One week until the 2015 Philadelphia Marathon

This taper has been a lot more relaxed than I would like, but it seems to be working, as I ran 7 miles this morning with the second half at marathon goal pace (6:50) and was completely pain free.  My shin feels back to normal.

There is naturally a lot of hand-wringing and fretting over my swift decline in training over the past two weeks, and I can only hope race day adrenaline and muscle memory will be enough to pull me through the course in under three hours.

The last week of marathon training is usually more about mental preparation than physical, so now I just have to picture myself running Philly's streets as ferociously as possible in one week's time.

One week to go.  Let's make it count.

Saucony Triumph

Shin splints update: ran 1 very slow mile on Monday and Tuesday to keep up the streak.  Iced my shin both at home and at work as often as possible.  Took ibuprofen at night.

Tonight I went to my weekly run at the Haddonfield Running Company and only did 3 of the 7 miles.  My shin felt fine the whole time and I could have probably done all 7 miles, but didn't want to push my luck.  I also bought a pair of compression socks which I'm wearing right now.

Saucony was there tonight to let us try on their shoes.  I wore the Saucony Triumph, which I've worn before and absolutely love, probably because they're similar to the Nike Pegasus I usually run in.

They also had a photobooth set up in the store along with props.  I guess they were going for the whole "A mad scientist cooked up all of this insane footwear technology in a lab somewhere" theme, hence the goggles on the Saucony rep in this picture: 

I also successfully recruited two women from Who's Up? to help pace me in the final two miles of the marathon next week.  One of them told me she is going to work on a repertoire of jokes and tell me a new one every quarter mile.

And now I'm sitting in my compression socks with my legs up.  My spirits are back up after a fun night of running and hanging out with my running people.

Only a week and a half until the marathon...

A slight setback

God.  Fucking.  Dammit.

Pardon my French (and the blasphemy), but I find it the only way to adequately express my feelings tonight.  You see, my leg hurts.  Again.

In my training cycle two years ago I developed shin splints in my left leg in early October.  And now I'm dealing with the same exact problem in the same exact area, except this time there are only two weeks left until race day.

Looks like running 20 miles the day after setting a new half marathon PR might not have been such a brilliant idea after all.

This is how the week went down:

Sunday: 20 miles.  Start to feel a twinge in my lower left shin that night.
Monday: 1 very slow mile.
Tuesday: 1 very slow mile.
Wednesday: 7 slow miles with my running/beer club.  Shin feels fine throughout.
Thursday: 10 miles at average pace.  Pain returns by the end.
Friday: 1 very slow mile.
Saturday: 1 slow mile followed by 1 mile at marathon pace.  Shin feels fine throughout.
Sunday: Attempted long run, but pain became worst it's been all week, so abandoned run at 6 miles.

The pain this week hasn't been nearly what it was two years ago, which left me optimistic that I could still salvage the situation, but today was a wakeup call.  I need to be more aggressive about letting this heal and arriving at the starting line healthy.

It was the most frustrating experience this morning to be out on a perfect fall day and feel so much strength and power radiating through my whole body, and not be able to access that power and run to my potential due to one tiny section of my body.

I'd like to think the fitness I've built will not dissipate over the next two weeks and I will still be able to crush the marathon, but this certainly isn't helping my mental game at all.

It's going to be a long taper...

20 mile Sunday

Me: I'm going for a run.
Stevie: How far?
Me: 20 miles.
Stevie: After yesterday's half marathon?!
Me: Can't stop won't stop!

Running a 20 mile training run might have been a questionable decision so close after Saturday's PR in the half marathon.  Don't follow my lead, folks.  My reasoning behind it is while I'm happy with how my tempo runs have been going, I still wanted to add some miles to my legs to get them used to the distance in addition to the speed.

So I knocked out another 20 miles along my usual routes around town yesterday, stopping back at my place for gels and water.  I felt strong throughout and not at all fatigued from the previous day's race.

Less than three weeks to go until the marathon...

Afternoon Delight

Coming to a magazine cover near you

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I've taken to doing speedwork on Fridays, and planned another speed workout for this morning.

I woke up at 4am to the buzzing of my cellphone, headed downstairs to the couch to read and drink tea, and had just changed and was on my way out the door when I heard my son upstairs.  I decided to postpone my morning track session to look after Neale so my wife could sleep.  She's been working herself into exhaustion on her latest show, so I wanted to lighten her load for at least an hour.

This meant I had to do my track session this afternoon.

After work and coming home to change, I headed over to my school's track where the football and cross country teams were practicing and the field hockey team was playing a game nearby.  Our track is currently being renovated, which is why you don't see any lanes in the picture above.  They also have yet to lay down the springy, soft surface common on most tracks.  Right now it's nothing but rock solid asphalt. I'm told this is a more forgiving surface than a concrete sidewalk, at least.

There's a reason why I hate speedwork and don't do as much of it as I should: it sucks.  It's incredibly painful and I come away feeling dizzy and drained every time.  Today was no exception.

I did my go-to track workout: a series of 400's punctuated with jumping rope, pushups, sit-ups,100 meter dashes, and 200 meter recovery jogs.

My 400's went like this:

Lap 1: 1:15
Lap 2: 1:16
Lap 3: 1:11
Lap 4: 1:14

All told, at least it was better than doing the same workout in the dark.

10 miles before work

I don't think I blog enough about the specific details of day-to-day training, so for you and for future-me, here's a post about this morning's run.

This is what I look like at 6 in the morning in the backyard after just having run 10 miles in the dark, with the last few miles at ludicrous speed:

I woke up at 4am and read for a bit on the couch to wake up before heading out around 5.  My goal was to run each mile progressively faster until the last stretch when I would finish at 100% effort or as close to it as my quad would allow.  I did reasonably well with this goal.

Overall time: 1:14:20

Mile 1: 8:41
Mile 2: 8:16
Mile 3: 7:56
Mile 4: 7:27
Mile 5: 7:40
Mile 6: 7:01
Mile 7: 7:24
Mile 8: 6:57
Mile 9: 6:34
Mile 10: 6:13

It's the longest and most intense run I've ever done before a full day of work, and I'm just as proud of getting it done at such an early hour as I am of the effort involved.

But I still keep wondering to myself: is it enough?  Is this the year I go sub 3?

Marathon training: then and now

Out of the 11 marathons I've completed in my day, my most successful one was two years ago at the 2013 Philadelphia Marathon.  My goal was to come in under 3:05 and qualify for Boston, which I achieved with a minute and 55 seconds to spare after a very intense and bumpy training cycle.

Now, two years later, I am throwing everything I have at one last training cycle.  It's one last effort for a big PR.  Namely, a sub 3 hour marathon.  The problem is, I'm constantly wondering if it's enough.  I'm constantly comparing this training cycle to the one I went through two years ago.

Then: 32 years old and married.
Now: 34 years old and married with a 14 month old son.

Then: Ran almost exclusively in the afternoons after work.
Now: Running almost exclusively in the mornings before work.

Then: Topped out at 73 miles per week.  No running on Mondays and some serious speedwork on Thursdays, including lots of stadium stairs and 100 meter sprints at 100% effort.
Now: Topping out around 60 - 65 miles per week.  Maintaining my running streak by doing one slow mile on Mondays.  Speedwork in the morning is difficult because it's still dark at 5am.  Also I can't sprint at 100% for fear of aggravating my left quad.

Then: No alcohol or soda.  Significantly cut down on junk food and restaurant meals.
Now: No alcohol or soda.  Significantly cut down on junk food and restaurant meals.

Then: Brought my weight down to 130 by marathon day.
Now: Currently at 139.

Then: Strict bedtime of 10pm, up at 6am for work.
Now: Loose bedtime of 8-9pm, up at 4am to run then get ready for work.  Quality of my own sleep largely depends on the quality of my son's sleep.

Then: Strength work after every run: pushups, pull-ups, abs, dumbbells, etc.  Also jump roping.
Now: Always pressed for time, my post run routine has been significantly decreased.

Then: Rode my bike to work 2.5 miles every day.
Now: Riding my bike to work 1 mile every day.

Then: Ran the Rock n' Roll Philly Half at full effort in September; backed out of Baltimore Marathon in October due to shin splints.
Now: Rock n' Roll Philly Half moved to end of this month due to Pope visit; slated to run Baltimore Marathon this Saturday as a long run.

Then: Took 1.5 weeks completely off of running in middle of October and another week at low mileage to recover from shin splints.
Now: No major injuries.  Hitting all the miles.

Then: Self doubt high.
Now: Self doubt high.

Then: Wanted a BQ more than anything else in life.
Now: Sub 3 would be fantastic, but a PR or 3rd BQ would also be good.

1,700 miles

This morning I ran my first 20 miler of this training cycle, and in doing so I passed the 1,700 mile mark for the 2,015 in 2015 challenge I'm a part of.  At my current rate of progress, I should hit my goal by the end of November, over a month ahead of schedule.  It will be nice to celebrate the Philly Marathon and the end of this challenge simultaneously.

I also got to wear my Boston shirt for the first time since last spring, so all around an exciting day.

The 20 miler, incidentally, was a decent training run.  I broke it up into three legs, passing by the Cooper River and a brief section of trail by Newton Lake, and stopping by my house twice for water and gels.  I felt good throughout - no pain or excessive fatigue at all.  Could have easily kept going.  I guess that's the mark of a good long run if I feel like I still had plenty left in me at the end.

What it's like to run in Popeadelphia

I don't know about the cities of New York and Washington, DC, but if you live in the Philadelphia area, all anybody has talked about for the last few months has been the Pope.

From Phillymag.com

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The talk has revolved less around the honor of a Papal visit, or the World Meeting of Families, or potentially going to see him in the city, and more around the disruption his visit would cause, particularly with traffic.

From Billypenn.com

Most people decided to treat it like a blizzard and hole up in their houses for the weekend. Some even escaped for the weekend, heading out of town until the dust settled.  Me?  I decided I couldn't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I had 18 miles scheduled for today, and rather than run my usual boring routes, I decided to run right from my house into Philly and back.  So I grabbed a bottle of water, threw some gels in my pocket, and headed west out of my front door.

It should be noted that I am the world's worst running blogger in that I hate running with my phone, so I have no pictures of myself from today's jaunt.  You'll have to settle for random pictures I found in Google Images.

The first few miles were business as usual, but as I neared the Admiral Wilson Boulevard, the main artery leading to the Ben Franklin Bridge, it became completely deserted.  It was like running through my own episode of The Walking Dead (minus the hordes of zombies).

As I rounded a bend and approached the bridge, there was a large blockade of police cars.  A Homeland Security officer stepped out of one and directed me to tolls ahead that were admitting pedestrians.  The Red Cross was there handing out free bottles of water, and more officers were checking bags.

When he saw I didn't have a bag with me, one of the officers yelled, "keep going, man!  Don't slow down!"

"Yes sir, officer!"

Half of the bridge was shut down to allow for emergency and police vehicles, while the other half was open to foot and bicycle traffic.  There were thousands of people on the bridge this afternoon.

From northjersey.com

A
At mile 6.5 I reached the end of the bridge and began meandering around Center City.  The entire area was like some weird militarized pedestrian playground.  People walked around in matching Pope shirts.  Others stood in the middle of the street to take selfies.  Bikers, runners and walkers all shared the space with police officers, Homeland Security Officers, the National Guard, Humvees, vans and police cars.  Temporary chain link fences, steel guard rails and concrete road barriers were erected everywhere.

I ran around the streets with no particular plan, just wanting to soak in the atmosphere of pope enthusiasts and the novelty of car-free streets everywhere I turned.  At about mile 11, I finally headed back towards the bridge and over to Jersey.

It was without a doubt one of the most unique long runs I've ever had.

Also, I didn't see the Pope.

Why I give up alcohol before a goal race

When I train for a goal race, I usually give up alcohol about two months out.  This is never easy, mind you.  I don't want to paint myself as a drunk, but a cold craft beer is one of the great pleasures in life, in my opinion.  So why deny myself the joy of an oat soda or two after a long day's work?

I do it for a few reasons:

1. It helps me cut weight.  I am not overweight by any means, but when training for a goal race I can always stand to drop a few lbs.  Not drinking saves me a lot of calories over the long haul, in addition to the temptation of eating greasy bar food when I'm out.
2. It helps me stay focused.  I may still go out during marathon training, but the temptation to stay up till 3am is gone when I'm drinking water all night.  This makes it much easier to get up early to run.
3. It saves me a lot of money, which I can then spend on races and other race-related things.
4. So much of marathon training is about sacrifice, and I like the idea of sacrificing something I love to help me keep my eye on the prize.

Tomorrow marks two months until the Philadelphia Marathon, so tomorrow I start my self enforced sobriety.  I'm saying goodbye to the boozy life tonight by enjoying one of the best fall beers I've ever had, which my dad picked out for me.  I'm pairing it with a dram of Woodford Reserve's double oaked bourbon.  The bitter hops pair brilliantly with the slight sweetness of the bourbon, and I'm in heaven.

It's going to be a long two months.  I'll catch you on the other side.

Notes from a morning runner

In any marathon training cycle, especially for a goal race, it's easy to become hyper focused on training and let everything else fall by the wayside.  Success requires dedication, which can easily morph into obsession if I let it.

In an effort to keep Stevie and Neale a priority, I've been attempting, for the hundredth time in my life, to become a morning runner.  By running when they're both still asleep, I will then have time for them in the afternoons/evenings.

I normally get up at 6am for work, so this means if I want to get in any kind of meaningful workout, I have to get up as early as 4am.  My new normal has become to wake up at 4am, drink tea and read on the couch while I slowly wake up, then head out the door around 5am, depending on the day's workout.

Some notes:

• Getting out of bed is the struggle of my life.  Once over that hurdle, it isn't so bad.
• But then I get so comfortable on the couch with a good book that I don't want to leave that either.
• I leave so much time between waking up and getting out the door to give myself time to digest the previous night's dinner.  I have to use the bathroom at least a few times before every morning run.
• Nothing is better than coming home from work in the afternoon knowing I've already taken care of that day's run.
• I have definitely felt a surge of energy in my morning classes, but feel pretty exhausted by the time my last class of the day rolls around.
• I hate running in the dark.  It is doable, but it makes it significantly more difficult to get up to "cruising speed" when I can't see the terrain as well and don't want to trip.
• Spiderwebs and sprinklers: the bane of a morning runner's existence.

Are you a morning runner?  Leave me some advice or encouragement!

Keeping things in perspective

Counting marathoning as a hobby is a bit of a double-edged sword.  On the one hand, it keeps me healthy, gives me a great sense of accomplishment, helps me meet new people, and takes my mind off of the stresses of life.  It accomplishes what every hobby should.

But.

It takes a lot to run marathons.  Sacrifice.  Patience.  Time.  It's one thing to dream big and set big goals, but it's difficult to not feel like the world is crashing down when those goals aren't met.  It starts to feel like more than a hobby when it just shouldn't.  Hobbies shouldn't consume an entire life at the expense of other areas, nor should so much self-worth be based on an arbitrary time goal.

Keeping perspective during a marathon training cycle is difficult but something I need to consistently work on.

Yesterday Stevie, Neale and I went to Wildwood, NJ.  We spent some time on the beach and then spent the night with a friend before heading out this morning.  I had saved my 8 mile run to do on the beach, reasoning that the change of scenery and running on the beach would be preferable to running my same old boring running routes at home.

Well.

It didn't quite go according to plan.  It was much hotter than I anticipated in the afternoon, and when you run at the beach you pretty much run in direct sunlight the entire time.  The humidity soaked through my shoes within 3 miles so that they squelched with every step thereafter.  I barreled into a headwind for much of the run.  It was slow and monotonous and not at all the kind of run I had envisioned.

But afterwards we all went to the beach where Neale went into the water for the first time of his life (he'd been to the beach before, but only ever stood at the water's edge).  We took turns holding his hands while the waves approached him, and the look of sheer joy on his face is one I hope I never forget.  The shrieks, the laughter, the giant grin, the splashing and the pulling of his mother's arms as he struggled to go farther... It made my heart swell to see him take to the ocean the way he did.

Greater men than I have tried and failed to put words to their feelings of love, so I will leave it at this: Good runs or bad, I will always love my son more.

August mileage

This year's mileage:

January: 198

February: 231

March: 281

April: 121.2

May: 159.1

June: 112.3

July: 145.4

And August:

210.1 miles for the month of August, bringing me to a total of 1457.1 for this year.  I'm ahead of schedule to break 2,015 miles for this year with two very big mileage months coming up.  I could end up passing 2,015 miles by the end of November, which would coincide nicely with completing the Philadelphia Marathon.

August was a tough month as I readjusted to a marathon training schedule and dealt with virtually no rain and an unusually high percentage of days with temperatures in the nineties. The school year is starting back up as well which will present its own set of challenges.

Truth be told, I'm kind of tired of counting miles and am looking forward to 2016 when I can run as little or as much as I want to with no major goal races on the horizon.  Until then, only four months to go...

14 mile Monday

To make room for yesterday's shenanigans, I had to push my long run to this morning. Thankfully because I'm a teacher and still on summer break, I can swing a schedule shift like this.

14 miles on tap for this morning.  Pleasantly cool but still a fair bit of humidity left in the air. Overall it took me an even 2 hours to finish it, including one bathroom break and one water/gel break.  The pace wasn't exactly blazing but I was pleased to note how good I felt throughout the run.  Gone was that death march feeling running in August usually elicits.

I felt strong today, despite being drenched in sweat like so many previous runs this summer. It was rewarding to watch the work I've put in so far already start to pay off.

In a marathon training cycle, it's normal to experience ups and downs.  One only feels as confident as the last workout, and in the wake of a poor workout it's easy to succumb to the feeling that all is lost.  The feeling after a workout that went well, then, is an extraordinary confidence booster, and in the long run, confidence and mental fortitude can sometimes count more than physical capability.

Not only was it a solid training run, but I also crossed over the 1,400 mile mark on my journey to run 2,015 miles this year.  I also found an unopened can of Bud Light at mile 13.  Wins all around today.

Possibility Days

Here we go again...

Exactly two years ago today, I formally announced that I intended to train for the 2013 Philadelphia Marathon with the intention of qualifying for Boston.  I achieved both goals with a PR that still stands to this day.

And now I'd like to make a similar announcement: I intend to run the 2015 Philadelphia Marathon (my 6th) in a time below 3 hours.  My first ever sub 3 marathon.  And most likely my last.

My PR is 3:03:05, just over 3 minutes from the coveted sub 3 title, yet I feel I'm already operating at the outer limits of my abilities and patience.  Can I run a sub 3?  I feel confident I can.  But the required training involves time that, as a husband, father and full time public high school teacher, I'm already stretching as is.  I would love to give it my all one last time before running marathons just for fun in the future (inasmuch as marathons can be considered "fun").

Here's what will remain the same as last time:

• I will once again be self coached, drawing on my own experience and information culled from articles, books and other runners.
• I'll train 6 days a week, long runs on Sundays, rest days on Mondays, and keeping mileage around 60-70 miles per week.
• I'll cross train and strength train as much as possible but will focus mainly on the running.
• Speedwork once a week.
• Increased focus on nutrition while cutting out all alcohol two months out.
• Cutting about 10 pounds to get to race weight of 130.

Here's what will be different this time around:

• More progression runs and runs ending in goal pace.  I really want to practice negative splitting, which has always been one of my weaknesses.  My MO in longer distance races is to go out at what I consider  a sustainable pace, and then hold on for dear life towards the end.
• Run the Baltimore Marathon as a training run.  Technically this was the plan last time around, but I started to suffer from shin splints and had to cancel that plan.
• Focus more on quality of runs, not the quantity of miles.  I simply don't have the same amount of time to train like I did last time, and I need to make each workout count.  Each workout should have a plan and a goal rather than just the goal of adding more mileage.
• Run the bulk of my runs early in the morning before work.  Becoming a morning runner is one of my life's goals, but sleep always wins out.
• Make a stronger effort to keep my wife and son as a priority in my life.  Remind myself that I don't need the marathon like I need a positive and healthy relationship with my family.

I've been cycling through periods of intense excitement ("LET'S DO THIS!!!") to periods of self doubt ("Ugh... what's the point of doing yet another marathon and training so much just to lower my time by three minutes?").  I'm worried I'm not as committed as I should be, but for now I am going to stick to the plan of just going for it.

The good news is that I will be in a new age group for the 2017 Boston Marathon, meaning my qualifying time will be 3:10.  If my goal is to run a sub 3 but I miss it by a few minutes, I still attain my B goal of making it back to Boston with plenty of time to spare.

I do hope you'll follow along on this journey.  I'm not trying to be some sort of coach or marathon expert, but let's just say this ain't my first rodeo and I've learned a thing or two over the years.  If you want to leave me encouragement or even constructive criticism about my training, I'd be more grateful than you know.

You can also follow me on twitter: @Spartenheimer

Enjoy the ride, folks.  It's going to get intense in these parts.

May mileage

I ran 13 miles today because I missed that feeling of being drenched in my own sweat and suffering through the heat.  I also love a good excuse to sit under a garden hose for a bit.

I have a half marathon coming up in two weeks, and I'm glad to know my legs will still carry me that distance.

May is over, and it looks like I closed out the month at 159.1 miles, which puts me at 989.3 miles for the year.  My quest to run 2,015 miles this year is still on track.

Sunday 10 miler

I ran ten miles this morning, and it felt great.  It was my longest run since the marathon last month.  Because I have a half marathon next month, and because the gross summer humidity is still holding off, I figured I should get in some miles this morning.  It was a perfect spring morning for a run.

I ran my usual 10 mile route, the one I ran repeatedly in snowfall while training for Boston, the one that incorporates hills and trails in addition to the usual sidewalks and pavement, the one that goes through the town where I teach and I consequently hear shouts of "Hey Mr. Partenheimer!" all day.

Everyone: I think I saw you running the other day.
Me: It's a distinct possibility.

I was hoping to continue my training from Boston into June and run really well at my two June races (Wissahickon 10k and Odyssey Half Marathon), but it looks like summer habits are already taking hold.  Drinking too much beer and eating too much food at parties and barbecues and not doing enough speedwork are not going to get me any PR's next month.

But I still have a few weeks left to prepare, so you never know, right?

April mileage

January: 197

February: 231

March: 281

April: 121.2

April saw a significant decrease in mileage due to tapering for and recovering from the Boston Marathon towards the middle of the month.

I'm still streaking and I'm still pushing along in my quest to hit 2,015 miles this year.  I'm very optimistic that it will happen.

I'd like to up the mileage again in May in preparation for aa few races I'm signed up for in June.  Nothing major on the horizon; just a half and a few shorter distances.

Boston 2015 training recap

This is mostly for my own record-keeping for future marathons, and will be a little boring for the non-runner.

My training officially started on December 20th, exactly 4 months out from Boston.  Leading up to official training, I had been maintaining a run streak for over a year, and was running in the low single digits.  As for races, I completed one half marathon in October, and one 5k in November.

I had hoped to run a 100 mile week and build up to it gradually, practicing an ebb and flow of long runs throughout the training cycle.  Instead, I accepted that my body just couldn't handle it this time around and topped out at one 75 mile week, but kept mostly in the 60's.

I did my long runs on Sundays with rest days on Mondays (though I still ran a very slow mile on Mondays to keep up my run streak).

January was a very mild month.  All but one of my long runs were done in shorts.  My January 2015 mileage was triple what it had been in 2014.  I went into February feeling great about how training was going.  Then the weather shifted.

I ran in some challenging conditions this winter, to say the least.  I ran in 16 degree weather, in wind gusts, in a foot of snow, in falling snow, on ice, and everything else winter could throw at me.  Usually in the dark.  The winter followed us well into March, and I ran in my final snowstorm on the first day of spring.  Because I don't have access to a treadmill or indoor track, I ran every single mile outside.

While I built a solid base of miles, I didn't do nearly as much strength work or speed work as I would like.  I did some, but wasn't nearly as consistent with it as I could have been.

My nutrition was mostly solid, and I definitely dropped some weight, though I don't know how much because I still haven't weighed myself since the 2013 Philly Marathon.  I only know because my clothes have become looser.

Everything was going swimmingly, and I managed to make it to the taper in one piece.  Then I went to Germany with my students over spring break.  An action-packed schedule with little sleep and a completely altered diet (including plenty of beer) wreaked havoc on my training, just as I expected.  I managed two solid runs in Berlin, but once I got to Munich and picked up a nasty cough (which I'm still trying to shake), I was done for.  My taper ended up being a little more relaxed than I would have liked.

Sleep was another big challenge of this training cycle.  I'm very strict about my sleep and try to get a minimum of eight hours every night, but with a baby at home, that has been next to impossible since last August.  While it didn't affect the amount of miles, I feel it affected the quality, hence the lack of speed work.  Constantly running in winter weather didn't help with the quality, either.

I plan to run a simple one mile shakeout run tomorrow, which will be my final run of this training cycle.  All told, I will have run 830 miles.  My goal was not to PR this marathon, but to make it to the starting line feeling confident and healthy and just enjoy the atmosphere of Boston, and I do believe I will accomplish that.  While I am not at the top of my game like I was for Philly 2013, I am still ready to kick ass this Monday.

No rest for the weary

I am, shall we say, fairly overwhelmed these days.

• Last week my high school was saddled with the state test du jour known as PARCC.  "Farcical" does not begin to describe last week given the amount of technical glitches experienced and the feeling of building the plane while in the air, but what bothers me most is the instructional time lost in preparing for/administering this monstrosity.
• Our Student Growth Objectives (SGO's) are due tomorrow.  Starting last year, teachers are expected to administer both a pre-assessment (in November) and a benchmark assessment (in March) in two different classes, grade each assessment, chart the growth between assessments and compile the data in a spreadsheet, summarize the information and upload each component to an online portfolio.  Students are expected to demonstrate growth between the pre-assessment and the benchmark assessment, and a certain percentage of growth must be met in order for the teacher to be deemed effective.
• The end of the third marking period is next week, and with it comes an enormous amount of grading to do, grading I could have finished a long time ago were it not for PARCC and SGO's.
• Our Reflective Practice Portfolios (RPP's) are due on April 17th.  This is an online portfolio comprised of seven different categories, each requiring videos/pictures/documents with accompanying written reflections.  The bulk of our year-end evaluations hinge on this.
• I spent the majority of my time in-between classes today playing phonetag with a parent.  She was concerned about her son's grade in my class, and when I finally made contact, I had a great deal of trouble understanding her thick accent.  I may or may not have agreed to tutor her child every day for the rest of the year.  This is why I prefer e-mail.  I am a writer at heart.
• In exactly one week, I am leaving for Germany for the umpteenth time in my life.  I am leading a group of 11 - one other chaperone and 10 students - to both Berlin and Munich.  I have been spending countless hours on the phone with various German officials, organizing parent meetings, collecting payment, e-mailing random PDF forms, negotiating prices and working and reworking the itinerary.  I am slightly dreading the trip because it is going to wreak havoc on both my nutrition and training.
• Because I am leaving for Germany on April 2nd, and Stevie is leaving for Florida on April 1st, we need to get our taxes done and mailed in the next few days.
• I am currently in the middle of the biggest week of mileage of my life.  I'm going for 75 miles. The hunger and exhaustion are simply mind boggling, to the point that I snapped at a coworker last week.  Though I don't believe my actions were completely unfounded, she hasn't spoken to me since.
• We are trying to sleep train Neale, and while he has made great progress in the last few weeks, he still wakes up several times a night and cries solidly for longer than my sanity can handle.  Letting him cry also makes me feel like a goddamned monster.

And that's where I'm at right now.  Just trying to keep my eye on the prize and my head above water.