Motivation

Have you seen one of these before?  I'm guessing you have.  If you haven't, you've driven over them a few thousand times in your life.
 
I haven't done any research on them.  This isn't a blog post about the complexities of the city sewer system.  All I know is these ten inch wide mini manhole covers, as of yesterday, motivate me.

On June 17th myself, and a few thousand other crazies, will be running in the Canton Half Marathon.  I've been training for a little over a month and on Monday I felt great.  Over the weekend I ran with my friends, Scott and Shannon, and they pushed me through seven miles (figurative push) and that Monday morning I ran my fastest three miles yet.  Throughout the day I had my normal run day mixture of being sore, tired, and energized all at the same time.  It was an average, run of the mill, Monday in my cubicle paradise.  An hour before my shift was set to end I got up for break and BOOM, I couldn't walk.  I had sharp pain in my ankle that I'd never felt before.

My initial reaction was OWWWWW, combined with terrible thoughts running through my head.  "Will I be able to run this half marathon?"  "Will I be able to run the Chicago marathon?"  "How will I get to my car/home if I can't walk?"

The next reaction was to try to walk.  I walked twenty feet from my desk to the window and back and the pain subsided, slightly.  This relieved me because I'd be able to get to my car under my own power.  The first two questions remained. 

I asked friends for prayer, filled up an ice pack, kicked my feet up, and waited for the pain to go away.

Tuesday morning was an off day in the training plan.  I was walking slower than normal but I wasn't hobbling.  At this point I'm walking more than normal at work because I wanted to keep testing my ankle.  Nine-thirty rolled around and it was time for break.  Normally on break I meet up with my pal Jermaine and walk some laps in the office while we catch up on the days events.  While I was walking more than normal, I wasn't about to try a long sustained test so I compromised (with myself), and walked to his desk to talk.  A few aisles down the hallway and BOOM, can't walk again.  I was stopped dead in my tracks.  Now I'm just annoyed.

Wednesday came.  Limping quite a bit but no moments of extreme pain.  I took the trash down to my apartment complex's dumpsters and ran back to the apartment, very slowly.  Surprisingly enough it didn't hurt.

Thursday morning I look at my running watch and it tells me I haven't run in a while.  Stupid watch...  I start feeling a little better though.  I'm no longer limping but I'm still walking at a turtle's pace.  That night I tell Aimee my plans to run the next morning.  My theory is that I will run on the ankle and it may hurt a little bit but maybe it'll knock something back in to place.  She doesn't think this is a great idea, and as much as I hate to admit it, she's probably right.  If you went to a doctor with sharp pain and he/she told you to run a few miles on it, saying it would set it back in place, you would find a new doctor.

Friday comes and I don't run, but strides are being made.  The usual break time walk has returned.  My ankle still hurts a little but it's nothing some ibuprofen can't mask.  Tomorrow it's go time.

The next day I get suited up and off I go.  I set a goal of three miles and a maximum of five miles (if I'm able to get to the corner of my street).  I'm shocked when I don't feel anything in the ankle but I still settle on three miles because I don't want to overdo it after missing almost a week.  And then at two and a half miles I stop.  I'm not winded.  My ankle is fine.  My hip is very sore, and has been throughout the training plan, but it's nothing I haven't run through before.  I was feeling sorry for myself.  Things weren't going as planned.

That's when I look down and see one of those small covers that simply say "WATER".  Then another.  Then another.  Throughout the week I've had moments that have stopped me in my tracks and made me question things, but at this moment I'm stopped by an answer.  I was reminded why I'm running.  It's not for an improved finishing time, the medal, or the t-shirt.  I'm running to provide water for those around the world who need it, in the name of Jesus Christ.  Feeling this fire within, I set out on a dead sprint.  No watch is tracking my speed.  I have no goal or distance.  This is how things should be.  It isn't a hobby, or a pursuit of athletic glory.  It's ministry.

With that being said, there's an update involving ministry with Active:Water.  A couple weeks ago I was accepted as a team leader for AW.  I will be sharing AW's mission, fund-raising, and recruiting a team of runners to run the 2013 Canton Half Marathon.  I'm hoping there will be a lot of first time runners interested to run a race of this magnitude, and to do it to further God's kingdom.  Because I've been in the same position. 

In closing, this week I've been taught that I need to get myself out of the way.  And today being Mother's day is a great way to further this lesson.  I've done nothing to deserve the wife I have.  She's an amazing wife, mother, and friend.  A song I've heard recently said it best "I was always looking for a 10 but then I found the one"  Happy Mother's day babe!

Athlete

What do you think of when you hear the term "athlete"? For many people it is something like this:


Or maybe this:



Both are world class athletes. They get paid because they stay in shape and compete.

Last week I read an article titled "Can You Call Yourself an Athlete?". I've never called myself an athlete and when people call me a runner I shy away from the term. I shy away from the term not out of embarrassment, but out of feelings of being unworthy. When I think of a "runner" this is what I think of:


People who weigh the same as I did in middle school, who run faster than I can ride a bike, and win thousands of dollars winning big city marathons (while before I die will have probably paid thousands of dollars running in big city marathons).

Now maybe I'm being just a tad too critical of myself. Maybe I shouldn't compare myself to these people. Maybe I should stop typing and go out for a run but this is what I think of. We always hear of girls looking through magazines and comparing themselves to the models that grace the issue. That's me looking through Runners World.

Anyway...

The article was good. I can sum it up in one sentence: If you've completed a race by running, walking, limping, or crawling you are an athlete.

Pretty simple. By that definition I'm an athlete. I didn't get the warm and fuzzies that I expected to get from this definition. And to make a minor confession I had a good idea of what the article would say before I read it.

Truth be told, I have an inflated picture of what an athlete is. I'm definitely putting them on a pedestal. I could blame the culture I live in but that'd be lazy of me.

Instead of placing blame I'm going to work on humbling my idea of what makes an athlete.

I read this quote a few days ago and I thought it was appropriate for this post:

"I don't have a runner's body, but I have a runner's heart -and that is all you need." -Jennifer Morris

I don't know who Jennifer Morris is but she hit the nail on the head.

Next week starts my official training plan for the Canton half marathon (all the other running I've been doing is unofficial). I'm excited to run in my home town. I'm not putting a time goal on it but if I finish under two hours and twenty minutes I'll be ecstatic.

Chicago marathon for team Active:Water: 186 days

Adios!

Post 1: A review of sorts

So.... First blog post....

Kind of awkward....

I've thought of writing blogs in the past but this will be the first time I clicked the "publish post" button.

I've decided to start with the reason why I'm running.

Enjoy.

A few years back I was in the right place at the right time and saw a presentation from Daren Wendell who was representing Blood:Water Missions. He spoke about the water crisis in Africa. He shared startling statistics about how the average person in parts of Africa will walk miles a day to water sources that are also used to clean clothes and dishes. The water isn't fresh or clean and can lead to disease. The presentation stuck with me but I didn't jump at the opportunity to get involved.

Between that night and 2010 many things happened in my life. I became a husband, started a nice cushy cubicle job, gained some weight (see nice cushy cubicle job), had a child with said wife, etc, etc.

Then in 2010 a trend started with people in my church and running long distances. A few people ran with a group called Active:Water. What I didn't know about Active:Water was it was a group that stemmed from the presentation I had seen years ago. In the past, I let distractions and life goals get in my way of helping the cause but not this time.

Active:Water is a non-profit organization that uses athletics, disciplined training, and personal testimony to raise money for wells and filters in Africa (and now Asia). I've run one half marathon for Active:Water and in October I'll be running on the Active:Water team for my first full marathon.

I urge you to visit Active:Water's website for more information.

www.activewater.org

This blog isn't affiliated with Active:Water and I don't work for the group. So don't just take my word for it. Go to the site and check it out.

This blog will chronicle the past couple years of my life, running, the training that'll go down in 2012, parenting, being married, faith, school, and whatever else comes from my stream of consciousness.

I hope you stop by again.