It's Almost Game Time, But You Can Still Help!

Well it's time for the guy who has to be the worst blogger ever to make another blog entry!  I apologize I haven't been better about this, but I can say my excuse is......I HAVE BEEN TRAINING!!

So here it is, ONLY 36 DAYS till RACE DAY.

It has become very real to me this week.  Wednesday I started off my day with a easy 13 mile run before work for my long run day. (that's a half marathon folks)  This morning I swam about 3500 meters for an hour and half.  Tomorrow I will be riding my bike 7 hrs and 15 minutes and then doing a 30 minutes run.  Next week I will be doing my first race rehearsal swim on Friday and bike run Saturday.

The exciting part is the fact that I have grown to have such a desire to do what I can for the kids of Little Eden Children's home. The fact that I am racing to raise money for them is one reason I push so hard.  It's not just about me, its about doing it for them.  So far people have committed to pay, or already paid over $6,000 to help go towards the scholarship funds for Little Eden.  Here is where I hope I CAN GET OTHERS TO COMMIT TO HELP DONATE to this great cause.  I really want to reach $10,000, which would be a huge help to the kids as they get ready to begin secondary school in Kenya.  Secondary school is very important to the children, but it is not cheap.  Mike and Sylvia have started the scholarship fund so that the kids who can score high enough to get into secondary school can go and don't have to worry about money being the second road block that most children in Kenya face after getting past the entry exam road block.  These kids are amazing and they are so blessed to have people like Mike and Sylvia, and all those working at Little Eden come into their lives.

Also with that said, please keep Mike Eden in your prayers as he recently had surgery to help drain the fluid from his brain tumor which everyone is hoping will help with some of his lingering problems with dizziness, equilibrium, and severe headaches.  If you are not aware of mikes story it is simply another reason to visit the website and learn about him and how God has done amazing things through him and his family even in the midst of great adversity!

To learn more about Little Eden visit, http://www.mikeedenministries.org/index.html.

TO DONATE TO LITTLE EDEN on my behalf of racing Ironman Florida you have two options

1. You can make a check out to "Mike Eden Ministries" and either mail it too me.  I will then add you to my information and send your check onto Mike and Sylvia.

2. You can make a check out to "Mike Eden Ministires" and mail it to them. 36215 FM 1488 Rd, Hempstead, TX 77445.  I ask that if you mail it directly to them, please email me as well and let me know the amount.  I want to include you in my correspondence.

To be honest I go back and forth between feeling ready and going into panic mode.  Regardless I am going to trust my training, and run my race.  What pushes me is the fact that this is the most physical way I can learn that we as Christians are meant for so much more and we only get out of this life what we are willing to put in.  The more we study God's word, the more we go to him in prayer, the more grow in our relationship with him and the easier it is to him working in our life and how we can spread his gospel and look forward to the day we will join him in his eternal Kingdom!  In the same way if I don't train and practice I will not be ready come race day and I will not cross the finish line.  Not everybody crosses the finish line.  (maybe that's all a stretch, but it is what I see and it's why this journey has meant so much for me.)

With all that said, I will sign off for now.  I will definitely post one more time before race day!

We are Capable of Incredible Things

I sit down today to finally write another blog entry.  A lot has happened since my last entry.  So I hope you have time to read it all.

The only disappointing news for this blog entry is that I have not officially received any new pledges for the Little Eden scholarship fund.  I have, however had a lot of people tell me they plan to pledge money and that is encouraging.  I am currently just a little over halfway to my goal of $10,000!

Just a couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to go spend the day with Mike and Sylvia Eden.  What an incredible treat to get a chance to just spend some time visiting with both these amazing people who are perfect examples to me of what it means to be a true servant to God.  They both have family, friends, and lives here in the states along with personal struggles  they are dealing with,  all the while they continue to put themselves last and the kids of Little Eden and their vision of what God has called them to do first.  You spend just a short amount of time with these incredible people and you immediately see the joy and love they have for the Lord, their own family, and their extended family in Kenya at Little Eden.  They are an encouragement to me to know that we as people can make a difference in this world if we listen to what God tells us and we follow our heart.  I am just thankful that I can help in this small fashion by raising money to help these kids get better educated.  It is what helps me push through my training and strive to push myself towards my Ironman race in November.  We all need to realize we are all capable of doing something great!  So many of us are blessed in so many ways, and it is easy to forget or not realize it.  For some of us it is that we are financially blessed where we do not have to worry about making bill payments, or if you can even imagine worrying about where our next meal will come from or if we will be able to provide for our family.  There are so many who deal with this struggle every day.  That is true in Kenya, and it is true here right in front of us in our own city.  For a lot of us it is the gift of our health.  Can you imagine dealing with Cancer, MS, or any of the many other diseases which take away people’s freedom to even have the strength to get up in the morning and do the most basic things or get outside and do something active.  I can list a ton of people right now who have or dealing with this themselves or in their immediate family.  It’s difficult to remember just being able to walk is a gift and we are to use all of our gifts to glorify the Lord.  I guess it’s why I like idea of challenging myself physically to a point I would not normally go.  All I can say is I am thankful for my family and friends who I am blessed with and I hope I can continue to grow in my faith and make a small difference in this world somehow.  I am thankful to many people like Mike and Sylvia who are reaching out to those in need and making an impact in this world ultimately for the Glory of God.  I am thankful for the way so many of my friends at church encourage and inspire me by going on so many mission trips and doing incredible things.

On the triathlon front…..I have raced in two races since completing my Ironman 70.3, doing the Kemah Olympic Triathlon and the Combat Triathlon in Texas City.  The Kemah race was a bit of a disappointment since the bike portion was canceled due to the bad weather.  I did however have a great swim.  I also had one of my best runs ever at the Combat Triathlon a couple weeks ago.  I came close to hitting an 8’15’’ average pace which shatters any previous running PR.  In was a Sprint PR for sure.

I also was able to volunteer at Ironman Texas this year and what an experience it was.  I saw a lot crazy stuff working Transition 2 in the change tent.  I saw guys who looked like they had no business going out to go run a marathon, and I saw some guys who seemed like they were out for a Sunday stroll.  I learned a lot about what I need to prepare for in my transitions.  The highlight of the day was working the finish line from 9 to midnight.  I got to see most of my Tri4Him team mates cross the finish line and I also got to see my good friend from Church cross the finish line.  It was so encouraging to get a chance to talk to each of them once they finished and share in those moments of triumph.  On the other had I also had friends who were not able to finish like my college friend and fraternity brother Robi.  It is really encouraging to how he handled the entire ordeal and how he is already determined to continue in his journey to become an Ironman!  Each one of these people who do these races show we our bodies can do incredible things.

I hope everyone out there is having a wonderful Monday and your week is off to a great start!  

A Big Thank You for the Pledges So Far!!

Well it is has been a while since I put an entry in and a lot has happened since my last entry!  Above are some pictures of the new Boys Dormitory that is currently being built just down the road from the existing Little Eden site.  This will allow Little Eden to more then double it's current capacity of kids.  In addition to the dormitory for the boys, Apartments for Anne, the Orphanage director, and other workers are being built along with a large cafeteria for the kids to eat lunch at during the week since it is very close in proximity to the school for the younger children.  I spoke with Mike Eden, the owner and incredible man behind this orphanage along with his wife Sylvia, who just got back from Kenya and he told me how things have really progressed on the boys site and it is very exciting! I also added some more pictures of me with the kids.

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THE PLEDGES AND DONATIONS SO FAR!!!!  I have already got over $5,000 dollars raised for these amazing kids!

As far as for me, I am now back in Houston full time and working (well sort of, since we don't have a lot of work right now at our office) from my Houston office.  I got back just in time to try to squeeze in some last minute training for my Half Ironman race, IM 70.3 Texas in Galveston on April 3rd.  After much debate back and forth I decided I was ready enough to go ahead and race after doing a couple practice rides in Galveston.
I did the race and finished in 6 hours and 17 minutes and I was really happy with that time!  With the lack of training I had I just wanted to finish within 7 hours.  The swim went really well, and I was out of the water in about 40:44.  When I was getting out of the water, I felt great!  As I transitioned to the bike it was great to see and hear all my fans!  Thanks to Carson, Angie, Mom, Dad, Katie, Brad, Kyle, Billy, and later Kyle.  As I rushed to mount the bike I went a little fast in a mode I was not use too and messed up big time.  I ended up costing myself some time as I had to stop and put my shoe on and then clip in and get going.  The bike ride as a whole was really good.  Doing the two practice rides on the route was a huge difference.  I knew to save something for the ride back.  After crossing the bridge to come back onto the island it was again a huge surprise to have groups of my fan club along the route on the way back!  You have no idea what a boost of energy it was right when I needed it.  The bike ended up taking me about 3 hrs 1 minute. In transition to the run, I have to admit I was a little dead.  It took all I had to get moving and get started on the run.  I went ahead and had them cake on some sunscreen and I was off.  The first lap was good and I found I was able to hold about a 11:00 minute average pace.  I was feeling pretty good about that and was only stopping every mile.  It was the last lap that I started feeling like I had nothing left.  My pace started falling and I started stopping more frequently.  Once I realized I was getting close and I only had a mile left, I walked for a moment, let my heart rate drop and caught my breathe.  I was gonna give the last mile and the finish line my best.  I ended up running the last mile or so almost under a 9 minute pace.  In the end I felt good and I have never been prouder of myself.  I owe to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, my family and friends for their support, and also all the amazing friends and teammates I train with.  I know I am just another huge step closer to finished an Ironman and making a difference for the amazing kids at Little Eden Children's home!  I can't wait!!! Here are some pictures from Ironman Texas 70.3.

It must be a Turnaround

Well I have been meaning to make a new post for a couple weeks, but my time has been very small since I am currently working in El Paso for one of our clients helping on site for a Turnaround.  It is great to be back here and be working with some of the great people at Western Refining.  However, the long hours are making it tough to take care of personal things and Ironman training.  I did drive here so I could bring my bike and trainer.  I am now a member of the El Paso YMCA and I also now know what it is like to run through a dust storm....not fun!  Here is a picture of me climbing through a tower for your viewing pleasure. This is me inside a Stripping tower inspecting the internals.  For those of you who don't understand what it is I'm doing when I am working a turnaround, here you go.  Long hours and a lot of climbing and exhausting and dirty work.  It is a nice change of pace for a while from our normal office design work at MPEC.

I am very excited to say since I sent out my letter, I have a lot of response!  My current total pledged is already up to $2700!!!!!  A big thank you to those who have pledged financially or committed to pray for Little Eden and myself through the rest of this journey.

For those of you back in Houston, I miss you all very much and look forward to being done with this turnaround and being back to the normal.  For everyone else, I miss you as well, and we need to catch up.  I will continue to push myself train through the long hours and also keep up with my reading and prayer. I have so much more I would like to add, but it is only 8:30 and it is already time for me to go to bed to be ready to go to work at 4:30 am tomorrow morning!

Houston Half-Marathon Down, Half Ironman Next

Well this process just keeps getting more and more real.  I just recently, 1/13/2013, ran of what I assume will be many Half-Marathon.  It was a lot more fun then I expected and I am glad I did it.  It served as great motivation to continue to push through with my running throughout the triathlon off season.  It was was a lot of fun as well because a lot of Tri4him folks did the race along with lots of friends from my 212 class at church and even others like Billy Packer, a old friend from college.  It was amazing how many people came out to cheer people on in the horrible weather.  Brandi and my mom were some of those people along with John and some of the Tri4Him guys.  Thanks you all for the support!  It was a nice once the nasty rain stopped!

Now that I have completed a Half-Marathon, the next step of course is to complete a Half-Ironman.  With that said my next race will be Ironman 70.3 - Texas, being held in Galveston on April 13th, 2013.  Training is going to start getting tough and on top of trying to train, I will be going to work in El Paso for a month to help with a Turnaround.  It is going to take a lot of physical and mental strength to push through that and prepare myself.  While I am away, my personal goal is stay consistent with my faith and involvement and connection with church and also physically with my training.

I am getting ready to send an email out regarding the request for those who are willing to pledge funds for Little Eden Children's Home upon my completing Ironman in November.  It will include links to the Mike Eden Ministries, Tri4Him, this blog, and why I am doing this.  I am excited about making this all bigger then me! I will add another entry upon sending the email.