a bit o' bitching

[velvetpage]

I have walked a grand total of perhaps ten minutes so far this morning - to the bus stop and then from the bus into the school - and already my shin splints are acting up. The left isn't bad yet, but the right aches from the ankle to the knee.

Today is the only halfway normal day of the week, which means it's not normal at all. The usual things I'd do on a Monday with my literacy group can't happen today because I won't see them again until next Monday. Meanwhile, I have four days of having my grade fives all day long to prepare for.

Now, I don't like the streamed literacy, really. I would be happier to have my own kids for their language lessons. But switching back and forth like this is a pain in the butt. All the routines I have in place are for my literacy group. My grade fives don't know those routines - except for the ones in my lit group, who will take advantage of every bit of chaos they can get their hands on.

I think we're even cancelling French, because the grade 4 French is taught by the grade 3 teacher, who will be doing EQAO three days this week.

Between now and Wednesday, I have to move most of my operations out to the portable so that my grade fives won't run the risk of disturbing the grade 3's doing EQAO. (There's too many threes to move them, which would have made more sense, IMO.) The portable is not set up for that amount of use. It's not set up for much of anything, actually, not even the things it gets used for.

I'm just praying the weather stays cool. Having to be in the portable all week if it's hot will be pure torture.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

HI Erin
I am pretty sure I can pick you up after school if you need me.
Just CALL and let me know, I won't be checking my mail till tonight.

[(Anonymous)]

OPPS forgot to sign my name on my previous post
Hope you are feeling better
OMA and Elizabeth

[shavastak.livejournal.com]

It occurs to me there is an easy exercise choice for you that is fun, easy, and low-impact, but that might be hard to come by as far north as you are - swimming. Do you have any YMCA-type places up there, with an indoor pool? It probably isn't warm enough in your area long enough to make pools particularly economical outside.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

My mother has an above-ground pool, though it's not big enough for serious exercise. I know lots of people with backyard pools, especially teachers. They are usually open by the May 24 weekend (which is a holiday for us) and close sometime in mid-September.

There's a YWCA near us that has a pool, and I went to some of their aquafit classes a few years ago, but I found the aquafit wasn't strenuous enough for me. I'd need to do some proper lane swimming, and I'd need a new bathing suit.

However, it's something to consider for the summer when I'll have more time.

[anidada.livejournal.com]

Southern Ontario latitudes are only a degree or two higher than the northern border of California, so it's not cold all the time. ;D When we lived on a lake, I swam in it on my birthday (second week of May) every year, and it never seemed cold (and that was two hours northeast of Toronto).

The only thing is that it costs money to swim anywhere but a lake, if you don't have your own pool or access to someone else's. velvetpage, I don't know about the Ys near you, but the one I went to here had three options -- day pass general admission (about $15), general membership (about $75/month), and premium membership (which offered a Curves-like area for women-only circuit training, in addition to hot tub, steam room, sauna, etc., and of course all the other Y offerings, including the pool, for about $100 a month). Probably any of the above are more than Curves costs, but usually at the premium level any classes you might want to take are free, and they have good hours.

[shavastak.livejournal.com]

I've been to Northern California and it wasn't all that warm - this was in August. But then it all depends on what you call warm. If you're used to 55F, 70 feels quite warm, whereas I've gotten so used to 70F that it feels normal. It used to feel hot.

[anidada.livejournal.com]

Heh. Well, that's certainly true. Up here, once the weather hits double digits (as in 10C), all the restaurant patios open (hence, "patio season"). We've got a very different perspective, surely -- when staff from my office here in Toronto go down to head office in San Francisco, they pack shorts and t-shirts, even though the San Franciscans are still wearing winter coats. :D

[purplkat.livejournal.com]

Couplea questions:

What kind of shoes are you wearing when you walk?

Are you (accidentally or on purpose) 'walking funny'?

Because wearing good shoes is pretty important, in terms of not being in pain after walking, and I can tell you from experience that if you walk even a little funny, it'll wreak havoc with your legs and feet. I sprained my ankle really badly a couple of years ago and I've gotten in the habit of favoring that foot, so that I walk funny on it if I don't watch myself. Inevitably, I get horrible cramps in the arches of my feet and shin splints.

I also have a pair of high heeled boots with no shock absorbtion that give me shin splints if I walk in them for very long.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

My shoes are good quality, and they fit me properly, but they don't have much in the way of arch or heel support. I'm planning on calling my doctor soon to see about orthotics. My workout shoes are theoretically much better - cross-trainers that fit perfectly and have great support. But I always get shin splints when I work out.