Teach Mom Run

National Board Update

2012-02-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

National Boards are a roller coaster. At one moment, I am so excited that I've come up with this genius lesson and then the next minute I've torn it all apart and have convinced myself of so many holes in my thinking that I can't possibly consider submitting it. Remember my post about "Making it Work?" Well, I couldn't make that video work. I realized that I had so much that I could reflect on in that video, as in things I would do differently, management I would work differently (and have since analyzing that piece of work), that there wasn't enough substance where I could prove I was an accomplished teacher.

Unfortunately, scrapping that video meant scrapping my whole unit for submission. Entry 3, as it's called, focuses on integrating math and science in a four to eight week unit. My forces and motion unit finished three week prior and resurrecting it from the dead would have been pointless for my students and for me, would have felt like banging my head against the wall. So, I started my solar system unit 2 weeks ago. I plan to get my video of a superb math/ science activity on Friday and hopefully start writing the entry up this weekend. If not, I will cry. And I have already cried over this entry (a lot).

Being a National Board Candidate is hard. However, that said, this year has been professionally fantastic for me. As much stress as National Board has put on me, it is making me a better teacher. I am able to better articulate my instructional decisions. School board members come into my room and I am able to spout out what my goals for the lessonare, how my students are progressing in those goals and what I expect their outcomes to be. I honestly think I scare some of them - which, honestly, I'm ok with. I am now better equipped to defend my profession, advocate for the needs of my students and I, in general, have more confidence at work especially around administrators and district personnel.

I encourage other teachers to pursue National Board Certification. Here's why:

It is so hard, but it will make you a better teacher.
The process is expensive, but if you work at a Title I school you can get it close to completely funded. I have only paid $65 of the fees out of my pocket. $2500 of my fees have been paid by a scholarship I received from the AZK12 center.
The AZK12 center is amazing!!! I've met so many amazing and inspiring teachers through events I've attended with them. I go monthly to their Coaching Saturdays where I get to discuss my entries with experienced coaches and other candidates. I love the AZK12 center so much, I'll even link to them here.
I'll support you. Especially if you are at my school :-) There is a certificate for every possible teaching scenario. It will make you rethink your job. (Sometimes it will make you want to quit, but those feelings pass quickly. I'm going for complete honesty about this process here.)

Pre-candidacy class for next school year starts in a little over a month. You can read about it here: Pre-candidacy. If you feeling dispirited about being a teacher in today's very political age full of district mandates and politicians not knowing what they are talking about when it comes to education, I urge you to consider it. It will confirm every good and amazing thing that you believe about teaching.

Of course, you know, I am always willing to talk about it :-)

Run, Walk and Roll 5k race report

2012-01-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

My first 5k of the year was this past Saturday. I'm so used to marathon start times that I was pleasantly surprised when this one started at 9:15AM. Run, Walk and Roll was a very small race along the Tempe Town Lake waterfront. I loved the lack of crowds at this event. I loved how I could race to the porta-potties 10 minutes from my start time and still make it back to the starting line on time. And I loved my place in my division, but more on that later...

This year, I plan to focus on speed. I set my Garmin pace partner to a 10:30 pace thinking that I had been running 11:00 minute miles in training, so a 10:30 would be an appropriate race goal. Keep in mind, I had only started running again 2 weeks ago.

As the air horn blared, I kept up with the pack of runners. At about the half-mile mark I started passing people who were moving a little slower than me. When I reached the mile marker, I looked down at my Garmin. Staring back at me, my virtual partner told me that I was 1 minute ahead of pace. 1 minute? I just ran that mile in 9:30? Yes!

Amazingly, I was able to keep close to that pace throughout the rest of the race and cross the finish line at 30:59. Not bad for my first race of the new year. I checked my results when I got home and saw this:

The number on the far right is my division place. A single digit number for my division place! Seeing these results, my next goal formed in my mind. I'm going to place in my division at a race this year. If I can get seventh place with only two weeks of training, imagine what I can do if I trained. My strategy for placing in the top three of my division is as follows:

Run more small races. My division for this race only had 25 people in it. That helped a lot.
Find races that give awards based on five year age groups. This means I'm looking to place in Female 30-34.
Finally, (and most importantly as well as most difficult), I need to get my time below 28 minutes. I think this is doable, although it is going to require a lot of work.

Anything else I should consider for this goal? What tips and tricks do you know for improving 5k times? Please fill me in!

Three Things Thursday

2012-01-05T20:14:00.001-08:00

1. Going back to work from winter break + working out four days this week (!) = exhausted me. Would I be lame if I went to bed at 9 tonight? I think that would make my bedtime earlier than Cam's. As I write this, I can still hear her singing to herself in her room.

2. I'm feeling some National Board withdrawal. Over break, I worked on my entries fairly diligently. This week, I have not given my portfolio any love. Makes me feel a tad behind. I have until the end of March, but Match comes quick!

3. My first race of the new year is in Saturday. Automatic PR for 2012! What? PR's don't work that way? Sure they do.

Mmmm.. Food

2012-01-04T20:38:00.001-08:00

My magazine subscriptions:

Do you think my Runner's World and Triathlete magazine cancel out my food magazines?

Here's an example of the dichotomy:

Triathlete: Finally, a scalable strategy for getting leaner in 2012.

Food Network Magazine: Ditch the gym and try a metabolism-boosting cocktail instead!

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Heart Palpitations

2012-01-04T20:24:00.001-08:00

Some people get test anxiety. I get test proctor anxiety. In my school district, students take a computerized test three times a year: once at the beginning of year, a mid-year check-in and the end of the year final. When I first started teaching, I used to take these tests in stride. However, as the years go by and "education reform" starts taking hold, these tests really make nervous.

As we enter the computer lab, my heart starts thumping hard in my chest. Walking around the room, I coach myself to breathe in for a count of four and out to the count of 8. I'm this anxious because I know that right now, I have no control over this situation and I desperately care about the outcome. Although we say these tests are for us to diagnose how we can better help the students (and I do use it for that, but it more confirms what I already know), I feel it's becoming less about discovering student's abilities and more about judging the teacher.

Here's how it works. Each of my students is tested at the beginning of the year to determine their base score. At the end of the year, we test them again. From there, based on only two instances of testing, their growth number is determined. A report is then generated about each teacher as to the percentage of their class that achieved "typical" growth. Our district then uses a formula based on these tests to rank all teachers in the district against each other. This is what goes through my head every time my class tests.

So yes, I get a little nervous. Today, I was proud of my students. They took the test seriously and many showed amazing growth.

I just wish education today could focus more on the individual student and less on a number assigned to them from a test. We teachers do so much more in our classrooms for our kids. They grow in ways, both socially and emotionally, that could never be tested. It frustrates me how everything has become about the test and not about raising informed citizens. In many classrooms, Social Studies and Science are being pushed aside to make way for prepackaged programs and more interventions.

I dream of the day that all teachers come together and say, "Enough." When will we take back our profession?

What I learned today

2012-01-03T21:28:00.000-08:00

Today at lunch, I kept a few of my students inside so that they could themselves in my National Board video. The entire 15 minutes was filled with laughter. I was surprised how they noticed the exact same things I saw - and stressed over - in the video. One of the boys pointed out immediately that he wasn't paying attention. When the Smencils came out, the girl laughed about it and buried her head in semi-embarrassment.

Showing this video to them was wonderful. I realized that I am probably taking this National Board application a little too seriously. I teach 10 and 11 year-olds. They are going to act like 10 and 11 year olds. Can I talk about and analyze their learning in this short clip? Most definitely! Do I need to worry about every little thing they do and how it makes me look as a teacher? No way. They're kids! The way they respond to situations and the humor they bring to the classroom is why I love my job so much. I shouldn't expect it to disappear in my National Board application.

Race Calendar

2012-01-02T07:08:00.000-08:00

Confession: I'm a runner and it's been 6 months since my last race.

Ridiculous, right? I love races and I had some races planned these past six months that I (gulp) bailed on. El Tour de Tucson: ditched because I wasn't feeling well. Most of the Summer Series: Slept in (gasp). I had an entire barrage of excuses. In truth, I miss racing and it's time I start again. My plan:

January 7: Run, Walk and Roll 5K
Tempe Town Lake - First 5k of the year. I was going to do the Resolution Run on Sunday, but I'm going down to Tucson for my sister's birthday (Surprise Jamie!).

January 28: The Color Run
Wow! Is all I can say. This race looks like so much fun! I heard about it from a friend at a New Year's party. So much more interesting than a normal 5K.

February 26: JCC Adult Triathlon
I'm trying this triathlon thing again! This is a maxi-triathlon with different distances than the sprint I did in May. Automatic PR!

That's as far as I've gotten in terms of race planning. Now to train..

New Years Run

2012-01-01T10:02:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve with my husband.

My hubby and I had a fantastic time ringing in the New Year last night. We made it home by 1AM and climbed woozily into bed. This morning, I slept in until 9AM. I thought it would be a lazy morning. Dragging my feet, I tread downstairs to feed the cats and turned on my iPad to catch up on a few blogs. Two of my favorites are Dream BIG Runner and Tall Mom on the Run. Reading about others running was enough to get me out the door.

New Year's Day - I'm ready to run!

I ran 3.1 miles at an 11:56 pace - definitely not setting any records. However, I remember training for my first marathon and how slow I was starting out. I know that all it takes is consistency - getting out there 3 to 4 times a week - to improve. By golly (when do I ever get to use that word?), here goes!

Here is to a productive, restful and creative 2012!

Make it Work

2011-12-30T20:01:00.000-08:00

This year, I am preparing my portfolio for my National Boards. Let me preface this by saying that National Board Certification is completely voluntary. Just like lawyers and doctors have their boards, teachers do as well. I started this process because, honestly, I wanted that NBCT acronym after my name. I knew that a National Board Certified teacher is incredibly knowledgeable about teaching and excels at it. I wanted to be associated with those kind of teachers.

Currently, I am in the middle of assembling my portfolio, which is due March 31st. The portfolio requires me to submit four entries. If you want a detailed explanation of the process and another teacher's reasons for seeking certification, click here: Confessions of a New NBCT.

Two of the entries require a video submission. Watching myself teach is at times excruciating, especially seeing my students when I'm not there. When I watch their conversations, I often see some misunderstanding I had no idea they had. I'm also aware of some of the things I do. For example, in the video I am now considering submitting, I try to give a hint about angles, but it just looks I am doing some wierd dance. The shapes I am making with my hands look nothing like angles.

I may be expecting too much from myself. I am on my ninth video attempt for this one entry. Here are some examples of why I decided to re-film:

My first attempt: Launching marbles in the gym and calculating their speed. I was nervous and I didn't ask very probing questions. The acoustics in the gym made it impossible to hear student conversation.

Also loud, the experiment had students standing on chairs to get the appropriate height for their experiment. Since my camera is fixed, it ended cutting off heads and I wasn't able to get good conversation. Plus, it looked a little chaotic and that's not what I want the assessors to see as the only example of my classroom.

Better, but this is when I realized that I was "spoon-feeding" my students instead of promoting inquiry. I thought this video was the one until I realized that this wasn't an example of good teaching. Because of watching myself here, I changed the way I taught during Science.

I improved my questioning and I am happy with the job I did as a teacher. In the entry, I need to show two groups that I meaningfully engage in learning. This is in a video that is 15 minutes maximum. My first group is meaningfully engaged. My second group gets a little off-task and starts discussing Smencils (pencils that smell like different flavors). Honestly, I think I turned the camera on them too-late during the lesson. They were already done with the inquiry work and I filmed them preparing their graph to show to the class. Still, I think that my first group has such amazing conversation and I have a lot to talk about my second group's understandings based on what is happening in the video, that I think I can make this recording work.

I came home from my daily Starbucks work session today and told my husband that I wanted to re-film. He reminded me that I am teaching real people and that I will never get the perfect video, at least to my standards. I know that what I have now is a very real video of what happens everyday in my class. My analysis of it will be very candid, identifying issues and reflecting on what I will do differently in the future. That is the best I can do. It's time to "make it work."

Genius

2011-12-29T17:34:00.001-08:00

My thoughts on teaching and the entire education reform movement based on student test scores summed up in one fabulous quote from Albert Einstein:

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Back at it

2011-12-28T09:20:00.001-08:00

For the past few months, I have been on hiatus. I haven't been running. I haven't been biking. I definitely haven't been swimming. My workouts have been non-existent. When did I stop? When I fell off my bike in mid- October. I seem to have left one little incident deter me from working out. My sister bought me a subscription to Triathlete magazine for the holidays. On the back cover is this triumphant picture of Chrissie Wellington's victory at the Ironman World Championships in Kona this past October:

Oh wait, let me zoom on her left leg.

Two weeks before her Kona win, she crashed her bike going around a turn in Boulder she had taken several times before. She suffered deep contusions to her hip and shoulder as well as horrible road rash, seen in the photo above. During her swim practices before the event, she experienced sharp pains in her chest, leading doctors to believe she also tore a pectoral muscle. With all this, she still competed in Kona and won. This puts my little fall into perspective.

This morning, I arrived at LA Fitness at 8am and met my friend Chelsea for an 800 yd swim.

Yesterday, we did a 3.1 mile run around Tempe Town Lake. I am back at it! And it always helps to have a training partner.

Reflections on Pie

2011-12-27T08:54:00.000-08:00

This Christmas, I made my first pies. In true me-style (the style that overdoes everything and makes things as difficult as possible), I planned to bake the pies from scratch. I used recipes from Food Network magazine and went to work.

My little helper assisted with pouring all the ingredients. However, she had to leave to room before I turned on the food processor since she is still afraid of the noise.

I found the mixing of the dough and making of the fillings pretty easy. However, when it came time to roll out the dough, I had to resist the urge to throw my rolling pin across the kitchen. I floured all my surfaces, the dough was cold and still it stuck to the rolling pin. As the pin rolled across my miscreant pie crust, it would pull out little divots and potholes my dough resemble a road in need of repaving - not my idea of a holiday pie.

Josh came into the kitchen and found me on the verge of tears. I threw down the rolling pin and thought of how I could still make it to the store, buy a frozen pie crust already perfectly molded to the tin and fill it with homemade filling. Resisting the urge, I turned to the internet instead. Other people must have had this problem.

Helpful hint: Place your pie crust between two pieces of waxed paper and then roll it out. You can then take the waxed paper, turn it upside down and place it your pie plate. If I had known this before, I would have saved myself an hour.

The pies were a hit! I made an apple crumble and a pecan pie. Although I still have to work on making the crust a little prettier, I'm happy I stuck it out.

More culinary Christmas adventures:

Christmas Breakfast: I made homemade granola with eggnog yogurt and a fruit salad.

Our Christmas dinner spread. Due to hosting 16 people, we decided on a buffet style.

Peppermint Bark

2011-12-23T09:52:00.001-08:00

I love giving food as a gift. It's easy and unless someone has sworn off the food I choose, I know that the gift will get used. Recently, I discovered my love for Food Network magazine. Inside, I found a fantastic peppermint bark recipe. I've changed it a little for ease.

You'll need:
1 bag of white chocolate chips
1 tablespoon shortening
1 cup crushed peppermint candies
8 favor bags
Ribbon of your choice
(the supplies shown below make two batches, however the ingredients and directions are only for one batch)

1. Melt the tablespoon of shortening in the microwave (10 second increments till melted). Combine the melted shortening with 1/4 bag of the white chocolate chips.

2. Melt the remainder of the bag of white chocolate chips in the microwave using 30 second increments on high and stirring between until melted. When melted, stir in the shortening mixture.

3. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. I used shortening on the corners to hold it down.

4. Crush the peppermint candies so that they form 1 cup. Putting the unwrapped candies in a plastic ziploc bag and using a rolling pin works well.

5. Spread the white chocolate mixture on the lined baking sheet and sprinkle the peppermint candies over. I pressed the bigger pieces into the mixture.

6. Put in the fridge until hardened. (about 10 minutes)

7. Break apart and place in favor bags. Tie with ribbon for a pretty holiday gift. Makes about 8 bags.

Organizing

2011-12-22T20:59:00.001-08:00

In a fantastic book, The Happiness Project, the author undertakes a year of projects with the goal of making her life happier. Her January project was organizing, specifically her closet. My big take-away from this was "the joy of an empty shelf.". Not that I need an empty shelf. I think an empty shelf is...well, empty. But the shelves in my closet that were being used for sheets could use a drastic makeover. Unfortunately, I do not have a before picture, but I'll do the best I can to conjure a mental image. Josh and I have been living together for about 10 years now and have kept every single bed set we have ever owned. We even kept sheets and blankets we owned before we were together and every single sheet, pillowcase and comforter was stuffed on this set of shelves.

When Big Brothers and Big Sisters called for a charity pickup, I thought it was an excellent opportunity to gain some much needed shelf space. Here's what it looks like now:

Now I have room for shoes :)

The art cabinet was in about the same condition: a mess and unusable:

Pinterest pointed me to plastic shoeboxes. They cost a buck a piece a Target. Now, I have this:

Someday, when I am very, very brave, I will take on my classroom.

2011-12-08T20:45:00.001-08:00

Honestly, I don't know how I didn't find Pinterest earlier. If you haven't seen it, the site is simply a collection of stuff that other people find cool. There are so many amazing ideas! Behold! My first Pinterest inspired project:

This is on the back of our garage door. It is made entirely of felt, so that Camdyn can decorate and re-decorate her own tree at will. She is ecstatic about it and loved placing her own ornaments.

On the Wall

2011-11-14T18:52:00.001-08:00

I am not an artsy teacher. In fact, I look for every way possible to get out out of bulletin boards. Whether it's designing one bulletin board at the beginning of the year for displaying student work or covering my entire wall of bulletin boards in black fabric that will match every conceivable border and that I will never have to change, I look for the easiest solutions when it comes to my classroom walls.

At the NEU conference in Chicago, I attended this amazing session about "how to make every student a star." The middle school teachers presenting created this ingenious system of tracking student mastery of math standards. Basically, teaching one standard (or part of a standard) each week and giving a short test at the end of a week. The students who pass the test, get a star on the chart. Those who don't pass come in for tutorials until they retest and eventually get their star. Of course, there are incentives when you get a certain number of stars and whole class incentives when the entire class earns their stars on one column. What happened with these teachers is students helped each other attain their star and students came in voluntarily for extra help. Really a dream situation when you are a teacher.

I thought this system would work well with our current math intervention structure. Currently, we teach a standard a week, give a test at the end and then group our students for the following week's math intervention block, based solely on that test. If you pass the test, you go to an enrich class and if you are still struggling, you go to reteach. Since it is based on skill mastery and it changes every week, there is no shame in going to reteach. You just need a little more time to master that skill.

So, now we have added a sticker chart and changed the name to "spotlight math." I was incredibly proud of my display.

I spent 30 minutes after school on this. I walked around my classroom, and admired it's color and beauty from all angles.

Then, I cut through my teammate's classroom and saw this:

She also did this in 30 minutes. Sigh.

My fellow fifth grade teacher and friend, Krista, is so incredibly talented. The walls of her classroom exude creativity. I really admire how beautiful she made her room.

As for my room, well, I now have a little more color up than before.

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Speed Reader

2011-11-13T19:38:00.001-08:00

When I was in middle school, my dad enrolled me in a night class to improve my reading speed. Never a poor reader, this class was designed to help me comprehend large amounts of text in a very short amount of time. Speed reading. I will always remember the book, "The Day No Pigs Would Die" because of that class.

Now, in our digital age, there's an app for that. Perusing #edchat this evening, I found the app, reading trainer. It promised to greatly increase my reading speed and it had a ton of amazing reviews, so I bought it. If nothing else, it would be a fun game, like Brain age.

After taking the initial test, I found that I now read at about 416 words per minute, which is pretty average. I think I did pretty well seeing as how I had a two-year-old constantly asking me, "Mama, what's that? Mama, what are you doing? Mama, I want to play with the iPad!".

After the initial test, the app designs a curriculum for me.

This consists of drills where I search for words, type in numbers that appear on the screen for a tenth of a second and follow little blinking lights across the screen.

Of course, after I tested myself, Josh immediately tested himself and earned a score of 957 words per minute (!). To redeem myself, I challenged him to a game of Cash Cab where he had to name four of the first six winners of American Idol. He named three. Still, I felt a little vindicated.

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Starting Slow

2011-11-12T14:47:00.000-08:00

Lately, I have succumbed to the feeling of "too much to do and not enough time to do it." I rush around like crazy at a constant, maddening pace. Trying to accomplish everything in an hour or in school moving from subject to subject, trying to get it all in because there is so much to cover.

It's not working.

While I was in Chicago, I visited an elementary school that took itself from very low achieving to very high achieving. In 2005, the school ranked last in the schools of their district and in 2006 they placed second out of 21 schools. Yet, when I visited this school the atmosphere was so calm and relaxed. Students went from class to class at an easy, yet directed, pace. When you saw classes at work, the teacher seemed focused and calm. So how did they do it? From what I gather, they split up work, collaborated together and gave themselves the time to make change.

So now, my new attitude is taking it slow. I applied this to my running this morning. Lacing up my sneakers and pulling on my turquoise Nike jacket, I had no sense of wary anticipation, even though I had not been running in four months (yes, four!). My only goal was to run, no matter how slow I was. In fact, the slower the better. While cruising my neighborhood, I kept a close eye on my Garmin to monitor my pace. My goal: a 12-minute mile (gasp!). 12 minutes? When I stopped running months ago, I was close to a 10-minute mile. However, I also remember relishing the end of each run, not because I was proud of my accomplishment, but because I was thankful that it was over.

This morning, I ran 2.48 miles in 28 minutes, but I enjoyed it. It was doable and I liked jamming to Lady Gaga on my ipod. Plus, it is really not that big of a mileage difference. Tomorrow, I plan for a snail's pace again and I look forward to it. Because who cares if I can do 3-miles in 30 minutes if I hate every step?

NEU Chicago

2011-11-08T05:34:00.001-08:00

A team of us from my school arrived in Chicago on Sunday afternoon for the first annual No Excuses University Conference. we became a No Excuses school this year and this conference is a gathering of No Excuses schools throughout the nation. During the flight, I tried desperately to write my first draft of entry 1 for my National Boards. I got through about an hour of typing with my elbows pinned to my sides and my laptop skewed at an unnatural angle to accommodate the lowered setback of the guy in front of me. I'm still avoiding that entry. The question I'm stuck on wants me to describe how I will use my student's writing samples to plan future instruction. I feel like I answered that question already in a previous section, so the writing of it makes me feel like I am doing something wrong. Can it be that repetitive?

The conference started yesterday and immediately, I was crying. Logan Smalley was our first keynote speaker. About five years ago, he made a documentary about him and his friends taking their friend, Darius, on a road trip across the country to get his wheelchair decked out in MTV's Pimp My Ride. Darius has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, for which there is no cure and the life expectancy is usually late teens or early twenties. Their story is inspirational and I was struck with the power of changing just one person's life. Best part is, they gave all of us copies of movie, so I'm bringing it back! Check out their work at www.dariusgoeswest.org.

The rest of day was filled with sessions where I learned about community building, goal work instead of homework and the systems of a middle school in Texas. I still need time to process all the information, but it all looks promising.
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Teaching without a teacher

2011-11-02T06:52:00.001-07:00

Many times in the classroom, I have a problem. There simply isn't enough teacher to go around. I have a class of 29 students who all need my attention and I find myself having to invent creative ways to instruct all. My school has a reading intervention block where we look at each student's needs and then break them up into small groups where we can teach specifically to their need for 30 minutes a day. I have a small group right now of 6 students where we work together on their reading fluency ( how fast they are able to read). Fifth graders should be able to read about 130 words per minute. This is important because comprehension starts to fail at anything below this. The idea is that too much attention would be spent on decoding the words and not enough attention to meaning.

So I have this small group, my two fellow fifth grade teachers have small groups and we have instructional aides teaching other small groups at this time. However, there just isn't enough teachers for every student so we always need to create an activity for our at-level students. I've tried literature circles, but found I always struggle with finding the time to meet with these lit circles and planning for them since I do have my small reading intervention group. But I think I found something....

We are lucky to have a roaming laptop cart at our school. Thus, I have put me online. Browsing educational sites, like the teacher nerd I am, I ran across an app called ScreenChomp for the iPad. With ScreenChomp, I can record myself presenting a very short lesson. Here is just one of my lessons here (please excuse the messy handwriting. Drawing with your finger is tough. I'll get the hang of it though.):
http://www.screenchomp.com/t/c1bNZMQ8n

Today is the first day that my literature groups will view the lessons. I also got my teammates to help me create a video on point of view, which I'll share later :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Clumsy Cyclist

2011-10-16T10:12:00.001-07:00

Cruising down Queen Creek yesterday morning, I realize how much my clip less pedals and spin class have improved my speed. I check my Garmin now as I ride. As I am checking that my cadence is around 80 rpm, I look down to see 18.1 mph stare back up at me. I check again a few minute later. Yep, still around 18. Awesome!

Feeling pretty good about myself as I ascend the I-10 overpass, I clip out of my right pedal while pulling up to the stoplight. Suddenly, I realize that my bike is not leaning to the right. Instead, I'm shifting slowly to the left. I know what's coming. I can't unclip my right foot fast enough. Bam! Down I go into the street. I feel nothing but the necessity to get myself upright again. I just biffed it in front of the cars at the stop and my friends, Heather and Tony - who say I fell quite gracefully. I suppose when you have been falling as long I have - or slamming your fingers into drawers, tripping over your own shoes, or running into walls- you develop a certain knack for it.

I stand up and feel a slight burning on my my right leg. My right handlebar is askew and I'm shaking a little. I don't even look at my leg. I'm in traffic and my biggest concern is getting out of it. I pedal over the bridge and cruise down the other side, trying to get adjusted to the new grip on my now crooked handlebar.

The rest of the ride goes wonderfully. We put in 30 miles, which is a new record for me. I have a new bruise on my upper right thigh and on the inside of my left leg from my fall. My shoulder feels a bit banged up as well. I figure that a mistake with my clipless pedals was bound to happen and now I have that crash over and done with. Here's hoping anyways :)

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Back on the Bike

2011-10-15T06:36:00.001-07:00

One of the best parts about being a teacher is that you get a do-over every semester - a nice week long break and then a new quarter. The students start with new grades, I start with zero paperwork (yes!), and we get to try out new routines.

For months now, I've been eyeing the 5:45 am cycling class offered at my gym. I have never convinced myself to try it. My last cycling class five years ago, was a disaster. My legs hurt, my neck ached and I watched the clock for an hour trying to mentally will the class to be over. In the last year or so, I've become a bit more experienced on a road bike. I know the importance of proper fit on your bike and how much that effects your ride. I walked into cycling class on Tuesday and immediately asked the instructor for help on adjusting my bike.

Wow! I'm in love with cycling class. The hour was fast paced, had the great music that I usually work out to (i.e. Music that my husband would leave the room if he heard. He does not share my love of Black Eyed Peas), and I killed it! 24 miles on the spin bike in an hour!

My goal next week is to make it to at least one of those 545 am spin classes. I'm no longer scared of it being a suffer-fest.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

It's Not Delivery

2011-09-28T21:09:00.001-07:00

Gorgeous, home grown heirloom tomatoes from my mom-in-law's Minnesota garden.

Lackluster frozen cheese pizza.

Quick google search and ta-da! Cheese pizza with heirloom tomatoes and a balsamic reduction.

Notice the empty quarter. This is what happens when you try to be fancy but still have to please a two-year-old palate. Camdyn was extremely upset when I defiled her cheese pizza with tomatoes.

Serious Cyclist

2011-09-27T10:09:00.000-07:00

In middle school, I remember a boy in my class named Lowell. Lowell was an avid cyclist and annually, he rode in El Tour de Tucson. El Tour is a massive bike event in November that hosts a century ride and several smaller distances. I remember being impressed by Lowell's cycling feat, but also a little wary. I could never imagine myself riding that far.

And thus, as with every other competitive athletic event in my life (i.e. marathons), I'm riding in El Tour! Since the event is so close, I am only doing the 40-miler. However, this distance will surpass anything I've done on a bike so far. My friend Heather messaged me on Saturday night and asked if I would be interested. Sure, why not?

I met Heather and her fiance Tony for a 20 mile ride on Sunday morning. We took a leisurely ride through the foothills of Ahwatukee. Leisurely, except for the massive hills and three flat tires. I even managed to pop a tube while I was inflating it. On closer inspection, I did find small piece of glass lodged in my tire, but that little bugger was hard to discover! Running my hand on the inside of the tire found nothing. I had to inflate my old tube, dunk it in a bucket of water, find out where the puncture on the tube was and then closely inspect the corresponding point on the tire. I never have to do this much work for running! Well, except run.

Finally, I took the last step to being a serious cyclist:

Installing my cleats.

Awesome bike shoes! There goes my super easy bike to run transition. Hopefully I'll make up for it with sheer speed.

I installed clip-less pedals!

Now I get to practice falling on my butt. It's me... you know it's going to happen.

Up in the sky

2011-09-01T16:49:00.000-07:00

Lately, I can time my departure from work just right that when driving out of the parking lot I can catch the 5:00PM arrival of the gigantic British Airways flight from Heathrow making its descent into Sky Harbor.

Pictures I take when I should be driving.

I'm always happy when I see this plane. I've been on that flight twice. Seeing it always reminds me of London. I think of Wagamama in the British Airways terminal, the ridiculous transfer on a bus if you're not staying in London, pub food and the English accent.

In Heathrow, 3 years ago.

I'm amused to think that the plane I am seeing 6,000 feet above me started it's day in the U.K. about the same time I arrived at school.

The BA flight's view a mere 10 hours prior.

Filed under small things that make me happy.

Me and my Dog

2011-08-29T06:42:00.000-07:00

Meet Lily:

Lily has definitley suffered from lack of attention ever since Camdyn arrived. She mopes around the house. The vet says she's chubby. Guilt starts rolling in - although making me feel guilty is incredibly easy. So, I've changed my wake up time from 6 AM to 5:30AM and now Lily and I traverse the neighborhood on our morning 1-mile walks. I try to tell myself that this compensates for my recent lack of running.

The First Three Weeks

2011-08-28T13:02:00.000-07:00

Three weeks since I posted on my blog. The first three weeks of school are over. Nope, not a coincidence.

Although challenging at times, my first weeks with my new class of 30 wonderful fifth graders have been successful. We're building a community a little bit at time through class meetings, "The I Message," and reading.

My school has a dedicated block schedule where I must devote an hour and a half to the district anthology each day. The anthology has it benefits, such as pre-determined focus skills, mandatory attention to all genres of reading and an exposure to a wide dearth of literature. However, I notice that it doesn't encourage reading for pleasure. Research shows that the more students read, the more their reading ability improves.

Thus, each day, completely separate from my reading block, I schedule reading conferences. This is a time when students read their independent book for 20 minutes or so while I circulate around the room, holding mini-conferences. At this time, I check their reading lists, talk to them about the books they are reading and suggest new books. Some early successes:

I skipped reading conferences for a few days, due to testing, and found that students had moved the "Important" magnet next to it's slot on the agenda. I have not skipped them since.
One student loves Inkheart! I just finished this book last week and promptly recommended it to the class. This boy latched on and each day tells me how good the book is. I couldn't agree more. Hopefully more students will love it as well once a copy finds it's way into their hands.
Our first time taking books to an assembly... happened. I count this as a success because we tried. Some students read while they were waiting for the assembly to start and some chatted with their neighbor. Scanning my class, I did notice the talkers were the ones still fighting reading. I need to focus some attention on these kids to find books they might like.
My classroom library still looks amazing! Students are able to easily put books back where they belong as a result of the new organization.

I know that independent reading in my classroom will be a process of trials and errors. I am persistent however.... and stubborn. Stubborn helps a lot.

Library of Dreams

2011-08-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

Like the Billy Joel song...

That is how strongly I feel about my classroom library. And I should feel like that, because this project occupied my entire day. What I thought would be a 2 hour project, took 7! 7 hours! I've always wanted an organized library. I have an amazing one at home, so why should school be any different? I've tried in years past to organize my class library, but I've always been bogged down in the number of genres I chose to separate the books into or felt immediately discouraged when the library dissolved into a complete mess by the end of the first week.

Then I read The Book Whisperer - the subject of my previous post. Donalyn Miller describes in the appendix about "The Care and Feeding of a Classroom Library." I thought to myself, "this could work."

Introducing, my new and redesigned classroom library (click on each picture for a larger view):

Each basket is labeled with the genre of the books it contains.

Every basket has a number. That same number is also on every book in that basket.

Organized books are a lovely sight.

I am ecstatic about the results. And I should be... because while other teachers were planning and hanging hallway bulletin boards, I was on the floor sorting books. Totally worth it.

The Book Whisperer

2011-08-02T17:34:00.000-07:00

My friend, Sarah, introduced me to the book The Book Whisperer over the summer. On her recommendation, I downloaded it onto my iPad and read. The author, Donalyn Miller, is a sixth grade teacher (read her blog here) who uses independent reading as the center of her reading program. Her students are expected to read at least 40 books throughout the year! This comes as a shock to many students - and my students are no different - because most go through an entire year only reading two. How is this possible? Today, students don't get a choice in the books they read in class. As teachers, we instruct mainly out of a reading anthology with passages of full length novels. While I do see the benefit in our anthology, I also know that it doesn't promote the love of reading.

When I was in elementary school, I remember being hooked on The Babysitter's Club series. I would get so involved in one of the books, that I would hold the novel on my lap and read under the desk while my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Safford, instructed at the front of the room. Due to their only being ten other students in my class, my teacher caught me pretty often. However, I remember that anticipation of not knowing how the plot will turn and this strong wish that Mrs. Safford would stop talking and let me get back to my book.

I want that for my students.

I want them to become so engrossed in a book that they forget they're in a classroom. I want them to haul that book around everywhere. I want them to run into walls because they were walking while reading (I've done it). Because while I am responsible for teaching the reading skills needed for fifth grade, I also want to give my students a more lasting gift. I want them to be able to call themselves "readers."

Five stars for The Book Whisperer. Reading it made me want to get back into the classroom immediately.

Bad Dreams

2011-07-23T07:22:00.000-07:00

I always seem to have a variation on the same dream: not being ready. One dream I remember started with being back in college. I had a variety of classes, most notably Biology and American Government - two classes where the instructor required you to read the textbook, submit a written summary about each chapter and take a test each week. Note this requirement was in my dream. In real life, a class structured like this would have been my definition of hell.

After the first class, I somehow forget to go. Midway through the semester, I suddenly realize that wait, I have Biology and American Government classes that I haven't gone to in five weeks. I now have all this missing work that I need to make up. Anxious and terrified, I wonder if I will fail the classes and then I berate myself for having made the stupid error of forgetting to show up.

Last night, my dream was about school. Minutes before the bell rings, I realize that wait, I have no plans for what we are going to do today - and its the first day of school! As a note to non-teachers, this is really bad. I hastily run to my whiteboard and try to scribble out a schedule, but my mind can't focus and my handwriting looks lopsided and crooked. I wake up before the bell rings.

An example of my "I'm ready" whiteboard.

I see in these dreams two themes: my fear of forgetting important tasks and my fear of not being prepared. While I do not believe that dreams hold a deep meaning, I do think they clue you into what you value and what you may be anxious about. The best way I know to get rid of anxiety is exercise. Maybe this is just my brain telling me that I need to go to the gym.

Thai Temptations

2011-07-22T15:03:00.000-07:00

I've been perusing the Sweet Basil Gourmet Cooking School site for a while. I would sit in front of my computer and drool over all the possible recipes I could create. Finally, I decided to take a class.

I walked into the Sweet Basil shop in North Scottsdale at 6:25 on Wednesday evening. The cooking space only had seats for 15 people which guarantees every class to be small. Our teacher, Patricia, is a private chef as well as cooking instructor at the school. She had a thick Brazilian accent, so listening to her was a lot of fun and reminded me of my cousin, Sylvia.

My friend Chelsea and I had decided to take the class together. We put on our aprons and sat down as Patricia demonstrated some of the ingredients needed for thai cooking such as kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce, lemongrass, tamarind paste and galangal (a milder form of ginger.) I learned how to julienne and also how to properly clean a squid - which is admittedly, a bit gross.

After Patricia gave us a quick run-down of the recipes, we divided into groups of 2 and started our assigned recipe. Chelsea and I made a Salmon and Shrimp Pumpkin Yellow Curry. I feel like now I understand why people on cooking competition shows get so nervous. This was in no way a competition, but cooking an unfamiliar cuisine for people I didn't know diminished my cooking self confidence. I felt nervous about how to cut ingredients or how to complete the first part of the recipe. However, Patricia and the kitchen assistant quickly put us at ease.

Stirring the yellow curry.


Mmmm... yummy.

Our presentation. Possibly use less lettuce garnish next time.

The kitchen.

After all the dishes were prepared, we lined them up on the counter and treated ourselves to a thai buffet.

Sweet Basil also included a glass of wine with the meal. The coolest part: I didn't have to wash any dishes! I loved learning how to cook Thai food and I'm searching for my next cooking class adventure.

Summer Series Race #4

2011-07-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

After my last two sleep-ins, I was determined to make it to this race. At 5:40 am, I dragged myself out of bed, into my running gear and out the door. It helped that this race was held at Kiwanis Park which is only a 10 minute drive from my house. The two races I skipped were in North Scottsdale and Peoria - a 30 minute drive and 45 minute drive respectively. Something about having to drive longer than I plan on running, completely zaps my enthusiasm for those events.

I arrived at Kiwanis at 6:15, 15 minutes before the start. I easily found my chip and then concentrated on stretching out my stiff hamstrings - a result of yoga three days prior. The start to this race was a wave. I positioned myself in the crowd loosely where I thought the 10 minute milers were. The waves were not marked. Summer Series races are a much more casual affair than most races.

This 5k started on the canal, wove its way through the park and back again. Gorgeous views in Kiwanis- the best I can get near my house with illusion of rolling hills and lake.

The hills are behind this photo - I swear.

The fast runners passed me on their way back at about the mile mark. Since part of the course ran parallel to the finish, I actually got to see these same runners finish a mile and half into my run. I am completely amazed at how fast some people can be.

Confession: I was pacing myself with a little 6 year old boy. He was doing a killer job too! I would edge a little in front of this blond hair speedster and he would then increase his effort and push himself past me. Unfortunately, he started to walk and there went my pacer. Luckily, I found my buddy Alexis who I had met at a previous Summer Series Race and we ran with each other to the finish.

I finished this race in 31:26 - 10 seconds longer than my 5k in June, but this one felt easier. I have a feeling I ram a bit easier and therefore didn't get as good of a time. Enjoyment is an important factor though and comparably, I liked this race more.

Now, I need to get back to the gym and run. My next goal is a 5k under 30 minutes. The next Summer Series race is in August.

Three things Thursday

2011-07-14T17:14:00.001-07:00

1. I went to yoga for the first time in a long while last night. I don't know why I put it off for so long because I love yoga! While in the middle of "the humble warrior" pose, I was amazed how my body could contort to such odd positions, yet feel totally awesome. The humble warrior is like a runners lunge, except you rest your back leg completely on the ground and your front leg moves off to the side so you can rest your forearms on the ground. My forearms were on the ground!

2. Parenting fail of the week. Camdyn and I were slightly famished before story time at the library, so we picked up something quickly at the McDonalds drive-thru: fruit and walnut salad for me and apple dippers for Cam. I hand Cam her bag of apples and she starts asking, "where's my dip, mama? Where's my dip?". After I pretended not to know what she was talking about, I handed back the caramel dip asking her not to spill. "Ok, Mama.". Five minutes later, "oh no, I spilled.". Thinking it was a little spill, I tell her not to worry about it. At a stoplight, I look to the back seat, and she is holding the container of caramel UPSIDE DOWN with a steady stream of caramel running all over her pants. Did we make it to story time? You better believe we did! After a quick wipe down in the library restroom, I had the sweetest smelling child in the story circle.

3. Hello, queen of over-committment. I signed up for a free online workshop through Edutopia called "Web Boot Cam for New Teachers.". Now, i'm not a new teacher, but when I looked through the participants, neither was anyone else signed up. The workshop will feature one cool Web 2.0 online tool a week. I do a short little project using the tool and think of ways I can use it in my classroom. It will be a great way to integrate more technology into my curriculum. Plus, students need more ways to use a computer other than testing.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Duct Tape Flowers

2011-07-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

Recently, I read a book called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. Not exactly an unhappy person, Gretchen realized that the "days were long but the years were short." She wanted to learn how to appreciate the every day more. So, she set goals for each month and pursued them in the hopes it would make her a happier person. She based her goals on her "happiness research" - basically studies and philosophical musings on happiness.

One of her goals was to "Be Gretchen." What this means is to allow herself to indulge in things she ultimately enjoys, but denies herself because they don't fit into her expectations. For example, I would love to say that I find the literary classics interesting and that my musical tastes are very diverse, but in reality the last books I couldn't put down were juvenile fiction's The Hunger Games and Lady Gaga is all over my iPod. I am happiest just "being JoAnn."

But what if you don't know what "being you" is? Easy. Just try to remember what you liked to do as a kid before you started imposing unrealistic expectations on yourself. I loved crafts. In my eighth grade home arts class, we learned how to design pictures on t-shirts using sequins. After I learned how to do it, I had my parents take me to Michaels to buy every color sequin imaginable. I used to sit for hours, transferring sequins by toothpick to clean, white shirts with carefully ironed on outlines.

Thus, I am trying to find crafts projects that fit my adult life. I have always been fascinated with duct tape flowers - partly because they look cool and also because I once threatened boys in my class (who got in trouble a lot) that I was going to have them start writing their Think Time slips with the prettiest princess pen I could find. Oddly, the threat alone was effective for those boys.

I found colored duct tape at Michaels, searched You Tube for instructions and become thoroughly absorbed in craftiness for an hour. I love the end result and Cam likes them too. She is already making plans for me to sit down and create more flowers for her.

If you are interested in making duct tape flowers, below is the tutorial I used:

How to Make Duct Tape Flowers

Never Let Weakness Convince You That You Lack Strength

2011-07-07T22:15:00.000-07:00

Every time I hop on the treadmill at the LA Fitness, I am greeted by this quote, staring me down from across the room. When I first start running, I laugh it off as a cheesy gym saying. Near the end of hard runs, I tend to get a little philosophical in my misery, and I realize how true weakness can beat your morale down. Just because a run felt near impossible to complete today, does not mean that it will feel the same tomorrow. This is true for any endeavor.

For example, during the school year, I have days where everything seems to go wrong. Perhaps one of my lessons completely bombed or the students acted out of control. I'm tired. I'm stressed. I think to myself, "I suck as a teacher. This is a downward spiral. It's just the start. These students aren't going to learn anything with me..." (Yes, I tend to be a little over dramatic). But then, I stop, and I pinpoint exactly what went wrong and my plan to fix it tomorrow. Identifying my weakness on a bad day usually results in me becoming a better teacher.

I have this complete breakdown in running as well, usually during marathon training. Those times when I feel that I can't keep up with the rest of the group or when I stop to walk, it helps to tell myself that this is just one moment. Whatever may be a weakness now, will feel stronger the more that I push myself.

So cheesy saying on the gym wall, you are correct. Never let weakness convince you that you lack strength.

I skipped a race.

2011-07-05T11:26:00.000-07:00

Well, two races actually. I signed up for the Arizona Road Racers Summer Series which consists of five races: 4 5ks and a 4-miler. The first race - in Papago Park-- I made it to. Only a 20 minute drive. Plus the weather at the beginning of June was still bearable outside.

Then, came the second race in North Scottsdale. It would have been a 40 minute drive and I had spent no time training. I snoozed my alarm that morning. The entire race day I felt guilty and swore to myself I would run regularly and attend race #3.

And I did run regularly. I downloaded the Runner's World Smart Coach on my Ipad, input my running goals and I ran exactly what it told me to run, when it told me to run it. I've definitely improved my endurance these past weeks with the help of a trip to Minnesota and an indoor treadmill (AZ is hot!).

This brings me to yesterday's race. I had not yet looked up race directions and so I googled them on Sunday night. The race was in Peoria and it would have taken me 50 minutes to get there. That drive time combined with the anticipated unpleasantness of the run - 95 degrees with humidity - I decided to sleep in. The feelings of guilt never came. I suppose when you are used to quitting something, each subsequent drop out becomes easier.

I am determined to make it to the last 2 races of the summer series. They are both in the Tempe area, so distance will not be a hindrance. Also, I will be keeping up with my running. I'm pondering my next running/ athletic goal at the moment. I seem to need a big event to look forward to.... hmmm, we shall see.

Camp Plug and Play

2011-06-19T14:16:00.000-07:00

I'm back in Phoenix after a fantastic week at Camp Plug and Play! This conference far surpassed my expectations! The camp is actually a technology conference for teachers where attendees can sign up for a "strand" with the choices being Google Apps, Smartboard, Making PSA's with a green screen in iMovie, Project based Learning and Digital Storytelling. I chose Digital Storytelling because I thought it would be an amazing way to help my students improve their writing skills. Writing, recording and scripting is how I spent my week. I'm very proud of my final project. I plan on posting it soon.

Camp Plug and Play is so popular that the Arizona K-12 Center never advertises it. I can see why. A few school districts had a large representation of teachers. For Tempe, at first I thought it was only Chelsea and I and I was happy to find three other Tempe people. So exciting to get to know other people in my district since their is really no other opportunity for inter-school bonding.

More than anything, the conference excited me about getting back to the classroom. A taste of my week in pictures:

My amazing accommodations at the Westward Look in Tucson.

Beautiful mountain views.

Tucson skyline.

My view from the conference center.


The wonderful ladies at my table that I spent the week with.

Go Digital Storytelling!

On Wednesday night, the camp hosted Ignite Night. Ignite is a 5 minute presentation consisting of 20 slides that advance automatically every 15 seconds. The challenge is getting your timing exactly right. I was lured to present by the prospect of winning an iPad. Since the presentations were only limited to 18 people, I thought I might have a pretty good chance of winning in the random drawing. I decided to present on Monday, worked late Tuesday night on my presentation and stood up in front of an audience of around 100 teachers on Wednesday night. My topic: funding your classroom projects. I'm considering posting my presentation online. Please let my know if you are interested!

At the end of the presentations, Tony (the conference host) drew a name out of a hat and... it was mine!! I won an iPad!! I never win anything so it was an amazing joy :-)

NBCT Wannabe

2011-06-09T15:37:00.000-07:00

Thursday, already?

These past four days I attended the AZ K-12 Center's Summer Institute for National Board Certification. I talk a lot about National Board Certification on Facebook and previously on this blog, so here I present a more detailed explanation of exactly what I'm doing.

National Board Certification is a challenging assessment program where teachers present their practice for evaluation against high national teaching standards. Those not in education need to know that teachers are currently judged by state teaching standards, and even that is not consistent across the state because individual school districts create their own teacher evaluations.

Through National Board Certification, I prepare four portfolio entries that document my work with students in Math, Science, Social Studies and Literacy. The portfolio entries are intense. Each requires a 12-14 page written commentary addressing specific areas of my teaching practice. Two of the entries require a video of my teaching in action. One entry asks me to analyze student work and prove how I helped develop students as writers. One portfolio entry also requires me to document my contributions outside of the classroom. Honestly, the process is like my Masters Program times four.

After I assemble my portfolio entries and ship them off for assessment by March 31, 2012, I will take a written test where I demonstrate my subject area knowledge - which I will also do in each portfolio entry. Both the portfolio and my test scores are combined to determine if I am bestowed the honor of becoming a NBCT - National Board Certified Teacher. There are many teachers who do not acheive NBCT status their first year and must redo their work to submit again. This a definite hard-core and worthwhile process. I am an NBCT wannabe.

Less than 5% of America's teachers pursue National Board Certification. Currently in my district, I get a one- time stipend, but really no other incentive. In fact, NBCT's used to get a stipend each year, but due to the budget crisis, the funding for that was just cut. So why do it? Simple answer: I want to be a better teacher. The certification process will compel me to judge my teaching against national standards. I have ten standards in my certificate area (MC_GEN - Middle Childhood Generalist, basically a teacher of students through 2nd through 6th grade). The standards cover how a teacher should know her students, Assessment, Family Involvement, Knowledge of Subject Material, and Instructional Strategies. As I read through the standards, its affirming to see I already practice many of accomplished teacher qualities listed within them. However, I am lacking in a few areas and look to focus on those areas more throughout the year.

So I start my National Board year concentrating on exactly why I wanted to be a teacher in the first place. I want to change student's lives. I want to excite kids about learning. I want them to experience success. Pursuing National Board Certification allows me to focus all my energy, all my focus on achieving those goals.

Ice Pops

2011-05-31T13:58:00.000-07:00

I'm not a Popsicle fan. So when, I saw a spread in the recent issue of Rachael Ray Magazine on Ice Pops, I was not too enthused. Cam however saw the ice pop article and immediately pointed to the Double Berry Ice Pop saying, "I eat that." So, I bought some cheap ice pop molds and went to work, thinking it would be a fun adventure.

I'm now an ice pop fan. The pops we made are so much more scrumptious that any Popsicle brand. They are made with real fruit and not too much sugar, so I feel pretty good about Cam eating them as well. Here's what we did:

Take 6 oz blackberries, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice and 1/4 cup water. Mix together in saucepan and heat until the mixture boils.

Place aside to cool slightly before placing in the blender to puree. Strain pureed blackberry mixture through a fine meshed sieve and discard seeds. Put mixture in refrigerator to chill.

As Josh says, "All of the flavor, none of the texture."

Meanwhile repeat the same exact process with raspberries. Put raspberry mixture in fridge to chill.

Don't do what I did and have a toddler distract you, so that raspberries boil over on the stove.

When blackberry mixture is chilled, pour into ice pop molds. Fill the molds halfway and you'll get about 6 finished ice pops. Place in freezer for 1 hour.

The plastic bowls around the sticks make fantastic drip catchers.

Take out and fill the remaining part of each mold with the raspberry mixture.

Place in ice pop sticks, making sure to pierce both the raspberry and blackberry layer. Freeze for at least 6 hours. Run hot water over the molds to make ice pop extraction easier.

Yummy (and delightfully messy) ice pops!

Just Can't Get Enough

2011-05-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

I can't get enough school. It's sad, but true. Sure, I finished the school year on Friday, but in the upcoming weeks, I'm attending two (yes, TWO!) educational conferences.

The first starts a week from today at a hotel in Fountain Hills. I've not really announced it, but I am pursuing my National Board Certification.

National Board Certification is a rigorous assessment process where I demonstrate and defend my teaching practice, proving to a group of trained assessors that I am an effective teacher. National Board Certification requires me to videotape myself in the classroom, write arduously about my practice and take a massive test that requires me to explain my reactions to different teaching scenarios. For example, comparing a text to a student's reading of it and using that reading to decide intervention strategies as well as analyzing a student's math test to see what mathematical misconceptions that student might have and explain what I would do to correct those misconceptions. Notice how none of this process asks you to submit your class's test scores. More thoughts on that later...

For the past two months, I've taken a pre-candidacy class at the AZK12 Center on Thursday evenings where I read, annotated and planned how to apply the professional teaching standards to my practice. Now, I start creating my portfolio entries. Thus, the Summer National Board Institute - also run by the AZK12 Center, which is amazing btw - where I will collaborate with other teachers in my certificate area (whoo hoo to Middle Childhood Generalists!) and start my journey on this year long process.

That's the first conference.

The second conference is at the fabulous Westward Look Resort in Tucson: Camp Plug and Play.

Westward Look in TucsonT

This hotel is fabulous! Truly, I am lucky to be a teacher and attend a conference at the Westward Look. At Camp Plug and Play, I will be learning how to use digital storytelling to improve writing in my classroom. I am super excited about this conference because I will get to play with technology and learn something that I can use to engage my students in learning and expressing themselves in a new art form. My hope is that digital storytelling will get them excited about writing as well. Camp Plug and Play is also hosted by the AZK12 Center. What can I say? When I find a place I like, I stick with it.

Summer Series Race #1

2011-05-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

I yanked myself out of bed this morning- after two visits to the snooze button- wondering if I should just ditch the first run of the Summer Series. I was exhausted. Possibly from the end of school of yesterday and very probably from the celebration drink I had at Rancho de Tia Rosa (yummy, btw) last night. Either way, getting myself to a vertical position was very challenging.

Arizona Road Racers held this first race of the summer at ramadas 9 & 10 at Papago Park. I parked in the Phoenix Zoo's parking lot and walked to start line along with the 1,080 other people registered for this "hot" race series. Papago Park makes a beautiful start line backdrop.

This first race had a staggered start which was admittedly, a little odd. If you were 80 years old, you got to start first. From there, the start times went down by your age group. I was slated to start 12:15 after the starting gun. Understandably, my age group encountered a bit of gridlock at the start line. Luckily, this was a chip timed race, so it didn't matter when I actually crossed to start line - and the pack did even out quickly. This staggered start meant two things:

1) Sometimes I got stuck behind slower runners and wasn't able to pass.
2) I got to pass a lot more runners than I usually do in a race. Even though I knew the reason, it was still a boost to my self esteem. Since distance running is mostly mental, this was a great perk!

I met another runner before the start and we ended up finding each other again on the course and pacing one another. Sometimes, the only thing that kept me running was seeing her right up ahead. If you haven't experienced a race before, you have a strong desire not to leave someone you know - even if you just met them. This only works in the "I really want to walk" stage of a race and not the "I can't breathe, I'm really pissed off and I'm going to die" stage. I've only seen the latter stage in marathons and yet I still really like the marathon distance. Go figure.

The majority of this race took place on the canal. It was an out-and-back 5k with a water station at the turnaround. I pushed it hard as soon as I saw the 3-mile marker and I came in at 31:18. Happy day! My goal is to hit under 30 minutes at least once this summer. I just need to shave off a 1:19. Bring it on Summer Series!

My Summer Series race number.

No Shirt? No Problem!

2011-05-22T20:38:00.000-07:00

I was worried about finding races in Phoenix during the summer, but then I saw the Arizona Road Racers Summer Series - a series of 5 races in the Phoenix area ranging from a 5k to a 4 miler. The best part: I registered for all 5 of them for $40. 40 bucks for five races!! That is unheard of! Second fabulous part... no t-shirt!

This sounds silly, I know. Since I started Run for the Bling of It, I have completed four races this year, each with it's own t-shirt. That combined with the five t-shirts I received last year from races and my drawers are becoming uncomfortably full. Now why, you may ask, JoAnn, why can't you just get rid of them? Honestly, I have no problem giving up clothes that are too big for me (a million thanks to Weight Watchers), but race shirts have a special significance to me. They remind me of the event, how much work I put into the run and simply have tons of happy memories associated with them. I particularly have a hard time parting with the marathon tops. Races without shirts - I don't miss the shirt. Races with shirts - I somehow can't let go of the shirt.

Here's to the Arizona Road Runners Summer Series with no shirt included. There is the option to buy one however. Ya, I might have a problem.

(This post brought to you when I should be working on my report cards)

Tempe International Triathlon Race Report

2011-05-21T15:58:00.000-07:00

My first triathlon... my stomach leapt and jittered in the days leading up to this event. My fears abounded regarding the water temperature of Tempe Town lake, the water quality of Tempe Town Lake and the general nature of being able to swim, bike and run consecutively. Confession: I did not train nearly as much as I should of for this event. I usually did one swim, one bike and one run per week when most training schedules call for two of these workouts.

Here we go, triathlon!

I arrived to the transition area at 6:10am, 10 minutes before it was slated to close. I reported to the finish line to have my timing chip wrapped around my ankle and I quickly set up my towel directly under my hanging bike with all the gear I would need for the bike and run. After I felt reasonably organized, I emerged from under the 202 freeway (where our transistion was, go shade!) and ambled, rather carefully since I was barefoot, to body marking where a volunteer wrote my race number on both of my arms in Sharpie and wrote my age on my calf. The age on your calf thing is very interesting, not to mention a great boredom buster when waiting for the race to start. Everyone must have secret fascination with how old people are. This way, I didn't have to ask. I just did a sneak peak at everyone's calf.

The previous day, at the transition meeting, I met another beginner triathlete named Jamie. I found her again at the swim start and we chatted for a while. This triathlon was great in that all beginners were assigned the same color of swim caps. The reasoning behind this being that the lifeguards could keep a closer eye on us during our first open water swim, but for me, it gave me an instant topic of conversation with so many people. My conversations usually went like this, "Oooh, white cap, I have a white cap too." "How are you feeling? Are you nervous, too?" "I'm scared of the lake." Yep, I am just that original. What I found is that everyone had slightly different beginner-related fears. Yes, many were concerned about the water temperature, but I found many more beginners worried about the run. My relief came in that at least the part that scared me was over pretty quickly.

On the beach for the swim start.

The race was scheduled to start at 6:30AM, however Tempe police were behind with setting up all the barricades, so we had a 7:00AM start instead. As my age group heat waded into the water, I was relieved to discover that the water temperature was actually comfortable. Warmer even than my backyard pool which I jumped into the day prior to test my new goggles. My biggest worry was unfounded.

As the siren blared, I started swimming. Very easy at first - ok, pretty easy throughout the whole swim. I was worried about getting kicked the the face, but since I started in the back, no one came that close to my face. At one point, I found myself sandwiched between two swimmers, but that also proved to be no big deal. The swim was... a swim. It didn't feel much different than a pool swim. However, I had never swum 400 m continuously before, so I was little shocked coming out of the water. 12:17 on the 400 meter swim, but this includes my very slow walk up the stairs and into transition.

Very tired...

Coming into the transistion area, I quickly found my bike and put on my bike gear - helmet, socks, shoes and sunglasses. I also ate one of my gels since I was feeling pretty sluggish. I walked myself out of this transition. 2:44 on this. I was a bit poky.

The bike ride was hilly, but so much fun! Especially cruising past my family starting on the course. My time on the 20k bike was 47:12.

Coming back into transition was much better this time. 1:30.

The run started out slow and clunky, but as I loosened up, it felt much better. I had a lot of walk breaks in the beginning which I am happy to report, did disappear in the end. I ran straight up the last hill before the finish line (I know, a hill before a finish line! Who does that?) and into the finish. My 5k run time 35:32.

Total Time: 1:39:17

I loved every minute of my time on the course - except after the swim, but that passed quickly. My times were not my best, but knowing how much time I put into training for this event (cough, two hours a week, cough) I am very happy with my results. I have many goals and a lot of room for improvement and I am very excited to start training for another tri.

Triathlon Eve

2011-05-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

I have some triathlon jitters. That's important to note when you see these pictures.

What I'll be doing tomorrow at 6:30AM:

First I swim 400 meters.

Then I bike 20K.

Finally I run a 5K.

I attended packet pickup this afternoon. At check in, they gave me my race number, my swim cap (white is for "I don't what I'm doing. Please watch me closely.") and had me rack my bike.

My happy little bike (835) amidst a sea of bikes.

I also learned some interesting triathlon rules:

On the bike, you must stay three bike lengths behind the person in front of you. If you decide to pass, you have 15 seconds to do so. Once your bike tire inches ahead of your competitors, you have successfully passed and they have to fall three bike lengths behind.
You must have your bike helmet on at all times and strapped when on your bike. If you unstrap before you make it back to transition: penalty.
No outside assistance. That means no friends on the course handing you a water bottle.
No headphones or music. If officials see it on you, they take it from you.

All the rules are for safety reasons. I'm happy I attended the pre-race meeting, since some of these are allowed in marathons.

Now to see if I can sleep tonight....

Tri Suit Up!

2011-05-14T09:13:00.000-07:00

I'd like to start this post with a little OMG. OMG! I'm competing in my first triathlon this weekend! Do I feel ready? Nope. Am I scared about swimming in Tempe Town Lake? Yes. Yes. Yes to infinity.

Although I am usually a pretty positive person, I would like to just air out all my worries about this particular event. The worries are not going to stop me from competing, so that's why I think it's safe to just write them out for the entire world to see. Some of the worries, might even be considered as "silly."

Worry #1:

Everyone else will be wearing wetsuits and I will not.

According to USAT rules (the "t" stands for triathlon, you can figure out the rest), if the water temperature is 78 degrees or below, competitors are allowed to wear wetsuits. Tempe Town Lake is usually around 78 degrees this time of the year so race officials will not make the call until race morning. Wetsuits give you two things: 1) the obvious - you won't freeze your butt off in the water, and 2) the suit gives you a natural buoyancy. Therefore athletes who wear the wetsuit have a competitive edge since they will only need to work on their forward motion and not need to expend as much energy keeping themselves afloat.

I do not own a wetsuit, nor did I buy one for my first event. They are pricey - around $500 - and since I'm not sure if I'll enjoy triathlon, I decided to skip it for this race. All good reasons. I'm just hoping the water isn't too cold.

Ironman swim in Tempe Town Lake.

Worry #2

Tempe Town Lake will be nasty.

A news article posted this week reported on conversations about closing Tempe Town Lake to swimming events forever due to freeway runoff (eww) and runoff from the water treatment facility up stream (gross). I keep telling myself that I am swimming a short 400 meters so I will probably be out of the water in 10 minutes. That will be too short of time for lasting contamination.

Worry #3

Doing a swim, bike and run back-to-back will cause me to collapse.

I've run a marathon, but I've never switched events like this before in one race. The combos I have done - bike/run and swim/run - have been very difficult in transition. I'm a little scared that when I put them all together, I'll self-destruct.

Worry #4

I'll forget something in transition.

I have no experience. What if I forget something in the transition area. Like my hat for the run? Or my gloves on the bike? I hear transitions can be crazy. See below.

Worry #5

My tri outfit won't fit right.

Tri top and shorts. In the dressing room at Tribe Multisport.

Two weeks ago, I bought tri shorts and a tight tri top. I needed an outfit that I could swim, bike and run in, and this outfit bought m all of those things. However, it is tight. It needs to be tight for the swim, but I am a little self conscious about this.

Despite my worries, I realize that doing this triathlon will fulfill a goal I've wanted to accomplish for a long time. I just need to get in the water, and I'm sure I will be find. I'm just dealing with a lot of nervous anticipation right now.

Time to Tri Suit up!

School of Hard Knocks

2011-04-12T20:12:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up, I didn't like to listen when people told me what to do. Any advice fell by the wayside because I always believed that I knew best (even if I had no experience in the subject matter at hand.) I am still that way to some extent, but at least now the rational (and more mature) side of my brain tells me I should probably listen to reason. My dad had a saying when my sister and I failed to heed his advice, "let the school of hard knocks teach you."

I think about this as a teacher and a parent. Some life lessons you just don't learn unless you make a big, colossal mistake. It's different from person a person. A look back on some lessons I learned from the school of hard knocks:

Cars need oil to run. No seriously, they do. I ruined my first car because I decided to ignore the oil light for a few months. While driving down I-10 to Tucson, I accelerated and a rattling noise shook the car and jarred me to a stop. I cracked the engine block of that car and broke one of the rods.
If you are unhappy in a job, take matters into your own hands and quit. I was extremely miserable at a job, I knew the company was in financial trouble and I actually hoped to be laid-off. Well, my wish was granted and that's what happened. I would have been happier (and with my pride still intact) if I had just confronted my bosses, quit and moved on.
Trolley tracks are meant to be crossed at a perpendicular angle while on a road bike. You can read more about that here. Let's just say, it wasn't pretty.
There will never be enough time to do anything. If you keep thinking there will be time to do it later, you are always mistaken. I've put off marathon training, having a kid, changing careers, only to realize that the task wasn't too big after all and once I took the leap, I wondered why I waited so long. (except the having a kid part, that came at just the right time :-)
Middle school makes you a stronger person. And that's all I want to say about that one.

Urban Assault Ride 2011

2011-04-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

March 20, 2011 Tucson, AZ

"I will not biff it on my bike. I will not biff it on my bike," I repeated to myself as we drove to the start line of the Urban Assault Ride. Last year, my bike and I had an unfortunate run-in with trolley tracks that forced me to eat asphalt before the race. Determined not to let this happen again, my mantra this year was: Bike tires cross perpendicular to trolley tracks. It worked. I did not biff it on my bike.

My wonderful husband and teammate. Really, he is happy to be there.

Whoo hoo! Number 1!

Josh and I arrived to the start line about an hour before the race was set to start. Apparently, I was trigger happy registering for this race because we were assigned race number: 1! We dropped our bikes in the bike drop and made our way over to enjoy some music while waiting for the race. We sported red stickers on our helmets for our excellent performance in the pre-race quiz. It's optional, but the Wednesday before the race, Urban Assault posts a quiz that has questions about all the sponsors. The quiz is not easy. It is about 30 questions and requires a lot of internet searching. Thankfully, I was on spring break the week before the race, so I had a lot of time on my hands. We got an 84% on the quiz which qualified us to start in the first group. There was a group released 2 minutes after us and then another group 2 minutes after that.

As the airhorn blew, we started running across the parking lot of Maynard's market along with 50 other teams in a desperate attempt to make it on the road and to the closest obstacle before the crowd. Urban Assault is set up as a series of checkpoints around Tucson that you can choose to do in any order. Planning requires a bit of strategy since there are two mystery checkpoints: one where the clue was posted online before the race and the other you don't know until you get to the first mystery checkpoint. You get a colored bead to put around a chain (one teammate carries) at each checkpoint.

We arrived at the 4th avenue checkpoint before a line formed. Yes! Our task: There's a bucket attached to two long poles. Fill up the bucket in the kiddie pool and run it to fill up a clear bucket on the other side of the parking lot. Oh ya, the bucket you are carrying has holes in it. We were a little unclear on how to claim your bucket at the end of the parking lot. We almost filled up an entire bucket, but another team claimed it as their own as we went back to refill. Grrrrr....

2nd checkpoint: 1702 Pizza. The first mystery checkpoint. We got our bag of Jack Links beef jerky and were told to show the jerky to a race official at the next mystery checkpoint to claim our bead. Only clue: a picture of a rattlesnake tail. Cake. Even Josh, who's not a Tucson native, immediately realized it was the pedestrian bridge across Broadway.

3rd checkpoint: Himmel Park. Josh laid on his back, strapped on a pair of slingshot shoes (I want some) and launched pairs of shoes at me that I had to catch in a bag. It took us a couple of tries-and a broken pair of slingshot shoes- but we did it.

4th checkpoint: Edison Park. This one was hard. Josh had to hold my legs and wheelbarrow me across the grass. However, I had to balance my entire body weight on a wheel with handlebars. Holy upper body strength Batman! We were about to take a penalty, but Josh had the idea to support my entire lower body so all I had to do was hang off of him and point the wheel in the correct direction. Whoo hooo!

5th checkpoint: We took a long ride up Mountain to Sunflower Foods. In the parking lot were bikes with large front handlebars. I sat on the front handlebars and Josh pedaled the bike. My task was to get a red, a white and a blue coaster off the ground using a grabber claw. I surprised myself with my coordination in this. It could have ended disastrously.

6th checkpoint: Summit Hut. Our first very long ride across town. It took us an hour to reach this checkpoint, on some not-so-nice roads. My "biffing it" fears came back to me, At Summit Hut, we threw footballs at a basket. Easy :-)

7th checkpoint: Risky Business. The puzzle obstacle. Josh is the master at puzzles so I stood back and let him handle it. He assembled our blocks to read Clif Bar and then we lifted the disk that supported our Clif bar tower over our head, all while making sure the tower stayed upright.

8th checkpoint: Rattlesnake pedestrian bridge. Home stretch. We took a nice, 6-mile ride back down Broadway. Broadway is such an amazingly fast and smooth street- not to mention downhill. Awesome last ride. We showed the race official our beef jerky and headed back to the finish.

Going down under the bridge, Josh had his cruiser going so fast that the chain popped off. Thankfully, we were a block away from the finish line, so we walked our bikes in. After we dropped the bikes, we waited in a very long line (20 minutes!) to do our last obstacle: pedaling big wheels through a course. Then we climbed through a huge inflatable dome with water and hills. Finally, we approached the tent where our times were recorded.

We finished all the checkpoints this year! Happy Dance :-)

Tired and showing off my checkpoint bead bling.

The after-party was fantastic with free New Belgium beer and burgers to purchase. If Urban Assault is in your area, and you have a friend with a bike, I recommend this event. Nice break from competitive races, and challenging! Josh and I biked 24 miles that day.

Monkey Madness Breakfast

2011-03-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

Cam and I woke up early today for a "Monkey Madness" Breakfast at the Phoenix Zoo. The event is specifically for ages 2-5, so I thought Cam would love it. She has a new interest in the zoo. When I told her about it on Monday, she immediately wanted to put on her shoes. Once they were on, she said she was ready to go see the monkeys.

We arrived at the zoo at 7:40am, a little early for our 8AM start. Cam kept saying how we need to wait our turn and how the zoo needs to open.

"Wait for doors to open"

Once we met our guides, they took us into one of the zoo's picnic areas. This one was right across from the gibbons - which I learned were apes and not monkeys because they don't have tails.

Our breakfast companions

The guides had a breakfast of cereal, bagels, juice and muffins waiting us as well as several monkey-themed learned centers (translation: I read the monkey info, Cam plays with the toys on the table.)

Mmmmm, feed me little toddler.

Toys in a sandbox.

Monkeys on a parachute.

Monkey masks.

After eating our breakfast, our guides escorted us to Monkey Village where a trainer prepared the monkey's morning snack. Monkeys like puffed cereal and peanut butter. She then attached u-clips to the paper bags filled with monkey food and attached them to the vines hanging in the enclosure. The monkeys then tore open the bags and devoured the contents.

We did get to see a couple monkey fights which were pretty entertaining. I learned that there are 16 monkeys in monkey village, 14 of which are female. The females are dominant in the species. If another monkey gets too uppity, you can be sure there will be a monkey smack-down.

Once our program ended, Cam and I explored the rest of the zoo. We had an unexpected victory with the carousel. Previously, Cam has been scared to get on it, but this time she wanted to try it. She loved it so much, we went on it 3 times. Only riding 3 times is a victory for me, because I had to drag away crying.

We left the zoo around 11AM. Perfect time to leave, because it was getting crowded. Zoo visitors had to start parking at Phoenix Municipal stadium parking down the street. I think that says dedication. If I arrived at the zoo and the lots at the zoo were full, I would definitely turn around and leave.

I loved my time with Cam. She was definitely ready for her afternoon nap.

Sane People Don't Do This - Super Spartan Race Report

2011-03-17T13:23:00.000-07:00

My sister, Jamie, and I ambled through Rawhide trail dust town at 8:15 on Saturday morning. As we crossed near a drainage ditch, Jamie and I noticed a line of wood and other objects across the expanse.

"What's all the Duraflame for?" Jamie asked.
And that's a pretty good summation of this whole race...

I signed up through the Super Spartan Race through a post on the Landis tri-club website. The race was billed as 8+ miles of hell, but I thought, it can't be that bad. Thinking back to Muddy Buddy, the obstacles were easy and fun. Plus, they broke up the monotony that can sometimes accompany distance running.

Spartan sisters in the flesh.

We lined up at the start with the other 350 people in our 9:00AM heat.

As we started off, a cloud of white sulpher smoke filled the air as we ran down a hill, up a hill and down the steep other side.

Running + inhaling smoke = fun times

I worried a little about my footing. We turned a corner and were immediately confronted with hay bales which we climbed easily. See... easy. As we made our way around the aluminum sided event arena we were confronted with this:

Massive smoke cloud. The fire jump has been lit.

And now I know why I had to sign a waiver to compete in this race. We made our way into the ditch. As I approached the fire jump, I concentrated on my steps. I better make this a good jump.

My new skill: fire jumping! Very marketable.

While airborne, I could feel the searing heat of the fire against my calves. A race official with a fire hose stood on the side, spraying people as they exited the flames. I was fine over the fire, but the water pressure of the hose almost knocked me over.

In shock, looking at the obstacle planned for us up ahead.

From there we crawled through storm drains, swam through a river, crawled through a mud pit under barbed wire,

"And the mud is right... there."

Just a little tunnel running.

Traversed a horizontal wall, chose the 50 push ups over solving the Rubik's cube, dragged 50 lb concrete blocks along the dirt, climbed over 15 ft walls, battled gladiators... it really goes on and on.

"Haha Gladiators, you can't get me."

"Ahhhh, you got me!"

Not to mention, I ran 8 miles in between all of those obstacles.

In the end, I got my bling:

Super Spartan Race was fun and challenging. My abs and chest are still a little sore. I finished the race 5 days ago, if that tells you anything about the intensity (or my fitness level).

Ahooooo!

Weekend Highlights

2011-02-27T15:59:00.000-08:00

Here I am relaxing ~~procrastinating on my homework~~ in Starbucks, enjoying my skinny sugar free vanilla latte and completely exhausted. My weekend in four parts:

Saturday after lunch:

Met my fabulous mentor, Annette, from tri club and did my very, first brick workout! A brick combines two sports from a triathlon and you do them with less than a 5 minute transition in between. We did a 12 mile bike and a 2 mile run. For the ride, we left Annette's house in Ahwatukee and traveled 2 miles south into reservation land. The reservation just built a brand new casino on this land, so the roads are brand new and there is no traffic! With beautiful views of South Mountain and wide open space, this ride was spectacular. I learned that I've been riding at too high of a gear. If I keep doing this, I will apparently kill my legs in a long ride. This explains a lot, especially why I have detested previous rides. I thought biking was supposed to be that unpleasant.

The run was not as spectacular. Running after getting off a bike is going to take some getting used to.

Saturday Evening:

I went down to Tempe Beach Park to watch my sister and her team finish Ragnar Relay del Sol. Her team started the race Friday morning in Wickenburg and ran throughout the night and all day Saturday to complete 202 miles. She will definitely post a race report on her blog.

Jamie, sleep-deprived and waiting to cross the finish line.

Team Run DMC (Daily Mile Connection) heading to the finish line.

At the Finish Line.

I admit, at first I called her crazy, but being down at the finish and seeing the atmosphere, I kind of want to race it. Before, I thought the lack of sleep would equate to torture, but now since I'm trying to thinking about it ~~trying to convince myself~~, I am the type of person who falls asleep anywhere when I'm tired. When my husband and I first started dating, his friends hardly knew me. By the time they got to parties at 11 PM, I was already asleep on the floor. If I can sleep at college house parties, I can sleep at Ragnar.

Big congratulations to Jamie! I secretly wish I had joined the team when I had the opportunity.

Sunday morning:

We had plans for Camdyn to run in a toddler race: 100 yards with finishers medal at the end. I was so excited! She was so excited!

Camdyn is ready to race!

We got her dressed and on the road by 6:40am. As Josh was driving, I checked the race website for directions and saw this:

Sigh... The next race is in April, so we will just wait until then.

Sunday afternoon:

I went on my first training swim! I did:
2 X 50 easy
4 X 25 hard
2 X 200 race pace
2 X 50 easy

The workout took me 18 minutes. Not too bad, since rests are included in that time. Swimming is hard! I know this workout is so easy compared to my high school swim days, but swimming is going to take some work.

Photos from Race Day

2011-02-24T20:03:00.000-08:00

Crossing the finish line

I can fly!

Gotta... get.. to the top... of this hill.

Lost Dutchman 10K Race Report

2011-02-20T19:27:00.000-08:00

The amazingly gorgeous scenery from Prospector Park.

My first race of 2011 is now complete! I've heard about the Lost Dutchman series of races being incredibly well organized and thought that a 10K would be well within my training limits.

I woke up at 5:30AM, had breakfast of oatmeal and a banana and I was out the door by 6:20AM. The race was held out in Apache Junction, so after a 45 minute car ride, I was there. Parking was very easy. There were volunteers and police along Idaho Street alongside Prospector Park directing cars to the left and right. I ended up parking about a half mile from the start area.


The long walk from the cars to Prospector Park.

After a quick stop at the porta-potties, I asked a fellow runner to take my picture.

Then I went off to find my in-laws who were running the 8K trail race. Well, they were planning to run the 8k trail race. Immediately upon arriving to the start area, I heard a race official announcing a "program change" for the trail racers. Phoenix had an uncharacteristically large amount of rain the night before and thus, there was no longer a trail. The trail race was changed to a road race on the 10K course with an earlier turnaround.

Mom-in-law Leslie and I at the start.

At 8:00AM, we were off!

Start line lineup

I started with an easy jog. Ke$ha played on my ipod (it's peppy running music, c'mon). My plan was to take it easy since my last run was a 2-miler on Tuesday and before that... well, I got sick and I honestly can't remember when I ran before that.

Half a mile into the race.

We turned the corner and were treated to a truly spectacular view.

Gorgeous!

A water station appeared at miles 1 & 2, staffed by Boy Scouts. I decided to walk through each station to make sure I stayed hydrated. The weather was perfect! Mid 50's and a slight sprinkle every now and then. My goal was to run non-stop to the 10k turnaround.

We share the marathon course. Up here signifies breaking through the dreaded marathon "wall."

10K turnaround.

I really wasn't expecting too much from myself. I just wanted to have an enjoyable race. However, once I hit the turnaround, my body craved something else and I picked up the pace. Running through mile 4, I looked down at my Garmin and saw 9:23 pace staring back at me. What? I have been running 11:00 pace in all of my training runs. What is this?!? Not complaining though :-)

Rather than question it, I felt that this would be the run I remember during all my future crappy runs. Yes, it can feel this good! I ran my second 5K faster that my first and came across the finish line at:

1:03:21! As my 2 year old daughter would say, "Whoo hoo!" 18th in my division, too. Not too shabby since there were 42 in my age group. I placed better than half, which is a definite first for me!

Wow! Great medal for a 10k!

I got my bling. Amazing race medal for a 10k. The medal is the same weight as my marathon medals.

At the finish with my bling

And a run at Lost Dutchman isn't complete without a picture of me and the crazy miner.

Yes, that's a real mule.

First Tri Club Meeting

2011-02-10T13:55:00.000-08:00

I don't why I get this way, but meeting new people is a seriously scary thing for me, especially when I'm new to a group of a people. My desire to do a triathlon started when a few of my friends back in LA started doing them. These same friends used to call me crazy for doing marathons and are now training of Ironmans, or in Beth's case, became an Ironman finisher last November and is basically a triathlon goddess. Super inspiring!

While I'm NOT going out for an Ironman which is 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike and a marathon (26.2 miles), I do think Sprint triathlons look fun. In a Sprint, I would only be doing a 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run. Comparing the two, I would be looking at a 16 hour finish (if I'm lucky) in and Ironman and about a 1 hour 45 minute finish on the Sprint.

Since I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to triathlons, I joined a triathlon club. The first meeting was last night. As I walked through the doors of Landis Cyclery, I could feel my heart banging in my chest. New situations scare me, particularly social situations. The meeting had already started because I was about 15 minutes late. I walk to the counter where I see a very tall man with a triathlon race shirt, sorting through nametags. Since I registered fairly recently, there was no nametag yet for me. He wrote my name on a post-it, stuck it on a lanyard and I wore that around my neck.

I found an empty chair in the back and slipped in quietly. One of the club officers was discussing an upcoming triathlon in Mexico that many club members were competing in. Next, the guest speaker. Mackensie Madison is a professional triathlete and a coach. She came in 7th for the Women in Ironman Arizona last year. Her talk revolved around training for cycling during the off season. She gave a few good workouts for cyclists. I don't consider myself a cyclist yet, and she used some terms I'm not familiar with yet, such as the number of watts you should be hitting and your threshold.

At the end of the meeting, everyone put their nametags in a box for a raffle drawing. Pretty sweet prizes. $50 gift certificates to the running store, gift certificates for massages. I didn't win anything, because I don't win at raffles (and I'm really hoping for the fates to prove me wrong on that one! C'mon fates, do your thing!)

I slipped out at the end of the meeting without talking to anybody. I know! I'm ridiculous! Give me time. I plan to go to few group workouts to get to know people. I have no trouble introducing myself when I am running beside somebody, sweating and wearing workout gear. Something about the social setting just unnerves me.

Sparta!

2011-02-08T20:22:00.000-08:00

On Sunday I took a major step towards my goal of completing a triathlon this year... I signed up for a Tri Club. Landis, a popular bike store here in Phoenix, hosts a triathlon club. They have monthly meetings, regular workouts I can join and even an online message board (which is honestly the best part.) I logged onto to the website on Sunday morning and immediately started jumping up and down in my rolling chair. Another member of the Tri Club was looking for other runners to join his group registration of...

Billed as 8+ miles of torture, the course features mud, a traverse wall, some fires and a few Spartan Gladiators. I might be crazy, but crazy loves company so I convinced Jamie to sign up too. There are 15 obstacles on the course, which works out to one every half mile or so. Looking forward to this being a non-boring run!

Sunday Morning Bike

2011-01-30T13:48:00.000-08:00

Goal: Complete my first triathlon in May. I first made this goal last summer when I planned to do a triathlon at Tempe Town Lake in late September. My plans were defeated when one of the dams on the lake burst and completely drained the two-mile long reservoir.

Since I ran yesterday, I woke up at 7:30 this morning to fit in my bike ride. Getting dressed, I realized how much more gear you need for biking. I have my day-glo biking jacket, so I can be seen on the road and also possibly blind passerby...

Bike helmet, gloves, sunglasses so I'm not blinded by bugs, bike pants with a nice cushy seat, Garmin to attach to the bike and of course, my bike. Before I even leave, I need to check tire pressure, inflate my bike tires and make sure I have my water bottle with me. Extra tube, tire pry and air canister in case I get a flat? Check. Cell phone in case something else goes wrong? Check. Credit Card in case I get stuck somewhere? Check. Biking takes so much more preparation than running! With a run, I put on my sneakers, watch and ipod and I'm out the door.

Once everything is in order, I'm off. I love the feeling of being on a bike. My road bike feels so light that's its more like an extension of my legs. I pedal up Coronado feeling strong and fast. Once I encounter the first slight incline, my effort increases. I push through it. My route today is along the canal. It is chilly outside and I wish I had something covering my ears. I like the canal because it is traffic free and I usually see a lot of other runners and bikers.

So it's not the most scenic, especially with power lines, but check out that wide open space. After I pass Rural, I turn down a bike path that takes me between the power station and the golf course.

Much prettier with greenery. Winter has made it even more dry and dead looking.

I make it back home in 43 minutes. Total distance: 10.5 miles.

Back in the Running Groove

2011-01-29T13:11:00.000-08:00

I signed up for the Lost Dutchman 10K!

Lost Dutchman scenery

The race is February 20th and will be my first race since September. Thinking about the 10K distance is really motivating me to run more during the week. For some reason, 5Ks don't scare me (and it is not because they're not challenging). My lack of fear translates into "I don't need to run tonight. I'm only running a 5K." Weeks pass, race day comes and I am DYING on the course. Panting through each mile. Begging for the finish line to appear soon. Do I learn anything from this? Nope. I sign up for another 5K and the process repeats itself.

10Ks frighten me. For this reason, I am making it my mission to train. I ran close to 4 miles this morning and I even woke up early to run 2.62 on Tuesday morning. Makes about a 6.5 mile week which is definitely not setting any records, but I'm proud of my ease back into running.

Down with junk! Yay, Mac and Cheese!

2011-01-17T21:00:00.000-08:00

I love food. This simple fact is the sole reason I had to join Weight Watchers. It's why I felt it necessary to lose 20 pounds. And, its the reason I started running (however, not the reason I keep running).

Now that I'm 20 pounds down, nothing has changed. I still like to eat. I salivate over cookbooks. I plan out my grocery lists based on all the delicious meals I plan to cook. The one thing that has changed is what I choose to eat. Gone are the days I buy packages of Swedish Fish from Fry's and down them in one sitting. Buying Grande Caramel Frappucinos is over too. I could, if I wanted to, but the desire is just no longer there.

I recently started reading the book, The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. The section I'm at now describes the gastrointestinal limits of cows and just how many things you can derive from a single cob of corn. The book has already started me thinking about what I eat and, in particular, how many processed foods I consume. I lost a lot of my weight by replacing sugar with sugar substitutes. Real food with highly processed, lower calorie... well, junk. I now crave real food. Which is why, I am loving cooking right now.

Tonight's meal: Chicken with creamy mushroom sauce and peas over whole wheat linguine. The creaminess comes from fat-free half and half which admittedly is quite processed. Maybe I can replace it with yogurt in the future....

Cam loved it!

Ok, I lie. Getting a toddler to eat well is like giving a cat a bath. The most I got her to eat was the spaghetti. The little smidgen of mushrooms on the side of her plate was all I could put on without greatly offending her. At least I can still get a "Good job, Mama" when I make her Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

Hard to start my new "more real food" kick when I still feed her that stuff.

My Little Sister is a half-marathoner!

2011-01-16T14:32:00.000-08:00

My little sister ran her first half marathon today. I am so amazingly proud of her! She has an awesome blog where she will probably write about her experience here. Her running gave me the rare opportunity to be a spectator at a distance event. Usually, I'm running every event family and friends are a part of, so I was really excited for this different point of view.

I promised to drive Jamie to the start line in the morning so that she wouldn't have the take the frigid, uncomfortable shuttle ride. We left the house at 7:30 with Jamie decked out to run. I think I was more nervous than she was!. When it comes to races, I'm the type of person to be there an hour ahead of time. This gives me time to get some snacks, walk around and find my place in the corral. Jamie doesn't like to wait around. Thus, she was completely relaxed giving herself only a half-hour and I was a nervous wreak.

After taking some back streets and stealthily avoiding all the marathon traffic, we dropped off Jamie and forced her to pose for the quintessential runner victory picture. Life as a spectator is sweet.

With Jamie safely deposited at the start line, my mom, dad and Jamie's boyfriend Chance drove to the Starbucks at mile 2 (I plan ahead!). I wanted a chance to see elite runner, Kara Goucher, on the course. I saw her. I tried to get a picture, accidentally kicked over my Americano and ended up getting a picture of her foot. She wears pink shoes. That's her foot behind the male runner in black.

Kara Goucher

Kara Goucher's shoe

Aside from my horrible picture, I had a lot of fun. Jamie ran a fantastic first race!! We made it to see her three times at the course and then at the finish. Some places, we made by mere minutes before she ran past. Big Congratulations to my little sister!

GOOOOOOAAALL!

2010-12-22T13:56:00.000-08:00

Let me preface this by saying that I have joined Weight Watchers two times before. Each time, I couldn't make it work. I felt hungry. I watched my weight drop a couple of pounds the first week (and a pretty hellish week it always was) and then see it rise back up in the weeks following. This led to me being frustrated, then skipping a weigh-in because I knew that I had gained weight and then, I would desert. "Stupid Weight Watchers," I used to say, "It doesn't work."

This past July, I went on a family vacation to Minnesota and came back 3 pounds heavier. Now, while this may not seem like a huge vacation weight gain, I now weighed close to what I weighed in middle school (I shiver at the memories). Since I didn't want to gain any more, and on account of the enormous success my friend Leah was currently having on Weight Watchers (And still having...Go Leah!), I decided to try this whole Weight Watchers thing once more.

The first week was a little hard. I found it difficult to give up the quantity of sweets I was eating. I made the choice to give up my habitual, caramel-laden coffee drinks because I didn't feel they were worth the points. I bought a lot more produce at the grocery store (and ate it!)...

I lost 22 pounds.

July 2010. Fantastic Cam hair!

December 2010. My (now 2 year old!) daughter has such the macaroni and cheese face!

I reached my goal weight 2 weeks ago and am now (and forever more) working on maintenance. In 4 weeks, I get my lifetime membership to Weight Watchers, meaning as long as I am no more than 2 pounds over my goal, I will never have to pay for another meeting. Whoo to the hoo :-)

I'm Thankful

2010-11-25T15:27:00.000-08:00

I see this on a lot of other blogs today and I like it. So, I decided to do it, too.

I'm thankful for...
My amazing husband who supports me and stands by me regardless of my level of crazy for the day.
My parents who continue to be there for me.
My beautiful daughter. Every time I look at her, I see a miracle.
My sister. Life would not be the same without her! I love that as we grow older, we grow closer.
My entire extended family who support me even though I'm related by marriage, not blood.
My work family. I feel such tremendous support from them every day! I would not make it as a teacher if I didn't have the pleasure to work with such amazing people.
My friends who I don't talk to or see as much as I would like. However, I can pick up the phone and it's as if not a day has passed.
My health. I can run and live my life every day with energy.
My life. I live in a wonderful place with family and friends nearby. I'm blessed and have no complaints.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Countdown

2010-11-21T16:58:00.000-08:00

I've been planning this for weeks. My very first Thanksgiving dinner is set to commence in T- 4 days. Am I excited? Most definitely! Nervous? Not really. When it comes to feats (or feasts) of this magnitude, I get so worried about forgetting something that I make sure I'm extremely organized.

Exhibit #1: I typed my entire grocery list and organized it by store section. Within the store sections, I ordered the ingredients by what was at the front of the section to what was in the back.

Exhibit #2: Kitchen Whiteboard

I even planned for meals that we would eat during the week as I was preparing for Thanksgiving. Most important on that list: Defrost turkey! I bought the turkey several weeks ago, just in case there was a turkey shortage right before the big day. Today at Fry's, I saw several overflowing the freezer cases, so my fears were unwarranted, but nonetheless, better to have it and freeze it.

Planned for the Thanksgiving menu:
Autumn Salad with Pears and Pomegranate
Brown Sugar Brined Turkey
Apple Celery Stuffing
Green Beans with Mushrooms and Hazelnuts
Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows
Mashed Potatoes (made by my mom, who makes the most amazing mashed potatoes)
Cranberry Sauce (made by Jamie)
Challah rolls (made by Chompies)
Various Pies (made by/ purchased by Grandma Crohn)
Lots of Beverages (Courtesy of Parents-in-law)

It's true, I'm a fabulous menu planner (mainly an excellent reader because I stole the menu entirely from a Weight Watchers Celebrations cookbook).

As for that whole Weight Watchers adventure, I've been a member for 20 weeks now and I'm only 3 pounds away from my weight goal. All together, I've lost 19 pounds. I'm really hoping to hit that 20 pound mark this week so that I'll get another sticker!

Go Stickers!

Josh and I ran/biked Muddy Buddy last weekend and the race photos made me realize what a huge change I've made to my body. Coincidentally, I wore the same outfit that I wore to race the Rock n Roll Marathon in January. Side by side, I'm in awe at the difference (practically) 20 pounds makes:

Muddy Buddy last weekend

Marathon in January

Is that why they're not getting it?

2010-10-12T18:04:00.000-07:00

By my own self-assessment, I am a total nerd. I am incredibly lucky to have a career that interests me. In my free time, I read all sorts of professional books to improve my educational prowess I call it "nerding out" and that is what Josh has come to refer to it as well. Usually, I gravitate to books where as I am teaching the subject, I have doubts that I am using best practice. For example, math. When I was a student, I loved math! It came easily to me and simply made sense. However, when you excel at something, it doesn't always mean you are amazing at teaching it. Kind of how professional sport stars, don't always make the best coaches (*cough* Wayne Gretsky *cough*).

Luckily for me, there are books written about best teaching practice based on years of research and the successes of other teachers. My current "nerd" book selection is Teaching Student Centered Mathematics by John Van De Walle and Lou Anne Lovin. So far, it has completely rocked my teaching world and challenged some of my beliefs about teaching mathematics.

In recent years, I have taught in a skill-based format. As in, we pick a skill, such as simplifying fractions, and teach that explicitly. For all the non-education folk, explicit teaching is a huge buzz word right now. Basically, it means "I do. We do, You Do.". The teacher models how to do a specific task, the class then does a related task together and then the student is expected to do a similar task by themselves. Makes sense, right? Of course, but what I'm learning is that by using only this method in math, my students are missing a very important piece in their math education: conceptual understanding.

Van De Walle argues that when we teach math skills in isolation, we are merely asking students to memorize a procedure. The procedure has little chance of being memorized, because the student has no clue to the concepts behind the procedure. Instead, Van De Walle suggests that instead of the teacher "telling" the procedure, the teacher should instead facilitate tasks in which students problem solve to figure out their own procedure.

Here's an example. Teaching fifth graders how to find the mean (average) of a set of numbers has always been frustrating to us fifth grade teachers. We "tell" them to add the numbers and then divide by the number of addends (numbers they added together).   This works wonderfully, the students get it and we move on to the next skill.   Problem is, two weeks later when asked to find the mean of a set of numbers, nearly ...every... single... student will forget how to find the mean.   Why? My conclusion is that they have no idea what they are doing. We, as teachers, have not provided the tasks that are necessary for them to acheive conceptual understanding. (Love that phrase! Using it makes me feel smart :-)

So, I have a new plan for this year. Instead of teaching the students the procedure for finding the mean, they will be problem solving and doing the activities that Van De Walle suggests for acheiving that conceptual understanding.   Through one of the activities, students actually discover the algorithm for finding mean by themselves.

So, you're on Van De Walle! As a teacher, it looks to me like this way will work. I'll update here with the lessons and hopefully will finally have students who UNDERSTAND how to find a mean instead of reciting a procedure.

Just one cookie...

2010-10-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

"If I go buy cookies at Safeway, will anyone eat them?" our friend Ryan asked Josh and I as we were leaving Joe's Fresh Farm Grill and heading over to his house for a game night.
I sneak a peek over at Josh. I haven't had cookies, like this, for about 15 weeks now. Since I joined Weight Watchers, I haven't been really putting myself in situations where I might be tempted to overindulge. In those past 15 weeks, I have dropped just about 20 pounds. Just one cookie can't hurt right?

   As we sit down in front of "Settlers of Catan" at Ryan and Jenna's house, the box of M&M cookies sits to the right of me. I ask my sister, Jamie, if she wants to split one with me. She agrees to take a little piece. I bite into the soft, melt-in-your-mouth buttery goodness. Oh man, cookies are good. I take another bite, and find myself unable to stop. I finish one cookie and take another one. Suddenly, I start to feel a little ill. My cookie euphoria has unexpectedly descended into sugar coma. My head is spinning, the room feels hot and my stomach feels a touch queasy. C'mon, I only had two cookies! (OK, rather large cookies, I admit it).
When I was in high school, I was obsessed with losing weight. I still am. I find the changes that people can make in their overall appearance, just by dropping pounds, both fascinating and inspiring. In high school. I remember one magazine profile piece of an overweight teen who lost 30 pounds through diet and exercise. She recalls a moment in week 12 of her weight loss, where temptation overwhelms her and she visits Jack In the box for a double cheeseburger, large fries and a Coke. After devouring the meal, she felt really sick. So sick, that the meal came back up 30 minutes later. The trainer working with her on her weight loss explained that her body became used to healthful eating and when it was asked to digest a large quantity of fat laden food, it rebelled.
       I liken this to my cookie experience, and I'm overjoyed. I've made so many positive changes in my eating habits over the past 15 weeks, that when I re-introduced a food that I had so often inhaled, my body rebelled. I was planning on running Race for the Cure on Sunday morning, but on account of my wicked stomachache, could not.
       Lesson learned, Safeway cookies are not as appetizing as I previously believed.

Sabino Canyon 4 (.5) miler race report

2010-09-25T10:13:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this by saying that this was only supposed to be a 4 mile, rather hillly, race. This past week, all participants received an email saying that a sinkhole decimated one of the bridges and that there would be a slight detour, making the race 4.5 miles instead of 4. I did get to see "said sinkhole" on the course and I think that the race organizers made a wise decision.

This race was an early one. I drove down to Tucson last night, after our district's professional development conference, so that I would be able to make the 6:15 am start time. Jamie picked my mom and I up from the house at 5:00AM and we drove (in total darkness, not many streetlamps in Tucson) to Sabino Canyon. This race was my first managed by Everyone Runs. I was originally drawn to it by its promises of a free mexican breakfast and a massage after the race. I thought past the title which clearly proclaimed, "This race is a hill-raiser!"

Jamie and I made sure to stretch in the pre-dawn minutes before the race. I taught her my chorus line stretch which did get us a few comments from passerby:

The race was rather small, only about 400 people, and it had an amazing backdrop.

At 6:15, the race directior started a countdown and then we were off. Once we crossed the start line, we could see about half a mile in front of us until the next turn.

Since I haven't run in over a month, I was starting to feel my legs about five minutes into the race. Jamie and I powered up the first hill, which was relatively short, and were treated to a nice downhill of about a quarter mile. So far, I was keeping up with my sister.

Then, it happened. The most gigantic hill I have ever seen. Well, that I have ever seen in a while. It brought back memories of training for my first marathon in Griffith Park in LA where there was this monster of a hill right in the middle of our training course. A hill that hurts when you walk up it, nonetheless run up it. I tried, I really did. However, I made the choice the tell Jamie to leave me so that I could walk up the behemoth. My head spun from the exertion and my hamstrings already felt like jello. Good News: I had just made it to the turnaround. Bad News: Only half way done.

The second half of my race consisted of more walking than running. At the end, I did pull my pace up to 9:30 minutes per miles for that 0.6 mile straightaway. I was about to walk the last 0.2 miles (how fitting marathoners) before the finish line, until a woman behind me yelled, "No, you can't stop now. You're my motivation." Well, who can stop when someone says that to you? I thanked the woman for keeping me going and pushed on. Here I am after crossing the finish line, trying not to puke:

The woman who kept me going is right behind me. I definitely would have come in a minute later if it wasn't for her. My stats:

Time: 53.17
Pace: Have to check my Garmin, I'll get back to you on that one.
Mileage: 4.5 miles

Jamie came in four minutes before me. She did spectacularly! All of her training is definitely making a difference in her speed and endurance. Way to go, Jamie!

The bling here was a nice Technical-T.

And top-modeling it,

Wonderful breakfast after of refried beans, scrambled eggs, salsa and a tortilla. I had an amazing massage where the therapist worked specifically on my tight hamstrings. I lucked out and got the teacher of the massage school who was volunteering. Total and complete score :-)

Lesson learned from this race: I need to run more. Now that it's starting to cool off, I'm pretty sure I can make that happen.

Thank you to my Mom, who came out at 5:30AM to cheer Jamie and I on. We love you! Good to see Chance out there too!

What can I say? I do it all for the bling.

2010-09-21T21:07:00.000-07:00

When I signed up to run my second marathon of the year, I couldn't help but notice the Rock N' Roll Marathon Series' Heavy Medals. These are extra medals runners can get for running two or more races in the Rock 'N Roll series in one calendar year. My two races were Arizona in January and then San Diego in June. All of the Heavy Medal promotions say that your medal should arrive 6-8 weeks after your qualifying race. Since I ran San Diego in June, come mid-July and early-August, my trips to the mailbox became very exciting.

Unfortunately, each time was a big disappointment. Nothing. Every day in August, I would walk out thinking that this was the day. I would finally hold my awesome, spectacular medal in my hand that would proclaim me a double marathon goddess... and the mailbox gave me nothing.

I lost hope. I slipped into despondency and cursed the Competitor Group's name.

And then, as I opened my mailbox today, I saw a chunky, yellow padded envelope between the Penny Saver and advertisements from Toyota. Could it be?

I tore open the envelope and pulled out a tiny scrap of paper:

Then, I saw it:

Yes, I did "rock" 52.4 miles this year. I placed the medal immediately over my head and wore it around my neck until Josh could come home and take my picture.

I love getting running bling! What can I run next and what will they give me? :-)

Changing Hands

2010-09-19T15:29:00.000-07:00

My school district is offering a book study for Professional Development credit on the book "House Rules" by Jodi Piccoult. The story involves a child who has Aspergers, thus the professional development tie-in. After breakfast this morning, I suggested we venture up to Changing Hands, an awesome independent book store in Tempe, so that I could buy the book.

I love Changing Hands, however, as I was talking about book addiction before, Changing Hands is a little dangerous. As you enter the store and walk left, you encounter a wall of recommendations. Bookshelves full of what local book clubs are reading, Staff Picks, Independent book store pics, as well as the top 20 of the Fiction and Non-Fiction bestseller lists. It is so easy to find a book. A little too easy. Here's what I came away with:


I heard about this book on NPR's Morning Edition last week when Justice Stephen Breyer was a guest. As a side note, it does not help me conquer my book addiction now that Changing Hands has a "Heard on NPR" shelf. Now, I'm usually not very interested in the Supreme Court, however Breyer was fascinating. He discussed that he sees the court as a border control with the constitution and I think that is an intriguing way of looking at it. I don't know much about the Supreme Court and I am interested in learning more from the viewpoint of someone inside.

Also fascinated. The author visits a tribe who runs barefoot for miles, exceeding the length of a marathon. I read the first few pages at my parents-in-law's home in Minnesota this summer and I was sad I put it down.

Finally, what I actually went to the bookstore for. I know nothing about it other than the main character has Aspergers. However, the prospect of reading the same book as others, and getting to discuss it, was too good to pass up.

Book Addiction

2010-09-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

I have always considered myself a reader. I remember being in fifth grade and reading for hours on my bed with my legs propped up on my headboard and my hands falling asleep from being held aloft since I always laid down to read. Reading was simple as a kid. All the books were short enough to finish in a few days and once I finished one, I started another. Plowing through books satisfied me. I loved to finish one and then go to the book store, or order off the school book order, for another piece of literature. My happy, little, book-reading existance continued throughout high school (although at UHS, time for leisure reading was rare.)

Then, I met my husband.

Josh is a self-proclaimed "bibliophibian." He shares my love of books, but has a different view on acquiring them. At bookstores, I comb through stacks of books, looking for that perfect one that will be the surprise find and keep me enthralled and entertained. The book I won't ever want to put down. Josh's philosophy is different: if it looks interesting, get it.

That's how this happened:

Here is non-fiction.

And this is fiction.

The "if it looks interesting, buy it" technique has seriously overwhelmed me as a reader. I now start a book, find another book that looks interesting and start reading that, before I even finished the first one! Case in point, my nightstand:

And, I am being completely serious. I am in the middle of all those books right now. I feel like I may be the poster child for ADD. I read 10-20 minutes from 3-4 books a night. Is this normal? I have a feeling that it isn't.

Book addiction? Maybe. Too neurotic for my own good? Oh yes, I have many people who can attest to that one.

Confessions of a lazy blogger

2010-08-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

Soo... I'm back. Both Cam and I, since she is joining me by sitting on my lap as I type this.

Cam looks like she has just seen a ghost and I have just returned from a little treadmill run at the gym. This past week marked my first week with students in the classroom. I have a class of 36 fifth-graders this year! The number still shocks me, but if you came in my room, you wouldn't think it was too bad. By concentrating on classroom procedures this week, plus being strict in my discipline (and being blessed with a great group of kids), my class is running smoothly and under control. Going back to school has been a lot of fun!

As far as working out, I made the decision not to train for another marathon. At the beginning of July, I joined Weight Watchers and am proud to say I am down about 10 pounds! Stepping on a treadmill in Pure Fitness, I was input-ing my weight when I realized, "Wow, this is the lowest weight I have ever keyed into a treadmill AND I am not marathon training." The realization that I can weigh less, by eating healthier and exercising normally led me to decide to take a break from the marathon for the time being. A triathlon is still in my sights and I want to run some fun 5k's. Plus, now I get to sit on the sidelines at PF Changs and cheer for my little sister, Jamie, as she runs her first marathon!

About 30 minutes ago, I signed up for the Sabino Canyon Classic in Tucson on September 25th. It's a hilly four-mile run with a free mexican breakfast, free Robeks smoothie and free massage after. I love those perks!

The "Lake"

2010-07-21T21:55:00.000-07:00

For the past month, I have been training for my first triathlon. I've been swimming, running and biking my way to sprint distance and looking forward to the event in September. Now, I have a slight problem. Tempe Town Lake, where the swim portion is held, used to look like this:

Now it looks like this:

Last night, one of the big, INFLATABLE, RUBBER dams that has been exposed to harsh temperatures and 320 days of sunshine, burst. The whole man-made lake took less than 24 hours to drain into the Salt River basin. No one was hurt, thankfully. But, it looks as if my planned triathlon might either be postponed or moved.

RIP Tempe Town Lake

Not really, they're going to fix it. But, just allow me a little drama to take the place of my triathlon hopes and dreams :-) The lake is honestly the most disgusting body of water. It raised the humidity of Tempe the second it was put in. Rumors are that the whole area around the lake now smells. I should be thankful that I might get the chance to swim in a lake without having an antibiotic drip beforehand.

What did I do right?

2010-07-15T13:33:00.000-07:00

I've been on the Weight Watchers program for a week now... an incredibly, loooong week. I have my "I can do this" days and my "What the hell am I thinking?" days. I find that hunger impacts my emotions extremely negatively. I get more irritated and frustrated when I'm hungry and then when I get that way, I binge by eating bad-for-me foods ("Oh, container of Cam's leftover Macaroni and Cheese, where are you?"). What I've learned from the "bad" days is what hunger feels like compared to the "oooh, I want a caramel frappuccino" feeling.

Last night, I went to the weekly meeting and the leader concentrated on asking ourselves, "What did I do right?" I think that I waste so much energy in negativity, whether it is through eating, parenting or training, that I if I only concentrated on the good things, I would find that my overall mood would improve. So here's what I did right, without even thinking about the wrong:

Eating

I ate so many different types of fruits and vegetables during this past week. Before, my produce intake was a side salad a day.

I cooked a lot at home. Healthy, simple meals.

I drank Americanos at all my coffee stops.

I do not currently have a candy stash in my glove compartment.

Parenting

I take Camdyn to an activity with other children at least once a day. Whether it's storytime, Toy Town or a friend's house.

She has eaten more fruits and veggies during the week, since she's been stealing off my plate.

I read to her once a day.

I involve her in cooking by showing her how to stir and explaining everything I'm doing in the kitchen.

Training

In the past week, I have worked out 4 times. 2 bike, 1 run and 1 swim.

I got on the bike trainer to ride 50 minutes even though I did not want to (but happy I did!).

In addition to all the good things this week, I also lost 2.8 pounds. Can I get a "woot woot?"

15 to 20

2010-07-08T23:02:00.000-07:00

Pounds that is. I joined Weight Watchers today. I have such a stigma attached to Weight Watchers. I think that is because of all the trainers I've had who've said, "You don't need points. You just need to eat healthy. Weight Watchers doesn't give you enough calories." I'm thinking specifically of Sophia, the strict, unbelievably fit Russian trainer who dropped Josh and I as clients when we weren't losing any weight and Beau, the muscle bound "do you want to do a joint training session together? Because then you will both pay the same and I'll have to put in half the time." when I think of the bias against Weight Watchers. It's not like all 24 Hour Fitness trainers are bad, though. When I was getting ready for my wedding, my trainer, Eric, was awesome. Except when he made me do push ups on barbells combined with a bent over row between each chest and bicep burning push-up. But, I digress.

According to Weight Watchers, I am in the healthy weight range for my height. I definitely agree. However, with no long runs during the summer to keep me skinny, I've gained 4 pounds in the past month. That would be 48 pounds per year if I kept that up, so it stops now. Also, I really want under 5 hours for a marathon time. I think that dropping 15-20 pounds would help, a lot. I would still be well within the healthy weight range, but I would be 10% lighter. That has got to pick up the speed, right?

Now that I am focusing on eating a lot more fruits and vegetables (not to mention less overall), I went on a shopping trip this afternoon. Some thoughts while shopping:

I actually planned to make guacamole today, so I was picking up the ingredients during this trip. My shopping list for the recipe consisted of avocado, onion, lime and cilantro. I'm guessing you have to add avocado to this mix. My question is: What is in this stuff?!?

I'm try to be as "green" as possible and I bring my own shopping bags. We now need to find a better alternative to produce bags. I'm amazed at the amount of plastic in my cart.

And only four of these is the RDA for adults! Sign me up! Beats taking horse pills any day. (Special thanks to Leah for alerting me to this.)

Who needs one steering wheel when you can have 2?

Swim, Bike, Run in the Great North

2010-07-06T16:44:00.000-07:00

To commerate the last day of our vacation in Minnesota, I took an ATV ride with Josh this morning for the sole-purpose of taking pictures to show (i.e. brag) where I have been doing my workouts for the past week. I did manage to fit all sports in by doing 2 swims, 1 10-mile bike ride and 2 runs while I was here. My goal is to fit in another run before dinner. I'm hoping I have another set of running clothes in my suitcase, because I just put a gigantic load of clothes in the washer.

Here's a little tour:

Too sweet of pose on top of an ATV. Must remember to look tougher next time.

My in-law's gorgeous Bemidji home with sparkling Lake Julia in the background.

Josh getting ready to head out on the highway.

Looking down the dirt road to Puposky, the town consisting of a couple of houses, a church and a post office - that's it.

The church in Puposky on my run route.

Part of my run route and bike route, The Great Divide Highway. Don't let the highway part scare you. I saw a car, maybe, every ten minutes.

Beautiful green pasture.

I could definitely get used to staying here in the 80 degree weather and beautiful scenery. Thank you to Leslie, Dave and Kory for letting us visit! Big thanks to Kory for letting us take over his room for a week.

Happy Fourth of July!

2010-07-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

As my brother-in-law, Kory, says, "Nothing says America like explosives." Minnesota laws allow home firecrackers. Enjoy!

First Open Water Swim

2010-07-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

I have never swum in a lake. Nor have I swum in the ocean. Or a river. I've waded and floated, but those endeavors have only lasted a few minutes and then I'm back on a boat or on a tube. I've never actually swum, arm over arm, not being able to see the bottom, through the murky water. Well, until now, of course.

Meet the Lake:

Located immediately outside the back door of the Bemidji house, I've watched it for awhile, wondering how cold it is, wondering how many leeches it has, wondering how hard it is to swim in open water. Today, it was warm and humid, a perfect lake day. So I thought, here we go.

Josh, Cam, Kory, Thomas and Nick joined me in the water. Everyone stood there at first -with lake water up the their knees- trying to adjust to the water temperature. I stood there too and splashed myself. Then, I realized I was just prolonging agony and I jumped in. The cold shock went away quickly as I stroked out to deeper water. Near the beach, the water is realitively shallow and you can see the sandy bottom. As I passed the dock, the shore suddenly dropped away and I could no longer see what I was swimming over. I stayed by the dock.

I swam back and forth between our dock and the neighbors, which I say was close to 50 meters. I stroked in tight turns, trying not to touch any of the neighboring seaweed and praying that no fish touched me. These worries may of made me swim a little faster, but I found that I am definitely uneasy in open water. Josh talks about taking the GPS into the canoe with us, dropping me off 750 meters (the sprint tri swim distance) from shore, and having me swim in. I should do it. Why not take advantage of an awesome lake?

Strawberry Fields and German food

2010-07-02T08:13:00.000-07:00

We are slowly adjusting to the time change from Arizona to Minnesota. Yesterday we woke up at 8:30 instead of 9:30. Big change, I know. Whenever I travel, I don't want to know what time it is back home, but somehow, my internal clock is very accurate and it takes a long time for me to get adjusted. At least I seem like more of a partier going east. Flying west, I'm ready for bed at 5.

This morning, we took a little trip to Addie's Acres Berry Farm close to Lake Bemidji. As we turned off the paved road, we drove through a cavernous canopy of trees before seeing the berry farm. Addie's Acres was a very quaint family-run farm where we walked up to a wood shack, told them we would like to pick two buckets and were led into the berry patch.

Each group starts at the top of a row of strawberry plants and works their way down, marking where they finish with a pink pennant. Immediately, we started picking. I would grab one off a vine and the fruit was so juicy that grabbing it too hard would be like popping a balloon. Red strawberry juice ran down my fingers as I tried to gingerly pick each one. Cam wouldn't pick any strawberries, but she was fine with eating them!

We joked that we should have weighed Cam before and after so that we could be honest with how many strawberries we picked. After ten minutes in the patch, Cam wanted "up" and I picked strawberries with a baby on my knee.

We left Addie's Acres with two large flats of strawberries, each one costing only nine dollars. A sign in the parking lot read: "Thank you Berry Much."

This evening, we drove to a German restaurant in Aikley called "Brauhaus." Kory had heard about Brauhaus on the radio and since Josh can't turn away German food and good beer, we drove 45 miles to Aikley. Amazing food! I haven't tasted anything like it since Germany. I had Jagerschnitzel (breaded pork cutlet with gravy), Josh had Schweinehaxe (Pock hocks) and everyone had apfelknodel (apple dumpling) for dessert. Cam had a hot dog and french fries and stole some ice cream from our apfelknodel.

I asked Nick to take the picture of Josh and I (above). Nick thought it would be funny to take a picture of himself first. Too bad for him (excellent for us), he didn't realize the camera was set to video (and upside down.) Now the whole world can see what Nick sees everyday. People laughing at him. (I'm not mean, it's sisterly love).

The car ride home was long and filled with lots of songs for Cam She tried to sing along and do the hand motions, but wanted constant entertainment. Good thing she's so cute.

"Sing to me, Mommy!"

Made it to Minnesota

2010-07-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

Behind me on the airplane, two young girls, probably 4 and 6, sat with their mom. I could tell that this was their first trip to Minnesota. One of the girl's observations while looking out the window as we were landing in Minneapolis describes Minnesota best.

"Look Mom, there's a lake. And another one. And another lake. And another lake."

The temperature reads 80 degrees, the scenery boasts all different shades of verdant living trees, and there are lakes! Our flight over was very calm with the only turbulence coming out of Phoenix. I was worried about this flight and Camdyn, but she chose to sleep for an hour, which was most excellent.

Minneapolis Airport was a different story. While walking from our gate to our lunch at Rock Bottom Brewery, I put Camdyn in time-out three times. All the time outs resulted from Mommy violence. Cam wanted to run off one way, we were walking in the other direction, I pick her up and Bam! Camdyn hand right across my face. Our Bemdiji flight was uneventful for the most part. As we were landing, Cam decided she had had enough and started screaming in the plane. Luckily, we only had five more minutes on board. Ten hours of traveling, and only a few notable baby meltdowns means that we have a wonderful child. I know how lucky I am with Cam. For more reasons than her airplane behavior.

Bemidji is gorgeous!. We're staying with Josh's parents and brother in their lakefront house. I could definitely get used to having a lake as my backyard. Today, Josh and I paddled the canoe and sharpened our paddling skills against a strong headwind. Lots of relaxing and hanging out with family.

An extreme weather warning just popped up on my screen for Chandler, AZ. Excessive heat. Woot for being in Minnesota!

Making it a Habit

2010-06-22T14:01:00.000-07:00

The baby monitor in our bedroom clicks on and I can hear the sound of the air conditioning in Cam's room against the speakers. Ugh, the baby is up. Cam's whimpering starts and I climb out of bed and trudge over to her room. It's 5:30 in the morning. My plan was to wake up at 6AM and go running. I push open the door to Cam's room and find she is still asleep. "Poor baby," I think, "She must be having a bad dream." I lay my palm on her back and then pull her soft, plush leopard printed blanket back over her before quietly tip-toeing out of the room. 5:33, I sigh. If I go back to bed now I can get 27 minutes of sleep. Thinking I will wake up magically in less than a half hour, I plop down in bed, pull up the covers and snuggle next to Josh.

Baby whimpering over the monitor again. I look at the clock. 7:30AM. Damn.
Did I set the alarm? No.
Can I make it to the gym to run before Cam's swim lessons at 9? Nope.
Does this happen nearly every morning? Uh huh. Yep.

I need to make exercise more of a habit. Right now, I perform reasonably well athletically and that is only training (confession time), 2 days a week. Yep, during marathon training, on average, I would run a 30-35 minute run during the week and a long run on Saturday morning. I did this and still got a 5:16 marathon time. What can I do with more training?

Enter www.habitforge.com. A friend of mine sent me this link saying that he found it helpful, so I checked it out. The premise is simple. You set up a free account, you type in what you would like to make a habit out of and then the site emails you everyday asking if you were successful at the task the day before. You click yes or no. The goal is to go 21 days straight and if you make it, your habit will have a real chance of becoming permanent.

The first habit I wanted to establish: flossing daily. I know, it's gross that I don't do so already, but I bet a lot of people out there are flossing failures. So far, I have made it 5 days in a row, flossing.

The second habit: sticking to my triathlon training schedule. The schedule calls for 6 training sessions a week, something I will need to work very hard at to accomplish. Since accountability increases success, I have made this goal public on the habitforge. com website. If you choose to join the site, let me know and I will send you a link to keep tabs on me. Hopefully, I can pay you back by keeping tabs on you for something, too.

First Swim

2010-06-21T12:40:00.000-07:00

As promised (to myself), I started my first day of triathlon training today. My plans were to wake up at 6:00am, but my summer laziness is in high gear and I didn't actually get out of the house until 6:55am. Thankfully, Josh was also having a lazy morning and he was still in bed (with a wide-awake Camdyn) when I left.

For my swim workouts, I have to go to a different Pure Fitness gym, since the one closest to me does not have a pool. Above you can see the pool I swim in. Dressing in my black speedo and toting around my swim cap and goggles makes me a little reminiscent of high school, mainly because that is that last time I swam. My workout today was the following:

2 X 50 easy
4 X 25 hard
2 X 200 race pace (strong, but sustainable)
2 X 50 easy

So easy! In high school, Coach Ward would work us for 2 hours straight and I would see something like 8 X 200 on the board. However, as I found out, my swimming fitness is not what it was in high school. Although I am reasonably in shape, you don't need much arm strength to run a marathon. In swimming, I find it's almost all arms. My left arm started burning by the time I hit the 25's. When I get tired, I find that my hips start mirroring my arms making me look like a seal having a seizure. While this may be very entertaining to a spectator, it's not the most efficient swimming technique.

My left arm is still sore and my workout was five hours ago. Plus, the session was only twenty minutes and I felt like I had worked pretty hard. Oh swimming, you can still beat me up.

I need to work on this.

Tri Time!

2010-06-20T15:17:00.000-07:00

After my crazy year of marathoning (two marathons less than 6 months apart equals crazy to me), I am finally ready to make myself a triathlete. Last weekend, I biked the 2 miles from our house to Pure Fitness and then tried to hop on a treadmill for a run. Very difficult! I felt tired in the first 10 minutes. Running a marathon, I feel, makes me overconfident. Since I can run 26.2 miles, my mind takes on the superwoman mentality and thinks any other athletic task involving running will be easy. Not so! From last week's trial, I decided to start with the very beginner triathlon program. So I found a book from Barnes and Noble and my 8-week plan begins tomorrow. My goal is the Nathan Tempe Triathlon, a sprint triathlon (750m swim, 12.3 mile bike, 3.1 run) on September 26.

Since there are over 8 weeks until the actual triathlon. Once I finish my 8 week plan, I will be starting the book's 12 week plan for an Olympic Triathlon. I won't finish that plan in time for the race, but I figure it will give my something to do in the meantime.

A very deserving shout out goes to my cousin (in-law) Stacie who will also be completing her first triathlon in a few weeks. She's tackling the half-ironman distance (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run.) Stacie also started a blog about her training experience. Check her out at sonomasunshine.wordpress.com

Very Important Phone Call

2010-06-18T15:31:00.000-07:00

One of my fifth grade students gave Cam a play phone. Camdyn likes to take calls on it.

My Dinosaur

2010-06-14T13:35:00.000-07:00

As soon as we walked in the door to our first class of Kindermusik, Camdyn clung to me and whimpered. She gets very nervous in new situations with people she doesn't know. I was looking forward to the class as a chance to get out of the house and also as an amusement for Cam. This morning, I spent my time "relaxing" at coffee by chasing Camdyn around the shopping plaza and blocking her from running into the street. She is so independent already and wants to do things her own way. Our coffee trip ended with me carrying Camdyn to the car, crying because I didn't let walk to the mailboxes in the back of the Seattle Espresso for the umpteenth time.

We walked into our classroom at the Chandler Community Center and were greeted with other toddlers running around. I met a mom, Laura, at the door who had a 4-year old girl and and 2 and 1/2 year old girl. I confessed to her that I am scared to have another child, just because of the amount of work involved. After giving me an odd look, she told me that its easier because you then have a built-in playmate. Yes, I've heard this line before and see how it can be true. The point I'm fixated on is having both a newborn and a toddler at the same time. That sounds like a scenario in a horror movie to me.

For the first twenty minutes, Camdyn cuddled next to me while singing the songs and clapping along to the music. I was so proud to see her get off my lap and put away an egg shaker we were playing with. She was a little intimidated at first by all the other children. In the middle of class, she was swaying in time to all the songs. After each song finished, she clapped and squealed.

Then, I could tell she was getting tired. She came up to me while I was sitting on the floor and just slapped me right in the face. I looked at her in shock. Then, she slapped me again. I asked (and I should really stop asking) if she needed a time-out. A slow smile spread across her face and she nodded her head, "yes." What is it with this kid liking time-outs? We went outside the classroom door and Cam stood in the corner for a minute. I am always amazed how well time-outs work because when Cam came back in, she was all sunshine and smiles.

I read a book to Camdyn recently called "How do Dinosaurs Say I Love You?" by Jane Yolen. The book is illustrated with dinosaurs as the children. The story is the perfect metaphor for what it is like to be the parent of a toddler:

"Out in the Sandbox

you threw lots of sand.

You ran from the slide

after slapping my hand.

But you suddenly turned

with a smile I adore.

Oh, I'll always love you

my dinosaur."

Camdyn is my dinosaur.

Rock N Roll San Diego Marathon Race Report

2010-06-07T14:27:00.000-07:00

At 6:00AM, as 25,000 people began to find their spot in the starting pack, Chelsea and I got in line for the Start line port-o-potties. We heard the cheers as the race gun went off and the marathon started at 6:15. Finally, after 30 minutes of standing in line (and 75% of the port-o-potties running out of toilet paper) we found our corral (and Harvey!). As we put on our 26.2 tattoos (on our calves which looked very hardcore), we moved closer and closer to the beginning of the course. Chelsea hopped forward as she held the washcloth to her leg, trying to get the tattoo to stick. "How about we run a marathon today?" Harvey jokingly asks us. Ten minutes of anticipation later, corral 23 was at the start. We cheered as we crossed the start pads and began a nice and easy run.

At mile 1, I could feel the humidity. So much different than running in Arizona, but bearable. We snaked around and through Balboa Park. Gorgeous run through here. We ran past the organ pavilion, where someone was playing a Phantom of the Opera tune, and down into the downtown area on Mile 4. I loved this mile because it was all downhill.

I was feeling pretty strong until we reached mile 6 where I started to feel heavy and sluggish. The humidity was starting to get me as we ran past Petco Park and the downtown hotels and I had to take my first walk break through a water station. I told myself, if I can just make it to mile 7, running, my family would be there to get a good picture. Here I am at that mile 7 marker:

Sure, I'm silly, but I honestly was beginning to feel the mileage and it didn't help that this was only mile 7.

In this picture you can see how completely drenched with sweat I was. As we rounded the corner, I told Chelsea and Harvey to leave me. I needed to walk, badly. I could feel my socks wadded up at the bottom of my left foot and my shoulders, back and neck ached. "This is way too early," I thought to myself as I walked with a 1-minute run here and there. "What is happening?" Then I realized, I usually take advil before long runs and I forgot to take it this morning. Crap.

Miles 7 and 8 were just miserable. I felt like crying. I pondered dropping out. I knew my finish time would be something over 6 hours. So, I gave myself permission to just walk for as long as I felt like it. By the time I entered mile 9, which was on the 163 freeway, I began to feel like running for longer stretches. I could see a lot of runners stopping on the side and stretching. At mile 11, everything went downhill... in a good way! The freeway plunged into a solid downhill for at least a mile and I did an entire mile of running at an amazing pace!

I made it into Fashion Island where there was a large pack of spectators cheering everyone on. Their energy along with passing the half marathon mark propelled me forward. At mile 14, I was greeted by my cheering family and a huge tunnel of spectators.

As I passed my family, I immediately heard, "Yay, JoAnn!" I looked over and saw my friend Jodie, who completely surprised me and had this amazing sign! (I made sure to thank her with a very sweaty hug!)

The enthusiasm of the crowd pushed me through another mile, all running. Finally at mile 18, we reached the bay, which had such a beautiful breeze. I mentally give up when I'm hot, so this was such a welcome thing. As I passed mile 18, the event that turned around my entire race happened. I ran past a medical table and heard, "Vaseline! Salt! Tylenol!" Wait, what's that? Tylenol! No way! I practically sprinted over to him. "Where? Where's Tylenol?" He gestured over to a table a few feet away from the course.

"Hi. Tylenol?" I sputtered out. I don't think I need to speak in complete sentences at mile 18.
"Where is your pain?" the medical volunteer asked me.
Honestly, everywhere. "My legs," I replied.
She wrote down my race number, made a circle with red sharpie on my bib, and handed over a little dixie cup that contained my lovely Tylenol.

I started running again. I made it to mile 20 before the 4 hour mark, which made me happy. I made it running past my family at mile 21.5.

Now to just make it around a stupid island and I would be finished. I passed Harvey at mile 22. He was having a really hard time. "Just no energy," he told me. I ran through the fiesta island boy scout water station. A 10-year old boy scout handed me a cup of Cytomax.
"Thank you," I say as I take it out of his hand.
"I love you," he responds.
Ummm, excuse me?
I run faster.
"Stronger" starts playing on my iPod. Here's Kanye taking my through it again, I think. A wierd knee pain appears at mile 23 and I worry, briefly, because it goes away again at mile 24.

As I round the corner of the island, I can see the Finish line at the other end of the bay. At mile 25, I see someone up ahead. Aqua tank top. Coordinated pink sports bra. Black running shorts. It's Chelsea!
"Chelsea!" I scream.

I run to catch her. We shoo away some running Elvis's (Elvii?). Long story, but basically Chelsea crossed the finish line six months ago next to a running Elvis. Her whole family saw the running Elvis and they missed her.

At this point, we try to think about anything other than running. Where are we eating tonight? What else are we going to do in San Diego? If I hadn't found Chelsea, I would have walked a lot more of that last mile. We took a one-minute walking break before we took it into the Finish line. A tunnel of spectators, 0.3 miles long cheered us on. Seeing the finish line of a marathon and stepping over it is such an amazingly gratifying thing. My time: 5 hours and 16 minutes. An eight minute improvement over Arizona six months ago!

I compared my stats to the Arizona Marathon and I ran at the same pace for the first twenty miles of both races. The difference here was that my last 6.2 miles was much faster. I still want a sub five hour marathon time so I will probably be doing another race sometime in the future. I had a wonderful time in San Diego. The course was challenging in the first half, but the overall crowd support was amazing!

And of course, I had the cutest little cheerleader anyone could hope for:

It's Tomorrow!

2010-06-05T21:24:00.000-07:00

San Diego is overrun (haha) with runners! There is a large team-in-training group staying in our hotel so everytime I leave the room, I run into (haha.... Ok, I'll stop) another runner. I'm trying to figure out why I am so worked up about this particular race and I think it might be that I can't escape it.

About 30 minutes ago, I laid out my runner:

I do this before every marathon. Just a safety to make sure that I don't forget anything since I will be getting up at 4:15AM. It's hard to think at 4:15AM, so I really need all the help I can get.

Chelsea is picking me up from the hotel at 5:15AM and from there we will meet Harvey at the start line at 5:45AM. The gun goes off at 6:15am and our corral is set to cross the start line around 6:40am (stupid wave start and being slow).

And away we go... here's hoping for under five hours, but I will be happy for a new PR of under 5:15. If you are interested, you can follow me here: http://san-diego.competitor.com/ They promise live results and finish line cams. I'll be coming in between 11:40 am and 12:00 noon (hopefully!).

Getting Ready for San Diego

2010-06-03T21:35:00.000-07:00

Starting to get nervous. I'm totally ready though. I have my marathon shirt finished as well as the one Camdyn will wear during the race:

I just made Josh's marathon shirt this afternoon:

The letters are pink and fuzzy.

If you want to see another dichotomy, check out Josh's suitcase:

Everything is folded ever so neatly. All of his undershirts are rolled tighly and uniformly. Now check out the one I packed for me and Cam:

I don't think I need to say anymore. I'm going to bed now.

I am a runner

2010-06-01T17:14:00.000-07:00

As I was flipping through the pages of Runner's World, I found these ads. The company is Pearl Izumi. They sell running gear, running shoes along with cycling apparel and the like. Once I saw these, I googled the company and found that this is their new campaign. In a nutshell, not everyone who calls themself a runner, really is. They may be, heaven forbid... a jogger.

I was not a natural runner. Every Friday in middle school, when our PE teacher, Mrs. Morris, had us run the "cross", I wanted to magically contract some illness that would have me sitting peacefully in the nurse's office instead of out on the field. The cross was a mile route that snaked around the field of our middle school. I was overweight and awkward. Some kids were coming in at 7 minutes, I wanted to come in at 10 minutes, but always my time would be somewhere around 13. I hated running. It was the most dreadful, awful thing that anyone could choose to do with their time.

In high school, I considered myself a swimmer. When some of the swimmers decided to run to practice before the workout, I thought it unnatural and detestable. "I am not a runner, I am a swimmer." I said, "Why do I need to run?"

My running started my last year of college. I felt sluggish and out of shape and I saw running as the most convenient and most affordable exercise I could do. My first goal was to run a solid 20 minutes. I remember shuffling through the ASU campus, slower than I could even imagine now and feeling that rush of joy when after my 8 weeks of a run-walk program, I finally ran 20 minutes without walking. I signed up for my first 5K and started to consider myself a runner. I ran 5k after 5k, took a break from exercising all together, and then got the pamphlet in my mailbox from "Train to End Stroke" enticing me to run a marathon. I paid my $100 fee and started training.

I remember the first training run in Balboa Park out in Encino. It was supposed to be an easy 20 minutes out and 20 minutes back. I stopped 10 minutes into the run and had to walk the rest of the time. For the first month, training was an intense struggle filled with my 4 minute run, 1 minute walk series (45 min total) on the treadmill at 5:30 a.m. three times a week, followed by my weekend long runs where the I fought to keep up with the girls I ran with. About 2 miles into every long run, I felt like I was going to puke. I kept pushing past the puke point and I ran farther each time. No, I have still never run an entire long run. It actually wasn't until this season I was able to run 12 miles straight.. and enjoy it!

As my next marathon nears this Sunday, even though I run on treadmills and I may be slow and I do walk some of it, I more than ever consider myself a runner. Everyone who gets out there and pushes themselves and finds a way to fit running into their lifestyle, is a runner.

I have no desire to buy Pearl Izumi.

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-05-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

I made it! The school year is finally over and I get to spend the entire summer with my baby girl (who is looking less like a baby and more like a kid). Now that there is less stress in my life, my running has actually been pretty consistent. For the first time in months, I am following the marathon schedule exactly. Too bad the marathon is this Sunday.

This past weekend was fantastic. We went over to someone's house each night and finished the weekend with a get-together at our place. Hanging out with friends has been amazing and relaxing. Some of my friends I haven't seen in a while due to the busyness of school schedules and general craziness. At each party, I told myself, "This is my last drink before the marathon," and at each party I had another drink. I'm writing this after two margaritas and now I plan on drinking a bucket of water to start hydrating myself for Sunday.

Tonight, I took Camdyn in the pool for the first time since last summer. The water was a bit on the chilly side and Cam complained for the ten minutes we were in the pool. 110 degree temps are making their way to Phoenix (eek!), so I know that the cold water will not be a problem for long. She did love seeing her buddy Alexis, who is 11 months older, splash around. All the complaining was worth it though to see Cam looking so cute in a swimsuit.

Mmmmm... Cheerios

2010-05-23T16:23:00.001-07:00

Josh and I thought this was pretty inventive. That's a crayon in her hand.

Morning with my sickos

2010-05-22T16:19:00.000-07:00

I skipped my 90 minute run this morning. When I woke up, I felt achy, like I was coming down with what Cam and Josh have been suffering with. In addition, Cam woke up at 5:45 am so I stayed home to take care of her. Gave her antibiotics, sat on the couch with her for a breathing treatment (which she now finds funny. I'll take anything over screaming her head off). Josh tells me that I'm not lazy for not running, just making sacrifices for my family. Well yes, but that doesn't explain why I haven't run since Tuesday :-) I should change the name of this blog to "Lazy Runner."

Cam is feeling much better. She loves playing with the ear thermometer. As I blog, she's walking around the house, sticking it in her ear.

Stressed

2010-05-21T21:25:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you about my stress using the Grey's Anatomy monologue style:

"I am stressed. I am stressed because my baby, who I thought was getting better, came down with a fever at day care today. I am stressed because the doctor tells me she has a bilateral ear infection (that means both ears) and we need to give her breathing treatments for her cough. I am stressed because two ipod's went missing from some classroom technology kits and one of my student's has been bragging to his friends that he bought a new iPod! I am stressed because it is the end of the year and my students' behavior is stressing me out. I'm stressed."

Dr. Bailey should deliver this one. So perhaps television drama writing isn't in my future, but I just finished watching the Grey's series finale and I believe I counted at least three characters having a monologue like the one above. I am in an extreme funk tonight. My whole body is shaky and I'm feeling anxious. To calm my nerves, I tried taking my dog Lily on a walk. We had a nice 30-minute stroll around the park. Sometimes, it is nice just to walk and put no pressure on yourself to go faster.

Off to bed. I have a "short" 90-minute run scheduled tomorrow morning as part of my delightful taper.

Back from Camp!

2010-05-19T19:44:00.000-07:00

Pine Trees. Fresh Air. 20 degrees cooler than Phoenix. Sign me up! Oh wait, I have to take seventy-four fifth graders with me?!?

Today, I returned from spending the past three days in the mountains of Payson. This is an annual trip the fifth grade class at my school makes every year called Camp Sparky Big Camp. Camp Sparky is a student organization at ASU that fundraises and then plans fun day camps and one overnight big camp for low-income schools around the valley. Most of my students have never been to the mountains before this trip, nor had they left their parents for an overnight trip.

I love Camp Sparky! The ASU students plan all the activities and we teachers float around, make sure everyone is behaving themselves and join in whenever we please. On the first night, Camp Sparky hosted a fifth grade dance. Chelsea and I thought we would live it up, fifth grade style, and let some of our students give us a makeover:

The finished result:

Tuesday morning, Chelsea and I even fit in a thirty minute run which turned out to be the only hill training of our four-months of marathon training! (San Diego, please be kind.) In retrospect, I wish I had taken a picture of these hills because they were insanely steep. These were the kind of hills where your walking pace up the hill is almost the same as your running pace up the hill.

Camp Sparky was a blast! Now only 7 more days of teaching to get through! Do we look like we can handle it?

The Final Countdown

2010-05-16T13:50:00.000-07:00

With the completion of my 20-miler yesterday, I have officially entered....wait for it... my taper period, Whoo Hoo!! I LOOOVE taper! I've finished working on my strong base for the marathon and now I get three weeks of restful hour to hour and a 1/2 runs on weekends (restful, since I'm used to long runs being between 2 1/2 to 4 hours). My only hurdle is to make sure I stick to the schedule and not slack these three weeks. I slacked off for my marathon in January only to feel sluggish and nervous on race day.

Since I've been running in the same shoes since Rock N Roll Arizona, I headed over to Sole Sports today to pick up a new pair. Super easy since I just showed my old pair to the salesperson, said "I like these." and she brought me out a new pair of the exact same shoe. I've always been told that the color or style of the shoe doesn't really matter, instead you should focus on the comfort and how it feels while you're running. Well, Brooks came out with a new style of it's Adrenaline GTS and I am super excited because it's the first pretty running shoe I've owned! I'm so enamored, I had to take pictures:

You can't tell very well from the pics, but the border tracing the shoe is purple! I now have three weeks to break them in for 26.2 :-)

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all my mom friends, my mom-in-law and of course by own mom (who now reads my blog! Yay! I love you, Mom!). I had a wonderful Mother's Day. I spent it in Tucson celebrating with my mom, my dad, sister Jamie and of course Josh and Camdyn. We had planned to brunch at Maynard's Kitchen and Market. This was where Urban Assault was held three weeks ago. At that event, I saw an ad for Mother's Day Brunch. It looked tasty, so there we were :-)

Since I knew a large meal was coming, I made myself go out for a run this morning. I just meant for it to be a short one, but the path around Reid park was so, well, enjoyable :-) I ran under trees, by the golf course, and the best part was that there were so many other runners out. I miss having a place to run like that here in Phoenix. There is really no place where a lot of people congregate to exercise outdoors. In LA, I loved the path around the Rose Bowl for this reason.

Maynard's Market was fabulous. We sat outside on the patio and brunched on fresh watermelon, bellinis, housemade sausage, duck confit hash (I just like saying it) and so many more mouthwatering foods. Cam had fun running around. She even caused her first food related accident. One of her grapes fell on the floor and a hostess walking by slipped on it (oops!). Cam then tried to get rid of the evidence by putting all of her grapes on my plate. Some pics from the day:

Yes, that is a Neti Pot she is using as a tea kettle. It made her happy. We just went with it.

10 miles today, 20 next weekend

2010-05-08T10:35:00.000-07:00

Phoenix is really hot!! Our cool spell is over. Last weekend, I was running in 70 degree weather. This weekend, I ran in 80 degree weather. What a difference 10 degrees makes! Chelsea and I were slugging through it this morning. At the beginning of our run, which we started at 5:30 so that Chelsea could make it to a meeting at 9, both of us felt like we weighed about 500 pounds for the first hour. I always think it's crazy for me how my shorter runs during the week actually feel harder because it takes me so long to feel loose and warmed up. At about 6 miles, I finally felt lighter and was able to run at a much faster pace.

I'm scared though. Really scared about next weekend. 20 miles is no easy feat by itself and I have never run 20 miles in temperatures above 80 degrees. I'm guessing I will need lots of water, lots of GU and that I should overall take it easy. I just need to put the mileage in for the marathon, I don't need to set any records doing it.

Yesterday I took Camdyn shopping for new clothes. All of her current clothes were fitting snugly and the pants were starting to look like high-waters. She is fun to shop with (when she is well-fed and rested)! I held up clothes for her approval and she would nod her head in a big, emphatic yes and then ask to hold the piece of clothing. Evidently, I have better taste than our last shopping trip, because all of my recommendations were given approval.

After clothes shopping at Carters, we walked over to the Chandler Mall. Cam won't let me put her down to walk until we visit the puppy store. Once we're in there, she'll walk around, looking at the puppies and then zoom out into the mall. Godiva was giving out free chocolates. I gave Cam a taste and she wouldn't give me the chocolate back! Stolen chocolate apparently tastes better than your own chocolate:

Our little chocolate chipmunk :-)

Urban Assault Race Report

2010-04-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

I bought a bike! What better way to break my new bike in than doing a twenty-five mile road race around Tucson! Right? Right?

An hour before the race, Josh and I still needed to pick up our race packet so we said goodbye to Bridget and headed over to the start line, a mile away from her brother's house. Cruising down fourth avenue, I felt a little nervous about the twenty-five miles of biking that lay before me. Obviously, I wasn't paying attention to the trolley tracks running down the middle of the street, because my wheel caught in the groove and I went down. I went down hard. With my palms and elbow bleeding, I sat on the corner shaking for two minutes, got back on my bike and we went to check in. Here's my hand a week later, not pretty and still hurts!

Other than that, Urban Assault was awesome! My friend Bridget talked me into doing it sometime back in February. The event goes a little something like this. A few weeks before the race, the locations of checkpoints were released on the website. The race is completed in partners (Josh and I being a pair.) Our goal was to hit all seven checkpoints around Tucson, traveling along a route of our choice. Each checkpoint has an obstacle which the team needs to successfully complete before they a earn a bead. You have three hours to complete all the checkpoints and make it back to the start line. Once you are back, you get to indulge in free food and New Belgium beer. Most awesome event ever! We started with a run to our bikes.

Josh and I are about 10 people back in that start mob. From there, Bridget, Bobby, Josh and I rode to Fairway Bikes, about 2 miles away and the site of a checkpoint. The week prior to the race, we questioned if it was smart move to do the closest checkpoint first. Our worry was that most people would do that and we would waste valuable time waiting in line. Well, we did waste some time waiting in line. The obstacle was to complete a giant tangram puzzle. Since Josh is very spatially oriented, I let him take the lead on this one. Josh finished the puzzle in 10 seconds. That is not even an exaggeration.

From Fairway, we rode through the U of A campus to Himmel Park, about 4 miles away. Himmel was a mystery checkpoint, meaning that the Thursday before the race we were given clues in the form of a crossword puzzle to figure out the location. At Himmel, we got the clue to our second mystery checkpoint. Our clue: a picture of a waterslide. We would have been completely lost not being Tucson locals. Thankfully, Bridget and Bobby immediately thought of a park that just got a new waterslide. Whoo hoo!

Taking back streets, we traveled another 4 miles to Summit Hut where we were met with Human Bowling. I wish I had pictures of us doing this event, but for illustration purposes, here is someone else doing it:

I was on the skateboard and Josh pushed me down the lane. He later told me he thought this obstacle would take a while because he was sure I would fall off. I am incredibly uncoordinated so I can't really blame him for his vote of un-confidence. For the record, I knocked down those pins the first time.

Now, we had our first long ride. About 8 miles up to Sunflower Market. We took the Rillito River walk which was gorgeous and unpopular with the other racers (score!). About this time, we were an hour into the race. Being the only one without bike shorts, I started to hurt. Getting used to a bike saddle is a gradual process, and I had only had my bike for a week. At Sunflower, Josh experienced being a paper boy. Hard job, apparently. He threw papers from his bike and my job was to catch three of them in my box. Took us 10 minutes and in the end I only caught one of Josh's throws. Fortunately, everyone else threw badly as well so my other two papers were errant throws by other teams. Again, someone else completing the obstacle:

From there, another long ride to Edison Park, where we did piggy back polo:

Unfortunately, here is where we had to say Good bye to Bridget and Bobby. Bobby's bike was having major problems i.e wouldn't switch gears anymore and Bobby had to struggle to keep it going in a straight line. Josh and I mangaged to make it to one more obstacle, where I swam the length of a pool fully clothed, before our time ran out.

Back at the finish line, a giant slide awaited us:

Actually us going down the slide!

We had a great time at the after party, drinking beer and watching funny prize winning antics. Around my neck, you can see Josh and my beads. We made it to six out of seven obstacles which was definitely not shabby. Here's Bridget and I at the after party.

Josh participated in a mustache contest (that beard needs to earn its keep somehow!) He won a t-shirt as a "participation prize."

Amazing day biking around Tucson! Nice break from all the running :-)

What the %@$!&?

2010-03-30T20:48:00.000-07:00

It's how I feel. I'm sick. Again. Not even two weeks pass and I am congested, achy and sneezing. I woke up Saturday morning breathing out of my mouth, thought a little bit, and then didn't let it stop me from running 14 miles. Great decision by the way! Although the run was hard at times, I kept up with Chelsea and Harvey the entire way. This is a huge success for me! Last season, I would ditch out at mile 6 and start walking because I honestly thought I couldn't run any farther without a break. But Saturday was beautiful! 14 miles, all running (a little walk here and there for water, but hydration breaks are definitely allowed.) We finished it in 2 hours and 33 minutes.

So on one hand: I'm sick. But on the other hand: 14 miles straight, yippee!!! Good news is that I'm getting better and I plan on running at 5:30 tomorrow morning.

On Sunday night, we celebrated Kory's birthday. Josh's little brother turns 19 :-) We had a big family dinner at Outback, where Camdyn (being the cute baby) stole the show. Below is a picture of her making a break for it from the rest of the family. I love the little impish expression on her face. She's going to be a runner, too.

Sleepy running

2010-03-26T21:25:00.000-07:00

I've had a very busy week! All day teaching in addition to two nighttime commitments for school plus Cam has been teething. Teething means waking up at 1 AM and refusing to sleep anywhere but Mommy and Daddy's bed, but they get no sleep whatsoever. This has all wrecked havoc on my running schedule.

On Thursday morning, it was looking like it was going to be a run-less week, until I read Jocelyn's (Running with High Heels On) blog. I don't know Jocelyn personally, but I started reading her posts through other friend's links. Jocelyn has recently been having foot issues that have prevented her from running. As I was reading Thursday afternoon, she wrote "Never will I take running for granted again. If I feel too tired to run, or just plan lazy, I need to remember this moment and these past three weeks. Run because you can! :)"

That got me. I remember that feeling of not being able to run when I was pregnant. The urge was so strong and yet I was not allowed. I was huge:

So now, I felt a little sleepy and that was going to stop me from running? Hell, no! I went out running Thursday night and I even went on a short run tonight. Sleepy? Yes. But I am always amazed how I never regret running, but I can always talk myself out of it. No more! Watch out San Diego, I'm comin' to get ya!

I'm back!

2010-03-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

Whoo hoo! Two runs, two days in a row! One 3.5 mile and another 3.9 mile. Incredibly difficult though. I felt as if I weighed two hundred pounds and was running uphill the entire time. I'm blaming the feeling on getting over the sinus infection. In running, you have your good days and your better days. These two runs definitely fall into the "good days" category.

Yesterday, Camdyn and I went down to Tucson to spend some time with my mom and see my Dad and Sister when they got off work. Wonderful day! Mom, Cam and I went to lunch at Pei Wei and then went shopping at Park Place. Cam is a riot! She insisted on walking. She ended up walking us right into Express where she proceeded to dance to the music playing in the store. Moving to the thumping dance beat, she toddled over to the bra and underwear section. After stopping at an ottoman to do her "booty dance", she checked out some bras. Then, she went to the underwear drawers and moved some panties from the small drawer to the medium drawer. Her adventure led me to buy two cute dresses, so don't feel too bad for Express.

We met up with my Dad and Jamie that afternoon. My dad dressed in his Irish Green. He goes all out for St. Patrick's Day. A picture really says it the best...