Operation Jack

Fighting autism, one mile at a time.

Archives for 2010

Weekend Recap: Quality Time

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Wow, what a great weekend. I didn’t step foot in an airport or a hotel room, and by 11 a.m. Saturday, I had zero obligations until work this morning! I know, that’s the story of most of your lives, but for me, this was a rare weekend, and a breath of fresh air.

A couple of things first. I ran my 16th marathon of the year on Saturday, winning the Train 4 Autism Marathon Series, Race 1. My 3:23:56 was probably the slowest winning time in the history of marathons, but the race was a wonderful experience. If you read the report, you’ll see why sometimes a finishing time is really inconsequential. It was an awesome day.

Also, just a quick plug to something I’m pushing for (and I guess that’s my privilege, since it’s my blog!) … this month, I’m running seven marathons in seven states, so I’m trying to get as many $7 donations for Operation Jack as possible. Check out what I wrote … please!

OK, Tiff. You Were Right.
I had planned on going to the Red Cross on Saturday afternoon to donate platelets. It’s tough to schedule time to do that, and I thought I had a great opportunity to get my way down there without impacting much that afternoon. Tiff thought it would cut into time I could be spending with Benjamin, but I thought I’d still have plenty of time left over.

We got into a little bit of an argument, but I pushed off the appointment to have a crazy fun day with Benjamin. The result? A crazy fun day with Benjamin. And I guess it helps my recovery to not deplete myself of platelets.

On Saturday morning, Ben had his first day with a track and field program put on by the city we live in. He was starving afterwards, so we went for a recovery meal.


He just snuck in that milkshake without even asking. He knew it was a fun day with Dad, so he had some courage when ordering and I let it slide.

We were both totally full after that meal. I don’t know how that happened. I’m always satisfied, but never full, after I eat at In-N-Out. But from there, we went to RoadRunner Sports to get him fitted for some running shoes. He spent some time with the Shoe Dog.


They examined his arch.

They evaluated his stride.

We ordered a pair of shoes for him and they should be in soon. I was such a proud papa at the running store. I felt like a dad giving his son his first Playboy. Of course, I didn’t get in any trouble with Tiff for this.

After RoadRunner, we went and picked out a Mother’s Day present for mama, then went and saw a movie called How To Train Your Dragon … in 3D! We continued to overeat on popcorn and we enjoyed the movie. I don’t know how an 8-year-old views that movie. But there’s a part of it geared towards adults that focuses on the dad eventually accepting his son for his son’s strengths and interests, not just on whether or not the son chose the path the dad had hoped for. It was nice seeing that with Benjamin.

Later on Saturday, after I spent a little bit of time watching Butler beat Michigan State, I went to Home Depot and got 250 pounds of new play sand for Jack’s sandbox. I worked with Ava (she wanted to help, so I let her think she was helping) way past dark and I messed up my back shoveling all the old sand out and putting the new sand in. After getting another 250 pounds Sunday morning (I underestimated how much I needed), Jack was excited when we finally let him play in the sandbox again.

So in other words, for a good chunk of time, I got to be the dad I haven’t really been able to be too often on the weekends this year. It was pretty nice.

You were right, Tiff. Thank you.

Jack Loves The Arches
This is pretty much a cheap excuse to put a picture of Jack in here. But I took him to McDonald’s yesterday afternoon. He had a blast on the playground for about an hour, which gave Tiff some freedom to get the house ready for our family Easter dinner.


Nothing beats chicken nuggets, fries and a slide.

These Were Incredible
My sister-in-law brought cupcakes to the Easter dinner yesterday. They were amazing. Normally, the frosting is what I’ll remember from a cupcake. This time, though, it was the cake. It was a lemon-flavored cake with a vanilla pudding filling. The filling soaked in to the cake, so it was moist and INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS. I was raving about them for a few minutes, and I don’t think she could tell if I was serious or not, but she joked about me blogging about it. Just ask Lisa Hernandez what happens if you jokingly dare me to do something.

So here you go, Kelly. You made the blog. That and $1 will get you a small cup of coffee at McDonald’s.


We had Sprinkles cupcakes at work last week. I think these were better.

I Love Spring Break!
I’m not on spring break, because I have one of those “job” things, but Benjamin and Ava are out of class this week, so they stayed at my in-laws last night for a sleepover with their cousin. Peace … and … quiet! (For us, not them!)

Here are a few miscellaneous pics from yesterday. I asked her if she had anything she wanted me to post and this is what she gave me. So here goes.


Tiff and Jack, I think after the Easter egg hunt.

Me and Ava, definitely after the Easter egg hunt. You can see how close together the houses are in California. You can also see how bad my allergies were yesterday by looking at my eyes.

Ava, definitely during the Easter egg hunt.

Ava sorting through her basket in the morning. She traded those Whoppers to Benjamin for 10 marshmallows. Bad deal on her part.

That’s All For Today
I’ll be back tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel. I’m pulling for Butler tonight. What can I say — I have a mad crush on Cinderella!

Race Report:Train 4 Autism Marathon Series, Race 1

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Sometimes, a marathon finishing time isn’t particularly significant in the grand scheme of things. My result in Saturday’s Train 4 Autism Marathon Series Race No. 1 was one of those instances. I ran miserably, finishing in 3:23:56, but I had a great time at the race.

When I mapped out the schedule for 2010, Easter Weekend looked like a challenge. There were very few races on the schedule, mostly trail races and mostly far away. My wife puts on a big family dinner every year for Easter and I don’t want to leave her all alone, nor do I want to miss the dinner! So, I worked with local race promoter Charlie Alewine to put on the first of a series of three races.

The races are small and low-key and we called them the Train 4 Autism Marathon Series. It was awesome to see the T4A name on a race! The race wouldn’t have happened if not for Operation Jack,, I had a fair amount of running friends turn out just to run the race to support us. It was an absolutely incredible feeling.

I get shy about compliments — I always feel undeserving because I know I’m a flawed person just like everybody else. But it’s nice to get positive feedback, because I know it’s an indicator that people believe in what I’m trying to accomplish. And I have to say, it’s pretty strong feedback when somebody drives out to run in your race!

Anyways, the race. It was 10 loops around a 2.62-mile course. I started off a tiny bit too fast by pace, but my heart rate was OK. I think I was holding a fairly decent pace early on, although there a couple of spots where my heart rate jumped. I was a little concerned that I would bomb late, but I wasn’t tremendously worried. I ran a fair amount of the first half with four runner friends of mine — Jeff Cate, Zach Earl, Tracy Bowling and Peggy Kern. They all ran the half marathon, so I was on my own for quite a while.

I hit the half somewhere a touch quicker than 1:38 and felt OK. I didn’t feel like I was on the verge of falling apart. But I was! At about mile 18, I dropped off pretty badly. I slowed down about 30 seconds to a minute per mile. I kept repeating one thing to myself over those final eight miles or so: “My body HATES me!” I think I’m going to go through various phases this year. Right now, I’m struggling. Fatigue is setting in pretty nicely. I don’t think my body is very happy with what I’m doing to it!

From about 21 on, I really wanted the race to end. I felt like a truck had run me over. I never really had the energy to step it up at the end and kick. I slowed down until the end and finished up with a 3:23:56. The bright side of the small race is that I came in first overall. But it was a tough run. Still, it was pretty cool to earn a trophy and a medal that said “Train 4 Autism” and it was great to see so many people hanging out at the finish. Am I a jerk for winning my own race?

I didn’t have an amazing run. But I had an amazing day. I’m totally content with how this one turned out. I’m a lucky, lucky guy.


Me and Jack at the finish. I’m so glad he was there!

Me, James Hong and Ben Delaney sporting sweet-looking shirts. Ben, one of my best friends, finally got the sub-4 monkey off his back, finishing in 3:58.

Me, Shelly Overton and Ben Fesagaiga of Train 4 Autism.

Me with Jeff Cate, a super-nice runner friend of mine who’s given me a lot of good advice over the past year.

Me with Peggy Kern, an awesome runner and a more-awesome person.

Me and Charlie Alewine, who made the race happen!

Look at that — a Train 4 Autism trophy and medal!

Great … Flight Problems Back From Boston

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Well, it took three months, but I have my first major airlines crisis. I got an email from JetBlue this morning telling me they’re canceling my flight back from Boston due to some kind of scheduling issue. I’m getting a refund, but that one-way was only $149. I looked for acceptable alternatives this morning, but there’s nothing less than $627 right now that gets me back that night. Part of me thinks it’s irresponsible to spend that much. But I also have a race in Virginia two days before. Do I miss that one, too?

I think I’m going to keep my eyes open and hope I catch a break. I’m definitely going to be on the phone with JetBlue today, trying to see what they can do to help me. I didn’t have time to call this morning and that email wasn’t too apologetic.

I guess I’m pretty mad about this. Not so much at JetBlue. I’m really mad at myself. I mean, I knew April 1 was coming, and this was the best April Fools I could come up with? Weak. Very weak. I’m going to Boston. I have no flight problems.

Autism Awareness Day Is Friday!
April 2 (Friday) is Autism Awareness Day. I know a lot of you are here for all sorts of different reasons. Some of you are in the autism community, some of you are runners and some of you heard about what I’m doing and are curious. Whatever your reason for following along, I know you believe in the cause and support what I’m aiming for.

So, I’m hoping that you’ll help with Autism Awareness Day. If you’re on Facebook, go to the World Autism Awareness Day page and become a fan. They have an image for you to use as a profile picture for a day. Do that and make a post on your wall or change your status to explain what you’re doing. If you’re on Twitter, send out a tweet or two letting people know. You can also wear blue and tell people why you are.

Heck, I don’t know. I’m no expert in all of this. But you can do what I mentioned with Facebook and Twitter, wear blue, and poke around the World Autism Awareness Day website for ideas. If you weren’t going to do anything, but you are now to support what I’m doing, I really appreciate it. PLEASE let me know!

Guess My Time!
I have a weekly contest now where you can win an Operation Jack t-shirt, tech shirt or sweatshirt. To enter, guess the time you think I’m going to run in the form of a small donation. For instance, if you think I’m going to run a 3:10, donate $3.10 as your entry. To make a donation, click here or click on the “DONATE NOW!” link on any page on this site. The person coming the closest without going under is the winner. If I choke and go too slow and everybody bids under, it’ll go to the person who comes closest.

Last week, the winner was Katey Williamson. It was one of those choke weeks, where I thought I’d go 3:13 or so and I went 3:20. But she got herself a prize for $3.17!

To help you guys, I write up an analysis of my race to let you know how I’m feeling and what I expect to run. Wow, what a smooth transition. Give me a Pulitzer.

Race Preview: Train 4 Autism Marathon Series, Race 1
This weekend, I get to stay home! I’ll be running the first of the three races I’m putting on with local race director Charlie Alewine as part of the Train 4 Autism Marathon Series. It’s a fairly flat course in Huntington Beach, 10 laps of a 2.62-mile course. It sounds kind of boring, but I’m pretty excited about it, because quite a few folks are coming out and participating to support the cause.

I ran a marathon on this course last November and went 3:29:05. But I was totally out of shape, fighting my back from a five-week layoff last summer due to a sprained ankle. I felt good for the first eight or so miles, but I ran out of gas. I’m expecting this to be completely different, though. I’m in shape, and I’m really determined to get a good run in. With back-to-back 3:20s, I’m in dire need of a confidence boost and I’m going to do my best to combine conservative and aggressive like I did in Tampa earlier this year.

This course is flat enough to be considered flat. There’s a small incline at one point, but it’s maybe a 10-foot climb? It’s really nothing, and you get it back coming down, because it’s a loop. The course is primarily on road and sidewalk, but there’s a small portion that’s on dirt. That dirt is packed hard enough that it won’t slow me down at all, unless there’s rain this week that makes it muddy. I’m still not particularly worried.

On tough part about this race is that I’ll run the bulk of it on my own, since it’s such a small field. When you do that, it’s tough to stay motivated. But that clock will be my motivator. I really, really want to go sub-3:10 and get back on track mentally. I have seven races in April and I want to attack them with confidence.

So, I’m going to go out and try to hold pace between 7:10 and 7:15. I should be able to get into a rhythm and hold my stride. I always think I can run faster than I really can. And I think I can go 3:10 on this course. I’d like to go sub-3:16 and BQ. I’ve surprised myself a few times this year, especially with my success in Carlsbad and my struggles in Napa.

If I’m betting on myself, I’m going safe with 3:16, because I’ve run poorly lately and my legs were heavy on my run this morning. But I’m gunning for sub-3:10. Take that for what it’s worth.

That’s All I Have For Today
Have a GREAT weekend, everybody! I’ll post a race report at some point on Saturday. Please, please, please, support Operation Jack and try to guess my time!

What's Up With OJ Wednesday

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OK, these weeks are flying by way too fast. Saturday races, like I have this week, make them fly by even quicker. My quads are still a little sore and I’m already carb-loading. Ahhh, the joys of a Saturday marathon. Good thing I don’t have one of those every single weekend in April. Oh wait, never mind. I do.

Just in case this is your first time here, I’m a marathoner and a father of three. My middle child, 6-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. I’m trying to run 60 marathons this year to raise money and awareness for a wonderful charity called Train 4 Autism. I write this blog Monday through Thursdays (plus race reports on the weekends) to give y’all an insight into what goes on in my mind. Scary, I know.

Yes! An Excuse For Me To Mention Kansas State University!
There was a nice article about Operation Jack in the Kansas State Collegian today. The Collegian is the student newspaper at KSU, my alma mater. I spent a couple of years on staff back in the 90s and about a month ago, I got a call from a student reporter working for Update Magazine, one of the publications in the journalism department that tracks alumni.

She had a few questions about what I’m up to, primarily with my family and career. We were chatting for a few minutes and at one point, she asked if I was up to anything interesting that might be newsworthy. Well, aside from trying to run 60 marathons this year to try to raise money and awareness for Train 4 Autism, I couldn’t think of much. Maybe I should have mentioned my ice cream streak? (59 days now, by the way.) Operation Jack was newsworthy enough for her, though, and today, the article made it to print.

I read it before my run this morning and really liked it. Online, you can see how they lay it out and they allocated about 1/3 of the front page to the story! EVERYBODY reads the Collegian at K-State, so I know it will be seen, which is good. It kind of makes me laugh to know that some of my old professors will probably read it and do a double-take. Sam? Running? For reals?

Train 4 Autism Marathon Series, Starts This Weekend!
Along with local race promoter Charlie Alewine, I’m putting on a series of three marathons this year as a part of Operation Jack. I’ve named them the Train 4 Autism Marathon Series and the first one is THIS WEEKEND! We’re going to have a half-marathon and a full marathon and there’s going to be prize money for the series!

If you’re local, I’d LOVE to see you out there! Jack is scheduled to be in a therapy session on Saturday morning, but we’re working to re-schedule that so he can be out there at the finish line. I’m totally excited about this and I really, really hope to meet some of you out there! E-mail me if you have any questions!

Congratulations to Katey Williamson!
Every week, I have a contest where you guess what time you think I’ll run and the winner gets their choice of an Operation Jack t-shirt, tech shirt or sweatshirt. You guess by making a super-easy donation in the amount of what you think my time will be. So, for instance, if you think I’m going to run a 3:15, you make a donation for $3.15.

Whoever comes the closest without bidding too low is the winner. Or, in the last two weeks while I’ve struggled miserably and nobody bids a high enough time, the winner is the person who bids the closest even though they didn’t bid high enough. Katey is this week’s winner and we’ll send her out some gear.

Thanks to everybody who played along!

Reminder About Our April 30 Silpada Party
We’re going to have a Silpada party on April 30 in Lake Forest, Calif. That’s two nights before the Orange County Marathon and 9 days before Mother’s Day. All the profits from this will go to benefit Operation Jack. Silpada is company that sells jewelry. I’m a guy, so I can’t really give a good description. It’s nice stuff, decent quality. It’s not like diamonds and fancy stones. It’s just nice, moderately priced things. Maybe the right word to use is that you would accessorize with Silpada?

I don’t know. Whatever the case, I’ll be posting the evite next week for everybody. RSVP so we know how much finger food to provide. When I say we, I’m talking about my wife and my mother-in-law. I’ll be home with the kids. I don’t do jewelry parties. I have a rep to uphold.

Coming Soon, WordPress
I’m working fast and furiously to integrate WordPress into here. I know it’s a total pain in the butt to have to register or log in to leave comments, and nothing puts a dagger in your efforts to interact with folks like an unfriendly blog. I had no clue what I was doing when I built this, so I just kind of cranked it out last July and I’ve run with it while making only a few minor modifications. But I know it’s going to be better with WordPress. I’m just working on finalizing some integrations in my, uh, spare time.

Please Help Spread The Word!
I know y’all are here because you support what I’m doing, so I don’t feel too shy to ask for a little bit of help. All I’m asking for right now is for a little bit of help spreading the word. Facebook, Twitter, the site … whatever you can use to pass the word along, I’d greatly appreciate it!

Anything You Want Me To Talk About?
I have plenty of blog topics in mind, and with my formulaic approach I’m taking nowadays, it’s fairly easy for me to come up with material. BUT, if there’s anything you want me to talk about, let me know. If you have any questions, fire them off and I’ll answer them in a future blog. You can post them in a comment or use the Contact Us Form.

That’s Pretty Much All For Today
I’m going to cut myself off for now. I need to shift gears from blog writing to code writing. Have a great Wednesday everybody!

Be Smart Out There — It's A Matter Of Life Or Death!

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Every morning when I run, I see an older man running and he totally inspired me to write this blog. But not in a good way.

Real quick, just in case this is your first time here, I’m a marathon runner and a father of three. My middle child, 6-year-old Jack, is severely autistic and I’m attempting to run 60 marathons this year to raise money and awareness for a great charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism. So far, I’m accomplishing my goals and I’ve completed 15 of the 60 races.

Anyways, back to the man I see running who inspires me. He does so because he runs in the street. I’m sure he subscribes to the theory that the asphalt is better for your knees than the concrete of the sidewalk. But you know what’s even worse for your knees than concrete? Cars!

Some people may have no option if they live in rural areas and there may not be sidewalks to run on. I have a spot where I run that’s about 1/4 of a mile and I have no choice but to run in a wide bike lane. During that stretch, I pay attention like it’s a matter of life or death, because it is. But I know a lot of folks willingly run solely in the street or bike lane because they think the asphalt is better for them.

Everything I’ve ever read says that the “asphalt is safer than concrete” theory is a myth. It’s probably brought to you by the same sedentary doctors who say that running will make your knees go bad. Funny, I have friends with more than 150 marathons to their credit whose knees are doing just fine.

I ran 3,850 miles in 2008 and the vast majority of those (3,500+) were on sidewalks. The only knee problem I’ve ever had is a slight case of tendinitis, which was caused by weakness in my glutes. Last summer, I had x-rays taken of my knees and the doctor told me they looked perfectly normal for a 34-year-old.

A lot of folks who run in the street justify it by saying they run facing traffic and they pay close attention to the cars coming at them. But all it takes is one split second — a driver veering outside of their lane to avoid a wreck or not paying close enough attention and failing to properly negotiate a curve. Or maybe the sun is at your back, but its in the eyes of the oncoming driver.

Some running friends of mine lost a friend two years ago when she was hit by a car while running in the bike lane. It was that one split second that made all the difference and there’s no take-backs. As I mentioned, I have a portion on some of my runs that exposes me in a fairly wide bike lane for about 1/4 of a mile. I pay extremely close attention when I run along that stretch and traffic is very light when I’m there. Still, I’m always prepared to jump in the ditch on the side if a car gets anywhere near me.

It’s fairly easy for me to pay attention and focus, because it’s only for 1/4 of a mile, about two minutes. If it was a longer stretch, though, there’s no way I wouldn’t zone out. If you’re running long runs in the street, you’re going to lose focus at times no matter how hard you try to pay attention. If you’re doing a short run, not that asphalt saves you, but do you think it’s going to make that much difference? Yesterday, I saw a teenager running in the concrete gutter at the edge of the street. Really, what’s the point of that?

Aside from running in the street, that man I see every day inspired me to write this for another reason. He runs in the street listening to music on headphones! I’m not one to ever get into an iPod vs. no iPod debate. I don’t listen to music when I run, but that’s my choice and I don’t care what anybody else does.

Listening to music when you run will distract you from your surroundings, and if you do that when you’re running on the sidewalk, the consequences aren’t that big if you are at least aware enough to avoid danger. You might get startled if somebody passes you, but that’s about it. However, if you have the earbuds in while you’re running in the street, you’re begging for trouble. That’s like the running equivalent of drinking and driving — you’re sapping yourself of awareness while placing yourself in a dangerous situation.

The third thing the man does that freaks me out is he runs with traffic. We already know he can’t hear cars coming. He can’t see them coming, either. He does this when it’s dark outside, so maybe his logic is that he’ll see headlights coming. But it’s only going to take one car driving with its lights off to cause an avoidable fatality.

So, this guy commits three no-nos I’m really hoping you avoid. Running with traffic is not smart at all. Running with earphones while running in the street is not particularly smart, either. But all of this danger can be avoided if you just refrain from running in the street!

I get a fair amount of people who tell me I inspire them. If you’re included in that group, and you run in the street, please be inspired by the fact that I run all my miles on the sidewalk and I’m doing fine! The true danger is the cars, not the concrete. Be smart and be safe — I want to hear how your run went from you, not from a tragic newspaper article!