I Wonder...
Shhhhh....Don't tell anyone I'm here. I'm supposed to be studying. I've been doing a lot of that lately - I started the doctoral program four weeks ago, taking two classes. And a week after that was the start of our fall quarter at work. You've caught me in an "up" moment - one where I think I've got the hang of it all, that I've found a good rhythm of work, study, running, family and friends. But the truth is, I have moments of pure panic - I wonder... what in the world I was thinking?!? I wonder...how will I ever read everything I need to read? I wonder...dare I take 15 minutes to write a blog post or read the newspaper? The other side of that same truth is that I LOVE it! Everything is so interesting, I love the way it's making me think, pulling my mind in so many directions. Up one minute, down the next - sounds like a post I wrote a few months ago...
My niece is blogging about her grad school journey, and it got me thinking I should do a little of that too. Just as I've been documenting my running life, maybe I could document some of my student life. I won't forget about the running though. Let's get started...
Eric came up with a brilliant schedule for me. Up at 4:00 am, study till 5:30, get ready and on the road to work by 6:40. Fall quarter, work till around 12:30 (I'll be adding classes winter and spring), home between 1:00 and 1:30, laundry, groceries, bills, running and studying till Eric gets home. Dinner together, a bit more computer time, a bit of downtime, and in bed at 8:30. It seems to be working for me. I don't feel stressed when I head off to work because I've already accomplished some school work for the day. I'm not sure I like afternoon running - you know I'm a die-hard early morning runner - but I'm working on it. I have a paper due next weekend, but I've also got an out-of-town trip booked, so this past weekend I worked on the paper. We wanted to go out with friends for a few hours on Saturday, so my compromise was to skip the Sunday run and coffee with the Y Runners, and run here at home instead. I got a run and a couple of hours of study in by the time Eric came home. Balance, right?
Running...ran Bellingham Bay Marathon on the 26th. Almost a personal worst, but I finished. I had serious doubts leading up to the race as I hadn't done any long runs since mid-July, and most of July, all of August and September I struggled with energy and my heart. I finished Bellingham feeling good, so I was happy. This weekend it's the Royal Victoria Marathon up in BC, thus the extra work on my paper last weekend. I'm going to shoot for one marathon a month, but will reserve the option to drop down to half marathons if I feel overwhelmed.
You probably won't hear from me often, but I hope to post occasionally. I haven't had any spare time to drop in on your blogs, and for that I apologize. Hopefully I'll find some time to do that once in a while. Now, it's off to the discussion boards in my classes!
10 comments:
Good luck with your studies, you can do, just stay focused! I think your studying parallels running ultras, the finish seems to be impossibly far away, you have ups and downs, but somehow you get through it and are rewarded with a tremendous sense of accomplishment when you reach the finish line! Oh, and through your blog you have fans cheering for you along the way too!
"I'm going to shoot for one marathon a month"!!!! Wow, I am more than impressed with your ability to balance so many major things at once! You're an amazing woman.
Just dropping by to say 'Hello'. I'm not too fond of running in the afternoon either but we do what we gotta do. Good to see you have some 'downtime' as well. :)
I had a similar schedule when I was in grad school and tried to run a marathon in the middle of it. Not easy, as you know. I hope the classes continue to be a pleasant challenge.
Love your "oh btw I ran another marathon." :)
You're awesome.
I hope the Victoria Marathon was fun.
Your schedule is making me dizzy! If anyone can do it, you can. :)
Best wishes for all the aspects of your life.
Neither of us was running when we were in grad school. Running would have taken time, but maybe have been good for our thinking power??
Just wanted to say hello, it's been such a long time. Like usually, I am astounded by everything you do. Like usually, you have my full admiration.
Congratulations on another marathon. That's a pretty amazing schedule and I'm impressed by your dedication. I don't get to blogland too often anymore, but it's nice to see what you're doing.
Sorry that I haven't checked in lately! I'm truly impressed and inspired that you did yet another marathon. My running is suffering lately, but you showed me that you can push through... perhaps I can, too.
Post a Comment