– For those of you who were planning on attending Saturday’s pasta dinner, I’ve decided to cancel it. I don’t want to get into details about why, but for those of you who paid, I’ve issued refunds. If you didn’t get an email from PayPal, please let me know.

– I haven’t announced anything about shirts and stuff in a while, so if you haven’t been there yet, head to our Sponsors page … we’d love to send you some stuff and list you on there. The sweatshirts get pretty good reviews.

– If you’re in Orange County, we’re having a Silpada party as a fundraiser on Friday night. It’s open to anybody. If you’re interested, view our evite for the event.

I know one of the main reasons I write this blog every day is for you guys want to know what it’s like to be me and go through what I do on a daily basis as I attempt to run 60 marathons for charity this year while managing a full-time job and a family. Well, today it sucks. I think I hit a point where I’m extremely frustrated right now. I think it’s a combination of some expectations some people have of me, plus some expectations I have of others. And on top of that, if my wife ever gets upset, that sends me into a tailspin.

I tell people I’m frustrated and I hear all sorts of comments from a lot of you about how I’m inspiring, but all I want to do is crawl into a hole and not deal with anybody. My tailspin feels like a freefall and I don’t want to stand up with a smile today. This will pass, I’m sure, but I guess today you get to see me in my less-than-cheeriest state.

But I’ll at least leave you with something positive.

Jack playing with Tiff, using sticker toys to make something.

It was a bowtie! And when he was done, he said “bowtie” to her. I think he might have been prompted, but it was still pretty fun.

Just in case this your first time here, I’m a marathon runner and a father of three. Not really in that order, though, because running is just my hobby. My middle son, 6 1/2-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. I wanted to do something to make a difference in his honor, so the idea that came to me was to try to run 60 marathons in 2010 to try to raise money and awareness for a great charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism.

I didn’t ask my wife for permission to do this. I just ran the idea by her. This wasn’t something to ask for permission for, because it’s such a huge commitment on the entire family. But we decided that we were better off taking a chance and trying to make an impact than always looking back and wondering if we could have made a difference.

Anyways, I don’t really have a clue as to what I’m doing — I try to figure it out daily and I’ll continue to do so until December 31. This blog is where you can follow along with me and see what goes on in my mind.

Orange County Marathon Announcements
We’re only about 10 days away from the Orange County Marathon. Maybe 11. I don’t know. I’m permanently tired nowadays and I don’t feel like doing math. But I know it’s next Sunday. It’s the most local race of the year for me, since the start line and finish are both within about 15 miles of my house.

So, we’re having a couple of fundraising events to go along with them. First, next Friday (April 30), we’re going to have a Silpada party. Silpada is jewelry, and I don’t know anything about jewelry. Well, except my wife likes that stuff. It’s not very expensive, like with diamonds or anything like that. But it’s fairly nice stuff. 20 percent of all the sales from the party are going to go to Operation Jack. If you’re local, stop by, grab some finger foods and pick up a Mother’s Day gift. We created an evite for this that you can RSVP with and pass along to anybody. It’s an open party. And when I say we created an evite, we = Tiff. If you’re not local, you can still order and benefit Operation Jack. There’s information on that evite.

Also, we’re going to have a pasta dinner on Saturday, May 1, the night before the race. It’s going to be at Buca di Beppo in the Tustin Marketplace. It’s going to be at 5:30 p.m. The cost is $25 a person for all-you-can-eat … well, I already created a page so I might as well just direct you over there so you can see the full details. I’d love to see you out there!

I Need Your Input
On Monday, after the race in Boston, I met up with three new Operation Jack supporters from Maine — Danielle, Melissa and Sarah. They really want me to run a marathon in Maine with them next year. Sarah has been on the fence about running a marathon, but she said she’d make it her first if I went out there and ran it with her. I told them I’d do it, but they’d need to build a good team.

I’m going to set a tangible goal and if they hit it, I’ll keep my word and go out there and help Sarah through her marathon. I’ll carry her gels, fetch her water from the aid stations, carry her favorite sports drink, whatever. But I’m going to set them a good goal and I want to know what you guys think I should do.

For starters, they’re going to need to start a new Train 4 Autism chapter out in Maine. And I think I’m going to set a fundraising goal for them for an Operation Jack team. We provide them with a fundraising site to help them out. What’s a good goal? $20? $3,000? $1 billion?

Me, Danielle, Melissa and Sarah on Monday.

Quick April Fundraising Plug
I’m running seven marathons in seven states this month. Since 7 is the number of the month, I’m trying to collect as many $7 donations as possible. I haven’t reached my goal, so for less than the cost of a martini, you can support a great cause! Check out the fundraising page or read the update I sent to the Facebook group at the beginning of the month.

Day-After-The-Boston-Marathon Lunch
This is where I take advantage of the fact that it’s my blog and I can post what I want. I love to post pictures of food. Yesterday, the day after the Boston Marathon, I had In-N-Out for lunch. I took a picture so I could post it. And really, the only reason I wanted to post it was so I could post pictures of my lunch from the day after the Boston Marathon last year.

This was lunch yesterday.

This was lunch the day after the Boston Marathon last year. I held my brother’s iPhone next to the burger to illustrate how big it is.

This was my plate when I was done with my lunch the day after the Boston Marathon last year.

On the subject of nutrition, I know I talk a lot about the garbage I eat, and I’m up to 80 consecutive days now eating ice cream or frozen yogurt, but I really don’t think I eat all that poorly. So I’m keeping a food journal of everything I eat this week and I’ll post it next Tuesday and let y’all decide. I’m not off to the greatest start this week, but I still have five days to go.

On the subject of me posting pictures I want to post, here’s one from over the weekend of my daughter sneaking some of Jack’s drink.

This better be the only time I see a girl taking advantage of my Jack.

Proof That I’m A Geek
I was all excited because I finished in 27th place on Saturday. It was my third 27th place this year. 27 is 3x3x3. So, for me, it was 3x(3x3x3). Like I said, I’m a geek.

Jack Is Good With Numbers, Too!
This morning, Tiff showed me a worksheet that Jack did in school. They had boxes with pictures in it and he had to count them and write down the number of items in the box. He got all six boxes correct. It’s kind of cool to see this. We know he’s a smart kid and there’s a lot going on in that little head of his, but when we see him put down on paper, it’s pretty cool for us. Keep the faith, keep the faith!

That’s a “15” … count the shoes for yourself!

OK, That’s All For Today
I got too tired writing this thing. I’m calling it quits for this one. I’ll see you back here tomorrow!

That’s one of the things going on with Operation Jack. On Wednesdays, I write a “What’s Up With OJ Wednesday” blog. It’s an easy excuse for me to be lazy and re-use a headline, plus the alliteration is catchy. I think.

In case you’re new here, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 6 1/2-year-old Jack, is severely autistic and I really hate that. I wanted to find a purpose for his struggles, plus I wanted to use my running to make something good happen, so I came up with this idea of running 60 marathons in 2010 to try to raise awareness and money for a great charity I’m a part of named Train 4 Autism. The idea looked great on paper, but now that I’m through 18 of the marathons, my body isn’t thoroughly convinced! But we’re creating new chapters all over the country, so it looks like it’s working!

I’ll get to Utah in just a minute (well, actually I’ll get to Utah on June 11). I’ll give a quick update on Jack, though.

He’s struggled a little bit lately, waking up several times in the middle of the night and battling what appears to be internal pain. One major problem with Jack is his inability to effectively communicate. So, if he has a tummy ache, he can’t tell us, but he’ll be upset and hit himself in the head instead. At that point, he has a headache in addition to his tummy ache.

We’ve been convinced for a while that he has internal problems, and we’ve tried gluten-free and casein-free diets. Tiff and I definitely keep him on the casein-free, but we haven’t noticed improvements with the gluten-free diet so he’s not on that. We’ve taken him to a DAN doctor, basically a biomedical doctor. We went to one before, but weren’t thrilled with the treatment. But we have an appointment on May 11 with a new one who comes very highly recommended from an extremely knowledgeable and trustworthy source.

Also, we’ve discovered that he likes weighted blankets and we have one of those herbal neck pillows that you heat up and that calms him down big-time when he’s upset. He’s still got a ways to go before he truly talks, but we’re seeing a lot of progress over the past several months. He’s MUCH more lively than he was last summer. Thank you, everybody, for all of your prayers.

This was Jack last night. He knows where I’m running on Monday!

Back To Utah
I’m pacing the 3:40 group on June 12 and I’m really excited about it. It’s supposed to be a very beautiful course, and I’ll be able to look around and enjoy myself a little more than normal. Take a look at the course profile. It looks like a pretty fast course. I’ll be aiming for a 3:39:59, though.

I’ve paced twice before, each of the past two years leading the 3:30 group at Surf City. I went 3:29:54 and 3:29:39 in those efforts and really enjoyed helping people reach their goals. It was an incredibly rewarding experience. 3:40 is the Boston qualifying time for women between 18 and 34, so any ladies who stick with me from start to finish will earn their way to my favorite race.

If you’ve been looking for a June race that’s fast and scenic but you didn’t have a running partner who would tell you bad jokes for 220 minutes, this might be a good one for you!

Orange County Marathon Pasta Dinner
If you’re in Orange County or running the Orange County Marathon, we’re going to have a pasta dinner at Buca di Beppo in Irvine (Tustin Marketplace) on May 1, the night before the race, at 5:30 p.m. It should be a good time. I know everybody seemed to enjoy the pasta dinner prior to Surf City on February 6, and I’m really excited about this one, because I don’t have to do so much busy work like I did last time.

I’ll probably have to get up and do a poor job speaking like I did last time, but I’m cool with that. I have more information here if you’re interested … please be interested! If you have any questions about anything, please let me know!

Also During The OC Marathon Weekend, …
We’re going to have a Silpada party. When I say we, I mean my wife and my mother-in-law. I’ll probably be home hanging out with the kids. But we’re going to have a Silpada party that’s going to be a fundraiser for Operation Jack. Silpada sells jewelry that my wife really likes. I don’t know how to describe it … it’s not like diamonds or anything like that. It’s decent stuff without the fancy stones.

Anyways, we’re going to have a party and we’d love for you to be there! It’ll be a good time and you can grab some finger foods and a quick Mother’s Day gift. Here is the Evite Tiff created for the event. If you’re an out-of-towner, there’s information on there about ordering if you want to.

My April Promotion
In April, I’m running seven marathons in seven states. So far, I’m through three and three. Since 7 is the number of the month, I’m trying to collect as many $7 pledges as possible. If you haven’t already done so, please check out the update I sent out at the beginning of the month.

That’s All For Today, Folks
I absolutely can’t believe I’m already carb loading again starting today. These weeks are flying by way too fast. See you tomorrow!

Real quick, just in case this is your first time here, I’m a marathon runner and a father of three. My middle child, Jack, is severely autistic, and I wanted to do something to use my running and make a difference in his honor. So, I’m running 60 marathons this year (well, trying to, at least) to help raise money and awareness for a charity I really like called Train 4 Autism. I named this endeavor Operation Jack in his honor.

Train 4 Autism helps people raise money for the autism-related charity of their choice while training for event, such as a race or a triathlon. I really believe in the model, because it’s very similar to Team In Training, which has raised about $1 billion over the past two decades. There’s room in the market for Train 4 Autism, because there isn’t a big autism-related organization like this. We’re at the grassroots level right now, but I’m hoping that Operation Jack can help provide some of the boost we need. So far, we’re doing well, with new chapters popping up all over the country!

Weekly Contest Winner!
I have a contest every week where you guess my time with a small donation (for instance, if you think I’m going to run a 3:15, you donate $3.15) and the winner is the person who comes the closest without bidding under. If I choke, and run slower than everybody’s guesses, then the person who came the closest wins. Oh, the prize is your choice of an Operation Jack t-shirt, tech shirt or sweatshirt.

For the second straight week, I choked and ran slower than all of the predictions. I thought I was going to be down in that 3:15 range and I ended up going 3:23. But, somebody has to win. And this week, it’s Dina Williams. She’s played every week, so I’m glad she won.

I’m not sure if I’m going to do the contest this week. I have two races, so I don’t know what I would do — pick one of them? Make folks make their guess for both times combined? That would be a little bit more expensive for everybody. So, I’m kind of thinking I’ll pass on the contest this week. I might change my mind by tomorrow.

April Donation Push
This is a long year and I’m quickly learning that fundraising is extremely difficult! My goal for the year is to raise $100,000. So far, I think we’re at somewhere around $15,000 or $16,000. We’re a touch behind, but still doing raising funds at a fairly decent rate.

This month, I’m running seven marathons in seven states, so I figured I’d start a campaign focusing on the number 7. I figure a $7 donation is pretty easy to obtain, so I’m pushing for those. Just like everything else with Operation Jack, a little bit of help from a lot of people can go a long ways! I spelled out details in my April update I sent to everybody. It’s pretty simple … just read that page, and if you’re on Facebook, post a link to it with a tiny explanation on your wall. Super simple stuff!

Cleveland Marathon
I just got an email from the Cleveland Marathon. If you’re planning on running that on May 16, they’re running out of space in a hurry in the half-marathon. There’s information on the event here, including a charity code to use to get a discounted entry.

I’m A World Record Holder!
About a month ago, I saw an article about how the Angels were giving a way Snuggie-type blankets on April 6 and were going to set a world record for the most people covering up with blankets in one place at one time. I posted a link to the article on my Facebook page, complaining that I thought was the cheesiest promotion I’d ever seen.

And then a friend of mine commented that he thought it was a great idea that his kids would love. And then I thought about my 8 1/2-year-old son Benjamin, who’s really into reading the Guinness Book of World Records right now. So I told him to tack a couple of tickets on to the order. I told Benjamin last week that we’d be going to a ballgame AND getting a free blanket AND setting a real world record and he just about jumped out of his chair.

So, last night, we went.

My little goofball.

Lots of red.

They even played a baseball game!

There, it’s official.

Maybe on Saturday, I’ll turn to the runner next to me at the start line, and say, “I hate to brag, but I’m a world-record holder.” Yeah, or maybe not?

OK, That’s All For Today
Enjoy your Wednesday, see you tomorrow!