Operation Jack

Fighting autism, one mile at a time.

A Great Woman …

by 12 Comments

It’s so cliché to say that behind every great man is a woman. But I won’t say that for two reasons. One, I’m going to talk about me and my wife and I’m not going to call myself a great man. And two, I prefer to use the word “beside”.

For those of you new here, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 6-year-old Jack, is severely autistic, and I decided I wanted to try to make a difference in his honor. So, my crazy idea is to run 60 marathons this year to try to raise money and awareness for a charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism. I named this Operation Jack and I’m hoping people will jump on the train when it comes to town. I started brainstorming in 2008 and launched it January 1 in Kingwood, Texas. One down, 59 to go.

And for those of you new here, I tend to occasionally use this space to profess my love and appreciation for my bride Tiffany. Today is one of those occasional days.

This Operation Jack thing wears us down. It’s a ton of work, but we’re seeing results and we’re optimistic this is going to have a wonderful impact. It’s exhausting, though, and we’re only in the second week. Tiff feels like she’s on the sideline, but I know this would absolutely not be possible without her. WE are doing Operation Jack. Not just me. I have my role, but she is the glue that holds five lives together.

The latest example was obvious to me last night. I’ve been spending a lot of time lately with a newspaper that’s planning on running a very nice story about Operation Jack. This will hopefully do a great job spreading the word and should be a big positive for what we’re trying to accomplish. She provided a huge role in helping me work with them to get this done.

Last night, I spent more than two hours with the photographer, taking some pictures and doing an interview on video. While I was doing this, she was taking care of the kids. That might not sound like a lot, but it involved driving Benjamin around, bathing Jack and Ava, helping calm Jack when he had a meltdown, playing with the kids and keeping them quiet for us, putting them to sleep, etc.

This morning, I came in 30 minutes late from my run because I was working with the photographer again. I had about 10 minutes to get ready and out the door to get Jack to school on time. She had the kids all squared away, she had breakfast and coffee and lunch ready for me, and she didn’t complain at all. Basically, she provided amazing support and kept everything running without skipping a beat. I didn’t like coming in so late, but I knew she’d have everything under control.

It might sound like such typical tasks, but it was chaos that was well managed and it made a big difference in allowing me to work with the photographer, which is what Operation Jack needd. It’s a perfect example of how she has a critical role in this. She’ll say it’s no big deal, because that what she’s supposed to do, but I know that as a team, we have a ton of work to do and we get it done together.

She selflessly runs herself into the ground to support everything we’re doing as a family. So if you support what Operation Jack is trying to accomplish, just know that it would not be possible without her and she’s a huge part of this. That’s why I prefer to use the word “beside” instead of “behind”. She truly is beside me and we’re getting this done together.

Crazy Weekend, Coming Right Up!
I have a double this weekend, running Jackson, Miss. on Saturday, then Mobile, Ala. the next day. There’s going to be a lot of commotion involved with this one and I don’t know how I’m going to crawl out of bed on Monday morning. But I will. And I’m going to post a blog that’s a play-by-play of what it was like to live in my nutty world for three days.

If you’re curious to see how I run on Saturday and Sunday, check back because I’ll post race reports here.

Beyond that, have a good weekend, everybody! Thanks for coming by and supporting Operation Jack!

My Dad Didn't Learn From My Mistake

by 7 Comments

Last night, my dad learned a lesson I learned several months ago: Don’t open your mouth about a crazy running idea or you’re going to set yourself up for a tough challenge! For me, it was the idea of running 60 marathons in 2010 to raise money and awareness for Train 4 Autism. For him, it’s running the Orange County 1/2 Marathon to raise money and awareness for Train 4 Autism.

He told me he was thinking about it, but I told him it was too late, that I was going to blog about him today. So he said OK, he’ll do it for Jack. There’s a catch, though. We’re going to have a bet over this. He has to finish quicker than me. Lucky for him, I’m running the full marathon. I should finish in the neighborhood of 3 hours. Can he do 13 consecutive 14-minute miles? We’ll see. And we’ll figure out a wager between now and then.

Anybody have any ideas? And who do you want to win? Me or him?

Brrrrrrrrr …
High of 36 in Jackson, Mississippi on Saturday, low of 23. That’s where I’ll be. Um, that’s cold. But that’s OK. You guys have been really supportive of Operation Jack lately and it’s the least I can do. Running a marathon in freezing temperatures the day before running a marathon in another state? I’ll do it!

As my only chance to prep, I pulled a pair of running pants out of the closet this morning and went out in those, long sleeves and gloves. An easy 10-miler with 10 hill sprints at the end. It’ll be fine. Cold, but fine.

Surf City Pasta Dinner!
OK, we had to do some work to square away the catering and location, but we’re going to have a pasta dinner the night before Surf City! If you’re running Surf City, or even if you’re not and you want to participate, it’s going to be $20/person for all-you-can-eat pasta (two types), salad, garlic bread and non-alcoholic beverages.

For all the details and to reserve your spot, click here! I hope to see you there!

In-N-Out Today!
YEAH! I haven’t been since December 23! Well, actually, I went on December 26 now that I think about it, but I haven’t been with my friends Ben and Kevin for my standard weekly In-N-Out (standard since 1993) since the 23rd. That’s a day shy of two weeks! Yikes! Normally we go on Thursday or Friday, but this year, it’s going to have to be Tuesdays and Wednesdays because of my pre-race nutrition schedule. In-N-Out isn’t exactly the low-fat, high-complex-carb meal I need to be eating in the three days prior to a race.

What great friends I have, huh? Willing to eat In-N-Out on a Tuesday or Wednesday because of me! For a YEAR!

Ice Cream Update
For those of you who are relatively new here, I have a problem with ice cream. I like to eat it every day. Some people like to unwind with wine at the end of the day. I like ice cream. I also like to eat it with lunch or really any other time of the day. Last night, I had a bowl of the peanut butter fudge swirl that was in my freezer. That stretched my current streak to 76 consecutive days eating ice cream or frozen yogurt. I’m just 34 shy of my personal record of 110 straight days.

On Friday, I didn’t unwind with my ice cream until 11:30 p.m. My wife accused me of only eating ice cream because of my streak and because I wanted to keep it going. Well, I like ice cream, but she was partially right. It doesn’t matter, though. I’m at 76 days in a row right now.

Movies This Weekend
It wasn’t necessarily planned this way, but I watched three movies in about 24 hours after getting back from my race in Texas.

When I got back from the airport on Friday, I had babysitting lined up and went out to see The Blind Side. I loved it! I think the story is better than the movie, but definitely worth the price of admission. We really liked it.

Saturday, while doing my blood donation, I watched Bucket List. Kind of slow and sad, but it was OK. Marley and Me was on DVD there at the Red Cross, but I’ve heard it’s going to make me cry, and I had to maintain my toughness in public. I only cry when I watch football in the privacy of my own home.

Saturday night, we watched Inglorious Basterds via Netflix. I love Quentin Tarantino’s work and I really hope this one wins something at the Academy Awards. I’m not a big movie critic or movie buff, but every here and there, I see a movie that I think is really well done. I liked Slumdog Millionaire last year. I loved Saving Private Ryan and was shocked when it lost to Shakespeare In Love. And I thought Inglorious Basterds was really well done. I have No Country For Old Men from Netflix right now. I’ll watch it on the plane to Jackson on Friday.

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

Done With Weekend One … Time For More Fun!

by 6 Comments

Weekend one of Operation Jack is out of the way. Now it’s time for me to try to figure out how to get into a routine to make it happen. Make no mistake, it’ll happen. But there’s going to be growing pains I’m going to suffer through. If you keep coming back and reading my blog, you’ll get to laugh at me along the way.

I guess my biggest problem with the first trip was overpacking. I’m a chronic overpacker, but at least I got it down to two carry-ons. They’re two pretty big carry-ons, though, and as a result, I had to cram my duffel bag beneath my seat. Not so bad on the way out. Not so good on the way back, considering I flew the same day as the race. My left leg was killing me! I’m going to have a good 40+ same-day flights this year, so I’d better figure this out pretty quick. Like, this week. I’ve got Jackson, Miss. on Saturday and Mobile, Ala. on Sunday. I’ll be sore after the double, and I’m flying home Mobile to Atlanta to Los Angeles, so I’m gonna have a lot of time on the plane.

I’ll get this problem solved. I bought a new backpack on Saturday that will hold my laptop and everything else that was in the duffel bag. It’s much smaller with less wasted space. That was easy. Sort of.

Can’t wait to see what the next problem is!

First Time Here?
If this is your first time here, let me introduce myself: I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 6-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. I want to do something to make a difference in his honor, so this year, I’m going to try to run 60 marathons and raise awareness for a charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism. I really like Train 4 Autism’s model and I’m hoping that with my stupid-human trick, I can help develop new chapters and increase membership nationwide. Oh, and raise a lot of money, too!

1 Down, 59 To Go
Marathon No. 1 for Operation Jack was New Year’s Day in Kingwood, Texas. I didn’t send out a blast, but my recap on my race is here. I went 3:13:54, good for 7th overall out of 497 starters. It was a decent run. Still getting back into shape. I think I shook off some more rust.

I went out for 5.5 recovery miles the next day, including six hill sprints. Yesterday was a rest day because I donated blood on Saturday and had to take a day off (see below). This morning, 6 easy miles that felt pretty good. I kind of like this plan.

Thank You, Hill Family!
I stayed with a runner friend of mine, John Hill, and his family last Thursday night in Kingwood, Texas. I must say, if everybody the rest of the way is half as nice as John and his great family, I’m going to be a lucky guy this year. His wife, Susan, his daughter, Kaylee, and his son, Ryan, are three of the nicest people I’ve ever met and I really couldn’t have picked a better family to kick off Operation Jack with. They’re the types of people you keep in touch with, because someday down the road, they’ll be in town and you’ll want to catch up with them.

Thank you so much for your hospitality and enthusiasm, Team Hill! I really, really appreciated it!

Make A Difference … For Free!
I just started giving blood last summer. I figure it’s better to be on this side of a blood transfusion. I hate needles. But I just feel like it’s something I should do. I started doing it on July 27 in honor of my late uncle Bob, who died from leukemia on July 27, 2004. Well, now it’s a little trickier, because I need to be at full strength every weekend and it takes five weeks to regenerate a pint of blood.

It’s really not that big of a deal while you’re getting it all back. You wouldn’t really even notice. Unless, of course, you’re running 26.2 miles as fast as you can every Sunday. I wouldn’t necessarily feel different, but I wouldn’t get the same results. So, I did something called platelet donation. It’s a longer process (it takes about two hours), but I recover in two days. I learned that the platelets go to people with leukemia who are undergoing chemotherapy, because they can’t generate them and they need them. So, that made me feel pretty good. I really, really hate needles. But I really feel good about doing this and I’ll do it as often as I can.

Regardless of how much you don’t like needles, you should really consider it. It’s awesome to help, and it feels really good to do so.

That’s All For Today!
This blog is getting too long today. I’ll try to write something for tomorrow! Have a great Monday!

1 Down, 59 To Go!

by 6 Comments

Like nobody knew that would be the headline! I can’t believe I finally kicked off Operation Jack today. You know how you always talk about ideas, but then you never get around to doing them? Well, I guess this is one thing that I’ve stuck with and at least got this started. I think it will be tougher to walk away from it mid-flight than to complete, so hopefully this is the first of 60 race reports.

For those of you who have never been here before, I’m a marathon runner and a father of 3 young children (8 1/2, 6, 4). My 6-year-old is severely autistic. His name is Jack. And I wanted to do something to make a difference in his honor. So, I came up with this crazy idea of running 60 marathons this year in cities all over the country to build awareness for a charity I’m part of called Train 4 Autism. I’d gladly sacrifice my knees to make a difference in a lot of lives and give him a legacy and a purpose.

Anyways, the schedule is here and it started today. I was grateful to stay in Kingwood with a runner friend of mine, John Hill, and his family. I really couldn’t have asked for nicer people to be with than John, his wife Susan, his daughter Kaylee and his son Ryan. But I had to ring in the new year away from my wife. I figured that was kind of appropriate because I’ll be gone almost every weekend. But as I realized earlier this week when I contemplated today, God was very good to me and really led me down some great paths in the past decade. I think it’s fitting that the very first thing I did this decade was to use the talent He gave me to try to help other people.

Actually, the first thing I did was send a note to my wife, but that’s a morning tradition I have. Can’t run without sending her the note!

I felt fairly good heading into this race. The legs felt pretty good yesterday (probably the last time I’ll say that for a year). I’ve been gradually getting back into shape since taking five weeks off over the summer with a severely sprained ankle. I’m basically a 3:05 or so runner (my fastest time in 2009 was 3:01), but in my first marathon back, I went 3:29, then followed that with a 3:17.

For this race, I had an A goal (3:09:59), a B goal (3:15:59, Boston Qualifier) and a C goal (3:17:01, one second faster than my last marathon). I actually had an A hope, a B hope and a C hope, because I knew I’d run as hard as I could and get what I could get.

When the race started, I could tell that I was probably somewhere between my A goal and B goal. I was moving well and feeling pretty good. The course was all sidewalk but it was beautiful. It wound through the woods and alongside lakes. It was a very, very nice run. It was a pretty serene environment, which I really loved. I had a million thoughts running through my head during the race. Normally, I block out everything and focus on my performance.

Today, though, I couldn’t help but think about Jack quite a bit. He’s so darn cute and he’s been coming along fairly well over the past six months. It really makes me happy to do something in his name. You all see his picture and his smile and a lot of you draw some sort of inspiration through him. I know I have a lot of you excited about what I’m doing and why I’m doing it, and as his dad, that makes me pretty happy. I went to Houston and didn’t have a team. It was just me running solo. But I knew that a lot of you were running vicariously through me today. I was alone out there on the course, but I wasn’t really alone.


Start of a marathon or end of a marathon? In a way, both!

And when I got back after the race, I saw flurry of Twitter activity in the messages coming to me and the new followers and I realized that yeah, people are excited and there’s reason to believe something good is going to come out of all of this. I was led down this path and I really have a ton of faith that it’s going to be wonderful to keep following it.

Anyways, the race … the course was a 6+ mile loop that we hit four times. Hit the half at 1:35 knowing I’d probably be a few minutes slower in the second half. I felt pretty confident, though. John volunteered at a drink station and Susan and Kaylee were also out there. I got to see them several times, which was nice. Their enthusiasm was great. I don’t remember what time I did completed the third loop, but I tailed off a tiny bit at the end. My 7:15 – 7:25 miles were turning into 7:45s on that fourth loop. I picked up over the final 1 1/2 miles, though. I really thought about Jack. I thought that he deserved no less than a full effort from me in the first race of the endeavor named after him.

I have no idea what those final miles were, but I finished in 3:13:54, 7th overall out of 497 starters. A Boston qualifier for 2011 (I’m already registered for 2010 and wasn’t really worried, but it’s good to have that out of the way) and another step in the right direction. I’m not in PR shape right now, but I feel like I’m really getting back closer to where I was.

Now, it’s time to fly home and take my wife out to dinner and a movie. Can’t wait to relax with her. It’s been a hectic couple of weeks closing out 2009.

Next up, Jackson, Miss. next Saturday (Jan. 9) and Mobile, Ala. the next day. Thanks for reading … happy new year!

It's Actually Time For Operation Jack!

by 4 Comments

So, I’ve been talking and talking about Operation Jack for the past six months, and FINALLY it’s go time! January 1 is Friday, so after more than a year of brainstorming and planning, I’m starting on my 60-marathon adventure this week! I’m excited, nervous and overwhelmed all rolled up into one. But I’m pretty much locked in, so hopefully this all works out.

Physically, I’m ready to go. Not exactly sure how fast I’m going to be right off the bat, but I’m going to give it my all every time out. Everybody is different, but for me, I consider a good run to be 3:10 or quicker, so I’m hoping to average 3:09:59 or better for the year.

From a team-building perspective, I’m hoping to average 17 people per race, which would total 1,000 people. The early races will have lower totals, but I’m optimistic that as the year goes on, we’ll get more attention and more people will jump on the bandwagon.

As for fundraising, that’s not the be-all, end-all, because from my perspective, I’m trying to plant seeds for growth that Train 4 Autism will harvest a few years down the road. But money won’t hurt and my dream is to raise $100,000 overall from all sources. I don’t know exactly how (I’m sure I’ll get better at this as the year goes on), but I think it’s possible.

Beyond that, I’m just looking forward to meeting all sorts of great people all over the place. There are so many of you already that I can’t wait to meet, and I know there’s going to be a lot more that I come across in the upcoming months. I know I’m getting some people off the couch, which is awesome, plus I’m really hopeful Jack and I will be able to have a positive impact on lots of people affected by autism.

See That Roadrunner Ad On The Left?
Operation Jack will get a contribution equaling 13 percent of your order from Roadrunner Sports if you click the ad at the left and proceed to shop. The ad is on every page of this site. If you shop somewhere else, that’s cool, but if you’re going to shop Roadrunner, PLEASE click from here! They actually have pretty good deals, although I highly recommend that you don’t buy running gear online if you don’t know what you should be buying.

Don’t buy a certain pair of asics because you like the colors or Nikes because you like their commercials. Make sure you’re in the right shoe, otherwise you’ll injure yourself. Get fitted at a running shop and make sure you’re wearing something appropriate for the way you run. More expensive isn’t necessarily better, but don’t skimp and save money just to spend 10 times as much at the doctor!

If you’re like me, though, and you know what you wear (for me, it’s Saucony Guides), check the prices at Roadrunner. Worst case, you waste 30 seconds of your life checking. Best case, you get a deal and Operation Jack benefits!

10×10
Last week, I mentioned a 10×10 program I’m trying out. A lot of you have asked me what you can do to help. So, I figured this would be a good way to raise money and spread the word with targets that are truly reasonable and nowhere near outrageous. Oh, and I’ll send you gear if you do it!

Spread The Word!
If you’re not a member of the Operation Jack Facebook Group, click on the Facebook button on this page and join! If you are a member, can you spread the word to any of your Facebook friends who might be interested? As you know, I’m trying to spread the word, and Facebook is a huge help!

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