All good things must come to an end

Hello to September! And the heat - oh jeez, this is the time of year that I kind of hate living in Southern CA.  As the rest of the US begins to cool down a bit, I always brace myself for hot weather and the Santa Ana winds.  It was a relatively mild summer until the past few weeks - right as I had to start wearing 'professional' clothes.  Nothing like sweat dripping down your back while you mingle with new parents.  Ah, well, these are relatively small problems in the grand scheme of things.

Now that the school year is fairly well underway, August seems a bit of a blur to me.  We returned from Colorado travels and a very lazy schedule and eased back into the swing of things, to a certain degree.  I tried to prepare somewhat for school while still taking advantage of opportunities to take an afternoon nap here and there.  When I wasn't napping, I attended a conference that was south and west of Pasadena, and while it was a bit of work for me, we enjoyed being so close to the water for a few days and taking long walks along Manhattan, Redondo and Hermosa Beach.

(I suspect that, if we could live next to the water, we'd never ever contemplate living anywhere else.) 

I also tried to capitalize on the summer schedule by visiting LA places like Watts Towers, my first time to one of those "LA Institutions".  It was unbelievable to find something so fanciful in the midst of the city - it seemed totally out of place, and maybe that made it seem even more wonderful.

I also discovered that LACMA is a fantastic museum to visit with small children - who knew?  That made me appreciate it even more than I usually do.  And on a hot holiday weekend, it is hard to beat a museum!

I also returned to some regular form of exercise in the swim/bike/run mode for much of August.  I hadn't planned on a fall race since I always fall off the training wagon in September/October.  Last year, I managed the Malibu Tri in September after taking more or less the entire month of August off, and then I struggled through the La Jolla Canyon Trail race.  After Vineman, I swore that racing was over for the year, but then a discounted entry got the better of me, so I signed up for a final triathlon in October.  No trail races this year, sadly enough, since the two that I would have enjoyed racing are both canceled.  Still, signing up for the October tri pushed me to get back into the training groove, and August wasn't too bad with multiple trips to the pool and a good handful of rides and runs.  

September, however, has been a real kick in the pants.  The heat, can I complain about it any more?  It has sucked away all of my desire to do anything outside.  Even swimming feels too hot (whine, whine, whine).  Plus, a late summer/early fall cold knocked me on my ass.  I'm recovering, which is good, because I leave for a class trip tomorrow, and the idea of being sick while spending 5 days camping did not appeal.  Hopefully, when I return from the trip, I'll bounce back to a regular training schedule.  

That said, I'm also okay taking a bit of a break from structured training as I focus on the new academic year and get to know the kiddos in my classes.  That, right now, will be more than enough for me to manage.

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.

Wind storm and gratitude

Oh, yes, Thanksgiving was more than a week away which means the ubiquitous "I'm thankful for..." moment has passed me by.  I did, however, assign my students a short essay with that topic, and one of them noted that they had similar assignments when they were in first grade.  Nice.
As for Turkey Day, it was a great weekend.  We braved the crowds of LAX, which ended up being lighter than we expected, and made it safely to Texas.  Over Thanksgiving, we enjoyed much good food and drink (lots of good drink).  In addition to the usual turkey, we stuffed ourselves on Friday, eating Mexican food for lunch and dinner, once on "our" side of the border and the other time on the "other" side.  Good times and lots of margaritas!
We also made the most of our travels!  The first photo is from our layover in Houston - damn, those beers are Texan-sized!

Upon our return to LA, our bags were delayed for no reason at all.  So, we got a drink at the Encounter bar, this crazy, futuristic 60's-style bar/restaurant (it looks like something out of "The Jetsons!").  Instead of being angry and impatient about our bags, I totally chilled out:

Now, back to the theme of gratitude.  It's a timely topic since I found myself more grateful than ever yesterday afternoon when we walked into our house and discovered that we had POWER for the first time in 60+ hours!  Power meant heat, lights, heat, refrigerator, heat, washing machine, heat.  Did I mention heat?!  I realize that we don't live in the Northeast, so losing power for 2.5 days doesn't have quite the same bite that it could, but our house had settled into a rather cold state, not budging much above 58 degrees (or something like that - maybe 55?!).  I spent the past few days wearing long underwear, Smart Wool socks and a beanie as I wandered around the house!

All of this made me hyper-aware of the fact that:
1. I obviously could not survive well if suddenly transported to a different time period where heat was not common.
2.  I am totally lame.
3.  I am totally lame.

Despite days of some grumbling and feeling 'on edge', I tried to be appreciative of the fact that we did NOT have any major damage, unlike many, many people in the Pasadena area who were not so lucky.  Michael and I also enjoyed a few candlelit nights of backgammon (I emerged the winner one night while he completely routed me the next) and good conversation.  I try not to take for granted the fact that I consider myself lucky in many ways, but this served as an important reminder, especially when it comes to living and sharing a life with a person whom I actually like and with whom I enjoy spending time.  I do believe that the regular day-to-day humming along of life can mask whether or not you actually like the person that, in theory, is your partner, in one way or another, but when you have nothing else but candles and conversation, then you sure as hell had better enjoy each other's company!
So, we did survive the crazy, record-breaking windstorm of 2011, and we both enjoyed a serendipitously unexpected day off work on Thursday.  I have experienced snow days before, when I lived in Philly and Seattle, but never a 'wind day', so this was something new.  Michael and I spent much time in the car driving around so that we could charge our cellphones.  Crazy, I know!
Friday was a bit complicated at work.  We still did not have power on Friday, nor did many of my students.  I took my cellphones and other electronic items to work and plugged them in; so did many of my students!   Needless to say, very few people (I include myself in this group) could focus on Friday.  I think people's emotions ranged from giddiness to frustration to anger.  While we resorted to bar food on Thursday, we were determined to eat in house on Friday.  We still had eggs and a few other items that we could cook up on the stovetop which did still work thanks to the gas stove.  Cooking by headlamp and candles - almost like camping!  Especially considering that I wore multiple layers.  I think my teeth were still chattering:

Finally, on Saturday - bliss, oh, bliss, our power came back on!  I would like to say that I'm a more profound person, but I was ecstatic when we walked into a WARM house.  After avoiding being in our house for a few days because of the chill that set into my bones as soon I walked into the house, it delighted me to feel welcome in my own house and to not pull on my long underwear to hang out on the sofa!

So, we still have a little shrine that we resurrected in order to remember our 2.5 day 'ordeal'.  Please note the bottles as our candle-holders!