13.1 what?!

On Sunday morning, I woke up bright and early at 4:20 am...well okay, it was still dark. Normally it would be near impossible to get me up at this hour but surprisingly I was pretty awake and ready to go.

Why was I up so very early? I had a half marathon to run of course!

It is still a shock to me that I enjoy running. Coming from a swimming background, the idea of running did not sound like fun in the slightest bit and now look at me! I have run two half marathons for "fun." I used to this runners were crazy but what is even crazier is that I have become one of those crazies! I even have typical runner strengths and weaknesses( i.e. strong hamstrings, tight IT Bands, weak inner thighs and glutes) When/how the heck did that happen?!?

Anyways... Aaron and I left my Aunt and Uncle's house before dawn to go to the San Diego Zoo's Safari Parks Inaugural Half Marathon (formerly Wild Animal Park). It was a chilly morning but the weather turned out to be great for the long run. I started off with a very surprising pace for me being just over an 8min/mile and although it was fast for me it felt pretty good. I was able to keep under 10min/mile up until...THE HILL! This was the hill of all hills for me. It felt nearly a mile long and was big grade for me. This was when I thought, "what the hell did I get myself into?" Luckily, with some walking and positive thinking, I made it up the hill and enjoyed the downhill by picking up the pace I lost. Unfortunately, we of course had to go back up it after another two miles but the second time wasn't as bad.

The rest of the course were rolling hill which were difficult but beautiful. And the last 2 miles I'd say were the hardest for me. I was so exhausted that I couldn't even try to go fast at the end but I kept going and finally made it over the finish line! Yay! 13.1 miles completed!

I ended up finishing with a time of 2:15.19 which is 6 minutes faster than my first 1/2. I could not believe how well I did, especially for the stupid hills, being sick for the past two weeks, and the time change! Even though it was probably the most physically and mentally challenging thing I've done, it was still a great experience. The course was hard but pretty. The downhills made up for the uphills. And I got to use the park afterward and see a tiger, which is rarely out! So over all it was a great day and good race. Best of all was being able to take a 2.5 hour nap afterward hahah.

Even though this one was much more challenging than the last one, I'd still like to run another 1/2 marathon. Eventually I'd like to work my way up to a full marathon but I'd like to get another couple 1/2s under my belt. Any suggestions of fun events to run?

On second thought...

After giving more thought to getting accepted to USC's Physical Therapy program, I have had a change of mind. My parents and I talked and decided that we should send in the deposit for USC. Yes, it is a lot of money but it does guarantee that I will be going to a PT school during Fall. I would very likely regret declining the admission especially if I didn't get into any other school. Better safe than sorry I guess.

Also, where I would be studying(if I go there) is away from the main USC campus and in a much better/safer area of town. From google-mapping the address it shows that without traffic it is only 1 hour away(only ten minutes more than Western and same time as St. Augustine) but with traffic it could be 1 hour 40 minutes(same as Western interestingly enough).

I will set up a meeting to get a tour though since I was not able to make it to the Open House, just to see if it's all about. After all, if I don't get accepted anywhere else I'll probably end up there so I might as well know what I'm getting myself into. But who knows? Maybe I am destined to be a Trojan and wear Cardinal and Gold. If the Lord thinks it's meant to be my school then he will find a way to make it happen and make sure I find a way to pay for it all.

I have always like USC anyways. And it would be cool to go to a few football games. Too bad Pete Carroll isn't the coach anymore though...

When Aaron found out I got into USC he automatically thought of this commercial. Made me laugh...and is so true!

Fortune Cookie

"Any doubts you may have will disappear early this month."

Wow! That was the perfect fortune for me at this time in my life since I do have some doubts. Since my senior year in high school I have known that I wanted to be a physical therapist. Not just thought that's what I wanted but actually KNEW it deep down in my heart it is the career for me. From then on, I have done everything that I could to make sure that my dream becomes a reality.

This 'everything' includes earning good grades in high school which got me into Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I majored in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise Science and Health Promotion. Grad schools required extra Chem, Bio, and Physics so I dutifully took them even though I loathed the subjects and received decent grades. Graduated with a 3.43 GPA having Dean's Honor List for 4 quarters. For a WHOLE year I was my Sorority's Collegiate Chapter President still maintaining my good grades(now my sanity...is a different story). And to make grad schools happier I got observation hours from not one but TWO clinics and now even have volunteer hours in Mission Hospital's Acute Rehab Unit. In-patient hours are the golden ticket however, I got them too late to put them on all applications, expect CSULB which highly recommends them. I even had a Chapman Alumnae write a personal email to the department head for me (Chapman doesn't look at letters of recommendation).To top it all off, I even took two extra psychology classes to meet schools' prerequisites. Then got all my applications, letters of recommendation, GRE scores, and transcripts to the right places on time. But is it all good enough?!

Now all that seems like a lot but now that it is all done and the applications are finished, which was no walk in the park either, the hardest thing is waiting. Waiting to hear whether you're good enough, might be suitable, or no shot in hell to get in.


I recently had an interview with Western University of Health Sciences so that made me feel better that I was at least good enough for an interview. At the end of February I have another interview with University of St. Augustine but until then I'll be playing the waiting game.

What I'm really waiting for is to hear back from Chapman about whether or not I made the cut. February through March is the approximate time I could find out. CSULB is my second choice which is also the biggest stretch for me to get into, as I have 1 different biology course. Although, I've heard that they are more lax about prerequisites than they seem but I'll probably have to wait until April to find out from them.

Tom Petty had it right when he sang the song "The waiting is the hardest part." In that song the lyrics also include"Oh don't let it kill you baby, don't let it get to you." But the waiting is getting to me! It is killing me. Causing me doubts!!

I'm hoping that my fortune cookie from tonight holds up to its word. And hopefully it is talking about my doubts of getting into my dream school, Chapman and that it positively makes my doubts disappear(i.e. I get in). Until then, I will just wait because there is nothing else I can do!