Notes
Ran 8 with Yarrow and Heidi this morning. Legs felt fantastic, so that is awesome, and we were definitely clipping along at a really good pace as well.
Lungs were much better than yesterday, go figure. Today I don't have time because of our hosting a meet to get in to see a doctor, but tomorrow might be an option.
I haven't been able to discover any sort of pattern regarding when it flares up. Today is much better than yesterday, both running this morning and just sitting or walking around. Not great by any means, but butter. Go figure.
Apart from that, great run this morning. I knew I wouldn't have time for any sort of solid run this afternoon with all the meet and workout festivities, and starting the day with a good run always makes a day better anyway. Left my house a little after 6 and ran water street and 5th Ave to meet Yarrow. Was supposed to meet Anna as well, but she hadn't slept much and opted for an afternoon run instead. We ran dug road into town and then ran the bike path out to Bruenings Bridge. On the bridge we found Heidi who was headed out for a few more miles after Decorah's morning CC practice. (Both the girls and boys teams are headed to state!! yay! Last night the girls won their section handily and boys were 2nd by only a point.)
The three of us opted for Lower Palisades, and the gravel treated us well. By the time we reached the end of the gravel there was enough light to see the ground more easily, so we decided it was safe to venture up Middle Pali to at least get some elevation and topography in this morning. I love running in the morning with this crew, but the downfall is it's extremely hard to find interesting runs in the dark. Middle Pali is by no means my favorite, but it offered a change of pace in the brightening light. We ran the dike back to College Drive, dropping Heidi off at Decorah HS on our way by, and Yarrow and I split on the bridge. Great run. We got the full play-by-play of Decorah's section meet, got the inside scoop on how they may stack up at State next weekend, and also talked with Heidi about our teams, how today might go, and our thoughts and excitement for the next couple weeks.
Team update for Emma and Brenna, and any others who care to know:
Not racing the dual today are Tricia, Kaia Bierman, Kenzie Carney, Lauren Mordini, and Kara Maloney for the women, and Taz, Castor, Odin, Ibex, and Sodalis for the men. The women will do a 2 mile tempo per usual, and the men will do their 3 mile tempo. Women's cut down on the track starts at 6:03pm sharp. The Men's Cut Down Mile begins at 6:13:30pm, sharp.
The Dual Today, who will do well? Not sure. I expect Hannah Wright and Sarah Owens to be potentially leading the Luther charge on the women's side, however I hope Mallory Carr feels better than she has the last couple weeks and performs well, for her sake and the team's. Hailey Hansen seems to be on a ridiculous uphill trajectory right now, so I am very intrigued to see what she does today and next week. Yarrow and I think she is hella competitive, and hasn't been able to show that the last year or so, and now finally is coming around. However, her teammate Hannah Wright is perhaps one of the most competitive I know, so in the middle of a race I'm not sure who will come out on top. Erin Ellefsen is another who could surprise people, however she has been plagued with double side aches the last 3 races, so unfortunately I'm not sure how confident I am, or she is, in her race today.
On the men's side I expect Parker Beard and Matt Rosene to be leading the men's charge. I think Parker surprised himself last week finishing as our 5th man, and I know he can run faster than he did. After the race I talked to him and made sure he knew how important he is and what I think he can do, so hopefully he will put himself in a place, mentally and physically, to be successful today and in the next couple weeks. It would be great to see Argo pull things together this season. He has been so close so many times, and this year appears to be on a great trajectory towards championship season. And of course, Kurt Hellman is lurking, as always, in the shadows, and if he would just tell himself that he is good at this cross country thing, I think he could easily run better than he is. We need him to bring his flair for the track to the course in the next couple weeks, and he could be a phenomenal addition. I know he's competitive, he just needs to believe he's competitive.