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