Operation Jack

Fighting autism, one mile at a time.

Best Father's Day Ever

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Now that it’s two days after Father’s Day, it’s getting kind of late to post a Father’s Day blog. But it’s only kind of late and it’s my blog, so I guess I’ll write it anyways.

For the first few years I was a parent, I used to get really upset on Father’s Day. I didn’t feel like I deserved any recognition because I didn’t feel like I was a good enough dad. It was always bittersweet opening cards and gifts because I felt like while the things my wife did came from the heart, I was still an undeserving recipient. [Read more…]

It was 20 years ago today …

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I’m going to look at the next sentence I type and feel really, really old.

I graduated high school 20 years ago today. Man, that makes me feel old. I went to my 10-year reunion, well, a decade ago, and there was a 20-year reunion going on at the same time and same place and I thought, “Man, those fools are old.” Now, I’m that fool. Wow does time go quick.

20 years. June 18, 1992. El Toro High School in Lake Forest, California. I graduated. Barely.

I had a 2.5 grade-point average in my junior year (if you add both semesters together). I had a 1.83 in the fall and a 0.67 in the spring. Four Fs (English, math, science, history), a D-minus (Spanish) and a B-minus (autoshop) during that second semester. How do you only get a B-minus in autoshop? Heck, how do you get an F in English and a D-minus in Spanish if English is the language you know how to speak? [Read more…]

Three Things Thursday: Best Awards Ever

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OK, no time for an intro. I need to leave for work in about 10 minutes and eat my oatmeal while writing this. Gotta be quick, here goes Three Things Thursday.

1. Loving my new job out here in Colorado, especially the dress code. I’m usually in the minority when I wear jeans. The majority is in shorts. On Monday, I was in a meeting with seven other people and I noticed that I was the only one not wearing flip-flops. I felt so overdressed in my old Asics. But I’ll never wear flip-flops, not with my horrendous runners’ feet.

Speaking of work, we’re having a Biggest Loser contest. I don’t have the most to lose, but I have a strong work ethic when it comes to this kind of stuff and I’ve wanted to get my weight down for a while. I just haven’t cared. Well, when it’s a competition, I care! I’ve dropped 3.5 pounds from my 204-pound (now 200.5-pound) frame in the past 10 days. Really, really want to get down to 190. Haven’t eaten ice cream in a week!

2. I’ve been drinking my coffee black for about two weeks now. Never turning back.

3. In 2010, I ran a race in Mobile, Alabama that benefitted a charity called L’Arche Mobile, which is an organization that provides group homes for mentally disabled adults. I loved the cause and was proud to participate. I placed in my age group and the prize was a 5×7 canvas painting by one of the residents. I’ve won a lot of age group awards, maybe 40 or 50, and this is the only one I have on display in my house. I love it, absolutely love it.

Well, I contacted L’Arche, and it looks like we’re going to make a donation to them and they’re going to make paintings for our age-group awards for the Operation Jack Marathon this year. I am so, so excited about this. Not only is it better to send our money out to a great cause like L’Arche instead of a trophy company, but an award like this is pretty much everything my race stands for. I am so excited about this!

Here’s a couple of pictures of the award I got:

Front ...
Bio of the artist on the back. 🙂

OK, that’s all y’all … have a great day!

I Could Have Been A Travel Agent

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Oh … my … goodness. Who needs exercise when you do what I did last week? I booked airline tickets for our family trip from Denver to Orange County, Calif. to visit our family later this summer. That might have been the most difficult thing I ever did.

It wasn’t nearly as simple as booking a trip for five passengers. There were a few special circumstances, to say the least. I dare you to try to read this without getting dizzy.

Here’s the challenge — we’re all five going out on the same flight. I’m coming back after five days. Two weeks later, Tiff (my wife), Jack and Ava are coming back. A week after that, Benjamin is coming back after an extra week with his grandparents.

We’re all going on Southwest — I love their flexibility. If you ever need to change your flight or cancel a trip, you get credit for what you spent on a previous flight. Of course, if you ever need to book for a family of five with everybody heading out on the same flight, three separate return trips, two people using travel credit and four people using frequent-flyer points, you’re in for a headache. That’s not even counting the vouchers I checked on, but couldn’t use. [Read more…]

Race Recap: 2012 Utah Valley Marathon

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So on Saturday, I ran the Utah Valley Marathon. It was, in theory, my last attempt to qualify for Boston for 2013. I love running Boston. It’s the only reason I train to run fast. I’ve run it each of the past five years and I can’t fathom not being there next April.

I don’t have the budget to travel to races this year and time’s a ticking. I got to this race on a pretty light budget. I was comped into the race, my flight cost me $10 because of points, my rental car was $12 and my motel was $45. $77 for a marathon getaway. I don’t have ~$500 to spend nowadays on going to a race. So this was it. Utah Valley is a big downhill course. Those aren’t gimmes, because they can chew you up and spit you out. They pound your quads and I equate them to the Golden Goose; you can take a little if you want, but if you get greedy and try to kill it, you’ll be done for and there won’t be anything left.

I went into the race on a bad hamstring. It’s been bothering me for the past three weeks. I’ve run maybe 15 miles in those three weeks and about 13 of them hurt. I knew this one would hurt, but I had no choice but to fight through it. It was going to be a matter of will to fight through the pain and I was excited about the opportunity to see what I was made of. [Read more…]