I Love October

Quality week. Moving. EMT class. Umstead.

It's been [slightly] longer than usual since I last blogged. Last week, I finished up work at the JCC and over the weekend I moved. I crammed all my stuff into boxes and bags and shoved it all into my parents' house. Like I've said before, it's a frustrating feeling. I feel disoriented, and as if my life has been bottled up and stuffed in a cage. I'm hoping things will be looking up, so we'll see.

One up shot was starting my EMT class last night. It's only been one class, so there's not much to write about. I was surprised at the number of other students with [Bachelor's] degrees. I don't mean that in a snooty way; I've just been told I'd probably be the highest educated person, but there's probably 4 or 5 of us that have graduate college. As to the class itself and the curriculum, I think it's going to be a fascinated topic and I can't wait to really get into it. The 6:30-9:30 time frame really sucks (my normal bedtime is usually 9:00), but practically speaking, if I want to be an EMT, I better get used to not operating on my own schedule.

Training for Masochist progressing well. Now I'm on an back-and-forth recovery-build/quality system. This week I'm doing something a little different by not having a specific weekend long run of 30/35 miles. Instead, I'm doing across the board 15 miles each day. The weekly mileage ends up about the same. Yesterday and today have gone OK, but definitely when I start pushing 11 miles, my body starts realizing somethings up. Today was certainly tougher than yesterday, and I'm worried/anxious to see how tomorrow will feel.

As to Umstead: yes, I've gotten suckered in. I applied and was accepted as a competitive entry. It's exciting and terrifying at the same time. I've never been one to chase a PR. And it's the first time I feel PUBLICLY committed to a time goal, in this case under 17 hours. It's one thing to want to run faster; it's another to HAVE to. But while it's scary, that itself is the main reason I chose to go back, rather than pick one of the other races I was considering.

Ironically, two days after I applied for Umstead, the ThunderRock 100 (in Chattanooga) finally announced their race date.

May 16, 5-6 weeks after Umstead. I should think about it, right?

Soundtrack:
"My Songs Know..." by Fallout Boy
"Breathe Today" by Flyleaf