Operation Jack

Fighting autism, one mile at a time.

Archives for 2010

Weekend Preview: Grizzly Marathon

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I know I mention every week how the weeks fly by so quickly, but this time, it has been such a quick, quick week. My legs are still pretty wrecked from the hills of San Francisco, yet it’s time to write another weekend preview blog. That’s the blur that is Operation Jack. I’ll be glad when I’m done, but I know I’ll miss it, too. Whatever the case, I’ve got the Grizzly Marathon in Choteau, Montana on Saturday.

If you’ve never been here before, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 6 1/2-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. I tend to recover fairly quickly from my marathons, so I decided (well, after consulting with my wife) to try to run 61 marathons this year to raise money and awareness for a charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism. This is my first crack at really trying to make a difference. So far, so good. 35 down, 26 to go.

So anyways, moving on to this weekend, I’m super tired this week and have no idea what to write. And thinking about my weekend, I’m getting more tired by the minute. I have an early-morning flight out, a late-night flight landing for my return, I’ll be driving about 500 miles this weekend and there’s the requisite marathon. And to think, I’m already tired. Awesome!

This race should be interesting. It’s in a small town (population 1,700) called Choteau, Montana, and they advertise that like the local residents, the race is tough and charming with plenty of character. It’s an out-and-back measured by an F-150. Sounds like a race by runners for runners. I’m expecting a tough go just because I know I’ll be tired, I’m still pretty banged up from San Francisco and I’ve been nothing but slow lately.

This long, hot summer continues, but that’s OK. The tougher it gets, the better the memories will be. Kind of. Speaking of the Grizzly Marathon, I saw this article online yesterday. I’ll just remember that I don’t need to be able to outrun a bear. I just need to be able to outrun three people.

Anyways, what I’m really looking forward to is Sunday afternoon, because I’ll be going to the Rangers-Angels game with my son Benjamin and my dad. After the game, they have a “Kids Run The Bases” promotion and he’ll get to run the bases. Can’t complain about Benjamin having a blast!

Oh, and my weekly contest … I normally have a weekly contest, where people guess what my time is going to be and then make a donation in that amount to win a prize (for instance, a 3:15 guess requires a $3.15 donation). Well, it’s been slow lately and participation has been really low, so I’m not going to do that this week.

Anyways, I expect to post a race report on Saturday. Have a great weekend everybody!

10 Random Things For Tuesday

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I didn’t think I was going to write a 10 random things for Tuesday blog, but then I came up with 10 random things. And it’s Tuesday. So here we go, 10 random things for Tuesday!

One not-so-random thing first, though — my standard introduction! If this is your first time here, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 6 1/2-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. I recover fairly quickly from marathons, so I decided to try to take advantage of that gift and I’m trying to run 61 marathons this year to raise money and awareness for a charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism. So far, I’m through 35 marathons, I’ve raised a fair amount of money and people from Washington to Florida to Maine are now aware of Train 4 Autism. So, I think it’s working.

OK, so I like to come up with 10 random things on Tuesdays. Here we go!

1. I thought this year was flying by pretty quick and I just did the math in my head and I have five months left until race 61. What a mirage this calendar is — I thought I was so close! But I know the year will be over before I know it and then I’ll miss it.

2. We got through a bunch of testing and final start our new bio-medical routine with Jack yesterday. Just when we thought our daily grind was tough, we cranked it up even more. Creams, supplements, dietary restrictions … you name it, Tiff is consumed with administering it right now. We don’t have enough on our plate, so maybe this will help us pass the time. Obviously, that’s sarcasm, but we don’t mind this. Any of you who are parents understand that there’s nothing you won’t do for your kids.

3. I’m going to hit you with a couple of fundraising things in here. I haven’t pushed the fundraising much here lately, but that’s still a big goal. We have t-shirts, tech shirts and sweatshirts. If you have one, do me a favor and leave a comment and let others know what you think. I know most people seem to like them.

The point is, we use them as a fundraiser, but they’re also a great tool to help get the word out. If you want a t-shirt, tech shirt or sweatshirt, leave a comment and tell me you want one. If you want to wear one, I want you to wear one. I just need to cover our costs, which aren’t as bad as you’d think. E-mail me and we’ll get it rolling. Or if you just want to go with the standard donation, check the levels here.

There are I think three of you out there who we still need to get shirts to. They’re coming, they’re coming.

4. That San Francisco course was a killer. I feel like I got run over by a truck. And not a little toy Tonka truck. I’m talking F-350 here. It was the day before yesterday and now I have to start carb loading tomorrow. These Saturday races following Sunday races are a killer!

5. Benjamin didn’t like tee ball and turned away from tee ball/baseball after kindergarten. That’s three years he’s been away from the game and he’s never really face live pitching. He wants to play little league in the spring, but I’m concerned with how far behind he might be. I’ve played with him a little bit and hit seems like his hand-eye coordination is at least OK, so I’m thinking of spending the summer and fall working hard with him with wiffle balls so he can get used to adjusting his swing on pitches that move. Then we’ll start going to the cages. I’m guessing that might help? Anybody have any other ideas?

6. You know what Manhattan, Minneapolis, Arkansas City, Ottawa and Pittsburg all have in common? They’re all cities in Kansas! Another reason why the Sunflower State is my favorite!

7. I don’t know that there’s a better value out there than all-you-can-eat pancakes at Denny’s for $4. Seriously, $4? That’s about the cost of a happy meal.

8. Booking travel is probably the biggest pain of this whole thing. Sometimes, it only takes me an hour for a trip. But sometimes, there are so many different options that it takes me a lot more. I’ve probably spent five or six hours trying to figure out the weekend of August 14-15 and I absolutely must book today.

9. Just want to point you towards the 10×10 program I have. I haven’t pushed it in a little while, but it’s a really easy way to help. I get a lot of visitors here and I have no idea who a lot of you are, but if you believe in the cause and want to try to help by doing something that’s a whole lot easier than running 61 marathons, take a look at this. I’ve said all year that I’m counting on a lot of people to do a little tiny bit, not a few people to do a lot. So, if you want to do a little tiny bit, this is a great way.

10. One week from today until my grandparents move to an assisted living facility that’s about 5 minutes from my work and 15 minutes from my house! They currently live about 45 minutes away, so I’m pretty excited! I think I have to go say goodbye to their house on Sunday, though. They’ve been there since 1968 (way before I was born). It’s gonna be sad to go up there for the last time.

Wow … look at that. That’s 10. Have a great Tuesday everybody! See you tomorrow!

Life Happens When You're Busy Making Plans

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Life is what happens when you’re busy making plans. I’ve heard that before and it was the case once again this weekend.

Real quick, just in case this is your first time here, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 6 1/2-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. To try to make a difference in the autism world, I’m trying to run 61 marathons this year to raise money and awareness for a charity called Train 4 Autism. So far, so good, I guess. I’m raising money, reaching people, and I’m through 35 of the 61 marathons.

I’m used to life not going according to plan. Tiffany and I met when she was 18 and I was 19. We got married the spring after I graduated from college, bought our first home less than a year later and she gave birth to our first child two years and a month after we tied the knot. According to plan, we followed up with our second and third child and they were each a little more than two years apart. Three kids, two boys and a girl, 51 months between the oldest and youngest.

Perfect! Well, except while we were busy with our plan, Jack’s autism prevented him from bridging the gap between Benjamin and Ava. Life happens, huh? I think back to when Tiff and I were teenagers, living at home and dating. We had no idea life would be this way. Even in the first couple of years of our marriage, when we were saving money, moving into a bigger home, having kids and buying puppies, we would have never guessed things would have turned out like this.

Anyways, I guess our detour this weekend is extremely minor in comparison to the rest of everything going on in our world, but just because the impact on us is comparatively minor doesn’t mean I can’t be bummed about it. This was supposed to be our weekend, the weekend of the year. Not according to the plan, though, one of the big highlights was laughing about a $4.99 wiffle ball bat, but I guess that’s life.

We’d been looking forward to this weekend since I mapped out my Operation Jack schedule more than a year ago. The San Francisco Marathon! We made plans for her to come along, we extended it a half-day on the front end and back end, and this was going to be our big vacation of the year. Sure, we were only going to be gone for 36 hours, but that was a big deal for us. We got a killer deal at a Courtyard by Marriott ($39!) and we were going to have lunch at Fisherman’s Wharf. I texted her all week, joking, “Let’s run away to San Francisco this weekend!”

Everything changed on Friday night, though. Our child care options are extremely limited because of Jack — a combination of of the challenges of taking care of our “Wild Bunch” and the fact that we don’t trust hardly anybody to stay with the kids overnight. Tiff’s parents were watching the kids for the first part of the weekend and then my parents were taking over. Her parents were flying out to New York for a trip they had been looking forward to for a while.

However, her grandmother, whose health has been declining for a little while, took a turn for the worse on Friday. Her parents cancelled their trip to New York and were fairly distraught. It was a no-brainer for Tiff to cancel her trip, too. First of all, we couldn’t possibly have them babysit when they needed to be at the hospital. And there’s no way we could have possibly enjoyed any kind of vacation together with everything that was going on.

I was staring down the barrel of an extended stay in San Francisco, but I was able to switch my flights. Instead of leaving at 9 a.m. Saturday and returning at 9 p.m. Sunday night, I was able to leave at 12:35 p.m. Saturday and get back at 3:15 Sunday. The fun trip turned into another business-as-usual trip. Our lunch date at Fisherman’s Wharf Sunday turned into a breakfast date at Denny’s on Saturday.

We had nice time chatting at breakfast and I enjoyed my all-you-can-eat pancakes (seven!) and five cups of coffee. On the way out, we spotted the coloring pages they have for kids and grabbed one for Ava. We stopped off at the grocery store on the way home and picked up, amongst other things, rice cakes for Jack and a $4.99 wiffle ball kit for Benjamin.

I opened the car door for Tiff at the grocery store. I always hold the door for her going in and out of buildings, but I don’t typically get her car door — there’s always too much chaos with the kids. However, when we’re out on date night, I always get the door to the car for her and she smiles. So anyways, while I got the door for her at the grocery store and gave her the wiffle ball bat, I joked with her, “Hey Benjamin, we brought you a souvenir from our trip!” We both laughed over the irony of what the weekend had become, and really, how different our life is turning out from what we had planned. She responded that we brought home the coloring-book page for Ava and the rice cakes for Jack.

We have a roof over our heads and three children, so we have everything we need and we know that. But things certainly aren’t what we had expected. This weekend was another reminder that we have a whole lot less control than we think we do.

As for her grandmother, it’s still status quo. It would be great for her to somehow come out of this and make it to the Easter dinner she loves so much, but that doesn’t seem likely. Our vanishing vacation is certainly meaningless in comparison, but it’s still a component of our world that was kind of a bummer. I got to meet some people I had never met before up in San Francisco, but aside from that, I really didn’t want to be up there. I just went through the motions and looked forward to coming home.

On the bright side, though, since I got home early, I had time to go to the park with the kids yesterday afternoon. I spent a while pitching and hitting with Benjamin and his new wiffle ball set, then played with Ava and watched as Ben ran around playing with other kids with the bat and the ball.

So, not exactly as planned, but I was where I was supposed to be and I guess I shouldn’t complain, because it wasn’t a bad place.

Race Report: San Francisco Marathon

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I headed into the San Francisco Marathon expecting a big race, and while my run didn’t go as I hoped, it was still a great day. I’ll be quick with the details about this one, because my race was fairly forgettable. What I’ll always remember about this one will be the gutsy runs of two Operation Jack supporters running their first marathons.

Real quick, I felt fairly good heading into this one. I really thought I was ready to break through with a sub-3:10 for the first time since May. Even if I didn’t hit that, I knew I’d be disappointed with worse than a 3:15. I wanted to run well on this course, I was more-or-less ready mentally and physically and I felt fairly decent.

The course is pretty hilly the whole way through, but especially the first half. There were a three or four steep climbs that’ll beat you up. However, there were also some nice declines to get your wheels turning. I ran the race with perfect balance between aggressive and conservative for the first 12 miles. I felt comfortable, I was turning miles in the 7:10 range consistently and I resisted every urge to go any quicker than 6:45 or so during the first five or six miles.

My average pace for the race fluctuated considerably with the inclines and declines and through 12, I was pretty close to on target for a 3:10. On paper, the second half looked quicker than the first and I thought I could negative split. However, I started to fatigue from the hills and a little bit before the half, I knew my day was done. There was a decline, and for the grade it was, I would normally turn at a 6:30 or so pace without much trouble. But all I was getting was 7:20 and I knew it was going to be a long second half.

Sure enough, I fell apart and had a rough go the rest of the way. I went through the half at 1:37 and change and finished in 3:21. I’m kind of frustrated because I’m running too many races up in this time zone. I know nobody cares but me, but it’s frustrating for me when I’m used to much faster times. Mentally, I just need to accept the fact that my times are going to be off. This is one of my biggest struggles this year and since I’m pretty competitive, I’ll probably battle with this the rest of the way.

The course was great. We got to run across the Golden Gate Bridge and I thought the course did a nice job highlighting the city. We ran down a street called Haight that was exactly what I think of when I think of San Francisco. One nice thing about this year is I get to see a lot of America, and that street ranks right up there with some of the cooler places I’ve seen. Probably not where I’d hang out, but it was pretty cool nonetheless.

Anyways, enough about me and my race. I really want to talk about Heather and Sarah and I want you to read this!

Heather is somebody I’ve known from an online running community for a few years. We’ve communicated for a while, I’ve given her a lot of advice about running over the years behind the scenes, and oh yeah, she’s a huge Operation Jack supporter. She’s from San Francisco and chose this race as her first marathon. I think she was going to run the race last year, but an injury got in the way. So she ran this one for Operation Jack, raising money in the process and making me grateful for people like her who believe in what I’m trying to do.

Her training went great. She worked hard and trained smart. I saw her numbers and she was really whipping herself into pretty good shape. Her times were getting good, she lost some weight and she was really ready to go. A year ago, she probably would have been somewhere in the mid-4s, but a few weeks ago, she started talking about going after a 4:05. I don’t think you need to shoot for the moon in a first marathon, but you should at least chase a decent goal. I told her that I really thought she could go sub-3:50, but I figured she should chase sub-4 as a decent goal.

She was ready for that sub-4, and I had no doubt she had the ability to pull it off. But you never know how the body is going to react in that first marathon over the final 10K. I saw her on the bridge on an out-and-back portion and she was cruising. I could tell she was right in the 3:50 range. I didn’t know how she would hold, but I was glad she wasn’t struggling early. The plan was I was going to finish and then run back on the course, find her and run her in. I had some motivational tricks up my sleeve just in case.

After I finished, I was cramping pretty bad, but I sucked it up and ran back to find her. No way could I go soft and miss this one-time experience. I thought I’d get about two miles out and then find her, but she caught my attention about 1.3 miles out or so. I was totally shocked. She was KILLING the course. I asked her what her time for the race was, because I needed to do the math to make sure she could get in sub-4. She said 3:37! I told her forget sub-4, let’s go get Boston! I did the math pretty quick and realized that she was actually a bit too far out and I told her that, but still — I was crazy impressed. She just needed to stay steady to bring home a sub-3:50!

I told I was proud of her for doing such a great job on the course and I could tell pretty quick that she couldn’t talk and she needed to stay focused, so I just kept on working on bringing her in. I asked her a few minutes later if she wanted to finish hard and pick people off and she told me no, she was already going as hard as she could. So I stayed steady and tried to push it a tiny bit to see how she’d respond. She didn’t have a ton left, but she had a little bit here and there and I stayed in front of her to keep her chasing me. She finished in 3:48:58. I can’t really come up with the words to explain how proud I am. It was awesome, definitely more than making up for my run.

But wait, there’s more! Another Operation Jack supporter, Sarah Loy from Massachusetts, also chose this as her first marathon. She found Operation Jack through the San Francisco Marathon website and really believed in what I’m doing, just like Heather. She did an incredible job fundraising and, like Heather, is someone I’m grateful to have in my corner this year.

She trained well and was primed to go after a BQ (3:40), but suffered a foot injury a few weeks ago and wasn’t even sure if she’d be able to run the race. I saw her before the race and she was telling me that she had a short training run earlier this week and her foot hurt so bad, she had to quit the run. She said she was going to try to run the marathon, but she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to finish.

I didn’t think she had a chance of finishing, although I certainly didn’t tell her that. When I was doing the back portion on the bridge, I said a prayer for her because I was hoping she’d be OK and that I’d see her in passing while she was on the out. I saw her pretty close to the end of that portion (just in the nick of time!) and she seemed pretty upbeat. I was pretty surprised and happy and slapped her a high-five.

She made it the whole way and finished her first marathon in 3:54. After the race, she told me it was a miracle and I agreed. I really couldn’t believe she finished the race. For the past few weeks, she missed a lot of runs and suffered through a lot of pain. To go out and nail a 3:54 in a debut under these circumstances on a difficult course was pretty amazing. I was really happy for her.

So, that’s San Francisco. Wasn’t thrilled with my race, but I was beyond thrilled with how Heather and Sarah ran, so all-in-all, it was a great day.

35 down, 26 to go. Next up, Choteau, Montana.


Me and Sarah at the finish. Her boyfriend was being funny and getting us to clown around for the picture.

Me and Heather. Awesome day!

Sweet gear!

Really looking forward to this thing getting filled!

Weekend Preview: San Francisco Marathon

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Well here we are, staring down the barrel of another weekend. Since the calendar says 2010, I guess that means I have a marathon to go run. This time, it’s San Francisco. With my initials, I’m totally excited to run the SF Marathon!

For first-time visitors, here’s the standard introduction. I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 6 1/2-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. As a result, I’m trying to make a difference in the autism world, so I’m attempting to run 61 marathons this year to raise money and awareness for a charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism. So far, I’m through 34. This blog is where I ramble on about what’s going on.

Since it’s Friday, it’s time for my weekend preview, with a couple of random tidbits plus my weekly contest.

Why I Take Pacing So Seriously
I was the 3:50 pacer at the Missoula Marathon on July 11, the third time I’ve been an official pacer for a marathon this year (fourth time overall). I take pacing very seriously, because I know I’ll have a big impact on other people’s goal races. People typically thank me afterwards, but somebody posted this comment anonymously on the Missoula Marathon blog.

I would like to give two thumbs up to the Run Wild Missoula & The Missoula Marathon volunteers. What a great event you put together! I would really like to thank the 3:50 pacer dude SAM FELSENFELD…..I didn’t hear everything he was saying the last 4miles but he was amazing to have right there along side me. I had nothing left in me and had been ahead of him up until the last 4 miles or so. He just kept me motivated and told me he wasn’t going to kick it at the end so I needed to. That was enough, that was all I needed. My goal was to qualify for Boston and I did it. With his help as well as the help of a very dear friend who ran the last 6.2 miles with me! Than you Sam for your amazing ability to keep my head in the game. I will forever be grateful.

I’ve really been learning this year that it’s a lot more rewarding to run for other people than to run for yourself. Well, for me at least.

Weekly Contest
I have a weekly contest where people try to guess my time in the form of a small donation. Basically, if you think I’m going to run a 3:15, you donate $3.15. To make a donation, just click the “Donate Now” link at the top of any page on this site. Winner is the person who comes the closest without underbidding. If everybody underbids, then it’s whoever comes the closest. The prize is your choice of an Operation Jack t-shirt, tech shirt or sweatshirt.

Last week, I was super-slow in the heat in Iowa and nobody donated the $3.42 it would have taken to accurately predict my time. Denamarie Baker was the winner, though, so she’ll have a fine article of clothing coming her way shortly. I’ll get to this week’s contest in a bit.

You Learn Something Every Day!
Yesterday, I learned that on a BlackBerry Bold, if your phone is locked and you hit a bunch of buttons, eventually it will dial 9-1-1. Silly Jack, trying to talk to the police!

What I’m Looking Forward To Most This Weekend
I’m running in San Francisco this weekend and my biggest fan is going to be there at the finish line waiting for me! No, not Mariah Carey. She’s my second-biggest fan. I’m talking about my wife! It’s a quick flight up there, and all I have on the calendar is a bunch of people to see at the expo on Saturday afternoon, a dinner on Saturday night and a marathon at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday. Aside from that, it’s going to be a vacation!

Actually, it should be a nice time. I think it will probably double the time we’ve spent together this year. Well, not really, but we’ll have a nice time in the city on Sunday afternoon.

OK, The Race
The weather is supposed to be nice and chilly, perfect for running for a marathon. The first half of the course is hilly, but the profile doesn’t look ridiculous. Somewhat challenging, yes. But for the most part, I’ve done fairly well on moderate hills this year. The second half looks favorable, primarily flat. After mile 20, it looks like there’s two good downhills to get me some momentum in the final 10K.

However, my legs have felt fairly dead this week. I’m planning on taking an ice bath on Saturday, which should help. And my travel is pretty minimal. So, I wouldn’t be surprised with anything between a 3:08 and a 3:18. I’ll be disappointed if I’m not sub-3:20, and really, I’ll be disappointed if I don’t get a Boston qualifier (3:15:59 or better).

So, I don’t know what to bet. $3.10? $3.16? Heck, I could totally blow it. I haven’t been exactly fast lately. But since Tiff is going to be there at the finish line, you can bet I don’t want to keep her waiting!

Have A Great Weekend!
I know I will! I’ll try to have a race report posted at some point on Sunday!