Getting There

It's now been almost two weeks since I've gotten here, and so far, my search for work has been seemingly fruitless. I've sent my resume to a good 30 classified ads, applied in person for 5 or more positions, and put up flyers all over the condo complex where I'm living advertising computer help and general handy-man work. Still, alas, I have nothing.

The week down here has been going pretty well. I ran a tempo run on Wednesday morning, which went quite well. It was the classical example of feeling pretty lousy on a warmup and then getting into the run and feeling all right. I ended up running 22:34 for 4 miles (5:38/mile), which is in the range I was hoping for. Also, I was running into a very strong headwind that probably slowed me down by 10-20 seconds per mile coming back, so the effort was probably close to 22:00.

I've been waking up and running earlier and earlier each morning to prepare for the 6:45am gun on Sunday. This morning I got up between 5:00 and 5:30 and ran at 6:45, which is pretty close to what I'll have to do on Sunday. I'm feeling pretty good about the race. I don't think my goals are unreasonable and I don't have too much emotionally invested in it. I've only been in this phase of training for a few weeks, now, and I wouldn't expect to be in tip-top shape.

So, the rest of the day will probably consist of a nap, eating, maybe a bit of light core or pool running or something just to get rid of some of my excess energy, and getting to bed good and early. I say that every night, but no matter what, I always end up going to bed at 10:00. Every night I say "right after colbert, I'm going to bed." And then I get caught up in something else, and before I know it, another hour has gone by. Oh my. Well, tonight for sure. If it's in writing you're more likely to do it, right?

I'm also gaining some clarity about what the coming weeks and months are going to look like. It looks like I may be going to New Mexico with Anna and her mom (kind of randomly came together, but it should be super cool if it works out) for a few days of hiking and camping and the like. This would be in March, after I get back from Florida and before my grandfather's surgery.

After that, it looks like I'd head up to Hanover relatively soon after. I believe my grandfather's surgery is on the 26th, so I imagine I'd be up there by then at the latest. Hopefully it won't be too cold and snowy; I'm really enjoying running on grass and dirt.

So, today and tomorrow are likely to be low-key days. Getting up early tomorrow again and then probably driving up to Melbourne in the afternoon to get my race packet and check out the course. The temperatures look like they'll be just about perfect: no precipitaiton and low to mid 50s. The only wildcard is whether the wind decides to act up. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.