Pre-Race Fire Mixtape/Cross 2k16

Am I updating my blog because I have thoughts that I feel I should share with the world (Or, you know, the portion of the world that actually has access to the internet and can read random running blogs), or because I'm trying to procrastinate doing my physics homework while still feeling like I accomplished something?  The world may never know.  (Just kidding, it's a little bit of both.)
Since we're back in competition season after what felt more like three centuries than three months without racing, I've come to the decision that it's time to let you all in on the true secret to any successes I might have:  My fire mixtape.  Along with that, since I'm still a deadbeat and don't update this nearly enough, I guess I could also fill you in on how summer training has been, what college is looking like for me this year, and how I think the season is going to go.
Because I'm often a very high-stress individual, especially going into meets, my fire mixtape may be uncomfortable and confusing for some people.  It doesn't exactly follow any sort of pattern or style.  Honestly, it's incredibly random and it jumps from high-key pump up music to chill tunes with little to no warning.  The reasoning behind it is that I need some tunes to help me calm it down and keep from having a complete meltdown, but I also don't want to go into a race with the mindset of a sloth on Xanax, so I also have to include your standard hype music.
1.  Gold-Imagine Dragons
2.  Roses-The Chainsmokers
3.  Polaroid-Imagine Dragons
4.  Remix to Ignition-
5.  Dancing Song-Little Comets
6.  Everything About Me-Shrink the Giant
7.  America-Imagine Dragons
8.  Borderline (Vanic Remix)-Tove Stryke
9.  Holding On To You-Twenty One Pilots
10.  Fake You Out-Twenty One Pilots
11.  Guns For Hands-Twenty One Pilots
12.  The Run and Go-Twenty One Pilots
13.  The Hills-The Weeknd
14.  Victorious-Panic! At the Disco
15.  Boogie Shoes-KC & The Sunshine Band
16.  Come and Get Your Love-Redbone
17.  Hooked on a Feeling-Blue Swede
18.  Feralicious-Fergie (Singing this one word for word is a MAJOR key to success.  If you don't hit the rap part, you might as well just quit running forever.)
19.  Hallelujah-Panic! At the Disco
20.  U + Ur Hand-Pink
21.  Good To Be Alive-Andy Grammar
22.  On Top of the World-Imagine Dragons (Tradition since my first year at Arcadia when my teammates Emily, Ali, and Annie played it on repeat all weekend)
23.  Back in Black-AC/DC
24.  Pumpin Blood-NONONO
25.  Middle Distance Runner-Sea Wolf
26.  Centuries-Fall Out Boy
27.  Blame It On Me-George Ezra
28.  Miracle Mile-Cold War Kids
29.  Cats and Dogs-The Head and the Heart
30.  All of You-Betty Who
31.  Just Like Me-Betty Who
32.  Shut Up and Dance-WALK THE MOON
33.  Work This Body-WALK THE MOON
34.  Favorite Record-Fall Out Boy
35.  Toothbrush-DNCE
36.  Love in the Middle of a Firefight-Dillon Francis, Brendon Urie
37.  Hell No-Ingrid Michaelson
38.  Cold Water-Major Lazer ft. Justin Bieber
39.  Heavy-Birdtalker
40.  Chocolate-Landon Austin
41.  The Ocean-Mike Perry
42.  Make Out-Julia Nunes
43.  I Want Crazy-Hunter Hayes
44.  Girl-Jukebox the Ghost
45.  I Wanna Dance with Somebody-Whitney Houston
For best results, play on shuffle starting anywhere from one to three hours before the beginning of competition.  There is one other song that I listen to last before every race, but the individual who introduced me to it has sworn me to secrecy because it is a very well-kept secret on their team that has been handed down for centuries, give or take a few years.

Team bonding trip up Hyalite

Now that you've got that information, let's talk running and skewl for just a second.  This year is going to be pretty darn great for the bobcats.  We are going into the season tied for third in the coaches' poll for the conference meet, and you'd best believe we have big plans to move up.  Since we have such a young team, I think we can really upset the rankings, since no one really knows what to expect from all of the new freshmen.  We had our time trial this last Saturday, and four of our top seven based off of that are newcomers which makes me excited for not only this year, but the future of the program.  The new girls are all absolutely fantastic-Not only do they work hard and support each other in the sport, but they are all also incredibly quirky and fun.  This team is definitely not your typical division one team, but I mean that in a good way.  We keep the competitive edge and drive to succeed, but we also throw in some very unique personalities and a whole lot of goofiness.
As for my individual plans/goals for this year, I think it's going to be a big one.  As far as academics go, it's definitely going to be tough since this is my last year of prerequisite classes before I get to do the really fun exercise science classes like abnormal psych and anatomy.  This semester, I'll be in physics, statistics, cellular/molecular biology, and American popular music (Arts credits, what can ya do?).  It's been one week, and there is already a constant dialogue of a panicked pterodactyl shriek running through my mind anytime someone mentions the word "education".  While I was doing my homework today, I seriously considered switching majors at least five times.  On the running side of things, life is much less terrifying.  This last summer was probably the best consistent training block I've ever had, and it's got me stoked as can be for the upcoming season.  I hit my peak mileage at 65 miles a week the last three weeks of summer, and dropped back down to 55 the first week of school.  I'll probably stay at 60 through most of the season.  It was strange thinking back to last summer because when coach said to hit 55 miles a week anytime during the season, I thought I was actually going to die.  Last week when I only got to do 55, I wanted to light myself on fire because I felt like I had way too much energy and time on my hands.  And despite the fact that even just eight weeks ago, fifteen mile long runs sounded more like a distant nightmare than anything I could possibly enjoy, they actually feel totally normal now.  I've got some lofty goals for this season, per the usual.  I fully intend to win the Big Sky conference meet this year, as well as qualify for nationals and make the All-American standards.  Hashtag go big or go home.