First Official Training Week Highlights

Over the last 48 days I have really enjoyed running and getting my body used to doing more than pushing a stroller and climbing a flight of stairs or two. My 890 plan is at day 728, leaving just 162 days until I lace up the shoes for an early morning 26.2 mile run.

This morning I ran 5.2 miles, a route that I've made myself very familiar with over the last couple of years, but this morning was different. Recently I bought a new pair of running shoes, putting my Brook's Beasts aside for this Asics model saved me 5 oz per shoe and they feel great. Today on my run I felt stronger than ever, my stride was easy and the hills that I used to dread I climbed with much more ease.

All this had my mind turning toward my race and as I ran I began visualizing the course, the finish line and anticipating the sense of accomplishment I'm sure I'll have. When my wife ran the Rock 'n' Roll 10 years ago I was there to cheer her on at a couple points and the finish line. For my race I hope to have her and our two children there to root for me.

Up until earlier this week I have usually shied away from running with others out of fear of being so slow that I'd hold them back...but I discovered the perfect compromise. As we were visiting the kid's grandmother in Moline, IL I went for a run through the John Deere headquarters property (which I highly recommend, very beautiful, nice hills, two deer watched me as I circled the lake).

As I got back to the house I found the route wasn't as long as I was shooting for so I headed out again but this time the kids wanted to run with me...my 7 and 4 year olds. By this time in my run I was going slow enough for them to keep up with me for a bit.

My daughter ran .6 miles in flip flops and my 4 year old son ran .3 miles. They both commented that they could walk almost as fast as I was running (told you I was slow, but I wasn't going that slow, honestly). Anyway, bottom line was that this little part of my run was the best part of the whole thing. Running with them gave me energy and it was fun to see them enjoying running too. I'm going to try to have them go with me for short sections when ever I can.


Running Shoes by RLivsey at Flickr
Deere Aerial Shot borrowed from the John Deere Website

Music to My Ears

Yesterday morning as I headed out the door for a Saturday run I had my iPod in hand and was searching for some music to jump start my heart and run. As I scrolled I hit my patriotic play list by accident but it wound up being an awesome choice.

God Bless America, The Star Spangled Banner, The Stars and Stripes Forever, My Country! 'Tis of Thee, are all awesome songs that evoke my pride in this great country of ours. I don't know about you but I'm the kind of guy that gets chocked up singing the national anthem and these songs really do get me moving.

So while I was hoping to find something out of a Rocky movie I found these songs, and I know next time I get out and run with the iPod I'll do it again.

Later that day I was driving to Kansas City for a quick visit and a strong sense of patriotism struck me once again as I kept seeing all the bumper stickers and ribbon magnets with slogans like "God Bless America", or "Support Our Troops".

Those three hours were really a great opportunity for me to reflect on how blessed I am, my family is, how blessed we all are to be citizens of the greatest country on earth and it made me mad as hell to think of those who would seek to harm us from abroad and from within.

Anyway, next time I'm out for a run not only will I be pulling up the patriotic tunes on the iPod but I'll be looking for flags, bumper stickers, men and women in uniform to thank and I'll be counting my blessings all over again.

Flag at Flickr by Yakk0odotorg
Ribbon at Flickr by Jason Eppink

Our First Foster Experience

My wife and I are newly licensed foster parents and back in March of this year we took our first placement. I'm glad to report that the young child returned home to mom recently after about four months with us.

I have to admit that going into foster parenting I held many stereotypes about parents who would behave in ways that would end up causing them to lose their children. What I learned through our first experience is that these stereotypes aren't true in every case.

I'm so glad that we had the child we did because this mom did everything she was directed to do. She acomplished a nice list of things during our time with them, she didn't miss or show up late to a single doctor appointment, she didn't show any resentment toward our family and was very thankful for our help.

I'm really thankful she was our first mom because they are not all going to be so perfect, and its during those placements that I'll need to recall our experience with her to maintain our faith in the system.

Boy on Shoulder by David Zentz at Flickr

Tools for the Journey

I have to admit I'm new to this whole social networking phenomenon, but the more I learn, the more I enjoy it, and the more time I'm spending online. An article I just read online said that "social networking is quickly becoming the dominant online behavior globally". I can see why...I'm addicted already and I've been at it for a little over a week now.

I mention this explosion in social networking because I wanted to share my excitement about a site I was referred to by some friends. If you haven't checked out http://www.sparkpeople.com/ yet you should...especially if you're interested in getting your weight/fitness back under control like I am.

It's totally free and adds the social networking component to fitness. I've tried diets or exercise plans on my own in the past and failed, but I'm really looking forward to the social aspect of the communities I have joined.

Feel free to check out my page on sparkpeople, build one of your own and keep in touch. It's tools like these that I know will keep me motivated when my tank is running low. Today I'm on a real fitness high. I ran 5k at lunch, I stuck to my meal plan and lifted/core trained in the evening. I have nearly 25 lbs to lose to get down to my goal weight and its tools like these that will make my journey all the more sweet.

Computer monitors on Flickr by Random Connections

Dumbbells on Flickr by Josh Rokman

One Mile at a Time

It feels so great to be running again, I can hardly believe that I stayed away so long.

A little over a year a go I was celebrating achieving my goal of dropping from 197 to 175 lbs through exercise and watching what I eat (not a diet by any means), I ran the largest 20k race in the US (finishing third to last in my age group), and I was feeling great.

Since then I’ve been using every excuse I could come up with to not stay on that horse:

* I was injured (true but not for a whole year)

* I had too much work to do (ditto)

* the demands of a family keep me from fitting it in (how is it that my wife can get up at 5am every day to fit her work outs in then?)

* blah, blah, blah. (Maybe you’ve been there)

Well since I’ve laced the running shoes back up three weeks ago I’ve:

* been feeling great

* got my energy back

* reduced my stress

* gotten some of the best sleep I’ve ever had

* been able to focus better at home and work

* had one person tell me I looked like I am losing weight

* rediscovered that “I’m a Runner” again

I’ll be updating my miles walked, ran and biked on the left side of my blog under “890 Progress”. I’m nearing 1,000 miles (the equivalent of driving from Des Moines to Washington, D.C.). I’m planning on participating in two races in the coming months so I’ll be posting on my training progress as well, with the big race being on my 40th birthday, Super Bowl Sunday 2008 in Huntington Beach, California.

Finally I want to give a special word of thanks to my friends Amy and Tom at Runners’ Lounge for encouraging me daily and being the voice of the running community.

I'm going to take it one mile at a time, enjoy every one of them and visualize myself crossing the finish line strong.

Man Running on Flickr by Sansartore

Finisher on Flickr by Sosidesc

Plea to Adoptive Parents

As I mentioned in previous posts I was adopted at birth by two of the most wonderful people God has ever given breath to. There hasn’t been a single day that I didn’t feel loved and supported in every way by either of them, but I want to share my perspective and experience in case there are adoptive parents considering doing what my parents chose to do.

They kept the fact that I was adopted a secret from me.

I didn’t find out until I was trying to enlist in the Air Force in high school, and I was told sitting in the recruiter’s office at age 17. There had been clues throughout my childhood that never occurred to me to be credible so I didn’t question it, so finding out this way hit my like a brick.

I had a couple really important conversations with my mom and dad that day, and it took me about 2 days to snap out of the disbelief, but the point I kept coming back to was that knowing I was adopted didn’t change anything. If anything I felt more loved knowing that I had been chosen. I may have been an ‘accident’ to some other woman, but to my parents I was a gift from God.

My advice to adoptive parents is simple…
* be up-front with the child
* raise them to know about their history
* celebrate the fact they were adopted

They won’t love you any less and they won’t be any less committed to you…so don’t fear the notion that some day they may want to search for their birth-mother (which they may do, and I’ll save my story about this for another time)...because even if they do they are still your child.

My mom will always be my mom and my dad will always be my dad, and the fact that we don’t share DNA has nothing to do with that. Period.

Holding Hands on Flickr by Jedi Andy

Blessings in Disguise

Yesterday my seven year old daughter read my tribute to my dad and saw his Marine photo on the internet. Being impressed with the uniform and how handsome he looked she asked why I was never a Marine. I love it when she asks good questions.

I come from a long line of military men on both sides of my family, mostly Navy and Marine men, all of whom served with honor. The VFW hall was an important gathering spot during my bringing up years and so when I was in high school I decided I wanted to serve as well, but in the Air Force (rebel I know).

I met with a recruiter and initiated the process and was sent to Des Moines to be processed, poked and prodded and prepared for enlistment following graduation. The only problem was that for the previous 6 years or so I had suffered from debilitating migraine headaches. So sitting across the desk from the doctor as he reviewed my medical records I was asked "How often do you get these headaches?" to which I replied “Just 2 or 3 times per year.”

As he reached in his drawer and pulled out a big stamp he said "That's 2-3 times to many son.", and with that he stamped my file "Rejected", handed me the file and told me to follow the colored line on the floor that lead me to be discharged. A bus ticket was issued and I was on my way back home.

Clearly it was not God’s plan for me to serve in the Air Force and I’m thankful because of how different I’d have to guess my life would have been. I wouldn’t have gone to college right away, I wouldn’t have started dating my wife and wouldn’t have the great kids I have today.

I explained to my daughter that even though I was disappointed at the time I realize that it was the right decision because had I been in a situation where another persons life was at risk and I had been stricken with a headache I would have put that person further at risk.

The lesson for my daughter was that it's okay to not always get what you want, when you want it, and that with a little patience we usually discover that it turns out for the best. This lesson isn’t easy for a 39 year old to come to grips with, let alone a 7 year old, but it will be one I can come back to over the coming years as she grows.