3 week hiatus
Wow, it has been three weeks since I took a long run. This morning I met up with three ladies from my running group and we did six miles together. We ran through the park and caught up with each other. At the end of 6 miles I was still feeling pretty good. My 1/2 marathon is coming up in three weeks and I'm feeling behind in my training. So, I decided to tack on a couple more miles for good measure. I figured 8 miles this weekend put me in a good place to move up. Now I if I do 11 miles next weekend and 7-8 the following one I should be closer to ready than I am now.
The past three weeks have been full ones. My volleyball team has had several games, and we lost all of them. The girls are getting better, but are frustrated with losing. I have seen a visible improvement since the beginning of the season, but we still have a long way to go. They are fine in practice and then they freeze up when we play a game. We only have 2 more weeks of practice and 2 games before the end of the end of the season. I'm looking forward to the end - mostly just to have a little more free time. I have enjoyed coaching for the most part. It has been hard and frustrating but it has also been a lot of fun. 12 year old girls are a handful but they also make me laugh.
I spent a week away from work visiting some colleges and attending a conference. I visited the Naval Academy, Johns Hopkins, and Bucknell. Talk about three different schools. The Naval Academy was fascinating. I felt like I was doing an anthropological study of a side of America unfamiliar to me the whole time I was there. The annual NACAC conference was in Pittsburgh, PA this year. I have learned to stop complaining about the sessions that are offered because I unless I am willing to step up to the plate and offer one myself I am being hypocritical. I find that the conversations I have outside of the session rooms and at the social events more meaningful. The networking is key, especially now that I'm the director. I know that I will go to this conference every year, I just need to make the most of it every time I go. Next year the conference is in Austin - I'm definitely looking forward to that.
This past week I wrote 10 letters in 4 days which took its toll on me. I was up late each night and in to work by 6am every day. I was running on about 5-6 hours of sleep a night, which may be normal for some people but I don't function well without 8. I got them all done, but it wasn't pretty. I have about 20 to write in two weeks so I need to get serious about them. So, on that note I'm going to take myself off to the shower and get to down to business.
Work, parties, and work parties
Has it really been 2 1/2 weeks since I posted? I guess that is what happens when school starts. I don't imagine that I will be keeping up with this blog very well this fall. Once I start writing letters of recommendation - which would be this weekend - pretty much all of my creative juices are sucked out of me. And, the last thing I want to do in the little free time that I have is sit in front of a computer and type.
School has started, and with it comes the frenetic pace, the sweating through my clothes, never having enough time to open mail/answer phone calls/return emails, and piles of things to do that get moved from my table to my desk to my couch. I long for the days when I had hours of time to waste looking through on-line dating sites and could drag a project that should only last an hour out for days.
I finally took the time over Labor Day weekend to think about my class that I teach and redesign the curriculum. I came up with a plan and added some new stuff. I also decided to organize the kids by giving them a calendar with all of the important college counseling dates already on it. I figure that it can't hurt them to be uberorganized. I also took that time to make some decisions about coaching my middle schoolers in volleyball. I've been reading a lot of books and adapting drills to work for 12 year olds. We have played 2 games - lost the first one and won the second. I have become more comfortable as a coach and the girls have more confidence in their play.
I hosted my first party during Labor Day weekend. I had wondered where I would fit people, but it all worked out. There were ten of us for dinner and lots of wine. We broke out the porron and Catch Phrase - thank god no one had to work the next day. I decided to go with white wine instead of spending all day on Monday cleaning red wine out of my beige carpet.
Last weekend was one of celebration. Friday night on my way home from work I made a pit stop at a bar to meet up with friends for a little pre-birthday drink. One drink turned into several which then meant we needed to order a pizza. You know how these things go. Saturday morning was a new haircut for me, brunch and college football, and then shopping. I had a magical day of shopping where everything I was looking for I found, in my size, and it looked great when I tried it on. I decided to stop tempting fate once I had shoes, pants, and two tops - plenty of options for my evening out that night.
I had a combo birthday celebration with my friend Natalia, whose big day was two days before mine. My only requirement was dancing. I wanted to go salsa dancing but the only places with live bands also had big cover charges. I figured it wasn't very nice of me to expect people to pay a bunch of money to watch me dance with other people. We started the night with a group of 10 of us for dinner at Osha Thai. We had birthdays on the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 20th covered. At the end of the meal they brought out 4 desserts with candles for us to share. Here is a picture of Natalia and me blowing out our candle.
After dinner we headed to The Makeout Room for Saturday Love, their weekly mix of salsa, cumbia, merengue, funk, 80s, and hip hop. More people joined us there for drink and dancing till they kicked us out at 2am. I danced with a bunch of people I met at the bar as well as friends. I got my latin dance fix both as a lead and a follow and got more people on the floor for 80s and hip hop. I was amused by a man named Diego at the end of the night. He asked me to dance and then told me he had been scared to do so earlier because he didn't want to offend my girlfriend. I told him I didn't have a girlfriend nor was I gay, which he took to be a sign to pull me closer and try to kiss my neck. I didn't mean to be rude but I laughed in his face. We finished our dance and I politely excused myself after he asked me to come home with him that night. Oh boys, how silly they are.
Wednesday was the first Unprofessional Development Meeting of the year. My friend Allison and I are the Unprofessional Development Committee which means that we plan social events off campus for the faculty, staff, and administration. We headed to a local brewpub after our first faculty meeting of the year. It is always interesting to see who shows up for these events. There are a handful of people that are regulars and the rest are a mixed bag.
Friday night was my friend Brooke's 30th birthday. After a long week I was only planning to stay for a drink and then head back home. Yeah, somehow that turned into a lot more drinks, body shots, breaking up a fight and stumbling home at 4am. This meant that yesterday was spent on the couch watching bad tv and movies.
Today has been a more productive one. I just got back from a 6 mile hill run with a dip in the ocean at the end of it. I created a route that had a stop at my car at 6 miles to either stop or replenish water before another 5 miles. I decided that since I haven't run in 2 weeks and I have new orthotic insoles I should probably call it good after 6. After a shower I plan on sitting down a getting started on my letters of recommendation. I have 11 to write in the 3 weeks and I will be travelling during one of those weeks. I guees it is time to buckle down and get serious about writing.
Anybody out there?
I'm not sure if anyone is reading this anymore, but I figure it doesn't hurt to keep writing. I have been trying to keep up with my running while dealing with the beginning of the school year. I have been doing ok with it, but am ready to get into a better routine. Now that school is officially underway I think I can establish something that works. All of that didn't keep me from running 8.5 miles this weekend. Cindy, Jamie, and I wound our way through the Presidio on a gorgeous run. I don't think that the other two knew what kind of hills we were going to be doing, but they hung in there with me and were happy with the run at the end.
School started on Tuesday as did coaching. I taught my college quest class to the seniors all day and then jumped headlong into 7th grade volleyball. I had 13 on my original roster and 15 girls showed up. On Wednesday another girl jumped on board and now I have 16. 16 12 year olds have more energy than anything else I have seen. I will be enlisting the help of some of the varsity players to keep everyone on task.
Meetings, meetings, and more meetings....
School starts next week, which means that this week is one of meetings. Monday was CPR/First Aid certification for coaching, last night and tonight is a coaching certificate, today was all of the learning disabled kids, and tomorrow and Friday are faculty meetings. The only meal that I will eat at home this week was Monday's dinner. Oh, and I haven't read the summer reading that I have to discuss in our faculty meeting tomorrow, come up with a course calendar for the class I start teaching on Tuesday, or figured out my plan for the volleyball season. So much for a restful weekend.
On a positive note, I did sign up for the US Half Marathon on November 5th. It is good to have a running goal to try to work towards to keep me on track with my training. I would hate to lose all this hard work that I have put into my running.
Back to my meeting
Bummer
I just got an email from one of our PE teachers who burst my bubble. I talked to him the other day at lunch and asked about my speedy last mile at Sunday's run. First he told me that I should be running faster during my races, and then he asked how the course was measured. His email said that the course was touted as a 5 mile run, but really it was more like 4.6 miles. I just checked and he is right. That means that I ran at about a 10:30 pace overall, which isn't bad but I wanted the glory of saying I had run a 6 minute mile. Oh well, I knew it was too good to be true.
What I do find amusing is that the Head of School keeps encouraging me to run the New York Marathon. She has talked it up several times in conversation and keeps sending me articles about people who are training for it. The scary thing is, I'm really thinking about it. Before you think I have completely lost my brain, I wouldn't run it this year. There are only 2 1/2 months until the race, I'm still dealing with my foot, and I've added some things to my plate, like coaching, this year that I have never done. I think that I have enough to deal with this year - but maybe next year...
What to do with myself now that the marathon is over?
I should be sleeping right now. I am dog tired and was in bed but I can't sleep. This problem has been plaguing me all day. I know I have lots on my mind and it doesn't all make sense.
First of all, I have been trying to upload pictures from the marathon into this post so you can click on them and go to my flickr page. Apparently I'm not technologically savvy enough to do that, so just click on the flickr button on the right hand navigation bar if you are interested in seeing me and my group. I do have to state right now that I'm not looking my best. I really imagined that I would lose a lot more weight in my training, but I didn't. The water bottle fanny pack that accentuates my middle doesn't do much for the world of fashion either, but it did keep me hydrated and fed during my 6 hour run. I'm also not a big fan of my arms, but it was hot as hell and I was trying to run in as few clothes as was legal (and comfortable). So now that I have all of my neurosis aired out I can get to the post marathon info.
I went back to work after Libby left and muddled my way through two days before the weekend. Much of my time was spent talking with the few people on campus about my marathon experience and answering the never-ending question, "So, do you think you will run another marathon?" I don't know know people. For God's Sake I just ran 26 miles, what more do you want from me? One of the men I work with signed up for the marathon on a whim on Saturday. Yes, you read it right - he signed up the day before the marathon. Now of course he is in great shape, runs and rides his bike religiously, and has done lots of other marathons. But seriously, he was reading the paper on Saturday morning and decided to head down to the Expo and register for the race, AND he finished in 3 1/2 hours. That kind of deflated my bubble a little, but I'm still feeling good about finishing.
On a more interesting note Joel and I went out on Friday night. Now you may be thinking, "Where have I heard that name before?" and I would respond, "Remember that guy that I gushed on and on about who then told me he needed to concentrate on his friendships, yeah that's the one." We went to dinner and to listen to one of his friends play the sax in a jazz band in the Tenderloin. It was a fun evening and one that left a lot of questions up in the air. All I can say is that we may possibly be dating, but we may not. More to come on that one.
Sunday I spent the majority of the day at the Stern Grove Music Festival, a 2 month string of free concerts in the city. A group of us drank wine, ate way too much food, and listened to the Spanish Harlem Orchestra for hours in the sunshine. On Monday I headed to the doctor to get a referral for my foot, only to find out that I don't need a referral for a podiatrist (that one still pisses me off). That evening I met up with all but 3 of the Salazars at the Zeitgeist, a great beer joint with a wonderful outdoor patio, to rehash the marathon and our recovery from it.
Thursday and Friday were filled with doctors & dentist appointments, poking and prodding, x-rays, bloodwork, shots, and general sour grapes. I won't even go into the details but suffice to say that I was walking around with a thundercloud over my head and it is good thing that people stayed out of my way so I didn't kill them. This weekend I spent a lot of time puttering around the house and organizing (what I do best). I spent some time thinking about what I might possibly want for my birthday - I know it is still a month away, but I'm always taken off guard when my parents ask me for a list.
This morning I woke up at 6am and went through a very familiar routine. I washed my face, put on sunscreen, dressed in running clothes, taped my arches, covered my toes in body glide, and headed out the door to run. I wanted to do a 5 mile run this weekend so I can stay on track for the possibility of running a 1/2 marathon this fall. The Mayor of San Francisco was sponsoring a 5 mile run that benefits the children of a poor area of SF, so I signed up. I got to the site way too early and spent about 45 minutes talking on the phone in the car before taking the shuttle to the starting point. The race began at Monster Park (formerly known as Candlestick Park) and ran to AT&T Park (formerly known as PacBell and SBC Parks). I met a woman who is a recent transplant to SF on the bus and we decided to run together. We chatted whole way until we hit the 4 mile marker. I decided to run full out for the last mile and it felt really good. The amazing thing was my time. For 4 miles we ran at about an 11 minute pace and I ran the last mile in 6 minutes. Yes, you read right - 6 minutes. I don't know if I have ever run that fast, and it felt fairly good. I knew I was pushing myself, but not to the point of breaking. I don't know what this means for my training, but I'm impressed with myself.
I have a date tomorrow night with a new guy who lives in Oregon, but travels to SF all the time. I'm not sure about this one, but am willing to meet up with him to see. I had a conversation with my friend Amanda tonight and it was great to be able to catch up and chat in a way that we haven't had time to do in a long time. Something she said has really stuck with me and I think this may be why I'm writing in my blog at 11:30pm instead of sleeping. She told me that I have taken in a lot of stray kittens in my day and fed and socialized them so they will be happy with someone else. I realized that this is true - I'm a foster home. I'm really good at taking someone who is lost, giving them a little love and attention, and letting them go - and there are lots of women out there who are reaping the benefits of this. Amanda told me that she thought I deserve a love that doesn't need fixing up, an "all consuming, can't drive, can't eat, don't even think about all of the little things kind of love that makes you goofy." And, you know what, she is right. I do deserve it. The only problem is where and how do I find it? I don't think she has an answer for that one.
A marathon weekend - literally
You may think that a marathon is a one day event, but you would be wrong. My friend Libby arrived on Friday afternoon and we went out and drove the course. I had the advantage of having run all but 4 miles of the marathon course during my six months of training, but Libby trained for her half marathon in Florida and needed to see the hills involved in the course. On Saturday we walked down to the Expo site to pick up our bibs, race t-shirts, and see what other free samples we could pick up. It was like a carnival but instead of seeing overweight people wearing silly t-shirts and eating funnel cake the park was filled with small, thin people wearing super short shorts and hawking organic goods and gym memberships - surreal. Libby and I dumped all of our stuff into one bag and then realized the folly of this move. We didn't know whose timing chip was whose and I figured that people following my progress online might panic if my time stopped at 13.1 miles. After sorting all that out we walked back to my house. Now, this walk is a straight shot 1.25 miles on one street which may seem easy. Oh, did I forget to mention the 300' elevation gain in 6 blocks. I was actually looking forward to this walk to warm up my muscles so I could do a major stretching session when I got home.
Libby and I walked down to the AIDS Marathon Pasta Party at 4pm. It seemed a little strange to be eating dinner that early, but my running group had decided to have their own pasta party at 5 and I wanted to get to both. Yes, that's right, I ate 2 pasta dinners in the same night. There were a ton of people at the AIDS Marathon dinner and the staff put on a great program. Several others from my running group were there so we caught a cab to Esther's together. We had a great time chatting, hanging out, discussing our marathon plans, and planning for future runs. Dinner involved loads of pasta, salad, bread, fruit, and gatorade. My team surprised me with a gift certificate for a massage and a card filled with great sentiments.
3:30am on Sunday came very quickly, but thankfully I had planned out my morning the night before. I had a checklist of things to do, wear, and bring with me to the run site (thanks for the advice Andy). Libby and I jumped in a cab at 4:15am and were at the run site by 4:30am. I had time to tape my arches and shins, pin on my bib number, write my name on my singlet, and take pre-marathon pictures with my team before I made my way to the start line. While we were milling about in front of the AIDS Marathon tent a whole slew of men in leather riding motorcycles roared into the plaza. Our group started in the last wave which had a start time of 6:10am. I crossed the start line 2 min and 21 sec after our wave started and we were on our way.
The team plan was to start out at a 14 minute pace with a 3:2 walk run ratio. We wanted to make sure that we didn't start off too quickly so we had enough juice at the end of the race. We had many discussions prior to the race via email and in person about this being each person's own race. It was a day to be selfish and run the race that each of us had prepared for. Everyone agreed to stay together for the first 5 miles and then each person could do what worked best for them. Once we got on Golden Gate Bridge (mile 5.5) we changed our ratio to 3:1 and sped up to a 13 minute mile. We crossed paths with tons of people on the bridge and there was lots of cheering and hand slapping. One of my favorite sights was a runner in a suit of armor with a helmet, shield, and spear. We also found out that the bikers that we saw at 4:30am were to be our helpers at the race. They directed traffic, pointed runners in the right direction, handed out water, and cheered us on. There is nothing like seeing a very large man in leather chaps and vest clapping his hands and telling you that you can make it.
The running seemed pretty easy until we hit the halfway point. For some reason when we entered the park everyone's spirits were a little low. I blame a lot of it on the heat. The forecast for Sunday was supposed to be 61 degrees but actually it was about 80 degrees. It is amazing how much high temperatures sap your energy and training in SF does not prepare anyone for high temps. It makes me rethink running any races in warmer climate - but I'm getting ahead of myself. At mile 19 we were headed out of the park and into the Haight where people were out cheering us on. We changed the ratio to 4:1 and kicked the pace up to 12 minute miles. By this time the group had split into two groups and everyone was concentrating on their own race. It was good to have some cheering fans to lift our spirits.
The last 7 miles of the race were along the city streets in the Haight, the Mission, and Potrero Hill. It was later in the day which means more fans lining the streets, but it also means higher temperatures and no shade from trees. At mile 21 I wanted to be done and so I spent the next four miles convincing myself to keep going. The AIDS Marathon people were manning the mile 24 water stop and Shaun, our program director, was there in his pink tutu, green afro wig, striped knee socks, and Elton John sunglasses. I told him that I didn't think I was going to make it and he gave me the encouragement I needed. He told me that the race was mine, that I only had 2 miles left, and that I had run 2 miles so many different times in the past 6 months this would be no problem. At mile 25 I knew that I would finish and all I wanted to do was get to that line. About 50 yards from the finish line Libby was standing in the road screaming for me and that was just the last little push that I needed.
I crossed the finish line in 5 hours 49 minutes and 30 seconds with my arms raised in triumph. I joined up with the rest of my crew to celebrate and take pictures (coming soon, I promise). After scarfing down all the food available and heading to the AIDS Marathon tent to see other finishers Libby and I jumped (ok it was more like limped) on the cable car and headed back to my house. Getting off the cable car was highly amusing, although I don't know that the other passengers appreciated the time it took for us to get out of our seats and make it down the 2 steps to the street. An ice bath, 800 mg of ibuprofen, half a pizza, and a nap later I was feeling better. A pint of post nap peanut butter - chocolate ice cream made it much better.
Monday and Tuesday Libby and I spent a lot of time walking around and working the lactic acid out of our muscles. Stairs and anything downhill was murder but it was necessary. I am surprised at how good my body feels today. I'm getting that massage tonight to finish off my marathon experience.
It is really strange to think that this chapter of my life has come to a close. I have become very close with the 9 other Salazars and we have plans to continue running together and finding other races to run. It is nice to know that there are other people out there that I enjoy running with and who are at the same fitness level as me. I am still processing this marathon. During the past six months I have been surrounded by people that have the same goal as me so I have a warped sense of this accomplishment. When I look at my time and the times of some of those who I ran with when I was a Cathy O'Brien I think, "I could run at that pace next time." Then, I think "NEXT TIME?!? What the hell am I thinking?!?" A lot of people have asked me if I will be running another marathon and I honestly don't know at this point.
I just got back from my massage and it really was the cherry on the top of a marathon sundae. My LMT found sore spots that I didn't know I had and released a lot of toxins. I knew that my quads, hamstrings, and calves were a bit tender but the really sore spots were mostly in my hips. We talked about the nagging pain that I have had in my left arch and she mentioned the dreaded words "plantar fasciitis." She made me promise to see a podiatrist and have a gait analysis before getting back into any serious running. She also nixed my plan to run 3 miles tomorrow. I got the OK for water running, but nothing more for a little longer.
So, will I continue with running? - Yes! Will I run another marathon? - That decision is yet to come.
