2021 One Word

 With 2020 coming to an end, lots of emotions come flooding to my mind, body, and soul.  It was a wild year for everyone with events and outcomes nobody could have predicted. My world, along with so many other people, was turned upside down and inside out. 

So as I was reflecting on my 2021 word, one came to mind rather quickly. 

Recenter (should I hyphenate that? Maybe? It is my word, so I'm going with it 😋)

I need to recenter my world.  Last year norms were shifted, relationships were impacted, digital time exploded exponentially... I, like so many others, was trying to reinvent normal without knowing what normal was. It led me to having more anxious days and nights, lower self-esteem and self-confidence, and an overall feeling of helplessness.

That isn't who I am.  So in 2021 I will recenter my world.

Professionally

As an educator I have never felt more lost, scattered, and yet supported than this year. I'm blessed to be part of a wonderful professional community, both in my school placement as well as in the twitterverse. 

My goal here is to recenter my support to others. I'm the math department chair / coach at my school. Over break I created some ideas to share with my colleagues and will offer them weekly as ways for students to do quick (5 to 10 minute) reviews of previously learned concepts so students continue to feel successful with current and previously presented material.  

As many of you know I have a first-year co-teacher this year. It has been a wonderful experience. I really enjoy the mentor role and also get excited to learn from her as well. I'm truly looking forward to the second half of the year and hope to continue to guide and push her in her rookie year!

I also know I need to blog more. I pressure myself into a blog-post-a-week schedule.  This, I've learned, is not reasonable and leads me to feeling helpless about being successful. Once-a-month, however, is well within reason. One lesson, one activity, one experience that I had as a teacher that I can share with the world. And have the courage to know that it may help another educator... 

Personally

I spent lots of time running. LOTS of time - more miles in 2020 than ever before. 2020 was supposed to be a banner year for me for events. I was scheduled to run my first 50 mile / 50k event(81 miles total) and my first 100 miler.  Unfortunately both events were cancelled... no. not cancelled. postponed. They are both scheduled to happen this year. However I fell off the training plans when I learned they were not going to occur. 

This year I am training for those two events even if the actual events do not occur. In June I'll run my 50/50. In October I'll go for my first 100 miler. 

Mentally / Emotionally

I know this is where I struggled most in 2020. I also know there are things I can do to recenter. I set a goal to read 30 books this year. Last year I read about that many, but most were during the lock down when I was literally not able to do much else. I also read a number of books that were re-reads for me. I'm going to dedicate time most evenings to getting off the screens, away from the apps, and getting back into a book. 

I have a couple of books lined up, but if you have any good book recommendations, please comment them below!

I've also set a goal to create a couple of playlists on spotify to help me when I'm having those tough mental moments. Music truly helps my emotional balance, and the right songs can help sway me back to my center.  

I'd also love to get into yoga, meditation, or other mindfulness activities. I've never been successful with these in the past, so if you have any suggestions, I'd appreciate it.

As we all embark on 2021, I want to wish all of you a healthy, happy, and safe new year.  Look for the blessings where they are, find hope and joy in each day, and please reach out if you need anything!

Year Twenty-Two... AND GO!

Twenty-plus years ago I was finishing my first month of my first year of teaching.  I was working in an elementary classroom in Cathedral City, California (in the Palm Springs area.) This school ran a year-round schedule with four tracks of classrooms.  Each track followed a 3-month-on 1-month-off rotation, so at any given time 75% of the school was in session while 25% of the school was on break. 

I can remember so much of those first couple of years. I remember my very first day with my very first class. Well. I remember going over the roster, introducing myself and glancing at the door, waiting for a supervising teacher or administrator to come through it. 

I realized that nobody was coming. This was my first class. These students were mine. Their education was literally in my control. I remember the long silence that followed as the class stared at me for direction. 

The emotions I felt at that moment were strong, the memory of them etched deeply.  I was so thankful for two veteran teachers that reached out and helped me through that first year: Mrs. Rouse and Mrs. McClintock. Two decades later I remember their names, their faces, and their kind acts.  I remember all the time they gave to me asking them what felt like the most basic of questions. They answered my questions, gave me sage advice, and let me cry in their room during prep time. 

I have lost touch with them over the years, but the two of them are forever etched in that same first-year memory.

Here I am over two decades later and now working with amazing teachers that weren’t even born when I started my teaching path.  I’ve become the veteran, getting asked questions and pretending I know the answers.  I’ve been asked to help design programs and schedules, representing our math division as the math chair, and still I am actively seeking more leadership and presenter opportunities. 

Dave Burgess of Teach Like A Pirate and Dave Burgess Consulting asked an amazing question to the twitterverse this week: What are you most excited about for the upcoming school year?

My answer is simple: I'm excited to continue to find that first-year-teacher-fear. I'm excited to continue to do things both in and out of the classroom that scare me.  I'm excited to stay outside of my comfort zone and provide support for others so they have the confidence to do the same. 

After all, as educators we are CONSTANTLY asking our students to challenge themselves. We owe it to them to show that we live that same path. 

Running for the Children of Nationwide Children's Hospital

Hello friends and family,

In 2015 I ran my first marathon and dedicated it to the Hospice and Homecare of Nationwide Children's Hospital, running as a Children's Champion.

Back then 26 miles was the furthest I'd ever run.  Since then, as many of you know, I have run plenty of miles and raised money for other great organizations, but for a number of reasons none of the miles seemed to line up with the date of the Columbus Marathon.  This year is no exception.

Still, I felt the calling to help the children at Nationwide Children's Hospital.... so rather than wait until the stars align for the marathon,  I decided to dedicate another run to this great cause.

I'm writing to tell you I've decided to do something bold in June - I will be attempting my first 100 kilometer (62 mile) run.  Once again I will dedicate my run to the Hospice and Homecare program at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

I have set a goal of raising $1000 by June 10th.  These funds would go to helping the children in the Nationwide Children's Hospital Hospice and Homecare program.

100% of the funds raised will be donated to this program.  All donations are 100% tax deductible.

As always, I have included some incentive levels for your consideration:

$10 - A thank you e-mail and summary of the event.  I will also include periodic emails about my training and the crazy miles I am running.

$25 - All of the $10 incentives, plus you get to come run with me virtually! Suggest a song and I will add it to my play list. You'll be with me for that part of my run!  For those that have done this before, if you donate $25 or more, I will include all the songs you previously suggested!

$50 - A hand written thank you, you can choose 2 songs to add to my playlist, and I will send you a 4x6 photo of a memory from the event as well. Additionally, you will receive a complimentary one-month subscription to the bronze level of the Reality Bites Training Accountability group.

$62 (a dollar a mile) or more - All of the incentives above, plus you will be a naming sponsor for one of my 5-mile loops! What does this mean? I'll have 13 spaces numbered on my arms - and your name will be on one of them!

There are two easy ways to donate:

a) Click here and donate on my personal page by clicking on the orange 'donate now' button:

      My Personal Fundraising Page

b) Download this form and mail in with your donation. If you do this, please e-mail me and let me know so I can thank you as I will not get a notification:

      PDF to donate to my run

Please consider joining me as we invest in the lives of these children.

Thank you,

Michael

Getting the Monkey Off My Back.

On Saturday November 18th I decided to spend a day at my favorite Metro Park with one goal - finish a 50-mile run. I had attempted the 50-mile distance twice before, coming up short both times (finishing 41 and 38 miles, respectively.) I showed up at just past 6:30 in the morning and started off shortly there after.

The first few miles set the tone for the day - rain, thunder, and lightning. I had my headlamp, but in the downpour, it did little good. Still, I had a great water proof jacket on and enjoyed the start of the run. I passed a park ranger and I was worried that he was going to tell me to seek shelter. Instead, he just gave me a wave and I waved back as I passed. As the sun rose (or more accurately as it got lighter out) the temperature started rising and I returned to my car after about 4 miles to ditch my sweater and long pants for shorts and a t-shirt, keeping the water proof jacket.

OK - maybe more water resistant than water proof

It was also then that I realized something key - I left my bag of Gu and honey stinger waffles at home. I spent the next loop doing some math. I had three PBJ sandwiches (400 calories each), 3 protein bars (230 calories each), two Zone perfect bars (200 calories each), and two Gatorade bottles (200 calories each) in my car. I also had a bag of mini Three Musketeers and a bag of Swedish fish. All in all, this was well over 3500 calories. My goal was 150 calories at the aid (car) station and another 50-75 during each of the 4~ish mile loops. This added up to about 2500 calories. I figured things would be as fine as they could be. Besides, I’ve attempted two fifty-milers on gu and waffles and those didn’t exactly end as planned. Worse case scenario, if I really wanted (or needed) more traditional fuel, FrontRunner Worthington was a (scary) four-mile run down highway 23.

It was all of this math and thinking of contingency plans that got me through laps two and three.

There were three main loops throughout the park that I had planned: One that took me down to the observation deck via the overlook path, one that lead out to big meadows via Dripping Rock path, and one that headed to big meadows via the multi-use path. Each lap was between 4 and 6 miles long. I figured if I did each separate loop 3 times I wouldn’t repeat anything too often.

map of the park

Honestly, I felt my first 50k (31 miles) was pretty solid. My nutrition plan, though off from what I had prepped for, was right on. I had a quarter of a PBJ with some Gatorade each time I got to the car, then a quarter of a protein bar during the lap with some candy thrown in for fun. This turned into about 150-200 calories every hour-ish.

I finished the first 50k in about 7 hours and 20 minutes, just over 14-minute pace. This was nearly perfect as my goal for the first 50k was a 14:30 pace. With the time I had left before the park closed, I would need to pace at about 19:30-minute miles to finish before getting kicked out.

Things started to slow down after 50k. Miles were definitely taking longer. 15-minute pace turned into 16-minute miles. Still … I was moving forward. Mentally I was just trying to get to mile 37 in about 9 hours. That was when I would pick up a pacer… My very good friend / coach / running partner Erika was back in town and said she’d put a few miles in with me.  Mentally I just had to keep moving until she got there.

It was so amazing to have someone there to share the really crappy of the suckiest miles. She spent about 2 hours with me and made sure I got through to about mile 43. I’m so thankful for that time - it got me through the absolute worst miles and certainly helped me complete my mission. She had to leave as the rain started picking up again, and I was left with a bit more than a 10k to go.

By this point, I had been moving for 11 hours. I had 7 miles to go and could pace at 20-minute miles to finish by 7:45 pm (sunset was at 5:15 pm, the park closed at 8:00 pm.)

Not that I saw the sun at all... This was the weather for my last few miles.

The rain became a deluge for the final stretch. The temperature had dropped, and I was out of gloves. I used a spare pair of socks for my hands. At mile 47 my Garmin indicated low battery. I had prepared for this with a charging block and cable, but with the storm using this was not an option. I got back to my car at mile 48, stopped my watch, and did my last two with my phone tracking my distance. Not that I needed it - I knew the one mile out and back mark. I finished with an overall distance of 50.02 miles in 12 hours, 43 minutes, and 22 seconds, pacing overall at 15 minutes and 16 seconds per mile. This was by far the most ALL THE FEELS run I have ever done. On my feet for nearly 13 hours (earning nearly 100,000 steps along the way) was like nothing else in my history. I can think of preciously few things I have done for 13 hours straight.

The “why” of this run is a whole different post. Feel free to get in touch with me and I’ll gladly share my thoughts on that… until then time to rest, refuel and see what is in my future. I have three weeks of downtime for sure, then who knows what I’ll throw onto the schedule!

Thanks for reading.

Reflections on 2016, Part I: Teaching

Sorry I have been gone - about a month ago I decided to take a break from blogging. There were so many things coming up - our school was moving, holidays were coming up, and then when I was going to get back into it we had a death in my family. Blogging became the item that fell off my plate as I just didn’t feel up to the task.

Since then I’ve done quite a bit of reflecting. I have a two-part blog coming up: one for teaching and one on my running. Today we focus on the teaching!

I had two goals for the first half of my 2016-17 school year: Integrate cross-curricular lessons into as many of my own lessons as I could and gamify my seventh grade math classroom.

I’m really happy how well I’ve done with that first goal. Working with my co-teacher I have managed to put both language arts and social studies into my science lessons. During math we have talked about how math has evolved through time, how Romans used math, and how Rome fell because they didn’t have the number zero in their system. More directly, I tied my rates and ratios unit to maps for scaling and we were able to integrate lots of the social studies standards into the math curriculum.

Riots erupt when plebeians use exact change and see a balance due.

I also got to focus on argumentative writing in math to help language arts. Shelby introduced me to Which One Doesn't Belong at AMLE 2016. This became a focus in my class as it hit MANY of the Standards of Mathematical Practices. Students had to choose an item and write to defend why their answer was correct. From there they had to write counter-arguments as well.

Of course we also went to the math art gallery!

My second goal took on a life of its own. Students fell in love with the gamification process. They were in guilds which competed to help save Mathemagicland. Classes had individual and group awards, followed the leader board, and were rewarded with spells and items which gave advantages to their group. What I really loved is that some students found pretty wicked combinations with the game cards - ones that I didn’t see until they put them into play!

You never know if you are light or dark side until you play a game.

My gamification took a break the same time my blogging did, but the students are excited to return to Mathemagicland in January.

I had a number of other highlights throughout the first half of the school year, but my biggest was going to and presenting at the AMLE 2016 National conference in Austin, Texas. While there I met so many amazing educators. These people are not only passionate about education, but also about middle grades. It was wonderful putting a face and having a meal with people I have interacted with over twitter for the past year or more. I got to watch these people present their knowledge, and many of the ideas I saw I am using in my classrooms now! I’m proud to say that a number of them came to see me present as well (despite the fact I was in the same time slot as educational gurus such as Dru Tomlin, Dave Burgess, and Rick Wormeli.)

Apparently Rick was nervous about me. 

I’m excited to get back to school in January. For those that don’t know, we’re moving into a new building (as in newly built) in January. We have taken a few tours of the building, but have yet to see the space with amenities such as furniture, paint, or in some cases, walls.

I also promise to be back blogging and sharing some of my great and not-so-great ideas in 2017. I hope everyone is having a relaxing and recharging holiday break. Look for my running recap blog on Thursday!