Fun with photos

Teaching and Beaching

I don't blog nearly as regularly as I used to, but then again, there's a lot of things I had to trim up just to get through the furiousness of 9th quarter madness. So, while I should be writing an essay for a scholarship application, I'm checking emails, updaing the Scoliosis Mentors website, and blogging--procrastinating, actually. But, I will note that this week has a completely opposite feel than last week. I think all of my classmates were losing their sanity just like me, and after we got through back-to-back hell weeks, we're on the downhill in recovery mode. I expect cortisol levels and stress to spike again in mid-September as we take our national board exams, but for now, it's time to mellow out and relax.

Kristin & I enjoyed teaching "Scoliosis 101" to a fresh crop of chiropractor students. They actually paid attention, and asked some very challenging questions. Today, we received very positive feedback from the professor and the students. I could totally see Kristin & I doing the tag-team lecture on Scoliosis for years on end. It was fun!

This week, I've been all smiles and actually capable of listening to friends' troubles and spending time with Steve. All of that seemed like more and more things to calculate into the incredible schedule of cramming and survival in the past 2 weeks. I did very well on some of my exams last week, on others, pretty stinky. But to my surprise, a majority of my classmates have failed at least one of the exams thus far this quarter. So far, I'm not in that majority, but I have to keep plugging along so I don't get behind.

Workouts consisted of 2 rounds of tempo runs on the dreadmills and ellipticals, followed by lunges, squats, and power-breathing crunches. Tennis Thursday was more of a venting session than a practice in accuracy, but we did get in some good volleys. Tomorrow, I'm trying something different for our 7.5 mile beach run. Instead of dealing with the carotid- crushing Camelbak, I'm going to plant water at the half-way mark and not deal with the cumbersome load of carrying it. It'll give me something to look forward to.

Heat on the Beach

3rd day of radiology final exam review during lecture. Then, Katie-squared and I set out to the beach for a long run. The entire workout spanned 1.5 hours:
- long slow run for ~30 minutes
- interval training / speed work on the way back until we were too exhausted and dehydrated to keep running
- then we alternated stretching and walking, lots & lots of walking
- Katie M(2) did more long, slow, distance since she's used to running for 1.5-2 hours straight. Katie B(1) and I did more sprinting and walking on the way back. I started dreaming about smoothies, ice water, ice cold showers, shaved ice, and Katie told me to shut up. We were so parched we were getting a little carried away.

Our Care passive rehab exam was a BREEZE. 100%, no problem. Then, Katie 2 and I put in a few hours of radiology study, while engulfing chocolate--perfect combo, makes the studying bearable. I've fought the urge for a nap all afternoon--a much-needed nap. I just want some blazing, cold A/C, and ice cold drinks. But, no, room temp, filtered tap water, and a slightly cool apartment is all I get. I'd better get used to it, we're soon traveling to East Asia where air conditioners are a rare luxury, and the temperatures are fairly comparable to the hot and humid Florida summers.

Runs

It's super hot and humid. Need to get acclimated to running in late morning which is way different than early evening! Thank goodness for the Camelbak.

Thurs: indoor training
20 min on elliptical trainer for 1.9 miles
1.6 miles on dreadmill for 17 min.

Fri: beach run -- saw dolphins and jellyfish
4-5 miles with Katie (ran 24 min straight for 2.5 miles)
Ran-walk the way home (gotta love the super-tight and sore quads)

Run beach, eat fish

Today was like a vacation--all in one glorious day. Slept in despite husband's annoying alarm squawking at 0530, and husband telling me to wake up at 0730 because I was late for class. Silly husband forgot that I don't have class on this very good Good Friday. After I ran errands all over Daytona Beach, I joined Katie for a mid-day run on the sand. We started at North Turn and ran to Ponce Inlet which was somewhat over 2 miles. We took a break and explored the sea turtle and sea bird ICU at the Science Marina. Then, we ran back and enjoyed the cool breeze on our faces. We hadn't planned on dressing alike, but we were both wearing black shorts and red tank tops. Great 40 minute run! I think I got a little burned on my shoulders. Darn! After our run, we stopped at North Turn for a late lunch. We were starving and our stomachs were ingesting themselves. We both tried the mahi-mahi--mine was garlic seared, and Katie's was blackened. Delicious lunch to refuel after a long run in the sun.

Once I got home, I felt worn out. So, I crashed into a delightful nap until Allycia called. Then, we met up at B&N for our green tea frappucino date. We're heading to the Daytona Beach farmer's market tomorrow morning to stock up on yummy fruits and veggies for the week. It'll also give us more time to catch up. My dear friend is moving to Colorado in 6 weeks, and I'm going to miss her terribly!

Beach photos for tardy Christmas cards

Katie took these sweet pix of us on the beach. The colors and waves were perfect, although the sun was in our eyes. We're delinquent in mailing photos with Christmas cards which we haven't done in 5 years. It's about time for another photo mailing. Vote on your favorite. These are my faves among an album which I'll post next month. I've already exceeded my flickr upload limit for the month.

Beach view

It was gorgeous today with white-capped waves galloping for miles all day long. Probably due to the incoming cold front. I had fun with the camera during our breaks from the review information overload. On the left is a cool photo of Katie. Andy looks pensive.