Memorial Day in Pictures!

It was decided that Abby and I would host the Memorial Day picnic this year. And I have to say, it was a success!

This was the watermelon-lemonade that I made! It had watermelon chunks in it and everyone said it was delicious.

This was our meal. Roast beef melts, cole-slaw, apple-walnut salad, watermelon, corn salad, and gazpacho!!!

The roast beef melts were super amazing!!!

I didn’t take any pictures of our various desserts because two families came over and I stopped taking pictures of FOOD and started taking pictures of my friends!

Abby and Ann were obviously SUPER interested!!!

I forgot to take picture before Lisa and Tess left so there are only pictures of Abby, Ann, Mary, and I! But there are lots of them!!!

Me getting my hair cut. It’s not really a noticeable difference.

My hair is so RED!!! O_o

Abby was not on board with the picture-taking.

Ann, Abby, Mary, and I!!!!

<3

And then, after the party was over… I went on a much-needed run. I was very sore from my sprints on Saturday so I needed to work out my sore muscles. I ran 3.1 miles. I wasn’t impressed with my time. I signed up for the 5k last night. It’s in two weeks and I want to place in it. But I looked at the results from last year and I have to be running an average sub-7 minute pace so I’m not sure if I will be able to do that. Today I ran 22:49. I wasn’t happy. That is an obvious change from last year’s time but I really want to get it to 21 minutes. I did run my last mile at a 7:07 pace though so that was awesome! Anyways, I am really going to try to get faster before the race but I don’t want to burn out. I guess we’ll see! Also, part of it depends on conditions. Today I was tired out from throwing a party, I was sore from Saturday’s training and it was REALLY hot out. I was sweating buckets. Hopefully on race day, I will be well-rested, have relaxed muscles, and it will be cooler since it’s in the morning!

This is me after my run. Pardon the bathtub in the background!! Our bathroom has really good lighting!

So, yep! That was my day.

How was your Memorial Day?

Winning Spiel

I just wanted to show you all something that came in the mail for me yesterday!

Yes! You see how it’s all crumpled? That’s because I read it and jumped up and started screaming and jumping around! And as if that’s not awesome ENOUGH:

It’s a medal! For fourth place! And it’s personalized! This is like my biggest achievement in my entire life! I feel like I have finally accomplished something that I can really be proud of! I am just so excited about this!

And the other awesome thing is that this medal makes me look back and realize how much I have improved in my own PERSONAL running. Also, it gives me momentum to keep striving for better! I truly hope that at some point in each of your lives, you can win a medal for something that you truly care about, be it a race, or a speech tournament, or a basketball game! Winning is awesome. But it’s even better when it really means something to you and when it’s something you’ve worked for!

Okay. I’m done with that little spiel!

Today I did 10 100-meter sprints with my brother and a friend. It was awesome. When I do sprints by myself I don’t run as fast, but when I’m doing sprints with a 5′ 10″ guy as my competition? That’s when I actually SPRINT! So I definitely got my workout for the day! I love working out with guys cause they are super tough and fast and athletic and when I work out with them I get BETTER!

 

So what’s the thing you are most proud of at this point in your life?

I’m a runner AND a coach!! :)

WARNING: I am in an insanely happy mood, so if you’re grumpy then you might not want to read this post!

Yesterday, I ran 6.2 miles. That is the farthest I have gone in a long long time! I think the best part of that is that I ran sub-8 minute miles the entire time! I came home, drenched in sweat and smiling! And limping. But I stretched so all is good! Anyways, it was a beautiful hot day and my iPod played awesome music! Have I ever told you how I sing along to the songs on my iPod as I’m running? I think I have. It’s quite a sight. I ran on the trail and it hurt my ankles a little but I’m hoping to strengthen my ankles and shins so that they are strong enough to run on trails.

This would be the victorious “I just finished 6.2 miles” look!

I’m planning on signing up for a 5K today or tomorrow and I am hoping to dominate!! If any of you have checked out my “Me, Running” page, the race I want to sign up for is the first one on that list! I ran it last year but I have gotten TONS faster since then! Anyways, that’s in two weeks. But the reason I’m bringing that up is because James, my younger brother, is already signed up for it! He’s going to run it too!! Remember when I took the ACT? Well, that same day there was a 5K across the street from my house that the elementary school was holding. James ran that race and that was when he got into running. So, he trained for awhile and he got money from all our relatives and some friends so that he could enter this race. I was insanely jealous of that because….races ARE expensive. Anyways, so for awhile, he’d run with my mom and they were all training and he got his money and signed up, etc. But then, he kind of lost interest. The race was still like a month away and he just found other things to do. Now, we have about two weeks before the race and Mom goes, “James!! Aren’t you signed up for the race?! You need to train!”

So, guess who got volunteered to help him train.

If you guessed me, you win!

Apparently, since I’m the runner of the family, I’m also the coach!

I really don’t mind. It’s insanely fun for me. For him? Not so much. But for me, it rocks! I ride on my bike behind him, listening to my iPod and singing the songs so James will be “entertained”. Today, I got a couple of weird looks from people which made me laugh.

Self-portraits ftw!!!

Please enjoy the picture because it’s really scary to take a picture of yourself, when you are riding a bike with NO functioning brakes with one hand, behind a little boy who keeps STOPPING.

Which brings me to the second reason it’s so fun! I get to scream, “RUN JAMES!!!! KEEP GOING! DON’T STOP!” And eventually, “JAMES I AM NOT KIDDING! KEEP RUNNING! GOOOOOO!” I think the next time, I’m going to need to roller-blade or something cause it’s really hard to get him to run when I’m on a bike. Like at one point I had to get off my bike and run with him (holding his shirt) so that he’d start running again. Then I ran back and got back on my bike.

Maybe I am taking this whole training thing a LITTLE too seriously, but I feel like if he’s going to run, then he should RUN!!!! He comes home and he goes, “She only let me take ONE break!” I was like, “James. If you want to run, then you RUN, you don’t take breaks!” Well actually, he didn’t want to run, but I made him. Whatever. He’s always happy with the results though. When we got home, I mapped it out and he’d run approximately 2.3 miles and he was so proud of himself! And I was proud of him. The little whiner.

Here he is!

He’s a cutie. And at the race, he’ll run the whole thing without stopping, thanks to my hard-core training!!

 

Fancy Feet!!!!

You all haven’t seen this beautiful face in awhile!:)

Whoa! Wait a minute!! What is that?? Let’s zoom in a little bit:

Oh.My. Gosh! Well well well! You will never guess who is the proud owner of these spiffy shoes!

Well if you guessed me you were right!:)

Remember how I used to say that you don’t need fancy shoes to run? Well, I take that back! Okay, maybe you don’t need  them but you should DEFINITELY want them!!

A couple weeks ago I noticed that my blister level was significantly increasing and all good runners know that means its time for new shoes. So yesterday Dad took me for new shoes!

Gray and fluorescent pink and bright white Adidas shoes? And they’re brand new? And they’re comfortable? Sign me up! They cost 70 bucks and are already worth every cent!! I now understand why people love buying new running shoes! My last shoes were awesome cause they were so well-used. I know that sounds weird but really I loved them because they were dirty and worn-out! It reminded me how devoted I am! And it made me happy! These shoes are brand new, they are brightly colored, they are clean. But they don’t need to be dirty because as I run past they flash,”Look at me! I’m a devoted runner!!” Sorry.I’m a little in love right now!:)

I went for a run today (in my new shoes!)! It was such an amazing run!! My feet flew along! I took part of an old path and then curved off to a different part I had never run on before. It was amazing! I ran five miles and PR’d 3 times! I PR’d at three miles with a time of 21:30 and then again at the four-mile mark with something like 29:00 and then AGAIN at the five mile mark with approximately 37:50. Say what? And I actually thought I would have a bad run! But no. That was not a bad run! In fact, it was an amazing run and I haven’t had that good of a run in a long time!

Of course, all glory goes to God. He gives me my strength and endurance. He gives us the money for new shoes. He lets me live in a safe town, where I am free to run. He gives us beautiful weather. He’s awesome!

What have you been up to?

One last thing. You all should get a dailymile if you’re a runner! It’s an awesome way to track your mileage!:) And if you get it, friend me! I think there’s a widget to my page on this blog!

I <3 To Run

Today I ran four miles. 

It wasn’t my best time or anything but I really enjoyed it. I was only planning on running three miles because I felt tired and unmotivated to run. But once my feet hit the pavement, I just kept going. I did a new course today. I started out on the trail that goes by our house but then curved off onto the college campus and then ran though areas of my town that I hadn’t really run through before! It was really enjoyable.

See, I map out these runs online or in my head or whatever and then I run them over and over again. Then I get bored of running because I am seeing the same sights over and over again. So I decide to switch it up and start a new route but then it ends up just being a variation of the same route. Like instead of running the route in one direction, I’ll start from the opposite direction. Kinda lame.

Today when I started out I thought I would just do a three-mile run on the trail. But then I thought it would be fun to run through campus so I cut through there. Then I ended up on roads I have run on before and ran around on all the twisty scenic roads of our little suburb. I could have stopped at three but I kept on going and I’m really glad I did. It was a really great run even if I got tired and kinda slow (although I stayed at a sub-8 mile the entire run) and it was one of those runs that made me remember why I love running so much.

Just amazing. 

It was really hot out too. Or maybe I was just exerting myself more than usual? Who cares anyways? John says no one cares. 

So, pretty needless to say: I had an amazing day! 

Was your day awesome too?

I’m on a happy rush

It’s so awesome right now!

Actually all day has been awesome!

It has been sunny and warm (80 degrees) all day long! And then right at dinner time, the clouds starting coming in. Now it is windy and the rain is just starting to come down. It’s a summer storm and those are by far the best!!! It smells magnificent and it’s SO pretty out there!

Anyways, because of the lovely sunny weather that we had all day, John and I decided to go on a bike ride. Well, actually, I decided I wanted to go on a bike ride and that I wanted John to come with! John is a good sport to put up with my demands! 

Anyways, we ended up biking roughly 15 miles (it might have been more) and it was awesome. I am not usually an amazing biker but I guess due to my running my legs have gotten stronger, so I just kept going and going. John does not like to bike. Well, he doesn’t like to bike the “Claire” way. The “Claire” way is “I’m going so fast I can literally feel the fat melting off of me”. That’s exercise. The “John” way is “Let’s leisurely take our time pedaling down the path, one hand on the handlebars, the other holding an Arnold Palmer”. 

So I ended up having to stop and wait for him a couple times but mostly he just lagged behind and then caught up right before I got out of sight. I brought my camera and was going to take pictures but that didn’t happen…

So in your brain, imagine me, in my zebra shorts, Adidas sleeveless shirt, and big sunglasses, flying along the path, and then a dot in the distance. The dot would be John. JUST KIDDING. He wasn’t that far behind. Usually.

But it was really fun. I came home and felt really fit. Like I was saying yesterday, whenever I work out I always feel in shape and I think that a 15-mile bike ride counts as exercise! Even at John-speed, which I went faster than… so we both got a workout.

So have any of you had coconut water? It’s super amazing for you. It has more potassium than bananas and is super hydrating. I don’t think I like it though. It tastes kinda weird. Like it’s really refreshing but it’s weirdly sweet-salty. It’s annoying to me that I don’t like it because I want to like it cause it’s so good for me, but I just don’t like it. Maybe it’s like an acquired taste or something that I will grow to like? My mom buys this carbonated water called La Vie and I used to hate it cause it tastes like carbonated water, no flavorings, and it tastes weird. But after awhile, I started to like it. I still don’t like it that much, but it’s pretty refreshing and I don’t SHUDDER when I drink it so I guess I’ve made some progress!

Tomorrow is my last online class. I feel kinda bitter-sweet about this. The good news is that that is one more class that I am done with for the year (i.e. summer is one class closer) and also since it’s over that means I no longer have to get up at 6:45 but can sleep away to my heart’s content. The bad news is that it’s over and I have really enjoyed it. My teacher is really creative and fun and puts her whole heart into the class and all my classmates are nice. So, it’s been a really enjoyable year (even though it meant getting up early!!) and I am going to miss it. 

But next year is bound to be awesome too.

That’s the great thing about being optimistic!! Things tend to be always awesome if not constantly awesome-r. Have I mentioned that I love my life? I think I have. I feel like you may have picked up that vibe from my blog. Actually, I’ve been pretty crabby on here. But generally I’m a bouncing-off-the-walls, slap-happy chica! And that shows more at this time of year for reasons such as SUMMER and FREEDOM and WARM WEATHER and NO SLEEP DEPRIVATION. And SWIMMING and TANNING. Hallelujah, praise the Lord. I’m so glad that He decided to create summer!!!! Now, year-round would have been nice…but I guess beggars can’t be choosers here in Illinois.  

82 degrees? Makes me happy. 

I love summer. I love life. I love sleeping in. I love not freezing my butt off. 

Oh happy day.

I’m Done!!! (Kinda)

I guess the end- of- the- year rush has caught up to me because it’s been almost a week since I’ve last posted! *gasp* 

Several times this week I have thought about posting but…basically all I did this week was study, study, study! And that, I can assure you, does not make for an interesting blog post, unless you are interested in  convergent evolution and allopatric speciation because that is basically what I have been learning about. Well, I am guessing my post would have been “AP Biology in 500 words” or “I hate the world” cause that’s pretty much been my basic feelings. That’s how I feel when I’m tired and stressed. But, this morning I took my AP test and praise the Lord I am FINALLY finished with AP weeks!!! I have a week and a half of school left! And I am happy!

I hope you all had a great Mother’s Day! It was beautiful here yesterday!! It really feels like summer which can only add to the great mood that I am in right now! It’s like 79 degrees and sunny and warm! 

Today I got to babysit for four hours which was awesome cause I haven’t gotten to babysit in awhile! We went on a bike ride and then we had a water fight and it was really fun! Then after dinner I went on a run! Now, it’s common knowledge (inside my brain anyways) that when I’m tired I don’t run well. On Friday, I ran five miles but it was very tiring and I was slow. So today I ran three miles and it was a beautiful run. I really enjoy my evening runs because everyone is out and about and it’s sunny and I’m relaxed. Anyways, so I have decided that every single run that I have is enjoyable. I always feel better after my runs. Always. Tired, yes. But always better. So, then, each one is worth it! It’s always worth it to move yourself even if it’s only a mile!  But of course, I am saying this on a good running day so I’m not sure how reliable my “Every run is a good run” spiel actually is!

I still need lots of sleep but tomorrow I have NOTHING!! Except for like 15 minutes of school so I plan to sleep! And sleep and sleep! It’s okay, you can be jealous! Have I mentioned that I love summer? I think that I have.

Anyways, because I JUST today finished my “studying days” and have just today OFFICIALLY “emerged from the cave” (aka come out of my room from hard-core studying for two and a half weeks), I don’t actually have that much to say. Yet. But I will. I will. 

I’m opinionated and I know it. I know that an opinion that I want to share will strike soon enough! And then I will be back!

What have you all been up to lately?

AP RecAP

I am super happy right now.

That could be the congratulations caffeine talking…but I don’t think it is because everything just went amazingly! I got a good sleep last night. Actually a better sleep than I’ve gotten in a long time! Absolutely uninterrupted, I went to bed at the record-breaking time of 10!! And got up at 6:28 ( 2 minutes before my alarm went off!!! ) Anyways, I woke up this morning and wasn’t nervous at all! A sweet email from my amazing friend Meri, was the cherry on top!

Im praying for you on your AP test! You’re th smartest 9th grader i no! And my best friend! I love you and know that what ever score you get wotnt chagen ANYTHING and ill think you’re amazing for trying your best!!!!!!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

God Help Claire to do Great on her AP! You’ve blessed her with an amazing mind and awesome skills to get a great score on the ACT! Please help her and strengthen her! THank you Lord for giving her the opportunity to be her and to take the AP test, AND to be my BEst Friend! You graced me with finding her! THank you for everything, and just bless hermind and help her to get the best possible grade she can get!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

I am so thankful that I checked my email right before I left because this really just made me the happiest girl in the world!

The test itself passed uneventfully. I felt a lot better prepared this year than last year and I feel like the whole thing overall went pretty amazing. I know that’s not always a good sign, but it’s not just a feeling, like I can think back to what I wrote and answers I chose and feel really confident about it. Our writing prompts were really fun also!  :) They were about topics that we had learnt about so that was a nice surprise. The speaking part went a LOT better than I had hoped!! There are two parts to speaking. We have a simulated conversation and then also we have to give a 2-minute oral presentation. I usually fail at the conversation but I did pretty good I think and my oral presentation went alright even though I ran out of time… Mom said, “Are you kidding me?! It’s great that you ran out of time! That just means that you had so much to say that you didn’t have enough time!!” I go, “Is it still amazing if for the first 20 seconds I stuttered and “um”-ed until I finally got into my groove??” She started laughing!

Anyways I just want to say thank you SO much to everyone who prayed! I really felt so blessed by all of you who promised to pray for me, by your sweet words of encouragements and your good wishes! I truly do not think at this point, that anything could have gone better! So thank you thank you thank you! And Thank You God for helping me so much!!!!!!

For those of you who have/are subscribed to my blog and got the “un-edited” version of this post: So sorry for the mistake on my ACT scores!!!

Lo Bueno y Lo Malo

Yesterday I ran three miles. It was the most beautiful run I’ve had in a LONG time! I didn’t think about time or even RUNNING. I just ran and thought about other things. And listened to my music. I felt really really good after that run!! It was an evening run also. I’m starting to like those more and more which is probably good because I think we are in for ONE HOT SUMMER! One of the other great things about that run was that even though I just ran for the fun of it I ran a lot faster than I’ve run in awhile without exerting tons of effort. No, I probably wouldn’t have been able to stay at that pace for another mile or two but it was a lovely run. 

Then I didn’t sleep all night. Well that’s an exaggeration. I did sleep. But it was restless. I woke up at least   four times. As a result I have been less than lively today. A little tired. A little drowsy. A LOT nervous!!! Tomorrow at 7:30 when normal people are going about their normal lives I will be at the local high school preparing to take the Spanish AP exam. For the second time. I took it last year and did very poorly. This year I am MUCH better at everything in general, but I have a better understanding of the language and the grammar structures as well as another whole year of vocabulary under my belt. But I’m still nervous. Really nervous.

I was okay this morning. Abby went to take her AP Psychology test and I was like, “You’ll do great Abby! Don’t be nervous! You’ll be fine!!” I did my school and I ate my lunch and then at about three, the realization hit. Tomorrow I am taking the test. The evil test that I failed last year. I’m petrified. Actually right now talking about it, I am having a lot of fun being super dramatic and such but I am just going to say that I have absolutely ZERO good memories from taking the AP last year so I’m not exactly happily hopping out of the house to go take it again. I’m not like nonchalantly wandering into the halls of the high school to take the test. I am against-my-will slowly plodding there.

Part of me wants it to never come and part of me wants it to be OVER! 

Please please pray! Thank you!

Happy Birthday Peter! (for real this time)

Well, I don’t really know what to say.

I haven’t really had a day that would interest you all.

It was fun for ME no doubt but I don’t think you all would care to hear about my tanning, studying, and half-price frappucinos (it’s the underage equivalent of happy hour!)!!

So what shall I say?

I have this paper that I got from a writing class a while ago titled, “What to Write About When You Can’t Think of What to Write” Okay, it’s actually called “Writing Ideas”. But I think my title is more creative. Now, I know that paper is on my desk but I know that even if I did get up and go downstairs to my desk, I probably wouldn’t be able to find it because my desk is a pile of books and papers and random instruments… which means that probably right now I should be cleaning my desk instead of writing this but MOVING ON!

The only writing ideas I can remember, off the top of my head, from that paper is “voice an opinion” which I already do quite enough of so I might as well give you all a break from that (just kidding, I’ve already voiced my opinion at least once in this post! Can you find WHERE?) and the other one I remember is “give a review” but I can’t really think of anything I’d like to review for you all. Well, I suppose I could review one of my favorite movies or a good song but I’m not going to.

I think I will talk about Peter since tomorrow is his BIRTHDAY!! I realize in my last post that I didn’t really clarify that! He is a cutie! He is very optimistic and mature and fun to be with. I love that kid to death. He’s a little crazy right now because he is very excited about tomorrow!! We are having chocolate croissants for breakfast (I can think of another person who is excited about that!! ) and he is getting lots of presents such as a NEW bike, which is a rarity for the 5th child/3rd boy! I actually am going to talk about going to get frappucinos because it has to do with him! You see I took him to get coffee because for a long time I had been promising to take him and today seemed like a good day to do it, what with it being his birthday eve and all!

He got a caramel frappucino and happily drank it in under three minutes which is actually faster than I can and I always drain my coffee in five minutes at the most!! So I guess we have some similar genes!!  

Smile for the camera? Nonsense!! He had coffee to drink! Decaf, by the way!! I’m a responsible person and I realize that even very mature and calm 8-almost-9-year-old’s don’t do very well on caffeine!!

I love you Petie!! And I hope that your 9th year is even better than your 8th year has been!!!!