trail mix.

Let's talk about how I just ran 3.5 miles in 42 min... This run AWFUL. Everywhere hurt! Aside from the obvious pain from kicking some serious 9th grade butt in the calf raise competition yesterday. There was PAIN.

Hold on, the explanation is a lot longer than you think.

I got stressed today.

I went shopping, I needed something to take the edge off, somewhere were I could find something and make my world a little bit of a better place. A place called... The Container Store.  How can you be unhappy when organization is involved? It very quickly became a closet organizing trip, shoe organizers and sweater storage)

Still wondering about that run... getting there, promise.

Next stop was LOFT- have you ever gone into a store intending to return the suit jacket in your car with receipt... without the jacket and receipt? That was me today. Don't worry- it will all be returned. Maybe.

LOFT is right next store to The Fresh Market and I was craving a Synergy (ya know, that fermented kombucha tea everyone brewed in college). So I got bought one... and a little container of the sweet and spicy trail mix. This stuff is incredible  I used to get it all the time at wally world (wal mart) it's the great value cajun mix.  I ate the entire thing on my 30 min drive home.

It was like a brick in the pit of my stomach.  My heart rate monitor was strangling me. I told myself if it was really bad at 15 min I could turn around, but I didn't I kept going hoping I'd feel better and the running would help me digest. Yeah- that didn't happen.  I had heart burn- I never have heart burn!

Three miles and towards the end of my jog I wondered how I did 23.2 more of those- in one day? Running Grandma's in 2012 didn't hurt this much. How did I do the 5,6, 20 mile runs to train for this? I don't know- you do it... and the race (though horrible) was a exciting experience.  Yep- I walked, a lot, it hurts more than running at that point. Running the 26.2 miles are the easy part, it's the 100's of training miles that are horrible.

I've had this thought a lot since high school (and a little bit in college) when I was a "serious athlete." Standing on the podium, skiing the race... thats the easy part. It's getting up at 5:30 (IN COLLEGE), running for hours after your school day... It wasn't work then, but now it is. I wish I could give purpose to my physical activity again.

The run sucked and I'm still frustrated, but my shoes, sweaters and ski clothes are organized.

Serious Athlete= exercising, with a purpose and plan most days of the week. possibly twice a day.

In other news: #tbt that time I thought it was a good idea to run a marathon. without training.

Marathon Team of Awesomeness! Grandma's-Duluth, MN 2012
I know super nerdy.

This is what you do after running 26.2

Made the Boat.

Several members of our faculty are big on cartoons.  This one was shown on my very first day last year, the first day of my teaching career, sitting in a small tech lab with 20 some other new faculty members.

....and it is exactly how I feel today. A day spent planning, updating websites and of course meetings.  All in preparation to meet our lovely class of 2018 (I know... I know) the 7th Graders!  Want to know the best thing about not being a first year teacher? Not having to learn 108 names.

Coming back to school always brings the question... what did you do this summer? Which for me is quite the loaded question because I would ague I had the best summer ever.

Summer started in June when I ran Grandmas Marathon in Duluth Minnesota. When I got back I spent a week at Lion's Sports Camp with elementary schoolers.  Next, I flew to Mt. Hood, Oregon to ski with the incredibly awesome members of the Wintergreen race team!  After an another week at Sports Camp I was back in Minnesota with my family.  Next a quick week in Gunnison, Colorado beginning Masters Classes (and spending time with my bff), and one week in Marquette, Michigan visiting my little sister it was back to Maryland.

It was a fantastic summer of traveling and though I miss mom and dad I'm excited to get back to my students and routine... oh yeah, and not being a first year teacher.