Motivated to Succeed

4:40 AM - "Moonshadow! Moonshadow!" Passed out after a super long day yesterday. Had student teaching until 3ish, then down to Albany for class at 4:30-7, then a meeting 7-815pm. Finally got home at 9:30 and passed out. Woke up at 4:30 and went to the track. I have decided that putting out clothes the night before aids in getting out for a morning run because you figure, "Hey! I already have the clothes picked out, and if I don't go running now, then the clothes are going to feel neglected the entire day I'm at school!" Well at least that's what I told myself, haha! Got up and to the track. No one else out, though some more cars were on the roads by the time I finished up at 6am. Felt strong. A little soreness from the hike the other day in the ankles and left knee. Won't push it this week with the race on Sunday. Plus I am more than swamped with homework. Too much stuff due in the next couple days. Eek! No sleep for me! Splits were:

• Mile 1: 9:09
• Mile 2: 8:56
• Mile 3: 8:56
• Mile 4: 8:45
• Mile 5: 8:33
• Mile 6: 8:30
• Mile 7: 8:21

Total Time: 1:02:00 Total Distance: 7.10 miles Average Pace: 8:43

7:30 PM - School went well today. Helped the kids learn to use note cards and paraphrase texts rather than just "googling" it or wiki-ing it. It is getting closer and closer to the time to move to the next school and I'm really going to miss these kids. I would rather spend the whole year at Galway then have to say goodbye. I feel like I am just getting to know the kiddos :(.

After working on some lesson plans I went to the track. Got there and stretched. Temperature was about 49 at the start. Got about 1.5 miles into the run when the truck driver from last week showed up. I am beginning to think he is a "Ghost Runner" because he will vanish for 7 or 8 minutes and just when I think that maybe he has decided to call it quits, I see his shadow over in lane 3 as I swing wide in the turn and come up on his right shoulder. I stuck in lane 6 the whole run. I like running in lane 6. Less laps that way and you really use the whole track. I felt pretty good, aside from a slight pain in my knee and some fatigue in my feet from being on them all day. Really felt strong today and ended up with over thirteen miles for the day. Las tmile of the run I did 200m "on" with 100 m "off" recovery to switch things up. Felt good. Off to finish another lesson plan before bed! Splits were:

• Mile 1: 8:40
• Mile 2: 8:35
• Mile 3: 8:39
• Mile 4: 8:22
• Mile 5: 8:06
• Mile 6: 7:08
• .34: 2:37 (7:44/ mi)

Total Time: 52:08 Total Distance: 6.34 miles Average Pace: 8:13

7:45 PM - Dark, cool, breezy. Temperature of 49 degrees. After yesterday's marathon of unit plan work, I was pretty beat and felt like my brain was Jell-O. Today at school the kids were great, albeit a bit talkative, especially since they get a four day weekend this week. Interesting that we celebrate and memorialize Columbus, a despicable human if there ever was one, and the "finder" of the Americas, though Vikings made landfall four hundred years before. Oh well, water under the bridge.

I have been working especially hard on my unit plan in preparation of solo week at the first placement. Am absolutely spent. I don't see how teachers could actually do a unit plan for each unit they teach. There are so many things to do just for one lesson, especially in the format that St. Rose wants me to. Decided to get a jog in, so I laced up and went to the track.

When I got to the track, it was dark, not like the moonshadow run earlier this week on Tuesday morning and night. As I was pulling into the track, I saw the shadow of the "Ghost Runner" and his 18-wheel rig sitting in the parking lot. I missed him though, because aside from hearing him shuffle one lap on the track, he was gone and soon I saw the truck hang a right out of the parking lot and on to better things. It was better this way though, because I like the quiet. It allows me to decompress.

I warmed up with 2.19 miles in my trainers before stopping to stretch. First two miles were: 8:37 and 8:29. After stretching, I pulled on my Vibrams for an 800 workout. Wanted to get a couple faster 800s in, without expending too much energy so that I'd be dead come Sunday. Just enough to let off some steam. Did 4 x 800s with 200m recoverys inbetween. Splits were:

• .51: 3:16 (6:29/mile) - .13 recovery in 1:09
• .51: 3:14 (6:19/mile) - .12 recovery in 1:12
• .52: 3:10 (6:09/mile) - .12 recovery in 1:14
• .51: 2:57 (5:46/mile) - .13 recovery in 1:08

Changed back into my Brooks's trainers and cooled down the rest of the run. Did .26 in 2:21 @ 9:04 pace and then hit the lap button at the 5 mile mark. Did a bit more than two miles more of cool down. Next two splits were 8:38 and 8:15. Stretched and drove home to do laundry and rest up for conferences in the a.m. Note for fun: max speed today was 4:51 a mile pace!

Total Time: 55:55 Total Distance: 7.07 miles Average Pace: 7:55