It's over.

Well, today marked the last day of the basketball season for me. As long and exhausting as it has been, I didn't want it to end. Basketball is one of my great loves and will always be. Getting re-involved with it at such a competitive level this year again was invigorating. And fun. Besides my running, this gave me a purpose. So needless to say, I wasn't ready for it to end, and certainly not this way. We lost in the championship game this afternoon by four points. As I continue to wipe the tears from eyes, I know that I will eventually get over this in a few days, but for now, I am really sad.

At the end of October, I held my first basketball tryouts. It was kind of surreal but I felt I was a natural. I had played basketball for such a long time and have such a passion for it, I was psyched (and terrified) for the season. I came in with high expectations for this season, but wasn't totally sure that winning the city championship was a realistic goal. I wasn't totally confident in the skills of all the girls. As the season went on, I realized two things: 1) I had underestimated the girls tremendously. They were much better than I had originally given them credit for. And 2) The idea of winning a championship could definitely become a reality.

Lately...

I know I have been kind of MIA lately but life has been so hectic. A lot has been going on and my mind has been racing and my body has been moving. It's been hard to slow down for a second and really write. Nothing specific has really happened that has inspired me to write a post but since so much has been happening, I thought I'd kind of put it out there what I've been doing and what I've been into.

In the last month, I still have been living the usual life of working out, work, basketball, sleep, repeat. Of course there is eating in there (you can trust me on that), but that's about it.  I have time for the occasional errands and TV (duh!!) but not much else because in the little down time I get, I try to get just lay around alone to maintain my sanity. It's amazing though how you can be around people literally all day and then want some alone time, but then be lonely. But it's true because it happens to me every day.

All in all though, I can't really complain that much of my recent coming and goings, but here's the recent scoop of what's new. Here's what's been happening lately...

1) I discovered Broad City. Ummm where has this show been all my life? I don't know why it took me so long to find my absolute new favorite TV show, but this is it. Broad City is the shit. My parents bought Amazon Prime when it went on sale a few weeks ago and I got access to the account, naturally. I then ordered the Amazon Fire stick, and vóila, this was on there. I had heard about it a few times in passing but didn't really know what it was about. But as soon as I started it, I couldn't stop. It was freaking hilarious. Abbi and Ilana are my spirit animals and we need to be friends. They are too fucking funny. Seriously, if you haven't seen this show, start now. I am now all caught up with real time and it sucks having to wait a week in between episodes. #firstworldproblems

Times Have Certainly Changed..

I have been teaching now for ten years. Many of my freshman students this year were born in 1999 or 2000. I was a senior in high school myself when they were born. (If I had made some unwise decisions that year, these could literally be my children.) They are so young. Or wait, perhaps I am so old. Ugh. But regardless, I forget how much times have changed since I was in high school. My students are definitely living in a very different high school world than I lived in.

The other day in class I mentioned dial-up internet to them and no one had a clue exactly what that even meant. I had to go on to explain to them what it was and how it worked. They looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language and couldn't even imagine what I was talking about. They don't realize how good they have it now with wi-fi and smartphones and iPods and everything else that goes along with it.

Lots of Firsts and Lots of Fun

Intense. Competitive. Animated. Loud. Sensitive. All words used to describe me as an athlete and now, as a coach. As our regular season of basketball begins to wind down and the playoff hunt is about to begin, I really can't believe all that this season has held. There have been many ups, and very few downs, thankfully, but all the new experiences I have gained from my first year coaching basketball have been educational and so much freaking fun. There have been so many firsts for me, and I still can't believe I am head coach of a girls varsity basketball team. It just seems so grown up. So serious. So awesome. But I guess that's me these days.

Sunrise Sensations

I am a morning person. My alarm goes off and I pop out of bed ready to take on the day ahead of me. I do my workouts early in the morning before work starts and its the best way to start my day. I find that on days that I don't workout, I am actually not as awake and personable as my usual charming self. I need those morning endorphins to get me going. I really believe they make me a better person.

Running has allowed me to explore places of this city, and others that I wouldn't necessarily have gotten to see. Whenever I am on vacation I like to go for my morning runs and explore places (with map and phone in hand) that I may not have a chance to see otherwise. I feel that I have gotten to see so much more of some cities, especially on my Europe vacation and even last summer to the Pacific Northwest, because of my passion for running.