Wednesday, October 24, 2012

I find it thrilling whenever I go out for a run. Whenever I run, I feel excited and free! Here is a great article from the North County Times that I found very inspiring!

A severely autistic student at Carmel Valley Middle School has hit his stride on the school’s cross country team.
Caulden Gary, 12, has helped invigorate and inspire the whole team since joining nearly two months ago, coach Lisa Ziemba said.
“The kids have just really rallied around him,” she said. “It’s really cool to see how they’ve supported him.”
The experience has been one in a series of milestones for Caulden and his family. Getting to the point where he could be a part of the team has required a lot of work and dedication, said his mother, Jennifer Darocki.
After developing normally for about 18 months, he suddenly stopped speaking. It was then that his parents found out he had regressive autism, a severe form of the disorder.
“He lost all language and pretty much just sat and rocked,” she said. “This was a kid that they basically told me, ‘You need to put him in a home; he’s never going to function.’”
Autism encompasses a wide spectrum of developmental disorders that affect brain development and communication skills. Severe forms of the disorder can make it difficult or impossible for children to interact with others.
“It’s a very isolating illness, because these kids can’t play with other kids,” Darocki said.
When she found out, Darocki stopped working so she could spend her days helping her son.
Because he had a difficult time looking anyone in the eyes, which is typical of the disorder, she trained him to be able to by holding French fries in front of her eyes and not giving it to him until he would make eye contact. Now, he has no problem with it, she said.
He has also learned to read and communicate with an iPad even though he still can’t speak.
And now, after only about two months on the cross country team, Caulden is already more coordinated, calmer in class and better at interacting with his peers, Darocki said.
“It has been a really good gateway for him to feel like part of a team and not feel isolated,” she said.
His stepdad usually runs with him to keep him on track, and his teammates often backtrack after making it to the finish line to end the race with him.
The experience of running with Caulden and another student on the team with special needs has made the team even tighter, said Cody Roberts, an eighth-grader on the team.
“It makes us feel all together,” he said.
Caulden recently told his mom why he likes running.
“It makes me feel more like me,” he wrote.
Darocki said she got the idea to sign her son up for the cross country team after seeing how well he did in school jog-a-thons.
She said she hopes his story will inspire other parents of children with special needs to pursue activities that they may enjoy and that allow them to interact with others.
“It’s really so wonderful to be able to see him be a part of things like this,” she said.

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/del-mar/year-old-autistic-boy-finds-freedom-in-running/article_5ca4c652-851a-5562-a92b-e86ace56fcea.html

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Training Schedule for Half Marathon Beginners

Here is a great 12 week training schedule for those interested in running a Half Marathon

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

Week 1 off 3 miles 3 miles 3 miles off 3 miles 4 miles

Week 2 off 3 miles 4 miles 3 miles off 3 miles 4 miles

Week 3 off 3 miles 4 miles 3 miles off 3 miles 5 miles

Week 4 off 3 miles 5 miles 3 miles off 4 miles 6 miles

Week 5 off 4 miles 5 miles 4 miles off 3 miles 7 miles

Week 6 off 4 miles 4 miles 4 miles off 4 miles 8 miles

Week 7 off 4 miles 6 miles 4 miles off 4 miles 9 miles

Week 8 off 4 miles 6 miles 4 miles off 4 miles 10 miles

Week 9 off 4 miles 6 miles 4 miles off 3 miles 11 miles

Week 10 off 4 miles 5 miles 4 miles off 4 miles 12 miles

Week 11 off 4 miles 5 miles 4 miles off 3 miles 6 miles

Week 12 off 3 miles 5 miles 3 miles off 2 miles 13.1 miles!

Monday, October 8, 2012

Silverstand Half Marathon

My next marathon will be Sunday November 11th!!

http://www.active.com/running/coronado-to-imperial-beach-san-diego-ca/silver-strand-half-marathon-and-5k-2011

Gnats

Gnats
Lake Miramar is an awesome place to run.  But let me tell you what is NOT awesome about running at Lake Miramar: Gnats.  Hoards of them, coming out of nowhere. Those things are annoying, but... whatever... I keep going. However, what actually stops me in my tracks is when one of those vicious creatures ends their own life by way of flying straight into my eye.  That's when my running comes to a halt.  With a pesky Lake Gnat lodged in my eye, I'm unable to see correctly - things are fuzzy - and I can't have that. However, I find it as a lesson to learn not to judge. 

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use it, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
- Matthew 7:1-5

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Lets RUN back to the 80's!!!

http://www.awesome80srun.com/
RUNNING TIP!

Check out this video or running drills. Very Informative :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTMzdRhsPrA

Why?

Why?
I've been asking myself a lot of "whys" lately....  Why am I ready to turn the lights out on a Friday night when it's not even completely dark outside yet?  Followed by: WHY am I waking up at 5 something on a Saturday morning to go run way too many miles when I could stay right here in my bed?!  And a few hours later: Whhhhhyyy am I not protesting, laying down on this park bench, and calling it QUITS on this 20 mile run?!?!  13 miles should be enough, right?!?!  (The bacon from that campground smells really good too.  Maybe those campers wouldn't mind an extra visitor.)  Why have I had to recently warn the pedicure lady (with all sincerity) to steer clear of certain blisters on my toes (caused by running, of course) or else my reflexes would cause me to accidentally kick her in the chin?  Why do I wake up with the birds almost every morning to run or submerge myself in a chilly pool?  And why do I deny myself vending machine cookies because I need to fuel properly for my runs.  (Oh wait, that last part didn't really happen... vending machine cookies won.  Again.) 
After I ask myself all of those "whys," I (try my hardest to) remember that this will all pay off.  The big race is coming up in a couple of weeks, and all of the training (i.e. doing what I don't always want to do) will be worth it.  Hopefully I won't be *quite* as miserable at mile 20 come raceday because a few weeks earlier I didn't quit and go eat bacon with some new best friends.  And hopefully I'll still be smiling after I cross the finish line (I will cross the finish line), because I sacrificed a few social events and turned it in early on Friday nights. Although it's usually difficult, training is good and... worth it, isn't it?
"... train yourself to be godly.  For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."- 1 Timothy 4:7-8
The other morning I was attempting to talk myself (yet again) into rolling out of my bed and into my running shoes, when I thought about all of the sacrifices of time and sacrifices of the doing-what-I-really-want-to-be-doings over the past few months.  And then I was reminded of these verses in 1 Timothy.  Yes, this physical training does have some value.  But how am I training myself to be godly?  All of the running and stretching and denying of myself is great and will pay off, but godliness has value for all things, "holding promise for both the present life and the life to come".  Do I put nearly as much time and effort into my godliness-shape as I do my running-shape?  How much time do I spend studying the Bible and praying versus running miles and miles and (too many) more miles?  Am I willing to sacrifice time I'd rather be sleeping or hanging out with friends on Friday nights to be with Jesus?  What about you?  Maybe it's time to re-prioritize and train for the things that last both now and in the life to come!
Blessings!