Saturday Invitational Recap

 
Waking up at 5:50 AM on Saturday morning, Tina and I started to get ready for Invitationals. I had scrambled eggs and honey wheat toast for breakfast, while Tina had a minimalist meal consisting of a cinnamon waffle drizzled with honey. My wonderful mom made us porkchops, rice, plantains, and veggies (baby carrots,cherry tomatoes, celery) to pack for after our race. We also packed energy bars (Kashi for Tina, Clif for me) and orange Powerade. It was a good thing that we packed so much food, since we ended up arriving home at 6:13 in the evening.
It was cool to race in our new uniforms, especially since this was the first time in my 7 years of track that I was not on the team with the baggy ol' uniforms originally bought just for the boys. Since the invitational only consisted of sprints, relays, and medleys, I only ran in one event, which was kind of weird. I would of liked to contribute more, but there were no open 1600 or 3200 meter races. As if I am anywhere near the shape I need to be in for a 3200. I probably need 2 or 3 more weeks of training in order to run a good 3200 race. I would need 2 months of consistent training to even dream of setting a PR. Well, good thing Districts are in April.  :)
Sophie, Cat, Tina, and I raced the 4*8 relay, which means that we each ran 2 laps. The beginning of our race was not strong, but Tina ran her heart out on the second leg, narrowing the distance from the girl ahead of her from 300 to less than 100 meters. Cat then clawed out the remaining distance with an even, speedy pace, handing me the baton 5 meters ahead of our competition. I ran the first lap hard, hoping that my surge would demoralize the competition. However, the other team had saved their best runner for last, and she ended up beating me in the final lap. I felt horrible. Our freshman runners had put their all into the race in order to catch up with the competition, and I ended up blowing it with a bad racing tactic. In the end, we ended up with a time of 12:53:75. While I am proud of my team, I realize that we can do much much better. I have decided that no matter how badly practice hurts, it cannot be more painful than losing.  It is my responsibility to set an example by training harder, as well as staying positive and focused.

Tina's warm-up socks. Her dry-wick socks were still wet from being pulled out of the dryer during the early morning frenzy.

 



Yep. Power naps are the best way to wait out the 2 hours before your event.




Stretching as a team. I'm the chick with the white headband.




Cat passing the baton to me for the final leg of the 4 by 8 relay. Number 13 ended up passing me on the final lap.

   

  

Sunday morning cinnamon sticky buns. Made completely from scratch. I actually kneaded the dough and made caramel syrup.

 

Caramel Apple Cinnamon Buns

Belated Mondays



Me cooking breakfast :)

Morning French toast :) I added flour and milk to our usual egg/bread/cinnamon recipe, which made it about 20 times better.

Okay, I know that today is Thursday and today's post is all about Monday. Procrastination just happens like that. So here is a slightly detailed account of my adventures on a school-free day (If you had school or work off on Monday, remember to thank God for our Presidents).
After making the best french toast that has ever been eaten in my home, I got ready to swim at the gym. Swimming requires way more preparation than spinning.
Once I got to the pool I swam freestyle for 30 minutes. I usually try to mix up faster and easier laps, but my arms just weren't into the whole rapid motion thing that morning (this may have been because it was 60 degrees and windy). It feels pretty epic whenever I am the youngest specimen splashing about in the pool lanes amidst a handful of master swimmers in their 50s.  It gives me a false sense of superiority that I probably shouldn't have, like, "While the rest of my generation is whittling away their youth sleeping at 8 AM on a day off, I am MOVING! And I even woke up 6 AM and ate OATMEAL. I am a Spartan!" Yeah, it's that bad.
For some reason my skin always feels irritated after I swim in chlorine water.  Standing in the locker room, I was thinking about packing up my gym bag and going home until I remembered that I had sunscreen in my bag. I figured that sunscreen is just like lotion, so I rubbed some on my arms and legs and woah-la! Itchiness gone. :)  I was then able to work out for 15 more minutes in the gym, adding to the soreness my arms were to feel for the next two days.
Once I arrived back home I got ready to go shopping for Tina's racing flats with my Mom and Tina. Dick's Sporting Goods didn't have any racing flats, but instead of going straight to Sports Authority, we remembered that Maria's birthday was last Sunday. So we drove over to the mall and bought her a super cute purse and pink flower hair clip. However, after purchasing the present we realized that we needed wrapping paper. This caused us to wander into Bath and Body Works (not a good place to meander into if you want to keep money in your wallet) and bought a gift bag as well some candles.
 

Bath and Body works candles. Can you tell which one I picked? Which one do you think is Tina's?

 We then went over to Maria's house to give her the gift and talked for about 40 minutes. After that we were famished, so we went to Fuddruckers to split two burgers. My mom was so funny. She split both of the burgers into thirds so that each of us would enjoy 2/3s of a burger. :)
When we had finished off our onion rings (which always beat fries) we realized that it time to pick up Timothy.  So Tina's racing flats are going to have to wait for Friday, God-willing.
 This whole adventure reminded me of the series "If you give a mouse a cookie..."

Restday Sunday

Tina in the morning.

 Tina, me, and Mom

    

If I don't make my bed in the morning my cat makes sure that I never will



Post-lunch nap. Tina is able to sleep for an hour, but I start feeling guilty about not doing anything after about 5 minutes.



There are several elements that make movies miserable for me: horses, dogs akin to Lassie, baseball, babies, and anything else dripping with sappy sadness.  I blame this misery on watching Homeward Bound too many times at a vulnerable young age. The only evidence that proves I am not heartless is my fondness for football movies. The Blind Side is the best movie ever crafted by mankind, in my cinema-based opinion.



After watching The Perfect Game with my family, eating the best banana walnut bread Tina has ever baked (and she has baked a ton of good bread), and drinking coffee, I went for an easy 16 minute, 1.72 mile run. I love running on Sundays because there is barely any traffic, making intersections a breeze to cross.

 God's Word says that the Sabbath is a day of rest, and an easy run puts me at rest and gives me joy. Easy runs help me realize how much I actually enjoy running after a week of grueling track practices, helping me realize that running is a gift from God. 



  

Speeding Up :)

80 degrees Fahrenheit, 58% humidity, 9 mph winds....Practice started at 10:30 AM, leaving my team under the direct gaze of the sun. Whenever I begin feeling fatigued in while running in hot weather, I just think of the athletes that run a marathon through the lava fields of the Kona Ironman race in Hawaii.
Despite the heat, I thought that practice went pretty well. There was a strong breeze that was a welcome relief in between reps. Here is a run-down of today's practice:

• 1600 meter warm-up (7:55)
• 400 meter recovery
• 2*200 meter sprints (approximately 44 seconds each), 200 meter recovery in between
• 200 meter recovery
• 1200 meters hard (5:54)
• 400 meter recovery
• 800 meters hard (3:51)
• 400 meter recovery
• 400 meters hard (1:45)

Total interval distance: 2.75 miles
Total recovery distance: 1 mile

My legs felt great today, and I am psyched by the fact that my times have gone down. I was super surprised that my warm-up was done so quickly, especially since I have not run 1600 meters on the track so far this season. It probably is because of all the crazy 800 meter and 1000 meter repeats Coach has had me run.
Cat was the only other distance girl that came to practice today (today being Saturday), and it was super awesome being able to run with her.  I am astounded by the amount of grace God gave me during Sophomore year to run track despite being the only distance girl. Running solo is hard during painful workouts. I have also found that I run faster when I have someone to compete with at practice.
Despite being a freshman, Cat has a ton of potential. I can't wait to see how she and the newer girls do during our first track meet next Wednesday!

Tina's cello lessons are right by a Dunkin' Donuts, so her and Dad saved me a glazed donut for after track practice.



A book that I just finished reading. It really encouraged me, and I would refer it to anyone seeking spiritual and training inspiration. It's like running advice and a devotional morphed into one.

  

Chocolate protein bar that I devoured after getting my hair trimmed. Sitting in the salon makes me hungry, probably because I usually go 2-3 hours after eating lunch.



On the Bright Side

 I realized that yesterday's post wasn't exactly full of love and thankfulness, so I decided to write about some of the sweet things that happened yesterday.
After I finished taking my shower at 5:35 AM, I found a package of Ferrero Rocher chocolates from my Daddy. These are the best chocolates EVER, right next to 75% dark chocolate bars. For my Valentine's Day breakfast I basically had a handful of chocolate and an apple. Lunch wasn't much healthier, with a banana, chocolate chip cookies, and half of a peanut butter sandwich. All of that sugar made me crash during Prob. & Stats class. Math class never fails to be the most.boring.hour.of.the.day. It's like the clock slows down and everything moves in slow motion. 
Track went pretty well, I was able to focus and push myself during the 400 and 1,000 meter run.
Like a creep, I was checking out the photos from Saturday's preseason meet to see if there were any familiar faces (I wasn't able to attend the meet).

Not a mushy Valentine's Day post

One more week until invitationals, two more weeks until my team's first track meet.  I have been focusing on 1,000 meter sprints and working on the baton technique for the 4 by 8 relay during practice. So far I am down for the 4 by 8 relay, 1600 meter, and 3200 meter race. However, I feel that I am nowhere near the shape I need to be in for the 3200 meter race.  I have been gradually easing back into my running routine so I can get over my abductor strain, which means I have not been able to focus on a hard two mile run, let alone a mile run. :/

I also have to confess that I haven't been doing so hot in my devotions either. I just feel so far away from God. The Bible says to "come close to God, and God will come close to you", but I don't know how to get near God.  It just has been pretty hard just to focus on reading the Bible. I try using devotional books, but none of them really work. The adult devotional books focus on trials and suffering, while the teenage books deal with seemingly frivolous matters such as relationships and heartbreak. I want something more. Life can't just be about God throwing us to the ground to see if we are resilient enough to bounce back up or smash into pieces.
 I don't know. I am probably just disillusioned with Church in general.
When I longed for solid teaching and mentorship, I was told to "wait a little longer".  I feel like I have waited too long and just don't care anymore. Actually, I still do care, but I don't think anyone else does.

Black Bean Burgers & Goodbyes

Vegetarian Black Bean Burger with seasoned thin cut fries

Before heading off to the airport on Monday, Tia Sarah drove me to another sweet restaurant called Wynberries (I'm not sure if I spelled it right).  For the first time ever I ordered a vegetarian black bean burger, and it was actually pretty good. I felt like Sarah Stanley (sarahstanleyinspired.com) while munching on the medley of mushrooms, grains, and beans.
Random burger eating fact of the day: As with most of the burgers I consume, 2/3 of the bun remained uneaten, as well as the pickle.  Just thought I would enhance your life with one of my idiosyncrasies.

Tia Sarah navigated me to the security checkpoint at the airport before we hugged goodbye. :(
Legally an adult, I walked to the gate by myself for the first time. My lonely walk was prolonged by the fact that my gate was like a mile away.
Unlike my flight to Chicago, which had 30 empty seats, the flight to Florida was jam packed. During the last hour of the flight I was able to enjoy a symphony composed of crying infants and excited toddlers. Thankfully, I was sitting in the middle of the plane instead of the back, which as I learned last summer, is a war zone.

After landing in Florida, I was hit with the post-stellar-weekend-vacation blues. I am totally thankful that my parents were able to buy me the plane ticket, but I was saddened by the fact that I had school the next day, as well as 120 days after that. Three and a half months. I can do this.

Before I end this blog, I would like to give a SHOUT-OUT to Tia Sarh for her total awesomeness. Thank-you for feeding me delicious food, taking me to Trader Joe's for the first time (I have been dying to go there), listening to my rambling, buying me a sweater and gloves from North Face so I wouldn't die of hypothermia, not dropping me off at the train station to fend for myself, walking me through the train commuting process, visiting Columbia College with me, buying me a super cute shirt from New York & Co., the list goes on and on.
I would also like to thank Tia Alicia and Tio Arturo for cooking me some delicious food :)  and Daniel for being so intellectual at the age of two.
Hopefully I won't be recovering from an injury next time I come up to IL, so that I enjoy the beautiful running trails and routes up there. Chicago is known as a running city after all.



View of the sunrise from Tia Sarah's balcony



The recap my family has been waiting for

I know that my family is crawling up the walls in anticipation for my impression of Columbia College, so here you go:

• The admissions counselor for Columbia was pulsating with energy and excitement for the school, reminding me of the Columbia representative that I had talked to during a college fair a few months back. Just listening to the guy made me want to send in my tuition deposit and plan my course schedule. 
• Columbia constantly upgrades their technology to match what professionals use in the real world, and boasts a newspaper that is circulated throughout downtown Chicago (The Columbia Chronicle), a magazine, a radio station, and a television broadcasting studio. Columbia's media outlets don't just cover events happening in the College, but all over the city of Chicago. As a matter of fact, The Chronicle is distributed in newsstands next to the Chicago Tribune. 
• If I win a scholarship award between $250-$2000 from a source other than the College (such as an essay competition),  Columbia offers to match my award, essentially DOUBLING the amount of money that I won. 
• Another reason that I love this school is because of their non-traditinal teaching style. Rather than sitting in rows and columns, Columbia's students sit in a circle facing each other, which encourages discussion. Since the class ratio is 17:1, you actually get to know your professor. During the tour, the guides (who also happened to be students) told us that many students score internships through their professor's connections. 
• I also discovered that Columbia is a serious ground for networking. For example, when the College decides to put a theatre event together the fashion majors design and create the costumes, the drama and dance majors put on the performance, the graphic designers advertise the show using photos that the photographers snapped, the videographers capture the show on camera, and the journalists write the reviews. By the time you graduate you have a slew of contacts in every area of communications. This is the stuff that you need in the real world.

Walking to the school, I passed a major network's television broadcasting station. Looking through the glass window, I could see the news anchors' desk, the cameras, and the monitor screens. The studio was dark and empty, but I could imagine the scene coming to life with camera operators, production assistants, and the anchors. I know that someday, when those lights flicker back on, I want to be the one sitting at the news anchor's desk.  This is Ashley......

Urban Recap

We arrived in Downtown around 9 AM, giving me ample time to realize that I was underdressed for 30 degree weather + the windy city's chill factor.  Hailing a taxi, Tia Sarah and I stopped by The North Face store to purchase a pair of gloves and another sweater. I wasted no time putting on these items once they were paid for, slipping them on as the cashier took the tags off. He asked if I wanted to keep the tags in case I wanted to return anything, but there was zero chance of that happening.

(Columbia Story to be written once my shoulder cramp goes away)

By 2 PM we were famished, so Tia Sarah brought me to Elephant and Castle for lunch. What I love about this city is how different the exterior of buildings are from the interior. The outside of E&C looked like a normal brick building, but upon stepping inside we were greeted by a scene resembling a quaint and polished English pub. If I decide to come to Chicago for college, I will have to get over my habit of judging "a book by it's cover." As for what we ordered for lunch, a picture is worth a thousand words. Two cliches in a single paragraph. I need to stop.

 Roasted turkey, bacon, and lettuce tomato tortilla wrap with onion rings

Chicken pot pie with vegetables

Absolutely delicious sweet potato fries

I fell asleep around 8:30 PM after watching an episode of Psych.

My new blue North Face sweater (Thank you Tia Sarah!) and free Columbia water bottle

In the Morning

Wide awake. That describes my state of mind at 4 AM Chicago time. I find that I wake up earlier than usual whenever I travel. It's like I don't want to waste a precious moment of my "vacation" time.
My morning devotions were based on Beth Moore's study Breaking Free, where I focused on Exodus 20:1-21. Here are some of the highlights that I picked up:

• Godly jealousy is being jealous for someone, not of someone. 
• God is jealous for me for my highest good
•  "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above  or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me..." Exodus 20:4-5 (New American Standard translation)
• The original Hebrew word for visiting as in used in this Scripture is paqadh, which means to inspect, review, number...It is also used for taking a census.  The way I understand it, God can take a census and count all the times the consequences of the parents' sins can be seen in the next several generations. He can count those who have been negatively affected by the sins of their parents or grandparents. 

I find the following verse from Exodus 20:6 very comforting:
"...but showing loving kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments."
The richest inheritance that I can ever receive from my parents/grandparents is a treasure of Godly habits, insight into God's Word, and prayer. At the end of the day, what can beat God's lovingkindness?

Chicagoland

My plane landed in Chicago 20 minutes earlier than scheduled this morning,  :D which means that I have 20 more minutes to enjoy my weekend in Chi-town. I am totally grateful that my parents were able to buy me a roundtrip plane ticket to visit my dream college in Chicago.  Now that I think about it, if I do end up attending Columbia College I would probably have to take a major road trip in order to haul all of my stuff. The main problem is that my father and I loathe long drives....so we could decide to either 1) drive up with my stuff, leave me with the car while my dad books a flight back home, or 2) just pay for a one-way ticket and a ton of baggage.

I have nothing to do but dream big dreams while waiting for answers from my scholarship applications to arrive. :) Well, that and keep up my G.P.A.

I am trusting in God to guide me to the right university and grant me the scholarships I need for the school He wants me to attend. I can't wait to experience His plan for me beyond highschool!

Once Tia Sara picked me up from the airport, she drove me to this sweet place called Snax Cafe. I absolutely loved the warm atmosphere (especially since it was 35 degrees outside).

Tropical green tea with honey and lemon slices

Oatmeal waffles with cinnamon apple slices at Snax


After saying hello to Tia Alicia at the Family Bridges office and completing some grunt work for them, Tia Sarah took me to Trader Joes, a market stocked with a ton of organic food. I have heard about this store from other runner blogs, and it was as fantastic as I imagined it to be.

$10 Tips - Starbucks coffee ain't cheap.

Of course, Tia Sarah would have this on her office desk. ^ Love it!