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.
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.
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