Achilles

I. Want. To. Run.

Of all places to hurt, I hurt my Achilles tendon. Two weeks before the marathon? REALLY? So, it doesn't hurt when I'm sitting down. Once I get up and take the first few steps I think I'm better, but then a few more and I start limping. My students are like, what's with the walk Ms?

This seriously is out of the blue. I wonder - was it because of the heels? the 18? the last 13? are my calves too big? is it the end of running? I'm being dramatic - I believe things will work out for the best. I just really wanted to cross the finish line this year with the team.

I shall be sleeping on a bed of ice tonight. ICE!

Santa Monica Beach

The run at Santa Monica Beach this morning was excellent.

Friday night left me exhausted. So when it started to rain, it was a relief - I knew we wouldn't have to run on Saturday morning. I slept in, listened to the rain come and go, watched the sky go bright then dark, from the comfort of my bed. I wrote a few words. Drank lots of milk tea all day long. Recuperated.

Our SRLA team ran 14 miles today. We've become used to the half marathon distance, so I'm proud of the extra mile we ran. We mapped our route on the USA Track and Field site. Running towards Will Rogers State Beach - it is all surf and sand. Running towards Venice - it is all artists, runners and medical marijuana - very hard not to notice. Love it. There's so much everywhere, to keep your senses happily occupied.

I love and loathe running in equal measure. I can do without the two-three hour stretches of pain but its hard to do without the post-run "I feel so alive!" feeling.

The Process

We all finished the L.A. Marathon! All 10 students and 9 teachers!

Last week was one long celebration. Slideshows of the course. Meetings with parents. Field trip to the L.A. Expo. A pasta dinner with the principal and certificates and pictures and rousing student and teacher speeches. It was very moving and inspiring to experience.

I still wake up most mornings thinking I have something left to do for the team. Did I wake up late for a run? Did I forget to call someone? What about that volunteer? Do I have all the bibs? I think I'm having difficulty letting go.

the sun, just for us

It was such a beautiful morning.

The storm clouds were out and it was drizzling at 6am, but by 7am, everything changed. The Silverlake reservoir was in clear view, the sky opened its windows to show a calmer shade of blue and for three solid hours, the sun came out, just for us.

Our Students Run L.A. team was able to complete a solid 11 miles and it was awesome to watch them take on this marathon training business with so much enthusiasm! It didn't rain, but they were mentally willing to push themselves even if it did. A small group of students added a lap around the reservoir and ran 2 extra miles just because they thought they needed it.

Teaching is hard and being compassionate in tough situations has been particularly difficult these few days. The love I last wrote about, well, I haven't been as loving as I'd like to be with the one class that has crossed almost every boundary. Why must the most important lessons always come in such painful packages?

And so, I'm grateful for days like today, when everything works out. When you expect to get drenched running in the middle of a storm but manage to come out dry. When the weather forecast screams 90% precipitation and STILL they can be wrong, just long enough for everyone to go the distance. When you're surrounded by really hopeful, driven and beautiful students and teachers.

Small miracles happen all the time and they do wonders for me. I'm filled again with hope that a miracle will happen in my teaching practice. I'll just have to trust that it will and work like crazy to make sure that it does.