2014 Chevron Houston Marathon Coverage

I am getting really excited to carry the H.O.P.E. Flag in honor of all the great families affected by congenital anomalies at the 2014 Houston Marathon, but to be honest, I have been kinda laying low over the past month or so. It was not intentional. I have just been really busy with work, training, and preparing for the 2014 Team iDO! season. Fortunately the H.O.P.E. has found a life of it's own and families continue to virtually sign it and the supporters have carried the story in my absence. The 2014 Houston Marathon is the official kickoff for the team, and I am am so excited that I get to do it and to share with everyone the future of Team iDO!

For the past week on all of the local television station's keep talking about marathon...marathon...marathon...  Then all of a sudden, I saw this commercial:

It became VERY REAL. Before you know it, I was getting texts and Facebook messages from friends and followers about how they saw me carrying the flag on the commercial. It was exciting and scary all at the same time. 

Before every race, the same thing happens. I start to have doubts and start to feel every tight muscle and minor pain.  I come up with questions like, "Can I really do this?" "Will I let everyone down?" "Does anybody really care?" "Is this even possible?"

This feeling is very similar to what a parent feels before they release their child to the hospital or doctors to have surgery.  You have hope, but you also have a small ounce of doubt in the back of your mind. When we were in Shawn's hospital room awaiting a phone call to tell us the results of his surgery, I remember thinking to myself, "The phone will ring and one of two things will happen. Either they will tell me that the surgery was over and Shawn was recovering or that he did not make it." I was prepared for both, but thankfully Shawn survived and has recovered. 

The fact is for 99% of the population, this attempt to carry a flag for 26.2 miles at a busy marathon is impossible, and it is easy to listen to others around you and feel doubt. Fortunately, my son wakes up this morning at the perfect time to reminds me of something.....ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!

Shawn was playing with his little toy tools and putting the plastic bolts and nuts together.  He started to put the nut on backwards, but it was not working. He brought it to me and told me that he could not get it to work and needed my help.  

I looked at Shawn and said something that eventually came back to bite me. I said, "Shawn, that is not how it works. You can't do it that way." Shawn then looked at me and said, "You were not supposed be able to do it, but you became and Ironman right?" I immediately grabbed up the bolt and nut and figured out how to do it.  

The fact is if we put our mind towards something, we can DO it. It just takes determination, resilience, dedication, and a lot of HOPE.  I appreciate that my son was used to remind me of that, and I am so excited to carry that H.O.P.E. tomorrow to provide inspiration and that reminder to others.  If you see me out there, make sure to cheer me on. This is a community effort, and I need everyone to help me to the finish line.  LET'S DO THIS!

Let's Be Brave...

I provided a authentic complement to a co-worker, and what happened next was amazing and profound to me.  My co-worker said this to me:

God sent Moses to wonder through the dessert not because he wanted him to suffer, it was because God wanted teach Moses how to survive. God made you go through all that you did with Shawn because he wanted to prepare you for the journey that he planned for you to help so many other people and accomplish great goals. ~Michelle Mares

This comment shook me to the core, but it was in a good way.

My drive is somewhat based on my own insecurities. I have always had this feeling that deep down inside that the world was out to get me.  It all started out when I was in grade school.  I was the kid that always stood out in class not because I was good or smart, it was because I was the class clown.  Often I found myself completely distracted from the lesson that we were going over because I was daydreaming of something that grabbed my attention.

If you are reader of my blog, you have have fallen victim to my inability to spell, but there is a reason for that.  By the time I was 10 years old, I was diagnosed at Texas Scottish Rite hospital with Dyslexia and Attention Deficit Disorder. It was bitter sweet fro my family because finally there was a reason as to why I was not like the other kids.  I was wired differently.  My mother dropped everything to get a certification in learning disabilities to help me and provide my school with the information they needed to accommodate a child with a learning disability.  

I grew up in a very small town of only 1000 citizens, so the administration and teachers were very resentful on having to accommodate for one child.  They often would try to find ways to punish me or discredit the accommodations.  Because the teachers were condescending to me, that lead to the students being the same way, and I soon found myself being left out of the popular crowds.  I would try to do many things to get back in including fabricating huge stories about who my family was or who I hung out with, but that just led to them classifying me as a "Liar". It took years to lose that designation, and it is something that I struggled with till I was in my 20s. 

Finally, I realized that it was not who I knew, or what people perceived me to be is what makes me a part of the crowd. It was how I felt about myself and being transparent enough that everyone could see my flaws.  It was about doing what was right because it was right, and never trying to cut corners. 

I still have that feeling that someone is always looking over my shoulder, but that is what drives me to be the person I am today. That person is not looking over my shoulder to find something to bring me down, it is God looking over my shoulder to move the hurdles from my destined path so I will not fall.

Going through what we did with Shawn help my whole family see clearly how we are surround by death and sickness everyday and how so many out there are not always included because they are different.  Sara Bareilles just released a great song called Brave that really has a great message. One of of my favorite parts of the song is the part where she says:

Everybody’s been there,

Everybody’s been stared down by the enemy

Fallen for the fear

And done some disappearing,

Bow down to the mighty

Don’t run, just stop holding your tongue

Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live

Maybe one of these days you can let the light in

Show me how big your brave is

Say what you wanna say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

This year, I made a different kind of New Years Resolution.  I am here to be your running/swimming/cycling partner, your accountability partner, and your Q&A guru.

I have learned a lot about training, diet, technique, form, etc. from a lot of knowledgeable people in the past three years that have helped me become a multiple marathon and Ironman finisher and I started as an overweight smoker. What I have learned is free to you.

Tell me your goals and resolutions for 2014 and what I can do to help. Let's take this life that is surrounded by death, sickness and despair, and use it to open our eyes on how to live life to the fullest every day.  Let's go from I Can... or I Will... to iDO! I wanna see you be BRAVE!