So Suavo

RJ Infantino and Victor Kali

RJ had to help Suavo get his pants off.  Not surprising in the least.  Good ol' Suavo.

Time To Go To Work

Shuffling about before jogging a warm-up.

Note Victor "Suavo" Kali removing his pants as everyone heads off...

Victor still struggling with his pants?

Where's Suavo?

The Waiting Is The Worst Part

It's all in their eyes.

Waiting around before starting your pre-race warm-up is torture.  Anxiety wells up inside of you and at some point, unless you are one of a very fortunate few, doubt, fear, and the most creative excuses for poor performance launch an invasion of the runner's psyche.  Whether those things are allowed to squander a race altogether is always entirely up to the runner.

Or maybe that was just me.

PreRace Pinnings

David Martinez

Eric Kleinsasser

Eric Kleinsasser

Sun-drenched Early Mornings

Rob Bartlett and Galen Smith

Keith Blumenfeld

Derek Turbin and Rob Bartlett

And Then Goes For A Morning Tempo Run...

And as usual, makes it look so easy.

Kevin Chaves Does An Ad Shoot For GU

A Coach And His Captain

Coach Rob Bartlett hands his men's team captain, Keith Blumenfeld, his bib number.  Let it be known; they both do a killer job.

Numbers And Bags

The Stick.  Never leave home without it.

Team Camp always seems to look like this.  Bags laid everywhere, assorted snacks and water bottles everywhere, singlets and numbers carefully laid out...everywhere.

And there are always a few people with their heads down on a table, trying to get a quick pre-race nap.  Races tend to be in the morning and that means getting there early.

2008 SCIAC Cross Country Championships

Not my ultra-cool camera bag.

Yes.  I have been an utter failure at posting the photos that I took two weekends ago at Oxy's conference championship cross country meet.

And yes, I am finally starting the massive project that entails weeding through the 700+ images that I came out of that weekend with!  My thinking is that if I start posting now, I'll be compelled to continue doing so until the conference coverage is complete and if I make it through without faltering, without stopping for a day or two or more, then that alone will be something to be proud of.  So hold onto your butts, folks...here we go.

I Love Lemon-Poppyseed

Good to the last crumb.

Birthday Boxes Are The Best

Every year that I've lived away from home, my mom has sent me a birthday package filled with a few gifts and something she baked back at home (usually cookies, banana bread, or the personal favorite...lemon-poppyseed cake).  I'm now 24 years old and loving the fact that I still get a birthday package from home once a year.  It's not about asking for certain things and hoping I get them as gifts.  I hardly ask for anything in particular anymore or know what to ask for in the first place.  What I love about my birthday box is that when I open it and see gifts that were unmistakably wrapped by my mom and catch the smell of sweet, tangy lemon-sugar glaze, I feel like I'm home celebrating with my family.  For the time that I take everything out of the birthday box, lay it out before me, and meticulously go through all of the contents while unwrapping with care, I know that the only thing missing from the complete birthday experience is them.  Nothing beats a birthday box if I can't be at home.

And nobody wraps a gift quite like my mom does.

"This Is Our Moment. This Is Our Time."

Congratulations President-elect Barack Obama!

All eyes will be on you.  And that will do just fine.

For the second time in just three posts, I had to dedicate a post to Barack Obama.

Election-night was just too momentous not too.

Still Runnin'

Dan Demartini, Kevin Chaves, and Robby Nelson

Runners in the early morning sun.

Dan Demartini, Robby Nelson, Kevin Chaves, and Galen Smith

To one degree or another, we alums will always run.

Exercise Your Right

For all you Oxy fans that are waiting for the past weekend's fotos, I promise they're coming.  And I promise they're coming soon.  In the meantime, tomorrow is the most monumental election of my lifetime and probably of yours as well, so get out and cast your vote.  If you're lucky...and if I'm productive...there will be fotos waiting for you by the end of the day.