Reflection: Marine Corps Marathon 2016

After two full and amazing days sharing Nuru’s story with folks at the expo, I had the privilege of lining up with about 30,000 other runners from around the world to run my fourth Marine Corps Marathon.

This time was really different for me. I had not trained as diligently as I had in previous years, and I had a couple of injuries during the summer. Not only that, but this was the first time I ran the Marine Corps Marathon without Jamie there with me. She was of course busy caring for Sylvia, so I thought this year I would be running for all three of us. This was my first Marine Corps Marathon as a father too.

Thankfully I was at least able to start the race with my good friend JR Pittman. He decided to run for Nuru with me this year, and we had a great run during the first half of the race, and then my lack of training at longer distances began to catch up with me. I made it about eighteen miles before I started cramping up, and I think that was about the same time the sun came out, and the temperature began to shoot upward a little more quickly. Even with the heat, the fatigue, and the cramping, I am so glad I persevered through it.

When I think about all of the runners who have joined me in running to help Nuru fight extreme poverty, I get a little emotional. Thirty thousand people run this race each year, and I’ve been so grateful that slightly under 100 of them have run with Team Nuru. And, I think about all that each one of us gets out of the deal. Not only are we helping others half way around the world, but we are also making ourselves better in the process.

A lesson I learned from my first Marine Corps Marathon in 2013 was that the training and the race provide a great tool for exercising self-discipline, long-term planning, and working toward a larger goal. I’ve been able to translate those same attributes into many other areas of my life, and I can’t help but think that they will help me be a better father and a better husband too.

When I crossed the finish line, I took a few seconds to express my gratitude for finishing the race. I also took a few seconds to pose for a starjump in honor of Jamie since she wasn’t there with me this year.

As the miles began to add up, I remember two distinct voices in the crowd (other than the ones offering hot dogs, beverages, and gummy bears). There was a little girl around mile 17 and a little boy around mile 22. They were probably each around six years of age. The little girl yelled out as I went by, “Keep going, you can do it!” and the little boy yelled, “Don’t ever give up, keep going!” And for some reason, amid all of the various cheers and shouts, the words of these two children yelling with all they could muster made their way into my heart, and my eyes teared a little. Their words of encouragement are what we all need to remember, no matter what the challenge is we are going through.

There is at least One Voice out there that believes the absolute best for each of us, and if we are attentive we can single it out above all of the noise. And, as we apply discipline to our lives and accomplish challenging goals, we become more and more attuned to that voice. May we each keep running and keep our ears tuned in for that Voice.

Reflection: Birthing Class

Recently in preparation for the arrival of Baby Williams, Jamie and I took a two day birthing class offered at Mon General Hospital in Morgantown, WV. The class cost $60, but one of the teachers said that it might be reimbursable through insurance. Regardless, I believe the class was well worth it.

Here are just a few reasons.

1)   During the class we were able to watch multiple videos of childbirth, and it really helped us reframe a number of our perceptions around childbirth. Neither myself nor Jamie have spent much time in a labor and delivery area (other than visiting friends and relatives after a birth), and so it was incredibly helpful to see several couples choosing to go a natural route with childbirth. The philosophy at Mon General is to encourage natural childbirth when possible, but be prepared for whatever is needed.

2)   Skills and tools for coaching, support, and relaxation were provided, and we were able to practice a few of them. These included experimentation with different positions that Jamie could take during labor, relaxation and breathing techniques, and massage and other support I could offer during labor.

3)   The class had more than a dozen couples in it, and it was a very tangible reminder that there are many other couples who are proceeding along a similar timeline, and who also are looking to learn all they can about the miracle of childbirth before their baby arrives. While intellectually we know that people are having children every day, there was something comforting about knowing there were so many of us locally preparing for the birth of our first child.

4)   Developing a birth plan and preferences. We had heard a good bit about birth plans before the class, but after taking the class, we have a better idea of what we want to include in Jamie’s birth plan, and have begun to lay out those preferences.

5)   Reduced anxiety around labor and childbirth. Well-meaning people tend to open up to Jamie about the trauma of their labor and childbirth, and much of what is available in the media portray childbirth and labor as EXTREMELY painful and traumatic. Those stories and portrayals serve to only amplify our own fear and anxiety. After this class, our perspective has been reframed to begin thinking about labor as something that does not have to be traumatic or EXTREMELY painful. We have no misgivings that it will be an easy process, but I believe the class has left us more excited about the process, and we are planning to go through as much of the process as we can at home. We will still give birth in a hospital, but we now know that we don’t need to speed to the hospital the first time Jamie has a contraction.

I could list many more reasons to take a similar course, and I’m sure Jamie could add several as well but we both wanted to encourage folks who are expecting to make the investment in a course. If you are local to Morgantown, Pam Po and Rhonda Hopkins at Mon General Hospital both do an incredible job teaching/facilitating the class.

Clara Grandt Santucci Set To Compete In 2016 US Olympic Trials

Back in December last year, I wrote this post about fellow West Virginia native Clara Grandt Santucci. I felt like it was worthwhile to write another post and share the video below that was produced by Pikewood Creative in Morgantown, because Clara's story is one that all of us from the hills of West Virginia can be proud of. We need to be sharing these good stories more often in our world, and it has been encouraging to see my hometown TV station WTAP share a two part series about Clara as well.



Saturday, February 13 at 1:22PM EST, Clara will be running with 200 top marathon competitors in the 2016 US Olympic Trials, and this race will be broadcast on NBC, and personally, I'm incredibly excited and hopeful for her. From what I know of her, she is an very humble lady who is extremely dedicated to bringing her best to all that she does. She is a woman of deep faith and commitment, and she has been fiercely training and persevering toward this long term goal for the last four years.

Jamie and I have been sharing her story with everyone we know and encouraging them to tune in for the race on Saturday. Jamie can remember running track in high school against Clara (they went to different schools), and Jamie said, "Everybody knew that Clara would win the races in which she competed, and it didn't matter what school you went to, everybody wanted to see her win too--she was just that kind of person--even at a young age."

I want to encourage you to tune in and cheer her on Saturday afternoon, and if you live near the site of the marathon trials in Los Angeles, whether you are a native West Virginian or not (but especially if you are a West Virginian), get out there and cheer Clara on toward her Olympic dream!

Let's go Clara!!! You have already made us incredibly proud, but keep going!!!

Reflection: My 2016 Goals Part Two

A few days ago, I started sharing my top goals for 2016. I felt like my post was getting a little long, and so I divided it up into two sections. If you want to get the rest of the list, check out my previous post. Each year I like to develop a list of overarching goals that inform my life mission and help me bring my best into every day. Here are a few of the goals I have set for 2016. If you are not a goal setter, I want to encourage you to set some goals for your 2016 as well. Below is the second half of my goals for 2016. Please, when you can send me a note to encourage me along the way--I always appreciate it!

Make healthier dietary choices. The data is out there. Sugar is terrible for you (beyond tooth decay), and it is EVERYWHERE! Jamie and I have been pretty disciplined in our food and beverage choices, but we plan to step it up even more in 2016 and part of that means making more meals at home, finding healthy snacks, and taking our vitamins!

Vacation. This is something I have historically been horrible with. I do not take time for vacation. Many times when I actually do take vacation, I still find myself doing work and hopping online to check emails or answer "urgent" requests. This year, I'm committed to planning for and using the vacation time that has been given me. At the forefront, I will take time off to go "off the grid" and celebrate five AMAZING years together with Jamie! Separately, I have gotten out of rhythm with regard to Sabbath. This year, I am working toward renewing my personal commitment to Sabbath. The irony of a general cultural desire to uphold the majority of the Ten Commandments is that we treat the commandment about Sabbath as an exception. 

Simplify. Every year Jamie and I make small inroads toward pushing things out the door that we have acquired over the years. And this year, we are already starting to go through our clothes, books, etc. and donate them so other people can enjoy them. Several years ago I started amassing quite a library, and while I have enjoyed reading just about every book on my shelves, the reality is that I am highly unlikely to read the majority of them a second time. So...I am planning to push many of these tomes out the door. Of course another aspect of simplifying means lowering my footprint, walking instead of driving, and turning off electronics, and lights when not in use. 

Pursue formal training to be a certified coach. This one is a new one in some ways. My entire life I have benefitted from being around people who were smarter than me, more talented than me, and who provided incredible mentorship to me. And at the core of my being, I think one of the things that brings me great joy is helping others bring their very best to the world. As a result, this year I'm pursuing formal training to become a better executive/leadership/life coach and mentor. As one of my personal mentors pointed out to me in a recent conversation, "You already do this stuff--getting trained will help you to do it better."

Play more. I believe this could probably be connected to vacation, simplifying and other goals, but when I think about this goal, it has more to do with seeking to do some activities purely for enjoyment. Whether that is playing a game of cards, playing H-O-R-S-E with Jamie on a local playground, or throwing a baseball in the yard, I want to be intentional in finding time to play in 2016. Life is pretty serious. The work we are doing at Nuru is pretty serious too. But play keeps our hearts light and and makes the serious work a little easier to push through. I don't have a specific goal for the frequency with which I want to play, but I know that I want to pursue more activities than I currently do simply for the sake of enjoying them.

So what are your goals? What will you do to bring your very best in 2016? May we each bring forth our very best for the glory of God and for the good of humanity in the year ahead.

Review: Ready To Run by Kelly Starrett

A couple of months ago, I discovered a new author by the name of Kelly Starrett. He had written a book a little over a year ago called Becoming A Supple Leopard and had earned a solid reputation in the fitness, crossfit, and athletic performance world through the book and his trainings on mobility. I discovered Dr. Starrett's books through a blog I found called The Art Of Manliness when looking up exercises to counteract the damage of sitting.

This post isn't about either Supple Leopards or The Art of Manliness, but I highly recommend you check out both. I'll probably end of writing about each at some later point, but for now I want to focus  on Ready To Run.

This book is an incredibly helpful text for runners at all levels. Here's a brief outline of why.

1) Starrett identifies some great strengths of runners (task completion, discipline, goal oriented lifestyle).

2) Starrett also identifies some great challenges for runners (poor mechanics, willingness to push through pain, and subsequent tendency toward running related injuries).

3) The book is divided into 12 performance standards that will help runners at all levels improve their performance and significantly reduce their risk of injury.

4) The author shares an array of mobility exercises that can restore function and range of motion to muscles used most while running.

Here's the basic facts. If you are a runner, chances are you have encountered injuries (plantar fascia, achilles tendon, knee and hip pain, etc.). Most of us, when we get injured, we don't take time to rehabilitate or correct what got us injured in the first place. Instead, we tend to run until we hurt ourselves worse, or, when forced by the degree of our injuries, we take time out, and aggressively work to get back on the road. What we fail to do is consistently discipline ourselves to working on mobility, strength, and addressing root causes of our injuries.

What Kelly does in his book is pretty straightforward. He equips runners with an array of tools to address alignment, mobility, and strength issues, and charts a path forward for runners to move toward running injury free. What I love most about his philosophy is that rather than recommending a quick fix (via shoes or orthotics) he encourages runners to address the underlying weaknesses and mobility issues that lead to injury in the first place. I've actually recommended it to a few folks this summer who were planning to run the 40th Marine Corps Marathon for Nuru, but injury has sidelined them and they are now planning to run the Marine Corps 10K instead.

If you love to run, I highly recommend Kelly's book. If you are currently an injured runner, or have been injured in the past, I recommend it even more highly. Why not start charting your path toward becoming a stronger runner on a firm foundation by working to increase your functional strength and range of motion as you recover?

The hardest part isn't buying or reading his book though. The hardest part is developing the discipline  to apply the strategies listed in the book to become a better runner. From mobility exercises to warm-ups and cool-downs, these tools take time to implement, but they are well worth it. Over the last couple of months I have noticed an improved foundation to my running by taking time to implement a mobility routine into my day.

May you also read, implement, and become more fully Ready To Run.

Training For A Marathon: Training For A Life

Running a long distance race has been something I've often thought about doing, but I always thought my first race longer than a 10K would have been the Parkersburg Half-Marathon. I guess I've never really been one to do something half way. ;)

Last October, Jamie and I joined 20 other runners from around the country to run the 38th Annual Marine Corps Marathon in an effort to raise funds and awareness for Nuru. And we are doing it again this year. It was a pretty incredible experience running through our nation's capital with over 30,000 runners from around the world. And it was an added bonus to have the support of the men and women of the United States Marine Corps as we journeyed along the 26.2 mile course.

This year, as we start training, we look forward to being joined in DC for the race by my best friend in the whole world, Willie, and possibly my sister, Becky. Willie has never run a marathon, but my sister has (and she flew!). A year ago I had never run a marathon, and neither had Jamie. I highly recommend giving it a try for anyone who has ever thought about it. In fact, it would be great to have you join us in running for Nuru in the future.

We found a training plan from a runner named Jeff Galloway. His plan boasted that it had helped thousands of runners train without injury. And the plan was available for free online! Back in the year 2000, I had started getting semi-serious about running, and I picked up a copy of a book by Jeff Galloway called Galloway's Book On Running. It's a great one if you are looking for a book to guide you in getting started running. Back in 2000, it was one of about five total books I could find on the subject at the bookstore. Now there are tons.

What I love about training for a marathon, is that it equips you not only with the discipline you need for running a long-distance endurance race, but also for the discipline you need to accomplish any major goal. You see, most people can't just go out their door and run a marathon tomorrow. They've gotta train for it; they must plan for it. When I started training, I had not run with any regularity in years, and the last time I had run, it was for about 2-3 miles and it was probably 6 months prior to signing up for the race.

Training last year started toward the end of March, and culminated at the end of October. Slowly and steadily Jamie and I added miles. We had to plan for even the 30-45 minute runs we did twice weekly. But the long runs required much more planning. I knew that if I wanted to have any chance at finishing a marathon, I had to be disciplined about getting out to run the longer runs. I had to block out hours of time for the longer runs. And I knew after those runs I would be really tired. So six months, three times each week, I needed to block out time to get ready, run, and rest. I needed to buy something to keep my energy levels up as I ran, so I bought Clif Shot Bloks.  It took planning, it took preparation, and it took discipline. And we all need that if we want to accomplish any larger goals in this life. Most people don't just sit down and read the Bible, they read a little bit at a time and get to their goal. Most people don't wake up and start playing the guitar. They practice, and little by little they build the skills to be able to play a song or two. It takes time. It takes discipline. It takes desire.

And that's why most people don't run marathons. Most people don't play an instrument. Most folks have never read the Bible. Most folks in the states have never planted a garden (not true for our global neighbors though).

So this year we planning to run another marathon. And that's another thing. Just because you have done it once, doesn't mean it is automatic. But, going through the process this time, we know we can do it--because we have done it. It isn't as daunting, but it takes just as much effort.

What is your big goal? It may not be to run a marathon, but whatever it is, you are going to need to map out a plan for it. Get to it. You are burning daylight. Every day you wait is that much longer before you complete your goal. You will be glad you started, and likely the world will be better because you took the time and applied the discipline to see yourself to the finish line. And, after you finish, the next goal will still take hard work, but it will be a little bit easier because you know what it takes to finish!

Spirit of the Marathon II

Last night I was invited to watch a movie by my good friend Crystal Messenger. It was called Spirit Of The Marathon II and told the story of seven runners from around the world who were running the Rome Marathon. It was an encouraging movie to watch, particularly if you are a runner, or know a runner. Crystal is among the 25+ runners who will be running the Marine Corps Marathon for Team Nuru in October. And surprisingly, so am I.

As an organization, Nuru International applied to be a charity partner of the Marine Corps Marathon. As people were signing up, I started thinking about the audacity of the goal. I haven't run with any consistency for about 13 years. My sister has been absolutely killing it running for the last three years. I thought maybe I should do this and be able to join her for some of her races one day as something more than a spectator. Jamie and I had talked about running a race for Nuru for a while, but the MCM gave me an opportunity to go beyond talk.

Since March 29th, I have been out pounding the pavement. Jamie and I have run in Chicago, Columbus, and even along the C & O Canal and Appalachian Trail near Harpers Ferry, WV. Last week we ran 13.4 miles through Morgantown, WV and for me that marks the longest distance I have ever run at one time in my life. Usually with that kind of distance, it is time to hop on a bike, or hitch a ride. ;)

But training has been going well. We have avoided any injuries thus far by taking it slow and easy. Jamie has been an incredible student of nutrition as well to help us recover well and be prepared for the next run.

And then, last night, watching these runners run and listening to their stories, I was tremendously encouraged. Everybody has a reason for running a marathon. Some run to win the race, others run to win their own race against themselves, represent their country or community, or support a cause.

I feel like running the MCM will be about a lot of things for me. I had always wanted to run the Parkersburg Half-Marathon growing up, but never did. Now I am training to run double the distance. And I'm going to be raising funds and awareness for Nuru in the process. I'm also going to be improving my health. And most importantly, I'll be running the race with my best friend. It has been absolutely amazing running with my wife for these last few weeks. We aren't even half-way to the marathon itself, but it has been such a wonderful time to decompress, pray together, and encourage one another.

As I watched the movie, I couldn't help but think about the people who will be traveling from much farther distances to run the Marine Corps Marathon. I couldn't help but think that I would be in the middle of a mass of roughly 30,000 people who were running through our nation's capital. I think it's going to be a pretty amazing time, and I look forward to enjoying every step of the journey there.

May we each run the race that is set before us to the best of our ability.