Farewell to 10801 in Pictures

Farewell graffiti

Outside of building

Packing crates piled high

My desk

Trees

Courtyard

Rebuilding

I haven't been running regularly at all, except for going out on the weekends with my husband. I've introduced him to my favorite trail which is a path through the woods where the leaves are turning color. I only run 2 miles now, so that means that I follow him for a mile, and then walk while he goes to the turnaround point and comes back, at which point I follow him again. I like the feeling of running and gliding along with a thick carpet of leaves beneath my feet. That's the enjoyable part.

Getting back into running regularly on the weekdays has been a huge challenge. I think I'm going about it all wrong. I finally Googled up articles on returning to running after injury, and I now believe the best way to do this is to start by walking 30 minutes with a 5 minute run, gradually increasing the length of the running portion, and then increasing the run to walk ratio, until I'm running 30 minutes. This should take about 4 weeks. I'll see how this works out.

Just to make it more challenging, my treadmill broke. This means no indoor running in the comfort of my basement, even if I'm staring at my insulation. I've been getting up in the wee predawn hours to jog outside, armed with a headlamp and dressed warmly, although the temperatures keep dropping. My biggest surprise is that I'm not the only one stirring at this hour. I see about three other cars warming up and getting ready to go to work.

Right now, swimming is the best thing that I've got going. It always makes me feel like a million, like running used to. After swimming, I'll get in the car and drive to work in bumper-to-bumper traffic, and it won't bother me. Ohmmmmmmm! I actually decided to cut back on swimming and gradually build up. I'll warm up, then swim about 800 yards working on my flip turns. Then I'll do another 500 free at a very relaxed pace, almost a cooldown, until I've been in the water for 40 minutes or so.

I'm reaching to the finish line with CAE studying. I've got one more domain to tackle and a final exam with my online course. I also need to produce notes for my study group on D10. After that, I'll begin taking practice tests and reviewing everything as I head for the finish line.

With the half marathon, I was completely unprepared for any alternate outcomes. But with the CAE exam, I've met *more* than a half dozen people who didn't pass the test the first time around--really bright people--and I'm mentally prepared for either outcome. And as I head into the final stretch, I have this feeling that 2008 is going to be redemption year -- the year that I try to accomplish what I don't accomplish in 2007.

Cleared

I was told I had knee arthritis -- until I actually had x-rays taken and they came back clean. Turns out it was simply an overuse injury. That's the good news. Not having joint problems is really a very good thing.

Doesn't change anything else though.

Inspirational Link of the Day

Triathlete leaves competitors, self-pity behind

I hope the day comes when we talk about an individual's accomplishments first and their disability second.

Another Countdown

Kyrie Eleison
Down the road that I must travel
Kyrie Eleison
Through the darkness of the night
Kyrie Eleison
Where I'm going will you follow

--Mr. Mister

I'm knocking off domain after domain as I count down the weeks until the CAE exam on Dec. 7. I'm a little burned out on studying, which is one of my latest challenges. My study group is one of the things that keeps me going. The actual group meeting is simply a review for me as I get an outline of a domain I've already studied. I also know from talking to other people that I've done far more studying than most, being the perfectionistic individual that I am. But then again, I can't imagine just getting started in studying for this test with the sheer amount of specific information that must be kept in mind.

Things are getting a little crazy. I have an IEP meeting coming up for one kid, and the other decided he wants to join the Marines. We're a passionately anti-war family and we're hoping that he doesn't just go down to the recruiter's office and enlists the day he turns 18. My other hobby is completing college applications in hopes that he actually goes to college.

My exercise life has been practically non-existent. I haven't run regularly since the end of September. Then I took a week off from all exercise before and after the race. Now I'm having a hard time getting going again. For the first time since I started running 1.5 years ago, I've contemplated quitting. I took so much time off that I feel like my base is gone, which is discouraging. My PT said that I could do "two miles" and I didn't bother to ask whether that was each time or once a week. Part of me feels like going out on a run to see the leaves turning colors as the season changes. Another part of me feels like curling up on my couch with a twinkie, soda ... and my books. I want the stress relief and the endorphins, but I'm frustrated with my leg aching and having to start over again.

I'm having a hard time explaining to my co-workers what I've been doing during the weekend after they talk about their social events. I usually spend most of my weekends with my nose in a book. At heart, I am a book nerd who thinks that the printed word can tell us everything about the world. Perhaps I should say that I spend a lot of time with my buddies (the Association Law Handbook and Professional Practices in Association Management, not to mention a few others) and I had some fast times (flipping note cards to review key terms and topics), then during a pensive moment, I did some writing (to take notes). I'm even thinking of this as trying on the life of an adult grad student.

And then there are my nefarious distractions. I've discovered that YouTube has all of my favorite '80s videos. I grew up with beginning of MTV, but this is better than that! I can watch my favorite video anytime, without waiting for it to come on, and I can play it five times in a row!! It's amusing to see another generation figure out the Kyrie Eleison means "Lord, have mercy" and it's spoken three times during the Catholic mass, as Richard Page does at the beginning of the song.

Baltimore 5K

I really wanted to be in Baltimore on Oct. 13 and I couldn't believe how excited my husband and I were about the race. I love the feel, the excitement, and the crowds in a big-city race. The weather was perfect. It was warmer than last year, about 47 degrees which was cool, but not cold.

We almost didn't make it. My logistics called for leaving the house at 7 a.m. for a half-hour drive into Baltimore with 15 minutes to park and walk to the starting line. This would give us 45 minutes before the start of the race to stretch, go to the bathroom, and watch the marathoners take off. But hubby decided to take a different road into Baltimore, and this cost us a stress-filled and argumentative 30+ minutes. The roads were closing and cars formed a single file line which snaked slowly into the stadium parking area which was filled to capacity. I honestly thought we'd never get to the starting line at all. But in the nick of time we found a parking spot and sprinted over to the starting line with just 10 minutes to spare. We swear we'll leave the house earlier next year and watch our stress management!

And we took off. Both of us found it easier this year now that we knew the course and what to expect. The Baltimore course is known for its hills, and the 5K race heads uphill for the first mile or so. I tried to think of it as a long incline, which I prefer to steep hills. I hit mile 1 at 12 minutes, as I did last year. Then the rest of the course went downhill, and I was able to speed up. I felt pretty good, considering that I hadn't run at all for several weeks since the injury and I took the last week off completely to rest a sore muscle on the side of my leg. As I was heading toward the finish line I got a right side stitch, so I tried to deal with it. The biggest hazard on the course was potholes and sewer covers and I nearly turned my ankle on one, but then a running angel caught my elbow and asked if I was OK. I replied that I was, but never said thank you. Thank you!

I came in at 31:40 -- a personal record for me!! It was a really great day and I was happy to be there and happy to be in the running.

My goal now is base, base, base!!!! I need a stronger base and a higher level of fitness to get to the next step.

Dreaming Big Dreams

It was a very experiential season that came, and went, and never really got off the ground. I didn't do many shorter races this year, preferring to focus on the half-marathon, and I deferred that because of the knee injury due to osteoarthritis, a byproduct of a car accident a decade ago. I was most surprised to learn that I didn't do anything wrong in my training that might have caused the injury. My biggest mistake may have been not taking enough time off to recuperate from the first injury before starting the HM plan. So much for self-castigation and flagellation! But I do believe now that there is value in keeping a training log and recording all injuries -- and developing a rating system that will note whether this was a small ache versus real pain. It's up to you to do your own research and analysis and present that information in the process of trying to determine what went wrong.

I tend to think that if I do all of the right things, everything will turn out right. I followed the training plan closely and tried to do everything to keep injury at bay. But sometimes things just happen for no reason. Or, maybe we don't understand the reason at the time.

So...as I take a break from running for a while to rest and recuperate, I'm trying to turn greater attention to other things. I find myself dreaming big dreams -- for next season. This comforts and inspires me. And I do want another season, and that is my motivation.