Teaching an Art

Today I had two military recruiters provide a guest lecture to my students and I am struck by something. I am putting the finishing touches on a long multipart discussion of the wave of new teacher evaluation systems making their way across the nation, but I was struck by two recurring things.

First, as I watch these two recruiters present, provided with all sorts of tools and time, and enhanced by having presented the same presentation over and over again, to similar groups of students each time, I am struck by how awful it is. Any comedian will tell you, you have to work the room and know your crowd. A room full of suckers can easily be lead, you don't have to know what you are talking about, you have to know your room full of suckers. I have taught for years, but capturing the room and working the room is essential to teaching.

Let's face it, we are con artists. We bait and switch, we deceive, we commit slight of hand, we exaggerate, we amplify. Teaching requires a working knowledge of the group in front of us. Even if you don't know them as individuals, you have to know them as people. Watching these two present, reminds me that good teaching, requires that you capture the room.

How do evaluation programs rate the ability of a teacher to capture the room? So far, what I've seen doesn't ever look at the essence of teaching. You can get your group to be quite, but I don't know if you can get them to listen. I watch these two presenters fumble through the room, ask questions to dead silence, and crack jokes that solicit no laughs.

This is essentially the problem at hand, how do you measure something that is so elusive as presence. When I was still training to be a teacher, we called it 'withitness' but withitness is your ability to perceive the emotional heartbeat in the room while witnessing the plethora of activity taking place under the surface around the room. Presence, is more than withitness, its about thane 'withitness' while also having captured the room; moved the class from staring, to listening, to actually hearing what you have to say. Knowing your crowd in such a way that you capture them personally, and maintain them indefinitely.

Did you have fun?

I really enjoyed the Wine and Dine Half marathon, but as the days since the event have passed, I keep getting asked the same question. Did you have a good time? Well, now that this isn’t my first half marathon, I knew what to expect. Well, I thought I knew what to expect, but as the event progressed, I realized that each event is separate and unique. Having only run a handful of races, I am constantly amazed at the power of finishing. But, just as often, there are times when I don’t think I can go any faster, I don’t think I can go any farther, I don’t know if I can continue to breath. Its an odd sensation, but eventually you realize that you are indeed going to finish, but is it fun? 

No, its not fun. Its a hell of a lot of work. I’ve said this before, I don’t think of myself as a runner. I think of myself as a cheapskate who chose to run because it wasn’t going to cost me anything. Although that’s not exactly true, its has cost me plenty, I didn’t have to put out that money all at once. I don’t have to answer to anyone, well, I at least don’t have to answer to anyone while I’m running. I often have to find the time to cram it into my schedule. I have to find time, energy, and a willingness to get off my dead ass. So when I get out there, I am often also looking at the clock. I have to hit my target and get back home in time for this, or for that, or for both!

Am I enjoying myself. Well, no, five miles into my last 13, I lost my nip-guards. I’ve joked about this before, but it is no joke. I stopped running, (costing me my under 2 hour half marathon - of course stopping for picts with Goofy didn’t help either!), dug out my spare set and tried to apply them to my sweaty, hairy, wet body. The slipped off before I finished that mile and I still had nearly 7 to go. They were on fire, and I’m sure bleeding profusely, but what was I to do. Stop? No! I was wearing a red shirt, blood is read, so I just pressed onward and kept going. The burning increased and sometimes, I had to just lift my shirt off my chest, but that is only a temporary solution and gets worse when you drop the shirt on the nips again. I’m too self conscious to take that shirt off and finish without it. Not to mention, no one wants to see some old hairy sweaty guy crossing the finish line. My shirt is my security blanket and I’m not going to loose it that easily. (Not yet) They make duct tape, next race, I’ll shave and apply some.

Am I enjoying myself? Did I have fun? Well, my shins gave me trouble from mile 1 to mile 4, the pain would sometimes be intense, but would dull. My headphones clicked against my earrings (yeah I know, earrings on a guy, how 80’s) and eventually the new headphones had to be pulled off and carried. The new shoes worked good, but I chose thin socks that didn’t really work for me. No blisters, but by the end they were saturated and slid around a bunch. My phone stopped tracking me and I lost one and half miles of progress and had to force myself to stop checking my watch and worrying about my pace. 

Did I have fun? Around mile 7 I realized that if I am really training for a marathon, I would only be just past a quarter of the way there. I was exhausted already and knew I couldn’t keep my current pace. I started to despair the idea of running 26 miles in January. I realized that next week I would have to run another one of these, but without the glitz of a race. I would have to drive myself to some trail and run for two hours just to keep my miles up while fighting fatigue, bikers, and the sun. I would have to hit the gym late at night when my tasks were done for pacing on the treadmill and weight training. 

Am I enjoying myself? No. Did I enjoy the race? No. Did I enjoy the finish? Hell yes! Did it make up for the race? You bet your ass it did. Medal around my neck, breathing deep and hard, sucking down the water, yeah I enjoyed it immensely. 

A PR can change a man.

It's done. A year later, and it's done. I ran another half marathon. Leading up to this run I really doubted not only my ability to run and finish, but whether or not running was in my future. I set a pretty ambitious schedule for myself this summer, and thought I would have no trouble meeting it. I loved that all the people I knew thought I was crazy for continuing to train while the mercury kept rising. Of course, I also knew that the only way I would have a chance of running the Wine and Dine was to keep running over the summer.

But as the heat got higher and the humidity increased, I started having more and more difficulty hitting my  distances. Then, stupid me bought a sports watch. Not just any sports watch, I decided to spend what little "extra"money I had on more watch than I will ever fully use. So I kept finding myself watching the stupid thing and watching my heart rate go up while my pace went down. I was becoming demoralized. Demoralized and heat stroked.

So when we arrived at the Wild World of Sports for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon for the sports expo, I went in wearing the shirt I bought for my first halfathon just ten months ago.

The excitement totally started to build. It was almost as if I was a real athlete. I have never been an athlete, not so sure I will ever be one, but when you're at the expo, and some strange guy is rubbing your calf with a stick discussing the pliability of your muscles and the number of rough knots therein, you find yourself saying things like, "Yeah, well they've been really tight since that last 8 miler I did." Blah blah blah muscle muscle muscle run run run.

Picked up my shirt and my packet then we walked the grounds. I wasn't looking for anything in particular except maybe some cool Disney stuff. Of course the only other shirt I really wanted they didn't have in my size. I did however, find a shirt that was a little close to home:

 Yup, there it is, the shirt that says it all. Considering what would await me later that night, it was kinda funny I saw it. Did you know that in the sunlight, it actually shows blood coming out from under the band aides? They even had a uv light at the expo to prove it! No, I didn't buy it. Why buy it, if I wear a white shirt I could live it! Yipee!

 I really started to feel not just excited but relaxed. The race was still several hours away, I knew I was going to have some fun at a park and we had no where we had to be. So after the expo, we decided it was time to eat. I had a calorie regiment I wanted to keep and was sucking down water everywhere. So I bought a hat (I really do like the hat), and we headed over to Hollywood Studios. Using the lines app (gotta love Touring Plans) we managed to sketch out a quick tour of the park and work in lunch. We were trying to stay on budget, so we just ate at the Backlot. Couple of turkey sandwiches. Lovely, but the complex whole wheat toast was as good as any pasta, but the turkey and cheese was a great protein combo.

After our lunch, and some hearty laughs watching the tourists at Hollywood Studios, we decided to hit the park quick for some fun. Five minute wait for Star Tours 2.0 meant we could have two quick rides to see as much of it as possible. Two rides and not one repeated sequence! Woot! I finally got the Hoth sequence I wanted so bad (it was awesome and we were dead center first row!) Two bad the Rebel Spy wasn't working at all on any ride vehicle that day. My wife had never been on the ride, and she still hasn't it seen it pick a random person and exploit them for fun!

By this time our fast passes for Rockin Roller Coaster were up, so away we went. As always it was a fantastic ride and over way too soon. but I love how the guy behind me and I had the best expression!

 We rode a couple more attractions, but got the heck out of the park before the parade began. I wanted to get all checked in at the hotel and maybe get a little rest in before we headed back out to EPCOT. We ended up having some problems with our room, but you can read all about that at my Disney blog, over at Grimgrinningghost at blogspot.

Now it was time to be off to EPCOT. Here is where I have more critique of the experience. I was running the race, but my wife was going to wait for me. She had a spectator ticket for the party. So we decided to both go to EPCOT on Disney transportation then, I could hop the busses from there to Wide World of Sports for the start of the race, while she waited 'patiently' at the park. But the busses leave EPCOT to WWoS at 7:00 and all of the materials suggest getting on them immediately. So of course, being the person that I am, I get on the first bus leaving for the starting line. That means I'm going to be out at the starting line for three hours until the start of the race. I brought calories and my race food, but I hadn't brought enough hydration to last. Moreover, what was I going to do for all that time? Note to self, they give you way to much time to sit around than you need. I have read of these people who miss the start of the race, but they must really screw up! As I was waiting and watching all the pre-race merriment, I did finally begin to get my game face on. I was getting worried. I knew I had been training, but as I looked around at the crowd, the faces were younger and bellies smaller.


 The field was starting to fill up and I began to see a more and more eclectic group, but realizing I was in Corral A, I wondered if I really belonged there? I had an idea of what my finish time should be. I was willing to give it some latitude considering how awful my training had been this summer. Should I really be at the front of this race with 12,000 runners behind me? I was really concerned that I would spend the entire race watching people pass me.

 So I ate my pre-race food. A package of pop tarts and lots of water (luckily they were handing out water there) and made several trips to the porta potties. (My second fear that I would be in line for the potty when they start the race).

I had eaten a complex carbo dinner with my wife at the resort before we left, but wanted to make sure I had caloried up before the race began. Not too close to the start to make me sick, but not too much in advance either.

 The time had come and runners were getting to their Corrals, so I made my way over to mine. They were stacking us in pretty tight since the corral was full and I kept getting closer and closer to the starting line. I have watched those videos of the start of the race, and have seen those athletes when the race begins taking off like a shot.

I knew what pace I wanted to keep and I knew where my trouble spots would probably be. Of course, I was plagued with the thoughts of this being my last race. That I would DNF and never want to do this again. My nip guards were in place and my spibelt loaded. I had decided to ditch my camera (I've gotta get a better phone camera) since I was dealing with enough new gear. I had new shoes (only 18 miles on them) and my headphones had broken two weeks earlier, so I was dealing with new ones. I was looking at the crowd gathered around me and was hoping that I would make a decent showing tonight. Most of all, there were the constant reminders that at the end of the line, there would be a massive party waiting for me.

With the National Anthem sung, it was only a few short minutes until the start. I had left the heart monitor behind, fired up Nike+ GPS on my phone and set my watch. (Don't ask why I still use both, I'm just a little OCD, and I look at one as a back up to the other.)

 The race started and I got into a pretty comfortable pace. I kept telling myself that I was going a little two fast for my training, but I felt pretty good. The air was cool and the initial streets were nice and wide. Being in the front meant I didn't feel too congested at the start of the race. In face, I never felt congested (although I have read some reviews that Animal Kingdom was pretty packed near the middle of the pack).

I even stopped to get my picture with Goofy. Five miles into the race I had lost both nip guards and was bleeding pretty good. Always wear a red shirt, always wear a red shirt. I will have to find a solution by the time I run my next race.

Also, my new headphones started to give me trouble. I didn't realize when I was testing them that my earings (yes I still wear them, yes I know I'm old and should grow up, no I don't know how dumb I look in them, and no I don't think I will be taking them out any time soon.) kept clicking away as they tapped against the housing. Worse, once I was completely wet with sweat they kept popping out. I knew I should have spent more time fitting them to my head. Oh well, for the last couple of miles I just held them in my hand. It didn't really matter by then. The streets outside of Hollywood Studios were filled with people cheering, and that made it not only magical but ultimately amazing.

As I got closer to the end, I tried to keep my pace 30 seconds per mile faster than my training, and when I passed through the finish line and the MC announced my finish I knew I had just recorded a personal record. I didn't shave off much, just a couple of minutes, but if I hadn't stopped for Goofy or to reapply nip guards that were going to fall out anyway, I probably could have gotten under 2 hours.

So now at EPCOT, wearing my medal with pride, I changed into dry clothes to head in and join my wife. I wanted a beer (or three) to taste some food, but mostly to walk the park feeling like a true athlete. I made it through a hard summer of training and although this really isn't the story of the run, or the story of what I think of the event, this is the story of how I made it through my training.

When I finished my first Half Marathon, I was elated that it could be done by someone like me. I remember sitting at my desk during final exams and after my students had left the room, firing up Active.com to see what other races were out there. I was so excited and somewhat lost. I needed to have another carrot and stick to keep me moving forward.

Now that I made the long stretch through the off season, I have many races on my calendar. In smack in the middle is that full marathon in January, back here at Disney.

I will write about my actual race ups and downs, and I will write a review of the Wine and Dine, but right now, I want to bask in the afterglow of the race. I feel great. It's Monday, my last rest day before I get back into my training schedule and I couldn't look more forward to lacing up and getting out there.

1 year

One year ago tonight I bought my first pair of running shoes. A couple weeks later I bought a better set. I set a half marathon goal. In January I achieved that goal. It is now 1 year from those first shoes and I am embarking only 5th half marathon!!! Let it rock!