BLog 26: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your 2-Hour Presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

I'm most proud if my content and answers, I felt like I was able to cover a lot of information and I felt like i had a lot to talk about. I also made time which was really good. I felt like i connected with my audience and they seemed to be really interested in what i was talking about. I got a lot of positive feed back.

(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your 2-Hour Presentation (self-assessment)?

AE

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

  P

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

 

My mentorship was very helpful. I used a lot of resources from there. they were able to answer all of my questions and I felt very comfortable going there to mentor.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would have you done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

 

I wouldve done more research and took better notes. I felt like i did enough to present on. But towards the end of the year it was hard to remember what i had read at the beginning and when i looked back its wasnt very helpful.

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.  

 

I can now run a marathon as well as train myself with out running into problems i know what to look for in injuries and how to train, run, and eat effectively. I was not able to do all these on my own before so its good not needing a trainer anymore.

10

http://www.runnersworld.com/tag/runners-knee

Runners knee is very dangerous if not treated right away. It is also very painful. Since running is a lot of repetition on the knees, its important to preserve them. If you have runners knee youll have to stop running so it doesn't get worse. The article is very good it talks about how to prevent the injury and how to treat it if its already happened to you. Most running injuries deal with overuse. this is why running form is so important. It helps you preserve your body for more miles with out running into an injury.

9

http://www.runnersworld.com/tag/shin-splints

Shin Splints are a common injury among runners who do to much, too soon. When a runner drastically increases their mileage. There are two different types of shin splints. There are the ones located on the outside of the leg, and there are the ones located on the inside of the leg. Although sometimes you leg pain my not be shin splints. Shin splints are sometimes confused with stress fractures and compartment syndrome. You will know if its a stress fracture if there is one spot that hurts more than the rest when you are putting pressure on it. A good way to tell if its shin splints is if you feel pressure when you lift your toes off the ground. It can be cured with ice and rest.

8

http://www.runnersworld.com/tag/itbs

Itbs is the band that runs from your hip to your knee. Many runners may mistake this as a knee injury. However, an MRI will produce a failed result informing that it is not a knee injury. Although there may be some inflammation. Runner can get this by running a banked track, or running to many miles. New runners, and even conditioned runners can get this injury. However it is more prone to women due to their naturally wide hips. This causes your feet to lean in which pulls on the it band and causes the inflammation.

Here are some of the treatments the website recommend:

• Most importantly, always decrease your mileage or take a few days off if you feel pain on the outside of your knee.

• Walk a quarter- to half-mile before you start your runs.

• Make sure your shoes aren't worn along the outside of the sole. If they are, replace them.

• Run in the middle of the road where it's flat. (To do this safely, you'll need to find roads with little or no traffic and excellent visibility.)

• Don't run on concrete surfaces.

• When running on a track, change directions repeatedly.

• Schedule an evaluation by a podiatrist to see if you need orthotics.

• Avoid doing any type of squats.

7

http://www.runnersworld.com/tag/plantar-fasciitis

This article was very interesting. It talks about the common running injury, plantar fasciitis. It explains how it is caused by over working your feet. The feet are very delicate creatures. If they dont have the proper support you can be prone to injuries. This specific injury deals with the ligaments at the bottom of your foot stretching from your heel to slightly past your arch. It is commonly caused by over use, or a drastic increase in mileage. But its mostly due to using bad shoes. An over used shoe or a shoe that doesnt fit you properly can cause you to pronate or supinate which causes you to over work. This can cause a lot of problems no only plantar fasciitis.

6

2 hour

Since my 2hr presentation is coming up on Tuesday I have been getting ready by creating my powerpoint and other props. I was planning on doing my sponge on the different types of stretching. Then I will have the students perform some of these stretches. Then I will go into the rest of my presentation and begin with my first answer, training. I will elaborate on the importance of training and how it can affect your overall out come of you race. Then I will go on to my second answer, performance and form. I will teach them about the different types of shoes and how to know which shoe fits you best. Then I will talk about form and what proper form is while running. Lastly i will go into my third answer. Diet and hydration. Once im done with that i will go into my 1st activity on carbs and hydration. Once that activity is done i will go into my second activity. Fitting shoes and applying proper form. Then i will go onto my third activity, which will be the obstacle course. When the class comes inside i will conclude with my best sources and product.
I will have bibs for the students to wear with their names on them. The color of the bibs will relate to who their partner is. At that point they will sit down and i will begin my presentation.

5

All of the shoe selections at the running store where I volunteer.

 This is the rest of the store that I helped set things up.

I also helped set up this clothing area.

















I enjoy working here because I'm surrounded by people who like to run and know things about the running world and running style. When i went to the store i met a nice woman who was a marathon trainer for the leukemia and lymphoma society. She knew a lot about marathons and training and dietary needs.

Blog 25: Mentorship

LIA Response to blog:

    Literal

·   https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0ScZ3XdhqYidlpTa3VCT2t1Snc/edit?usp=sharing

·     Mike Gonzalez (626) 568=3331

    Interpretive

Through my experience mentoring i was able to gain a lot of friendships with fellow runners. I was able to get a lot of different perspectives from a wide range of people. From short distance coaches to long distance coaches, to people who were doing their first 5k, to a woman who was able to run a 100 mile race. By having these people around me i was able to get many different perspectives. I was able to broaden my mind of all the different aspects of the running world.

   Applied

Like I mentioned before I was able to broaden my running spectrum. I was able to get answers about my EQ which helped me find new places to research. I was also able to directly find one of my answers able finding a proper shoe. I learned how important it  was for some one to know their feet and wear a shoe that's going to benefit them. I feel like it actually gave me a place to start when i was doing my research. I even got a lot of book recommendations, and project ideas from the workers.

4

Research

While doing research I found a book that I really enjoyed. The book was Run For Life by Roy Wallak because it opens up a different work of running. A more precise world where you have to work to run rather than just do it. A world where performance matters. This book focused on the proper aspects of running rather than just training. Yes training is important but its not the only thing to focus on. When it comes to long distance running its important to take preventative measures. Long distance is a lot of repetition. The constant pounding cause wear on your ligaments. This is why so many runners have knee, hip, feet problems.

This is why proper form is so important. Proper form helps you get the most out of your run. This emphasizes the important parts of your body to make you more efficient.

Some of the important parts are forefoot running, this helps prevent heel striking. Heel striking is why runners get shin splints. Heel striking creates pulling in the shin, which causes pain, especially after several miles.

3

Disney world goofy marathon

I had never been to disney world or ran a marathon so it was definitely a weekend of firsts. Since Florida is on the east coast there was a 3 hour time difference. The day of the race I work up at 3 am. Because we had to be at the starting line by 5. I got ready hopped on a bus to the starting area and tried not to fall asleep. When we got there we checked in our race bags and started walking toward the starting line. Unfortunately it was a mile walk from where the bus dropped us off to where the actually race started. It was so dark since the sun had not come out yet. Finally we could see the starting line, and a stage with Mickey and goofy announcing each corral. Firework lit the morning sky and we were on our way.

Through out the course characters we standing bye to take pictures with you. It was probably the most fun race I'd ever ran. Everything was new and amazing. Being able to see the rides and parks the way no one else has. Of course there were some boring parts, like running from park to park. But once you got inside the park it was like a whole new world.

It was long and it was work but it was fun. I'm not sure if I'd ever do another because the training is very time consuming. But I will continue running halves. If I ever run another marathon I'd love to do the goofy again because its a very full filing experience.

2

Mental prep.

Running my first marathon was pretty scary. I've always been told that running a half was fun and running a full was work. No matter how hard you train for a race it's still mentally challenging to get out there and do it. When you participate in a race, whether its a 5k or a marathon the mental aspect is very overwhelming. It's your first time ever participating in this type of organized event and you don't know if you're going to finish. You begin to doubt your ability to run the race, even if you've trained and have done that mileage before.

When you first get out there you see crowds of people. There are those who you will be running along side, and those who will be cheering you on. The announcer started to count down. And when that gun shot rings you start to cross that finish line. You first instinct is to run fast. You're pumped the crowds cheering and everyone around you is passing you up.

But no. Stop. You know your limits and an 8 min mile isn't where you're at. At this point you're full of energy and you think you can maintain this pace.  But you can't. You have to remind yourself you have 3 or 23 miles left to go. It's okay for people to pass you up. It's not a race. As you start to round the corner you see a sign reading your mileage and you know the finish line is coming up at this point you can sprint if you have it in you. But the point is to save your energy. In a long distance race you need every ounce of energy you can conjure up. That's what is going to help you finish your race.

1

Boston Marathon

On April 15, 2013 there was a bombing at the Boston Marathon. The news reports covered all the commotion and horror of the bombing, but it didn't cover the true feelings and meaning behind the Boston Marathon. From what I already know the Boston Marathon is an important event held every year. In order for a runner to participate in the Boston Marathon they must complete a qualifying time. However, there are a lot of "Bandits" who run the marathon just for fun with out qualifying. As for the citizens of Boston, they all take a day off of work in celebration of the run. Most people go out to the course an cheer on those who are running. It's such an uplifting ceremony that brings everyone together for a feel good celebration.

In the book Run For Life by Roy Wallak talks about his experience running the Boston Marathon. He had just gotten over a painful knee injury and training wasnt going very well. Since he was off his program due to an injury he was short on time to prepare. After getting a few tips from his doctor he ran the marathon applying them to his run. He was on a smooth ride until he stopped applying the tips his doctor suggested. He knee gave out and he fell to the floor. Luckily he was able to continue do to the encourage meant of the people in the crowd. One guy even gave him a beer to help him get through the last 5 miles.

That just goes to show how great people are at the Boston Marathon. It's actually quite amazing how wonderful and nice the Boston Marathon is. It's sad how something so awful can happen to a place with such good people and good intentions.

Blog 24: Exit Interview Questions

Content:  

(1) What is your essential question?  What is the best answer to your question and why?

What is key to completing a marathon as an intermediate runner? My best answer is running 8+ miles once a week for 6 months. I felt this was a good answer because in order to run a long distance race you have to adjust your body to the long distance. You cant just go out and run 26 miles with out doing it before hand. According to all training book I read it was important to have at least one long run per week. My mentor also told me that training long miles will increase your stamina and will eventually help improve your overall time. I felt like this answers my EQ the best because it directly effects the marathon aspect, as well as the intermediate runner aspect.

 

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

Over the summer I worked at Run With Us, I knew I was going to mentor there because this was the place my whole running career began. I bought my first pair of shoes from this store and I met a lot of runners through working at this store. Once the year started I began working with other coaches and was able to get more advise from them. I was training all through summer and winter. When January came around I participated in my first marathon and did my first independent component. From there I was able to read more books focused on diet to see if that could affect my answers. I found a few aspects that were important to answering my questions but over all i didnt find it to be my best answer.   

 

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

I had some issues with going to my mentorship place because it was located so far. It was difficult for me to go often so i tried to go whenever i could get a ride out there. I found carpooling to be more effective. I also found that it was very expensive. Parking in pasadena is very hard to find, and cost money. I was able to resolve this by getting dropped off and getting carpools.

 

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

My two most significant sources are the book Marathon by Jeff Galloway, and Adrian Aguilar my mentor. My book was very helpful because it gave background information on running and it sets you up with the basic information. Both my sources supported my best answer. My mentor knows me and has my best interest at heart so he was able to give me both tips that specifically help me and generally help all runners. He also works at the place where I mentor and I was able to get really good information from the people who go through the store since they are all different level runners.

(5) What is your product and why?

Through my senior year I began to find a final product. Through this project I was able to discover a potential career in physical therapy or sports medicine. I discovered how many people actually get injured while running and how the repetition affects someones health. I also have the ability to run a marathon and train myself in order to complete a marathon with out getting injured. I hope to complete more marathons in the future and possibly the Goof again.

Blog 23:2014 Interview

Content:

1.  Who did you interview and what house are they in?

Nisa Legaspino South House

2.  What ideas do you have for your senior project and why?

They had physical therapy as one idea because she had an interest in it during freshman year. She was also considering sex ed. She was leaning toward the aspect of how our school teaches it compared to other schools. She would also like looking into weather or not sex ed works, and helps prevent teen pregnancy. Her last idea was books. She said this was her favorite of all the ideas because she enjoys reading, but she doesnt think shell be able to find mentorship. She would want to study what makes a book and award winning novel.

3.  What do you plan to do for your summer 10 hour mentorship experience?

As for the book idea, she doesnt really have an idea of where she can mentor at, but for the medical ones she can work with her mother to find some a hospital to mentorship at.

4.  What do you hope to see or expect to see in watching the 2013 2-hour presentations?

Since she has a brother who used to attended ipoly she remembered a few things from watching his. One thing shes looking forward to is the activities to see how they connect to their projects. Shes hoping they're fun and engaging so they bring both grades together.

5.  What questions do you have that I can answer about senior year or senior project (or what additional information did you tell them about senior year or senior project)

She asked for a general explanation of what senior year is.

I told her you begin over summer with your mentorship, this gives you an idea of what your year will look like. You get to test the waters and see whether or not you actually like the topic & your mentorship place. Once the year begins the teachers set you up to start your EQ and you do lots of your research in class. You hardly ever have to do more work outside of what is assigned. As the year goes on everything starts to pull together and everything that you did sets you up for your two hour. As long as you do all your assignments on time and correctly you should be okay. Personally im not stressing out, and i feel comfortable about my 2 hour, which is the first day. So just stay on top of your stuff and you should be fine. Hopefully stress free.

Blog 22: 3 Column Chart

Content:

3 column