What a way to end the year

What a great way to end this year. My running life started out really slow in 2011. Had a new baby, and moved into a new house all within about 2 weeks of Christmas last year. Needles to say I didn’t do much running for a couple of months. Today I got my last run in of the year, and what a difference a year makes. I ran a 5k around the neighborhood and did it in 28:37 that is a full minute plus faster than I have ever run that distance, and it felt amazing. So looking back on the year I never have sat down and said I want to accomplish certain things, but I defiantly had a goal for 2011. I wanted to complete 26.2 miles. I did it! I got my Marathon in November (Yes I think Marathon should be capitalized), and accomplished something that for 30 years of my life I never would have dreamed of starting, and really couldn't understand why anybody else would. Well since that’s the only real goal I had for 2011 (it was a huge one) I’d say I did alright. As for 2012? I think I will for the first time in my life sit down and write out some goals for the New Year. Thank you God for this change in my life, I owe it all to You, and You get all the glory. 

Yes I'm proud of that accomplishment in 2011.

Trucking adventure, and mindless calories

WOW what a crazy couple of days. Wednesday an opportunity presented itself for me to go down to the valley and drive a truck in the oil fields. I had been wanting to jump in an 18 wheeler again, and since I had no commitments around the house it seemed like an ideal time to go. Being back in that cab was awesome, I love jamin those gears, and rollin those wheels. I was like a kid at space camp. However it was so tempting to fall back in old patterns. When I was an over the road driver I made HORRIBLE decisions. I never walked out of a truck stop without a mug full of soda, and something full of calories to snack on while running down the road. I’m proud to say I was able to replace the soda with coffee, and water, and didn’t pick up any snacks. It was not easy but I did it. Often times we don’t realize how much we associate activities with food with. Ever go to the movies and mindlessly snack on popcorn and jr mints? Or perhaps go to a sporting event and order nachos just because you’re there. Most of us mindlessly put food in our mouths just because we are doing an activity that we have ingrained in our minds that the two go together, much the way a person will go to a bar and smoke while drinking, but never touch cigarettes any other time. I want to encourage you to notice those bites of food that go with activities, and retrain yourself to do activities, and enjoy them without the added calories.

This was really cool to walk around and watch these guys work. It was nothing like the tv show  Black Gold btw.

the best present a runner has ever received

Had a wonderful Christmas, I got some pretty cool gifts this year including some under counter lights for my kitchen, and a All-Clad fry pan. You would think nothing could top a new All-Clad fry pan, except maybe a new pair of running shoes, but I got something so much better this year. My wife kept telling me she had this gift for me that was gonna WOW! Me. I don’t wow very easily, but she just knew she was going to do it, and all she had to do was sit down at the computer for a little bit and write something. ??? What was she planning? Well I didn't peek, and let me tell you she WOWED me. I want to share with everybody the best Christmas present that’s ever been under my tree. This is the exact letter she gave me, but without the cool border she had around it;

Running Commitment

I Corinthians 7:4, “The wife doesn’t have authority over her own body, but the husband does.  Likewise the husband doesn’t have authority over his own body, but the wife does.”CEB

This Bible verse has been on my heart for some time and, recently, I have thought intently on its meaning.  I am taking it to a new personal level and have made this Running Commitment as my Christmas gift to you.

 I promise to devote an entire year to running, (or at least attempting to run, until I CAN), beginning today, December 25, 2011.  With your guidance, schedule planning, and training, I promise to follow without complaint (well, maybe a little) and to set personal, reasonable goals that I can achieve.  I promise to try until I can, and also to devote some time to run TOGETHER with you.  I promise to sign up for walk/runs and try to enjoy myself.  I promise to run for fun! I promise to run for serious! I promise to just run for whatever!

I am ready to change for the better.  I am ready to transform my body.  I am ready to metamorphosize my life! (Yes, I made up that word………..)

Wow! 2012 is going to be a challenge!

I love you!  Merry Christmas!

Your loving and committed wife,

Amy

How awesome is that? I am so excited. I have wanted so much for my wife to share this thing that has come into my life and changed me so much, and now she is ready to join me. I love it, and I love you. I know you think it's crazy, but we will cross the line of the SARNR 1/2 marathon this coming year hand in hand. I don't care how long it takes we will do it every step together. I love you. Thank you for the best present ever. 

13.1 is half of nothing

As I take a minute to cool down   warm up regulate my body temperature just thought I would take a moment to write some thoughts. Yesterday as I often do I got to visit with a new runner. Through the course of the conversation she told me she has a goal of doing a half marathon, which I find seems to be a very common goal amongst new runners, but then she was telling me a story of a friend of hers that had run one this year. During her recanting of the story she told me how this woman had been a runner for a very long time, but never any long distances like a half. At this point in my mind I had to remind myself just how far 13.1 miles is, and what an accomplishment it is. I have never looked down on the half, I just simply have become so accustomed to longer distances that it has dropped from my mind how nearly impossible that distance seemed to me at one time. The same goes for a 10k. I remember when I first started running a friend was training for a 10k and I thought how grueling the training was for it. Now my daily everyday runs are close to that mark. I hope someday to look back at a full marathon with the same perspective if I ever get the time to train for ultras. If you’re pushing for a half I want you to remember 13.1 is half of nothing. That is a very respectable accomplishment, and my hats off to anyone who trains for and completes it. 

running on an injury

I hit a really cool milestone this morning. Runkeeper; running companion tells me that in the last approximately year and a half I have burned 300,000 calories tracking my activities. I’m also on the verge of hitting another milestone with them, but I’ll hold off on that one. This is not really what on my heart right now. I got done with my run this morning, and as I was cooling off in the driveway doing some light stretching and walking I checked twitter on my phone like I typically do. I saw a post about a blog that interested me, so decided to read it real quick. I was horrified by what I read, and here is my response. I hope you read it, and I really hope you will take the advice. I want you to know this is out of love, otherwise I would not tell you the truth.

        Prior to my marathon last month I was going twitter crazy with all the people that were coming to town for the race. I even went to a meet up with some runners and bloggers that I’d never meet. One blogger particular was actually two people, friends going on a journey that included 12 races in a year culminating in a full marathon in December. This is the link to the post that I read this morning.  stubborn runner               

Let me just say running with pain is NOT!!!! Ok. Pain is your body’s way of telling you something is wrong. I have known way to many people who have allowed a minor irritation to turn in to a minor pain, then into a big pain, then have had to not do anything for months, and even years. You start your blog off by rationalizing that you’re probably not alone in running through pain. Your right, you’re not, couches are full of people that used to be runners because they ignored their bodies to the point they had to stop running, and once they overcame there injury never started again. I have a friend this year that decided to ignore his body, ran through the pain then ended up sitting on the couch for 6 months. He missed a Tri that he really wanted to do, but luckily he didn’t require a longer stint on the couch. He’s back out there, and recovery has been slow but he got LUCKY. I personally very rarely have any discomfort when I run. During the longest runs leading up to the marathon I would have soreness, but never pain. Running shouldn’t be something you grit your teeth and brave through. It should be pleasurable. You should get enjoyment after a run, not wonder if you’re gonna be able to walk straight the rest of the day. I personally want to be running marathons long into my 70’s and beyond. This is not a short term accomplishment for me. I hope you feel the same way. I look forward to reading about more races you’ve done, and even more meetups in the future. But if you’re not able to get out there and run again because you let your ego get in the way of your common since then you’re running career is going to be short lived, and probably almost over. We only have one body, and if we want to get the most out of it, we must take care of it. Thinking of having kids some day? Want to be able to run and play with them? Think about what you could be doing to your body today that might jeopardize that in the future. Running is a great for our bodies, but you have trained really hard this year, and run a lot of miles. It’s time to sit back and evaluate if you really want to run yourself into the ground, is getting that race bling really worth it? Or could it wait for next year? 

roller coaster run

When I pulled back up to the house after taking my daughter to school this morning the weather was so nasty, but I decided to go ahead and get ready for a run. I knew I needed one. The opportunity presented itself. I knew I needed to take advantage of it. But I wasn’t going to like it! The temperature was in the mid 40’s and raining. I don’t mind one element, but when you start throwing multiple elements together at me, I’m just not a fan. Well as I was getting ready to head out the door I read a tweet from Hal Higdon “@higdonmarathon: It is the start of another week, and it is raining. And I must go out in the rain and get wet. Because runners do that.” This just made my morning. Not sure if it was knowing that I wasn’t the only person in the world crazy enough to go running in the rain this morning. Or if it was just the reaffirmation that yea I’m a runner. I think it was probably the second thing. Stepped outside and yup it was still raining, so I tucked runkeeper inside my shorts and I took off. The first .25 mile was wonderful; I left the house like a bullet out of a gun. That probably wasn’t the smartest thing I did all morning, but I did it. Shortly after that my shins started feeling extremely tight. After my first mile I had to stop, and stretch, and just let my shins cool down. The next 2 miles were about the same. Run a little, stretch a little. I was trying to figure out what was going on. Was it the weather? I had run in this before. Was it lack of warming up? I walked my daughter into school, just as I did all the time to get the blood moving. What could it be? I am going to chalk it up to sprinting hills during my run Friday night for lack of a better explanation. Luckily after about 35 minutes I was finally able to settle into a good run, and was able to enjoy the beautiful weather ;)  It feels good to be a runner. I just know all the people passing me on their way to work thought, "man I wish that was me out there running this morning". Well that's what they were saying in my mind. 

Christmas light run

Well here we are again. The magical time of the year that is Christmas. Of course it’s a busy season, and for my family throw in a couple birthdays, and a wife that has an irregular schedule, and a weather pattern that’s not always conducive to getting outside and running. I don’t always get the miles in that I would like. I have to be flexible in the times that I get to go out and run, and last night was one of those times. I didn’t get out the door till almost 10, and it turned out to be a wonderful time to run. Now my body was tired from the day, and it was a little windy, so I didn’t set any records. However what awaited me was spectacular. As I was getting ready to leave it dawned on me that everybody’s Christmas lights would be on. So I adjusted my normal route to make sure that I would go by all the streets that have homes on them in our neighborhood. Now I enjoy looking at Christmas lights, but getting to actually run past them, rather than driving was amazing. I want to recommend even if you’re not a night runner to schedule at least one night run in the next couple of weeks. If you don’t live in a neighborhood full of Christmas lights or perhaps your community is small take a drive to a larger, more widely lit neighborhood, and enjoy. You won’t be disappointed. I’d be open to taking you through my hood if your close by.  

limits in life

The past week I’ve been working on this

Doing that is something I never would have been able to do a few years ago. Sure I could have put the lights down low, anywhere that I could reach while standing on the ground. However there is no way I would have been able to climb up a ladder, got on my roof as a 450lb man. For starters my access point was too small for me to have even fit through, let alone trying to find a ladder that would have not buckled under the extreme load that I would have but it under. I’m not really sure why I let myself live a life, were doing something so simple as hanging Christmas lights was so far out of my reach of things I could physically do. Is there something in your life that you are being held back from? Don’t allow your life to be controlled by something you can change. 

peace in running

This morning after my beautiful weather run, I asked a friend that I knew was running a while back if he was still running. Unfortunately life happens, and he hasn’t had time to run anymore. I started thinking about this, and myself. I realized that just as much as I would have never have imagined running as a part of my life just a couple years ago, I cannot imagine my life now without running. When I get to go out and get even just a couple miles on the streets is a time that no matter what else is going on in the world, it doesn’t matter during that run. As we are coming into this period of time when people get so stressed over so much, remember 2 things. 1 is God is in control, and is the only reason for the season. 2 go out and exercise. It will make you feel better immediately, and after indulging in a little more Christmas treats then you probably should, you don’t have to feel guilty. I am blessed to live in a climate that we are starting to see some of our ideal outdoor running conditions, but if you’re not so lucky even exercising in your living room will make you feel better. 

Thankful runner

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and the one thing that I am so thankful for every time I go for a run, is that I am a runner. I tell God how grateful I am every time. It’s something that I know non-runners will never understand. I was there at one point in my life, and thought people that ran, were just a little crazy. When talking to people that knew me growing up I often say if you told me growing up that I would run a marathon I would have asked why? In life when we achieve goals that we have are mind set on we say its determination, or perseverance. However I never wanted to become a runner. It is a change in my life that proves that God has the power to change lives. To see a change that can take a 450lb truck driver (the laziest occupation) to a marathon runner is nothing short of the power of God. The remarkable thing about this is I’m not unique. God changes lives every single day. I meet people all the time who at one point in their life were at a somewhere they never thought they could get through, or turn away from. Then at some point they get tired of trying to hang onto their lives, and turn it over to God. Something amazing happens when we stop trying to be in control of our messed up lives, and let God steer. Problems that we didn’t even recognized are suddenly on a path of correction. God doesn’t take away consequences for our previous actions, but He gives a peace, that we know we can make it through. If today you feel that your life is hopeless, I urge you to turn it over to God. Revelation 3:20 says; “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” God is waiting for you, to turn to Him. Why not give yourself something to be thankful for tomorrow, you will not regret it. 

weather phenomena

This morning when the alarm went off I immediately checked the weather on my phone to see if it was raining outside. It wasn’t so I got up, and hit the street. As soon as I walked out the door, I immediately felt the heat and humidity, 75 with 96% humidity. Well I still really wanted to run, so down the street I went. I could tell immediately that I was running slower, but not sure by how much. 5 Minutes ticked by and my favorite running partner runkeeper tells me I am running a full minute mile pace slower then I normally run, and 2 minute mile pace slower than I do when its closer to 50. About 15 minutes into my run a front blew in, and my pace picked up by about a minute. It was incredible just how much the weather affects the way I run. Then I headed north directly into a 20 mph head wind, which slowed me down, but still not as much as when I left the house. Not running any harder, maintaining a conversational pace, yet a 2 minute pace swing based solely on the weather. 

running for fun after a race

I have to say after the last 18 weeks of following a training schedule to prepare myself for the marathon, it was nice to just go out and run. You can lose track of the joy in running when you are constantly pushing to a goal. I wonder if this is why so many people every year run a half marathon, and never run again. I remember my first half. I pushed myself so hard, that afterwards I could barely walk for a week, and forget about running. That didn’t happen for several weeks. If it wasn’t for let’s just say my stubbornness I may have never got back out there. I just want to encourage you if you have reached your goal, and the soreness has subsided, get out there and enjoy a little run. Not worrying about hitting you required mileage, or paying attention to your time, just run. Get out there and remind yourself what you found in preparing for your race, that running actually can be fun. Also let us not forget we can do a little more of what we all enjoy eating ;) time for me to make the biscuits. 

My story

I never struggled with obesity as a teenager or an adult… I embraced it. I lived my entire life being extremely overweight. That was the way it was. Sure, I would sometimes have a fleeing thought that I could possibly try and lose weight; however, I never actually tried to change. When I graduated high school, I weighed over 350 pounds and I played it up. I was the "big" guy, at least on the outside. On the inside, it was a different story. At my "biggest" – some 10 years after high school, I weighed over 450 pounds. At that weight, I did not live life, I watched it. I sat on the side line watching friends do things that I dismissed as activities I was not into doing. I wasn't interested if it was more physical then pitching horseshoes at a BBQ due to the 250+ plus extra pounds I was carrying. I couldn't ride the rides at amusement parks. I couldn't sit in an airline seat. I couldn't plan a life past maybe 40.

Time was still on my side since I hadn't reached the age of 30 yet. By the grace of God, with the exception of high blood pressure that I left untreated, I never suffered any ill effects from my obesity. I lived my life, did what I wanted to do, and never gave any thought that there could be anything else out there for me. Obviously, this wasn't working. Not only did I feel that my physical body was shameful, my entire life that I had tried so hard to build was starting to collapse around me.

Although I had "surrendered" my life to Christ as a teenager, it wasn't until I was 29 years old -with my life collapsing around me, that I realized I never really gave God the "keys" to my life. Imagine being given a new car, and never given the keys to drive that car. That's what I was doing to Christ because there were aspects of my life that I just never wanted to let Him have. After all, I thought I was getting by pretty good. That is, until I came to the realization that I was driving my life straight into disaster, and I needed change. This was a change that I had tried to accomplish on my own but just could not do alone.

In despair one night, I cried out to God and asked Him to "change me". God heard me and that very night He began to work in my life. Once I gave God complete control, not only did He work to change the things in my life I had acknowledged needed to be changed, He began to address complete other areas of my life that needed to be improved before I even recognized these as issues.

So God picked up the ball and started running with it. Like a whirlwind, I immediately began to change. Not just the things that I realized were wrong with my life, but even things that I had yet to acknowledge where problems. With Christ at the controls, I found a new life. From the outside my world still looked as if it was crumbling but I had a peace that only can come from Jesus. I found my new self in a gym one day, and realized after exercising for about 30 minutes that "hey this isn't really that bad". Soon after I started changing my eating habits, and even quit cold turkey a fifteen plus year tobacco habit, without my wife even realizing that I had quit. Everything had changed! Today, I have lost almost 200 pounds, I am healthy, and I am physically enjoying living life.

After spending more than a year inside a gym almost daily, I decided to get off the elliptical machine that had practically been named after me, and try running for a little extra kick to my work out. I ran for a minute then walked a little before running again. Not a whole lot of success came from my first attempts at running, but like exercise in general I realized that it wasn't that bad and I found new goals. My first goal was to run a mile without stopping to walk. I remember well hitting this first goal with such joy that my arms went straight up in the air and a celebration shout came out of my mouth. The gym trainer, already a strong supporter of my physical transformation, quickly encouraged me to establish bigger and more challenging goals. In November of 2010, I registered for my first organized running event and successfully completed the San Antonio Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon.

Running has become a favorite past time to me. It has grown into so much more then counting minutes on a treadmill. It has become an escape, a time of personal reflection, an opportunity to get a way and have some alone time with God. I treasure this time so much these days that immediately after my second daughter was born, I went out and ran 3.1 miles (that is a 5k). Distance running to me has opened a whole new world of endurance events. I want to complete a full a marathon. I want to run 100K (62 miles). I want to finish an Iron Man… all for the glory of God. On the days that I just don't feel like going out and hitting the streets, I lace up my shoes and say "God I'm doing this for you!"

During the race part two

#6 Just passed 22 Here I was just counting down the miles. It was hot, I was 2 more miles than I had ever done before, and everyone around me looked like death. This was not pretty; however, I had a lot of time during these miles to talk to people. I really enjoyed getting to have conversations with the others who were having just as much trouble as I was. I found a couple of common strings with all of us. The first is why we didn’t turn left back there. By that saying that we should have followed the ½ marathoners. The second every one of us had trained for much faster outcomes then we were having. The weather really took its toll. I met this one women doing her first race ever (yea I thought I was nuts that my first race a year earlier at the ½), she was doing so well then I saw her looking harder and harder at those shuttle busses. I encouraged her to keep going, but then she said I just need them to take me a mile, and jumped on and she was gone. There was so many people giving up on these last few miles. I wonder if perhaps I was smarter if I wouldn’t have gotten on one.

#7 Almost 24 miles, and I just got a peak at the alamodome. I got a little choked up #26.2 #RnRSA Last year my uncle qualified for Boston at this race, and I remember him saying what a motivational symbol the Tower of the Americas was. I wasn’t sure exactly what he ment until this moment. You see growing up in San Antonio I see the tower from all over town, however on this course it is really not visible till this one point. At this point you can see both the tower, and the top of the Alamodome (the finish). Seeing this I knew I had made it, and it was so incredibly emotional. I think if I wasn’t starting to suffer from dehydration I might have started crying, but I didn’t want to waste the salt or the water in my body. You see at this point I had sucked my hydration pack dry for the 3^rd time, and even though there was supposed to be a water station around the corner it was gone, and I was pretty sure the one before it was gone to. My hands were beginning to swell. I recognized this immediately as a sign of dehydration, and was beginning to get a little worried. I didn’t panic, I just kept walking, not sure what I was going to do. I past a convenience store, and really wished I had the customary couple dollars that I took on my long runs stuffed in my shoe. I didn’t do it; I thought what was the point? The Rock and Roll people would have everything I needed, WRONG!!!

#8 was not a post but a picture. I snapped a picture of the 26 mile sign. I had made it 2 tenths of a mile and I was done. I can’t tell you how many times my emotions swelled up during this mile as I circled the Alamodome. I bent over several times, almost weeping. It was the most incredible accomplishment of my life. I just finished a marathon.

#9 ‎26.2 becouse 26.3 would be crazy. I did it. #Rnrsa This was my last tweet as I crossed the finish line. I saw this on a sign on the course and I laughed out loud, so I shared it. Wow was the only way to describe this moment. Nothing else could do it. I turned the corner into the chute (the last stretch heading to the finish line) I saw my wife, oldest daughter, sister, and nephew cheering me on. I found the strength to run, and run I did. I know from the video it looked funny, but that was because I couldn’t bend my legs the way I normally do, but I was running none the less. I had the biggest smile on my face, and pride in my heart. I still am not sure what this is going to do, but I knew that God had brought me through this, and it was going to be an amazing testament to His power. This 450lb man just finished a marathon.

#10 I did it!!!

Just completed a 26.57 mi run with RunKeeper

Duration 6:43:07 | Calories Burned 4971

Average Pace 15:10 / mi | Average Speed 3.95 mph | Elevation Climb 3342 ft

This is the post generated by Runkeeper. Looks like I did a little more then 26.2, so I guess I am crazy, but I wasn’t gonna complain.

During the race part one

November 13^th During the race I tweeted a lot. I’m going to copy and paste those tweets on to here, so I have them forever, and will expand on anything that might not have fit.

#1 Almost 7 miles in. This weather is not setting any records. still going strong #26.2 #rnrsa (I was feeling strong at this point. I was doing a good job keeping my pace slow and steady, and was having a really good time. I figured it was time to give the people a little update J)

#2 Mile 13 not the pace I wanted, but I'm still moving forward. It's kinda eerie leaving the crowd @ the split #rnrsa #26.2 (Here I am mathematically ½ way there (mentally not even close) I felt great. About 2 mile previous the marathoners split from the ½ marathoners, and it was about 5 to 1 split, so it felt like for 11 miles running shoulder to shoulder, to now very few people around me. I’m still running at this point, and very worried about the heat. The sun is full force, and kinda wondering why exactly I didn’t turn left back there.)

#3 Only 10 miles to go! #26.2 #rnrsa (Well 16 miles, hard to believe I have just covered 16 miles, and still have 10 to go. The challenge in this is daunting, the task ahead monumental, the God I serve who only under His power will I finish this. I knew going in to this that at this point would be tuff. I have switched to walking more than I am running, and can only muster very short burst of runs. Forward I go.)

#4 Just changed my socks, and my dogs are sayin thank you. #26.2#RnRSA (I knew going in to this, that with the heat, and humidity my socks would get very very wet, and that leads to foot problems. I decided that I would pack a pair of socks with me to change into, and have another pair of socks and shoes with me at 2 points along the way with my sister just in case I needed them (I didn’t). I won’t lie it felt great to sit down and kick off my shoes. I ended up sitting on one of those aluminum barriers on the side of the road. It felt like the most comfortable lazy boy I have ever sat in. When I took of the shoes, and socks my feet screamed with rejoice, it was so pleasurable. I slapped the shoes back on my feet, and continued walking. That’s right walking. By this point There was no more run left in me. It was to hot, to humid, and to sunny. Those three elements took everything out of me, but I wasn’t stopping (at least not longer then it to change my socks).

#5 Past 20 miles. I'm half way there :-) #26.2 #RnrSA Here it is, the dreaded 20 mile point. They say in a marathon you must train yourself to cover 20 miles, then a 10k (6.2 miles) they say that last 6.2 miles is the hardest. I have read that after covering 20 miles, your body looks at you, and says why? Well it’s all true. The last 6.2 miles for me was definitely the second half of the race.

Before the race

November 13^th Race day, as I sit here on the streets it’s a little after 5am, and very few people out here yet. I love getting here early, sitting in the street waiting, and watching as 25,000 people appear to come from out of nowhere. This is such a surreal moment. It’s almost unbelievable that just 3 years ago I was a man weighing in close to 450lbs. I was a man hurting, not from my weight but from my life. I was miserable, things where falling down all around me, and all seemed hopeless. Then shortly before Christmas I turned to God, and said I can’t do it myself, I need You. I had no idea that the road I started down at that point would result with me toeing the line to run a marathon less than 3 years later. With God truly all things are possible. 

Nov 11, 2011

November 11^th I got my bib today! I’m a little surprised I’m not more nervous. I remember before the half last year I was very nervous and full of doubt. I have learned a lot from that experience, and hope that I have passed on knowledge from my mistakes to friends doing their first on Sunday. I’m more nervous about the weather then I am about finishing. I had hoped for a 5:30 hour full, but with this weather all I can really hope for is to finish before they roll up the streets. God give me the strength to do this Your strength, not mine. Let this glorify Your kingdom not mine. 

Nov, 10 2011

November 10^th Wow why couldn’t the marathon have been today? It was beautiful this morning. Well forecast is predicting a horrible day to run a marathon on Sunday. They are saying the low is going to be in the mid 60’s and humid, and the high is supposed to be in the mid 80’s with sun. Not good news!!! This morning was great. My body is responding well to the rest, and my diet has been really clean. Combine that with weather in the 50’s I pounded out a 29 minute 5k. I think that’s probably a PR for me. Just a couple days till race day, getting nervous, and excited. I can’t wait. 

Nov 5, 2011

November 5^th One week tomorrow!! Did a nice little stroll around the neighborhood, spent some time in prayer, and reflection, still can’t believe all this has come about what a journey! I am really anxious to get the weather report for Sunday, praying for good weather.

Oct 29, 2011

October 29^th Was scheduled to do 12, wanted to do 13 at least maybe 14. Ended up only doing 10, I just did it again. I used the word only followed by a double digit mileage. That is incredible. Was talking to a friend last night and said that I only had 14 miles I wanted to do in the morning. I couldn’t believe I said that. I mean come on, when 10+ mile long runs become only 10+? Well the reason I only did 10 is when I laid down my water pack my salt pills fell out of the pocket, and I didn’t realize it till a few miles in, and was too late to turn around to get them. So I just kept going. I don’t like doing more than 10 without supplements do to cramping issues that can arise from the depletion of minerals, so I did 10 and knew it really wouldn’t hurt my marathon at this point in the game. It’s all tapering from here J  

Oct 22, 2011

October 22^nd Well today was the day. I set out this morning knowing I had to get 20 or it was the half again for me. I really didn’t know what I was going to do as I left the house. I had a 20 mile route, as well as 2 turn offs along the way. One would have been 14, and the other 17 miles. Had no idea what the day would bring. I got my new shoes, and the weather is a little cooler then the last few long runs, but after last week I had zero confidence. All I have been able to think of is that I will have to do the half this year and maybe next year I can do the full. No shame in a half, after all 13.1 miles is no small feat. But I really really want 26.2; just not sure I can do it. Well I am happy to report that it went exceptional! I did 20 in the time it took me to do the 17 last week. I feel great. I’m a little sore, but for the first time in 2 months I really believe this is going to happen. Everything I have read, and the people that I have talk to that have done this all say if you can do 20 you can do 26.2. Three weeks till race, and I can’t wait. Bring it on, I’m ready!!!

Oct 19, 2011

October 19^th Wow what a morning!!!! This was the first cool morning we’ve had since last winter. The temp was sub 50 this morning, and beautiful. I was so excited to hit the road this morning, and it didn’t disappoint. You can really tell what kind of shape you’re in when running in these temps. It took almost a mile for my body to warm up this morning. I remember back when I was huge how fast I would break a sweat even in cold weather. It was really amazing how long it took me to break a sweat this morning; I loved every chilly minute of it. Hope there are more to come. 

Oct 17, 2011

October 17^th Well this weekend I ate bad. I have been putting tons of sugar in my body, and eating whatever I want. So this morning did a 2.5 mile quick shake off the weekend run, and try and push reset, hoping for a better week. Well I’ve been doing some thinking since Saturday. I know why I failed so badly. The first is that I tried to write my own plan. I was trying to make up for some bad weeks all in one. I did 20 miles during the week, then on the weekend tried to throw another 20 miles on top of it. My body is just not ready for that kinda mileage. So this week I am going to cut my mileage way down, and shoot for that dreaded 20 miles on fresh legs. Weather is looking up so I have that to look forward to. I could use some cooler weather. 

Oct 15, 2011

October 15^th Well after last week’s failed long run I decided to not take the “step back” week and push forward. My plan calls for an easy 12 miles, but I decided to push out and hit 17+. Set out good, but it was a little warm this morning. Not surprised been that way all summer. As I pushed past mile 14 I was beginning to hurt a lot. My hips were killing me, and my shoes I am beginning to think need to be buried in a deep hole. Thinking about it these shoes are way past their usefulness, and I have to get rid of them. So after 14 my running was done. I started walking, and walking. I even texted my wife to ask if she might be able to pick me up, wasn’t proud of that. By the time I got back to the neighborhood I wanted to quit. I’m not sure why I am failing so badly. God is this really what I have to do? Is there another way? 17 miles and it took over 4 hours, not good.

Oct 8, 2011

October 8^th Today was supposed to be 19 miles. Good news is we got a little rain this morning. The bad news is it hit right as I was leaving the house. With wet streets, and being dark when I left the house I decided it best to not leave the neighborhood I didn’t want to risk some crazy driver hydroplaning and knocking me off the road. I’m glad I made this decision. Close to 10 miles my shoes, and socks were soaking wet. My feet were killing me. I knew that I had gone too far, and for the sake of my feet had to call it quits. My long runs just don’t seem to happen. A few weeks ago I stayed up way to late, and by the time I got up it was too hot to get a long run, and now this. I have two weeks till the monumental make or break 20 mile run is supposed to happen, and I really don’t know if I’m ready. This is not going the way the plan tells me. Weekly mileage is not where it should be. Can I really overcome these setbacks? I just don’t know. I’m not giving up, but I sure have my doubts.  

Sep 28, 2011

September 28^th I just ran 7 miles without stopping to walk! I cannot believe I just ran that far without a single walk break I set out just running, as I approached 5 miles I was still running, and thought lets hit a 10k. Hit the 10k and thought why walk now, so I kept running back to the house. I just can’t believe it. These long runs are really doing some good. 

Sep 24, 2011

September 24^th that was not an enjoyable experience. I have to blame that on some really bad dietary decisions yesterday. Aka I ate lots of sugar. I really do have a weakness. I’m not gaining any weight thanks to all the miles, but I’m also not losing, and all this sugar I can really feel it in my runs. It’s a weakness. 

Sep 20, 2011

September 20 It boggles my mind to be able to walk out the door, and run 5 miles without walking even once. Who is this man? This is the power of God.

Sep 15, 2011

September 15 Did a little 4.5 mile run this morning, and just had a thought. When people find themselves in despair going nowhere, they tend to settle for life in that despair. Don't settle for despair. You are made for so much more.

Sep 10, 2011

Sep 10th. Ran 15 miles this morning. The low last night was about 10degrees cooler then it's been all summer. That's not saying much I think it was about 67 outside, but compared to almost 80 it felt wonderful. My body really responded well to the cooler temp. I was amazed how good I felt as I approached the 10 mile mark, that I even stepped up the pace a little. Decided to leave the subdivision this morning went up 281 cut through an old neighborhood and up to 410. Followed the access road to southton rd and then headed south to bluewing. Followed that to 1937 and back up to my house. It was a great little loop think I will do that again.  Only problem was the ready mix trucks were pouring concrete somewhere today so traffic was surprisingly high. The feeling I had as the sun came up was indescribable and I think one that only someone pounding out miles before the sun comes up can understand. Everything was beautiful. I never thought I would run 15 miles in one stretch in my life, but this just goes to show you never know whats possible with out taking the first step.  

Aug 31, 2011

August 31 7 mile midweek run. I went to bed really looking forward to pounding out these miles. I cant believe I was actually looking forward to running, especially that distance. What a change God has made in my life. So since today finished out the month of August I decided to look back and see my total miles for the month. Run keeper told me after my 14 mile saturday that I broke distance in a month, but I wanted to see what it was. Turns out I did 97.39 miles during the hottest month of the year. Not bad! I can say I am definitely glad the ber months are coming, and hopefully cooler weather following. 7 miles was great this morning, what an awesome time these runs have become for me to spend some time in prayer, and just focus and think and meditate on what God wants me to do. I really got a vision for my new job as a ministry intern, and am really seeing this as what it is. My pastor when we were talking about my role, told me he saw me as a shepherd over the after school program. How fitting that he said that since as a ministry intern I am obviously focused on going into ministry, and what is a minister, but a shepherd to a church. This is a incredible opportunity to start small and get experience as a pastor with out drowning as a senior pastor. I am quickly taking on new projects, and more responsibility, and really got a clear picture of the way I can be working during this mornings run. I am really loving this time just to focus on Christ, and am blown away by his power, and hand in leading me. Thank you God for the work you are doing in my life. 

Aug 27, 2011

Saturday 8-27. Today was 14 miles this is about a mile farther then I've ever run before. Last November there was no way possible I would have done an extra mile after finishing the half, so I'm going in the right direction. The heat really took it out of me today average pace of 13 minute mile. My goal for the full is going to be 12. Hoping the training, some weight loss, and hopefully 30 degrees cooler I will get there. Doing things I've never done before, but that's why we train. To push ourselves to accomplish things we've never done before. Seems amazing still that 2 1/2 years ago I was well over 420 lbs. God you have really made me into something I never thought possible. 

Aug 24, 2011

Wed morning 8-24. 7 mile midweek run. Went out this morning kicking and screaming. Talking to God this morning wondering why exactly I was out doing this. I remembered the purpose is so people can look at my life and see the power of Christ. The power that gets a 450lb man to run a marathon. Got me a little refocused and gives me purpose again. My life is not my own. 

Aug 22, 2011

Monday night 8-22 went out to try and get my 4 mile short run, but stomach was still cramping. I've been nasty sick for several days. I thought I was feeling better, but didn't even make it a mile. Not a good run, but I guess it was better then nothing. 

Aug 18, 2011

Thursday 8-18 today was scheduled a 3 mile run. I got up with every intention of doing this and keeping my schedule with the exception of doing my long Saturday run Friday night due to Amy's schedule at work. As I left the house my thighs and the rest of my body feel really fatigued. I believe this is due to the exhaustion of the heat and dehydration from yesterday's working on the remodeling of the annex building at the church. I decided to turn today's 3 miles into mostly a walk and plan on doing my long run a day early morning on Friday rather then trying to do it at night.

Aug 13, 2011

8-13 so today was suppose to be a long run. Last night my niece popped off that she could run farther then me. So I invited her to come along since I knew that she had been struggling with the call of God into her life and thought what a great opportunity to get her undivided attention for a couple of hours. Wasn't even sure she would get up early enough really.  I was shocked that she texted me and told me she was awake before the time I would contact her to see if she made it out of bed. So I made my way to her house then back to mine so we could begin the 12 mile run. She started off like a bullet and I wasn't sure if that was the pace she was gonna carry me, or if she just didn't know how to pace her self. I assumed it would the latter so I figured she would have to slow down and catch her breath pretty Quickly.  I was right. Very soon she learned that she couldn't keep that pace very long (luckily before I gave in asking her to slow down) so I explained she needed to pace, and told her to settle in with me and she would be ok. About a mile in she told me that it was hurting running slower. What she didn't tell me is that it was hurting to run period. You see she'd been chugging water since we left and now had a belly full that was not sitting well. So we started walking a little and I tried encouraging her to run a little occasionally but it was to late she was ready to quit. It was shorter for us to turn back then finish the lap on the course so we headed to the house. I figured it was getting to late to get back on the course before the golfers arrived but I could at least carry on through the neighborhood. Well as we were walking closer to the house I got my opportunity to talk about what I knew we needed to talk about the problem was we wernt nearly done as we got to the driveway. So I conceded to a pot of coffee and a long talk on the back porch (I love my back porch btw). We got to have a very long conversation with her accepting Jesus as her personal savior. I quickly realized by the time we were done it was way to hot to get my remaining 9 miles so it was breakfast time. I don't think this will ruin my chances at the marathon this year, but even if it does, it's worth it. The S.A. marathon this year wile be a great testimony tool, but this was a lasting victory for the kingdom. And if the training schedule can't be made up (I believe it can) then I will just find another full marathon, or wait till next year. I can always do the half again, but I believe Jesus will give me the strength to overcome this one run. Praise the Lord for the soul committed to day. I pray she will grow strong in faith and have a ever present relationship with Jesus Christ. Thank you God for giving me the opportunity to lead my niece to the lord this morning, now what am I gonna do about that cheesecake and brownie I ate yesterday ;-). 

Aug 6, 2011

Runkeeper cracks me up. This morning was my 11 mile long run. At the end of the run you push end to signify the completion of your tracking. Well recently it has started asking if you are sure your done. This morning I saw that and had to laugh. Yes I was sure I'm done. In fact I'm pretty sure I was done a couple miles sooner but I persevered and got the miles that my training plan lays out. Hard to imagine the perseverance going to be required once the miles double. 

Aug 3, 2011

Well today was my mid week run. Supposed to have been 6 miles but had to get home so amy could leave for work so I only got 5. It wasn't my long run so I should be good. This is week 4 already gonna be doing my farthest run ever real soon. I have never done more then 13.1 so it's gonna be exciting, and kinda terrifying at the same time. I burn about 200 calories a mile, and there will be some weeks that I cover about 40 miles a week. This means I will be burning 8000 cals running. Hopefully will see some good weight loss from this.   

Aug 2, 2011

Tuesday 3miles. This is a marathon not a sprint. Have to remember balance speed and endurance. The last finisher in a marathon still finishes. Must remember that in my training. 

July 28, 2011

This weeks long run only calls for 6 miles. I look at that and think no way that's long enough. However I have to step back and remember the man that wrote this plan has done this many many times, and coached 1000's to the same successful goal if they stick to the plan. So I am going to trust the plan of the one that only wants my successful completion, not my destruction. How often do look at the plan God has laid out for us, and think we know better. Remember God just like the man that wrote my training plan only wants our success, not our destruction. Are you ready to trust the plan of the One that wants you to succeed?

July 19, 2011

Ok I just started my second week run (third week in the schedule I started a week late). Amy is working the early shift so I did the short Tuesday run Monday night. Looking at my coming week the next two nights will be the best of the week, then the long run on saturday morning. Did 3 miles non stop tonight and it felt good. Slower then I would have expected, but think the wind had something to do with that. Oh well I'm not going to dwell on my time, just do the milage and finish the race on two feet. Not sure what I spent the time thinking about. Curious how even with all I have going on in my life that I can turn it all off and just run. It's really a nice break from reality sometimes. 5 miles tomorrow night hope I can get the girls to bed a little early so I can get a little early start. I love being a runner!  

July 14 2011

Day 1 official marathon training day. I have about 17 weeks till the big race. Today was a mid week run 5 miles. I slowed down and felt really good. My long run Saturday need to be earlier though. I started this morning about 8 would like to start the long run by 6:30 or 7. Spent some time in prayer, my mind was really jumbled going from one thought to another. Spent a little time focusing on my breathing. I'm finding after a couple weeks of paying attention to my breathing pattern that now even when I'm not  paying attention it doesn't seem to be nearly as wild as it used to be. 26.2 is a big apple, but I'm going to eat it one bite at a time. After all they built the pyramids one brick at a time. I think the hardest part of this is going to be my own consistency. This is not going to be easy, but if it was more people would do it. Lord help me maintain a decent diet. I have a goal I have a plan. Feels really good to get focused and organized.