Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Thanks to Panera and Brooks!

I just wanted to post that Brooks Running Company and Panera Bread have made donations of product to JDRF.  Brooks has provided me with a pair of Adrenaline ASR 7 trail shoes for my training.  Panera has donated Bagels for a Year certificates for the auction to be held on walk day, May 21.  The certificate allows the user to get 13 bagels and 2 containers of cream cheese each month for a year.
Thanks to Brooks Running and Panera Bread for their support !

Sunday, April 24, 2011

He is Risen!

Happy Resurrection Day!  Today is the day we celebrate the resurrection of our Jesus, our Savior, from the dead.  Hebrews 9:22 says "Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness."  Christ died on the cross to shed his blood to pay for our sins.  Today, we recognize that he did not stay dead.  He returned from death to life, and He lives today.  By believing, and accepting that this price was paid, we too can have life, eternally, in heaven.  I often tell people that everyone is going to have eternal life.  God has given us free will to accept the payment for our sins and spend that life in paradise or to suffer eternally in Hell.  Christ said I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)  That is pretty clear to me how important it is to accept his gift.

Yesterday was a great day for Bruce and I at the Ridgway triathlon.  I ran the 5 miles, and then we biked together for about 15.5, then we paddled the swollen Clarion River for 9 miles.  The race organizers gave the option of skipping the paddle portion and I told Bruce that I would make the decision when we got off the bikes whether we would canoe or not.  I decided to go ahead, which caused my wife and my mom quite a lot of worry.  To their credit, they did not question my decision at all.  I'm honored that they trusted me.  It was a great experience doing the race with Bruce.  We got to chat for a couple of hours with no one else around, and Bruce got a chance to push himself physically to a place, I am sure, he has never been before.  I don't think either of us will soon forget the experience.  I am so happy that we got to do this together.

The day was not so good for my friend Pat.  A couple of miles into the canoe portion, he capsized in some rough water.  He quickly became hypothermic in the 44 degree water.  Brenda and Ken, or as they are better known, Doc and Thundercloud, came upon Pat clinging to the river bank on the side opposite the road.  They worked to get him across the river and to the road.  It was not an easy task as Pat was fairly incoherent and uncoordinated from hypothermia.  Praise God that so many things came together for his rescue.
It is to Pat's credit that he was grateful for his safety and not at all concerned for the loss of all of his gear.   He said that he really thought that this might have been the end of his life in this world.  The good side of that is that he is ready and knows where he will spend eternity.  But, with few exceptions, I am fairly certain that most would rather not end this segment of life just yet :)

So, the training has been pretty much nonexistent, but yesterday was a kick start.  I had spoken with Ray Zahab and asked him for some advice.  He recommended taking a week off and not even thinking about running.  Of course, it was then that I woke up every morning thinking maybe I would go.  I did once or twice, but the big thing was that I didn't feel guilty for not going.  That made a big difference in my mental state.  Today, I got up and actually did some core work.  As much as I don't like it, it needs to be done.  I want to allow my running to become just for fun again.  Even though I am certainly not competitive, it seemed that every time I started out on a run, I would start to think about what it could do for me instead of enjoying the run.  Funny thing is that when I run for fun, I actually run faster and further.  Go figure.  So back to running for fun.  More tag, more ball games with the kids, and more listening to birds singing in the peaceful mornings.

If you contributed last year, look for a letter this week.  I am really slow in getting out fundraising letters, but I have been so hesitant in this economy.  Please do what you can to help.

He is risen!
He is risen indeed!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Feeling Better

Motivation has been a huge problem this spring.  Today was a great day for a couple of reasons, which I will share during this post.  First though, I think I will lament on the situation a little.  At this time last year, I was running nearly every day with at least 3 runs a week over 10 miles, one of those over 20.  This year, I've been lucky to run 3 days each week.  I've sought out several methods for motivation, but none seems to be working.  I've had gentle encouragement as well as not so subtle get off your  [butt] and get moving.  THe thing that I've not focused on is the one thing I should be focused on, the reason I am undertaking this task again.  JDRF.  Finding better treatments.  Finding a cure.
I emailed Ray Zahab yesterday and asked for his help.  Ray has done amazing things with his running including a run across the Sahara desert and another through the Atacama Desert in Chile.  Most impressive, however, is the work he does through impossible2Possible.  This group takes students on expeditions designed to inspire young people to reach further and push their limits as well as to deliver powerful educational programs to kids around the world.  I'm looking forward to talking with him on Monday.
The good thing is that I feel better because of something I did in the past 24 hours.  I registered my son and I to do the Ridgway Triathlon together at the end of the month.  I am going to run and tag him to start the bike.  I will change my shoes and get a drink and then catch up to him on the first big hill.  Then, we can spend time biking the 15 or so miles, and then we will paddle 9  miles of the Clarion River together.  I'm certain that this will me an adventure together that we won't soon forget.  I'm sure that I will never regret sharing this experience with him.
Tonight, I ran 5 miles and Bruce rode his bike along with me.  It was a nice jaunt and the weather turned out to be really perfect.  In the last two days, we've seen bright sun, wind, rain, sleet, snow.  This afternoon was wonderful.  I also am enjoying the emotions Bruce is going through already.  I can remember my first time at Ridgway and I was in my 30's.  I hope that I can be supportive enough to make it great for him.  I think the only thing that can booger it up would be bad weather on event day.  Otherwise, we'll have a ball.
So, the motivation is here and I feel good physically and mentally.  Yahoo!
God is so good to me.