WE have a lot of power to do good things. OTri-Adventures will share perceptions from the eyes of an Occupational Therapist Tri-athlete. OT takes human performance to the next level. OT and Tri promote healthy lifestyles through balance of mindful participation in meaningful activity. Hopefully others will feel motivated to explore occupations, unleash potential, increase appreciation and learn about OT. Keep your goggles nearby, hold onto your handle bars and strap on your fuel belt folks...
The World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) unites and promotes Occupational Therapy on an international level. World Occupational Therapy Day was first celebrated on October 27th of 2010 and has since established a relationship with www.promotingot.org to make this day an annual day of service for OTs throughout the entire world. Click on the links below to read more about WFOT and PromOTing OT.
As OTs, we provide paid service daily and we take advantage of opportunities to participate in unpaid service as often as we each are able. Our profession is rooted in social justice and service to others, all the way back to the early 1900's when we first started working in Settlement Houses. We also promote participation in service based activities for our clients as we understand their therapeutic value in relation to quality of life outlined in the Model of Human Occupation. Both paid and unpaid community service are meaningful occupations; however there is something special about the quality of the service experience when monetary connections are removed and the motive originates solely from the heart. Participation in service improves quality of life for all involved. Service can be mowing the lawn for a neighbor, coaching a kids football team, providing unpaid skilled/professional services or going on a mission trip to a third world country. Service can be simple or complex. Service can be both fun and hard work. Service can at times be challenging, however it is most often rewarding and inspirational.
"Consciously or unconsciously, every one of us does render some service or other. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger, and will make, not only our own happiness, but that of the world at large." ~Mahatma Gandhi
Today, Cincinnati, Ohio OT practitioners, students, family and friends participated in the 2012 OT Global Day of Service in collaboration with Cincinnati Union Bethel. We cleaned, organized and painted one of their four Head Start Preschool programs. We were also provided with some education on the history of Cincinnati Union Bethel (CUB) and the other programs they offer within our community which we hope occupational therapy to become more involved with in the future. CUB was started in 1830 and is the oldest social service agency in Cincinnati. It all started along the Ohio River with the goal to provide a "means of grace and moral improvement to boatmen and those residing in the river vicinity."
Union = group of people Bethel = church for sailors
Things have changed in Cincinnati a bit since 1830, but CUB continues to offer programs 182 years later. Some of the amazing programs they currently operate include the Anna Louise Inn (provides safe and affordable housing for women), Off the Streets (provides support and community reintegration for prostituted women) and their four Head Start programs. More can be found on this valuable agency at the following link: http://www.cinunionbethel.org/
So the big race is less than 25 days! Winter slowly rolled by, spring stirred life back up again and the summer days are so perfect they're going by like the speed of light. It's the final countdown. And I have no idea how this will roll out yo! Last year was pretty decent and my strategy was to prepare as much as I could and just let the rest happen. Might as well go with that strategy again. No worries, I'm going to get an 'A' regardless. I'll either do 'A'mazing, 'A'verage or 'A'wful. Of course, I want and plan to pursue the first...but I'm much more relaxed without expectations...so we'll see how this adventure rolls!
Training and planning for the race and the trip has been fun and has kept me busy. I'm excited yet slightly nervous to race with fast folks and travel around Europe for a few weeks. Me and my backpack and the world. Yeeeehaw! I'm learning about international racing and backpacking and all sorts of other stuff along the way. One of the hardest part is keeping that balance between planning and not planning travel adventures. I know I need to plan for the race and the majority of spontaneity needs to wait till post race. Even then, how much spontaneity do I want to have? As of now I'm leaning towards a lot, but of course I want to check specific adventures off the bucket list at the same time.
Speaking of spontaneity, I thanked my mom pre Mother's Day, so I'll thank my dad post Father's Day. Speicher. The name given to me by my dad. The name I get to represent while swimming, biking and running alongside others from up to 50 different countries around the world. I'm proud of my dad, my grandparents and all the other Speichers. I respect them and want to make them proud. My dad has literally and figuratively given me the world. He has coached me, helped me with school and work, taken me on the best vacations and day trips, timed my swim meets, fed me pre-race dinners and transported triathlon gear at 5am. He encourages me to respect others and myself and to live life to the fullest. No matter what type of problem I have, whether it be mechanical, physical or emotional, my dad is there to help me fix and overcome them. My dad has taught me how to get through anything, work hard, follow my heart and never give up. He's like a rock. He is fine with being quiet, as I am as well. There's nothing wrong with silence. Silence is fantastic. Listening is a pretty good result of silence. My dad works hard and leads by example. Remember when you were a child and thought your parents could do anything? I still think my dad can do anything. I love using my dad's old tent, the car tools and bike he has given me and his old harmonica song book. During my travels, I'm looking forward to getting the compass/whistle contraption back out that he gave me when I went to China. Those things remind me of where I came from and motivate me to make my dad and the rest of the long line of Speichers proud. The best part is...I know he'll be proud whichever "A" I get. I'm lucky to have parents that have unconditional love. And I'm lucky I realize that love.
Here I sit at my brothers pool with a plastic cup of pinot
grigio, my dad vacuuming the pool (and cranking up the tunes…”ohhhh Mexico, it
sounds so sweet with the sun sinking low”) and my mom taking care of the flowers
and pointing out how loud the music is. It’s official, I have an awesome
family, I’m a water child and thank God it’s FINALLY summer. I had some
interesting adventures over this last week and figure I should probably share at
least one of them in detail and a brief overview of a few others. It was my
first week of scheduled workouts with VERITAS Endurance Coaching. I’m happy
those grueling workouts are finally back. They have been deeply missed. Lots of firsts for the year this week. There’s
something special about first times regardless of it’s a first for the year or
a first for the life. First outdoor pool swim, first L4 brick, first piano
playing under the Purple People Bridge in the midst of a run, first snatching
and letting go of lightening bugs, first water feature run through, first time
lifeguarding in 10 years and first time open water lifeguarding during a
triathlon open water swim EVER. That last adventure opened my eyes for sure.
Saturday was the Warrior Dash, which means fun times getting
muddy and running and doing obstacles with friends. Afterwards we drove to Deer
Creek State Park, set up tent and I did my scheduled 2.5 hour run bike run workout
in the park once we got there. Considering
everyone else was continuing to drink beer it was just a tad difficult but
worth it. We had a great dinner overlooking the lake with some awesome people.
Sunday was my scheduled off day, so I figured that I would be a spectator
with Ms. Maria from Indiana and cheer the other athletes on. Well, she ended up guarding the swim finish
and I ended up on a paddle board lifeguarding the deep end during the entire
open water swim. Ms. Maria and I decided to volunteer and boy am I glad we did!
It was fun and I learned a lot.
As I was paddling out to the deep end buoys, I thought about
my old lifeguard days at the Clippard YMCA and Miami U. Lifeguarding in general
is awesome…and today reminded me of those “good old days” when career goals
were based off of BayWatch. Swimsuits, wet hair, sunscreen, and sunshine all day long. There is something special about sitting still in the sun in a big natural pool of water making sure people are safe. Productivity and relaxation all mixed in one. But let me point out that my heart was pumping more
today as a lifeguard than my entire five year high school/college career as a lifeguard at the YMCA pool. Multiple people sprawled onto my paddle board, shouting “can I hold on!”
The majority of people doing this just wanted a quick break to catch their
breath. Other situations:
Man runs into my yellow paddle board…hard…yells THANKS…nose
bleeds and keeps going. Me…”You’re welcome.” My real thoughts: “Sir, excuse me the
buoys don’t move…and neither do the paddle boards. If your ‘skilled enough’ to
pursue a triathlon than be aware there will be human obstacles in the water
other than the dozens of people kicking and slapping your face. It’s part of
the activity. Deal with it. BTW…the more pissed off ya’ll get in open water
swimming...the more anxious you get the worse you’ll perform.” I had to decide who I would share my mental
strategies with and who not to share the strategies with (aka those that get
pissed off by people who give ‘suggestions’.) I’ll just be honest and say I’m
shocked by the amount of people who do triathlons and fight through the swim
the way they do. I will say I was shocked…concerned…proud…and inspired. All at
the same time.
So, back to the activity analysis.
Tools: wetsuit, goggles, swim cap, tri shorts/shirt
Context: lotsa water, deep water, shallow water, wavy water,
calm water, above freezing, no crazy weather, sunshine ideal, other people
Performance skills: BREATHING, confidence, determination, planning,
organization,attention, memory, time mgmt, topical navigation, sharing, reaching, pulling,
pushing, spatial orientation, visual closure and discrimination, kicking, proprioception/body awareness, strength,
fine and gross motor range of motion, rhythm, coordination, vision, hearing.
Performance patterns: Practicing what is learned on a
regular basis, getting adequate sleep and nutrition to perform at the necessary
level (aka not getting “loopy in the deep end”).
Human factors: cardiovascular, neuromuscular, CNS, basically
everything there is
I don’t know the ‘baseline’ and those who participate in the
event today, but I saw a wide range of physical and mental abilities. I saw
people mentally ‘freaking out’ and physically ‘wearing out’. I couldn’t help
but advocate to them how much the two were related out there in the open water.
A select few ended up front crawling right to the finish and skipping the
course. One women wore a snorkel contraption I’ve never seen and moved feet per
minute with her eyes closed. My instincts made me inquire to her if she was ok
and she insisted she was. Another man flopped onto my paddle board and screamed
at me to upzip his wetsuit. Of course I obeyed and couldn’t help but ask him if
he wanted me to take him to shore. Of course he didn’t. What was I thinking!?! Another
man who was huffing and puffing as he was doggy paddling thought I was crazy
for asking him if he was ok. I agree. Finally, the very last person. He stopped
on my board about every 20 yards. My initial thought was WTF would you do an
Olympic tri if you can’t swim w/o rest…then I snapped out of that judgmental
thought process. I paddled next to him the entire second lap, let him rest on
my board whenever he wanted, strongly encouraged him to swim the right
direction and told him to only look at the next buoy. It was a heck of a trip.
He was not giving up for the life of him. When he swam around that last buoy towards the finish he
was proud. He made it. He was proud. I was inspired. I learned how difficult
the task of open water swimming can actually be for someone who hasn’t been
swimming their whole life. I learned how much goes into the work of an athlete
who comes out of the water first and last. I learned a lot today. HFP, I’ll lifeguard
anytime you need meJ
I think the best advise would be to SLOW the mind DOWN, move the body fast and loose, look where
you are going and ENJOY it. The rest will then fall into place. Once again, mindfulness.
Don’t get lost in your head.
April was Occupational Therapy Month and May is the month to celebrate mothers. So, I figured it would be an appropriate time to write about one of the main reasons along my path that led me to become an occupational therapist.
My Mom
Besides being a mom to my brother and I, she was also an art teacher to hundreds of other children. She taught myself and others how to use their imagination, create masterpieces from nothing and have fun while doing so. I didn't just paint at the kitchen table, but I got to wear a Beret and painters shirt, use an easel and pallet. I was lucky enough to spend summer days at art camps and museums. One of her students from over 20 years ago wrote about her this past January in her design and marketing company blog, Gypsywing based in L.A. http://www.gypsywing.com/?p=1280My mom still does hang that student's handmade ornament on the Christmas tree every year. During her teaching days, my mom was also able to publish a book called "Paint Adventures!" Besides art, my mom and dad exposed us to lots of other activities. Swimming, biking and running as soon as possible of course!
When I was in sixth grade my mom developed an chronic illness that forced her to retire from teaching art. I remember people bringing us dinners and helping out at home. Eventually the medications stabilized the condition and she was able to function better. I continued to develop my art skills and was accepted into a Fine Arts program at a university not too far away. I studied there for about a year and a half. At that time, my moms condition became worse again and the doctors explained it wasn't going to get better, it would just get worse. I had a really hard time dealing with my mom's illness and I left college and went home. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life anymore. Long story short, my mom doesn't give up. She is my hero and my angel. The doctors determined she developed a rare neurological disorder similar to Multiple Sclerosis.
Sometimes we're hit with some big challenges, but we shouldn't stop actively participating in life. With the help of medication, occupational and physical therapy, faith, support and attitude she is living her life to the fullest and helping others. She doesn't stop engaging in meaningful activities. After she initially got her power mobility (over 1o years ago) her OT contacted local resources in the community and was able to help her find a used chair lift. My uncle and dad built a deck onto the back of the house and installed the chair lift and ramp. They were able to locate and purchase an adapted van with a ramp so she could drive to the grocery store and the local greenhouses where they all know her by first name. They really need a new van by the way. Any leads would be great! My dad built raised flower beds so they could garden. Their garden is now in the American Garden Museum. http://www.americangardenmuseum.com/states/ohio/cincinnati_speicher.html
Once she was feeling better, my mom continued to be a mom and helped me with career exploration. She signed me up for an online class and introduced me to OT. I never even heard of OT in high school. I loved being around people, helping people, having fun and using creativity. So here I am today and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I love my job and life. I worked in pediatrics four years and I've worked with adults for the last three years, specifically facilitating occupational participation for people who have experienced various forms of brain injury. This past weekend I was surrounded by OTs from all over the country who are working to improve the practice of OT and the lives of those we serve. New ideas started rolling as a result of the annual American Occupational Therapy Association Conference. This Friday I'll take my Certified Brain Injury Specialist exam, so I better get off here, get my run break in and start studying. OT combines the science and art of life. Perfect combination. Occupational therapy is more than just a job, it's a healthy lifestyle that is continuously evolving with whatever the path of life brings.
Trying out the beach wheelchair myself.
I'm also fortunate enough to have my mom cheer me on during my triathlons. She makes really awesome signs. If anyone interested let me know. Last year she was able to come to the beach for one of my triathlons and put her toes in the ocean for the first time in years. My dad and her rented the beach wheel chair and it worked great! She also supports my efforts in fundraising. Last year for my TriSoldier Project fundraiser, she made dozens of amazing cookies, sandwich wraps and contacted local stores for donations. She also drove to the stores and picked the items up.
She is active in sharing her thoughts and ideas through email and letters to politicians and the media. She tweets #AOTA! When friends are sick she will send them dinner. She has recently started learning about and using more local grown organic food and exploring raw and vegan recipes. In my opinion, she should open up a cafe. But hey, her motto is "Do small things with great love." She's right. She puts heart and soul into the meals she cooks for family and friends. She is a prime example of why human participation in meaningful occupation is necessary for health, well being and overall quality of life. She is a professional adapter, triathlon spectator, smart and creative women and loving mom, wife and friend.
My mother is a poem I'll never be able to write, though everything I write is a poem to my mother. ~Sharon Doubiago
“The tendinous part of the mind, so to speak, is more developed in winter; the fleshy, in summer. I should say winter had given the bone and sinew to literature, summer the tissues and the blood.” ~John Burroughs
John Burroughs (1837-1921) was a literary naturalist. He studied “the way” and shared his perceptions of the natural world. John’s observations related to fish, birds, flowers, sky, religion and philosophy. If John were alive today he would so be one of my best buds. Interesting fella.
These past winter months have been high-quality, although my personal preference will always be those of summer. The time spent indoors has led to exploration in other aspects of life, which in turn will hopefully help the whole. Winter hours have been spent reading, writing, listening, thinking, searching, learning and experiencing the arts. Workouts have been happening…just not as “play” oriented as summer. The spinning rooms and treadmill cinemas can get lonely, but I never seem to feel alone when I can look up and see the open sky. Boxing has definitely lit the spark for me a few times this winter. Punching bags recently became new favorite toys. I’ve just invested in some pink boxing gloves so that I can pretend to be girl Rocky more frequently. After discovering the enjoyment of boxing, I also heard that Chrissie Wellington’s coach was a former professional boxer. Boxing is challenging. Plus it cultivates a little more aggression, builds strength, coordination and increases confidence. But most importantly…it’s fun.
This past week marked the first outside bike ride of the season. A friend and I rode 40 miles and it felt good. It’s amazing how much the time flies under the big bright sky. Springforward should be considered a holiday. It would be one of my favorites for sure. The long bike ride made me excited for the spring and summer months to come. Excited for Tuesday play dates with Reser riders and Saturday morning play dates at Ceasar Creek. Excited to play with speed, form and heart rate. Excited to play with old and new friends. Excited to play throughout the Midwest US and the hills of Spain and France. Excited to let things happen and experience some more adventures.
“Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.” ~Joseph Chilton
Once again this year, I’m going to avoid the rigid goal setting and establish a few tri-specific performance ideas to play around with this summer.
1.Complete American Triple T in Portsmouth, OH on May 18, 19, 20th in under 13 hours
2.Complete ITU Long Course World Championships in Vitoria-Gastiez, Spain on July 29th in under 8 hours
The time has finally come to play outside once again. Goodbye to freezing wind, winter coats and runny noses. Hello to sunshine, open windows, rainstorms and tank tops. I'm ready to start the tri-adventures of 2012.
...in the night the stormy night she closed her eyes and dreamed of paradise…
