Operation Jack

Fighting autism, one mile at a time.

Weekend Recap: Weekend At Home!

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I had an extremely difficult week last week, but my weekend totally made up for it. It was the best weekend I’ve had in a long, long time. Sleep, plenty of quality time with my family, a fair amount of time with some good friends, no travel and a pretty good race. What more could I ask for?

First things first, I ran the Orange County Marathon yesterday. I posted a race recap here. It was a great day with a bunch of friends and relatives coming out to support Operation Jack. I have to give huge thanks to my brother-in-law Andy and his wife, my sister-in-law Jacqueline, who got their kids out of bed and drove a good 80+ miles to participate in the 5K. They looked pretty good in their shirts!


My mother-in-law and wife also participated in the 5K.

Just in case this is your first time here, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 6 1/2-year-old Jack, is severely autistic, so I’m trying to run 60 marathons to raise money and awareness for a charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism. So far, I’m on track and through 23 of them. Just 37 to go. Maybe.

I talked with a runner named Lance Haney last week who wants me to run in Memphis with him on December 4. The problem is, I’m running Las Vegas on December 5 and I’m not taking that off my schedule. So, adding Memphis would bump me up to 61 and make for another long weekend. He really digs what I’m doing, though, and wants me to head out there and try to pace him to a BQ (he needs a 3:10:59 or better).

This is the deal I worked out with him: He set up his fundraising page at operationjack.kintera.org/lancehaney. His thermometer goal is set to $3,000 and we’re both going to push this. If he hits it, I’ll make it 61 for the year, not just 60. So we’ll see. I’m trying to run 60, or maybe 61, marathons this year.

Family Weekend!
I had a great, great time at home this weekend. I think this is how the rest of you live and I can’t wait to get to 2011 and do this every weekend. I didn’t have to travel, I got to sleep in (until 7 a.m.!) in my own bed on Saturday, and I got to do cool things with each of my kids.

I got to play games with Benjamin, go to his track & field practice on Saturday morning, work with Ava on her swing skills in the back yard (and develop a severe allergy attack from the pollen or grass out there), participate extensively in Jack’s therapy sessions, work with Ben and Ava to help them cook their own blue-box mac and cheese, go to a family brunch at IHOP, watch Sesame Street with Jack in the hyperbaric chamber on Saturday, dish out a time-out or two … it was an awesome weekend.

I even found time to do dishes, fold laundry and change lightbulbs. Yesterday, when I got home from the race and showered, I just sat there on the couch with Tiff and Jack in the playroom chilling. Tiff said she was bored. I loved it. I don’t normally get to do that this year. We relaxed with a steak dinner after the kids went to bed. I got to go for an easy, quiet run on Saturday morning while the sun was up and others were out for a slow, weekend jog.

Life is good. The time I spend away really makes me appreciate what I have when I’m home.


My little kitchen helpers!

Chaos at IHOP.

Me and Jack at IHOP.

The Felsenfeld Five after brunch yesterday.

Friends Too!
I didn’t realize how many people I know until I ran a local race. I must have seen a good two dozen people I know at the marathon yesterday. I don’t see many people I know when I’m on the road, so this was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, there were a few people who were at the race who I didn’t see at all and I was totally bummed about that (that’s you, Erin, Jaritt, Ben F. and Toni).

After the post-race brunch I went to with my family, I headed over to another meal with some runner friends of mine. At IHOP, I ate three pancakes, hash browns, three eggs, half my wife’s sandwich and half of her hash browns, so I wasn’t very hungry at that second meal. I was wired, though, because I had five cups of coffee at my brunch. I had a good time with my friends, and while I didn’t eat, I did have two more cups of coffee.


My friends Alan, Rachel, Billy, Lori and Emil. That’s not really me in the picture. That’s some spaz who was bouncing up and down on seven cups of coffee.

I’m A Loser. I’ll Admit It.
My dad and my stepmom registered for the half several months ago and I’d been talking up a storm about how I’d beat them with my time in the full. Even heading into the race, I didn’t think they’d complete their 13.1 faster than 3:15. But they went 2:53 and all I had was a 3:06. So I admit it. I was slow. They beat me.


The loser, the winners and my brother Josh.

Ice Cream Streak
Tiff hooked me up with some peanut butter frozen yogurt from Golden Spoon yesterday. That’s why I love her so much. Or maybe it’s because she has such beautiful hair. Whatever the case, my streak is up to 92 days now. I’m only 18 short of tying my record of 110 days, 19 short of history! I’m feeling pretty strong, but you never know what’s going to happen over the course of three weeks. I’m pretty confident, though.

That’s All For Today
I write my blogs the night before. I woke up at 3:51 naturally Sunday morning. It’s 9:51 as I type. That means it’s pretty much time to call it a day. I think I got enough out of this one. Have a great Monday, everybody. See you back here tomorrow!

Race Report: Orange County Marathon

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I was really looking forward to Sunday’s Orange County Marathon for a lot of reasons — my family would be there at the finish line, I felt fairly good physically, I ran the course fairly quickly last year and I didn’t have to travel. When all was said and done, it was more than I hoped it would be.

Out of my 60 races, the Orange County Marathon was without a doubt my biggest “home race” of the year. Most of my relatives and lots of my friends were running in the 5K or the half-marathon and it’s only about 15 minutes from home. A lot of people asked me what I was aiming for, and all I wanted to do was get as much out of my body and the course as I could. I went 3:11 on this course last year on a humid day when I fell apart a little bit, so I thought I had a legitimate chance at sub-3:10 if I ran hard and didn’t back down when I started to feel pain.

I remembered the first few miles being quick from last year, and I knew it was going to warm up, so I wasn’t thinking about even splits. The race started at around 60 degrees and ended probably in the low 70s. I was counting on banking time, trying to keep my heart rate at 170, and hanging on for whatever I could earn.

I jumped out pretty quickly, running the first few miles in the 6:30s or so. There was a spot early where I let my heart rate get too high last year and I think that hurt me, but I kept it in check today in the same spot. The early part of the course is pretty nice — it’s a run through a big-money town on the coast called Corona del Mar. I got to see a lot of houses I’ll never be able to afford!

My average pace started to gradually creep, but I wasn’t concerned because I was expecting it. The sun started peeking out, but it didn’t feel too warm. My sub-7 miles started turning into 7:10s or so and I wasn’t worried. I just kept on running. We ran by an area called Back Bay. It’s … a bay, kind of marshy. Late in that stretch, a friend of mine named Jeff Cate came up on me and we ran together for a bit. He entered the race with a 3:11 PR and sub-3 ability, but he’s struggled to put it all together in marathons. We were on about a 3:02 pace and he was looking strong. I told him to take off because I knew he had more in him than I did, so he left and I hoped not to see him again. I’ll get back to him later.

As has been the case a lot this year, I felt strong but I didn’t feel fast. I relied on that strength to carry me through and I was content with how I was doing. I could tell when I was with other runners that my turnover was slower, but I was getting pretty good power with my stride. I hit the half in 1:32, an improvement of about two minutes from last year on the same course.

I kept cruising and gradually slowing down. I was turning miles, I think, in about the 7:20 range. The second half of the course was pretty boring. I was running with a runner named Sabrina for a while. Her coach is Operation Jack coach John Loftus, a friend of mine. We had talked at the start line about her using me to block the wind if necessary (she’s short and petite; I’m 6-1, 200 pounds … I make a good shield). I worked hard to pull her along. We knew that she was the fourth-place woman and that second and third were within striking distance.

I was breaking down a little bit, but I really wanted to pull her forward. We were moving pretty good and I stayed stronger than I thought I could. It reminded me of the Carlsbad Marathon, when I worked with a runner named Julie Brekke. However, I pulled away a little bit by about mile 23.

I knew a 3:06 or 3:07 was in range, which I was pretty excited about, but I knew I was really going to have to push. A lot of mile 24 was across a dirt path and I didn’t move too well. I started to move at 24. Mentally, that’s when I feel that there’s not much left in the race.

I passed about six or seven people in the final two miles, including the second- and third-place women I was trying to pull Sabrina past. I made a mad charge over the last half mile or so, getting my heart rate as high as 184. I really wanted that 3:06. I finished in 3:06:32, my second-fastest time of the year and my seventh-fastest ever.

Over the last 1/10 mile, I saw my in-laws, my wife and kids, my brother and my parents. It’s nice having a local race! I saw John Loftus right afterwards. He’s been battling injury and went 2:50, a slow time for him. He told me that Jeff went 2:59 and change and I was really happy for Jeff. He TOTALLY deserved that sub-3! He’s trained really hard this year.

Tiffany participated in the 5K and pushed Jack in the jog stroller. My mother-in-law ran the 5K, as did my brother-in-law Andy and sister-in-law Jacqueline. My dad and stepmom ran the half marathon (their longest distance covered ever!) and went 2:53. We’d been talking a lot of smack about who would be faster. They beat me by 13 minutes, although they covered 13.1 fewer miles. My brother was also out there, although he’s been injured and he couldn’t run.

I had a bunch of friends out there, too. It was so nice to be on a course so close to home and see so many people I knew. I don’t normally see a lot of people when I’m out on the road, so I really appreciated everybody who was there supporting Operation Jack.

All-in-all, it was a great day. 23 down, 37 to go!


Me and Jeff after the race. Tiff didn’t notice my eyes were closed and we only snapped one picture. Oh well.

The Felsenfeld Five after the race. The shot came out terribly, but that’s the way it is with Jack’s autism. It’s difficult to get a good picture of him.

Me, my dad, my stepmom Nancy and my brother after the race.

My mother-in-law, wife, brother-in-law Andy and sister-in-law Jacqueline after their 5K. Nice shirts!

My mother-in-law and father-in-law. Nice shirts!

Jack getting ready for the 5K!

Ben and Ava waiting for me to finish.

With my friends Emil and Lori after the race. Lori went 3:24!

Weekend Preview: Race #23

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Well, it’s Thursday, which means it’s time for my weekend preview. Marathon No. 23 of the year is this Sunday, and it’s the closest race to my house — the Orange County Marathon. No flights, no travel, no adjusting time zones, and for the first time in four weeks, I only have to run one marathon!

If this is your first time here, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 6 1/2-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. I decided I wanted to try to put my legs to good use and make a difference in the autism community, so I came up with this crazy idea of trying to run 60 marathons this year to try raise money and awareness for a charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism.

So far, I’m through 22 races without any major problems. I use this blog as an opportunity for people to see what’s on my mind, as if it’s interesting living vicariously through a guy who’s not going to do much more this year than run 60 marathons, work full time, raise three kids, hang out with his wife and tell bad jokes. That’s pretty standard stuff in my world. Zzzzzzz.

Anyways, on Thursdays I have my weekend preview, where I forecast my race and talk about a contest I have. You’ll have to forgive me if I’m not too enthusiastic about this one. I’m kind of in a funk right now. I’m in a tough spot where I need to write this blog and write what’s on my mind, and normally I’m upbeat and positive and I tell silly jokes, but sometimes I just don’t have that in me.

I’ve struggled with depression in the past. It used to get really bad several times a month. For the most part, since I truly turned to God about two years ago, I’ve done a complete 180 and life has been wonderful. I thank Him for that, as well as for putting me in this position where I might be able to have a positive impact on a lot of people. But occasionally, something will trigger my depression and I’ll have a rough go.

And lucky me, that’s what’s going on this week, and it’s a total bummer, because it’s a home weekend for me. Three different things triggered it on Tuesday night, and while I’m angry about two of those things (and they’ll be taken care of), the depression is what’s actually causing my problems. It’s tough, because I realize when I’m struggling through this, but there’s really nothing I can do to snap out of it.

I prayed before I went to sleep last night to get lifted out of this funk. I went to sleep early, because I was tired, and Tiff woke me up with some good news about one of my kids that I’m going to keep private. When I woke up this morning, I was feeling a lot better. Still not 100 percent, but better.

So anyways, this weekend’s race. It’s the Orange County Marathon and it’s fairly flat and fast for a marathon course. It could get a little warm, and last year it was humid, so I have no idea how it will go. On this course last year, I went 3:11, which was somehow good enough for 14th overall. It’s kind of important to note that overall placement, because when 3:11 gets that, it’s a relatively slow day and there’s potential for a better time.

I’m racing my dad and my stepmom, who are both competing in the half marathon. They have treadmill workout times for 8+ miles and if they held those times, they would finish the race in 2:59. The adrenaline of race day will keep them rolling, but the challenge of the extra miles and covering the ground on the road instead of on the treadmill will make things a little more difficult. It should be a pretty close race between us. I could see myself going anywhere from 3:05 to 3:22 and I could see them going anywhere from 2:50 to 3:30.

First, though, I need to completely snap out of my funk and get motivated. If the race was this morning, I’d be running it in 3:50, because I can’t even imagine pushing and turning the wheels hard right now. I’m sure I’ll get there by Sunday. It’s just a matter of time.

I was going to have a bet with my dad and a promotion with you guys over my race with them, but I’m not going to do that. My heart isn’t in it to push for anything right now. I also typically have a contest where you guys try to guess my time by making a donation as your guess (you think I’m going to run a 3:07, so you donate $3.07 and the winner gets their choice of an Operation Jack t-shirt, tech shirt or sweatshirt).

I haven’t looked through the entries from last week, but I will and I’ll notify the winner. I normally do that for my Wednesday blog, but that didn’t happen this week. I’m not going to have the contest this week because I’m just not in the mood to be cheery and try to pitch it and after wasting away this opportunity to make something happen with this race with my dad, I don’t want to have my same old contest instead.

So I guess that’s it for today. I hate to write such a downer of a blog, but the whole point of writing these is for me to be me and give you a glimpse of what goes on in my mind as I go through this whole thing. This where I’m at right now. Sorry to not be so upbeat.

What's Up With OJ Wednesday

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Normally I write a pretty thorough update on Wednesdays to give an Operation Jack rundown, but I guess I’m in one of those funks right now where I’m not much in the mood to. I think mentally I’m at a point where I feel overextended (wow, big shocker!) and I’m trying to do too much by myself. I’m not going to air dirty laundry, so I’ll just be super quick about what you need to know.

– 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.

Low Octane Fuel?

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This is probably the most boring blog I’ve ever compiled, but what the heck — I spent a week writing it so I might as well post it. I don’t hide from the fact that I love my In-N-Out (had it yesterday!) and I love my ice cream (had it yesterday!), but all-in-all, I think I eat fairly well. A lot of you wonder how I can run on fast food and ice cream, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Since I ran three marathons last weekend, I decided to keep a journal of what I ate so you can see what it is that fuels me through all of this.

First, on the subject of food, we’re getting pretty close to last call for our pasta dinner on Saturday night. If you’re in Orange County, or if you’re running Orange County, please consider joining us! If you’re thinking of coming, please let us know soon because we need to turn in a head count pretty soon. If you’re on the fence, I’d really love to see you there! I’ll have the whole family there, including all three kids (yeah, Jack!). Our numbers are running a little low right now, so I’m in semi-panic mode, but not full-panic mode.

Anyways, moving on to my meal plan. Here’s what I ate last week:

Monday
Pre-race: 1 1/2 servings of UltraFuel, whole wheat bagel, one serving of Gatorade, 1 gel pack
Race: Gatorade (don’t know how much), 3 gel packs
Post-race: Two Gatorade protein recovery drinks, one banana, one single-serving bag of chips
Lunch: Philly cheesesteak sandwich with sweet potato fries and a pickle
Post-lunch: Snickers ice cream bar, two small cookies
Flight: Plantain chips, cashews, single-serving bag of mini chocolate chip cookies, brownies

Tuesday
Breakfast: Two over-easy eggs with one slice of American cheese on whole wheat toast, Fiber One bar, PowerBar Recovery (protein) bar, coffee
Lunch: In-N-Out! Double-double animal style (add mustard and regular onions), fries
Dinner: Cabbage, Onions and low-fat turkey sausage
Dessert/Snacks: One small piece of carrot cake, one bakery-sized chocolate chip cookie, one small bowl of low-cal butter pecan ice cream

Wednesday
Breakfast: One double serving of oatmeal with brown sugar and a sliced banana, Fiber One bar, EAS protein shake
Lunch: Whole wheat spaghetti with marinara, one bakery-sized chocolate chip cookie
Pre-workout snack: Small bowl of penne pasta with marinara and meat sauce (small)
Dinner: Large bowl of penne pasta with marinara and meat sauce
Dessert: One small bowl of low-cal butter pecan ice cream

Thursday
Pre-workout snack: One slice of whole wheat toast dry
Breakfast: One double serving of oatmeal with brown sugar and a sliced banana, Fiber One bar
Lunch: Chipotle (chicken burrito, double rice, double green peppers and onions, black beans, pico de gallo, grated cheese, lettuce, hot sauce), saltine crackers, one bite of my daughter’s m&ms cookie
Snack: Banana
Dinner: Large bowl of penne pasta with marinara and meat sauce, small amount of grilled chicken
Dessert: One small bowl of low-cal butter pecan ice cream

Friday
Breakfast: One double serving of oatmeal with brown sugar and a sliced banana, four pieces of whole wheat toast w/ Brummel & Brown low-cal spread
Flight: Ritz chips snack pack, cheese crackers, two small crackers, sample-size granola bar
Snack: Taco Bell chicken burrito
Dinner: Whole wheat spaghetti with marinara and mushrooms, garden salad with bleu cheese dressing, two pieces white bread
Dessert: Small bowl of spumoni ice cream

Saturday
Pre-race: 1 1/2 servings of UltraFuel, peanut butter PowerBar, 1 gel pack
Race: Cytomax (don’t know how much), 3 gel packs
Post-race: Two bottles (60 cal each) Powerade, mini bagel, Snickers Marathon Energy Bar
Lunch: All-you-can-eat pancakes at IHOP (11 of them!), coffee
Dinner: Three Taco Bell bean burritos
Dessert: Waffle cone of fat-free butter pecan frozen yogurt

Sunday
Pre-race: 1 1/2 servings of UltraFuel, vanilla PowerBar, 1 gel pack
Race: Powerade (don’t know how much), 3 gel packs
Post-race: Honey wheat pretzel sticks, fig newtons, Carls Jr. Cheeseburger, Powerade
Lunch: Two Taco Bell chicken burritos, one Taco Bell bean burrito
Flight: Chewy granola bar, two small gingerbread cookies
Dinner: Baked chicken stuffed with broccoli, white rice, broccoli
Dessert: Small bowl of low-cal peanut butter fudge swirl ice cream

And that’s it. That fueled 90.3 miles of running. I had my In-N-Out and I had my ice cream, but aside from not enough vegetables, and maybe some extra desserts on Monday night, I think I ate fairly well.

Sorry about the boring blog. I’m guessing about four of you might be interested, though.

That’s all for today. I’ll see you back tomorrow with my What’s Up With OJ Wednesday blog. I have a couple of cool interviews I’ll be posting for you. Have a great Tuesday!