Mentor Meeting 12

We brainstormed ideas about my presentation.

• Whether I want to have the entire presentation out on the track and print out pictures or use iPad's to pass around. Or make a powerpoint, print it out and pass that out as well.
• Have half the presentation inside and then go outside to the track for the other half.
• All my ideas I was going to use for the powerpoint, I don't necessarily need to put it in a powerpoint. I can have all my ideas on a note cards or something or that sort.
• Ideas - 15 min talk 15 min run
• If do it outside - demonstrate some stuff
• workout - show plyometric jumping and talk about leg strengthening  show hand-offs and talk about why it is important 
• research - Adrian stuff that he told you - focused on shins - show part of it - one demonstration (bosu ball) - Ms Kruger said she wants to see it  :)
• Research - starting blocks. 

After done running - demonstrate ice bath - research from Kim about how to treat injuries.

Connections - workouts...Adrian workout...helps shins...frustrations 

Put 400 times last which will lead to demostation 

Chris's Presentation

Today I was a student evaluator for my WISE peer Chris. His project was on the Basic's of Cooking. His presentation went well. Me knowing Chris well, and him being so lazy (haha), he could have done a lot more with his overall project.

Here are some things he could have improved on:

• Organization of his presentation
• Wrote more clearly in his journal and added more details and reflections
• Journal could have also used some more visuals
• Try to find ways to make his project more interesting or fun for himself

That just being a few things and there could be others, I personally would say he pulled it off alright. It may not had been the best but at least he put some thought into it.

The food he had made, and passed it out during his presentation, was absolutely amazing. I loved it.

Hey Chris, if you wouldn't mind, I would like some more food, thanks. Good job bud!

Debrief on Sample Presentation - In-Class Journal Entry

Questions:

What would you like to borrow from the sample?

• I would borrow his confidence and loud voice.

What was a particular strength of the sample?

• His presentation was very organized and time efficient. It was also very detailed. 

What will you do differently.

• I don't think there is anything I will do differently. I will make sure my presentation is organized and detailed and present it with a sense of confidence. I will try my best!

The Goal

I am a little sad to say that I did not reach my goal of breaking 50 sec. in the 400 meters. The closes I got to it was 52.4. For about a years worth of work, I shaved of one second off my best time last year which was 53.7 which is still pretty good. Back at my old school in Buffalo, I ran track, but the preparation and workouts don't really compare to what I did at Ithaca High School. If I would have started track here in Ithaca, I know for sure I would have made my goal no problem because of how hardworking I am. Now that I'm about to graduate, I will carry my goal with me to college. I will continue to work hard and if I stay with it, who knows how fast I'll be running in my college years to come.

But I am still excited to do my demonstration at my presentation, it's going to be awesome. I will be running a full out 400 and I'm getting some track friends to run with me so people can see how I look during races.

Overtraining

I have been putting in work way before my track season started just so I would have a good chance of reaching my goal of breaking 50 sec. in the 400 meters. It all started in late November early  December where I would I go to the team workouts at the high school. I can't remember if it was everyday but it was for at least 2 days a week. Then that went into pre-season which started in late January. We would lift on Monday's, Wednesday's, and Friday's and run up at Barton Hall on Tuesday's and Thursday's. I even participated in indoor track meets at Barton, organized by the Finger Lakes Runners Club. Season soon started and I felt more ready than ever.

Ever since then, I've been to every track meet, and ran at least 3 races, 2 of those including a 400. Everything was going well, I was making personal records and then surpassing those and making more. Now I'm at the end of my season which 2 more meets to go. The last 400 I run may be on May 30th, which is state quals. and the time I need to go to states would be a 49. I know I'm not going to get that time because my body can't keep up with the stress I've been putting on it any longer. I'm at my limits. I've been working too hard and haven't been given any time to rest. That internal push I had all season is no more.

Due to my "overtraining", for right now, I am not going to get any faster, nor better. Here is a article to backup the regression I've been noticing.

Click here to see article

From the article I learned:

Overtraining syndrome is a collapse in performance that occurs when the body gets pushed beyond its capacity to recover.  If my body doesn't get the opportunity to repair itself, than my hard work will eventually be doing more bad than good. Overtraining causes performances to drop and injuries to rise, as well as sleep disturbances. A drastic change in mood can be a sign that someone is overtraining. Getting enough sleep (ideally 8-9 hours) and giving your body the nutrients it needs are important. "You should have the same commitment toward your recovery as you do toward your workouts."

Ithaca College Track

I was admitted to the Ithaca College Men's Track team!! Jim Nichols, the head coach said he will be sending me a more complete letter detailing when their track and field meeting will be held on campus and information about their medical sports screening process. I am an official Bomber now, I can't wait! Coach Nichols also sent me Individual Top Marks for outdoor track and to compare that to my track season at the high school, I know that I will do very well and excel when my IC track season starts; indoor and outdoor.

For the summer, I plan to run with the summer XC crew at the high school under Coach Bernstein from time to time to keep up my endurance and to hopefully even increase it. I will do strength training as well so I don't lose all I gained from running track.

I'm excited, for I believe more opportunities lie ahead of me and my future.

"IT'S A GREAT DAY TO BE A BOMBER!"

Wise Sample Presentation

One of the WISE students, Luke Mendola, gave a sample presentation yesterday at 7:00 in York Hall at the high school. I would say it was very good. Luke was very organized and spoke loud and clear. He had a lot of details and information to backup his statements and just the presentation overall. His timing was pretty good as well. Props to him as well for being the first student to present! Seeing the presentation gave me a few ideas for my own presentation. I know if I get all my information together and organized, rehearse my presentation, and stay calm, everything should go nice and smooth. I also like the little jam session Luke and Adam had, it was awesome!

Well, got to keep working so I can get everything done!

Mentor Meeting 11

We talked more about my outline for my presentation. Due to Ms. Kruger's schedule I had to change my time to June 13th at 10:30am instead of June 12th at 10:30am. I switched my presenting time with Kam, a peer in my class. I also asked Ms. Lord if I could do a demonstration outside on the track and she said it was alright.

Here are the few notes for all the slides that we took:

Second slide: Be cool to do individual project - like the idea of more independence during second semester. Wanted to incorporate individual goal into project.
Third slide: Always wanted to break 50 sec (or school record which is 49 and some change). Had goal in mind since the end of track season my junior year. Ran cross country in the fall to help increase my endurance for track in the spring.
Fourth slide: Break down what I did and how it helped throughout the season - Speed, speed-endurance, and strength training.
Fifth Slide: What resources I used to help my project - training for the 400, injuries, techniques and tools used
Sixth slide: What my times means
Seventh slide: Tell of the different frustrations I encountered such as shin splints and going to practice even when I didn't feel like it or didn't feel like doing the workout. Giving blood, not wanting to do research or reach out to people in the community. How I got over them.
Eight slide: Tell how I stayed movtivated - being encouraged, watching videos of people running 400 (olympics - Michael Johnson), learning new things (using blocks)
Ninth slide: Tell what I got out of my project, tell some reflections - giving blood, takes hard work. determintation, motivation, and wisdom. How those things are needed to run the 400 and improve times. Need to put in work and or have a goal in mind. Putting in hard work before season and how it pays off. Having a goal makes you wokrk harder and helps keep you motivated
Tenth slide: Tell how it connects to my future after HS - running track at IC, possible want to run in the olmypics, want to continue to improve my time.

The 400-Meter Dash Training and Racing

This is an article by Michael Stevenson that tells about the training and racing part of the 400. I pretty much knew the information from the article but there were some parts that stood out to me.

Second sentence: "It is, unarguably, one of the most difficult races in track, demanding a near maximal effort for the entire lap. Runners who embark on the quarter of a mile journey have to be physically strong and mentally tough". I completely agree with this statement!!

"Technique, training, and intelligence are all essential facts of the 400-meter dash. But perhaps the surest way to ensure success is by developing faith in your ability and willingness to go all out in every practice and race.

Here is a link to the article

Could My Goal Be At My Fingertips??

As my track season and WISE project will soon becoming to a close, could I possibly reach my goal of breaking 50 secs? Only the next three weeks will tell. My fastest time so far is 52.4. I've been thinking that if I don't run in the 100 meter dash and 4by1 semi-finals, I will have more energy to use in the 400, thus for getting a faster time. I want to try this at my next meet which is this Thursday.

I need to train hard these next few weeks so my chance of breaking 50 goes up. With enough hard work, determination, and a positive mindset, I believe that reaching my goal will in fact be at my fingertips. IT WOULD BE THE BEST FEELING IN THE WORLD!

Mentor Meeting 10

We filled out mid-marking evaluation sheet and it seems like I'm doing pretty well in all of the areas required.

Here is my draft for my presentation:

1st slide: Picture of me
2nd slide: Why I chose WISE and why I chose the project that I did
3rd slide: What my goal was and did I reach it or not
4th slide: Workouts
5th slide: Research Conducted
6th slide: 400 Times
7th slide: Frustrations
8th slide: How I stayed motivated
9th slide: What I got out of it/other reflections
10th slide: How it connects to my future after H.S.
11th slide: Some pictures of my track season
12th slide: Works/Resources used
This being half of my presentation; 15 mins

Second half would include a demonstration of me running a 400 outside on the track; 15 mins (need to check with Ms. Lord)

Mentor Meeting 9

Ms. Kruger was very busy during our meeting so all we got to talk about was research and outlining. Se also have my an article called "The 400-meter dash training and racing" by Michael Stevenson. I haven't read it yet but it looks like I could get something out of it for sure.

More Pictures!

5/4/13 Golden Bear Invitational at Vestal

5/7/13 Dual Meet Against Elmira - 400m dash

 5/7/13 - Me dying on the ground...

5/7/13 - 4by4 - First Leg

Giving Blood

First off, I would like to say that giving blood during track season was not a smart idea AT ALL! I gave blood along with two of my friends who are also on the track team, last Thursday. I am glad that I was able to help out and do a good deed, but this is taking a toll on my performances at meets. One of my coaches, Coach Baker, told us not to and we went ahead and did it anyway. I do regret not listening to him because after every race since Thursday, I feel exhausted, when I usually don't. I am still performing well at my meets, but they really take a toll on my body afterward.

Today, at our last dual meet and last meet on our home track, I felt like crap. I ran in the 100m dash, 4 by 100m relay, 400m dash, and the 4 by 4m relay. After the 100m, I felt really tired, which I know for sure I should have not. After each race, I had a hard time catching my breathe and I felt horrible. After running the 400, I laid on the turf for a good 10 mins just trying to recover. I was feeling sick and lightheaded. I had go up to get ready to run the 4by4 and I could barely walk straight and my speech was kinda slow. I got out there on the track and ran, and collapsed on the track breathing heavily After a race, you're not suppose to lay down because your muscles will get tight. Some off my teammates came over and tried to get me to get up and I would not budge. Coach Baker and some others came over to see if I was alright. I was having slight tunnel vision, was still trying to breathe, and was still lightheaded. They brought me water to drink, got me up, and I was transported over to the school so that Kim, the trainer, could help me out.

She put ice on me to cool me down, gave me some Gatorade, and put a fan on me. I sat there for about 10 mins, and I was starting to recover slightly. I am feeling much better now, but still feeling really tired.

I am going to go easy tomorrow at practice so my body can have a chance to recover.

NEVER GIVE BLOOD WHILE YOUR IN A SPORT; IT IS THE WORST!

Presentation Scheduling - Week 13

Today in class Ms. Lord handed out an Mid-marking check in sheet so at our next mentor meeting, with our mentor, we evaluate my last 5 weeks investment. I will receive two grades for this sheet. After, Ms. Lord went around the room with a small basket with numbers in it and each student choose a number. My number was 2. She started calling out numbers, going backwards from 27. I signed up for Wednesday, June 12th at 10:30am.

Breathing

The Start:

• During the "on your mark" part of the race, breathe gently and evenly
• When the starter says "set", hold your breathe
• When you hear the gun, exhale sharply as you explode forward

Cadence Breathing: Refers to organizing your breathing into a rhythm as you run

• Choose a 3-3 or 4-4 cadence for your race, depending on how fast you run and what is comfortable (You inhale for 3 strides and then exhale for 3 strides, and repeat).
• Not every method works for everyone so find what is comfortable for you and go with it.

Click here to view the article

Here is a YouTube video that tells how I can control my breathing and maintaining a breathing pattern (like stated above; cadence breathing) is important and that it will help increase my running efficiency.