Love, trackie

Track season.

is finally...

OVAH!!!

("over", not "ovary".)

Does saying "finally" imply that I wanted it to end? I didn't mean for it to, but it's somewhat true I guess. Unlike XC, track season usually slowly dies down because only SOME people make it to finals, then SOME people make it to CIF Prelims, then SOME people make it to CIF Finals. The track family slowly dwindles down until the team consists of 6 sweaty boys and a coach who's is closely identified with fried chicken.

Anyway(s), I gotta recap the last few meets before I forget! I'll try to use as many analogies as I can to not lose you non-trackies.

League Prelims (Gahr)
400m - I don't run the 400! Well I'm not supposed to anyway. Time: 57 flat. Gross slow EEWW!
200m - Yeah I run the 200... but I didn't do too hot. Bad start + LOOSE SHOE!? Every step with my right foot slowed me dooowwwn, sucks more than lollipops.

No relays for prelims.

I gotta tell ya guys, I wanted to run the 100m so badly. I probably could've scored some points, AND, I love running the 100! But I didn't sign up for it. Sad. It's like wanting some curly fries but realizing you ordered just the regular kind of french fries! Yeah, it'll get you full, BUT IT'S NOT AS GOOD! Not as toasty!

Oh some bad news! Alvin was disqualified for the 400 and Albert ran half his race before he realized he was called back for a false start.

League Finals (GAHr)
4x1 relay - First leg YES AWESOME START! Medal HUHAH!
400m - I didn't pace well. Hey, Sattik caught me after 100 meters... but I did alright. Felt horrible, but did alright. Time: 55.9?(!)
4x4 relay - Oh wait I didn't run it. HAHA. I was supposed to, but honestly, I shouldn't have. Thomas ran it instead of me. ALL PART OF MY PLAN!

MINI-STORY!

Ysee I didn't wanna run the 4x4 relay because I knew other people were faster, so I was planning to be all "eehh! eehh!!! I just ran my 400! I'm sooOOooo tired!!" and tell coach about it. So after my lap, I was scrambling around looking for the guy. I found him manning the long jump pit and stumbled towards him. I totally looked tired! "Hey coach Eric, Thomas is running the 400 instead of me". Now I was expecting him to get pissed and make me run it anyway, since that's what I always got before, but he did something a little weird instead. He hugged me. He said okay to the Thomasubsitution and we started walking, me still in his arms, and he talked about how proud he was of me, and that I did well that season. I was so, dare I say, effing relieved. Talking to coach is usually impossible because he can be stubborn and sorta dumb, but that day he was really cool.

The end. EXCITING!

Oh some bad news! Edward was disqualified for the 400 and Jaydee was disqualified for the 110 hurdles. Also, Daniel got hurt.

Oh some weird news! They had to re-run the 110 hurdles because they didn't catch the times. Many were mad.

Oh some GOOD news! JAYDEE BROKE THE SCHOOL RECORD YAY! BOYS 4X4 BROKE THE SCHOOL RECORD YAY!! I got videos of both of them YAY!!!

Congrats, family!CIF Prelims (Carpenteria)
Two... hour... drive...
4x1 relay - MY LAST TRACK RACE! First leg MY START suuuuckkked, dagit! My run-throughs went really well, but my actual start sooooocked. It's like taking a PSAT and scoring 2400, then taking the SAT and scoring a 1900. Thas not how you were supposed to perform! We didn't PR.

That's weird, huh? Not doing well on my last race. In movies, the last thing is ALWAYS the best. The last play, the last dance, the last battle. It always ends on a high note! But that's not how real life is. I know life is not like a movie, but the reassertion of that idea is almost eye opening. Must've been squinting a bit.

Right before the 4x4, Thomas twisted his ankle. This sent Alvin and I in a frenzy (or maybe just me), realizing that we might have to run the relay as alternates. We ran a warm up and did some stretches. I totally didn't plan for it! I totally ate a Tri-tip sandwich! (Which was pretty good, nothing mind blowing though.) Luckily Thomas DID run it and we were off the hook, but GEEZ! Talk about a false alarm! It's like if you have a project presentation due for school, but then you're totally not ready because you started working on it at midnight so it's a piece of poop, so since not everyone would present today you hope other people will present and you can go tomorrow, giving you time to work on it later tonight, but then someone's pen drive breaks so you are called on to present, and then you are screwed, but then it turns out the person's pen drive still works if you hold it at a certain angle, so you don't have to go until tomorrow. False alarm.

CIF Finals (Cerritos College) - that's today!
Psych! CIF Prelims wasn't my last race! HuHAH! Also, it's a good show. (GET IT, CRAIG AND VERONICA!? SNAAAP!)
4x4 relay - Since Jan and Thomas had to go dance it up with Aprwil (Happy Birthday btw!), I was the team's second alternate and had to run the relay. My season was supposed to be over! And then you go about telling me I have to run ANOTHER race?! That's like being ready to go home after 30 battles of war when the lieutenant tells you that you've got one more mission. You might not come back alive! It's like a bad movie! Oh yeah, see, life is sometimes like a movie.

We didn't break any records with a 3:35, but I ran well. A 55 split, my first 300 felt awesome.

And uh... yeah!

I'll miss track so much. Just gotta wait for banquet!! But for now, this is my last official post about my high school career as a runner.

...whoa.

Is sleepover one word?

Yesterday (morning) was senior sleep over! To be continued...

Spring break ended a week ago. You think I care? DO YOU THINK I CARE THAT A SPRING BREAK POST WOULD BE RIDICULOUSLY LATE?! WELL... Eh I dunno where I was going with this.

Beach w/ Track
Tuesday

HARDCORE WORKOUT! As in we work out and get hard cores. Haha. Write that one down.

-Commentate a good caption for this please!-
Volleyball! Chips with dip! Fish sandwich! Lifeguard tower w/ Cinday! Sexy waves! Boogie boardin'! I'm a badass driver! Just a typical day of fun at the beach. WITH TRACK TEAM!

Bowling w/ Friends
Wedendsay

Played with CraigPaulDarrenTaylor! My fore arm got so sore. Luckily my three arm was still aite. Ey no...

I dunno. 116 + 100 = good games??

Breakfast w/ PTA
Thursday

Free breakfast is always good breakfast (unless it's gross food). Twas weird, I had to say the pledge of allegiance with everyone in the room, and 75% of them were adults. It's really weird! Really! Have YOU ever said the pledge of allegiance with more than two adults at a time? Didn't think so! They sounded like an army of zombies, I should've recorded it.
ZOOMBAY!!

After getting my award and plaque (!!!), we just totally boned out.

Friday Saturday and Sunday spring break I don't remember what I did. YAY FORGETFORIES.


Rewind to last year...

On another note, here's the video (in two parts) of last year's Comic-Con fun.

San Diego Comic-Con Adventures! With Jan and me.





If you're interested in going this year, tell me or Jan or Cindy or Amanda or Samee or Connie, CUZ WE'RE TOTALLY GOING THIS YEAR! I'm the "so" kind of excited.


Fast forward to this week...

Track Meet!
League 3 Oxford
Thursday

4x1 - I ran well! I think I got a good start, hand off was spot on. Good chap.
400m - WHOA haven't run this since last year. I though it felt pretty good, but I got a 57.12. HAHA (Translation: It felt okay, but I ran slow. Aw man.)
4x4 - 3rd leg this time! I wasn't SUPPOSED to run. But due to technical difficulties (but not really technical), I had to run it. I did quite swimmingly though! Totally got increased our Alvin lead.

This past meet I realized how amazing the 4x4 relay is. The anticipation builds up not only throughout the whole meet, but also during the actual. I run 2nd or 3rd leg on my team. As soon as my teammate before me is running his lap, I have to step onto the track. I fidget around with excitement, anxiety, and fear as he turns the corner. I see the Whitney jersey come first on the straight away followed closely by the other schools. He's closing in and looking as exhausted as I will be in one minutes time. He comes within a few steps and I start to lead off. His arm reaches out to pass the baton; Connect, grab, and run.

I burst out of the turn hoping that whoever is close behind isn't too close behind. I pump my arms and lift my knees to break out of that start. Before I know it, I'm striding on the back stretch of the track. I constantly monitor my speed. I have to resist from exploding forward so I don't run out of energy, but at the same time I pick myself up to keep my pace just slightly faster than the guy behind me. It's a mind game of not too fast, not too slow, and before I know it I'm already and finally at the 200 meter mark. Half way done.

The second turn I try to stay consistent, leaning in slightly to get an edge. It's now that I want to throw in the towel and turn down the intensity to a simmer, but I can't. I'm almost there. Will I make it? Do I have enough energy to sustain this lead and bring it in all the way? My body says no but my mind contradicts. Teammates are there to cheer me on, screaming their heads off to keep on going. It's just what I need. They give me enough fuel to bring into the home stretch.

I flip the cradled baton out for an easy pass. 100 meters left. Suddenly there is no need for a lean and all that's left is a straight line. I give it my all. I turn my whole body up a notch, giving every last bit of strength I have into the parts of my body that can keep me running. I close my eyes, it's hard to see. My form is sloppy, it's hard to stay conscious. My body begins to break down - it isn't meant to push this hard, last this long, run this fast. But it does. It's been chipping away and I'm ready to crumble, but somehow, it does. I run on empty but sprint like I'm filled to the brim.

20 meters to 10, I pass the line but it's not over. My arm extends as I enter the passing zone. I reach out and my teammate grabs the baton from my hand. Connect, release, and stop. I run off the track into the crowd where my legs know no strength and my heart knows no pause. He's running his lap with the baton cradled just like mine. I know my teammate is going through the same power and atrophy as I did, so I cheer for him with what breath I have left. It's the idea of competition and speed that compels us, but the feeling of passion and unity that drives.


In the end, I love track.


Continuation...

Senior Sleep over!

FINALLY. I GET TO WRITE ABOUT THIS. Yknow half of this post got deleted so I had to rewrite that whole track part. I think it was about a paragraph longer the first time. Good thing or bad thing? I dunno, but SUCKS FOR ME. Anyway.

Senior Sleepover!
Lotsa fun!

Since it's super late, I'll just summarize it, Veronica-style.

• SNACKS! Shouldn't have bought dinner...
• Pictionary (I used my abilities to draw a standing stick figure)
• Where the wind blows -> Do you love your neighbor? = Fun until someone gets hurt.
• I lost my socks, but I don't care they're old
• What the heck dance?
• What the heck LAN?
• Egyptian war = scary Tim
• Sleep and wake up.
• Body tangles
• Crotch in face
• Fart trails
• Farting in faces (sorry Darren, but I don't think you noticed?)
• Rearrangement and pillow sharing
• "HEHEHEHEE"
• Sleep and wakeup.
• Morning! Yummy croissants.
• We're all zombies... go home.

Yay.

OKAY IT'S SO LATE

I NEED SLEEP!

I WAS GONNA SLEEP EARLIER, but again, I HAD TO RETYPE HALF OF THIS.

zogzmz.

...transition...

There.

I looked at everyone's blog.

Two of em mentioned counting blessings.
MY element school didn't have a 6th grade dance! Although it didn't have sports either. (neither?)
I just keep on reading the big word on the Elation post.
God asks more questions than he answers.
CRAZY TRAILER! The book wasn't like that...
I should gain weight too.
I like morals, not sudokus.

See? I did. Except I just skimmed half of them.

NOW I CAN POST MY OWN ENTRY! or enter my post, if you prefer.

Time for a picture!

Kitten?

Cat?

Cats?

CATS!

(Awesome transition, Kev.)

Yesterday was the last performance of our school musical CATS! Twas quite amazing, am I right?! Well of all things... can it be really? YES NO HO HI OH MY EYE. Good job, everyone!

And guessWHATtoolateI'mgonnatellyoubeforeyoucanevenguess I was on crew! Props crew. I got to help make the awesome set and carry large boxes and stuff. It was actually REALLY fun! Here's some advice, if you ever wanna be on crew, I do suggest you BE ON CREW!

Yeah... advice of the day...

The other day I was itching to someone about how my name wasn't on the back of CATS shirt even though I worked my butt off more than a few of the other crew members on there. I'm sorry 'bout complaining. It's more of a matter of principle, yknow? It's like when people sue someone else for a dollar; they don't do it for the money. They do it to win a case and to talk to Judge Judy.

Speaking of the court.

Speaking of a basketball court.

Speaking of sports.

Speaking of TRACK AND FIELD!!

(You did it again, Kev.)

I haven't talked about track all Kanga v.Blog long! Except that one post, but that was a pre-meet. We've had 4 meets since then!

Oaks Christian:
4x1 - I was running anchor leg! But I felt slower than... well, an anchor.
4x2 - SO FUN! This should be a standard at meets.
4x4 - My legs died. Jan's crazy.

AWESNAPE. Jessie and Jane totally saw Will Smith at this meet! THAS CRAZY! His son apparently goes to Oaks Christian. I wish I saw Mr. Bill Smith. Then I could've totally sang the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song, and he'd have totally sung along with me! Either that, or we could've beat boxed together. Sweeeet.

Isn't it weird how just SEEING someone famous gives us some kinda weird "WHOA" sensation? Just hearing that I was within 100 yards of him amazed the Bad Boys out of me. Hehehe. Get it? That was a Will Smith movie reference badly executed. Yay!

ABC District
AKA BIG BLACK GUYS MEET

I swear, there are always 30 year old Muahmad Alis at this meet who are apparently 18 years or younger. OH! Ali!! Another Will Smith reference!

4x1 - Yay for first leg. WAIT this was our not so good handoff with me and Edward! We passed outside of the zone, so Edward started to turn around. I was all "WHAT DA EDWARD" and pushed him forward. We could've gotten 2nd.
60m - I felt slow. But I beat Thien-Tu and Javi. But they were tired. So that sorta makes sense.
4x4 - 2nd place = MEDALS! I love medals. Unless they're tied to my ankles and I'm swimming in water. What?

Ontario Christian
4x1 - snap WE WON OUR HEAT! But got 5th overall? Or 6th? or am I way off?
4x4 - Um... baton drop... but I ran awesomely. More on that later maybe? I'm proud of Alvin!

League 1 - Concordia
4x1 - DARREN SO FAST!
100m - Why am I striding? I should be sprinting?!
4x4 - Fleakin' Oxford guy passed me! But he runs 51 second 400s, so that made me feel better. Also, we owned with 1st placeness.

That's me.
Track is so fun. Yeah, being captain adds 34 more headaches and responsibilities, BUT IT'S STILL AWESOME!

Okay.

Running.

Moving.

ANIMATION!

(You still got it, Kev!)

Dos puntos:

• I got first place in the PTA Reflections Contest in the film and video category! (yes, that thing AGAIN.) HOORAY ME! Yay for animation advantage. I get to eat some kinda breakfast thing at a ceremony of sorts in April. More on that later when it actually happens!
• I totally rendered my 1st 3D thingy with the help of Blender and this one tutorial. It's more than just a cube and a circle this time! Took me all day today...

Okay that's all I haveta say. Good job with the post, Kevin! Buen trabajo!

...Spanish.

Spain.

Country.

United States.

America.

Bandit Keith.

Yu-Gi-Oh.

Cartoon series.

Television.

Film.

Movies.

Directors.

Steven Spielberg.

War of the Worlds.

World.

The end of the world.

The end!


(...you lost it, Kev.)

Homeworklessness = Postfulness

I looked at my planner today.

"Okay, letsee what I can write for a Kanga post..."

I usually write anything down that I find interesting enough to post on my Kanga, but the pages were pretty much blank. All I got was "paper!" on Tuesday, and I dunno if a retelling of me reminding myself to get lined paper for my binders is worth any of your time, but it's too late cuz you already finished the sentence SUCKA.

Let's just talk about last week!

Last
Friday
I got asked to Sadies. Hohohohosnap, right? It was one of them "clue every period, guess who!" kindsa things, but I had a good guess as to who it was. So yay for me getting asked! At least I could experience getting asked to this kinda thing once in my life, and es nice. WHERE WERE YOU GIRL-ASKERS THOSE OTHER FIVE YEARS, HM?!

Last
Saturday
was GAHR ALL-COMERS TRACK MEET! I'll do something officially this time...
Place: Gahr
Date: February 14th
Ran: 60 meters

Why, you ask if you read that bold text there, did I just run the 60 meters? Well I'll (probably) never get another chance to run it in my life (since no more all-comers), so why not do it at that meet?! Good thinking, Kevin! Besides, I was sick and I didn't wanna run against Usain Boltettes* in any of the other sprints.

60meter time: 7.35

And that's about all I ran. The rest of the meet I just spectated, cheered, Chipotle-intermissioned, and took pictures. SPEAKING OF PICTURES, look at that one to the right! IT'S A PICTURE OF SOMEONE'S SPIKES! Yeah I didn't take too many good pictures this day.

Now "all-comers" means anyone can come at any time to compete. It also means that anyone can LEAVE at any time, and this was clearly evident when the meet ended with about 5% of the runners still there. There was one 4x400 relay team that Javi and I watched.

This meet got me quite excited about track! Quitecited. WEARING SPIKES IS FUN.

Last...
Two days ago
Oh hey I did have something to write about this week! Friday was contemporary media's 2ND FILM FESTIVAL! I was nervous again when our film played again, but not as much as last time. DUDE our (CraigDianaJoshJonathanStephanieSarah) film got 4th place, TWO VOTES away from 3rd place! We got jipped more than water! That makes sense, right? A leaky faucet jips water? Whatever.

And since Kanga is all about bursting bubbles, it might's well do one now! Yknow that one movie "Driven" that tied for 1st place? Yeah the film's shots were really nice, but do you know why? Cuz they had a super-mega-powerful-monster camera that is worth like three times the other groups' small tiny cameras! The pretty shots weren't obtained by skill, they just used a fancier camera! Plus they used a program called After Effects to add some kindsa effects and stuff. Man I should totally whip out my Adobe Flash and throw in some stick figure fighting into my next movie...

Haah okay I'm really not that bitter or anything. I'm sorry, "Driven" group, I just wanted to say something.

My group didn't get top three, and at first I was kinda "awww okay...", but later that night I realized how proud I was of my group and our film... and that was really proud! It wasn't an ideal masterpiece by any means, but I know we did a pretty bang up job!

Wait. Does "bang up" have a sexual innuendo back story? Is "bang up" even an actual idiom? Am I really too lazy to Google this? Isn't weird how "Google" has become a verb, along with "Youtube" and "Wiki"? Who knows!

I'll post our actual contemp movie, In Blindsight, later.

And that's my life.


OH yeah remember that "What Is Wow" animation I made for the PTA Reflections thing? WELL IT MADE IT TO STATE LEVEL! YAY!!!

OH yeah and my birthday is coming up! Instead of compiling a wish list, I've compiled something else:

My -opposite of wish list- List
(A list of stuff that I don't want)

1. Socks or underwear
2. A puppy (I like em, I just don't want one)
3. DEAD BABIES
4. The third Flight book (I already have that one)
5. Poison
6. Hunger
7. An old wallet (already own it!)
8. Not a massage (Translation: I WANT A MASSAGE. Like, 100 of em.)
9. A virus on my computer
10. A virus in my body
11. Gum... A) on my shoe, B) in my hair, C) filling any of the holes on my body.
12. Anything girly

PLEASE DO NOT MISTAKE THIS FOR A WISH LIST. IT IS NOT A WISH LIST.

Does anyone remember what I asked for last year on my Kanga? Well I never got it. NEVER. 364 DAYS OF NOT IT.

I actually have a regular wish list, but I'd feel cocky posting it on my Kanga, and I'd rather not feel like poultry on birthday thank you very much. 'EY OH! If you don't wanna get me anything, then that's totally cool but I'd disown you if I were your dad. If you do wanna get me something, you know what I like, you know what I love.

Happy Kevin's Birthday Awareness Sunday.


* = tiny Usain Bolts (also: Boltitos)

It's Raining; It's Pouring

Rain is awesome.

But before I talk about today, how bout we appetize this past weekend first.

I've never been so busy for two days EVER!! I was so busy that that last sentence was about as grammatically correct as a "Mr. Jeans" question. 'EY OH! But seriously, those questions can be hard to read sometimes. Anyway, usually I have some downtime between meals to twiddle my thumbs, chop some suey, not go on Facebook, and shoot the breeze with the mailman, but NO! Not this past Saturday and Sunday!

8:00am - 12:00am = Work on XC slideshow
12:00pm - 1:00pm = Pick up and eat lunch
1:00pm - 3:00pm = HARDCORE ART!
3:00pm - 7:30pm = Work on XC slideshow
7:30pm - 11:00pm = Contemp Media filming

11:00pm - 9am = Sleep

9am - 11:30am = HARDCORE ART!
11:30am - 4:00pm = Work on XC slideshow
4:00 pm = Slideshow get deleted
4:00pm - 6:00pm = Remake slideshow...
6:00pm - 11:pm = XC Banquet!

I was as busy as a butt that belonged to a person who just drank a bottle of laxatives.

SPEAKING of XC Banquet

Good times! (Literally..!)

XC is quite possibly the best sport at Whitney. Wait, substitute that "quite possibly" with a "definitely"!!! But DUDE I didn't get to say sooooo much in my speech! Cross Country is a permanent part of me (or as I said in my speech, I'm like a tree and it's a "stick in me" [which I now realize is a little sexual]), and I have so much to thank for it, I have so much love and passion for it... but I couldn't really describe it. Random phrases just pop up here and there, but never at moments when I can actually write stuff down! LIKE RIGHT NOW!!

How 'bout this.

Every time I think of something cool to say about XC, I'll blog about it! Very good, then!

More banquetitous stuff, THANK YOU JUNIORS the night was very nice, even though there was always lots of noise in the background that repeatedly killed the tension. And thanks for the AWESOME gifts! Yeah, I already have the BATMAN DVD, but I'll just keep this one because it comes with an awesome Harvey Dent coin.

fuhREAKIN'... Lihan. When people were giving their speeches, I kept looking down at Lihan who had a layer of tears covering his eyes with a face like a pouting like a dog. I almost cried because of him. Control your brother, Eaning!

Later that night (I'm not sure if I'm telling a story or just talking to XC people...), Vero and I played our supplemental XC slideshow that we made in two hours since our other one got deleted. See, we roll with the punches.

Oh, and then I asked Veronica to formal. HAH! Here's how it went down:

Vero: Oh I wonder when Kevin is gonna ask me to formal.

Kevin: Uh... Veronica I'm right here.

V: Oh! I did not see you!

K: It's cool, sometimes I'm a ninja. I'll just pretend I didn't hear you.

V: Okay. I'll just pretend like I didn't say anything.

(5 minutes later)

K: Hey Veronica! Guess what I ate for dinner!

V: I think we all at the same food here...

K: 3 loafs of distractions and one ton of WILL YOU GO TO FORMAL WITH ME!?

V: NO WAY! LOL!!

K: I know, right?! LOLZZ!

V: Of course I will lol!

K: Aite that's what I thought.

Just kidding it went nothing like that. What really happened was that I played a video after slideshow, yada yada yada, I got a date and have to pay EIGHTY-FIVE MORE DOLLARS TO GO DANCE. Who knew girls were so expensive. :)


But enough with colon and parenthesis smileys. (Smileies?) Time to talk about the awesome part! The TODAY part!

So there I was meandering through campus after school like always, when suddenly Jane parachuted from the sky (or I just saw her) and she asked me if I wanted to go on a run! Now polar bear in mind that it was raining outside, on the edge of pouring.

On one hand, "why would I run in the rain..?"

On the other candy-holdin' hand, "why WOULDN'T I run in the rain?!"

I went for the candy and ran. I ran a mile with Jane and Jessie in the pouring rain. And lemme tell ya, it felt SO GOOD! It felt so delicious that I was tempted to spell "good" like "gewd" just now, but then that would be really gross, so I didn't.

For every step I took on the run, there were a bunch of tiny kisses falling from the sky onto my cheeks.

Then we saw some soccer balls and played soccer. We didn't care that it was still raining, that our socks were soaked, that puddles and mud were everywhere, or that the temperature neared 60. We just wanted to play. Even though I lost (2-3), we ALL came out as winners because we had a wonderful time with awesome friends! AAWWWW... but not really cuz they beat me by one point.

Once exhausted, we sought to inform the public of our adventure with a parade through the halls in our drenched-with-rain clothing.

Playing in the rain? That's about as good as it gets. It's times like these that make me think about the meaning of life. (I thought about this on the freezing car ride home.) I think part of the meaning of life is to do just that - to live. Sometimes you just gotta do something completely spontaneous, crazy, and fun to really answer that void in you with a "this is why I'm here. To have these kinds of moments".

Today was awesome.

Last Three

Anxiety. Tension. Happiness. Fear. Excitement. I huddled behind the starting line, these emotions running through my head, and I knew I was ready; I was gonna run 3 miles at League Finals, my very last cross country race. Get ready for dramatic Kanga post.

I was surrounded by Whitney gold jerseys to the right and Sage green jerseys to the left. This was one of the first times when I was actually EXCITED to start a race. Usually I'm yankin my brain out in anticipation, but that day I knew it was my last race. It's like I was running into my last battle, armed with a Desert Eagle and a Holy Hand Grenade, knowing that I'd kill some Nazis and come home alive to feed my wife and two-year-old baby. YEAH! Well actually it wasn't like that at all.

"On your marks..."

We stepped up to the line.

"Get set..."

We held our breath.

"GO!"

I farted.

HAHA just kidding. I didn't fart. We all sped out of there like a herd of African Americans running to the polls to vote for Obama. Oh and you know that would be fast. 'EY OH!

The first mile went the same as it did the last 4 years. I wasn't as fast as I should've been, since I got some sort of puss sucked out of my foot and didn't run for a couple weeks, but I still stayed pretty close to the front. I was really happy to see the gold jerseys running in front of me, Paul, Alvin, Will, Charles. REPRESENT.

After charging up the hill and rolling down it (I LITERALLY TRIPPED AND ROLLED DOWN THE HILL! Just kidding. Could you imagine, though?!), I reached the one mile mark. Before the race, Cindy said I was gonna cry while I ran because it was my last race. And yknow what... well I didn't cry, but I got all emotional! My head said to me "This is the last time you'll run with this team... EVER...", and I swear, for a those few seconds, my heart turned into of Jell-O. I melted inside. I felt it. I was running to the end, my inevitable finish line.

...And then I sucked it up and took it like a man! I punched a tiny squirrel to deny my feelings!! Just kidding again. But seriously, enough with the emotions, I sucked it up and continued with my race.

I could feel my body slowly weakening. It hadn't run 3 miles in a row for too long now. We ran and curved out of the wooded part of the course, making our way to the long stretch near the camps. That's when I started pacing with a guy. I eventually found out this Sage guy was named Sky (who looked nothing like the sky, I dunno what his parents were thinking), and I decided to draft off of him on this long straight away. Yes, draft like in Mario Kart.

I stayed behind Sky until we started to come up to the people cheering. Then I saw my team! YAR! I love it when I'm cheered for. I feel worth.

I saw Cindy ready to take a picture. "Aw snap, I need an awesome picture" I thought, and sped past Sky for a little running pose with him. HEHEHE. Now that I think about it, I should've done something cooler instead of just speed past him. OH I should've totally pants him. He would've been all "Oh no! You can see my boxers!", and I would've been all "Thas right! You nekkid!", and it would've been totally funny because he would have red hearts all over his underwear. That would've been totally cool.

Anyway, after the stretch I backed down a bit and drafted a little more. I started my last mile and realized... MY FOOT WASN'T HURTING! I felt pain a LITTLE in the first mile, but not in the second! THIS MUST'VE BEEN A BLESSING!! That just gave me more reason to kick some butt, primarily Sky's.

We reached the last hill and we both started to pick up the pace! I think Sky thought I was gonna slow down, and I thought HE was gonna slow down, and I bet someone somewhere thought we were BOTH gonna slow down! But he didn't, I didn't, and I don't know how that third person knew we were racing. I reached the top of the hill and I realized... I have to try harder. I was so confident (99.99%, in fact) that JV Guys were gonna win this race, but... would I be the deciding factor? Was I the guy that needed to score that point to win it for us? THIS ISN'T HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE, thought I.

I came to the downhill and Sky was at least 20 meters ahead now. I guess I slowed down. "Alright... I don't think I'll catch him... I can try, but I dunno..". Then Coach Eric saw me.

The following are coach's words vs. my thoughts:

Coach: "Cmon Kevin! Let's go!"

Kevin: "Ah..."

C: "Cmon, you have 450 meters to go! Pick it up!"

K: "I know! I'm trying! I'll pick it up at the end of this downhill..."

C: "Kevin! You better not do this in track!"

K: "OH. HELL. NO."

I do believe that was the first I ever thought of the word "hell" instead of "heck", not counting the mocking times. I even think I mumbled the phrase out loud! Oh man I'm horribly rated G.

I now imagined my name in black letters, flaming bright red and yellow. Coach unleashed Fire Kevin. In front of me were a bunch of people I had to eat up, including Sky. "I AM GONNA CATCH ONE OF THEM, I KNOW THAT!"

I turned the sharp corner and began my sprint of the last 300 meters of the race. Sky just passed a green guy. I ran around the curve and suddenly saw half a dozen of my family members on the sideline, telling me to kick it in.

"AAHHHH SNAP" I passed the green guy in the back.

200 meters and I was sprinting my butt off. I did my job, I beat one of the green guys... BUT I STILL NEEDED BUTTS TO KICK!

150 meters I was gaining on Sky.

100 meters I decided to take him.

I wasn't planning on trying to beat him. He was too far ahead... but now, now only 5 meters separated me and him, and I had to get to the finish first. We were both pushing ourselves to the limit. 80 meters. I could hear more cheers for me and I gave it my all. 60 meters. I distrubted all of my anxiety, tension, happiness, fear, and excitement throughout my entire body. 50 meters. I could feel my joints bending, my muscles flexing, my heart thumping. 40 meters. I pushed my body over the edge and inched my way up to my rival.

Then, just as fast as I inched closer to him, I pulled ahead.

20 meters.

10 meters.

5 meters.

Finish.

I ran passed the finish line into the guy in front of me, beating Sky by one second. I turned around and saw him as dead as me. I did one of those manly high five shakes, and said "Good job man.". Or at least that's what I meant to say. I think it came out as "Oh God... g'... jearb... -pant pant-". One of the most exciting races I've ever run.

Final Time: 19:48

So, after 3 pairs of shoes, 4 seasons of running, 30+ races, 70 or so different siblings, 90+ race miles, and an infinite amount of countries, I've finally made it to the finish line. You'd think I'd be sad that it's all over... but... I'm just so happy that it all happened. I really haven't talked about cross country that much on my Kanga this year, and I think I should give it more credit for being such a big part of my life. This post is just for me to make a declaration, while I still can, that I have yet to emphasize all year: I love cross country.

18:57

This is the kind of post I make when I run 3 miles under 19 minutes.

To Answer "Whatsup?":

I should've updated my Kanga earlier. BUT I DIDN'T! Oh no! Not only did I not really feel like it, and not only did I have to work on scholarship stuff, and not only was I not in Kanga moods, but I just liked my last post so much that I didn't wanna move it down from the top! Is that weird? No, you're weird, so stop it.

But now I must spill my thoughts! Onto your shirt! And then you'll get angry! But I don't care! Because I'll have another Kanga post done! Alright...


ME AND XC ARE BACK IN BUSINESS! It charges 80% interest.

Monday - My first Monday practice. Finally. I felt awesomely good on this run! Man, I was running so well, I was on such a roll. More so than a Fruit Roll-Up in an egg roll in a giant snowball rolling down a mountain that's reading lines for its role in a new movie. So that's a pretty good roll! I was in front like a quarter of the time! THAT NEVER HAPPENS! Oh, and then near the end I got a really bad cramp.

Tuesday - Another long run... The Mardquardt 7... my legs got so mega mundo tired from the day before. I wasn't on a roll. Imagine the Fruit Roll-Up flattened out in the half eaten egg roll in a puddle of water that got fired from its new role in the new movie. That was me.

Wednesday - Another good day like Monday! We went to Fullerton and ran circuits around some hilly place with a bunch of rabbits. It was a rabbitat. And then afterward! Rite Aid! Love it!

If you were wondering, AND I KNOW YOU WERE, I had to dish out all my XC news before the meet tomorrow! GAHR TWO MILER ROUND TWO! Be there or be a fatty.



And in other news, I went to Hannah's art show the other day. My favorite piece was the one with cheese and crackers! Actually that wasn't an art piece. That was just the free cheese and crackers I ate. They were delicious...

But good job, Hannah! This is me proud of you and your art!: [Picture of me really proud] You and your now greater peripheral vision eyes should have so gotten first place. Oh well! Guitar Heroes and Mac Books are fun.


THE END! Sorry no pictures. I should put more pictures. If you want more too, I say just imagine these patterns of letters and words as one giant awesome picture!.. that you can read! Yeah... do that...

Running Ragged

As you are half aware of, I run in the mornings because I can't run in the afternoon with XC. Today I ran The Marquardt 7 Mile... and IT WAS SO LONG! (that's what she said) It took me 62.34 minutes to run that nonstop!! (except for two lights) But WHAT DA EFF! Yknow what that calculates to?! 9 MINUTES A MILE!

AH!

Well actually I should've seen that coming, I've lost a bunch of endurance running all alone, wussing out at 3 miles. But seriously, I have to... run more! MUAHAHHA. Seriously, one thing I learned from XC and Track is that the only cure for any running problem is usually more running. How silly sounding! BUT IT'S TRUE...