Guest Post From my Wife Beth (it's a good read, please take time to read it)

Who exudes God’s transforming love in your life? This was a question posed by Buddy Lee in our class one Sunday morning. A simple question that generated a lot of thoughtful answers. I did not speak up that day but I mulled the question over for the next few weeks.  Earlier on the morning Buddy posed that question, I was so angry with God I could feel my blood pressure rise as soon as we pulled in the church parking lot. We have a daughter with an infectious laugh, a caring nature, and a host of unpleasant neurodevelopmental diagnosis that leave her future very uncertain.  Where was God’s love? How could he create this beautiful child and then crisscross all the wires in her brain to make even the simplest daily task overwhelming?  But as I looked around the church, I could easily name many people who exude God’s love.  As I went through the week, I could identify even more people in our community of educators, therapists, specialists, and friends who exude God’s love in the work they do every day.

 Our daughter’s journey has led us down paths we never would have envisioned.  Ironically, it has also led us to some of the most amazing people I have ever met. Katie attends Summit Academy in Middletown, an independent school for kids with learning differences.  These are some of the most inspirational kids and teachers you could ever hope to meet. This is also a small school that relies heavily on its volunteers and (not unlike Highland) once you show a willingness to serve, the rest is history.  My husband Todd started as a volunteer to help out with the run club. He is a runner so he figured he could give back to the school in this way. Then he joined the board. Then he came up with the idea to run the Pikes Peak Ascent to raise money and awareness for the school.  Pikes Peak is a little hill in Colorado that ascends to about 14,000 feet where rumor has it there is not much oxygen to spare for things like trees or crazy runners. Where can you find enough inspiration to run that far without a normal level of oxygen? Perhaps from the children Todd is hoping to help. If you watch these kids as they train and run, it is more than putting one foot in front of their other. They are pushing their limits and finding their potential. There is a 10 year old on the team who uses a walker just to walk. But there he is, training and running and sometimes falling down. His teammates simply stop and help him up and they all continue on. That is God’s love in its simplest form.

Todd asked me to join him in running this race. I replied that I am simply not as insane as he is and will stick to sea level races. But I am very proud of him and his willingness to share our story and our struggles. It has helped us to let go of the anger and begin to move forward. I am proud of this school for having the vision and the love to reach out to kids who need help in order to reach their potential. It is so unfair that these kids have such high mountains to climb at such a young age.  But I am inspired by their courage and the love shown to them by their teachers and community of people who believe we can help them overcome their obstacles. If we open our eyes to God’s transforming love, we are called to act. Do we have the courage to run up the mountain?

Set the DVR for WHAS 11 June 30 at noon

I will be on TV this week.  I will be on WHAS 11 noon news this Thursday, June 30 talking about running Pikes Peak Ascent for Summit Academy.  I'm really excited and I think this will be great exposure for Summit Academy.  Please help me spread the word and pass this information along.

2008 PIkes Peak Ascent

More random thoughts and short stories

One day I asked Tyler what he wanted to be when he grows up.  He said a baseball or basketball player.  I said how about a runner?  Tyler said no running is boring.  I said, if you don't practice you will never be able to beat Daddy.  Tyler said, you’re not that good.  I said, yes I am.  Tyler's response was, have you ever come in first place?  I said no, but in my last race I finished 116th out of about 2,000 runners.  Tyler’s response, hahahahahahahahahaha.  As Tyler walked away he said, only first, second or third counts.

I was helping Beth train for a marathon.  Her training plan called for a 20 mile run.  I met her after she completed the first 10, so I would be fresh to help her finish the last 10 miles.  We reached the 19.5 mile point and all of a sudden she disappeared.  I turned around and she was sitting on a brick wall.  I jogged back to her and she said, I'm done go get the car.  It took sometime but I talked her off the wall and she finished her 20 miles.  Side note, Beth and her Dad ran the Alaska Marathon for the Leukemia society.  They raised over $12,000 and had a great experience.

I think one of the best parts of the Louisville Mini-Marathon is when you run up the first hill in Iroquois park.  Everyone stops talking and all you hear are feet hitting the ground.  There is something magical about that.

Years ago I ran a half marathon in Midway Kentucky.  The course ran along some beautiful horse farms.  As I approached the turn around a horse came over to the fence, close to the road I was running on, and ran beside me to the turn around and then ran back with me as far as he could go.  It probably was only 30 yards each way, but I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

When traveling, I think the best way to see a new town is an early morning run.

Long before I had kids, I was passed in a race by a runner pushing a running stroller.  The kid in the stroller leaned out, waved and said bye.  BRAT! 

I think every runner has a race or distance that haunts them.  For me it's the marathon.  My first and only marathon was in 1999.  I ran it in 4 hours and 35 minutes.  At mile 16 I had a stress fracture, but I still finished.  I have trained for 3 other marathons, but have gotten injured or sick during training and never made the starting line.  Maybe I will try again soon.  I still think I can break 4 hours!

Katie at the Beach

This is my Katie Bug.  She is my motivation for running Pikes Peak Ascent.  I hope others will take notice of what I'm doing and get involved.  You can help by sharing my blog and Facebook page with your friends and family.  You can also help by making a donation to Summit Academy in support of my run.  All 100% of your donation will go to Summit.  If all you can give are words of encouragement, I'll take them.  Thank you to everyone who has donated so far and keep telling you friends about Summit Academy and my run.

TV

I will be on WHAS 11 news on June 30 at noon with Rachel Platt talking about the Pikes Peak Ascent race and Summit Academy.  Help me spread the word and tell all your friends to watch.

Stuck in the Middle

At this point I am in the middle of my training.  The initial excitement of the race has worn off. Race day is still over 2 months away.  So, I feel like I'm stuck in the middle. 

Usually, I run a half marathon every 2-3 months.  I always like to have my next race on the calendar.  I need to have something to look forward to.  It's been 4 months since I ran the Lost Dutchman half marathon in Arizona, and because of my schedule and vacation this year I haven't even run the local races.  So, I feel like I'm stuck in the middle.

The middle can be tough.  Long high mileage weeks can where you down, even when you love running.  I think the middle is where all the hard work and race preparation takes place.  If I lose my focus now, the race will be even tougher for me.

This week I have been on vacation in Folly Beach, South (about 12 miles south of Charleston).  It's been a good week to rest my body and get ready for the last push in my training.  I have 63 days left until I face my biggest physical challenge yet, running to the Summit of Pikes Peak.  I will be ready!

Life Changing

I originally decided not to share this next story on my blog.  I wanted to focus on Katie and other kids like her at Summit Academy.  However, to truly understand what motivated me to run this race and why I'm working hard to be an advocate for kids with learning disabilities, you probably need to know my life changing experience.  This story isn't a secret, but it may come as a surprise to some people who know me.

At the end of Katie's first year in kindergarten, I ran two half marathons in three weeks, nothing unusual for me.  After the second half marathon, I had trouble recovering from the race.  My legs were heavy and it was hard to run, so I took a week off from running to rest.  The week off didn't help me feel better and I began running slower and slower.  I figured stress had finally caught up with me. It had been a whirlwind of a year for us.  Katie was diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum and with severe learning disabilities, we enrolled Katie in a school for kids with learning disabilities (which is expensive and wasn't in my financial plan) and the stock market crashed.  It really was a triple whammy.

Over the next month I started feeling worse.  It was mostly fatigue.  I would come home in the afternoon and sleep for about 2 hours.  When I woke up I wasn't refreshed. I still felt tired.  It got to the point where I couldn't get out of my chair to run and play with Tyler.  This went on for about a month and I decided to go to the doctor.  I always felt, because I'm a runner, I was very in tune with my body.  I knew something was wrong, but I still felt silly when I told the doctor, "I just feel tired all the time".  The doctor examined me, drew blood and sent me on my way.  The next morning I got a call from the doctor saying there was an issue with my blood test and wanted me to come back in for another test.  After the second test, the doctor called and said he was referring me to the Consultants for Blood Disorders and Cancer (CBC).  Obviously, the name itself scared the hell out of me.

During my initial visit with my doctor at the CBC, he determined I had a swollen lymph node and immediately scheduled me for a CAT scan to check for cancer, plus he sent me for more blood work.  It took about two weeks for the entire process of getting the tests done and to get the results.  That two week period seemed like an eternity and no matter how hard I tried, I was planning for the worst. 

Obviously I know how precious life is.  I have a special needs daughter who requires more of everything compared to other kids.  However, I guess I needed a seconded wake up call to remind me what's important in life.  To be completely honest, I was tired of dealing with "real life issues".  I just wanted to coast through life for a while.

I don't remember making a deal with God, but I do remember thinking if I got through this I would spend more of my time volunteering and helping others, especially kids like Katie.  If given the chance, I would make a difference!

My doctor’s appointment, to get my test results, just happened to be the on first day of school for Katie's second year of kindergarten.  I gave her a kiss, dropped her off and drove to the doctor’s office not knowing what the next couple of hours would be like.

The doctor came in and immediately put my anxiety to rest by telling me I didn't have cancer.  However, he told me I have Hemochromatosis, which is a genetic disease.  Hemochromatosis is an iron disorder where the body simply loads too much iron. This action is genetic and the excess iron, if left untreated, can damage joints, organs, and can eventually be fatal.  Luckily for me, we caught it early, as confirmed by tests on my organs.  Most people usually don't get diagnosed until there is some problem with their organs, caused by to much iron.

The treatment is therapeutic blood removal or phlebotomy as a means of iron reduction.  It's just like giving blood.  In the beginning of my treatment we had to aggressively remove the iron to get my levels back to normal.  I had weekly phlebotomies for 2 months, and then I went to every other week for 2 months and then monthly.  It took about 8 months to get my iron levels back to normal.  I am now on maintenance therapy, which involves making a blood donation every 2 to 4 months for life.

I have adjusted to having Hemochromatosis and the life long treatment that goes with it.  When I think about it, the treatment is not really that bad.  It's definitely better that taking medication for the rest of my life. 

In the time after my diagnoses, I kept my promise and I have become heavily involved at Summit Academy.  I am a board trustee, member of the development committee, fundraiser, running club volunteer and am always on the look out for some other way to help (like run up a mountain).  I hope that I can continue to use my life changing experience to make difference for other kids like Katie and their families.  I love Summit Academy and all who are involved with it.  It has been a godsend for my family. 

Summit Academy's new web-site

Summit Academy has a new updated web-site.  I am including the link to the prospective families area.  Please watch the video to learn more about Summit Academy.

http://www.summit-academy.org/html/prospective.html

Week in Review

This was not a good week of running for me.  Luckily it was a step back week.  We had all the end of the year school stuff to attend, which interrupted my regular routine.  Friday, which is my favorite day of the week because it's my long run day, didn't go well.  I had planned on running 8 miles and had trouble making 3 miles.  I did run another 3 miles later Friday afternoon.  That made a total of 18.5 miles for the week.  The original plan was for 25 miles.

Hopefully that means my legs are well rested for next week’s training.  I plan to run over 40 miles for the first time this summer.

The following week we will be on vacation, so I will cut my mileage back again, but I will run.  I love to run in new place, especially near the ocean.