by Kelly Beischel PhD, RN, CNE

Well, I’ve done it. I registered to run my first race. It’s called the Warrior Run: The Race for Life. I’m excited and scared at the same time. I’ve never run a race before. In fact, the thought of running in front of other people terrifies me.

While simultaneously training for this race and planning my fall courses I’ve noticed the many similarities between training for a race and teaching. Neither of these tasks are inherently easy but certainly made easier with resources and planning.

Start with Objectives

The Couch to 5K app guides my training process, just as the objectives I establish for each class guides my teaching. Having a clear understanding of what I expect students to learn by the finish of class is key.

The objectives are the foundation of course decisions, the center from which everything else flows.

Prepare the way

I bought a new pair of running shoes, a few pairs of socks and leggings (to keep everything in one place :)) in preparation for my training. I also planned out which direction I was going to run, the course I was going to take.

This is especially important when teaching. Strategically planning the content, evaluation methods, teaching strategies, and student preparation material is key to being an effective teacher.

Interval training

Training in intervals-running to walking to running- is as important to training for a race as it is to teaching. Burn out is less likely when you work in intervals. Try this.

The next time you experience a slump in your productivity turn on your timer, switch to a task that takes less thinking or take a walk to allow your thoughts to percolate in the background. When the timer rings get back to it. I’ll bet your creativity and productivity returns.

Students will also appreciate working in intervals in your classroom. What does this look like? Class time divided into bits. Lecture, activity, discussion, thinking time.

Show up

Whether training for a race or preparing to teach a class it’s important to show up.

Do the work.

I can come up with more excuses than anyone. Have you ever said “I’ll just ________ before I sit down to work or exercise?” (You fill in the blank: have a cup of coffee, read some emails, clean my house.) The day just dribbles away.

Well I have, only to be frustrated with how little I accomplished that day. But, I’ve trained myself to show up. I still don’t get it right all the time but it gets better each time I show up.

Warm up

The first 3-5 minutes of my run is horrible – think sucking wind and wanting to quit. Yet it gets better the further I go. I thought this was just me but learned that nearly all runners feel this way at the beginning of their run.

The body hasn’t adjusted to the need for more blood flow and oxygen yet. The beginning of the run is a warm up that feeds the working muscles with a rich oxygenated blood flow. So now I strap on my running shoes, start my warm up and know that it will get better.

The same can be said of planning classes. Starting is the worst part. After warming up though, I get in the zone and creative ideas flow. To warm up – I show up. I set my timer and see what happens in 30 minutes. Gosh I love those timers! They never fail me.

Celebrate

Have you noticed a theme in my articles?

I love to celebrate.

Who doesn’t like to celebrate? When I went from running for 90 seconds to 3 minutes I celebrated. (No kidding. That’s an accomplishment for me.)

I also celebrate when I finish my prep for a class. When students are engaged and teaching goes well? You got it, another call to celebrate.

Whether training for a race or teaching – the steps toward a satisfying finish are the same. I imagine standing on the starting line at the Warrior Run race with butterflies just as I do on the first day of class. But I’ll reassure myself that my training has prepared me for what’s to come.

Reply below.

Tell us what other similarities you see between training and teaching.