Waiting Game

I was very happy with the way the interview went yesterday. The math part was exceptional and the cross country coaching interview was awesome. The principal said the only way I would get the cross country coaching job was if I taught at the school, but I think it kind of works vis versa too. The cross country coaching interview took place in the office with a parent of an athlete, the captain of the team, principal and the athletic director. I made a really good connection with the captain and the parent; that's why I think I probably got the job. The most important things to a school are students and then the parents. If I have their support, I should be set :)

I have another interview next week at a location I'm quite excited about as well: Steamboat Springs (one of the coolest ski towns I've visited in Colorado). It's schedule for Thursday, so I'll be sure to update everyone next week!

The First Race of 2009

My first race of the season did not go as well as planned. I played soccer twice last week on top of my normal triathlon training and really messed up my hip flexor. I tried to go for a quick shakeout on Saturday night (the race was Sunday morning), but literally only made it a block. After two minutes, I realized that I had absolutely no rotation out of my right hip - it was like it all of the sudden became a hinge joint instead of a ball and socket joint. Regardless, I just hoped for the best and went to bed.

The next morning my hip flexor was still incredibly tight and sore. However, it was definitely workable. Jonny picked me up early in the morning and I left with the intent to race (well try to finish the race).

The race was a 12k (about 7.4 miles) has a log jump and two river crosses. I started out the race at an incredibly slow pace (7 minutes per mile) then got blasted with wind for about the first 2 miles. Jonny drafted off of my for the first 3 miles than we switched. After the switch, my legs felt horrendous and I began to fall back from him. We came around a corner around the 5 mile mark and there was just a huge overflow of water from the nearby reservoir; this was the first crossing. I went barreling into the frigid water and my legs actually finally loosened up :) I drafted off of Jonny until we reached the top of a huge sand hill then really opened for the last mile and half.

I finished the race with horrendous time (53:31); which is like 7:10 pace per mile. However, the winning time was only a 46:30 or something. I'm guessing the actual time isn't a very accurate gauge of how fast we were running. I did end up taking second place in my division and won a $15 gift card in the raffle :)

I'm really excited for my interview this Wednesday - I could barely sleep last night. I'm not excited about the random snowstorm we got last night though, but it's supposed to be 70 degrees tomorrow. Gotta love Colorado!

Another Job Interview :) :) :)

I have a job interview at Battle Mountain High School in Vail next Wednesday for head cross country coach and a math teaching position!!!

Other than that, things are going great out here. I did take my first spill on my bike yesterday though; more embarrassing than painful though. It's amazing how well those bikes don't handle when you get off the road....and are going 30 mph.....and hauling around a sharp turn...

The weather is amazing (mid 70's) and school is going great. I have a friend coming out to visit next week, going to San Francisco to be professionally good-looking the following weekend and one of my college friends is moving to Boulder in two weeks.

Spring Blizzard 2009

I remember saying how crazy Michigan's weather is.....but Colorado's is way more random. So after enjoying weeks of 60+ degree sunny days, a massive snowstorm hit Denver and the foothills last Thursday. It DUMPED snow for 3 days straight, accumulating yards of snow in the foothills and in the front range of the mountains.

Due to this, I decided to head up the mountains Thursday night so I wouldn't have to risk the freeway closing on the way to my interview. GOOD IDEA.

Friday morning I drove pass Vail to a little town called Minturn where my interview was (Minturn Middle School). Minturn is beautifully situated in a canyon along a river just south of Vail Ski Resort. There's tons of hiking trails and amazing fly fishing around the area.

The Interview:

This is Minturn

The panel consisted of an 8th grade math teacher and the principal which was much less intimidating than the interview I had last year at Moffat High School (principal, math department head, district math supervisor, assistant principal and another math teacher). My teaching philosophy and strategy corresponded with the district and school's goals (which usually happens) but I was drilled on my disciplinary strategies (which ALWAYS happens). I feel like I'm always labelled as one of the teachers that cannot control my classroom and this is always preceded by "you look so young, how do you ensure that kids respect you?" In this instance it was actually "you look like your 10." Which normally I would take with a grain of salt, but it's so frustrating having this label. Why do so many people attach "respect" with looking a certain age? It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. Like any other competent educator, students respect me because I'm a real person and the easiest way to combat disciplinary issues is by having an engaging lesson plan. If that doesn't work, then you have to address each issue individually based on the student and the incident. Why can't people just ask "What are your discipline strategies?"

This is the river that runs through Minturn

Anyway..... I toured the school with a 7th grader after the interview and returned to the Principal's office before heading to Vail to shred some of the fresh snow that was pounding Colorado. However, before I left, she said that this is a hard position to fill because they need a science and a math teacher (I'm qualified to teach math and French) but she referred me to the principal at Battle Mountain High School (in Vail).

Informal Interview:

I went up to Battle Mountain High School and spoke with the principal for a good half hour and he informed me that they need a freshman team math teacher (which is me), a part-time french teacher (which could also be me) and a cross country coach :) SCORE!!!

After speaking with him, I received a tour of the school and was introduced to ALL of the 9th grade teachers at the school (a little awkward and overwhelming - "Hi, I might be a teacher here next year???") I then sat down with the Athletic Director and talked about the coaching position for next year. As it turns out, he graduated from Grand Valley State University and was quite pleased to hear I competed for the school. So this whole situation sounds a little too good to be true, we'll have to wait and see what happens.

The weekend was welcomed with a disgustingly sick amount of snow - waist to chest deep powder on Saturday at Winter Park. What a way to go out of the season. Sunday it warmed up to around 50 but the mountain still kept the deep snow. PERFECT WEEKEND

Right now I'm really starting to up my triathlon training. Yesterday I timed myself in the pool and magically dropped another 20 seconds off my half-mile time after completing an uptempo run. Weather's supposed to be 70-80 degrees this week, so I can expect to find some good riding as well (once I fix the broken valve on my front tire).

I'm doing a 12k run (Chatfield Double Dip) this Sunday and doing the Motor City Olympic Distance on June 14th (Belle Isle Michigan). So be prepared to come and cheer me on!

JOB INTERVIEW!!!!!

I HAVE A JOB INTERVIEW AT MINTURN MIDDLE SCHOOL (southwest of Vail). I'D BE TEACHING 6TH/7TH GRADE MATH.

I just got off the phone with the principal and one of the other math teachers. I think our conversation went really well :) :) :)

My interview is next Friday, I'll keep you guys updated!

Getting Back on Track

Yesterday was supposed to be the biggest full moon of the year, and it was!!! Except it was hidden behind the clouds for most of the night, hence I didn't get to do any moonlight riding.

However, I did end up getting in a quick 1/2 mile swim before my run with the Denver Trail Runners (DTR). Somehow I managed to miss my pr by only 2 seconds?!?! I don't know what I was doing during the off season, but somehow I managed to stay in swim shape without running, biking or swimming. So everyone should take note: snowboarding, skiing and eating McDonald's is an aerobic workout similar to swimming.

After the swim, I booked it to Bear Creek Lake park to meet up with DTR for the first time since last May. I run with them for three reasons: they help me keep my competitive edge, give me people to run with and let me know what kind of shape I'm in at the beginning of the season. I definitely started out the run very controlled since it was my 3rd consecutive day running in two months or so. After about the 15 minutes the group starts to break off into sub-groups. I decided to give it a shot and go out with the first group and it turned out well. We climbed Mount Falcon (about 800 ft climb) and I felt awesome. I ended up finishing at tempo pace, but felt awesome :) :) :)

Yesterday inspired me to start checking out the upcoming race schedule. I'm doing a 12k trail/river run on April 27 and doing the Detroit Olympic Distance Triathlon on June 14.

Stay tuned to my weekend activities, Sunday I have my first soccer game (I don't remember if I posted this already, but I'm playing for a team sponsored by Coors- ha ha) and tomorrow I plan on snowboarding at Winter Park.

A Couple Opportunities

Nothing too exciting this week or last weekend for that matter. I rode at Echo on Friday night (kicked my ass) and Copper (knee deep powder) this weekend, but was way too exhausted to make it to Vail on Sunday. Ended up going back to Denver and went hiking in Golden with Heather (which motivated me to get my butt back into shape).

It's definitely time for me to start working hard at getting into triathlon shape. I did a half mile swim on Monday and somehow almost pr'd (personal record), then did a 70 minute long run up Green Mountain. My legs and body are exhausted, but that's just how it goes when you're trying to get back into shape.

So I've finally had a couple of possible opportunities for jobs. Battle Mountain High School sent me a series of questions about cross country coaching and I should hopefully be in contact with Human Resources about other job opportunities in DPS. You all know my feelings about DPS, so hopefully a few mountain opportunities will come out of the wood works.

Today I'm meeting up with the running group I used to train with last year then possibly doing some night skiing under the full moon, should be pretty sick with all the new snow we've been getting :)

Thanks :)

I just wanted to take a quick moment and thank all of you for posting/sending me email responses to my blogs. It lets me know what's going in all of your lives and that you are keeping up with me (saves me minutes on my cell phone...haha).