Changes in perspective

Although I know that we humans are often readily adaptable to many changing circumstances, I am still surprised by how quickly I can become accustomed to a completely new schedule.

Here's my basic schedule last semester:
-- Class Monday through Friday, starting generally at 9 am on Monday/Wednesday, 10 am on Thursday, and 11 am on Tuesday/Friday; class over at 3 pm every day except Tuesday (4 pm)
-- Got up early to run on Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday, usually up 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours before class started
-- Slept in as much as I wanted most Saturdays
-- Up between 6 and 6:45 on Sunday mornings to drive to Denver for church

Okay, yes, that was a pretty sweet schedule.

Here's my basic schedule over winter break, at least the last 2-2.5 weeks:
-- No responsibilities any day of the week except Sundays
-- Sleep in till anywhere between 8 am and noon, Monday through Saturday
-- Up between 6 and 6:45 on Sunday mornings for church

Definitely an even awesomer schedule than last fall.

Here's my new and current schedule:
-- Monday: up at 5-5:15 am to run and get to class by 8 am, class every hour until 3 pm
-- Tuesday: up at 6 am to run and get to class by 9 am, break from 11 am to 1 pm, class from 1-4
-- Wednesday: up at 6:15 am (no running!), class at 8 am and class every hour until 3 pm (attempt to exercise after school, assuming I have the time and the motivation)
-- Thursday: up at 5-5:15 am to run (assuming no time/motivation on Wednesday afternoon), class at 8 am, break from 10 am to noon, class from noon to 3 pm
-- Friday: up at 6:15 am (no running!), class at 8 am and class every hour until 3 pm; try to get home with enough energy and enthusiasm to hop on the treadmill and get in my fourth run of the week

During some of my previous transitions from a long break (winter break or summer break) to being back in school, I've tried to ease myself out of the slacker schedule and into the more rigorous (or at least not sleeping past 8 am) schedule.

I quit cold turkey this time. But I don't really regret it. With a week and a half of school under my belt, I'm not yet sleep-deprived enough where I'm bothered by only getting 7 hours of sleep a couple nights a week, provided I can get my solid 8 hours the other nights.

My big fear with this spring's schedule was when I would be able to find time to exercise. I really, really love running in the morning, before I go to class.

For one thing, I feel more awake and more alert and more able to stay focused when I've exercised in the morning. I also feel less like I'm wasting time that I should be using to study or do something else worthwhile. That's especially true since I got out of the habit of studying on the treadmill last semester, and into the habit of reading my "fun" books.

If I run in the morning, I'm less likely to do 60-75 minutes and more likely to leave it at 45-50 minutes, which is adequate to get my "buzz." I like to do the longer stretch at least once or twice a week, out of my four exercise days, but I push myself too hard if I let myself have time to run that long every time I get o nthe treadmill.

So last semester, with my cushy schedule, it was easy to get an adequate amount of sleep AND a good amount of a.m. exercise. During my freshman year, I was in the habit of getting up at 5:15-5:30 several times a week to run, because my classes started earlier. But I really didn't think I could make myself do that again.

So, I'm surprised that the schedule I proposed above seems to be working out pretty well. I'm planning two definite days of running before school, with a possible third, and the fourth being definitely in the afternoon or on the weekend. If need be, I can always transition back into reading my notes while I run instead of reading awesome Windsor Library books like Michael Connelly's "The Scarecrow" (finished yesterday).

Here's hoping there's a chance for me to maintain my mostly comfortable sense of balance when I start getting into clinics next fall... sleep, exercise, school, and family, oh my!