Wow....it has been a REALLY long time since I have updated....and I will tonight, I hope. We have had parent teacher conferences, end of the quarter, Halloween, etc. so I feel like I have been going going going. Sorry to all of you out there in blogland.

...and we're worried about test scores?

"For students and adults from poverty, the primary motivation for their success will be in their relationships."

Ruby K. Payne from A Framework for Understanding Poverty (2001)

I am the anit-runner

BARG! BARG! BARG! I roll over and hit the alarm. My eyes are bleary, but the numbers still burn my eyes. 5:49. My day of "what-ifs" begin. What if I would've went to bed 15 minutes earlier? What if I would've set my alarm for 15 minutes earlier? I certainly could have snuck a run or a workout in. I don't need an hour an a half to get ready in the morning. Heck- I really only need 45 minutes- tops.

I pad into the kitchen and flip on the lights. I pour myself a bowl of cereal, start the coffee, and flip open my laptop to check my e-mail, facebook, and the latest celebrity gossip. What if I gave all this up for a post run Clif bar? Instead, I pour myself yet another bowl of cereal; I tend to not pay attention to how full I am when I preoccupy myself with the computer. I get ready for work and down my four cups of coffee, running out the door in heels (yes, heels) and my rolly cart (my laptop bag was really wrecking my back).

My day goes by as if I am in fast forward. Get to school, make copies, teach, snacktime, teach, hop in the car and repeat the routine at another school. In fact, this time, I am acutally kind of late for a meeting. Go, go, GO, GO! I get done and I am so wiped out that I decide to head home.

It is sunny and the fall colors are gorgeous so I slip into a pair of running tights, my favorite Nike ones with a stripe sewn down the side and zippers at the ankles. The reflective piping on the zippers is cracked with age and multiple washes. I put on a running top too, but then slip a hoodie over it. Uh-oh, bad news. This means I am getting comfortable and not going anywhere for a while. I make another pot of coffee and take in some TV shows online that I had missed. I sit crosslegged in the wooden kitchen chair. It sounds somewhat uncomfortable, but I could stay in this position all night. The yellow glow that radiated through the room from the sun shining through the leaves is starting to fade, which means that there isn't much daylight at all. I contemplate changing out of these clothes and into something else a little more conducive to laying around the house. Instead, I grab my shoes and try to sneakily lace them up. I don't want Layla to notice; I would rather take this run alone.

Once the shoes are on, I sit and think again. I hate feeling tired on every single run. I hate barely being able to make it through a half hour. I hate running a race and having it be the most painful thing I have ever felt. I realize that I am thinking too much. I zip up my jacket, start my watch, and throw it in my back jacket pocket. No looking this time, let's see how we feel if we are not under a time constraint. I zip through the streets and hit the trail a half mile from my house. I pick up speed as I roll over the bed of sunny colored fall leaves. I tiptoe over the maze of roots and rocks as quickly as I can. As I breathe in the musty, dusty leaf smell and realize how happy I am to be able to do this. I push the pace and fly through the woods, over the river, and next to it, seeing if I can somehow outrun the water rushing over the boulders and downed trees. After 3 lovely miles on the trails I do a loop through town and head home. As I walk up my driveway, I check the watch- one hour. One blissful hour.

It took me all day, but I did it.

I am the anti-runner.

A Real Professional

I am a teacher...

therapist
babysitter
professional carpooler
organizational expert
technology guru
laminating machine roll-changer
dietitian
foster parent
parent to the parent
first-aid administrator
policewoman
crisis intervention team member
case manager
referee for the "quiet game"

And this is just what I did today.

My life

So I'm sitting down to blog right now, and I am realizing that my life really isn't that interesting. I'm not too keen about posting stuff that is about work, due to confidentiality issues. Our district is pretty strict. However, I think I'll share funny things that kids say every once in a while. Today, I got this gem:

High school sophomore is sitting across the room from me at a computer. All of the sudden, in a quiet study hall, he shouts out, "Mrs. Graci, what does castrate mean?"

He definitely was the only person in the room who didn't know; the rest of the kids just busted out laughing.

Also, why does my spell checker keep telling me that "didn't" is not correct. I'm pretty sure it's broken.

Blog is back

Ok...so Sammy and everyone else gives me crap for having a blog...but it's an easy way to communicate with everyone who has decided to up and move to ANOTHER country!! Or to Cali, which is pretty much another world from here anyways...

I've been reading a lot of buzz about people who have decided that Critical Masses are cool again...well guess what...they still aren't. The best way to raise awareness about bicycle safety and advocacy is to do it in a responsible way. All critical masses do are clog roadways and make drivers even more pissed. Not to mention it usually results in an injury or two. Join a bicycle advocacy group in your area, or even better yet, start one...but don't ride around like an idiot.

The only time I will make an exception to the rule is the Halloween and St. Patty's Day rides in Marquette...these aren't done in the name of advocacy, and since people are dressed up, they obviously are doing it for another purpose.

A letter to the editor in a Winnipeg newspaper states all this much more precisely than I ever could...

Dear Lindor,

Thank you for your article today on Critical Mass. I am an avid cyclist who puts on a 1000 km+ per year riding with a group of friends who feel that Critical Mass is an embarrassment to cycling. It is hard enough to get respect on the road as a cyclist and we have all had close calls from drivers intentionally or unintentionally trying to bump us from the road. I stopped commuting to work on a bike because I felt it was not worth the risk.

A friend in the group rides year round and attended critical mass rides in the beginning. He advocates for cycling paths and lanes. He thought he could assist in guiding the group to support this worthy cause, to no avail. The organizers are not interested for the greater good, they are interested in doing what they do ÔøΩ riding in rush hour traffic to stir things up, and thatÔøΩs all.

It is a great disappointment to see how many cyclists are joining these rides. Please tell your readers NOT to support this. It will only make it more difficult to be heard when rallying for causes that could benefit the public/cyclists like road lanes, or the MS Ride, etcÔøΩ.

If what you say comes to pass (police are attending critical mass instead of a real emergency), and someone dies as a result, these critical mass cyclists should be charged. I hope it rains hard on critical mass today.

Sincerely,
Anti-Critical-Mass Cyclist

Sooo cute!

I'm in Grand Rapids for the MACUL conference and I am mentally and physically exhausted from the hustle and bustle of the travel, the conference, thinking about job situations, and Sam's dad's health. After my chat for my online class, however, I dragged my butt to the gym since I didn't get a chance to run outside this morning. I slept past my alarm until about 7:15 and then had to get downstairs right away.

Anyhow, I get to the gym and there is a college-age kid working the desk, and lo and behold, I get in for free!! "Don't worry about it, its on me," he says. (The Amway Grand Plaza ) hotel charges a $5 fee for using their awesome fitness center. As I'm running on the treadmill, I see guest after guest come in and I am definately the only one who didn't pay or fill out a room charge form. I'm awesome and soooo cute. Ok, maybe not, but I sure did feel it tonight.

*Edited to add: Gosh, I look tired...
Oh, also it was half hour run and then some lifting. Nothing major, but I needed to move.

Disposable shoes.

I'm in Lansing right now, waiting to go to Grand Rapids for a technology conference. It is another super sunny day. I took my parent's dog Coco with me. She's a Chihuahua/Beagle mix, but don't let size fool you. I think her PR for the 5k is 19:30, which isn't too shabby for a dog. We only went about 3.6, since that's all the plan called for. We headed out to a few paved trails near my parent's house and they weren't too icy. All in all, a good run!


Everytime I go on a trip, I tend to pack too much, or bring back more than I started with. A few years ago in cross country, I started a new habit. I pack disposable clothing. Socks with holes in them, old underwear that needs to be tossed, or an old pair of running shoes on it's last leg. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't dress like a scrub on trips, but I do have some clothes for lounging around moments that are about headed for dumpster heaven. On this trip, I brought an old pair of Asics GT 2100's. My run with Pam was near my top distance so far, and the speed was something I haven't run in over a year and a half, so needless to say I was a little sore. That being said, an old, broken-down pair of shoes was probably not the best choice for a speedy recovery, but it will have to do.

Day off

Day off today to drive downstate.  I didn't even take pictures as I was in quite a hurry to get here.  I didn't leave Munising until 5:15!  I'm hoping the conference will leave me sometime to get quality runs in down in Grand Rapids.  We shall see...

Productive run

Pam Weier and I went for about an hour yesterday to discuss the prospects of a shop team here in Marquette. It was sunny, but there was tons of ice everywhere. Went about 6.82 at 8:20 pace. Comfortable, but almost pushing it. Good to know I can still run that pace.

Another Sunny Saturday

Did 6.12 on my own this morning. Sammy opted for riding his bike on the trainer instead...its so hard to get him out of the house in the morning before he has to go to work.

I'd have to say I took some nice pics for not knowing how to set my timer. :)

Day One

Today was a beautiful day in Marquette. About 35 degrees and super sunny. Our first run was 3.12 miles, due to the fact that I ran for 1:40 yesterday and Sammy hasn't run since about October. I figured we better ease our way into this so we don't end up A) getting injured and B) hating each other. We did a nice little loop around campus and on the bike path. We also took the dogs on an epic walk this morning to the dog park and 1 loop around while we were there. I wanted to just stay outside all day!

It's on!

Sammy and I are running the Grand Island Trail Marathon! Our friends, Matt and Kim are running too. I registered today and we got 2 of the last 3 spots!

More to come....