Tag: alzheimer

Habits

So many of us head into the holidays full of excitement.  We over indulge on many things, including food and alcohol.  Then we vow to start a diet for the New Year.  The cycle then begins anew.  Have you ever wondered if they’ll come a day where you’re not in this exact same place?   I know I have.

As I reflect on this past year, I’ve made great strides toward my healthy lifestyle.  But, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about the extra ten pounds I’m still trying to shed.  They still come and go like an old friend who never leaves.  I guess it could be worse.  In the past it was way more than ten.

So, as I head into this next year I’m keeping with my daily habits theme.  If you change a habit, you have the ability to change your life. My latest habit is one I’ve been holding on to tightly.  I’m talking about my dear friend – coffee.  Heck I’m only two years into this addiction, must I give it up already?   Most of you’ve had years of indulging.  Well, the answer is no!  I don’t have to give up coffee at all. Rather, I have to rethink the way I drink it.  I’m a half coffee, half flavored creamer kind of girl.  I justify it by trying to only have one cup a day.

What I fail to acknowledge is the amount of sugar and chemical my creamers contain.  I’ve tried the heathy ones, but seriously they are disgusting.  Why bother. I’ve thought of doing artificial sweeteners with half and half but I don’t want to use those sweeteners.   I’ve had a long talk with myself about this.  Tea just doesn’t do it for me in the morning.   I’m not looking for caffeine, I’m looking for taste.

This past week I decided to give this habit another look. I tried once before with the bullet coffee, but hated it.  I watched some videos and read some articles and settled on a new recipe.  I whipped some up and I’m drinking it every day.  I don’t feel the huge surge of energy that’s talked about, but I do feel better about my chemical intake.  Not one drop of creamer in the past week and I don’t miss it.  I’m so hoping this new habit is the start of my next phase on this healthy journey.

Heres the recipe if you’d like to give it a try.  I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

1 cup hot organic coffee brewed

1 tsp coconut oil, raw honey and collagen powder

1 tsp raw cocoa powder and grass fed Kerry gold butter

1/2 tsp turmeric, vanilla and cinnamon

Combine all in blender of choice. I use vitamix. Blend and enjoy.  It’s creamy and delicious.  The fats are healthy for you, but don’t overdo it.

The recipe can also be adapted for hot chocolate. You’d just substitute two tablespoons of raw cocoa and cup of hot water for the coffee.

One day and one habit at a time, together we can live healthier.

Gift of Learning

As we move into the holiday season, I think of all the gifts I’ve received this year.  The gift of learning is always top on my list.  This year I learned a lot and really pushed myself to do things I never thought possible.  It was such a great feeling when I accomplished a long term goal and bucket list item.  Finishing a half marathon was wonderful, but the best part of it was the journey I took to get to that finish line.  If I had to sum up my journey and what I took away from it, I’d say the realization that the cycle of learning can apply to all situations.  As an educator, I’m always reading and focusing on how children learn and process information.  It was so interesting to me to see the connections of these concepts to my personal running life.  Specifically, for me the cycle of learning consists of:

  1. Target/Goal – Clearly identified goal or target you are trying to meet.  For me the target was a race; but for many it’s a weight loss amount, or something they’ve always wanted to learn to do.   Having a clear target helps you focus on what you are trying to achieve.
  2. A Plan – Creating an actionable plan that breaks down the steps you need to take to achieve your target. They say a goal without a plan is really just a dream.  I would have to agree strongly with this statement.  For me, having a plan kept me organized and focused on my desired outcomes.  I knew each week what I had to do in order to meet my overall goal.  The plan was created by back mapping from my race date.  I had twenty weeks from when I started to my goal race.  This window of time gave me enough time to realistically set plans for each week.  This was critical as many of us tend to have unrealistic expectations for the time it takes to accomplish our goals.  For example, if we are looking to lose twenty (20) pounds, it is not realistic to expect to lose that in just one week.
  3. Accountability – having a system for accountability is critical to success.  For me, I had many layers of accountability.  I had friends who were on the journey with me holding me accountable.  I would never want to let my tribe down!  I had a coach/teacher who was holding me accountable for doing my work.  I had to report to her on my daily runs and had to publicly post them on Facebook using a GPS app.  Finally, I had personal accountability.  I had an online private calendar on which I logged my runs.  These many layers kept me on track and moving toward my goal.
  4. Support – as we all know the best laid plans can go awry.  That’s true for everything and therefore we need to have a support system.  For me, I chose to have a personal coach to whom I turned.  Through her, I met wonderful running friends who I often turned to first.   We chatted together on a private Facebook group and shared our common journey.  This support system got me through many rough patches along the way and provided answers to my endless questions.  I couldn’t have done it without them.

As you can see, the above cycle can truly apply to any life situation.  I believe it’s the cycle of learning and though it may seem to some an oversimplification of the process, I believe it’s truly all that’s needed.  They say less is more and that always resonates with me.  Take a moment as we head into this New Year and think about your goals.  What would you like to accomplish this year?  I hope you can use the above cycle to get started on the path to wellness.

 

Daily Routines

Most of us head into the holidays with some unease.  We wonder if we will be able to make it through without packing on weight.  We vow to say no to drinks, desserts and all the stuff that comes along with the holiday season.

Thanksgiving has come and gone.  I hosted as always, but tried to keep it simple and healthy.  I didn’t over indulge in food, but I did on drinks and preturkey warm up foods. Normally this type of breach opens the floodgates and I’m off wildly making my way to New Years and new weight gains.

This year I’ve decided to keep it simple.  Looking to my daily routines and ensuring I stay on track with healthy routines should help me get there without extra baggage.  This week I kept up with my daily routines regardless of the holiday.  It didn’t take long and was worth the efforts.  I drank my morning detox drink and did my scheduled workouts.  How easy it would’ve been to skip it all and blame the holiday.  Not this year.

Every day is a new day.  It matters not what happened the day before. We can’t change the past ever.  It’s over and done.  Looking forward is our best move.   Friday morning I woke stuffed and bloated.   I drank my detox drink even though I didn’t want to.   I ran one mile even though I felt like a stuffed turkey.   I drank tons of water to flush out the alcohol from Thursday.  Keep the daily routines and move forward.

Today I got up and felt achy, likely sugar overload from crappy eating. I did my long run as scheduled.  I was slower and definitely felt heavier.  I’m continuing to drink lots of water and eating healthier, but still have company so not totally healthy.

The point here is I’m trying hard to keep my daily healthy routines in place during the storm of the holidays.  I’m not throwing all these routines out simply because I’ve made some bad choices.  It doesn’t have to be an all or nothing mentality.  It also doesn’t have to mean giving up.  Keep plugging away at it and take it one day at a time.  Don’t give it all up because of one bad day.

If you want to change your outcome this year try something different.  Creating daily healthy routines will give you the power to come out ahead.

Temptations of Life

One of the best rewards I received from my running training was gaining a true knowledge of myself.  I now have a true handle on this body I have, what makes it tick and what “right” feels like.  Often times, we spend enormous amounts of energy wondering, “Is this normal?”, “Does this feel like it’s supposed to?”, “Am I injured or just sore from workouts?”.  Following my two serious injuries, I’ve gained a new perspective into what “normal” feels like.  I know when to hold them and when to push through.

Following the half marathon, I decided not to take off the coach recommended two weeks.  Instead, I took off two days.  Yeah, yeah, I know not too smart a decision.  Following those runs that week I felt pain in my left hip adductor (inside area of leg near groin) and hamstring.  I ran the rest of that week and it didn’t improve so I took two weeks off.  Then I started back up and still had the pain.  The good news is I knew it was muscular because I know this body so well.  I knew the pain was different from the bone pain I felt when I had the stress fracture in my other leg.  I also knew how to work through it.  I needed to slow down and go easy.  This morning on my long run I thought about how different this felt from the last two times of uncertainty over injury.  Stressing and googling and not truly knowing if what I was doing was the right thing to do.  I also thought a lot about the things in life that seem to block my path of reclaiming my health.

First blocker is my ego.  You all know that darn part of you, right?  Yup, the ego is the voice that tells you, “Suck it up bitch.”, or “Push through the pain, you are tough.”  Whenever I listen to that voice I end up in trouble.  The ego has gotten the better of me more times than I’d like to admit.  Like who thinks at 55 years old it’s ok to not take off the two weeks your coach recommended after running a tough course half marathon.  The ego gets in your way in life often too.  Like when you can’t admit you’re wrong, or think it’s your way or the highway.  Or, how about when you eat unhealthy but blame your nutritionist, or latest diet because you refuse to admit you didn’t truly follow the plans.

Sometimes we need to kick our ego to the curb!  This week I forced myself to do just that.  I knew I needed a break from the hills and the hard road surface I run on.  My body needed a break from the pounding to recover.  So, I forced myself to run on the treadmill (aka – dreadmill).  I found the running on their so much easier on my adductor and joints.  I also needed to not push off and run slow, something my ego doesn’t truly like.  But I did it and learned to enjoy the absence of pain.  Today I did my long run outside and felt like my leg is finally on the road to healing.  Secondly, I finally admitted to myself that I need to give up drinking red wine.  It just truly doesn’t agree with my body, though I LOVE it.  I haven’t been drinking wine during training and when I purchased a bottle last weekend, I immediately noticed I had pain in my joints and my body.  So, I finally said it out loud and admitted what I already had been told – I need to stop drinking red wine, it doesn’t agree with my body.

The second blocker I’ve encountered often are those false advertisements and promises of restoration of health through – pills, diets, books, shakes, coaches, tests, etc.  I usually fall prey to those ads and Facebook seems to know it because they pop up constantly on my feed.  Three day detox, supplements to solve life’s problems, you name it – it’s out there.  The latest I almost fell victim to – a DNA test to help a nutritionist tell me what kind of food I should be eating and what supplements I should be taking.  All for the low price of 800.  The fact that I even considered it blows my mind.  But, I’m very proud that I wrote back to my dear friend and said – “Thanks so much for thinking of me.  Truly sounds interesting, but I can’t justify spending that kind of money to chase the holy grail of health.”  Been there, done that.

Next up, a colleague came by my office recently.  She has never been particularly friendly before but suddenly was very willing to chat.  I soon realized, in a round about way she was trying to sell me something to make me healthier.  She found the answer to all my problems.  Ugh, here we go again.  This was a strong sales pitch for Isogenix!  These shakes and detox, according to her would cure me.  Hmm, been there, done that.  No shake or detox holds the answer to all of life’s problems.

I know what I have to do.  I have to eat healthy, organically and move my body.  I’ve read tons of information on this subject and it all boils down to your body is your temple.  What you put into it greatly affects what happens.  The rest is genetics, pure and simple.  While I do agree you can’t possibly get by without any supplementation, I am determined to get as close to it as I possibly can.  I want to heal my body with food, pure delicious, clean food.  I know what I should eat, as well as what I shouldn’t.  I don’t need a DNA test to tell me what is good for my body.  I can feel that now.  I can feel how my body feels after I eat certain foods and drink certain drinks.  I can feel it when I exercise and when I merely go through my day.  I am in control of my destiny and these people who want to make living out of my quest can just move along.

I hope we all can get to a place where this multimillion dollar diet industry can move along to somewhere else.  There are so many desperate people in the world that they prey upon.  Read, learn and trust yourself.  You know what you have to do so, “Just do it.”

 

 

 

 

Truth

Wanna know a truth?

Head down.
I focus on the very next step.
For there awaits everything I seek.

Head down.
I pay attention to the details.
For there are found the answers.

Head down.
I move forward.
For there all finish lines are attained.

Quietly.
I believe in my strength.
For it has never failed me.

Quietly.
I go about the work of growing.
For it is my actions not my words.

Quietly.
I speak my truths.
For even whispered I hear all I say.

Determined.
I am accepting of the difficult.
For I did not come here for easy.

Determined.
I am accepting of the path.
For I trust it to lead me home.

Determined.
I am accepting of the wall.
For I know it can be moved.

Unwavering.
I face the unknowns.
For I am greater than my fears.

Unwavering.
I pursue my dreams.
For I am worthy of them.

Unwavering.
I choose to love.
For I am simply following my heart.

Head down. Quiet. Determined. Unwavering.

These.
The choices I have made.
For how I shall live this life. ~G

#forbenjamin
by Tony Garcia

My online running friend writes and shares beautiful poetry.  He starts them all with a simple question – Wanna know a truth?  Tony’s words speak to so many of us and always touch something inside.   This poem really connected me to my experiences with trying to reclaim and maintain my health.

Most of you know my reasons for fighting this fight.  Many obstacles have presented along the way but I have, as Tony so eloquently writes, been unwavering and determined.  I’ve put my head down and focused on the next step.

Right now I’m resting my leg due to some pain.  Determined not to do damage I’ve dug in and forced myself to rest.  Unwavering in my quest to not eat unhealthy in response to stress, I’ve decided to do some detoxing.  No, I am not taking pills and drinking powdered food.  I’m doing a healthy detox, meaning simply I’m eating super clean, well except for that darn pizza last night –  Stacy’s fault.

Here’s my plan which, except for pizza temptation, is super easy and healthy.  Disclaimer here though, the pizza was preceded by a beautiful salad.   It was also fresh, clean and even had arugula on it.

Upon waking everyday, prior to breakfast, I drink a simple detox drink. Here’s the recipe:

Mix 4 oz coconut water with 4 oz of filtered spring water.  Add 2 tbsp of organic lemon juice and 2 tbsp organic Braggs apple cider vinegar. Add pinch of Cayenne pepper.  Stir and drink.  (Dr Axe)

Breakfast for me is a vegetable/fruit smoothie.  You know I need to sneak those veggies in somehow.  No powder required!

Sample of one –

3/4 cup coconut water and 1/4 spring water.  Add 3/4 cup frozen organic blueberries.  One raw organic egg.  Tbsp organic honey (Not required but oh so yummy). Handful organic spinach.  Blend in vitamix and drink.  Delicious!

Lunch is easy and many options.  Any combination of protein and vegetables or salad.  Keep it clean though.  I had these things for lunch this week.  Homemade vegetable soup on Monday, Tuesday – Thursday I had salads.  Clean organic romaine, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and a protein. Either grilled chicken or nuts.  My dressing was clean too.  Simple organic lemon juice with grape seed oil.  So refreshing.  There’s lots of other choices for healthier lunches.  Just be creative, while avoiding cold cuts, mayonnaise laden foods and fast foods.

Mid afternoon, I have a second detox drink.   Same as morning  version. Nice energy boost without coffee.

Dinner is protein and veggies also.  Organic grass fed meat, chicken, turkey burger or wild caught fish.  And of course last night’s delicious salad and pizza with friends.  My favorite dinner this week was the chicken tacos.  So clean and wrapped in romaine lettuce not taco shell.  The recipe for this is so simple.

Marinate organic chicken overnight in organic lime juice, cayenne pepper and chili powder.  You just need a tbsp or so of each spice, but I added a touch more as I like it spicy.   Just put it all in a ziplock bag.   Next day grill chicken.  Shred with fork.   Place chicken, raw organic cheddar cheese and guacamole on romaine lettuce boat.  Delicious and simple.

All my meals were homemade, simple, delicious and healthy.  Dinners took no more than 30 minutes from cooking to eating.  The only planning ahead required was shopping, menu planning and marinating overnight of chicken for the tacos.    It doesn’t have to be hard!  We just have to be unwavering and determined.  We have to know we are worth it.

Tony runs for his marine son and Benjamin.  I run and fight this fight for my health.  I do this for my daughter, my mom, my grandmother and all those who suffer from Alzheimer’s.  Nobody should lose the memories of their beautiful life.  Nobody should look at their husband of over 50 years without recognition.  No daughter should have to visit a mother who has no idea who they are.  This heartbreak will hopefully end in my lifetime. But, for now I will put my head down and focus just on my next step.

*The simple detox I discuss is based on that of Dr Axe.  His website has tons of information on how to live healthier lives.

Rising Up

Rising up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I’m back on my feet
Just a girl and her will to survive

This past Saturday I ran and completed my first Half Marathon.  I’ve shared my training journey these past twenty weeks with you all.  Finishing this race and meeting my goal was quite an emotional experience.  I’m still on cloud nine and ready for my next race in just four short weeks.  During the endless miles you question your sanity and swear you won’t ever do this again.  But, much like childbirth, as soon as you cross that finish you’re already forgetting all that and thinking of the next one.

The road here has not been an easy one.   I fell in love with running long ago back on the track in Middle Village.   I used to run around Juniper Park in the early hours of the morning.   I used to run with my dad and we signed up in local races.  In this picture I think I was 19 or 20.

Dad was always faster than me and a man of few words.  But we had a great time training, talking as we ran miles around the park and racing together.   I know Dad wished he could have run this one with me too and he was my first after race phone call.

My long time friend showed up in Bethlehem to surprise me.   We’ve been through so much of life together.  We grew up together and she was my maid of honor at my wedding.   After kids and marriage and moving far apart, seeing each other often was challenging.   Running has brought us many opportunities to meet up at races.  We’ve had so much fun on what I lovingly call runcations.   Though she was sitting this one out with an injury, having her and my husband at the finish line meant the world to me.

Running 13.1 super HILLY miles was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done.   The process of training, getting seriously hurt twice, coming back and finally getting it done has taught me so many lessons.   Though it may sound cliche, never give up was the most important thing I learned.  It would have been far easier for me to walk away from this goal.  Nobody would have blamed me for doing so either.   Had I done so I wouldn’t have felt the joy of accomplishment – the moment is indescribable truly.  Here are the main life lessons I learned through this process:

  • Anything is possible
  • Hard work pays off
  • The joy when you get there is what motivates you through the pain of training
  • Friendship and love trumps all else
  • Memories are forever
  • Consistency is the key
  • Listen to the signals your body gives you
  • Stick to the plan

Next up for me are two more half marathons – Philly in four weeks and Tobacco Road, NC in March.   Then I begin training for my next goal of a full marathon – 26.2 miles.    I’ve got my spot in the 2017 NYC Marathon ready to go.   Best of all, I get to run it with my dear friend Helen.   Together we will rise up from anything life throws our way and get it done.

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The Show Must Go On

Week 19 of my training plan, one week from race day and I get sick.  Can you imagine?   I’m pretty resilient and thanks to my job, so exposed to germs, I rarely get sick.  But this week started with a major allergy attack on Monday.  No big deal but it decided to settle in my chest.  All week I’ve had sore throat, fever, chest congestion and a very crazy stomach situation.   You’re kidding me right??

Well, we never know what curve balls life will throw at us. What we do know and can control is our response to them.  Thankfully I’m in a taper week so my total mileage this week was only 20 miles.  I thought about not running only once, yesterday.   I felt terrible and my stomach was making getting out difficult.  I had to make the choice and I chose to push through and get it done.   It was a very interesting 45 minute, 3 mile run.  I then went to work.  Spent four consecutive hours, with no breaks meeting with individual teachers discussing their baseline results for students.  I then came home, cooked dinner and finally climbed in bed to rest.

Today I got up and out and now I’m off until Monday’s run.  I’m not trying to brag here, because it surely wasn’t fun or pretty running with what feels like an elephant sitting on my chest.  Rather, I’m telling you this because as I ran today I thought a lot about my students.

What saddens me is the role models our children have in this crazy world.  Society raises up lots of “perfect” people and kids look up to them.  Athletes who are the star of the team, reality TV stars who splash their lives all over social media, smart business men and women whose book, or idea made them rich.   That’s all well and good, but what our kids really need to see more is the average person out there struggling to overcome.  What they need are role models who are striving, many times against all odds, to accomplish something.   Many kids don’t have a vision for that.  They have no idea that Tom Brady has to actually work hard to be who he is.  Or that as a young man he likely struggled to make a team.  They don’t get to ever see, or hear about that.

Why you may wonder is that so?  It’s because watching someone struggle is not perceived as a thing of beauty.  In fact, most people turn away from it, or worse laugh at it.  We have been brainwashed to feel we are less than perfect if we struggle.  So, many people are embarrassed to get out there because they don’t want others to see them struggle.  They associate the struggle with weakness, or failure.

It is my hope that we find ways to be better role models for all kids.  Let them see the struggle and the power that happens when you push through something on your way to reaching your goal.  When I finished my running work for the week, I felt empowered that I got it done in spite of being under the weather.   Had I not pushed through I would’ve felt quite different.  Kids need to see that so they can develop a vision for the rewards of hard work.  Glorifying stars and athletes only gives kids the vision of the results of hard work, not the struggles that came first.

Be the change you want to see.  Make sure you are open and honest about what it took to get you the successes you enjoy.  You never know who you are a role model for. Share publicly your whole journey in the hopes that others will be inspired and learn that hard work truly does pay off.

Goals

Today was my last long run prior to the race.  Now I begin two weeks of tapering down to resting a few days before the race.   It’s funny that a 90 minute run now seems like a short run and a gift.  There was a time that 90 minutes was a real stretch run for me.  I remember struggling in the summer to hit the 90 minute target on vacation.  I used to average 3 miles and under on my short runs, which took just over 30 minutes.  Now I average 60 minutes most days and about 5 miles.  I find those days to be easy runs.  It’s funny how things change when you put your mind to something and set some strong goals.  Honestly, without the goal of running this half marathon, I’m not sure I’d even be back to running after my stress fracture.

How exactly does the right goal help?  It’s been my target for what I am trying to accomplish.  It’s what I’m shooting for and aiming to accomplish.  It provides me a strong layer of motivation and focus.

Today my determination was put to the test.  Yesterday, I ran close to 6 miles in the pouring, cold rain.  I was drenched and cold.  I didn’t have enough time to properly stretch and foam roll because I had to get to work.  Today, I was facing 12-13 miles and knew my legs would be tired.  I wasn’t expecting the pain to hit my bad leg before mile one was even complete.  I actually had a moment of panic and thought of calling for a pick up or turning around and walking home.  The pain was eerily familiar and in that same spot.  But, I knew this was my last long run prior to tapering and I really had wanted to get it done.  I kept going a bit, but the pain was getting worse. I was almost in a total panic at this point.  I couldn’t have come this far only to have this hit me two weeks out from my race.  Finally, I had to stop and walk.  I decided to stretch right there on the road and see if it helped.  I stretched out my quad and hip and then decided to try again.  I vowed to go super slow and easy and see if it loosened up.  Thankfully it did and I got the run done!  I was super proud and happy to have completed the run and not be in any pain.  Honestly, without the GOAL of my race in two weeks and the GOAL of the last long run, I truly don’t believe I would have continued.  I would definitely have turned right back around and gone home.

The goal was my motivation today and it made me try to do something that would allow me to get the run in.  The training plan also provided me strong motivation as I knew this was it, the last long run prior to tapering.  There was something so exciting about knowing I was in the home stretch.  This made me realize why I have failed so many times before to reclaim my health.  I’ve never set a goal other than one based on the total number of pounds I would lose.  Today I finally realized I’ve been setting the wrong kind of goals for myself.  My goals were actually too narrow and based on the wrong thing.  You see, I just set a goal to be a certain weight and when I didn’t reach it I felt like a failure.  There really was nothing to celebrate along the way because I never was able to hit my unrealistic target weight.  Had I set a broader goal, like being able to run a half marathon, followed by a full marathon, I would likely have had more success.

At this point, I don’t even really get on the scale much.  I weigh in just once a week now just to be sure I’m around the same weight with no major fluctuation up.  I used to weigh myself every single day, sometimes twice and then fret about it all day.  I don’t measure myself more than once a month, if at all.  I can generally tell by how my clothes fit how I am doing.  My broader goals have freed me from the confines of the minutia of weighing, measuring and fretting.  I measure my success now by how I meet the requirements of my training plan.  Did I get all the runs in and meet time targets?  Did I meet my heart rate targets?  This is something I struggle with.  I am averaging above the 140 target for most runs, but have given myself a pass on that.  I am running comfortable at 146-150 bpm and decided it’s just not worth stressing over.

My broader goal also motivated me to connect with a great nutritionist who has helped me learn how to fuel my longer runs.  I’ve tried my whole life to avoid vegetables at all costs.  Now that I know it is the fuel I need to meet my goals for running, I’ve been slowly learning to add vegetables to my diet.  I’m eating things I thought I’d never eat.  I even finally tried salmon.  I’m noticing how I feel on runs and track it directly back to my nutrition.  Isn’t it amazing what the right goal can do!

Once this race is behind me, I plan to start shooting for my next goal.  I will spend the rest of the winter running in heart rate zones trying to build some speed.  Then in the spring, I will begin to get ready for the full marathon distance.  I will continue to add more vegetables into my daily diet and learn new and exciting ways to cook them.  I think I’m finally on the path to wellness.  Hope you are too!

 

 

 

 

Run like Shalane

This is the last of my three part series in which I’ve shared what I’ve learned during my twenty week training plan for an upcoming half marathon.  I’ve drawn some connections between this training and teaching, because as an educator these are the things I think about.

This week’s long run was twelve miles, so I had a lot of time to think.  I was focused on the strategies I was using to make it through the run when the going got tough.  I quickly realized my strategies were those familiar to educators, one of which I typically am not a fan of.   This run gave me a new perception as to how the strategy could possibly be used with students.

Two things I’ve noticed over the past weeks are: 1) Running is easier when you find a rhythm; and 2) Visualizing and self talk can help you find that rhythm.  It often takes me some time to find my rhythm on a run, but once I do it feels so natural and smooth.  It’s a feeling of your body working in tandem,  your legs, arms and breath are all moving you along fluidly.  You often feel like you could continue on in this way forever.  It’s not always easy to find that rhythm and one of the strategies I use to get there is to visualize what I’m seeking.  I often picture Shalane Flanagan whom I watched intently running during the Olympics.  I clearly saw an example of someone running with rhythm during her beautiful marathon run.  On my long runs, I use self talk to say, “Run like Shalane” (albeit without the skinny body and lovely little shorts) and visualize myself running as I saw her do it.  I also remind myself to use those darn glute muscles when I tire and find myself relying too heavily on my quads.  That self talk sounds like, “Use your ass you ass.” and I visualize pushing through with those powerful glutes.  Once I hit the feeling of running in rhythm I continue visualizing looking like Shalane as I run to maintain it.

There are portions of my run, discussed last week as the wall, where the going can get tough.  Today it hit around mile 9 and I knew I had a long way to go to reach my target.  I kept going back to these strategies and filling my mind with them.  They helped me continue on by filling my head with positive self talk, essentially staving off negative thoughts of pain and discomfort.  They also helped provide me with a strong focus on what I was trying to achieve.

Now, I’ve never been a huge fan of using visualization in an educational setting.  Part of the reason for that was the way I often saw it used.  Teaching children merely to draw what they see when reading is not enough to employ the true power of this strategy.  Yes, it is a way to show children in a concrete manner that we all bring our personal schema to the table when reading and our perspectives can be quite different, but this in and of itself is not the true purpose of visualization.  Through my time spent “running like Shalane”, I’ve come to understand better the power of visualization.  In this context, it was about knowing what I was trying to achieve and imagining myself doing it.  This process strongly focused me on the work at hand.  Imagining my glutes powering me up a hill truly enabled me to feel them as I was so focused on that part of my body.  Imagining I’m moving like Shalane gave me strong concrete imagery of what it should look like.

My thoughts on this run were that the rhythm of running can be equated to the rhythms of learning, which in my mind are found in consistency of instruction.  When you find your rhythm during a run the movement becomes fluid.  When teaching our students, we need to provide them opportunities to find their rhythm to become fluid learners.  The best way I can think of to accomplish this is to be very consistent and intentional in our instructional approaches.  Providing clarity to students of the learning expectations and end goals of instructional units is critical.  If we constantly introduce new information, change direction, or rush through curriculum our students are deprived of the opportunity to find the rhythm of learning.  Instead, they are left expending their energies trying to make sense of what they are learning and figuring out how it all connects, if at all.   Keeping our instruction clear, organized, connected and relevant will help ensure they find their rhythm and get into the zone of purposeful learning.  I believe it would improve engagement exponentially as well.

Two strategies I relieved heavily on to find my running rhythm were self talk and visualizing.  In order to get students to utilize these strategies in an educational setting, they need to clearly know what their end goals are.  These questions must drive our instructional planing to provide our students with purpose and relevance – 1) What am I learning?, 2) Why am I learning this? and 3) How is this learning relevant to my life?   Providing exemplars, as in my case Shalane Flanagan did, gives students concrete examples of what they are trying to achieve.  These exemplars should come in many forms including written models, visual models and whenever possible examples of people who are utilizing the learning in the real world.

Self talk can provide our students with both focus and perseverance when the going gets tough.  It could help them stick with tasks that are challenging and enable them to feel the joy of that aha moment when they “get it”.  I believe it would also help boost our students’ self esteem and make them more willing to engage in the learning process, which at times can seem so daunting.  Positive self talk can be taught to all kids, even our youngest learners.  Perhaps it can offset and crowd out those negative thoughts that fill the minds of so many today.

The best part about these strategies is they are not restricted only to use for running, or teaching.  They are life skills that can be used to support you in almost any situation.  Dieting is one simple example I will use to illustrate this.  When you are dieting you can, and should, heavily rely on positive self talk and visualization.  Focusing in on your end results and visualizing yourself there can be extremely helpful.  People have always placed a photograph on their refrigerators, why not imagine yourself instead.  Getting in a rhythm of food prepping and eating will certainly help you reach your goals. When you really think about it, it all feels so simple, as it should.  One step and day at a time.

 

 

 

 

Drive

I’ve been wondering what makes me get out of bed and hit the pavement when it’s still dark out and most people are sleeping.  In rain, and cold I’m out there.  Some might be quick to say it’s my passion for running.  While I agree there is some level of passion for running that drives me, I know there’s more to it than that.  That’s surely the obvious answer, but anyone who runs knows that passion wanes rather quickly when pain and discomfort of the long run sets in.  The same can be said about dieting to lose weight, passion for that surely wanes when the scale fails to move.  I’ve thought a lot about why I do what I do, especially this morning when on the first block of my run I had pain in my bad leg.  What was it that pushed me to continue running and complete the full 2 hours and 10 minutes planned for this morning?  It would have been so easy to go back home and climb back in bed.  Surely my pushing through today didn’t have anything to do with passion.  It was most definitely about grit, mental toughness and drive.

So, what actually motivates me then?  Well, anyone whose read Alfie Kohn’s, Punished by Rewards, knows intrinsic motivation is more of a driving force.    Extrinsic motivation really only works for so long and lord knows it’s not the race medal that motivates me, though they are pretty.  If I had to say what motivates me, I’d have to say it’s the drive to succeed and that is most definitely intrinsic.  But, even motivation and drive alone are not enough to carry me through the miles after I hit what’s often referred to as the “wall”.  The wall, or that moment when I feel like I’m wearing concrete shoes and can’t possibly go another step, I’m not feeling very motivated.  So what is it really that keeps me moving?

I believe it’s my drive to succeed at anything I set out to accomplish.  I refuse to quit or give up on anything I want to do.  It’s the thrill of the conquering that motivates me, which is kind of similar in shopping terms to the thrill of the hunt.  I am driven by the belief that I can and will accomplish anything I seek to do.  When I get something in my head that I want to do, I keep plugging along until I get it done.  It’s never easy, but I live for the adrenaline rush of trying.

This morning I wondered, how can we teach this type of mental mindset to our young students.  How can we teach them to push through even if it’s hard, or they fail at their first attempts?  There’s tons of research out there on this topic, but I wanted to connect these questions to what I’ve learned through my training for this marathon.  I believe for me the true reason I keep going out there and running is found in my drive to succeed.  I am self-motivated yes, but I’ve also set up systems to keep pushing me along.  I believe these systems, when employed, keep me going and could definitely be taught to kids.

First, let’s look at motivation.  Motivation is definitely part of the equation, but it has to come from within.  Lose the stickers and rewards and you’ll have better success keeping students motivated long term.  You might save some money and time here too.  In my training plan, I am motivated by the tracker found in my Strava and Map My Run apps.  These trackers analyze my run for me and provide me with lots of glorious feedback to get excited about.  For example, when you run the same route repeatedly it does a great comparison.  I love to see the message – “trending faster ‘- pop up when I’m done.  I also like to see the miles increasing.  For students, we can set up these types of systems easily.  For instance, teach them to self-monitor their progress toward meeting goals.  They too can watch their growth over time and gain motivation from their progress.  The reward is found in growth over time, not the sticker!  Couple this with providing lots of feedback along the way.  Feedback is highly motivational and will keep them on track toward meeting their goals.  There’s truly nothing less motivating than doing the same thing wrong over and over again.  The outcome never changes and the efforts begin to feel like a total waste of time.  These feelings often lead to the “why bother” syndrome.

Now let’s look at grit and the ability to push through when giving up seems the easier option.  One thing I did with this training plan was to make my journey public.  I set a goal, shared it publicly and set up systems for holding myself accountable.  To increase accountability,  I joined a community of runners who have goals similar to mine.  We hold each other accountable, and when we have those dark moments we push each other out the door.  There is most definitely a desire to not disappoint this community.  Their successes motivate me, as I’m sure mine do them.  This idea can easily be set up for students, yet is often not valued as a critical component of learning.  Students must be connected to a community of learners.  They should be taught to support each other on their journey toward meeting common goals.  They should be celebrating personal victories along the way and pushing each other when the going gets tough.  Most times this doesn’t happen as many classrooms are not set up that way.  Teachers who take the time to create a positive learning community will notice the difference it truly makes.  I can tell you without my TLAM tribe I might have rolled over a few mornings.  Knowing my peers were part of my journey pushed me to get out there.  Students are highly motivated by interactions with their peers.  They may not mind disappointing us from time to time, but they surely do not want to disappoint their peers.

All of these ideas are not limited to running, or education.  They are life skills that would benefit anyone on a quest to accomplish any goal, including becoming more healthy.

  1. Find something you want to accomplish that you enjoy, or are passionate about accomplishing.
  2. Set long term goals for yourself and track your progress toward meeting them over time (Use data sources to track)
  3. Share your goals publicly to create levels of accountability
  4. Practice and practice some more
  5. Join and be an active participant in a community of people who have similar goals (social media or live) to create another level of accountability
  6. Share your goals with the community and celebrate all victories along the way
  7. Lift each other up in dark times
  8. If you don’t make it the first time, try and try again.

I hope you meet your goals.  Me, I’m in the midst of my third try to get there.  In just four short weeks I will get the chance to try again and I can’t wait!