This Distance is Relentless

More often then not, I find myself putting in long hours and hard work and feeling like it isn’t getting me anywhere. I recently started attending the Cycling fitness class offered at the Dugan and felt the same way, all that cycling and you don’t move one inch. However the class instructor Caleigh pumped us up at the appropriate times and the next day my body certainly didn’t feel like I went nowhere. Staying motivated for the long haul is something every student, athlete and regular old Joe face almost everyday, so how do you find and keep motivation?

            In an issue of Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology published in 2000, Anthony J. Amorose and Thelma S. Horn arrived at some very interesting results for what they called “Intrinsic Motivation (IM).” The study was done on a sample size of 386 male and female athletes in various sports from Division I Universities. Amorose and Horn discovered that a) scholarship athletes reported higher levels of IM than nonscholarship athletes, b) male athletes reported higher IM than female athletes, and c) perceived coaching behaviors were related to athlete’s IM. Athletes who perceived their coaches to have high frequencies of positive and useful feedback as well as low punishment-oriented behavior showed greater levels of IM than athletes perceiving the opposite of their coaches. My favorite line being “teachers who act in a controlling manner undermine their students’ perceptions of self-determination, which in turn results in a decrease in intrinsic motivation.”

A sport that requires great intrinsic motivation, mostly due to the fact that most of the senses are subdued is swimming. Some, swimmers spend more than ten hours in a pool just swimming back and forth, talk about monotonous.  Olympic medalist for all 1984, 1988 and 1992 games held in L.A., Seoul and Barcelona respectively, Matt “the California Condor” Biondi told reporters that the hardest game is the one you play against yourself throughout practice and the meets. “Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement,” Biondi said.

Three time Czechoslovakian gold medalist in the 1952 Summer Olympics, Emil Zátopek said his track/cross country career began when his coach forced him and four other boys to run in a race. Though he tried to say he wasn’t in proper shape the race took place and as Zátopek began to run he felt the need to win like never before. He is best known for his last minute decision to run the first marathon of his life and win gold at the ’52 Olympics. “An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head,” Zátopek said.

So keep your inner coach shouting words of encouragement. Let your mind wonder to its most creative regions and remember that hopes and dreams once built a great nation. 

A Lie to Rely On

Remember the days when someone would paint a picture, ace a test or be the first to finish running laps in P.E. and not be accused of performance enhancers? For some of us those days seem almost more like dreams than memories and others may never remember such a time. However, it’s never been the ‘how’ that bugged me; it’s almost always been the deception, the keeping the public in the dark that killed me. Are the lies we tell ourselves, and the world ever justifiable?

            Over the years several hundred athletes have been accused/convicted what have you, of using illegal substances (not all performance enhancers). Take for instance former MLB first baseman David Segui who was busted for using Human Growth Hormone when he played for the Mets. After a long debacle Segui finally admitted to having a doctor’s excuse for the HGH and it was needed to make up for a health condition. The mediocre player at best, lost public support for being shady. Segui ended his career on the Orioles with a pitiful scorecard and little to no fans.

            More popular example, Arnold Schwarzenegger, back in his Mr. Universe days, Arnold was caught using steroids.  Heck Schwarzenegger was pretty much caught doing a lot of dishonest things. He went AWOL at 18, was an illegal immigrant in the 60s and then there were the ‘roids. Not to mention a whole slue of sexual harassment allegations. But he had that charm, those muscles and well no one hates on an action hero who saves the world from aliens!

            Finally we can talk about Texas native Lance Armstrong until the cows come home. The man came in first, seven consecutive times in the Tour de France. Then he broke Sheryl Crows’ heart, so we forgot all about his wins. However, then cancer struck him harder than his 2009 crash in Spain. The world forgave him and rallied on as he got back to business as usual four days after his operation. Now after years of blood, sweat and tears he’s being accused and convicted of doping. Losing his wins, his sponsors and the public’s love. Personally, I think cycling is boring. I participate in Conquer the Coast each year and remember to take a buddy and beats to stay lively. Cycling without Armstrong is golf without Woods, just not worth watching when highlights will do just fine. Maybe he finally came clean to Oprah because she is as close to ‘the people’ as Armstrong is ever going to get. I can respect that.

            So my little surreptitious Islanders, remember should you intend on going the dishonest route be prepared to pay the price. Even if the lie is small you better have a back up of amazing deeds to counteract it. This being said, we might want to all step-up our game this semester.

What's Cooler Than Being Cool?- Ice Cold

In 18 days one of the most extraordinary events will take place. No I am not talking about Saturday or Spring break being a week from March 2 (though that is sure to be extraordinary). I am talking about the Iditarod. Also known as the last great race. Think Disney’s Balto meets Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. Can you imagine participating in an event that lasts almost two weeks, is both mentally and physically demanding and death a very real outcome?

            The Iditarod began in 1973, and was originally meant to simply test the best sled dogs and mushers. Today the race is highly competitive with the fastest time being set by John Baker with a time of 8 days and 19 hours. Teams are made up of a musher and a group of 12-16 dogs of which 6 are required to be on the towline at the finish. Together this team will travel for approximately 1,049 miles from Anchorage to Nome, through blizzards and sub-zero temperatures that can reach 100 below. Just as a reference, water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, your facial hair freezes anywhere from 15-20 below and at all temperatures lower than that your eyes and lips begin to freeze. The Alaskans have been known to get brain freeze from breathing on typical spring days. Not to mention bear encounters, frostbite and possibly getting lost in the abyss that is the Alaskan wilderness. The Iditarod really took off in 1985 when a Wisconsinite Libby Riddles became the first woman to win the race. Mushers from around the world risk it all for the fame and the glory.

            For most of us the answer to my earlier question is “yes, it’s called finals week.” Ask any STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) student and they will tell you that death is a very plausible outcome. Every semester students face starvation, fatigue and insanity all for the glory that comes with that good grade. So this semester why not treat finals like the Iditarod. Gather your team of advisors, professors, study buddies and tutors. Load up your metaphorical sled with knowledge, caffeine and a positive attitude. Look out for detours and bears in the form of parties, video games or whatever your vices may be. Remember to enjoy the ride and be thankful your education is not a race it is a foundation for your future. No guts no glory Islanders, now mush.  

Things I Do When There is Nothing to Do

My darling blog reading beauties, I've missed you! Clearly I've been in hiatus for much too long. I am truly, madly, deeply sorry for this. On a lighter note, I have some great things to spill.

First of all, my holiday vacations were beyond wonderful, I hope the same for y'all. I was on Pinterest like a mad woman, and picked up some nifty ideas. The first being the Breakfast Bun.

Next I learned the art of the ever elusive fishtail braid as well as the two-toned nails.

And finally while I didn't find this on Pinterest I found, I make a mean dog treat :). Someone has to spoil the animals, for all the free love they give (aww).

Ok my darlings, I do promise to be more on top of this!

Transitions

There never seems to be a grey area when it comes to transitions. Meaning they either run smoothly or they are doomed from the get go- odds are always 50/50. So when transitioning from summer mode back to super- busy-semester mode how do you make sure the "odds are ever in your favor"?
This summer I took a leap of faith and applied for an internship in Alaska with the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and much to my surprise was accepted into the competitive program. I jetted 4,000 miles, merely days after my last final exam of the semester, on a 16 hour trip that landed directly into a fast paced summer of living, laughing and lifting fifty pound feed bags. For the next three months, I lived with about 10 interns in a single-wide trailer and worked with about 18 interns from all over America. All but two interns (myself and a Hawaiian intern Claire) are still in school and knew when the summer was over it would be back to early mornings and mind numbing study sessions. Needless to say all summer we worked hard during the day and played as hard as the graduates come night time (which in Alaska is still daylight).
As the summer season began to close that familiar uneasy feeling of adjusting to a new set of classes and professors began to rear its ugly head. Reluctantly I began watching chemistry study sessions on my laptop as well as reading up on my classes and emailing professors. I'll tell you now this sort of preparation was new to me, but I was determined to be on my game this semester. It could have had something to do with getting to spend time with so many college graduates and/or having a roommate who actually cared wether I studied or not.
Whatever the reason, my transition into the coming fall semester has been my smoothest to date. Even with missing the first day of classes, thanks to another grueling 14 hour excursion, I don't feel like I'm stepping into the year blind and clumsy. It's like I always say, confidence will get you everywhere in life, well that and a strong wifi connection.

Kaleidoscope of Courage

                 I've been thinking a lot about courage lately.  The dictionary tells us the noun -courage is the ability to do something that frightens one. However ask an athlete and they might say courage is when you know things could get worse or you could get hurt but you persevere or when you know you are more than likely going to fail and you do it anyway. Now ask a student what it means and they might say courage is doing something outside of your comfort zone like taking organic chemistry at 8 a.m. or taking an internship thousands of miles away from home. So what is courage exactly?

         In 1996, Yankees pitcher David Cone thought he could shake it off when his pitching arm went numb during practice. Due to the continued numbness in Cone's arm, coaches decided to bench him for the game. Turns out Cone had an aneurysm in that pitching arm, though he tried to be courageous and continue playing through the pain, that's an instance where courage meant having the strength to speak up and step down. 

         Let's look at another story of possible courage - NBA Boston Celtic's small forward Reggie Lewis. In '93 during off-season practice Lewis was shooting around on the court and died of a heart attack there on the same court that birthed his career. Earlier that year Lewis had collapsed on the court during a play-off season game against the Hornets. At the prime age of 27 Lewis portrayed the athletes definition of courage, doing something though you know things could get worse, all for love of the game.

         While I've been up here in Alaska courage has meant one thing and that's being a team player. That has meant doing anything from herding elk with nothing but your words and wimp-intern linguine arms to being a tour guide for a bus full of disgruntled tourists. Courage isn't something you're born with it's something we all, athletes, students and interns alike, have had to cultivate for ourselves individually. So next time whether it be the final seconds of the game or an unexpected pop-quiz striking fear in your heart, take a breath and jump on it! 

My First Time...

I must admit, the first time I did it I was nervous. What if I was terrible at it? What if I got laughed at or worse, wasn't allowed to do it again? You want to prove you are good but the whole time your mind races and your hands shake and you keep hoping no one notices this is your first time. They say, "don't worry everyone is nervous their first time, it's a lot to take in," but they all look like pros when they do it. So I climb up, with my legs shaking, eyes on me and I bust out the pearly whites and say, "GOOOOOD morning! My name's Alexis and welcome to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center"

An instant success as I make my first joke and the tour bus bursts out laughing. Relief. The tour takes maybe 30 minutes tops and it's the most exhilarating, what feels like only seconds, of your life. Oral presentation on crack if you will. In that moment I am tour guide, teacher, friend, comedian, biologist and most importantly an intern at the AWCC just as enthusiastic about wildlife as my audience.

I've had many firsts here at the Center. Rapid fire firsts include, feeding bears, touching bears, bottle feeding moose, musk oxen and sitka deer, feeding a bald eagle, horned owls and lynx. Petting a wood bison, herding elk, shoveling bison "patties" being a tour guide, petting and presenting a porcupine, leading a Disney tour, tasting elk and reindeer, walking a reindeer. Living with 10 roommates and last but not least being totally and completely comfortable with myself 4,000 miles away from everything I know and love and finding new things, people and feelings to be in love with. The other day a woman told me I should get Alaska tattooed around my Texas tat so that I could show the size difference and while I do thank Alaska for giving me the room to grow, I'd never portray Texas as small because she gave me the room to be.