Lacing Up My Running Shoes

“All tutorials are on Short Street, even further down the hill, so get out your trainers and set your Fitbits (a big bonus for your step count coming back up the steps from Law School).”

This is an email I received from one of my professors just days before classes started.  While I was aware the University of Auckland’s campus was significantly larger than what I’m used to at Loyola, I was not certainly not prepared for what my schedule had in store for me.

Here’s my schedule:

My Schedule

Not too bad at first glance.

However, at Loyola, classes are scheduled with a 10 minute break in between each one and here...they are not.  We were told not to worry about scheduling classes back to back despite this since apparently professors here are expected to let students out 10 minutes before the hour or start 5 minutes late and end 5 minutes before the hour.  Either way, there is supposed to be some time in between, not necessarily enough, but some.

Of course, in my experience thus far, this is far from true.  

As much as professors try to abide by this, it is very rare they stay true to this unspoken schedule.  And that has become extremely evident on Tuesdays for me.

On Tuesday, as shown above, I have three class back to back.  Now, at Loyola, being let out a little late, I could still manage to make it to my next class relatively quick since everything is in such close proximity.  Here, everything is already spread so far apart to begin with that having the class in the middle of Tuesday in one of the farthest buildings possible is by no means any help.

Here is a map:

Campus Map

I go from the General Library I drew the square around, up to Building 810 which I circled, and straight to the Social Science Building I enclosed with a triangle.  On a map, it does not look too bad, but this is a good 10-15 minute walk especially when considering the crowded intersections we have to cross.  And when they end class at the same time the next class starts, it is nearly impossible to make it even close to on time; and I hate not being on time.

To make matters worse, the hills around here are next level. And of course one of the steepest ones I have faced is smack dab in the middle of my route. I have another class that requires me to tackle this hill and it essentially feels as if you are walking as vertically as humanly possible.  By the end of it my calves are certainly burning.

While this part of my schedule is not ideal, the rest of my week has yet to present any problems for me.  These first two weeks have helped me come to terms with the fact my Tuesdays this semester will require a little extra pep in my step.  With the weather still nice and warm, I definitely still have a couple sweaty, exhausting Tuesday runs in my future, but with time, I hope this will become normal for me and once I get back to Loyola, any and every walk will be a piece of cake.