Cloud 9 part 2, and 25 or 6 to 4 other things of interest

Sometimes I feel like my life is all about numbers. My running right now is going well, but I feel like I live for the old mileage chart. I love adding up the new miles on the way to my upcoming race and raising the number on the counter at the bottom of this page. I am obsessed with knowing how many miles it is around the neighborhood. I have 3 different 3 mile loops. I've got a mile, a 1.5 mile, a 4 mile, and a 7 mile loop. But what I did not have was an accurate measurement before last weeks 9 mile run. As it turns out, each of my 3 mile loops was actually 3.4 miles. So, after 3 loops I racked up 10.2 miles, not 9. I was very happy about this revelation. For starters, that's an extra mile I get to add to my tally. Second, It means I was running a faster pace than I thought, About 12:30 per mile as to 14:00(roughly). Third, I actually did ten miles. That gave me extra confidence going into this mornings run.

I got up at 5:50 AM and was out the door by 6:20. The first bands of tropical storm Fay arrived early this morning so it was sprinkling when I started. It sprinkled the entire duration going between a light drizzle a moderate rain. Luckily, there was no lightning. I don't really mind running in the rain as long as I don't have to worry about being fried by 1.21 jigawatts of electricity. The rain actually helped keep me cool and there was a bit of a breeze, because of the tropical storm, remember. I made it through 9 miles today in 1 hour and 58 minutes. My goal was to do it in less than 2 hours. Thus, today I am the greatest runner ever on the south side of my street between the stop sign and the house with the LSU flag and the little white ceramic bunny in the yard.

A FEW OTHER POINTS
1. My new job is going great. I am teaching civics. I have 3 classes of all freshman and 2 classes that are a mixture of repeaters and transfers(ranging from grades 9-12). For the most part, I really like the kids. There are probably only one or two kids that I see any "major" potential problems with. The administration is great. That have been totally supportive and are always offering to help, I just haven't found anything for them to help with yet. Finally, the faculty is awesome. The other teachers have been super friendly and have been very helpful. I gotta give mad props to the crew of newbies, we all hit it off really well and that has made the transition to this school easier for us all.

2. K-love starts school tomorrow at big ole' state U. She is excited and I am excited for her. I am even considering wearing the State U. shirt that has been sitting in the bottom of my closet for the past year as a show of solidarity. I have given up saying bad things about the school, but I haven't quite begun saying good things yet.

3. I am sad that the Olympics are over. I look forward to them for 4 years then they come and go so quickly. One good thing about them being finished is that I won't have to see Michael Phelps face for a while. Damn endorsements, he'll still be all over my TV for at least the next six months. Good bye baseball and softball. I am sad to see you go. I don't know who you pissed off to get kicked out but the least you could have done is take syncrhonized swimming and diving with you. I also think they should combine judo, karate, and taekwondo with fencing and the shooting event to create a new "ninja skills" category. That would be awesome, but I imagine it would also be hard to see what was happening given that they are NINJAS!!!!!



Cloud 9- a wonderful song by R&B legends the Temptations
25 or 6 to 4- Hard grooving track by the group Chicago, with some tight horn parts. Very akin to songs like "Spinning Wheel" and "Vehicle". But I'm to lazy to look up who sang those songs