Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

 Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(Turn and face the strange)
Ch-ch-changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(Turn and face the strange)
Ch-ch-changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time

-David Bowie

January 8, 1947 - January 10, 2016.

At the risk of coming off as "all about me," I'll keep it brief. 

It was late August when I managed a huge, positive lifestyle shift in the form of a new job. For two and a half years I'd been commuting from Ithaca to Binghamton and back five days a week, working overnight every third weekend and sometimes getting home at 1:00 a.m. on weekdays. All that time in the car was beginning to take its toll, so I consider myself fortunate
to have landed a job as an x-ray tech at Ithaca College's student health center. My schedule there is exclusively Monday to Friday day shift, and the 60 mile commute has been reduced to three miles.

Additionally, I started working as a sales associate at Finger Lakes Running & Triathlon Co., the locally owned running specialty store in the Ithaca Commons, around the same time. Both jobs are part-time, with full-time hours between the two. At FLRTC I've had the chance to meet a bunch of Ithaca area runners and learn about some cool new products, particularly running shoes and apparel. It certainly helps having broader knowledge while shopping for running shoes, and it's been enjoyable helping customers find the shoes that are right for them.

One of the "perks" of my new job situation is the freedom to have extra training time for upcoming races. The job change coincided well with my peak training block for Oil Creek, and likely contributed to my performance. Eliminating two hours a day behind a steering wheel may have had something to do with it too.

One other positive, running related, aspect of changing jobs is that my new schedule allows me time to attend the monthly Finger Lakes Runners Club board meetings. With some of my newfound free time, I've been getting more involved with the club as their Social Media Coordinator, viz. professional Facebooker / Twitterer / Instagrammer, and as a member of the newly formed Finger Lakes 50s race directors committee. I am also officially a FLRC board member as of January 2017, meaning that I can vote on club bylaws, referendums, etc., and become a much more active club member. 

In conclusion, the second half of 2016 has seen a huge decrease in stress for me, November election results not withstanding. While volunteering time and energy with a local running club won't exactly save the world during this extreme shift in political climate, it is a start. A start that provides at least a little fuel to kick off the year on an optimistic note. Here's wishing you a happy and healthy 2017!

P.S. Happy 70th birthday to David Robert Jones, better known to the world as David Bowie. Gone but certainly not forgotten.