XC Journal 2016: Sam Peterman of Sweet Home (Week 4)

Today was a workout day! I had an 18 minute tempo at 6:28 pace. I felt really good running today, my legs felt nice and refreshed from the previous week, and it was great to have a workout where I was able to feel really good. I ran this tempo mainly on grass (I did the first 800 on the track to get my pace down) and I was happy that my pace didn't waiver from the track to the grass. Overall I was very proud of how this workout went!

Another workout today! Yay! Today I ran 10x800 at 3:02 pace with 3 minute rest between each 800. Today's workout really tested my mental strength since it was long and enduring, With each rest I told myself to refocus and I tried to block out any negative thoughts. Also, as I was running I focused on keeping my hands relaxed and maintaining good form. This workout was no where near easy, but it allowed me to see that I can push myself farther than I originally thought. I was very proud with how I stayed with my goal pace. I had all but one 800 at or below my goal pace. The one that I missed my goal was on the second one with a 3:03, and I pushed myself to finish the last 800 with a 2:54. After I got home from practice I Skyped with Shannon, my sports psychologist, and we talked a lot about my season so far, what I thought about it, and how I am doing mentally with everything in general. It was great to be able to talk to her about everything, because I am then able to put things in perspective. 

Today I had a well deserved recovery day. I was able to run an hour and surprisingly my body was not that tired/sore. It was great to be able to allow my body to have a break from the workouts though because I know that later in the week I am going to have another workout. After my run I went into the weight room and did my lift as well. This week I am really focusing on training hard and strong, yet recovering well. This is another big week in training, and I would like to be strong for all the workouts. With that being said I made sure that I have been stretching and rolling out well this week, and making sure I keep up on my hydration. 

Today I had another recovery day in the pool! I aqua jogged for 70 minutes today, then I had a lift afterwards in the weight room. This week has been somewhat strenuous so far, and I know that I have another workout tomorrow, so I was grateful to allow my body to recover further.

Last workout of the week today! Today I had 8x1000 on the track at about tempo pace. It was a little difficult, I felt pretty good for the first 4 sets of 1000's then my previous workouts this week caught up with me. My breathing felt fine, it was mostly my muscles just becoming tired. Today I also somewhat struggled with the pace, I wasn't running consistent times. With each 1000 I was either too fast or too slow, I found it difficult to find that sweet spot. In the last 1000, my coach pulled me off the track with 400 to go because I fell off pace. It is always hard to be stopped a lap before you are completely done, but looking back now that last 400 wouldn't have done me any good even if I was able to finish it. Afterwards I had barefoot strides on the football field inside the track where we did the workout. Overall, I look at today was another workout in the books, and even though it wasn't 100% perfect, it is still something that is going to benefit me. 

I had a 90 minute long run today. In general today was a good day to run, I was able to loosen up my pretty tight muscles, and my new playlist I listened to made the run all the better. Normally when I run by myself I found that listening to music makes the run go by a lot faster, so I love to listen to it when I am on a long run!

Today I ran 45 minutes. Honestly, I felt even more sore today than I did yesterday, but that has many factors. I traveled to Duke University today for an official visit (I ended up verbally committing!!!) and I was up since 3:15 that morning plus travelling in general can make my body a little more tired. With that being said, and looking back on this week, I can understand why I feel this way. I don't love not feeling great, but I have come to accept that it's a part of this sport.

This weeks lesson: This week it really hit me that I am not going to feel perfect in every workout/run I do (a.k.a. the 8x1000 and Sunday). It's a hard pill to sallow, but with trying to run my best everyday it is going to happen. Each day I go out to practice trying to fix something that I did wrong the day before, and I try to get everything out of each practice and run. I know that I will have a bad day, and that it is natural for all runners to have one.