Hitting the trails in October

Despite the fact that the weather on October 1st, topping out in triple digits, did not seem to indicate a change of seasons and a new month, by the end of the week (yesterday and today), the temperatures dropped by 20 degrees.  Hooray - it FINALLY feels like fall around here!  It seemed to take long enough, but I honestly think I think that I forget every year how miserable I was the previous year in September.  This year, September's heat seemed particularly obnoxious, perhaps because I was, in theory, trying to kick-start my running mojo.  At a certain point, I decided that my mojo would just have to wait until October.  First of all, the weather.  Secondly, we seemed to be ridiculously busy in September as I returned to school and we had a busy social schedule.

Going out of town last weekend did not help the 'busyness' feeling, but we could not avoid that trip.  Someone in my family had a significant birthday, so, being the dutiful daughter that I am twice a year or so, we traveled to south Texas for a weekend of revelry.  And what a weekend it was - filled with the usual activities: drinking too much; going to Mexico to shop, eat and drink margaritas; fighting/arguing over politics; shooting squirrels with the bb-gun; and playing around with my nephews (my niece is officially a teenager and I'm not sure that "playing around" is possible).  We also saw a soccer game in which my nephew suffered two injuries - he got the wind knocked out of him when a ball hit him right in the belly and he also chipped a tooth when he took a header.  Fortunately, he's a pretty resilient little guy, so neither one slowed him down too much.  I also went for a run on Sunday morning (that would have been physically impossible on Saturday morning when I felt that someone had hit me over the head with a sledgehammer - so much pain!).  Considering how flat it is where my parents live, you would think that I would have kept a fast pace, but I was definitely taking it slow.

While this week started off a bit rough around the edges as I recovered from our trip (it takes me at least a day or two to catch up) and tried to not be too angry about the heat, I also managed to hit most of my workouts and even got in THREE workouts before work - two early morning swims and one run.  That is a minor miracle for me!  I also hit the trail this morning, motivated and accompanied by a drinking/running mate, and I managed to slog through a 12-mile (or so - don't entirely trust the Garmin) run.  I hoped to hit 10 miles, and while those last two were pretty rough, it gives me a small confidence boost as I think about the 30k.  It won't be a fast race, which was confirmed today as I reacquainted myself with trail running and had to take it easy on both the uphills and downhills, but running on trails is such a different experience from pounding out the miles on the pavement, in both a mental, physical and even philosophical sense.  Mentally, I find trail runs both more and less challenging - it is hard to see a 15-minute mile pop up on the Garmin, but then it's great to enjoy the sense of getting away from the noise and busyness of the highway - and even just local roads - even if it's just a for a morning run. Physically - the tricky terrain can present problems (I almost turned my ankle twice and had visions of being airlifted out), but I always feel better after a trail run than after a run around the Rose Bowl, for example.  My joints creak and ache less, probably because my body is constantly adjusting to the rise and fall and twists and turns of the trail, and probably because I can't run as fast as I would like.  Finally, the philosophical aspect - well, I'm not sure if I want to fully wade into that topic yet, but I approach a trail run with a different ethos than when I'm pounding out a mile or two or more on the road.  It is definitely about the process and not the final product!  At times, I found myself thinking that the run was really just like a fast hike - I could cover more ground than if I were hiking, but that was just about the only difference.  In the meantime, I crossed a small creek several times, stayed on the lookout for rattlesnakes, took in a deer that bounded off in the opposite direction, and on more than one occasion stopped to take in the scenery on a beautiful fall morning!

And now, thanks to having Monday off, rather than grade essays this afternoon, I'm headed for a big, fat recovery nap!

September happenings

So, the month has been a bit of plus/minus so far - fast, plenty of events, both work and fun-related, and I'm feeling optimistic about the school year.  Thus far.  If nothing else, a student made one of the most hysterical comments that I've ever heard in a class in my life.  If/when I'm depressed at any point this year, I will have to remind myself of this moment.  (I would share, but it's a student's story, not mine, and sharing it would be so not appropriate; it suffices to say that the entire class was laughing hysterically - not AT their classmate but with her)

The other most exciting moment that has happened to me in a long time was seeing the Space Shuttle Endeavor as it flew to its new home here in LA.  I lucked out as it flew over the school where I work at 12:30 or so - during lunch.  Perfect time to see it!  I could not believe how amazing it was to see the shuttle.  I expected to be underwhelmed, but this was one of those moments when the actual event COMPLETELY exceeded my expectations.  This is not my photo, but I'm sharing:

Source - LA Times

It did make teaching more challenging for the rest of the day because I just didn't care. Somehow, conjugating verbs paled in comparison to the awesomeness that is/was the Endeavor!

Speaking of teaching and other aspects of my life, I'm giving myself a B (yes, I grade myself).  I'm still looking professional, although it's been damn hot with the heat.  I can't wait for cooler temperatures to arrive because I seriously lack professional clothes that are suitable for the heat!  In other parts of my work life, I'm feeling pretty good about the pace of the year and how 'settled' I feel and that I'm more or less staying on top of grading.  That could, of course, change within a day or two, but I'd like to maintain a positive outlook.  

The 'other aspects' are up and down.  I blame the heat on my lack of motivation in terms of the 'active lifestyle' front.  I did manage a run, a spin class and even an early morning swim (yesterday!) this week, but it is 4:00 pm on a Friday afternoon, and I don't think that I'm going to make it out for a run before I meet friends for margaritas.  I do think that once I sign up for this race, it will inspire me to pound the trails, but I have yet to sign up, obviously.  

Fortunately, the conversation over margaritas tonight should inspire me to commit to what might be my only fall race!  Whether I sign up for the 30k or 19k might depend on how much I've had to drink. 

Other possible topics over margaritas: how cute a certain baby is; the heat; the Space Shuttle; the election; and Alberto Contador's return to cycling.

Over already: the Dog Days of September

September seemed to pass in the clichéd 'blink of an eye', and it is now October.  While September is marked by highs and lows, as the school year begins, bringing with it the usual ambivalence - high hopes and excitement about the new year mixed in with some dread and also nostalgia for summer days.  Forever the optimist (okay, not really), I love the beginning of most months, the promise that they hold, but October is particularly promising, offering up the possibility that the weather might change and I'll have to pull on a sweater or fleece on occasion.  Probably the only time of the year that I find myself cringing at the beginning of the month is springtime, strangely enough.
The last week of September presented a bit of work stress which resulted in some very restless nights of sleep, or lack thereof.  I did, however, learn a valuable lesson that most people already know:  when I receive an email after 5:00 pm, I should not reply until the next day.  Just wait.  I also realized that I am so happy that I don't have a truly stressful job or life.  I think that it would kill me, or I would be so sleep-deprived that people would just take me for a zombie.
September was also a bit remarkable in that we settled into very new schedule at our house.  Michael is taking classes at night, so I find that the afternoons, after work, are packed as we try to walk the dogs, cook dinner, maybe go for a run or take a spinning class.  When he leaves for his classes, I then crash out on the sofa and try to plan and/or grade.  After a summer in which we spent so much time together, it is strange to be home alone for hours on end.  The dogs and I have bonded, but I think that they still prefer their male 'food-giver' to me.  And, despite my attempts to stay on top of my work load, I find it more and more challenging to do so.  It *IS* October now and the piles of quizzes and essays have gathered, and I am inching closer and closer to that edge of "I-will-never-be-caught-up".  Once I hit that point, I feel behind all year long.
Activity-wise, I'm still running but not swimming.  Also, I've avoided any true cycling since the Santa Barbara tri.  Lame, I know, but at first it was really hot and I wouldn't dream of biking in 90 degree weather, and now the days are growing shorter and shorter, especially as we try to accomplish so many things between 4:00 - 6:30 pm or so.  However, Michael and I have continued our spin class addiction and maybe even upped the ante a bit.  We have started to attend the occasional 90-minute Sunday class, which sounds like hell but is a great workout.  Because it is longer, we don't push quite as hard, so I don't even want to puke during the class.  Win and win.  I do, however, have a new teacher/trainer crush.  We had a random substitute for a class on Wednesday, and this guy, Ron, kicked our butts, making us do intervals for 45 minutes.  He was INTENSE - from his general demeanor (kind of like a drill sergeant with crazy tattoos), to his style (not using the mike but just barking out commands) and even the music he played (nothing nice and "poppy").  It was both awesome and awful, but I'm now obsessed with attending more of his classes.
Finally, we've eaten a good amount of Mexican food throughout the month, and last night was no exception.  We had a great night out on the town at one of our favorite Mexican places, Amigos, in Pasadena.  Good food, a strong margarita, great conversation.  What more could we ask for?