One of the biggest lessons 2020 taught pretty much everyone is that making year long plans can end in disaster or at the very least, incompletion. For an achiever like myself they often appear the same. So this year I will not make year long plans. I will, however, discuss what may come in the upcoming year and how I plan to approach this calendar year.
So many people have looked ahead to the end of 2020 as if the mere act of changing out the calendars solves problems as big as pandemics and systemic racism. The uncertainty jumpstarted by the pandemic still hangs over 2021. My decision to refrain from goal making rests squarely in the continuing uncertainty, the ongoing pandemic, and the growing disillusionment with the political administration of education.
The most uncertainty for me lies in my occupation. I have talked a lot about how the pandemic has affected the thing that consumes the majority of my time. Things have not gotten any easier. As I write this, December 30th, South Carolina’s infection rate has skyrocketed, a coworker has been admitted to the hospital with Covid-related pneumonia, multiple people in my extended social circles or the social circles of my family have contracted COVID, and my district remains silent on their response leaving the last communication a press conference where the superintendent announced increased attendance for high schoolers. (The next day my district announced that we would return as normal because they can’t make sure that people follow protocols outside of school but can guarantee that in school so people are supposedly safer there.) Oh! one of the local hospital systems announced that they have reached capacity to treat patients.
Everything that has led to my increased desire to advocate could take up an entire entry in itself so I will not delineate them here. However, this means that my year ahead for work looks utterly undefined. I will, hopefully, graduate in May with my EdS in School Administration, a degree I will most definitely not make use of as most people would imagine. I will likely return back to the 7th grade Social Studies and ELA position I had last school year though that has almost 0% certainty. Other than that the year ahead remains a mystery on that front.
On the fitness front, I have learned a lot from this year without (most) races. Going forward, I think I have a healthier, more rounded focus. I spent the last couple months of 2020 building my own personal gym, taking away the excuse to avoid strength training. Additionally, the few races I participate in sparked a desire for structured training that pushes me just beyond the edge of my comfort zone for improvement. So, I have decided to aim for a half marathon PR. Yes. I put it out there. I hope to do this in two stages. First, I need to get my body ready for speed rather than continuous miles alone. Thus, my first goal is a sub 1:50 as close to 1:45 as I can get. Since my Mountains to Main Street registration rolled over to this coming May, I will aim to use the net downhill course to my advantage then. After that I want to build to the Hilton Head Half in September, postponed from its usual February date. This course holds my current PR from 2014 and several of my fastest times. If I do not meet my goal there, I will plan on a December half although I do not know a specific location at the moment. This effort will require dedication to overall fitness, something. I know I can fall back to work on when other things feel unsteady and treacherous.
Lastly, I want to look forward to travel. Since 2015, the odd numbered years have held fantastic international trips, Rome, the UK, and the Grand European Adventure respectfully. Obviously, a trip like those will not happen this year. However, I have started bouncing around the idea of renting a car, one with a slightly longer back end to facilitate setting up a bed, and traversing around the country (maybe into Canada if the borders open up by then) running in as many states as I can. We shall see.
Rather than leave these thoughts and musings for the entire year, my occupation sets up a mid year re-evaluation some time in the summer, a time when I plan to completely disconnect from everything related to school as soon as I walk out of the building in June. Here’s to whatever 2021 brings even if it looks anything like the year just past.