Fre$h Outta Compton (JK College)

It has been a month since I graduated, and even longer since my laptop has been opened (Thank you Senioritis). So, without further ado, I have my BS in Cell & Molecular Biology from California Polytechnic State University. Aka a super expensive, unframed, somewhat thick piece of paper that informs people I know some things.












Since my last post, I have been enjoying life as fully as I can; hence the no laptop thing. A lot has happened in my little world, but that's pretty trivial stuff and I won't bore you. So here's a quick N dirty bullets of the highlights:

Sass [HIGH]

- Running all three days of the WS trail running camp with all the good people I love dearly 

- Not studying for finals

- Turning 22 the day before graduation & doing my favorite things with my favorite people

This Fish is going to Medical School!

(and LOTS of cake)





-Graduamanationing










- Auburn/Tahoe shenanigans of every sort with a VK race thrown in there

Kayaking with Keely on Lake Tahoe!

- Crewing Zach Violett in a bikini at Western States & LOTS of tequila with "Dr. Wifey" Howe


- Moving SLO -> Seattle, WA

New Home!!

The last bullet point is actually kinda a big deal though. I am full throttle pursuing my dreams of applying/attending the U of W Physician's Assistant school in the future. As of July 1, I am the newest resident of Washington. I have (now) secured a full time job as a medical scribe at the downtown Seattle Polyclinic. In the next academic year, I aim to take the last two pre requisite classes & EMT certification courses at community college. With my in state residency, current scribe job and hopefully later as an EMT, I will gain a bunch of hours and quality experiences to boost my 3.007 Cal Poly GPA (barely made it, man). So, it will be a couple years in the making, but I have no qualms about what I am doing and what I want to pursue; biking past the medical campus here, I KNOW it is my purpose.

Fourth of July S'mores with Keely & Crew

Lots of you have asked me, "Soooo why Seattle?" I find this question somewhat frustrating, to be honest. I mean, why not? I've spent four years at Cal Poly in SLO, 22.09 years in California, and want a change of scenery. I want to experience real weather, seasonal changes, and of course all the above reasons. Sure, I could probably apply to any PA school in the country (no guarantees of getting in, this is just hypothetical here). But why not set sights high? UW is one of the best medical schools, set in an amazing city. I am a huge believer in do what you love & live where you love. Seattle is just a rock skip away from some pretty amazing places: North Cascades, Mt Rainier/Mt St Helens, Olympic Natl Park, Canada, Oregonian awesomeness, and much, much more.

The Olympics (No, not those ones) PC Keely

I am very stoked to check out some rad places. I really want to expand my exploring to so much more than running- I want to be able to climb, ski, backpack, navigate wilderness, camp, etc. I feel that being in Seattle, I can balance pursuing my career goals with nurturing a deeper awareness/respect/awe for nature.














Welp. That's pretty much it. I'm currently taking any & all suggestions and tips for adventuring out here in the Great PNW. I'll be summering pretty hard, but I'll try to write when I can. (Then comes falling, and wintering, and springing.... etc).

Gothic Basin, North Cascades. Yeah.

As Reality Sets Back In...

The Pacific Ocean.

I don't quite know how to out into words how deeply I have been affected by my stay in the mountains. It has been just over a month since my race and nearly 2.5 weeks that I have been back in San Luis obispo CA. Every night I dream I am still in the Alps. I climb higher. Snow is crunching under my shoes as the morning sunrise filters in. I laugh and smile, filled with joy to be sharing this moment with a friend who is just ahead. At the top of Brevent we rest a moment, make breakfast plans and then take off down the endless switchbacks at top speed. We are dancing, leaping, singing... I have picked nearly a bouquet of flowers and placed them all in my hair. "J'aimerai une cappuccino et croissant" echoes through my mind...
Waking up is hard. It's hot and stuffy in my apartment and I look out my window to see the neighborhood frat stars picking up red cups in their backyard. Sadly, there will be no croissant or sunrise mountain summit. My day will instead be consumed with frantically studying and desperately trying to remember how to draw the chemical mechanisms for glycolysis.

Sunrise Summit in SLO instead

It's really hard to be back from a magical dreamland place. As a young, imaginative, impressionable, wide eyed person, I was drawn in by the allure of the people, the tall mountains, and euro culture. I have already begun to plan my return.
But I must accept it and find joy in other things for the time being. My memories and dreams serve as motivation to finish my undergrad degree, work hard and diligently at my job, and gain more running experience so I can soon be back in France.
It hasn't all been terrible; I really shouldn't be complaining. I go to a very good school with great trails. My job was waiting for me when I got back, and everybody I work with makes me so happy all the time. My classes are very fascinating (which also makes them incredibly hard) but my professors are supportive and super cool.

Girl Power Rocks!

Since the race, I have felt exhausted all the time. To quote Rory, "I feel like I am dragging a piano behind me". At first I thought I wasn't recovering well and that the race had taken a lot more out of me than I thought. Then I thought, okay. A month later? It must be my iron. I have been sleeping whenever possible: long nights and naps all the time. Turns out, I have mono. This explains quite a lot- while I have had some quality training sessions, many of my runs have been dragging, slow, hard and I haven't been able to hit a groove. It's very frustrating, as this is my escape back into the dreamland, and I have so much work to do with my busy school schedule.

Workout Wednesday!

Despite the sickness, I am still kicking. I'm highly functional. I've been hitting the track weekly and the fast pace is exhilarating and consistent. It's exciting how "comfortable" it feels. Though it most always means I am wicked sore the next two days! I am also back to long runs with Tera Dube, my boss and super rad ultra runner. Just this past Saturday we ran 20 miles out at Santa Margarita Lake, which is just outside of slo. It was beautiful and all new trails! Yippee! A couple of other women (and one guy; girl power yeah!) joined us, including "Lil D" Denise Bourassa. I felt like a wuss for dragging at some points since she just finished the Ultra Grand Slam in a dominant fashion, but her ultra experience is so widespread and she is a pro, after all...

Oh Oh those summer nights!

I am psyched to continue working with Meghan as I prepare to tackle the TNF endurance challenge 50mi in December. (Fun fact of the day: TNF EC 10km in 2011 was my first trail race. Boy was it a big time learning experience!) though I am still not 100% and this mono is seriously putting a damper on my training volume & quality, I can't express how happy I am to have Meghan as my coach. I've never felt stronger or been able to execute training quite like this before. My race was unreal and I attribute my ability to finish it to the great coaching & melodious way we can work together. 2015 is still in the works, but we will come up with something challenging, adventurous and exciting!

New trails lead to new views

My beautiful RNA isolation 2nd to right.

Well, I have a genetic engineering biotechnology and metabolism midterm this Thursday so I must get back to studying... Stay tuned! Très bisous!

Most Inspirational Player

Tonight I went to the Cal Poly Club Awards Banquet and my team had voted me the women's Most Inspirational Player award.

In High school I have received this award twice in track and my senior year in cross country. I am so happy and grateful to recieve it again, at the collegiate level.

For me, MIP is better than MVP. Sure, it's awesome to be the best, but to be the one working the hardest and as the role model in the eyes of my teammates, is the best I could ask for.

Over the year, I have poured in a lot of effort. I trained incredibly hard over the summer, only to start Fall Quarter in the stands with a torn ligament.  However, I wasn't just in the stands. I was on the bike (inside and out), the elliptical, the stairmaster, and in the pool for numerous hours every day pouring sweat.  I came back strong at regionals and went on to compete at XC nationals.  I diligently ran over winter break and it showed during the track season.  With long runs and tempos, I even completed my first marathon, a 3:30!

I am honored to have been recognized for all my hard work. But I am even more honored to be labeled Most Inspiring.

My number one goal in life is to inspire.

As an educator, I hope to instill an insatiable curiousity and quest for knowledge, purpose, and bettering the world in the future generations (science or not).  As a teammate, I hope to push others so that they can achieve their personal bests.  As a student, I hope to greet challenges with excitement and joy that will brighten my professor's days and outlooks.  As a friend, I hope to inspire my loved ones to love others, have fun, and be carefree.  As an athlete, I hope to encourage others and lead by example for those starting to run or during their running careers.

I hope to inspire greatness and the constant pursuit of self-improvement and knowledge.

Thank you to my teammates, my coaches, my family, my friends, Skora Running, and my cyber supporters! Without you guys, I wouldn't be in the position I am now! You all inspire ME!

Mollee (MVP) & I at the banquet! (photo: Mollee Huisinga)

Race report: Track Season

This track season was one to remember.

In the first race, at Cuesta Invite, I ran the mile and 4x400. I was originally going to double and run the 3k as well, but a bad case of allergies got the best of me. I still PRed in the mile and run sub6 for 5:54. I ran the 4x400 leg in 74. The mile was hard. It was hot, my allergies were raging, and there wasn't any clear competition. I went out hard the first two laps and clearly faded in the third. I'm still happy. With a PR but I was definitely disappointed it wasn't lower with all the training I had been doing. And my split in the relay I knew I could pull out any day any time. I think it's my "max" speed. Haha well, it was a great day for CPDC regardless.

The 4x400 anchor

My girls!

Now for Ben Browne, this was my first track 5k of the season and the second time I ever raced the distance on the track. Latest September my PR was 21:24(ish). I went out hard, but stayed relaxed. Mando, my coach, was yelling splits every lap and telling me what to do: patience, stay relaxed, move up, catch those girls, go hard, go for it... I never was passed and even lapped people. It was one of the best track races I've ever ran. I PRed with a time of 20:04. Way more than a minute! It was so exhilarating. Especially since it was a big time meet, under the lights, in a stadium, against other collegiate athletes!


With my lovely teammates!

The next week I was to race the 5k at the cal poly invite. I was nervous as hell. It was me vs Mollee, my fast teammate, and TWO other girls from the NCAA team. Me vs three! Mollee and I stayed together the first two laps, but it spaced out a LOT after that. I was running alone, kept getting slower, and everybody I knew that ran was on the sidelines. It was crazy uncomfortable. I was pissed, I was not feeling it. I had a bad per race the night before and just wasn't into it mentally. Mando told me just to quit at the two mile mark. It was my first ever DNF. I hated that. It was so rough. I went on a seven mile cool down, a little too fast, and balled my eyes out. I was embarrassed and I felt like shit. So that race was the low of the season, but at least I met Ashton eaton and got a signed team USA shirt!


Teamwork makes your dreams work!

Next race: sfsu distance carnival. I didn't have a good enough qualifying time for the 5k, so I ran the 2 mile instead. Which is fine by me. This time, I did not look at the clock, time was arbitrary, I knew I'd pr so I didn't pay attention to it. I listed to Mando, and I raced my competition. I started off fast, I s in the second pack, which separated right at the first lap. I kept with them, maintaining my position until the one mile mark. Then I made my moves, I started to move up and pass each girl, chasing the first pack. I finished gloriously with a pr of over 30 seconds in 12:28.05. I was so happy. I got 13th overall (2 heats) and couldn't stop smiling. The race was crazy. I let in the pain and the animalistic instincts. I put myself out there. Which was shown when I was spiked and almost fell face first in the 5th lap, before catching myself on another girl.

So happy to be victorious in my OWN race!

We didn't race for a while after that. but at the beginning of April, I biked out to the 6 mi mark of the SLO marathon and jumped in. Mollee was pacing the 3:45 group and I thought that was a reasonable pace. It would be a training run. I felt awesome. I was talking and had lots of energy. Soon, dean karnazes caught up with us and we got to talking and catching up, soon I had out some serious distance between Mollee and I without even realizing it. I felt good though so I kept going. Soon dean had to stop at a bathroom but I kept charging and found a new, much more unwilling, chatting buddy.the miles clicked by and I was smiling the whole time. I laughed as I finished the last three miles at 720-730 pace. It was so great. It was basically flat, with a few rolling hills. My garmin registered 21 miles at 2:40-2:45 ish and 1000'. I felt fantastic and fresh. Even thought it was probably the farthest I had ever ran!

Making new friends!

My friend Dean Karnazes: "You inspire me!"

Post run beach nap!

The next week, I ran a 5k track race: Beach Invite, hosting by CSULB at Cerritos JC. It was my last race of the season. I tried to be competitive and kept with my pace group. We were all seeded fast. It was pr time. I felt crummy warming up but I knew that was usual sometimes. I just thought, the faster I run, the sooner I finish. I listened to Mando and I listened to my competitive nature. I welcomed the pain, and kept it within me. I had my best friend Taylor giving me splits and my teammates lining the track giving me cheers of encouragement. I had slowed the last three laps and I realized I was still close to a pr and breaking 20. I sprintined the last 300m but alas, I finished 20:01. It was a pr, but it was somewhat disappoitining. I'm still happy, because it was a record breaking track season. I know I have fast gears and can enter the pain cave and REALLY compete. I am so excited to see what I can do.

  

sprinting to finish