KVACs, Sean and Ultimate

Last Friday afternoon Sean Hughes came to visit us Clarkes for the weekend. It was a surprise to me and Shannon. Of course, with Sean we had tons of hilarious conversions all the time.

On Friday we had a really, really easy practice. I threw the frisbee around more than I ran. It was pretty fun, but I think my 100m time may have suffered from taking off a couple of days off of blocks starts. We did get new uniforms though! That was nice.

Saturday was KVACs, so I couldn't stay up late that night. I was invited to a mini party Friday night at the Donahues, but I couldn't go because it was a late night... then the Donahues said we could come early, so I could come, I just had to leave when it 'really' started. That was pretty fun. Played ping-pong, joked around and inhaled a few sliced of amazing pizza before I had to go. When I got home I packed up my non-food things I was bringing to KVACs and went to bed.

Saturday begun at 5am for me. I got up, showered, packed a ton of tons of water and food (just in case I got really thirsty or hungry), ate a small but hardy breakfast, and headed out.

My team was ready to leave at 6:30am... but the bus was not there. We were a bit worried, because we had to get there early for the coaches' meeting and the 4x800. The bus driver showed up a little before 7:30am. He slept in. We had to make a call so we would not get disqualified for for being late to the coaches' meeting, but we made it in time for the 4x800.

The weather was pretty nice. A pretty humid, but that was ok, because it was around 65-75 and overcast. I ran the 100m and got a 12.26. Kind of slow for me, but I knew I would never be that competitive in that event, because there are some crazy fast kids out there running just above 11 seconds. My next event was the 400m. My best event. It's a killer event, but that's kind of part of the fun! I was in the fastest heat. Dude. My PR was a 56.16... someone in my heat had a PR of 51.something-low! I was the slowest in my heat by a long shot.

I had a lunch break before the 400. I was pretty hungry, so I ate all of my three sandwiches (first mistake), a banana and an apple (second mistake). I thought I had a ton of time before the 400... I was wrong. I had some, but not enough to digest my food enough to run without cramping. When I was in the starting blocks, I knew it was going to be a painful run. I could feel my food in my stomach. I was really hoping this won't end with me throwing up. To make matters worse, the clouds disappeared, the the temperature increased to about 85 degrees. It was super hot... I thought to myself: I'm going to run a terrible time.

I ran. It hurt. I went numb in the last 50 meters, my speed dropped and I knew I was going to lose my heat. I did... Or so I thought: but I didn't. I looked at the clock after the run. Time: 57.46. Darn! One of my worst times of the year. The fastest guy in my heat ran a 50.61... I was feeling pretty down for awhile. I messed up my best event, had a headache, cramps and stomachache. I couldn't get my time out of my head... until a hour or two later I looked at the wall where all the times were put up. I was in 8th overall for the 400. I was thinking: What the...? How?! No way with that time. I then saw my time: 55.95. A PR! I read the clock wrong! I beat some guy in my heat, and I was reading his time, not mine! I was re-pumped with energy. I was super happy with that... then I checked the 400 qualifying time in States: 55.90 for provisional. 0.05 away in the 400! Imagine if I didn't eat as much for lunch! Would I have gotten 7th, gone on the podium got a ribbon, qualify for states? I well, it was too late to think it over, so I said whatever, I got a PR!

My next event was the 200! I had a bit. I only ran it once that year, so I knew I was probably getting a PR. I was in the slow heat, but I didn't really care, because I knew my time was bad. I ran a 24.99. A PR that gave me 13th overall. I was pretty pleased with the meet. It was way too hot, but it was still pretty fun!

My final event: the 4x400. One of best runners (Brandon) pulled his hamstring so he couldn't run it. Jordan and I were the only 'strong' runners on the relay team. I ran first and got us in 2nd or 3rd. Ben and Isaiah had to run against a little faster athletes. We fell to around 9th. Jordan, being a tank, caught us up to 7th place, back on to the podium!

Even though I didn't place that well at the meet, I had a blast hanging out with my team and cheering on my other team members! I also go burnt on my shoulder blades. Oh well!

We went home and did some stuff, but I can't remember what. I was super tired.

Sunday was kind of tough. I had trouble staying awake during church. I relaxed most of the afternoon, until Sean, Dad, Colleen and I went to play some tennis. Sean is new to tennis, Colleen hasn't played much, I was 'eh' or 'ok', and my dad was good. The teams were: Colleen and I vs. Dad and Sean. Colleen and I won both sets. 4-6, and 3-6 I believe. That was a pretty awesome feeling finally beating my dad with Colleen's help!

After tennis we chilled. It felt good. I needed rest.

Monday was Memorial Day! First off we headed over to Tim's and helped him clean out his house, because he plans on moving soon. Tim treated us to Tin Tin Buffet (all you can eat Chinese food)! That is a time to break your healthy eating habits! I ate a ton of food: 3 plate fills and a dessert plate! So much good and weird stuff!

My 'fortune' cookie said I was going to have a romantic evening. It was right... just continue reading, I'm not there yet.

We headed back to Tim's to do a little more work, then cleaned went home to change and go to the Morris's Memorial Day party. Had some fellowship and food. A hour or two after I arrived, we started a game of Ultimate Frisbee! That lasted for about two hours. It was amazing! There was a little hill in the middle of the field, which made the game very interesting! The points went back and forth, but slowly, my team's points increased more. We had a slight skill advantage... but our team was usually down 2-4 players. A huge thing was that we had Mr. Taylor (he could bomb it one and one third the field), Shannon and I. Shannon and I think alike, work well together, and can out run most people there, so when Mr. Taylor bombed it, there was a pretty good chance we'd get get it.

I think I heard the end score was around 16-21... but I'm not sure, I know we got the 'golden point' though!

After Ultimate we all hung out for a few hours and joked a ton. I'm pretty sure we all had a pretty good time!

Today Sean had to leave he left around 1pm. We had a blast! He is hilarious. After he left, I had track practice. It was pretty fun. Ran stairs, did a circuit, lifted, played some indoor soccer and was invited to a graduation party!

Overall, I'd say I had a grand weekend, but I can't wait until next week: my week off of running. I have some aches and pains that need rest!