Logan's First High School XC Invitational

Although Logan ran in his first home meet last weekend, he had his first official XC invitational today at Bellarmine Prep High School in Tacoma.  Since he has ran in this meet the previous two years with his running club, it was nice to return to a course that he is familiar with.  Since he finished in the top seven runners last week at his home meet, he was the only freshman that qualified to run in the Varsity race which is quite an accomplishment.  I was able to go and cheer him on and was amazed that he stayed in the middle of the pack the entire time.  He finished the two mile course in 11:40 which was amazing.  He got several compliments from his coaches and teammates afterwards.  I am so proud of how hard Logan is training with his team and his resilience in running these difficult courses.  Well done, Logan!

Although I wasn't there for the freshman race since it was a few hours before Logan's Varsity race, one  of the moms gathered all of the 9th grade boys together for a group photo.  Many of these boys are some of Logan's closest friends.  It is so wonderful that he can share this sport with them.

The Varsity group huddle that I managed to snap a picture of before their race began.  Logan's back is the one directly facing me.

The huge group of runners taking off at the beginning of the 2-mile race.  Logan is right below the blue arrow on the picture.

Logan coming towards me.

Logan running past me.

Logan pushing it hard as he approaches the finish line.

Almost there!

One of Logan's closest friends, Kasen, made Logan his own poster that said, "What's Up Shawty?  You're On Varsity!"  Since Logan always says, "What's up, Shawty," to his friends, Kasen made him this funny poster to cheer him on in the Varsity race which was so thoughtful of him.

Logan's 1st PHS XC Race

After training with his high school's cross country team since the beginning of June, Logan had his first unofficial XC meet this afternoon.  His high school hosts a meet at the beginning of each season in September at Wildwood Park for runners from just their high school.  His coach does this so that everyone has a chance to run in one race before official meets begin the next week and to give them a baseline time.  Since the Wildwood Park course is very difficult, full of many hills and trails in the woods, I didn't know what to expect from Logan.  However, he rose to the occasion and stayed in the first pack of boys during this 2.7 mile race.  I was able to see him four times during the run and watched him slowly pass a few boys each time.  By the end, he was in ninth place as he ran past me which meant he was two places away from a varsity spot on the team.  Although I didn't make it to the finish line before he completed the race, I learned from another mom that he finished at 7th place after passing two boys on the last hill and finished it in 17:37.  I was so blown away by this as it is so difficult to be in the top seven runners as a freshman, especially on the boys team which is typically so much larger than the girls team.  I was so proud of Logan and this huge accomplishment, especially during the first meet of the season.  Well done, Logan!

Logan running past meet me as he ran up one of the many hills on this course.

Another unique aspect of this meet is that the coach hosts a second race for any friends and family of the XC runner who want to participate.  After learning about this the night before, Emmett said that he wanted to run in this second race, but I knew that he would need a "chaperone runner" to go with him through this 2.7 mile course in the woods.  Luckily, his good friend, Kenzo, from school and his running club, has a mom who enjoys long-distance running.  So after giving her a call last night, we learned that Emmett could do this race with Kenzo and his mom.  It was so fun to cheer the three of them on as they ran around this lengthy course, especially since Emmett has never ran more than one mile at a time.  He is so athletic and in shape that it was no big deal for him to finish this difficult course.  He was all smiles when I found him at the finish line.  Well done, Emmett!

Logan's 3rd year at Camp Lamoni

Logan just arrived home after five days and four nights at Camp Lamoni.  Although this was his third year attending camp, it was his first year serving as a district leader.  He was asked by the stake to be one of the older boys to serve in this leadership position and was assigned to be over the group of boys in his cabin.  In this position, he was in charge of getting the boys out the door each day, doing head count at meals, and teaching a daily spiritual lesson.  He was supposed to get the help of an adult leader at camp with all of this, but was assigned a less than stellar adult who basically just expected him to do everything on his own.  So although this district leader position proved to be more challenging than it should have been, Logan tried to rise to the occasion and lead this boys as best as he could.  And when he wasn't attending to his leadership responsibilities, Logan found time to break away with his friends and participate in many of the fun activities that camp had to offer like swimming, rock climbing, axe throwing, miniature golf, game playing, attending some class, and making wood projects like a shield.  So although he returned home this morning a little dirty and sleep deprived from his week at camp, he had an overall positive experience and gained some valuable leadership skills.  Well done, Logan!

Although I didn't get any pictures from leaders at camp, I managed to take this picture of Logan right after he was dropped off at our house today.

Logan Attends His First FSY

Logan returned home bright and early this morning after a fun-filled five days at FSY.  This was his first time going and he absolutely loved it!  He stayed at Puget Sound University in Tacoma and attended the same week with his cousin, Trenton.  Together they had a great time making friends with several boys in their group and enjoyed attending classes, participating in activities, eating in the cafeteria, and sleeping in the same dorm room.  Logan even managed to survive the two dances which is a miracle to me.  He came home so happy today after I picked him up and the only regret he has is not being able to keep in touch with all of the wonderful friends he made this week due to the lack of a cell phone in his life.  

Logan standing next to the University of Puget Sound sign before going to find his dorm room.

Logan and Trenton in their matching FSY shirts inside their dorm room.

A quick cousin shot with Ella and Emmett before saying goodbye our favorite 14-year old boy for five days!

Logan's Last Kalles Track Meet

Logan has been running five days a week with his junior high track team ever since the season started the day after spring break on April 13th.  He has ran in a total of six track meets this season and Ron and I were able to be there for four of them.  Logan did an excellent job running the 1600 and the 800 meters at every meet.  He is in the top four long-distance runners on his team and PR'd at almost every meet this year.  I love watching how hard he works and pushes himself at every meet and we were all thrilled to learn that he PR'd in both of his events at his last meet yesterday at Kalles.  Logan ran the 1600 meters in 5:31 and the 800 meters in 2:32 which is just amazing to me.  Well done, Logan!  We are so proud of you!

Logan coming around the corner after finishing his first lap of the 1600 meters.

Logan running past me...

and around the bend on his second of four laps.

Logan pushing hard as he approaches the finish line of the mile.

Crossing over the finish line.

Logan trying to catch his breath on the field after finishing the mile.

Logan and his friend, Keegan, running by me during the second lap of the 800 meters race.

Logan's First 8th Grade Track Meet

Logan competed in his first Kalles Junior High School track meet today.  It was a home meet and it fell on a perfect spring day--not too hot and not too cold.  Unfortunately, I had a sub job today and couldn't get to his meet until 4:20, so Ella, Emmett, and I missed seeing him run the mile.  But we were there to cheer him on when he ran in his second race, the 800-meter.  He did a great job in the mile and PR'd for a second time this season (after running it last week at the Mercer Mile) and ran it in 5:34 which is just amazing to me.  I am so proud of how hard he is working this season at training with both his school and club track teams and can't wait to cheer him on for the rest of the season.  Here are some pictures below of his 800-meter race.

The boys taking off at the beginning of the 800-meter race.  Logan is in the second group of boys from the right.

Logan running past us at the beginning of the race.

Logan running in the pack.

Approaching us at the beginning of the second lap.

Logan passing us a second time.

Logan pushing hard as he races towards the finish line.

Crossing the finish line.

Jogging off the track and onto the field after finishes his race.

Logan's Last Wrestling Match of the Season

Today, I met Ron at Aylen JHS to cheer on Logan in his final, regular wrestling match of the season.  Due to various reasons, I have only been able to attend a few of Logan's matches this year, but Ron has been able to go to all of them except for one.  Just like last year, Logan did a great job.  He moved up to the Varsity level at the beginning of the season and returned to JV a few matches later.  He has amazingly won every match at both the Varsity and JV level that he competed in, included today.  He was able to pin his opponent toward the end of  the second round of his match and secure the win.  Although Logan has definitely become a long-distance runner in the past year and enjoys XC and track more than any other sport, he has made the most out of this second season of wrestling as a way to stay active during the winter months.  We are proud of how hard he has worked at this sport and have been so impressed with all of his wins.  Way to go, Logan!

Logan and his opponent at the beginning of the match.

Logan and his opponent hand fighting.

First take down of the match.

Logan trying to get the other boy on his back.

The boys resetting due to going out of bounds.

Logan shaking hands with his opponent after pinning him and ending the match.

The referee raising Logan's hand as the winner.

Logan's teammates congratulating him after winning his match.

The End of Logan's XC Season

After another fall, Logan wrapped up his second, cross country season today by attending his running club's end-of-season banquet.  Logan had a great time training twice a week and competing on the weekends with South Hill Running Club this season.  Just like last year, several of his close friends from school participated in this club and Logan looked forward to going to every practice.

This past Saturday, November 15th, Logan ran in his last meet which was the Associations Meet at Magnuson Park in Seattle.  Since I had been diagnosed with Achilles Tendonitis the week before, I was unable to go to the meet since it would involve too much walking for me.  As sad as this made me, I was grateful that Ron, Ella, and Emmett were able to go and cheer him on.  Logan did a great job running his 4K race in rainy, wet, and muddy conditions.  He ran it in 15:59 and came in 56th place out of 112 runners.  I am so proud of what a dedicated, long-distance runner Logan has become.  He truly loves this sport and all of his fellow runner friends and I can't wait to see the progress that he makes in the years to come!

:Logan warming up at the starting line before the race began.

Logan running past Ron and the kids.

Pushing hard!

Approaching the finish line.

An exhausted Logan collapsing on the ground after his race was over.

Waving 'hi' to Ron and the kids after getting back up.

Logan's time on the result board.

Our tired, muddy, and wet boy posing for a picture after the race was over.

A team picture of South Hill Running Club taken earlier in the season.

The four kids and I went to Ferrucci Junior HS this evening for a potluck dinner with Logan's club.  After eating dinner, each age group was recognized by a coach in front of everyone.  Here is Logan walking up to get his certificate from one of his coaches.

Logan holding his certificate while listening to the coach.

Logan and the other 13 to 14 year old boys posing for a group photo.

Logan's 2nd Wrestling Match of the Seaon

Due to trying to rest my foot after being diagnosed with Achilles Tendonitis last week, I decided that it was best if I stayed home and missed Logan's first wrestling match on November 11th.  Ron was able to attend and Logan did a great job, winning two of his matches and tying the third.  Today, I was able to limp to the Kalles gym from the parking lot to cheer on Logan with Ron at my side.  Since Logan made Varsity this year, I was more worried than normal about how he would do and if he would get injured.  Luckily, he was able to pin his opponent in the first round and didn't have to wrestle a second or third round.  He did a great job and really seems to have a talent for this sport, as much as it stresses me out.  Logan has a few more matches before his season ends before right before Winter Break  I will just keep my fingers crossed that he makes it through the entire season without any injuries!

Logan and his opponent putting on their bands before the match began.

Starting to wrestle after the referee began the match.

The boys working hard to take each other down.

Logan tackling his opponent.

Logan getting on top.

Shaking hands after the match was over.

The referee raising Logan's winning hand in the air.