Evil, slothful Athena was rubbing her hands together with glee. Slothful Athena, who now has the same hair cut as I do, was thinking, Yay! Sloth Time!
Turns out, Not. So. Much. I have clearly misunderstood the whole notion of, "taper." Here's my training plan for the week:
- Monday: OFF
- Tuesday: Swim 2000 meters, Bike 20 miles
- Wednesday: Intervals and brick workouts
- Thursday: Swim 2500 meters, Run 9 miles
- Friday: Bike 30 miles
- Saturday: Socorro Chili Harvest Sprint Triathlon
- Sunday: Bike 110 miles, then run 3 miles.
I'm tired. Weary. My legs stiffen up when I sit for too long. No injuries, thank goodness: No pulled muscles, or tendons, or fractures, or blisters. Just sunburn and peeling, and tired, tired legs.
and...I'm trying, really trying to be excited 
about going back to work tomorrow. I picked up my classroom keys today, and the cart that I'll use to transport me and my supplies between the classrooms I'll be using.
Our school opened in '02 with a capacity of 2000, and an enrollment of 2100. This year, expected enrollment is nearly 2300.
I'll leave it to you to imagine what happens when you cram 2300 adolescents into too small of a space.
Classes are capped at 30. I fully expect when I check my rosters on Wednesday to find my class enrollments to be around 34.
It's not that I'm angry. I just can't get excited. I bought some classroom supplies today, but there's no enthusiasm. Maybe tomorrow, at the first day of inservice, I'll start to perk up.
I hope so. I hate to think I'm going to spend the next nine months being completely uninspired. I don't want to do that to the kids I'm supposed to be teaching.
Time for a Reframe...or at least to think positive...
1) I can always swim, bike, and run, and recharge my batteries.
2) In fact, I have first period prep this year. This means, among many things, that I teach my first class at 9 am. I still have to be at work around 7:15 or so, but I can ride my bike or run to work, 4 miles from my house, and arrive all sweaty and gross and still have time to refuel and change and get ready for the day. I'm taking a look at these no-rinse wipes to keep at work.
3) I'm good at what I do. That's just all there is to it. I get great job performance ratings every year, and I stay out of trouble. I keep administrators happy, too. I don't steal or try to romance students. Maybe that makes a difference to somebody, somewhere, even if I don't know it.
4) How many other people have a commute of 4 miles to their full time job?
5) I'm back teaching high school. Yay!
6) Other people have WAY SUCKIER jobs than me, and it's unlikely I'll ever get laid off.
There. I feel a little bit better already.
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