To me, it’s fitting that one of the symbols of the fight against autism is a puzzle piece. This morning, I realized that I have no idea what kind of impact Operation Jack will have or what the bigger picture of what I’ve done will look like at the end of the year. But it’s like putting together a puzzle. I’m assembling it one bit at a time, and yesterday, I snapped another nice piece in.

Chapters Aren’t Only In Books!
So this is where I take a moment to thank Alicia Verburg and hope she inspires at least one of you! Alicia is a fellow marathoner and the parent of cute son who has autism. Late last week, she posted comments on one of my blogs, which included the following:

So happy for you guys and totally inspired by your journey. I want to get involved with Train 4 Autism but not sure where to start. What can I do?

Well the answer to that question was simple — I asked her to start a chapter! Well, maybe I begged her.

The biggest thing to do to really help would be to join Train 4 Autism and start a chapter. My biggest goal with Operation Jack is to help T4A grow, so bringing people in all over the country is the biggest thing I’m trying to accomplish. It’s not a huge responsibility and we have people who will help you out. Believe me, it’s a LOT easier than you might think.

And, just like both times I asked Tiffany to marry me, she said yes! So I think this is the fourth new chapter that has spawned as a result of Operation Jack. And that, at the core of it all, is why I’m running 60 marathons this year — because people like Alicia, who otherwise might not have ever heard of Train 4 Autism, are now chapter presidents!

I have no idea who reads this blog, but I know it’s a lot more of you than I hear from, because I keep an eye on the traffic numbers. Some of you are runners and some of you are affected by autism. I get a fair amount of feedback and quite a few of you have told me that you’re inspired by what I’m doing. I know that for every one of you who speaks up and tells me something, there are 10 more of you thinking the same thing but remaining silent.

If you’re one of the silent types out there, and you think what I’m doing is kind of cool and you want to join in somehow, PLEASE consider starting a chapter! It’s super, super simple, I swear! We have people who will help you out and there’s not a ton to do. Maybe man a table at a local autism walk. Or try to build a team for a local 5K. You don’t have to run 60 marathons. You don’t have to raise any certain amount. We know that any help we get is help we didn’t have, so we’d love to have you and we promise we won’t complain!

Alicia filled out the New Chapter Form. If you fill it out, you’ll give me a huge psychological boost for this weekend!

Help Me Clean My Garage!
I have a whole bunch of Operation Jack t-shirts, tech shirts and sweatshirts in the garage. I really like the sweatshirts. I guess I like the t-shirts and tech shirts, too, but I really like the sweatshirts. Anyways, I need to get rid of them! Well, I guess that’s a weak way to solicit donations, but take a look at the levels on the Sponsors page and see if you’re interested.

I’d love to have you walking around wearing Operation Jack gear! That reminds me — if I owe you clothing and you haven’t gotten it, send me an e-mail and I’ll make sure it’s in the shipment we send out this week. Tiff and I aren’t flawless at our routine of sending stuff out, but we’re getting better.

Cleveland Anybody?
I’m really trying to make a big push for a good turnout in Cleveland on May 16. We’re about three months out, so it’s starting to get close to that time where you need to start thinking about it if you’re going to run it. They have a 5K on May 15, plus a 1/2 marathon and a marathon on May 16. I have discount codes if you go to my Cleveland page. PLEASE make sure you use the code when you register.

If you’re going to be there and you can bring anybody out, even for the 5K, that would be a big help for what we’re trying to accomplish there! I have 60 races this year, and this is one I’m really trying to make a big push for. So be there! Or tell somebody you know to be there! Or be there and tell somebody you know to be there!

Thank You Jen Morgan!
OK, so in each Wednesday blog, I’m thanking somebody who’s helped Operation Jack. And I guess I kind of already thanked Alicia today, but I’m really trying to use her as an example to get you guys inspired to start a chapter!

So instead of settling with my thanks to Alicia, today I’ll throw out a big gracias to Jen Morgan. Jen likes to be called Morgan, but I like to call her Captain — it’s a rum thing. Anyways, she is really, really enthusiastic about what I’m trying to do. She did a great job fundraising, she’s been very supportive for a good six months or so, and she’s worked pretty hard to spread the word.

I finally get to meet her in person on Friday in Tampa! She’s running Gasparilla with me this weekend and she’ll be wearing her own custom-made Operation Jack shirt. She’s really fired up and makes me feel like a rock star. I’ve told her plenty of times that she’s going to be severely disappointed when we meet, but that’s her problem! I know it’s going to be a treat for me to meet her and I’ve been looking to Tampa for a while because I know she’s going to be there. For somebody I’ve never met, I couldn’t ask for anything more than all she’s done over the past several months.

So Captain, Jen, Redhead Running, Morgan, or whatever you want to be called … thank you!

That’s All For Today!
I write my blogs the night before, and it’s Tuesday night as I write this and I’m getting kind of hungry for some ice cream. This streak of eating ice cream isn’t going to jump to 24 days on its own — I need to get over to my couch and have myself some peanut butter fudge swirl! Have a great Wednesday, everybody! I’ll be back tomorrow with a weekend forecast!

I had a great weekend. I spent plenty of time with the kids, got some work done in the garage, hung out with the wife, visited my grandparents, ran a marathon and even took a nap on the couch. It was wonderful! And that made me miserable.

I had been looking forward to this weekend for a while — it was my third weekend staying home this year and for the first time I wasn’t overwhelmed with planned Operation Jack activities. But by the time I woke up for my race on Sunday morning, I was totally bummed about how much I enjoyed Saturday because it made me realize what I’m missing every other weekend.

I have naysayers who think this is the wrong thing for me to do, and for the first time, I understood why. It would be so nice to do these things every weekend, like just about every other dad in America. But I’m spending my weekends everywhere but home. I woke up on Sunday morning and was sad for the first time this year. It’s tough being away, but it’s really tough being home and realizing what you’re missing when you’re away.

I got ready for my race in the comfort of my own home while everybody was sleeping, even the dogs. On my way out the door, I went and checked on Jack and covered him up, because he’d slipped out from his blanket. I gave Benjamin and Ava a kiss on the cheek — they were camping out in the playroom in their sleeping bags and they looked so cute! I went and gave Tiff a kiss on the cheek and told her I’d be safe and take care of myself, as I always do when I’m leaving before a race.

And then I got in my car and made the drive to Pasadena, completely unmotivated to run. I had my upbeat pre-race CD in the car and that didn’t even do the trick. I got to the race and just kind of roamed around aimlessly until the start. It seemed like all work, no play. I didn’t want to run. It was pretty miserable.

But somewhere along the way, it just kind of snapped for me. I thought back to my fifth marathon ever, the 2007 Carlsbad Marathon. That was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had in a race. In my previous marathon, a runner died at the finish, and that shook me up. So in my next race, that run at Carlsbad, I went out and ran scared. I held back, afraid of not dying. It was absolutely miserable. I swore to myself during mile 24 of that race that I’d never run another marathon, but that changed about an hour after the finish, when I knew I didn’t want to dwell on that race forever. So I ran the Pacific Shoreline Marathon (now Surf City) two weeks later, 16 minutes faster. I got my groove back.

That mindset I had on that drive home from Carlsbad is similar to the mindset I had early on during Sunday’s race in Pasadena. At some point, I broke out of my funk and knew that I need to be all-in mentally. I know that as a family, we’re taking care of everything and moving along just fine. So I need to stick away from my short-term emotional swings and just keep rolling forward, chasing my goal of helping Train 4 Autism grow.

So, to wrap up this “Dear Diary” moment, that’s how a good weekend can actually be a miserable weekend. As I keep saying, the running is the easiest part of all this. I just need to keep my head up and my eyes focused straight ahead. Ten down, 50 to go!

All this week, I’ve been working to establish a new weekly routine for my blogs. Continuing along with Thursdays, I’ll be using this as my final posting of the week (aside from race reports) to talk about my upcoming race(s) and any surrounding events. This weekend it’s pretty simple — I get to stay at home, run the Pasadena Marathon and visit my grandparents. What more could I possibly ask for?

Operation Jack Race 10: Pasadena Marathon
I’m really looking forward to this weekend, because the logistics should be pretty easy. Pasadena is no more than an hour or so from my house, so I don’t have to pack a suitcase and I get to stay at home. On top of that, it’s looking like it will be the most low-key weekend I’ve had this year. It’ll be nice to exhale!

This is actually my third weekend staying at home, but it’s going to be the easiest, by far. The other two were filled with other obligations and time commitments and I ran myself into the ground before I even had a chance to truly run myself into the ground (in a marathon). This weekend, there’s not much planned before my race aside from going to Advanced Hyperbarics with Jack on Saturday morning, so I might actually be able to think about my race a little bit.

I took a quick look at the course profile and it doesn’t look too ridiculous aside from one decent climb. In a way, it reminds me of Carlsbad, which has one tough climb and rollers the rest of the way. I always feared Carlsbad, and Pasadena is something I’ve perceived to be difficult, but I just attacked Carlsbad and ran my fastest time of the year (so far). I’ll probably do the same thing with Pasadena on Sunday.

I feel like my fitness is improving, although I’m not 100 percent and I won’t be this entire year. But I’m not worried. I should be fairly well rested. I’m going in for a session in the hyperbaric chamber on Saturday. My diet has been fairly good this week. I’m feeling fairly fresh. And I only ran one marathon last weekend.

That “only one marathon” sounds kind of ridiculous, but I’m noticing that I’m a little less solid the weekend after a double. The weather has also been impacting me quite a bit. My four best runs have been in ideal running conditions. My four worst runs have been in poor weather. There was also Surf City, when I paced the 3:30 group. The weather was perfect that day and the run was very easy. Sunday should be in the 50s or low 60s during the race — good enough for a marathon in my book. Not perfect, but not bad.

So add it all up and I’m feeling pretty confident about this one. The mental aspect of a marathon is pretty big and I’ve made the mistake of heading into a marathon afraid.

I’m going to try a slightly different strategy, trying to keep my pace at 6:52 (3:00) as long as my heart rate doesn’t go above 174. I run a marathon between 170 and 172 and I feel like I blow up once I cross 177 or so. I’ve been feeling stronger lately, so I’m going to start pushing it again. And I guess one good thing about what I’m doing is that if I mess it all up, I can give it another crack next weekend.

If I had to put an over/under on this one, I’d go with about 3:08. I really think I have a good shot at going sub-3:10, which I really want to start doing on a weekly basis. But anything can happen during a marathon, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned through 37 of them, it’s that they’re ALWAYS difficult. So we’ll see!

Perfect Post-Race Meal
I’m having the perfect post-race meal on Sunday. Part of that is the company and part of it is actually the food.

If you’ve been following along, you know I beat my grandma in our 22nd-annual Super Bowl bet this year. So, she’s taking me, the wife and the kids out to Souplantation (in some parts of the country, they call it Sweet Tomatoes). They’re featuring sweet potatoes right now, which are not only one of my favorite things to eat, but they’re a great recovery food for me. And of course, they have ice cream there. Barring anything unforeseen, that will push my current streak up to 22 consecutive days with ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Beyond all that, though, it’s a treat to spend time with my grandparents. I absolutely adore them and with my schedule this year, it’s tough to find time to see them. So when I get the opportunity, I will, and I’ll have the opportunity on Sunday afternoon!

One side note: I earned a penguin stuffed animal at my first marathon of the year, the Texas Marathon in Kingwood, Texas, on January 1. They gave one to each finisher with the place we finished around the neck. My grandma LOVES penguins (you should see her house — penguins all over the place!) so I’m going to give it to her. I’ll post a picture in my blog on Monday.

Have A Great Weekend Everybody!
A weekend at home, a race I’m confident about and a visit with my grandparents … I think I’m going to have a great weekend. I hope yours goes well, too! Thanks for stopping by and supporting Operation Jack!