As an 8th grade school teacher, this is what my Typical Tuesday looks like during the school year:
4:00 am…Rise and Shine
4:25 am…out the door for my morning run. This Tuesday morning was 90 minutes with 6 x 0.3 mile hill repeats after about a 20 minute warm-up. It was a perfect morning for a run with 2 of my faves, although I am looking forward to the day that I can run outside in shorts and tanks in the early morning hours.
6:00 am…recovery smoothie (loaded with Osmo Recovery, Pure Clean Beet Powder, frozen raspberries, orange juice, flax oil, cinnamon, and fresh kale) and shower time
6:40 am…out the door and headed to work
6:55 am…walk into my classroom and get ready for my day with students. Copies need to be made, the agenda for the day needs to be written on the board, labs may need to be set up or torn down, assignments/tests/quizzes may need to be graded, grades may need to be entered into the online grade book, lesson plans may need to be done…there is ALWAYS something that needs to be done.
7:40 am…I typically take a few minutes for myself at this time of day…updating my TrainingPeaks account, my Believe Training Journal and drinking my Karma Kombucha.
7:50 am…First bell of the day. Time for the students to start arriving.
8:00 am…First period starts. I have 22 students in my first period science class. There are days that are more challenging than others when teaching 8th graders, but I love this age group and I love teaching physical science (introduction to chemistry and physics). While I teach the same content 7 times throughout the day, no two classes are exactly the same. Student comments, questions and interactions are always different in each class period.
8:43 am…The bell rings to dismiss 1st period, so I have a QUICK restroom break.
8:47 am…The bell rings to start 2nd period. I have 17 eighth grade students in my 2nd period science class.
9:30 am…The bell rings to dismiss 2nd period.
9:34 am…The bell rings to start 3rd period. This is a tutorial class, so the number of students varies from day to day and week to week. Students sign up for my tutorial if they need help with assignments, need to complete make up work or just want a quiet place to study. Yesterday I had 14 eighth graders getting help with assignments and completing labs and quizzes from days they were absent.
10:04 am…The bell rings to dismiss 3rd period, so I have another QUICK restroom break.
10:08 am…The bell rings to start 4th period. I have 23 eighth grade students in my 4th period science class.
10:51 am…The bell rings to dismiss 4th period. Time for lunch…or should I say brunch? Lunch is not at 10:51 am by my standards.
11:25 am…The bell rings to start 5th period. I have 23 eighth grade students in my 5th period science class.
12:08 pm…The bell rings to dismiss 5th period.
12:12 pm…The bell rings to start 6th period. I have 24 eighth grade students in my 6th period science class.
12:55 pm…The bell rings to dismiss 6th period.
12:59 pm…The bell rings to start 7th period. I have 23 eighth grade students in my 7th period science class.
1:42 pm…The bell rings to dismiss 7th period.
1:46 pm…The bell rings to start 8th period. This is my prep period, where I can breathe a sigh of relief and get more work done (i.e. grading, lesson planning, making copies, etc.). This is also a time when I mentally prepare for the last push to my work day.
2:29 pm…The bell rings to dismiss 8th period.
2:33 pm…The bell rings to start 9th period. I have 12 eighth grade students in my 9th period science class. Before you say, “What? Only 12 students, that must be nice.” Let me say that this is the WORST mix of students I’ve ever had in my 11 years of teaching. Basically I dread this class almost every.single.day. Only 22 days left with students this school year (not that I’m counting down or anything)…
3:15 pm…The bell rings to dismiss 9th period and my day is officially over 🙂 I pack up my things, do some last minute prep work for tomorrow and head toward the door.
3:30 pm…I exit the building and drive to the pool to get my swim in for the day.
3:50 pm…I enter the water and let all of the stress from my day float away.
4:55 pm…3000 yards done. Time to change and head to pick up our CSA
5:30 pm…pick up the CSA
5:40 pm…walk in the door at home. Shower, fix dinner, do dishes, start a load of laundry, feed the dogs, fold some laundry and cuddle with the dogs.
7:00 pm…get ready for tomorrow by setting out all my clothes (both workout and work), get my lunch ready for tomorrow and make sure my bike hydration is set for the morning.
7:30 pm…walk the dogs
8:20 pm… ‘night, see you in the morning so I can do it all over again.
Do you have a “Typical Tuesday?” If so, what does it look like?
PushMyLimits 
Wow, that’s impressive. You get up so entirely early. Such is the life of an endurance triathlete! I have no schedule right now, but maybe so when I get started with coaching, oh well, then it’s summer and I’ll have the kids at home all day. Nope, no way can I stick to a schedule! Glad school is almost out!!!! 🙂
I love the summer months when I don’t have to stick to such a regimented schedule, but the schedule also helps keep me on track. Yes…4 am is super early, but over time, it gets easier 😉
I really enjoyed this! I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for 10 years, so it’s interesting to see how you fit in all the training. I miss morning runs, they are a great way to wake the body and prepare the mind for the day ahead.
Thanks Amy!! I’ve had many questions regarding how I fit my training in, so I decided this would be a good way to show it. I’m not a night owl, so early mornings work well for me 😉
First I have to say…a 15 minute commute? WOW! You are lucky! I am at 40-45 minutes one way. I am not sure how anyone can train for an IM and not have regular early morning workouts…they were always hard for me. These days they are not as frequent and as long for me, since the 70.3 is my goal right now, but I remember for IM training, 4:30am wake ups for the first training session, leaving work at 5:00pm, second training session and then eating dinner somewhere between 8:00-8:30. It is so tough to get in all the necessary training for IM, but where there is a will, there is a way! I understand how things will be a bit easier once school is out and you have more flexibility! Let the countdown continue!!!
I am lucky that I have such a short commute. My first 6 years of teaching, I had a 35 minute commute each way, but was lucky enough to change schools and work closer to home now 🙂
Most people don’t understand the sacrifices that need to be made to successfully toe the line of an Ironman. Even a 70.3 race requires making sacrifices, so kudos to you for making them!!
I am continuing the countdown. Only 21 days left with kids…then time can stand still and I’d be ok with it 😉
Wow, you get up so early that it’s as if you have a day before most people’s days start! You’ve already done so much before work starts! I can’t believe how many different class periods and groups of students you teach! How do you remember all the names? Wow – busy day. Does it usually go by quickly or is there a point in the day that feels slow? I can see why you go to bed so early.
There is nothing typical about any of my workdays. Every day is different because I work from home and have a flexible schedule. I will say that my Mondays (rest days) are mostly spent grading and working on the next week’s materials. Otherwise, I am all over the place!
I do have a good chunk of my day behind me before most people are out of bed 😉 The students are always saying how crazy it is that I’m up and moving so early, but I can’t imagine trying to complete both workouts after a long day at work. There are points in my day that drag by, but I those points vary each day. I also think they are there mostly because I dread my 9th period so much 😉
Sometimes I think it would be awesome to work from home, but then I think I would be doing so many other things (laundry, dishes, tending to the dogs, mowing the lawn/removing snow, etc.) that I think having to “go” to work is better for me 🙂
That’s one crazy day! You get some serious training in before I’m even awake most days, I may need to re-evaluate my time management. You’re school day is certainly a long one – for me the first bell at work goes off at 8:20 to signal P1 and the final bell rings at 2:55pm (of course I’m there before and after that).
I can’t imagine having to complete all my workouts after a long day at school. I really enjoy getting one of my workouts done before school and before my brain has a chance to start complaining about everything I have left to do in my day.
I would LOVE to have 40 less minutes of classes each day!! What state are you in?
I’m in the UK. We manage to finish early as both our breaks are short. I may have to try the early workout, I used to run before work years ago and really enjoyed being out there as the sun was rising – the running bit not so much! Now that we’ve got more sunlight hours I may have to get out on the bike for a quick morning blast.
I may have to the UK to work shorter days 😉 I love the longer daylight hours as well!!
I tried to do a 4:00 AM start today… didn’t quite make it! 4:45 seems to be as early as my body wants to get up for training! You are gonna have a great Boulder!
4 am isn’t for everyone!! You are going to rock Boulder as well!! Can’t wait to meet up!!
4:30 wake up.
4:30-5:00 coffee and news
5:00-5:30 shower and shave
5:45-6:30 drive to office
6:30-3:30 work, maybe an hour for lunch.
3:30-4:15 drive home
4:15-4:45 pack up my bike and dress for the club ride
5:10-5:38 8 mile warmup
6:00-7:22 30 mile real ride
7:40-8:30 Dinner.
I love Tuesdays!
Club rides…the perfect Tuesday!! 😉
That is a JAM-packed day! For me, the hardest thing about teaching is grading in the afternoon/evening. I feel as though I have enough time in the day to prep for classes, but the grading is so time-consuming!
I also envy your bedtime. 🙂
Grading for me usually gets done on the weekends or my prep period. I try hard not to take work home with me during the week. That is my time to focus on me, family and home life.
Sometimes the bed time is a little later than that, but thankfully not too often 😉
I can’t believe you only get one prep and plan! I get three and some days that is not enough even. And I thought having four back to back classes in a row was rough. I will say, I’m jealous you teach the same lesson everyday. I teach three grade levels, so three different lessons a day and none of my same grade level classes are back to back.
I would love to have 3 prep and plans a day!! You are super lucky there!! My first teaching job I had 4 different classes and grade levels a day, so I understand that frustration quite well. Teaching the same thing 7 times a day isn’t so bad…
Love reading about people’s days!
I like that you go into school earlier to do stuff than stay afterwards. More evening at home = better than more morning at home!
Lol- I used to have typical days. Now with a baby, no day is ever the same!
I like leaving right after work, so early mornings are best. While my day is “typical” with regards to my schedule, what happens in each class period is often not ever the same 😉 I’m sure babies change everything!!
So cool getting an inside look at your life! A 4:00 AM wake up call is EARLY, I thought 5:00 was bad. However, you get to bed nice and early, so you must stay well rested! I really admire teachers, my sister is one too! I think it takes a special type of person:) I can’t even imagine how difficult it can be at times, like with your one class, you must be very patient;) Super jealous you have Summers off!
It was fun to take a look at where my time is spent during a typical Tuesday. I may do other days of the week as well, since they are all a bit different (even my schedule at school is different on Wednesdays). 4:00 am is early, but it works well in our house. I can’t imagine not having a longer summer break to decompress from the events of the year…especially this year. I often think about other job possibilities, but it would take some effort to adjust mentally to not having my summers off 😉
Damn, 4am wakeup? I thought we were hardcore with 5am. You put us to shame!
5 am is early, but 4 am is how we roll 😉
Your day makes me look very lazy! You’re going to kill Boulder though!!!!
I’m sure your day is just as busy… Thankfully my busy will only be for about 4 more weeks 😉 You are going to rock Boulder also!!
Holy 4 o’clock!!!! I thought 5:15 was bad!! I can’t believe you have 9 periods! That is insane! Looks like a great day. 2 work outs, work, and you still have time for dinner/dishes/laundry!! 🙂
Tuesday: depending on if i swim or not 5:15 or 6:30
6:50 head to work on bike
7:25 arrive; change, eat bfast
8:00-4:30 work
4:45-bike home
5:30-run + glutes/hips/hip flexors strengthening/stretching; foam rolling
7:00-shower, dinner, any chores that need to be done, pick for the next day
9-9:30-in bed
Nice day!! I’d love to commute to work on bike…if I could just figure out how to haul everything 😊
Believe me that is the hard part! 😉