Sunday, September 11, 2011

Crazy going slowly am I

19 for yesterday's 19 in 2:41.25

1. There's been a lot of chatter on my FB wall about dreading long runs. I honestly LOVE them. There is absolutely nothing like the feeling of hitting that groove where you feel like you can just run forever - and actually keep on running for (almost) ever. I was on such a high after this run - that's the high I miss when I'm not marathon training. It's a high that is different than that I get after a hard workout or a shorter, faster run. I think it's a high that just makes me feel like me.

2. This past week has been a whirlwind of activity, but it all turned out to be for the best, I think:

3. A group of my RWOL buddies are running the Reach the Beach relay next weekend. At the time they were planning, I was still abroad and couldn't commit, but it definitely made me want to run one of these relays someday. This particular relay runs 200 miles across the state of New Hampshire, taking 24+ hours to complete, and you hang out with your teammates in passenger vans in your hungry, smelly, sleep-deprived awesomeness. There are teams of 12, running 3 legs and ~15 miles total, or teams of 6, running 6 legs and ~33 miles total. In a sad twist of fate (see #4), one of my friends was no longer able to make it, and the 6-person team was down a player. I was debating flying back East, anyway, for a wedding of 2 grad school friends in NYC the following weekend, so after some deliberation and hemming and hawing, I signed up!

4. The friend whose place I'm taking cannot make it because her husband was in a terrible sky-diving accident. He's undergone several surgeries and is improving, but please keep them in your thoughts and hearts.

5. So, now I had a weekend of relay racing madness, a week "off," and then a weekend of NYC wedding madness. I'm still waiting if that week "off" will include a couple interviews, but that remains to be seen.

6. So, minor detail: from where do I fly for this trip? Do I drive to Tucson, back to my parents, and continue the job search from there after my trip? Do I fly in and out of San Fran, leave my car with my cousin, and then drive back to Tucson? Do I buy a one-way trip because I don't know when/where to return? The logistics began to give me a headache.

7. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I really want to be stable for a while, at least long enough to make the job search my main focus. I have really loved being able to travel and visit people, which obviously I can continue to do, but it's not helping me focus.

8. Furthermore, job searching from Tucson makes no sense. There are exactly zero jobs I would take there. However, there are tons of jobs in the Bay Area. I can't hang out with my cousin and her family forever; I'm not willing to commit to a lease on a place on the chance that an opportunity arises outside of the area. But I want to put myself here because it is at least a place where there is a chance I end up, unlike Tucson.

9. To Craigslist I went, with the search terms "sublet/temporary rentals." I promptly found about a bazillion ads that went something like this:

Hi! I am [traveling for an internship/moving in with my bf/pissed off my roommates and got thrown out] and you can have my awesome room near [UCSF/the projects/the middle of nowhere] for [an extravagant amount of money, but it's ok because it's furnished/almost no money, what do you mean San Jose isn't in San Francisco?]. The room is great, here is a grainy, wide-lens angled photo. There is a shared EVERYTHING, but it's ok because my 12 roommates are awesome and laid-back and clean and there isn't any drama ever even though they're all 22-yo students I SWEAR. okthxbai xoxo.

10. Um, no. I am too old for the crazy-Craigslist-roomie thing.

11. But THEN I saw it - the post of my dreams - and it was love at first sight. A 1-br located 7 blocks from the beach and 2 from Golden Gate Park, being sublet for a month while its owner was traveling. Its SOLE owner.

12. After a few email conversations with said owner, we agreed I would come to see the place the following day. I left the address with my cousin and on FB, visions of the 9-o'clock news headlines dancing in my head, and drove to the apartment. The resident is the sweetest middle-aged French-Algerian woman, and we hit it off right away. Half the rent later, I was in! I have a home for October! She leaves for her trip the same day I come back from mine; she wanted a non-student, someone quiet who won't be hosting raves; she said she got "good vibes" from my email and from our meeting. She was as excited as I was. It feels SO GOOD to have a place to call "home" for a month, feel stable, and plan the next step in peace and without any time pressure.

13. The location is awesome for running. I'm especially excited about that, as it will be the month pre-NYCM, and I'll be doing that. A lot.

14. Nothing new on the job-front. I'm feeling my way around the protocol for how much follow-up is too much. Following a phone interview, if I am told they are interested in a face-to-face and they'll be in touch soon, what does "soon" mean? I sent the obligatory thank-you email and sent emails to 2 that have east coast-based offices to notify them that I'll be out there. Is no response bad? Does soon mean weeks? I have no idea.

15. Running-wise, I'm feeling great. My legs have finally awakened from their summer hibernation. I'm sure the side-effects of unemployment have helped: ample time for sleep, no days of hectic running around, not having to get up early to get the miles in, etc. Don't hate me too much, I'd much prefer being employed and stressed AND running, but I'm trying to at least look on the bright side here.

16. I am really excited to be going to NYC. Today of all days, I feel the New Yorker in me very strongly. If I didn't have this trip coming up, I'd feel almost homesick for the city. I wasn't even in NYC yet on 9/11 - I was still in college - but I still feel the solidarity of this day in that city. <3

17. I have been all kinds of excited about football this weekend. After living abroad for 2 seasons, I'm wondering how I survived. I love this game. I had to search out the Vikings game this afternoon, found myself alone at a sports bar surrounded by annoying 49er and Charger fans, and was just so giddy to be able to watch FOUR games at ONE TIME! On screens that weren't my laptop displaying whatever crappy pirated streaming broadcast I could find.

18. Tomorrow is the first day of registration for the Boston marathon. I don't know if I want that to be my goal spring race, I don't know if I can afford it, but I know I'll regret it if I can't go. What a dilemma.

19. I have had more than a couple beers and am trying to make myself run at midnight sporting my new headlamp, red blinkies, and reflective vest in order to have at least one attempt at some semblance of training for RTB. Oof.

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