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.