I have random taste in music. Most of the stuff I listen to is stuff that’s played on the radio, but it’s from all genres. When I drive, I listen to just about everything. When I fly, I go with a random shuffle through a ton of songs on my iPod. In the office, I listen to nothing but country.

I’d say country is definitely my favorite genre, but top 40 stuff works better to get me in an upbeat mood, so I listen to that, too. Nothing takes you back in time like music, and I felt like posting the videos for 10 songs that will always bring me back to Operation Jack.

1. This song was pretty popular pretty early in the year and it will always remind me of those early months when I was getting into a rhythm.

2. Same exact comments as the first song.

3. Tiff (my wife) likes this song and it makes me think of her. I have it on my iPod, but I wouldn’t listen to it on the way out on trips — it would make me miss her! But I listened to it on the way back and it put me in a good mood. Every time I heard this (when not in an airplane), I text her and told her, “Hey Soul Sister! :)”

4. In a weird way, being away from Tiff so much brought us closer together. We really realized that we are in all of this chaos together, and we took a pride knowing it’s us against the world. Somewhere around August or so, this became our song, and we’d text each other any time we heard it. The video isn’t really what the song is about, but it’s pretty funny.

5. This is another one of those songs that Tiff likes (and I like) that makes me think of her. I’d hear this and I didn’t really like the title, because I fly a lot, but it sounds real nice. And Tiff likes it. And it will always take be back to this year.

6. This song actually came out in 2009, but I bet I heard it at more than 30 marathons. Most recently, I heard it at Marine Corps Marathon at about mile 9, and it made me smile, because there I was in Washington, D.C., and that night I was going to be celebrating Halloween in California with my family!

7. Heard this in Chicago and it was at that moment I realized I had succeeded in my goals — raising money, increasing membership in Train 4 Autism … and destroying my body!

8. I must have heard this at expos and finish lines at just about every race from September on. That’s when I started sensing the end of the 61 marathons, so it’s a finish-line song for me.

9. Like that last song, I think I heard this at just about every race from August on.

10. This song actually makes me thing more of 2009 after I launched my site and started to get ready for this year. Tiff made me listen to it for the lyrics, and as much as Miley Cyrus isn’t my kind of singer, I think that if there was one song that really captured what Operation Jack was all about internally to me, it might have been this one.

That’s all. Go ahead and laugh about Miley Cyrus making the list!

Some things I’ll never forget. Like the day we had the senior barbecue out at the pool in high school. It was 19 years ago this Sunday and I remember the details like it was yesterday. For me, it’s the day I use as the primary reference point in my life. Everything I’ve done was either before or after November 7, 1991 — the day I broke my neck.

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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.

November 7, 1991 was the luckiest day of my life. It was the day I broke my neck in a swimming-pool accident. Suffering such a severe injury isn’t what I hoped for when I woke up that morning. But I was blessed to escape paralysis, and I celebrate November 7 every year as a birthday for my legs. I’ve always wanted to run a marathon on this date and I’m finally going to get my chance. [Read more…]