My Youngest (Kevin Is On The Left ) Was In A Rut And Yesterday Kevin Blasted Out Yesterday For A Great Day

The coach said he wanted Kevin to run and get under 2:30. It was difficult but he did it.

Kevin ran the 800m and the first lap was really decent, but the final run was amazing.

When he came to the final turn, he blasted through a few guys and finished with 24:69.

One of the girls (Syd) on his team walked to Kevin and said, "I told you would make it."

I was so proud of him. He ran like he could go around the world.

Kevin has decided his college, and I hope Kevin keeps running in college.

P.S. The runners were last year. PR means Personal Record, which Kevin did yesterday.

Okay, I'm Back.

Okay, I had a few problems recently. The cancer on my back, and that was taken out.

A little afterward, I had a nose procedure. I have been washing my noses three times a day.

Kevin finally decided where we will be going at Holy Family Universtiy, which is close to home.

Since Kevin is brilliant, he received a 100,000 for the fours years.

I would have this done earlier, but with the snow, I decided to move the snow so I could get my car by our house.

That wasn't a good idea. I was already exhausted and I have been in the house most of the last two weeks.

I'm so proud of Kevin, and I'll try to get more blogs starting on Monday.

Still Running And Not Slowing Down

Kevin was running his first indoor meet, and since he is usually always doing the 800m, he ran pretty well. I assume he will move up against on those other runners.

I think Kevin knows he will be running better soon, since he known his high school years are coming soon.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see him because the meet was at University of Pennsylvania, and everyone told me they didn't know where the place was or... said, "I dont know."

So I couldn't see Kevin's run. It's ridiculous that Penn people don't know where their buildings.

My Youngest Son, Kevin, Saw His SATs Today. They Are Amazing.

Kevin has been in a downfall this season on cross-country. He's been sick, but still runs with his fellow runners.

The jerks in his school still bully him, but nothing could have been better when he saw this.

Kevin finished his SATs and found out this: Reading - 680, Math- 620, and an amazing total of 1300!

Even Kevin thought the numbers were fantastic.

If nothing else, he'll be very happy today.

Well, Kevin Is Seeking To Stop Pole Vaulting

It wasn't that he couldn't do the pole vaulting; it was because he wasn't getting over the bars. Yes, he was doing pretty well for a while there, but his high school didn't really have the equipment, and the other schools were galactically better.

He was getting really stressed out, and is likely going to ask his coach if he could stop vaulting. It's a shame because he really liked it, but I think he realized it wasn't for him.

Kevin told the missus that he was getting really stressed, and he wanted to make running his primary sport. He will run indoor and outdoor track and focus on cross-country.

I'm glad he told us, and his coach will be fine with it. His vault coach really liked Kevin, and he did his best to get Kevin ready. His head coach and vault coach are great people, but I think Kevin would rather lose vault than running.

I think Kevin will realize that running is his real passion.

He was in a meet on Friday, and missed his personal record by one second. He still can run like the wind.

I'm glad he made the decision. He was the only male pole vaulter at his school, and he always tried to do his best. I'm so proud of him.

P.S. - It appears I won't be able to see Kevin in indoor races this year beause of my schedule and the fact we are not allowed to take days off if the POS Eagles make it to the Super Bowl.

P.P.S. - Kevin will continue practicing pole vault, and decide if he will do so in outdoor track.

Oh, Kevin also got his photo on January 9th's track meet at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Boy Still Has It

Yesterday was Kevin's first indoor track meet, and you may not think that he wouldn't be in shape, but you would be mistaken.

Kevin ran at the new indoor stadium at the University of Pennsylvania. Kevin said the stadium was amazing, but it was a tad too warm.

Kevin took second on the pole vault, getting over 7'6. What was really amazing was his run in the 800 meters. Kevin was second in his heat with a 2:35.15, a new personal record.

Kevin was very ready this year, and I expect him to get better from here on out.

I should be able to see at least four of his races, and hopefully he gets a ticket to Penn State at the end of indoors.

Another Fantastic Personal Record!

So Saturday was the Philadelphia Catholic League Championships for Cross-Country. It's the biggest event of the year, and those who win get to go to the PA States Championships.

Kevin was excited for the championships, and he thought he was going to have a good day. The gun went off and he started running. The photo above is Kevin and his friend he knew from grade school. They're still good friends.

At the first mile, Kevin was in fifth place. He seemed to be running pretty well, but I was hoping he would be more ahead on the team.

Kevin went into the woods, and when he came out of the trails, he looked exhausted. I told him, "This is your moment. Get those guys and start passing them!" Amazingly, Kevin took my advice and started blasting by guys.

When he came past the last turn, he went into overdrive, and passed a few guys before the finish line, and made me proud.

At the previous week, his time was 23:22:07. Saturday's time was - get this - 21:53:01. He knocked 1:69 off his run!

Kevin finished third on the team, and put everything into that race. Kevin probably won't make States, but he'll be ready for next year.

P.S. - Mrs. Earp did all the photography.

Yep, Another Personal Record

Kevin and his cross-country team were at William Tennent High School Saturday. They were there for a three-mile meet with other schools. We were worried because Kevin said he wasn't feeling well, and thought he has a cold. Thankfully, it was just the sniffles, and was able to make the run.

Kevin came past by the first loop and was in fourth place for the team. About five minutes later, Kevin was up to third place.

When Kevin came around the final lap, he looked like he was not feeling well, but he ignored that and continued running as fast as he could. When I was cheering for him at the last 200 meters, he said, "I know, Dad, I'm gone!" And he did.

He sprinted the last 200 meters and finished third for the team. Last year at this meet, he finished with a 22:55:77. This year, he finished with a 22:46:51, dropping nine seconds off his time. He keeps getting better and better.

Good Times On Wednesday

So Wednesday was another exciting day for Kevin and Julia. We'll start with Kevin. Last week, Kevin finished second in his team, and while he didn't have a great time, he was able to finish second for the team.

This Wednesday had most of the team running at Belmont Plateau, and Kevin really wanted to knock down that 24 minute race. Kevin didn't disappoint. He ran very well throughout the race, and while he finished fourth for the team, he knocked down two minutes of his time, and finished with a 22 minutes and 53 seconds.

Yep, another personal record! The captain, Bishop, wants to see Kevin in the finals, and Kevin is doing his best to knock down more times. Bishop's mother really wants to see him in the finals, too. Here's hoping. ...

Oh, did I mention Princess P? On Monday Jules had to plau Prendergrast, which is a very good team. With the exception of a five minute sit - in-between JV and Varsity - Jules played all of the junior varsity game, and played the entire varsity game. The JV game was 8-0, and the Varsity game was 12-0.

Julia played out of her mind. One of the Prendie girls slashed her toward the end of the game, and she pulled in all her aggression. She went after every player who came near her. She swept al the balls coming her way. She was a Tazmanian Devil, and it was a beauty to see.

When she got back to school, Kyleigh, the goalie and Jules' bestie said, "I've never seen her so angry in my life!"

On Wednesday, Julia played Varsity and JV, as usual. The varsity lost by 4-1, which wasn't that bad. The best part? Julia stopped every single ball that came toward the goalie. The Mrs. said she was really good at the first half, and was much more aggressive in the second half.

The girl is amazing, and she continues to reach for an All-Catholic Award. I'm so proud of the both of them.

Cross-Country Season Has Begun

So yesterday was the first Philadelphia Catholic League (PCL) Cross-Country races at Belmont Plateau. The team was ready for running, but Mother Nature brought out 84 degrees, which slowed a lot of the runners down.

Kevin started out a little slower, because when he sprints right out of the gate, he usually gets winded quickly. The captain, Bishop, got out first, and Kevin was third on the team.

I was jogging around certain places to give Kevin enncouragement - namely, yelling at him - and when he got out from Parachute Hill, he was in second place on the team.

You could tell most of the runners were exhausted, what with the terrible heat, and a few freshmen runners didn't even finish the race.

When I saw Kevin, I told him a lot of kids stopped running, and this was your chance. He picked up the pace, and finished with twenty-four minutes.

Bishop finished first, and Kevin finished second. He never ever finished second on his team. Kevin walked up to me and said, "I don't like the time, but I liked being second." Like I said earlier, a lot of runners dropped out. I was glad Kevin finished. It was certainly worth it.

Kevin walked up to Bishop, and Bishop, being Bishop, said, last year at my first race I lost two minutes. We'll get through it.

Kevin finished 40th out of 64, and second on his team.

Makin' Money, Makin' Money!

So when school finally ended this year, Kevin was looking for something to do. He heard about a program where you could work in the school. Since it was pretty high-paying for a kid his age, he rushed to it. Kevin worked in his high school painting, cleaning, and moving desks out and back. He never complained, because he knew he was getting paid.

It was amazing. He really wanted to work.

The workers - all from the city - had to attend at least two days to talk to the people who were giving them work. Kevin didn't care, because on those days, they got pizza. Right before going to the Outer Banks, Kevin received his money. It was $345. Kevin was very happy with that, and I assure he is going to spend a lot of that on CDs and records. It was hard work sometimes, but he and the other guys in the school did a really goood job.

I'm very proud of him. He went every day, and never whined about it.