For the past 2 weeks, my little sister Mia started coming to our team’s cross country practices. She wanted to try it out and maybe even do a race as a SoCal Roadrunner! As a 6 year old, she would be racing in the Sub-Bantam (7-8 yr olds) division.
I was so excited when she decided to race this weekend. She was really nervous but she figured out how to get through it on her own. She even managed to take 10th place! I’m so proud of her!
Here is a video of her race:
I am addicted to the skate park. When I am there, 2 hours go by really fast. Too fast. I love it because it is so fun going up and down the ramps and sometimes I feel like I’m flying!
I practice different techniques and tricks over and over and over and over. Last week, I had some pretty bad wipeouts and a really huge bump on my shin. Oh well, I never get tired of it because I love the feeling that after a while, something that I couldn’t do before, eventually becomes something that I can do!
I am really grateful that even though I have a very busy schedule, I am able to get to the park twice a week. Yeah!
**Update**
P.S. Several people have asked me about my helmet. I love the Spitfire design, too! You can get one for yourself here:
Hello, I am back from Myrtle Beach! More than 2,000 athletes ages 7-18 were there and I had the best time!
It was really hot and humid out there- like 99 degrees. As soon as we got there I did a light mile jog along the beach. I had a big pasta dinner afterwards and then I went straight to bed. I was excited and nervous for my race the next morning.
Other than the heat, everything about the race went pretty much like most of my other races. I had plenty of time for my warm-up and stretching. Then I checked in and waited until our event (1500m) was called to go out to the track.
I was in lane 11 of 12. When the gun went off, everyone took off like lightning. I was almost in last place. This happens with almost all my races. I’m hardly ever in the front at the start of the race. My coach always reminds me to run for my split times and to not worry about where the other runners are.
When we hit the 300m mark I could see the timer and even though I was still behind several runners, I hit my mark exactly where I wanted to which was at 0:56 seconds. Heading into the 2nd lap, I moved into the 1st position and stayed there for the rest of the race. I knew there was someone right behind me so I tried to keep accelerating with each lap and continuing to make my split times. It was hard especially since it was so hot. Luckily I was able to run fast enough to keep him behind me.
I won the race and I was really happy and proud. My time was 4:58.23. Watch it here.
I really missed my little sister, Mia, during this trip. She was very sad to see me leave and I promised her I would bring her back something from Myrtle Beach. The whole weekend I looked and looked for something she would love and I ended up getting her Altoids and a Webkinz puppy dog. Even though you can get them anywhere, not just Myrtle Beach, I just knew that these would make her the happiest.
Mia surprised me, too. When I came home from the airport, I saw a big sign on the garage door that she made. It was so nice. I could tell she spent a lot of time coloring and decorating it. She’s such a great sister 🙂
When I got home, we played some DS games together and then she said she was going to write me a note. So I wrote her one, too. This is what we exchanged:
Last weekend I went to Los Angeles for a Track & Field meet hosted by the LA Jets Youth Track Club. Each year they attract some of the best track and field athletes in the region.
I entered two events: the 1500m and the 800m dash. My first race was the 1500m. Since that distance is what I consider to be “my race”, I did not want to save anything for later. My coach told me to run until I had absolutely nothing left. He said this because he knew that I would be racing against several top runners including a boy who just ran a 5:01 (fastest in the country) the week before.
My fastest time ever was 5:06 and Coach said that if I was going to break the 5-minute mark, it would probably be at this meet.
You can watch the race below (I’m in the yellow tank top): **It was extremely windy (20mph).. so bear with the sound..
It was a surprising race. I was expecting a very close, head-to-head battle and the whole time I thought someone was right behind me. It worked because it got me a new personal record (4:59.42)! 🙂
For my next race (800m), I knew that I would again, be racing against extremely fast runners and that they would be racing in the lanes right next to me! It was an exciting thought and also one that gave me my usual butterflies.
Here is the race below:
I liked this race because it was the first time all season that I was chasing somebody else. I gave it my best and in doing so I made another new personal record (2:30.60)! It was a totally different experience and I had fun.
After my races I usually talk with some of the other competitors and they are all really cool kids who work hard and are kind. He was no different.
This is why I love and appreciate my competitors. Win or lose, they bring out the best in me and help me push myself to new highs!
“Being a runner means you are now “free” to win and lose and live life to its fullest.”
~ Bill Rodgers
Last Friday, Bill Rodgers was in town visiting and I was lucky enough to have a chance to meet him. He won the Boston Marathon and the New York City Marathon four times.
He is 63 years old and still runs almost every day. In fact, he told me he ran 11 miles that morning. That’s almost half a marathon!
I thought he was very nice and encouraging. He told me to keep running smoothly and to enjoy every minute. I appreciated the time he spent talking with me. I hope to experience running a marathon myself one day.
Here is a video of Bill Rodgers during the 1979 Boston Marathon finish where he set a course record, an American record and ran his personal best time of 2:09.27.
This past weekend I ran in the Junior Carlsbad 1 mile race for my 3rd year in a row. I think this might be one of my favorite races. It is so exciting and there are so many kids running.
I love it.
As always, I get my usual nerves right before the race, but then they all disappear as soon as the horn sounds.
At the start, there was a boy running next to me. He got out ahead of me about 10 feet. We were the two leaders of the race. I passed him after our first turn and then managed to lead for the rest of the race. I finished with a time of 5:49.
My little sister also competed this year. She is 6 and she ran in a 1/2 mile race. She gets a little overwhelmed by all the people so I offered to run with her after my race was finished. This made her happy and I had fun running with her, too. She did great! She came in 7th place 🙂
On Sunday, I went back to run in the Carlsbad 5000 for my first time. It was so fun. I saw a LOT of my Roadrunners teammates there along with some other kids from school. This was my third 5K race and I was hoping to beat my previous time of 20:07 from the Bumblebee 5K in December. I felt strong throughout and came in at 19:53. Yeah! I was really proud of myself.
One of the things my mom always asks me is what was going through my head while I was racing. And I always tell her the same thing. I was either humming a song or absolutely NOTHING was going through my head.
At the Junior Carlsbad event, there was a live band of young kids. As we were walking by I heard them perform a cool song that I had never heard before and really liked. I asked my dad what it was and he said it was “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne. The band singing it was a local band called Zip Zap.
Cool. I immediately decided I wanted to add the song to my iPod.
That ended up being the song going through my head during the races 🙂
Have a listen:
I got this awesome sport band for Christmas from my Uncle Tom, Aunt Sarah and cousins Maddie and Bella in Minnesota. It is so cool because you can track EVERYTHING from your run.
Pace. Distance. Time. Calories burned… Plus, it’s water-resistant!
It feels like a watch and I just love that my family would give me such a thoughtful gift. They know I love to run and this sport band is simply amazing. I’m having fun keeping track of my miles and especially my pace.
Nike also has some super cool challenges that you can join. I’m almost done with my first one, The Nike “In Like A Lion” Challenge. Run 50 miles in March. I also joined Run Across America and Run Around the World! (I have until 2027 to complete that) Yeah!!
For all you running enthusiasts, you can pick one up for yourself here.
See ya!
Today I ran in my second 5K. It was the Bumble Bee Foods 5K at the Port of San Diego Big Bay Balloon Parade. The race kicked off the nationally televised parade at 9:45 a.m. There were 100,000 spectators there!
I was very excited about this race since I hadn’t been running much since school let out for winter break. My plan was to have a strong start, run at a solid race pace, and empty out with a very strong finish.
I’ve noticed that with 5K races, there isn’t a big emphasis at the starts. Since there 
are so many people including a lot of walkers, the start is not as intense as with the 1-mile races or my cross country races.
Your time doesn’t start until your chip crosses the start, but I think it’s a good idea to still start near the front because it eliminates the need to have to weave through so many people when you’re racing.
I got to the starting line pretty early and waited. There were a lot of adults around and by the time the race started, I got pushed back several rows. I think people couldn’t see me or just decided to get in front of me. Oh well.
I did not feel I had a good start because there were so many people to run around and the road was very narrow. Everyone was trying to get out so fast that somebody even fell in front of me!
Once I was passed the start, not as many people were in the way. Then I went into my maintaining pace. At the end I was too tired to sprint so I just went as fast as I possibly could.
I was looking for some other kids that might be my age but didn’t see any. During the race, I thought I was running kind of slow, but when I got near the finish and saw the clock, I was surprised to see that I was way faster that my last 5k! My time was 20:07.
After the race, my legs felt weird because I used all the fuel in them. I was sweating a lot and breathing hard.
I didn’t know how I did or what- it was hard to tell. We were going to go home, but the remembered to watch the balloon parade. The balloons were huge!
My mom decided to ask about the race results and guess what? She found out that I had won for mens 12-and-unders!! I was so excited and proud of myself. I couldn’t believe that I came in 1st place. What a fun morning.
Click here to see the race results.
Today, at Flag Salute, the Marines came to collect all of the food we gathered for the Camp Pendleton food drive. It always feels good to know that the families at our school can help others when we work together.
I received my weekly running award and later, was surprised with a special invitation by Naval officer, Michael Enriquez. Watch below 🙂
I WILL DEFINITELY DO IT!!!!!!!
