I love my job

I truly do.

Two years ago on Thursday, I took a huge leap of faith and left my high-paying job to come to a non-profit. It's a huge non-profit, but still. I took a $25,000 pay cut in exchange for a much shorter commute and less stress. I talked myself into it by reminding myself that you cannot put a pricetag on quality of life.

The first year was challenging. I didn't hit my stride right away. Despite the fact that I was using much the same skillset, I floundered a bit. I second-guessed my decision. I despaired over the lower and less frequent paychecks. I filled my extra time with more classes and clients at the Y, but I still felt unfulfilled.

But sometime in the past year, things started to change. I dove into more meaty projects at work. I started to make my mark here. I let myself relax about the money and started to bond more with my coworkers.

And much more importantly, I started to really live the mission. I now have much more contact with some of the children we serve here, and I love that contact. It absolutely makes my day when one of them calls out to me in the hallways or comes to visit me (even if, like today, his only purpose in visiting was to grub some candy off me). :) A few of the kids spontaneously hug me when they see me, and that fills me with joy.

I recently emailed a friend, "How could I possibly think about leaving here to work somewhere else for more money???" I couldn't. Not right now, anyway. I would miss my coworkers, even the ones who drive me a little nuts. I would feel guilt over leaving behind the mission -- to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens.

And I would not be able to forgive myself for walking away from these kids. These remarkable, resilient, intelligent, sensitive, wonderful kids.

I am so lucky. I have found my calling. How many people can say that?

Rain, rain go away

Why does God hate the Greeks?

I'm being facetious, of course, but it does seem to rain every stinking year for the Greek Festival. It rained in the early evening on Tuesday but then cleared up in time for the dinner rush at the Festival. In fact, we broke opening day records as far as money raised on Tuesday!

Maybe everyone knew the rest of the week was just going to get worse and worse... Wednesday was OK (again, early rain), but last night was a steady rain and today is even worse. After being so cold and wet for hours last night, I'm skipping tonight.

Tomorrow I'll be back in the bar tent to serve wine, beer, and ouzo to everyone who shows up. Come see me! I'll be in the bar closest to the gyro stand.

(And it's pronounced yee-row, not ji-row. If you're my friend, you simply MUST pronounce it correctly!) :)

PRs rock! :)

At Sunday's Mike's Run for Fame, IronHubby paced me to a brand-spanking-new 5K PR -- 23:12, which was 32 seconds faster than my previous PR on the same course. (Admittedly, it's a very fast and flat course.) Thank you, IronHubby!!!!

The first mile was fine. Easy, even. I thought to myself, "I could go faster." 7:30.

The second mile was endless. It seemed to take f.o.r.e.v.e.r. 7:30 again, amazingly.

The third mile wasn't as bad as the second, but my breathing was very laborious and heavy. 7:28

When I approached the finish and saw 23:03 on the clock, I said "Holy crap!" under my breath. And smiled for the camera.


















(IronHubby is barely exerting himself. So not fair!)

23:12. For someone who is (a) old and (b) a fairly new runner, that pretty much rocks.

Apparently, though, I didn't race hard enough. Later on Sunday I biked on the trainer for 45 minutes, and on Monday I taught both an early morning outdoor boot camp class (4 miles) AND ran 3 miles after work in 24:06. Ummm, I probably shouldn't have had that much left in the tank.

Therefore, IronHubby has set a new goal for me: 22:57.

Rock on.

Race Reports

Sorry, Stephen! I didn't realize anyone was waiting for race reports.

Race 1 - Indoor Sprint Triathlon, May 16
500 meter swim, 10 mile bike, 2 mile run
This was my first indoor tri, and it was a blast! I got faster and felt stronger as the race wore on, which was very encouraging to me. Even better, I was the second female overall (out of only 21, but it still sounds pretty cool to say I came in second). :)

Race 2 - Delaware Marathon relay, May 17
6.55 miles, anchor leg of the marathon
I was concerned about racing two days in a row, something I'd never done before. On race day I was very sick to my stomach and completely sleep-deprived, as someone had tried to break into our house the night before and we were up with the responding police officers 'til 1 a.m. (Yes, I was home alone when it happened. No, the bad guy didn't get in. Yes, I was pretty freaked out about it.) IronHubby graciously swapped relay legs with me so I could rest for a bit before I had to run, so I got the cheers and the glory as I crossed the finish line. As a team, we ran a 3:40 marathon. Here I am approaching the finish line.










Upcoming races:
May 31 - Mike's Run for Fame 5K
June 13 - Thundergust Duathlon
July 4 - DRC Duathlon

Off to the races!

Race season officially begins this weekend for me!

Wheeeee!!!! :)

Now I'm starting to worry

For most of the winter and definitely the spring so far, I've been in and out of a running slump. No mojo, not much consistency, low mileage, not loving it, etc. Race season officially starts this weekend, though, so I was getting a bit worried about my lack of motivation.

Then I did an absolutely amazing speed workout yesterday morning. I nailed my paces and was as consistent if not more consistent than ever.

4x400 in 1:39, 1:40, 1:39, and 1:37 (my goal pace was 1:44)
4x200 in :44, :44, :44, and :44 (my goal pace was :45)
4x100 in :19, :19, :18, and :19 (no goal in mind for these)

Talk about a mental boost!

And this morning my mojo stayed with me in the pool. I started out thinking about doing 3x500 in preparation for my indoor sprint tri this weekend, just to see what my 500 meter time might be on Saturday. When I started swimming, though, I felt strong. I felt fast. I felt a.m.a.z.i.n.g. in the water. I quickly scrapped my plan and decided to swim 1350 yards straight, the same workout I've been doing every Tuesday morning for several months, just to see if I was at or near PR pace. At one point, I even thought, "I know I can break 30 minutes for this distance. Maybe not today, but I know I can do it."

I figured I'd maybe break my PR of 30:42 today... by a few seconds. I knew it would be close.

29:52. 29:52!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A 50 second PR and my first sub-30 minute swim for that distance!! I could not be happier.

Except... Am I peaking too early??? I want yesterday's and today's successes this weekend! Now I am worried that I blew my load a few days too soon.

I guess I'll find out this weekend, huh? Meanwhile, I'll enjoy my endorphins. :)