Self-Care

What follows was originally sent to my staff via email. It's important stuff. And it isn't just important leading up to the holidays and over extended breaks. This is something that we need to make a priority all-the-time.

It’s the week leading up to winter break. We’re on the final stretch of a three-week sprint between Thanksgiving and Christmas. You’re almost there. Hang-on.

I know that everyone has a lot going on right now, both at school and away from school. It can certainly be a joyful time of year, but it can also most definitely be a stressful time of year. How do you balance it all and still manage to enjoy it all?

Last week, towards the conclusion of our professional learning, we engaged in conversation through two circles. While I thought that the conversation re. our content from the afternoon’s learning was great, I walked away thinking about our first prompt from within the circles.

In the midst of the season, what are you doing to take care of yourself?

Based off of what was shared, I’ve come to the conclusion that we either a) don’t do a good job of making time to care for ourselves or b) we’re ashamed to talk about the things that we do to care for ourselves (I know that I kind of put my head down and was looking at the ground while I shared what I do). It’s probably somewhere in-between. We probably need to do a better job of BOTH taking care of ourselves AND talking about how we take care of ourselves.

Self care isn’t selfish. As educators, our job is to take care of others. We can’t care for others, if we haven’t first cared for our self. We can’t pour from an empty cup.

So, this week, there are three things planned for us to help us prioritize our own self-care.

1) Self-Care Bingo
I shared this image (via @teacher2teacher) in this week’s newsletter (it is also attached to the bottom of this email). If you can complete a bingo before we leave on Friday, let me know what you’ve done. Those who submit a bingo will be eligible for a $50 Amazon credit to be used for classroom/instructional supplies.

2) Biofeedback
I’ve communicated about this as a part of our 12 Days of Giving. Willow Pogue will be at Van Allen and available to us on Wednesday. There is a sign-up via Google Doc (linked) that I’ve shared, previously. All staff are eligible to participate; if time is an obstacle, please let me know and I will see what we can do so that you can find a time that works.

3) Mindfulness PD
In between dismissal and 3pm that is time that I am giving you. Do what you need to do and get your things in-order so that you’re able to get a head start on preparing for the return from break. We will begin at 3pm in the Team 4 pod with some mindfulness activities, led by Erica Miller, for our professional development.

Self care comes in all shapes and sizes. It is different for everyone. The things that I do for my self care, aren’t going to be the same things that each of you would do for your self care and that is okay. It's like my daughter, Olivia, once said, “If you like it, you do it.” Find the fit that works for you and all of your responsibilities.

Take care of yourself. Let me know if I can help.

Have a great week. Enjoy it!

#MyChicagoMarathon No. 29

This is my twenty-ninth and final post re. my preparation for/running of The Chicago Marathon. And with this final post, I just want to share some of my reflections from the actual race.

When the race started, I felt great. Actually, I felt really great. I just started running, and all of the adrenaline from the other runners and all of the spectators really pushed my pace. My mile splits were under 8:30 for the first nine miles; I ran 7:35 and 7:47 splits during miles three and four. Going into the race, my plan was to run around nine minute miles. Nine minute miles would easily allow me to achieve my goal of running a sub four hour marathon.

But I just kept running, and I continued to feel pretty good. In fact, I started thinking that maybe my goal of running a sub four hour marathon wasn't nearly ambitious enough. I'd been reading and listening to a lot of content from David Goggins throughout my marathon training, and all of a sudden, I began to wonder if I'd only been tapping into my 40% of my potential as a runner up to this point. How fast might I be able to run this marathon? Those thoughts were soon fleeting. After seeing my family between miles 13 and 14, which propelled me to my fastest mile of the race (7:31.9), I started to fade. And by mile 19, I'd hit a wall; it was a brick wall, and I hit it hard.

Miles 19 through 22 crept above a nine minute pace; then at mile 23, and the three miles after, I was running ten minute miles. I was struggling. I'd run a 20-mile training run, leading up to the race, and that run had gone really well. That was not my reality after 18 miles during this race. And furthermore, I still had eight plus miles to run. This was the point where the mental stamina/training became way more important than any physical aspect of the race.

With about a mile to go, up ahead of me, I spotted a 4:00:00 pacer. I was behind a four hour pacer. My goal was to finish the marathon in less than four hours. Where earlier in the race I'd been thinking about how fast I might be able to run, now I was in jeopardy of failing to meet my goal. The thought of falling short of my goal when it was close within reach was unbearable. How much did I have left in the tank?

Despite the pain endured, finishing the marathon was bittersweet. I'd finished the race, an accomplishment in and of itself, and I'd met my goal of running it in under four hours. My official time was 3:55:37, good for 14,818th place (top third).

Nonetheless, I felt absolutely awful. Upon crossing the finish line, it was like I had the flu (and Scottie Pippen wasn't around for me to lean-on). All I wanted was to lay down, any open space on the concrete would have worked. But I couldn't. I knew that if I laid down, or even sat down, I would have a heck of a time getting back up. Plus, I needed to connect with my family; I had to keep moving beyond the 26.2 miles that I'd just run.

I hated the way that I felt after the race. Throughout my preparation for the marathon, I imagined the finish being glorious; I imagined celebrating my accomplishment with my family. I wasn't prepared to be feeling nauseous and too tired to stand (let alone move). But that was my reality, and unfortunately, I missed out on the joyful aftermath of the race that I had hoped to experience.

It didn't take long before I realized that I would (eventually) want another crack at a marathon. I would want to run a more disciplined marathon, and I'd want to finish it in better shape than what I was feeling post-Chicago Marathon. I was already thinking about what was next...the goal isn't the product, it's the process.