RunSingTeach

Yup, you read that right, six vials. That is how many vials of blood the phlebotomist took from my big veiny arm today. Six vials with no food in my tummy, even tougher. In her words, “that’s a lot of blood.”

After feeling continued stress with the tum-tum and gaining a lot of weight in a short amount of time it was back to the awesome Dr. Wong to see what to test next. This week, my friends, we are testing for hormone levels and adrenal fatigue! You’re excited aren’t you? I was also sent to the lovely natural apothecary (is that redundant?) to obtain several neat and wallet shrinking products—

 

Fancy Pants Probiotics with every strain in the L and B strains of probiotic matter. I take one pill once a day and these are refrigerated.

Pathway Super Enzymes complete with Ox Bile. (You need to click this video link just to hear the lovely British accent.) Yummy! I am still finishing my Rainbow Light brand digestive enzymes but they are plant only based and the doc said I needed the pancreatic enzymes as well. I take these with every meal. I’m also supposed to take a tsp of apple cider vinegar with each meal. I’m going to have to figure out a travel plan for this at school.

A lovely new multivitamin that contains folinic acid not folic acid as there can be genetic sensitivities to folic acid. I take two of these every day. I literally bought myself one of the old school daily pill boxes to try to keep myself straight.

Hopefully these new supplements, plus a gluten-free diet (fine, she say’s huffing and puffing) will help me figure out the root causes of my lethargy, weight gain, and lack of motivation. For now I’m going to try eat GF as much as possible as well as peanut free and legume free but will try some grass pastured dairy and some yogurt. I’m not sure how long it will take to figure this all out, but hopefully I will feel more motivated in the upcoming weeks. And hopefully I can stop burping like a 19 year old boy with a keg of miller lite….but that might be asking a lot.

I have started reading “It Starts with Food” from the fabulously attractive folks at Whole 9 Life. This is really interesting so far and I love the way they translate the science of eating and digestive “issues” into human English. I’m looking forward to really digging into ideas for how to make paleo eating a reality.

And so off I go to grab some more water and pray that this breakfast doesn’t make me feel like ralphing….awesome.

XXOO

I don’t have a lot of profundity to share today so I’ll share some of my “favorite things” right now….

I am mildly addicted to Kombucha. G.T.’s is mildly bank-breaking but it is so delicious and it makes my tum very happy. If I’m lucky, I can head over to Puree in Bethesda and get a yummy fresh brew from the tap by Capital Kombucha. Last week, I had basil lemongrass with an added shot of ginger. OMG.

I’ve talked about it before but finding the She Reads Truth online community has been a tremendous blessing for me this summer. I have loved connecting to a whole slew of ladies who dig into the Word. We are currently studying the book of Proverbs. I love it because it is a focused study that can take me all over the bible. For example, did you know that there are 180 references to “fear of the Lord” in the bible? Crazy right?!

I love my Brooks Launch. They are squishy, light, and kick ass fast red. I have worn them for several “long” runs and while I know in my heart they are not “enough shoe” for my weight, I know they make me happy. So there.

I am also mildly obsessed with the Balanced Bites Podcast featuring Diane Sanfilippo and Liz Wolfe. Their podcasts about paleo living, health, and nutrition are engaging, informative, and passionate. I have Diane’s new book, Practical Paleo, on my wish list from amazon. (ahem, hint, ahem)

It might sound gross when you read about it, but I’m telling you Bulletproof Coffee is insane. I make it with 2 mugs of keurig brewed coffee (I’m going to try it next with Jet Fuel) Kerrygold butter in your coffee? Gross you say, ah, but no. Delicious when super hot and frothy. I also add 1 tbs of Coconut oil instead of the oil he recommends because that is what I have in the house. Crazy Crazy Good.

I will end my list with a shout out to Nom Nom Paleo‘s new iPad app. Talk about an awesome iPad cookbook with DELICIOUS recipes. You must try the spicy cauliflower, even if you think you hate cauliflower, which I did.

Oh wait, one more thing….if this (see pic below) didn’t inspire you to grab those friends and get running, I don’t know what will. Kara Goucher and Shalane Flanagan are amazing examples of the power of teamwork and friendship.

As you may have guessed, I’m a little bit obsessed with the study and reflection found on shereadstruth. Each week they have a verse for memory and inspiration. The community is encouraging each other by creating lock screens for iphones. 🙂 So much creativity and awesomeness within this community! Here is my lock screen based on this week’s verse, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I hope it encourages your day! Cheers!

 

I’m volunteer teaching this summer at the program for at-risk students at my school. This is a really great program that engages students for 6 weeks in the summer over several consecutive years. I’m teaching “computers” one day per week. The last two weeks have the theme of “food”; oh boy, I can teach a LOT here….except, I can’t.

My beliefs about food and eating are not particularly mainstream. They are certainly not common practice in the cultures of the children I’m teaching. I am choosing a whole food lifestyle, eating locally and organic whenever possible, and trying to avoid processed foods. I’ve explored veganism and I’m currently exploring paleo or ancestral eating to try to reduce my stomach issues and to focus on locally grown food. I have removed most grains and legumes from my diet. Who am I to say that rice and beans are not appropriate for a balanced diet???

I know full well that the USDA “My Plate” resources emphasize disproportionate amounts of grains and dairy as well as giving no deference to local or organic foods. I know that the former food pyramid, now the plate, is heavily influenced by CAFO lobbies. But is it my responsibility to teach this concept to small children? Ones I will only see 5 times in six weeks?Is it better to teach them to avoid sugar and junk food and help them build a “balanced” plate than to do nothing?

I hope so because that is what I did. I used resources from BrainPop which included vocabulary, quizzes about choices, opportunities to write a meal plan, and draw fruits and veggies. For the older kids, I used My Plate to give examples of choices and provide portion size information. And finally, we played the game Blast Off which really opened some eyes to building  a balanced day (though it is still heavily reliant on grains…).

It was very difficult to wade through the stifling of my own views in hopes to encourage some basic understanding of diet balance. I hope that in the end that between our visit to a local farm and the emphasis on fruits and vegetables in the resources we used at least put some ideas in the sweet hearts and minds of these awesome kids. Perhaps they will choose the apple over the chips at school next year? Just once? If so, my work here is done.

Yesterday was my 34th birthday. I think I’m gonna call this year the Year of the Miracle. (Like Miracle on 34th Street?? Only instead of believing in Santa, I shall get re-energized in my health and life.) It was a great day. I had two mini desserts at my lunch meeting, spent time working through my blog reader (1000+), listened to some cool podcasts, went to Whole Foods with IronBoyfriend, made a crazy delicious paleo dinner, ate very non-paleo Ben & Jerrys, and then the piece de resistence, Cleaning Out My Closet while watching my favorite episode of The West Wing and simultaneously drinking a can of Sofia through a pink twisty straw. (Yes, that is a super long run-on sentence….)

My dear dear IronBoyfriend must have thought me crazy to take great joy in cleaning out all of the clothes and bags out of my closet and re-setting them. I ended with a lovely clean closet and four bags headed to Goodwill. I did NOT take before pictures for fear of completely appalling you dear reader, but here are my results!

 

Tee Shirts, sweats, pants, skirts, and dresses organized.

 

 

Sweaters and dress shirts hung up and sweaters hung next two extra hangers.

 

Short sleeved collared shirts hung, bags organized, flip flops basketed, and other shoes in pairs. Belts hung up next to bags of extra toiletries.

 

(This is from the Great Book Organization of Tuesday!!)

And Celebrated with…..

A lovely can of Sofia.  A sparkling blanc de blanc from Coppola in a pink can, complete with individual pink twisty straw! Present compliments of Dad on my birthday!

But what does this have to do with control? Everything. I cleaned out my closet on my birthday because it was out-of-control and I had total control over it. There were no outside forces making my closet messy (except perhaps DBf….) and no one was telling me I could not clean it up. My life is full of clutter, both internally and externally. I cannot fuel my Type A desires for the internal changes fast enough so you bet your bottom dollar I’m going to control what I can externally in order to stay sane.

Internally, I need to clean up the clutter of my diet, my health, my mental state, and most of those too are self-controlled. But…those are the pieces that are the hardest and offer the slowest rewards. So yesterday, external it was, and the result is exhilarating and rewarding.  I think sometimes, we just have to control what we can, work hard on the rest, and pray, pray, pray.

If my closet could talk, I think she would say thanks. Now onto trying to fit into these pants (and a skirt) by Christmas….

 

Warning: Confessions ahead. Not a pity party but a call to action.

This is what I looked like when I finished the Chicago Marathon in 2008. It was 87 degrees and I had just finished my 9th marathon with a PR of 3:57 and change. If I could pick a time when I was in the best shape of my life, this was probably it. It was fairly soon after this that I started to train for Ironman in 2009 and while I had endurance for the ages, I lost a sh**-ton of speed and gained quite a bit of weight (and let’s face it, it wasn’t all muscle). I have completed two more marathons and an Ironman since this picture but I have lost so much fitness. Stairs hurt, planks only last 30 seconds, and 9 miles takes almost 2 hours, says the girl with a 1:19 PR at A10….

I hopped on the scale the other day my friends, which I don’t do very often, mostly at the doctors. I am not one to really stress about numbers but this time it is serious. I am fat. And not in a “I say I’m fat so you say I’m skinny” way. I am actually officially “unhealthy” by national standards AND my own. I have lost really any credibility to call myself an athlete. I don’t feel good about the way I feel or the way I look. I have about 3 pieces of clothing that fit without distress and I now keep a tube of body glide in my purse for the chub rub. I am officially in “mission critical” mode.

I need accountability friends. One of the reasons I was fit in 2008 was because I ran at least 4 days a week with the world’s best running partner. When she moved away and Ironman was over, I struggled to find accountability. Now that I live about an hour away from the running community I know well, I am struggling even more. I make a ton of excuses for not working out and at this point I am in a place where it is gonna hurt, a lot, before it gets better. But that is ok, this is no longer acceptable and I need to get my a** in gear, before said a** takes over my entire body.

I know I don’t get a lot of traffic on this blog (hi Mom) and it is mostly a place for me to put my randomness out into the world but this time I really need accountability. And a little kick in the pants. It is time for health. It is time to get to the place where I feel like a real runner and healthy human again. Can you help?

“The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start”–John Bingham

Hopefully I can find the courage soon.

And we have come to the end of 5 days of 10 books a day! I’ve saved the most challenging category for last. Favorite Fiction of All Time. I am a voracious reader. In the summer it is not unusual for me to go through two books a week. I am typically reading several books at once. So here I have chosen my favorite fiction books. They have their own shelf in my library because they are all books that have made an enormous impact on my life. Enjoy.

1. Harry Potter. (Yes, all 7 of them.) by JK Rowling. When I started reading them it was because JE told me I had to and because my 5th graders (in 2002) were obsessed with them. I’m so glad I started reading as I got to be part of a reading revival and a magical journey as three children became grown ups. Along the way I laughed, cried, cursed, and delighted in their every adventure. The books provided deep philosophical questions of good and evil. My favorite, yet most hated, character of all time, Dolores Umbridge, was a source of many interesting corollaries to education reform and standards wonks. In the end, good prevailed and we, a generation of readers, were better for it.
2. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. A LONG read but what a powerful story of a family and its eventual destruction. The anger that seethed in me watching the selfish domineering of Nathan Price and the tears that flowed in me as Adah finally found her voice and strength. A must read.
3. The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger. So it may seem like an odd pic as it is considered “chick lit” but the character development in this book is outstanding. The arc of Andi’s relationship with Miranda is puzzling, stressful, and in the end, relieving. The movie is great, the book is wonderful!
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. No greater role model than that of Atticus Finch. That’s all.
5. Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn. A read from my childhood that made the all time list. I loved this Ghost story as a child and read it over and over again. Written in 1987, it was “new” when I read it but love to share it with my students as the story is timeless.
6. The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian (really, any book by him). I have read all but three of Chris Bohjalian’s works. He is my favorite author. It was hard to choose this one over Trans-Sister Radio or The Law of Similars. However, the weaving of the story into madness with Laurel in The Double Bind will enrapture you. The scenes of torture are incredibly difficult to read, particularly as a woman. The ending will leave you breathless.
7. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The wild life of the roaring 20’s. Love, Deception, and bends in Morality. Yup, Old Sport, you got it.
8. The Crucible by Arthur Miller. We read it in 10 grade but it wasn’t until I played a part in the play in 12th that I finally began to see the subversion in Arthur Miller’s work. His critical take on the HUAC juxtaposed as the Salem Witch Trials. Brillance at his best. And of course, the source of a family quote, my last line as old Rebecca Nurse, “I have not yet had my breakfast….”
9. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Love, Shame, Sin. Amazing and Timeless.
10. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. A new read for me. I read this just recently and have fallen in love with the author and her works of young adult fiction. Melinda’s cursed beginning to high school and her wretched secret pull at your heart as you watch her bullied inside and out. Her other works including historical fiction books Chains and Forge are well written and would be excellent for the young and old.

(Honorable Mentions: In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo, Cutting for Stone by Abraham Vergehese)

So there you have it. 10 books a day for a “short” week. It has been a pleasure reminiscing in the stacks of my library. What do you like to read? Can you break your books down into crazy categories? Share them! And keep reading.

 

About 10 years ago I decided to become a runner. A few years after that, a triathlete. Now I’m trying to find my way out of mild obesity and back to the roads. Along the way, books provided me instruction and inspiration, and here is a sampling of them.

1. The Courage to Start by John Bingham. The first “running” book I read. John, The Penguin, Bingham tells his own story of going from couch potato to marathoner. “The miracle isn’t that I finished; the miracle is that I had the courage to start.”
2. Marathoning for Mortals by John Bingham. A realistic look at what it takes to run 26.2 for yourself.
3. Run Less, Run Faster  The book describing the FURMAN FIRST training program in great detail. I have used this training method several times and it is definitely my favorite.
4. The Complete Book of Running for Women. As it describes, it talks about everything running related from the perspective of women.
5. Going Long. Inspirational stories from the editors of Runner’s World magazine.
6. Performance Nutrition for Runners by Matt Fitzgerald. One of many great books by Fitzgerald about running and nutrition. In easy to understand language.
7. Triathlon 101 The basics.
8. The Woman Triathlete by Christina Gandolfo. Again, basics from the women’s perspective.
9. It’s Not about the Bike by Lance Armstrong. Perspective.
10. Columbia Running Routes. If you live in Howard County, Maryland, this book is an amazing resource for routes around town. Short or long, they’re all there. This made a huge difference in my early life as a runner. You can only get this book at Feet First in Columbia, or call me, I have two!

The final post comes tomorrow: Fiction Favorites.

Reading was very big in our house when I was a kid. I was read to every single night far into my teen years (as time permitted). Hearing a story and getting a nice back rub was the way Mom helped me sleep and one of my most treasured childhood memories. My Mom does a great job of reading out loud. She has fantastic expression and there are certain phrases where I can hear her voice in my head. She built in me a love of reading that still, clearly, lives strong today. She endured many a trip to the bookstore to buy The Babysitter’s Club even after I could skip the first few chapters. (Yes, we know how the club was founded and we do in fact know that Dawn is a vegetarian, Kristy is a tom-boy, Stacey is sophisticated, Claudia is artsy, Mary Anne is a nerd, Mallory is white, and Jessie is black.)

I probably have just as many books for kids in my house as I do for grown ups. I love sharing the love of reading with little people.

1. I Can Do It Myself (and the entire Sesame Street Books series). Teaching independence from an early age!
2. Free to Be You and Me (book and record) “Bald, bald, bald” and “I’m a boy, you’re a girl”.
3. The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton. Moral of the story-urban sprawl sucks people.
4. Care Bears: A Sister for Sam  “Cheer Bear, who always knew the right thing to say, answered….”
5. The Little Lamb and The Little Rabbit (Golden Books) by the Dunn’s. I still love the 1970’s photographs in these books. And The Little Rabbit features Sarah and her Dad whose arms look exactly like my Dad’s…
6. The Best Nest and Are You My Mother by P.D. Eastman. Sing with me now, “this is my house, this is my nest, in all the world my nest is best.” What? You don’t know the tune? That is because it is a Mumay original. Don’t be jealous, my Mom is awesome.
7. The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV (and all Berenstain Bears books). As a child (and adult) who watches tv this book was a good way to remind me not to become a vidiot.
8. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. The first “real” book I ever finished. Still more awesome than the films, though Gene Wilder is my only Willy Wonka.
9. The Indian and the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks. Mrs. Foote, my 6th grade teacher, read this aloud to us every afternoon. I can still hear her voice saying “Omri” as we laid our sweaty heads on our cool formica desks on a hot spring day.
10. Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret by Judy Blume. I was a girl born between 1965 and 1980. This book was a must read and it still should be. Thank you Judy.
11. BONUS BOOK: The Babysitter’s Club#15, Little Miss Stoneybrook…and Dawn. These girls were my best friends from late elementary until long past it was appropriate for me to be buying their books. I think I read into the #80’s and about 10 of the Super Specials. They tackled topics large and small and while the first few chapters were always repetitive (see above), they were awesome. Again, as a child growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, these were kind of must-reads….

And tomorrow: books that taught me about running.

It is time for Day Two of 10 Books a Day! Today’s topic. Nerdy Teacher Books. Being a teacher is not just my job, it is my calling. As a child, if you came to my house, we played school. I have had teachers over the years who have inspired me and those who have challenged me. I hope I am a little bit of both. One thing I know for sure is that I model life-long learning for my kids. I’m always carrying around some kind of book that guides me as a teacher or teacher-leader. I have a MILLION books (some from ed school, some picked up along the way) but here is a small sampling of my favorites.

1. The Call of Stories by Robert Coles. A collection of stories that encourage us to to listen to others and to continually self-reflect. We read one of the stories in our work at the Klingenstein Summer Institute 2008.
2. A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink. The right-brainers have been in the corner long enough. In his seminal work, Daniel Pink argues that right-brained thinkers will shape the future and we must nurture empathy and creativity for success. Good discussion guide for you and your colleagues.
3. Curriculum 21 ed. Heidi Hayes Jacobs. I may quite possible be obsessed with this book right now. I haven’t even finished it yet (it is my summer reading of choice) and I’m overwhelmed by the brillance of it. It is my new manifesto. A call to “arms” for a complete re-think of how we do school in 2012 and beyond. I recommend it for anyone who is tired of “old skool” and encourage school leaders to share it with their staffs. Start a Revolution!
4. Why Don’t Students Like School by Daniel Willingham. An interesting, cognitive-science based look at why students don’t engage in school. This is just one perspective that is jam-packed with scientific analysis. It is a heavy read and not something I would call “inspiring” but for your teacher who wants data, this is it.
5. The Unschooled Mind by Howard Gardner (all books by HG) There is no argument that the work of Howard Gardner has shaped educational theory for the last several decades. His work in multiple-intelligence theory is so incredibly useful (even if it is oft refuted). The Unschooled Mind is just one example of his thought-provoking work. We must teach children to understand and learn with depth rather than just regurgitate. (I shouldn’t even get started on this topic!)
6. Leadership on the Line by Heifetz and Linsky. Not an education book per say, but my favorite book from my master’s program in school leadership. Personal (sometimes a bit too much, Marty Linsky in the bath tub, ew!) and thoughtful, it allows the reader to create mental models of what leadership can look like when you get “on the balcony” and get the whole picture. Highly recommended for leaders facing a crisis or those who want pre-emptive strategies.
7. Other People’s Children by Lisa Delpit. How do our assumptions and stereotypes impact our work in the classroom? How does our educational policy structure perpetuate low achievement and discrimination? Dr. Delpit explores it all in her best work. She explores the stories of teachers and the negative impact they can have when working with students of color.
8. Odd Girl Out by Rachel Simmons. Like Queen Bees and Wannabes or Reviving Ophelia, Rachel Simmons explores Girl World and the aggressive culture that exists, particularly in adolescence that can be terribly crippling. The word “bullying” has become a catch-all term for some developmental skirmishes children encounter but true bullying can leave lasting scars and it cannot be accepted, ever.
9. The Students are Watching by the Sizers. We are not merely responsible for the 3 R’s anymore. We are integral parts in the moral development of children. Anyone who doesn’t think this should walk away from the classroom, right now. We shape character more than we teach math, English, music, or history. This is truly the purpose of school.
10. Understanding by Design by Wiggins and McTighe. UbD has exploded since its inception as a major framework of teaching and learning. I don’t follow all of the pieces of the framework and have not used it regularly but I concur with one major point. We must know “where we are going” in order to get there. We must plan with the end in mind and we must engage the children in this process so THEY know where they are going and WHY.

I could go on and on and on…..particularly if I created sub-categories and such but for now…I shall stop. Happy Reading. Tomorrow: Books that made my childhood awesome.