What IS this R-word? This week, for a number of reasons, a ton of stress somehow floated away. I wish that I could take all the credit for this and brag about my awesome ability to manage my stress, but that is not the case. External factors have played a major role in stress reduction, but I'm not complaining!
I also think that last week I finally wrapped my brain around WHY I was gritting my teeth all the time and being a fairly unbearable person to live with. Yes, there was the usual work anxiety which comes at this time of the year with the AP exam looming (I am thankful that I don't work at a truly high-stress job because I would obviously have multiple ulcers). However, home stuff was stressing me out, and, on top of that, I was nervous about Wildflower, even though I swore up and down that I wasn't. Or, if not nervous about Wildflower, I was worried about getting my workouts in and felt like I was being a total asshole because I wanted to prioritize working out, grading papers and planning classes, and also I aspired to be a decent person to share a life/house with, but I kept failing pretty miserably at that goal since I was super tense and not a fun person for several weeks. I think the breaking point came last week when I accused another person in the household (the dogs were exempt from this accusation) of eating the last of the granola and then I went and cried. First of all, this other mysterious person had NOT eaten all of the granola, we had a new bag because god forbid we actually run out of granola - gasp! And secondly, I obviously needed to get a fucking grip on my life.
While I'm still a bit stressed about home stuff, especially because our dogs now have fleas and we're on a major offensive as we fight the infestation (we're blaming the neighbors' yappy dogs for this too - why not), I've experienced a sudden and major reduction in anxiety. It's amazing! Classes continue, but I can feel the year coming to a close, especially now that my students have survived their AP and felt pretty good about the experience. Who knows what their scores will reveal about this confidence, but it's nice for them to sense that they were prepared for the exam.
I've also taken a major step back from exercise/training/working out, whatever you want to call it. The previous two years, I bounced back from Wildflower pretty quickly, but I've spent this week focusing on major rest. Some of that is not necessarily by choice - my *awesome* run last week apparently resulted in a calf strain. Nothing terrible and it's feeling better as each day passes, but I was sporting a limp, especially walking downstairs, Monday and Tuesday. I'm signed up for a half-marathon at the end of the month, but I've decided that if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen - I'm not about to freak out about it.
The lack of grading combined with lack of exercise = lots of free time! So, I've finally been to school events to support students, have cooked dinner more nights than not, and feel less irritable in general. This is also coming on the heels of spending a great night with friends and their two-week-old baby boy and then, waking up this morning and not *having* to do anything today.
While this blissful moment probably won't last too long, it's a good reminder that I really need to incorporate more unscheduled moments in my week, if I can. Not that I'm all work/no play, but sometimes even the play feels scheduled, rushed or forced. I'd like to take advantage of this down time - do some reading, watch some movies, catch up with friends, and maybe even tackle some yard work!
And a side note to all of this: I hope this didn't come out as "Oh, I'm so busy! My life is complicated!". It's probably busier than some people's lives, a lot more chill than others'. And I'm aware that I've made the choice for all of these stressors, some of which I handle better than others.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Wildflower 2013: And the third time is NOT a charm
So, I was somewhat ambivalent when I signed up for this race back in January, but when I finally embraced it the idea, I did it thinking that this would be my third and final Wildflower Olympic race and I hoped that it would be this "epic" experience. HA! What is funny about this race is that I seem to forget, every year, even though I have a record of last year's experience and the previous year, how fucking hard it is. And there seems to be something every year to make it a challenge. Last year, the heat. This year, the wind - OMG - the wind! Oh, Wildflower, you never fail to be amazing and heart-breakingly disappointing at the same time!
Before I spew too much negativity about the race and my sucky performance, I'll say that it was great to get away. As we left Saturday afternoon, I felt as though I was leaving a load of stress behind. I turned off the phone, and we settled in for an easy drive to Paso Robles where we had a great dinner and a low-key night. We woke up Sunday morning and headed to Lake San Antonio. Yes, I really should camp one of these days, since that is, supposedly, part of the 'essential' Wildflower experience, but for now, I kind of enjoy not dealing with a tent and camp food while also stressing out about racing, to be totally honest.
In addition to the course being a bitch, the weather comes into play in one way or another, usually in the form of heat. I knew that the weather forecast called for wind and possibly rain, neither of which made me feel happy or confident, but I thought that I would at least have a good run. Also, it would be a better spectator experience for Michael who spends most of his time in search of scarce shade. We arrived earlier than usual so that I could pick up my packet and all of that jazz. It seemed as though I had everything in my backpack, so I headed down the hill on my bike, a trip that was an experience in itself as some guy crashed on the way to transition and there were several emergency vehicles that I had to weave around. He was bleeding, but I heard him say that he wanted to race. That didn't exactly settle my nerves which had started to kick in. Once I picked up the packet, it was time to head to transition - wow, it finally felt real! I don't think I'll ever get over seeing the lake and the huge transition area, even if I continue to do this race until I'm a little old lady.
So, I set up my transition, got body-marked and then spent the next few hours trying to stay calm, hydrated and watching other waves start. We went back up to the car and then waited, waited, and waited some more. I kept thinking, "10:40 is a very late start". Plenty of time for pictures, apparently.
Before I spew too much negativity about the race and my sucky performance, I'll say that it was great to get away. As we left Saturday afternoon, I felt as though I was leaving a load of stress behind. I turned off the phone, and we settled in for an easy drive to Paso Robles where we had a great dinner and a low-key night. We woke up Sunday morning and headed to Lake San Antonio. Yes, I really should camp one of these days, since that is, supposedly, part of the 'essential' Wildflower experience, but for now, I kind of enjoy not dealing with a tent and camp food while also stressing out about racing, to be totally honest.
In addition to the course being a bitch, the weather comes into play in one way or another, usually in the form of heat. I knew that the weather forecast called for wind and possibly rain, neither of which made me feel happy or confident, but I thought that I would at least have a good run. Also, it would be a better spectator experience for Michael who spends most of his time in search of scarce shade. We arrived earlier than usual so that I could pick up my packet and all of that jazz. It seemed as though I had everything in my backpack, so I headed down the hill on my bike, a trip that was an experience in itself as some guy crashed on the way to transition and there were several emergency vehicles that I had to weave around. He was bleeding, but I heard him say that he wanted to race. That didn't exactly settle my nerves which had started to kick in. Once I picked up the packet, it was time to head to transition - wow, it finally felt real! I don't think I'll ever get over seeing the lake and the huge transition area, even if I continue to do this race until I'm a little old lady.
So, I set up my transition, got body-marked and then spent the next few hours trying to stay calm, hydrated and watching other waves start. We went back up to the car and then waited, waited, and waited some more. I kept thinking, "10:40 is a very late start". Plenty of time for pictures, apparently.
(I've no idea why they body-mark the hands, but it made it convenient getting in and out of transition because the rest of me was covered up - it was chilly out!)
And the transition area, where my bike was literally blowing in the wind on the rack. That did not make me feel very confident.
After watching the first waves start and waiting around and watching some more, I suited up around 10:00 am and was ready to hit the water. Or so I thought... Let's just say that the smile didn't last too long in the water.
Okay, I'll cut to the chase - the race. The swim was a soul crushing experience. It was the roughest one I've ever experienced, even compared to the handful of ocean swims I've done. Not only was it rough because of the conditions, which almost made me throw up (no joking), but I couldn't, or didn't, sight for shit, so I definitely lost some time as I tried to correct myself at least twice. Also, the body contact really bothered me this time around. As shitty as the swim was for me (five minutes slower than last year), I was thankful that it wasn't my first tri swim. If that had been the case, I would probably have never done another race again. Pathetic, I know, but it took some people OVER AN HOUR to swim 1500 meters.
Here's proof that I survived the swim!
I was so thankful to be out of the water that I didn't even think about what the wind might mean for the bike. I didn't even think about the bike, I actually wanted to DNF right then and there. Yes, I admit it - I wanted to quit. The only reason that I went and got on my bike was that I couldn't leave the park until 3:00 pm anyway, so I'd be sitting around feeling like a loser for hours. I figured that I might as well be biking and running to distract me from the fact that I'm a loser.
So, I hauled myself onto the bike and headed up the first hill which was definitely harder than I remembered, a recurring theme throughout this entire race! I'm pathetically slow on the bike but in the past I've enjoyed the course because it's beautiful and fun. The wind, however, presented an additional challenge - partly because I had a death grip on the bike which meant that I could barely take in nutrition because I was afraid that I'd lose control and totally crash. And partly because it just slowed us way down. Most of my thoughts throughout the bike ride were pretty negative - along the lines of "last time ever", "fuck this" and "I hate myself". I finally inched close to the transition area and gave Michael a wave or a smile. Or I was just gritting my teeth.
If I hadn't hated the ride so much, I would have felt quite disappointed about my time, but, like the swim, I was just glad to have the leg over. And so it was on to the run. I was determined that, at the very least, I would have a good run. And I did - for me, it was amazing! I knew that the cooler temperatures would help, but I was a bit concerned about the nutrition or lack of nutrition on the bike (it wasn't terrible, but definitely not great). I was fairly conservative the first few miles, but once I made it up the hardest hill (somewhere in mile 3, I think?), I knew that I could pick it up. I hoped to go sub 53:00 for the run if I didn't blow up.
I realize that I look slower than the guy behind me, who was in a relay, but I ended up smoking him at the end. I was kind of excited about that. The girl behind him, however, kicked my ass at the end, but she was in a younger age group and had started the race earlier than I, so I didn't care. Again, it's the little things...
I ended up with a sub 52:00 run which was great for me - while not entirely canceling out my struggles everywhere else, it put a positive spin on the day. I felt damn happy when they put the medal around my neck. I was, however, fairly incensed that they had run out of pasta as a post-race food/snack. At that moment, I went back to cursing the entire day. What the hell? I know that I'm slow, but I wasn't dead last in my heat and not on the course - there were plenty of people still out there. And don't we slow people deserve pasta just as much as the people who are winning the race? Or deserve it even more?!
Somehow Michael found me at the finish line chaos and surprised me with this shot. It's a nice mish-mash of people in various forms of layers and undress.
I finished the race content that I survived the swim and bike and pulled off a decent run. Talk about lowering expectations! I went to Wildflower aiming for a course PR, a goal that I totally failed by a whopping four minutes. A massive, epic fail. One would think that this would upset me, and even I expected to curse myself the entire 4 hours back to LA (or Pasadena), but somehow I felt okay about the experience, even better than last year when I did end up improving. One of these days, I would like to feel really good about my performance at this event, but this was not the year. And maybe there never will be a year when I don't critique every aspect of the race, with the exception of the magical first year when I was a bumbling idiot and just happy to finish. But, even after promising myself that this would be IT, the last time, I'll probably sign up again next year, drag myself to the start line and then complain about the entire experience.
So, final thoughts on Wildflower:
- It really is harder than I expect. Every damn year.
- I felt pretty silly wearing a new kit that is totally obnoxious.
- I need to commit to training with the local tri club instead of just running once a week and doing volunteer stuff with the group.
- I'm never going to improve on the bike unless I spend more time on it with fast people.
- Medals are stupid, but I wanted to wear this medal on Monday morning.
- This was not the ideal way to celebrate 5 de mayo (a fake holiday at any rate, but still..).
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Careful what you wish for!
Ah, May first finally came and went, and I did very little to acknowledge it, but I must say that I am glad that April is over and that May is here!
With its arrival comes, of course, lots of busy-ness, but some of it happens to be of the "play" variety, which makes me quite happy. This weekend, of course, is Wildflower. I will spend Saturday morning reviewing with students as they prep for their AP, and then we'll (we being Michael and I, not the kiddos) get in our car, fully loaded with fun items like BodyGlide and other stuff, and head to Paso Robles. As each year passes, I seem to take Wildflower a bit more nonchalantly, or at least in stride, although it is still a BIG deal in a lot of ways. What I mean about my laissez-faire attitude is that the first year, we went up on Friday and spent a really fun weekend up in the Paso Robles area. Then last year, we went up on Saturday and I picked up my packet and bought a hat and got all excited about the race the day before it. This year, we're not even going to the park on Saturday, but will roll in early Sunday morning and I'll do packet pick-up and race the same day. Not a relaxing weekend getaway, but that's life. We will enjoy a nice meal on Saturday night at Artisan, a kick-ass restaurant in Paso Robles, and I can't wait for that! As for my more relaxed attitude, it might bite me in the ass on race-day morning when I discover that I've forgotten something essential, like my helmet.
As for Wildflower, I'm finally feeling excited about that race and about the whole "it's racing season" thing. I'm an avid weather watcher, especially because last year's race was so hot and I suffered so much due to the heat, so I've been keeping my fingers and toes crossed, hoping that it wouldn't be hot as hell this year. I figured that if the temperature stayed under the mid-80's, I would be okay.
Well, apparently my prayers to the weather gods worked because we're now supposed to deal with rain and wind. I can't wait! I realize that the weather channel is NEVER wrong, but this has dampened my hopes just a bit, certainly for the bike. Now, I'm hoping that I don't crash on the bike and make it to the run. I think, if I make it to the run, it should be a good one, especially if it's not too hot and rainy. I haven't experienced a rainy Wildflower, so this should be interesting!
With its arrival comes, of course, lots of busy-ness, but some of it happens to be of the "play" variety, which makes me quite happy. This weekend, of course, is Wildflower. I will spend Saturday morning reviewing with students as they prep for their AP, and then we'll (we being Michael and I, not the kiddos) get in our car, fully loaded with fun items like BodyGlide and other stuff, and head to Paso Robles. As each year passes, I seem to take Wildflower a bit more nonchalantly, or at least in stride, although it is still a BIG deal in a lot of ways. What I mean about my laissez-faire attitude is that the first year, we went up on Friday and spent a really fun weekend up in the Paso Robles area. Then last year, we went up on Saturday and I picked up my packet and bought a hat and got all excited about the race the day before it. This year, we're not even going to the park on Saturday, but will roll in early Sunday morning and I'll do packet pick-up and race the same day. Not a relaxing weekend getaway, but that's life. We will enjoy a nice meal on Saturday night at Artisan, a kick-ass restaurant in Paso Robles, and I can't wait for that! As for my more relaxed attitude, it might bite me in the ass on race-day morning when I discover that I've forgotten something essential, like my helmet.
As for Wildflower, I'm finally feeling excited about that race and about the whole "it's racing season" thing. I'm an avid weather watcher, especially because last year's race was so hot and I suffered so much due to the heat, so I've been keeping my fingers and toes crossed, hoping that it wouldn't be hot as hell this year. I figured that if the temperature stayed under the mid-80's, I would be okay.
Well, apparently my prayers to the weather gods worked because we're now supposed to deal with rain and wind. I can't wait! I realize that the weather channel is NEVER wrong, but this has dampened my hopes just a bit, certainly for the bike. Now, I'm hoping that I don't crash on the bike and make it to the run. I think, if I make it to the run, it should be a good one, especially if it's not too hot and rainy. I haven't experienced a rainy Wildflower, so this should be interesting!
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Highs and lows for the week
By the time yesterday afternoon rolled around, I was more ready to get off the rollercoaster ride that the week had been. However, instead of basking in the glow of the end of a hard week, I settled into a bit of a grumpy, stewy fog of a mood. On a Friday afternoon! Fortunately, it lifted after a walk with the dogs and a small but potent margarita. Just what the doctor ordered!
The grumpiness has followed me around for much of the week, developing last weekend when our neighbors' dogs (four small things) started to bark fairly incessantly, keeping us up at night and setting me totally on edge. We were feeling pretty desperate about the situation - not sleeping, Michael working at home and not being able to concentrate because of the barking. At one point, Michael, in a sleep-deprived fit of frustration, even commented that buying the house was the biggest mistake we'd made. To try to resolve or alleviate the problem, we moved our bed from one room to another to the final room where it will probably stay put, and we also talked to the neighbors, expressing our concern for their dogs rather than our frustration with them. Additionally, we considered writing a letter and also calling the SPCA which, according to their website, does deal with barking dogs. In the meantime, we were both reading about the effects of dog barking, all negative, which did nothing to reassure our nerves. I know that some people consider it a point of pride the fact that they can function without much sleep, but I am not one of them. So, figuring out a solution to the barking dogs was a necessity if we were going to live in this new house with any sense of peace and happiness. Finally, on Tuesday, we slept thanks to the white noise playlist we created. I had never appreciated sleep as much until that night - total bliss!
The other nadir (can there be more than one lowest point? In theory, no, but let's say it was a different nadir, work-related rather than personal/home) was a student issue. I can't go into details, but I felt somewhat unsatisfied by the action taken by the school/the administration. While I was told (note the passive voice) that the school would absolutely support me, in the same sentence the same person used the phrase "thin ice" to describe my position. I'm sure the fact that I was tired from lack of sleep did not help my overall reaction to the student's infraction and the consequences, or lack thereof.
Fortunately, there were some moments that lifted my spirits. Tuesday, a colleague and I took our classes on a field trip to see a few of the hundreds of L.A. murals. The timing was terrible (note to self: do not take students on a field trip in April), but the experience was a success. Also, a student gave me a bag of oranges from the orange tree in her yard as a thank-you for writing her letter of recommendation. In non-school related themes, I started Tuesday track workouts with a local tri group, and they've been both fun and really f-ing hard. The last time I ran track workouts was over 20 years ago, but mixing in a bit of speed shouldn't hurt too much.
I *am* getting excited and nervous for next weekend's big event. I realized that opening my 'season' with Wildflower and going in with high hopes is probably a terrible approach, so I've adjusted my expectations. In my terrible funk, I invested in some new tri clothes - a full on "kit". It's totally obnoxious with crazy colors and designs, but I tried it out and didn't run into any chaffing issues, so I'll gear up in it for Wildflower. Maybe it will make me go faster? One can always hope.
At this point, I'm ready to have a more relaxed week, both in terms of work and play/life!
The grumpiness has followed me around for much of the week, developing last weekend when our neighbors' dogs (four small things) started to bark fairly incessantly, keeping us up at night and setting me totally on edge. We were feeling pretty desperate about the situation - not sleeping, Michael working at home and not being able to concentrate because of the barking. At one point, Michael, in a sleep-deprived fit of frustration, even commented that buying the house was the biggest mistake we'd made. To try to resolve or alleviate the problem, we moved our bed from one room to another to the final room where it will probably stay put, and we also talked to the neighbors, expressing our concern for their dogs rather than our frustration with them. Additionally, we considered writing a letter and also calling the SPCA which, according to their website, does deal with barking dogs. In the meantime, we were both reading about the effects of dog barking, all negative, which did nothing to reassure our nerves. I know that some people consider it a point of pride the fact that they can function without much sleep, but I am not one of them. So, figuring out a solution to the barking dogs was a necessity if we were going to live in this new house with any sense of peace and happiness. Finally, on Tuesday, we slept thanks to the white noise playlist we created. I had never appreciated sleep as much until that night - total bliss!
The other nadir (can there be more than one lowest point? In theory, no, but let's say it was a different nadir, work-related rather than personal/home) was a student issue. I can't go into details, but I felt somewhat unsatisfied by the action taken by the school/the administration. While I was told (note the passive voice) that the school would absolutely support me, in the same sentence the same person used the phrase "thin ice" to describe my position. I'm sure the fact that I was tired from lack of sleep did not help my overall reaction to the student's infraction and the consequences, or lack thereof.
Fortunately, there were some moments that lifted my spirits. Tuesday, a colleague and I took our classes on a field trip to see a few of the hundreds of L.A. murals. The timing was terrible (note to self: do not take students on a field trip in April), but the experience was a success. Also, a student gave me a bag of oranges from the orange tree in her yard as a thank-you for writing her letter of recommendation. In non-school related themes, I started Tuesday track workouts with a local tri group, and they've been both fun and really f-ing hard. The last time I ran track workouts was over 20 years ago, but mixing in a bit of speed shouldn't hurt too much.
I *am* getting excited and nervous for next weekend's big event. I realized that opening my 'season' with Wildflower and going in with high hopes is probably a terrible approach, so I've adjusted my expectations. In my terrible funk, I invested in some new tri clothes - a full on "kit". It's totally obnoxious with crazy colors and designs, but I tried it out and didn't run into any chaffing issues, so I'll gear up in it for Wildflower. Maybe it will make me go faster? One can always hope.
At this point, I'm ready to have a more relaxed week, both in terms of work and play/life!
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Oh, yeah, this is what it's about
This will be the last time that I refer to the crappiness of April, but as the past few weeks have gone by and I've not been able to do the training that I originally envisioned for myself in April, I have felt somewhat dispirited. I know, life happens - I got sick, we moved, I've lacked motivation and/or have had other priorities. I expected that, by this point in April, I would have cranked up the mileage and would be looking at two fairly easy weeks before Wildflower on May 5. Instead, I had 3 sloth-like weeks and fitting in workouts felt like a burden. So, now, when I should back off on training, I'm finally getting back into the swing of things.
Fortunately, this weekend, I really enjoyed the 6 hours that I put into swimming, biking and running and remembered why I like training. It can be fun, but most of these were hours on my own, I spent them kind of lost in my own thoughts as I enjoyed the fact that I was not grading, emailing, planning classes, writing my annual self-evaluation, or dealing with house stuff. Yes, training this weekend functioned as hours of self-indulgence and a mental health break from random stressors. Maybe that's just what I needed because I'm finally looking forward to Wildflower in two weeks!
Talk about an attitude shift - even Thursday night, I found myself wanting to spend the weekend napping. Friday, however, I decided that I really needed to re-introduce myself to my bike. While March was a pretty good month in terms of time in the saddle, I hadn't been on my bike at all in April. That changed on Friday when I squeezed in a 2 hour brick (90 min. ride/30 min run) before I had to spend my evening chaperoning prom. All I wanted to do after getting all hot and sweaty was spend my evening on the sofa with a cold IPA, but I managed to pull myself together enough for prom. As much as I hated having to spend the evening working (and not just working but having to wear nice clothes and heels - definitely my idea of hell for a Friday night), I was SO happy that I had carved in time to train. Today, I spent another few hours riding and running and thinking, and I really appreciated that time.
I'm not great at balancing every aspect of my life that I consider important - there are times when one piece or another starts to slide. And sometimes just keeps sliding. However, I do love these moments when I can get out there for an hour or two, forget all of the other pressing business and just focus on the curve of the road, hauling up another hill, putting one foot in front of the other. These are the moments that remind me how lucky I am!
Fortunately, this weekend, I really enjoyed the 6 hours that I put into swimming, biking and running and remembered why I like training. It can be fun, but most of these were hours on my own, I spent them kind of lost in my own thoughts as I enjoyed the fact that I was not grading, emailing, planning classes, writing my annual self-evaluation, or dealing with house stuff. Yes, training this weekend functioned as hours of self-indulgence and a mental health break from random stressors. Maybe that's just what I needed because I'm finally looking forward to Wildflower in two weeks!
Talk about an attitude shift - even Thursday night, I found myself wanting to spend the weekend napping. Friday, however, I decided that I really needed to re-introduce myself to my bike. While March was a pretty good month in terms of time in the saddle, I hadn't been on my bike at all in April. That changed on Friday when I squeezed in a 2 hour brick (90 min. ride/30 min run) before I had to spend my evening chaperoning prom. All I wanted to do after getting all hot and sweaty was spend my evening on the sofa with a cold IPA, but I managed to pull myself together enough for prom. As much as I hated having to spend the evening working (and not just working but having to wear nice clothes and heels - definitely my idea of hell for a Friday night), I was SO happy that I had carved in time to train. Today, I spent another few hours riding and running and thinking, and I really appreciated that time.
I'm not great at balancing every aspect of my life that I consider important - there are times when one piece or another starts to slide. And sometimes just keeps sliding. However, I do love these moments when I can get out there for an hour or two, forget all of the other pressing business and just focus on the curve of the road, hauling up another hill, putting one foot in front of the other. These are the moments that remind me how lucky I am!
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Box by box, little by little - Progress!
After denouncing April's cruelty in my last post/bitch session, things have improved and my mood has lifted considerably (I will say that I'm not the only one who thinks that April kind of sucks, although T. S. Eliot said it much more eloquently than I). That said, I find myself longing for summer when, at the very least, I don't have something as bothersome as work hanging over my head!
The big news - we have officially moved into the new old house - OUR house, which I still find crazy. I say 'old' because it dates from the 1920's, with some modern updates. It has taken us more time than we expected to be out of the last place, mainly because we own far more shit than we thought that we did. Most of it fits in the new place, but we plan to store some of the more random and superfluous items, like Christmas ornaments, in the garage. We moved plenty of loose items and clothes on Saturday, and then the movers came Tuesday for all of the big items - furniture and boxes. This was our final departure on Tuesday afternoon, leaving our old abode and heading to the new one with the pups:
They had sensed for a while that something was "up", but walking through the empty house freaked them out a bit, and they panted the entire four miles or so to the new place. They seem to have adjusted, although they are still a bit tentative about which room they really want to hang out in. Mostly they are sticking close to us (one is snoring happily away by my side as I type this all out).
As for the house - we are still settling in. Michael made major inroads on Thursday and cleared a spot so that we can eat at the table, but I don't feel extraordinarily motivated to spend hours and hours emptying boxes. The kitchen and bathroom and clothes are set, and ditto for the cable, so what more do we really need? At the moment, we can navigate the labyrinth of boxes somewhat successfully, so I don't feel particularly anxious to sort through all of our boxes, many of which we will store away in the garage. We have discovered, much to our relief and happiness, that we really do like the house and the neighborhood. We met one of our neighbors today when we took the boys for a walk, and I think that we'll soon know a handful of people, at least by sight, if not by name. I was concerned about the small yappy dogs that live next to us - that we'd have a barking war between all of our pets, but Gus and Milo have demonstrated zero interest in barking at them. With the exception of the occasional outbursts, it's a pretty quiet neighborhood, which we like, especially after living so close to one highway or another throughout most of our LA experience together. It is nice to hear birds in the backyard instead of the buzz of traffic!
Thanks to laryngitis/sore throat/cough that has dragged on and on, I was much less help than I hoped to be in terms of the move. This particular cold strand has been quite vicious, but I am finally getting better. It has set my goals for Wildflower back somewhat, which was initially frustrating, but I've now accepted it and am looking forward to that May 5 race day no matter what! This morning I had my first open water swim of the season, which makes Wildflower seem a bit more real. Until the past week, I'd been feeling confident about my swimming fitness, but I took a step backwards with my cold and really struggled through this week's swims. However, the swim this morning gave me a good idea of where I stand for Wildflower - maybe just a hair faster than last year? It was exciting and scary to pull out the wetsuit (fortunately I remembered where I had stowed it, unlike my Garmin cord/charger which remains elusive!), and a mile is always shorter and longer than I think that it will be, if that makes sense. I didn't kill it in the water, not that I ever do, but I also felt pretty even throughout - both in terms of stroke and breathing. Even better, I did NOT end up with 'swimmer's itch', despite all of the warnings about that being a possible result of the day's swim!
So, it seems that we're moving ahead - settling into the house and I'm finally back to training. I'm sure that we'll continue to make adjustments, big and small, in the next few days and weeks.
The big news - we have officially moved into the new old house - OUR house, which I still find crazy. I say 'old' because it dates from the 1920's, with some modern updates. It has taken us more time than we expected to be out of the last place, mainly because we own far more shit than we thought that we did. Most of it fits in the new place, but we plan to store some of the more random and superfluous items, like Christmas ornaments, in the garage. We moved plenty of loose items and clothes on Saturday, and then the movers came Tuesday for all of the big items - furniture and boxes. This was our final departure on Tuesday afternoon, leaving our old abode and heading to the new one with the pups:
They had sensed for a while that something was "up", but walking through the empty house freaked them out a bit, and they panted the entire four miles or so to the new place. They seem to have adjusted, although they are still a bit tentative about which room they really want to hang out in. Mostly they are sticking close to us (one is snoring happily away by my side as I type this all out).
As for the house - we are still settling in. Michael made major inroads on Thursday and cleared a spot so that we can eat at the table, but I don't feel extraordinarily motivated to spend hours and hours emptying boxes. The kitchen and bathroom and clothes are set, and ditto for the cable, so what more do we really need? At the moment, we can navigate the labyrinth of boxes somewhat successfully, so I don't feel particularly anxious to sort through all of our boxes, many of which we will store away in the garage. We have discovered, much to our relief and happiness, that we really do like the house and the neighborhood. We met one of our neighbors today when we took the boys for a walk, and I think that we'll soon know a handful of people, at least by sight, if not by name. I was concerned about the small yappy dogs that live next to us - that we'd have a barking war between all of our pets, but Gus and Milo have demonstrated zero interest in barking at them. With the exception of the occasional outbursts, it's a pretty quiet neighborhood, which we like, especially after living so close to one highway or another throughout most of our LA experience together. It is nice to hear birds in the backyard instead of the buzz of traffic!
Thanks to laryngitis/sore throat/cough that has dragged on and on, I was much less help than I hoped to be in terms of the move. This particular cold strand has been quite vicious, but I am finally getting better. It has set my goals for Wildflower back somewhat, which was initially frustrating, but I've now accepted it and am looking forward to that May 5 race day no matter what! This morning I had my first open water swim of the season, which makes Wildflower seem a bit more real. Until the past week, I'd been feeling confident about my swimming fitness, but I took a step backwards with my cold and really struggled through this week's swims. However, the swim this morning gave me a good idea of where I stand for Wildflower - maybe just a hair faster than last year? It was exciting and scary to pull out the wetsuit (fortunately I remembered where I had stowed it, unlike my Garmin cord/charger which remains elusive!), and a mile is always shorter and longer than I think that it will be, if that makes sense. I didn't kill it in the water, not that I ever do, but I also felt pretty even throughout - both in terms of stroke and breathing. Even better, I did NOT end up with 'swimmer's itch', despite all of the warnings about that being a possible result of the day's swim!
So, it seems that we're moving ahead - settling into the house and I'm finally back to training. I'm sure that we'll continue to make adjustments, big and small, in the next few days and weeks.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
The cruelest month so far
Oh, April, I had such high hopes for you! I realize that it's early days yet, we're only on the 6th, but so far, it's kicked me right in the teeth.
Not that I planned for things to go this way - I was actually very optimistic about the month. But I woke up on Monday with a slight tickle in my throat and by the evening, my voice had gone south. Still, I could speak, sort of, until I got through a few classes and by Tuesday, my voice was worse, even though 2 of my classes just wrote an essay. Wednesday, I managed to get through my classes and then went home and slept 1.5 hours in the afternoon. Finally, I took Thursday off to give my voice a break, went back to school on Friday with something of a voice, which I lost by the end of the day.
It's been strange because I haven't felt TERRIBLY sick, but it's been up and down - feeling better, then worse (mainly just exhausted), then better again. I took four full days off, doing absolutely nothing, had a total meltdown on Tuesday night when I dramatically stated "It's not even worth going to Wildflower this year at this point!" Nice black-and-white thinking about a hobby. Jeez!
In addition to my extracurricular activities and the timing being off for that, this really is the worst time of year for me to be sick and to miss classes. I already will miss students for so many days this month because of random fieldtrips and days of school, so I can't afford to lose classroom time. The other frustrating aspect about the sinus/laryngitis thing, I really can't talk to people - so, I didn't call a friend on her birthday and probably won't catch up with her for another week because things aren't looking great for a chatty weekend. Also, I can't taste ANYTHING! As someone who likes food and continues to cook, it is strange to make meals, eat them, but not really enjoy them. I'm also off caffeine and alcohol and have been drinking tea, water and lots of juice. Such a boring life!
In the midst of all of this, we have started to migrate! We returned from Chicago to a newly painted place - amazing what a difference a good paint job makes. I actually started to feel excited about the move, a feeling that had eluded me up to that point. Also, our appliances arrived on Tuesday. I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I can't wait to try out the stove/oven! We're moving what we can today and then the movers will take everything else on Tuesday. Again, this is adding to the craziness of the month, but it's pretty dam exciting too!
So, as rough as the week has been, I am still hopeful that April will round out and end on an up note.
Not that I planned for things to go this way - I was actually very optimistic about the month. But I woke up on Monday with a slight tickle in my throat and by the evening, my voice had gone south. Still, I could speak, sort of, until I got through a few classes and by Tuesday, my voice was worse, even though 2 of my classes just wrote an essay. Wednesday, I managed to get through my classes and then went home and slept 1.5 hours in the afternoon. Finally, I took Thursday off to give my voice a break, went back to school on Friday with something of a voice, which I lost by the end of the day.
It's been strange because I haven't felt TERRIBLY sick, but it's been up and down - feeling better, then worse (mainly just exhausted), then better again. I took four full days off, doing absolutely nothing, had a total meltdown on Tuesday night when I dramatically stated "It's not even worth going to Wildflower this year at this point!" Nice black-and-white thinking about a hobby. Jeez!
In addition to my extracurricular activities and the timing being off for that, this really is the worst time of year for me to be sick and to miss classes. I already will miss students for so many days this month because of random fieldtrips and days of school, so I can't afford to lose classroom time. The other frustrating aspect about the sinus/laryngitis thing, I really can't talk to people - so, I didn't call a friend on her birthday and probably won't catch up with her for another week because things aren't looking great for a chatty weekend. Also, I can't taste ANYTHING! As someone who likes food and continues to cook, it is strange to make meals, eat them, but not really enjoy them. I'm also off caffeine and alcohol and have been drinking tea, water and lots of juice. Such a boring life!
In the midst of all of this, we have started to migrate! We returned from Chicago to a newly painted place - amazing what a difference a good paint job makes. I actually started to feel excited about the move, a feeling that had eluded me up to that point. Also, our appliances arrived on Tuesday. I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I can't wait to try out the stove/oven! We're moving what we can today and then the movers will take everything else on Tuesday. Again, this is adding to the craziness of the month, but it's pretty dam exciting too!
So, as rough as the week has been, I am still hopeful that April will round out and end on an up note.
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