the importance of being rested...

(my apologies to Oscar Wilde)

I'm sick.

I thought I just had a hoarse voice yesterday at school. An "allergy cough."

No sirree, this is the real deal.

So much so that I had to do something I NEVER DO--call off from school. I woke up at 4am this morning and realized that I could barely breathe and was almost too weak to stand. Kinda hard to teach 128 9th and 10th graders if when this is the case.

So what do I do? Try to bust into my classroom at 4:45am to type up some neat and orderly plans for my substitute. I HATE leaving sub plans. For me it's harder to plan for a sub (because I like to literally leave every step for every class neatly labeled with post-it notes, etc.) and be absent than it is for me just to be there, which is why I NEVER call off. (Uh, no....no, I've never been accused of being a slightly Type-A control freak...)

But this time I had no option.

And, um, yeah, I couldn't break into my room at 4:45. I got as far as the elevator to my room but apparently it was locked, and all the gates near the stairs were pulled down.

(I guess not too many people are looking to get into their rooms at 4:45am)

So I sheepishly went home and tried the best I could to create some good plans. Emailed them to the right people and my buddy called at 7:52 to tell me everything was fine.

And then I passed out. Like ALL DAY.

I am realizing that I can sit here and talk about training plans, heart rates, mileage, high elevation, etc. but when it comes down to it MY BODY NEEDS SLEEP. IT NEEDS IT NOW. IT NEEDS 8 HOURS.

Wil's posts today were very helpful, as it sounds like she is having roughly the same problems. EXCEPT SHE HAS A SECOND TEACHING JOB AND 2 KIDS. Big difference! How on earth am I having these problems? I feel like I really have no excuse--I NEED to be in bed by 9 and I'm going to try and heed the advice from posters to Wil about having a cup of tea, reading, or "decompressing" for 15 minutes or so.

Until then, my body is officially giving me the proverbial finger.

The goal is to go back to school tomorrow, but if I need to, I am already talking myself into another day of sub plans.

But this time I won't arrive at school to get things ready until at least 6. :)

And one more thing....I picked videos based upon my mood usually, but this song came on in the car driving to the airport with TriShannon and I forgot how much I really liked it. Not necessarily because it was in Spiderman 2 (although I did actually think that was a pretty good movie) but the lyrics make me think of why I'm doing this. My best friend Jill always tells me that I can do anything I set my mind to. So does my mom. This is sweet, but usually I write this off a little bit because they are my best friend and my mom, and that's what best friends and moms do, you know? So on the plane ride back I put this song on in the iPod and really payed attention to the lyrics. I really like it--it fits this week that perhaps on September 10th, 2006 all my fears and self-doubts will be wrong, and Mom and Jill (who know me best) will be "vindicated."

So in another nod to Wil since she does this all the time, that's why I picked the song. If I were really cool I'd know how to add mp3s to my post so I could put it here, but here are the lyrics:

Vindicated: Dashboard Confessional
Hope dangles on a string
Like slow spinning redemption
Winding in and winding out
The shine of it has caught my eye
And roped me in
So, mesmerizing and so hypnotizing,
I am captivated, I am

{Chorus}VindicatedI am selfishI am wrong
I am rightI swear I'm right
Swear I knew it all along
And I am flawed, but I am cleaning up so well
I am seeing in me now the things you swore you saw yourself
So clear

Like the diamond in your ring
Cut to mirror your intention
Oversized and overwhelmed
The shine of which has caught my eye
And rendered me
So isolated,and so motivated
I am certain now that I am

{Chorus}

So turnup the corners of your lips
Part them and feel my finger tips
Trace the moment, fall forever
Defense is paper thin
Just one touch and I'll be in
Too deep now to ever swim against the current
So let me slip away
So let me slip away
So let me slip away
So let me slip against the current
So let me slip away

{Chorus}
Slight hope
dangles on a string
Like slow spinning redemption...

So I was hoping that I'd be able to relate the song to a great workout this morning. No such luck. And now, ladies and gentlemen, this post has become a novel. Sorry...it's just that I'M SO BORED....need to make some soup and get to bed so I can really get better this time.

Yes, I SWEAR this time I've learned my lesson.

No, REALLY.