Updates

Yeah, it's been a while. I'd like to provide a full update on what's transpired since my last posting, but unfortunately, I don't have the time for such luxuries. Know that I want to, however!

My marathon training with Sarah continues. The cooler weather has made for the initial mile to be unpleasant, but my sweat pores are much less active when the temperature is below 80 degrees! This morning we ran for almost 17 miles before church (our time was about 2:50). I'd say it was our best yet. We have a 20 mile run scheduled for October 28--the day before Sarah's 24th birthday! That will be our longest before the marathon. Most of our friends who have done a marathon before tell us that these long runs are the hardest, since you aren't in a race or anything yet. Today felt really good as we did it, however. We brought our iPods, but didn't allow ourselves to use them until the final 4 miles, which worked well as a distraction when our bodies were starting to feel it. In hindsight, perhaps the Sunday morning run wasn't the wisest decision, since we struggled to stand up for singing, communion, and greeting... Still, there are few feelings that compare with the satisfaction of knowing that you gave it all you've got. I expect to sleep very well tonight.

Sarah and I made a trip down to Washington DC to visit Walter and Lydia Nelson in their DC home. They were married in April, and we hadn't made it down there to visit them. Lydia's birthday made for a good excuse, and we enjoyed our visit immensely. It no longer seems weird to visit married friends. Even though it was our first time seeing their new home, it seemed right that they were married. I like that.

School has been going pretty well. What's keeping it from going really well is the amount of time I spend there. I'm generally the first one there and the last one to leave. Recently, it's been kind of a 7AM-7PM day. I try to do most of my work at school because I found myself having trouble sleeping when I worked on homework or planning at home. I'm working on separating school from life, and unfortunately, the emotional element has been tough to overcome.

We have parent/teacher conferences this week, which makes me feel excited and nervous. I have only observed my student teaching conferences, and since nobody came to the computer room last year, that's my only experience with them. Parent communication is a big component for me (our class website has every day's homework and news on it as well as private online grades so parents know what their students are getting). I'd like to get better at calling parents with good news, so this week after students presented their state project, I called home to let the parents know how well their child did with the assignment. Let's hope it pays off!

This weekend, Sarah and I hung out with her roommate Michelle and her boyfriend Will. We had a great time in the country surrounding Philadelphia--visiting her family, picking apples, touring Victory brewery, and going on a haunted hayride. The apple picking felt a little cheap: the place was crawling with people, the apple pickins were slim, and it made me feel even more strongly about how much I like Cranes Orchard.

Time for me to put some finishing touches on the week's lessons. I'll post more soon!

10 miles strong

We made it! Yesterday 17,800 people ran the 10-mile Broad Street Run in Central Philadelphia. The weather was nearly perfect for a race, with the temperature in the 60s, beautiful sunshine, and the wind at our backs. In a shocking twist of events, I didn't even lose much sweat! Going up to the race, most of the students had never run farther than 6 miles. I had expected 5-7 of the 23 runners to finish the 10-mile trek. Instead of only 5-7, we had 20 of 23 finish!!!! Most of the students finished on willpower alone, and it was tremendously rewarding to see EVERYONE go beyond what they thought they could do.

Personally, I had a awesome time. Races like that are so much fun! Being part of the Students Run program is the icing on the cake; when I'm encouraging students to do their best, I forget about myself. (funny...is sounds like the Bible might say something about that!) Sarah and I started with a bunch of runners, then decided to run with a 7th grade girl named "Kwaamia" for the whole race (before the race she had asked me to run with her). It was hard at times because both of us wanted to go faster and not stop to walk much, but we wanted to stay and encourage Kwaamia. The three of us finished the race in just over two hours! Kwaamia had never gone farther than 6 miles before, and she was appropriately quite proud of herself.

Surprisingly, my body feels pretty good! I was quite tired yesterday, but it was an accomplished tired. My muscles are only a little sore today. Running with Kwaamia helped my confidence. Due to our slow speed, I felt great by the end! It made me feel much better about running a half marathon, and that a marathon isn't an impossible task. We'll have to see though...one day at a time!

I'll try to get some pictures from the race and post them later today. Until then, you'll just have to imagine it!

Next task: overcome my blasted allergies. My nose has been a leaky faucet this past week. Just this past Monday, it seems like everything opened up and attacked my nostrils. Pray for healing there.

The weekend is upon us

This Thursday, I did something I've never done before in my life: sang karaoke. A few friends from our home group invited our group, and Sarah and I decided to take them up on it! Looking back, I would have liked to have changed a few circumstances around the situation: I was pretty tired, feeling more reflective than assertive, we didn't get there until 10PM, and there were a bunch of females from Drexel who were together (and they were all near the front...it made our small group feel like we were crashing somebody else's party). Having never sung karaoke before, I was a bit nervous. I also didn't know how it worked, so I was quite surprised when there was a teleprompter that went through the words for me! After combing through the song list for quite some time and feeling rather disappointed that there weren't any songs from the Little Mermaid, I sang "One More Day" from Diamond Rio (kudos to Chris Avery for helping me learn that song back in our Nykerk days!). People congratulated me and said I did great, but I felt a little sheepish. However, it will not deter me from attempting again in the future. My comfort level is much higher now with it, so I'll give it another shot!

Sarah, Michelle, and I are going to check out a potential house for the girls on 33rd Street in Philly. It'll be about the same distance from me as last year, but much less in the middle of the city.

Tomorrow is the 10 mile Broad Street Run. I'm excited! Two weeks ago I was pretty nervous about the distance. Now, I'm less nervous about finishing and more excited about the journey. I guess that about 10,000 runners run it! There are bands and church choirs setup alongside the race for encouragement, which I think is really cool. Too bad I won't have a camera to take pictures as I run!

Last night several students, gym teacher Stephanie, and Melissa and Erika (the two other students run coaches) went with a bunch of students and me to a Students Run Philly Style pasta dinner. While we were there, All-pro Shawn Andrews from the Eagles came! He volunteered his time and told the kids how good it was they were participating. The dude was only 24, but he's already played four seasons with Philadelphia, and he's as thick as a wall. A few of the guys on our team were doing the male version of swooning, and some of the girls were teasing them about it. I had forgotten to bring my camera, but I'll post pictures when I get them from the other coaches.

The Cubs came back from a 4-run deficit yesterday. They're suddenly in 2nd place in the NL Central! They're coming to Philly the weekend of Mother's Day. Will and I bought tickets for the Sunday afternoon game, and I think I'll catch the Friday game as well. =)

Jay Leno reported this week: "Statistics show that in a lifetime, the average person sheds 120 pints of tears. Double that if you're a Cubs fan."

I'd like to add that we should double that statistic with tears of joy when the Cubs win the Series this year. Go Cubs!

Speaking of Chicago teams, the Bulls begin a big series with archrival Detroit tonight! Makes me wish I was in Michigan for this one...I'd be teasing my students about it all day long.

Running with the principal

Today Sister Owen (my principal in the white hair and light blue shirt) challenged our Students Run Philly Style students to a race around the cemetery. Once around our "track" is about a mile, and she challenged anyone who would go farther than her three would get a pizza part. The kids ran farther than I've ever seen them! It was neat to see them challenge themselves and go farther than they're used to going. They were pooped by the end!

My one regret is that since Sarah or I always was holding the camera, we never got a picture of the two of us together. We'll have to work on that next time. =)


Stephanie, the gym teacher at both schools, just HATES running, which makes me feel better about it. I ran four miles today, which for me is a big deal. I'm not a natural runner, however, and she isn't either. It's helpful to know that we're both battling on the inside and encouraging kids on the outside.



What was perhaps more exciting, however, was that the vice principal, pastor, and even Sarah joined us! I had been badgering Father Joseph all week, and he showed up! Sarah just asked today if she could come...and how can I say no to that?!? She was awesome with the kids: meeting them, encouraging them, running alongside them, challenging them. I like her.

New sneaks

As promised, here are some snapshots of my new sneakers (or tennis shoes, as they would be called in Michigan). I'll just avoid controversy and call them "running shoes". They've worked wonders for my feet, and the shin splints I mentioned before are long gone. I played Sarah in racquetball Saturday, and they worked well for that too. It's amazing what a difference new shoes make!



My school was given a donation of The Bible Experience. It's a dramatic reading of the Bible on CD complete with background music and all African-American readers (Denzel Washington included). I like it a lot!

Rita's frozen ice and Dunkin Donuts are both are giving away free drinks on Wednesday--the first day of spring! I think Rita's is only in the PA area...fortunately there's one around the corner from Seth and me here in Fishtown.

Speaking of Fishtown, you can get a really close-up shot of our house using Microsoft's Local Live map technology. Google's is really good, but Microsoft's technology has some great close shots of Philadelphia. If you play around with Local Live, you'll get a photo view of my house--close enough to see my backyard next to my neighbor's pool!! And yes, I still feel safe knowing that satellites can spy into my bedroom window and watch me pick my nose.