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E M I L Y   L I P A R I  | R2M 09



w e e k 5 > Monday, January 26th - The track was somewhat clear of ice. It was a normal day of wearing too many layers. Most of our team was inside but five of us decided to come outside because none of us like the hallways. We would do anything to avoid running in the halls. We did repeat miles. The first mile was in 5:28, the second in 5:25 and the third in 5:24. I ran the workout with one boy. He ran the first two laps behind me and the last two in front to pull me along. While he was running behind me he would put his hands on my back and push me around. A couple of times I almost fell because half the first lane was still covered in ice and I almost lost footing. Luckily, I was able to actually stay on my feet. After the workout my jaw was frozen; it was pretty cold. There is a lot of wind on the home stretch of our track, and it is always frustrating during a workout because the wind can get really bad. 

Tuesday, January 27th - For the first time this year, I forgot to bring my shoes to practice.  Usually, if I forgot something my brother could drive me home to get it, but now that he is in college I had no ride home between school and practice. I had to run out of my ninth period class to my locker and grab my stuff to catch my bus. I caught my bus and made it home at around 2:30. My practice starts at 2:45. Since no one was home I had to run to practice; it takes about 15 minutes to get there, and it’s pretty hilly. It was colder today than it was yesterday but it still wasn’t terrible. When I got to practice my coach had us do tempo quarters in the sixth lane and we had to do seven sets. It was pretty windy out, but she wanted them at race pace. I did the workout with Danny Mendoza from our boys team again. He had to do his tempos in 65 to 68 and I had to keep mine from 71 to 73. We both sort of struggled with it because it was extremely windy and there was ice in the sixth lane. We were weaving in and out of the fifth and sixth lane, but we both managed to run the times we needed. After practice I could have called my mom to pick me up, but since I ran to practice I felt I had to run home or I would have felt like I had uneven mileage. 

Wednesday, January 28th -  We were stuck inside. It snowed the night before, and there was no way I was going to get outside because both the roads and the track were a mess. I had to get my workout in and I wasn’t able to get on the elliptical, and there was no way I could run a good workout in the hallways. My coach dug out the keys to the treadmills and made me do 10 sets of 200s on them with 1-minute rest between. Every time I get on a treadmill I fall; this time was no different. The treadmills at our school tend to skip, so when I was changing speeds I tripped quite a few times. During my rest my speed was at 3.5; when I was running the 200’s I had to bring it up to 11. I would do anything to avoid running on a treadmill but today I was left with no choice. 

Thursday, January 29th was the day before Millrose and since I had a few hard days my coach decided to give me the day off. Which was nice because I’m use to doing an easy four-mile run the day before and the day after I usually take off.  

Friday, January 30th was the day of Millrose. This week was midterm week;  I didn’t have any midterms so I actually got to sleep in and was able to stay off my feet all day before I had to be at Madison Square Garden. I was looking forward to it also because so many people around me were getting me pumped up, especially my brother Tom. He is also a runner and runs for Marist College now, and he is really into the racing. This year he wasn’t home the night before my race and couldn’t give me the pep talks that he usually does, but a few hours before my race he called me and gave me the encouragement I needed before I ran. Going into this race I was hoping to run better than last year, and I wanted to learn from last years mistakes. Last year I let myself get boxed in and just didn’t run a smart race. Going into this race I knew there was going to be an awesome field of runners, so I had to be prepared for anything. This track is not one of my favorites because it’s really small and the turns are really tight; it’s 11 times around for a mile, and it is difficult to get splits. Before the race, my coach told me I had to get out quick to avoid getting boxed in. I was told that I had to go out in 68 and just try to maintain. I didn’t find out till after the race that I went out in 66! I didn’t get boxed in at all, and I ran much smarter than last year. Overall, I was pleased with the results of the race; I came in third with a time of 4:57. Although it wasn’t one of my best times, I was still pleased because it was better then last year and this track isn’t a great track to get times on. I was honored to be able to run in the field with all those excellent runners; everyone on that track is a competitor. 

Saturday, January 31 was the day after the race; I actually felt relieved it was over, but at the same time I still loved being there because the experience was amazing. I usually take off the day after my races but I had a two-hour soccer practice, which was just pure fitness. It was so cold out that when I was walking across the field I slipped numerous times because it was all ice. Wearing cleats doesn’t give you good traction at all, and the ice was really thick so the landing wasn’t too graceful. 

Sunday, February 1 - I accidentally woke up too late and didn’t have time to go for a run before I had to be at my SAT class, which was from 12 to 4:30. I came home around 5 o’clock and went for a six-mile run. It was pretty dark towards the end of my run and I ended up running through a bunch of puddles because I didn’t see them. My socks and shoes were soaked making it uncomfortable to run the rest of the way home. It was by far the warmest day of the week, it reached around 45 degrees, and much of the snow melted so the conditions were the best they have been all week. 


w e e k 4 > Monday, January 19th was not a hard first day back from the weekend. I went for a six mile run with our boys’ team because the track still had too much ice. It was took us about 37:50 minutes to run the six miles. A former runner from our track team was back from college and he is into pushing the team as hard as possible. On or long runs he makes random surges to the point where we are almost sprinting, by the end of our run we went from having 10 kids in a group to 4. We lost a few of the freshmen and sophomores in the streets but they eventually found their way back to the school. Later that night I had soccer practice out in Suffolk. Usually in soccer you actually play soccer but my coach decided that we should be doing more fitness so he extended practice for an hour. Instead of an hour and a half practice it was two and a half hours. We did a bunch of sprinting and drills without a soccer ball. For one of the drills we had to jump up hit shoulders and then sprint for 20 yards. Every time my friend and I jumped up to hit shoulders we missed and landed on the floor. After our drills he had us work with a medicine ball, which was extremely painful for the arms. 

Tuesday, January 20th was colder then the day before and we weren’t allowed outside because the track was still pure ice. It snowed the day before so there was more ice today then yesterday. Our team was stuck inside for the day and as usually I was in the weight room because it’s dangerous for me to be in the hallways. I ran on the elliptical for an hour but that hour always feel so long and I get so bored. You can’t move anywhere; I hate being stationary.   

Wednesday, January 21st the track still wasn’t clear but the roads were better. I went for a run with our boy’s team but we did a workout on the streets. We went to Westwood Circle, which is about a 1000m loop, and did six sets of tempo 400’s. We ran in three different groups, one group was running for 67 seconds and resting for two minutes. Another group ran for 71 seconds and rested for two minutes (I was in this group) and our last group was running them for 76 seconds with the same rest. As we finished our workout and started our cool down back to the school, two fire trucks came flying around the corner and hit each other. We all turned around and glanced quickly. We got out of there quickly because the volunteer fire fighters in our town tend get mad pretty quickly. 

Thursday, January 22 - The track was still frozen as usual, and the roads were still clear. I didn’t have anyone to run with because the boys had conference the next day, and none of the girls wanted to go outside. I didn’t want to be stuck in the weight room another day this week. I got lucky because the boy who was still home from college came and ran with me. We went back to Westwood Circle and did tempo 200’s this time. We did 15 sets in 35 seconds with 1:30 rest. On our last set we saw police cars turn the corner but they didn’t hit each other, they were just rushing down the street. We can’t go off campus for a run without something happening. 

Friday, January 23 - I ran easy with my friend, but unfortunately I had to run in the halls. My coach couldn’t open up the weight room for me to get inside, the boys weren’t around and the track was still frozen. The run went well for a while, but in the second mile the custodians were cleaning the rooms and left their carts in the hallway. My friend and I turned that corner, we both ran into the cart and fell, knocking the things off. We quickly got up and continued. The people behind were blamed for it but nothing happened. I knew I couldn’t get away safely running in the halls. 

Saturday, January 24th, I ran in the New Balance Games mile. Going into this race, I knew I had great competition and it would be a difficult race. This was not one of my smartest races; I ran most of the race in the second lane, and I let myself get boxed out and pushed around too much. I wound up running 4:59, not my best but I was content with the time. I will use this race as a learning experience for Millrose, coming up on Friday. Unfortunately, not all races can work to your benefit.

w e e k 3> Monday, January 12th was our day of distance for the week. Our team did two-mile repeats with a 6-minute rest. My first one was 11:33 and the second was 11:30. As usual, it was freezing and there was still a little bit of ice on the track. Before the workout started we took someone’s shoe off and started chipping away at ice in the first lane. There wasn’t a lot of ice, only about two steps worth but it was bothering us, so it had to be taken care of.

Tuesday January 13th was cold again, no surprise. At this point you just get used to it being cold. Today we did repeat 800’s, six of them with 3 minutes rest. 2:40, 2:38, 2:36, 2:34, 2:32 and 2:30. The wind wasn’t terrible today, but there was a lot of traffic on the track. We have 80 people on our boys’ team and 40 on our girls’. Most of them usually walk in the first lane, but that’s when the varsity boys act as a wall and scream “move”. If they don’t move, they just get run over.

Wednesday, January 14th
was the coldest day all week and extremely windy. Today, I was left alone to do my workout because the boys didn’t want to do track work. It was more of strength training because of the wind. Today was one of those days where I felt I was moving backwards more then forwards; being lightweight doesn’t help in the wind. I did 8x400 almost all in 71 (two of them were 72). After my workout, our boys came back from their long run. One of them was extremely sweaty. He came back with sweat in his hair, which had frozen in the middle of the run, and a chunk of snow on the side of his head.

Thursday, January 15th the track was covered in snow because it snowed the night before, and then froze over. I wasn’t going to argue today because I knew it was a losing battle as usual. I ended up running about an hour on the elliptical. I didn’t want to have to turn sharp corners, hurting either myself or someone else. It’s just safer for everyone if I don’t run in the hallways. Usually some of the flyers fall of the walls when people run by, and sometimes your foot can get caught under that. That tends to cause a lot more traffic then necessary inside.

Friday, January 16th the track was still frozen and since it was a day before a meet my coach decided to give our team off. Since there was no practice, I went to go watch my brother’s race at the armory on Friday night. He ran his PR in the thousand. As we were leaving the armory we saw the 3000 boys race go off, so we stayed for that. The race was interesting to watch, and it was actually inspiring to me. In the second mile I watched Joe Parks from Iona switch gears completely, he actually looked like he was sprinting the second half of the race. I saw the way he just pulled away from the pack, and it got me excited to run my race the next day.

Saturday, January 17th I ran the 3000 at the Molloy Stanner Games. I ran a time of 9:50, which was a personal best for the indoor season. Going into this race I knew I had competition, and I knew I had to take it out hard. I raced Emily Menges from Garden City who is a great runner and is also a junior. My main focus this winter is to train for the mile. My workouts this week were set up for running a mile, but two days before this race my coach and I decided it’s a good idea to alternate races.


w e e k 2 > Sunday, January 4th I was in Florida, but the soccer tournament was over. It was so hot there. It was 80 degrees, compared to 29 degrees back home. I had to drag myself out of bed at 8 in the morning to go for a 40 minute run so we could have all day at the parks. I never thought running around a Disney resort would be so complicated. I got completely lost, and when I finished my run I was at the wrong resort.

Monday, January 5th was my last day in Florida, again I had to wake up early and find a way to function. I went on another 40 minute run around the resort. Since I had gotten completely lost the day before, I didn't think it could happen again, but it did. It wasn’t as bad this time; I only ended up a mile down the road.

Tuesday, January 6th was my first day back to school, and it was bitter cold. I went from 80 degrees in Florida to 20 degrees here. I had to dress in an Under Armour long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, tights, pants, gloves and a hat. The workout today was fartleks, where we did 3 min hard and I min jog. We continued this for 35 minutes. It usually doesn’t get this cold, my first day back had to be the coldest day all week.

Wednesday, January 7th, the weather was much warmer than it was the day before, still not nearly as warm as Florida, but I’m just going to have to live with it. Today, I did repeat 1200's. The times were really off, and it was not one of my best workouts. I ran 4:09, 4:04, 4:02, then 3:55 on the last one, where I had one of the boys pace me.

Thursday, January 8th. As it gets closer to race day my workouts start to ease off a bit. Today, I ran a 1600, 800, and 600. It was extremely windy, every time I ran two steps forward a huge gust of wind came and pushed me to the point where I felt like I was running backwards. I’m only 94 pounds, so the wind got the best of me. After my workout, I was extremely frustrated and thought I would be out of shape for Saturday’s race. I had boys block the wind for me, each lap they would switch off, creating a wall to keep me from getting blown off the track. My 1600 was 5:59, my 800 was 2:48, and my 600 was 1:58.

Friday, January 9th is the day before Hispanic Games, and my workout was very simple. I ran an easy three miles and went home. My friend and I took it super easy and had a completely random conversation about different types of chocolate.

Saturday, January 10th, I raced the Hispanic Games mile. The goal of this race was run a 4:55, regardless if I won or not. In the first few laps, there was a pack of about four girls with no one really wanting to take the lead. As the race continued, the pack narrowed down to three girls. The last two laps were a battle. The last 100 meters was a sprint, and we finished just a second apart with me running 4:54 and Melanie Thompson running 4:55. Winning this race completed one of my main goals this season, making it to Millrose. Melanie is an awesome runner, and I knew I had to kick hard in order to win. I felt her coming on strong in the last lap, and it was anybody's race.


w e e k 1 > The Bishop Loughlin Games on Decemeber 22nd was the opening race of the season for me. I ran the two mile in 10:38 with extremely uneven spilts. The first mile I went through in 5:07 and the second mile was 5:31. Before this race I only ran once during the week and it was an easy four miles. That week was supposed to be my week off after Footlocker but my coach decided I should run a two mile off my cross country shape.

Monday December 22nd was my first day back on the track. Of course that Sunday night it snowed, and on Monday our track was frozen solid. Our team was forced to run in the hallways, there are too many sharp turns and my feet always slide. If I don't hit someone coming around a turn, I crash into a locker. The first day back I was already complaining because I would rather run on ice than run in the hallways. Our hallway loop is about 220m and I tried to do repeat 800's, but after two of them my coach put me on the elliptical for 30 minutes.

Tuesday the track was still pure ice, and I came to practice complaining again. This time I offered to shovel the track but my coach just thought I was crazy and there was no way that was possible. I didn't even try running in the hallways, she put me on the elliptical again. I ran mile repeats on elliptical (3 of them) and after I was done I ran 20 minutes on the elliptical. I could have used a treadmill, but I’d rather not because anytime I use a treadmill I fall off.

Christmas Eve I took off because the roads were a mess and it was cold out so I decided to do ab work.

Christmas I went for a six mile run with my brother. He is finally home for the Christmas break, and if he doesn't drag me out of the house to run then I just don’t run. The day was unusually warm and the ice was melting so the roads were still a mess but we managed to make it through the run.

Friday I went for another six mile run. This week I was building my base for the season. I had to wake up before 12 in the afternoon to go for a run because I was going over to my cousin’s house. It was hard to drag myself out of bed especially since we don't have any school practices. Our school isn't allowed to have any practices until the 29th.

Saturday I ran 7 miles and my brother dragged me outside again. My friend slept over that morning, we were playing DDR [Dance Dance Revolution] and my brother comes downstairs pulls me off the mat and makes me run. I left my friend in my house for about 46 or 47 minutes just playing DDR and Guitar Hero, but she doesn't care much cause she was occupied for most of the time. When I came back she had managed to find our Christmas cookie stash.

Sunday the track was finally unfrozen and I wasn't in too much of a mood to do any speed work. One of my friends who graduated two years ago and now runs for Buffalo (Lauren Cavaliere) called, she wanted me to pace her for her tempo run. She had to do three miles, all under 6:25 pace. We ended up running them in 6:16, 6:14 and 6:13 and she was extremly excited. It was hot that day, so we were running in short sleeves and shorts.

This season one of my goals is to make it into the Millrose Mile. My main focus is going to be the mile this year because the past three years of running indoors, I've found it difficult to train for the two mile. It's bitter cold out and I don't have the opportunity to run the amount of miles a week I need. This New Year I am spending in Disney because I have a soccer tournament there from the 31st to the 2nd. Every day this week I had soccer practice to prepare for the tournament except Christmas and Christmas Eve. I personally feel that soccer provides good cross training because it takes my mind off track, and there two different sports that I equally enjoy.





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