Drawing Up Pace Lines

When I awoke this morning, I felt incredibly motivated and rejoiced in the positive manner in which I was viewing the world considering the letter S wrote to me yesterday.  However, that letter made me understand a few things I felt had escaped me, and my well thought-out reply helped to unburden myself and reduce the load regarding this situation a bit.

I left the house early on my bike from Givatayim and almost immediately felt a fatigue that ensconced my legs. So I began to pace myself.  No, I did not go slowly, but slow was not being called for, I just went slower.  Understand your limits, and understand that they change from day-to-day based on the unknown at times, and at others, due to choices we make. 

I arrived at school about two to three minutes slower than my great times, but nonetheless a good time of 1:11.  I taught with a passion today and during my long prep periods had a green tea that brought me back to life. Amazing what green tea can do.  Tons of research and lots of good thinking.  A wonderful tutorial session after school (so much to learn about Justinian) and then I had to make a choice as to whether I wanted to ride back home in conditions that frankly were unpredictable.  The wind was blowing strongly from the south and would batter me for the duration of the ride.  The sky looked like it was thinking about issuing forth a burst of rain. But I made the choice to ride home and knew that once again I would need to pace myself.  The elements of nature and the bodily fatigue were waiting for me.

About 15 minutes into the ride I lost far too much energy and knew that I would suffer if I did not stop at Time Trial (store for tr-athletes) and get some bars to eat.  I did this (damn, the chocolate ones were impressive) and thanked the Bar G-ds for refueling me.  Again, I went slow and steady though I did feel energy seep back into my system bit-by-bit.  I made friends with the head wind, welcomed it into my life, and decided to spin this situation into something positive (not something I always can or am willing to do).  The palms fluttered and swayed like Serengeti herds.  The Mediterranean had a phosphorescent glow to it and whitecaps dotted the expanse all the way to the horizon.  Bit by bit, piece by piece, traveling at a pace that assured me that I would have lots of energy so that when I got home I could sit, look at a few research papers, read a Photoshop tutorial on color correction, walk the dog...).

Sometimes, no, most times, I forget to pace myself and the mad rush that I find myself taking does get me there quicker, but far too often I find I sacrifice other things to meet an immediate goal.  Sometimes, like today, I have a bit of wisdom and jump on a pace line that that carries me to a destination, to a goal, perhaps not on time, perhaps not on the schedule that I set for myself or was set for me, but allows me to arrive at a given destination with both the will, desire and strength to better myself.  As a teacher, as an educator, it also allows me to help better others as well.