Husband, Father, Athlete, Runner, Marathoner, Mental Health Warrior

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28 I first heard the scripture (that I remember) on a commercial that used to play during wrestling when I was a child (every commercial break). That scripture gave me hope. It let me know that all of the crap I was going through, in my childhood, that at some point I would see God and he would take it all away and I would get to rest. Yeah, I wasn’t your typical kid…somehow I could balance the knowledge of all of the kryptonites and their affect on Superman, and carry this thought process around at the same time. Not healthy, I must say… I am not here to complain or even talk about things that happened to me, or stuff I went through…that is not my point, not do I want to waste anyone’s time with that, but fast forward to March of 1992. I felt like I wasn’t worthy of God’s love, and that I was a waste of space, and I was tired of 20 years of pain and hurting. I decided (when I say decide, I mean met...

So I haven’t blogged in a while because it is hard to talk about things that leave you so raw and exposed. Maybe it is just me…it wouldn’t be the first time. My wife talked about 3Bird, and I don’t think there is much more for me to say… So the 17th is my 38th Birthday! Wow, 38….believe me, I know of at least 5 times in my life where this day was NOT guaranteed, at all. I can’t believe I have made it this far. I have a KEY rule for myself, on my birthday. Take a quiet, alone, few minutes and reflect on how my life has changed over the past 365 days. I hold myself to one rule: I should be in a better place than I was on my last birthday. Simple. I spend every morning reminding myself of that rule, knowing a birthday is coming. I firmly believe life is meant to be lived, not to just exist in. Every year, I should be improving something about myself. Hence why I say, “Keep it pushin…” Wow, what a year it has been. To say ANYTHING has been stagnant in my life would be a bold-faced lie. My ...

So my running calendar has changed. I am still doing the Poker Run 5k at Iroquois Park on August 10th; the Moonlight Mile and 8k Run on August 21st; but now my first ½ Marathon will be the Silstone Trail ½ Marathon in November; and then my first Full Marathon 3 weeks later on December 4th at the Memphis Marathon . Yes, there are links there, if you want to check them out. I am most excited as the summer is winding to its final stretch, that all of my hard road work, my gallons of sweat, and countless hours in the gym is focused on those goals, I put on myself when I ran my first 5k in May. I full well expect that this Christmas I will be asking Santa for a quick recovery with no injury :) Since I started this, I find it funny that people who comment fall under only two categories: Ones Who Also Run (“that is a GREAT time/pace/stride/heart rate” etc; “It is so addicting, right?”) and the Ones Who Don’t (“You must be crazy”; “Why would I run that far when I have a car?” etc). For thos...

OK so it has been a while since I have done a blog. Mostly, with the advent of Marathon Training, I haven’t had too much on my mind that hasn ’t been pounded in the pavement with each step. That is probably the nicest side effect (yes even over the weight loss) of Marathon Training/Running on a regular basis. I usually listen to music during my runs during the week. But Saturdays are my endurance runs, and I don’t have any music, I just try and find my “compass north” mentally and focus on the world around me. Running at the crack of dawn, when there are few people, makes the world almost seem like it belongs to you, to conquer. Plus there is the less cars means less of a chance of me getting hit  I also enjoy the instant camaraderie of bicyclist and other runners out at that early time. Everyone waves, says Hi, in between breaths, and smiles. It’s like joining an instant Club, that seems to be exclusive, but all it takes is an alarm clock and some determination to join. This ...

I was staring at pictures of my family (as I always do), and instead of smiling at the smiles of my Super Princesses, I was hypnotized at my wife’s face. I have always thought, and tell her every chance I get, how beautiful she is, and how sexy I find her. But something different came over me. I looked at her face in the many pictures. The closest word is appreciation, but that is like saying the sun is kind of bright. I look at my daughters, and looking past their infectious smiles, I see something else. I see well done hair styles, pretty dresses, wonderfully put together outfits, painted fingernails, toenails. I see the look they have when they are next to Damary. They love their Mami so much. And they should, she is wonderful. Yes, Damary loses her patience with the girls, but what Mom doesn’t?? The reason the girls look so put together on the outside, and are so full of love, silliness and hugs on the inside, is because of Damary’s Motherhood. I know plenty of moms who look at the...

So sometimes I wonder, as a man, as a husband, as a father, do we get the love and support we should? No, I am not trying to start any fights (especially in my own house), but in general, if you are a woman reading this, is there a lot that you put on your lover, boyfriend, husband’s plate, and he does such a good job at balancing it, and you, you just have come to expect him to “dance upon command”? I hear/read a LOT of women say there are no good men (that is a blog I will cover next time….I have theories about that, that need to come out), but what about the men that ARE good? The Aaron’s, Tito’s, Seamus’s, Brian’s, Namon’s, Damon’s, Carl’s (just to name a few). The guys, who regardless of their past, or how they got here, are doing a damn good job. Yes they are married, or in committed relationships, but let’s examine what happens when a women gets said “good man”. When a woman opens up her heart to a man, it is magical, no other way to say it, nor do I take it lightly. But there...

So summer is in full effect and a holiday weekend is upon us. Fireworks and grills will be firing up all over these wonderful 50 states. So I look forward to the new month that is upon us. It was a VERY rough June for me (just one of those down sides was losing my Gram), that even saw me really sick last week (ask my family the last time they saw me that sick. Hell, I think that was the first fever I’ve had in like 5 years). So I am VERY excited over the prospect of July. I woke up today, did my EA Active workout, weighted myself, and I had lost another 5 pounds over the last week. I am almost under 240, and have NO clue when I was down this much. Maybe when Damary and I got married. Other than the obvious holiday (or excuse for us Dads to play with fire and gunpowder), but Damary and I have big plans over the next couple of weekends. Our first cookout, and a family trip planned, which we are sure the girls will simply LOVE!! Don’t worry; I’ll have more details when it gets here. So a...

FATHER'S DAY!!! So this makes my 5th Father's Day, and I must say it is a nice feeling. I think Dad's are a little different (okay a LOT different) than women. For Mother's Day, it is generally understood the focus is to pamper Mom. To elevate her onto a throne and pedestal (and yes, Mom's you deserve it, I firmly believe that). But with Dad's it's a little different, and hard to explain. Let me try. I'll use baseball as an analogy/example. Whether a pitcher pitches a shut out or a no-hitter, or when the last pitch is thrown in the World Series, ever notice, even though all of the attention, accomplishment, and spotlight is on that that pitcher, he runs to one person on the field. Every time! It is the Catcher. You know why (and no, I am not just partial because that's the position I've always played, even in pick-up softball games lol)? Because, as some of you may know, the Pitcher and Catcher are known as a Battery. Negative, positive, exi...