Current Obsessions

Stuff I like right now, in no particular order.

• Summer vacation
• Victoria's Secret Love Bitten
• Sally Hanson Salon Effects
• St. Ives Firming Body Lotion
• French braids
• Sundresses
• Lemonade
• Tervis tumblers
• Swimming pools
• Strawberries
• Sweet thank you notes from students and their families
• Bikinis
• Flip flops
• My Princess Kate inspired ring from my hubs
• Not being around children unless I choose to be
• The beach
• Girlfriend time
• Fat free French Vanilla Coffee Creamer
• Redbox

Jingle Bell Run RR

Miserableness, be gone! Warming up by the fire in my Hero Hat, post race!

Honestly, I was probably due for a not-so-great race.  Was I mentally prepared for a not-so-great race?

Absolutely not.

I was really excited to run the Jingle Bell Run, which benefits the Arthritis Foundation. Most of my excitement came from being diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis at age 6, and the support my family and I received from the Arthritis Foundation. This felt like giving back! This was giving back!  I excitedly set up a fundraising webpage, met my goal, and planned matching t-shirts with my favorite running buddy. My 5k PR is 31:17, and this was my last chance to try to get to 30:xx before 2011. I've been faster every time, so this will be easy, right? HA!

I self destructed before mile 1.  This race was HUGE compared to others I've run. My largest has been 200-300 participants. This had over 800.  I did not realize the effect this would have on everything. Instead of focusing on my pace, breathing, and then getting myself into a groove enjoying the scenery, I spent the first half of the race dodging, shifting, trying to move around people, and trying to move out of other people's way. I'm guessing this used up a lot more energy than I am used to.

As I bobbed and weaved through the (very friendly!) crowd, I started playing with the thought of taking a break from running. I could take a break and start again in the Spring, right?  What?  I love to run! I've never even once considered stopping. I was feeling miserable, and setting up a nice pity party for myself.

Before mile 2, I got a side stitch.  That's usually a sign that I'm going waaaaaaay too fast.  I checked my pace - nope.  11:07, slower than usual and much slower than what I wanted it to be.  I slowed my pace even more, hoping the stitch would go away.

Before the race, I was told this was a pretty flat course, adding to my hopes of a PR.  Not even close.We ran a paved trail around a lake, and it was hilly! Really hilly.  Colorado mountains hilly.  Overstating things there a bit, but hills - not my strength (I'm working on it!) and especially not when they roll one after another. I was starting to feel kind of crappy, so I started walking. Got rid of the cramp, got my breathing under control. Started running again.

This is my first winter running, and I'm still mastering how to dress.  The temps were in the 30's.  Before the race I was freezing, then I got really hot, then freezing again.  I'm not one of those people that handles cold very well, so I continued feeling miserable. I could not get my breathing under control.  I was tired. I started walking again, and I must have looked pretty bad because people were slowing down to ask if I was okay.

When I knew the finish was near, I picked it back up.  I fell in with a really nice couple, and told them about my diagnosis, and that I was obese a year ago. So, 25 years ago, I had trouble walking, using my hands.. A year ago I was OBESE. I was well over 200 pounds.  Here I am, in remission, down almost 70 pounds - why am I so miserable? Every race won't be a PR.  Some races might flat out suck! I'm out here on a cold December morning GETTING IT DONE!

My official time was 36:37. My GPS says 35:41.  Not even close to my 30 minute goal, and my slowest 5k time ever, but respectable.

Post race, I got a Hero Hat (felt special!) Arthritis isn't one of those sexy diseases with catchy sayings and cute ribbons. When you are 6 with RA, you are kind of a freak. I liked the hat, even though the teenage volunteer looked skeptical when I claimed mine. "You have arthritis?" Yeah.. I'm used to that! Got some water, an apple and some cheese, but skipped the free Starbucks line.  It was too long, even though it smelled amazing!  Warmed up by an outdoor fireplace, which felt HEAVENLY!

I was really bothered by this race for the rest of the day.  I was able to narrow down a few things that went wrong.

1. I lost 2 pounds this week, which at this stage for me is a lot.  I am have found that I am more tired and have difficulty with harder workouts after a big weight loss week.  Not enough fuel, I guess. (Weight loss is almost done, this shouldn't be an issue in the future)

2. I did not eat a good breakfast.  I usually eat Whole Wheat Cream of Wheat and 2 cups of coffee.  I had a banana and one cup. My body did not appreciate that. (Easiest to fix.  Eat breakfast, silly.)

3. I was unprepared for the crowd size.  One of those things you learn by doing! (Lesson learned)

4. I was unprepared for the course.  I did not mentally prepare myself for hills... constant... hills... (Be more mentally flexible - not one of my strong points!)

5. I don't like the cold. (Move to Hawaii!)

I have one more race on December 18, which is a cross country race. Not sure what to expect there, so my goal is to complete it and have fun!  Thinking of running a half marathon on my birthday in May, so I won't be taking that break I was thinking of during the race after all! :)

Have you had one of these races?  Gone in with high hopes, but ended up just being happy to finish?  Were you able to pin down why things went wrong?  Share with me please!  I'm learning!

Professional Development...

Went to a conference today.  The first thing teachers ask when they hear you are attending a workshop is "Where is it?"  Then you find out what kind of food you will get.  I heard it was good food.  The rumors were true.  Annnnyway..

Usually, I am physically forced to attend workshops.  I'm not great at doing things like.. sitting still and paying attention.

Those who can, do.. those who can't, teach! :)

This workshop, however, was one I was actually excited about.  It was about gifted children with special learning needs.  The information presented could apply to all groups of children, in my opinion.

Dr. Susan Baum presented, and she was just dynamic.  I told her I wanted to follow her around the world and just listen to her talk.  So, not only did I get a top notch lunch, I got practical advice I would actually use, as well as about 15 cups of coffee!  COFFEE!  (unrelated to my difficulty sitting still, I am certain ;) ).

Dr. Baum made me think.   We were told we were going to complete a group project.  We were given four options and asked to put them in the order we would want to do them.  Our options were:

Writing

Drawing

Acting

Building

Being a word nerd, writing was my number 1. Drawing and Acting were a tie for second, and Building was my third.  Hand me a pencil and keep your Legos.

Then, Dr. Baum switched it up.  We actually had to work in our areas of weakness.  I headed to the block table, where our assignment was to show the relationship among the various classes of the Middle Ages.  Hmmm.  We discussed. We built (punny!) on each others' ideas. We worked out a pretty cool little structure.  I was pleased.

Next, we worked in our areas of strength.  Our little group of writers decided to write a poem.  I was excited. I love writing poems!  I love wacky rhymes and nonsensical words.  This, however, was a disaster (in my opinion).  We ALL thought we knew best.  Our group disagreed on just about everything, and even when it seemed like we agreed we really weren't understanding what the others were saying.  I let myself fade into the background, uninterested in getting involved in the volatile dynamic.  I began to remember why I disliked group work (unless I was slacking and letting others do the work.. AKA high school).

As we discussed later, I shared my thoughts with the group.  I know everyone didn't feel the same as me, but here are my reflections:

In the building group, I felt safe sharing my ideas.  No one felt comfortable with the activity.  We were all unsure.  I think this led to us being more open to LISTENING to each others' ideas.  In the writing group, I was worried about looking or sounding stupid.  I disliked the argumentative tone of the group so much, I actually left the group for a while. I found various reasons I needed to walk around the room.  I felt jealous of another group that I thought was working better then mine.

Soooo.. now I take what I learned into the classroom.  It can be scary to try to do  new things.  I was uncomfortable with the building idea.  After working with the writing group, I understood to a greater extent why my students go into "shut down mode".  I work very hard to foster an atmosphere of acceptance and cooperation in my classroom.  My room is safe.  You won't be laughed at for making a mistake or taking a risk.  I LOVE out of the box thinking. I want to encourage it from my students.  I want to try MORE to take students' out of their comfort zones.  I also need to closely observe groups - I got nothing out of the writing activity.  I was too aggravated. I've been trying this year to incorporate more art into the classroom - I need to think bigger.  Technology!  Music!  Drama!

I need blocks!

Hit the ground running

I'm contracted to be at school 45 minutes before the students arrive.  My gift isn't punctuality, so I usually have 25-30 minutes before the students arrive. :)  Thankfully, I DO have the gift of an hour prep time 15 minutes after the students arrive, so anything I need done I do then.(no lines at the copier!)

This morning, I actually arrived BEFORE my contracted time, and just as the principal was walking in.. sweet. Hopefully early points deduct from my late points - or the 3-4 extra hours I put in almost every night.  Anywaaaaay.  I'm attending a conference tomorrow, so I knew in addition to all of the regular school day stuff plus preparing for a sub.  I hate preparing for subs - it's the reason I take next to no days off.  It's easier just to come in. I started getting that together before the kids came in.

I have about four million students in my homeroom, and approximately three million of them are ADHD. They are extremely active. I have to be on top of them for those 15 minutes or everything quickly decends into chaos.

This morning, one student came in with The Funk.  I could see it in his face as soon as he walked in. He is famous for The Funk and The Funk will ruin his day (and any nearby innocents). I tried to get his spirits up. A parent walked in to ask me about an assignment RIGHTNOWTHISMINUTE, and when I turned back around The Funk had crumpled up the papers on the desks around him.  Rrrgh. Naturally, this got the other millions all riled up.  I sweetly asked the father if I could get back to him in about 15 minutes. I stood next to The Funk and hoped that would be enough to get him on task.  He stayed on, until I walked away. He was then back to his antics. I did this about three times before I had enough. I grabbed the assignment that the father wanted to discuss, handed it to him, stood by The Funk, went back over to the father, discussed the assignment to his satisfaction, walked back to The Funk, and started dismissing for Spanish. Kept The Funk back, and tried to fix his mood before his day totally went down the toilet.  When I was confident he could get through Spanish without causing a riot, I left him there.

I needed a cup of coffee.

That was only the first 15 minutes of the school day.  The rest of my day was just as frantic and insane. I had an interesting IEP meeting, an abbreviated lunch, and a rushed afternoon getting ready for my day out tomorrow.

And The Funk got funkier.  He had a terrible day! The poor sub has my prayers tomorrow!