Another PR Bites the Dust

Today I finally broke the 24 minute barrier, running a 23:45 5k and placing 2nd woman overall, 8th for the entire field. Dad also set a new PR, cutting down his time from 37:22 to 33:01. Yes, that one second is bothering him.

We parked about a mile away from the starting line, which allowed us to warm-up and cool-down while soaking in the torrents of rain and wind.

Yet another post-race photo of me basking in my temporal achievement.

Tina and I picked out dad's new running tank when he was trying on running sneakers. We figured it would be good motivation for him to keep working out with weights. That and it was pretty cheap for a Nike running shirt.

What's Beautiful Triathlon Challenge, Day One

I totally killed my tempo run today (which is a good thing). I was originally planning on running four miles, but decided to tack on an extra mile and a half.  Talk about a motivated Monday.

For today's What's Beautiful Drive Challenge, I had to post a picture of a body part that would be my biggest ally in this competition. Naturally, I choose my legs. I've been pounding out mile repeats and completing countless lunges for over seven years now, and am as proud of my legs as a mother is of her newborn child.

TOTAL: 5.56 miles, 52 minutes
Warm-up: .29 mi, 2:21 min.
Mile Splits: (8:13)(8:15)(8:09)(8:01) NEGATIVE SPLITS!!!!!
Recovery Jog (after each mile split, 3 min): .17/ .19/ .18/ .26
Cooldown: .47 mi, 5:33 min

5 Mile Trail Run

Inspired by the trail running special that Runners WORLD magazine sent me, I begged and pleaded and hassled my family into driving 20 minutes away from our house to a park that has hills and trails.
This park was once an old landfill, but the city cleaned it up, planted grass, built bathrooms and playgrounds, and established trails for runners, cyclists, and horse-riders. It has more hills than other parks in South Florida, thanks to it's history.

5.18 miles, 57 minutes
Mile splits: (10:01) (9:20) (10:30) (10:43) (14:04) Guess when I took a prolonged walking break...

Afterwards I did 100 diagonal lunges (25 per direction) My hamstring and quads hate me.

Source of inspiration. Please excuse the chipped nail polish, I was too busy saving the world to notice.

Districts: Triple PR!!!

I am super-grateful to announce that, at Districts, I set THREE NEW PERSONAL RECORDS!
I couldn't have asked for a better way to end my seventh year of track.
 Last year I ended up dropping to the ground due to heat exhaustion once they did the second call for the 1600 meter race. I had tried staying loose for 8 hours in hot weather (low to mid 80's Fahrenheit) and suffered from cramps, dizziness, and a general feeling of turdiness.  I remember a coach from another team seeing me crumpled against the fence and walking me over to the trainer's tent, where I was iced for a good 40 minutes or so and given Gatorade and Sunchips to rehydrate.
Thankfully it was more cloudy this year, but I still took precautions to make sure that I would not burn my energy too early.
After running the 4*8 relay, where I earned 2:59 for my 800, I completed a 10 minute cooldown jog and dropped onto my mat for a 30 minute power nap.
After the nap, I went for a quick jog, munched on orange slices and granola bars, and visited the bathroom about fifteen hundred times.
This meet went way slower than last year, saying that I ran the 1600 around 9 PM and the 3200 at 11 PM. Thankfully my fantastic Mom and Tina brought me coffee an hour before the 1600, I don't think that I would have survived without the caffeine.
The cool thing was that for all of my races, even though my body was giving 100%, it didn't hurt as much as I imagined it would. For the 1600 meter race I stayed with a group of girls and fixed my eyes on their ponytails, vowing not to let them surge ahead of me. I tailed them until they began to tire out from the extra speed that you put out when someone is breathing down your neck, and then I surged ahead of them and focused on keeping a hard pace. I was so focused on staying ahead of the other girls that the four laps flew by.
During the 3200 there was one girl who was right behind me during the first three laps, but I keep a strong pace as she slowly faded farther behind me. Just the thought of her summoning a kick from somewhere deep inside and passing me (which has happened before) motivated me to sprint the final 300 meters to the finish line like a madwoman.
My seven years in track have taught me that it is better to follow packs, allow them to break the headwind, and surge ahead of them for the final 800 meters, letting out every ounce of kick within you.
The meet finished around 12:15 AM, and we didn't arrive home until 1 AM, so studying was out of the question. I walked straight to the shower, washed off the sweat that I had accumulated over the past 19 hours since I had last showered, and rolled underneath my comforter. I was completely comatose and didn't wake up until 7:16 AM. School today? No thank-you.

SENIOR SEASON PERSONAL RECORDS:
800 meters - 2:59
1600 meters -
3200 meters -

will publish times once they are posted on the official athletic association site

Sandstorm 800's

Pre-run lunch: egg fried in extra virgin olive oil, rice mixed with red beans and diced sweet potatoes, topped with mango, tomato, and onion salsa.
Thanks to the influence of Sarah Stanley I have chosen to cut out processed foods, such as bread, crackers, chips and cereal, and as a result I feel healthier and faster than ever. Instead of eating a sandwich and chips for lunch, I pack left-over dinner such as rice or pasta, bean soup, and salad. I have also been eating a ton of vegetables, especially carrots.

Mom added some bright yellow flowers as an eye-catching backdrop for our front-yard's landscaping, effectively making my family look like Baltimore Ravens fans.  My apologies to the Miami Dolphins, but we couldn't find any teal flowers.  

 

Me and Tina getting ready for our beach run. I wasn't wearing the most flattering/best fitting work-out attire in the world, but Tina made up for it with the tank and shorts that I gave her (Lady Foot Locker: Adidas tank and Nike shorts). The 20 mph winds made my 3.96 mile run feel like a 5 mile uphill run, and running next to the beach also added the effect of romping through a sandstorm, with the wind whipping hard grains of sand against any exposed parts of your body.

RUN
 2 minute warm-up
4*800 meters (3:35, 3:51, 4:11, 4:05)
l:30 recovery jog in between
1.22 mile cooldown (first half jogging, other half walking with Tina)

TOTAL: 3.96 miles, 40:44

My 800 meter times were a bit slower due to the wind that seemed to be trying to push me to the ground while blasting me with sand, but it was still a pretty run. Sandy, but scenic.

After running I was dying for some fresh fruit, so I decided to try the papaya that my mom bought from Bravo's. The flesh of the papaya scooped out as smoothly as ice-cream, and all I had to do was scoop the fruit into the blender with some ice and my smoothie was done.

Despite the post-run smoothie my sister continued her special ritual of finishing every snack with a bowl of cereal. I should buy her a box of Special K chocolate cereal for Christmas next year.  

Tina and I catching up with The Voice while chilling on exercise mats, followed by Fashion Star. We are usually too busy to watch television every day, so we have a lazy day every week where we plop down and watch enough t.v. to fill in the required amount of time needed to run a marathon. Which, if you are a killer runner like Lauren Fleshman, is approximately 2 hours and 37 minutes.

Prom Heels. Check.

I finally found a pair of heels that match my dress for Prom!

Two and a half inch heel

My mom and I drove over to the mall to hunt for my Prom heels, which I found about twenty seconds after walking into Dillards. They match my dress, were on sale, and are formal enough to be reworn for other occassions. Win!
I find it humorous that the mall that is closest to my house is ranked as America's no.2 most-visited shopping mall, yet I have a hard time finding shoes that I like there. For shoe-shopping, it's better to roll on to the other mall that has a Dillards. (Also, the higher a mall ranks in the eyes of shoppers, the more expensive stuff is. But really.)

Full Circle

The Sunset just as My Team was leaving the Track.

Photo of the starting and finishing line that has caused quite an amount of anxiety and accomplishment

Last night was my last highschool dual track meet. Although I didn't tear up or anything (I probably will after Districts) I was undergoing some serious nostalgic memories of staying at meets from 3:30 PM to past 8 PM.  Out-kicking other girls and being out-kicked. Not realizing how hungry I was until I left the track and realized that I had only eaten a handful of dried fruit for the past 5 hours. I wouldn't give up these memories for the whole world.
As I snapped a photo of the sunset and walked to the bus, I realized that my last highschool meet was at the same track where I ran my first highschool race, coming in a full circle.

Prom and Prejudice

Finally, after enduring peer pressure from friends and teachers, I have consented to go to Prom. I just might need a few espressos to stay awake since the event begins at my bedtime, 8 PM, and doesn't end until 12 AM.
With that said, Tia Susanna drove me to the mall on Saturday to find a Prom dress. When she asked me what I was looking for, I summed it up like this: I don't want to look like a highlighter or a mermaid or a puffball. I am looking for something classy and elegant, preferably with a single shoulder strap. Done.

Walking into Macy's we found five dresses that caught my fancy and headed to the fitting room. I couldn't figure out how to get into one of the dresses due to the intricracies imposed by the designer, so that one was an automatic no. Two of the dresses were a bit too "old" for me. Then, there were the final two dresses. The first one was royal blue dress by Ralph Lauren, with a moderate leg slit and soft fabric. The second dress was black and had one shoulder strap, with lace accents enwrapping the torso and falling down the sides of the dress. It was well-fitted at the torso and morphed into a swishy fabric from the waist down. I tried on each dress three different times to decide which one I liked better, and choose the black gown. I found the elegant glamour of the dress appealing.
Finding the dress was a breeze compared to finding the right shoes. I have combed through Macy's, Nordstrom, JCPenney, Marshalls, and Famous Footwear to no avail. The hunt is on.

The Sweat Was Worth It: $cholarship

Coconut bars are one of the best treats ever created by mankind, right after dark chocolate.

Sadly, I missed my track meet today due to a headache, fatigue, and other circumstances beyond my control. I need a break though, as racing every week is really starting to wear me down. I only have two weeks until Districts, where I hope to break my 6:30 minute mile.

Anyhow, one of my favorite parts about Spring is that my mom buys really pretty flowers for the front and backyard. This year, she bought some beautiful purple flowers for the frontyard and a climbing vine with pink blossoms for the backyard fence. So pretty! She also went out of her way to buy a blueberry plant, since those delicious little jewels thrive in the Summer. Now we just have to work on keeping them alive.

Another sad thing happened today - there is no Wednesday night fellowship or Bible Study today, which means no talking with Bobbilee or drinking one of her wonderful lattes.  ):

Before I forget, I do have some pretty exciting stuff to share. The sweat and tears that I endured for cross-country, track, and school have brought in yet another award besides a sense of accomplishment and confidence - I was chosen as a BCAA Scholar Athlete for 2012, which comes with a scholarship!
I was literally shocked when my school's athletic director walked into the yearbook room, which is where I spend lunch with my yearbook creeps, and handed me the letter. When I had applied, I totally thought that one of the waterpolo or softball girls who are at the top of the class would get it. But the gander paid off, and I am left completely shocked! That is totally cool. The only thing is that the wording on the letter is really vague, so I am not 100% sure if I am getting the $1,000 scholarship or not. Part of the letter reads:
All Scholar Athletes will receive a special award in recognition of their accomplishments. Each school will be guaranteed at least one $1,000 scholarship winner.
I guess I will find out soon. The only other negative part about this award is that while I get into the Scholar Athlete Banquet for free, I can only bring 2 or 3 people with me, and it costs $30 per person. Oh well. I still want to go to the Banquet to see who else won for other highschools. I have never attended one those banquet things anyways, and I think it would be cool.  :)

Keeping Time

Looking back over my four day weekend, I realized that I haven't really accomplished much besides running and sleeping, with plenty of time in between spent browsing through my favorite social and entertainment sites. During today's sermon, I realized how much time I waste on social media and entertainment sites such as Pinterest and Tumblr, which allow me to dream about material goods but have little positive impact. I also realized that reading the eye-catching articles on sites such as Yahoo drain away time that could be better spent actually checking my email. Basically, I need to become a better steward of the time God has given me.

So, I came up with a game plan for being more productive with my free time.

• Volunteer. My church has a whole binder with lists of ministries that I could help out with.
• Be Picky About Your Sources. Instead of reading random snippets of useless of news online, like what Katy Perry wore to the Kids' Choice Awards (When you think about it, it's pretty disturbing that kids are singing along with "Last Friday Night"), it would be better to listen to whole news shows like 60 minutes that look at national and international issues with some amount of depth.
• Use that Kindle. Rather than browsing through online fitness articles telling me things I already know (Running burns calories! Weight bearing exercise increases bone density!) I could subscribe to publications such as the Weekly Standard and the Wallstreet Journal. I prefer receiving my favorite "fitness" magazine, Runners World, on paper anyways.  
• Bring a Book. I have spent countless hours in certain classes doing absolutely nothing because I already finished my work or the teacher declared a free day. I have plenty of interesting books that I haven't read yet that would be more intellectually stimulating than staring at the wall.

Those are all the ideas that I have come up with so far. If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to comment. (:

Here is a synopsis of my week:

Sunday

Rest

 Monday

Bible + Prayer Journal + Personal Journal + Worship = Introspective Devotional Time

Hard Track Work-out
400 meter warm-up (1:45)
3*400 meters hard (1:30, 1:37, 1:38) with 400 meter recovery lap in between
800 meters hard (3:31) even splits
200 meter sprint (0:46)
2*70 meter sprints
400 meter cooldown

 Tuesday

Seasoned Salmon and Potato Cakes with Asparagus. Love it!

Dead Legs Track Work-out
400 warm (2:06)
3*400 hard (1:36, 1:46, 1:44) w/ 400 recovery jog in between
800 hard (3:37)
2*70 sprints
400 cooldown


Wednesday

Latte with Bobbilee before the weekly Wednesday Night Supper and Bible Study (photo from online)

Rest

 Thursday

Track Meet. Just look at that determination in the face of fatigue. I won first place in the 1600 and 3200 meter races.

 Friday

Given to me as a graduation present from Mrs.Joann

Swimming  25 minutes
Easy Run  4.19 miles


 Saturday
 Neighborhood Speedplay  2.89 miles