Getting closer…

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There are only 8 more days until the USATF Junior Olympics for Cross Country. Ever since I went to Nationals last year for the first time, I decided I wanted to go back this year and see if I could do better.

So I have been working really really hard not just this Fall, but all year long.  In the Spring, I did track to help me with my speed. It was challenging towards the end of the season because I had a lot of heel pain from all of the hard pounding on my feet.

Luckily, taking 3 weeks off in August/ September before starting cross country seemed to help a lot. I also gave up competitive soccer and cut back on all my extra running at school. I stretch my calves a lot and use this bumpy roller ball on the bottom of my feet whenever I sit at my desk to do homework. I haven’t had any problems all season. Yeah!

Now it’s getting down to the final days before the big day. After Regionals, my practices have gotten much much tougher. My coaches are wanting us to “peak” at nationals. I’ve been very focused and I’ve had some amazing workouts that have surprised me. I feel strong and fast! 🙂

My biggest focus right now is on staying healthy and eating right. It’s winter time and a lot of kids are getting sick with colds and bronchitis. I am washing my hands like crazy and dressing super warm for practices. Even when I’m hot I don’t take my long sleeves off. Our practices are at night and the temperature drops a lot. I’m drinking tons of green smoothies and have been on a “candy fast” until after the Championships. And finally, I’m going to sleep early every night.

With only a few more days to go, I am getting more and more excited about the trip. This year the Junior Olympics will be in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It will be my second time to Myrtle Beach this year since I went in July for the USA Youth Outdoor Nationals for Track and Field. Back then it was like 104 degrees and it was just me and my mom- no coaches, no teammates.

This time will be much different.

I have 23 other teammates going to compete as well. I will have 3 coaches. And best of all, I will have some additional family members out there to support me. It’s going to be so fun!!!

 

Ready or Not.. It’s Time for the Turkey Trot!

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Hello everyone!

This is such a fun time of year– one of my favorites. I love Thanksgiving. My family has a Thanksgiving tradition: Every year, we participate in a road race.

Tomorrow is the annual Turkey Trot in Oceanside, CA. I am so excited! I am going to be running 1 mile. My sister is going to be running also. She is running the 1/4 mile because she is only 6 years old.

This is one of my favorite courses because it is really fast and you get to run right along the ocean.

My plan is to have a really fast start so I can get ahead of most kids, then to pace myself but not go too slow, and then sprint to the finish. I think that my plan will be successful.

Before the race I need to be focused, pumped up, get in a good warm-up, and stretch A LOT. I know I will bring my A-game and do very well.

I am also really excited for tomorrow because it is Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for the wonderful, stupendous, and terrific life I have!

I am going to eat a lot of dark meat (my favorite!) from the turkey and I will have lots of yummy fruits! I just can’t wait for the Turkey Trot and Thanksgiving!

Good-bye for now. See ya later!

 

**Post-Race Update**

My results:

Boys 9-10 yrs 1 MILE >> 1st Place << Time: 5:33 *New personal record!

Mia’s results:

Girls 6 yrs 1/4 MILE >> 2nd Place << Time: 1:47 *New personal record!

 

 


The Runner Who Didn’t Give Up

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Watching this race gives me gOoSeBuMpS. Heather Dorniden is so inspiring.

Her coach once told her, “Sometimes you don’t know if you have a next year or even a tomorrow, so just go out there and run it the best you can.”

Sounds like good advice to me. And that is what she did.

 

New Recruits!

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This past weekend was our USATF Cross Country Association race. Throughout this season, I’ve been training with only a few other boys in my Bantam division (ages 9-10 years).

One of the things I like about cross country is that even though it is a very individual sport, there is also a fun team part. At every race, your team earns a rank based on a point scoring system.

The results from the Association race determine whether you and your team will qualify for the Regional race. Then, the results from the Regional race determine whether you can qualify for the Junior Olympic Nationals.

What was really cool was just days before the Association race, I was able to gain 2 more Bantam teammates (who are friends of mine) from my school! They are great athletes and runners and I was so excited to hear that they would compete.

Without any special training at all, they came out on Sunday and ran excellent races. They are troopers because the course was very wet from rains the day before and there is a really tough hill in the middle of the course. They not only had fun, but they also helped my team qualify for Regionals which is next Sunday!

Stay tuned… Hopefully we can advance as a team to Nationals!!!

 

*Update*

We did qualify for Nationals! Unfortunately, however, not everyone could make it to Myrtle Beach so we will not be able to compete as a team 🙁 Hopefully next year we will have another shot.

So Proud of Mia

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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:

Skate Park Addiction

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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:

After the race…

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Right after the awards ceremony at IronKids, we were starving and went to have lunch at my absolute FAVORITE place, Fuddruckers!!! There aren’t any Fuddruckers near my hometown anymore, so whenever I spot one I go CRAZY.

I had a cheeseburger, fries, and a huge Oreo milkshake– YUMMMMM!!!

Afterwards, we made the drive back to my cousins’ house in Minnesota. We played games in the car ride the whole way. For dinner, we had pizza– double yummm!

The next day, we went to Mall of America. It’s a huge mall with an amusement park INSIDE! I couldn’t believe it. We did NO shopping. We just went straight to the food court and then to the rides. Here you can see all the rides behind us 🙂

This place was so awesome. I think I rode every single ride. My favorites were the SpongeBob Rock Bottom Plunge where the coaster goes straight up and straight down before doing a bunch of upside-down loops and turns. Neither of my cousins would ride this with me. Luckily, my brave Aunt Sarah went with me. Doesn’t it look like fun?

I also really loved Avatar Airbender. It looked like a giant skateboard with spinning seats on it. It went up really high on two sides as if you are in a giant half-pipe and definitely was a thriller. My mom went on this with me. She LOVED it! The ride is so crazy- it looks like this:

Maddie and I also rode the Log Chute water ride and the Pepsi Orange Streak.

We also did a giant ropes course and a bunch of other rides. This was such a fun day. My cousins are so fun I could have stayed there the entire night!

Mall of America rocks!!!

2011 USA Youth Outdoor Track & Field Championships

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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:

 

 

Buzz Cut: Before and After

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This weekend I’m heading to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the USA Youth Outdoor Track & Field Championships. It’s going to be very very very HOT out there. In preparation for the heat, I decided to cut my hair really short. I can’t remember when I had really short hair so it was fun to see how it would turn out.

One cool thing was one of my best friends heard I was going to do it and he said he would do it, too! So we both went to Supercuts together at the same time.

Here is our “before” shot:

And here is our “after” shot:

Wow. Short, huh? That’s my buddy, John. Actually, he’s my brother from another mother 🙂 He’s a super smart guy and extremely fast swimmer. I wish he and I could team up on triathlons. I could use his speed!!

Anyway, now that my hair is more aerodynamic, I’m ready for Youth Nationals!!!