Managing it All

Each year when August rolls around and school returns, I feel like I'm relearning how to manage, with easy, all the moving pieces of life - how to juggle hours worth of lesson planning without feeling I've lost my whole weekend, how to allow for mid-week mental breaks, how to stay in better contact with loved ones far away, and literally how to find time to just get it all done. I'm so fortunate to have friends who know me so well, but when I was telling a friend the other day about this desire to better balance my professional and personal lives, she responded with something to the effect of, "You're always working on this." And she's completely right. I certainly am inching closer to developing more solid habits that help me to find the balance, but I have a sneaking suspicion that just when I think I've got it all together, new things will magically appear to fill my time. Of course, I want to get better about managing it all, but I don't think I'll ever get to that much-desired state of having endless free time that I so deeply think I desire. I don't think it's about getting it all done to free up time, but rather, about carving out time that's set aside for myself - my me time. There will always be more to do, but if I don't take the time to occasionally put myself first, who will?

Of course, that's where running comes in. In the race to do it all at work over this first months back, I had definitely been in a running lull and that's okay. But as I start to get back into a routine, I notice what I was missing. Time for myself doesn't usually just appear in front of me, carved out and ready to go. Just as I continue to practice on the balance beam of life, I continue to see the place running has in that act. It's not everyone's thing (I guess they call these things "hobbies"), but after nearly four years (!), I have come to recognize that's it mine. 

Today I saw this quote - "It is an ironic habit of human beings to run fast when we have lost our way" (Rollo May) - and I laughed. I love that, because it's so honest and true. Sometimes when I feel overwhelmed or inadequate at work, my gut reaction is to pour my time in to make everything better really quickly, but there comes a point when you need to take a step back and find your way. 

So despite all the reasons I could find to avoid running at this moment, I'm embracing i. With open arms, as my reset, my (cold) deep  breath, and my scheduled me time.

FOUR DAYS!

In four days, we will run for the kids. For all the nerves I was feeling last week, I'm not feeling twice as much excitement and just plain 'ol excitement - I can't wait!!

Today's final long run was through a bunch of new places, since I went running while waiting for my oil to get changed. It was a pretty excuse to check out some new places, all of which looked AWESOME with a beautiful covering of snow. That being said, a few of the parks (and a nature center!) that I ran through gave me an extra kick in the butt as I had to work extra hard to not slip and fall on the snowy paths.

HUGE thank you to the lovely Amanda Emmerling for such a thoughtful note/pre-HE package, which included directional socks (!) and wild shorts, in honor of the running tights Hope Express has graced me with (pictures of them next week!). The socks rocked and I loved them when I tested them out the other night. I'm sad that the shorts will not be able to bring them along this weekend...I guess two years of spring weather in February would be getting a little greedy :O). THANK YOU HANSELL!

running decreases the likelihood of freezing

I regret having not posted in the past few weeks. I have been meaning to, but things have been busy in a really great way!

At the beginning of the month, I set three running-related resolutions, if you will, to help prepare me both physically and mentally for next month's HOPE EXPRESS, and they've all been going great! Longer runs, hiller runs, muchhh colder runs (oh hi 5 degrees). On top of those, I've recently added, "Believe in yourself and erase negative comments...even the sarcastic ones." If I'm going to run 18 miles, I need to stop doubting myself and believe I can do it.

On the note of cold weather, I have been commenting on it like CRAZY, but actually, it has not been too bad (aside from the fact that we've been very lucky and it really HASN'T been that bad...I mean, when it's been bad, I haven't minded it!). The hardest part is the range of temperatures I experience over a run, but I'm starting to know myself and figure out what works (i.e. wear my really good, warm gloves, but also bring my thinner gloves so there's a middle ground between thick gloves and cold arm). Cold runs are definitely refreshing!

Beautiful new Argo Park!

I have been looking for this ever since I read about it a few months ago, but to no avail. THANKS Lani for sending it over from Denver!

Wait a second...how'd Santa Paws get in here?

Double Time

Last week, I ran into a Hope Express/Extreme Team alum who suggested I start running twice a day, at least once a week, to prepare for my three 6-mile legs coming up next month (!!). I wish I could say I had thought of this on my own, but I didn't...so lucky for me our paths happened to cross (thanks Pat!).

Today I ventured out for two 4-mile runs and overall, they went great! I've found that clocking mileage at home is tricky for some reason. My parents live right off of a main road, and I've also noticed I typically incorporate a lot of littles into my runs - small parks, downtown area, parts of campus, etc. I didn't realize I did it, until I found it challenging to plan routes without them. Nevertheless, I planned two different routes for today - one new and one I've done a few times this trip home. I'm certainly sore now and will be tomorrow, but that's all the more reason to be glad I've added them into my training now.

Also worth noting, it was high teens/low 20's for the runs. Ek! It really wasn't bad though, which just confirms what I remember about last winter. The hardest part about cold weather running for me is maintaining consistency throughout the majority of the run, despite temperature outside/inside all my layers. On my second run, I went without my (new!) jacket, which was a good move, minus the fact that my stomach was so cold towards the end that I couldn't tell if I was having stomach issues or it was just frozen...odd. Even the new jacket seemed a bit warm for today's frigid temperatures, but instead of getting sad that it wasn't a good purchase, I reminded myself that I now live in Michigan. I an't seen nothing yet.

weather you like it or not...

...the weather will change. I've really been enjoying it. Don't be fooled into thinking this picture was taken too recently, but I realized I had forgotten to post it! I had taken it to capture the change of season and to acknowledge how appreciative I am for the fact that running allows me to really notice these beautiful changes. It's been warmer than I believe is typical for this time of year, but I have welcomed the 30's with open arms and have really enjoyed the fresh feel of the this (not too!) cold, particularly with a dusting of snow on the ground (which we've had a few times). Fingers crossed that this appreciation continues! If you don't hear from me about by mid-January, I've probably frozen mid-stride.

Sunriseeee, Sunset. Sunriseeee, Sunset.

So contrary to fairly popular belief, Michigan is part the Eastern Time Zone!

Because it just barely skirted into the (second) biggest and baddest time zone, there is a significant difference in sunrise/sunset times as compared with Philadelphia. We noticed it pretty quickly when we got here and I've especially noticed it, as I've been given an extra half hour of light for me to squeeze my runs in after work. I don't mind dark running, especially when I'm with a running buddy (Always thinking about safety MOM!!!), but it's really, really hard to get motivated to first begin a run in the dark.

In other sun/rotation/revolution news, winter is upon us! Based on the info below, it looks like we're on par with friends back east, but from what I hear, that's only as of very recently. We have been in the 30's for about two weeks now, and I surprisingly enough haven't cried/melted yet! It's been really refreshing and I've really enjoyed my cold weather runs (of course, I postponed today's run by a few hours when I woke up to the tune of 19 degrees...but I think being flexible is a positive quality!). I took my new headband out for a spin today and it kept my ears nice and toasty (I even had to shed it towards the end...I was hottt!).

Ann Arbor:

Philadelphia:

135 miles in 24 hours - FOR THE KIDS!

While I went out for a run yesterday during a flurry, today was my first snow run (rough, but I can still WOOO about it!), and with very good reason! This week, I found out that I am officially running in Hope Express in February - I couldn't be more honored, thrilled, pumped, stoked, excited!!!! Hope Express is a 24-hour 135-mile relay from Hershey Medical Center to Penn State's THON. Hope Express is a message of hope for families in their journey with pediatric cancer, and raises money for the Four Diamonds Fund, which provides financial support and medical services for these families. This has been something I have been wanting to do for two years now, and with my half-marathon behind me, I feel finally worthy of this honor! Not to say I don't still have a lot of work ahead of me, but I am thrilled to be working so hard for such an incredible cause. Here's a look at what Hope Express is:

Want to join in the fight? Donations can be made at www.thon.org, (General Organization/Darian Leib) or checks can be mailed to me, payable to Hope Express (4415 Main Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19127).

And some pictures from this morning's run...

East Falls Bridge