Hills

I went to the county park today to do some running. Let's just say that it wasn't my best performance. I live in a flat town. When I say flat, I mean flat. Flatter than you think Kansas is, flat. Which makes running in a straight line pretty pleasant, all things considered. So today, in the park, which is in the hills outside of town, it was less so. My first hill workout was not pretty at all. I started sucking wind from the get-go. Add to that a few more complications: the map provided by the county is so lame it doesn't even give distances; the weather was surprisingly warm and sticky; I've had a rough couple of days, professionally. Take that all together, and today's run was more of a run-walk.

On the plus side, I did get out for about 50 minutes of exercise that included constant motion and some uninterrupted stretches of actual running, mostly on the downhills. The downhills were kinda fun, even if I have doubts about my knees ability to like them as much as my brain. Running on dirt is nicer than pavement, and the scenery was considerably more enjoyable. I did at least get some elevation gain into my week.

As Coach Oullette (sp?) would say, first you have to get used to the distance. Then you can work on the other stuff. If that means walking part, then walk part.

And, it's still a 6+ mile week, which is more than I did last week. Onward and upward.

8 and Counting

I got a hand-delivered note this morning informing me that two students from my school were shot and killed last night. They were not my students, but I suspect that a couple of mine knew them. At least one student was very subdued, although he refused my attempts to engage him. I let him be. I think that's eight so far this year.

The only thing that was good about this incident is the way administration handled it. The last time there was craziness, I didn't get an email until the end of the day. I greatly appreciated that administration told me up front what was going on.

Day 5

I'm still here. Got up at 5am (well, 5:10) and went running. It's still taking me too long to get ready (didn't leave the house until about 5:35). At my pace, that puts me back home at 6:15. Not horrible. Was feeling pretty good all day, too. Although, in the last half-hour/forty-five minutes, my left knee has started to act up. It's getting all twingey and stupid. Five games of bowling after standing up to teach all day after said 3 mile run probably wasn't my *best* plan of action. So, I'm gonna ice it and then do the wet-sock treatment. (I'm saving my explanation of the wet-sock treatment for later in the month, when you get good and bored with my "I went running today" posts. Maybe you're already there, but I don't care!)

Maybe a little Lost before bed, though. Tomorrow: four miles.

Not Even Close, Bud

I got a little carried away with my Angels this morning. We had this earthquake drill that was county-wide... and scheduled for the middle of a passing period. Well, one minute into it. I told my class that I would be "getting mad" at them, and "holding them in" during nutrition "as a consequence" for their "behavior". They understood and played along (a little too well). They really got into it. As I was adding time to the board (that I would be keeping them after the bell), because they wouldn't stop taking/goofing off (they really wanted to make it look real), one girl tossed out, "Are you done?" "Not even close, bud." Before I knew it, I was right there with her quoting The Breakfast Club. We tossed out, "Does Barry Manilow know you raid his wardrobe?" and a few other choice comments. Most of the students even got the reference, which warmed my heart.

The girl who started us off is pretty down with esoteric pop culture. She's got good taste. She manages to fit in while not fitting in to the Top 40 gangsta hooligans at the school. Her attention to her education could be better, but I gotta respect her taste in music and movies.

Rest, Glorious Rest

I woke up this morning sore and tired. Nothing like a little Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS -- thank you Mazamas for teaching me its name) and a late night of bowling to put an end to thoughts of 5am runs. Hey, I get rest days. Without rest days, I would be in serious pain and perhaps even serious injury. When I considered my options and what I had to do today (progress report grades, teach) compared with tomorrow (teach, leave school at a reasonable hour), I decided that discretion was the better part of valor. (That is, perhaps, the most important lesson I've ever learned from Shakespeare.)

So, I rested fully today. No running. No lifting. No stretching. No climbing. No rolling. Already this evening I feel less sore than I did this morning. So tomorrow I will get up at 5 for my 3 mile run. After school, I will bowl. It will be good.

Climbing To the Clouds

I went to the Y this afternoon to check out their rock wall for my cross-training day. Let's just say that when you have as weak an uppper body as I do, the day after lifting weights isn't the best day to continue with an upper body workout. At least I got my heart rate up pretty quickly, though.

I only did two routes -- and I didn't even follow the routes, I'm that lame. I tried to on the second one (it was easier), but I couldn't really find the routes that well, my arms were tired and shaky, and I didn't really trust the belayer. I mean, she's got one of those auto things, so she doesn't even have to do anything; not much will happen if she lets go of the rope. I still prefer a belayer who is watching me and taking up my slack. I've always been on the cautious side.

Still, it's not too bad a wall considering it's in a closet. It's about 30' and it's got some overhangs and varying degrees, so the routes actually are easier and harder. They have the supid holds that look like letters and numbers, though. I guess they're great for kids, but I've never seen a rock that looks exactly like the letter Q. I'm jus' sayin'.

Anyway, I listened to my body and kept the workout to about 20 minutes. My arms were tired and my heart rate was up. That seems sufficient here at the beginning. As the weeks progress, I should be able to do more and more without being so lame.

Tomorrow is another 5am running day... so I'm going to go roll with my dept. chair. We'll probably only bowl a game or two, though, so I can still be in bed by 9. I'll just have to watch Lost on the computer.

Fire and Ice

(with apologies to Robert Frost)

The other English teachers have bought bowling balls because they were all jealous of my bowling ball, "Evan" (so named because some kid named Evan owned it before it was given to the Goodwill where I picked it up for $8). If you've ever bought a bowling ball, you know they get crazy model names, like Magma and Emerald Ice. When my dept. chair (the owner of magma) made a comment about the two balls not getting along because fire and ice don't mix, I felt the need to respond with this.

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire,
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
is also great.
But Evan would suffice.