I need a brain break

My brain is tired.  I think it needs a break.  In first grade, we take a 10 minute "brain break" after our lunch recess every day.  With the lights turned down and children resting at their tables, this is the most calm, quiet, soothing time of our entire day.

I've had some very clear signs this week that my brain needs some rest:
-Tuesday morning I woke up to find my bottle of soy sauce, typically housed in the door of the fridge, nestled on the top shelf of my dish cabinet.
-Today, as I left the parking lot of the school I've been stationed at for training this week, I was frantically waved down and stopped by a 5th grader who informed me that my water bottle was still sitting on the top of my car.
-On several occasions, I've walked from the living room to the kitchen, or kitchen to bedroom, or bedroom to living room, or any combination thereof, and completely forgotten why.  If I'd been at my own school this week, I'm sure there would have been many fruitless walks across the classroom or down the hallway as the purpose for these trips slipped right out of my brain.

Even Lucy is getting fed up with my brainlessness:

She takes her personal blindfolds out when she gets sick
of me.

Looking forward into the month of March, I'm a little concerned that my brain may just about die out completely by March 31st.

March is JAM PACKED with running fun.  It starts off this weekend with the Hot Chocolate 15K.  Then 2 weeks later, the St. Patty's Day Dash, which is a little over a 5K.  And the week after that, the Mercer Island Half Marathon.  Mid-month, we start hill reps for my Seattle RNR marathon training.  And of course, my favorite date this year, March 10th, is coming up soon and I'll be able to enjoy some relaxed post-work runs in the daylight without fear that the dark with encroach too soon.

Add to that 2 Sounders games, Team in Training practices, being a track coach for our Kinder though 2nd grade kiddos, and many well-deserved weekend naps, and you have what I would call a very busy month.

But what I'm telling myself in my positive teacher voice is: I'm looking forward to kicking the February doldrums to the curb and getting re-motivated to eat healthy and do a lot of mindless running.  And by "mindless" running, I mean runs where I think about nothing of any importance except the joys that running brings.

And at the end of it all, I will be rewarded with Spring Break.  Where I'm pretty sure I will sit immobile on my couch for a week straight, fighting with Lucy for leg space.

In order to prep myself for this excitingly busy month, I have bought myself some fancy new Mizuno kicks:

Color!!! Yay!  Been waiting on these guys a few weeks
now.  Apparently there is a rash of new large-footed
runners out there demanding my shoe size.

I've been a dedicated Brooks fan for the past 3 years, so I feel some pangs of guilt making the switch.  But as I ran around Green Lake today, I couldn't help but look down and admire my bright feet every now and then.  Brooks hasn't caught on to the bright shoe trend for their Adrenaline's yet and I also finally realized that maybe I should look for a little bit of a lighter shoe.  These feel like they're about half the weight of my Brooks.

I'm not giving up on my Brooks completely (I still feel loyal to them and have a pair that are no where close to worn out yet), but I'm excited to be in something new.  

One of these things is not like the others, one of these
things just doesn't belong (if you're not singing that
in Big Bird's voice, I don't know what universe you
grew up on)...hint: ignore the converse.

So, armed with new running shoes and a positive attitude, I am going to enter the month of March with an enthused smile.  My brain may completely give out on me by the end, but I've got 23 little first graders and one little puppy dog who are experts at reminding me of every little thing I've forgotten throughout the day (in the classroom, we often have "let's find Ms. Kaplan's iPad [or water bottle or marker or any other thing of importance]" hunts).

And then I will take a big, huge, deep breath and collapse for a week as I get recharged and re-energized and give myself a brain break before the final stretch of the school year.  

And possibly start training for a mid-summer half Ironman...

I apologize in advance for forgetting to do that thing that I promised you I would do in the month of March.  I probably had really good intentions and then my brain malfunctioned.

Wish me luck.