For a good six months or so, Tiff (my wife) had one wish for her birthday (December 16) — to take the kids to Disneyland for the first time. It’s been a difficult six days for us, as all three of our kids have been sick, Tiff broke her finger slamming it in a door and both of us have bronchitis now. But Disneyland is what we planned on, so Disneyland is what we did. And it was the best day we’ve had in a long time!

We knew Ben (8) and Ava (4) would have a blast, but we weren’t sure how Jack would handle it. If you’ve never been here before, Jack is our 6-year-old son who is severely autistic. I’m running 60 marathons (well, trying to) next year in his honor to try to raise money and awareness for a charity called Train 4 Autism (hence the name of the endeavor, “Operation Jack”). Anyways, we didn’t know how he’d do. Maybe he’d freak out, or maybe he’d be in sensory heaven.

We knew heading in that Disneyland is very accommodating to families with autistic children. The first thing we did was go to Guest Relations because we knew they’d give us a special line access pass. He had a little bit of a meltdown during those five minutes we waited for that pass, which clearly indicated to the staff there that it was something we needed. I’d much rather have three typical children and stand in line, but it did come in handy and help him quite a bit.

Our first ride (the moment of truth!) was Pinocchio in Fantasyland. It was the perfect way to start the day — he loves watching that movie, plus Pinocchio symbolizes Jack to us. Right now, he’s the marionette. He’s still not truly talking. But someday, he will. He’s going to become Pinocchio the boy. I keep a little statuette of Pinocchio (the boy) on my desk and look at it all day, every day, and it makes me think of him.

Anyways, he had a BLAST! We were so excited that he enjoyed the rides. Benjamin and Ava enjoyed themselves, too. We knew we were in store for a great day. It’s been a tough year, two years, three years, whatever. The Felsenfeld Five, as I like to call us, was long overdue for a great day. We went on all the kid rides in Fantasyland. Jack loved them all.

He loved the dips on Pirates of the Caribbean, he enjoyed Tarzan’s Treehouse, and even had a good time in the Haunted Mansion. He LOVED Star Tours. In fact, he went on it twice and was laughing hysterically the second time. We probably went on about 12-15 rides yesterday and he was happy the entire time. And of course, Benjamin and Ava had a blast.

I took Ben on Thunder Mountain, which was the best roller coaster he’d ever been on. He loved it. But later, when I took in on the Matterhorn, that moved to the top of his list. We didn’t get a chance to hit Indiana Jones before we left, and I was kind of bummed. The kids have school today and we needed to get back at a reasonable hour. Ben was bummed, and I told him I was, too. But he still said it was his best day ever. And I could tell it was the same for Ava and for Jack.

I’ve never been a big fan of Disney. I think they’re overpriced and they over-market everything. But yesterday, it really was the happiest place on Earth for us. Our life is very challenging and it was a great escape that we needed. Tiff’s birthday wasn’t the greatest last year, but I know without even asking her that this was one of the best birthdays she’s ever had.

It’s back to reality today, which means grinding it out, finishing some projects at work, working on another project after work and hoping my body keeps fighting off this bronchitis as the start of Operation Jack is just 15 days away.

But yesterday … yesterday is a day I’ll always remember and always look back on with a smile, because I know Tiff and the kids will, too!

I went into Sunday’s Tucson Marathon having no idea what to expect. I was optimistic that I could set a personal best, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if I was 30 minutes slower than that. I’ve had a rough year with marathons, with just one (arguably two) good races. I knew Tucson would either salvage my 2009 or finish the year in fitting fashion. 26.2 miles after I crossed the start line, I wrapped up my year with a whimper.

Tucson has a big downhill net and has a fast reputation. But I always compare it to the Golden Goose. Take from it gently, and you’ll be happy. If you kill it, though, you’ll be sorry! This was my fourth time running this race and in two of my three previous attempts, I’ve killed the goose. But my personal-best, a 3:00:05, was in Tucson in 2007.

I’ve struggled through the second half of 2009, battling through a severely sprained ankle, a full plate (ahhh, life!) and a lack of motivation. About two months ago, I decided to stop having a pity party for myself and I started pushing during my training. I’ve improved quite a bit since October and based on recent training results, I wouldn’t have been surprised with anything between a 2:58 and a 3:30 on Sunday. My A goal was 2:59:59, the elusive sub-3! My B goal was a 3:09:59 and my C goal was a 3:15:59, my new Boston qualifying standard since I’m 35 now.

I ran Sunday with a pretty bad chest cold. What started as a sore throat last Monday turned into burning lungs and a painful cough by race day. My legs felt great, but I knew I was a little sick. That’s not a legitimate excuse, though. I’ve run 3:16 in the wind and rain with bronchitis. I think that’s what I have right now, but I’m not totally sure.

Anyways, they changed the course changed a little bit this year. I knew that there would be rollers for the first 8 or so miles, and then by about 10, it would be a gradual downhill the whole way. I kept myself in check early, running well on the downhills and staying conservative on the uphills. The average elevation for those first eight miles was about 4,500 feet, about 3,500 feet higher than I’m used to. The 8th mile was a long, continuous uphill with probably a 150-200 foot gain. When I came out of that, I wasn’t totally cooked, but I was definitely starting to get beat up.

The downhill started by about 9 or 10 and I started cruising. I stayed at my target heart rate and was running in the 6:40/mile – 6:45/mile range and pulling closer to where I needed to be (sub-3 requires a 6:52 pace). But that only lasted for about 3 miles. By 12 or so, I started feeling a little faint and lightheaded and I was coughing pretty nicely. And really, I’m not in shape right now.

I think I hit the half at about 1:34 flat, but my legs were really starting to get stiff and I knew it wasn’t going to happen. I thought I had a chance at a 3:08 since I was cruising down the hill. Between 12 and maybe 15 or 16, I was turning miles consistently in the 7:05-7:10 range and I didn’t feel like I was slowing. I thought I’d found a groove.

But by about 16, I really started to fade. I also encountered a pretty strong headwind. I started getting those “why in the heck do I put myself through this” and “why did I decide to do this 60 times next year” thoughts. The last 10 miles were really miserable. I was getting pretty stiff in my legs and my back started to hurt pretty nicely.

As I got closer to the finish, the pain got worse, the legs turned slower and my goals started slipping away. I started thinking I might be lucky to break 3:20. I found a little tiny bit of a second wind with about a mile to go and I passed a few people, but it was way too little and way too late.

One funny story about somebody I passed: There was a guy dressed in a Superman costume that I jostled for position with all day. At one point, he was running with me and told me, “nice run”. I told him I needed some of his super powers and he laughed. I was wearing green and joking around, I told him I was going to be his kryptonite at the end. Sure enough, I passed him for good at about 25.5 and in the finish area, he joked with me that I was right.

I crossed the finish line 3:17:02 after I crossed the start line. It was my 14th fastest marathon out of 28. Basically, right in the middle. Blah. A fitting way to cap a lousy year. I ran 9 marathons this year, and only two of them were faster than this race. Boston was great, but that was it.

I had a great year in 2008 and got complacent. I took it all for granted and really struggled this year. 2010 will probably be a bit of a struggle early on since I have 7 marathons in January, but I suspect that 183.4 miles at marathon effort before February will help me get my speed back. My goal for the year will be to average 3:09:59 or better, and of course, I want to get this sub-3 monkey off my back.

So, that’s pretty much it. Not my day, not my year. But finally, I can look past everything and just focus on starting Operation Jack on January 1. It’s almost go time!

I’ve been off-and-on, hit-and-miss for most of this year. I had a good race in Boston, a decent race in Orange County, and a pretty lousy year aside from that. But I have one last chance to salvage 2009 in Tucson on Sunday. This is my last chance until 2011 to just go out, run hard and not worry about anything else.

Tucson is one of my favorite courses. It’s downhill, so it can be incredibly fast. But it’s like the Golden Goose. You don’t want to kill it. This will be my fourth year running it. The first year, when I was in shape to run 8:20 miles, I tried to run 7:15s and the Goose was cooked by 18. There’s nothing quite like running eight miles with legs that feel like they’re made out of bricks.

In 2007, I ran the fastest race of my life, a 3:00:05, by cruising perfectly down the hill. I was in good shape and locked in a zone. I think I ran better in Boston this year, but I’d still rate my 2007 run as one of the top 3 runs of my life.

Last year, I wore the wrong shoes (bad choice — lightweight racers, but I’m a heavy guy) and didn’t have the support I needed for the pounding the downhills issue. My legs were in excruciating pain for the last 24 miles. That was the most painful, miserable run I’ve ever had.

So, I’ve run Tucson three times. Twice I ended up in miserable pain, but the run in the middle was my fastest marathon to date. Feast or famine, I guess. But I’m excited about it. My goal is sub-3. I’ve been chasing it for a while and one of these days I’m going to get it. I don’t really think I’m going to get it, but I’m certainly going to try. I need to average a 6:52/mile pace and I have reasons to think I can do it.

My fitness over the past eight weeks or so has been getting back to where it was last year and when I ran Boston. I spent five weeks off this summer with a sprained ankle, and when I came back, I was pretty slow. My long runs that used to take 8 minutes per mile were taking 9, and I was cutting them short to 24 or 25 miles and walking at the end. But my last one was 26.75 at 7:56/mile. Also, my training runs are a lot closer to where they were. I’m feeling quicker in the mornings. I’m running a tiny bit quicker than I was in the spring, but I’m also running a tiny bit harder.

I’ve run stretches in the 6:30-6:45 range and they feel fairly natural. A little bit tough, but not like a sprint. By feel, a marathon isn’t going to be like a sprint or a 10K, but it’s definitely a tough run. I don’t feel like it’s out of the question. My weight is borderline where I want it to be. I was 197 yesterday morning. I’d rather be 195, but I’m not going to sweat it. I was 204 or so about a month or two ago, so I know that’s a plus. No sense carrying dead weight.

But, I’m not anywhere near peak condition. I haven’t done a ton of speedwork, I haven’t trained all that hard and I haven’t been tremendously focused. I know I’m hedging, but I really think anything is possible on Sunday. I could get the sub-3, but I think if I set an over/under on my time for Vegas, I’d set it at about 3:12. I just don’t feel like I’m fast enough right now. I’m not worried, though. I’ll be doing 26.2-mile marathon-pace workouts every week next year. I’m pretty sure I’ll get quicker!

Take a guess at what time you think I’ll run. I’ll send whoever’s closest an Operation Jack t-shirt. Speaking of Operation Jack t-shirts, they’re in and everybody seems to like them. If you want, check out the donation levels and get yourself one!

You Think I’m Nuts? Check Her Out!
OK, I feel totally lucky that I get to meet so many great people through Operation Jack. Maybe that’s one privilege I get by running myself into the ground. One person I’ve met is Ally Phillips from Dallas. Super nice, new marathoner, and really excited about helping Operation Jack. It absolutely blows my mind how people want to push so hard to help. I’m actually pretty shy about it and I don’t really feel worthy. But I really appreciate it. Check out what she’s doing in her blog today. Thanks, Allie! I’ll have my wife bake you some of her cookies when you come out for Catalina.

I Need 30 Seconds Of Your Help By Friday!
I’ve been pushing this, but I REALLY need your help by Friday! I’m sure you know by the annoying announcement I have on the page, and maybe you’ve already voted, but there’s a contest being put on by Chase that’s going to award $25,000 to 100 different charities nationwide. The winning charities will be the top vote-getters at a Facebook group page. So, this is a way you can really help out in less than a minute. Just take the following three steps:

1. Click HERE to go to the Chase Community Giving page on Facebook and join the group.
2. VOTE FOR OPERATION JACK.
3. (Optional, of course) Click the button to post in on your wall and tell your friends.

You’re all here because you believe in Operation Jack. Take a minute and help this thing go viral. 100 charities are going to get a huge holiday bonus. Let’s be one of them!

Facebook Changes
You might be a fan on the Facebook page, but we’re moving our Facebook home to a new group page. This will make it easier to communicate with you. I’m not going to spam you, but I’ll probably send brief updates periodically. Messaging will be more effective than having things fly down your news feed, so I’m going to use the group. Make sure you’re over there at here (or click on the Facebook button on this page).

And going back to that contest and going viral, PLEASE, if you have friends in your address book on Facebook who might be interested in Operation Jack, please send them an invite to join the group!

That’s All For Today!
I probably won’t write anything tomorrow, so have a great weekend! Ice cream streak is up to 50 days now, in case you’re curious!

Last Thursday, my wife was in a local mall and she saw three women in their 40s, each taking care of a young adult in their early 20s with an obvious mental development delay. These women were caretakers, not parents. Tiff was in the food court and impulsively, she went to the McDonald’s, bought a bag of 13 cookies and gave it to them. She told them that as the mother of a boy who is severely autistic, she appreciated what they were doing and wanted to thank them. The women accepted the cookies and one of them broke into tears.

She was grateful for the gesture. She works hard taking care of the young man she is assigned to and people never do what Tiff did. It felt nice to be thanked for what is normally thankless work.

In a way, I know how that woman felt. What I’m doing doesn’t compare to what she’s doing — she’s working anonymously and thanklessly to help those in need and I’m just running (literally) with an idea that could make a difference. But I receive comments, suggestions, offers for help and donations and I’ll admit to getting a little watery-eyed at times. I try to thank all of you because I really appreciate all of your support. It’s nice when people support your effort to try to make a difference. Like I said, in a way, I understand how that woman at the mall felt.

Running Update
I’m running the Tucson Marathon this weekend, so I’m in taper mode. Kind of boring and blah. I went for 13.1 yesterday morning in 1:41. It felt nice to turn the wheels a little bit. I think it’s going to be too little, too late, and I don’t think I’ll be ready to get that elusive sub-3 on Sunday. But I’m getting closer and closer to getting back to where I was before my disastrous summer.

This morning, I was going to run 6, but it’s cold and raining outside and I’m starting to come down with a sore throat. I figured I’d be better off staying in. Maybe I’ll go for a run after work tonight or maybe I’ll go to the gym. Yeah, right. Who am I kidding? Maybe I’ll go for a run tomorrow morning.

I Need 30 Seconds Of Your Help!
I’m pushing this every day, but that’s because I have to! Between now and December 11, there’s a contest being put on by Chase that’s going to award $25,000 to 100 different charities nationwide. The winning charities will be the top vote-getters at a Facebook group page. So, this is a way you can really help out in less than a minute. Just take the following three steps:

1. Click HERE to go to the Chase Community Giving page on Facebook and join the group.
2. VOTE FOR OPERATION JACK.
3. (Optional, of course) Click the button to post in on your wall and tell your friends.

You’re all here because you believe in Operation Jack. Take a minute and help this thing go viral. 100 charities are going to get a huge holiday bonus. Let’s be one of them!

Facebook Changes
You might be a fan on the Facebook page, but we’re moving our Facebook home to a new group page. This will make it easier to communicate with you. I’m not going to spam you, but I’ll probably send brief updates periodically. Messaging will be more effective than having things fly down your news feed, so I’m going to use the group. Make sure you’re over there at here (or click on the Facebook button on this page).

And going back to that contest and going viral, PLEASE, if you have friends in your address book on Facebook who might be interested in Operation Jack, please send them an invite to join the group!

Ice Cream Update
I’m at 47 days in a row now after a bowl of peanut butter fudge swirl last night. That’s definitely my new favorite. I’m sure you’re glad to know. You may now carry on with your Monday.

That’s All For Today
Have a great Monday, everybody!

I’ve mentioned a few times that I wanted to talk about the greatest soccer team of all time, the Orange Strikers. I’ve been putting it off and putting it off, but I can’t delay writing about them. They’re playing for the FINAL TIME in franchise history this weekend and I’m going to be fortunate enough to be in attendance. What a great team (only one loss ever) and what a fun bunch of 8-year-olds!

OK, so my son Benjamin plays for the team in AYSO. I have to say, though, with the teams he’s on, and all the teams I was ever on as a kid, this team has been the most enjoyable team I’ve ever seen. It’s been pure joy to watch these kids have so much fun. And on top of it all, they won their region championship, so they get one more chance this weekend to play in an area tournament.

First things first, though … I need to take care of a little Operation Jack housekeeping. If you’ve never been here, I’m a marathon runner and a father of three children, not in that order. My middle son, 6-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. Next year, I’m going to try to run 60 marathons in his honor to raise money and awareness for a great charity called Train 4 Autism. T4A is a great charity that helps people train for races and raise money for autism-related charities. Our strongest base is here in Southern California, and I want to do what I can to help build new bases nationwide. This is my stupid human trick, jump on the bandwagon!

OK, I’m going to talk about the Orange Strikers, but two quick things:

I Need 30 Seconds Of Your Help!
Between now and December 11, there’s a contest being put on by Chase that’s going to award $25,000 to 100 different charities nationwide. The winning charities will be the top vote-getters at a Facebook group page. So, this is a way you can really help out in less than a minute. Just take the following three steps:

1. Click HERE to go to the Chase Community Giving page on Facebook and join the group.
2. VOTE FOR OPERATION JACK.
3. (Optional, of course) Click the button to post in on your wall and tell your friends.

You’re all here because you believe in Operation Jack. Take a minute and help this thing go viral. 100 charities are going to get a huge holiday bonus. Let’s be one of them!

OK, I’m going to talk about the Orange Strikers, but one more thing:

Facebook Changes
If you’re a fan on the Facebook page, you might have noticed we created an Operation Jack group page instead of a fan page yesterday. This will make it easier to communicate with you. I’m 29 days from kicking this thing off and that’s when it’s going to start getting exciting. Make sure you’re over there on the group page. It’s here, or on the Facebook button on that page.

And going back to that contest and going viral, PLEASE, if you have friends in your address book on Facebook who might be interested in Operation Jack, please send them an invite to join the group!

OK, The Orange Strikers!
These guys are so much fun. Coach Peps and Coach Darren are great and the kids have really developed over the course of the year, individually and as a team. As a competitive guy, it’s been fun to watch them improve. But 100 times more important than that, because these guys are only 8, it’s been a blast to see them have so much fun.

I went to just about every practice and stayed for the duration. They worked hard, but laughed harder. Nothing but smiles on the faces of these kids. And these guys are a team. They just want to win. They’re unselfish. The best player on the team gets along great with the worst player on the team. Like I said, it’s been my favorite youth team of all time. It’s everything youth sports should be, and I’ve been lucky to be a part of it as a parent.

Anyways, they won their region championship in the playoffs in amazing fashion. On November 14, they won their first playoff game. I think the score was 3-1. The game was never in jeopardy and they rolled pretty easily. The semi-final match was a different story.

They took a 1-0 lead, but surrendered a late goal for a tie. But in the playoffs, one team has to advance, so it went to penalty kicks. At first, the teams alternated five times. If it was still tied after those five kicks, it would be sudden death — one kick for each team until the score wasn’t tied.

All the hard work, all the practices and all the games came down to those five kicks. Sure enough, it was tied. So it went to a sudden-death kick. And then another. And another. After six sudden-death kicks (11 penalty kicks total), it was STILL tied! The Strikers were the home team, so the other team kicked first. Our goalie made a stop on the 12th kick, and our best player was eligible to kick.

Coach Peps (the player’s dad) asked him if he wanted to take the kick. The kids on the team were all jumping up and down with excitement and the kid was cool as ice. There was no doubt he wanted that kick. It was like watching Mariano Rivera come in for the 9th to put the hammer down. He nailed the kick and the Orange Strikers won the game. Oh, and I brought snack for that game — donuts. We finally got to eat them!

They won their finals game that afternoon 1-0 on a fourth-quarter goal by the same player who kicked the game-winner in the semifinal game that morning. What a great way to cap the season — a region championship! They earned trophies that were about as tall as they are.

This weekend, they get some bonus ball. Two games on Saturday against other region champions, and at least one game (maybe two) on Sunday. And that will be it for the Orange Strikers. It’s been a fun ride, but I’ll miss watching them play!

OK, That’s All I’ve Got For Today
Not like it wasn’t enough. If you actually reached the bottom of this, thank you! Have a great weekend!