i told coach schmidt to shut up

beep beep beep....it's the butt crack of dawn. 4:30am and i roll out of a peaceful slumber. i was so cozy, i didn't want to move. i dragged myself to make my hazelnut coffee and fix my routine nutella toast before the daunting workout ahead of me.

at 5:21am "franks time," i cruise up to the course with the windows down letting the muggy morning mississippi haze drift in while david bowie's "under pressure" sings out to the wilderness.

we head over to the horse track to start our warm-up because it is still too dark to run on grass with uneven footing. the horse track is always a nice place (in my opinion) to run. we finish our warm up and it is still too dark to start our thresholds so we stretch, do drills, and use the bathroom one last time before our extended run back to the course.

we are back to the course, it is 6:10am. the sun is rising and the clouds are a nice pale orange and purple, reminescent of fair cotton candy. coach schmidt and coach franks are patiently explaining the workout to us all as questions are flying from every mouth.

COACH SCHMIDT: now, there is a
bobcat.....
ME: SHUT UP!!!!!
COACH SCHMIDT: ....through
dudley's grove. a bulldozer, not a real bobcat.
ME: sorry coach, i didn't mean to tell you to shut up, i
just thought you meant like a cougar.
EVERYONE: laughing.

what a wonderful way to start a workout (if this is not funny to you, i guess you just had to be there)

we finally start the workout around 6:20 franks time. on the line, ready, let's go...UAWA.

i fly through the first 1600 (which includes mount schmidt, the hill) at 6:07. right on pace.
~90 seconds rest.
run downhill through dudley's grove for 1200 at 4:25. perfect.
~90 seconds rest.
the last 1000 around the inside flat loop at 3:35. perfect.
~90 seconds-2 minutes rest (coach was writing splits)
back up mount schmidt for the second 1600, roll through at 6:03. yes.
~90 seconds rest.
through dudley's grove for 1200 at 4:24??? (can't remember this split, i'll get it tomorrow) mental thoughts of giving up flashed in my head and then i remembered we are a team, we are tough, we are in this together, don't give in.
~90 seconds rest.
last flat 1000 at 3:27 as i try to catch katie who is hauling like nothing i've ever seen.
and the workout is complete. success, i'm pleased.

haley and i then cool down, abbreviated and somehow i manage to scarf down a whole wheat bagel, a banana, a cup of cottage cheese, and 3 water bottles on my way to my 8am cell biology exam (without taking a shower, still had mud on my legs which looks hardcore in my biased opinion). for the record, that test raped me and will be reporting it to campus police immediately.

overall, a great workout for me. my legs were not completely shot from the weekend race and long run as i had thought, but my calves definitely were tight going into this morning. after the workout, my calves were much looser though my chest struggled to get oxygen and upper body and quads just felt tired.

i just got back from taking an ice bath which was so lovingly fashioned by momma k (trainer katie). i know my body will thank me later. as coach franks said: we have to do all the little things ALL THE TIME!

i know alot of the girls are struggling right now due to tiredness, exams, stress, sickness, body image, anemia, family issues, and injuries; i want to encourage all of you to take some personal time to paint your nails, watch a movie, eat some ice cream, call a friend from home, go for a walk, lay out at the pool, read a good book, SLEEP IN, surf faceboook, go take pictures of random things. just do something for yourself this week, your mind and body will thank you. you have all been working so hard. i took some personal time (as suggested by brent) this sunday and i really appreciate the down time i got. i still managed to get everything i needed done, but i was less stressed about everything. do it for you, you deserve it!

for the girls who's bodies are just fatigued and you didn't perform as well in the workout as you maybe had hoped, take heart and keep your heads held high. you are rockstars. this is the week our bodies are going to crap out on us all. look at the intensitiy of our training, look at our class load, look at everything else we do on the side! you will bounce back. if you aren't satisfied, good. that is a nasty position to be in. contentment is the downfall of our sport.

BE HUNGRY FOR MORE!

GO DOGS!

we're all in this together!

ice bath after long run on monday morning