Training begins...

and CSAP prep at school begins! Staying very busy personally and professionally. I officially began training for the Boston Marathon this last week and it went off without a hitch. Scheri and I did our first speed session on Tuesday and it was the ever so brutal Austin Bluffs Hill repeats. We normally do 6 long ones, over a half mile, but decided to try something new: 4 shorter ones and then 4 longer ones. This didn't work out so well, as after we finished ONE short one, we modified the whole workout. We completed everything we normally do, but broke it up, and made it reasonable. Needless to say, we need to work on a little confidence and hills. With all of that being said, we did have a fantastic long run last week with 18 miles in the Garden of the Gods and around. Since we are doing Boston for "fun" and have committed to doing Collegiate Peaks 50 miler one and half weeks later, we know that hills (with a little speed) are our main ingredient in this training plan.

I am also diving into CSAP practice this week. All that really means is that we review the concepts we learned previously in the year and make sure that we teach the things that slipped through the cracks, which is hopefully not much. I found this review time very beneficial for the students last year. I also start giving the weekly talks about how they need to start making good decisions on their own, and not just because their teacher tells them to, and they give me the look back - and then I say, "You are going to middle school in a few short months and they aren't going to mother you!" Then it clicks. My class has really grown on me this year, as anticipated. Marc kept telling me that I would love them like my students last year, and he was right. I know that from now on the year moves along progressively faster, so I will be sure to cherish every moment...except the ones that drive me bonkers.

I would like to end my post today with a quote from a book that I am reading, a book that I highly recommend if you are interested in getting into my head. It is written by a teacher and we are pretty similar as far as it concerns me at school. The book is called "Educating Esme."

"I changed my mind about not saying what I think. If you let people walk over you while you're young, you should get used to wearing feet marks across your face for the rest of your life."

Winter Blah!

I have stayed very busy over break...catching up on dentist appointments, getting Tuff to the vet for his skin, and running like crazy. I have enjoyed catching up on these things and finally feeling a little caught up, just in time to celebrate New Years and go back. Lori and I will hit the road running as soon as break is over: she will complete a week of solo teaching the second week, as well as begin her teacher work sample in math. After getting the kid's test scores back, all were outstanding, but math...which were good, but not great. A teacher work sample is an intense unit, that is very well planned out with lots of supplemental activities, and taught in a strategic manner. So the students benefit is usually greater than just the average lessons.

When Lori is solo teaching, I will set up a little group area in the hall, and pull students out for some intensive one-on-one teaching in areas that they most need. I am excited about this because it gives me the opportunity to work on those areas where a student may not be grasping a concept. I do not take this opportunity for granted, as I know it is a privilege to be able to have this time.

Oh ya, back to my title. "Winter Blah!" Here I go, wrapping this all back together: as I mentioned in the beginning, running like crazy has been keeping me occupied much of my day. AND it has been really cold here in Colorado. It seems like when it finally reaches over 30 degrees, I feel like it is warming up. It has been a long, cold break. So on an up note...it is suppose to be 45 two days in a row this weekend. I am looking forward to a couple's run in the Garden of the Gods...will take lots of photos, and a run with Halee and the dogs as well. Halee is up to 6 miles this weekend. I hope that we have more of these 40+ days, like last year, and the 30 or cooler days go by quickly. For now, stay warm!

New Car

Catching up with all of the new things seems to happen over breaks. On our way to get our Christmas tree (we cut it down in the mountains), we stopped by the LandRover dealership.

Perfectly dressed in our snow clothes, winter hats, gloves, and boots, we were approached by a salesman. We have wanted a LandRover for about 2 years now, and were waiting for our lease to end on our Volkswagen. We told the gentleman that we would go get our tree and stop back by on the way home. So with our tree atop of our 87 Blazer, and our attractive outfits, we purchased a LandRover. I commend the salesmen for not judging us.

Halee and Her Half-Marathon

Halee is officially training for her first half-marathon. We talked with her Doctor, because she is 13, and a few others...and she is good to go. She has actually been training for about 3 weeks already. It is fun to watch her, but more funny because in all of her 13ness, she doesn't think I understand the difficulty of training. I keep explaining that if it were easy, it wouldn't feel like such an accomplishment. One of my running friends, Tracy, said it perfectly, "If it were like eating breakfast, it wouldn't be a big deal." Her perspective of me and my training is interesting: she believes that since I love to run, it is not hard. On the contrary, the harder the workout or race, the more I feel that I have actually done something. I am realizing that most runners are this way, even the elite. We all change our workouts to fit our ability or level we are at, and they are work.

We all went on Halee's long run with her yesterday, as a family. Marc and I ran with her, and Christian rode her bike. The dogs came along as well. It gives our family, and especially Halee, some great time together. I look forward to several more runs with her this winter and spring.

Finally!

Finally, winter break has arrived. The last few weeks are very difficult for teachers. Just hanging on by a thread, the world seems to crash down, and the students come with it. From getting in any last instruction before break to district assessments, packed full doesn't begin to describe it. Teachers are usually finalizing grades for 2ND quarter, getting their rooms ready for January, and helping the kids prepare Christmas ornaments (in my case) or decorations to go home. Since my breaks are a time to rejuvenate, I plan on taking this one off from doing school work...EXCEPT for report cards if I get around to it.

In all of the hustle, I managed to disappoint some more people's expectations of me. Because I go to Halee's counselor with her, I took him up on some advice that he has given her, "Write down your feelings when you get upset." Such simple advice, but I tried it last night in an effort to unwind from a difficult day, and yet another disappointment which squeaked in at 3:45pm when I was walking out of school. It really helped.

Have you ever asked the question, "Can things get any worse?" Well, every time I ask that, I know I am dooming myself to more torture, thus my break was necessary to merely survive. Part of my survival plan is to begin training by amping up my mileage. Scheri and I are nosediving into two high mileage weeks. I look forward to this time of talking with a friend that truly likes me just the way that I am. If I have learned anything from life it is to surround yourself with those people. I am sure I will write again soon since I am break, and hopefully I will be able to report some happy thoughts! Until then, hang in there, enjoy the holidays with your families, and get some rest...however your break looks!

Boston Marathon

I was one of the lucky people that had that inner voice yelling at me, "Register for the Boston Marathon before it fills up!" I researched when it filled up last year and it wasn't until January, but for some reason, something told me not to wait. So I quickly registered and am verified for the 2010 race. Scheri quickly followed, and is now confirmed as well. Just a few days after Scheri registered, registration filled up and closed.

I am excited to go. I have qualified before but never felt it worth the trip to go. Now I have a few people that won't let me get away with missing out on it again. Since the race takes place on a Monday, I will have to take time off of work, and that didn't seem feasible for the past few years. Well, this is the year and I am all set. Training begins in just a few weeks, and I have to say i am ready to be back in a running routine. Halee, my 13 year old, is seriously contemplating running a half in spring. I will run with her on Saturdays, and then go do my long run on Sunday. That will be perfect considering I am also doing another 50M this year. A much easier one this time, Collegiate Peaks. Just a short one for today, off for a run in Palmer Park with the ladies.

Seasons

In Colorado we have crossed over quickly from summer to fall. I find it interesting that many aspects of our lives has seasons as well. My teaching year follows a seasonal pattern that is quite opposite from the traditional seasons: the beginning of the year is most like spring and the end of the year is like fall. Let me explain. My students are fresh and new, like baby chicks when they enter my class at the beginning of the year. It is my job to grow them, take care of them, and prepare them for middle school. Finally, when they leave, the are ripe and ready to move onto their next adventure in life.

I also find that my running has seasons. Sometimes I am training very seriously, for a very intentional goal. Other times I am resting and running whenever and wherever, and that is the season I am in right now. I took 2 weeks off after San Fransisco, and was so busy with school activities that I wouldn't have had the time anyways. I decided I am a much better teacher when I run, so I met up with my girls group for a fairly difficult trail run last Sunday. Now classified as one of the worst training runs of my life, I am not sure how great the complete rest was for my body. So I decided I better do a short, interval run this last week. It seemed to work, oh ya, including the oatmeal for breakfast, bottle of fluid I brought, shorts I wore (opposite of all of the things I did wrong last week) because I had a perfect run today. So I will keep my running to a minimum, but try to keep it for the next few weeks.

In the meantime, I have tried a family fitness class - which was mostly plyometrics, lots of spin classes, got back to yoga, have tried new cardio machines, and tested out some p90x. It is nice to be without a schedule so I can try new things and see what I like, and what works. For now, I experiment. Training will start officially again in January, for Boston.