Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon and Stuff

Ah, I'm so behind in my blogging because of classes and tutoring and marathon training! So, here's an update of it all.

SJSU

• Number of classes-4.
• Number of units-14.
• Days I tutor-2, from 8am to 2pm.
• Number of papers written-14.
  
• Number of demos for science class-1. Conductivity of solutions. How neat is that?!
  

Training

• Total mileage-255.8 miles!
• Blisters-lost count after 20. :-(
• Bloody ankles-2.
• Races-2. SF Half and San Jose Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon.
• Best quote heard on a race to racers in front of me-"Remember, this is your hobby not your job-smile!"
  
• Ice baths-8. That's 80 minutes of sitting in ice water!
• Days until Nike Women's Marathon-6! That's next Sunday, October 18th!
• Total raised-$1,735! Thanks to all who've donated.

I completed the Rock 'n' Roll half in 2:11:33. Not my fastest time (2:04:07 in SF Half) but a great run regardless. Live music played around every mile keeps us all smiling, laughing, singing and clapping. Some tunes had a nice running cadence beat to them, too. The best part aside from running my my favorite running buddy Victoria, running into several TNT captains and Coach Tim, having a TNT cheering section, seeing my family support me in front of my brother's apartment along the race path, a great chorizo breakfast at my brother's apartment, the ice bath afterward the run, is the fact that I was not sore at all. I didn't hurt at all after the 20 miles the weekend before and the race. How awesome is that?!

Because of my awesomeness there is something I have developed, a nervous-stress-not enough sleep-eye twitch. Thankfully I'm going to have a short break from school after the race for a little R & R. My next stop, Yosemite! Now I just have to plan the trip. Any tips of where in Yosemite to hike or stay? Let me know. It's my first time visiting.

Photos:

1. Conductivity of solutions. Practicing at home
2. Me in my bath tub immersed in icy water. Eight times people.
3. Me and Victoria running at the San Jose Rock 'n' Roll half at mile 5. Photo taken by Jennifer Ibarra, TNT mentor and runner.
   

Missing My Team

Today was my first of three Saturday classes. A Special Education class that runs from 9 am to 4 pm. Because of this class I've missed a coach led run this morning, a 16 miler! After receiving and ready the syllabus for the class I noticed that our next meeting will be on September 26th, my last coach led run for Team In Training. The last run is our 20 miler!

I cannot skip this class and I cannot join the second section because it's taught by another instructor. The only thing I can do is go to class and run 20 miles by myself on Sunday. No one to run with, no water stops and no one to greet and applaud my efforts. I really do miss my Team.

My class did save me from running in 90 to 100 degree heat this morning. Another plus is a forecast of an 80 degree high tomorrow meaning a sweet cool Sunday morning. I think I'll start my run at 6 am just to make sure to avoid the sun and the heat.

Kudos to all my teammates that did run in the blazing sun and heat today and ran between 16 to 18 miles. You guys rock!

So Hungry!

I have forgotten what being a college student is like. You lug around your heavy books and laptop everywhere. You cannot leave your belongings alone either, hence packing everything away and lugging it with you whenever you want to get a drink of water or use the restroom. Trust me it blows. Without a refrigerator to keep your lunch or food cool you must carry an lunch bag or, like everyone here, buy all your meals while hauling everything with you.

In a open university with a very public library you cannot afford to leave your belongings alone. Students and very random sketchy looking people roam the floors and between the bookcases. No one can be trusted. This fact alone makes me rethink bringing my laptop. I'd like to leave my desk for a bathroom break without worry. In just the two short hours I've been at the library I've seen three students walk several times with all their belongings to purchase a bottle of water and to use the restroom. I'm starting to rethink bringing my laptop to class. On the other hand I'm not sure how I'll type up my writing assignments during my free time.

I do remember that student's that drive to campus and miraculously find a parking spot use their vehicles as a locker. But many students come via bus or light rail and don't have any such luck. I fall into the latter category. I don't want to drive to campus nor do I want to purchase a parking permit for a hundred some odd dollars. Paying my student fees, which comes close to three grand, and having to pay my PT bill which is another $1200, and being offered a free VTA (bus and lightrail) pass, I'll save my money and catch the lightrail to campus. Besides, the money I save on parking and gas will go towards the purchase of a $7 dollar sandwich. This is where I have to admit, I don't want to buy.

No, I'm not being cheap; I'm just being cautious with my money. I'll feel a bit more comfortable buying sandwiches once I start receiving my severance checks but until then I have no choice but to purchase my sandwiches and coffee.

Hm, it looks like I'll have to go grocery shopping for food that won't spoil and coffee.

Well, it's not that bad. Really, it isn't. My classes are in the evenings and I'm only on campus early to receive a TB test and to have the results read. If it weren't for that I'd be at home eating, watching TV, and attempting to read my assignments. Good news, I finished reading my assignments last night and am working on my writing assignment here at the library. Without food, or water, or my favorite magic potion, coffee. It won't be like this next week. It won't.

Oh, the sun has moved higher into the sky and my little nook by the window in the library on the seventh floor is now bright! Too bright for the likes of me. Sitting by the window is great except when the sun shines down on me and makes me hot. I'll have to find a different window facing the opposite side of the sun. Perhaps this is a good time for lunch. Or maybe not. I'll wait a little while longer before I have to go downstairs and buy lunch and coffee. I don't want to wait in long lines carrying my heavy laptop and heavy class reader.

Boo. I think my age is starting to catch up with me.

Caffeine Headaches

Since I stopped working I've also stopped drinking coffee, or I should say espresso. Soon came the caffeine headaches. With no coffee maker in the house and no horrible instant coffee I learned to numb my brain by watching daytime television. No, not soaps but anything on TLC or Discovery. This worked until I started class this week.

By attending night classes I realized that I absolutely need coffee to stay alert. Ack. I should have bought and drank my coffee earlier in the day, like, before 3 pm instead of drinking it at 6 pm. As you can see by looking at the time this was written and posted that I am still wired. This is bad and good.

Let's start with the good, shall we. I am quite alert and can start some of my many readings. I can stay up and watch Conan. (I'm usually in bed by the time he starts at 11:30 pm.) I can do what I'm doing now, blogging, and I can start on some of my writing assignments. So basically I can get some of my work done.

Now for the bad. I'm going to bed really really late which means I'll wake up really really late the next morning. Going to bed late also means going to bed once my husband has fallen asleep. How is this a bad thing you ask-he snores! By being in bed asleep before he joins me I avoid hearing his snoring. Going to bed at the same time I can avoid it before it really kicks in. There is no way I can avoid it tonight since my hubby went to bed 3o minutes ago. Ugh.

Let me tell you what happened yesterday. I drank a cup of coffee around 3 pm and wasn't able to fall asleep until 3 am. It was a combo of caffeine keeping me up and hearing my husband snore. Guess what time I woke up. Go ahead, take a guess. I woke up at 10:30 am today. I never sleep in that late, but since I'm not tutoring yet I didn't need to wake up. But what time am I going to go to bed tonight since I had a cup at 6 pm?! What time am I going to wake up tomorrow, or should I say later this morning? I'm a bit scared. Luckily I don't have any classes tomorrow and can sleep in. But what about Thursday and next week when I start tutoring for the AVID program at 8 in the morning?

I have one more night class this week on Thursday. Class starts at 5 pm so I'll be drinking my cup of coffee way before that. I think I'll drink it soon after lunch. Think that will work? Let's hope it does. I'll figure it out by the end of next week.

Missing Track For...

Science Methods. Tonight's class is a five hour long lab where two current science teachers instruct/coach/answer/counsel/demonstrate for us future science teachers. In Science Methods I'll learn

1. The nature and purposes of science and science teaching.
2. Science curricula, present and future.
3. Teaching skills and strategies.
4. How to promote, evaluate, and assess student active learning.
5. Classroom management, discipline, seating, safety, etc.
6. Teaching English learners, multi-cultural classroom instruction, sensitivity issues, motivational techniques, etc.
7. Your role as a professional science teacher.
   

to meet all California Teaching Performance Expectations (TPEs). (More acronyms!) With it comes a lot of reading and writing and lesson planning and it's with other science teachers!

Tonight we went over a salt water-fresh water ice demo (which will melt the ice faster, salty water or fresh water? Do you know?), an intro to science teaching (how students perceive a word differently without the use of a model or specific instruction or definition, especially new science vocabulary), setting up class rules and procedures without using the words Don't and No (a little hard to do but you spin the rules with a positive outlook), and learning how to implement the Ticket to Leave the class (journal entry about what was learned) by doing it at the end of every class session.

This was a lot of new information to take in for the first class, and I have to admit it was fun, and it's going to be a lot of hard work (the syllabus is 17 pages long!) and I'm so ready for it.

EL, ELL, ESL, etc.

Walking around my alma mater earlier in the day was a bit trippy. I wanted to write a blog entry describing how I felt walking here and there. Something about the effect of walking the same grounds exactly ten years ago as a freshman wondering how tough college was going to be and pondering what and where I'd be after graduating. One thing is for sure, I never thought that I'd be back to earn a teaching credential to teach high school science. I can go on and on on how young the students look, how much certain areas on campus changed, which buildings I took classes in and which building I never stepped a foot in, etc., but I won't. My first night class of three was held today and completely intrigued me, who are California's English Learners and their corresponding programs?

English Learners (EL), English Language Learners (ELL), English as a Second Language (ESL), Limited English Proficient (LEP), Fluent English Proficient (FEP), Re-designated Fluent English Proficient (R-FEP), Cross Cultural Language and Academic Development (CLAD), Bi-cross Cultural Language and Academic Development (BCLAD), and there's seven more. There's more acronyms for English Learners and their appropriate programs than FDR's New Deal. Seriously! They're all different names to label students on how little or how much English they know. But why so many labels? All to determine different English teaching styles and programs to receive federal funding. Good thing or not? Hmm, I'm not quite sure yet.

I'm intrigued but at the same time flabbergasted at all the nonsensical acronyms for testing students and labeling them. It's great that there are many programs to teach non-native English speakers English but there aren't programs for poor speaking native English speakers. Remember the whole controversy over Ebonics? Poor inner city blacks speaking their own version of English, does that ring a bell? What about them?

This is just a little snippet of what's to come for my Literacy and Language Development for L2 (English) Learners class. Simply put, this class will certify me to teach students whose primary language isn't English. There's a lot of reading involved in this class and a lot of writing assignments. Is it crazy to say that I'm actually looking forward to it?

Tomorrow: Science Methods.

I'm In!!!

Taking and passing exams, jumping through hoops, advising, phone calls, e-mails for the pass seven months come down to this-being enrolled at SJSU for the Secondary Education Teaching Credential Program! I just registered for my first four classes for the Fall 2009 semester.

The four classes I'm enrolled in are: Language and Literacy Development of L2 Learners; Social, Philosophical Multicultural Foundations of Secondary Education; Mainstreaming the Exceptional Pupil; and Secondary Science Education. Three of four are evening classes and one meets three times on Saturdays.

I've covered in goosebumps thinking about the first day of class in late August. I really can't wait to start a new unit in my life. I wish I can buy all the reading material right now so I can read it before school starts! (Plus I have the spare time to read here at my last month of work.)

Amid all the excitement there is one draw back, I'll be missing the last month and a half of TNT track. I'm really bumming about that but I have to do whatever it takes to fulfill my dream. Besides, my Wednesday evening are free and I can do my track workouts then. I'm so eager to get stated.