Talk About Intense

As a long time runner and mainly 300m hurdler, I would say I'm always looking for a new challenge. This past fall I joined the Cross Country team, with no experience in running that included mile counting. However, I was up for the challenge and worked hard. I ended up doing quite well, and ending with a time of 25:29 for my 5k (from a 28min at the beginning).

My freshman year in college I ran the 400m hurdles. Not doing so hot, I put in the miles for cross country to gain a better endurance base. But now as I am approaching outdoor season, my coaches and I have decided on something new and exciting; I am switching my event....

Steeplechase! Talk about intense right?? It's 7laps (3k), full of barriers! 28 barriers and 7 water jumps in one race; bring it on, I'm pumped. In just two weeks I'll be competing for the first time at the University of Puget sound. I will base my goal time on the time I run next weekend.

In excitement,
~Kayla

TP!

That's right, Toilet Paper!! And why in the heck would I bring up the materials we use to wipe our bottoms? Well, today it randomly came up in a conversation I had with my athletic trainer here at school.

As I was sitting in a 48degree ice bath, we were discussing different types of ice bags. I have to say, we use cheap bags and leak quite easily. I told him about how UW, D1 of course, has thick bags which are seemingly impossible to put a leak in it. But we came to the decision that our bags "get the job done".

And then...we get onto the subject of what kind of toilet paper we use/like! At first, I didn't think it was too odd a conversation; I mean, there are plenty of TP commercials! We compared the differences between the cheaper sinlge-sheeted TP and the more expensive double-sheeted/softer TP. No matter the cost, it all comes down to comfort. Well, actually first should be whether or not it "gets the job done". After our short convo, he began to walk away so I thought our TP topic was over. Yet, stopped and decided his next sentence would be pertinent.

Wet wipes? Really? Okay, now that's understandable, but really? I just had to chuckle, mainly because he admitted that he liked those.

Anyways, what kind of TP do you use/like? As a suggestion....in order to save and save, get more bang for your buck and the environment by folding over and over and over the TP to reuse it. :) Also...imagine the TP of Chuck Norris!

Bottoms up,

Kayla

Competition

Competition, in anything, is "A test of skill or ability; a contest" according to Dictionary.com. I like this definition, for it does not include anything about being a winner or a loser. Yes it may imply it, but it gaining a prize or award is not the focus of the competition.

After running many races in many different places, I've realized one thing: the way the entire situation unfolds depends on ME, and my thoughts alone. I cannot control whether or not they have blocks. I cannot control whether or not the meet is running ahead or behind schedule. I cannot control whether or not it will be raining, thundering, or a day full of sunshine. But what I can control are my thoughts, my anxiety, and my readiness.

As the outdoor season is approaching, I am mentally and physically preparing for the 400m hurdles. In roughly three weeks our team will be competing OUTDOORS! Finally! It is important to always keep in mind my goals and what it takes to accomplish those goals.

While this may seem like an entirely different life in comparison to my school life, I need to stay focused and on-task in my schedule as winter quarter is wrapping up. It is already the 7th week of 10 weeks! Time is flying by, and truly I have more than one competition at hand.

Happy Presidents Day

~Kayla

Spring is Coming

As I walk around, I notice little colors of life sprouting throughout the gardens. I find it odd and a bit early, but either way lovely. In our own front yard we have flowers popping up in dirt we thought bare. I am so excited to see the flowers bloom, especially once the roses come up too!

Here is a picture of the first flower (daffodils!) of our yard! Super awesome, especially because we didn't plant anything; they all will be a surprise to us in these coming months.

In light of spring,
Kayla

The Bread Machine

My roommate Ashley and I have been using the bread machine like mad since Christmas time. It truly is a wonder! I have never had the opportunity to use one before, and I'm surprised at how easy it is! My first bread was of course my favorite, cinnamon and raisin!! I used a little bit of apple sauce instead of oil, and it turned out wonderful. I think next time I will add in some vanilla to give it more of a kick. I've been eating this vanilla raisin bread from Fred Myer, and I love it!

Right now I have cal zone dough in the machine, and I'm excited to see how this dinner will turn out. I don't have much ingredients for a "pizza", but I will use some spinach, mozzarella cheese and feta cheese, bell peppers, garlic, maybe a little onion, and whatever else I can find! :) I was surprised at how high the dough looked while in the bread machine, but once I took it out, it began to be "doughy". The above picture is the finished product baby! It took about 25 minutes to cook at 375.

Well....time to eat another helping of delicious cal zone!

~Kayla

These Rainy Seattle Days

I wake up this morning for a light run, welcoming the mist of Seattle. Our track is located right alongside a portion of the Burke Gilman Trail and the Ship Canal into Lake Union. It's a beautiful sight, especially during the fall. But the fall seems like a distant season, and this winter keeps dragging on; at least I see daffodils beginning to bloom.

As our team is running at the UW open this weekend, today was a pace and shake out day. I'll be running the 800 meters for the first time ever! It will be interesting to see the outcome, but I will try and push hard until past the finish. This weekend should also be a huge qualifying meet for our conference meet next weekend in Nampa, ID. If I do not make it this year, I am content, because I look forward to the 400m hurdles in the outdoor season.

I am sitting here listening to Brandi Carlile, relaxing after a day of good classes. I had Biomechanics this morning, and even though I was majorly dissed by our prof., I still enjoyed measuring our group's range of motion for various joints. In Anatomy Lab today we did three systems in one day: lymphatic, circulatory, and immune systems. It was frustrating that the models did not have the correct numbers to check your answers.

As it is almost Friday! There is a team dinner that I will be going to, and look forward to burritos. Compared to Cross Country in the fall, the track team doesn't get together as much. But that's okay, we all are pretty busy during this winter quarter.

I also finally cooked cajun shrimp and rice, (which will warm you up on any cold winter day). For all these years, my mother had always made this delicious dinner. Now that I am cooking for myself, I decided to try it out! Peeling the shells off of the shrimp was quite a task (I had to defrost them in running cold water, and I think the more defrosted ones were more difficult to peel off the shell). Maybe I just wasn't fast enough. But after I took off all the shells, I placed the shrimp in the skillet, mixed in the cajun seasoning, cut up onion, Worcestershire sauce and a little bit of butter. Now comes the easy part! All I had to do was saute the dish for roughly ten minutes, until they were nice and pink. I didn't stir much, and was making homemade salsa while waiting for the shrimp to finish. Here is my salsa recipe I learned from Roger's Mama! (amount varies):

tomatoes
onion
garlic
tomato paste
cilantro
crushed red pepper

-> easy as cake in a box! :)

In joy,
Kayla

New Blog

I wanted to start writing a blog, especially because I wanted to show up this cool 11 year old girl who is doing one. As a student at Seattle Pacific University, living off-campus, and running track, I figured I simply don't have enough time to write a blog! Yet, I realized while wasting time on facebook I'd rather write down my thoughts in paragraphs rather than in sentences.

A majority of this blog will be my random thoughts, and whatever new things I think are awesome. Also, I will probably share great recipes I've found while testing out this "cook for yourself" thing. Some say (or perhaps it's only me who believes it) that I am a food connoisseur, but who knows, maybe I just love food and know when it's quality. I've recently watched the movie Food Inc., which is quite similar to the book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, and I have realized the importance of knowing where your food comes from! I suggest you try and watch this movie, it's quite an eye-opener.

Anyways, as I am trying to get a third night in a row of ten hours of sleep, I should hit the pillow case in search for starry nights and dreamy visions.

Peace
namaste
shanti
holla.