8 Days till The USA Marathon Championships

With only 8 days left until the biggest race of 2013 for me, I sit patiently in a city that has given me so many great memories - Houston.  The reason for my trip to Houston starts in the summer, a time when I thought my life would revolve only around running and not teaching. Boy was I wrong. I'm here in Houston for training, but not the running kind; the kind needed for a new teacher who has entered the Independent School system. You can call it Professional Development, and I'll call it a life changing experience. You see, I got hired as a Physical Education teacher at Manzano Day School (private school) and have fully embraced this new lifestyle. Let's rewind...

It's spring time, and I'm actually finishing my first year as a classroom teacher, a day I never thought would happen. 180 days in what you would call a school or learning environment, a safe haven, a place for growth. Well, it was the excact opposite and I was ready to leave and never look back. I was going to "run" away from that place and not have to think about that school again. Well, I did, and I searched for something else. And as luck would have it, a dream position opened at a very impressive school that I applied for a year earlier. MDS was hiring a P.E. teacher and I got it. I was a bit afraid of the expectations and how "perfect" everything seemed, but as time pasted everything is falling into place. 

So back to Houston. I'm here because I needed to see how our school is connected to other successful schools in the Southwest and what learning is suppose to look like. And it looks joyous! 

The school, the kids, the parents, the other teachers and staff all make this job a great environment.  And more importantly make me a better person. You can even ask Arlene (my girlfriend); since signing that contact with my school, I have found NO excuse not to wake up before the sun rises and hit the pavement. I have no reason to sleep in and dream of a better school to be at. I can leap out of bed with a clear focus on making the 2016 trials, while other athletes sleep in and rest all day.  I can gain inspiration from amazing kids that I'm around everyday, and return that favor by accomplishing a goal that I want more than anything - to make the Olympic Trials Standard as a full-time teacher! The only barrier I had was myself, and now I have everyone in my corner helping me along this path.

From Houston Hobby airport after my last day of Professional Development. 

Not Completely Optimistic

With so many things to think about during this time of year, I still feel optimistic about what the rest of the year has to offer.  Just like in all the races I have EVER done; I have never quit, or dropped out of a race, which parallels the teaching predicament I am in, which is not to quit.  Being a first year teacher can have its toll on life, and the things you love the most.  So, just as all the books and people that attempt to prepare you for your first year say, "it's going to be hell, so just get through it!", you never quite believe them... until you're the one being burned alive by all the chaos that chars your soul.

Well, back to the optimistic view I was talking about.  Basically, I don't have much longer at this school and I have greatly narrowed down what avenue of teaching I want to pursue, or more importantly where I don't want to be.  And once my emotional stability comes back to me, and I can breath again, I will set my eyes on a fast fall marathon!  One that will capture the new Olympic Trials Standard (2:15-A, 2:18-B) and boost my love for life.  I know nothing is life is going to be perfect, and that (God forbid) our school doesn't end up as a target for a shooter, or sociopath bent of murder and self glory, but when I hear my students screaming that they hate their life, it just doesn't sit well with me.  It could be worse.  I feel jaded by the tendencies these troubled kids act towards one another, and can't help but accept that we as humans are doomed.  More likely, I am failing as a teacher, and can't direct them to NOT: lie, steal, or cheat.  Their evil nature is too much for me... but I must go on.  No matter how cruel and unsympathetic they are towards each other, I figure, if I can survive the negativity that boils within a young child and just attempt to show them that someone cares and will make an effort to make them better, then a 26.2 mile foot race will be nothing.  Heck, 2:12 for that distance will be nothing!  This is great mental training, and I need to get the best out of it, while hoping to change someone for the good (but that's not really going to happen, since they already have a mom/dad).

Okay, now that I've stated how much I hate some of my students, and can fully understand the criminal system, I can move on.

The Marathon!  One race I have grown to love ever since I ran my first one.  This is such an amazing event, and I can't express how much I wish I could do all the courses in the world!  Since, that will never happen, I will be picky on what courses I run, and how I train for each of those races.  Boston had been on my mind since 2008, and I've wanted to run this race more than any other race (except for the Olympic Trials, and Olympic Games Marathon).  And in only 8 weeks, that dream could come true.  The excitement is killing me!    

Ides of August

Well, it's not as bad as Julius Caesar had it (and it's not even the same month), when he got stabbed 23 times, but this has been a crazy month, and as his fate was forewarned, so was mine...

Our lease at the infamous Dukes Headquarters in Downtown Albuquerque was coming to and end, and I was still jobless.  I had a feeling I would get some interviews as the 1st day of school approached, but I wasn't too concerned about it.  And finally, the interviews came rushing in, and I got a job offer to teach 3rd grade in a small town just outside of Albuquerque called Los Lunas.  I took the position with 2 days until school started.  And, with my classroom a complete mess, my loving girlfriend - Arlene and her family came to the rescue.  I got most things situated within the class, before the chaos of the first days of school began, and then before I knew it, school was already in session.

Most 1st year teachers are never prepared for everything that lays ahead of them.  And I completely agree with that.  Right now I'm trying to stay afloat and hope I can generate the best educational experience for these kids as possible.  After the first day of school, we had a quick staff meeting, and we were informed that on a normal A-F grade scale, my school is performing at a "D", and more than 50% of the students are BELOW proficiency, when compared to the rest of the state.  I'm thinking to myself how completely different this year is going to be when compared to the experience I had student-teaching at S.Y. Jackson elementary school and their nearly 92% proficient school rating.  It's like night and day.  Raymond Gabaldon Elementary school is on a completely different level, but it's going to be my new home for the next 180 days:

As you could imagine, my running that very first week of school (August 14th-18th) was, lack there of.  And because of that, my sanity was starting to fluster with overwhelming amounts of emotion.  I almost lost it with the amount of unpreparedness I had for that first week of school.  But, I got through it, and this last week without incident.  In fact, this past week went very well with school and with running.  Almost an erie parallel between the two.  And today, I got my 22 mile long run with mile repeats with 1 minute rest. It went up on Tramway (6000 ft. alt.):

4 miles easy, 4x1 mile, 8 miles easy, 2x1 mile, 4 miles easy [5:27, 5:22, 5:19, 5:17], [5:17, 5:11].

I know this year is not going to be easy, and I know I won't get the mileage I really want, but with proper fine tuning of my daily schedule, I think I can mange some good training, and preform well at New York City.  It'll be interesting!