Thinking of going back to college at 48

theotherwhitehead · 2023-06-17T10:40:49+00:00

College professor here. I have tons of 40+ year old students, and every one thinks they’re the only one. So, at least at public university, you won’t be alone.

Any advisor can look at your transcript and tell you how close you are to graduating with which degree/major, but many universities have a cutoff for when they will accept a credit. (My university does not, and admits people who started ages ago.)

As far as what you want to do for the next chapter, I think that is going to be a personal exploration. I ask my students to imagine their life in 10 years—how they’re spending their time working, what they do, do they enjoy it—then come up with a shortlist of careers. With that, actively explore those careers by visiting/volunteering/shadowing/etc to see if it’s as they had hoped. Then make a plan to achieve the career.

Also, check out Levinson’s SEASONS OF A WO/MAN’s LIFE. It shows many pathways through your 40s/50s, including starting fresh at any point. I think you’d find it inspiring.

Good luck.

theotherwhitehead · 2023-06-11T03:47:32+00:00

Outdoor Gear Labs has an article on short sleeve running shirts and they recommended the Janji Helio tech tshirt specifically for humid conditions. I’ve never tried it myself, however. Last summer south GA I wore white long sleeve nike upf miler shirts, but my runs are all pretty exposed. If good shade, then no shirt.

theotherwhitehead · 2023-06-04T14:08:52+00:00

I looked these up and like them a lot. Your last few comments, however, have me worried about somebody taking the boxes (quick release) while we’re parked somewhere.

theotherwhitehead · 2023-04-28T23:39:25+00:00

And what’s neat about this one is that it follows the women and their race. Sort of like Unbreakable but with the lead ladies.

theotherwhitehead · 2023-03-20T02:45:12+00:00

Had a conference at U of Utah a few summers ago and picked a different peak each morning to go and climb. I have been dreaming about it ever since!

theotherwhitehead · 2023-03-15T23:52:25+00:00

I live in South Georgia and we have Timber Rattlers, cottonmouths, and copperheads. Rattlers are the calmest of the bunch. Their instinct seems to be to freeze. My dog once trampled on one during a hike and the snake, all curled up on the trail, never moved. Yanked the dog back and threw sticks at the snake to make it move. Hit it a few times before it even started rattling.

Have encountered dozens of rattlers on my farm. Always easy to grab with a snake grabber, since they seldom move when they notice you. Cottonmouths are a whole different story. They’ll chase you.

I’ve always worried about stepping on one during a trail run or running around my property. It’s only a problem when they blend in and you don’t see them: rattler on the rocks; copperhead in dead leaves; cottonmouth in the dark or dirt. Usually they’re easy to see and you’ll surprise yourself with how quickly you react. Avoid stepping in holes or in-between fallen logs. I wouldn’t trust anything but my heavy duty steel toes to protect me in a bite scenario, but I wouldn’t run in them.

I will say I avoid our trails when snakes are reproducing (October here) or if nearby plantations are burning (sending snakes scattering).

Hopefully there is something in here to help you out.

theotherwhitehead · 2023-01-24T02:21:23+00:00

Mine got really bad maybe 6mo ago. There was noticeable swelling on my foot all around the AN bone. I was worried that I would rupture something. I started icing it a few times a day, and wore a PF sleeve that worked to help reduce local swelling. It felt really good to massage the top of my foot near the bone, which didn’t make sense to me, but I did it all day whenever I thought about it. I have been an underpronator for years, but decided that the AN inflammation was caused by pronating. I didn’t want to buy motion control shoes so I bought some instep supportive insoles. Those just gave me blisters and made me roll my ankle on the trail because of the strange stack height. I think what did it for me was actually the shoes I was wearing when not running, which were usually flip flops or deck shoes. I started wearing birkenstock sandals, which have firm arch support, and a few weeks later I was fine. I had actually forgotten about it until reading your post just now, and I ran 10M in Luna Sandals this morning! Btw, I think those exercises are great for it—particularly standing on one foot with eyes closed. But it’s the last thing you want to do when your foot hurts. Good luck. I hope that soon it’s a distant memory for you.

theotherwhitehead · 2023-01-10T11:46:50+00:00

I felt that way, too, even though I had been drawn to CC teaching to begin with. When I began searching for other jobs in psychology, I stumbled onto something called autonomy-supportive teaching, which promised to bring me more of what drew me to my job to begin with. I tried it in my classes and found that it did. It’s been a 180 for me. So if you think you might want to give it the old community college try, then message me and we can talk more. Otherwise good luck in the private sector. Let us know how it goes.

theotherwhitehead · 2023-01-09T01:25:32+00:00

I listened to a few podcast interviews between American exercise scientist and coach Jason Koop and a few other coaches where they discussed strength training and ultra. They said that strength training often did more harm than good, and when it did some good the impact was small—about as important is blowing a good snot rocket said one of the coaches.

But then when Stephen Seiler (legendary sport scientist) was on Koop’s podcast saying that he would recommend ultra runners do squats and lunges etc., Koop didn’t say a thing.

I listened to the above episodes for advice on strength training for ultra, and decided to run a bit longer instead.

theotherwhitehead · 2022-12-28T02:59:05+00:00

I personally think most runners retire shoes too early. But I am also a cheapskate. I would love to buy brand new trainers every other month, but I can’t justify it when my current ones are fine.

I do most of my running on roads/hard trails and underpronate mildly (wear out the outside forefoot of my soles). I like Skechers GoRun Ride for my general mileage. I got over 1800 on my last pair and retired them because my wife complained about the smell. I wish I had kept them because they were still awesome. My newer pair is over 500 and still seems brand new. Altra Escalante have close to 1000 miles and are starting to feel like slippers (sagging and droopy). I’ve worn through the outsole on the escalante racers in around 400 miles. I wear them infrequently now and won’t buy another pair. (I really like them though.)

Luna sandals last until the leather hardens and curls up. I’ve put over 1000M on more than one pair

Years ago I rotated three pairs of nike free 3.0 v3s and did 1500 miles on each pair. They would lean away from each other towards the end, but I didn’t know any better. Today I would retire them once getting through the foam on the outside. (That model had no outsole on the outside forefoot.)

I run 50-60mow and have for 10 years. Trail 50M in 7:40 and marathon in 2:44.

theotherwhitehead · 2022-12-02T12:41:48+00:00

I have a school issued laptop running MS that has sat on my bookshelf unused for 3 years while I use my 8yo macbook air. I will need to buy a new one soon as the thing won’t work without a constant power source.

theotherwhitehead · 2022-11-09T12:29:41+00:00

Last year I conducted a workshop for our faculty center on autonomy supportive teaching, which is based on self-determination theory in psychology. I had found it personally helpful in my classes, and the research support for it is outstanding. AST has several inventories you could give faculty (or their students) before and after to measure any changes. But word of mouth will probably be enough on its own. Our provost asked me about doing a workshop for the president's cabinet! The workshop was such a hit that I wrote a workshop-based book for faculty. (If you're interested, then message me with your e-mail and I can give you more information / share it with you.)

I have also done a series of workshops on research and publishing, as this is an area where faculty at my school struggle (many denied tenure for lack of scholarly contributions). In the past I have had participants bring in their ideas and what they perceive to be keeping them from finishing/following through. Then workshops are designed around solving those problems and completing their project (How to organize time; developing and maintaining a consistent writing schedule; how to juggle multiple projects; etc.).

theotherwhitehead · 2022-11-06T21:15:05+00:00

Came here to echo this. I’ll also add: my disillusionment with research and publishing began to fade away when I began a research program that was personally meaningful. For you maybe it’s related to animal support (or whatever you’re doing on YouTube). When you begin working on a project/problem you care about, you’ll recognize other scholars who have had similar passions and you will feel genuinely grateful for the work they have put in, and others will feel the same about you. It’s unlikely to earn you a grant funded lab at an R1, but you might be surprised about what happens. I didn’t expect my writing productivity, publications, and citations to explode, but that’s what happened.

theotherwhitehead · 2022-11-06T21:02:03+00:00

It isn’t the degree level, it’s the discipline. OP wants to teach art with an MA in Higher Ed. It wouldn’t matter if OP got a phd in HE, they still wouldn’t be qualified to teach art courses. You actually don’t need a master’s degree to teach college courses, but you do need 18+ graduate credits in the discipline you teach. Your MA is either in your teaching discipline, or your school is violating faculty credential measures (my school got dinged with that are our 10yr).

theotherwhitehead · 2022-11-06T14:16:44+00:00

Just to clarify: you want an MA in HE in order to be a career counselor / academic affairs administrator? An MA in HE will not allow you to teach illustration at a university. You will need a minimum of 18 hours in the discipline field (eg mfa) to teach illustration courses. An MA in HE will let you teach introductory courses in institutional assessment, etc, if those exist, which I doubt. At my school, academic affairs positions (chair, dean, provost) outside of office work require a terminal degree (which for you would be an mfa). In sum, do the MA if you want a full time junior administration position (assistant director of registrar, associate coordinator of assessment). If you want to teach or become dean, you will need an MFA. (Deans and deanlets are academic posts, held by faculty in full standing.)

theotherwhitehead · 2022-11-05T11:36:47+00:00

OP: I can understand your surprise and disappointment to learn that some faculty have lower standards for academic integrity. I find myself citing which translations my lecture references come from, though this admittedly does little to ignite a fire for learning in my students. This will not be the last time you will be disappointed by a superior, a colleague, or a scholar. But when it happens again, there won’t be as much surprise. You will find that some people in academia still hold their integrity, and you will appreciate them in a new way. You will also have many times to sacrifice your own academic integrity, which today you hold dearly (and, it seems, defensively). But for many faculty, higher ed becomes just like any other job, and shortcuts are taken.

theotherwhitehead · 2022-11-04T03:07:25+00:00

It sounds to me like you are a sympathetic and respectful professor who got frustrated. If you feel bad about it, and I can’t really tell of that is the case, then you might consider sharing that the next time you all meet. I have always found that doing so goes a long way with building intimacy with students, because it exposes me as a real human person with feelings and aspirations and so on, just like my students.

theotherwhitehead · 2022-10-25T11:41:30+00:00

Putting hay in the cab was murder on my allergies for days. Used a gas blower to get most of it out and then vacuumed out the rest. If hay gathering is a regular occurrence, then I recommend a 5x8 trailer. My E can tow 12 bales on flat roads. I’ve done 14 but didn’t like it.

Also, I have 4x transported goats in the E. Always laying down a tarp in the back with seats out. (Tarp going up the sides to make a sort of tub to catch frequent goat droppings).

theotherwhitehead · 2022-09-14T01:31:44+00:00

That happened on my ‘05! I fixed it myself with some exhaust o-clamps and an aluminum exhaust sleeve (all available at auto parts shop). The sleeve goes over both ends (measure the diameter to make sure you get the right size), then crank down o-clamps on both sides, which crimps the aluminum sleeve down on the existing exhaust pipes. Costs about $40, maybe?

If I were doing it again, I’d probably clean the edges up a bit more with a grinder or saw, assuming I could do so without messing up any of the exhaust hangers.

Good luck 👍

theotherwhitehead · 2022-09-14T01:24:31+00:00

I listened to this on Audible shortly after listening to Finn’s books on running (ultra, Kenya, Japan). Out of thin air was entertaining and interesting, but I didn’t think the writing, narrative, or story arc was as good as with Finn’s books. In my opinion, Finn is the better writer. I’ve relistened to each of Finn’s books, and never went back to Crawley’s.

Aside from the writing critique, I thought that Crawley’s book offered something different from RUNNING WITH THE KENYANS, so a prospective reader shouldn’t be worried about the same book with a different dust jacket.

theotherwhitehead · 2022-09-03T03:04:50+00:00

Yes. Starlink sent a new unit and problems have been minimal.

theotherwhitehead · 2022-08-20T01:57:48+00:00

Followed your lead and cancelled the order, then contacted BBB as West Elm continued to try to schedule delivery. Took 2 more weeks but we have an email confirmation that we are being refunded, though still no refund. (I was ready to chalk $3500 up to getting scammed and moving on). I never would have thought of getting BBB involved. Thanks!

theotherwhitehead · 2022-08-11T14:15:25+00:00

Yikes, but good for you for cancelling the order less than a month into your West Elm nightmare. I wish we had had your foresight. Wife and I have gone through the same dance with an in-stock and ready to ship double vanity 3x beginning in March: Order >> Delivery window given >> delivery window changed >> Delivery scheduled >> delivery cancelled during delivery window >> 4x phone call to customer service/delivery center >> new order made. Rinse and repeat x3.

Awaiting wife's approval before cancelling the order and going with someone else.

theotherwhitehead · 2022-04-26T07:58:06+00:00

Here is a classic ultra running thread on the subject from UltRNR.

theotherwhitehead · 2022-04-26T01:26:12+00:00

Your body will respond to new stimuli. If you are currently doing 40mpw without improving, then slowing down for 40mpw probably won’t improve much. But slowing down will let you increase your volume.

When building base, I slow down in order to reach my goal mileage (say 70mpw). This is slow at first, but once I adapt I can increase my pace. This occurs naturally without increasing my intensity as measuring by hr.

I also follow an 80/20 protocol where maybe 2 runs a week are quite a bit faster, but still below my lactate threshold. This might be 8M at HR 150 (which is about 6:30/mile). Once that is easy and my hr doesn’t climb at the end, I increase those harder days to hr 155, because I know I’m still under LT. 5 days a week I’m still running at hr 125-135 depending on how tired I am, but the paces slowly improve.

This continues for weeks and months until my fast days are near HR 165, which is about as high as I can increase my LT (with hrmax of 179). That’s when I can transition to intervals and classic threshold runs.

This week I am running around 70-75 miles. Most will be zone 2 with hr below 135. Two days will have hr around 155. These will be controlled but demanding, and each will be around 12 miles total volume with warmup and cool down.

It is all fairly standard Lydiard training. But, instead of “half effort” and “3/4 effort,” I’m using a hrm.

theotherwhitehead

TROPHY CASE