Random Thoughts and Short Stories

Last year while running in Iroquois Park, a squirrel fell out of a tree and landed in front of me with a big thud.  I jumped, and then he jumped up and darted at me.  I jumped again (I may have shrieked) and he made a quick left turn back into the woods.  As my son Tyler would say, I think I peed a little.

Beth and I ran a 5k at Tom Sawyer several years ago that had a unique finish.  The race director, I think it was the first time he put on a running event, said the course was well marked and we shouldn't have any trouble finding our way.  That should have been our first clue.  The race was small so all the runners got strung out along the course.  I like everyone else was lost.  At one point I jumped a fence to try to get back on the course.  Finally, I saw the finish line and as I ran toward it there were runners finishing from 5 different ways.  Not sure if I ran shorter or longer than a 5k that day.

In a 5k several years ago, I won first place in my age group.  I walked up and got my trophy and as I turned to walk away the race director asked "was there anyone else in this age group we missed"?  Instantly I heard the giggles of my family.  I won my age group because I was the only one in my age group.

When I run on the treadmill in our basement, I get hot so I take off my shirt.  Katie tells everybody I run naked.  So if she tells you I run naked, it's not true.  I only run topless.

A couple of years ago Beth, her Dad (Jim) and I were on the way home from running the Derby Mini-Marathon.  I was driving and Jim was in the back seat.  We were working our way through the traffic leaving downtown, when Jim started screaming in the back seat.  He was having a cramp in his calf.   He couldn't straighten out his leg, so he tried opening the door and getting out.  We had the child safety locks on and the door wouldn't open.  He started screaming louder and I guess he was getting mad because he tried to rip my door handle off and started hitting the door.  I told Beth to get out of the car and open the door for him. Beth said "in traffic"?  I said yes; get him out of the car! While he stretched out his leg Beth and I sunk down in the seat, giggling, as others drove by watching the side show.

The first 5k we ran turned out to be a running death match between Beth and her brother-n-law, Brad.  Leading up to the race they both talked trash to each other.  Brad said he was not going to get beat by a girl.  The day of the race, the starting gun went off and we all took off like we were shot out of a cannon.  We each settled into our own pace and were strung out on the course.  Jim and I finished and waited for Beth and Brad to finish.  Beth and Brad were coming to the finish line neck and neck.  They turned the last corner with 50 yards to go.  As they turned the corner they were bumping each other and their arms were flailing, smacking each other, like little kids on the play ground.  I was cracking up. Brad edged out Beth at the finish line and collapsed to the ground.  In between gasp for air Brad said, I.....didn't.....get.......beat.......by......a......girl.  Beth didn't win the race, but it didn't hurt her as much as it did Brad.  Brad has yet to give Beth a rematch.

Have you ever heard of the Bloody Eleven?  You can file this under to much information.  If your at the finish line of a race you might notice guys finishing the race with a red eleven on their shirt.  When guys wear the wrong type of shirt, for example cotton, and after they sweat or poor water on themselves to keep cool, the cotton rubs their nipples raw and causes them to bleed.  The blood runs down their shirt and it looks like a red number eleven.  Guys if your going to take up running, buy yourself a running shirt and put band aids on your nips.  That's all I have to say about that, and that was probably too much.

After almost every race our family goes to Cracker Barrel for breakfast, to relive the good, the bad and the ugly of that day's race.

I need your help

I decided to take on the challenge of running Pikes Peak Ascent for two reasons, to raise awareness  and money for Summit Academy.  Summit Academy is an independent, not-for-profit school for kids with learning differences.  Summit serves grades K-8, and is adding a pre-school for 2011-2012 school year.

I can still remember the day when the neuropsychologist delivered the news to Beth and I.  He told us that Katie's visual and auditory processing skills were so severely impaired that she would never go to college and might not even graduate from high school.  We were devastated. 

Oddly enough the next morning was the Papa John's 10 mile race.  I remember, at the start of the race, being angry and wondering why this was happening to Katie.  That anger propelled forward, pushing me harder and faster than I should have run.  I ran until I couldn't take the physical pain anymore, and then the emotional pain set in.  In a sea of 9000 runners, I ran with tears streaming down my face.

We were lucky to find our way to Summit Academy.  Summit has been a blessing for our family and for so many other families.  Katie is learning and we have hope for her future.  More important, Katie is happy and enjoys school.

I know there are families in our community who need Summit Academy, but have never heard of the school.  I know there are other families who can't afford the tuition.

Please help me spread the word about Summit Academy.  Tell your friends and co-workers about Summit Academy.  Send them a link to my blog and ask them to "like" my facebook page.  Encourage them to follow along as I train to run Pikes Peak Ascent.

Lastly, we have a link on my blog and on Summit Academy's home page to sponsor my run, or you can use this link:  https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=ee1ad7.  Ask friends and co-workers to consider sponsoring my run.  All 100% of sponsorship money goes directly to Summit Academy.  Thanks for your help.

 

Favorite Races

My wife, Beth, is traveling later this week to Northern California to run the Avenue of Giants half marathon in Humbolt Redwoods State Park.  The race is run under a canopy of beautiful Redwoods.  I ran this race a couple of years ago and it remains one of my favorite runs.  The Redwood trees are absolutely amazing.  That got me to thinking about some of my favorite runs over the years.

Here are a couple of my favorites.

Beth and I ran a half marathon together that finished on the 50 yard line of Notre Dame's football field.  We ran into the stadium through the same tunnel the football players run through while the Notre Dame fight song was playing.

We have run a half marathon in the Smokey Mountains.  Hilly but beautiful.

I ran a 15K on the grounds of the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC.

This past February I ran a half marathon around Superstition Mountains in Apache Junction, Az.

I'm assuming Pikes Peak will be on this list, again assuming I don't die during this race.

Do you have any favorite runs?  I would love to hear about them.  Leave a comment or post on my facebook page wall and tell me about your favorite run or race.

Truly Blessed

I try to remind myself every time I start a run, how blessed I am.  I'm fortunate that my mind and body work.  I realize others aren't so lucky.  For me running is a privilege and I'm thankful to be able to do it.

I'm also blessed because of the people around me.  Last week I posted a written copy of my Mountaintop Breakfast speech.  It was a speech I gave at a breakfast to raise money for Summit Academy.  My speech was about my daughter’s health issues and her learning disabilities.  In the first couple of days after I posted my speech, I was overwhelmed with e-mails and messages from people thanking me for sharing my daughter’s story and offering words of encouragement for my run.  I also received e-mails from other parents sharing stories with me about their children's health and learning issues.  I'm honored you shared your stories with me.

I want to say thank you to all of you for your encouraging words and sharing your stories with me.  It's those words of encouragement and stories that will help get me up that little hill on race day! 

My Mountaintop Breakfast Speech (written copy)

Below is a written copy of the speech I gave about Katie, at the Mountaintop Breakfast this past year (it's long).  I hope to post a video of the speech soon.

Katie’s Story

Good morning!  My name is Todd Metcalf.  I am a board trustee for Summit Academy.  I am also a parent of a student at Summit Academy.  My wife is Beth, sitting over here, and we have 2 kids.  Tyler is 5 and is our youngest.  Katie is 7 and is a student at Summit Academy. 

It is not even a slight exaggeration to say Katie was always sick as a baby.  Katie had numerous sinus and ear infections and none of the treatments we tried seemed to fix the problem.  By the age of 5 Katie had surgery for ear tubs, adenoids and tonsils removed, allergy tests and sinus surgery at Cincinnati Children’s hospital.   My wife is a physical therapist and also noticed a slight delay in Katie’s gross motor skills.   The pediatrician referred us to First Steps for Physical and Occupational Therapy.  Katie did not begin walking until the age of 18 months. 

In addition to gross motor problems, Katie’s speech was delayed.  We started speech therapy and continued to bounce between the doctors in search of answers.  We were getting daily reports that Katie was having trouble interacting with her peers at daycare.  She was constantly in trouble for hitting and pushing.  Katie was restless, rough and stubborn. She broke most of her toys and tore up any book she got her hands on. She was always banging her head on the walls and floor and I was afraid she would hurt herself.

We were really struggling as a family trying to get Katie healthy, scheduling doctor and therapy appointments around work, and trying to balance our finances.  Katie seemed increasing agitated and anxious. She seemed uncomfortable in her own skin.  Everything was loud, chaotic, and to overwhelming.  We began to withdrawal from our friends and most social gatherings because it was too difficult for Katie to handle.  We felt like we were living alone on an island.

Katie didn’t sleep through the night until she was almost 6 years old.  She would get up several times a night and come into our room.  The doctors insisted we establish good sleeping habits for Katie.  So one night we put a gate in front of her door to keep her in her room.  She proceeded to throw her toys and books into the hallway trying to get our attention. When that didn’t work, Katie ran through the gate tearing it off of its hinges.  The image of her standing on top the gate in the hallway paints a true picture of her spirit and personality.

Despite all the therapy, the gap between Katie and her peers was widening.  Katie began to realize she was different from the other kids.  I will never forget the one day out of the blue, Katie said “Daddy, I talk funny”.  It wasn’t a question, just a statement.  Katie cried almost everyday we dropped her off at daycare and her classmates cheered when we came to pick her up.

When we took Katie for her before-school Kindergarten check up, the pediatrician sent us to a neuropsychologist for testing.  After all the paperwork and tests, the doctor sat us down and proceeded to rock our world by telling us that Katie had PDD-NOS (Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified).  He said Katie’s visual and auditory processing skills were so severely impaired that she probably would never go to college and might not even graduate high school.  We were devastated; and the hopes that we had for our daughter were shattered.

We asked what options we had for schooling and he suggested Summit Academy.    We Googled Summit Academy when we got home and, since I’m a finance man, what do you think was the first thing I looked at?  I found the tuition and fees page, saw the numbers on the screen and clicked off of Summit’s web page.  But my wife, who is smarter than me, set up a tour, telling me we needed a back up plan.

Then we walked through the front door of Summit Academy for our tour.  For years I have tried to think of the words to explain how I felt that morning.  The best I can come up with is that with each step I took, it felt like a little more weight was falling off my shoulders.  In the first classroom we visited, the kids were so excited to show us what they were learning and I noticed how happy the kids were.  Of course, this had to be a fake classroom.  It must have been the best kids who were promised ice cream if they smiled and acted happy for our tour.  But the next class room was the same and so was the next.  The classrooms were intimate, unique and only had a handful of children in each room.   Some kids were sitting sideways, some had special cushions to sit on and some were chewing gum, but they were all completely engaged in learning.  I looked over at Beth and saw the look in her eyes and I knew she was feeling what I was.  This was the place for Katie. The next week we enrolled Katie and never looked back.

This is now Katie’s third year at Summit Academy.  I do not know how the teachers at the Summit find the energy or patience to do what they do.  But they do it very well. They have guided us, been brutally honest with us, celebrated every hard-earned milestone with us, and taken the bad days in stride.   Academically, we have seen great improvements over the last couple of years.  Socially Katie has made great progress.  She is in a classroom with all boys and is actually quite the mother hen.  She smiles more now than ever before.  Summit Academy has helped Katie to have confidence in herself.  I believe Katie understands she is with other kids like her.  Beth and I have come to understand we are with other parents like us - parents who understand the struggles and isolation of raising a special needs kid.  Summit Academy is like family for us, and now we have hope for Katie’s future.

Beth and I constantly wonder about the decisions we have made for Katie over her young life.  We wonder – should we have been more aggressive with her healthcare?  Would we have been wiser or more knowledgeable if she had been our second child and not our first child?    But the one decision we have never questioned is our decision to send Katie to Summit Academy.   We would rather suffer the financial stress of paying her tuition, than suffer the agony of watching our child in social and academic isolation. 

There is something else I wonder, though.  What if there hadn’t been a Summit Academy for Katie?  And what about all the other children who will never have the opportunity to be helped there?  What happens to them?

My Race Time Goal

I have been asked by several people what my time goal is for the Pikes Peak Ascent run.  The answer to that question is easy, to just finish the race.  The hard part is I'm too competitive for my own good.  I need to have a goal time in my mind. 

I checked the Pikes Peak Ascent web-site and found the average time for the men's ascent has been around 4 hours and 20 minutes for most years, going back to 1997.  I have said out loud several times, "I don't want to be average, I want to be better than average".  What's wrong with me?  Just finishing this race will be an accomplishment.  I know this race will be torture.  The course is straight up and there is very little air to breath.  It's more about surviving than racing.  I'm sure at some point in the race I will be begging the mountain for mercy.  I will be wondering how I got myself into this run.  I will utter the phrase I have said in so many tough races, "I'll never do this again".

With all that said, my goal is to finish in under 4 hours.

Week in Review

I had a good week of running.  This morning I ran a long run of 12 miles at Iroquois Park.  Total mileage for the week is 35.  My training is on track.  I will take tomorrow off from running and start the week over on Sunday.  Next week I will run around 37-38 total miles.

126 days until the race.

So You're the One

I never was cool.  I didn't hang out with the cool kids.  I wasn't a star athlete.  I wasn't the smartest kid in school.  Not much has changed as I've gotten older.  I guess you could consider me an average guy.

About two weeks ago I was at the Minds of All Kinds Gala to benefit Summit Academy and some of the other board members were introducing me to their friends.  They asked me to tell their friends about the Pikes Peak Ascent race I'm going to run for Summit Academy.  I was telling one group about the run and a woman said "so you're the one".  Instantly my mind flashed to a scene in the movie Top Gun.  The scene is where Maverick and Goose are sharing their encounter with a Mig, to Charlie, the civilian instructor.  Charlie says to Maverick, "so you're the one".  Maverick (Tom Crusie) says "yes mam" and puts on his aviator sunglass.  How cool! 

So for a moment, even if it was only in my mind, I was cool.

I was quickly brought back to reality, when later that night, I shared this story with my wife and there was a lot of laughing from her.  I think she is still giggling today.

Thanks to the kind woman who made me feel cool.  Make sure to enjoy those moments because the pass quickly.

One Crazy Idea

About nine months ago I was searching running race calendars looking for half marathons to run in 2011 I found a race called Pikes Peak Ascent.  I had heard of the run before, but I never considered running it.  I remember thinking you would have to be crazy to run that race.  As time went on, I was involved in meetings and fundraising events for Summit Academy.  Summit Academy is a school for children with learning differences.  My daughter, Katie, is a student at Summit and I am a board trustee.  The tuition parents pay is expensive and doesn't cover the costs of educating our kids.  Summit is an independent school that doesn't receive any state or federal funding, so fundraising is extremely important for the survival of Summit Academy.  One day after a meeting, an idea popped into my head.  I could run the Pikes Peak Ascent race and raise money and awareness for Summit Academy.   I know plenty of people who have run marathons to raise money for a cause or charity.  However, I don't know anyone who has run the Pikes Peak Ascent.   I thought it was a unique and crazy enough run to get some attention.  I began sharing my idea with a few people at Summit and before I knew it I was signed up for the Pikes Peak Ascent.  Call me crazy!  I'm excited about the upcoming challenge of fundraising, bringing awareness to our community about Summit Academy, training and ultimately running the race.  I am blessed to have so many supportive people helping and cheering me on.  Thanks to all!  And the journey begins.......