Running Your Life Race

About a week ago I finally went to the gym with my wife. She started going to this gym by our house a few years ago and LOVES IT! (Side note: I'm so proud of her for sticking with it over these past few years! That's takes discipline and strength!) On Saturdays they allow couples to work out together for free which meant on that Saturday I went with her. I had been before, however I wasn't expecting to get the but kicking I received.  After we finished our workout (aka, death) and I was able to get myself off the floor, we talked with the gym owners for a few minutes. My wife explained to them that I was training for a Spartan Race and shocked to find out that they were going to be participating in the same thing. Well, kind of...They had actually signed up for the Spartan Sprint (3-4 miles and 15 obstacles). I was signed up for the Spartan Super (8-10 miles and 20+ obstacles). They were impressed, however concerned all at the same time and now I was too. If the owner...

Bucket List... Have you ever watched the Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman?  Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman wind up in a hospital room together with only months to live and decide to take those final days and live them to the fullest. Check out this scene here:  Do you have a bucket list?  What's on it? (Comment 1 thing below) Do you share a few bucket list items with anyone else? Have you already started checking things off?  A bucket list is like a life long goal journey that allows you to physically write out where you want to go and what you want to do with the time you have here on earth. We don't have a lot of time when it comes right down to it, so use it the best you can!  The bible says in John 10:10 that "the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, I (Jesus) have come that they may have life and have it to the full!" I love this verse because Jesus is telling us to enjoy life! We should be able...

Revitalize means to regenerate, re-energize, and breathe new life into.  I took some time off these past few days after running the Peachtree Road Race to spend time with my family and simply relax. We had a great time enjoying our extended family and some refreshing lake time! It's amazing how much a little R&R will do for your spirit. I didn't realize how much I needed a break until I was actually taking one. I'll admit I was pretty anxious while away thinking about all the things I needed to catch up with at home and work. I had to essentially unplug from the world to allow for my mind and body to really get refreshed. Unfortunately, the lake house just got internet a few weeks ago which made it a much greater struggle. I sent a few emails while away, however in all it maybe added up to 10 minutes of work. It was truly a "time away" and a time I could really devote to being relaxed and refreshed. Anne Lamott says, "Almost everything will work a...

The Peachtree Road Race is tomorrow... Ask me if I'm ready...YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!!! Here's why... I've been training for this 10k since the beginning of the year. I've really been training for longer then that. I put together a training schedule at the beginning of the year and even though my 10k was supposed to be on July 1st, I believe the Peachtree will be sufficient. 10k equals 6.2 miles and in the middle of the summer it will be a little tough. I am currently running nearly 3 miles a day and a few weeks ago ran two 10k's in one week. I kept them both in less than an hour and hope to do the same tomorrow if all goes well. Even though I've been training for the past 6 months, I'm still a little nervous. I don't know exactly what to expect. Last Thanksgiving my family (and Awesome Texas Family) ran/walked the Dallas Turkey Trot which was just a 5k. It was the largest race I have ever been a part of with around 25,000 participants. The ...

Have you ever been stuck? This morning it happened to me! I took the past two days off from running and blogging, simply because I had a few late nights that led to later wake-up times. I wasn't able to run or blog those mornings because of these all day events. These are my excuses, which are straight up baloney. I could have run in the afternoons and honestly blogged anytime during the day. I'm not sure when I lost that motivation, but it happened. Last night I went to be super early in hopes for a great re-start to an early morning run and blog. Then it happened...I got stuck. I got stuck inside my house because it was raining uncontrollably outside! Ahhhhhh!!!! I just wanted to go run to get back in rhythm with my week to week schedule and I couldn't. The rain wasn't the only obstacle, it was also full blown thunderstorm out. I sat on the couch defeated, wondering if I should go back to bed or figure this thing out. After a few minutes of contemplating...

Do you love music? I looooove music! It started around 5 years old for me. I used to put records on my little tykes record player that my parents had in their basement and just sit there listening to music for hours. Almost 30 years later I still have a passion for music. I play a little guitar and love to sing. I'm not that great but love to do it nonetheless. Music has always been something I've found to be a passion and inspiration. Music to me has a way of speaking with or without words. I love music with a powerful message and believe music even without words has an ability to do that. I listen to all different types of music. I love country and rap for the lyrics, and jazz, classical and EDM for the diversity. There are all types of music and I think each has it's special way of feeding the soul. Whenever I started working out I choose music that was hype and moved quickly. When I run on the treadmill I use music with a consistent beat and rhythm that help...

Planning is the process of making plans for something. Alan Lakein said, "Planning is bringing the future into the present so you can do something about it now."  When is the last time you planned something? What was it? (Comment Below) Planning has become a much greater part of my life this year and I have already seen the fruit of so much of that labor. Planning isn't easy, but it's necessary in accomplishing the greater things in life. It's really good in accomplishing pretty much anything.  What planning does is allow you to vision and look forward towards your goal. It allows you to put the necessary pieces in place to accomplish that goal. Planning is essentially a month to month, day to day, goal outline that will allow you to stay focused and maintain an solid rhythm towards accomplishing your goal.  My goal at the beginning of the year was to participate in a Spartan Race. It was my goal last year as well, however I didn't h...

10 Years...Wow!!! 10 yeas ago today I married my best friend! Love you babe! This blogs for you!!! I got up early and went running as I usually do, however this morning was a little different. As I was going down the final hill towards my house I had this great idea. I thought why not run a 10k this morning to honor the 10 years I've been married to my beautiful wife? Sounded like a good idea to me so I ran right by the house and back out for another 3.1 miles. As I was running I thought about the past 10 years and the journey it has been. Marriage is a lot like running. There are ups and downs, days you want to do it and days you don't. There are times you'll hurt and times you'll really thrive. You'll fight up some hills and coast down some as well. You'll experience beautiful things at the top of the mountain and muck through the puddles at the bottom. Marriage isn't easy, but nothing worth fighting for ever is. I believe marriage only gets bet...

This week has been seemed to go by a little slower then the others... Maybe it's because it's been raining on and off all week or because it's the summer and that's just how it is. I haven't had a whole lot to do at work and for the most part my house has stayed clean. The normal things I do every week are done, so now what do I do? Prepare...but prepare for what? If you have set your goals and are pursuing them, you can start there and begin to prepare to accomplish those things. One of my GOALS for this year is to run in a Spartan Race , so on Fathers Day I "bit the bullet" and  signed up. I was planning on signing up for the sprint race (4-6 miles), however the coupon I had only covered the full race (8-10 miles). These races aren't cheap so I figured why not go for it and just prepare a little harder. Good thing it isn't until October 21st and I have a good bit of time to prepare ! What are you preparing for? If you have a goal ...

Fuel is what keeps a car moving. It is what is burned to create energy and power so that can turn our lights on and enjoy the hot summer in our air conditioned homes. Fuel literally helps the world keep moving forward. I'm not going to advocate for cleaner fuel options or anything like that here, my point is simply that fuel is what keeps things moving.  What keeps you moving forward? Not literally moving forward, but metaphorically moving forward? What jump starts your day? What do you put into your head, body and soul that pushes you to greatness?  For me there are a few things that give me the fuel I need to get my day started right, however I'm only going to really share about one here.  Everyday I receive in my inbox and email from Susie Larson . Susie is a talk radio host, speaker and author. I found out about her from a short radio segment that came on right before I got to work in the mornings and fell in love with how inspiring her words were. Her mor...

You've probably heard the saying "practice makes perfect" before. I used to hear this all the time and it pushed me to be better, but I always felt that something was missing. I like the concept, however it's not entirely accurate. You won't ever be perfect. Perfection is something we should all strive for, however understand we won't ever actually attain it. Athletes practice. Musicians practice. Speakers practice. Artist practice. If you want to be better at something, practice it. If you want to be a better athlete, practice. If you want to be a better musician, then practice. The list goes on and on. Practice (verb) literally means to rehearse, work on, or go over again and again. It is an action towards greatness. I have always had a desire to be able to play the electric guitar well. When I was 14 I picked up the guitar for the first time and couldn't play a single note. I tried really hard, even read through the beginners guitar book, ...

Last night was a bit rough. I'm not really sure why, however I woke up every hour starting at 1am till I finally got out out bed to go run at 4:45am. I'm a little exhausted now and trying to figure out why I couldn't sleep.  Maybe I have a lot going on that is stewing in the back of my mind. We are in the middle of the summer and I do have a lot of programming and systems to work on for this upcoming school year. I also have an important meeting this week and a few others throughout the week that need special attention. I also received my school books in the mail and the very thought of going back to school could have me restless.  Whatever it was, it caused me to have a pretty lousy night of sleep.  Have you ever had a sleepless night?  I remember when my wife and I had our first child and the many nights of 30 minute to an hour long sleep windows we had to cram in before the baby needed changing or feeding. Looking back, I'm not sure how we did it!...

I LOVE this quote by Rhonda Byrne when she says "set a goal so big that if you achieved it, it would blow your mind."  About a year ago I started running. At first I could barely run on the treadmill for 5 minutes without cramping up or getting a burning sensation in my legs. I started slowly with the goal of running a 5k a few months later. I ran my first 5k (since I was in College) and actually placed first. It wasn't the fastest time and there weren't a lot of male participants in my age bracket, however that's besides the point. (LOL)  I kept running and have come a long way. My goal is to run a half marathon this year (2017) and then a full marathon next year (2018). I also have a goal to participate in a Spartan Race  this year which I have planned for in October. I started this week off with a 10k around the neighborhood and surrounding area and ended my week with another 10k same location. This week I've put down roughly 17+ miles. I haven'...

Have you ever walked or ran early in the morning? Have you ever been the first one to walk down a trail or on a path? Have you ever walked to your car parked in the driveway or an outside parking space after work?  If so, you've probably experienced the "spiderweb in the face dilemma"? You may know the feeling...out of nowhere you're pulling those thin strings of webbing off of your body (most of the time in my case it's from my face) and frantically flailing to get whatever spider may be on you, off.  Have you ever experienced this?  When I was 19 I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail and remember every time I woke up early to go walk, I would constantly run right into these things. I learned my lesson quickly, and so did everyone else on the trail which made for some longer mornings in the tent. (lol) As I ran this morning I probably hit at least a 5 or 6 spider webs hanging from mailboxes to trees and everywhere in between. It didn't stop me tho...

Choices...we all have them.  Some of us make better ones than others, however we are all living with the choices we've made in the past whether we like it or not. Choices can be good and choices can be bad.  I chose this morning to wake up early, run, read my bible, pray and write this blog. I feel like that was a good choice.  Reality is every day we make choices... It starts the second we wake up... Do you wake up, go back to bed, sleep for another 5 minutes, 10 minutes, hour.... I love this quote by Graham Brown which says, "Life is about choices. Some we regret, some we're proud of. Some will haunt us forever. The message: we are what we chose to be ."  "We are what we chose to be"...isn't that true!  If you sit around on the couch all day and never do anything, you're not going to all of a sudden one day wake up and run a 5k. (Side note - Couch to 5k = great app & Free!) However, if every day you walked a little and ...

You may have noticed that yesterday I "took the day off" and didn't blog. I didn't even run. I just laid in the bed feeling bad for my self. The extra hours of sleep were nice, however I still felt guilty. Why did I do it? Was it worth it? My initial intention wasn't to sleep in. My plan as always was to get up at 4:50am to run, read and blog. Unfortunately none of that happened. I simply just laid in bed asleep. Here's my excuse/non-excuse... Last week I put in nearly 30,000 steps each day overseeing 150+ middle school and high school students at our churches Vacation Bible School. On Sunday night I stayed up late to watch the Preds and Pens game (Stanley Cup Finals, Ice Hockey), which didn't go in my favor. I may have even woke up with some pretty bad back and knee pain that would have prevented me from running anyways. Again, not excuses but the reality of my week last week and why I "took the day off" yesterday. I needed to ...

It's Friday, which means it's Trash Day!  I'm very thankful for this service in the U.S. and all the men and women that make it possible. I know there are counties all around the world that don't have the infrastructure to have their trash collected. I do greatly appreciate this aspect of our country and the simplicity it brings to our lives.  With that being said, as a neighborhood runner it really stinks. It literally stinks.  On Fridays when I run I usually run a longer distance outside of the neighborhood, simply to avoid the smell of the trash. Most trashcans don't smell all that bad, however the ones that are so packed full the tops are open and trash is just oozing out, those are the bad ones. Those are the ones I have to hold my breath as I run by a little faster.  This morning I was reminded by these amazing trashcans that there are a few bags of trash in my life I need to throw out. There are things that are holding me back from livi...

Who inspires you? What are you inspired by? What is inspiration? Inspiration is the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative. (Def. of Inspiration from Google) Who inspires you to do something creative? Who are those people in your life that motivate you to do your best and work hard? Who has always pushed you to step out of your comfort zone and try something new? Who do want to model your life after? Who would you say is the one person you couldn't live without? Do you have people in your life that inspire you? If so, great! If not, you need to find them ASAP!  Let's flip the script a little bit though... Are you an inspirational person? Do you help people feel "mentally stimulated" to do something creative and great?   On a scale for 1 to 10, how would you rate your level of inspiration? How well do you inspire others? (1 not at all, 10 being an inspiration to all people) - Comment Below wit...

This morning I had to cut my run short because of....well...just look back at the title of this post. I started to think though...life is the same way. Sometimes you just have to turn around and take care of business before you go any further. This morning, that's exactly what I did. What "business" do you need to take care of before you go any further? Is it a stack of emails you've been avoiding? Could it be a tough conversation you need to have with yourself or someone else? Is it simply to take some time off to get your own life together? Whatever it is, turn around and take care of the crap that is holding you back! Reality check...it's not going away unless you do something about it! ....... I'll digress for a second and write a little bit about goals. I heard a guy say the other day they painted a door in his house with chalk-board paint and wrote goals for his kids to accomplish over the summer. The door was is his kitchen so his ...