Everything Has Changed....Or Has It?

It's nearly Spring and it appears we might have possibly started to get a break in the weather that will last more than a day or two.  Today I went out for my first run since completing the Phoenix Half Marathon on March 1st.  That's the longest break I've taken from running in a couple of years.  A little bit too long I think.  As much as I love running, the toughest part for me, and for others I've talked to, is to get back out there after taking a break.  It's not continuing to run that's difficult, it's starting, or re-starting that can prove difficult.  So today, after nearly 3 weeks off, I made myself get back out there.  I struggled a little, but was happy that I pushed through the struggle and finished what I needed to do.

If you've been reading my blog you know that over the last few months we've taken on some additional work, dispatching for a couple new agencies.  That's resulted in some changes here.  Minimum staffing levels have increased, call volume has increased, and it has been interesting to get used to working with the different agencies and the kinds of calls we're getting now.  Some are a lot of the same types of things, some are much different than I've been used to dealing with on a regular basis.  For the most part though, the skills needed are the same, so things aren't really all that different.

I've moved from day shift back to the third shift crew.  I thought it might take me a while to get used to working nights again and adjust my sleeping pattern, but it didn't.  I was able to adjust pretty quickly.  While the workload on third shift is a little busier than the last time I worked third's, it's still not as busy as first shift was.  I've been assured by the new police department that this will change once the weather warms up on a regular basis and more people are out and about at night.  But even though things are busier on thirds than I've been used to on that shift, they've slowed down compared to what I was used to day shift.  So...it changed...but not really.

With the increase in staffing levels came a need for an additional supervisor in our center.  So now, in addition to working a different shift, I also have a newly promoted supervisor.  She has her own way of doing things, but there are pretty clear cut policies and procedures at our center, so while things have changed, really they haven't.

The spring running season is upon us.  For me, I don't slow down a whole lot during the winter anyway, but the number of local races does decrease during the winter months.  I dropped my plans to run the half marathon I had planned for Nebraska.  Scheduling just didn't work out real well for it this year.  But, since I already had the time off, I was able to find a different out of state race that would be easier to work around.  It's not the half marathon I originally planned.  This will be a 5K, but it's run in the city where one of my nephew's lives with his wife and two daughters.  It's also run in conjunction with a German-American festival that's going on that weekend, so it should make for a fun getaway, and put state #15 in the books for me.

By the end of 2014 I expect to have run a race in at least 17 different states.  State #14 will be Tennessee.  I'll be running the Rock 'n' Roll Nashville Half Marathon next month.  I've got some activities already bought and paid for, including taking in the Grand Ole Opry and one other show.  The race also has a concert associated with it that I'll have the opportunity to watch, so this little Run-cation to Nashville should be fun.

After Nashville, my next out of state race will be the Lederhosenlauf in St. Paul, MN in June.  Then Rock 'n' Roll Virginia Beach, followed by the Big Sur Half Marathon in Monterey, CA.  Running is giving me an opportunity to really see a lot of the country and see some places I might not have thought about otherwise.  I've already started looking at possibilities for 2015 and making mental notes of runs I'd like to do in other states as the years go by.

Success in Failing

Back to my first day back to work after my trip to Phoenix and feeling pretty good.  I'll start off saying that I failed to meet any of the three goals I had set for the Phoenix Half Marathon, but surprisingly, I was not upset by that at all.

I finished the Half with an official time of 2:06:08, which was about two minutes slower than I was hoping for.  The course itself was mainly flat, and for only the third year for Phoenix/Mesa to be running this event, it was very well organized.  The marathon and half-marathon are run simultaneously, but start in different places.  From what I was told by a lady who sat next to me on the shuttle bus Saturday morning, the first half of the marathon is run through some very scenic areas.  If I had any criticism at all, it would be for them to go with a corral start.  Corral starts spread the field out a little more and let people start with others who are running a similar pace.  This allows for everyone to settle in to their own pace instead of constantly speeding up and slowing down while trying to dodge other runners/walkers.  The other would be for the pacers to be more accurate in their pacing.  I had decided to try and run with the 2:00 pace leader for the race.  I felt like I was going a little fast, so after about three miles I finally decided to check my own timer.  I found that the two hour pace leader, who should have been maintaining a 9:10/mile pace, was running an 8:55/mile pace, or faster, through at least the first four miles.  Once again, I made the mistake of not slowing down when my body told me I was running too fast to maintain my pace through 13 miles.

The weather was supposed to be very wet, but it turned out not to be too bad.  It did rain some throughout the race, but not enough to cause any problems, and the winds that were kicking up pretty heavy early that morning, were pretty much non-existent throughout the race.

While I was in Arizona, I did have the opportunity to do some site-seeing.  Prior to race day I drove down to the Tuscon area to see the Air and Space Museum and the Airplane "Boneyard".

This plane was on loan to the museum, it served at Air Force One from 1961-1965, a true piece of history.

Planes that are no longer being used, torn up for scrap, or just being stored while not in use, are kept here.  This location was selected for several reasons.  First, the US government owned several thousand acres of land, giving them the space to store these planes.  Secondly, the dry desert air helped to keep the planes and their parts from corroding.  Finally, the soil in the desert here is very solid, meaning the planes could be stored without the cost of building huge concrete or asphalt pads.

The white that you see on the propellers of this plane and over the windows is spray latex, another layer of protection against the elements.  It is sprayed on then solidifies in to a rubber material that can be peeled off rather easily when it's time to either put the plane in to service, or tear it up for parts.

Planes for as far as the eye could see.

Another fun part of this trip was that many of the pilots who travel around doing air shows were in the area this day, doing practice flights, so we had sort of a mini air show going on this day.  I wanted to try and film the planes as they flew and did their stunts, but by the time I heard them coming, they were already past.

I had originally planned to head further south to Tombstone, AZ and visit the place where the famous "gunfight at the OK corral" took place.  However, while having lunch with my cousin and her fiancee who live in Phoenix, they suggested that I head north to Sedona and the red rock area instead.  Even though I love history, and would have enjoyed seeing Tombstone, I am glad that I took my cousin's advice and went north instead.

On the way north I stopped at a roadside rest with a scenic overlook about half way between Phoenix and Sedona.  Beautiful view, even though the clouds were a little low at that altitude.

Then, just south of Sedona I stopped at Montezuma's Castle National Park.

European settlers originally thought they had found Aztec homes built in to the sides of cliffs.  In reality, these were built by native Americans hundreds of years earlier.  This was apparently very common as far back as the 1300's.

Even more amazing to me though, were the red rock cliffs as I drove in to Sedona.  This entire area was just amazingly beautiful and unlike anything I'd ever seen.

Hiking trails allow you to get right up to the base of these cliffs.

If I had realized that the trail I was on would take me all the way around Courthouse Butte, I would have brought something to drink with me.  Instead I turned around and went back up the trail the way I'd come in.

 In spite of the fact that I'd run a half marathon the day before, I still put in a lot of miles walking this day.

I really did enjoy my trip and the opportunity it provided for me to get some relaxation and see first hand the beauty that only God can create.  I've got a few more trips planned throughout the rest of the year and hope that they all provide, in their own ways, the same enjoyment and wonder.