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Oohrah! And ouch. Finished in 4:07--killed PR by 21 min! #38thmcm

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Hey Tumblr

Wow, haven't been back here in awhile. Here's a weird picture of my dad with birds on him from a trip to Bush Gardens Williamsburg we took like 13 years ago. Enjoy?

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Michael Angelakos of Passion Pit blowing us away with a piano rendition of “Sleepyhead.”

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Gonna fry crab and guacamole rangoons LIKE A WINE FUELED BOSS. @corcokc is here too. (Taken with Instagram)

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Dr. Samuel “Sammy” Lee, 91, was the first Asian-American to win an Olympic gold medal for the U.S. at the 1948 London games, and the first man to win back-to-back gold medals in Olympic platform diving.

From Wikipedia:

As a twelve-year-old in 1932, Lee dreamed of becoming a diver, but at the time Latinos, Asians and African-Americans were only allowed to use Fresno’s Brookside Pool on Wednesdays, on what was called “international day”: the day before the pool was scheduled to be drained and refilled with clean water. Because Lee needed a place to practice and could not regularly use the public pool, his coach dug a pit in his backyard and filled it with sand. Lee practiced by jumping into the pit.

I’ve learned so much about Olympians in the past few weeks, and this guy was a fucking champ. This article on Investors Business Daily goes a bit more in depth on what Mr. Lee was up against. Only having access to a pool ONCE a week, having to swallow his pride and train with a douchebag eventually led him to the Olympics where he beat out his competitors who probably had an advantage over him with the luxury of being able to train in a pool at their leisure. Then he came back four years later and did it again!

Lee went on to become an ear, nose, and throat doc, serve in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during the Korean War–wonder what that was like for a Korean American–and, later, coach diving legend Greg Louganis to a silver medal in the 1976 Olympics. He’s a member of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, has a square named after him in LA’s K-town, and is now retired and living in Huntington Beach, CA.

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Oh Hey Guys!

Long time no post! I'm going to post more!

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I PR'ed 5k today! Sure it wasn't in an actual race, but I don't care! (Taken with Instagram)

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The #colorrun #denver was great! (Taken with instagram)

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Just booked my trip for Memorial Day! It's always comforting to know when I'm going home.

This. Always. 

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So, I've been running quite a bit, as you might have been able to tell from other posts on my blog. This is a picture of my critical running gear; the things I carry with me each time I go out. They are:

-GPS watch 

-iPod (I would like to run more without music, but I fear that I would be really limited by the sound of my own breathing! I hate hearing it!)

-ID bracelet (I just got it--since I don't carry my phone, I want to make sure that I've got important ID info readily available just in case of emergency. If you run, it's a good idea to have. I would highly recommend getting one from www.roadid.com--they are very, very cheap.)

-Shoes

-Bra (Moving Comfort Juno--the mother of all sports bras. It retails full price for almost $60, but it is so worth the cost. To be candid for just a bit here, despite my D-cup size, when I wear this bra my breasts don't bounce. If that's not a miracle of engineering, I don't know what is. Bridges? The pyramids? Ha!)

I officially started tracking my weight and running progress last July; since then, I've had lots of milestones:

-I've dropped 15 pounds (+/-2 lbs on a given day or week)

-I completed my first 5K and 10K, having run a total of 7 races thus far with four officially scheduled at different points in the future (though I want to add more)

-I've ran a maximum distance of 8.64 miles (which I hope to pass tomorrow)

-I've completed all four levels of 30 Day Shred and Ripped in 30, though I do either Level 3 or 4 of Ripped in 30 1-2x/week

-I joined an informal running group

-New accomplishment: I ran my fastest ever timed mile this week (7:45)

I am enjoying running more, for sure, though I'm trying to cope with the new problems that are coming my way now that I'm in running shape and trying to train for speed/distance. For example, some days, running is really good, and some days it goes bad. I'm learning how to look at the bad days not as setbacks or failures, but as common occurences in training. Other things I'm trying to cope with are:

-Running long distances in the heat

-Solitude and a feeling of grinding my gears since I'm pretty much doing my training alone

-Learning how to do different types of runs during the week (speedwork/tempo/fartlek)

-Pushing myself

-Pacing myself

Of all these, pacing myself is the hardest. It's very difficult for me to know what my limits are in running. For example, I would say that my 5K race pace is a 9:15 mile, when I really suspect it should be closer to a 9:00 or 8:45. That's because I'm probably pacing a bit incorrectly. I don't know how fast is too fast in races, and I'm still trying to feel it out.

My major goal for the summer is to increase my weekly mileage. Currently, I hover somewhere around 11-15 miles/week, but eventually, I'd like to be running twice that amount. Coaches advocate that you increase your mileage by no more than 10% per week, I believe. So it's a slow and steady process.

When I run, however, I do get a sense that I'm accomplishing something. As a teacher, the rewards are not always immediate or explicit. When I run, I reap the benefits immediately--I feel stronger and better. So, I'll be keeping with it for awhile.

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Academic Coach Taylor has some advice for you.

[ACT Undergrad Finals Edition]

Every semester, thousands of failing grades are given because *you have no idea what the paper assignment was*. Don’t be that student.

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This is what PCA/ACA was like.

Academic Coach Taylor has some advice for you #scms12

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The finish line. #boston #bostonmarathon (Taken with instagram)

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#auburn (Taken with instagram)

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Whenever I see guys wearing purple Rockies fitteds in the South, I like to pretend that they're secret fans of the team...not Crips. This shirt says Go Rockies! as its sole message. (Taken with instagram)

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My mom sent me a chocolate bunny from Harry and David for Easter! Not being able to be with my family and friends at home for the Triduum and Easter is really hard, but my mom always finds a way to make it a little better. (Taken with instagram)

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