This is "Our Town"

Hello!

Yesterday, I learned through an email that one of my art had won an award in the "Our Town Art Exhibition" at the Community House in Birmingham, however, I did not know which award I had won.

Today was the awards ceremony, and it turns out that my work won 2nd place for high-schoolers! This level of success surprised me, and also encouraged me to hone my art skills farther. Due to the stress of school, I have not been drawing or painting, but now, I'm intent on keeping up. My award humbles me, and at the same time, I'm ecstatic! Never before has my art been recognized to that extent. Wow...

With my award, I won a $75 gift card to Utrecht Art Supplies. I'm looking forward to using it in my future creative projects. :)

Run(ing)...

The meet today was fabulous! The weather was perfect for running (cloudy, misting, and very cool).

I was slightly nervous, as this was my first meet since freshman year, but also excited! I'd never gotten to run in this race, and it was really fun. We jumped over hay bales, ran through rivers, and sloshed through muddy terrain. It was great, even if I ended up with dirt on my legs and wet shorts after.

It just so happened that I was sick. I could have not run this meet, and given up, but I pushed through my illness and ran.

And I beat my goal of 30 minutes! I finished the race 70th out of all the juniors, with a time of 28:56. Many would not consider my time as very impressive, but to me, it was a great accomplishment. This meet was not just a meet, but a show of my perserverance in Cross Country, and that despite physical problems, I am committed to my team.

We do it "Old Skool"

So, this Saturday (as in tomorrow) I'm finally running at a meet!

I am part of the Women's Cross Country Team at DCDS, but due to a shin injury (stress fractures in both my shins) I have not been able to run a meet since Freshman year. This year, I acted as the manager of the team: writing their splits down, and also carrying all their warm-ups.

I've done so much in preparation for this meet. I ran today, (8x200m), and I biked a lot at home. I'm going to stay hydrated today, and sleep early! I've been in a habit lately of forgetting to bring shoes to practice (only twice, mind you. But going to XC practice without shoes is hard, even if you're manager), so I MUST remember to not forget my shoes... and spikes!

I'm so excited for this meet; it's the "fun run" called "Old Skool Classic" and it's, actually, really fun. In this course, you jump over hay-bales, and run through rivers. And it's pretty laid-back.

For anyone not familiar with Cross Country meets, the course will be 5k (or 3.1 miles) long, and usually the runners have to overcome obstacles such as hills and sand.

My reasonable goal for tomorrow is to get under 30 minutes for the 5k, as I haven't been running much. I must work hard tomorrow, and get a good nights sleep today.