Day Fifteen

Finally! I was able to get a break from school work and all the other demands on my life and go running. It was really cleansing and happy. I ran 2.5 miles and did a .5 mile cool-down. This time I ran faster and in the evening. The meatloaf, salad, and green beans I'd just had were getting to me a little bit and I almost quit. However, I'm fairly proud of myself. I didn't quit until I had reached my goal, which was to go further than last time. My gut started hurting but I just breathed through the pain and stayed focused on breathing right while running and my pain went away.
While thinking about the food I had just eaten it got me thinking about how my body is a temple. I've never eaten like I should. I put so much garbage into it and as a result, I'm probably not functioning as well as I physically could. The question, "What am I going to do about it?" comes to mind. Honestly, I don't know. Sadly, probably nothing. I could say that I'm going to try to quit drinking soda and I'm going to cut out desserts from my diet. Or I could say that I'm going to just regulate what goes into my body. Truth is, I've said all that stuff before and other ideas for being healthier. So this time, I won't say that. What I will say is that exercising makes me hungrier for healthier foods and drinks for my temple. Hopefully, I listen to my body and eat/drink healthier options.
Another thought while running: while listening to the song "Hey, Hey" by Superchick (currently my favorite song) I got to thinking about my students and my role as their teacher. Some of the lyrics go like this:
"I won't bow down even if the whole world thinks I'm crazy...
No one can sing the song you do. Be true , be legendary you. I won't sell out even if the whole world thinks I'm crazy..."
And then the next song was "Meant to Live" by Switchfoot. They got me thinking. I want to be a legendary teacher. I want to be that teacher students remember as an adult and think fondly of, the teacher they recognize as making a difference in their education. It saddens me to admit, but a lot of teachers in my school think that I'm amazing and I work so hard and my students are improving so much. This saddens me because that means they don't necessarily see themselves as amazing, hardworking, with students who are improving. I don't do anything special, really. I just care about my students and their success. My expectations for them are never lowered. And they rise to the occassion. Some students do take longer than others and some students need to start out with a lower expectation but they improve and learn and they're HAPPY when they can recognize their own improvement. However, I do work with some amazing teachers that work the same way that I do: with high, achievable expectations. Somehow I need to make it clear to those who don't, that their students can have success; even the ones who qualify for special education.
Anyway that doesn't have much to do with running other than that's what I was thinking while running. Tomorrow, I think I'll have time to go again but I think I'll take it slower. Especially since I'll be sore in the morning.
PEACE!