Memory Lane Part II

Track 2010!!!
This is when I finally fell in love with track because I found my event!

Steeplechase!!!!!

The classic death glare...

I love my team and my coach!!!

Conference Champ 2010!!!! 

Cross Country 2010:

Runner up at Conference...

I signed the wall outside of Graceland in Memphis, TN while we were there for Regional's

 Track & Field 2011...going to defend our title!!!

We went to Disney World for Spring Break!!!

Conference Champs!!! Again!! Back to Back

Sarah Brown aka Porscha Chantel Jackson makes this picture :)

I left after this season for London for a semester which means I missed cross country season...and if you have read any of my past posts you know some of the highlights from across the pond. When I got back I only had two semesters left at Texas Lutheran since I am graduating a semester early, and I suppose I'll put up pictures of that in a Part III or something.
I don't know whether to be jumping up and down with joy or cowering in a corner afraid of what the real world is going to serve up on a platter at the moment because graduation is only 33 days away!!!

Memory Lane Part I

I started running in 7th grade competitively and I have been racing since then....now 10 years later I just finished my last collegiate race. I can safely say that running has had one of the largest impacts on my life; more than any other activity I have ever done. It has taken me all across the country, and I have taken my love for the sport everywhere I go. It is addicting, no matter how much I hate a hard workout or a bad race I always find my love for the run again. I love the competition, it doesn't make me nervous but instead motivates me because I love to win! I love the thrill of pushing my body and mind to a level I didn't think I could time and time again....I love being the underdog who comes out of no where in a race. I love running.

Now I am not going to stop running...you'd have to cut my legs off, but I now have to do it on my own...without a coach or team to push me, support me, and pull me out of bed in the morning. Now I have to do it on my own, I have to discover a new side of the sport to love. I have to find better self discipline and a motivation outside of competition. (I will race again though!!!) So I went through photos from over the years highlighting some of the best moments cross country and track have brought into my life.

The early years...

Jr. High...I remember how bad those spikes killed

First high school Watermelon Run in 2006...we all dressed up and had our first unofficial race of the season

Watermelon Run 2007, our coach went to Ole Miss so we were MSU their rivals, she didn't think it was as funny...

Where my love for muddy races began, at Bear Creek...and I will always cherish my blue spikes. 

This is the second best running picture my mom ever took...normally she just captures my elbow or turns the camera off 

and the best picture she's taken! I'm in second btw

Most attractive face?? Yes...I think so!

Dewberry Farm...a team tradition

2008 Watermelon Run...and yes I am running with a cast!!

Senior Year of HS 2009

Then comes college....
Freshman Year Cross Country:

Prayer Circle before every race

Conference 2009...I got 8th place!!! and it was muddy :)

The aftermath of a muddy celebration!!! Told you I love the mud

And onto Track season!!!
(Part II)

Roller-coaster Conference Championships

Conference…This year at conference our team experienced something many athletes have never experienced…at first we won, then four hours later we found out that we actually lost the meet, and finally two days after that our winning title was restored! An emotional roller-coaster is the closest analogy I can equate to the situation.

Going into the meet we knew that Concordia was our competition, so many of us, myself included, focused on beating any Concordia girls near us, but in the second half of the race I realized that there were a considerable number of Mississippi girls near the front too. When we finished we all thought we may have done it, we may have won the meet, and about 45 minutes later they posted the results…as we were running to where they posted the results the coaches we passed told us we had won the meet! Actually, we had tied with Mississippi College with 53 points each, so they had broken the tie by adding the sixth runner into the equation…our runner came in 20^th while their runner came in 64^th so we were awarded the championship!! I was so happy that we had won conference my senior year, it was all happy tears and hugs, and then there was the awards ceremony and picture taking! We got on the bus…went back to the hotel, showered, and as we got back on the bus to head back to Texas our coach broke the news to us that there was a new rule that breaks ties, and according to that rule Mississippi College had in fact won the meet. The rule now stated that ties were broken by comparing the first five runners head to head which turns the team sport of cross country into an individual competition…so I still do not agree with this rule. We had to stop a gas station and give back the trophy and banner, but they let us keep the champions shirts (I wanted to throw mine away). Basically, it felt like I had just been punched in the stomach…and I was just a mess due to the shock of winning then having it taken away…I couldn't even tell my family for two hours because I was so upset. I couldn't shake my disappointment all of Saturday, Sunday, and the majority of Monday. However, Monday afternoon I was walking to the locker room to start my afternoon workout when I passed by my coach and she casually mentions in passing that “oh by the way…we won after all” and started to walk off. After running after her she explained how we won the meet, again! The new rule actually doesn't go into effect until 2013! So we had in fact won the meet J

The ASC Conference meet was held in Clinton, Mississippi on the state’s official course which just so happens to be my favorite course I have ever run due to the rolling hills and the beautiful landscape. I ran this course my freshman year for conference and running it again for my last conference meet was really surreal. I got to see just how far I have come these past three and a half years. Freshman year I ran a PR at the time on that course of 26:16, and my senior year I again ran a PR of 23:52 on a course that is 6.1 kilometers…I cannot even express how incredible it is to realize how much I have grown as a runner over these past few years. I have gotten faster, but more importantly I have learned more about myself. I have one more college race in Atlanta, Georgia next Saturday for Regional’s…I still can’t believe this chapter is coming to an end so soon. 

Rusty Pipe

Rusty pipe?? You many be wondering why I am referring to such an object...it has to do with an issue many distance runners experience, low iron levels/anemia. Recently, I have been experiencing this predicament which has left me extremely tired no matter how much sleep I get and it has been affecting the manner in which my body was responding to food. So, my coach mentioned that maybe my iron levels were low after I had begun to run horribly in practice on a semi regular basis. There are many ways to increase your consumption of iron...from the food you eat like red meat and spinach or you can take supplements in pill or liquid form. I happened to start taking the liquid kind because it absorbs the quickest into your bloodstream, and since it works faster I will be ready for Conference Saturday morning, hopefully!

Now for the explanation on the term "rusty pipe" which I cannot take credit for; Sarah Brown aka Porscha Chantel Jackson coined this phrase about two years ago when she began taking liquid iron. Rusty pipe with a hint of cherry is the flavor associated with drinking this lovely concoction. The taste doesn't leave your mouth easily either since there are a lot of foods and beverages you have to avoid in the hours prior to and after taking it. Basically, it is absolutely disgusting; however, I am starting to notice a difference in my energy levels and in my running...I'm no longer doing the death march at the end of practice!!!

Some facts that I found interesting about distance runners and iron levels:

• Approximately 56% of runners suffer from an iron deficiency 
• Red blood cells contain hemoglobin which helps in the transport of of oxygen throughout the body. If you have low iron levels you have fewer red blood cells and lower levels of hemoglobin, so you can see how this would negatively affect runners.
• When you run distance "foot strike hemolysis" can occur which damages the red blood cells when your foot strikes the ground. That will add up quickly!
• You can lose iron through sweating and in your intestines also. 

So as for my extreme hatred of the rusty pipe I drink each morning...I guess it will be worth it since I have discovered just how important iron is to running, and of course I want to win this weekend!!

Ending the Era of the Blue Shoes

I haven't posted in too long, but I will attempt to catch everything up as quickly as possible.

I finished submitting applications for jobs at Disney!!! Basically I am applying for a marketing professional internship at Disney that last 6 months, so basically it would be like another semester of school except I get paid to learn and work for them. The exciting news is that after applying for countless positions, I am still in the running for four postings currently, and I have had a phone interview. I can't explain how nervous I was for this...just waiting for my phone to ring in the window that they are supposed to call, continually checking the time and making sure I have plenty of battery and reception. Then when they finally called...trying to remain calm and answer their questions in an intelligent manner while trying to stop my voice from shaking all the while being so excited about this possibility it makes me want to jump up and down and dance around!! I think it went pretty well, and it has been a few weeks since then and I am still in consideration for the jobs, so fingers crossed because it would be an amazing opportunity...plus I LOVE Disney!!!

Midterms are officially over!!! I completed my last one this weekend, and despite this round of tests being completed...there is another round coming up this week. Only 55 days til I graduate though, so I can make it :)

Now on to running...so much has happened.
First, we had the Bulldog 5K in the pouring rain and incredible amounts of mud...my time was pathetic but this very demoralizing race had some pretty good aspects despite all the that. I signed my mom up to run this race, so she experienced her first and very likely last cross country race, and now she thinks I am even crazier for enjoying the muddy races. Also, one of my running dreams came true!! I crossed the finish line with a teammate so we held hand and lifted them up in triumph as we crossed, it definitely was one of the highlights of my running career. Now if only I could achieve the dream of receiving a speeding ticket for running too fast!
Second, Disney!!!! It speaks for itself. We ran at the Disney World Cross Country Invitational; the race was incredibly hot and humid and to my surprise I think they had us run on a motocross course in the back woods...at least that is what is looked like with the hills that just kept coming, and this race was significantly muddy also...but I did run my season's best at the time. Besides the running the team had a lot of fun staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge where I ate too many zebra cakes and got way too excited to see the animals outside the hotel. We went to Animal Kingdom and had a great time at the park...had my heart skip a beat during a horrible thunderstorm when lightening struck so close you could feel it. We conquered the kitchen sink where I demonstrated my love for ice cream and took pictures in Epcot after it had closed. But one of the most ironic parts of my trip is on the flight back where I was seated next to a Marketing Director at Disney, so we discussed my applications to Disney and our general love for Disney :) I think it was fate!
Third, mid-semester break...well sort of a break. Half of it was spent at TLU because we had a meet in Austin extremely early on Saturday, but this was our first race where it wasn't horribly muddy so the times were fast! Even though I didn't hear the start so I was standing there when half the runners took off (it was a strange start so lots of people were confused) and my spikes, died :( I have had my iconic neon blue spikes since sophomore year of high school, it is how my family finds me in my races...my shoes that I have loved dearly over the years. The heel was pulled off by a girl stepping on the back of my shoe for the majority of the race...so with two races to go I had to get new spikes which I actually did today...normally getting new shoes is so exciting, but this was not...it was depressing.

Well that gets me almost up to date...more to come as always.

Crossroads

So, I am about to graduate in December as some of you might know, and this is extremely nerve wracking. I am trying to figure out what jobs to apply for and where, and if I want to go to graduate school...then there is the continual attempt to perfect my resume and cover letters, and all of this on top of taking 21 hours just so that I can graduate a semester early to save some money. Of course I am also spending close to 3 hours a day training for cross country also!! There is soooo much to do, and yet time is quickly shrinking away into the past. But I am super excited to have finally made some headway on all these efforts. The checklist:

• Resume (done!!!)
• Cover Letter
• Midterms...they begin next week yikes!!
• 4 regular season meets, hopefully Regional's also
• Figure out graduate school??
• Send in job apps/resume
• The graduation preparations
• Then there is everyday living and school work
• Social life?? 

So I am a little overwhelmed at the endless possibilities ahead of me, but I am also extremely excited!!! I am applying at Disney which is SUPER EXCITING!! and that doesn't even do it justice on how exciting that possibility is. Speaking of Disney...only 10 days til I am there :) I am kind of a huge fan of Disney, maybe you can tell.

Despite the massive amounts of unsettled aspects of my life right now, I have realized I am about to embark on a great adventure. I have the world at my fingertips, and the possibilities are endless of where I can choose to go or where life will drag me, so instead of stressing about all the uncertainty my future holds right now...I am choosing to be excited (I know I have used that word so many times in this post already but it is so fitting) and enjoy the journey...not everyday is easy, a lot of them are really hard, but I am trying to make the best of an unpredictable future

The Guns Go Off

Cross Country Season has begun officially for me, and I have raced twice now...both in very different racing conditions. Our first race was at TLU for our invitational meet on September 8th where we ran a 5K against colleges in the San Antonio area; however, we hadn't had rain in a while in Seguin, so the ground was very dry which allowed it to turn to sand after running on it for a few days. By the time the meet rolled around on Saturday morning and the warm-up runs from various teams had been completed the course looked like black sand. As the gun went off we all ran into the strong winds which blew the sand into our eyes, so for the majority of the run I ran blindly and slipping on the hills where no footing could be found in the shifting ground. This race was a wake up call to me mentally and physically; I hadn't run a cross country race in nearly two years so my main goal was to finish the race. I didn't run it competitively like I normally run races...it certainly wasn't a race that I am proud of, but races like that generally motivate me to run better in the future.

The next race we ran was on September 14th, and it was the UTSA invitational. The race conditions for this meet were completely different from the first; there had been lots of rain and the temperature had dropped considerably. The meet was held at the gun range in San Antonio while they were having a skeet shooting tournament. The course was extremely muddy and had the longest finish I think I have run in years. Many people lost their spikes in the shoe sucking mud. Despite the tough racing conditions I ran much better. I love races that are filled with mud and rolling hills because even though they are tiring, painful, and tricky to run the challenges they present to me keep my mind off of the pain as I am more focused on the obstacles. Also, I got my competitive mindset back in this race thanks to the Concordia coach who seems to enjoy insulting me and all of the TLU runners...I do not know if he understands that insulting me while I'm running just pisses me off and makes me run faster. I always run so much better when angry, and I love to prove other coaches wrong. Whenever they tell their girls "she is dying" or "she has no kick" it just motivates me to show them how I am really feeling which generally means actually killing myself and kicking it in to beat their girls. Anyways, I hope he continues to cheer this way throughout the season and at Conference because it will really help me run to my full potential. I ended up running a much better time in this race and took off about a minute and forty seconds from my time the previous week!!

This past week has been "Hell Week" and for those of you who do not know what this means...well it is a week when we do not have a meet that weekend so we are able to train hard for two full weeks with limited recovery runs. This is also the week when the comment "I wish I could just chop off my (insert body part in pain)" frequently from cross country runners. For me, I think I would just like to remove from my hips down because my legs are just dead, but especially my left shin...This is also the week where you begin a regular dosage of Aleve to take the edge off the soreness. But I have made it through Hell Week in mostly one piece and I am really getting excited for the rest of the season, and Disney in two weeks!!!

Jacob's Well...A Leap of Faith

This past Saturday I went on an adventure in the hill country with some of my teammates. Ashley and Brittany, and I made our way to Wimberley, Texas. This is an adorable small town that is filled with little shops selling antiques of all sorts...from tools and "vintage" boots to art and furniture. However, our destination was a tad more adventurous...

The day started off with an early morning run of only nine miles...I hadn't run that far in a LONG time, probably a little less than two years so I was pleasantly surprised when I was actually running a good pace right up there with the team :) but when we hit mile eight, I hit the wall and did the death march back around campus to the gym, but I made it!!! An few interesting thing I learned on this run is that intellectual challenging games make the run go by extremely fast and relatively painlessly, and also I have a friend who has constantly explained to me that if you get sweat into your eyes that it burns...I have never believed him fully and thought he was just abnormal (which he is), but he was right about this fact. I guess I had never sweat enough to experience this before this run haha but the problem I had is since I had sweat so much already before I got to this point of blinding burning...I had no part of my body dry enough to wipe it away, and my lovely reflector vest could have been rung out, so it provided no relief either...but it is all ok because I made it! I survived! Immediately after I raced back to my apartment so we could leave to make it to Jacob's Well by ten (it is an hour away)

We packed ourselves a picnic lunch and breakfast to go, hoped in the car, and made our way to Jacob's Well. Now I bet your wondering what is this place they went to??? It is an underwater cave that is spring fed, so it is ice cold and perfectly clear. The fun aspect of visiting is that you can swim in it...and also you can jump into it from the cliffs surrounding it!!! Now the cave has a thirty foot straight drop before curving in and winding its narrow passages for miles underground. If you want to read some scary stories read about the divers who have died exploring this cave....it makes me rethink ever wanting to become a cave diver.

After going on a tour of the surrounding area and hiking to the actual spot of hidden watering hole, we were greeted by some other swimmers who were jumping from the cliffs...it just so happens that the first person we saw jump went from this skinny rock that was really high and far from the actual hole, and we all agreed that was insane to jump from there. Now to clarify, cliff diving is a lot of fun and I have done it before but the kinds I have done was merely just jumping from a cliff into water...however, this was much more complex...you had to jump out quite a ways because it wasn't even close to a straight drop off; also, you had to aim to land in the opening of the cave preferably in the middle because the walls are a bit jagged.

It is beautiful isn't it!!! Well we jumped into it many, many times haha and I'll admit it took me a while to get the courage to jump from the higher rocks, but eventually I did jump from the rock we claimed to be too crazy...multiple times. Although I spent a while preparing mentally and physically before taking a leap of faith!

Anniversary of a Altering Adventure

A year ago today I began making my way across the Atlantic for a semester abroad in London, England. This marked one of the most rewarding and life changing events of my life. My entire time abroad was spent exploring new surroundings and cultures, and meeting people that impacted the way I think and look at life. Realizing that it was only a year ago that I began that incredible journey is surprising because so much has changed since then. Reflecting upon all this leads me to desperately want to go back and visit, but also to go have another life changing experience again but this time in a new place. So I have begun the research to see where I could go, what I could do, and most importantly...how much it will cost....which is way too much for most places. Another issue with trying to pick where to go is that I want to see EVERYTHING haha all of it seems compelling and has certain traits that draw me to want to further experience it past the screen of my laptop. There are beaches which always grab my immediate attention, mountains that just must be climbed, streets that I need to get lost on so that I can find something unexpected, and people that will challenge my thinking.

So some exciting stuff is starting to happen here in little old Seguin Texas!! Our team has their first meet of the season tomorrow morning, and then it is a long weekend for Labor Day :) and after a full two weeks of classes I am ready for a break...already. Thank goodness it is my last semester. Also, today I started an application for the Peace Corps, so we will see what happens with that.

As for running, it is continually getting better and worse which probably makes very little sense but let me try to explain. I am starting to feel my body getting into shape which is making the endurance portion of the running slowly become easier. However, in the mean time the workouts are becoming much harder at a faster pace than I am adjusting, so that is leaving me looking like a fool around campus because I am suffering from soreness that feels like the equivalent of your body being rubbed raw all the way to your bones. As much as I sometimes complain about running and how much it hurts my body and how frustrating the injuries are...I still cannot help but love the feeling of being sore also because I know I pushed my body to a new point and I can feel myself growing stronger. That is a very large part of the love/hate relationship that so many runners, especially distance runners experience throughout their running careers.

Ending Seasons with a Bang!!

It has been about eight months which is too long, but I recently received an email from someone who came across my blog and it has inspired me to start writing again for a multitude of reasons. First, is that I have finally figured out what I really would like to do...write, and this is a perfect place to practice! Since I am graduating in December (yes it is only 114 days away) I better get started. 

Since I have last posted I experienced the most incredible track and field season of my life, and it was by finished by a perfect Conference meet. I won the 3000m steeplechase and broke the school record which brought me to tears because that race has grown to be my "baby" on the track these past three years. I got fourth in the 1500m and beat my personal record; in the 800m I got eighth which was shocking because I can't sprint like most of the other mid-distance runners. I also came in sixth place in the 5000m! My strangest event this past season was the first and only time I competed in the triple jump...my goal was to make the pit and not eat track; I succeeded!!! So it was an epic track meet that was more perfect than I could ask for when it came to my final collegiate track and field meet. I walked off the track with no regrets knowing I gave everything I had physically and mentally in that last meet. To top it all off I met all my goals for the season: to win the steeplechase and break the school record and set my own personal record, to earn All Conference honors, and to have TLU track and field win their third consecutive Conference Championship all of which I was a part of!! To sum it all up that track meet will always be one of the best memories I have from running, and reminiscing about it months later still makes me break out into a cheesy grin. 

And now I am currently finishing up my first week of my last semester of college...it is very bitter sweet, I'm excited to move onto a new adventure after graduation but I am going to miss the comfort the classroom has constantly provided for the past fifteen years. I could definitely be a professional student!! It is cross country season this semester also which is certainly filled with my favorite races because I love the challenges different courses present. We have been training for a little over a week now and I can already feel myself getting into shape. I'll admit I didn't run as much as I should have this past summer; although, I was consistently physically active, I did not run as much as I should. That means I just have to train harder these next few months and really take care of my body so that I can end this final season with a bang! 

Ordinary Life's Little Adventures

Well...it has been a record long time and I still have yet to finish writing about my adventures. I am sorry to any of you who are curious. I am in the process of working on them but I am also back at Texas Lutheran University, taking eighteen hours and running track while still trying to finish up my final for London Southbank University. Basically my life is a tad chaotic at the moment. But I am making some serious headway this weekend and maybe if I am very diligent in my studies I will upload some pictures and a post or two about London summing up my adventures abroad. Then we can get to the good stuff. The stuff happening now that is exciting and terrifying, but mainly continuing my life full of adventures...it doesn't matter where I am in the world or who I am with; I am always coming across grand things that are once in a lifetime. And it is my new aim to share those experiences of the everyday wonders that some people don't even notice or realize are happening to them now that I am back in my home state of Texas...that is after I finish the chapters about London :)

Hopefully I will post a little adventure tomorrow!!