Christian Service

I don't often post about things beyond my family or myself but when I'm blown away by something, I sometimes do. I'm not shy about my support for Mitt Romney and I think I may have emailed this link to many of the people that visit my blog but I just thought this was a GREAT example of why this man would be a GREAT President. While visiting his son in southern California just after the San Diego fires, Mitt joined his son Matt and a crew of LDS missionaries and local members to help remove a stump from the front yard of one of Matt's neighbors. WITHOUT CALLING THE PRESS FIRST! How many other top candidates out there would do this? Probably a few of them, maybe a few more if they could get the press there, but there he was, goggles on, messy hair, down in the dirt with a chainsaw! This was a couple weeks ago and it is finally leaking out through some personal journals and amature photos. Mitt didn't and wouldn't publicize this himself but I think it needs to get out there...

Turkey Day Half Marathon

OK, anyone who knows me or has ever read this blog knows that the last 4-5 months have all been in preparation for a half marathon run on Thanksgiving day. I will skip the whole weight loss history (75 lbs total) leading up to this day and focus on just this one day... This day the scale read 199, I had reached my 200 lb goal set for this day.

I awoke at 4:15 remarkably more awake than one would expect at that hour. The only other times I am so awake first thing in the morning are the mornings of deer hunts. In a way this was similar, I was about to face a challenge of me vs. nature. I could taste it, I wanted the run to start right then. I took my shower and then sat down to... um... "lighten my load" to make sure I didn't have to go in the middle of the race. Problem though... I couldn't! It just wouldn't happen! After 20 minutes of futility I figured oh well I should have plenty of chances before the actual race time... I dressed quickly and headed down to grab some breakfast. I ate two slices of whole wheat toast, a banana, and drank a sports bottle of my favorite Gatorade.

My local Fleet Feet running store was offering a service that a friend had told me about, they provide a bus ride to and from the race from our Suburb outside of Atlanta. She said that it is the only way to go. Being my first ever long race it sure made sense to me to not fight the crowds so I had signed up. The buses left at 6am for the 30 minute ride into Atlanta. I sat with two friends from church on the bus and despite the welcome conversation my nerves slowly started to tingle. When we arrived at the starting line and bailed off the bus around 6:40 I was ready to run... except... remember that futility earlier?

We all went and got in line for the 4 Port-a-potties. As the line slowly crept I looked at my watch and realized it was going to be close. As the race speakers blared out "2 minutes" I was latching the door. Unfortunately this is one thing I can't hurry! The more I tried the more futile it got. When the loudspeaker pronounced 10 seconds, I gave up! Having not lightened my load, I bailed out of the facility as the starting gun sounded. Of course this meant me and my two friends were squarely behind roughly 10000 people now filing through the starting line. I am sorry for the graphic images here but it truly was part of my race day experience.

It took us 3 minutes and 2 seconds just to reach the starting line at which point I started my stopwatch. This meant that the official "clock" time was going to be that much slower than my "chip" time. (For you non-runners - in larger races you wear a computer chip on your shoe that signals a computer when you cross the starting and finishing lines. Official standings are based on clock times but my goal was based on my time which is of course the chip time.

The weather was quite nice as the race began. Average morning temperatures this time of the year in Atlanta are around 40 and just the previous Saturday it had been 29. I don't like running in that level of cold. Luckily, kind of, there was a weather front moving in that had the temperature at 60 degrees that morning. Of course, that same front was bringing in the rain. At about the half mile mark we got our first drizzle. If it had stayed at that level, I think all would have been happy. Lets just say, it didn't...

One of my biggest fears was that I would do what I always had done in my 5 & 10 kilometer races, that is, let the adrenaline flow and fly out of the gates with a first mile in the 6:30 to 7 minute range that would just fry me. My plan was to use my two friends to hold me back. I jogged along with them for that first mile knowing it was a much slower pace than I would set for myself. That had the effect of warming me up, settling my nerves, and providing me confidence as we weaved through slower runners at what I thought was not much more than a shuffle. When we reached the 1 mile mark I noted my watch read 10:50. MUCH slower than I had even planned but hey, I was now ready to let loose. I thanked my running partners and wished them good luck and good bye.

As I upped my pace I had to move to the outside just to avoid the hundreds of people that I couldn't weave through fast enough. My goal was to finish in under 2 hours. 9 minutes per mile translates into roughly 1:58 so I knew that with the roughly 2 minutes I had lost in that first mile, that was definitely the pace I would have to hold or best from there on out. Not long after I reached the outside of the throng of runners and got up to pace, the heavens opened! Monsoonal rain soaked us from head to toe. Large puddles formed and I could feel the water squish in and out of my shoes with every stride. I began to fear that all the wicking action in the world was not going to prevent the blisters from forming this day.

By mile three the worst of the rain was over but it would continue with scattered showers the rest of the way. If you know Atlanta, the course runs from roughly Peachtree/Decalb airport to Turner field through downtown Atlanta. The first 5 miles are fairly flat to gently rolling, then for two miles you descend quite a bit, at mile 7 you start a series of long climbs that go for the next 5 or so miles, then they give you a bit of a break with a slight downhill to the finish line.

One of my biggest concerns was running this thing without the security of my hydration belt. I had gone back and forth on that decision several times over the last month and only the night before convinced myself to go without. This made the aid stations quite important to me. If I hadn't been soaked from head to foot from the rain, I would have been from the aid stations. Drinking from a cup while running is just not a skill I have mastered yet... I had also pinned two packets of Apple-Cinnamon Carb Boom gel inside my waste band for a mid-race 100 calorie boost. I used them at the 40 and 80 minute marks and was surprised just how effective they were. I had used them on training runs but I guess had just not noticed the bounce they gave me.

The hills at mile 7 hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been warned about them but I don't think I was ready for them. Watching my splits to this point I noted that I had been holding roughly 8:45-9:00 mile times but now I was climbing and knew I would be for the next several miles and I began to fear I would fall off my required pace. With this fear I leaned into the hill and attacked it not wanting to resign from my goal.

Around the 10 mile mark my right calf began to cramp slightly but not bad enough to alter my stride. It was about this point that I realized something, I was passing people at a constant pace. Maybe I was blind to those passing me but I couldn't remember them and I was still weaving through people, 10 miles in, like it was that first few miles. In an odd way, starting at the back of the field and taking that first mile slow was now providing motivation to pass everyone that was not my equal. I don't know if other runners do this but all of a sudden it was was like magic for me. I held the field in contempt. I would look up, spot someone ahead that I felt I was surely better than, and would attack until I left them in the dust, only to pick out my next victim. My cramps went away, my breathing settled, my confidence soared, and the final few miles seemed to race by (no pun intended).

Capital Punishment, the last hill on the course which runs past the capital building was really not that punishing to me. At the 12 mile mark my watch read 1:49:50 which meant I had just over 10 minutes to go the last 1.1 miles which meant my 9minutes/mile pace would be about right, but close. Assessing myself I knew I could do better than that and I upped my tempo. Once the finish line was in sight, about a quarter mile out, I broke into an all out sprint with everything I had left. It felt great to be still passing people that didn't have enough left in the tank for the sprint to the end. Perhaps I should have pushed harder earlier and not have had so much left in me to sprint but sprinting at the end is such a great feeling.

As I crossed the finish line the official clock read 2:02:07 but my chip would record my time as 1:59:05 which translates to an average pace of roughly 9:06 min/mile. They don't post overall standings for the half-marathon, only in your age/sex groups. Based on official clock time I came in 272nd out of 573 35-39 year old males. If you review chip times you notice that there were 12 people that finished ahead of me by the clock but had slower chip times, however, there were 9 that finished behind me by the clock that actually had faster chip times so by chip time I finished 269th in my group.

As I got on the bus to ride home I thought of all the things I was thankful for on this day of gratitude. Starting with the immediate, I was thankful it was over, thankful for the towel and dry shirt I was smart enough to pack, thankful I didn't have to drive home, and thankful for the big meal in my near future. Then I expanded my view and was thankful for the moment of clarity 16 months ago that I decided I needed to do something about weight, thankful for a wife's patience that all of a sudden had to schedule around my runs, thankful that I had avoided serious injury during that time, and thankful for the words of encouragement that many had given me. Lastly I became thankful for a savior that has made all things possible, a perfect wife, 4 wonderful children, and a brighter future that the efforts of the last 16 months have brought to my horizon.

Family Pumpkins

Just a few Halloween pictures I never got around to putting up. These were our families entries at our church Halloween party. We won the "Best Family Pumpkin Carvings" award. They didn't give an individual pumpkin award.

My "GHOST RIDER"

Mischa's Jack-o-Lantern with her innovation of floating pupils suspended with paperclip wire inside the pumpkin.

Caleb's Happy Vampire Jack-o-Lantern

Register His Hands as a Lethal Weapon!

Here is Caleb's First Karate Tournament. No sparring just yet, just "forms".

And for this 18 seconds of work, what does he get?

1ST PLACE! WAY TO GO BUDDY!

Not to minimize this at all but the tournament has an approach to ensure every kid gets a trophy. They break the kids into small enough groups so they can have A LOT of 1st place finishers. That being said, both his performance and his teachers rate him better than almost all others.

Starts with a "1"

They say a picture is worth a 1000 words so I need not say more. Now lets see if I can make it stick!!! 11 days until the run...

Family Update - Pictures (and video) Added as promised

I guess I have to write an entry about the general status of our family since my dad sent out an email to the family claiming that all I was doing was running and babysitting so Jamie "can pursue some goals" a.k.a. girl scout leadership training. I guess if you are using my blog as your only source of information that might be the impression one might get. I would argue that I have discussed other things with my dad but I’m sure many of us would describe our current lives differently if given more than a sentence. Props to my father for at least communicating something to the whole family. I know it is more than I have done.

So, where do I begin? I guess I can start with the kids then get to Jamie and me.

Caleb - Cub Scout - Night he got his Wolf and became a Bear

Caleb is doing great in 3rd grade. His first quarter report card came in with straight A’s. I don’t know if that still means the same thing in these public school grade inflated times but it still makes a dad’s chest puff out. His other great endeavor right now is Karate. This past summer he won a door prize of 6 month of unlimited karate classes and has gone 2-3 times a week since our return from Utah. He is easily the best student in the beginner level courses and his teacher has requested to move him up to the next level of classes starting next week. At this pace we may end up having to pay for these things come January but the confidence and discipline I have seen it bring him is irreplaceable.

Mischa - Rockstar award at school (kind of like "Student of the Month")

Mischa is our bookworm. Based on the comparisons from my childhood, I’m sure she would make my brothers Loren and Oliver proud. She CONSUMES books. Since July she has read the complete Harry Potter series, twice, not to mention the dozens of other books in the same time frame. In a school program that assigns point levels to various books read and tested on, students have a goal of 25 points for the entire school year. Mischa is about to reach 200 points for the first 3 months. And the girl will read ANYTHING – don’t get me started… Her other endeavor is piano. She started lessons back in July and is moving along quite swiftly. Her teacher told me last Friday that she has never had a student progress through the books as quickly as Mischa who is already playing sharps and flats in three hand positions and can play several Christmas songs… guess we have to find a piano as she is outgrowing our keyboard.

Joshua - What makes you think we are drugging our kids?

Joshua is our tenderheart. Hard to believe he turns 5 in a week. He aims to please and will cry quite quickly if he thinks he has disappointed you in any way. The other day he heard me getting upset with his little sister for having marker all over her face. Twenty minutes later when he came downstairs he had a blanket over his head like a Jaw-wah. Upon further investigation I found that he had played with the marker first and was the source for his little sister’s escapades. He broke into tears and cried more about the experience than his sister. The boy loves his Star Wars, Spider-man, Power Rangers, and video games. Do you think we need to shield him from pop-culture a little better?

Liesie-Lu --- Who me?

As for Liesie-Lu (my nickname for her) she is not accepting the back seat to anyone just because she is the youngest. She is very opinionated and will resort to screaming to get her way. And is VERY jealous of her mother holding anything that even LOOKS like another baby. Her speech was delayed somewhat (may have led to the screaming) but she seems to be making great progress in her vocabulary and very clearly understands what is asked of her. Recently she has found an affinity to having books read to her, that is both good and bad I guess.

Jamie, Caleb & Liesie - Can you pick them out? Yes, that is Caleb with the last line in the skit

Jamie is the perfect diligent busy mother and wife. Apart from taxi driver she is a Cub Scout Den Leader, a Girl Scout Troop Co-Leader, frequent school volunteer, babysitter for two neighbors who are working mothers, and pretty much finds a way to always seem to be in constant motion. I don’t know how she keeps things straight and I often refer to her as my Franklin Day Planner. She is "working on goals" as dad referred to but I would guess that she would like to do a few other things if not for the constant deluge of tasks that beset a stay at home mother.

As for me, yes, running has taken a central theme in my life right now. My wife might argue that it has taken a bit too much of my focus… Maybe that will die down some over the winter once I get past this half-marathon I am running on Thanksgiving Day. I think a full marathon is in the cards down the road but I will make that call sometime in the future. That may take more time commitment than I am willing to give. My problem is I can’t just run out there and do a 6 hour marathon and call it good because that is basically walking. If I do it, I want to do it right… Enough with the running already (I know you are thinking it!) It has provided results though. I am currently 201 lbs and I’m sure I will be at the 200 lb goal I set for myself to run this race on Thanksgiving, even if I’m back over 200 by the end of the day… In other news, my "new" job is going great. I am enjoying not having to travel as much and being at a plant instead of a corporate office every day. Our industry is hurting a little right now as a good chunk of our product goes into the housing market but we seem to be keeping our head above water. Speaking of water, if you haven't heard, we are in the middle of an historic drought in these parts. At least I can blame my dead lawn on the lack of rain and watering restrictions instead of my ineptitude of growing fescue in the south… Just keep your fingers crossed that we don't have to train the kids on "Yellow let it mellow, brown flush it down" as it is enough of a hassle just to get them to flush at all!

I hope this suffices as an adequate family update instead of a book-long, rambling post of themes you had already heard. I’m sure my wife would highlight other elements of our life right now if you had her write on the same topic, but hey, this is the view from where I sit. Pretty nice view I might add…