Day 25

Tonight wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I didn't try to go fast and I'm really glad about that. I felt really good afterwards....and not too bad during. My pace did slow down quite a bit from Saturdays run though. I ended up running a little over 4 miles in 48 minutes. Not bad.

Day 25 (59 min.)

walk 5 min.

jog 6 min. walk 1 min.

walk 5 min.

Oh, and no foot pain today. Hopefully that's gone now. I need to remember to wear better shoes on subbing days. Tomorrow is 2nd grade/ half day....wish me luck!

Day 24

New shoes change everything! Okay, not really, but today's run was pretty great. And....it could be because of my new shoes right? Tonight was the end of our recovery week. I'm too scared to look at next weeks schedule. I cut 18 seconds off my time. I know that's not a lot, but it's a start! I'm now running/walking 10:56 minute miles. hahaha!

Day 24 (54 min.)

5 min. walk

2 min. jog 1 min. walk x 4 miles

5 min. walk

Day 23

What's the deal? This week was supposed to be an easy week, but I just don't feel like running. Thursday's run was a total joke. I was such a flake. Evan even had a hard time finishing. It wasn't that we were tired or that the run was even hard. I think it's just been a weird week and were both out of it. I have a feeling the next few weeks is going to be a test of will power. Will we keep going or head back to the couch? KEEP GOING!!!!

Day 23 (40 min.)

walk 5 min.

jog 2 min. walk 1 min. x 10

walk 5 min.

Day 22

Tired feet and sore legs.....My legs and feet were already tired from standing all day in the classroom, so running didn't do anything to alleviate them. I'm running at about a 12 min./mile pace. We're still early in our training so I'm too worried about it. Evan is going a lot faster than me. He's going to be waiting around for me to finish from now on (on our long runs).

Day 22 (40 min.)

walk 5 min.

jog 4 min. walk 1 min. x 6

walk 5 min.

Miss Johnson Fall 2009

Tomorrow, I will walk into my first sub job of the year. 5th grade Science, here I come. 

Day 21

Luma at Miller Outdoor Theater! How can you pass that up? Well, we for sure didn't. I was so glad something was happening at MOT while Mom and Mamaw are visiting. We packed up our picnic basket (facon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches. YUM!), our chairs, and a blanket - and prepared for a night under the stars. 

Anyway, that pushed our run to Sunday. And boy was it a tough one! It was our furthest distance yet - 6 miles! I can't believe I actually ran 6 miles! That's just crazy. It took me 1 hour 12 minutes to finish. Evan lapped me once and finished about 4 minutes earlier. He sent me a message today telling me that the BH Cross Country team ran it this morning in 47 minutes. 

I was very very sore and tired afterwards, but today I'm not sore at all. We're doing great!

Day 21 (1 hr 12 min)

jog 4 min. walk 1 min. x 6 miles

Miss what's-her-name

Do I need to tell you that subbing was not my favorite....or can you tell by the lack of motivation to write anything since January? I'm not going to go too deep into but I will leave a few tid bits from my semester as "Miss."

Most memorable moments: *a whole class of 4th graders singing "five...five dollar...five dollar foot long...........subway eat fresh" and "1-800-safe auto pick up the phone the call is free"......and so on. * the one and only time I sent a kid to the office...and got the phone call asking exactly why a kid was sitting in the office..geez, sorry to bug you. * Timing how long it took a kid to ask me if I spoke Spanish. Then one day asking back, "do you speak French?" I can't believe that worked. * Oh geez, the high school kid who apparently did whatever he wanted because his mom was a teacher. He totally brought the guitar and asked about my favorite band. Gag. Even Evan got a good laugh out of that one. * That same kid was in the class whose real teacher called me a socialist because we turned in a group paper. * Watching movies is a fun way to pass time. Not so much fun when you watch the same movie for 3 or more class periods - Finding Nemo...yea, we never made it to the part where he was actually found...all THREE times I watched it. Disney music cartoons were okay, but the kids weren't very interested after about 5 minutes. My favorite days were the Apollo 13 and United 93 days. Those were good movies. I still haven't watched the end of Apollo 13 though.

You get it right? So what am I doing now you might ask. Surely she's staying clear of any education jobs. Nope. I worked with Evan's colorguard for three days and was reminded how much I like teaching guard. Too bad his district won't hire me for anything. So, I'm still trying to figure it all out. Job wise anyway.

Mission 4, substitute teacher

Today was my best substitute day. I taught 7th grade language arts. For the most part the kids were good. I had 3 block classes. The first on (of course) was the best. The middle broke me. I finally just sat down and let them be loud. The third was quiet when they really needed to be.  I was at a new school and the teachers were really nice. I was a stranger and they were nicer to me than the people i worked with for 5 months. The best part of the day was reading the book they were all reading. It's called The Girl Who Owned a City. I read the whole book today. I should probably edit this post...but I probably won't. Yay weekend.

Mission 3, substitute teacher

If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. That's what I'm going to stick with for today. Oh except....I did enjoy the little boy who kept asking for hugs and asking if I like his hugs.

Mission 2, substitute teacher

Today I was a 76 year old 7th grade math teacher who smelled bad. Don't worry, the kids didn't tell me I smelled bad (I could smell myself) or that I looked old.  I had the patience of a.......someone who has a lot of patience. I actually surprised myself. No serious problems. I mean it could have been a lot worse. There were probably 4 students out of each class who didn't need constant reminders about the instructions. There were also about 4 students in each class who would have been more productive sleeping. Should we graph this? Mean? Median? Range? Are those complimentary or supplementary angle?

A few kids made me so sad. They just didn't care. I don't understand that. Probably because I was the furthest away from that kind of kid when I was in school. What do you say to those kids who refuse to do work? I almost had this one today. I had him teaching two other students how to do a problem. I'm pretty sure I had him convinced he was "giving them the answer." Then SNAP back to I'm-gonna-put-my-feet-in-the-chair-and-cheat-and-rush-through-my-work-because-I-don't-care-what-you-think-me kid. tear

Positives:

1. The few kids who were actually respectful and made me feel like I was actually helping them.

2. When I was leaving I stopped to look at the color wheels that art class had painted. Some of them were really awesome. One kid had painted cats and dogs (heads) all around his color wheel. I couldn't believe how good it was really.

3. Also, on my way out (leaving was good) I had a good chat with one of my students for the day. He's in orchestra. He plays the cello. I found myself wishing I was going to see this kid again so I could see how he was doing. I hope he sticks with it. He said he likes playing and that he's going to keep playing through high school. I wish I knew his name.

3. Going home.

Ms. Pep has left the building.

I'm frustrated. I'm annoyed. I'm ready to go home. So, I don't know when this happened to me, but I am no longer a glass half full person. I think I used to be one, but I'm not sure anymore. I emailed a few people on Tuesday about some volunteer work. Okay, I know I can't pay my bills, but the volunteer work was more appealing to me than the actual paying jobs. Sad? Yes, I think so. Anyway, I found out that I am too late to volunteer with libraries adult literacy program. Bummed part 2. Yesterday I was told that there is no animal shelter in the town where I live, but I can "join" some people who go to a nearby city to work with animals. 

I guess I just keep getting myself in trouble because I see things in my head and get excited way too early. I had this vision of coming back from Christmas break, finding a job really close by. Then, I was going to sell my car and get a bike. You know what? I'm not home anymore, because that would make since there. I could probably find a club of people who ride there bikes to work and stop by the super awesome organic foods store on the way home. They have baskets on their bikes I have a toll tag on my car. 

Does anyone know of a job where I can pet puppies and kitties all day? I clean up after them...I don't have a problem with poop.

New Rule: Stop. Stop. Stop. dreaming up these ridiculous images of how my life is going to be.

Mission 1, substitute teacher

Kindergarten on a Friday. Can you imagine? They told us in our orientation that students would try to get away with breaking the rules with a substitute teacher. I knew that. I mean, I did go to school! I really don't know why I expected things to be different with Kindergarten. 

I felt a little sick when I made it to the classroom. I had no idea if the teacher would leave me a lesson plan. I really didn't know what to expect. I guess I better get used to that though. It turned out that the teacher was there, so she explained things to me.

Positives about the day:

1. No one peed in their pants (that I'm aware of).

2. I learned all of the kids names.

3. I learned that I don't hate working with children after all. (Don't seem so shocked. I was wondering for a while.)

4. It's nice to know that kids still like to color.

Negatives:

I'd have to say the only thing negative that happened that day...was my "mean girl" experience. I have never been around so many two faced petty adults. It's sad really. I'm glad that I grew up where I did and around the people that I was around because I would hate myself if I turned out like these people. Wait...should this be moved to the positive list?