Cramps

        Hey, blogettes! It's Smiles here. The first meet did not go well for me. I did not get good stretches in before my first event, and I wasn't drinking enough and I was pushing way too hard and therefore I got a really bad thigh cramp and collapsed in pain as my thigh felt like it was on fire. I wanted to push through but my leg had other things in mind. It would not calm down and I ended up having to be carted back to base camp against my better will. I wanted to slowly walk over there because I thought moving it would be good but the athletic trainer said that I was so tense at that time that walking could cause me to tear something and then I would be out for the rest of the season and not this meet only.
        To keep me distracted she kept on asking me the randomest of things like what school I go to, what grade I am in, what we are learning, and what I like to do. She also asked me what my name was. I was shocked by how nice the other teams were to me about it but also shocked at how some people on my own team were acting about it. I mean yelling at me to quit because I always hurt myself, okay, no I came into this season with an unclear concussion. I knew what I could do and couldn't do. That wasn't an injury and this was just a freak thing because I didn't do things well enough to make sure that I was safe from issues. Help didn't come until like half the runners were finished, and I was sitting there screaming out in pain with everyone watching me. It was weird, and I looked stupid I just know it.
          The first person to show up was a guy. He touched me on the shoulder and I looked up. He asked me what had happened and I said that my left leg felt like it was on fire in the thigh area. He said that this was one for the athletic trainer, and she came quick. She asked me what had happened, and I said that I felt tight at the starting line but thought nothing of it but when I got to the goal it got worse until I made it here and it was on fire. She started to massage my leg and that felt really good. She just said I was really tight and had a bad cramp. Nothing to worry about but something that I should rest for today, and use ice on and drink water too. I told her that I didn't stretch since I was late checking in for this event and she said that was also part of it. I was still crying but now it was because I didn't finish this and that was bad news for my team.
             They were ready to start the second heat of the same race, so they moved me off of the track all the while with me wincing in pain. I wanted to walk back to base camp but this guy pretty much made me sit on the back of the gator because he was blocking my way. I had to imagine how stupid it probably looked, but it hurt and is something I never want to go back too. I have learned my lesson no matter how late you show up to a running event you should always take the time to stretch because a little bit is better than nothing. I rode the gator back to base camp and plopped down. The coach came and got ice out of the go bag and gave it to me.
               I broke it and stayed down a little while longer and then I was getting stir crazy so I had someone tape the bag to my leg where the bothersome spot was. I was still tight, but the fire sensation had stopped so that was a good thing. I bent my leg a little bit as I walked to ease myself into loosening it up. It felt nice. It was also nice because I could go down and wherever to cheer on my team. I called my parents to let them know that I was hurt and they were scared, and I just said that it was a bad cramp and nothing too bad. I said that my leg did feel like it was on fire so I went down and got a ride back to base camp on the cart. I'm looking to be back on Tuesday with a good stretch in it and the proper hydration to blow them away. I want to show my team that I can do this. I want to show them the real runner in me even though track is nothing like cross country. Wish me luck!

Track & XC Are Two Very Different Things

        Hey, blogettes! It's Smiles here with a little extra screen time from the day to make a post for you. I have learned now from personal encounters that distance on a track is way different than distance in cross country. For one thing it is the same surface and it seems longer and everyone is more close together without a change in scenery. It makes for a good shin splint creator even more than what cross country did to me. Every part of my body even hurts worse than it did with cross country. 

        I think what I will be doing next year is cross country, and basketball and then have this as my off season instead of going from shin splint injury to shin splint injury in pretty much two back to back seasons when you think about it. I am an okay basketball player once I get past the fact that the buzzer can be kind of scary when you aren't expecting it. I hate those things so much. I mean I like to be aware of things and have warnings, instead of it coming out of the blue. I hate loud surprises. 

        I have decided though for track that even though it hurts and is hard for me right now that I am sticking to distance. I am also doing discus and long jump even though I have got no clue how you even throw a discus just yet but I learn fast. I am hoping that the same happens in track. Everyone looks at me like I am crazy when I say long jump and discus but hey, I have just as many rights to do that than everyone else does. I am sick of people looking at me like I have four heads. I just want them to see that I can do it, and have fun doing it which is the real point of this is to get into shape, and have a lot of fun, not be really good at it or anything like that because right now that doesn't matter since you are just starting out. I mean it's middle school track. 

         I am also excited because I get out of school at 11 today to watch our high school jazz band represent class one a at state today, and we are going to kick some butt I hope. I have heard them and I think that we can go all the way and win again this year. I mean when people from bigger schools hear what all we have done they grow dead silent and really listen hard to what we have to offer and then their applause is just wild I have noticed like they are shocked that such sounds can come from small schools. What can I say, our school is pretty awesome when it comes to fine arts. Now we just need a place where we can keep that going and have a place that is good for us instead of a gym to do everything in we need like an auditorium because that is something that everyone deserves when they have a fine arts program like us and I hope that our schools sees that and sees the need for that place and invests in it within the next few years. 

          I think that we also need to have a track. I mean it stinks that we have to travel and do it every now and then and have a set time limit of when to be there and what we can and can't use when we should be able to learn and use everything. I mean we do track and we need to practice our things so we aren't lost when it comes to meets. We need to show people that we know what we are doing and that we are ready for things like this and without a track that can be pretty hard sometimes, but Lisbon still knows how to rock it, and we still appear in the field as a pretty strong team that everyone has heard nothing but warnings about. I mean their good warnings like about how we run and stuff and what they need to do to get themselves ready. 

Wattpad & Concussions

        Hey, blogettes! It's Smiles here and ready to write a post for you guys to tear into. First off sorry I haven't written in a while. There has been a lot going on in my life lately. It's finally slowed down for a bit though so I have decided to log on and get you guys caught up. Here it goes. 

        I joined Wattpad in the middle of March, and I love it. I already have one work published called Graceful Wind under nonfiction and the short stories sections, and it is about what happened to give me a concussion and what I am doing about it. I hope that people learn from my stupid mistake and enjoy the book because it gave them a fair warning of the results and what it does to a person. Honestly concussions are a huge headache that also makes you feel like crap and have trouble with school and social interactions for awhile. 

        I remember coming home from the hospital on Wednesday and just crying for like an hour straight for no real reason. It was very sad, and then on Friday I cried because I was learning things but then when it came to putting them into action I didn't get them or I didn't remember what I had studied for so I either have to take the test at a later date or use my notes or even the full textbook on a test was also embarrassing. Then lunch comes along, and I have to eat it in the high school office alone with the secretary because the lunchroom is too loud and I am too embarrassed by this injury to ask my friends to come along. I don't know why I am too embarrassed because this has happened to at least two of the people that sit with me at lunch so they would understand probably but I just am. 

          Another thing is I have had to limit my screen time. I'm now up to four hours total, and right now I have about another 2 and a half hours left to do what I want. It's nice though because you have time to do other things since you really can't  be glued to your computer doing whatever. Wattpad has had to wait and so has Twitter and this blog due to my health. I am slowly recovering and getting better, and I have a Doctor's appointment on Wednesday to see if I can be cleared to do lifting and full outside practice with the team again. Believe it or not, I already miss it a lot. Running is my buddy and it makes me feel really happy. When I am without it I feel lost, and down. 

        They only thing that has me pumped up is the first track meet is a week from tomorrow and I have to be ready and better by then, so I'm fighting and fighting hard back from this concussion doing whatever I can to make sure I am in shape and ready still even though I was benched for pretty much a week of legit practices. I mean I did light on Friday but light isn't the same as full practice. The thrill level is different and the feelings that you have are different too. You want to push harder but you know what you get when you do and making your doctor unhappy is never good news nor the right answer to anything. 

Shin Splints

        Hey, blogettes! It's Smiles here! Today was a great day for track because my legs actually got to rest since we were lifting all the time. I have really bad shin splints on both of my legs that will need to be wrapped in order for me to do anything without pain and safer too. My arm was good for lifting today. I numbed it with some muscle relief and that helped out a lot. I guess track is something that wasn't made for me but with adaptations and care I can do it and I can do anything. I just knew that I can't go full bore because it hurts. Shin splints suck for that reason. I mean I want to give it my all but I can't because of the pain and what happens with them.
        Shin splints are also very scary because the way that our school nurse described it is that the muscles are inflamed and coming off your shin bone. You need to rest and ice and take great care which sometimes means wrapping them when you run like I am in order to make sure that they get better or feel okay when you run instead of getting worse and worse. Shin splints may be caused by your shoes which in my case isn't because I just got new ones over spring break. They may also be caused by pressure and form. If you are a distance runner this may also be an issue when it comes to track because it wasn't made with you in mind. There is nothing really on a track that makes distance feel good unlike it does for sprints. We did sprints on a track and I felt so good doing them but I knew that distance was right for me.
      Lifting also goes hand and hand with the running that we have been doing because in order to glide you need to be strong in both your arms and your legs. Today in practice we found what weight was our max weight in things for a good workout and to keep us safe and make things go faster. It was awesome because once we were done we could leave. I got out of practice an hour earlier than I had planned which means that I can write this awesome post or what I find to be awesome post anyways for you ladies. I am so excited for our first meet of the season. With the way that training has been going I think that our team is well on its way to an amazing and memorable season with a lot of records. I can't wait to show people what I can do and what Lisbon does as a team. No we may not be that nice to people but we can sure run and play sports. We make people do double takes that we are middle schoolers, at least that is what last year's people said.
       I'm just worried that I won't be able to keep the speed with my shin splints or that I will get hurt or something will happen to me while I am running and representing Lisbon. It would be really embarrassing I think to get hurt in a meet in front of everyone from all over but you know what it will be different and something to remember. I may or may not do track next year we will see how this season and cross country goes to find things out for next year. I may just do basketball and have this season as my season off instead because my grandma is right I am an amazing basketball player that the world needs to see play. I am working on getting better and better too and I would hate that to go to waste if I am never going to do anything with basketball.
       I am also wanting to be ready and safe for cross country instead of coming off injury after injury with really no down time. Not that I have been injured that many times so far aside from shin splints but yeah you get what I mean. Everyone needs an off season sometime to allow their body to recover and heal before going on to the next thing. I pushed too hard in the winter time which was my off season to get me here and that could be another cause for shin splints that I have. Anyways yeah just thought that I would let you know what is going on in my life today. I've got to get ready for youth group now.

Woman VS Hurdle

                 Hey guys! Sorry I haven't written in awhile I know Smiles has been posting but I have had church after school, homework, band, and now track plus my battery and chargers were broken on my laptop o I had to limit my time for awhile.
                 I know this goes back awhile, but the ski trip was AMAZING. It was the best day of my life…probably. I did fall once and couldn't get up because I was on the steep part but other than that I was really proud of myself for making it as far as I did. I also got to hang out with a lot of my 8th grade friends so that was fun. Our bus broke down, but it was still fun because we got to chat and mingle in the lodge for an hour like normal teenage girls. If you ever have the chance to go on the ski trip I HIGHLY recommend it because it has literally changed my life. You got to see the real side of everyone so people I usally don't even say a word to ended up skiing a hill with me once.
                 Honor choir also went well if you were wondering. It was kind of strange though because the directer (male) told me I had beautiful lips. Keep in mind he was like forty. Strange.
                 Now back to the title. So track started and I was thinking about doing hurdles. The answer is no. Yesterday we had to try hurdles and I was like, "You got this, you can do it." Well apparently I "didn't got it" because I jumped too early and my power leg (Jumping leg) caught onto the hurdle and me AND the hurdle plummeted to the ground and slid a few inches. Now I have a skinned arm, a cut leg,  and a fear of hurdles. Hopefully since I'm not doing hurdles I won't have to practice them again. For track I decided I want to do mid-distance, like 400m and maybe 800m. I also want to do discus and long jump.
                 I know my aren't as long as Smiles, but I try my best. Hopefully I can write soon!

Track Drama

        Hey, blogettes! It's me, Smiles again! Music appears to be really busy with something to write on this blog. Anyways, it's now spring which means the start of track season. We are two days into practice and I already have people bad mouthing me saying that I shouldn't be on the team because I bring nothing good when hello I did cross country so I was made for distance running. I know I may be slow now but I need to find the paces that work best for me and ease my body into it all over again. This prevents further injury of the ones I have and allows me to get in the best shape possible so that maybe as the season goes on I can push forward. Track is way different than cross country, and you don't have the people from the other school either.
        Those people were fun and very supportive and had a lot to offer. It was always a good time with them and I felt like I was needed and wanted on the team when here I feel like a reject and someone that is shunned and worthless while every one of my other friends seems to be having the time of their lives because no one else is bad mouthing them. I guess I have a lot to live up to being a cross country runner and all but you know what I think I have got this. Icy Hot has become my new best friend, and sweat my favorite accessory. Mint scents are something that really get me going too even though there is someone on the team that complains it eases the pain and keeps me focused on what we need to do.
        They were also insulting the choices that I made to run, and I was all like it's not that it will happen that I get to run in those things or at all. I may just be a back up who knows but get off my butt because I am giving it my all. I think that is what counts. Besides I am mainly focused on getting things in motion for cross country because that is my main sport as I enjoy it the most. Tomorrow is an easy practice. We are on;y lifting weights. Well it would be easy if I didn't have a pulled arm muscle already but you know what we will power through because we are awesome like that and we know how to work hard and fight. We got this covered. We can do this.
        I think that this will also teach me to stand up to people and show them that I am the boss of my life, and I know what's best and what I need to do for me. I know what I can and cant do and I know what I did and didn't do. I don't need people watching me and pointing out my every mistake and saying that I didn't do something when I was busting my butt and working hard to get there and finish strong only to find out that I supposedly had to do three more laps. Who knew a couple of eighth grade girls were the coaches and knew what was best for me. They just want to make me upset so I leave and well that isn't going to happen my friend. I know what I can and can't do. I am amazing. I am strong. I am crazy and I am fun. I know what I am capable of right now and I am pushing that to the max.

Busy As A Bee

        Hey, blogettes! This is Smiles here! Sorry no one has been on the blog to write lately, but I know that I have been very busy with other important things. It is Spring Break for my school right now, so I decided that now would be a good time to make a post and let you know that I am still alive at least. I don't know about Music. I have been emailing her a lot though saying that we do need to get posting on this blog otherwise what's the point of having a blog together if no one is going to do anything on it. Anyways, in our time away from here, I turned 14 on March 1, 2014, attended honor choir, have been busy studying for the permit test, training for track, I am going to be a sprinter since my knee isn't ready for distance yet, organizing Relay for Life for my church, we are joining another church in our community this year to honor and remember two church goers who are currently fighting cancer, or have lost the battle, and have been busy doing things for my youth group.
        I am not Catholic, not that I have anything against them or this time of year because I know that Music believes in this time of year and what is needed to be done before Resserection Sunday or Easter Sunday to non Christian people, but my church is doing a service project to give stuff to a place in our community where families that can't afford clothes or need food can go and get that kind of stuff for free. It relies heavily on donations from the community, and since they are running low on things since this is a harder time for people, my church has decided to step in and do a little drive to get some things to restock their shelves and keep them in business because it is a nice thing to have in a small town where there may not be that many places nearby that people can call up and say hey I need this and this and this can you help me or bring it to me because there are many places that don't do delivery services, and if the people are low on funds they may not even be able to get to that place to pick the needed items up.
         My youth group also holds a breakfast on Resserection Sunday for anyone and everyone in the community free of charge. It's a really great time with the older kids (sixth grade on up) handling the kitchen work, and the little kids(fifth grade on down) handling the decorating, and then the mid little kids(third through fifth graders) handle waiting on people. We all however make sure that people are welcome and have what they need, and we invite them up for the service which happens shortly after the breakfast is finished. The youth however don't usually get to see the service because we are busy cleaning up and tearing down. Sometimes though we do get to see a little bit of it. It just depends on how many people are working, and how much there is to be done which depends on the amount of people.
        It's a lot of fun for us too. I remember all the jokes that were cracked in the kitchen last year and about how someone almost set the church on fire, but they didn't and everything was fine in the end it was just a close call, and that person is no longer allowed to manage cooking things but instead have been moved to prepping the food before it goes to be cooked.
        Like I said before, I am really busy, and I am about to get busier as I am doing track, and track meets can sometimes go on forever it seems. It all depends on the team amounts and how many events are offered, and as noted above I am going to be doing sprints which are usually first, sprint relays, and long jump because my knee couldn't take distance. I already tried the distance training, and no it did not work out well, and I knew I had to stop because I could hurt it again or hurt something else or start like swearing or something like I did when it happened because it really did hurt. Besides if I want to do cross country next season I think I need to take it easy now so it can get a little bit better. Cross country is my main sport, and the one that I care a lot more about anyways just because of the feelings and the people that you get to work with and see. That and it is a whole new level of competition where so many more doors are opened.
        Cross country is way better than track too, because everyday is something different, and no run is ever the same. There is always something new on the course and something new to learn or improve on, and it doesn't matter if you are good or bad. It just matters that you finish, when in track it seems like you have to be good and fast otherwise you won't make it through the season. Our coach has even listed it in the packet that if you aren't good you will be cut which puts even more pressure and stress on me that I didn't have in cross country.
        In cross country, I felt free, and I had all these good feelings. I don't think I will get those feelings in track with everything that there is to remember and do because you want to stay in it, and in order to stay in it, you have got to train and fight. You have got to be amazing because there are cuts and if you get cut then what is the point of being on the team because you are just sitting there wasting space. I'm a person that isn't afraid to go out there and get things and that is why I think that I am going to be the one pushing the hardest and being dead after practice. That is why I think I am going to be the one that works hard and finds things out because she tries them. I need to keep my place on the team. I will do whatever it takes.
        It's going to be even harder since I am a sprinter because there is a lot of sprinters and not a lot of distance and that is why I think that next year I am going to be a distance person. I just need this time since I injured my knee in cross country to take it easy still, since I am still in pain with the distance, and I still have that feeling of doom like something isn't right or something is going to happen if I do distance in track that will make cross country not happen next season. I don't need another injury, and that is why I am not risking it and doing sprints this year. But I will take risks in sprints. I have to if I want to stay in races and be on top.
        I have my mind set and decisions made. Now it is time to go out there and make things happen. Wish me luck people because I am going to need it. I am going to need it to overcome the pain of my injury, and make good choices that will keep cross country next season in line because like I said that is my first sport, and I am just doing track to compliment that and get me into better shape for next year. Sprints always got me in cross country which is another reason that in the end made me think that sprints were a better choice. They are always saying sprint those first 200 to 400 meters, and then ease up and then 500 meters from the end kick it in and finish strong. I could never really do that, but then again I don't think that I have a kick either which also makes it tough, but anyways yeah. I think sprints will be good for me and I won't regret the choice.