Weight Update

I know I was supposed to keep you more up to date but sometimes I'm a slacker. I was doing really well with my diet until both injury and Christmas hit!

3 weeks ago I stepped in a hole while doing my morning run. That accident caused a horrible sprain, which limited my cardio activity for a couple weeks. Even skipped going to the gym, it was a chore just to walk. Then when the week of Christmas rolled around I stopped watching what I ate. I seem to do that every Christmas. I'm blessed to have 2 extremely good bakers in the family who do nothing but cook during this time, I take full advantage by tasting just about everything!

I was almost up to 10lbs lost when all of this happened. Now I'm currently back at 5lbs down, which I'm happy considering all that I ate and not working out. I'm still not running but I am able to cycle plus I'll start my swimming back up on Monday. I've been very disciplined at the gym this week and very good with my diet. I should be able to catch up with the 10lbs easily this week. And if I work hard enough I'm sure I can still hit that goal by our major convention at the end of January.

Hope you are all prepared for the New Year and pursuing your fitness goals :)

God's Hall of Fame

This crowd on earth
They soon forget
The heroes of the past.
They cheer like mad
Until you fall
And that's how long you last.

But God does not forget
And in his Hall of Fame
By just believing in his Son
Inscribed you'll find your name.

I tell you, friends,
I would not trade
My name however small
Inscribed up there
Beyond the stars
In that celestial hall.

For any famous name on earth
Or glory that they share
I'd rather be an unkown here
And have my name up there.

-Author Unknown

Seven Things to Do-Joshua Wooden

1. Be true to yourself
2. Help others
3. Make each day your masterpiece
4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible
5. Make friendship a fine art
6. Build shelter against a rainy day
7. Pray for guidance and count and give thanks for your blessings every day

My Road Back to 175

A few years ago I was at my physical peak. I was running and winning multiply races. I was very cut and defined being only 175lbs. But somewhere along the line 2 years ago I lost all of my focus and ended up at 200lbs! Trust me I've hated it this whole time, especially when during last Christmas my sister asked me, B when did you get love handles?! I could have smacked her but it reminded me I had slipped.

Now its almost a year later and I'm finally ready to get back at it. I'll be racing again this summer. Plus I'm doing my fair share of working out right now. Mona Vie came out with a new weight loss product called RVL(reveal) that I just starting using. It's helped take away my cravings for sweets, which I love so much! So far after a week I'm down to 195.

My goal is to be at 185 by Christmas, then back down to 175 at the Leadership Convention in January. I'll keep everyone posted as often as I can on the progress.

This is me last week at 200lbs. Hard to believe 5 years ago I had abs! I'll keep new pictures coming when I hit new weight goals.

22 more miles

Well I promised some writings on my journey to the next marathon so here goes......

I took a lot of time off in the winter so it's going to take a good couple weeks to get back to form. I had a slow week. I'm learning to keep a perfect balance of all the things going on in my life. I have some other big goals I committed to this year that so far are doing great and I wanna make sure I can keep a good balance so I don't forget what I orginally set out to do this year.

Todays run though felt great! I know it's only 4 miles but it's the best I felt at 4 in awhile. Very hot out there today! In fact my running clothes are still dripping sweat, I know you really didn't need that image ;) This next week should be a good week of running though then on July 3rd I'll be doing my annual 4th of July race in Frankenmuth. Hopefully I'll see a bunch of you out there running it as well!

My link for The MORE Project will be up sometime next month. Someone asked me what my goal was for this marathon. I'm not setting a time goal, heck I don't even own a watch! But this marathon is not about me and my personal goal to a time, but this time it's about raising money for a great organization. So my goal is to raise 2,000 for these kids. I encourage you to read up on it at www.themoreproject.org

Happy Memorial Day

I just wanted to write a short blog to say thank you to all the service men and women and even their families for the sacrifice they give to serve the country I live in. It's so easy these days to overlook the job they do or to take advantage of the freedoms we have. It seems our society has become very complacent in our freedom. We seem to think that just because we are Americans we will always be free. Most of us, especially my generation, all we know is freedom. We overlook how great it is to be here, even with all our complaints. With that complacency I see that must of us no longer get involved in our politics or the strength of our communities. But I don't want to get to carried away with what I'm thinking at the moment. This weekend is about our soldiers who continue to serve us no matter how much we complain or sit and do nothing. They keep stepping out and leaving their families behind so we can sit behind our borders and be protected. I have many friends who have served and continue to serve. I can never say enough to you guys and gals for the time and effort you give. So to you men and women of the Unites States military I humbly say thank you for choosing to serve this great nation.

Will you be disciplined enough to cross your bridge?

Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.

I decided to write a blog on one of my favorite quotes. I'll do my best to describe what this means to me and how it applies to my life. Discipline and focus are words used describe me by friends and family. I love running towards something. I remember my mother saying a couple years ago after I hit a running goal...I had no doubt in my mind he would do it...I know when he says he'll do something it's only a matter of time.

I thought I would look a couple words up in this quote. I'll relate them to some of my running experiences then try to relate what it means to my current goals.

Discipline-Training that develops self-control:

I could go on forever about this right here! I think of all the discipline it took to train for marathons. The amount of self-control it takes to get out there and run the long miles even though your first impulse is to stay home and enjoy relaxation.

Goals-The end toward which effort is directed:

For the marathon the goal was 26.2 looooooooooooong miles! The end was that beautiful looking finish line. All the effort or work along the way carries you there. Such a vital important step in the process. Writing training weeks out ahead of time. Planning miles to run and training partners to help you. Finding races to help break up the routine. Eating properly and taking care of your body. I recently read that goals must be specific, written, set in stone, measurable, realistic, provide motivation, in line with priorities and values, prominent and for a specific time period. Basically have a goal, write it down and hold yourself accountable to it!

Accomplishment-Succeed in doing:

This is when the check mark goes in the box! Or in this case crossing the finish line! The process can never compare to the accomplishment. I remember the grueling experience of miles after miles after miles. Running a race that seemed like it would never end. Crossing that finish line took it all away. All of a sudden the reward was worth the pain.

So now that I am at my current bridge I know I'm still standing on the starting side or I'm at my goals. I have a lot of them this year. It will be a long summer cause I'm giving up a few things that I truly love so I can focus where I need to. I know that will take a lot of discipline on my part cause well lets face it I may hear comments! But when your looking to do something big you have to ignore the crowd noise.

As your standing at the starting line of your bridge(goal) you have to find the discipline to eliminate your distractions and focus your energy on the other side of the bridge(accomplishments). You'll get there no doubt as I don't doubt I'll do what I set out to do. God gives us everything we need to succeed in life.

I really want to challenge you the reader as I finish this blog to cross your bridge whatever it is. Remember to start with the end in mind. You should probably know which bridge your heading to before you decide to cross it! What do you want in your life? What are your dreams? After you figured that out then back up and start writing those goals to get there. Then get in the car and drive!

What will your dash say?

After death has come and gone, a tombstone sits for many to see. But it serves no more than a symbol of a persons memory. Under the persons name it reads the date of birth-and the date the person passed. But the more I think about the tombstone the only important thing is the dash. Yes, I see the name of the person but that I might forget. I also read the date of birth and death, but even that might not stick. But thinking about the person, I can't help but to remember the dash. Because it represents a persons life, make sure you are on a positive path because people may forget your birth and death, but they will never forget your dash.

This poem is called The Dash. It was written by a Notre Dame football player named Alton Maiden. It was inspired on a team trip in Ireland when the player visited an old monastery.

I actually read this poem years ago and it had a significant impact on my direction in life. I don't want to live the sort of life where I just live, work and die. I believe I was created for so much more than that. In fact I know we were all created for more. All of us should sit for a moment and think of how we want to be remembered. Think bigger than your own family though. Jesus impacted thousands...shouldn't we strive to do the same?!

My Dash October 2, 1979-???

I pray by the time that I'm gone I'll be remembered for many things. Hopefully more great than good! I want to be remembered as a loving family member, brother, son, grandson cousin and friend. I want to be remembered for standing for rightous things not popular things. I want the Lord to impact many people through my life..not just family and friends but strangers, people I may never get a chance to meet, I hope somehow a word I have spoken could reach them and change the direction of their life for good. I want to leave an impact in my community, church and if I'm blessed enough, my country. To live a life with honor, integrity and character. Then there is the simple things. People should remember me as a guy who always smiled. Bringing light into a room. That I enjoyed life and all it had to offer.

I'm sure there is more that I would like to be remembered for but I think the important thing here is that we are striving to be remembered for a purpose. There is more to our lives than the everday grind of life. So take a few minutes and think of your dash!

The Bottom Line:"

Face it, nobody owes you a living.What you achieve or fail to achieve in your lifetime, is directly related to what you do, or fail to do.People don't choose their parents or childhood, but you can choose your own direction.Everyone has problems and obsticles to overcome, but that too is relative to each individual.Nothing is carved in stone, you can change anyything in your life, if you want to bad enough.Excuses are for loosers. Those who take responsibility for their actions are the real winners in life.Winners meet lifes challenges head on, Knowing there are no guarantees, and give all they've got.And never think it's too late or too early to begin, time plays no favorites and will pass whether you act or not.Take control of your life. Dare to dream and take risks...COMPETE."

--Unknown

Get a Dream

Oh boy this will be written out of total frustration. I guess right now I'm to the point where I'm so sick of hearing everyone complaining about the current economic situation, all the while doing absolutely NOTHING to change it or improve it. They just sit and pout. I mean are we all still stuck in 3rd grade, sucking our thumbs in the corner. No country is more free than we are. People flock from all over just to try and get in our country yet we as Americans are complacent and lazy! You tell a guy to go out and create income for himself and he just says well it's to hard...don't you see whats going on out there. Yet I read from highly successful people all the great opportunities that are out there. Then that just brings on more excuses by the lame and lazy. I don't wanna carry this to far cause I'll probably hurt somebody's feelings.

But folks get a dream for your life! Quit depending on the government or the corporation to take care of you. Lean and depend on Jesus Christ! If He can bring you to it He can bring you through it! There are plenty of opportunities out there. It's just going to take a change in thinking. Kinda like when we went from horse and buggy to automobile, we are seeing another shift in trends. Quit listening to CNN....as far as I'm concerned that station in a idiot producing factory, but grab a book from someone who has fruit on the tree.....or results! Read what they have to say then find a way to apply the information.