Week of December 22 through January 4th
Monday: off- cross-country skiing!
Tuesday: Practice at UMaine- 10 minute warm-up, pyramid workout: 200, 400, 800, 400, 400, 200, 200 with jog lap recovery between each, 10 minute cool-down
Wednesday: off
Thursday: 30 minute run (MERRY CHRISTMAS!!)
Friday: 10 minute warm-up, fartlek workout: 30 seconds, 1 min, 2 min, 3 min, 2 min, 1 min, 30 sec, all at mile(ish) pace with equal jog recovery between each, 10 minute cool-down
Saturday: 35 minute run
Sunday: 40 minute run
Monday: 25 minute run + 4 strides
Tuesday: TRACK MEET!!!
Wednesday: 20 minute run
Thursday: off
Friday: 25 minute run + 4 strides
Saturday: BLACK BEAR RELAYS!!
Sunday: 20 minute run
The first week of vacation was pretty low-key. We didn’t have any meets that week, but we finally got to get up to UMaine for a practice on Tuesday, which I definitely needed. It makes such a difference to be able to do a hard workout without having to deal with crappy weather or uneven terrain or any of that stuff. We only practiced as a team twice that week, so all of the other workouts I did on my own. The only problem with not having practice on MDI is that Islesford, the island I live on, is only a few square miles in area, so to get in a long run I literally have to run along every single road twice, and a lot of times I just wait until low tide so that I can run on the beaches. It was really nice to be able to stay at home and do my workouts without having to go off-island though, because sometimes during the school year I go a month or more without going home. (During the winter months I stop commuting to and from school by boat, and my family rents a house on MDI)
The most exciting part of vacation was definitely the second week, because we had our second regular season meet and the Black Bear relays within 4 days of each other. In the Tuesday meet I ended up running the 4x8, the mile, and the 4x2. In the 4x8 we were up against Ellsworth, and they have good depth in their distance squad, and we ended up getting 2nd. I think my split was 2:36ish, but by the time I got the baton we were pretty much in position to get 2nd, so I just ran hard and felt good. The mile was the event I was most nervous about, because it is probably my favorite event and I really wanted to run a good time. The plan was for me to run a fast but controlled first 800, and then to try and push it in the last 800. It was a pretty exciting race too, because it was really close between me and Brianne Dunn until the last two laps. I ended up running a 5:37, and also got a negative split for the second 800, so I was definitely happy with that. My goal for this season is to bring that time down by 10-15 seconds, which I think I can do once I get some more training squared away. I was really surprised when I found out I was running the first leg of the 4x2, because I have never used blocks in my life, and I haven’t really given sprinting much of a chance, so I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t even bother with the blocks, but I think I did ok regardless. I didn’t find out until the next day when I was looking at results that our relay got DQ’d, so I hope it wasn’t something I did that messed us up… Overall though it was a great meet for the team. We got our first team win!!! And Danielle set two more EMITL records in the 55m and the 200m… she is like superhuman…
The Black Bear relays were definitely the highlight of the three vacation meets, but it was also the one of the most physically tiring meets I have ever been in. I was originally supposed to run in 3 relays: an 800 in the long sprint medley, an 800 in the 4x8, and a 400 in the 4x4. On the bus on the way up to the meet though, I found out that I would also be replacing a girl who wasn’t there in the short sprint medley, running the 400. Even though the 400 and 800 are shorter distances than I usually run, I think they are way harder than the mile or 2 mile because they are so fast, and they are a lot harder to recover from. In the long sprint medley I was the last leg, and there was a lot of confusion with the handoffs before I got the baton, so we lost a few seconds there, and we were in like fourth by the time I got it. I ran way too fast in the first 400 to try and catch up- I think my first 400 split was 20 seconds faster than the second- and I completely ran out of steam by the end of it. My 800 ended up being a 2:31, and we also ended up winning that relay, which was pretty exciting. I was so glad that everything was on a time schedule though, because if I hadn’t had lots of time after that first 800, I probably wouldn’t have been able to run well for the rest of my relays. I was actually surprised at how much I liked running those 400’s too, because I had always thought that I hated the 400 and was really bad at it. I don’t think I would want to run it in an open event, but I still really like it in the relays. We even set the EMITL record in the 4x4, which was really surprising because it was the last event of the day, and all four of us were completely spent, and it was like 9:15 at night by the time our heat was run. Overall as a team we got 4th, which is pretty good since it was against all the teams in the league. The boys meet was really close, and before the last event our boys were winning the meet by ½ a point, but then we ended up getting 2nd to Bangor by 2 ½ points, and Brewer was only a few points away in third. I slept so well that night, and the next day when I tried to do an easy 20 minute run I stopped like 3 times to stretch because I was so sore. That’s what I like about running though, the fact that even when you are completely sore and tired, you still feel good about yourself, and can feel like you have accomplished something.