August Wrap-Up

Can anyone else not believe that August is already over? It was a nice month and all, but I’m not too sad to see it go. The cooler days can start coming along any time now. (Dear Weather Gods: Please note that I said “cooler,” not “frigid”).

Let’s look at some August highlights. Because why not.

Training: August topped out as my highest-mileage month of the year thus far, with 272.3 miles. I’m coming for you, Rock ‘n Roll Denver.

(This picture is from last time I ran this marathon, in 2011 [I’ve done either the half or the full every year since 2009]. I like it because I’m about to chick all those guys, and I’m arrogant like that. Also, all the cool kids wear tank tops and mittens.)

Now, hopefully that cool weather I’m praying for will start moving in so more miles can be run after work, sans heatstroke.

Throughout August, I also put a focused effort toward recovery nutrition, thanks to this book. It really is making a difference in my training; I feel more recovered and ready to run again on days that I refuel properly.

I was also pretty consistent this month about strength training 2-3 days a week, plus another 2-3 days of ab work each week. I’m still struggling with stretching, foam rolling, etc., which I know are important to recovery and need to be done more often. I just really kind of hate them.

(source)

Work: School started back up again 2.5 weeks ago, and we’re back into the thick of it now. Which means my Saturdays from now until May will look like this:
Post-long-run compression socks and grading.

Side note on compression socks: I’ve read all these articles and blogs about how great they are, but I don’t really see it. Maybe I bought mine too big or bought the wrong brand or something.

Life: August was a busy month family-wise, with county fairs, baby baptisms, and weddings — all fun and celebratory events. And of course, we can’t forget that August 1 was my birthday, which really kind of went on all month — just last night, we went to Denver to have my birthday dinner with my girlfriends. We went to Duo, and it was yummy.  It’s a farm-to-table place, which is right up my metaphorical alley and completely unavailable where I live (ironic, since we’re surrounded by farms). I had grilled eggplant on millet with carrots. Yum. If you’re in Denver, you should go there.

This picture is not from last night or Duo, but it is of me and the two friends we were with last night. I need to take more pictures.

And that’s August in a nutshell! I’ll be posting some September goals for tomorrow’s Target Practice post; be sure to check back!

What was the highlight of your August?

Do you like compression socks/think they make a difference?

Ladies — Do you like “chicking” guys? Guys — Does it bother you to get “chicked”? It’s always funny in races, because when I pass most guys, they’re supportive and cool, and then there are those few guys who will pretty much kill themselves to not let me pass.

Life Lessons Learned from Marathoning

In case you haven’t gathered this from the fact that it’s all I talk about, I’m training for my sixth marathon. As I ran the other day, I got to thinking about all the lessons I’ve learned from marathoning — lessons that are just as applicable in life as in running. Lessons like…

You can’t expect rewards if you don’t put in work. 

You can’t fake a marathon. If you don’t put in the training, the race will eat you alive. Sure, you may finish…but it won’t be pretty. Or even kind-of fun. You’ll stagger across the finish line after 26.2 miles of misery, in a time much slower than your potential. And you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.

That lesson applies equally in all other aspects of your life: school, your career, your relationships, budgeting — everything. You have to work if you want decent results. If you don’t work for what you want, don’t complain about what you get.

“The hard is what makes it great!” 

(source)

That quote, from A League of Their Own, is one of my all-time favorites. Tom Hanks’ character is talking about baseball, of course, but I have repeated it to myself through many a hard tempo run, grad school paper, and challenging teaching day. I also have it hanging on my classroom wall, and I direct my students’ attention to it when I ask them to do something that stretches their brains in a new way. The hard stuff makes it great, whatever “it” is. And the hard stuff makes you great. That hard tempo run makes you stronger and faster. The tough assignment makes you smarter. Coming through a rough patch in your relationships strengthens your bonds. Hard is great. 

Be your best.

The PR pace I’m shooting for in October is slower than Kara Goucher’s recovery runs. I will not win this race. But I’m still busting my bum in training for it, because I want to do as well as I can.

Face it now: there will always be someone better than you. Someone is faster. Someone is a better teacher. Someone is stronger, richer, smarter, more generous, more attractive, and funnier than you.

Big flipping deal. Compete with yourself, not with them. Get better every day.

(source)

Conquer self-doubt.

More than once during marathon training, doubt will rear its ugly head. Maybe doubt is what’s keeping you from signing up in the first place. Maybe it will strike in the middle of your first peak week, when you’re not hitting any of your goal paces. “I can’t do this,” you’ll think. “I should just drop to the half.”

Don’t.

The only way to defeat that doubt is to keep pushing through. Finish your training, no matter what that little voice in your head says. Show up to the starting line. And when that same voice starts whining at mile 20, ignore it again. Get to the finish. Cross the line. Show that doubt who’s boss.

That applies to anything in which you doubt yourself. Terrified of that presentation you have to give? Don’t let yourself believe that you’ll screw it up. Get up, do the presentation, rock it. Afraid of committing to that relationship? Try it. Risk it. Or you’ll never become that best you that we just talked about.

(source)

A few kind words can make a major impact.

This happens in every race: I feel like death. The finish is still far away. I start doubting myself. Then, some spectator — some person I have never seen and will never see again — shouts a few words of encouragement. The words aren’t profound — “Lookin’ good!” ‘You got this!” “Great job!” — but their effect is. I feel stronger, faster, better, and I can keep pushing forward — all because of a few kind words.

Isn’t this something we should all apply more often in our lives? Say something nice to someone every chance you get. You never know the impact your words might have.

(source)

And perhaps the most important lesson marathons have taught me:

Pee when you have the chance.

Because there’s nothing worse than re-e-e-ally needing to go and having nowhere to do it.

(source)

What are some of your most important life lessons?

Target Practice on Tuesday. Because I Like to Keep You Guessing.

At first, I was writing my Target Practice posts on Mondays. It made sense to me to write out my weekly goals on the first day of the week. Then, the school year started back up and Mondays got crazy busy, so I  decided to move Target Practice to Sunday night. This Sunday came and went with no time for blogging, so here we are on Tuesday. If you like consistency in your blogs, then maybe this is the wrong place for you.

Me, too, Bearcat. Me too.

(As always, thanks to FIt. Fun. Femme. for letting me jump on the T.P. bandwagon. That phrase sounded better in my head.)

Let’s look at last week’s goals. I’m grading myself because I’m back in teacher mode:

Life: Blog three times. I made it twice. Grade: D.

Health: Eat clean, including avoiding the candy dishes at work. Overall, I did okay.  I did hit the candy dish twice, but two bite-size pieces of chocolate in a week will probably not cause any major damage. I also ate old-fashioned (refined) spaghetti at a fund-raiser dinner and shared some cake with J at our nephew’s baptism. That’s moderation, not failure. Grade: A-.

Fitness: If you’ve read these posts for a few weeks, I bet you know what my goal was: run a lot, strength train twice, yoga once, stretch/foam roll once. Last week looked like this:
Monday: AM – 8-mile fartlek run PM – Muscle Works class (which was killer last week!)
Tuesday: AM- 6 miles easy PM- 30 minutes yoga
Wednesday: AM- 10 miles — 1.2-mile tempo intervals
Thursday: AM- 6 miles easy PM – 60-minute strength workout in my basement because I was too dang hot and tired to go to the gym
Friday: AM- 5 miles easy PM- Considered stretching/rolling and did not
Saturday: 21-mile run
Sunday: Rest
Totals: 56 miles run, 2 hours strength, 30 minutes yoga, another fail on the stretching. Grade: B.

Now, for this week:

Life: Let’s try blogging three times again and see if I can do it. We had standardized testing yesterday and today (yes, it’s only the second week of school. Welcome to the world of testing education), so I was able to get caught up on grading. You know, until tomorrow, when all my students turn stuff in again. But maybe the smaller grading stack will open up blogging time.

Health: I have got to figure this sleeping thing out. I go to bed like a 90-year-old, but getting up at 4:15 to work out is still rough, and I’m tired and afraid I’m going to catch the nasty diseases my students are already spreading about. I realize that I could run after work, but after work it is 95 degrees and stays that way until dark. Weather.com says the temps will start lowering next week. Don’t let me down, September. I’m counting on you.

Fitness: Well, I’m just gonna keep on repeating the same old goal until I hit it. Creative goal-setting is not for me.

Do you feel like you get enough sleep?

What’s something you want to accomplish this week?

 

Thoughts from the Long Run

I don’t know about you, but when I run long, my brain does some weird stuff. Super weird. So I thought I’d share some of that weirdness with you. I figure you’ll either A) totally identify and be my best friend for life, or B) think I’m even weirder than you did before. Really, I’m okay with either option.

Miles 1-6: Come on, legs. Let’s move. I know you’re stiff because I’ve worked you hard this week, but this is going to be one miserable run if you don’t get it together. (You know you’re a marathoner when it takes you six miles to feel warmed up.)

Miles 6-8:  (Planning my lesson on linking verbs for Monday. I am exciting).

Mile 8: These weeds are a lot taller than they were last time I was out here. I wish the county would mow them. They’re very poky. If I were a scientist, I’d name these weeds “stabbernum pokeynus.”

Mile 9: Hoooly buckets, that’s a big dog. With no fence. Big dog, no fence. Big dog, no fence, running at me. *begins shouting lots of unkind things at said big dog until his owner comes out and calls him in* I will now give that owner my meanest death stare. Through sunglasses. Because that’s effective.

Miles 10-12 (the hilly part): I’m getting stronger every step. I’m getting stronger every step. I’m getting…that mantra is too long. Stronger every step. Stronger every step.

Mile 13 (still hilly): Strong step. Strong step. Step strong. Strep song. Shlong schlepp. Forget it. Pancakes.

Mile 15: (Lots of profound ideas for blog posts that I can’t remember now and probably never will)

Mile 17:

(A colleague and I were just talking about this yesterday. He said this in the Office Space voice, and the kids didn’t get it. Why it popped into my head mid-run is a mystery.)

Mile 18: I’m going to run right through that girl’s senior picture. Oh well…there’s no way around. (When 90% past her) Oh, that’s one of my students. *awkward head turn* “Hi!”

Mile 20.3: A train?! Who put train tracks here, anyway? Uncool. 

Mile 21: What time is it? That’s right: chocolate milk time. But first I have to take this picture of my feet, because that’s what running bloggers do, and I am a running blogger, dangit.
(I tried to take it so you couldn’t tell that sweat was covering 90% of my body…fail).

Is your brain as random as mine on long runs?

What’s your favorite weekend breakfast? I ended up eating eggs and toast, not pancakes.

The Sunshine Award

Unless you’re out of the loop (like I have been lately), you’ve probably seen The Sunshine Award making the rounds of the blogosphere. Well, guess what…it finally made its way to Yours Truly. Heather at Run LIke a G nominated me, which means I’ve been nominated by half my readers! Just kidding. Kind of. Thanks, Heather!!

About the award:

The award is circulated to bloggers to let them know that their posts brighten your day.

The Rules:

1.  Include award logo in a post or on your blog (above).
2.  Link to the person who nominated you – Heather @ Run Like a G
3.  Answer 10 questions about yourself.
4.  Nominate 10 bloggers to receive the award. Link your nominees to the post and comment on their blogs letting them know they’ve been nominated.

This is super exciting to me because it reminds me of all those “surveys” that went around in middle school, when e-mail was the new, cool thing.

Anywhoo, here are my answers to Heather’s questions:

1. What is your favorite thing about running?

I’m going to take the liberty of changing this question to make it plural. My favorite THINGS about running are: having time alone with my thoughts, the way it makes me feel, enjoying the outdoors (or watching trashy T.V. guilt-free from the treadmill), pushing through the hard spots and coming out accomplished… Maybe I should have just said, “Everything. Everything is my favorite.”

2. What FRIENDS character are you more like? (Fe/male)
J and I just had an embarrassingly long conversation about this. We couldn’t decide, but we settled on Chandler. I just don’t identify that much with any of the women. (Actually, J said I’m the weird neighbor in the bathrobe. That’s not nice).

3. If money wasn’t an object, what country/island/place would you explore for a week? (ONLY ONE!)

Too hard, Heather. Too hard. Right now, I’m saying Ireland. But I reserve the right to change my mind if this ever is a real-life scenario.

4. Bodybuilding – yay or nay?

Totally cool for other people if that’s your thing, but not for this girl. I don’t like lifting weights, and I do like lifting carbs to my mouth.

5. What do you LOVE about your body? (Only sunny answers!)
That it can take me through a solid 10-mile interval workout before the sun comes up…and still have enough energy to be on my feet teaching all day.

6. Tell me your favorite season and give two reasons why it is your favorite season.
Fall. Because it’s beautiful, and chilly but not cold. And there’s an abundance of pumpkin foods.

7. Do you believe in love at first sight?
Nope.

8. If you could have an exotic animal as pet, which would you choose?
Okay, blog world, don’t throw rocks at me, but I’m not so much an animal person. Especially not indoor animals. I don’t want hair/fur/feathers/smelly animal stuff in my house. So I will pass on the pet. A classroom full of 16-year-olds is exotic enough for me. (They sometimes smell weird, but at least they don’t shed too much).

9. Have you read Harry Potter?
No. Because I’m the worst English teacher on the planet. I just have no desire to do so.

10. What is your favorite cereal?

This is me. We actually had to stop buying cereal for a while because J and I both eat it like it’s going out of style. I just ate some Kashi Go Lean Vanilla Crunch (I think that’s it’s name…vanilla something), so that’s my favorite right this minute.

And here are my nominees, in no particular order. I read so many blogs that brighten my day that picking just 10 was practically impossible. I tried to nominate people who I don’t *think* had done this yet, but I might be wrong.

1.  Sarah @ Heart Flutters
2. Jilliene @ Chasing Raspberries
3. Karen @ Runner Girl Eats
4. Logan @ Mountains and Miles
5. Natalie @ Fit. Fun. Femme.
6. Sara @ Fit. Fun. Femme.
7. Heather @ Just a Colorado Gal
8. Brooke  @ Running in Heels
9. Heather @ Better With Veggies
10. Beth @ Chasing My Joy

Here are my (completely random) questions for you, nominee-people:

1. What’s the best vacation you’ve ever taken?

2. Tell me one terrific thing about your week.

3. Would you rather be stuck neck-deep in the hole of an outhouse for an hour or stuck in a porta-potty rolling down a hill for five minutes?

4. What was your favorite class in high school?

5. If you won the lottery today, what would you do?

6. If you had one day in which you could do and say whatever you wanted, and you would be the only one who remembered that day, what would you do?

7. Which sounds like a fun Friday night: drinks, dinner, and dancing, or couch, P.J.s, and movies?

8. What not-on-the-air-anymore sitcom do you love?

9. If you could go back in time and tell your 17-year-old self one thing, what would it be?

10. What irrational fears/phobias do you have? (I promise I won’t use them against you).

 

Your turn: Pick a question or two, either from Heather’s list or mine, and answer them!

Sunday Night Target Practice

Here’s what I learned this week: blogging while working full-time is hard. All summer, I worked for a few hours a day and then had lots more time to write my posts and read and comment on other bloggers’ stuff…all on my 95-year-old computer. Now that I don’t have nearly as much time, my posting and commenting might become a little more sporadic. So please bear with me and still be my Internet friend, okay? 

I decided last week to write Target Practice posts on Sunday night, because I’m 98% certain that Monday will not be a school-year blogging day for me.  Don’t forget that I took this idea from Fit. Fun. Femme. Also don’t forget that their blog is awesome and you should read it. 

Let’s check in on last week’s goals:

Life: I made a goal to stay positive during the prior-to-school-starting inservice meetings. Lucky for me, there was  only one tedious one, and I did kiiinda okay at not being grumpy. Could’ve been better. The other half of this goal was to have a great first two days with kids. At least that half was a win!

Health: The goal was uber-early bedtimes. I did go to bed as early as possible, so that’s a win, methinks. 

Fitness: This was the same goal I’ve had for a couple of weeks: stick with the marathon training schedule, strength train twice, stretch/foam roll once, and do yoga once. Here’s how the week turned out:

Monday: AM: 10 miles with 8 at goal marathon pace. PM: My favorite 1-hour Muscle Works class
Tuesday: AM: 8.4 miles easy PM: 30 minutes yoga, thanks to my new iPhone and its fancy apps.
Wednesday: AM: Cruise intervals — 10 x 1000m w/200m jog. This was hard. 9 miles total. 
Thursday: AM: 7.4 miles easy PM: 50 minutes strength training
Friday: AM: 8.5 miles easy 
Saturday: 11.4-mile progression run. It felt super weird that my “long run” was so short (compared to usual marathon-training long runs), but the schedule said “90-minute progression run,” so that’s what I did
Sunday: Rest. Blogging instead of stretching and rolling. 
Totals: 54 miles running, 2 hours strength, 30 minutes yoga, 0 minutes stretching/rolling

So, I got in the yoga and not the stretching/rolling. Last week, I did the stretching and not the yoga. Can you tell what my least favorite form of exercise is?

On to this week’s goals:

Life: I have  a lot of work-related goals, but I don’t really want to post them here. That might be weird, but guess who cares? Not me. Instead, I’ll post a blog-related goal, because I really don’t want this new hobby of mine to go by the wayside during the school year: Post decent blogs three times (not counting this one).  

Health: Eat clean all week. This includes avoiding the various candy dishes around the campus. Dear coworkers who read my blog: If you see me reaching for a candy dish, please slap my hand.

I did my usual Sunday meal planning and prep today, so that should help. 

(This crummy picture of my food prep is the only one I have taken since Thursday. Well, that’s not true. I took one of my sister-in-law at the wedding we went to Saturday, but it was not flattering and she would probably punch my face if I posted it. The point is that once again, I failed at blog photo-taking.)

Fitness: Well, let’s keep this goal going until I actually meet it. Stick with the training schedule, lift twice, yoga once, stretching once. I think I’m going to try evening running this week. It’s still hot, but I have to get up so early to run before school that I’m on the treadmill anyway (I refuse to run in the dark). I’ll see which is worse: too hot or too boring. 

Other bloggers: How do you make time to do a good job at this?

What are some of your goals for the week?

Things I’m Loving Right Now

Happy Thursday! This is yet another random, rambly post. I’m tired but feel like writing. Lucky you, readers. Lucky you.

These are some things that are currently making me happy. Maybe they will make you happy, too!

1. These shoes: 

I think they’re cute, and I bought them for $22 at a consignment store. Win. I wore them all day at work today, and they are also super comfortable. Double win.

2. This salad:

A food photographer I am not, but this thing was ah-maze-ing. It’s from the August 2012 issue of Clean Eating magazine, and I probably shouldn’t publish the recipe because of copyright laws, but it’s basically a bunch of veggies, steak, and a homemade balsamic and horseradish dressing. Holy yum.

3. People with large vocabularies (i.e. they know words that don’t start with “F”). 

Okay, I know that sometimes the f-bomb is just about the only adequate word to express your feelings. But don’t use it every other word. There are other descriptors out there. Here’s a bit from a conversation I overheard at the gym tonight (I’m substituting “purple” for the f-word):

Dude 1: Did you see that purple video on purple YouTube with those purple Italian dudes? They purplin’ chest-pressed purple 200 pounds.

Dude 2: No purplin’ way.

Dude 1: No, I’m not purple purplin’ with you. It was purplin’ sick.

Trust me, it sounded just as ridiculous with the original language. So, back to what I’m loving: people who know a variety of adjectives/adverbs/verbs.

4. This album:

I pre-ordered it because I’m obsessed a fan. It showed up in iTunes on Tuesday, and I got happy, happy, happy.

5. This one, too:

This one came out in April but I just bought it, and I’m loving it, too. I forsee a lot of listening to this while treadmill running this winter.

6. My job

Today was the first day of school. It was exhausting, as the first day always is, but I loved it. One of the best parts of my job is that because we’re such a small school, I teach all of the ninth and tenth graders — which means that by the time they’re sophomores, we get to know each other pretty well. I had half the current group of sophomores when they were in eighth grade, too, so this is our third year together. I was honestly so happy to see these kiddos again today. And, of course, excited to meet the new freshmen and to see the handful of juniors and seniors that I have in my elective classes. Hooray, school!

Jeez, Cassie, quit being all sappy about your job. 

Be quiet. This is my blog and I do what I want.

That’s all for tonight, reader friends. Have a happy Friday!

What’s something that you’re loving right now?

 

 

 

Sunday Night: Reviewing and Previewing

Happy Sunday, all! How was your weekend? Mine was busy…we went back up to my in-laws’ on Friday night because we wanted to go to the county fair parade on Saturday. It started at 9, so I knew that if we stayed home Friday night, there was no way I’d get my long run in and make it to the parade on time. It worked out well; I even had time to shower. Good thing, because I was a disgustingly sweaty beast.

After the parade, we watched our niece sell the sheep she showed earlier in the week. She did remarkably well in the sale; so proud of her!

We came home Saturday afternoon and spent the evening lying on the floor. Ha. We were worn out from the 20-mile run (me, not J) and a day in the heat, and doing nothing felt pretty darn good.

Today was a typical school-year Sunday. A month ago, I wrote a mid-summer post about Sundays being lazy days. Once school starts, Sundays become my domestic day: cleaning, laundry, groceries, meal planning, etc. In my mind, Sunday is the last day of the week, not the first, and I like having it as a chore day and a rest day from running. That way, I start the week with a clean house, stocked fridge, and fresh legs.

When school is in session, planning ahead is the only way I manage to get in my teaching, training, and basic living. Here’s how I do it:

This dude lives on the side of the fridge. On Sunday, I plan out all our meals, write anything we need on the grocery list, and write the meal here. Then, after I grocery shop, I chop up any fruit and veggies we need (for meals and snacks) and pre-cook any meat that I can (if I’m making enchiladas, for example, I’ll cook and shred the chicken on Sunday to save time later). It takes an hour or two on Sunday and saves me a ton of time on weeknights…and money at the grocery store!

(Random side note if you’re reading that menu…we normally have red meat only once a week or so. We get all our meat in six-month shipments, and we’re at the end of this one. We’re eating whatever’s left in the freezer…and it’s mostly red).

This week, I’m also trying something new. I saw it on Pinterest (a.k.a. source of anything creative I ever do).

Those are muffin tins full of our usual smoothies (green for me, not green for J). Pinterest said to freeze smoothies like this, then pop out enough to fill your cup the night before and stick it in the fridge. Allegedly, in the morning you’ll have a just-right smoothie to drink. I really hope it works; this will shave 10 minutes or so off my morning routine.

And now, let’s do some Target Practice (the weekly goal-setting post that I stole from Fit. Fun. Femme.). I think I’m going to start doing this on Sunday nights, since Mondays are so busy.

First, let’s check in on last week.

My LIFE goal was to enjoy the last few days of summer. Done and done.

My HEALTH goal was to eat clean despite the county fairs. I did. I also wanted to make sure I got enough sleep… that one didn’t go as well as planned. I’ll keep trying.

My FITNESS goals were to stick with my training plan, strength train twice, do yoga once, and stretch and foam roll once. Here’s how the week played out:

Monday: AM: 8.4-mile fartlek run. Fartleks are my favorite. And so fun to say. PM: 60-minute Muscle Works class. Also my favorite.
Tuesday: 8 miles easy
Wednesday: 6 x 800 meters w/400-meter recoveries. I actually got to do them at a track, because there’s a nice one about 1.5 miles from my in-laws’ house. 9 miles total with warm-up and cool-down.
Thursday: AM: 8.1 miles easy, with my new watch. I heart it so far. PM: 55 minutes of strength work at the gym
Friday: AM: 6.5 miles easy (should have been 8, but my stomach said, “Oh, you have to be at work at 7:45? Let me throw a huge fit and screw you up. Ha ha.” PM: 15 minutes core work, 30 minutes stretching/foam rolling
Saturday: 20-mile run
Sunday: Rest. With a side of house-cleaning and weed-pulling.
Totals: 60 miles, 2 hours of strength, 30 minutes of stretching, 0 minutes of yoga. Oops. Better luck this week.

And now, this week’s goals:

Life: In case you haven’t gathered this from the other 97,000 times I mentioned it, school is back in session. We have inservice days Monday-Wednesday, and students are back on Thursday. My goal is to stay positive through the inservice days and have a great first two days with kids!

Health: Again, the sleeping thing. While it’s still too hot to run in the evenings, I have to get up uber-early to run before school. Which means uber-early bedtimes. Just do it, self.

Fitness: I’ll stick with the same goals as last week and really try to get in the yoga this time!

That’s all for me, folks. Have a fantastic week!

What was the best part of your weekend?

How do you make sure you get enough sleep?

Your goals for the week?

 

So Many Thursday Things

Hi friends! And strangers who creepily read my blog without commenting. I have so many things to tell you, but none of them are related, so this is a pretty random blog post. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Thing #1: My Scary Running Experience

This morning, as I was running, I passed an old couple in motorized wheelchairs. We said good morning, and that was that. Until I headed back. As I turned a corner, I saw the old woman standing up, clearly fighting with something on her wheelchair. I thought, “I’ll be there in a few seconds; if she’s still struggling, I’ll see if I can help.” But then, she fell face-first onto the sidewalk. I said a naughty word and kicked it into a sprint.

When I got to her, she had managed to turn over and was sitting up. The wheelchair had rolled forward, pinning her foot against the curb. I pushed the wheelchair gently off her foot; it had twisted her shoe, but her shoe and sock were both thick, so her foot didn’t seem badly hurt. I asked if she needed me to call someone (with the cell phone that I left at home…), and that’s when I learned she didn’t speak English. Her husband did, though, and insisted that they could make it home. I helped her get back into the wheelchair and put her shoe back on, then asked the man how close they lived. He told me, and I said, “I’m running that way anyway. I’ll follow you.” (I was running that way, but would’ve followed anyway, of course). So I did follow them, and they at least made it home, where I knew he would have access to a phone if she was hurt worse than she seemed.

So that was my scary experience this morning. I’m just glad she was okay! And it reminded me that I should carry my phone. My new iPhone is too big to fit in any of the water bottle pockets that my old phone fit in. I bought an armband for it, but in order for the phone to fit, I’d have to take it out of the Otterbox. And putting it back in the Otterbox is a pain, so I don’t want to do that every day.

So, my fellow iPhoners, how do you carry your phone when you run?

Thing #2: Fun Times at the County Fairs

I mentioned earlier in the week that we would be hopping between two local county fairs to watch our niece and our students. Tuesday, we headed up to Fair #1 and watched the bull riding. Bull riding scares me, even though I’m not the one on the bull. Illogical? Probably. But I don’t like to see people get hurt (see Thing #1). But I like it when the cowboy makes the whole ride.

Wednesday morning, our niece showed her sheep. She did well, and we got in some QT with the family.

Our niece, Reece, post-show, savoring her last few days with her favorite lamb, Charlie.

J soaking up some nephew time.

After that fair, we headed to our county’s. A couple of weeks ago, we heard that they needed some help serving a dinner at the fair. Since every now and then we like to do something nice, we volunteered. I didn’t take any pictures, because it was basically just us standing behind a table of food, saying “Would you like steak or a hamburger?” several hundred times. I know that’s really exciting stuff and you would have loved a picture, but tough luck.

We got to see a few of our students at the dinner, and saw a bunch of their exhibits and livestock with their awards. Our kids did really well. Good job, kids. (Not sarcastic. Why does everything I write seem sarcastic? Oh, maybe because 90% of the time I am sarcastic. Probably should work on that.)

Thing #3: Proofreading Is Important.

I got my journalism students’ press passes today from the Colorado High School Athletic Association. This was part of the letter that came with them:

I didn’t know that press credentials could be disturbed, and I’m pretty sure my students don’t need to be encouraged to disturb anything. Nice work, CHSAA.

Thing #4: Adios, Summer

Although I’ve been in to work many times this summer, tomorrow is the first day that I have to be there. So, summer is over. Bye, friend. I’ll miss you.

And those are all my things. For now.

Since you’ve probably forgotten this question by now: iPhoners, where do you carry your phone when you run?

What’s the scariest thing you’ve seen while running/walking/cycling/ whateveryoudo?

Do you like bull riding?

 

 

Target Practicing on Tuesday

This post was supposed to go up yesterday, but then my Garmin died and my posting plans changed. So it’s here today instead.

Target Practice is a weekly goal-setting idea that I stole from Fit. Fun. Femme. because they have better blogging ideas than I do. Ha. Here are my goals for the week:

 

Life: Soak up the last few days before work officially starts again on Friday. The next few days are busy, but I want to try to savor them as much as possible. On Friday, my goal will be to be positive and excited to be back!

Health: Keep the eating clean since we’ll be surrounded by fair food for a couple of days. I’m pretty fortunate in that I legitimately don’t like most fried foods, but there might be some other temptations. Also, get enough sleep. I don’t want to start the school year tired and grumpy!

Fitness: As always, keep with my training schedule. For the last few weeks, I’ve made a goal to strength train three times, and honestly, I just don’t think that’s realistic this week. So instead, I’m shooting for two strength days and one yoga day. I got a couple of yoga apps on my new phone that I’m excited to try out, so hopefully that one won’t be too hard!

I’ll post on Sunday and let you know how I did with my goals. Chew me out if I mess up, okay?

What’s one goal you have this week?

Do you like fair food? What’s your favorite fair-type indulgence?