MARATHON!

I've decided. For sure, shelled out my $65, decided. I'm going to run a marathon (barring injury and disaster) on December 4th. I must be out of my mind.

But having a race on the horizon will make it easier for me to keep running regularly and with purpose. I'm excited about this! Scared too, but mostly excited.

Hmmm....this combination of feelings is a lot like what I felt coming into graduate school, but without all of the feelings of unconquerable inadequacy. With this I at least know that I can run myself into shape for it. I don't know that any amount of thinking myself into shape will make me feel like I actually know what I'm doing as an academic!

Half marathon

I can't believe I didn't post about it this weekend! Better late than never, though.

I finished the Air Force 1/2 marathon on Wright Patterson Air Force Base on Saturday in 1:55:44. I was 838th overall(of 4300), 217th for women (of 2246), and 46th in my age group (of 363). I finished faster than I had even hoped...I thought two hours would be pushing it. It was a great day, good race, really well planned and well supported. The course was nice, though I'm excited about trail running...I'm always better at that than road racing.

I had two favorite things. The first was the fact that they printed our names on our race bib (apparently that's what they call the number these days...I'm so out of the loop), and all the people on base standing along the route (security, families out on their lawns, whatever) would cheer for us by name. It was pretty cool. The other was the fact that they had all sorts of planes out along the finish, and others doing flyovers. J kept pointing and saying "Pane!" It was great.

Even though at mile ten I felt a little like the road-kill opossum that I barely avoided running through (yuck), I'm really proud of myself!

"This class is BORING!"

So maybe it's not my job to entertain you, it's my job to teach you Spanish, and that means that some days we will do actual work in class on concepts that are difficult. I am NOT a comedian, a reality TV star, or a video game. Sorry about your luck.

GAH!!!

Tutor lab

It's the bane of my existence. I have to come and sit in my office for an hour each week...an hour which, of course, has no relationship to the other blocks of time that I'm on campus...and wait for students to come drop in for help.

Which they don't. Ever.

Biggest. Waste. Of. My. Life.

Today's run

Today I did the last really long run before the half marathon in two weeks.

I won't narrate a mile-by-mile because 1) I'm not that dedicated, 2) My memory isn't that good, and 3) It would be really boring.

But it was really nice, 68 degrees and breezy, really blue sky (and my route went through a lot of corn and soybean fields). My slowest mile was about 10:45, my fastest about 8:30. I averaged 9:53.

And I ran 10 miles.

I'm feeling really sore, and stiff, and like I'll only ever want to drink (not eat) ever again. I'm just glad I did it and lived to tell the tale. :-)