Operation Jack

Fighting autism, one mile at a time.

Archives for 2010

The Secret Of My Success

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Over the past few days, a couple of folks have asked me questions about my speed, how long I’ve had it and how hard I’ve had to work to get it. So, I figured I’d write a blog to briefly go over that. I’ve covered this before, but not in a while, so I’ll write about it again.

Real quick, just in case you’ve never been here before, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 7-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. I’m attempting to run 61 full marathons this year to raise money for a charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism.

So far, I’m through 51 of the 61. Getting pretty close!

Anyways, I think I’ve run 20-something Boston qualifiers, including maybe a dozen or so this year. My fastest so far this year is a 3:03, which came two days after a 3:21. I’m not going to win any races running a 3:03, but I know it’s better-than-average speed. I’m frequently asked if I’ve always run at this speed. Nope, not even close!

I was always slow growing up. I never ran a mile faster than 8:30 before my 31st birthday. Not once in my life. Well, I might have hit 8:28 or so in high school, but that’s it.

I started walking as a lose-weight thing when I was 30 and after working up to light jogging, I got dared into running a half marathon a couple of weeks after my 31st birthday. I trained for a bit, but it was still a miserable experience. I went 2:29:45. I’ll consider that my starting point.

From there, I had a simple mentality that I learned from my college days, when I was a student reporter at Kansas State University covering the football team. Head coach Bill Snyder used to say that his goal for the program was to get a little bit better every day. I wanted to get a little bit better every day.

If I ran 6 miles in training at a 10:30 pace, I wanted to run 6 miles at a 10:29 pace the next day. I didn’t’ always pull it off, but I tried hard every day. There was no coaching and no consulting with anybody on message boards or social media. I just went out, ran my best without caring who was watching, and tried to get a little bit better.

I learned pretty early that if I pushed myself, I’d improve. Pretty unsophisticated, huh? I worked hard and I noticed my times getting a little bit better in training. I ran a 2:11 a month later and a 2:08 a month after that. I started training for my first marathon at that point. I had no clue what I was doing. I just knew I needed to taper for the last three weeks.

I started my long runs at 14 miles and aimed for 10:00 a mile. Sometimes I hit it, sometimes I didn’t. But I sure did try hard. I added a mile a week and built it up. Nothing advanced about it. I didn’t run track workouts or tempo workouts or strides. I just tried my best every time out, doing everything I could to bring that average time down by a second.

I ran my first marathon six months after that first half marathon and went 4:06. I started my long runs over at 13 miles, but I worked to keep my average pace below 9:00 a mile. I was still running just 6 or 7 miles for my mid-week runs, maybe three times a week. But I was aiming for that 9:00 pace. I’m sure it wasn’t the smartest way to train, but the concept was simple. I kept pushing, I noticed small gains, and that kept me going. Each week, if I hit the goal in the long run, I added a mile.

18 weeks after that first marathon, I went 3:49 in my second marathon. For the next eight months, all I did was run hard and try to keep getting better. I never had a training plan or a coach and I never did a speed workout. Not one. I gradually increased my mileage, going from an average of 40 or so miles per week to 55 miles per week.

I used to thrive on the difficulties I’d face in training. I’d be running up a hill in the morning, looking into the sun, telling myself Boston was at the top of that hill. I’d be out there running in the dark and in the rain and my neighbors were all warm and comfy in their beds, so I’d tell myself that’s why I was going to go to Boston and they weren’t.

I know I have some natural ability I uncovered, but I had to work to do that. I wanted it, so I went after it, and I got it. On nothing but the “get a little bit better every day” plan, I worked my way up to a 3:21 a year after my first marathon, then I finally poured myself into an 18-week plan complete with all sorts of speedwork and strategic workouts. I ran a 3:07 victory lap at the end of that cycle, earning my way to Boston.

So, any time I ever hear a slower runner say they’ll never qualify for Boston, I just kind of roll my eyes. If you’re even saying that, then a Boston qualifier is something you want. If you want it, get it. Work hard and get a little bit better every day. That’s all I did.

What A Run!

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This whole year, I’ve been going as hard as I can, seemingly in the dark, weathering a storm and not knowing where I’m going. I’m mostly doing this on my own, with some help from others, but it looks like I’m getting where I need to go. My church has helped me with that. Amazingly, I had a run exactly like that yesterday.

Real quick, in case you’ve never been here, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 7-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. I broke my neck when I was 16 and I’ve always been grateful that I wasn’t paralyzed. My legs are a gift, and after I started running (and running fairly well) after I turned 30, I decided I want to use that gift to try to make a difference. So, I’m attempting to run 61 full marathons this year to try to raise awareness and money for Train 4 Autism.

I feel like I was led down this path and while I’ve have had frequent emotional struggles with this endeavor, I always try my best to maintain my faith and remember that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing and I need to stay strong. I’m through 51 of the races so far. Still on target!

That being said, I had an interesting adventure on my run yesterday, and it seemed like it was my entire year all rolled up into an early-morning workout. So, I’ll break it down to show how it paralleled my year.

I’ve been going as hard as I can
I set out to run nine miles yesterday morning. I’ve had two training runs over the past seven weeks and they’ve both been pretty slow. For me, that means around 8:30 per mile. But I wanted to push it. I wanted to tackle a bigger hill than I normally run on and I wanted to average quicker than 8:00 per mile. Just two days off my 51st marathon of the year, I knew I’d have to push. But that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to run hard. I wanted a good workout.

When I go out for a six-miler, I usually have climbs of 100, 200 and 300 feet. This nine-mile course had climbs of 100, 300 and 560 feet. I was looking at a tough run and I was excited about it. I really wanted to push myself.

Seemingly In The Dark, Weathering A Storm
It was dark outside. Very dark. I don’t run with a headlamp because I know where I’m going. I take the same path, I run on sidewalks and I can see well enough by the stars and some street lights. I trip while running maybe once a year. I wear a white sleeveless tank so cars can see me. I take care to be safe. But it’s not a huge issue, because I run on quiet streets and I ONLY run on sidewalks.

As for the storm part, it was raining yesterday morning. I love running in the rain. Not only do I find it refreshing, but when I’m out there, I realize that toughing it out is why I get to go to Boston. I love the feeling of battling it out in the rain!

And Not Knowing Where I’m Going
Here’s the key part of what happened. I finished the 560-foot climb and it’s pretty simple to get there. It’s basically a mile up a hill on a street I’m very familiar with, followed by a left turn at a light and then a mile up another hill on a street. It’s a straight shot, no turning. I hit 4.5 miles and turned around to head back.

I started running down the hill and stayed on the street I went up. All of a sudden, though, there was no sidewalk. That was odd, because there’s a sidewalk on that street. I hit the light and made the right turn and could see lights off in the distance that I presumed were a small shopping center at the base of that hill. I was perplexed about the sidewalk issue, but I just kept going back down the hill I came up.

About a quarter mile later, the sidewalk cut off into a trail. It was pitch black and raining and I could barely see anything. There’s an area right there called Whiting Ranch that has a lot of mountain lions, so after about 100 yards when the trail got deeper and deeper into the wilderness area, I turned back because I suspected I was lost. It was pitch black and I couldn’t see a thing. And of course, I did NOT want to become a midnight snack for a mountain lion. I was somewhat scared at this point.

I’m Mostly Doing This On My Own
When I got back to the top of that trail, I continued back down the street I had turned onto. I was pretty sure I was in the wrong place, because there was no sidewalk. I ran as far to the right as possible because I didn’t want to get hit by any cars that might come by. It was as dark as it gets, I was soaking wet, and there was nobody anywhere. Occasionally, a car flew by. And when I say flew, I mean I passed a 55 mph speed limit sign. I passed through a road called Glen Ranch. I thought I was on Glen Ranch. So that confirmed I was lost. I had absolutely no idea where I was, and I was looking back to try to determine whether or not I was going in the right direction. I knew if I was more than 10 minutes late, my wife would worry.

So, I started booking. I was fatigued from the big hill and the marathon two days prior, but I turned three miles in a row along that dark, dangerous, rainy road at paces between 6:53 and 7:04. I had no clue where I was, but I just kept rolling, optimistic I’d find my way.

With Some Help From Others, But It Looks LIke I’m Getting Where I Need To Go
Eventually, I came upon a car that was parked on the shoulder and I asked a man in there where I was. I had no clue! He told me I was on El Toro Road, heading west. So I was pretty confident I knew where I was. I just didn’t know how far east I was. So I kept going.

My Church Has Helped Me With That
I didn’t recognize anything, but about a mile later, I came upon the church I go to with my family. Finally, I was confident that I knew where I was. Finally, I felt comfortable and safe and back in my environment. Finally, I had some peace and I wasn’t worrying. Pretty fitting I got all that from my church.

I normally pass the church on every run I take, but my training has been different this year and I hadn’t run by the church in a few months. When I finally came upon it again, it was giving me the direction I needed!

On Sunday, I went with the family for the first time since August, and the bulk of the message was about using your gifts to help others. It was centered around 1 Peter 4:10:

Each of us, as a good manager of God’s different gifts, must use for the good of others the special gift we have received from God.

I loved it. I’ve struggled a lot this year, and it’s always when I lose focus on my faith. When I stay strong, everything is always better. I had a great day with the family on Sunday and the message seemed like it was written to me.

I don’t believe in coincidence. This run was exactly what it was supposed to be. I got home before Tiff was worried. My nine miles turned into 10.25. And I hit my goal, averaging 7:56 per mile — even with those hills. I stood on my doorstep when I got home and prayed like I always do. I was grateful for the opportunity. I accomplished what I wanted to, but even if I didn’t, I knew that I was pretty fortunate to have the ability to go run like that and take it all in. I mean, who gets to do that?

I’m pretty sure than when I finish these last 10 marathons to wrap up Operation Jack, I’ll feel the same way.

Weekend Recap: Annoying Travel Notes

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Normally I go with a weekend recap on Mondays, but I’m going to go with annoying travel experiences from the weekend. I have a few of those from this trip. I don’t get people.

Real quick, just in case you’ve never been here before, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 7-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. As part of my way of dealing with his struggles, I’m using my ability to recover well from marathons to try to make a difference in the autism community. I’m attempting to run 61 full 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 through 51 and a couple of ultramarathons. 10 to go! On Saturday, I was the official pacer for the 3:40 group (recap here) in the Mankato Marathon in Mankato, Minn.

Things I’m Fine Without Hearing
From the pilot, on the way to Minnesota Friday:
“Sorry about the turbulence. We were cruising along on a nice, smooth ride at 39,000 feet, but we were told to move down to 37,000 feet due to a likely traffic conflict up ahead.”

No apologies necessary. Turbulence is always better than a “traffic conflict” at 39,000 feet.

Not Happy With Dollar Car Rental Right Now
Early in the year, I used several different car rental companies. Hertz is overpriced. Alamo really puts the hard sell on insurance and upgrades. I finally settled in on Dollar and I’ve probably used them 20 or 25 times this year. I really haven’t had any problems with them. In St. Louis, there was an issue with my reservation, but I book through Southwest and I think it was either my fault or Southwest’s fault. Not sure, not worried. Everything ended up OK.

But they annoyed me last week in Kansas City. I rented a full-size car since I had Tiffany and Benjamin with me, but they didn’t have one when I got there. So, they gave me a standard size instead. Not the end of the world, but I had to talk the guy into reducing my rate to the standard fare. He was resistant at first, then eventually gave me a flat discount of $10 for the two days, which was probably about $5 short, but I could tell I wasn’t getting anywhere, and I’m not going to try to contact corporate to recover that.

This weekend in Minneapolis, I got to the counter and there were two clerks, each helping somebody. I was the first person in line. As soon as one of the people were done, the clerk just walked off. I don’t know if she went on break or what, and I know she’s entitled to do that. But it was pretty obvious that the customer still being helped was an idiot and was going to be a while. I think the first clue was that he was wearing a Merona collared shirt inside out with the collar up. The arguing over everything was a second clue. The stupid jokes about the incompetence about rental car companies followed by turning around to face me to try to get laughter cemented my opinion.

He dragged the process on and on and on. Another man came up next to me and looked like he wanted to form a separate line and go ahead of me. When I finally got my chance to go up, the guy started pulling up my reservation. That man who was standing next to me decided to come up about 30 seconds after me. The clerk asked me if it was OK if he helped the other man, because he had a return and it was going to be quick. What am I going to do, say no?

Well, the guy starts complaining about the tires and the ride. The clerk apologizes and says he’ll let the manager know. So the guy complains again. And the clerk apologizes again. Rinse, spin, repeat for about five more minutes. I’m about to turn to the guy and tell him that he had some nerve cutting in like that when he knew he was going to go on. I didn’t feel like getting into a fight in the airport, though, so I kept my mouth shut.

A woman FINALLY comes back from break and takes the other station. She looks off to the line and shouts, “I can help who’s next!” I look at the clerk helping me to let him know, “Hey, give her my driver’s license!” But he’s too paralyzed with shock over the guy complaining about the tires. So I continue to wait as that woman helped another customer.

But finally it’s my turn. The guy tries to upsell me to a full-size and I’m having none of it. I had a standard car and the only one they had was in the shop. So, they had to upgrade me to the car the guy was trying to sell me. He tells me, “We’re going to upgrade you to a full-size as our way of apologizing for the time you had to wait.” Seriously? You just tried to sell me that car five minutes ago — don’t insult my intelligence and lie to me!

30 minutes after getting in line behind NOBODY, I finally had my keys and I go out to my car, which was in space E6, and something funny happened: There was no car in E6! So, I’m walking around clicking the keychain to try to unlock doors and finally I fun it in E2. Awesome.

But wait, there’s more!

I got the car at 4:10 p.m. on Friday. From the counter, you have to walk about five minutes to get to the car. I spent about three minutes actually looking for the car. I got in the car about about 4:18, turned on my GPS and got rolling. I drove out of the rental car garage at about 4:20. When I returned the car, I probably pulled into the garage at about 4:18 on Saturday. I parked, got my stuff and walked to the counter to return the car. It was 4:25. In the other terminal at MSP, if my memory serves correct, they start the clock when you exit the garage. I’ve been through that garage twice this year.

I would have been under the 24-hour window. But because this terminal makes you check in and out at the counter, I didn’t make it. Also, most car rental companies have a 29-minute grace period on that 24-hour period. Apparently, Dollar doesn’t . They charged me $5 for that extra hour. That $5 kicked in an extra $6 in taxes. So even though I really only had the car for 24 hours, because Terminal 2 at MSP is outdated I got to pay an extra $11.

I’ll survive, but I’m definitely not thrilled. Dollar, you failed this weekend.

Inconsiderate People Everywhere
I don’t get people. Why does everybody think rules don’t apply to them? Three rulebreakers annoyed the heck out of me while I was traveling, aside from the guy who couldn’t wait his turn at Dollar

1. LINE CUTTER
On Southwest Airlines, you board in the order than you checked in, more or less, and there’s no assigned seating. You pick a seat when you get on. The numbering goes A1-A60, then B1-B60, then C1-C60 or however many there are in the C group. So, A1 boards first, A60 boards right before B1, etc. You line up and people are supposed to act civilized. They have signs at the gate for every five positions. So A31-35 lines up behind a sign, A36-A40 lines up behind the next sign, etc.

I had A34 for my first flight. A woman stood up in front of me and did the “I’m gonna play on my phone and not look up trick and hide my boarding pass” until we got up to the agent. She pulled out her pass and it was A38. Not the biggest deal in the world, but it just annoyed me. I can tell who’s traveling for the first time and who knows what they’re doing. She knew what she was doing, she knew she was cheating, and that annoyed me. I got my seat, but still — it’s the principle.

2. SAFETY GUIDELINES DON’T APPLY TO THIS GUY
When you’re below 10,000 feet and heading in to land, you have to have all your electronic devices turned off. They say that devices can interfere with the plane’s communications equipment. I don’t know how serious of a threat it really is, but if that’s what they tell us, that’s what I’m going to do. It’s not worth it to chance it over the last 10 minutes of a flight.

Well, when we were landing in Los Angeles, some 20-something guy across the aisle from me had his iPhone on and he was hiding it and sneaking peaks at his email. We were about two minutes from landing. He’d look around, make sure nobody was looking, then sneak more looks. I don’t know what this guy thought was so important that he’d risk interfering with the plane’s communications equipment while we were landing, but that really annoyed me. I didn’t say anything. I’m not the type to run my mouth. Maybe I should?

3. THIS GUY KNEW BETTER THAN THE FLIGHT ATTENDANTS
On the same flight with the guy with the iPhone, we had to wait about 10 minutes to get to our gate because there was a plane still there. While we’re sitting on the tarmac, a guy gets up to get some bags out of the overhead compartment. The flight attendant comes on and announces over the PA that we’re still a taxiing plane and he needs to remain seated.

The guy apparently doesn’t care and he reaches for one of his bags and hands it to one of his travel companions. The flight attendant repeats the announcement and he casually grabs a second bag and then sits down without closing the compartment. So the flight attendant comes on again and tells him to shut the overhead compartment and he gets up and does that.

I don’t know why this guy thought he was above the rules, but again, I was annoyed.

Am I right to get annoyed by these people? Am I too easily annoyed?

OK, That’s All For Today
Have a great Monday, y’all! I’ll have something for ya tomorrow!

Race Report: Mankato Marathon

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Serving as an official pace leader for a marathon is everything that Operation Jack stands for, all rolled into a marathon performance. It’s a tough, focused effort. It’s running to help others. It’s motivating people to push as hard as they can. It’s not worrying about my race time, because that’s not what matters. It’s staying focused on the finish line and getting there no matter what anybody else does. I led the 3:40 group at the Mankato (Minn.) Marathon Saturday, my fourth official pacing gig this year. For the fourth time, I had a blast.

I lined up the responsibility about three weeks ago and was pretty excited about it. It’s always fun to help people along, plus I knew it would be somewhat of a break for my legs. I know, for most people, running a 3:40 marathon doesn’t seem like a day off. But for me, it would be nice to not have to go full throttle.

The forecast was for rain, but that doesn’t faze me. I lined up in the start area and took a look around to see what kind of a group I had. I couldn’t really tell, because everything was so crowded, but I made small talk with those around me before we got going.

We started rolling and I locked into a pretty consistent groove within a mile or so. I wasn’t flawless, but I knew I was pretty good. I always want to be perfect, but as a human being, all I can do is try my best. Every time we passed a mile marker, I announced to my group how we were doing overall for the race. We were almost always within six or seven seconds of perfect — sometimes a touch fast, sometimes a touch slow, sometimes right on. But always very, very close. I knew the miles were good, my pace wasn’t varying and we were on target. I was pretty happy with that.

For most of the first half of the race, I had about 20 people fairly close to me. Different people would pop up and talk to me and then maybe move forward or fall back. I never missed an opportunity to talk about Operation Jack!

There were three moderate climbs and some gradual declines early, but I felt like I handled them well. We went through the half in 1:49:58. Half of 3:40 is 1:50, so that was pretty close to perfect. As the second half moved along, there was a long incline at around mile 15 or so that dropped some folks off the pace. I took that slow, but it was a little humid and I’m sure it was tough for runners pushing to run a 3:40. The sun started to come out at about mile 17 and it became tough to run.

We were on track through mile 21, with maybe 10 seconds in the bank for the race, but at that point I think the mile markers were off a little bit. When we hit 22, we were 14 seconds in the hole and I know we didn’t run an 8:47 mile. I absolutely did not want to finish slow, because I’m a moving target and if runners chose to kick at the end, I needed to be in the right place. If they finished ahead of me, they needed to be sub-3:40, period.

I ran the next mile a little quick, maybe at around 8:15 (pace needed to average 8:23), and we were about 12 seconds off. I knew I needed to run at about an 8:00 pace to get my target at the right pace. That was difficult to do, though. I know I’m a faster runner than that, but when you’re locked into a groove for 23 miles, it’s tough to step it up. For starters, I was fatigued. I am human, you know? Plus, with 23 miles of 8:23 muscle memory, it’s a tough push. And of course, my legs are dead from the 50 prior marathons I’ve run this year!

But I pushed to make sure I was in the right spot as a target. I closed to within maybe six or so seconds at mile 25 and kept moving. At mile 26, I was 19 seconds fast, but at this point, I’m not convinced the mile markers were in the right spot for those final four. I eased up to about an 8:30 pace for the final .2 miles, slightly off the 8:23 I needed. I ended up crossing the finish line in 3:39:53.

It was a tough run to manage. I stayed as consistent as I could and when I found out I was in a hole early, I tried to gradually move my target to get it in the right spot. Working with the mile markers, the course and the conditions, I feel confident that I did a good job. I was fast by less than 1/4 second per mile overall. Can’t really complain about that.

Overall, I thought the race was really nice. It was a first-time event, and for those, you never expect much. But I thought it was very well organized from start to finish. I was definitely impressed. It’s not a destination race, but it’s certainly a very nice, local marathon. I’ve run MUCH worse this year!

So, there you have it. Marathon No. 51 of Operation Jack is in the books. Only 10 more to go!


I dunno … it doesn’t really look like I ran a marathon. But I did, I swear!

Finally, A Philly-Tulsa Decision!

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For those of you who come around here regularly, you know I’m in a pickle for the weekend of November 21. I planned on running Philadelphia, and there are people there I’d like to see, but the race sold out and they wouldn’t let me me in. A lot of you contacted the organizers on my behalf and never heard back. I lined up a plan B with Tulsa and set this week as a deadline to finalize that week. And I did.

It’s going to be Philadelphia!

I never heard back from the race, but I came across a charity called the Hearts & Smiles Foundation, which provides assistance to siblings of special-needs children in low-income families in the Philadelphia area. They provided me with an entry into the marathon. I’m going to do my best to raise some money for them.

Real quick, just in case you’ve never been here, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 7-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. I wanted to use my ability to recover well from marathons to make a difference for kids like Jack. So, I’m attempting to run 61 marathons this year to raise money and awareness for a charity called Train 4 Autism. So far, I’m through 50 of the 61. I’m almost there!

Anyways, back to Hearts & Smiles. I think about what Jack goes through a lot, and it’s pretty tough. But Hearts & Smiles makes me pause for a minute to think about my other two children, Benjamin and Ava. We’re on a very tight budget, but we’re not a low-income family. Still, they have their difficulties because of Jack. Their routines frequently have to revolve around Jack and they sometimes don’t get the attention they need.

Families with special-needs children have all sorts of challenges and the typical siblings will face struggles as a result of those circumstances. They’ll grow up to be very loving, protective people, but they’ll have pretty tough elements in their childhood. Being in a low-income family will make things even tougher.

So, I’m excited to help Hearts & Smiles as part of running the Philadelphia Marathon. You can reach my fundraising page by going to operationjack.org/philadelphia. Let’s nickel-and-dime our way to the top of my thermometer.

I used to have a weekly contest where you’d pick my time. How about contributing a dime for every full marathon I’ve run this year? 10 cents is a lot easier than 26.2 miles. I’ve done that 50 times. That’s only $5! That’s the donation I started with personally. Even on my tight budget, $5 doesn’t mean anything. But it’s going to help a great cause.

So, please think about it! Thank you for your support!

Race Preview: Mankato Marathon
Marathon No. 51 of the year is the Mankato Marathon in Mankato, Minnesota. I’m excited about this for a few reasons. First, I get to pace the 3:40 group. It’s a lot of fun pacing, because I get to help people reach their goals. I’ve paced four times before, averaging less than 1/2 second a mile fast. I take it seriously and I’m aiming for a 3:39:59. The last time I paced 3:40, I went 3:39:58 at Utah Valley in June.

The other reason I’m excited is the race is on Saturday and I’ll be home Saturday night! Daddy gets a day off!

Of course, it’s also nice to give my legs a break this weekend. For me, that means running a marathon at a pace of about 8:20 per mile. I’ll have a report posted Saturday night.

That’s All For Today
Have a great Thursday and Friday, everybody. I’ll have a race report up on Saturday!