

AM- 8.5. Long run with Connor, Mckay and Calvin in Hells Playground. We went exploring for most of the run and found a bunch of mysterious storage boxes so we decided to investigate but it was cut short because we heard noises. Pretty nice run overall with nice scenery.

PM-8.75. Probably the worst I have ever felt during a run next to state. I felt like crap but I kept moving.

PM-6.65. Tempo run with two miles race pace. 5:20 and 5:18 

PM-6.6. Tempo for 1 mile today at 5:16 pace.

PM-6. Easy run.

PM-8. For some reason I felt really good today. When we started I got a fast early pace and maintained a 7:47 for the first three miles then when we hit the last mile it started to get really steep so I pushed a bit harder to stay sub 8 and got to the top in 31:06. We walked a bit and waited for the other guys to get there before we started back down. We went pretty easy for the first two miles down and they were both 5:14. Then I was feeling good so I picked it up a bit and my next mile was 4:58. When I hit the 1 mile to go I started to pick it up and it felt like I was going my 800 pace ( I was) and I came around to the final turn and started sprinting till I hit 8 miles. I checked my miles afterwards when we were walking and my last mile was 4:23.9 which is the fastest mile in Herriman High history.

PM-Warmup to lil grinder then we raced to the top. I was second behind Connor with a 2:39. Then we ran over to the 200 hills and did 12 of them.

PM-5.5. Ran around Riverton and up onto their track.

PM-10. 2 mile warmup. Workout was 3x500, 3x400, 3x300, 6x200. We did the 500s in 1:27, the 400s in 67, the 300 in 48 and I don't know how fast the 200s were. In between each interval we did a 400 meter cool down. Then 2 mile cool down after we finished.

PM-7.2. Easyish exploring run around Herriman. We went up the horse trail at Rosecrest and then we went up a trail near the middle school.

AM-4. Easy run with striders.

Got the race early and did a long warmup with Connor and Rory then headed to the bathrooms. Got our spikes on and headed to the line and did some striders and idiot drills but I felt like crap so I only did a few and my striders were slow. I hate being sick.

RACE: I took off and got to the front with Connor and maintained the lead for the first 3/4 then Tomy from East took the lead and Brayden from AF said "Who is that kid?'. We passed Tomy near where the hay bales would have been on the second lap and sadly never saw him again and two AF guys and Kramer passed me. I was feeling like crap still but I was trying to give it everything I had to keep up but couldn't keep my legs moving.

Around 1000m left Jaydn pulled up on me and I wasn't about to let another guy beat me so I pushed as hard as I could and around the 500m mark I threw up a bit and decided that as long as I was already going to die I should at least give it everything I had. I gained a bit on Zac Jacklin from AF but he had too much on me and I came in 6th.

After I stood around and talked to Kramer and Brayden and they invited me to go cool down with them. I declined because we were going to do an extra 4 to get our mileage for the week. Good race overall with how I was feeling but I should be able to run sub 15:40 at NXR.  

PM-8. Ran 1.5 up to Lil' Grinder and did striders and idiot drills. We were racing it the first time and I hit 2:37 which is my PR on it. Then we were to do 4x800 on the hill and our splits were 2:59ish, 2:57, 3:01, and 2:54. With 800 meter cool down in between them. After I went and did weights at the high school with Rory. I am setting a goal to lift weights after every workout.

PM-5.5 Easy run around Riverton. I have no idea why we are running down there instead of in Herriman but what ever.

PM- Got to the race late and had to go warmup as soon as we got out of the car. We did around a mile and a half then I went and changed out my spikes and put blanks in a few of the holes. Did some striders and I was as ready to race as I could have been because we have done some tough workouts lately so I was still pretty beat up.

RACE: Took off and got behind the Davis guys and pretty much just chilled while everyone else fought for position and moved around. At a mile in it was me, Rory, Cross, Hedquist, Cromar and Perry in the lead and everyone else was back a ways. We came through the mile at 4:57 which was too fast in my opinion but I do prefer to get a slower start. The next mile I was feeling pretty good still and staying relaxed but was starting to slow on my stride so I would take a 200m surge and catch back up.

I came through the second mile in 10:06 (5:09) and started to move up a bit on Cromar but couldn't keep pace. I finished in 15:12 so my last mile was 5:06 which is not bad but I would have liked a better finish. After I went and did a 2 and a half mile cool down with Coach Barnes. I will lift tomorrow morning. 

PM- 7.5. Tempo run on Dimple Dell trails with an extra mile afterwards. 

PM- 5.8. Snow sucks really bad. I can't wait for NXR so I don't have to be cold.

AM- Progression/ Tempo run with 2 miles at 5:30 then the second one at 5:05. 1 mile cool down after we finished.

PM-10. Little grinder with 12 x 1 minutes fartlecks with 1 minute recovery.

Then later that night I ran an extra 3 at Run Gr8 with Coach Brown. 

PM- Easy run up to the private road and back.

PM- 7. 12 x 30 second repeats with a minute recovery. I felt good through the first 8 then the last 4 my shoulder started killing me. After we finished we went and did another mile. I am so excited to leave for Arizona tomorrow!

PM- 5. Ran 5 miles in Page AZ! I love Arizona, everyone is so nice and its not cold at all! I took it easy because I was still feeling the run yesterday. I stretched really well that night.

AM-1.  Did an easy mile with the guys before we headed out to Mesa. We talked about our race strategies and how close we are to going to NXN. I really hope I can get top 21.

PM-3.5. Got to Toka Sticks kinda late and had to wait for the other guys because they took so long to get there. When they got there we went and ran the course and saw a few of the AF guys at the T-shirt exchange. I feel really good about the race tomorrow and I know I'm going to do well. 

AM- Got up 20 minutes early to get a shakeout in before we headed over to the race. I focused on other things and made sure I wasn't getting psyched out.

When we got to the course we went and watched Braden race and finish in a 16:20. Then we waited around a bit before getting warmed up. We went to the bathroom at the dirt pile because we didn't want to wait in line at the bathrooms. We ran a good 1.5 miles for a warmup and I saw a few of the people we would be competing against. We got our spikes and got to the line and did our striders while they were introducing us. I felt really good.

RACE: I got out hard and got to the front because I hate running behind people were I can't see and stayed there for the first mile coming through in 4:52. I was feeling really good and just kept next to Jake because I didn't want anyone to get in front of me. At around the 1.9 mile mark I almost took a spill and accidentally grabbed onto Luis Martinez's jersey to keep me from falling, I stayed up and Luis did too so that was good. The race has been really physical so far and I think that Jerrell Mock got tripped and fell down.

 I came through the 2 mile at 9:53 which is faster than my sophomore PR in the 3200 and I was in 17th place according to the timing system. I got passed by Bernie Montoya (who then went on to win it) and a few other guys who I caught except for Jerrell and I heard someone yell at a racer that they were in 21st so I picked it up so I would at least get an award. I passed Brayden Cromar from Davis and Caleb Thompson from AF and took a look back and saw Rory was close so I just started sprinting to the finish with whatever I had left and he came in .7 seconds behind me.

I finished in a 15:24, Rory was right behind me and Connor was a 15:37 which was amazing for him because he has never gone that fast before. Jesse J. was a 16:03 and Jesse D. was 16:16 and it looked like we had done pretty well and I was thinking we were for sure going to Nationals. We cooled down a mile and a half before heading to the awards. Long story short we ended up finishing 4th and we have a small chance for an at-large bid but its not guaranteed. We went and filled out our papers just incase we get the bid before we left.

PM-8.7. 2.2 mile warmup, 8x200 and 8x300 w/ a hill alternating every other one with a minute and a half  cool down. I felt good for the 200's but when it came to the hill at the end of the 300s I couldn't keep moving, I need to figure out a way to do that. After we did a mile and a half cool down. Then I went to the high school to lift.

PM- 6.2. 3.1 miles easy then we turned around and I decided to make it a tempo run for the run back. I am running the Cottonwood Heights 5k on Thursday. I'm pretty excited.

AM-4. Easy run with Jesse J. and Jesse D. we talked about colleges and I encouraged them to try out or walk on at SUU or UVU.

AM- Got up at 6:40 to shower then I ate a nutri-grain bar and my drank my Muscle Milk. I slept for most of the drive over to Cottonwood. I looked around for some good runners and I saw a few Cottonwood, East, and Hillcrest kids, none of which I recognized and a kid from Colorado that was in the box next to me at Southwest. I did a mile and half out against tthe course to see where the two mile was and where I was going to half to start my kick. I ran back to the gym and got my Mayflys on and got to the start line. I didn't get to do any striders because I got there so late.

RACE- I took off and was in second behind some kid that looked like he should be in college, there was a person next to me but I didn't look to see who it was until like a half mile into it and I saw that it was Tomy Gutierrez from East (a fellow blogger!). We ran together for the next 3/4s of a mile and then I tried to surge away but he matched me everytime and whenever I would get a gap he would close it almost immediately. I stopped trying to surge away at around 1.8 and began preparing for my last mile which would be were I would do my kick and hopefully get far enough away so he wouldn't be able to catch me on the downhill. I got caught on the downhill two years ago by Josh Haertel from Jordan so I wasn't about to let that happen again.

As I neared the 2 mile I looked down at my watch and saw that I could break the course record if I threw down this last mile in at least 5:10. So when I got to the point where I began to push really hard but Tomy stayed on me but he was like 3 seconds back so I couldn't see or hear him and I had to look back when I rounded a corner to see how close he was. When I reached the top of the hill I looked down at my watch and kicked harder than I have ever gone before (because it was downhill) and came threw the 3 mile in 15:03 and into the finish in 15:39. Tomy finished in a 15:58 and third was a ways back.

After the race I went and cooled down but I wanted to see if it was a true or close to a 5k and when I finished I had 3.09 on my watch. I went over to the awards and got my trophy and left immediately because I had to go to Brigham City for Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for my talents and for running.

AM- 6.1. Easy run by myself. I felt like crap the whole time but I wanted to get at least 6 in today. It was a lot harder to keep myself moving even though yesterday I felt like I could run a half marathon after my race.

AM- 6.0 4k of speed on sand, over fences, and on uneven surfaces.

AM- 7.  Warmup to Lil' Grinder. I was not looking forward to doing this today but I just didn't want to lose to Connor again. We took off and I was with Connor the whole way until the last 200 meters then he took off and I had nothing left. Rory was 4 seconds back and everyone else was way back. Then we did 5x400 meter hill repeats and 3x400 downhill repeats. I did a 52 on the downhill one so thats my PR now.

PM- 4.5. Easy recovery run around Herriman. Im feeling pretty good about Footlocker but i'm not sure my mind wants to do another race.

PM-7. Long warmup about 2.5 miles around the high school then we went to the track for some speed work. We did striders and idiot drillls before Barnes told us the workout. Our workout was 16x200 meter repeats with 200m recovery. We were hitting 31-32 on all of the repeats and then on my last one I ran a 27 low to see how fast I could hit it in. We went and ran another mile afterwards before heading to the weight room.

PM-4. Our first day in Cali! The bus ride was okay, we have Kramer Morton on our bus so we talked to him the whole ride to California which was like 12 hours.  After unpacking all of our stuff we went on a run. It was supposed to be an easy run but ended up being a 3 mile moderate with 1 mile tempo at the end. In the last 400 meters Kramer and I were in the lead and we started to sprint but I couldn't beat him, he is just too fast. We went to Chili's and spent 256 dollars on food. I posted a picture of the bill and our cash on Intagram and Twitter. 

Drove to the course at Walnut and learned that certain parts of the course were blocked off because it was so wet. We decided to run up the opposite way up to the switch backsand then down on the switchbacks. We went up to Poop-Out and learned very quickly that it was way to slippery to run because many off the kids could not even make it up. We went to Reservoir Hill and it was fine, it wouldn't be much of a problem during the race. After that we went and ran around the campus at Mount SAC and then to the football field for striders. I am way nervous for the race tomorrow because if I don't do well enough it might be my last XC race as a high schooler.

Woke up at 8 and got showered and went and had breakfast with Kramer, Connor and Rory. We talked about the race and what our plans were and I told Kramer I would stay with him for the first two miles at least. I ate a bagel, a muscle milk, two glasses of cranberry juice, a half a waffle, some cereal, and a sausage, egg and cheese biscuit (a lot I know but I eat quite a bit when I'm nervous and I didn't want to be hungry during the race). We got our race stuff on and got on the bus and headed to the course.

When we got to the course we went to the bathroom and then we went and warmed up and watched some random girl win the girls race who wasn't even ranked and was wearing a bib with something like 400 on it (the higher the bib the lower you are ranked). We actually did two warmups because we wanted to be well warmed up for the race. I went to put on my spikes and headed to the start line. I was wearing bib 70 which sucked because I was supposed to start on the outside but apparently I didn't.

RACE: I took off as quick as I could manage while still staying in control and got next to Kramer. We worked together passing people and pacing each other. I really like running with someone in a race because you pace off each other making it easier than just running by yourself, unfortunately Rory was a ways back so he didn't run with us. Kramer and I were in a good position and spent the whole race picking people off because they took off too fast. We hit the mile and were right with Michael Finch from PV who was really fast at NXR so I tried to get him to go with us but he didn't seem to hear or notice me.

When we started going up the switch backs I was expecting people to start passing me by the truck load but instead I was the one doing the passing and Kramer stayed right on my heels because it wasn't wide enough for us to be running two wide. We crested the hill and I took off down the hill and caught 3 people on the first downhill then 5-6 on the second downhill so my training in the hills in Herriman wasn't pointless after all. When we got to Poop-Out I was pooped but I tried my hardest to stay with Kramer who was eating up the hills.

At Reservoir Hill I was like 30 meters behind Kramer and around 5-6 places behind him but I could not get my body going. I passed a kid up the hill and then another going down the hill but Kramer passed 4. He kept getting further away and I couldn't close anything on him. I hit the Airstrip at full speed and tried my hardest to pass some people and got 2 and when I hit the Gauntlet some one was yelling that I was in like 20th place and I heard some kids behind me so I didn't want to get outkicked by them and lose a medal. I got on the track and heard a familiar voice, my Dad, he was cheering for me and I kicked it in passing 1 kid and finishing 18th.

I saw Kramer and he had finished 7th so he was going to Nationals, Conner was 4th and Ben Saarel won it by 9 seconds which was not surprising but he told us he didn't think he would win. Jerrell Mock from Logan was 12th which sucked because he was so close to getting a spot at Nationals. After the 3 Utah guys got out of processing for Nationals we went and cooled down. Utah won the team scoring so us 5 got medals. 

As my last XC season as a high schooler comes to a close I would like to thank my coaching staff, family, teammates, and friends.

Coach Barnes has been with me throughout my entire high school cross county duration, He has seen me through my failures and never gave up on me even when I gave up on me, there were some rough times between us and we didn't always get along but what we did agree upon was running.

My dad has always been a huge supporter of my running (even when I wished he wouldn't), He never missed a race, even when He and my Mom were in Alaska he had my brother Nik drive to Utah County and video chat him and keep him up to date.

Kyle Johnson, when I was a young boy I would always look up to him and I would run road races just to beat him but I could never seem to catch him. I joined the XC team and did summer training, but I could never catch him and I was always striving to be better. He was one of the main reasons I got to the point I am today. Even though he was injured his junior year, I had the privilege of racing him healthy his senior year (my junior year) at the Herriman Invite in the 2 mile in one of my favorite races of my entire high school career and we came across the line 1-2.

Rory Linkletter kept me on my toes this season and at State he met his goal, he beat me. Although I was sad that I was beaten I was happy for him because he met his goal even though it meant that I got beat. He was never far behind only ever being 5-10 seconds back except at NXR and Region where I beat him by 1/2 of a second and 2.7 seconds respectively. He was a good friend and I respect him not only as a teammate but also as a fellow competitor, friend, and brother (though we are not related to slightest).

This upcoming season of track will be a good one, I can feel it. My goal is as always to win State and this is my last chance to do it. I will do it. 

REST. 

PM-3.1. Easy 5k with 1/2 mile of tempo at the finish.

No running today.

No running today

PM-8. Progression run on the road with 1 mile tempo at mile 7 on the trails. Mile 1 7:17, Mile 2 7:11, Mile 3 7:05, Mile 4 6:53, Mile 5 6:35, Mile 6 6:20, Mile 7 5:26 and Mile 8 6:59.

PM- 4. Easy four with Connor and Rory then we headed to the gym for lower body and swimming.

PM-4. Easy run with Connor and Rory then went to the gym for upper body and swimming.

PM- I decided to not do a run today because of the swimming relay. The Baseball, Football, Track, Cross Country, and Faculty all got 4 people for a 4x50 meter swim relay. We were in second after Connor handed off to the next two but we lost placing when Braden and Rory started their legs. I had to make up a 10 meter gap if we were going to be second but Scott (our school cop) swam a 25 while the rest of us did like 35-38's and caught me putting us second to last which was like 25 meters over the baseball team. I felt good about my leg but I was way too sore to try and go fast.

After I went and did core and some legs before biking 3 miles. 

PM- 5. Easy run by myself then went to the gym for core and a little upper body. I need to work on stretching because I may have strained my hamstring but its not too bad.

PM-4. Easy run with Connor around Daybreak Lake.

PM-4. Easy 4 with Lucy then I had to go to the dentist so I didn't lift

PM-4. Easy run with Lucy down to Daybreak Lake and back.

PM- Didn't run at all today but did some legs and swam in place of it.

PM-7. Warmed up 2.5 miles then went hardish for 3.33 before going and doing the course again.

Total of like 10 for the week. I got really lazy so I didn't log or care much about any of them.

AM/PM-9. Ran by myself, I tried to keep going even though I felt like crap. I decided to just keep going to try and at least off set the junk food I was going to consume tonight.