So after graduating on Wednesday, I haven't been able to go out for a run. My cold has started to come back, and at about 8.30 this morning I was so delirious I sounded drunk! Fortunately, a drive home, a shower and Lemsip later, I feel a bit more human and can talk about my experiences this weekend.
Because I'm a mug, I got roped into participating in D of E (Duke of Edinburgh) again. What is this, I hear you cry? It is the 'World's leading youth achievement award'. It enhances skills like teamwork and navigation. But usually just involves me and several other staff members from school driving around in a car, meeting the kids at checkpoints, camping in a huge tent, and laughing at them for their failures (i.e. when one kid got chased by a sheep).
THIS time however, I actually had to do some walking! This was the very first expedition that the kids did, so me and three other teachers from school were responsible for about 38 kids as they walked through the Essex countryside. I walked about 13k yesterday with my group of lovely students - many of them current or former students of mine. It was not too demanding, although with a lack of proper walking boots I had to use my running shoes, which meant I had sore feet by the end of it! Luckily though my group arrived back second (the first group had cheated by cutting out a huge part of their trek due to their hilarious lack of navigation skills), beating the D of E coordinator's group, who arrived back third out of four. I smugly called him a loser And as if by some karmic measure in the universe, today I have woken up with my cold at full, brutal force again.
With my 5k next Saturday, I'm going to rest up as much as I can, meaning that I may not actually be able to go out for a run this week if I want to be in good shape on Easter Saturday. I'm disappointed, of course - but my aching muscles, sore throat, cough and pounding head are tethering me to the house for the foreseeable future.
I also have a bit of a technical question for those of you who are so inclined. I didn't want to use my trusty Runkeeper to track my walk yesterday as I didn't want it to swallow up my data allowance, but I'm curious about how many calories I burned, etc. Is there any way of figuring this out which won't involve lots of mental arithmetic? There are many reasons why I am not a maths teacher, after all
Written by
yamiskoi
Graduate
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Sorry I missed your graduation post , big congratulations you must have been so chuffed and rightly so
As for runkeeper you can manually log an activity and it should give you your .calorie burn
You make sure you are rested before next Saturday...!
I told you that you went back too soon!!! (Cross voice ). Done it myself though..
Loads of links on line, so you can calculate your calories burned. You need to enter things like terrain and speed and your weight etc.. but they are simple enough to use.
My husband was a Gold Assessor for DofE, ( def', not a loser), but he was no help, when I asked him.. just into walking speeds etc..
By the way, you are most certainly NOT a mug.
Like so many of us in Education, we give a lot more than our time in the classroom.
My husband was a Head teacher, an RAF Reserve Officer,a volunteer in Mountain Rescue and a DofE Gold Assessor... me, Brown Owl for twelve years, Outdoor Activities Officer for Staffs Moorlands, and a Senior Mistress at School!!! Plus two children.
I know there are lots of amazing folk here, too, who do much besides their jobs!
You rock... totally; because despite everything.. you are going the extra mile. Even when you feel absolutely dreadful.So don't you dare say you are a mug. (Cross voice again).
Well done for getting out there and doing it!
Take care and maybe buy some walking boots Big Hug anyway x
I've spent most of today feeling terribly sorry for myself! As I leave my current school this week I went in this morning, but went home period 2 after sorting out my cover. I feel awful as I wanted to say goodbye properly to the kids, but I have barely left my bed since I arrived home. I doubt I'll be in tomorrow but will try and go in for the final day and a half (but again, I'll see how I feel).
You're on point yet again about the whole not-being-a-mug thing. I do actually enjoy D of E and I'll miss it! The kids do appreciate us giving up our weekends and only get slightly jealous when we eat our takeaway in front of them (courtesy of the D of E budget). It's also great for bonding with other staff members I normally wouldn't come into contact with - I've gotten to know people from the Tech and Maths departments through D of E!
Although I've only been in teaching for a short while, I feel like actually a lot of what I do has very little to do with teaching. Pastoral care, meetings, extra-curricular, visits/exchanges have very little to do with actual teaching. So I totally agree with you about the extra mile stuff although it's not always visible.
Anyway, I'm going back under the duvet now, but I just wanted to let you know I'm following your advice!!
No mug, a superstar! sorry you're feeling crocked again Yam, hope you get better quick and give that 5k some welly on Saturday. Sending you healing vibes x
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And as if by some karmic measure in the universe, today I have woken up with my cold at full, brutal force again. 
Sorry Ms. Floss. 
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