School's Out

Boy, it's been a hectic month and I've been very negligent in updating this blog. That is partly due to the fact that I have not done very much training at all in the past month. I got my bottom braces on two days after my tri and had severe headaches for over a week after wards. This was followed by a bad cold with a cough that lasted 2 more weeks. Top that off with the usual June school stresses, and I have BARELY had time or energy to train.

Work Update:

I applied for, and got a job, at the new school so I am very happy about that. And even better news was that 7 other teachers from my current school also got jobs at the new school so I will not be alone. They are mostly young, enthusiastic teachers, who are excited about the prospect of a new school so it will revitalize my own teaching as well.

As positive as the new job is, I am still very saddened to be leaving my current school. I have taught there pretty well my entire teaching career, 15 years, and my entire life revolves around that school. My closest friends, my husband, and my son are all there and now that is ending. I have so many memories that I will cherish. The fact that it is Erik's last year of teaching, and my son's final year in elementary school, also makes it difficult to leave now. But it is definitely the right decision for me.

Every June, we have a staff breakfast on the last day of school, where we gather to say goodbye to all the staff who is leaving. We always bring kleenex and tears are always shed. This year will be particularly tough as 10 teachers move on, many of whom have taught there for 10-15 years.

I have been on edge all week trying to finish up the usual year end things, get report cards done, create a class DVD slideshow, and pack up my stuff (35 boxes so far) on top of it all. By Friday morning, I will be completely wrung out.

So - I guess the point of this all is that it has affected my training.

UPDATE:

OK, I got busy again and didn't finish or post the blog. So now it's Saturday and school is done. It was a hard last couple of days and I felt really depressed when I got home yesterday but it's over and I need to move on. Today we did a bunch of errands to get ready for Erik's ride on Monday. We drive to Banff and stay over night tomorrow, then Monday he's going to ride 300km from Banff to Jasper in one day. I'm going to drive the SAG wagon (our van) and meet up with him every hour or two. The weather is looking good right now. Banff 22C and Jasper 18C for Monday and sunny! It'll be cold when he starts at 5:30am but should be nice by mid day. Episode #27 of my podcast has Erik and I discussing his ride plans and next week (#28) will be a recap of his ride.

Training

So my goal this month has to been to keep up my running and I've done that. I've been running 5k at least twice a week and last week I started trail running up behind my house. It's starts off straight uphill for 1.3 km so I walk as warm up for 10 minutes or so, then I can run 5-6km out and back on a relatively flat route. It's quite pretty up there, wide double track, mostly dirt, not many rocks etc so not too much chance of hurting myself. It would be fun to do an Xterra I think. :) I wonder if there are any around here that aren't too hilly for the run?

I also ran the Women's 5k with my daughter Carly this month. It was her first 5k so I didn't race it and it was just as well because my ITB knee attachment locked up and I had to walk/run the last half. We had a great time and I think she caught the race bug - hope she keeps it up! There are some pics on the podacst blog - Episode #26 I think.

Vacation

We're going to be leaving on July 9th for our trip to France and Italy and we have just about everything booked now. We fly to Paris and stay over night, then take the train to Avignon where we will drop off our bags and pick up our bikes for our 9 day cycling trip around Provence. Once back in Avignon, we take the night train to Florence, spend a day touring the city, then two more nights at a B&B where we'll rent a car and tour Tuscany, Cinque Terre, and Pisa. Then it's the train again for less than 24 hours in Rome before flying home on the 25th. I can't wait!

Well that's all for now folks. I have to go finish packing and get ready to take off tomorrow.

Have a good week!