Ranger Fit

2010 EP5K Houston's Fun Run

2010-01-18T06:31:00.000-08:00

Its been a great training season and I want to thank Team Ranger for all their hard work and dedication. You truly have help me define what it means to be a Ranger with your dedication, motivation and determination. I hope that fitness becomes a permanent part of your lives.

Name: 5K Results

Patel, K - 33:39
Patel, R - 42:53
Torres, T - 28:22
Leader - 34:56
Vargas - 45:31
Contreras - 26:28
Gutierrez -
Vela -
Muniz - 45:31

* Note - This is list is incomplete and as soon I am able to obtain the information I will update the missing times.

2010 Chevron Houston Marathon

2010-01-17T16:47:00.000-08:00

I ran a personal best today at the 2010 Chevron Houston Marathon today. I finished with a total time of 3 hours 33 minutes and 27 seconds. That's an average of 8 min and 9 sec per mile for 26.2 miles. I came in 91st place for my age group and 708th place over all.

I beat my personal best on this course by over 15 minutes. I have had a great year and I want to thank everyone on the course who helped me run and cheered me on and all the members of Team Ranger for motivating me to do my best.

Also I want to thank Theresa Torres for running with Team Ranger and Lisa Caruso for managing such an amazing program. I have loved it. You have helped me see that the most rewarding part of running is being able to share it with others.

Rangers Lead the Way!

Hooah !

Race Day

2010-01-15T12:04:00.001-08:00

Houston Marathon and 5 K is this weekend. You are all more than ready for the race, so relax and just enjoy the day. Team Ranger I am Proud of You All !!!

Hooah !!

Happy Holidays

2009-12-26T16:34:00.000-08:00

I want to wish everyone a happy and safe holidays from Team Ranger.

Training 12/09

2009-12-10T12:26:00.000-08:00

Name - Mile 1 - Mile 2 - Mile 3

Little B - 14:13 - 36:09 - 51:42

Belmares - 18:00 - 33:50 - 48:30

Calles - 14:22 - 37:24 - 55:31

Castro - 14:13 - 37:23 - 55:50

Contreras - 8:31 - 18:08 - 28:54

Cruz - 13:04 - 30:26 - 47:22

Flores - 14:50 - 30:44 - 45:22

Friess - 13:40 - 32:50 - 50:13

Gomez - 11:45 - 28:24 - 44:48

Lara - 8:45 - 19:00 - 32:02

Leader - 13:40 - 32:50 - 50:09

Mendez - 12:02 - 25:43 - 38:38

Muniz - 10:32 - 26:05 - 42:30

Patel - 10:32 - 22:00 - 35:05

Vargas - 11:35 - 26:05 - 42:22

Vela - 8:31 - 18:08 - 28:54

Running Shoes

2009-12-09T10:18:00.000-08:00

I want to thank Carla and Sarah of Houston Fit for their recent donation of shoes and running apparel. You are making a difference in my students lives and I want to Thank You for your support of Ranger Fit .

Hooah !!!

Training 12/07

2009-12-07T14:17:00.000-08:00

Dec 7th, Ranger Fit wants to remember Pearl Harbor Day. We did not run today because of weather but did watch Spirit of the Marathon. Its a great movie and really gives us all some motivation for our upcoming race. Jan 7th will be here before we know it :)

Training 12/03

2009-12-04T10:11:00.000-08:00

Name - Mile 1 - Mile 2

Little B - 16:17 - 28:40

Gutierrez - 11:50 - 24:55

Patel - 11:50 - 25:04

Paz - 19:11 - 35:06

Vela - 9:23 - 19:24

Training 12/02

2009-12-02T14:37:00.000-08:00

Name - Miles 1 - Miles 2

Calles - 15:14 - DNF

Castro - 16:45 - 37:00

Flores - 13:30 - 29:00

Gutierrez - 10:15 - 24:30

Lara - 16:15 - 37:00

Mendez - 13:30 - 29:00

Paz - 15:14 - 37:00

Vela - 8:15 - 17:44

Friess - 16:45 - 37:00

Aspartame

2009-11-28T17:20:00.000-08:00

What exactly is Aspartame ? When I first heard the word I didnt even know how to say it right, much less spell it. I couldn't decide if it should be Aspartme or Aspirtame. Then when I looked the word up on Wikipedia it said (pronounced/ 'æsperteim/or e' sparteim) whatever that means.

So what is Aspartame ? Aspartame is one of those words that you find on the back of food and drink products. It is generally in small print, and surrounded by other words that are just as confusing and unpronounceable as it is, and I am starting to get the general idea that most Americans just do not pay attention to it. I mean, I think most Americans trust the product, they trust the company, so they assume anything it has printed on it has to be ok.

So what is Aspartame ? Aspartame was created by scientist James M. Schlatter in 1965 in a chemistry lab. It was intended to do something else than it does today. It is an artificial sweetener that is about 200 times sweeter than sugar. Often it is used to reduce calories because Aspartame has less calories than real sugar. So foods that claim to be low calorie may use Aspartame instead of sugar. Aspartame is found in Diet Coke; in little packets of Equal and NutraSweet; and in beverages like Snapple Tea and Crystal Lite. It is used in over 6000 consumer foods and beverages.

So what's the big deal ? Well it is artificial, meaning that it is not natural. And while Aspartame has less calories than sugar, it does have one thing that natural sugar does not have and that is a list of over 90 side effects. I will not list them all, but some of my favorites are blindness, ringing in the ears, holes in the brain and even slows down your metabolism.

So the next time you grab a Diet Coke and think you're doing yourself a favor, think about this. There is nothing natural about artifical. And if you look on the back of your food or drink and you can't pronounce the ingredient's name, or if you don't know what it is, then maybe you should not put in your body.

When it comes to food, there is only one rule you need to know. Eat food, real food, mostly plants.

Training 11/23

2009-11-24T05:38:00.000-08:00

Name: Mile 1 - Mile 2

Belmares - 14:06 - 29:50

Castro - 12:12 - 26:58

Contreras - 9:40 - 20:37

Flores - 14:06 - 30:19

Gutierrez - 9:34 - 20:37

Lara - 13:13 - 30:19

Paz - 12:57 - 28:53

Ruiz - 10:05 - 22:02

Varela - 17:50 - 39:56

Vargas - 11:37 - 25:57

Vela - 8:12 - 16:27

Mendez - 14:06 - 26:58

Mijares - 10:38 - 21:09

Little B - 13:17 - 28:58

Great Job Today. Remember this is the last practice till Thanks Giving, so make sure you get 2 runs over the holiday break. Next week we start practice three days a week, Mon, Wed, Thur. Enjoy the break Team Ranger !!!!

Training 11/18

2009-11-18T16:37:00.000-08:00

Name: Mile 1 - Mile 2 - Mile 3

Belmares - 15:40 - 34:21

Calles 15:00 - 36:08

Castro 15:27 - 20:00 -

Slow n Steady - 8:52 - 19:40 - 30:34

Lara - 10:25 - 23:50

Patel K - 10:20 - 23:09 - 37:34

Patel R - 15:16 - 27:37 - 47:00

Paz - 11:35 - 27:54 - 46:00

Vargas - 14:15 - 30:14 - 43:32

Little B - 12:15 - 30:41

Vela - 8:34 - 20:00 - 34:09

Mendez - 15:08 - 34:27

Also Great Job Mrs. Torres - sub 9 minutes mile !!!!

Training 11/16

2009-11-16T16:33:00.001-08:00

Name: Mile 1

Belmares - 12:45

Calles - 12:20

Contreras - 9:50

Flores - 12:40

Slow and Steady - 8:33

Lara - 11:50

Patel R - 13:55

Paz - 11:40

Vargas - 11:53

Little B - 12:15

Today was a beautiful day, so we limited the run to 1 mile and then did speed work by playing soccer for an hour. It was a nice change of pace and Team Ranger loved it. It is important to cross train, its important to mix up your training and playing soccer is a great way of showing people why it is important to be Ranger Fit.

Ranger Fit Gets A Donation of Shoes

2009-11-16T16:25:00.001-08:00

Coach Jen from the Yellow Group at Houston Fit generously donated some shoes to Ranger Fit over the weekend and the kids loved them. Thank you so much Jen for making a difference in these kids lives. YOU ROCK !!!

If you think you can support Ranger Fit please contact Mr. Johnson at ajohns26@houstonisd.org We need running shorts, shirts, and kid shoes of all sizes. Also any running gear would be much appreciated.

Remember if we do not help our children, who do we help ?

Little B Joins Team Ranger

2009-11-16T16:16:00.001-08:00

Little B, he is a 2nd grader, little brother of Belmares and newest member of Team Ranger. And lets get something strainght, he is not standing in anyone's shadow. He ran the mile today and beat older sister and 4 other memebers of Team Ranger.
When I asked why he wanted to be part of the Team Ranger he simply said he wanted to be Hooah !

Hooah Little B !!!

The Basics of Weight Loss

2009-11-15T07:10:00.000-08:00

Over the past few months I have talked to and counseled several people about weight loss and getting in shape. I love doing it, I am passionate about it, and I generally hope that in some small way I am making a difference in peoples lives by doing so. So here few rules about weight loss and basic nutrition.

Rule 1 - The simple Formula for Weight Loss. Increase your Activity and Decrease your intake of Calories = Weight Loss

Rule 2 - There is no healthy way to loss weight with a pill or supplement.

Rule 3 - If you put good healthy foods into your body, you will feel good and healthy. That's pretty basic.

Rule 4 - Eat food, real food, mostly plants. Try to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. When you eat meat, try to eat white meat like chicken and fish. Try to limit your consummation of red meat by eating it only twice a week, and even then never two days in a roll.

Rule 5 - Eat small meals through out the day. Never skip breakfast, and if you going to eat a big meal breakfast is the meal to eat big, because your more than likely you will burn off those calories through out the day.

Rule 6 - Eat healthy snacks like almonds and carrots and other fruits and vegetables.

Rule 7 - Being Fit is not a part time job, its a full time job. Either you live a healthy life style or you don't.

Rule 8 - Drink water and juice. Avoid alcohol and soda.

Rule 9 - Have a fitness goal and give yourself a timeline. A fitness goal gives you a reason to eat healthy and exercise.

Rule 10 - In the end its you versus you. No one can do it for you.

Training 11/11

2009-11-11T17:24:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Susie, a Rice Track Alumni and Boston Qualifier, I decided to change up training today. Thus, after our stretching and core training we did sprint work, followed by a mile run. Great Job on the sprints !!!

Name: Mile 1

Calles - 7:59

Contreras - 10:31

Gutierrez - 11:17 ( his 4th mile for today, Hooah !!!)

Lara - 9:25

Patel - 10:23

Paz - 12:54

Vargas - 11:17

What did you have for lunch ?

2009-11-11T17:17:00.001-08:00

What did you have for lunch ? 1 member of Team Ranger and another student from my homeroom had a 3 mile run for lunch, and loved every step of it.

Daniel Gutierrez and Leader from Homeroom joined Mr. Johnson today for his 3 mile noon run. This is quite an accomplishment, especially since we had 80 degree temprature at noon today. So the next time you want to call a kid lazy, you better make sure they are not a member of Team Ranger.

Good Job Rangers!!!

Happy Veterans Day

2009-11-11T17:12:00.000-08:00

Happy Veterans Day !! It was both and honor and privilege to serve my country. A special thanks should go out to all veterans for preserving our way of life, and ensuring our freedom.

Hooah from Team Ranger !

Training 11/09

2009-11-09T16:09:00.000-08:00

Name: Mile 1 - Mile 2 - Mile 3

Belmares - 15:28 - DNF

Calles - DNF

Cavazos - 15:04 - DNF

Flores - 12:42 - DNF

Gutierrez - 9:16 - 20:05 - 30:59

Lara - 9:15 - 20:04 - 34:19

Leader - 13:25 - 30:26 - DNF

Patel R - 15:14 - 33:56 - DNF

Vargas - 10:56 - 23:55 - 36:34

Mendez - 11:36 - 26:49 - DNF

Childhood Obesity

2009-11-08T11:13:00.000-08:00

If we do not help our children who do we help.

In Houston, 36 percent of children ages 6-17 are over weight. Within this population, 19 percent are obese.

Texas is ranked 6th in the nation for childhood obesity and Houston is among the top 10 Overweight Cities according to the American Obesity Society.

Regardless who is to blame, these are the facts.

Houston Masters Sports Association 25 K

2009-11-08T10:43:00.000-08:00

I ran a personal best today at the HMSA 25K with a time of 2 hrs 9 min and 57 seconds for 15.5 Miles. Thats an average of 8 minutes and 17 seconds per Mile.

I beat my personal best on this course by 3 minutes. I am having a great a year and I want to thank everyone on the course who helped me run and cheered me on and all the Coaches and Staff at Houston Fit. You Rock !!!

Run This Weekend

2009-11-06T12:48:00.000-08:00

Remember fitness is not something we do some of the time, it is something we do all the time. Make sure you get a nice 30 min run sometime this weekend.

Also 70% of our training is eating right. Eat food, real food, mostly plants. Avoid the most common FAT BOY SNACKS: soda, candy, and chips.

Training 11/04

2009-11-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

Name: Mile 1 - Mile 2

Calles 14:40 - DNF

Castro 16:35 - DNF

Ruiz 16:40 - DNF

Vargas 11:19 - 24:56

Patel 14:10 - 33:16

Mendez 11:25 - 29:52

Flores 13:51 - 29:52

Belmares 13:52 - 29:18

Garfias 15:43 - DNF

Gutierrez 10:00 - 21:36

Friess - 16:30 - 30:40

Lara - 10:10 - 22:45

Paz - DNF

Cavazos - 19:40 - DNF

Varela - DNF

Contreras - 8:36 - 19:28 - (3rd mile 35:01)

Training 11/02

2009-11-02T17:05:00.000-08:00

Name: Mile 1 and 2

Belmares 14:58 - 38:55

Flores 14:58 - 38:55

Calles 9:10 - 19:23

Lara 11:49 - 25:16

Varela 17:15 - 42:00

Vargas 11:40 - 25:00

Contreras 9:10 - 19:25

Patel 12:19 - 28:27

Gutierrez 9:30 - 22:19

You Guys did Great Today. Weather was awesome and so was the running. Keep Up the Good Work !

The 2009 Great Pumpkin Fun Run

2009-11-02T16:53:00.000-08:00

Patricia Lufsey (Right) 35:10 and Theresa Torres (Left) 29:02 - 7th in her age group !!! Awesome Job ! Thank you so much for modeling fitness to our students and staff and for your continous support of Ranger Fit. You Rock !!!!

Team Ranger Sir

2009-10-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

Team Ranger 10/28/09

Every Accomplishments starts with the decision to try.

2009-10-28T19:37:00.000-07:00

A motivated group of 14 came out to run in the face of unpleasant weather. And despite being rained on continued to train, even though they where given the opportunity to quit. And instead of quiting, they took that opportunity to show me their detemination.

So today I will not post times, because a stop watch can not do them justice.

Belmares

Castro

Cavazos

Contreras

Flores

Friess

Gutierrez

Lara

Leader

Patel K

Paz

Ruiz

Varela

Vargas

Training 10/26

2009-10-26T19:12:00.000-07:00

Great Running today!

Name: Mile 1 and 2

Vargas 11:15 - 24:04

Gutierrez 9:40 - 21:05

Patel K 9:50 - 22:35

Patel R 10:30 - 24:55

Ranger Fit Does Not Quit

2009-10-26T18:05:00.001-07:00

I woke up and it was raining. I took care of morning personal hygiene, got dressed, made my lunch and it was still raining. And somehow as soon as I got in my car and go onto the interstate I realized that it was not raining but rather it was pouring down rain.

As soon as I got to work it seemed to stop raining for a minute and then as I got out of my car, got all my things it started pouring down rain on me again.

It rained all day! And all day all I could think of was how I wanted to go home. So around noon I sent a message to the after school coordinator and told her to please make an announcement that we where going to cancel training for today. As I saw members of Ranger Fit through out the day I was telling them not to worry about training, and to just go home. In fact, even after the students where dismissed for the day I was still running into students asking me if we where going to run today. And my answer was still very much NO.

Then around 3:30 the school started to clear out, parents had come to pick up their children, most of the school buses had left, and all those who had the unfortunate pleasure of walking home where out the door. Thus, I went to the main office to sign out for the day and go home. After signing out I made it about half way to the exit when I was confronted by four members of Ranger Fit.

They stopped me in the hall and asked me where I was going. I told them, "Guys, its miserable outside, its been raining all day, go home." Which was an answer they apparently did not want to hear. I got bombarded with comments oh "awww mister" and "its not raining that bad" and "come on I really want to run". And that's when Daniel Gutierrez, one of my students, look right at me and said "Ranger Fit Does Not Quit".

I was stunned. All day all I could think of was going home, getting out of this miserable weather to the comfort of the inner city building I call home. But for my students it was different. All day, all they could think of was getting out of school so they could run. This was the high light of their day. They didn't care if it was raining or not.

So I told them "We will go outside to the track and look at the weather, and if it is raining we are going home". And by some kid miracle when went outside not a single drop of rain was falling.

Ranger Fit Does Not Quit! And today I realized what that meant. It means that Team Ranger is a lot bigger than just me. And I learned that it is not always about what I want but what the kids need. And today they just needed to run.

Running With Friends Makes The Best Company

2009-10-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

A little more than a month ago I talked one of my fraternity brothers into running the Houston Marathon in January. He inreturn convienced his girlfriend to also run the marathon. And today they both set Personal Records running the Koala / Lukes Houston Half Marathon. They both ran under 2 hours and they both ran great. I am really proud of you guys ! Keep up the good work !!!

It is important to know that fitness is contagious. Thus, get your familly and friends involved in your running and your healthy lifestyles. Exercise and eating right is a great topic of communication with your parents and friends. Mentor and motivate your loved ones to work out and exercise and make healthy eating decisions. They will appreciate your concern for thier well being and helping others will motivate you to continue to make good decisions in life.

Koala / Luke’s Houston Half Marathon & Relay

2009-10-25T10:53:00.000-07:00

I ran a personal best today at the Koala / Lukes Half Marathon with a time of 1 hr 45 min and 15 seconds. That's an average mile of 7 min and 54 seconds for 13.1 Miles.

I beat my personal best on this course by almost 6 full minutes. That's 30 seconds faster per mile on average.

Training 10/21

2009-10-21T18:36:00.001-07:00

Weather has not been with us the past few weeks and today it was off and on rain so I cut practice short after it started raining on us today. I want everyone to run this weekend for at least 20 minutes or 2 miles. It is important that we continue our training over the weekend, especially since we did not run today. Also make sure you get some core training in and stay off the fat boy snacks. Half of being fit is eating healthy. Eat food, Real food, Mostly plants.

RANGER FIT NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT

2009-10-19T18:26:00.001-07:00

Ranger Fit Needs You ! We need your support ! I saw half a dozen kids run without shoes today. If you think you can make a difference please contact me.

Thank You

ajohns26@houstonisd.org

Training 10/19

2009-10-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

Great Running today! Great Weather! Great Times !!!!!

Name: Mile 1 and 2

Belmares 13:15 - 26:00
Calles 8:35 - 17:45
Contreras 9:20 - 19:01
Friess 14:20 - 30:10
Gutierrez 9:55 - 20:20
K. Patel 10:20 - 23:05
Ruiz 14:20 - 30:10
Vargas 12:45 - 25:45
Lara - 11:30 - 24:30
Flores 13:50 - DNF
Paz 13:00 - 25:30

16th - 18th Oct

2009-10-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

Cooler Weather over the weekend. Enjoy it. We dont know how long it will last. Make sure you get a run in over the weekend.

Running Update 10/14

2009-10-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

Texas Weather is having its effect on Ranger Fit. Monday we had to train in the gym due to rain and today was training in 90 degree temp with a heat index of 96. A big Thanks to Ms. Seals for the donation of the water bottles. I passed them out today and the kids seemed to really like them. THANK YOU :)

Continue to hydrate and spend some time running over the weekend, run for 30 minutes or 2 miles, which ever comes first. Also note that as we increase the miles we are going to spend less time exercising, so spend some time doing your Core Training at home.

Name: Mile 1 Mile 2

Calles 20:57 DNF
Cavazos 20:18 DNF
Contreras 8:21 19:31
Garfias 16:45 DNF
Gutierrez 11:58 24:40
Leader 16:25 DNF
Patel K. 12:01 DNF
Patel R. 16:25 DNF
Ruiz 12:52 DNF
Varela 20:57 DNF
Vargas 12:47 28:01
Flores 16:45 DNF

Note: I stopped the run after 30 minutes due to time. DNF means DID NOT FINISH 2 Miles with in 30 minutes.

Good Job to Vargas, Gutierrez, and Contreras. Also I want to thank Belmares for keeping time. Furthermore, everyone needs to welcome Flores to Team Ranger, this was her 1st time running with the club.

I also want to thank Mrs. Torres and Mrs. Jackson for running with the kids today. Mrs. Torres is a great runner and we are blessed to have her come join us as much as she does. It is a great benefit to have her exsperence and passion of running.

It is awesome to have the support of the staff, so please come join us. In the past we have had Mrs. Wells, Mrs. Spencer, Mr. Serrano and Mr. Casas. Also I want to encourage any parents of my students to come. Any ability level is welxome in Ranger Fit.

Unhealthy Americans

2009-10-11T07:37:00.000-07:00

According to Todayshow in a news segment called "Should Weight impact your health costs?" http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/33265546#33265546

66% of Americans Are Overweight

31% of Americans Are Obese

59% of Americans Do Not Regularly Exercise

Weather Report

2009-10-11T07:27:00.000-07:00

I hope you enjoyed the cooler weather over the weekend. Tomorrow's temperature is expected to be in the low 80's. In addition, there is a 60 percent chance of rain. Continue to drink plenty of water. Just because it is not hot does not mean you do not need to hydrate.

Run Times 10 - 7 - 09

2009-10-08T07:13:00.000-07:00

Great run yesterday even though it was 90 plus degrees outside. Good job on hydration !!! Continue to hydrate yourselves and drink plenty of water the day before, the day of, and during our runs. Cooler weather is coming but we have to be prepared to run in any environment, because you never know what it is going to be like on Jan 17th, 2010.

1 mile

Castro - 16:00
Cavazos - 20:00
Contreras - 8:20 (Awesome Job Keep Up The Good Work)
Friess - 15:30
Gutierrez - 12:40
Patel K. - 14:00
Patel R. - 15:30
Ruiz - 16:00
Varela - 20:00
Vargas - 13:00

Texas Heat and Safety

2009-10-06T11:08:00.001-07:00

Plus 90 degree weather today, with a heat index of over 100. Make sure that you are drinking plenty of water!!!! Remember that soda is not good for you, and it dehydrates you as well. You should be drinking water, juice, and milk. You do not need to drink energy drinks. They are not natural and it is not good for you.

Safety is everyones concern. Please look over the following information.

Mild to moderate dehydration is likely to cause:

Dry, sticky mouth

Sleepiness or tiredness — children are likely to be less active than usual

Thirst

Decreased urine output — eight hours or more without urination for older children and teens

Few or no tears when crying

Muscle weakness

Headache

Dizziness or lightheadedness

Severe dehydration, a medical emergency, can cause:

Extreme thirst

Extreme fussiness or sleepiness in infants and children; irritability and confusion in adults

Very dry mouth, skin and mucous membranes

Lack of sweating

Little or no urination — any urine that is produced will be dark yellow or amber

Sunken eyes

Shriveled and dry skin that lacks elasticity and doesn't "bounce back" when pinched into a fold

Low blood pressure

Rapid heartbeat

Fever

In the most serious cases, delirium or unconsciousness

Training Schedule

2009-10-03T15:16:00.000-07:00

As of right now training is just 2 days a week after school, monday and wednesday for two hours. However, it is important that everyone is running other days of the week as well. I encourage everyone to run at an easy pace for at least 15 to 20 minutes on Friday or Saturday. As a rule of thumb I think it is best that you take sunday off to rest.

Important Stats

2009-09-24T11:14:00.000-07:00

If we do not help our children who will we help.

HISD Reports that more than 1 in 3 HISD students are suffering from child obesity.

http://www.click2houston.com/education/21040051/detail.html#video

Texas Ranks 6th in Nation for Childhood Obesity.

http://www.click2houston.com/education/21040051/detail.html#video

The highest overweight and obesity prevalence is found in Mexican American boys (ages 6 to 11), 43 percent, and Mexican American adolescent males (ages 12 to 19), 44.2 percent.

http://obesity1.tempdomainname.com/subs/fastfacts/obesity_youth.shtml

Team Ranger's Fitness Program

2009-09-24T08:21:00.000-07:00

Currently Team Rangers Fitness Program comes right out of FM 21-20 The United States Army Physical Fitness Training Manual. We start off with a series of rotations, then stretches, followed by a series of excercises to strengthen our core.

As of today I have them run a mile. As we spend more time training I plan on increasing the distance in quarter mile increments. Furthermore, I plan on doing some speed training so that my students can increase thier times.

Team Ranger Goals

2009-09-24T08:09:00.001-07:00

Team Ranger is through my school's 21st century after school program. The director, Lisa Caruso, asked me last week if I would train the kids to run the 5K at the Chevron Houston Marathon on January 17th 2010. I said yes right away. I am really excited about my students running in this well organized event. I have run 5 marathons at 4 different locations and Houston is by far the best venue!

http://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com/5K/index.cfm

Currently this is the only race that we have on our calenders. However, with the right support we have the potential to participate in a lot more.

Who My Students Are

2009-09-24T07:07:00.000-07:00

As of today I have 15 students in my after school program. However, this is just the first week of the program and realistically thinking tells me that the numbers may change. Most of them are students from my Texas History classes; however, I do have several 8th graders as well.

The program just got started this week and we are still very much in our infancy. But I have high hopes and I see real potential for this club growing into something really awesome. I see a lot of potential for this group to go from running the 5k once in January, to becoming a full time running team that runs marathon relays and 5K's around the city. However, only time will tell what happens and it is still a long time from January 17th.

My Schools Profile

2009-09-24T06:04:00.000-07:00

100% are Title 1
92% of my schools population is Hispanic
89% are on Free/Reduced Lunch
55% are At- Risk
21% are LEP
21% are ESL

** If running is an interest of yours and you want to help change these students' lives, please feel free to contact me to see how you can make a difference!**

Who I Am

2009-09-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

My name is Adam Johnson. I am a 7th grade Texas History teacher at W.I. Stevenson Middle School in Houston I.S.D. Prior to education I spent 11 years in the United States Army as an Airborne Infantryman. I spent one of those years in Afghanistan participating in Operation Enduring Freedom. Shortly after getting out of the military, I started teaching and never thought I would do it for more than a year or two. Six years later I am happier than I have ever been in my entire life and its all because of these little kids that I teach and mentor each and every day.

Running has always been a big part of my life. I started running as a child to escape my childhood troubles. If there was ever anything that was troubling me, I would simply go running until it did not bother me anymore. It was just my way of dealing with the stress that life has to offer. In fact, as a teenager it was not uncommon for me to run 8 or 9 miles a night. In addition, as a member of the United States Army we would run several miles everyday.

Yet, somewhere between getting out of the Army and starting my 1st year of teaching I just stopped working out and started making some very unhealthy life style choices that soon became habits. Thus, it was not before long that I had a lot of extra pounds that I did not want.

Then one day as I was looking at myself in the mirror I just said enough was enough and decided that I was going to do something about my weight issue. So just as I had done when I was a child, I started running. When I first tried, I could not even run a mile. In fact, I could not really even run. But I keep at it and in a couple of short months I was running 4 to 6 miles a day. That's when I decided that I was going to run the Marathon (26.2 miles). When I told my family and friends they told me not to do it, that I was crazy and that I would die. But the more they told me not to, the more it determined me to do it. And six months later with a lot of training I ran the Houston Marathon 2008, and when I crossed the finished line I told myself I would never do it again because it was so mentally and physcially challenging. After a few weeks, I remembered how great it felt to cross the finish line. You feel like you're 10 feet tall! My friends convinced me to run again, I ran my 2nd marathon in March of that same year in Sea Brook. Then 6 months later I ran my 3rd in San Antonio in Nov. 2008, my 4th marathon a month later in Huntsville running the Sun Mart Ultra Marathon and my 5th marathon back at Houston in January 2009.

As of today I am still running. In fact, I am scheduled to run the Houston Marathon a 3rd time in Jan. 2010. I have high hopes for this years running season and hope to set a PR at the Houston Marathon. But more importantly I get to share my love for running with my students.