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February 12, 2006
Time Crunch
It seems, lately, as if there are only 30 seconds in every minute. I sit down to get some work done at 8 o’clock, and all of a sudden it’s 2 o’clock and I’ve barely made a dent. I try to fit my runs into spare scraps of time, using the time when I need a mental break to get the miles in. Lately, though, I’ve found myself working through mental burn-out just to get everything done and sacrificing sleep (and therefore workout quality) to get my runs in. In short, I’m feeling a bit… squeezed.
All my best intentions to stay on top of things early in the quarter to make things easier later in the quarter never really got off the ground. And I have a sufficient amount of work outside my coursework that I won’t be able to catch up before finals – it seems as if every time I get myself to a point where I can start preparing for the end of the quarter, some new task appears on my desk. Although it might appear to be too early to start worrying about preparing for winter quarter finals, past events have proven that with the short quarter and without a reading period, it’s NEVER too early.
I’m looking on the bright side, though: while I will have a miserable amount of work to do, I should be more efficient than I was during finals winter quarter last year, when I had additional misery due to the machinations of the guy I was seeing at the time. Having decided he wanted out of our alliance, he elected in the couple of weeks leading up to finals to employ the method of extraction practiced by those whose cowardice outweighs their integrity and/or who want to break off any emotional involvement while preserving the option of occasionally hooking up: he attempted to… evaporate.
Now, the evaporation method is not entirely inappropriate in situations where there have only been a few dates; in such a case, it fulfills its function of sparing its user the awkwardness of the break-up scene and, while it may cause prolonged anguish for its victim, it isn’t much of a betrayal per se as in such situations a high level of trust probably hasn’t yet been generated (although, even in such cases the more considerate thing is always to tell the person that you don’t want to see them anymore). It’s a different matter when the individuals have spent time together every day for a couple of months.
The evaporation method is most effective in situations where the individuals would rarely or never cross paths but for their planning to do so. It’s trickier to employ when without careful avoidance they would naturally see one another each day. It’s an especially difficult maneuver to carry off when they have classes together, live in the same building, and have the same friends. In such a situation, it requires a high level of subtlety and finesse. So, I guess I have to give the guy credit for succeeding in some measure in pulling off such an ambitious feat.
But, I digress. I guess I feel right now that if something has to give in the next couple of weeks it’s going to be running, but I don’t want to end up on the starting line undertrained. So, I guess my plan right now is to proceed as if I’m going to run and if I can’t get the miles in, finish up the training cycle and use it as strength-building going into my training for a spring marathon. Tomorrow I have my first TLT workout.
Posted by alweiss at February 12, 2006 02:27 PM
Comments
Breakups can be rough and de-energizing even if they go as well as one could possibly hope. They happen; and often enough the responsibility is to be shared. Without getting into the issue of personal Faith and Belief, the next best factor to deal with Pressure, Time and other constraints is Health: got to try to stay Healthy. Suggestion: beyond thinking trained or undertrained, races and starting lines, try to think Healthy or unHealthy. Think Effort and the need to Recover. I find it really helps to have Health as the primary goal. And makes it possible to cope with the feeling of being squeezed. By anything. By anyone. Hang in there, Corrado. Health is really a great and precious gift, far too often taken for granted.
Posted by: corrado giambalvo at February 12, 2006 05:19 PM
When I read the first paragraph of this entry, I felt like I was reading my own thoughts. Why is there never enough time in the day to do what one should and wants to do?
Regarding evaporation: Wow, I'm impressed, this ex was certainly won over by cowardice as such that the evaporation technique was easier than other, more congruous routes to the end.
I hope that this semester goes much more smoothly for you and that there seems to be adequate time in the day for everything!
Posted by: Meghan at February 12, 2006 07:22 PM