Not Vermont Bound and Jealous

Today Paul left to finish the Long Trail in Vermont. It was a little under a year ago that he slipped on a rock on the same trail -his body fell one direction and his knee turned the other. The prognosis- he ripped the meniscus in his left knee. He came home early, without even calling and his face, it may be the first time I saw his spirit waiver. At the time everything seemed questionable; would he be able to hike again, would his knee allow him to do the things he loved: run, soccer, etc? Amazingly, he had surgery in which they removed his meniscus, he did some rehab, and here he is a year later heading out to conquer the Green Mountains again.

And...

I am freaking jealous. OK, let me back up some.

Most of you know that I hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2003 and I left Paul for 6 months to do so. He was so supportive but he wanted to be a part of it. So he vowed to do a thru hike somewhere. Why not the Long Trail- the first long hiking trail in the US...plus it is in the great state of Vermont. So last year he went without me...I was so ready to drop out for the semester and head up there too. The call of the woods is intense and I crave that tranquility it gives, more often then I let myself think about.

Of course these past two summers have been jammed with school, and guess what...no hiking trips for me. I do get to lead trips at work, and a taste of the woods has been left lingering in the palette...but I have not hiked (I mean over 100 miles in one stretch) since May 05. Hence the slight jealousy. On the other hand...P will have a great time and that thought makes me smile.

Training

Training (Aug 25th-Aug 31st)

• Sat Aug 25th: 15 mi run
  

• Sun Aug 26th: Soccer 30 min

• Mon Aug 27th: off

• Tues Aug 28th: 8 mi run

• Wed Aug 29th: off

• Thurs Aug 30th: 4 mi run, Climbed 30 min
  

• Fri Aug 31st: Climbed 1 hr
  

Another Beginning to an End

Fall semester begins for the last time, at least for me.

U of Akron has seen an increase of 6% this year and it was obvious as I drove around for 15 minutes looking for parking. Of course as these freshman begin, 25% will drop out by the end of the year and that at least leaves me with a parking spot in a few weeks. Sad but true.

I enjoy people watching and as I sat on the lawn and watched freshman frantically search for their classes, I was reminded on how I felt that first day of school. Now, a senior senior, I feel confident that this will all be over for me soon, but that first day was so scary, so overwhelming, which is probably why I could not handle it at 18. Now at 26, I dream of the day I will get that long anticipated diploma. It is within grasp of me now and what is really interesting is that I find myself scared, trepadacious of an oncoming career. Sort of like those freshman wandering around. I have to move on and find my place as a professional, which is scary in its own right.

A couple months ago I had one of those down days. The "blue for no particular reason" days that really suck the happiness from your usual upbeat demeanor. I sat looking at jobs on the computer and scanning possible vacancies in the area...and not one job was found that I could apply for with the credentials I have. If that is not scary I do not know what is. Paul came home to me staring at the computer and I just lost it. I was wondering what the hell I was doing with my life...was there really "hope" that I could make it in this field that was so exclusive? Thank goodness that I married a rational man, he just has this confidence in me that I cannot always find in myself and many times has made it possible for me to try for things that I would not normally go for. He got me calmed down and confident that something would work out...or at least hopeful again.

So here I am, down to the last months of this chapter in my life. Wow!

BTW...I ran 15 miles on Saturday morning, felt pretty good and started at 5:30 am...I might be making these early runs a habit...how funny.

Why this week...

After my amazing relaxing weekend, Paul and I came home Sunday on one of the raniest days I have seen this summer. The bike ride was nixed and it did not take very long to get the phone call that our soccer game had been cancelled because our field was flooded. So for the weekend I did a whole lot of nothing for training. It seems that something has not been in the stars this week for me to get out and do the things I love, at least as much as I might like too.

Total work hours this week: 36
Total CPR instructor class hours: 20
------------------------------------
Total amount of time locked inside: 56 hours

This weekend looks bleak as well. The only good news for training this week is my running. I managed to wake up at 5:30 am on Tues and Thurs to run. For those of you who have ever dealt with my morning self know that I am incapable of speaking sentences let alone get up and run in the am. I was so proud of myself...In fact I even enjoyed it.

On Tues at 5:30 it was pitch black and pouring rain. I got up, put on my socks, shoes, shorts, shirt, and Paul's camo fishing hat (I needed a rain barrier for my IPOD) and started out on Sand Run in the dark. I kept thinking, "please do not let anyone see me, I look like a jackass". Ironically I saw about 4 men coming back from a run when I began (who knows what time they got there). I said my "hellos" & "goodmornings" and fell into my pace. I found I was running in a very meditative state, the fact that I could not see very well allowed me to exercise in self reflection and I found that three miles had passed with little effort. I was REALLY enjoying my morning. Not to mention, the three deer that passed startled in front of me and the racoon who looked surprised to see someone out in the morning weather. I love urban wildlife just as much as another.

I am thinking that these fairly positive runs in the morning will be just the thing to keep me on track for the semester. If I am at school and work from 10 am- 9 pm each weekday then I have to find the time to run...morning time. That way too, I will be exhausted at 9 pm and I might be able to trick my body to falling asleep a little earlier...well at least that is the plan for now.

As for the rest of this week, I am now an official Red Cross CPR, AED, First Aid Instructor and will be teaching my first class tommorow. Then on Sunday, a Fall 07 Student Orientation at work will be in order and hopefully some Paul and Julia time before he leaves for Vermont next Friday for two weeks. My calender is filled up and unfortunately it seems that Paul has been the one most neglected. OK, sometime I must put in some Paul time, I think more for me than for him.

Later Bloggers

Training Aug. 18th-24th

Training (Aug 18th-Aug 24th)

• Sat Aug 18th: off (C-bus visit)
• Sun Aug 19th: off (C-bus visit)
• Mon Aug 20th: climbed 1 hour
• Tues Aug 21st: 7 mi run
• Wed Aug 22nd: off
• Thurs Aug 23rd: 4 mi run
• Fri Aug 24th: climbed 30 min

C-bus Retreat

School is done...well for a week anyway....well, kinda.

After 16 hard earned credits for summer school, The University of Akron has let us have a week off of classes before fall semester starts. And this girl signs up for a in-depth week long First Aid/CPR instructor course. Yep, so instead of just working part time hours and sleeping in this week, I will actually be at the University even more than this past summer and I picked up two shifts at work...Yep.

I am not trying to complain, because I do understand the value of the things that I do; I need more money...I work more shifts, I want a job...I make sure to fill that resume up with needed certifications. Makes sense and I realize this, but at the same time I feel as though I needed a vacation.

So what do I do....I spend the weekend in C-bus; budweiser factory, city life, and...oh yeah...my BEST FRIEND! Much needed friend time that has been long overdue, for some reason I have very few girl friends up in the area right now and I needed to be able to hang with my girl, never mind the fact that I had not been out of Akron for too long of a time. I pretty much needed to get away, laugh, drink a little, and relax for a couple days and visiting Kate was just an added bonus. I just love that girl.

But my training this weekend did fall flat...how do people manage to fit in exercise when they are visiting a friend? Usually Kate would be up to running with me but a recent stress fracture has her unable to participate with me...I am hardly going to visit the girl and then leave her to go on a long run. Oh well. This week is going to be a hard week for fitting in training, at least swimming and biking. I just hate that this seems to always happen once summer is at the end; my schedule increases exponetially and my training suffers...how do you all do it in blog land?

So we will see how things go for the week...maybe this really wet weather will slow down enough for me to ride the bike...maybe.

Training (Aug 11th-Aug 17th)

• Sat Aug 11th: 13 mi run; 19.8 mi bike

• Sun Aug 12th: Kayaked 1 hr, Soccer 30 min

• Mon Aug 13th: off

• Tues Aug 14th: 7 mi run

• Wed Aug 15th: climbed 20 min

• Thurs Aug 16th: 14 mi bike

• Fri Aug 17th: 10 mi run; 14 mi bike
  

Finals Week..again

Ughh.

The sound that my brain is making as I make it through the last 2 finals of 16 credits of summer classes that I took. Why would I take a summer so full of classes? Because I want to graduate by MAY! That thought may be the only thing keeping me going right now, because if there was a definition for someone with senior-itis (that is the scientific name), that would be me right now. Now I realize some of you know the situation for why at 26 years old I am still hammering away at a degree and it is completely my fault but it does not make my burned out feelings any easier right now. 3 majors and 6 years of school later (I took some time off), I am finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. *Insert Hallelujah chorus here*

All I want is to be done. Is that sad that the quest for knowledge has led me to feel exhausted and bitter? Maybe but I realize now that college is more of just an avenue to get through before they will pay you any kind of real money for a job. That is not to say I am in a degree that will get a lot of money (just the opposite), but that I realize what it takes to get through school. I am just stating that I have learned to be a professional BSer and procrastinator, without actually learning that much (OK I have learned a lot but I forgotten a lot as well). I was never the best student. Yes, I will admit I love the last minute pressure to study, it is the only way I learn. P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C.





At least Calvin gets my drift. It doesn't help that I do enjoy a lot of extracurricular activities and that a lot of my week now is spent training, but those moments in training allow me to spend those needed moments in front of my books and computer...who wouldn't want to go for a 7 mi run after spending hours staring at words, graphs, and pictures. I am just a girl who wants to enjoy my life. I do not want to regret missing things because I had to work my arse off. I much rather lose out for a job then actually compromise on the things that make me REALLY HAPPY. So maybe that is wrong for some people but in my belief we only have one life, live it.

If I just make it for this next 3 days....study, study, run, bike, swim, climb, study....

;0 )

Running, Volunteering, and Such

Weekends for me used to be the time when I would take it easy. Get the house chores done, maybe go for a little hike, but lately it seems the weekends are on the go. After my disappointing three days without much cardio, I started my weekend out right.

SAT:
Paul and I got up on Saturday morning at 7:00 am to exercise; I, with a 13 mi run and Paul (because we could not afford the GCT Half -Iron) decided to do a brick 50 mi bike ride followed by an 8 mi run. It was much cooler than the previous few days and a whole lot less humid. I fell into my typical "comfortable" pace as I ran that morning. I enjoy the fact that I live right next to Sand Run jogging park. There is the running path (which I turn into 8 mi there and back by going to Summit Mall), the awesome trails, the towpath around the corner, and the valley to bike in down the street. I also love days off from work and school; these are the days that I can do double workouts without pushing the limits of getting things done before it is pitch black. I was done with my run before 10 am and I was able to enjoy a slow breakfast and shower and a 20 minute cat nap before heading out for my 19.8 mi bike loop in the valley. I cannot tell you how much I have started to really enjoy the bike. There is something to be said about pumping up a hill just to get to fly down the other side at 30-40 mph. I never thought that I would be one to enjoy those fast downhills, but hey, I do have a little fighter pilot in me.


Paul and I reconvened together for an easy afternoon. He was completely zonked when he got home and I was fairly tired as well, so after a nice shower and a cold ice bath for Paul we laid down for what I call one of the best little naps I have had in awhile. It feels good to relax after that kind of energy expenditures, kind of a special treat for the long workouts. As much as P and I wanted to sleep for the whole afternoon we knew that we would have to move as we had received tickets to Cleveland Brown's pre-season opener against Kansas City Chiefs. My father and his pops came with us as well. We had great seats-35 yard line, 10 rows back. As P said "You can hear the crunch of bones from the tackles." I had never been to the new stadium and it was a blast, albeit the guys in front of us dropping F-bombs every play. We left early as P and I were volunteering at the Greater Cleveland Triathlon as safety boaters and that would require an early start. But GO BROWNS-they won.

SUN:
Alarm went off at 4 am and P and I were feeling a little groggy. We got some stuff together for the day and were off to meet my boss in Mentor, OH for the GCT. As we were setting kayaks up to be safety boaters, the sun was rising on what was to be a beautiful morning for the event. One of P and I's closest friends Brandon was going for his first Half Ironman distance and it was nice to be able to support him, all the while participating in one of the best volunteer experiences I have had. If you do not know the Greater Cleveland Triathlon has three lengths of triathlons; sprint-0.5 mi swim, 12 mi bike, 3.1 mi run, international- 0.75 mi swim, bike 23 mi, run 6.2 mi, and half ironman- 1.2 mi swim, 56 mi bike, 13.1 mi run. The GCT is run by a guy that I have gotten to know through my outdoor adventure and running stuff named Mickey and he not only supports triathletes and sports in the area but has run and set up this great event for the past few years. If you are looking to do a tri, this is one I would definitely recommend.

Anyway, we loved getting to paddle around making sure people were safe and then wait to cheer Brandon on for the rest of his event. He finished in a little less than 5 hours and 45 minutes...WAY TO GO B! He rocked on his first IM and it was only his first triathlon season. P was a little jealous that he did not get to participate, but next year he will be and he was just really glad to see B do so well. After such a long morning I was hoping to be able to take a nap (I like to sleep) but B was a bit stiff and a little out of it, so P drove him home with me following behind. We all ended up going to Winking Lizard to get B some food and beer and to celebrate such an accomplishment.

After a beer and some food, P and I quickly said goodbye's to B and got ready for our soccer game. Our game was at 6:45 pm and it had just poured right before we got there, which made it muggy and hot instead of cooling things down. I have to say I was drenched with sweat in a matter of moments but it was fun. I enjoy these muddy games where everyone is slipping and sliding. We lost but not without some heart. Needless to say, P and I had one of the best sleeps of our lives.

Training: (Aug 4th-Aug 10th)

• Sat Aug 4th 12 mi run


• Sun Aug 5th 20 mi bike


• Mon Aug 6th 1200 y swim Climbed 20 min


• Tues Aug 7th 6 mi run


• Wed Aug 8th Climbed 20 min


• Thurs Aug 9th Off


• Friday Aug 10th Climbed 30 min

Only the lonely

Today has been a rough day. I have not gotten to exercise since a 6 mi run on Tuesday, and I think that I feel a little in a funk from that. On Wednesday, I was at the school from 8am to 9pm, and no time to work out as I had a LAB for Exercise Physiology to work on when I got home. The weather Thursday was both blisteringly hot and humid and as soon as I came home from class the storms began. The rain has been pouring for over a day and even though it is nice out right now, I am at work until 5pm. I am not interested in running or biking because my long run and a short bike are in order for tomorrow. If I do any impact sports the day before my long runs I start getting this pain on the medial part of my tibia. This pain is a real annoyance. I know it is because I should get new running shoes but it seems that everything is just costing too much. I will suffer with my 6 month old $100+ pair of shoes for now, until I can save up.

This gets me to another point. Why does everything I enjoy cost so much? In theory it costs little to run, you do not necessarily have to pay to run, it takes very little amounts of clothes to run in, and it is outside (free to the world). Unfortunately. I found that I am paying quite a bit to run; $20 5Ks & 10Ks, $40 half-marathons, $60marathons, the hotels to stay in before the marathon, the new running shorts for every season, $100 running shoes every 6 months, hammer gels, hydration systems, going out to eat because you are too tired to cook. I think you get my drift. The funny thing is I never thought of myself as a shop-aholic, I am a simple kinda girl, but it is becoming more and more that I need the new gear, new shoes, new stuff; more than I might like to admit. Of course this monetary stuff for running doesn't include biking, hiking, tris, climbing, kayaking, canoeing, and all the things that I enjoy doing and hope to do as a career.


Oh well. Happiness doing all these things...priceless.

Leafs a Changing

Recently, I have been a myspacer, but times they are a changing and I believe that today I will start an actual "adult" blog. Adult being the operative word, sometimes I feel I am a mature, respectable member of society but most days I like to play around and make fart jokes (Ok maybe not that crass but gaseous comic relief has been known to make me laugh from time to time)

I also wanted to begin a blog that tracks my training for runs, swims, hikes, climbs, etc. As well as a blog to watch my current jump from career student to actual career (scary, huh?) . So this will be a little of everything; the good, the bad, the ridiculous...a potpourri of random information about me and my life.

I am already very excited about my new blog as Blogger has already pointed out five spelling errors which, if I were writing on Myspace, would have already been overlooked and then posted.


OK---Onto new things.

I was in the paper yesterday. Not your high level New York Times or Boston Tribune...no, the AKRON BEACON JOURNAL. Not many days that your ass can be found on the upper right hand corner of the paper.



Yep...that is me. Spiderwoman...sort of. In an article about alternative exercise.

Taking my moment in the sun, yep, there it was. Off my self selfishness.

Later Fellow Blogsters and Readers.