New Digs

Hopefully I will be getting keys to some new digs in the next 48 hours. I am super excited because there is some good running and wide open country to explore!!!!! Between the gym and the pools, I am hoping that I am get into a more respectable level of fitness. In fact, I think I am going to run 13 miles this weekend just because I can. Hollar!

The stress of finding a place to live is entirely overwhelming. When you are staying with someone you work with, it is particularly important not to overstay your welcome. Let's just say Danielle is getting a pretty nice baby shower gift as a "thank you" for putting a roof over mine and Gunther's heads. It is going to feel so good to have the keys in my hand. I am not thrilled about having to commute now (30 minutes...wahhhhh!) but I am totally stoked about the money I am saving (like HUNDREDS of dollars) because I am not in Napa. Woohoo! Maybe the distance will help me manage my workload and not spend so many late nights at work. But then again, I have NO FURNITURE for my apartment, and can't even think beyond purchasing a mattress, so maybe I will be staying at work. Mom, if you read this, I think I need a living room for Christmas.

I can't wait to tell you all about my upcoming run... I have been scoping this route for a year and now I am going to be living near it! And, now I live only a half marathon away from the Bestie (a whole different run!), so you better bet I am going to run to her house and beg for a ride home!

Ah, stability is just around the corner....

Freeway fruit

10 miles/ 2:04:00

Instability has allowed me to fall into a training funk, but today was the exception. With so much on my mind as a look for a place to live and get ready for a new school year, I have been prone to just wander aimlessly in my thoughts, sometimes while walking around a store, driving around town, or just sitting/lying around. This morning I decided it would be best to try to get my head organized by getting out for a run. No music, no gadgets, just 2 gels and a bottle of water.

Lately running has felt like a chore or a task on a to do list, and I have been really envious of people who get out and run/bike/swim/spin for the shear joy of it. I decided that my training needs a drastic makeover. I am abandoning my training plan (for the most part) and running based on feeling. I had no idea how far I ran today until I got home and mapped it (I had a feeling it was around 10 or 11). I was pretty impressed with my pace, considering I stopped to stretch at mile 2, stopped to eat a pear off a tree on the side of the trail by the freeway at mile 5 (awesome, right?), and stopped to ask for a water refill at mile 7 (which they didn't have. Well water is one of the few downsides of country running). Even with all those stops, my time tells me I am running around the pace I want to be to finish my next marathon under 5 hours. That, my friends, feels GREAT.

I absolutely love country running. Today I ran past a ton of different crops: summer wheat, walnuts, sorghum, alfalfa, corn, squash, grapes, pears, apples, and sunflowers. I saw some great metal sculpture art in from of a farm house. People don't mind sharing the road when the shoulder is narrow and overgrown. Cute cyclists tell you hello. There was a refreshing breeze blowing off the delta and the sun was shining. It was the perfect day for a run.

Life is full of restart buttons and chances for re-dos. Sometimes it is difficult to see it as such. Yeah, my training is in the crapper and I haven't felt my best, but today seems like a pretty good day to press that restart button... again. I'm off to go have a chicken & roasted beet salad. I decided yesterday to reintroduce vegetables back into my diet :)

It's that time again...

I'll be hitting the road in 6 hours to move back up for 10 more months of work. No furniture, no place to live, but at least I have a decorating scheme planned! I'm thinking geometric print accents in Navy/Royal blue and grey, with tan and/or white as base colors, depending on what color the walls/doors/cabinets are in the new place. I've been walking around a lot of model homes lately...

OK, maybe not that much blue patterned crap, but you get the idea.

In the meantime, my homelessness might interfere with blogging, as well as running, healthy eating, and general sanity. So you might not hear from me, but don't loose sleep over it :)

I hope to return sooner than later with good news about not being homeless, starting the new school year, new training routines, and all the awesome things that must be awaiting me.

Chao!

4 good things

4 little things that have brought me small pleasures so far this week:

1) Starbuck's cool lime refresher. Tastes like a mojito, minus the rum. 100 calories for the trenta size (but I got smaller). A nice treat in this nasty hot weather. It's my new craveable (move over popsicles!)

2) TIGI Bed Head Moisture Maniac shampoo. Smells like white gummy bears. Makes we want to take more showers. Everyone wins with this one.

3) My mom. When we are together, we laugh so much. She is my number one fan and makes me feel so good about myself. I'm so incredibly grateful we are so very close. I'd put a picture up of use being silly, but she would kill me if she ever read this!

4) My new classroom. Now I am officially in the Math building, I feel like I am in the cool teacher's club. Being in the same building as the refrigerator is going to be dangerous! Maybe pictures will come when I finally get my keys!

Why I keep slacking on the good things posts, I don't know. Even when things are bad, there are always good things to smile about, and I need not forget that!

What's putting a smile on your face this week?

Monsoon Moisture YUCK!!!!!

Like a good girl, I set the alarm and got up at the weee crack of dawn so I could do my 12 miles. Even when the alarm went off and I was laying in bed, I was ALREADY covered in sweat. Big nasty monsoonal moisture clouds have been attacking the region, making it terribly uncomfortable to be outside and flash flooding some areas. Beautiful but scary. Where did my friendly marine layer go? WAHHHHHHH!

So, because it was already in the 80's and 80% humidity, I did not go out for a run. The last thing I need is to pass out and die alone on some country back road, found only when some hillbilly looking for roadkill follows the vultures circling my dead body. Instead, I kicked out some amazing work for the next school year, working on a classroom webpage as well as researching some alternative grade books.

I am not a big fan of the educational system and a lot of the decisions that are being made way above my head, but I do love teaching.  Even though the state of public education is quickly spinning down the crapper, I am so excited to get back in the classroom and try to make a small difference. I have a new classroom in the main building (yay!) an have a new class (geometry), and I am very excited to take my Standards Based Grading to the next level. I think this is going to be a very good year.

So, as far as training goes, this is probably going to be a pitiful week. I missed last week's long run (the 12 miles) and MOVING AGAIN, I doubt I am going to be getting in a lot of miles. But, I do want to make the gym membership a priority, so no matter where I am living for the first few weeks of transition, I can at least get my fitness on after/before work. I am hoping I can hit a really good streak once I get back north; if I don't I am probably going to fall a little short of my 5 hour goal (but still PR).

Most importantly, I need to get back into shape and get ready for vegas. I really hope my work clothes still fit me when school starts, yikes. So, once I get back up in Northern California, all this indulgent eating is going to have to come to an end! Fitness is a mindset, so for the 8 hours I am driving back, I am going to program my brain into a fitness and healthy eating machine!