project proposal apa

7/30/2019 Project Proposal APA

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A Change In Performance

Jared Adams

Chapin High School ALA

Running Head: A CHANGE IN PERFORMANCE 1


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Abstract

The primary focus of this project is to show that by reading Born to Run by

Christopher McDougal, I may in fact enhance my abilities and goals as a competitive

runner and push my limits so that I may achieve these goals. By achieving these goals,

I may not only enhance my own performance, but I will strive to place Chapin High

School's track team in better standing. I will strive ultimately to become a motivation to

others, and by doing this i will inspire others to do the same. The skills I will obtain from

this book will also guide me into the path of become a better leader. By building upon

my leadership skills, I will make it my utmost goal be the one that will inspire my team to

achieve their own goals; big or small. These leadership traits will cause me to bring

positive motives across my team and build them up so that they may reach their farthest

goals. As excruciating as running can be, the smallest amount of motivation is what

carries you the extra mile instead of stopping and walking. I have had many leaders on

my team who motivated me to go the "extra mile" and it is because of them that I am the

athlete I am today. The structure and trust that a leader instills into his followers is not

something that can be obtained in a moment, but it instead takes sometimes a lifetime

worth of influence. The trust that a leader's followers has in him is the sole reflection of

how much of an impact he is making on his followers. When I am leading my team, I

hope to not only lead my example, but to also posses the priceless trust that my

followers will have in me.

A CHANGE IN PERFORMANCE 2


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The Project Proposal of My Choice Novel

I have been competitively running for over three years. Beginning at age thirteen, I

ran in many races, both local, and across the state. However, at this young age, I could

only push myself so far before my young body peaked and I could not become faster,

improve my abilities, or reach any long term goals. But why, you ask, did I even begin to

run competitively? I was 4 foot 9 inches and 140 lbs. at age twelve. Once you envision

that, you will realize why I began a sudden change in activities. By age thirteen, I had

dropped 30 lbs. grown 4 inches, and ran 5 miles every single day. I thought that I was

the best runner at my age; until I ran the Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston for the

first time. Athletes would travel from all over the United States to compete in this 10 km

race. During this race I woke to a rude awakening. There were children, not much older

than me from Kenya, and they were running barefoot. I saw them for the first 45

seconds of the race and never saw them again. They were like machines. After finishing

the race, I spoke with one of the young boys that spoke english. He explained to me

how Kenyans back home would train. To make it short: Wake up, run. Go hunting, run.

Come home, run. Eat dinner, run ect. It was at that vary moment that I realized how

much more dedicated others were to the sport and how seriously they took it. By

reading Born to Run I hope to gain a better understanding of why some athletes are so

motivated as to undergo so much rigorous training. If I gain this motivation, I may push

myself to new heights and accomplish new goals that I previously believed to be

impossible. Ultimately, I hope to remove the word impossible from my life and the life of

my teammates completely.



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Current Situation

With the track season approaching fast, theres no time for breaks from training. What

separates the winners from the losers is merely who is more devoted and dedicated to

the sport. Ever since this past Cross Country season ended in November, I have

undergone intense training. I have practically doubled my weekly mileage and have

gone through two pairs of shoes. When youre standing at the starting line, anyone can

say I want to beat him/ her or Ill definitely pass him after the first lap But its the

winners that actually carry on with that promise, and the winners that actually do instead

of just say. In order to become a do-er, I need the extra motivation to work with a more

rigorous training schedule. Its the motivation that wakes me up every single morning at

5am and laces up my shoes to only run my heart out. But where does one find this

motivation? My motivation was to lose weight when I was 12, and that did happen, but

what do I have to motivate me now? Good health? Friends? Family? Whatever that

motivation is, it must be strong enough to push me to reach my goals to the best of my

abilities. This is what I am hoping to find in Born to Run I desire a form of pure

motivation that will encourage me to reach my offset goals that seem so far yet from me

but yet are very achievable.

Project Plan

While reading Born to run I will carefully observe the techniques and patterns that

the athletes in the book are using to create motivation to reach their goals. By observing

these motivations, I may apply them to my athletic training in order to intensify and



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improve my athletic performance as a high school athlete. I will be constantly working

with my coach and personal trainer to record my progress as a result of my training.

This will ensure that I am meeting my goals, but will ultimately ensure that I will meet my

set deliverables. By the twenty-seventh of February, I will have recorded enough

information to present the halfway point of my athletic results as a result of adopting the

beneficial information in this book. All of my results up to the halfway point will be

expressed into a "halfway point keynote" This will be my While Reading Assignment. I

will be keeping track to see if my mileage is rising, falling, or staying the same. In my

halfway point keynote, I will also cite training methods and quotes that helped me come

to the halfway point of my final goal.Becoming faster is also plays a huge goal, I will

therefore be monitoring if my speed is rising or falling. Any excessive physical pain as a

result of any training plans proposed in the book will also be recorded and monitored.

My health is utmost important to me, and my doctor has already approved that I am

physically able to take on this form of training. The final date to present all my results

will be on the thirteenth of March. I will present all of my recorded results across the

entire process. I will present all of my results, times and performance updates via a

Keynote. A keynote will allow me to present and communicate my results and times with

ease to my audience. This will be my After Reading Assignment. This will include all

times, mileage, pains, and breaks that were taken off as a result of too much pain. I will

also be citing various quotes and guidelines to training that are presented in "Born To

Run" so that I may show that the methods of training that are presented in the book

motivated me and enhanced my performance as an athlete. By presenting this



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information I hope to prove that this book benefitted my athletic performance either in a

substantial way, or in a minor form.

Qualifications

My qualifications as an athlete more than enable me to complete this task at hand. I

have been running for four years now competitively in many races. I have been training

under Jack Legrand and Coach Hines for the past two seasons of Cross Country and

Track. My doctor has cleared me this season and has never denied me any extraneous

physical activities. This past summer, I ran a total of 552.23 miles. The distance to

Sarasota, Florida from my front door. The previous summer, I ran a total of 330.85

miles. The results have greatly improved since two summers ago and I am in the

definite shape to complete this task.

Conclusion

The ultimate purpose of this reading Born to Run is not to just enhance my athletic

abilities so that I may run faster and win more often, Its to show those who were in my

position at age twelve that there is motivation to be found and also hope for a new

healthy life. Everyones desire is to live life to the fullest and enjoy every minute of it, but

what if your physical health is holding you back? This is where one has to find

motivation and shed much blood sweat and tears to get to their goals. However, one

does not just wake up in the morning and get out of bed at 5am to run nine miles for no

reason. There has to be a strong form of motivation and inspiration that is found and is

used to mentally push the individual past their normal limits. This is what I hope to give



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to others after reading Born to Run and sharing my results with others who dealt with

the same struggle as I did at age twelve. If I could look into the future and see a world of

people motivated to stay healthy, be happy, and reach all of the goals that they set in

life, then I would know my task was complete. This task will not be expensive because I

own all equipment that I use, including weight machines, treadmills and elliptical

machines. By knowing that I can make a change in someones life just by becoming a

living inspiration to them will be fulfilling enough and will be completely worth all of the

sweat and hard work I will have put into this project. Thank You from the bottom of my

heart for considering this proposal, and I hope that you see the potential that I see in the

inspiration that can be provided to others that are in a struggle to reach their own

physical goals.

Contact Information

You may contact me via e-mail at: [email protected]. All questions pertaining

my research and this project proposal as well as any personal questions are welcome.

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Resources

LRobbins. (2012). hubpages.com. Retrieved from http://lrobbins.hubpages.com/hub/

Born-to-Run-Book-Review

McDougall, C. (2011). Born to run. Retrieved from http://www.chrismcdougall.com/.

book.html

http://www.chrismcdougall.com/http://www.chrismcdougall.com/

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