I recently read an article about improving race times and
mindsets. The article states that
sometimes the only thing holding a runner back is his/her own mind. Your mind can be intimidating at times. When you think that there is ever a
possibility of not accomplishing your goal you won't. If you think that you
can't do something then you won't do it. So how do you improve your times? You
believe that you can do it. Don't let your head lead you to a racing plateau,
jump over the mental hurdle that will dramatically change your whole mindset.
Even elite runners struggle with the mental side of improving. The article that
gave strategies to improve your mindset. The first suggestion is to switch up
your measurements. For example, if you
run in kilometers then switch to miles and vice versa. They say that this could be beneficial
because it will change your perception on the difficulty of your workout. The
second suggestion is to take a work out step by step. They say that you should
break it all down and condition your mind to believe that you can do every
step. Another suggestion given is to find a faster group. They say that if you
surround yourself with individuals who run faster paces than you will change
your perception of your goal pace and time and that it won't seem so
unrealistic. Changing your mindset could help you gain confidence which in turn
can help improve your race times. I believe that changing your mindset when
running will help with results.
Jess Knoll Writ 101
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Monday, December 9, 2013
Running Faster :)
I recently read an article that was all about running faster
and what they suggest will help you become a faster runner. I compared a few of the article's tips to my
coach's philosophies. The first tip was to learn proper running form. The
article states that if you don't learn the correct placement of your head,
chest, and shoulders you are more inefficient rather than effective and that
you have a greater chance of injuring yourself. My coaches focus on the
alignment of my body and the movement of my arms to help me be more efficient.
The next thing the article says is to focus on leg turnover drills and that
they are often called foot strike drills. They say that it probably has the
greatest potential in increasing speed. My coaches focus on heel recoveries
(similar to a butt kick but my coach doesn't like the concept of butt kicks),
anklets (making your foot go over just your ankles), straight leg skips (you
have to focus on making the maximum power with your foot), we also do leg
cycles, and the variety of A, B, and C skips. All of these lower body drills
focus on the power that you put down and back on the ground. The article states
that resting more will help you see results but I disagree with this. Between
school and practice and homework I don't have rest days very often. Saturday is
my rest day when I remember that I can take rest days. The articles states that
practicing and perfecting your drills will help you increase your speed. My coach says that getting our drills down will
not only improve our times but our balance, coordination, and power. In the
article they suggest that plyometrics will help increase lung and
cardiovascular explosiveness which in turn will help increase running
speed. My coach likes plyometrics
because he believes that it increases your explosiveness from the ground. The
final suggestion that I will compare to my coach’s philosophies is to
strengthen your core. They say that by strengthening your core you will be
lighter on your feet and that it helps you avoid sinking in the ground. My coaches simply state that everything you
do comes from your core and your hipflexers and if those muscles aren't strong
you aren't strong at all. By strengthening your core you can keep yourself
upright and everything aligned while running.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Practicing the Mental Game....
My
coach once told me to picture my 5K, imagine how it will feel, imagine how you
will look, just visualize it. At first I
thought that she was crazy but I did it anyway and the next day when I raced I did
better. I had run the course multiple
times so I could remember how it looked in my head I just had to use the most
crucial tool ever. The mental side of
running is more important that the physical part of running. According to an article I recently read there
are three different types imagery:
internal, external, and kinesthetic.
Internal imagery is done in first person, the athlete runs through the
whole race in their head alone. External
imagery is done from another perspective other than the athlete like an outside
observer. Kinesthetic imagery, however,
is different in the sense that an athlete will run through their race in their
head but they move their body along with it.
The athlete doesn’t have to be in full engagement but they do need to
think of as many physical situations that could happen as possible. Just like anything you want to be good at you
have to practice at visualization. It doesn’t
just come overnight. When mastered, visualization can become very helpful and powerful
for an individual athlete. No athlete is
the same so each athlete will react differently to this new skill.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Asperger's and My Brother
My brother Drew was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome when he was younger. Recently my brother joined a school play and he had an incident with another student that was also in the play. When the incident was addressed I calmly explained that my brother was on the spectrum and that he had Asperger's syndrome and the director told me that it was no excuse that he should know the difference between right and wrong and that if there was another issue with my brother that he would be out of the play. This spiked my interest in Asperger's syndrome more than it had before because I knew that these directors had to have specific training to work with kiddos. I googled Asperger's syndrome and found an article that I liked and thought was interestng. My brother is a very literal perosn and asks questions to find out the answer. He is such a sweet little man but he can be semi awkward in some social situations. Sometimes he doesn't make eye contact when he talks to people. Drew sometimes twirls and spins around in a room if it is too loud in a room and generally tries to be louder than the noise already going on in the room. When he spins and twirls he seems like he is really clumsy and uncoordinated He is so set in his ways that I wasn't shocked to see something about routines and rituals that they refuse to change and if they change can deeply upset them. He has to do things the same way when he does them every time he does them because he likes the repitition. He also owns more orange and more tie dye tee shirts than any eight year old I know and he wears them repeatedly. Drew really likes Transformers and Switch and Go Dinos. Everytime we are at the store he drags me down to the toy section and we see if there are any new ones. It is so cool to see the fascination he has with them. He is really musically talented. When we were cleaning up the yard once I was playing music and he fell in love with the song "Ho Hey" by the Lumineers. We are always singing it when he asks to sing it and I find it adorable that he is learning the notes and words! Drew's teacher told me one day that he had asked to sing a song in class and she started humming it to me. Turns out Drew stood up and sang my solo from District Music Festival last year. He had only heard me sing it once and that was at Districts and he remembered it. He asks to sing this along with "Ho Hey" now. Drew is very energetic and loves his hamster. He is a joy and a laugh every single day and I love him.
Drew goes to occupational therapy every Friday morning. One of the many routines that he follows weekly. I found it interesting that Asperger's syndrome has only recently been recognized as its own disorder and that it is actually becoming more common than autism itself. I also found it interesting that it is four times more likely to occur in males than females. Children are normally diagnosed between the ages of two and six. Children if they have Asperger's are also likely to be linked to other conditions like ADHD, depression, and others. There isn't a prevention for Asperger's nor is there a set way to treat it. Some children, like Drew, go to occupational therapy and social skills therapy. And like any child support of the positive behavior can help reduce the negative. I have seen all of the therapies first hand and I know that my family is extremely thankful for all of the support that Drew gets from all the people around him. I am so proud of the person Drew is and who he is becoming. Drew has touched my heart and I know that the transition from high school to college will be difficult on both of us. I know that I will have to call and talk to him all of the time and that we will have to Skype twice a week!
Drew goes to occupational therapy every Friday morning. One of the many routines that he follows weekly. I found it interesting that Asperger's syndrome has only recently been recognized as its own disorder and that it is actually becoming more common than autism itself. I also found it interesting that it is four times more likely to occur in males than females. Children are normally diagnosed between the ages of two and six. Children if they have Asperger's are also likely to be linked to other conditions like ADHD, depression, and others. There isn't a prevention for Asperger's nor is there a set way to treat it. Some children, like Drew, go to occupational therapy and social skills therapy. And like any child support of the positive behavior can help reduce the negative. I have seen all of the therapies first hand and I know that my family is extremely thankful for all of the support that Drew gets from all the people around him. I am so proud of the person Drew is and who he is becoming. Drew has touched my heart and I know that the transition from high school to college will be difficult on both of us. I know that I will have to call and talk to him all of the time and that we will have to Skype twice a week!
Monday, November 18, 2013
Running Barefoot
I recently read an article in the New York Times that was
all about barefoot running and its benefits.
A man was told after his surgery not to run because he would make his
condition worse. The man couldn’t do
that so he sought out ways to run that wouldn’t be harmful to his body. This same man did research on shoes and what
I got out of it is that less shoe is more. He quit wearing shoes and his
injuries ceased and he went on to win many marathons as he got older and older.
When humans first starting running way
back when we didn’t have shoes and we didn’t run for sport or profession. Humans ran barefoot and time has evolved us
to believe that shoes are the only way to run better and to prevent
injury. In the seventies shoes were
lighter and not ‘supportive’ this made people have to depend solely on their
bodies natural shock absorption. Injuries were also less in this time. Since
shoes have evolved and are made for specific types of feet and how the foot
specifically strikes the ground. If
shoes are a problem take them off.
Is there really one way to run? People run in so many
different forms and in so many different shoes.
Running fast is all about mechanics.
How your arms are in relation to your body, how much you swing your
arms, how your body is leaning, and how your foot strikes the ground. For some it isn’t even about running fast but
about running efficiently. There is so
much that goes into making your body move forward and it is fascinating to
think that shoes could be something that causes your body harm rather than
helps it. Shoes, those things that you
put on your feet every morning to wear because it is socially unacceptable to
be barefoot and they protect your feet from harm. I would have never thought
that shoes could be a problem and cause possible injury. As a runner, I am curious to see the further
development about barefoot running. If I
am feeling up to it, I may even try it but for now I am going to stick to my
handy Sauconys and Nikes.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Writ 101 First Quarter Reflection
In this quarter of Writ 101 I
have learned a lot. We have completed
four essays; our memoir, our mascots, our political cartoon, and our research
paper. Each one is different from the next. I have found that because of the
different expectations in each essay I have had to learn how to be more
conforming as the author of the essay. We
spent a week on citations which really helped me in my research paper. I hadn’t known all that much about citations
and to have all of it clarified helped me. I have learned that the most
important part of writing a paper is discussion. When we peer edit I get so much feedback that
I can immediately apply to my paper and help improve it all together. I hope to
become and learn so much more about myself as a writer throughout the rest of
this class.
Out of all of the essays that we
have completed I have found that the mascots essay was the hardest for me to
figure out what was expected of me. I found that it was difficult to establish
an opinion and write in length about it but when we were in class and had
discussions about mascots it helped.
I have enjoyed being in a
college class with my high school classmates.
I love seeing how each person writes and how different all of our
thought processes are. I like getting
feedback on my work and how we all help each other get better in our peer
editing sessions.
I was surprised about how easy I
took to citations! It shocked me that it wasn’t quite as complicated as I thought
it would be. I was also surprised by all
of the actual comma rules. There are so
many to actually remember, however, I caught on.
I hope to learn so much more
about myself as writer as we continue on in this semester. I am really grateful
that I got the opportunity to take this class!
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
IPads and Tablets in the Classroom
When I think of iPads and tablets I think of Angry Birds
and racing games but not in a classroom setting, doing class work. I think that
it would be helpful if we could use one in class. Would the use of iPads and
tablets in the classroom beneficial or is it harmful? Further, do they help
with retention of information and engagement in schoolwork?
Mark Gentile said that iPads and tablets bring “…new and
exciting educational opportunities…” I interpret this quote to mean that
because of iPads and tablets students are given something different to use and
get class work done. IPads and tablets allow students to do things that they
cannot do in a class room (Murray and Olcese 43).
IPads and tablets invite students to learn how to navigate through different
programs and websites (Maloney and Wells 13). Documents can be easily shared throughout
different applications and viewed in the same sense. There are applications out in store to fit
everyone you just have to find out what you like to work with best and stick
with using it (Hedge 51-52). Teachers also have this ability to find programs
and stick with them.
Teachers can engage and interact
with their students more with the use of tablets. There are programs that can allow a teacher
to give and receive comments regarding work.
A student’s work can be viewed immediately and comments can follow and
the student’s peers could do this also (Enriquez 78). Tablets and iPads can be
taken anywhere with you and this easy transportation can allow for more
interaction between students and teachers (Hedge 50). There is also the choice
to implement the use of a blog or a social media site like Twitter or Facebook (51).
Teachers can have immediate conversations with their students via email and
give personal comments on students work which in turn can improve work and work
ethic (Enriquez 78).
In an article I read by Amelito G.
Enriquez, students improved test, final exam, quizzes, and overall homework
scores when they were allowed the use of tablet . They studied two groups of
students, one used tablets and the other did not. The group that used tablets
and iPads had more class participation and engagement in all aspects of the
class . The students could follow along with their teacher and mark up their
own presentation or document with information they found relavant (Enriquez 81).
“Students not only learned the material but gained confidence such that they
were more successful in completeing homework assignments and were better
prepared for quizzes.” The students managed to keep a better score in the class
and turn in better quality work because it was all at their fingertips (83).
One problem that could arise, however,
is security and the sites students view.
Teachers can control what their students are watching and what they are
learning by using certain applications and make it so only certain students,
the ones in the class, can view it (Gentile 12-13). I believe that this could
be beneficial to students so that they don’t get off task or distracted because
of the iPad or tablet itself.
Some could argue that the initial
cost to get an interactive tablet or iPad could be too much and when you add in
the additional upkeep costs a damper could easily be put on a school’s
budget. The cost of an iPad or a tablet
is on average $600.00, going both directions in pricing depending on the amount
of memory (The Apple Store ). I believe if we regard this and just buy them
that eventually the school budget would come out even.
Another problem that could arise is
that applications may not be manipulated easily enough and students could have
trouble using them. Some applications don’t have the collaboration factor that
is essential in a classroom and that can be harmful to a student. There isn’t
one application that would do it all for the student and teachers would have to
outline the exact expectations. Research has been done to see if there is a
single application that could figure out exactly how a student learns and they
haven’t found one. They have, however, found applications that configure to an
individual based on their answers to questions or games (Murray and Olcese 48).
I believe that everything is worth a
try. The school could pick a class and
implement the use of a tablet or iPad and see what happens. If implementing an iPad or tablet in the
classroom engages a student and helps them produce better work why not try
it? We could see if the benefits
outweigh the risks of buying them. I
don’t think that we would even have to make them a requirement for every
student. We could try it out on a single
class and see where that takes us. I believe that giving students the option of
trying out an iPad or tablet could be beneficial. I would personally use them in a class if we
were provided one. I think that being
about to conform something specifically to me would help me make my education
better. Regarding the initial price of
an iPad or tablet and the upkeep costs I think that students could use a tablet
or iPad to their benefit. So the next time you think of an iPad try to picture it in your hands, at your
school desk, doing classwork.
Works
Cited
Enriquez, Amelito G. "Ehancing Student
Performance Using Tablet Computers." College Teaching n.d.: 71-84.
Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
Gentile, Mark. "The Importance of Managing iPads in the
Classroom." Education Digest Feb. 2012: 11-13. EBSCO.Web. 13 Oct. 2013.
Hedge, Stephanie. "Teaching with Tablets." Education
Digest Feb. 2013: 50-52. EBSCO. Web.
14 Oct. 2013.
Maloney, Michelle M. and Veronica A. Wells. "iPads to
Enhance User Engagement During Reference Interactions." Library
Technology Reports Nov./Dec. 2012: 11-16. EBSCO. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
Murray, Orrin T. and Nicole R. Olcese. "Teaching and
Learning with iPads, Ready or Not?" Techtrends: Linking Research &
Practice To Improve Learning 2011: 42-48. EBSCO. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
The Apple Store .
2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.
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