Twenty-two

Two weeks ago my little brother, the youngest of our herd turned 22. As happy as I was to celebrate, I was sad it was not me turning 22. I loved the age of 22 for several reasons..

1) There is an awesome Taylor Swift song about being 22!

2) It is divisible by 11 and at age 22 I learned the awesome 11 divisibility rule. Aren't you curious to know what it is? (YES!) Hopefully everybody remembers the easier divisibility rules. For 2, if the last number is even, it is divisible by 2. For 3, if the numbers add up to be divisible by 3, it is divisible by 3. For 4, if the last two numbers are divisible by 4, the whole number is divisible by 4. But 11???

Watch this cool trick: If you flip flop subtracting and adding all the digits from left to right, and the final sum/difference is divisible by 11, then the entire number is divisible by 11.

3) It's a year past 21 where you've tried/drank almost everything out there and have successfully figured out how much you can handle without falling asleep or throwing up on the metro.

4)  It's the age I completed my first triathlon (Dog Days of Summer Tri in Ashburn) which changed the rest of my life. No, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I swam in a Costco bathing suit and proceeded to throw on shorts and a t-shirt for the bike and run. I walked up a not-so-steep hill during the ride not even sure if it was legal. Nobody came with me and I don't even have pictures to prove that I actually did it. I walked almost half of the run. I can't find the results but I'm pretty sure I came in the bottom 10.

I'm not sure what "inspired" me to keep going after sucking so much. Maybe it was because I had already spent $250 on Nation's Tri a month later. But if you put it all in perspective, the lower you start, the more you can improve. 

Nation's Tri 2009. It was actually more like 3:59:49 (promise)

For someone who never swam*, biked, or ran more than maybe once a year (each!) prior to age 22, I think I did a pretty darn good job the following years; which leads me to believe that it truly is never too late to start something new. For those younger, I hope you love and appreciate the sheer awesomeness and opportunities heading your way. For those older and my future self, I hope you never forget what it feels like to be 22 (or the 11 divisibility rule).


"It seems like one one of those nights, we ditched the whole scene and end up dreaming, instead of sleeping..."


*Okay I actually swam for one summer swim season when I was 10. I stopped because I burned easily in the sun and would swim for one day and spend 3 days recovering from my sunburn. The more I burned, the more I lathered on sunscreen. It wasn't until I was 18 I realized I was allergic to sunscreen :(

The Difference of 5 Years

It's that time of the year. Vitamin C's "Graduation Song" plays on the radio and your mind gets all nostalgic about the good times in high school/college/grad school. I always get a little sad this time of year, as it's always ___ years since you've gotten your masters (3),  ___ years since you've graduated college (5?!), and ___ years since you've graduated high school (8?! seriously?). Honestly, it just makes me feel old and out of touch as the new generation starts to trickle in.

Co-ed Volleyball Seniors in 2005

Best friend Emily and I graduated college in 2008 (different schools)

 This is a special graduation year, as my brother the youngest of our amazing trio of 3 graduated college. I'm sure both my parents can breathe a huge sigh of relief, as they have finally raised three (somewhat) successful adults and that not all three will actually become math teachers. On top of that, my brother graduated summa cum laude (4.0!) and will be working for a new consulting firm.

Just 3 little monkeys

To make this graduation season even sweeter, it is the year my first class of 8th grade students graduate and my 5th year of teaching. My first year of teaching was in a low-income DC Public Schools under the Michelle Rhee-gime (term coined by Lance) when she graced the cover of Time with her trusty broomstick. Like many initiatives and policies in DC Public Schools, her Rhee-gime and my career with DCPS was short-lived.

Remember this?

Although I was somewhere else, I always wondered about my students, occasionally messaging them on Facebook and reading posts about their lives. I'm happy to say several of these students have made it this day and I am fascinated by their growth in the past 5 years. Here are a few of these amazing and incredible young adults:

Delonte: When I met Delonte, he was small, skinny, and probably used the worst possible language 24/7. Delonte is the oldest of several siblings and spent a lot of time watching his brothers and sisters. Delonte would occasionally have his fits with me, but invited me several of his football games which I attended. Today, he works at McDonald's at Union Station and writes poetry. He received a scholarship for some of the poetry he has written. Delonte will graduate this year and go to Fayettesville State University in North Carolina. When exchanging emails and reading his blog, I am impressed at how his language has improved and is actually very sophisticated, instead of dropping f- bombs every two seconds. Check out his blog here.

Delonte on my right after losing his football game. He was devastated. The boy on my left Jamar was fatally stabbed by another one of my students a few years ago.

Crystal: Crystal was always a sweet girl. She would come to school with her haired tied in two buns. Crystal was not the smartest in her class, but always gave her best effort. I remember her as kind and hard-working. Next year Crystal will attend Virginia State University for Criminal Justice or Social Work.

Nancy: Nancy was one of the smartest girls in class. She was always hard working and would often stop by after school to say hi. She applied to go on the CHILL snowboarding program with me, and every Friday for six weeks, we got to skip school and go to Deep Creek Lake to Snowboard. Nancy will be a husky next year at University of Connecticut and study science.

Nancy and me Snowboarding

In 5 years, my little attention deficit, irresponsible, and annoying little 8th graders became real people. I don't know how much of an influence I had on their life as a first year teacher, but today I am proud to have just been a part of it. They overcame tremendous shortcomings that others could not dig themselves out of.

And what about me? How have I changed in 5 years? To be honest, I'm a little jealous of everyone who gets to graduate every year. They get to be rewarded for their accomplishments, and move on to the next big stage of their life. What have I done? What have I accomplished?

Five years ago, I ran my first marathon and successfully jump started my triathlon career. Between then and now, I've raced over about 50 races. This year, I am mentally and physically strong enough to complete my first Ironman. I was itching for my next big life accomplishment, and like my students mentioned above, I will also be crowned a new title: Ironman Graduate.

First Marathon: Lower Potomac River Marathon in March 2009

A nighttime graduation on November 2nd sounds pretty good to me. Florida is waiting...

Racing the Mt. Vesuvius 5k Champion

Yesterday was my opening race of the 2013 Triathlon Season. It was the inaugural Westfields Sprint Triathlon race. The race was local in Chantilly, VA in the neighborhood that I teach. I didn't know how many people would be racing, and speculated whether to sign up (they had to postpone the race from last fall because of lack of participants). It was truly a solo race- no racing friend, no team, no sherpa. The only other competitor I knew was the "Vesuvius 5k Champion."

Umm... no thanks.

Mt. Vesuvius? Yes, that one, the old Italian volcano that erupted thousands of years ago, burying the city of Pompeii. The local race is put on by the British Naples Forces and is popular among all NATO military personnel and their family. So, who is this mystical runner? Well, more on him later...

I arrived to the race 45 minutes before hand. Upon me, the smallest transition area I have ever seen. Just a couple racks, enough for about 100 bikes. To my delight, I did find a few TeamZ mates, including an old relay partner. After a very long race brief, the staggered snake swim started. People entered the water every 5 seconds. Not a lot of time in between but provided for a very interesting pool swim that resembled the grit of an open water swim. As a slower swimmer, I was one of the last to enter, at one time noticing 6 people coming up one lane fighting to get ahead. With a tap of the shoulder, I was off. Reach, catch, pull, kick, float, breathe, all of the tasks I was told to do but never quite synced. I was surprisingly calm and noticed after a few laps I was catching people ahead of me. I thought to myself I must be doing pretty decent, and with just 275 yards and 11 laps, I jumped to the ground running.

That's me second from the right.

The bike was my time to excel, I knew that was the only edge I had over the "Vesuvius 5k Champion." A headwind, a tailwind, a nice man commented on my "cool shades" and the cheers of a few locals biked me in at PR 12 mile ride with a time of 38:29.

With just a 5k left, I did the best I could do in 44 degree weather. Still wet from the pool, and too lazy (aka "not worth it") to put on additional clothes, I ran with numb toes and a runny nose. After a pretty uneventful 1.5 miles, I spotted the "Vesuvius 5k Champion" at the turn around. With no shirt, hair blowing in the wind, and a big smile, he gave me a thumbs up and "good job!" I wondered if I was beating him, I wondered if I was beating anyone. I must be doing okay, there weren't that many people at the start. I hoped I could at least win my age group.

I crossed the finish with a okay 5k time with two of my students at the finish. One was there cheering for her dad (the overall 5th place male finisher!) and another, the "Vesuvius 5k Champion," Brett.

Brett witnessed the magic of Kona at only 2 months old when his dad, Lieutenant Mark Shaffer, was selected to represent the US Navy. Last year, the Shaffer family was stationed in Naples, Italy and decided to sign up for the local race. Brett entered the 5k which was an uphill run finishing at the top of Mt. Vesuvius. To everyone's surprise, Brett showed up to the finish first. Did he cut the trail short? How could a youth have possibly beat hundreds of Italians and NATO military personnel?

Right now, Brett is back in Virginia and sits in my 2nd period Honors Algebra class. He is kind, great at math, quiet, and modest about his gift of running. He crushes everyone at school during their mile runs, yet never boasts or shows off. He understands the value of hard work, and scored a 59/60 on his midterm after studying for hours. Since his return from Italy, he has traveled to compete in numerous cross country championships. Right now, he can run a 5k under 20 minutes and is less than a minute from beating his Kona finisher dad at that distance (who finished 2nd overall at the triathlon!).

Upon challenging him to the race, Brett said to "bring it on!" It resulted in a 2nd place finish for me, and a 1st place age group finish for him. I have no doubt he is a leader in the next generation of runners and triathletes. I am thankful how racing can bring me closer to students, especially to the minority majority that don't gush about how much they love math class. I am so happy Brett has found (one of) his passion(s) and it reminds me as a teacher how every student can find, grow, and succeed at something they love. I know I won't be his favorite teacher. I know Algebra won't be his favorite class, but I do know he will remember me as the teacher that challenged him to a triathlon (and likely the last to beat him!)

When did this kid get as tall as me?

The aftermath of the race resulted in me sitting on the couch, snacking and sleeping with my remote. On the other hand, Brett went home, diligently studied for his Unit 10 Polynomials test, and showed up Monday morning prepared and proudly wearing his race shirt.


Thank you to the Shaffer family for providing me with all the information and being a mini cheering squad for the day.