Self-Portrait, Classes and Eagle Lens

I signed up for Cheryl Johnson's current photography class, Painting with Light, which starts tomorrow. CJ always starts her classes by asking students to take a self-portrait.  This round, she asked students to take a portrait which features their favorite color.  Although red has been my favorite color for a long time, recently I've found myself drawn to orange.  This morning, getting ready to go to my workout, I decided to take a self-portrait in my orange running shirt.  No make-up, hair not brushed, feeling pretty natural. Then, I decided to stretch myself and take a portrait that really focused on my athletic self.

While I like the shape of my arms and the way my shoes are hanging, I wish the focus was crisper and my expression a bit more relaxed.  I turned it to black and white because the colors in the bathroom clashed with everything else. The first self portrait is very safe; the second one is a bit of a risk. Not sure if I'm feeling that brave. 
In other news, THANKS for the wonderful feedback on my eagle photographs.  For those of you who asked about the lens, I used my Nikon 70-300 mm lens, and it was fully extended.  
The technical specs are: speed 1/400, f5.6, ISO 800.  I took it in "sports" or "running man" mode. We were kayaking when I took it, and we were fairly close to the eagle.  I kept waiting for him to fly away, but he was so interested in eating that he was going nowhere.
Also, I'm curious s to who is planning to do Shimelle's class, Learn Something New Everyday.  I've done it the last two years (once in ATC's and last year with stamping). I'd like to do it this year, but will do it with something simple - either photography or art journaling. If you're dong it, what's your plan? What have you done before? Links welcome.