Boring Life

I don't really have anything to say. But, I feel like I haven't posted in a while, so I wanted to say something. This is the third week of school & things are starting to calm down & fall into a routine. It has been really nice to have all of my prep time, but I still find myself working after hours. With 5 different classes to prep every two days, I have plenty to keep me busy. I'm learning just how impossible my schedule is. Nobody should be expected to teach my schedule. Not only do I have 5 different classes to prep, but in two of those classes the students are on 3 different levels. It's like I have to teach Pre-Algebra, Algebra, & Calculus at the same time to 50 different kids. Then in the same day, I have to teach US History, Geography, & World History at the same time to a class of 30. In addition, I also have to teach a class of 50 students 5th grade biology, and three classes of Health. No wonder I'm going crazy! So far things are better than last year, but it's still tough. I would love to work in a normal Band position, where I just teach Band classes all day long. I'm still looking, but with the economy the way that it is, I'm lucky to have any kind of job. I know a few people that have lost their jobs recently, and I try not to complain too much. Things can definately be worse.

Meanwhile, things are on track to move into my friend's condo on September 19th. My brother & his family move into town this weekend, so it looks like I'll be spending the next two weeks moving stuff. That doesn't leave much room for a social life. Its a good thing I have "mini" vacation plans for the Sept 25th weekend & the Oct. 2nd weeekend! Halloween is going to be hear before we know it! If only the weather will cooperate & get cooler!

My First 5K

It's ironic that I originally started this blog to document my training for my first 5K race. But when I finally managed to register & run in my first race, it takes me two weeks to post the results. But I guess it's better to blog late than to never blog at all, right? So here it goes... The race was an awesome experience! As I posted before, I decided to run in the Wasatch Women 5K/10K race on August 22nd. I was attracted to this race's women-only status & it's short distance. I figured there would be many women of different running levels there & I wouldn't be too embarrased. I'm still considerably out of shape, and knew I couldn't keep up with serious runners. Even though I'm far from my ideal body weight, & running level, I wanted to run this race anyway. I was running for the experience & to get a better idea of my current 5K time. In fact, I didn't really "train" for this race at all. I went to the gym twice in the two weeks prior to the race. I kept meaning to train outside, but the weather was so hot, I just couldn't get myself to run outside. I figured I could at least finish the race, and I didn't care exactly what my time was. But that doesn't mean I wasn't nervous. I've never run a race before. I've never expected myself to run outside, up hills, consistantly for 3.2 miles in front of 1300 people I didn't know. Considering the terrain & the hot weather, I set a personal goal of running the 5K in less than an hour. I know this is a terrible time, considering a "decent" 5K running time is around 20-30 min. But, for me, coming in less than an hour was going to be awesome. I talked Megan into running with me. She agreed, even though she HATES running. Her husband was also kind enough to arrive early with us & take a few "before" pictures. My parents arrived just before start time. It was awesome to have all that support. At the last minute, I decided to listen to my iPod while I ran/walked. I don't usually exercise with my iPod because I'm usually watching the latest video in the CardioCinema room at the gym. I also don't have a good place to keep it while I run. But I was really glad I used it that day. I was able to totally get "in the Zone," and focus on listening to my body. I could push myself harder than I normally would have. I found a good pace & started a quick jog/walk pattern. Before I knew it, I was rounding the corner to the finish line. As my foot crossed the line, I glanced up at the clock and saw 49.52! I came in less than 50 minutes! WOW! I never knew I could do that well! Megan did awesome, too. She had cut 7 min off her time from her first 5K race in May. Considering all the hills in the park, and the temperature hovering around 80 degrees, our times were especially sweet. I was emotional when I started the race & when I finsihed it. Hopefully next time I won't be such a boob. :) Here's a video of me crossing the finish line:



And here's some more pics:

Megan crying after crossing the finish line.

Megan & I hugging after I crossed the finish line.

The "After" picture. It's beautiful, isn't it?

Last Week of Summer

In my world, today is the last Monday of the summer. School starts next week, and if I don't think about it, I'm fine. :) Things are starting to look better in my classrooms & I'm getting closer to getting lessons planned for the first week. Dance Company had a rehearsal today & I could hear girls yelling & giggling in the hallway while I cleaned today. It was a pleasant reminder of what I'll hear next week when all of the students return. Tomorrow I have a music meeting at the district and Wednesday we start our official meetings at the school. We've got meetings Wednesday and Thursday, but Friday is free. I'll probably be planning & running off copies on Friday. My goal is to get everything ready to go by Friday afternoon, so I don't have to do anything over the weekend. I want this weekend to myself. Saturday is my first 5K race & I'm really excited to get it over with. I know my time won't be great, because I'm still terribly out-of-shape, but at least I'll have a starting point to improve upon.

Meanwhile, my friend finally closed on her condo last Thursday & her parents have been constantly working on getting it ready to move in. My friend is stuck at work for about 60 hrs a week. She has one night off & Sundays, so she's not able to help a lot. I was able to help out for a few hours on Saturday & it was the first time I've seen the place without the previous owner's crap in it. The condo needs a lot of work before we can move in, but things seem to be moving quickly. It's going to be awesome when it's finished. I'm going over to help tomorrow after work, so I'll try and take some pictures.

Change Can Be A Good Thing

At risk of falling victim to Murphy's Law, I'm going out on a limb and saying I'm really excited for this school year to start. I have spent the last two days at the school, cleaning & organizing my classrooms. Yes, I have two classrooms. The "band" room & the "choir" room, although the "choir" room is currently the "piano lab". After a year of living in clutter & chaotic messes, I'm finally able to clean & organize 30 yrs of crap. I should've taken "before & after" pictures for all to see, but I know the students will appreciate the work I've done. I'm sure it will help my sanity too. Hopefully by Friday I'll be organized enough to start working on lesson plans & disclosures for when classes start. The only frustration is the heat. The school has no air-conditioning. It only takes 10 min. of moving boxes before I'm sweating profusely.

It's also been fun to see the new teachers at the school. I haven't realized how much I've learned in the last year. Thankfully, I don't have to figure out my account login, how the copy machine works, what my budget is, what a referral is, etc. Life is good in that area. :)

Meanwhile, the moving process has been stalled again. My friend is experiencing some delays closing on her condo. I shouldn't be surprised; I've heard this happens a lot. But, I can still be disappointed. Now, we are thinking we'll be able to move in some time in September. I'm still hoping for the first weekend in September, but we'll see how things go. The positive side is I'm able to concentrate more on work things, which will help make the school year run more smoothly. At this point, I think we are taking things one week at a time.