The World According To Madeleine

I thought this deserved it’s own post.

Recently, my step-brother Robert broke his neck while swimming. Since he was paralyzed, he drowned, luckily, a neighbor’s friend was over who performed cpr and saved Robert’s life. Robert can’t move his legs or fingers yet, but has been making so much progress from where he was, and has feeling everywhere. The doctors are expecting lots of progress. He has been in very high spirits and has been working very hard and everyone is very proud of him.

I’m not sure who it was, but wristbands similar to livestrong bracelets to support Robert have been handed out. They are blue and say “Unleash the Warrior Within” on the outside, and his name and football number on the inside. The first time I ever wore it I had to run a little more than four miles, which is the farthest I’ve ever gone before (not that far, but still). I was hoping to go at least half-way without stopping. I think that the bracelet must be good luck and very motivational, because I went the whole way without stopping once. I hope that this is the same for Robert and everyone else, that they feel motivated and have a little luck on their side when they need it most.

I guess I better get going, because so much has happened since the last time I updated. I don’t know where I should start though.

This summer I only went to one horse show. It was very fun, and my first show in the main ring. I did amazing schooling with Katie, exept for when I fell off and broke the fence. oops. Once it had been fixed, I started again and was fine. Showing was pretty good, Alaska spooked at a fence because she had to jump into shadows, but I got her over every other time. We only got one 6th place ribbon, but I was proud of myself and got several reserves from the judge.

On another riding note, I went to the chiropracter and my back has been feeling much better and I’m riding pain-free, which has made so much of a difference in being able to ride correctly.

Marching band has also started, and band camp was very fun, except that I was sick for the first couple of days. I ended up puking at arby’s, and once in the dorm after breakfast. Aside from that, our show got put together very well, mostly due to the fact that our director changed the way she teaches. It’s nice to actually be good at our show, but seriously,  I don’t think she had to change everything that was possible. I hate it, and so do a lot of other people.

I also dyed my hair purple after waiting the whole summer for the blue to wash out. I would have a picture, but my computer is being very annoying and not letting me upload it.

We also went to Arizona, and that was very fun. We spent a lot of time just around Nanny’s house, and explored a creek we never had been to before. We also spent a lot of time kayaking and on the quads, which I got to drive a lot more this year because I have my permit. We were going to try to go to mexico, but climbing through the border had to suffice. And sadly, I don’t know if wee’ll be able to do that anymore, because there is going to be a virtual fence put in.

School starts on tuesday. I’m excited because my classes are pretty good, and this is my last year before I can go off campus to take and EFE or EFA. It will also be very cool to get to see everyone everyday, and I can’t wait for PAC to start. I’ll have cross country practice everyday after school for a while, which I actually get to run this year.

Track season has ended. Track was a lot of fun this year. Everyone pretty much seemed to get along, or they just left you alone if you didn’t like each other. All the seventh graders were awesome, I made a lot of seventh-grade friends, who I’m going to miss an awful lot next year. I’m hoping that they’ll all join the the cross country and track team when they join the rest of us in high school. In addition to making a lot of friends and just generally having fun, the girls team was great, we won a lot of meets including the Wolverine Conference Meet at the end of the season. I met people, we won a lot, and I found my race. Speaking of my race, my PR is still 2:54, but at a relay meet my split might’ve beaten that, if not it tied, I’ll just have to look at the video again to check the time. Also, at the conference meet, I ran the 55 hurdles, and I managed to finally three-step the hurdles, except for the last one, where I lost speed and panicked, it slowed me down, but I won my heat.

Also on the running subject, cross country training is starting this summer, and hopefully I’ll be able to go to training camp, that sounds like a lot of fun. Cross country next year just sounds fun, we get to run the game ball to homecoming, and we’ll do this thing called the twenty-four hour marathon, where the whole cross country team goes to the track and one person runs a mile, then another, and it goes on for a day. That sounds like a lot of fun, but for people who don’t like to run it sounds like torture. Thank goodness I like to run. The coaches seem nice, and they say that all the runners are nice and we all end up loving each other. Extra bonus.

When my dad was a freshmen in track he ran hurdles. He was pretty good. The school was small, the track team was small, so the kids did a lot of strategic switching events depending on who they were against. They were at a meet with a school that had a lot of strong hurdlers, and the coach didn’t think my dad would do that good, so he switched his event to the 800, which he never had run before. He won, and one of the upperclassmen said to the coach, “Lang found his event.”

Our first track meet was a while ago, on April 20. Dad said I should run the 800 and the 400, I thought he was crazy. I decided not to say anything and let my coaches decide what I would run. Of course they chose the 800 and the 400 (and the 200 hurdles). Since I had no choice, I had to find out how the heck I was supposed to run the 800. I asked Dad, and he said that I had to start out at a really fast run, not a sprint and that it should feel too fast, I should stick with the first three or four girls, ad then when there was 200 meters left, start picking up speed and start passing them. Accelerate around the curve and then be running as fast as you possibly can on the straightaway.

Right before the race I felt like I was going to throw up I was so nervous. The gun went off and I started faster than I thought I should’ve. There was no one in front of me. Hmmm… a variable in my plan I didn’t expect. I thought that the girl behind me would catch me after I ran out of energy and slowed down, but I didn’t slow down, I did everything right, and I won. I got a time of 2:54, which is really good. After I ran I felt like I was going to die, but after that feeling passed I felt really good, the 800 is a really fun race. Aftewards Dad told me that he thought of that upperclassmen when I ran.

Since then we’ve had a couple track meets, and 2:54 is still my best time, but I’m doing pretty good. I run the anchor leg in the two mile relay, and every race my team has ran we’ve come in second, even at the invitational.

I guess Dad wasn’t crazy after all.

Track has been hard. Run a lot, no time to stretch, sore next day, walk like old person, can’t run. It’s fun though. I like running, I like being around my friends.

Eight chickens have died this week, Pollock got out and got them. Trick Chicken and Doris died. My chicken and my other favorite. Very sad, I cried. I don’t know who the other six are. I don’t want to go into the chicken coop to find out.

Sprig break started today. I don’t want it to. All but one of my friends are leaving, or have already left. I want to be at school where I can see everyone. Six hours into spring break and I’m already lonely. I need my friends.

New Modest Mouse cd, it’s a good one. We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. I would recommend it, but not for people who don’t want their kids listening to songs with swear words or don’t like or are offended by profanity.

I’ve been riding Alaska more. I still like her, but turns are very hard. I can fully understand what Trevor (owner) meant when he said that Alaska is so big it’s hard to turn. Makes me sad that Guy won’t be at the barn anymore. I’m pretty sure he’s moving to a western barn. I think he has too much potential as a hunter/jumper for him to become a barrel racer. *sigh* I’ll miss him a lot. I don’t even know when he’s leaving.

Thus endeth my short post.

Right now….. it’s eighty degrees out. That does not happen in Michigan. Usually it’s cold and yucky and gray around now. There shouldn’t be flowers, it should be brown, my mom and I shouldn’t be wearing tank-tops and shorts (or capris), but rather jeans and a sweatshirt, I shouldn’t be happy and spring-ey and looking at clouds, I should be sad that it’s gray outside.

I am glad that it’s warm and sunny out, but in Michigan, that usually doesn’t happen. It’s much better weather to excercise in though. Today track started. It was really hard, especially since I already had run a mile in gym (which I also started today). My knees started to hurt really bad during gym. I’m not sure if it was my runner’s knee, the shoes I was wearing, or if it was just running in general. I had a slight limp the rest of the day and walking down stairs was bad. Then at track I ran a half-mile warm-up, then we were all timed at the mile. I got 7:44. I don’t think it was actually a mile. I don’t run miles in 7:44 when I’ve had a stress fracture and my knees hurt. Generally I just don’t run miles in 7:44. In gym I ran (almost) a mile in nine minutes.

Later I’m going to go ride.