As I mentioned yesterday, I’m going to be writing about different things each day of the week to break it up a little bit and to help me come up with topics to help you waste your time at work with. Since today is Tuesday, I’m going to talk about either an issue that’s important to me, or I’m going to tell an anecdote about something from my past. Today, it’s an issue that’s important to me — donating blood. I’m writing about it today because that’s what I’ll be doing at 5 p.m.

I’m actually donating platelets, and I can’t really give you a good scientific explanation of what that means. I know that it takes a little longer than whole blood (90 minutes instead of 20 minutes) and it grabs a different part of the blood. Whole blood is just straight-up blood. Platelets are something else, and I’m not exactly sure what, but I know they go to help leukemia patients undergoing chemotherapy.

I’m going to back up a little bit and explain how I got started doing this. I hate needles and I hate blood. I get queasy talking about either. My dad donated platelets for years, but I never did, because I couldn’t imagine the thought of the needles.

Last year, though, I decided I would change that. I have an uncle who died of leukemia on July 27, 2004, and I figured I’d donate blood on July 27 last year in his honor. So I did. I was a big ol’ baby about the needles, but it was mission accomplished. I went back agin in September (you can only go every eight weeks or so) and donated again.

I had to switch over to platelets this year, though. It takes your body about five weeks to be fully recovered from whole blood, which would be fine if I was training. But not when I’m racing. Platelets only take about 48 hours until you’re back to full strength. Either way, you have to take 24 hours off from exercising, so I’ll take a rest day tomorrow. But I’ll be 100 percent for Pasadena on Sunday. And my donation will go to somebody like my Uncle Bob, who inspired me to do this. I figure that’s appropriate.

My dad doesn’t get to donate any more because he’s had cancer twice since 2004, so they won’t take him in. I’m sure he’s probably glad I’ve picked up the torch from him. I think it’s pretty obvious with what I’m doing with Operation Jack, that I have a body that works fairly well and I’m really starting to like making small, temporary sacrifices to use it to help others.

I guess the point I’m making is that if any of you don’t donate blood and have ever thought of it, or even if you haven’t thought of it, please give it one try! It’s not as bad as you think (believe me, nobody could possibly hate needles any more than me) and it’s really a wonderful feeling to selflessly help somebody else. Plus, there’s the free cookies when you’re done!

If you’ve been meaning to schedule an appointment, please do so! If you’re going to try this for the first time, please let me know.

Take care and have a great Tuesday, everybody!

You all seem to be pretty enthusiastic about my attempt to run 60 marathons in 2010 to raise money and awareness for Train 4 Autism. You’re signing up for races. You’re reading my blog. You’re telling your friends and having bake sales and blogging about it. But I still get the same questions all the time. I’m on a team … what do I do now? What can I do to help? I’d never really thought about that. I just figured I’d run 60 marathons and everything would take care of itself. But I learned that I need a better plan than that, so I came up with 10×10. Let me know what you think about it.

I’m pretty shy about asking for help. But I know that we’re all in this together, all excited about a great cause. Whether you’re impacted by somebody with autism, you know me and support what I’m doing, or you don’t know me but you think what I’m doing is worthy of support, you’ve decided you’re on the bandwagon. And I appreciate that. I came up with a simple, realistic way to help that’s reasonable and sets a good target. If we all hit this, Operation Jack is going to be a HUGE success and Train 4 Autism will be way better off for it.

10×10: Get 10 people to contribute $10. That will make a difference. I’m not going to get into goals I have for a grand total for Operation Jack quite yet, but I know that if everybody strives for a 10×10, we’re going to make a big difference. Hit that goal and I’ll send you an Operation Jack t-shirt and an Operation jack dri-fit shirt to work out in and run your race in. Simple enough, right? You don’t need to raise $500 or $1,000 or $2,000 (although go right ahead!) … just 10 people, $10 each. Host a pancake breakfast as a fundraiser or something simple like that and you’ll be set.

To make it easy, you can go to operationjac.kintera.org and set up a page in about two minutes. People can make their $10 contribution online with a credit card in a snap. It’s simple. I know I’ve done this for various fundraisers. It’s quick and it’s painless. So, I guess that answers those questions I’ve been asked. I get shy about asking for help, but I think this is what I’ll ask y’all to try and do. One 10×10 will go a long ways.

Jen Morgan was the first to complete a 10×10, and she did it before I even created this. She’s a trooper and I’m really looking forward to meeting her when we run the Tampa Gasparilla Marathon on February 28. I created a 10×10 club on the Sponsors page. She’s the charter member … join her!

Oh, I lied … one more thing you can do to help: Send your friends here and to the Facebook Group (click the Facebook button on this page). OK, that’s all.

Rest In Peace, Grandpa Don
This is where I get to ramble on since it’s my blog. My dad’s second wife was a woman named Mary Ann and she was around at a critical point in my life, between my fourth grade and eighth grade years. I had troubles dealing with my parents’ divorce and was terrible to her. She took way more from me than she deserved, but she stood by and loved me unconditionally and did a great job doing everything she could to raise me well. That’s not to infer anything about my mom, who’s in the picture, or my stepmom, who’s wonderful and been in my life for the past 20 years. That’s just to make mention of Mary Ann for this part of my blog since it’s about her dad.

I keep in touch with Mary Ann still, even though she’s been out of the family for more than 21 years. She lives in Minnesota now, but I managed to see her in 2006 and 2008 while in town or stopping through for work. We chat a few times a year. Unfortunately, I hadn’t talked to her in the past several months until yesterday, when I found out her dad passed away in September. I hadn’t seen him or talked to him since 1991, but in my heart, he was still my Grandpa Don.

He was a great guy, the type of fun, loving man you want as a grandpa. He treated me like his own while my dad was married to Mary Ann, and he was glad to see me when I last saw him at Mary Ann’s second wedding. I had a blast staying at his house every year for Thanksgiving, visiting with him when he came to town and staying at his house in the summer. He was a good grandpa and a good father (from some of the things I remember Mary Ann telling me). I haven’t seen him since 1991, but I’m looking forward to catching up with him somewhere down the road.

I’m glad you came into my life, Grandpa Don. And I’m glad you’re not pain any more. Rest in peace. I’ll see you on the other side.

Hmmm … How To Transition From That?
I guess I don’t have a whole lot more to elaborate on. Operation Jack starts next week. Is that right? Yeah, next Thursday, I’m flying to Houston. My ice cream streak is at 63 days. My bronchitis is just about gone. My mom is coming to town. So is my friend Tony. And I guess that’s it.

I’m not blogging again this week, so Merry Christmas everybody!

I’ve done a lot of unorthodox things running, from running a marathon on one hour of sleep to running three in three states in 8 days to running one in rain and 40 mph winds with bronchitis. But I’m thinking my long run this weekend might have been one of the dumber things I’ve done. Yeah, 26.5 miles on a bad ankle.

Today’s Workout
On Saturday morning, I went out for my first long run since running the Rock ‘N Roll Marathon in San Diego in May 31. I’ve felt slow since early May and I just haven’t been myself. I was aiming for 28-30 miles, but I didn’t know how it would go, so I took a route that would have allowed me to cut it short if necessary. I started off not moving tremendously quick, and I could tell it was humid by how much I was sweating. I felt a little fatigued as I got into it, and I’m sure doing 16.6 on Friday didn’t have me too fresh, but I figured I’d just push through. So, I headed out to get far enough out to make sure I’d get at least 26.2 in. I figure that’s the best way — if you’re out and the only way to get back is straight in, you’ll hit your miles. Well, about 2 1/2 hours in, it started getting hot and I started falling apart.

I could tell that I was on track for about 26.6 and I knew I would forego any of the turns I would have taken to get it up to about 28. I really wanted to quit, but there’s not a lot to do. Walk home for three miles? I was coming up the hill I finish on and my wife drove by — she was coming home from McDonald’s playground with the kids. I wanted to get in the car, but she asked me how far along I was. I told her 25.5 and she told me no, to keep rolling, because I’d regret not going the distance. She’s not a slave-driver or a drill sergeant. She just knows me well. She knows that if I was in serious trouble, I’d demand a ride, or if I struggled over that last mile I’d shut it down and walk. And she knew that I’d kick myself all weekend if I didn’t go at least 26.2. She was right and I ended up going 26.5. I walked up my street at the end as a cool down because I felt like I was going to throw up. I was a minute per mile slow. I’ve run at least 26.2 in training a good 30+ times, and this was by far my slowest. Oh well … better luck next weekend.

I took yesterday off. I caught up on my sleep, and there’s no need to overdo it while building the miles back up. I ended up with 76.4 last week with essentially three days off, so I figured that was enough.

Last night, I had Tiff look at my ankle. It still hurts from when I rolled it last Tuesday. I’ve never had an ankle problem before, so this is new territory. It feels swollen when I touch it, but that could be deceptive based on the pain I’m feeling. Well, she touched it and took a look and I got a big “Oh my goodness!” Yeah, it’s still swollen. I got up to run this morning, got dressed and ready to go, and it hurt a tiny bit and I figured I’d just shut it down and get some work done. I don’t know if I’ll run tomorrow, if I’ll take some time off again, if I’ll run the 5K I’m looking into this Saturday … I have no idea what I’m going to do. I do know that I’m going to be very frustrated for a little while. If I had to run a marathon today for Operation Jack, it would be no problem and I’d do it. But I don’t and I want to be as close to 100% to start it off next year. I need to be ready to go on Decemeber 31, not July 31.

Talkin’ Jack
In case this is your first time here, or if you’ve never been to the rest of the site, I’m planning on running 60 marathons next year to raise awareness for a charity called Train 4 Autism. My son, Jack, is severely autistic and I want to do something to make a difference in his honor. In this spot in each blog, I’ll talk about Jack a little bit.

Jack had a pretty fun weekend and didn’t have any significant issues. He was very well behaved at Red Robin for lunch on Saturday and rode on Ava’s scooter later in the afternoon. I can’t recall him having any meltdowns all weekend. He did a pretty good job sitting at the kitchen table with the rest of us for breakfast yesterday morning and seemed fairly calm all weekend.

Actually, one funny story: He thought it would he funny to take a cup, go to the fridge to get some water out of the dispenser on the door and then fling it up on the ceiling. He was right — it was kind of funny. But it probably wasn’t very good for the ceiling or the floor. Tiff pushed the lock button on the fridge, so when we went back to get more water, nothing came out, so he tried to throw water from an empty cup up to the ceiling. Obviously, nothing happened, but he did it two more times after that with an empty cup and found it pretty funny. I tried not to laugh because I didn’t want to encourage. I failed.

Anyways, he starts a special summer camp today (just a day camp), so hopefully that goes well. You’ll find out here tomorrow, of course.

The Streak Is Over
No, not the ice cream streak. The dinner streak. I wasn’t very hungry and I snacked enough, so I didn’t eat dinner. I don’t know how many nights in a row I’d had dinner, but if I have dinner tonight, my new streak will be at one. I’m still rolling with the ice cream, though.

I went with cookies and cream on Friday night, a waffle cone of Orange 50/50 at Golden Spoon on Saturday and cookies and cream again last night. I’m 33 days in a row with ice cream or frozen yogurt now. I’m thinking I should stop, because the longer it goes, the tougher it’s going to be for me to snap my streak. But it’s so darn hot right now and I really like ice cream. So I guess I’ll just keep rolling.

Blood Drive Anyone?
I know that between now and the end of 2010, we’re going to a lot of great things for autism-related charities all over the country. But why not try to do other nice things while we’re at it?

I mentioned this on Friday and I’ll mention it again today. Today is the five-year anniversary of the death of my Uncle Bob. He died of leukemia. So, I’m going to give blood. I hate needles. I’ve given blood once, back when I was in college, and I HATED the experience. Just talking about needles makes me kind of queasy.

But I was talking with a friend of mine named Peggy, who has one of the biggest hearts of anybody I’ve ever met, and she gives blood regularly. That sparked the idea a couple of weeks ago, but I let it go, figuring I’d wait until next year on this date. But for whatever reason, it came back to me on my run on Friday.

I had a physical therapy appointment for my knee today, but I shifted it until Wednesday and I’m going in to give blood today at 1:30. I know I’m just a stranger blogging on the internet to most of you, but if you’ve ever thought about giving blood but needed a kick in the pants, please do it this week! I know it might be a little late to do it today, but if you can do it sometime this week, post here and let me know, or contact me through the Contact Us form (I should probably just call it “Contact Me”). You’d be doing a good thing, you’ll get free cookies, and (selfishly) I’ll let my Aunt Rebecca (his widow) know and it will hopefully bring a smile to her face. I know not all of you will, but if I can get just one person to, I think that would be awesome.

Operation Jack Update
There are a ton of good things cooking in the Operation Jack kitchen right now. I can’t mention what any of them are, but any time one of these dishes turns out, I’ll be eager to let everybody know. I can’t believe how much work this takes on a daily basis. But little things here and there are (or might be) coming together and it’s amazing. I’m just a normal guy going through my daily routine trying to make something happen, and more and more people are jumping on the bandwagon. It blows my mind and I truly appreciate everything more than I can really convey in just a few sentences. For all the things you all are doing, and that definitely includes spreading the word and getting excited, THANK YOU!

Ice, Ice Baby
I was asked on Twitter if I soak my legs in ice after every run, and I figured I’d answer the question here. No, I don’t. I wish I had the time to. I love what ice baths do to my legs — they bring them about 95% back to life. The ice decreases the swelling and helps with the tiny little tears you get in your muscles when your exercise. A hot bath is obviously more relaxing, but the ice is what will make you heal. You don’t want to go with the hot bath before you ice. Last October, I ran a 3:04:59 in Kansas City on a Saturday (my 4th-fastest, a good time for me), then drove three hours to Wichita, soaked in ice for an hour and ran a 3:09:13 the next day, also a decent time for me. That wouldn’t have happened without the ice.

One tip, because it can be extremely difficult to get into a freezing-cold tub: Get in on your knees and it will be easier. Also, if you’re ever staying in a hotel, take advantage of that ice machine! Even if you’re not that beat up, it’s always good to get back to 100 percent.

Video Of The Day
I’m sticking with my blood drive, even if I’m the only person to donate!

Happy Monday!
This is the spot where I wrap it all up and ask you to send the site to somebody new today. I know you all are here because you believe in the cause. The goal is to increase nationwide awareness for Train 4 Autism (and eventually funds, but the awareness will take care of that). It’s pretty simple — increased awareness comes from more people being involved. So tell one person today. Little actions like that by a lot of people will make a big difference.