My Half Marathon journey…

So this morning I participated in my first ever half marathon, and in a lot of ways, it feels like this race was a long time coming.  I’m about to explain how that happened, but apart from divulging my running history, today was not about me so much as it was about the community of OKC, and that’s why I’ve always appreciated this race.  And driving home today from OKC I began to reminisce about the past year, the training, the sacrifice, and also since I hadn’t posted anything on here in awhile, I wanted to share it with those who will read it (luck you, right??).  So here we go.

The History

I have always wanted to run the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon.  But I was never in shape to train, and let’s face it, life happens quick.  For me, once I left high school and cross country behind, I had college, got married, had a kid, started a career, had another kid, and that’s where I began my half marathon journey.  Let me say that a lot of things have changed with running since I was in school.  Technology has obviously progressed, along with sports science, and I was oblivious to a lot of this.  It was this time a year ago that I decided that I was going to run the OKC Memorial Half Marathon.  To be honest I really had no clue in Hell what I was doing, because I could barely run 2 miles without having to walk, so completing a half marathon seemed like the furthest thing from reality.  I had barely been able to complete a 5K the summer before so my confidence wasn’t exactly at an all time high.

Training

I decided that if I was going to run the half, I needed to run a 5K in under 30 minutes for starters, so I completed two of them last summer, attaining my goal, and felt comfortable about pursuing the half.  My addiction had begun.  Training began on New Years Day, so instead of being consumed by bowl games and the National Championship, I focused on training.  Training was not easy.  Especially in January.  Especially before I went to work.  I think at some point I wore 3 or 4 layers of clothes just so I wouldn’t freeze my butt off in the cold Oklahoma weather.  I kept telling myself that the January workouts would pay off in April, and all I could do was believe I was heading in the right direction.  I gradually got faster, but as any runner can attest, this was slower rather than faster.  February rolled around and I got hurt.  I didn’t run much that month as I injured my left calf, and then at the end of February I had a high ankle sprain in my left foot that I confused for a gout flare up.  I was thankful it wasn’t gout.  Training resumed in March, and that was the month I learned about dehydration first-hand.  I never drank enough water and always felt sick.  Note to self.  As I could see April creeping around the corner I thought I could finish this race, but there was one more lesson that I had to learn.

Breathing

I had never paid attention to my breathing pattern in high school or at any other time for that matter, and it took a $20 book from Runner’s World to change all that.  I read Running On Air in about 5 days, and in it I learned that when I run, my breathing and footsteps were not moving in rhythm, and I wasn’t breathing from my belly like I should have, but from my lungs, which is a no-no.  At any rate, I started to figure out the breathing rhythm when I also realized, I shouldn’t listen to music and run.  That sounds sacrilegious to a lot of runners, but in not being distracted by music, I was allowed to listen to my body and how it felt during a run.  Made sense.

The Race

I won’t bore with details from the race, but just some small observations.  First, there were a LOT of people running this race.  The staging area I was in was packed like sardines.  When the horn went off to start, my group waited at least another 7 to 8 minutes to get rolling.  The first few miles were full of people running too fast (probably myself included if I’m being honest, although I wasn’t going fast), seeing lots of support and enjoying the beautiful weather.  The race got tough for me at mile 8 when I hit Classen Boulevard and hit the wall.  I hauled it in to get done in my original goal, under 2 hours and 15 minutes, but I was tired of running.  I was glad for the race to be over.  My favorite moment in the race though was seeing this elderly gentlemen wearing a Tommy Bahama inspired outfit drinking a Martini and smoking a cigar.  I was envious of this guy and wanted to be in his shoes and I wasn’t even tired.

Next?

I have no idea what I’m going to do next racing wise.  I’m taking the next two weeks easy, forming a plan to lose another 25-30 lbs., and hope to come up with a gameplan.  I’m sure I’ll run this half again, it may be next year, it may not be.  I think it’s safe to say though that I’m not running another half this year.  Maybe a 5K or a 10K.  And training. 

On the eve of my 10th wedding anniversary…

So I’ve had the time this past week, and really since my buddy Zach’s wedding in the middle of the month, to reflect on my 10th wedding anniversary to my wife, which is tomorrow.  I began to think of not only all that we have been through (having kids, moving multiple times, the ministry, saying goodbye to a grandparent) and it’s made me think of how grateful I am, and also how I hope that the next ten years are sweeter than the first ten.  I remember the first few years we were married that I really envied the people who were married longer because they had this relationship on a different level with their spouse and that made me feel a little intimidated, but now looking back ten years down the road I wish for some of those early days again.  Things were no doubt simpler, especially with no kids, but I miss the days when we were unwillingly broke and didn’t need anything else because we had each other.  I miss those times, but I couldn’t be happier than I am now.

Ten years of marriage has taught me to understand that I am at best priority number two in my house, but also am responsible for all that happens underneath my roof.  The first ten years were by no means easy, but I hope as we embark on the next ten that we would live in the grace that the Lord has given us.

It’s funny because I remember a bunch of little details from that day.  That morning the Columbia space shuttle exploded over Texas, and I could see the smoke from it in the sky.  I accidentally ran into my soon-to-be wife at our new residence before the ceremony (don’t worry, we didn’t see each other).  It was unusually warm that day, especially for February.  We had the wedding in my parent’s living room, which impressive enough, fit about 70 people and a few uninvited guests.  My good, good friend Erick played an ancient Charlie Hall song on my Fender amp that was picking up the play by play of the OU men’s basketball game because my parents lived not far from some radio towers.  When I think about all the little things that made that day, I laugh, and I think tomorrow we’ll reminisce and think of other random things that made the day great.

Everyone likes to use the standard Biblical  texts about love or marriage when it comes to their wedding ceremony, and I don’t think we were any exception, but if I could go back and do things over again, I would want Habakkuk 3:17-18, which says:

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

Here’s to ten more years sweetie of whatever comes our way.  Christ is faithful to both of us.  Love you.

A quick open rant to Facebook users….

Ok, I’m not one to openly rant on or about Facebook users, but I feel like I have to say this.  I know I’m going to offend someone on here, but I feel like I’m saying this for a lot of us who are sick of seeing the following on our Facebook news feeds.  I love God.  If you see the title of my blog, you should be able to pick that one up in about half a second.  I love Christ and His teachings, and attempt to follow Him every day of my life.  But to ignore a photo like the one shown below is an absolutely stupid, asinine thing to think or to say.  There are bigger things in this world to worry about rather than not ‘Liking’ or ‘Ignoring’ a picture of Jesus and Satan arm wrestling.  And to add another small point to this, it’s almost comical to think that there is actually this dualism between Jesus and Satan.  There is not.  Christ has already defeated Satan through the Cross, and as a believer in Him I trust the Cross, not some shared photo on Facebook for my justification.  Some of you are so ignorant and do things for stupid, petty reasons in the name of God and Christianity on Facebook and you need to stop.  God is not glorified by your unintelligent actions on such a public social media sphere.  Some of you need to take a second look at some of the things you ‘Like’ and re-think those things.  Thank you.

Gearing up for a 5k…

One of the best things about the summer is there is always a fun-filled activity to do, whether flying solo or with friends and family.  Since there are really what I consider to be no mountains like the Rockies in Oklahoma, running is a pretty popular past time in this state.  Some people do it for leisure, some for weight loss, and there’s those of you like me, we’re going all out when we run.  Some of you might even peck up enough courage to train for a 5K, a 10K, or even a half marathon, but I found out the hard way that there is a right way to go about training and there is an easy way, and guess what, the easy way never works.  So here is a little sage advice from a seasoned running vet regarding training for a distance race.

You’re not crazy.  A majority of people think running one mile is plain crazy, so when you tell people that you’re training for a 5K, you may get that glossed-over look from some people who actually think you need a CAT scan.  Don’t worry, this is normal.  But here’s my comment; set a goal and stick to it.  For example, I’m running a race at the end of August, and guess what, it’s hot in August!  So if summer racing is in your plans, you either have to make the decision to train in the morning (preferably early) or evening (late).  Workout frequency is up to you, but you need to push yourself.  The race won’t be easy, so practice shouldn’t be either.  Just as a side note on this, if the race you’re going to run is happening in the morning, you need to train some in the morning, that way your body can get used to being up at that time and you can build a routine.  Besides running in the morning is better than the evening in my opinion.

Be realistic.  If you are running your first 5K, your goal should hopefully be to finish your race in under 30 minutes, but don’t live and die by that number.  Be flexible (no pun intended).  If you have health related issues that keep you training, that’s not the end of the world.  The key is consistency, not necessarily speed.  Also try to do your best in gauging how fast your race pace needs to be.  Let me tell you why this is important; when you run with a large number of others, it is so incredibly easy to let your pace fly right out the window.  For example,  let’s say in your 5K you want to run an 8-minute mile for all three miles.  I can almost guarantee that the first mile will look more like a 6-minute mile and then you get winded faster and earlier because you used up so much energy the first mile trying to establish position and rhythm.  There’s nothing wrong with getting a good start, but don’t do something rash to put the rest of your race in jeopardy.  But then again maybe you can pull off a 6-minute mile for three miles, then all I can say is rock on. 

See the big picture.  Some people train for a race, run the race, then fall off the running map.  While it may be the norm to do this, even before your first race, prepare to train for another 5K or for a longer distance race.  That way your mind stays connected to the running world.  Besides, how competitive would you be if you just ran one race and never saw how much you could improve?  But while you train for your race, take everything into consideration: sleep, free time, diet, and other factors that contribute to your overall health.  The two weeks before the race is not the time to begin really getting into the meat of your workouts; those should be long past.  Hopefully the last two weeks you are fine tuning areas of your run that will help you shave off those extra seconds that can make or break your racing goals.

Get ready.  I am by no means a dietician or a running doctor, but the two days before the race need to be watched carefully if you want to do well.  This includes but is not limited to, carbing up the two days before, having all your running gear packed, directions to the course (without a GPS), knowing where the start and finish line are, know where you want to park, having the race course mentally memorized and ready to fight through the fatigue that will come, making sure you have your racing packet with bib and all your needs, etc.  There are a ton of great free online resources for all this stuff, but the point is, be prepared (yes, the Boy Scout motto is correct).

Enjoy the race.  This always gets overstated, so all I’ll say is, if you can’t have fun racing, then there’s no point in my mind to do this sort of thing.  I mean, who in their right mind goes out to run (it’s the most basic form of survival for crying out loud?!?) 3.2 miles just for duty?  Running should be a way to have fun, relieve stress, and kill some calories while doing it.

ryan

Young and Old

This morning on my way to work I was listening to my Passion ’99 album in my car, and I started out listening to Let Everything That Has Breath and a line caught my attention; praise You when I’m young and when I’m old.

I don’t really consider myself old at any stretch, even though the gray hairs in my head and beard would like to argue, but I began to think about being young and old. I remember myself at 17 or 18 and I see things now that I couldn’t appreciate then, but I also saw things, certain desires that have not at all changed. Eighteen year old me was learning acoustic guitar because Charlie Hall was in my world a hero, and I tried playing like him even though I wasn’t that good. I also wanted a Hammond organ and Leslie, even though back then I had absolutely no clue about how the thing worked.

But one thing has remained constant; I still have the same desire for God as I did in my youth. Psalm 37:4 says “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart”. Most people seem to think that if they love God, obey Him, or even delight in Him, that they will get what they want in life (clothes, fancy cars, CD players). But to have this mindset is false because when you or I truly delight in Him, He is our reward; in the end we get more of Him, which is what our hearts truly long for in the first place. I’m convinced a vast majority of Christians don’t understand this nor do their lives reflect this. I want to love God with the same passion as I did when I was 18, but not for my own sake, but so I can get more of Him!

What living with gout has taught me…

I was diagnosed with gout a couple of years ago, and when I told my wife all she could do was start singing Lunch Lady Land by Adam Sandler.  As funny as that moment was, I had some pretty real learning to do with my new medical condition.  Apparently gout occurs mostly in 70 year old men who drink alcohol heavily and eat a lot of red meat.  As much as I laughed at those symptoms, I did eat a lot of red meat at that point in time, so I didn’t discount the diagnosis, but thought it was weird I had a bad flare up of gout in my leg.

Last week I had a gout flare up in my right foot, and I thought it would take a miracle of modern science to walk without pain again.  I took my allopurinol and felt better the next day.  I took my allopurinol every day since and last night before I went to bed my right foot hurt again.  (I know this is all uber exciting, but I am going somewhere with this, I promise…)  As I got ready for work this morning, took my medicine and then took four ibuprofren and thought all would be well.  Apparently, taking any kind of pain relief medication in addition to allopurinol is not a great idea, as it doesn’t help with the pain at all, and it only makes it worse.  Normally a steroid drug would help out better, but alas, I had none of them.

So the point I want to emphasize is two fold; a) having gout sucks, and b) sometimes you have to put up with illnesses, allergies, and general complications in life that you don’t choose.  Even if you take care of your body, eat right, exercise (which I am running again), you can’t guarantee your health.  No one can.  It’s not a fun fact, but as we age we have to deal with these things.  I pray my gout flares are minimized, and to help out with this I am going to try to lay off the red meat for awhile not to mention the beer, but it will be worth it to not have the flare ups that I’ve been having the past five days.  So if you have gout, take your medicine, and lay off the red meat and booze.  Oh, one more thing; I found out today that I have vikings in my lineage.  Maybe that’s why I can grow a boss beard….

That one Rich Mullins song that was sung by Amy Grant and so everyone thinks Amy Grant wrote it…

If you know me, you know I’m a Rich Mullins fan, and when he passed away in 1997, Songs came out showcasing Rich’s best hits.  The opening track on that album is “Sing Your Praise to The Lord”, which a lot of people think Amy Grant wrote since she recorded it first in 1982, but Rich was the author of the song.  I wasn’t the biggest fan of this song the first few times I heard it, but like so many of Rich’s songs, it quickly grew on me until I could listen to the track several times over and not be tired of it.  So here is the reason for the post: in the bridge of “Sing Your Praise to The Lord” Rich essentially quotes Scripture and a long time ago I knew where it was because my Bible read about verbatim as the song goes.  I hardly ever do this since I’m a huge fan of the ESV translation, but here is the NIV translation of Psalm 113:3-6.

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
the name of the Lord is to be praised.

The Lord is exalted over all the nations,
his glory above the heavens.

Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high,
who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?

Those three verses are so sweet to me.  There’s never been any rhyme or reason to it to be honest, but it has always moved me.  So when I had this song in my head the other day and couldn’t find this little chunk of Scripture, I almost lost my mind searching the Psalms for it!  But I’m happy to report after a few manual searches plus a Google search I eventually got there.    If you want to watch Rich perform this song the year he passed, you can view it here.  I think I say this a lot, but here’s one more time: I miss Rich.

ryan