Week 6

This week my coach and I decided to go a little bit easier since I felt so terrible at Boston.

Monday was a tempo day and Tuesday was a workout. Both felt really good. Wednesday and Thursday were both easy runs. Thursday night I had Olive Garden for dinner. (I think I'm addicted.)    

Friday was the big day. My school had off for a conference day, so I slept in late, ate lots of food, and took the train down to the city with my coach. We got there a few hours early, so I just relaxed for a while until it was time to warm up. Usually I'm really nervous before big races, but that wasn't the case on Friday. I was so excited to run, knowing that it would be my last Millrose Games. So many of my friends and family came to watch me; it was amazing to have so many people there. For the race, my goal was to just get out hard. In the last few races I've found myself getting out slow and wasting energy trying to get to the front (plus I didn't want Shelby to phlegm on me).

I ended up leading the race for the first nine laps, but didn't have enough to match Jillian Smith's amazing kick. I'm happy with my race though. It was a vast improvement on my other two performances at Millrose (and I got to be on tv). After the race I cooled down with some of the other girls. (We stayed inside and didn't get lost). On the way back home we sprinted through the train station just in time to see the train pulling away, so we had to wait for an extra hour in Grand Central. Overall I had a great experience at Millrose, and its something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

I enjoyed reading everyone else's blogs, and I'd like to thank Dyestat for letting me be a part of it.


Week 5

This week was very nice, because I only had to go to school for two days.

Monday we had off for Martin Luther King Day, so I slept in until about noon. Most of my team was running at the Suffern Invitational, so I had to run tempo by myself =( It was cold and boring.

Tuesday it was really cold out, so we ran a workout in the hallways. There were no wrestlers this time; I hit my splits and felt pretty good.

Wednesday was an easy day. I did about 5 miles with Kelley and Ashley.

Thursday we didn't have school either. Unfortunately, I had to wake up early anyway to run a workout because I left to go to Boston (for the Boston Indoor Games) at around 11. It was very, very cold out. I'm sick of the cold and I can't wait for California weather next year.

Friday I got to sleep in, then take a tour of Reebok headquarters. We talked to elite athletes and got a ton of free stuff (thanks Reebok). It was a lot of fun. After, I ran an easy 20 minutes with a bunch of the other girls who were up there for the HS mile as well. I had chicken parm for dinner- it was no Olive Garden, but it was still pretty good.

Saturday, I ran in the junior invitational mile at B.I.G. The race wasn't until 6:15 in the evening, so I slept in and then went to a Children's Museum with Olivia, my coach's daughter. Once we got back to the hotel I just relaxed until it was time to leave. I warmed up for my race, and was feeling pretty good. I ended up running 5:00- I was disappointed with my race. I didn't get a good start, and I felt pretty terrible the entire time. I'm hoping that I got that bad race out of my system and I'll run better at Millrose. I went for a cool down with a few of the girls, and what was supposed to be a 10 minute run ended up being 35 minutes lost in a bad part of Boston. We had to ask for directions three times and run down dark alleys- it was really scary. Finally we found a main road and saw a runner. We sprinted after him, and he told us how to get back. Besides getting lost, I had an amazing time. I met so many nice people, and it was just a really great experience.

Sunday I took off, and slept pretty much the whole day.

My next race is Millrose!! I'm really excited, and I'm hoping to do better than last/second-to-last (like I have the past two years). I'm also running in the invitational 1000 in the Armory on Saturday. And Sunday is the Superbowl...GO GIANTS!!


Week 4

This week of training was a pretty good one.

The week started out nicely. My school had a two-hour delay, so I got to sleep in a little bit, which is always nice, especially on a Monday. After school I did a tempo run, and I felt pretty good.

Tuesday was a workout. The track was covered so we had to run in the hallways. I'm not sure about anyone else's school, but the hallways in my high school definitely aren't designed for packs of runners trying to go as fast as they can. It especially doesn't help when the wrestling team decides to start running in the same hallways right in the middle of your workout. Most of the wrestlers ignored us as we yelled for them to stay to the side, and others thought it would be funny to jump out and pretend to trip us as we ran by. Luckily my coach is bald and scary, and he made them leave after we complained. Other than that the workout was okay. I did feel a little tired though.

Wednesday was a recovery run with my biffles Ashley Maurer and Kelley Gould. It was cold and uneventful.

Thursday I had to run a workout by myself (the rest of the team had a race Friday, but my race was on Saturday). Luckily the track was clear enough to run on. It was harder running alone, but I felt pretty good.

Friday was the County meet at Rockland Community College. I ran the 1000 just to get my legs moving for Saturday's race. I don't know what my time was, but it was over 3:10.

Saturday I ran the mile at the New Balance Games at the Armory. I got to the armory and played a little pre-race Disney Memory (the game where you have to match cards) with my coach's three year-old daughter, Olivia. I started warming up with what I thought was plenty of time, but when I came inside from my warm-up they were already calling the mile. About five minutes later they were having us go in the paddock, and by this time I was freaking out because my routine was getting all screwed up and I hadn't stretched that well. Luckily my legs felt really loose, so I stretched a little and did some strides on the track while I waited for my race. During my race I took the lead after about 400 meters, and luckily was able to keep it. I ended up winning in 4:52, and qualified for Millrose!! =) I also got to break a tape for the first time, which was pretty cool. Overall it was a good day- when I got home I got a Reese's Pieces Sundae at Friendly's and then won a stuffed animal cow from the claw machine.

Sunday I ran an easy 5 miles with Ashley. It was freeeezing.

My next race will be the mile at the Boston Indoor Games on Saturday!


Week 3

I felt much better this week than last week. I think I've finally gotten rid of this stupid cold.

Monday and Tuesday it was so nice out; it felt like Spring. Monday I did tempo, and Tuesday a workout. Both were on the track, and I felt pretty good.

My coaches are still having me cross train a bit, even though my foot has healed. Wednesday morning, before I went to school, I rode the stationary bike in my basement for about 25 minutes. When I went downstairs my brother (who is on break from college) was still awake from the day before playing Guitar Hero. (No wonder he's so good). Wednesday afternoon was an easy recovery run.

Thursday I did our first lactic acid workout of the season, which left me quite sore for the next few days. I also lifted weights in my school's old, smelly weightroom, and played hide and seek with my coach's two year old daughter.

Friday I took it easy, getting ready for the Stanner Games. More importantly though, I stuffed my face with Olive Garden breadsticks, salad, and fetuccini alfredo.

Saturday, I ran the 1000 and the 4x8 at the Molloy Stanner Games in the Armory. I'm not sure whether it was the Olive Garden or getting rid of my cold, but I felt much stronger than I have all season. During the 1000, I took the lead after about 400 meters, and ended up winning in 2:53.5. Since the 1000 was at 11am and the 4x8 was at like 5, I had a lot of time to waste. My dad and I decided to go out to lunch and find a running store, because I needed new sneakers (the Nike's I had been wearing were no good). My dad had also been talking to Shelby's mom that day and she recommended getting two different brands of sneakers and alternating them. So I bought a pair of Sauconys and a pair of Brooks. We took a cab to and from the store, and all I can say is that I'm glad we're still alive.

The 4x8 was alright. I'm not sure what I ran. My teammates Kelley, Ashley, and Aislinn are all working hard to get our time back down closer to 9 minutes. (Losing Catherine DeSarle and Caity Tully was tough, but the new girls are doing a great job filling in some big shoes). When we got back to Carmel, a whole bunch of us went out to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. I got a combo platter, and it was delicious.

My next race will be Counties on Friday at RCC. I'll mostly likely be running the mile at the New Balance games on Saturday as well, because its the last chance I'll have to get a time for Millrose.


Week 2

To be honest, this week was pretty terrible.

Monday, I woke up feeling very under the weather, and my parents decided to take me to the doctor. The doctor's diagnosis was that I only had a cold, and to get a lot of rest. I managed to run 3 slow miles on my treadmill, and spent the rest of the day and night (New Year's Eve) on my couch. =(

Tuesday I felt a little bit better and ran another slow 4 miles on the treadmill.

Wednesday was our first day back to school, and I felt a little better still. It was freezing out, and my coaches both have 2 year olds, so we ran a workout inside in the hallways. I hit my splits in the beginning of the workout, but by the end I could hardly breathe. (Lots of yellowish green "spongebobs", as my coach likes to call them, were coming out of my throat).

Thursday and Friday we took it pretty easy. Thursday I ran about 5 miles, and then did some 200s. Friday I ran about 3 miles.

Saturday I ran the invitational mile at the Hispanic Games in the Armory. After getting sick I wasn't sure if I was going to run the mile, but I was feeling pretty recuperated, so I decided to go for it. I would've run well if it was the invitational 1200 but that wasn't the case. When the rest of the race made a move a little before the 1200, I was dead. I ended up running a 5:19.

My next race is this Saturday at the Molloy Stanner Games in the Armory. I'm running the 1000 and hopefully I'll be back and feeling strong and healthy again by then.


Week 1

After my spring season got cut short due to a stress fracture in my right foot, I am so excited to be back on the track. My first race was the Bishop Loughlin Games two weeks ago, where I ran the 2 mile. I came in second to Emily Lipari, and ran the same time as last year, a 10:49. I didn't feel as strong as I had hoped but it was a good first race; my coaches and I know what I have to work on now.

We took the next weekend off, and focused on training. We ran a workout the day before break, and I felt really good. It was a nice confidence booster.

Last week the holidays interfered with our formal practices, but a few of my teammates and I met up and did a tempo run on Monday and a workout on Tuesday (everybody thinks we're crazy when they find out we ran on Christmas). Thursday we went to the Pearl River Holiday Festival at Rockland Community College (about 25 miles north of New York City). I caught a cold and wasn't feeling very well so my coaches had me skip an open event and I just ran the 4x8, which we ended up winning.

My next race is the Hispanic Games this Saturday, where I'll be running the mile. I'm hoping that I'll be healthy by this weekend.