Perspective.

When I tell people that I am a Chemistry major, they say things like "Oh wow! You must be really smart" or "I was never good at Chemistry." You would be surprised how often I hear the latter. But when I tell people that I am Education major, they say things like "Oh good for you" or sometimes they produce an awkward silence. Last week I was at a "late" reception for my Uncle's recent marriage (BTW, they got married on leap day, I mean who would wanna get married on a day that is only there EVERY FOUR YEARS?!?!? Just my 0.02). Anyway, my aunt was introducing myself as an Education major who wants to be a teacher. To my knowledge, she did not mention any specific subjects that I would wanna teach. When the woman she was talking to, who liked like a weirdo, looked at me as my aunt was introducing me, she gave me a blank stare and said "Good for you." Good for you? What does that mean? Stupid, idiotic person. What job does she have that is SO much better that she thinks she can degrade teaching? Its people like this that make me say "I am a Chemistry major." But the great thing is, I do not care what she thinks.

Consistency.

When I was on the XC team this past fall, I was in the best shape of my life. Now that I am not running XC, I feel like I am missing out. Recently though (within the last few weeks) it has been my goal to become a more consistent runner, in terms of my training schedule. To help me with my goal, I have been keeping a training log throughout the duration of summer, which I feel has really helped me stay on track. This past week has been my most consistent week with a embarrassing 26 miles this week. I am hoping to increase that to ~30 miles next week, which is still minute. I am going to be building my base throughout the fall and winter, in an attempt to have the best season of running I have ever put together.

21!!!!!

Woo hoo!!! I hardly get excited over birthdays, but today is different. I am at the age where I can do pretty much anything I want (legally of course). Although I still can't run for president quite yet, I think that this year is going to be lots of fun!

Rock and Roll.

I love the feeling of waking up super early and going on a nice run; one that just wakes your body up naturally and makes you feel one with your surroundings. Turns out I was not the only other person who had this on their agenda. Today was the Seattle Rock and Roll Half and Full marathon events. I'll be the first to admit that I did not seriously train for this event. However, I did get the opportunity to run the race with my friend Kyle, which was a lot of fun. Having run this race since its inauguration, Kyle knew the general layout of the course and was a fun partner to have throughout the race. We arrived there an hour before the race started and already there were thousands of people doing their various pre-race rituals. After walking up and down the street where all the corrals were located, we got settled into our designated about ten minutes prior to the start. As we approach the starting line, I suddenly get the discomfort of having to relieve myself (I HAVE TO PEE!!!). So about five minutes before we reach the start line, I run out of the starting line and find a lone tree. I quickly race back to the start line with plenty of time to spare.


Mile 1: 9:42. We were practically shuffling through the crowds of people and enjoying ourselves amongst our fellow runners. Relatively flat with a slight uphill.

Mile 2: 8:48. Dropped the pace down by like a minute, most likely because it was all downhill. At this point, we both were feeling good (I would hope so...), but we decided to hold this pace for a while. Body felt good and I was just on a slog.

Mile 3: 8:47. Still feeling great. We had a gradual climb during this mile, which was nothing too big. I felt proud that I kept the pace that close even with the uphill. Kyle constantly told me that we were running his pace, as opposed to mine. Soon though, we'll be running my pace.

Mile 4: 8:53. Another gradual downhill mile. Can't remember what this mile was, but my shins started to hurt at this point. I haven't been on my feet for this long in a while. Time to get back into shape!!

Mile 5: 8:51. Super flat mile. Just clicking through the miles and trying to remain on our pace.

Mile 6: 8:49. Had a slight incline during this mile. This was where we got to run along side the waterfront (I believe). Gorgeous view. The leader of the marathon race ran along side us for a brief time; he was flying!

Mile 7: 8:46. The majority of this mile was run along the coast of Lake Washington. Amazing views! It got a little congested throughout this mile because they narrowed the road due to the splitting of the marathon people with the half-marathon people.

Mile 8: 8:36. This mile had some significant ascent to it, but nothing that we could not handle. Not only that, but the whole mile was practically in a tunnel. Kyle began picking it up cause he liked passing people, which was fine by me. I really gotta poop!!

Mile 9: 8:25. I think this was the mile that I passed my friend's dad (B-Valley). He had a Nike PreNationals shirt and I recognized his face immediately after I passed him. Nice to know another familiar face was running today.

Mile 10: 10:12. I know what your thinking... Why so slow?? Well I had to take a pit stop, otherwise I was going to poop my pants! Kyle went on ahead of me, not wanting to wait for me haha. I don't blame him; I would have left him too.

Mile 11: 8:08. I wanted to catch back up to him, so these next to miles were all about making up some time.

Mile 12: 8:12. Seeing the "mile 12" sign, I knew that I needed to pick it up because I wanted to close at a decent clip.

Mile 13: 6:56. This mile felt the best out of all of them, probably because this is closer to the pace I normally run at. The finish line was at the top of a hill, which was nice because I love owning people on hills.

Mile 13.1: 1:53:53. Overall, the race was a lot of fun! I enjoyed that I was running with a good friend. I know what I wanna accomplish this summer, in terms of getting mu mileage up. Who knows? Soon a half-marathon will be a typical long run for me! A year from now, I will (hopefully) be completing the full marathon with Kyle. Gonna break four hours there and get him to be a 3:.xx.xx marathoner.

Just an ordinary day.

Raise you hand if you grew up without a father figure, one who taught you how to play catch, ride a bike, and was always there for you. In addition to that, keep your hand up if you had lost a male parent, due to divorce or death. Keep you hand up if you think that Father's Day is idiotic because fathers should be celebrated everyday, not just the third sunday in June. If I was with my group of friends, I would be the only one still with my hand up. My parents got divorced when I was very young, three I believe. I do not know why they split up, nor do I really care because there is nothing that I can do to change things currently. Up until I was 13 or so, my siblings and I would travel to New Jersey to visit him for a month or so. He would fly out here (to Washington) on various occasions, such as graduations, and times when he felt like "its been too long." Besides my sister's recent graduation, the closest I have come to my Dad was seeing his name on checks in the mail. Granted I love him. He always tries to keep in touch with me with various phone calls and I know that he cares deeply about me. When we moved to Washington (January 5th, 2000), my mom quickly met Dale, whom would be my future stepfather. He joined our family with a daughter of his own (whom at the time was seventeen; her name is Kirsten), a stern attitude, and an non-relatable persona. It was that persona, in combination with his "smart-alec" attitude that made him hard to get along with. He never talked about his past, probably because he wanted to forget about it, but I do know that he did not grow up the most financially stable household. Growing up in Oregon, he joined the armed forces (Navy) after he finished high school and served during the Vietnam War. Afterwards, I am unsure of what he did next. From what I can piece together, he moved up to Washington, got a job, found his future wife, had a child, and disconnected himself from his family back in Oregon. With my Dad still living in New Jersey and Dale sitting on the entertainment center, I can't really say that I am celebrating Father's Day to its true potential. I will call my Dad in a little while to say "hello," and I will be going over to my Aunt's for dinner with her, my Grandad, and my siblings. But today, on this supposed Father's Day, I feel like it is just an ordinary day.

Spring Break.

I love not having any academic responsibilities during spring break. All I have to do is wake up, eat, relax, and do whatever I want. I love spending time with my mom. I know that she has been lonely since all of us kids are grown up and are at school or working. I enjoy seeing my old teammates (back at the high school) and being able to use my personal experiences to make them more successful athletes.

Over the past two days, I have been anxiously awaiting my final grades for this quarter. I was surprised about some of the grades I received, but in a pleasant way. After receiving a "D" and a "C" on my first two Biology tests, somehow I managed a "B" in the class overall. Organic Chemistry kicked my butt this quarter, and by kicked my butt, I mean that it picked me up and
"drop-kicked" me. Yet through some miracle of nature, I got a B-!!! I was expecting something in the "C" range, but I will gladly settle for my grade. Not to mention, that was the lowest grade I receive this quarter, which is not too shabby!!

Next quarter is going to bring some old and some new material. First off, I decided that I am going to complete the Organic Chemistry series and take Chem 363. Only Pre-Med, Pre-Dental, or Chemistry majors have to complete the whole series, which means that all of the Biology majors will not be in the class. Woo Hoo!!!! jk jk. I love my Biology friends. I am going to start taking the Math requirement for my major, which means a year's worth of Calculus. Oh joy.... But I am going to take two more math classes and get myself a Math minor! That'll be a nifty little thing to have in my repertoire. I will also be taking a Philosophy class as well. It is only two nights a week (yes, I said nights. I did not want to take another class during the day because I wanted more time to focus on my homework and work). That class is my second-to-last Gen Ed (technically I have three left after Philosophy, but I am trying to get my Science Gen Ed's waived). I think that class will be an easy Gen Ed, hopefully shooting for an A.

Overall, I think spring quarter is going to be a good one. I know what I have to focus on and what I want to accomplish. Let's do this. No Excuses.

No Excuses.

Long time no blog, right? Sorry for the long delay, but I have been pretty busy this past quarter with school, a job, and "little to no" running. I know what your thinking, I am not happy about that last part either.

I do not know what happened to me this winter. The combination of cold, crappy weather and an academically challenging schedule made it difficult for me to consistently train. I can remember back to my junior year of high school, where my training was at the peak of consistency. I ran six or seven days a week, for three months. I know that is not much compared to other runners, but at the time, I felt like I was invincible. My highest mileage during that point was a tad under 60mpw (59 to be exact). Since that point, I have not been anywhere close to that. There are some times where I feel like I will never get into the shape. Notice that I did not say "get back into shape" because I do not really think I was in that good of shape to begin with. My PR's are simply mediocre, and any runner who puts in "mild" effort can easily surpass my fastest times.

Ultimately, I want respect. I know that I have talent, but I believe that my potential has yet to be tapped. I want to be able to race in road races or summer-time track meets and have younger kids say, "Wow, that guy is fast."

There are several milestones that I want to get achieve within the next few years, which will tell myself that I am in shape:

1. Complete my half-marathon with my buddy Kyle. Although we have both completed half-marathons, our training/race paces are quite different. Hopefully, this spring will be help us train together and get our paces closer to one another.

2. Train for XC. I had a blast this past fall competing in XC and would love to do it again. My only draw back is that I will not be able to compete early-season because I will be taking a class (stupid timing).

3. Try and get to the track. I have one year to make the most of my track season because my last spring quarter will consistent of student teaching (I am pretty sure that will conflict with my track schedule). Therefore, I need to get my butt into shape.

4. No excuses. I am committed to my teammates and to myself that I will get to the way I want to be. I am not going let mishaps, weather, or anything else stand in the way of reaching my goals.

My goals:

Half-Marathon - 1:30 shape (Running with my buddy, but i'll pull him along)
800m - Break 2:00 (Been my goal since HS, it is time I do it)
1500m - 4:10 (Roughly sub 4:30 mile)
8000m XC - Break 27:30 (I need this in order to compete with my teammates)

Weight - 155 pounds