Hormonal Seattle Weather and End of Year

Lately, the sun is wanting to come out and shine fully, but when it does the rain decides to take over. It's been wild weather here lately, with some winds too. I hope it's not going to last for much longer; it's almost June!! I'm ready for the summertime!!

So I've landed a job at Ivar's Acres of Clams on the Seattle Waterfront on the pier. I begin work tomorrow at 3pm! I'll be starting out as a hostess, which I don't mind because I love greeting people. I am praying that it all goes smoothly. I'm a little nervous about my schedule, and so I'm hoping that I can figure it out tomorrow. My wish for once classes are finished is that I will be able to work as much as I can with a few small breaks throughout the summer.

School, well school is not as exciting as getting a job unfortunately. I have two weeks left of classes and then finals to finish. It's not that my classes are difficult, it's just that I'm not a fan of them. It just seems like I've been doing busy work this entire time. I just registered for my classes for this fall, and it's looking very good. I'll be taking a first time 12 credits for my "senior" year!! It's also nice because I'll have more time for focusing on XC and work hopefully. At least I get to look forward to next year being my last year of classes!!

Well, I have nothing more for now.

In wildness,
Kayla

Prep's for GNAC Championship

It is Monday, but not just any Monday. This is the Monday before our final track competition of the year for most of us, (those who are competing at Nationals will continue on). My nerves are kicking in, and I'm excited to see the outcome of the race. I compete on Friday at 4:45, we are the first event. Steeplechase is most often the first event, which is quite nice considering I have the rest of the day to cheer on my teammates, and EAT!

I look back at my very first race in steeple in March and compare it the race this past weekend, I'm not even the same runner, even Doris Heritage agrees. It's very fulfilling for me to take compliments from such a great runner and coach. My favorite comment on Saturday was when she said that I "have such a strong backside", it was pretty funny but she was serious. My body is adjusting to this new running and my workouts are finally paying off in my races; I've become a stronger runner and begun to start understanding the race and how to push it. I started with a 13:15 and now I am at 12:01 for the 3k steeple, knowing that I can race under 12minutes this coming Friday at champs. I am currently ranked 8th, and there are some women close in my range I can and will take!

In the meantime, I will be preparing with my teammates and coaching for an awesome weekend. We finally get to race outdoor champs (last year it was canceled because of swine flu!). We leave on Thursday and begin racing on Friday at Monmouth, OR at Western Oregon University.

With excitement,
Kayla

May Day

May Day, May Day...over.

Five months into this new year, and I forget to realize the end is near, the end of another college year. I'm drowning in the possibilities of summertime, but still am ecstatic about the events to occur in the meantime.

Besides school that is, I have only two more weeks left of my track season; two weeks full of hard-pressing workouts and preparation. Time has been a fool to me, for I have been waiting patiently for it all to come together. Finally, today I dropped 15 seconds in my steeplechase....a sign that truly my practices are showing off. I have consistently been having great practices, yet there was a struggle during the races. I am excited about my next two races of the year and stoked about competing at our conference championships this year in Monmouth Or. (Last year it was canceled...after we arrived, due to the swine flu!!). After our championship meet, our distance team is volunteering for the Heroes Half Marathon on May 22nd. I'm very excited to help out for this race, proceeds go to St. Jude's Children Hospital. Since we are volunteering at two different stations in the race, we thought it would be fun to do a "heroes" theme and also compete against the guys on our team (of course, us women would have a much better station).

After track is finished, I will take about a week off with active rest (swimming, biking, etc) and then begin my training for cross country. I've been applying for jobs all around Seattle for the summer, but nothing so far. Hopefully I will be able to find a job that will supply enough for the upcoming year.


In patiently waiting,
Kayla