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.

Our First Road Trip With Sylvia

After an incredibly action-packed first few days, Jamie, Sylvia, and myself loaded up into the Nuru van for our first road trip! As a result of the generous support of a Nuru donor, we were headed to Washington DC to set up a booth for the 41^st Marine Corps Marathon Expo.

Thanks to some guidance given by one of the nurses at Mon General, we were able to get Sylvia situated pretty quickly in the vehicle. And as we pulled out of the driveway, we quickly made a discovery. It appears Sylvia really enjoys the open road. She rested peacefully as we introduced her to Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC. (To be fair, she had been to these places before, but this was her first time outside the womb).

As we pulled into the convention center at National Harbor a light rain that had persisted through the day began to lift. Jamie and Sylvia made their way out for a walk, and I began unloading banners, tshirts, and other cool Nuru International signage so we could make our presence known for the first time at the Expo. This year marked our fourth year having a team run for Nuru, and since Nuru’s CEO was a Force Recon Marine, it only made sense to have representation at the Expo.

The setup went fairly quick and we were able to get settled in with some good friends in the area, and we had an incredible team of volunteers join us at the booth including current USNA MIDN, and one of Jake’s old roommates from USNA as well as folks who have been part of Nuru from our earliest efforts!

Sylvia and Jamie came down to do some quality inspection of the booth, and after their approval, I knew we were prepared for the opening of the expo. It is incredible that we get to do so much of this stuff together, and I’m in awe of this young lady’s ability to travel so quickly.

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 One

Every year, as the year winds to an end, I carve out time to take a look over the previous year and consider goals and plans for the year ahead. Over the years, as I've taken time to do this, I notice that my goals are not so much resolutions as they are an opportunity to go deeper on the things I value highly. The year end/beginning is a time for me to do a checkup on my life and recalibrate and refocus for the present and future. I don't necessarily try to come up with ten goals each year, but it seems like that has become the average for me. And what I have found is that the goals themselves may appear somewhat nebulous or abstract, but the pathway to achievement is always found in concrete steps.  As I share these goals, I hope you will take time to encourage me through the year, and, that you will take time to set your own goals and plans for 2016.

Cultivate my relationship with God. For me, it is as simple as this. Because my relationship with God is my anchor, my compass, and my lighthouse, this needs to take precedence over any other activity. That means that it needs to come first in my day, and that I need to daily start by connecting with God by taking time to listen, to pray, to read scriptures, and to cultivate spiritual disciplines. This goal helps me stay attended and aligned daily with my ultimate purpose, to be with Christ, become more like Christ, and to live more fully for Christ.

Pursue physical fitness and become physically stronger than I have ever been. I need to move. Barring injury, I plan to dedicate 30-60 minutes per day to movement of some type. If that means walking, I'll walk for at least 30 minutes. I am actually conspiring with a small group of friends to start doing some early morning/pre-dawn bootcamp style workouts in Morgantown. While a group of us have been talking about this for about a year, I need to give a shoutout to my good friend Stephen Beckwith and his friends at F3Nation for helping to give shape to this plan. This year, Jamie and I are already thinking through our training plan for Marine Corps Marathon and hopeful that Nuru International will be able to be a charity partner again.

Maintain a positive mindset. Again, this is a goal that is best worked out with a daily routine. That daily routine is simple. Aside from devotional activities and fitness, I have found that one of the most powerful contributors to a positive mental outlook, resilience, and tenacity is a sense of gratitude. Each morning, I commit myself to take a few moments to reflect on one or more things for which I am grateful. And when the events of the day seem like an onslaught of catastrophe, I am committing my mind to find the silver lining. I've noticed that it is just to easy for myself and for others to dwell on the negative. I don't want to ignore problems when they arise, but I do want to buffer myself against allowing a negative thought to spiral out of control and distort reality.

Write, read, and reflect. Every day, I will find time to write, read, and/or reflect. Every day is special and there really are no "ordinary moments" so I want to carve time to savor moments. I'm committed to blogging an average of at least once per week over the course of 2016. For inspiration, I am drawing on the encouragement I found last year from my friend and coworker at Nuru, Thomas Hong. I want to enjoy, savor, and learn from each day, and to do that, I need to be mindful and intentional about it.

Get outside. These days, it seems like more and more of our time is spent inside. Growing up, inside was probably among the last places you would find me and most of my friends while it was daylight. We were outside playing basketball, jumping rope, hiking, fishing, or pursuing the adventure of the day. This year, I want to spend at least 30 minutes per day outside. Of course there will be some days that won't afford this opportunity, but when possible, I want to go beyond the 30 minute goal. I want to soak in the sun and of course Jamie and I will be planning to plant a small garden again--planting and maintaining a garden on one's property is practically a guarantee to be outside. Just as much as it is important to get outside and enjoy creation, there's a valuable relationship with our food that most of us are losing because we've never grown it ourselves.

I'll share the rest of my top top goals in a future post, but in the meantime, I want to encourage you to consider (if you haven't already), what are your goals for 2016? Personally, I'm looking forward to a lot of growth this year! (And may none of us ever stop doing looking forward and growing!)

Looking Back On 2015 Goals

Well, as 2016 is well under way, I thought I would take some time to reflect on the goals I set in 2015 and see how well I did with them. I for the last several years, I have attempted (not always in blog format) to take time to reflect on my past year, and set goals in the new year to help me become a better version of myself. 

So here are a few of my goals from 2015, and how I fared in them.

Practice Sabbath, Solitude, Silence, and Fasting—This was once a strength for me, but I’ve allowed this discipline to slip in recent years. I slept with my phone in a separate room for most of the year, and managed to carve some time out for each of these disciplines in the midst of a flurry of activity. AND, I was able to take my first seriously legit vacation with Jamie since our honeymoon. It involved a full week of no technology (except for a clock radio that played a few radio stations). It was AWESOME! Looking forward to continuing on that trajectory!

Blog More Consistently—Last year, I had made a commitment to my good friend Thomas Hong to start blogging more , and thanks to his encouragement and accountability, I wrote more than I had since 2012--53 posts in total! I had actually developed a habit of writing more during the beginning of last year, but I never managed to post much of what I had written (so there may be some one year old thoughts (or older) getting posted this year. As 2015 came to an end, I took some time to plot out what I would like to write about, and how to make it more consistent, so I'm hopeful to continue this trend in 2016. 

Exercise—Last year, I wanted to at least walk 30 minutes per day for a minimum of 3-5 days per week. I easily maintained this goal, and I was able to insert about 45 minutes of riding bicycle and other types of aerobic and strength training into my weekly routine.

Lose Weight Become More Fit—Last year I started at 195 pounds and I didn't set a goal for ending weight in 2015, but I did want to be more fit. I managed to lose six pounds and as of today weigh 189. Not a massive change, but definitely trending in the right direction, and I would say that I pursued a more consistently healthy lifestyle in 2015. 

Marine Corps Marathon—Jamie and I were able to complete our third Marine Corps Marathon for Nuru last year, and we completed it in our best time yet!

Steward Resources More Wisely—Every year, Jamie and I strive to take some steps to lower our footprint (and our utility bills) and hope to continue this trend in 2016. Among our choices were switching to LED bulbs and keeping our heat set low and AC set high). We also tended to walk instead of driving when we traveled in town. And, sometimes (when the grass wasn't too high), we mowed our yard sometimes with a reel mower--now that's a workout!

Get Outdoors—My goal was to get outside for at least 30 minutes a day. Many days I exceeded this goal. I feel like being outside helps me stay grounded and connected to the world around me, and not get caught up in the online world or the world of screens. There's something refreshing about being rooted in the good earth. 

Connect With Friends—I wanted to continue the trend of visiting with friends both near and far. These times of connecting are a refreshment to my soul, and last year, I feel like we were able to do this really well, but I always find myself longing for more. 

Plant a Garden—Of course this is a goal every year. I’d love for us to grow more of our food this year, and this time with our hands in the soil will also help us spend a little more time outdoors.

What about you? How did you fare in your 2015 goals? What habits would you like to make or break in the coming year?

Help Clara Grandt Santucci Make WV Proud!!!

This morning, thanks to a social media post from Tony Caridi, Jamie and I learned about the video at the top of this post that was created by Pikewood Creative. The video tells the story of one of Jamie's coworkers, an incredible West Virginian named Clara Grandt Santucci. Clara grew up in Doddridge County, and Jamie can remember running against her in middle school and high school--in some ways they have been connected to each other for most of their lives. But I would say that their friendship has blossomed during the time they have worked together at Healthworks. I've had the distinct blessing of being able to connect with Clara a handful of times, and probably the thing that has stood out most to me is her humility.

For the last two years, she has WON the Pittsburgh Marathon (which is pretty cool because she's also a pretty big Pirates fan). She competed against some of the best in the world during that race and she came out on top. She's humble, but she is also tenacious. And personally those are two of my favorite qualities in any human being. I enjoy stories of people who are genuine, authentic, and relentless as well, and from all I can gather Clara is very bit those things. To me, she embodies some of the best character qualities of people from our state, and she is as committed to her faith as she is to training as an elite athlete.

She has created a Go Fund Me page to raise funds to help her get to the Olympic Trials this year so she can compete in the 2016 Olympic games for Team USA. A law office in the southern part of our state has committed to matching every contribution up to $2,500 to get help her get there. Personally, I know Jamie and I are going to help at some level, but we just need to determine the amount. When I watched her video earlier, I was inspired, and it thrills me to know that one of our fellow Mountaineers will be able to represent our great state on a global stage once she finishes in the top three runners during the 2016 Olympic Games.

Will you help spread the word about Clara and her quest to represent West Virginia and the United States of America in the Olympics? Thanks so much!

And Clara, we will all be cheering you on back here in Almost Heaven! Make us proud!!!

Review: Jawbone Up Activity Tracker

As the Apple Watch becomes the latest in a long list of wearable technology, I thought I would write a brief review of the wearable technology I have experimented with, and some pros and cons I see.

I was at a software developer's conference called UberConf in 2013 when I heard one of the speakers, Stuart Halloway, hold up his wrist to display a Jawbone UP activity tracker, and talk briefly about how far we have come in the realm of technology. Stu is an incredibly intelligent dude, a brilliant developer, a compelling communicator, and an avid runner. His display of the UP piqued my curiosity. So, as per usual, I began exploring different trackers and the pros and cons of each. I finally landed on the up band for a few reasons.

It was one of the first activity trackers developed and it worked well with older smart phones at the time (iPhone 4 and beyond), and I had an older phone. I thought the fact that I could plug it into my headphone jack to upload data to its partner app was pretty cool. It also seemed to have a less "tech device" look to it compared to other devices.

Now why was I interested in a tracker in the first place? Well, for starters, roughly from the beginning of Nuru, I had developed a habit of getting 4.5-6 hours of sleep a night instead of the recommended 7.5-8. I thought that a device that sort of "held me accountable" and helped me track toward a goal of a normal sleep pattern would be helpful. In addition, Jamie and I were training for our first marathon, and I also had a goal of mobility each day. The UP has a cool app that tracks sleep patterns as well as running and walking, and it syncs up with other apps I like such as Runtastic and My Fitness Pal. For folks who want to track things like drinking at least eight glasses of water, or keeping a digital food journal, the UP is helpful as well. In addition, you can set smart alarms, so if you have been staring at your computer too long, binge watching netflix, or just plain lounging, it will vibrate and remind you to not sit still. More and more studies are showing that a sedentary lifestyle is incredibly unhealthy.

So what were the results of my UP? Well, I was able to become more disciplined about sleep. I started getting the recommended amount of sleep, and I was able to develop a habit of 7.5-8 hours a night. The UP was incredibly helpful. I was also able to track steps taken, whether I was walking or running, and that helped me cultivate greater discipline in being active. Additionally, a few of my friends also had UP bands along with the app, so we could encourage each other when we hit our goals. Finally, the app provides articles related to health, motivational quotes, and a really cool visual display of activity and sleep patterns. I would highly recommend the UP for anyone who needs a kickstart to a healthy lifestyle.

But, I don't wear an UP or any other wearable tech these days. Why not? Well, my UP started "warping" (The rubber exterior came unglued from the device) a few months after purchase. Warping caused the button on the UP to not be able to be pushed, and I couldn't charge my UP or upload data to my phone. This happened to me twice in my first year of owning the UP. When it happened a third time this spring, I was 1) outside of warranty and 2) the version of UP band I had was no longer being produced. The folks at Jawbone were really nice and sent me a discount code for purchasing a new product, but I haven't been able to bring myself to purchase another. I had hoped Jawbone would produce a water-proof device--my wife is a swimmer, and I thought it might be a cool gift, and we could both have one.

But then I had this realization. The UP band had been an accountability partner, a coach, and a tool to get me moving and more disciplined with regard to my health, but now I had developed better habits. I didn't need the extra nudge for sleeping eight hours because I knew how great it felt to get enough sleep. I didn't need to to know how many steps I took during a day, because I knew I was being consistent with moving. So the activity tracker had served its purpose. In addition, activity trackers are not cheap, and if I just don't know if it is worth replacing one of these devices every 1-2 years, unless, you need the accountability and the nudge. Then, these devices are WAY cheaper than a personal trainer or something similar. Of course I am still a fan of the UP band, and super impressed with Jawbone's willingness to replace my band twice, and I would recommend their device to anyone in the market for an activity tracker.

Are you looking to push yourself toward a health or wellness goal? Maybe the UP or another tracker would be a good device to get you started. Regardless, may you rest well and get out and move toward a healthier life.

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.

Nationwide Columbus Half-Marathon

Sunday morning, I awoke at 545AM to begin pre-race preparations.  I wasn’t running myself, but my fiancée Jamie was running her first ever half-marathon.   We drove to Columbus and stayed the night at the home of my best friend in the whole world, Willie.  And, on Saturday afternoon about a half-hour after we arrived, Willie had a surprise for us.  My dad came up to visit and support Jamie too.  We had a great team rallying around Jamie as she awoke at 6AM and began her own pre-race preparations which were much more serious than mine. (she actually had to run 13 miles).

We drove to the race site and got stuck on 670 for a bit on our way to the race, and so at 710AM, Jamie hopped out of the car to ‘warm up’ by running to the starting line (and insuring that she would be able to be there in time for the start).  I proceeded to drive the car to the parking garage, and amazingly, I made it to the starting line in time to see her off.  (Turns out that her wave of the race started close to 745 instead of 730AM).  At that point Willie and my dad drove up about two blocks away, picked me up, and we made it to the first of three stops along the route to cheer Jamie on.

It was utterly amazing to see the turn-out for this race.  15,000 people ran in the race, and there was literally a continuous stream of runners along the route.  In fact, Jamie had nearly passed us before we saw her from the first vantage point (mile 4) along the race route.  We tried to track her using the tracker function on the marathon website, but we couldn’t get it to work.   At mile 9 we fared much better, and even got a couple photos.  All along the route, Jamie maintained good form and totally rocked the race.   In fact, Jamie started the race awesomely well, and ran her fastest 10K ever during the first part of the race.

The marathon as a whole was pretty stellar too.  The route took participants all through the city, and there were dozens of bands and live music all along the way.   The city was filled with energy and thousands of spectators gathered along every part of the route.  

Jamie has been training since late this summer with two of her friends, and all three of them completed the race well. She finished the entire race in about 2 hours, and I am soooooo proud of her!  She set a goal, she disciplined herself to run on many occasions when she didn't feel like it, and she totally crushed it!