Teaching and Training

These 2 things (teaching and training) are difficult to manage at the same time. Teaching is taking more out of me than I could have ever imagined. It takes me forever to make lectures, therefore, training time is much harder to come by than I would like. Overall though, my classes are off to a good start. I have 4 sections of Physics I for Engineers with a total of around 160 students. I'm on my feet for 5 hours Monday, Wednesday and Friday teaching, but my schedule is good.

I've been told that after the first 2-3 weeks my body will adjust to the new demands and I'll be much less tired. During this time though, I'm also increasing my training time. I did manage to squeeze in between 8 & 9 hours this week, but I also had Monday off. My goal was 10 hours. Next week I think it's 11 hours. I'm going to have a better plan this week though to work in the training.

This week I've just been exhausted, but I've pushed on and am seeing great things. On Friday night I finally went for a 5 mile run. I finished in 47:23, a new best for me in training. It was especially good because I was so tired and didn't really want to run. Then on Saturday morning, I met my group at Plan B and set out for a nice ride.

The ride was good, and I chatted with a few people I had met previously. Anyway, on the way back from the lighthouse (our turn-around point) the group usually picks up the pace and everyone more-or-less gets divided. Not this week. Mark, a young guy, told me to get up there on someone's wheel and draft. He knew from last week that this was not my strongest area, but I did as he said and found a wheel and rode it. We were hauling and I managed to stay with the lead pack ALL the way. We managed between 25 & 28 mph! It was crazy and I was exhausted, but it was really good for me to get that push to hang in there and see what I could do.

Then at the bridge, I usually go straight while the others head back to the shop. On Saturday as I headed straight I had 2 others come to get in some extra miles with me. Then finally it was just John and me. We had biked an additional hour and 10 minutes. At last I had my time in. We parted ways and I came home, 44.5 miles after I started. This is so far the farthest and longest (2 hours 23 min) that I have biked.

It was a fantastic training day for several reasons. I climbed the bridge well (not dropping under 15 mph) and it was noticed by Steve, our fearless leader :) I also am making friends with very experienced bikers who are taking the time to help me improve. I'm hoping to train with them through the winter months and come out really strong in the spring. These guys easily bike 25+ mph and most cover about 250 miles per week! They live on their bike, so there should be plenty of opportunities for me to find a training buddy that can really push me.

Now if I can just find some people that will help improve my running, I'd be set. For now though, I have elected Pinal as my personal running coach. She sets my goals with me and then I try my best to execute them. And since she wants to improve her times as well, she's done quite a bit of research on how to do that. Now she's passing it on to me since I'm really strapped for time these days.

Speaking of which, it's time to hit the bed. Sleep is such a precious commodity these days. I need all I can get! Good Night!