2013 running year review

As one year comes to a close and another one is on the doorsteps approaching I wanted to take and recap my running adventures in 2013.

Scarecrow Runner’s Year End Review.

 

As a whole 2013 was my most accomplished and most thorough running season since I began running as a teenager. Even through all the years of high school and college cross country and track I have never had a more healthy and rewarding running year. I feel very humbled and blessed to be able to say this and look forward to building upon it in 2014.

In November of 2012, I suffered a grade 3 sprain. See previous blogs for pics and info on this injury. I didn’t know if and when I would be able to run again. I wanted to walk without any issues or pain. I was determined to get back on the roads and make a go of it and did so on January 1, 2013. After several weeks of icing and keeping my ankle elevated and slowly rehabbing it, I laced up an air cast and took off for a 2.16 mile hobbled jog. It wasn’t the most comfortable day I’ve experienced as a runner, but one of the most anticipated I’ve felt in a long time. It took the entire month of January to really begin to get back into the swing of things and overcome soreness. By the end of the month I had logged 60 miles. Not bad for someone who couldn’t walk at the beginning of December.

 

February 2013

I had already registered to run in the Oklahoma Memorial Marathon in April and so I had 2 ½ more months of training time available and I was sure to take advantage of the time I had left.

In February I logged 98 miles and really started getting back into the groove. While it may have been a little much in the eyes of others, it was much needed for me. I remained healthy and continued to push forward. The only setback I had that month was the fact I had tightened my shoes too tight one morning on an 8 mile run and ended up bruising the ligament on the top of my foot. What was initially thought of as a stress fracture turned out to feel better after some ice and bicycling for the next week.

March 2013

In March, I took some serious strides in my training for the marathon and logged the most mileage in a month since my freshman cross country season at Allen County Community College. I peaked at 126 miles that month. In March I began my Spring racing season and it all started on St Patrick’s Day in Tulsa, OK. The weather was more winter-like than spring and the temperatures were around 38 degrees and a heavy mist was falling for the majority of the morning. It made for perfect trail running weather. I ran in the 3 hour Snake Run. I completed 17.1 miles in the 3 hour time on some treacherous trails and I was hooked on trail-running. I finished 18^th overall and 6^th in my age group.

My ankles took quite a beating, but after soaking them in ice and keeping them loose on the stationary bike, I was able to bounce back quickly and compete in the Wings to Fly 15K in El Reno, Oklahoma the following Saturday. The temperatures were hovering just above freezing and were very windy with some winter precipitation that fell during the course of the run. I finished 2^nd in my age group and 19^th overall. The following Friday evening after a massive Thunderstorm rolled through the Oklahoma City metro, I competed in the OU Health Dash in downtown OKC at night. It was dark and very wet, but a very successful race for me and the end of a very solid training month. I was able to finish 1^st in my age group and 12^th place overall.

April 2013

April started off really solid for me as I traveled to Kansas City to run with my college buddies in the annual Brew to Brew relay from Kansas City to Lawrence, a 44.4 mile relay. This took place on Sunday, April 7^th, but prior to that run, 3 of us competed in the Ruckus Race in Grainville, Missouri. It was a 4 mile obstacle challenge and definitely pushed my limits. The next day we all got up at the crack of dawn and endured in our relay. Since I was training for the marathon I went ahead and ran 15 miles of the 44 mile relay. It felt really good to put in some good miles with some great friends. The temperatures were near perfect with overcast skies and the temperatures hovering just above 70 degrees. A far improvement from the year before when we were soaring in record 90 degree heat. On April 13^th, I drove to Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City and ran in the Race for the Dream. It was a race to help end sex trafficking. The weather was again, near perfect conditions with temps in the low 70s and nice breezes blowing off the lake. I managed to grab 1^st in my age group and 3^rd place overall and took home 2 medals. First race I have ever taken 2 medals home. The remainder of the month was low-key training and tapering to prepare for my first marathon. The Oklahoma City Memorial, on April 28^th. I had to be there by 5:30 am to deal with all the security and thousands of runners who gathered for this event. I didn’t really know what to expect from a race of this magnitude, but when I finished I realized that it was more than I had really bargained for. I experienced every possible emotion during this adventure. I went from loving running to hating running to laughing to crying to frustration to elation. When I saw the finish line, even though I was really in pain and suffering, I pushed myself and crossed the finish line. That was one of the greatest feelings ever and one of my proudest moments as a runner. Coach Barry Switzer met me at the finish line and placed my finisher’s medal around my neck. What a treat!

 

May 2013

I literally suffered from runner’s depression following the marathon and did not want to run or even want to think about running, but eventually broke out of my funk and managed to log some mileage the following week after taking a full week off to recover. My body ached and hurt for a full week and even if I had wanted to run I don’t think I would have been up to it physically.

In the middle of May, I ventured to Inola, Oklahoma (just east of Tulsa) with a friend Steve Farrell and his daughter to run in the Warrior Dash. Since I was going to be competing in the Tough Mudder in September I figured I better start getting ready for it and opted to run the Warrior Dash twice. I literally ran in near back to back heats. The course was great and even though we had to army crawl through a cow pasture with cow poop all around, it made for a challenging and rewarding day.

 

June 2013

As the temperatures began to heat up, my training begins to slow down and my desire to run outdoors decreases. Mainly because I tend to run on the warm-side and do best when the temperatures are below 80 degrees. Anything above 80 is a recipe for me to overheat and thus my competitive edge drastically drops. I can run, but I don’t run near as hard or as fast. During June I was on a business trip and wasn’t too far away from El Dorado, Kansas where I swang by El Dorado State Park and competed in the Storm the Dam Trail Half Marathon. It was another trail run that I really enjoyed competing in, but I had major allergy issues and my stomach was really upset from eating some bad Taco Bell the night before. Word of advice…don’t eat Taco Bell on the eve of a distance run…BAD IDEA! I still managed to finish in the top 25 and logged it as a solid training run and experience. The hill we had to go up at mile 6 was literally hell. The dam hill was one that is deemed that damn hill. It sucked, but I ran up the entire way. The course was beautiful and well laid out. I would recommend it and consider running again in the future.

This was the only race I did in June. As I had already accepted a position with a new company in the Tulsa area and would soon be relocating my family there. With moving and preparing to move my mileage took a massive hit in the months of June and July. I logged right at 100 miles in 2 months. Not the ideal mileage for those months, but for the amount of craziness and heat I will call it good.

 

July & August 2013

I began the month of July being able to run on stretches of trail I had run on many moons before when we lived in Tulsa previously. I had longed to be able to train on some great trails and stretches of road where I could feel free again and be around other runners. And after 13 years, it finally came to pass. My office sits less than a ½ mile away from the Tulsa RiverParks trails along Riverside Drive and those trails go on for miles. It includes several other trails that branch off and are beautiful and full of foliage. My heart was happy in the running world again. Slowly I began to adapt to the high humidity of Tulsa and began to build my mileage up again. In August I was able to ramp my mileage up considerably due to some unseasonably cooler weather during the month. What a difference 15 degrees makes in the heat of August. I managed to run in 2 races at the end of the month. The first was on August 31^st at LaFortune Park and was the Race for the House 5K. It was my first 5K in well over a year and I was definitely rusty with a faster paced race. It didn’t help that it was very humid that morning either, but none-the-less I finished 3^rd in my age group and 5^th overall.

Sept 2013

It was another very solid training month for me as I began the month with a 5 mile trail run at Turkey Mountain called ‘Escape from Turkey Mountain’. Let’s just say my legs were still tired from running a hard 5K two mornings earlier. While I didn’t achieve a great overall placing amongst the competition I still enjoyed the trail race. On Sunday, September 22^nd I competed in the Tough Mudder in Topeka and boy was that a grueling task. It was one of the most difficult challenges I have ever faced. Even though it was 11 miles worth of running, which didn’t phase me, it was the 25+ obstacles that kicked my butt. I enjoyed it so much that I registered immediately to run it again in May. Am I nuts? LOL

 

Oct 2013

This was another busy month for me as I competed in the Tulsa Zoo Run-15K on October 5^th. First time I had run it since 1999. It was a nice and cool day for a run and there were a lot of runners out for this race and thus the competition field was massive. I settled for 524^th overall. I just considered it a good, hard training run to prepare me for the ½ marathon in 2 weeks. On October 19^th, I ventured to Oklahoma City and participated in the HITS Running Festival ½ marathon and finished 10^th in my age group and 43^rd overall. It was a frigid morning as the race began at 7am and was before the sunrise. Temperatures were 30 degrees and there was ice on the bridges and overpasses that we crossed initially. I have never ran in a race that had ice on the street. It was a crazy race, but I felt like I did really well. The next weekend it was Aiden’s 4^th birthday party weekend and we had family come to town. I was running in the Tulsa Run. Again, another run I had not done since 1999. Mom, Dad and Alexis came to cheer me on in the 50 degree temperatures. My legs were still a bit taxed from the race the weekend before, but still ran hard and under my goal. I finished in under 1:15. Thousands of runners were there for the race and it was the largest race I had run in since the Memorial marathon. Tulsa runners sure show up for the big races.

 

Nov 2013

The first weekend in November was extremely cold and just about anyone who is anyone in the running community runs in the Route 66 here in Tulsa; however, I took the weekend off and rested and ran in the Jenks Half the following weekend. I really struggled in the Jenks ½ and struggled mentally and physically. I was drained and just didn’t have it in me to run a great race. Still managed to finish 2^nd in the Clydesdale division and logged under a 1:55, so not horrible, but still not great. My running season was coming to an end and it was evident that I was wearing down. What started out as a very successful spring season where I was still fresh was turning out to be an average fall season where I was worn out, but still competing. I didn’t run in any other races in November as I started to focus on putting in miles and stretching towards the 1000K mark. My brother, Austin and I put in some great workouts over the Thanksgiving break and that gave me hope and prevented me from being too lazy during the weekend.

 

Dec 2013

The last month of the year sure seemed to hit me pretty hard. I ran in the Tulsa ½ and ½ on December 15^th at Turkey Mountain. I initially was only registered for the trail ½, but wanted to qualify for the Half Fanatics and so I ventured out and ran in back to back ½’s or a full marathon technically. ½ on the trail and ½ on the road. The trail half pretty much took it out of me and I didn’t have much left for the ½ on the road. I managed to finish, but had obviously drained my body of every possible nutrient and was severely dehydrated.

While I experienced fatigue and soreness as I have in races past, 2 days later I had a severe panic attack where I thought I was dying. It was one of the scariest moments I have ever had and I continued to have major anxiety the rest of the week. It led me to the emergency room and doctor’s office where they diagnosed it as General Anxiety Disorder and gave me a prescription to help settle my nerves. I ended up taking a full week off from running and just rested and tried to get myself composed. I am doing better now, while not 100%, I have gotten back out onto the roads. I received a bunch of running stuff for Christmas that I had to try out and just couldn’t wait any longer. While I am going to come up about 40 miles shy of the 1000 mile mark, I still feel like my year was very successful and am very pleased with my overall results. I now have a very good baseline to build on for the next year. While I don’t anticipate running as many races this year, I do plan on being competitive and running in several ½ marathon’s and some other races that I spot through the course of the year. Here’s to a wonderful 2013 and looking forward to an even better 2014.

Yearly mileage for 2013- 950 miles

Total number of races run - 23

 

Monthly mileage for 2013.
January-     60
February - 98
March -    126
April-          82.17
May -         51.76
June -        50.42
July -          48.72
Aug -          86.93
Sep -          80.06
Oct -           88.70
Nov -          86.45
Dec -          86.82

Micah (6) and I before our winter run on Christmas break. He is wanting to start running with me. Looks like I have a future long distance runner on my hands. :)

Did someone say snow running?

Running in the elements is something I thoroughly enjoy. Many call me 'nuts' or 'crazy' and even 'addicted' and I take that as a compliment. Why? because anyone who runs as much as I have or as far as I have has to be somewhat crazy. And I would be more than happy to say I am addicted to running. I am addicted to taking care of my body and addicted to health. I use running as stress therapy and it helps me clear my mind and I have a lot of opportunity to think about things and even pray. It's my time to get away from everyone and everything.

This past week we had a massive winter storm come through the state and dump lots of ice and snow on the area. We received about a 1/2" of ice and around 6" of white powder. In most cases a novice runner would use this as an opportunity to either run on a treadmill or a reason to rest. It's definitely a great time for both of those not to mention catching some extra 'Zzz's' and eating some great food and watching some good Christmas movies/football on television. A veteran/seasoned runner is more likely to get as many miles as possible in as they can; especially when they are training for races.

I wasn't about to let some snow and ice keep me from getting in some much needed mileage to reach my goal of 1,000 miles for the running season. I was thankful to my friend Camille Herron, a seasoned marathon runner, to provide some information on how to make your own snow/ice running shoes without having to buy some. After about 15 minutes I was able to turn an older pair of shoes into a pair of ice shoes that would allow me to run on the ice/snow across the area.

Once my shoes were complete I took to the roads on Friday and Sunday to log some serious miles. I only took Saturday off to spend the afternoon sledding with my kids. I don't suggest beginning runners to try this, but those who are experienced and want to take their running to the next level I challenge you to try running in the elements. It adds a new perspective to your running and will put a new twist on things for you that will keep running interesting. I have run in the extreme heat, extreme cold, snow, ice, sleet, high wind, dirt storms, hail and torrential rain. I won't mention lightning because I don't encourage anyone to run in that. I don't run in it normally, but have been caught in some quick forming storms before.

Running in the sleet/ice

Going 5 miles on snow/ice packed roads

Rt 66 train bridge in Sapulpa, OK - caught this on my 7 mile snow run today

Reviving another passion

It has been nearly 9 months since I last blogged on here and while I have been contemplating on starting back up I haven't mustered up enough desire to push on and continue. A lot has happened in the last 9 months which hasn't helped the cause, but I have decided to put one foot in front of the other and endure.

A brief recap of what has occurred since March. In June, I accepted a new position in Tulsa, Oklahoma and started on July 8th. The family relocated to Sapulpa, OK on July 13th and we have been settled ever since. It has been quite a transition to be back in the Tulsa area, but it has been a good one. We had lived in Shawnee, OK since 2001 and so it was a challenge to uproot the family. Not only was this home, but it was where we have raised all 3 of our children and experienced all of the baby firsts and more. While we knew God had plans for us and was leading us to new horizons, we were still uncertain regarding some aspects of the move and new job. When our home sold within 6 weeks of placing it on the market and finding a church home where we discovered the pastor's wife was the sister to a good friend in Shawnee, it definitely helped us see more of the big picture.

We live day by day and trust in the Lord to guide all of our steps and direct us where He wants to lead us and listen to what He wants us to do. So we have decided to enjoy our lives to the fullest and embrace all He has for us.

Since running in the Snake Run on St Patrick's Day, I have participated in 20 different racing events ranging from 5Ks, 10Ks and 15K's to Half Marathons, The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon to extreme challenges like the Warrior Dash, Ruckus Race and Tough Mudder. It has been a very challenging, yet rewarding year and I am closing in on 1,000 miles for the year. This is something that I look forward to accomplishing and should finish sometime during the last week of December before the new year rolls around. I look forward to blogging more in the days and weeks to come and am making it a New Year's resolution to continue strong into the new year. My desire is to share personal thoughts, family activities, running and fitness advice and experiences and anything else that comes up.

Till next time- Scarecrow Runner

3 hour Snake Run at Turkey Mountain

On Sunday, March 17th, St. Patrick's Day I ventured to Tulsa, Oklahoma where I competed in the TATUR (Tulsa Area Trail & Ultra Runners) 3 hour Snake Run that was held at the Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Area. 3 hours you may ask? Yes, 3 hours. This race was like none I have ever participated in.
Most races I compete in are road races, but this was an off-road, trail run that weaved along the Snake Trail at Turkey Mountain. In most races you are running a specific distance and trying to run it as fast as you can. In the 3 hour and 6 hour Snake Run's you are running as many miles as you can within the specified time frame.

The temperature was hovering around 40 degrees with light mist falling that kept the trails moist. The trails weaved throughout the trails at Turkey Mountain and was a 4.2 loop with aide stations at each end. There was also a 1/2 mile loop to assist runners complete shorter distances towards the end of their time. If a runner were on the course when the 3 hour/6 hour time frame expired that loop and mileage would not count towards their totals thus the reason why they had the 1/2 mile loop to assist those near the 3 hour window complete smaller amounts of mileage without risk of losing out larger amounts of mileage.

168 runners of all ages embarked on this adventure at 9:00 am and weaved through the first half mile or so in single file until the group thinned out. I was quick to get out in front of the main group and avoid the bottleneck. One reason that this was advantageous was the trails were extremely rocky and full of crevices and tree roots and uneven surfaces. It is not easy to run on these type of surfaces when you can't see more than 2 feet in front of you; it really cramps your style.

Over the first hour I felt great and had settled into a nice pace, but over the next two hours my body wore down significantly. I managed to trip over several uneven obstacles due to my legs and mind being exhausted. The last time was within the last mile and I took a nice spill on my knee, but managed to collect myself and finish strong. I was able to complete 4 loops and a half mile loop totaling 17.8 miles. It was my first ever trail run and I finished 6th in my age division, 16th in the men's division and 18th overall. I am very pleased with the end result and overall experience.

It was one of the most memorable running events I have ever been apart of. Running through the trails and wilderness with several others reminded me of the good ole' cross country days of old. It was challenging and yet fun. I will do it again next year and will be much more prepared this time around.

Running Slower and Further

The last 12 days have been a bit of a roller coaster in the running world for me. On Saturday, March 2nd during my 7 mile run the top of my foot began to hurt considerably. I stopped and re-tied my shoes and continued on. I finished with some discomfort, but not as bad as during the run.

Through reading a lot of different running blogs and speaking to several runners it was looking like a stress fracture; a sure sign of over-training. Many long distance runners are affected by these due to the increase in mileage for training. I surely did not want this to be my diagnosis as I have several races that I was wanting to participate in this spring and some of those have already been 'paid' for.

I began to chat with Camille Herron a well known marathoner from Norman, Oklahoma. She provided me some great tips on things I could do to improve my running performance and perhaps help my foot situation. She is not a doctor, but she has had 7 stress fractures and definitely has some common sense and experience with the issue. I decided to cross-train a few days last week and take things easier. I changed the lacing pattern of my laces and used a combination of ice and sports cream to manage the pain I was still experiencing. I also spent several days on the stationary bike at the gym and logged many miles and still maintained some solid cardio work and as my former cross-country coach from Allen County would call it: Active Rest. I made an attempt to jog on the treadmill last Tuesday and made it through 2 miles, but with some discomfort. So I continued the biking and pain management.

On Monday, March 11th, I ventured out with one of our local running organizations and was feeling very good that day. The day before I had spent about an hour in the pool and my foot was feeling the best it had been since hurting it. I switched into a pair of my shoes from last year and took off for a very easy paced 5K. I ran around an 8:45 mile pace and didn't feel any pain. I had been running between 7:50-8:20 minute per mile paces on my runs and from what Camille told me that is too fast for slow training runs. I needed to slow down significantly to allow my body to rest and recover properly. Turns out I have been running around 80% of my race pace for every training run and that was an injury waiting to happen.

On Wednesday morning I got up and went out for a brisk, early morning jog. It was my intent to cover 3.1 miles at a slower pace. Trying to run a 10 minute per mile pace is almost painful when you are used to running close to 8 minute miles. I did settle into a trot and managed to knock out a slower paced run and didn't have any pain. So we will see how the 'Run Slower, Run Further' approach goes that Camille introduced me to. It does make sense and in college we called it LSD (Long Slow Distance). So why not slow down and save my body some pain and discomfort and allow for proper healing and help my overall running season.

Here's to running slower and running further!

Another foot injury, really?

Last week I had some really solid training runs and felt great about where I am at training wise. A 3 mile run in under 24 minutes and another solid 7 mile run in under 1 hour; not to mention most of my paces have been between 8:00 min per mile pace and 8:30 min per mile pace. This is definitely where I want to be at this point in my workouts. After running off-road on Wednesday night in the mud and rocks the top of my foot began to hurt and I figured I had tied my shoes too tight or something.

Thursday's 4 mile workout was not bad at all and there was not really any pain associated with that run, but when I went to go run on Saturday morning it was an entirely different story. At mile 3 of my 7 mile run my foot began to ache and it got severe enough that I just about quit and walked home; however, I continued and finished my run. By the end of the run I was not hurting as bad as I had been, but could feel pain later in the day. So I am not sure exactly what I have done to my foot, but there are possibilities it is a stress fracture, but also bruising of the tendons on the top of my foot as well.

I have decided to ratchet down my running portion this week and see how my foot is doing a week out. I will limit myself to cross training (swimming, biking and weights) and non-contact exercise to see if it begins to feel better. I do not want all of my training to go to waste and be sidelined for the 3rd time in a calendar year with some form of foot/ankle injury. Last December-April it was Plantar Fasciitis. This past November through January it was my severe ankle sprain from a bone-headed home injury and now this....guess I need to pace myself and see what transpires.

I was reading on Camille Herron's web page yesterday and found that she has had 7 different kinds of stress fractures. This woman is a World Record holder in marathon's and is an inspiration to many; including me. She is from Norman, Oklahoma and thus is a local runner and competes in many of the local races. She has even dealt with Plantar Fasciitis and has overcome it just as I did. I changed shoes amongst things and began to train better. I will keep you updated on how my foot does, but I have so much riding on it right now that I cannot afford to be sidelined for several weeks. The Oklahoma City Marathon is less than 2 months away along with a slew of other races I am registered to run in.

Here's to health and wellness!
Zealin' it for life!

In the middle of the night

In the middle of the night...I go running down the street and then some.
There are many times due to time constraints, family obligations and other things that my time available to run is very limited. I either have to wake up extremely early or run really late at night.

I enjoy running late at night as it allows me to clear my mind and get away from reality for a while. Running at night has its own experiences and challenges. If you ever decide to run after the sun goes down you need to be on top of your game and aware of your surroundings. What is normally visible during the day tends to blend into its surroundings after dark. That includes pot holes, uneven road surfaces, debris on the road, stray animals and more.

If you are going to run in the dark you need to make sure you have examined the surroundings prior to taking  to the streets. This will allow you to prepare an adequate running plan rather than being unsafe and unprepared.  You need to know the rules of the road and what is and is not acceptable. You will also need to dress in the appropriate running attire to ensure you are visible to drivers on the road. This consists of one or more of the following: light colored clothing, reflective stripes, glow stripes and a headlamp. Many who run enjoy listening to music on their mp3 player, iPhone or other device while they run and while this is a great way to pass the time and keep your pace it should not be played too loud to ensure you can hear approaching traffic.

When I run at night and even during the day I run against the flow of traffic to ensure I am aware of all motor vehicles. I prefer to know what is coming at me and avoid dangerous situations. It is also a wise to carry identification upon your body in case of an emergency. Another bit of running wisdom is to either run with a running partner or let someone know the approximate area that you are going to be running in. I do this to ensure my approximate location is known in the event of something happening to me during my run.

If you follow some of these general rules of night time running it can make for an enjoyable and different running experience and open up an entirely different opportunity for you.

The Choices We Make

Years ago as a youth I would read the book series called, "Choose your own adventure".  It was a book that allowed the reader to follow along the story and at key points in the book the reader was required to choose from a few different scenarios, which allowed you to feel apart of the story.

Sometimes those choices led to victory others it led to less than desirable results. The moral to this story is that you could make a choice and not have someone tell you how the story would end. You ultimately determined the outcome of the story based on the decisions you made.

Do you remember the movie 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'?

There is a portion of this movie that shows what rejection of truth can lead to...



Indiana succeeds and finds himself in a room with the last Knight, kept alive for seven hundred years with the power of the Grail, which has been hidden among dozens of other cups. Elsa selects a gilded cup encrusted in jewels for Donovan; when Donovan drinks from it, he rapidly decays and crumbles into dust. Indiana, recognizing that the Grail would be that of a humble carpenter instead of a wealthy king, selects the plainest-looking wooden cup in the group, which turns out to be the correct vessel. He fills it with water and quickly takes it to his father, pouring the holy water onto his chest and giving it to him to drink, which instantly heals his gunshot wound. As they prepare to leave, the Knight warns them to not take the Grail past the great seal in the temple's floor, but Elsa disobeys, causing the temple to collapse. Elsa falls to her death into an abyss because she will not give Indiana the free hand with which she is trying to grab the Grail; Indiana nearly suffers the same fate until his father convinces him to let it go by calling him by his preferred name for the first time. The Joneses, Marcus, and Sallah narrowly escape the collapsing temple, while the Knight watches them with his mission accomplished. The four then ride out of the canyon, and into the sunset.

Reference: Indiana_Jones_and_the_Last_Crusade

As we know things in real life are much different than the movies. Movies are fantasy, whereas, our lives are real stories being played out daily. Our choices have an eternal impact. When someone dies in the movies due to poor choices or unforeseen circumstances it moves on to the next scene and we never really think twice about their eternal destination. In the script we call life, we too have adventures and choices to make; much like in Indiana Jones and 'Choose Your Own Adventure' where God gives us the opportunity to make choices too. This is what is called free will. He doesn't make up our minds for us. He allows us to choose how we want to walk through this life He has blessed us with. Sometimes we make wise decisions and other times we make not so wise ones. He still loves us regardless if we make poor decisions. Just like my earthly father would instruct me, God instructs us too when we choose poorly. It is a learning opportunity and we must decide if we will embrace the correction or reject it.

Embracing the correction will lead us down a path of righteousness and success. It will mold us and shape us into maturity. Rejecting the love and correction will only make things worse and can lead to destruction. When we refuse to make wise choices and reject counsel and correction it shows our lack of maturity. In the movie, the last Knight responds to the character Donovan after he is greedy and drinks from the jeweled cup saying, "You have chosen poorly". When Indiana Jones drinks from the cup that is plain the Knight expresses, "You have chosen wisely". 

Once again, God gives us free will and we have the option to choose. When we reject truth and what is right it will lead you down the path of rebellion, destruction and possibly death, but when we choose wisely and follow the Way, the Truth and the Life our lives will be blessed. This does not mean bad things won't happen. Life isn't always peaches and cream. We live in a fallen world that is full of sin and corruption. This is why it is so important to choose wisely and walk in truth and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is my desire to 'choose wisely' and hear my Heavenly Father express to me when He calls me home, "Well done thy good and faithful servant!"

So when you come to that fork in the road where you must make a decision, pray about it and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you into making a wise decision. When we listen to the voice of Truth we are always choosing wisely.

There's no place like home

I have not written in several days mainly because I have wanted to have a breathe of inspiration to write about or even something informative for that matter. My training has been doing well lately and I have steadily increased my mileage over the last 2 weeks and am feeling good. My ankle has been responding very well and is getting stronger with each day and hasn't been as tight in the cold as it had been.

Last Friday evening the family and I ventured up to Northeast Kansas to visit my family and celebrate my niece's 6th birthday and a belated Christmas since sickness and winter weather prevented us from making the annual trek north during the week of Christmas. I love my family with all my heart and enjoy when I have an opportunity to go home for a few days; even though it isn't the home I was raised in. Another thing that I enjoy when I go to visit my parents is the food that they prepare. I can always count on having some very hearty meals when I go up there, but I have to be careful or else I will overindulge and not even bat an eye. Saturday was no exception. I ate very well and ate some more; not to mention a cupcake for the birthday party.

When we had traveled up on Friday the weather was an unseasonable 70 degrees. Crazy! When we got up on Saturday morning the temperatures had fallen to the low 20's and stayed in the 20's all day with an occasional snow flurry or two. After eating some good food and some sweets I knew I needed to do my due diligence and ensure that I was being wise about my caloric intake since I am doing the Zeal for Life 90 day Challenge. It is my goal to lose weight, trim up and still feel good.

I love running in the extreme weather, but when you are not totally prepared for the cold weather it can be challenging. I packed light for our trip and didn't really observe the weekend forecast and hence I did not pack a lot of warm running clothes. Nonetheless when I decided to run Saturday I wasn't worried too much about it and took the bull by the horns and just did it. I dressed in a long sleeve shirt, shorts and my Nike stocking cap and took off for a nice, cold run. Let's just say the weather was of course getting colder by the minute and I was about 30 minutes from dusk. The bone chilling wind from the north howled fiercely. As soon as I turned north to run towards the track my entire body was numb; especially my face and hands.

I hadn't been able to run on a track since my last visit home a year ago during Thanksgiving and though it was cold then, it was nothing like 22 degrees and wind chills in the single digits. Call me crazy for running in this, but I love training in the elements to build up my mental toughness and abilities to overcome extreme conditions. Each time I circled the track I braved the wintry blast from the north and then slowly warmed up as I turned to go south on the backside of the track. I did 10 laps, two and a half miles, on the track along with the half mile there and half mile back to my parents house. A three and a half mile run in those conditions made me an instant candidate as Mr. Freeze.

Once my body thawed in the warmth of my parents home, I settled in to have an enjoyable evening with the family opening Christmas gifts and enjoying a large plate of Chili Nachos; one of my dad's specialties and a family favorite. It felt great knowing I didn't have to worry about what I could eat or not eat after burning 650 calories in my afternoon workout. I have to say that I am extremely blessed to have a loving family and the opportunity to make wonderful memories with them.

Looking forward to seeing them again soon when we have Micah's birthday party next month. And just like Dorothy clicked her heels three times in the Wizard of Oz and stated, 'There's no place like home'.  Whether it is in frigid Kansas during January or nestled in my home in Oklahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plains, I can honestly say there's no place like home!

I love a rainy night

Last night I was planning on laying low and munching on some food and watch some television before going to bed for the evening; however, my plans changed. Once I started calculating my calories and foods I had eaten for the day, I was about over my daily limit. This was not acceptable in my book and I made an executive decision. I was going to go for a run and I didn't care what time it was nor what the weather was doing. The longer you read my posts you will learn that I love running in the elements. It is challenging, but liberating.

Don't get me wrong, I like running in ideal conditions: mid-60's, slight breeze, sunny. Who doesn't? I prefer to not run in the extreme heat, but have run many times at night when it was still 100 degrees outside. Doesn't make for a fun workout, but still you sometimes have to get the miles in.

Last night when I decided to take my evening run, I started at almost 11 pm, so by the time I completed my 2 mile trek it was getting pretty late and to get up for work in the morning would be an adventure all on it's own. As I stepped outside with my shoes laced up, my music and Nike app ready for play, my stocking hat pulled down and my long sleeve tech shirt on for extra warmth, it was still raining. It had been raining off and on for the evening and so it made me happy. The night air was cool and the splashes of rain drops numbed my face as I took off into the wind and down hill. About mid-way through my run, the rain stopped and it remained windy and chilly, but I pushed on anyways up the hills and down the streets of Shawnee and ended up running my 2 miles in 17:13; which is around an 8:35/mi pace. So while i have some work to do to get back into shape and improve my speed, I am not disappointed.

If you have never run at night, you would be in for a big surprise. There are a lot of challenges and it will keep you on your toes. I don't always exercise the greatest night running etiquette, but I am safe. Some runners run with lights and reflectors. I run with light colored clothing and ensure that I am aware of my surroundings. Running in the dark can be difficult and dangerous if you aren't familiar with your surroundings. Potholes and other road hazards can wreck havoc on ankles and knees, curbs and drainage culverts, on-coming traffic and limited visibility can wreck havoc on your nerves. I always run against traffic so I can see what is coming towards me and allow myself adequate room and time to adjust and get over to avoid traffic. Even when I have been as cautious as possible there are still instances of a crazy driver out there who is texting and driving or not paying attention and regardless of the precautions you take, they don't see you.

I have found that running at night is a good way to unload the stress of the day and to wear my body down before I go to bed. There are pros and cons for running at night and while running during the day would be my preference, I still like the challenge of the dark. So whether or not you are running in the rain, snow, sunshine or moonshine, the important thing to remember is to go and enjoy the outdoors and get a good workout in.

Here's to a great weekend for running!

Scarecrow Runner

One foot in front of the other

How to start the new year on the right foot....would mean putting one foot in front of the other and move forward. You can't move forward if you are sitting down, lying down or refusing to do anything and standing in one spot.

Moving forward requires movement. Something called inertia. Something called force. Something that many of us don't do enough of. Too many of us sit around and think too much. We have really great ideas and thoughts and dreams, but then we never put any ink to paper or action to the vision.

You must make up your mind to do something and put action with it. Once you are moving you will gain momentum and the more momentum you have the less likely something is going to stop you. I won't lie. There are times we face huge hills and bumps and obstacles in our daily walk, but with Christ we can do all things through Him who gives us strength. And so what if you hit a wall and your progress stops. Shake it off and change direction!

Instead of staying dormant or idle. Change your momentum and your direction. Go up and over! Or go to the right or left and go around. Or even go down and under. Don't let something keep you from progressing. Whatever it is that is in front of you cannot stop you, unless you believe it can. Doubt and fear is your enemy. They will keep you from dreaming, moving forward and ultimately experiencing your breakthrough. Replace them with faith and believe.

On November 11th, the day after setting a PR for a 10K race, I thought my running days were going to be significantly minimal and possibly taken away. I was having a difficult afternoon and had been arguing with my wife about something very ridiculous. I went up into my attic to get some warmer clothes from a storage container since I wanted to set an example to my children that their father is smart to wear warmer clothes when it is cold outside. As I was descending out of the attic, of course with an attitude, I decided to step down from the second rung on the ladder, which is about 2 1/2 feet off the ground. I had done this countless times before without thinking about it and never had any issues. But apparently the angle I was turned at, when I stepped downwards, all my weight and the momentum came with me and was all on my right foot. When I landed on the ground my ankle snapped over and sent me backwards and on my back. I don't remember the entire incident as I went into shock.

As I landed on the floor I was immediately nauseated and had horrible pain in my ankle. I knew from previous ankle injuries on this particular ankle that this was not just a simple twist. I had really done it this time. All I could think of was, "all my training and running is done", "I have totally screwed it up". I actually thought my ankle may be fractured. Instead of enjoying a Thanksgiving party I was laid up on the couch with ice and watching t.v. and seeing the swelling increase.

The next day it was huge and I could not go to work. I was laid up for 2 days. I had x-rays come back saying I had a slight fracture and was told to visit the Orthopedic surgeon. He didn't agree with the x-rays and said he was treating it as a severe sprain and to begin rehabbing it as soon as I could to prevent apathy in my muscles.

I was relieved, but also frustrated because for the last 2 months, the swelling has been slow and the pain has still been present at times. I was ready to get back on the road and get back to training. I did not want to wear a protective boot and I did not want to be prevented from running again.

Slowly the pain has gone away in the last month and I have stretched it and kept it protected. I set a goal for myself and was inspired to reach my goal. The goal I set for myself was to be back to running, in some capacity, by January 1st.

On Tuesday, January 1st, I laced up my shoes and put my ace protective wrap around my ankle and headed out for a run. At first I had some tenderness in my ankle and I was a bit 'rusty', but I kept pushing and ended up running 2.16 miles in under 18:00. I was very excited that I had been able to run under a 9 minute mile pace. I was even more excited to run at all. Since that evening I have been able to run twice more as I am not wanting to overdo it and pace myself. In my first week back on the roads I was able to put in a total or 8 miles.

I could have stopped trying after injuring my ankle and just not even tried or allowed myself to stay negative, but I kept moving. I kept myself positive and determined. I was going to run again regardless of what I had to do. I put one foot in front of the other and made myself move forward. I put the pain and discomfort behind me and put my sights in front of me.

If you are frustrated or discouraged with something, don't get down and let those thoughts take you captive. Keep positive and speak life over yourself and you will begin to see a positive impact on you and those around you.

Blessings!

Stretch