Week 6

Well the road to Millrose is over, and what a journey it has been. But more on that later.

January 27

Today was my county meet and I was pretty much running for points for my team. I was running the 3000m, 1500m and the 4x800 relay. The coaches don’t know what I will be trying to qualify for at states, but since the 3000m was first they wanted me to at least get the qualifying time. I started out great but then halfway through my lower back tightened up. So I felt like I couldn’t lift my leg up. I was still able to run a 10:09 and get the qualifying time and the win for the team. All my races were within a 2 ½ hour time frame, so after the 3000m I went to the trainer and they were able to stretch out my back and I felt better in the 1500m. I went out in this race only concerned with the win for the team, so as long as I won I didn’t care about the time. I ran 4:44 and got the win. Next was the 4x800. I was the final leg and we were in first by then. Another team challenged, so I just sat on her and in the last lap worked on leg turnover to pass her and get the win.

Our team won its 7th straight county title and I was happy to help them do it.

January 28

Because of the meet last night and my tight back, the coaches had me swim laps without stopping. It felt like I swam forever. The boys swim team came in as I was finishing and some of my friends on the team were making fun of me because I was like drowning and coughing from sucking in water. Not going to lie, it was a little embarrassing.

January 29

Today we ran at the local college, but we couldn’t run on the track so we had to do the workout on the upper level, which has squared off turns. It was hard because as I went around the turn I had to grab for the railing and hope I didn’t go too wide and smash into either Christy or the concrete wall. We started with a warm up and then we did:

2x400  63sec & 63sec

3x200  31sec, 30sec & 29sec.

The turns definitely slowed us down. We cooled down and then I had a recovery session later that night.

January 30

Today the rest of my team had a meet, but because I couldn’t compete before Millrose, my coach had me do my workout during lunch and the period after. We went to the local college and ran on the upper level again. College was in session and a gym class was using the lower level for tennis. There were also some little kids there and they were cheering for me every time I went by. It was so cute.

I did a 15 min warm up.

4x400 with 1 minute rest---Each 400 had to be faster then the one before.

74-71-70-68

Dempsey said I did better than he expected.

January 31

I ran 5 miles at an easy pace and I ran alone. My legs felt good, and after practice the local news station was filming a show about our county win and they interviewed me. I had just finished running and not only was I covered in snot, but I was coughing so I could barely talk. I hope they didn’t use any of that because I looked gross, but nothing I can do about it.

February 1

Well, today is the day. School was hard to concentrate on and of course my thoughts kept wandering to the race. My coach had gotten a bus and about 30 of my teammates were coming to watch the meet and my race. I went on the bus and my parents drove down and had dinner before the meet. I was really excited to be running. It’s an honor to be invited once, and an even bigger honor to be invited twice. I was hoping I would do better this year than my freshman year. And even though I didn’t run well, I improved my time by 5 seconds.

During my warm up I felt fine, but during the race, once I hit the 1000m, my legs just didn’t have it. I got pushed straight to the back in the beginning of the race, but didn’t panic because I knew I had time to work my way to the front. I think I ran the beginning of the race very smart. I reacted and covered moves and tried to get myself in a good position. And then I went to cover another move and my legs just couldn’t respond. When I don't have it, my legs and stride get very flat-footed and heavy. It wasn’t like a tired or sore pain, it was that, so-heavy-I-can't-lift-my-legs feeling. That’s the worst in my opinion, because if you’re sore you can mentally fight through it. This, I felt like I just couldn’t do anything but try to finish as fast I could. But I had a great experience and will take this race and learn from it. Hopefully next year I can work hard and get another invite and perform better.  Congratulations to all the girls and boys that competed in it.


Week 5

January 20

Well, I am still coughing and having trouble sleeping from my allergies. I was up until 4:30am because I couldn’t sleep. So when I got up this morning my mom said, “No swimming or running outside.” It was so cold out, and without enough sleep she didn’t want me to get sick. So guess what? Lucky me got to run on the treadmill again. As you know I hate the treadmill. I put my i-Pod on and ran for about 40 min. I actually felt better after the run. I can say I might be getting to like the treadmill a little, but only if I have no other choice.

January 21

Today was our home meet. We didn’t have school today and we had to be at the track in the morning because we had to work the meet as well as run in it. This is my third meet in 4 days. We have been using them as workouts so today was no different. My mom let me sleep in again because of another bad night sleep. I ran the 3200m and ran the first half with another runner and then put a surge on and ran the rest of the race by myself. As I was running, the coaches saw by my splits that I was actually movin'. So on the last lap they told me to run past the finish line to another line, because they measured it to a full 2 mile. I ran to the second line and actually ran a 10:51. Which was a surprise, considering the lack of sleep I've had. I was very happy, but after the race I was coughing for like 2 hours straight. When I went to bed my mom gave me some Nyquil to help me finally get some rest. I have never had that before and WOW that stuff knocked me out.

January 22

We had school today, but because of the Nyquil I couldn’t get up so my mom let me sleep in. Note to self, beware of the Nyquil

It was freezing out, but the coaches had us run outside anyway.

We did a 10min warmup

21min- 1min on – 3min off

9min cool down

This was somewhat of a recovery from all the races we had in the last 4 days. I ran by myself because of my coughing and Christy was getting pretty tired of listening to it. We are best friends and are together all the time. By the time I finished my run I was covered with flem. My shirt, spandex, gloves. It was not a pretty sight.

January 23

Today we ran at the local college indoors. We did 4 x 1200 with the 5th 200 at a faster pace.
3:57
3:58
4:04
3:57
I chased a pack of runners. I also had a weight training session with recovery.

January 24

We didn’t have school today because of Regents, so I got to sleep in a little since practice was at 10:00am. I ran with Christy today and we did a 6 mile course. I was tired and my legs were sore so I ran it nice and easy. I had no idea where we were going and was trying to keep the boys ahead in sight, so that I didn’t get lost. We also swam 2 sets of 6X50. I was in a lane with Biondi and Christy. Christy is not the best swimmer, so watching her almost drown was funny. She also swam right into Biondi. I choked on water from laughing so hard.

January 25

We didn’t have school again and practice was at 9am. I ran with Christy again and we just loosened up our legs. It was freezing out again and my ears were killing me, they were so cold. Then we had a team meeting where Biddy talked forever. That is never fun.

I had a lot of free time today, so my girlfriends and me decided to “Post-It note” our guy friend's car. It was parked outside his friend’s house, and in daylight we covered his car with Post-It notes. We used a ridiculous amount of Post-Its. Well, they decided to get back at us, and the only car they could find was my truck in my driveway. They threw green & purple paintballs all on one side. My mom happened to see it going down and started freaking out, yelling, “Shelby someone is trashing your truck!” I knew who it was and ran outside, but they had left already. I called my friends and they came over and helped me clean it off. Needless to say my mom was not happy. I also did some weight training.

January 26

I have to say last night was the first night I had a decent night's sleep (except for the Nyquil night). I have my county meet tomorrow at the Armory so today I just ran on the treadmill for about 30 min. I know, I know, you’re thinking “she likes the treadmill now.” No! It was just better than running out in the freezing cold.



Week 4

January 13

On Sunday Biondi and I went swimming again and apparently it seemed to be the same time everyone else was swimming. Flach was suppose to join us, but he is a terrible swimmer, so he decided not to. We had to wait a few minutes for an open lane, and it was kind of that akward, uncomfortable feeling because we are standing there staring at the older people in the lanes and they know we are staring at them. Then we got our own lane and started our workout. We did 8x50 on 60 secs, followed by another set of 6x50 on 60 secs. Then we did our normal 20 minute water run with 3 minutes for warm up, 14 minutes of 30 seconds on 30 seconds off, ended with 3 minutes for cool down. When we were water running there was this couple there staring at Biondi, amazed he was running in the water. It made me laugh so hard I choked on the water.


January 14

It was so freaking cold and I forgot my gloves at home so I could not feel my hands at all. We ran 5 miles on the roads. I have never broken 30 minutes on this course before, for some reason I just don’t run great on this course but today I finally ran 29: 44. It was so exciting. I wish I would have had gloves though, the first two miles were so painful but once they went completely numb it wasn’t so bad. We run in groups, so I start with the boys but my best friend Christy had started a group or two ahead, and I had caught her a lot earlier then usual, and as I approached her I could just tell by her stride something wasn’t right. I asked her what was wrong and she said she had to go to the bathroom. It made me laugh really hard. I felt bad because that’s never fun. I also had a weight training session after practice.

January 15

We had a meet today at RCC. I was running the 600 yards for speed work and the 4x4 for more speed work. It was to be used as a workout. I ran the 600 yards in 1:28 and the 400 in 61.4. The hardest part of the 600 was getting off the line. My legs were a little heavy but I worked on my form. Then like a million hours later I ran the 4x4. It took a lot longer then we expected so I ended up warming up for it way too early. When we were warming up on the top level there was this team sitting there and every time we passed this boy would ask me and Christy if we wanted popcorn. They were obviously joking but it was so weird.

January 16

It was once again cold out. Christy, Brian Namnum, Dan Cohen and I all ran together for 45:12. My legs were really tired so I was glad we weren’t running anything hard. We were going pretty slow, but I didn’t mind--it was nice just to take a relaxing run. All of them are lefties except me, so every time I pushed the pace they all said I wasn’t really part of the group and made fun of me. The 3 of them run together a lot so I was the outsider. I also did core and weights after practice.

January 17

We have our league meet tomorrow so we ran 35 minutes, medium pace, with 4x160’s at the end to get my turn over. I ran with Carol, Nicole, and Tara. We have a lot of younger girls on our team and on our soccer fields there are usually a lot of geese. So the younger girls thought it would be fun to chase them. Well they all went flying into the air and there were like a million geese. I thought for sure I was going to get pooped on and if I had I would have been so mad. Luckily I didn’t get popped on.

January 18

My new year's resolution was to eat more fruits and vegetables, which I have been doing. Well, my mom thought it would be a good idea to try mangos and papaya so I did. BAD IDEA!! I guess I am allergic to them because last night my throat was so itchy and like closed up. I couldn’t stop coughing and it was very difficult to breath. I got very little sleep, maybe 4 hours if I was lucky. I mean who eats mangos and papaya? And then turns out to be allergic? Me, Shelby Greany, that's who! I have a terrible cough and am very tired. Our league meet is today, so I ran 3 races to score points for my team. I used this meet as a workout.

3000- I ran it in 10:29. My workout was just to go out slow to the mile and then come in faster. All I had to do was win and get points for my team. I didn’t lead the first mile and we came through at 5:40. I then put in a surge to break the field and just tried to run as comfortable and smooth as I could. I worked on my form.

1500- I ran it in 5:02. My coach had said all I had to do was win and try to run as relaxed as possible. Everyone expected me to take the pace but I wasn’t going to take it out hard so we ended up going out really slow. Then some of the girl’s coaches realized I wasn’t running this hard and told their girls to pick it up. I matched their pace until about 500 meters to go. I then put in a surge to break the field and tried to finish comfortably and with good form.

4x4- My split was 63. I was 3rd leg and got the baton with a large lead. I was very tired so it was hard to sprint.

Kristin Reese also had her county meet that day at RCC and I saw her. I asked her how she liked alternating sneakers. She said it was working out well so I was glad we could help.

January 19

Today was the New balance meet and as a workout I ran on a 4x4 and a 4x8. Once again last night I got almost no sleep. I was up until 3 in the morning coughing. This reaction to those damn fruit is killing me. I split 61 on the 4x4 and 2:20 on the 4x8. My coach said my 800 was painful to watch. I just didn’t look good. Christy ran really well though, so I was happy for her. After the meet Christy and I went in my hot tub to loosen up our legs after so many races in two days. But the fun's not over; I have the Suffern invite on Monday. All these meets this weekend are pretty much workout though. Hopefully I’ll get more sleep tonight.

p.s.- Congrats to Kristen for owning the mile on Saturday. Thanks to my sneaker advice



Week 3

January 6

I felt like I had been running on the roads a lot lately, so to give my legs a rest I went swimming at the local college. I asked my teammate James Biondi to go with me. He is like a professional water runner so next to him I probably looked like the biggest idiot. If that were like a real event, he would own. First we swam, and then water-ran, and then swam again. We started with 8 x 50 on 60 seconds. Then we ran in the water for 20 min. Now this is where I was having trouble. We did it without the aqua jogging belts, and I could barely keep my chin above the water. I almost drowned like five times, but I survived, so it’s all good. When we ran we did a 3 min. warm up, 14 min of 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, and then 3 min. cool down. Next we did 8x25 sprints with 10 seconds between.

January 7

Apparently its cool to be 20-degrees one day and then 60-degrees the next. It’s killing me! I need for it to either be warm out or cold out. The rapid change in temperature doesn’t work with my asthma. Since it was warm out we ran on the track. I ran with the boys and I would start 5-8 seconds ahead of them and when they caught me, I would try to finish with them. You know they didn’t want to be anywhere behind me with the way I spew flem. It was incentive enough to beat me.

2x1200 with 4 min. rest 3:54 and 4:02

2x800 with 3 min. rest 2:33 and 2:35

2x400 with 4 min. rest 67 and 66

Then I cooled down.

My legs were a little sore from the swimming the day before but afterwards I felt better. I also had a weight training session. This will be the only one this week because I will be running the Stanner Games mile on Saturday.

January 8

I was pretty sore from the day before, but once I started running I forgot about the pain and actually felt good. I told the coaches I felt sore and they told me to do my best to get through the workout. They didn’t think I was going to average 1:44 for my 600’s and they were hoping I could run 68 for my 400’s

20 min warm up

3x600 with 6 min. rest 1:45-1:45-1:43

2x400 with 5 min. rest 63 and 64

I was surprised I could run the 400s quick. I used to never have that speed at the end of a workout. I think I’m finally starting to develop a kick. Well, it’s about time. I have been waiting for it for 4 years. I ran with the boys again and during the 400’s I was running behind one of the Galasso twins and a huge chunk of goose poop flung up from their sneaker and hit me right in the face near my eye. It was really nasty but I didn’t mind since I ran 63.

January 9

There was the Millrose 4x400 relay qualifier at RCC today. I was still sore from the last three days so I was hoping I could run a decent time. We were using this as a speed race for leg turnover and I am not the biggest fan of the 400m. I got out slow and finished really well. I ran 61 seconds. My relay ran in the senior race and we were the Suffern B relay made up of distance runners while the Suffern senior A relay was made up of sprinters. Now Biddy and Dempsey (Suffern coaches) always have a friendly rivalry between the sprinters and distance runners. So going into the race the distance relay wanted to prove to Biddy we could beat his sprinters. Now I don’t want to brag but, our distance relay won by like .1 sec., but it was still a win, so I jokingly rubbed it in Biddy’s face. Then after I cooled down for 15 minutes.

January 10

Once again it was warm out. It is weird to be running with short sleeves in January in New York. We did a 6 1/2 to 7 mile run with going out slow and then picking up the pace. I was trying to loosen up the legs. I started my run with Christy Goldmann, Brian Namnum and Dan Cohen. But at around the 2-mile mark I started to break away from them and ran almost the rest of the run by myself. The lead boys pack was in sight ahead and then it was me, and then another freshman a little behind me and then nobody for a little while. I just tried to loosen my legs up and focus on my form. I enjoyed this peaceful run. Time didn’t matter, it was all about how I felt.

January 11

We just jogged for 30 min. today because of the meet tomorrow. I was shocked when I heard we were only jogging for 30 minutes. Usually if its not the end of the season we don’t take “days off”. But we had worked so hard earlier in the week I think the easy day was needed. It was foggy and misty out and really humid. This is pretty gross, but when I run I have a lot of flem so I am constantly spitting and blowing my nose in my shirt. It’s gross but has to be done. The change in humidity caused some extra flem so my shirt was extra covered. I ran with Christy like always. She was making me laugh so hard it was almost painful to run. At the end we did 4 x160’s to just loosen up our legs and get some turnover. We didn’t have to hit any certain times or anything. I did those with Christy as well and then after we were done.

January 12

My parents drove me to the Armory because I was running the mile at the Stanner Games, but what we didn't know was the meet was around 15 min. ahead of schedule, which was already ahead by almost an hour. I was informed about it being an hour ahead but nobody mentioned the extra 15 minutes. Meets are never ahead at the Armory. Well by being ahead of schedule, I didn't have as much time as I thought I did. If you run you know how important that is. So I warmed up and grabbed my bag and went over to the check-in area. I tell the guy my name, Shelby Greany, and he says "You're not on the list." Another girl from my race tells the guy, "She is definitely on the list." He looks and says, "No she isn't." He then says I can check it.

So before I look at the list I am flipping out. I felt good and was prepared for this race and I was so scared when the official said I wasn't on the list. I look at the list and there is 'Shelby Greeny' on the list. For some reason nobody can ever spell my name right. My plaques from my coaches sometimes have my name wrong. Greeny, Greeney, and Greaney seem to be the most popular spellings. I just go with the flow though. When I see 'Shelby Greeny' on the list I'm like "Dude that's me, how many Shelby's do you know?" I mean that's not that common of a name. I don't really know if he was messing with me or not, but he finally accepted that I was 'Shelby Greeny' and I was on the list. I was so relieved. I ran the Mile in 4:55.54 and came in second. I was happy with my time and how I ran the race until the last 50 meters. It's like I almost forgot I had 50 meters left and when Hannah Davidson came up on me, I forgot to respond. I felt really good throughout the whole race. I wanted to run smart since it is only my 4th meet back, but I really only consider it my 3rd since on Wednesday I only ran a 400. I hadn’t really been challenged yet in a big race so I wanted to be patient and just see what I could run. 4:55.54, an indoor pr, felt a lot easier then I thought it would. I am definitely happy with how I felt and ran, hope it is enough to get me into Millrose. I made a move with 300 to go and committed to it until 50 meters to go. The most important part of the race is to stay focused but I didn’t. I learn a lesson from every time I race. I am happy for Hannah, she ran a great race. We meet on the track a lot so I’ll be looking forward to racing against her again. I also ran the 4x800 with a split of 2:17

When I was at the Stanner Games yesterday, a lot of people were coming up to me to comment on the blog. It was fun to hear their responses.

This week I have Leagues on Friday and then I am doing two relays Saturday at New Balance for leg speed. Probably shorter distances like the 800m.


Week 2

Well today (12/30) was my first meet of the indoor season. We went to the West Point Invitational. I was happy to be racing again and my coaches told me to just go out and have fun and to get my track legs under me. I ran the 1500m and they wanted me to stay with the pack and just cruise and not go out hard. It went out slow and we hit the 800m at 2:35 and I think the 1200m split was around 3:50. Halfway through, I had made a move to catch the leader and when I took the lead I settled in again. I got out kicked in the final 200m. I was happy with the race and the final time of 4:44 considering it was my first race and I had not done any speed work yet. Then I ran the 1200m leg of our DMR. I took the lead and was running by myself. I had about a 50-60m lead on the pack so I just cruised it in without killing myself. I ran a 3:44. Over all a great day and I was so happy to be back at a meet and seeing my track friends from other teams. During my break between XC and indoor I had wanted to go watch the Bishop Loughlin meet at the Armory, because we all love just hanging out there. (I must be crazy). My mom said I just needed some time away from the sport to relax and do other things. Well the whole time during my break I was thinking I couldn’t wait to get back around sweaty smelly runners.

The next day (12/31), it was warmer out than it had been and there was no team practice, so I ran with my teammate Christy for a nice medium comfortable run. My coach told us to just shake out our legs and run relaxed. Then I did weight training after my run which included core and stability work. My coach also wanted me to swim in the afternoon, but when I went to the indoor pool at the local college it was closed for the holiday. It was fine because I had a great weight session and wanted to rest up for New Year’s Eve. Didn’t want to poop out to early while hanging out with my friends. We all stayed up way too late and I knew I'd pay for it later in the week.

Happy New Year to everyone. I went to bed so late and slept in really late as well. I didn’t run until later in the day and I ran with Christy again. We ran for 58:00. Don’t know the distance, we just made up a loop and ran at a nice pace. I was pretty tired but my legs felt good and so many people were out walking and running. I guess everyone is starting their New Year’s resolutions. My resolution is to eat more fruit and veggies. I hate fruit and veggies!

It was so cold and windy today (1/2). I was so happy we were training indoors at the local college. We had a meet today but I wasn’t running in it. A lot of the boys weren’t running it either, so I practiced with them. We did a 10 min. warm up and then 4 X 1000m with 4 min rest. Our 2nd to last 200m was supposed to be a surge and then settle back into our pace for the last 200m. I did my best to stay as close to the top boys as I could, but I was still tired from staying up late on New Year’s Eve. One thing about me, I need my 8 hours of sleep a night, if not more if I can. My times were 3:12- 3:21- 3:15 and 3:30. I thought I was doing 5 of them so my last one was not as fast as it should have been. I was probably talking as usual when the coach told us what to do. Then I cooled down for 20 min. The meet was going to start so we had to get the workout in before they kicked us off the track. For some reason I was very flemy after the workout. That is the one thing about indoor track, the inability to just spit anywhere you want. (well almost anywhere you want)

It was very cold out today (1/3) and the coaches didn’t want us outside, so the other option was the treadmill. I HATE THE TREADMILL! Christy and I ran on treadmills side by side. We only ran for 30 min and it was 30 min too long. I would rather run outside in the freezing cold risking frostbite and the possibility of losing a toe or finger than run on a treadmill. Then we ran some 200’s in the hallway. We have to run 100m down a hallway touch the wall and then run back. The hallway flooring can be hard on the legs and not to mention when you get to the wall and turn around, you have to be careful to not smack into another teammate approaching you. Then we cooled down for 10 min. in the hallways. I also had an intense weight training session even though we have the section one coaches meet tomorrow at RCC. I trained through this week because we decided not to do the Hispanic mile because I got a late start to the winter season so I will be running at the Stanner Games (on 1/12) instead.

Today (1/4) was the Section 1 Coaches Invitational, and at the meet I was running the 1000 yards, 1600 meters and the 4x800m relay. Well anyone who knows RCC, it is a rubberized 250m flat track with great air quality. After races it is not unusual to see runners in coughing fits and spewing flem out the doors or in the garbage pails. (Section One knows what I am talking about). I was running the 1000 yards first. Not too many meets have any races in yards anymore so it is fun to run a distance that isn’t run too often. My legs felt heavy and sore from the two weight sessions this week, but I ran comfortable. My stride kept getting broken from the runners behind me and I kept thinking “just stay on your feet.” I won in a time of 2:43 and it felt good except for the coughing fit I had and the fact I was chained to the garbage pail spitting up flem. Less than an hour later I ran the 1600m. The coaches were looking for the win as well in this race. It went out slow and I just ran comfortably with the pack. With 2 laps to go I pushed the pace more and was able to win in a time of 5:15 with me and Christy going 1,2. Then I ran a leg of the 4x800 relay which we won .

The next day (1/5) one of my good friends, Mike Koral, who graduated last year and now runs for Cortland, asked me to join him on an 80 minute run, so I did. We started with 15 minutes on the grass at our high school and then went to the roads. Mike decided since it was cold out to wear his bright read Cortland colored spandex (which if you're from Suffern are referred to as 'mandex'). Due to their bright red color, they are kind of see-throughish. And even though he had on black mandex shorts under, I could definitely see a little more of Mike then I had wanted. And then once we got on the roads I pretty much ran behind him the whole time and since he is like 6 feet 4 inches and I am like 5 feet 3 and ¾ inches his butt is like in my face. I didn’t mind though because it looked nice in his mandex. The run went well though my legs felt tired and heavy from the night before, but we ran a good pace and my legs felt much looser afterwards.



Week 1

Well this is my first full week of training since Footlocker Nationals. Last week I eased back into it. Sunday (Dec 23rd) was freezing and wet here so I went to the local indoor track with my teammate Christy (Goldman). When we got there kids were playing soccer so we couldn’t run on the track, so we had to run on the upper level, which is concrete. It was funny trying to weave in and out of people on the upper level. One dad was telling his son to move so he wouldn’t get run over. Only ran about 30 min. because sometimes the concrete can be hard on my legs. The next day, Christmas Eve, there was no team practice so I ran by myself. My mom woke me up because I had a very busy day. I ran outside and was going to run a 5-mile course from the high school but leaving from my house adds about another mile to it. I got about 2 ½ miles into it and then decided to make a left instead of a right and just run until I got home and then go from there depending on how long I had been running. Well about 40 min. into the run I really had to go to the bathroom. I was close to my house so I decided to run home as fast as I could. I flew home and felt much better after using the bathroom. I am sure all runners have had that experience. I also did some weight training and helped my mom get ready for the company we were having for Christmas Eve dinner.

Christmas Day was cold but nice out, and after exchanging gifts with the family I ran with my sister Kristen who is home from college. We ran on a lot of main roads so we saw a lot of people we knew. Everyone was honking or putting down their windows to yell “hello”. We were doing a long slow run so we were going on time and not distance. We ran past some cemeteries and whenever I go past one I make the sign of the cross and hold my breath until I pass it, but I almost passed out so I gave up.

Wednesday (the 26th) we had practice with the team. I ran with the boys and we ran 7 miles in 46:38. I hadn’t run this course since freshman year so I ran my best time without running hard or pushing myself. We ran the hills harder and coasted on the downhills and flats. We all ran together and Terrence was having a little trouble staying on his feet with some of the black ice, we were all laughing if anyone fell. I was being made fun of because of all the spitting and flemy stuff I was coughing up. If anyone knows me they know with my asthma I tend to spit and cough up globs of stuff. I know it sounds gross but hey if you want to run you’re not worrying about looking good doing it. Just look at any picture on the web.

Thursday was so cold and I had to wake up early to run because I was going to my grandparent’s house in New Hampshire, which is like 4 hours away. I ran by myself because the team practice was later. I ran 5 miles on the roads and every time I took a breath I ran through a little cloud. It kept me busy while running. My butt was numb as well. After the 4-hour drive I did a 20 min shake out run with my sister. It had started to snow and it was even colder than back home. There was an inch of snow and the neighbors were looking at us like we were nuts. The puddles were covered with fresh snow and I thought I was running on solid ground but it was a puddle and my entire foot was submerged and it was freezing the rest of the run.

Friday I was still in New Hampshire and it was cold and slippery out. I ran 7 miles with my sister. 2-mile warm up-3 mile float with 2 min. off and 1 min. on. Then 2 mile cool down. The last mile to my grandparent’s house is all uphill and not gradual but steep and painful. It is always so much fun to end a run with that hill.

Saturday was warmer then the day before. Since I had my first race of the season tomorrow, my sister and I ran for 43:00. We went at a comfortable pace and we didn’t do the hill this time. We drove down to the bottom to start our run. I am excited about the race tomorrow. It usually takes me a couple of meets to get my so-called “track legs” back. I am behind a lot of the other runners in training and use these early meets as workouts.

Note: Shelby opened her season on December 30th at the West Point Invitational getting 2nd in the 1500 in 4:44.55, then came back to run a 3:44 1200 leg on Suffern’s 4th place DMR.