Farewell October! Welcome November!

 A busy time!   Oktoberfest and all of that was over before I even realized that I was somewhere in the middle.   And of course,  I forgot to blog about many things during that time.   Well,  "Forget" is probably not the best term.    More like: "Lacking time" would be a better fit.  

But here I am now...  Alone in the basement on a Saturday afternoon.   I have time before the evening Church call,  so why not catch up the blog and post a few of these pictures that crowd up my computer....

Last week,  John from Zebra finally signed off and moved to Texas to live with his brother and extended family.  ( He is Greek, so... HUGE family!)  I helped him move a few things and he gave me a few items that would not fit in his truck or the moving van.  ( A lamp and a few small items.) We hung out one last time at the Clubhouse and said our goodbyes to the waitresses and bartenders.  With him gone,  there will be very little reason to visit the Clubhouse now.  Unless Marion or Joan or Francisco bother to contact me for a beer and conversation.  I guess I could go there to visit Lidia ( She is one of the bartenders)  but she is often busy ( working)  so conversation is limited at best.  I will miss the bar/ thirsty Thursday events.  It was fun talking with those folks over a brew and 15 sports channels.  Even the food was not bad. ( Perch Fridays!  $15 bucks!)   With school taking up most of my time, it is probably a good thing that I move on and find something else to do with my evenings... 

Like Sports!   Specifically soccer!   

With most of the Fall Sports ending,   I find myself searching for other things  to harness that school spirit I'm supposed to develop.   With cross country and Tennis and football over,   that leaves only Soccer.   And Soccer continues to shine as they won yet another playoff game!   This one was close!  1 to zero.   The other team managed to score a point in the fleeting minutes of the last half, but they had an additional player on the field so the point was withdrawn.   Oh!  And it was Cold and VERY WINDY! that night.  The wind was so strong that it was blowing dust from the nearby fields over the game.   It also blew the ball around so corner kicks were difficult.    Their next game is tonight I believe with the winner of one of the other playoff games to be determined.   I wish them luck, as I will most likely not be able to attend tonight. 

The Cross Country team sent two boys to the State Championship today.   Tempi,  who broke the school female record three times this year, ( He own record twice!) Did not qualify for state!   (Unbelievable!) So only Zak and Lucus are going and I'm sure they are done by now as of the writing of this post. 

As for me.   Last night I went to the Musical ( High school Musical... of all things...) IT was pretty good.   Honestly, I did not like the movie that Disney made,  but knowing a few of the kids in this one made it far more enjoyable.   I didn't even know that Melissa (One of my Natural Science Club Members)   was the lead role!  And she knocked it out of the park!  The play continues tonight and tomorrow.  I wish them all the best!

Today,  I ran a 5K at the Pringle Nature Center in Bristol.   It was fun!  I ran it once to get a feel for the trail and then I ran it for real with the 150 or so people who signed up for the race.   It was a trail run, so getting a PR here was not on the agenda.   However, I did manage to pull off a modest 9:05 -9:10 minute mile...  Which I am actually pretty pleased with.   No one passed me the entire race.  (Meaning I was the one passing folks.... Yeah! Or everyone else was really slow....)  

The local Cross Country teams ran it with use as their "end of year finally" so I'm sure they were way up there in front.   Not that I was keeping score.   I didn't win any awards, nor did I break anything.   My goal is to not stop running and to not get hurt.   And trail runs are challenging enough without me trying to kill myself to outdo the younger generation.  (Breaking a hip in front of a teenager is never cool...) I did fall once,   but all that happened was I got my new shoes dirty.   And I did not look cool to the guys I had just passed...   In the end. I got to get outside on a beautiful day and I got my 6 miles in on a trail instead of a bike path.  

And finally,   I discovered a water quality test kit buried deep in the Earth Science closet last week.   I did  a bit of research and discovered the kit was missing instructions.  ( I managed to find the site and print them off myself...)  I also found a number of You Tube videos that shows you how to use the kit and what they will test for.   This kit looks like it is one of the higher end ones, used for O2, Nitrite, Chlorine, Phosphate, and PH levels.  This sounds like the perfect thing to use for the Pond.

Remember the Pond?   A few weeks ago, we installed a Floating Island in the middle of the small pond that captures all of the rain water from the parking lot.  We tossed out that it might be a fun, educational  responsibility for the Natural Science club to periodically do some tests and check the levels of quality on the small pond.   Unfortunately,  the age of the kit and the chemicals that it contains are questionable.    No one knows for sure just how old the chemicals are that are used for discovering the levels of nutrients in the water.   The O2 test is rather involved... SO I set that one aside for the time being.   And according to the test, there was no chlorine in the water.  

To be sure,  I brought the kit home to see if  at least a few of the chemicals were still in working order, and was happy to discover that our city water was well chlorinated!  ( 3.5 mg per liter, I think)  Even the PH strips worked!     

I will have to see if the O2 Part of the kit is still functioning.   It is tricky, as you have to add a number of chemicals while keeping the sample away from any contact with air.  ( Challenging!) But I may enlist a couple of of the club members to get wet and muddy for me as we figure out the process together.   Part of the fun of doing something like this is not knowing what you will discover or learn!  ( Right?)   

 As the cold weather settles back in,  the wind took much of the fall color with it.   That being said,  there were a couple days last week where the warmer air moved up,  giving us a few, last moments of Fall.   The deer are running around as well as other creatures.   The blanket of leaves makes it sound like everyone is eating a bag of Cheetoes!  And every now and then,  you see something that you don't see every day.   Twice now, in the last two weeks,  I have seen a coyote!   Once while running at 3 AM in the morning, (He ran right in front of me and hung out in the road as I passed by.)  and then just before the big Soccer game that cold windy night.   I managed to get a few pictures of that one.   He stood still right in the middle of a well lit field in front of everyone, as if he was part of the park! I'm shocked I managed to get a few pictures. 

Well, that is all for now.   Except school.   Which continues to challenge me every day...   My hope and prayer is that I improve.    And although I would  LOVE for my improvement to be an overnight success,  experience has taught me that that is rarely the way things go.  

Bit by bit, inch by inch...  One foot in front of the other. 

The only way I can fail is if I quit.   And I look at my Freshmen who struggle in my science class for my inspiration.   All they have to do is do the work.   All they have to do is read the sections.   They don't have to "get it!"  All they have to do is put forth a modest amount of effort and their grades will improve... And they will harness "enough" of what they need to progress to the next levels of Physics and Chemistry.  

And when I give that advice to them... I reread it and tell myself the same thing.     My Dad used to say, " You can't teach an old Dog new tricks."   I'm sure there are a number of ways you can interpret that phrase, but I took it as,  Old people stop learning because they can't learn anymore.   Well,  I disagree with that.    We never stop learning.    And the kids are teaching me possibly far more than I am teaching them!  (Not science, mind you.  Rather,  Human conditioning and the art of learning...) 

My struggle continues with the teaching.   And I find these blog posts helpful.   Like I'm talking myself into hanging in there and to press on.   And Before I pat myself on the back,  I want to give God all of the Glory.   For he made this possible for me.   And I know deep in my heart that he will continue to bless and challenge me until I get to the place where he wants me to be.  And When I say things like that,   it makes all of this struggling seem worth it.  

The other day, one of my students asked me why I wanted to become a teacher.   Without thinking, I rattled off an answer that came right from the heart.  I was surprised how quickly I answered and how quickly the answer came to me.   And it happened on a day where I was feeling a little down.   The right question at the right moment  keep me focused and to bring me back from the brink of self doubt.    Coincidence?   I think not.    Teaching may be one of the last things I do before I die.   A hill I never climbed, until now.   And as I continue to age,  I discover that there are things I will not be able to accomplish,  but this will be one of them that I will.   And I now have the opportunity....   Because time is short,  And every minute counts!

The Week Of Champions!

 First, I want to say that I miss my poor blog.   I know it might sounds odd, but I actually miss writing down my thoughts  and telling my blog about my week.   It's kind of like calling home when I finally got back from deployment.   There was so much to tell the folks about, but I had unfortunately forgotten most of the events.   Regardless, it has been two weeks since my last post ( or longer) and there is much that has happened.   And on the fleeting hours of this Sunday evening, I will try to cram in as much as I can.   

So up first!   Soccer!   Our boys at Shoreland won their division.  Or Conference.   I'm still not familiar with the system of districts here in Wisconsin.   But let me just say it was a heck of a game!   Cold!   But the action was hot!   Our guys beat the other team 8-0!  Taking the championship for themselves and only for them ( no sharing with another team!)  They now head to the playoffs!

The Cross Country team won their division or conference or league.  yesterday.  Tempi beat the school record Again!  ( her previous record)  and set a new PR by about 15 seconds!   The boys won their division against the other teams.  I'm not sure where they go from there, but I'm pretty sure Zach and Tempi are heading for State once again.  

As for me,  I won one of the raffles at the Chili Crockpot Cook-off.   I was supposed to be a judge, but got lost on the way to the event and they started without me.   Still, I got to enjoy all of the dishes and bid on a couple of raffles.   I won the beer one!   A bunch of pretzels and a 6 pack of Lakefront Beer!  Some coasters,  a couple of beer glasses,  and a couple tickets for tours and appetizers.   Quite the prize!

It is late, and I just spent all day scoring papers for my classes.   Tomorrow I will have to quickly look over my lesson plans and prep for the day since I have no time tonight.   Funny how the weekend passes us by so quickly.   On the bright side,  I will have an extended weekend  this coming weekend.    We have a teachers conference,  ( Followed by parent teacher meeting) and Friday we have off!   Which is good!  Because I need the extra day to catch things up around here.  

For now,   I will continue to thank God everyday for this opportunity.   And pray everyday for his help as I navigate these uncharted waters.  It's still a little new and scary for me,  but things are getting better and more familiar.   And I have a great family guiding me along the way.   With God at my side, I can do anything.   

Time for sleep!   So this post will be "shorter" than the last one.    Because every second counts!

The Lakefront Marathon ( Half) Finished!

 With a new PR for me in the half-marathon category!   I am kind of proud of that.   However,   I did not break the 2 hour mark.    So I remain a slow old man.   ( 21 in my age group out of 5000 runners!)  Maybe I'm getting faster or the old guys in my age group are dying off.  Either way,  if I continue just hanging on in the "Sport"...  I may eventually get 3rd place or higher simply because everyone else is missing or dead!

All jokes aside, it was a beautiful day for a race.   Light breeze, cool temps,  sunny skies.   I was never really overheated during the entire race.   And the spectators, water stops, and mapping was all top notch; just like last year. I'm so happy the weather cooperated with the race this year.( As opposed to last year.)

That all being said,  I signed up for the half this time (Full marathons are for crazy people....)  Ok,  I might have been a little crazy last year, but I assure you,  running 26.2 miles will sober you up quickly!  If nothing else, it makes you realize that you don't want to do that again if you have an ounce of common sense!  

Still,   A half marathon is still a challenge and not nearly as painful.   True!  I'm kind of hurting a bit at the moment,  as I write this....   But it's a "good" kind of hurt.  One you get when you feel like you have accomplished something. 

The morning was a little hectic this year.   I figured I would get there about an hour and  45 minutes early,   but my AI navigator had different plans.   After several  U Turns,  I found myself with one hour and 15 minutes to park the car, go to the bathroom, and get in line for the race.   Oh!   Throw in the baggage claim in there as well.  I had to keep telling myself that as long as I get to the start line on time, it will all be good.   

And it was!  Although there were several moments I had my doubts.    And I HATE being rushed!  

The baggage claim was leaving soon and I had to check that first or be doomed to carry all of my stuff with me.  ( Oh!   Orange tag was secretly the "yellow" group...  Just an FYI for next year.) Then it was bathroom time.   Good thing I did not have to do much more than pee!   The line was wrapped around the port-a-jons like a ride at Cedar Point! And with daylight approaching,   I could not simply go out in the streets like veteran runners are so fond of doing.   So I waited in line.   

Luckily,  the crowd evaporated after the sound of the gun.   Me and another couple that were waiting, ran over to an abandoned line and were able to go while the line  was  evaporating.    We then rushed over the the start line.  

I was 4:50 minutes late from the gun!  But the entire starting line had not even crossed the starting mats so I was still in the green zone.  I made a mental note that my chip time would be off from the gun time by nearly 5 minutes... And that made me feel a little bit better.  

One of the nice things (or bad things)   about being in the back with all of the walkers is that you get to pass them!   I spent my first half of the race slowly working my way up to each pace group that I was supposed to be ahead of in the starting corral.  I eventually made it up to the 2:10 pace group and was feeling pretty good about that!   Running all that way to pass them gave my ego a bit of a boost. (Never did catch the 2 hour pacers though...)

But then we hit the bridge.   A 3% grade over 3 miles!   It does not seem like much, but over that distance, it sneaks up on you.    For the first time in the race,  people began to pass me!    At the  7 mile mark, I noted that I was on course for under 2 hours and that helped drive me into the "Pain Zone" where you  push yourself  just past your comfort zone to see if you can shave off a few extra seconds.   Unfortunately  the second half of the race had different ideas. 

I made a serious push at the end, but felt like I crawled across the finish.   The timer said 2:07, but I knew that even with 4 minutes to take off, I was not going to beat 2 hours.   But 2:03 was still a PR for me!   So... I choose to be happy. 

At the very least, my body is telling me that I definitely pushed myself.   My hips and buttocks are aching and my knees are sore.   And My feet!   Goodness!  My Feet! I was sure I had a blister on the ball of my foot, but it just seems like a cramp that will not go away at the moment. 

So 13.1 miles.. Completed!    And I now have a jacket, sticker,  shirt, and a couple of beer glasses to help me remember why I do these things.  Who knew that doing something painful could be kind of fun?   (Not me!  I hate suffering!)   Our Motto in the Army was that we would "Practice being miserable" so that when we had to do something like... I don't know.  "WAR!"   We would be used to it.   Perhaps that is one of those life secrets they never tell you in school.   Or they DO... In the form of sports or competition.  
But, as a young person, you don't ....Or can't make the connection.   You just think that school sucks and you can't wait to graduate.  Well,  Life is a rather unforgiving teacher. And those lessons are usually a pass/ fail.

Ok.  No more tangents.   Time to wrap this up and raise my feet!  I wanted to take a picture of my legs after the race, but the picture does not seem to capture the "Grizzled and Chiseled" look that they have after running that distance.  Kind of like a cool scar you want to show off with an interesting story. Something you have to see live,  because a picture can not capture the true feeling.   Ah well.   That is why I blog, I guess. 

Time for recovery!   Because tomorrow is school.   And every second counts!

The Eve Before The Lakefront Marathon...

 And I'm feeling OK.  For the moment.   Mostly because I'm only running the half tomorrow.   And after running 12 miles just last weekend, I'm fairly confident I will be able to finish.   My only real thought is to work on the time.   Wouldn't it be great if I could beat 2 hours....

Well,  I must admit I am probably not as trained as I should be at the moment.   I certainly have had a lot on my plate these last several weeks.  ( Or even MONTHS!)  The school thing has certainly consumed most of my time since July.  And the "race" ( Or "Struggle!") under that topic continues!   But my perception has been that I am finding my pace... slowly.   And now my daily routine has settled down to a dull,  slightly comfortable pain that I can tolerate on a day to day basis.   If you are a runner.... You will probably understand that analogy. 

In other words...  I'm beginning to warm up to teaching.  ( Or it is warming up to me... I'm not sure if we are friends quite yet.)  

That being said....   The running has been on the back burner... simmering all this time.   And I think it is time to pull it to the front.   If nothing else,   just to try and see where I am in the overall running world.  

I guess the reason for the running references is that I went to a Shoreland Cross country meet last Thursday and was able to witness history!   In one meet, Shoreland broke the School Record for fastest female.   Fastest male, And Fastest Combined team times!  All on a single race!

Tempi ( I hope that is how you spell her name)   Beat the previous school record by 3 seconds.   That is the fastest female in the history of the school!  

Shortly after that  Zach beat the previous school record for fastest male  by 9 seconds!   And the varsity boys turned in the fastest time ever!   

Unfortunately,  the boys placed third overall and the girls placed fifth.  Neither one brought home a trophy.  ( Meaning, the competition was fierce! ) There was an all conference girl running  the race with Tempi. 

All that to say that I was able to see it and cheer them on.   AND that helped inspire me while I made my way to Milwaukee this morning to pick up my packet.   The expo was rather small and there was no one along to keep me there or buy anything.   I did manage to pick up an extra shirt and a couple of beer glasses as my souvenirs.   I figured since I did not purchase much last year, I might as well get them this year while they were on sale.  And who doesn't need another beer glass?  

I have already graded all my papers and just have to look over next week's lesson plans to get ready for school.   I doubt I will be in the best condition or mood to do all of that stuff  tomorrow evening after the race.  

Tonight....  Sleep!   Rest.  Recovery!   And we shall get up bright and early tomorrow so I can get the best parking and be ready for the 13.1 mile tour of the city and shoreline.  Wouldn't it be nice if I could beat 2 hours?   I know that most of that will depend on where I am mentally.   And physically!  ( But mostly mentally)   The weather is said to be nice and cool in  the morning....so at the start line,   I will have to make every second count!