Sunday, August 23, 2009

Back Again..It's been awhile

"All things are possible for the one who believes. Mark 9:23


What's going on with Kellye
It's been awhile since I have entered anything. Things have been pretty crazy with work. I need to pick this back up especially since it won't be long until I start my campaign to raise money for my sister's charity.

Kellye has been through a lot lately. She finally made the decision to stop taking pain medication, naturally this process took a couple of weeks and she was almost through it when God decided to put one more test on the road for her. Because of her illness she is on Long Term Disability. The insurance company, Cigna has decided to discontinue her coverage because they think she can work and that she is not very sick!!! This is such bullshit!!

What I don't understand is why do people have to make it so tough for people with MS to live their day to day lifes? This is such a terrible disease and people with it have a hard enough time getting through the day. It's just so sad. As I get closer to the marathon I want people to know what people with MS go through. What their struggles are, what emotions they go through and how they overcome them.

I pray everyday for Kellye that God will ease her pain and give her the strength to overcome her day to day obstacles. I hope everybody who reads this will do the same. I am so thankful that God is in her life, so I know he will take care of her.

Running
I made it through July and now I'm almost done with August still injury free. The heat and humidity have been brutal. I can't recall the last time I ran in temperatures cooler than 75 degrees. Up until last week I was in a little bit of a slump, but I took off a couple of days and have bounced back nicely. I also changed shoes. The ones I bought at the end of June are already gone as 200 miles were logged on them. Combined with the heat and my weight they went quick.

Buying new shoes is so important, it's like tires on a car, the older and more worn they get the more you feel every bump of the road. The other thing I did is changed from a stability shoe to a neutral shoe because of my orthodics. We'll see how that works out. I think it should help my gate a little bit which help me become a more efficient runner. I have done two runs in the new shoes and have felt pretty good. I'm tempted to buy another pair and then trade them out so I don't wear them out so quickly.

There is about six weeks left until the first race of the season and I need to really buckle down and train hard for the next 5 weeks, if I want to do well. So far, I have managed the ankle issue, but big distance is not too far off and it will be tested. We still have four and a half months left till the marathon and there is a lot of work to do before then.

It's going to be a blast!! GOD IS GREAT!!!

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Sunday August 2nd

"Jesus said to the father, "You said, "If you can!' All things are possible for the one who believes." Mark 9:23

Praying
It's been almost two weeks since I last wrote in here, for those who are reading I'm truly sorry. The other day I woke up and realized that I needed to pray to God to help me get close to him again. I felt like I had drifted apart from him and I needed to be reminded of who he is and that he Loves us no matter what we do. It's always amazing that when you pray how quickly he can come back with a answer. For example, at Church last night he told me the following things:
  • God is faithful when we are not
  • God always gives us more than we deserve
  • God loves to throw a party when we are successful
  • God wants us to pursue others extravagantly.
  • "Love people when they least expect it and least deserve it." - A core value of National Community Church, Washington D.C.

And then today when I was watching my regular Sunday morning shows I heard the same message. "Be a healer, seek out others that need your help and support." So now we'll see who God puts into my life for me to help, he works in such magical ways. I'm so excited about the coming days ahead to see what happens.

MS Update

I have decided to run for the Myelin Repair Foundation.

Myelin is the insulation that coats the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Multiple sclerosis damages myelin, causing a range of symptoms from paralysis to cognitive disorders. Finding a way to repair damaged myelin has the potential to stop MS in its tracks.

Unlike the National MS Society, 85 PERCENT OF THE FUNDS RAISED ON THEIR BEHALF ARE USED FOR RESEARCH!! MS Society supposedly on uses 33 percent.

So that's what I'm doing!! Over the next couple of weeks I hope to have everything set-up so I can start collecting donations. We still have a long ways to go, but I want to make sure and use ALL my available resources. So stay tuned.

Running Update

The month of July was tough but very productive. I logged a total of 73 miles this month which was the highest total all year. That number will increase steadily over through the end of December. My training focus has changed now from getting faster to becoming stronger and more consistent. It's all about maintaining a steady and consistent pace that will help me reach my goal of finishing the marathon.

I plan to do this by giving Glory to God on all my days whether my training is successful or unsuccessful. There are some tough days ahead. August is typically the hottest month of the year. Humidity is a huge issue as well so staying hydrated will so important.

For the most part, I feel pretty good. My track workouts on Tuesday nights have been very productive. The other workouts have been pretty good for the most part. There have been some bad days but I'm ok with that. The ankle is manageable and seems to be holding up. I finally got my shoes broken in so maybe that has something to do with it.

As a side note, I'm using Coach Dana's program which is broken in to two parts. The first is geared towards Ten Mile Texas which is the second week of October. From there we will transition into the training program for the Marathon. The program is tough because I am running at a minimum 5 days per week, and if I feel better, that number could bump to 6.

I will finish this I know that for a fact, I have done it before, the difference this time is that Jesus will be with me every step of the way!!!

God is Great!!!