Ready to Rock!

It is the day before the Rock n Roll Chicago half and I am ready to rock!  

On Friday I went to the expo at McCormick Place for the packet pickup.  The runner's shirt is a cool looking Brooks grey shirt with the Chicago skyline.

For the race, I am in the 18th corral.  That is right, I said 18th.  At least I am not in the last one, there are a total of 29 corrals.  I would guess once the race starts at 6:30 am that it will take me approximately 20 minutes to get to the starting line.  Reminds me of the size of the Disney Marathon.

The great part about this course is the run past some of the great Chicago landmarks.  We start and finish in Grant Park near Buckingham Fountain.  We work our way across the Chicago River, pass the Art Institute, Chicago Theater, down Michigan Avenue and by the Willis Tower.  It is still hard to call it Willis Tower...it will always be the Sears Tower to me.  Maybe I should say, "what you talkin' about Willis" as I run by there?

We work our way south and pass Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears.  Still looks like a UFO landed in the stadium to me.  We will go on an out and back stretch for a while and just before the finish, we pass the Shedd Acqurium.  Then it is on to the finish back in Grant Park.

The weather forecast looks pretty good with lows in the mid-60's and a high of 85.  Sounds great to me for running compared to the weather in NC for all of my training runs.

Are you ready to Rock?

I Think I Can....I Think I Can

As everyone knows, there is a physical side to running. Everyone has to put in the training miles in order to prepare our bodies to go the distance. Whether that is a 5K, 10K, half or full marathon.

One of the biggest hurdles to a successful race is the mental side of running. As Henry Ford described, "If you think you can do it, you're right. If you think you can't do it, you're still right". These words are so true in what they mean. Having a positive attitude and thinking "I can" gives us the motivation to push through those final miles to the finish.

Just think about the adrenaline boost we get when the finish line is in sight. We may be cramping or completely exhausted at this point, but our mind sees the goal an you instantly turn in to an "I can" thinker. The next thing you know is you have crossed the finish line and you are overcome with the joy of the accomplishment.

As I prepare for the Rock n Roll Chicago Half Marathon this Sunday, I am beginning to prepare mentally. I am visualizing the race and the goals I have in mind. As the saying goes, "seeing is believing".

I can see all of the crowd cheering each and every runner on and I have to tell you, that makes a huge difference. Each one of those spectators is saying "you can". You will not hear any negative comments. They are all helping with the positive waves to push you through.

I can see the finishing time I have in mind that I would like to achieve. If I am not able to achieve that time, it is ok as I know I will have tried and just finishing is an accomplishment.

I think I can....I think I can.....I KNOW I can!

I'm Offically Goofy Now!

Last week I posted pictures of my Disney Marathon Weekend shadow box. A friend of mine contacted me with a tremendous offer. She and her husband also ran both the half and full marathons at Disney as part of the Goofy challenge and received Goofy Medals. I had ran both the half and full marathons, but was not officially part of the Goofy challenge. Therefore, I did not receive a Goofy Medal.

She was contacting me to offer me one of their Goofy medals. I was absolutely blown away by her generosity! She let me know that her husband actually surprised her by purchasing a frame while they were at the expo during the Disney Marathon Weekend. This frame included medals from all 3 races. Since they now had 3 Goofy medals, she offered the extra one to me.

I want to take the opportunity to say thank you Steve and Melissa.

Here is the updated marathon shadow box which now includes the Goofy Medal.



Here is a close-up of the Goofy medal.

Countdown to Rock n Roll Chicago Half

Tick tock....tick tock....

Less than 3 weeks away now from the Rock n Roll Chicago half marathon. This will be my first Rock n Rock series event experience and I am really looking forward to it.



Last week I received an email with the final race instructions and to download my confirmation sheet. The race is sold out and there will be over 25,000 runners in the event. I have a predicted finish time of 2:20:00 and I am in corral 18. It will probably take 15-20 minutes once the race starts at 6:30 am on August 1 in order to actually cross the starting line. Reminds me of how it was for the Disney Marathon.

What a blessing it is having the opportunity to glorify God throughout this event via Team 413. Throughout these 13.1 miles, I will encounter many fellow runners who will see Philippians 4:13 on the back of the shirt and that will aid as motivation to them helping them pull through to the finish. Our God is an awesome God! We exist to glorify God and make disciples of all nations! I pray that Team 413 will have a large impact in Chicago.



I have not run a race since the Disney Marathon this past January, but I can still remember all of the times throughout the run where fellow runners would tell me how that verse helped them get through a difficult stretch in the race. I recall one lady at mile 24 that came up to me and said, "thank you for wearing this shirt. That verse is just what I needed to see right now to help me push through these last miles." God was truly at work at that moment.

Tick tock....tick tock!

Marathon Shadow Box

I was finally able to get around to putting my medals from the Disney Marathon Weekend in to a shadow box. I decided to go with a simple approach to what is displayed.

As you can see, both the half marathon and full marathon medals are the main focus. In the center is a copy of my finisher's certificate from the marathon. After downloading the certificate, instead of printing it as 8 1/2" x 11", I printed it at 5" x 7".

Surrounding the medals are the smaller version pins I purchased from the expo.

WinShape Camp C3

This past week our church (Wake Cross Roads Baptist Church) hosted a WinShape Camp C3. What an amazing week it was for all of the students leading the camp, the volunteers and especially all 182 children involved. This was our second year we have hosted this camp and we had 3 times as many participants this year as we did last year. What a blessing!

Here is a link to a video regarding the camp.

Our daughter attended the camp and had an awesome week. She was an Ocean Tiger Shark! Everyday when she would come home from camp, she would talk about it from the time she walked in the door until she fell asleep each night. She learned a lot about living for Christ!

WinShape Camps C3 (Camps Connecting Communities) is a one week day camp that was started by WinShape Camps in 2008. In the inaugural year, WinShape Camps had 3 C3 Teams that traveled to 9 communities around the country, going to a total of 27 cities. In 2009, WinShape Camps C3 went to 36 Communities, and in 2010, WinShape Camps C3 will travel to 45 different communities across the country.

WinShape Camps C3 combines track times such as Fastfood, Drama, Flag Football, Soccer, Painting, Crafts, etc., High energy worship, intentional bible study moments, and unbelievable recreation to provide a one-in-a-lifetime Day Camp Experience in your community.

The students that travel each week leading these camps are amazing Godly people. They are truly a wonderful blessing.

I heard several parents make comments at the Chick-Fil-A Family Fun Day on Friday that they wished they could have gone to camp. I have to agree with them.

Ocean...Ocean....Ocean.......Woooooossshhhh!