Off and Running!

Pun intended.  In early November I shared with you my excitement about an up coming race that we are going to hold in 2015.

Needless to say, we are a go and have a great committee that is involved in outlining all details and promote the race and events that surround the week.  There is still a lot of work left and more of the details will follow after the first of the year.

Some of the details that are nailed down:

• It will be a 5K & 10K race
• It will be held on Friday June 26th
• It will be a Twilight Run (race will start for both at 8:00pm)
• Time keeper established (more on this after the 1st of the year)
• Finish Line at Art Wright Stadium

There are still things I am excited to talk about...but just not there yet:

• 5K Course Map
• 10K Course Map
• Race Logo & Shirts
• I'm heading up the Volunteers...can't wait to start bragging about this even more
• Countless other items!

I will have links and hopefully more photos within the next couple of weeks.  Until then we have a direction, but are still finding our way.  Not much different than these guys:

But we are so close.  I also plan on putting together a training guide.  I won't be able to physically run in this one, but I sure as heck can get ready for it!

Keep working hard and stay strong.

Coach Bill

2014 Running Season Recap

Done with 2014.  I set some pretty lofty goals for myself, at least that is how it felt at the time, and nearly obtained all of them.  Blast that sub 20 min 5K!  Next year I tell you!

I wrapped up my season on Thanksgiving morning, a very cold Thanksgiving morning I might add. It was a modest and hilly 4 mile run in downtown Akron Ohio.  There was only minimal training or preparation for this race after the Hot Chocolate Run, but I felt ready.  My goal was around 7:00 per mile.  I am shooting for that mark for next year when I run my 2 or 3 half's for 2015.  Wanted to know how I would feel after 4 miles at that pace.  Well, I didn't get there but I did break the 29 minute mark for the 4 miles (28:48 - 7:12 pace).  I was amazed by some of the times considering the conditions being so cold, snowy and slippery (saw one guy go down and he didn't get back up). There are a lot of good runners out there.  I want to be one when I grow up.

But it was a lot of fun and while running on Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) you have time to reflect on what you are thankful for.  I am truly bless with my health, my family, my friends and countless other blessings the Lord has provided.  I thank him daily.

Final Totals:

3 5K Races:  Best time:  21:29.1 (included one trail run) PR
1 15K Race: Time: 1:09:13 PR
2 Half Marathons: Best Time: 1:38:32 PR
1 4 Miler - mentioned above

I couldn't be happier with these times and the effort put into preparing.  Again, I know I am not alone when I'm training or racing.  Thank you to my wife that put up with all the time training and for the support and mostly for joining me in a couple of these.  This is the 1st year we've done this and I'm looking forward to years to come.  Thank you to my running group from church for helping me through personal objectives and goals.  They meant a lot to me and I think the 1st year was a success. Thanks to God for giving me the courage to do this and to put these people in my life.  His shove has shown me I'm capable of so much more.

Over the next several weeks and months I will be posting about the Wadsworth Matchstick 5K/10K that will be held in June 2015.  This is a totally new adventure but God has open doors and hearts in making this happen.  For all that I'm grateful for that has happened over these last 12 months, I am that much more excited to see what he has in store for the next 12 months.

Keep working hard, because as my daughter tells me, "The harder you work, the better you get."

God bless,

Coach Bill

Are you ready?!

Its here!

AND HERE!!

OH BOY!  I cannot wait!  Who is with me on this one?

Maybe it will just be you and the other person in the mirror.  Push play.  Push hard.  You'll notice the difference!

You can do it and I'll help you get there!

Coach Bill

How are you going to tackle 2015?

I've got some great suggestions!

This holiday season, give yourself the gift of fitness or send your friends and family something they'll love all year long—the leaner, healthier body they'll get from these great Beachbody^® values!

You can get up to 85% off on serveral Beachbody Programs! 

Holiday Specials 


Take advantage of the Piyo discounted Challenge Pack and the PiYo Kickstart challenge pack.  They only last until the end of November.  

Don't forget...

I really do love this!

Keep working hard & Happy Thanksgiving!  4 Miler in the morning, who's with me?!

Coach Bill

Getting better!

It was dark, snowy and cold.  But it was the most fun I've had this year in a run.  My wife and I did the Hot Chocolate Run in Columbus again this year, and we had a blast!  Again, we did this last year and I was under the weather and Ryann was running her first 5K.  Are results weren't much to shake a stick at back then.  Amazing the difference a year makes.

We took the kids again and stayed with our friends in Columbus for the evening.

The kids had a blast eating chocolate candy, chocolate marshmallows, tootsie rolls, chips and jumping in the bounce house (they were fine...trust me).  Not sure why I can't get the "HEY!  Look at dad real quick before somebody walks in front!"  After 4 tries this is the best that I could do.

This year, like the Akron Marathon, we were blessed to have a lot of our friends from church come down and meet us there.  It just makes the entire experience more enjoyable when you add that friendly competition to the event.  But also to cheer on everybody that is running too.

Long story short, we did pretty well this year with our times.  No extravagant goals, other than to beat last year for both Ryann and I.

Ryann - 5K:  31:25
Me - 15K: 1:09:13 (7:26/mile pace)

This is my fastest pace for races over a 5K distance.  I was pretty happy, but I was hurting.  The weather has been harsh and training became a challenge.  Still recovering from this one.

*NOT tights...Compression pants

Only one more race left for the 2014 season.  A 4 mile run in Akron Thanksgiving morning, then start training for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Marathon!  Should be a lot of fun and again, it will be with a great group from our church too.  I'm blessed to be married to such a wonderful and supportive woman and friends who are wonderful followers of Christ.  

*I had to flip my hat inside out so I could be found in the crowd.  

Can't wait until next year.  Ryann hinted that she might try the 15K next year!  I'm holding her to it.  She has come such a long way and I'm so proud of her.

New goals for 2015 to come.  First goal...3 Half Marathons in 2015...1 Full?  Well, that's TBD.

Keep working hard and God Bless.

Coach Bill

I can't wait any longer

I have been reluctant to talk about this because I didn't know if things would actually fall into place. I have had 'grandiose' ideas in the past that either I didn't follow through on or things just kind of fell through the cracks.

"WELL...what is it?!" (that's my little girl)

Not this time.  Back in April I started a running club in our church.  We'd meet up at local towpath or trail and run together while training for a race, or getting in our weekly miles.  Needless to say one of my friends from the church and I kept talking about putting a race together for our church within the community.

Lets KICK this thing off! (that's my boy)

I'm excited to say, it is happening!  June 13th, 2015 we are going to be having a race in Wadsworth Ohio!  We've got the support of the community, the church and local officials are all on board.  I truly believe that God has his finger prints all over this.  We have been talking about this and praying about this for some time.

We have been waiting for this confirmation and this moment now for several weeks and since Ohio is pretty flat and there aren't many mountains, shucks, this is all I have to shout from!   It is impossible for me not to be excited right now.  I will continue to post updates and include more information.  God is moving in our community and I can't wait to see what is next!

Please continue to pray for us and wish us luck!

Coach Bill

Now is the time

Its been just over a year since I've been a BeachBody Coach.  I've loved every aspect of it and love telling about my transformation, but I mostly like hearing about others.  I have shared my story, Rachel & Steve shared their story and my friend Sharon...she shared a pretty awesome story too.

All these people have continued their success and have decided that they are not going back any time soon.  I'm going to do something I typically don't do very often and that's brag for a few.  

My first objective when I started BeachBody was to lost weight.  I wasn't happy with the way I felt. I knew I was able to do more.  My wife and I first started with INSANITY and that is when my appreciation toward these work out videos started.  It was a 60 day program that I did twice.  My problem was I had poor eating habits, that didn't change much.  Sound familiar?  I brushed it off thought nothing of it.  Once I got more involved with the program and navigated the website I started reading and hearing more about this "Shakeology" product.  Each video had its own little commercial.  Me...fast forward.  I'm not interested.

A year had gone by since doing INSANITY, training for my first Half Marathon and not losing more weight.  I didn't know it at the time but I came across an old friend who has been a BeachBody coach for a couple of years and a personal trainer, one Dan Bahry.  Found his blog and we reconnected after several years.  Talking to him, sharing our stories of where we've been and where we've come from was inspirational.  Next thing I know, I'm all in.  Step one, what's the Shakeology all about?  Dan let me try some.

I don't do commercials, but one thing is certain, after doing Shakeology for a full year for breakfast I am now a HUGE fan!  Those final pounds I wanted to shed, gone.  The vitamins I was missing, I'm now I'm getting every day.  That energy let down in the middle of the day, also gone.  The Semi-annual allergy attacks in the Spring and Fall, long gone!  I am sold!

Next step, continue the programs.  Since my accident in May of 2013 I've had to be very cautious about the impact.  I continued to run, I cut down on the distance and time as I am still trying to get back to normal.  As the weather got worse, I didn't want to go out and risk adding to my injury.  Enter INSANITY: THE ASYLUM!  30 Days, athletic training and second most intense work out I've ever done.  Then out came T25.  My love affair with my trainer, Shaun T, continued.  25 minutes per day, 10 weeks, modifier, did I mention 25 minutes?  This carried me through the winter months into spring.  I continued with the Shakeology program and I felt like I didn't miss a beat all winter long.

I wouldn't be talking about these if I didn't trust that they work and if I hadn't tried them myself.

God has truly blessed me by surrounding me with so many great people that keep me motivated like my wife, Dan and my friends.  The tools to accomplish my goals and yours are there too.  I know. I've done it...I've seen it...I'm not done either.  

I encourage you to check out my coaching site.  If you want to even just give Shakeology a trial run, there is a trial pack with no commitment.  All these programs are there.  All these motivators are there too.    

We all have something in common.  We all clicked on this website for the first time.  Those of us that stuck around have not only changed our lives, but the lives of others that we love and love us.  Make that next commitment to yourself, be an example, and know you're not doing this alone.  I have a 15K I'm training for in November and a 4 miler on Thanksgiving morning.  After that...THIS!

Who's with me?!  I'm doing it.  Come on...DIG DEEP!  Lets go!

Coach Bill

When your wife makes you proud...

You just have to brag about her!

She's been doing Cross Fit for almost a year now.  I'm so proud of her...and well she's now stronger than I am.

Check her out on their blog!  She's the athlete spotlight for October!  So cool.

Coach Bill

I came, I saw...

...I conquered the Blue Line.  Half of it at least.

Finished.  My wife and I did it.  What a good time, great weather and fantastic people.  Cu dos to all the runners, volunteers, event organizers and family members.

It all started Friday night when my wife and I hosted a small gathering of about 27 people for a pasta party.  Shared our stories, talked strategy and trash talk too.  It was truly a fun evening of excitement and anticipation.  After it was all said and done everybody went home to rest up for the race.  We were in bed and out by 9:30 that night.

RACE DAY!

I can't sleep for the life of me the day before the race or any race for that matter.  The alarm is supposed to go off at 4:30 am, and needless to say I was up at 3:50.  I just sat there trying to get what rest I could before the alarm goes off.  Up and at'em....

Only a few seconds left before we departed for our Coral's, so we ended up getting one final photo together.  I could not be more proud of her than I was that morning.  Then there's this crew...

These are the boys.  Some of the best men I've had the opportunity to be around.  Oh and there were some pre race antics.  Not for certain if it was fatigue being early in the morning, or just letting off some excitement.  This went on for some time.  Four of us ran the Half and two others were a part of the same Relay Team. 

I committed back in the spring to run a sub 1:40:00 for the 13.1 mile race.  I felt good the closer I got to race day, but still the butterfly's were there.  This group, albeit great guys, are very competitive too.  I promised them I would beat them.  A promise I couldn't back down from now.  We decided to hang out close to one another before the race started in the same Coral and then...we were on our own.  That didn't last to long.  I was about 50 yards from the start, looked back at the boys...winked and told them I'd see them at the finish!  So I took off and never looked back.  OK, I looked back a couple of times.  My first goal was to get off to a fast start and hit the 2nd mile marker at 15:40.  I liked the pace I was going.  The second goal was to be under an hour at the 8 mile marker.  Bad part, I never saw it!  I flipped out a bit and fear set in.  I must have completely missed it because where I thought I was...I wasn't.  I made it to the 9 mile market and noticed I was a 1:08:22 and started doing the math from my actual race time and had to subtract 44 seconds.  Right on pace.

At 9 miles you enter Akron University.  After that, only 2 hills left.  Cross the "Y" Bridge one more time, up hill at 11, find the flag at mile 12 and turn it on for 1.1 miles.  Between miles 12 and 13 I saw my buddy's wife.  She was cheering us all on, and I looked at her and asked, "Am I still beating Jamey?!"  Her response, "Yes."  That's all I needed to hear and I emptied the tank and ran all out.  This is the final turn before entering the Canal Park Baseball Stadium.

Nobody was going to pass me at this point.  All I kept thinking about before I turned toward the finish line was that clock better not be at 1:39:50, or I was in big trouble.  I turned the corner, looked at the clock and it read 1:38:02.  For the next 100 yards, my emotions got the best of me.  I was going to do it.  I did it.

I finished at 1:38:32, and 7:31 per mile pace.  I shattered my goal.  Hands on my knees, a lump in my throat, I just kept saying, "I did it.  I just freakin' did it."  I set the goal, I busted my tail for 4 months getting up at 4:30 am, and I did it.  I've never run this fast for that long in my 38 years on this earth.  I saw my wife waiting for me.  I was so proud of her too.  She ran her fastest time and furthest distance.  She did great.  We had a blast doing this together, and now she's been bitten by the bug.  We are already looking forward to the Chocolate Run in November.  Anyway, back to Saturday.  Everything was perfect.  The race, the weather and the friends.  I did beat my friend like I told him I would months ago.  I'll remind him again today.  For now, we all worked hard and we all did great:

What a fun summer.  What a way to cap off a season for me.  Next, the 15K and 4 miler in November then back to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in April!  Maybe a destination run in the fall of 2015....huh,...maybe?  

Thanks to those that ran with me, those that routed for all of us and those that knew I...WE were all capable of accomplishing more!

God Bless you all!

Coach Bill

This is it!

Tomorrow.

What I've been training for all summer long.  What I've committed to doing since spring.  It all comes down to these final hours.  Yes, its only 13.1 miles that I've committed to.  But like I tell my kids when they play sports.  

"Play fast.  Play hard.  Leave it there."

I will practice what I preach tomorrow morning.  My wife will run her first one, running the 1st leg of the Relay.  I've watched her work harder than she ever has before.  I have several friends that are doing this with us too.  Many have trained just as long, if not longer, and just has hard, if not harder.  I'm routing for them!  Then we get these!

More to come from our pre race pasta party and after the run!

Pray for us all.  We'll need it.  

God Bless,

Coach Bill

Less than 10 Days

Back in the Spring I made such a big deal about the Pro Football HOF and the swag that was given out that I'm not doing the Akron Marathon any justice.  Needless to say, the race is less than 2 weeks away and I'm getting excited.  I've been training relentlessly and have been setting myself up to achieve my goal of beating 1:40;00.  Its been difficult but as early as this past weekend I set a goal for myself to run 8 miles in less than an hour.

To set this up, our church running crew met at the towpath in Barberton.  My goal during the Half Marathon is to run the first 8 to 9 miles at a 7:30 pace.  This is aggressive for me since I've never done that before.  Ever.  If I can go 8 to 9 at that pace I can then slow my pace to something more manageable for the last 4 to 5 miles around 7:45 to 7:50 and reach my goal.  The towpath isn't as hilly as running through my little town, but 8 miles is still 8 miles.  I have been building up to this run, did some speed training and intervals through the summer and running distance at my desired pace at or around 7:30 per mile pace.  Last week I told my crew I was going to try and go fast and wanted to break 1 hour for 8 miles.  Well, I did it.  First time I ever ran 8 miles in under an hour.  I finished at 59:51 (time to spare too).  I felt great afterward too.  That feeling that you are so 'jacked' up that you can keep going to the next one too.

The time is quickly approaching and the best part is that my wife signed up to run the 1st leg of the Relay.  We'll get to hang out at the start and at the finish.  I honestly think I'm more excited for her to run than she is.  I'm pray that this gets her so excited that she is going to want to run the half next year.  I'm not going to say anything until after the race and the experience.  Then I'll hold her to it.  I'm sneaky like that.

Anyway, we do get some cool stuff this year plus a bonus for the Marathon Runners and Half Marathon Runners...SOCKS!  Wearing the blue socks this fall and winter with pride!

I like the blue men's Half shirt.  It goes so well with all my other black and blue shirts.

 By the way, I'm not sure if you hear, but LeBron James is back.

I can't wait to post pictures from the Freshwater Fit Club Pasta Dinner the night before, pre race and post race pictures.  Stay tune, stay true and stay strong.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 - Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

God bless,
Coach Bill

How big is big?

I've always been a big fan of Toad The Wet Sprocket.  There is a line in their song "Butterflies" that every time I hear it, I always get to thinking.  It goes:  "...weird when you get so close to something that BIG you can't see anything at all..."

Have you ever been a part of something bigger than you think it is at the time?  I can't think if I have, but about a week ago it happened to both of my kids.  I don't think they realized how special that situation or that moment really was.

My wife's sister and her husband treated us by taking the kids to dinner and overnight.  They went to a local restaurant in Cuyahoga Falls, OH.  It was a friends pub that was newly opening and there just so happen to be a special guest there.

Both my kids had the opportunity to meet an Olympic Gold Medalist.  Tim Mack the 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist in the Pole Vault just so happen to be there.  I'm sure it was planned some how but my kids had no idea.  That doesn't seem like much, especially to them at the time.  Meeting Tim Mack is one thing.  Getting your picture taken with him is something else.  Getting to put his gold medal around your neck and holding it for all to see...well now that is something entirely different.

I'm not going to lie, but that is such a cool moment that I was and kind of and still am a tad jealous.  An Olympic Gold Medal around your neck.  I had to ask questions!

What did you think? - "Cool!  He was really nice."
What was it like holding the medal? - "Cool! It was heavy"
Was it motivating (I'm asking an 8 and 5 year old to answer this)? - "Yes."  (their facial expressions told me that they had no idea what I meant by that.)
Did you get an autograph? - "A what?"

Big sigh.  Oh well.  What an awesome moment for these two.  One day they may look back on this and it may actually hit them what a rare moment this is for most people in the world.  Maybe one day.

Best of luck to Tim Mack and thank you greatly for taking your time to be a part of my kids lives.

God Bless,
Coach Bill

My reason for being

My baby girls birthday is tomorrow.  Both of my children mean more to me than anything that this world can provide. 

 

I always prayed that this precious little thing would turn into a free spirited, strong willed, athletic, smart and loving little girl. Ok, I lied a little...the 'strong willed' comment I am regretting. She is still more than I could ever imagine that I would be blessed with. And I wouldn’t change a thing.



 

Happy Birthday honey.  May God continue to bless you and guide you for many years to come.  Your mom and I love you dearly. 

My Story

I've wanted to share this for a long time, but was never really sure how to go about doing it.  Well, I'm just going to do it. 

My wife and I were baptized this past June together.  Other than being an awesome experience together it has brought us closer.  My daughter, pictured during Vacation Bible School, became such an inspiration to us both.

I hope you enjoy and God Bless you all.

My story is similar to many others.  I was raised in a loving house in which my parents and I attended church nearly every Sunday then off to Sunday school and youth group.  I remember always knowing about Jesus Christ and trusting him, but I wasn’t always convinced what His role would be in my life.  I wasn’t perfect but I was a good kid, I did the right things, I was nice to people and respected my elders with “Yes Sir” and “Yes Mama”.  I had it all figured out.

Enter college.  I had everything planned.  I was going to graduate with a degree by 21, check.  I would establish myself in my career before I ended up getting married, check.  Married by 25, check.  Have my first child before 30, check again.  Everything was going right.  I kept reaching for that next ring.  And after having my son, I knew in my head that next ring was financial security through making more money.  If I could financially get here we would be fine.  My wife could stay home, raise our kids, my life would continue to go on as I planned.  I wasn’t greedy with the amount…wasn’t praying to win the lotto; I knew the amount we needed to make it.  Over the next 4 years I would chase that ring.  I jumped at every single opportunity that was put in front of me to get there and to get out of another one.  This desire introduced me to people and situations that took me down a path of greed, anger, disappointment, a lack of confidence and major frustration.  I started questioning what I had done to deserve this.  I did everything right up to this point.  Why?  Why now?  For 4 years I voluntarily walk deeper into a dark tunnel and during this time I’d pray, but kept praying a prayer to Jesus letting him know “I’ve got this.  You’ve got more important things on your plate.  I’ll be fine, just watch over my family and keep them safe.  I’ll figure this out.”  The week before Thanksgiving 2007, it all crashed in on me.  As a contract advisor with a small company I was told that they were going in a different direction and didn’t need me anymore, income gone.  Driving home that same day with a lump in my throat I received a call from a recruiter on a possible job opportunity.  After the pleasantries he informs me that they were going another direction too.

After years of ‘having it under control’, I had no idea what just happened.  All I know is that it was completely unraveling and fast.  It took a couple days to finally sink in.  A couple months before all of this we started attending Wadsworth Community Church (now known as Freshwater) and the pastor (knows as Scott Brooks) was spending a lot of time on 1^st Samuel.  I could relate to the sermon and questioned myself if the Lord was speaking to me, but like Saul, I was hearing what I wanted to.  One afternoon, in early December Ryann was at work and my son at the sitters so I could be on the phone, reaching out to contacts and old acquaintances looking for job opportunities.  I was getting nowhere but I had people ‘praying for me.’  At this point going into Thanksgiving and Christmas, I was losing all hope for a quick response.  I was beaten down and lost.  I became so overwhelmed with emotion, recognizing my sins by putting my faith in earthly things.  I finally fell to my knees in my family room.  I remember sitting there looking skyward, tears welling up in my eyes and praying, “Jesus…I’m done.  I can’t do it anymore without you.  I need you and I need you right now.”   My walk with Jesus Christ was one where I wanted to be in front.  I wanted to lead.  I wanted to hear what I wanted to hear.  Right then at that moment it felt like He grab me by the wrist, like a Father figure before their child walks into the street, and a sense of relief that He could lead rather than walk from behind came over me. 

One week later I had 2 job offers, one south of Syracuse New York and another one near Cleveland.  The one in Syracuse, NY was enticing and they offered me more money to go there than any other offer over the past 4 years.  The money made it very attractive.  For many reasons this wasn’t going to work and I took the lesser paying local job.  I was done chasing that money ring.  Something told me I needed to stay here.  I was blessed with this job, albeit the challenges it presented at the time.  He had answered prayer and He had provided.  About a month into this new job I found out that my family would be blessed with a new addition. 

Even with my renewed faith hard times continued and I wanted to take control again.  You would think I would have learned my lesson and after 4+ long years in a very dark place, I did and I kept coming back to moment in my family room.  I will be patient and I will let him move me when he’s ready.  Another 4 years passed, and I was no longer driving from Wadsworth to Rocky River.  An opportunity was presented to me in Fairlawn.  He moved me again, and allowed me to do more for Him.  I’ve gotten involved with some great people here at Freshwater.  Ryann and I got involved with a Small Group, I became a co-coordinator for Financial Peace University and started a Men’s Fit Club here for guys who wanted to be a part of a group of believers and lose weight too.

More than 6 years have passed since that moment and I have been patient as to why I had to go through what I did to get here.  Last year our small group spent time studying the book of James.  After all this time of why and when, we read James 4: 13-15, “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 

I had it all figured out and I was so wrong.  Jesus Christ has been so patient with me and shown me so much over the past several years, but even more over the past 24 months.  It’s amazing what He will show you when your heart and eyes are open to Him.  I know there is so much more.  I want God to turn my ‘mist’ into a wave of his will and his desire.

Passions

My biggest passions involve my faith and my family.  One, however, is also golf.  I’ve been playing the game for…dare I say, decades now.  I played through high school and college.  I enjoyed every bit of it and would love to pass this passion on to my kids. 

Over the past several years I’ve taken my kids golfing with me.  I’ve started on the green and worked our way back to the tee box.  My son is now strong enough to do just that.  Several weeks ago I took him to a local golf course and I was rather impressed with the outcome.  He had, we had a great time together, but it wasn’t until I looked at this pictures that I saw his form and was impressed.  He is a great student, gets frustrate (but who doesn’t in the game of golf), and could be pretty good.

 

Last week I took him to the Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club.  This was his first experience at a Pro Golf Event.  I had gone for years and worked their during high school and college, so I had been there…done that.  A lot has changed over the years and it was a lot of fun and a great fan experience.

There was a ‘fan experience’ demo set up by Bridgestone that let you drive, putt and chip.  So we did it.  I think he could have stayed there all day.  Confession…I could have too.  The putting event incorporated a 20 foot put over a mound with a heavy break to the right once the ball gets to the hole.  So I put my dad hat on and…

Me: “Alex, line yourself up.  Take your time and do your best.”

Alex: “Ok Dad.”

Result = 1 putt…1 ace

Ace = 2 free Bridgestone golf balls.

 

I could have sat there with 100 golf balls and not made the putt.  With 2 golf balls he had a 50% success rate and nearly made both.  There had to be about 20 people watching, 'And the crowd went wild!!!!!"  It was impossible to get the smile off his face.  I just don’t think he thought about the difficulty of the putt and just…putted the ball.  I’m going to do that from now on.  He might not remember that day as we walked the grounds, watched some golf, observed the dew on the blades of grass and shared a Pepsi, but I will.  It was a blessing to be able to do this with him and I pray that I’m around for many more small moments like this.

Coach Bill

One wild and crazy summer

My recent post mentioned that the past month did get away from me.  Well between a vacation, garage sale, summer activities…yeah something’s just got away from me.

So…in summary here are a couple of pictures from our summer:

Did I mention that Alex took 1^st in the fun run and Korrine was the 2^nd of the girls to finish?  NO?  Yes?  I’ll mention it again.  Some more pics from our Family 5K/Fun Run.

Family vacation up to Michigan and the kids went with Mom and Grandma to Kitty Hawk, NC.

 

Make sure if you have a garage sale around your house, do not tell the kids what you want to get rid of.  My little girls plea:  “No, that bathing suit still fits and I always am on the elliptical.  See, its OK if I wear a helmet.”  I am going to have my hands full when she gets older.  But I will hang on to this photo for the rest of my life.

 

Just think, it’s only the 1^st of August too.

Coach Bill

Almost there!

Just not quite yet.

Its been a while.  Between family vacation, family events, continued training and life things did get away from me for a while.  I will post a few more blog posts over the next week or so since the training will soon be more steady and the time will be more consistent.  It’s my own fault for not keeping up with this.

Earlier in the year I set some pretty big goals for myself and I’ve been working hard to get to them.  Just not quite there yet.

Preping for The Half III

Trust me, this doesn’t mean that I’m going to give up on these goals.  I just realize I’m going to have to work even harder.  AND…looking at the calendar the year isn’t over yet. 

Several friends & I ran in the Susan G Komen race for the cure on the 27^th.  First of all, its an amazing event for a great cause.  That makes this so enjoyable.  The amount of people impacted by this type of event nationwide, knowing what several participants have either gone through it themselves or known somebody that has gone through it makes you want to work harder. 

 

 

This is what agony looks like with 150 yards to go.

It was humid and warm.  I pushed hard and set a new PR for my 5K time.  I finished the 3.1 miles in 21:29.1 at a 6:56/mile pace.  Ran my fastest mile yet (that includes training) at 6:07.  By the last ¾ of the last mile I was spent.  Gassed.  Legs felt heavy.  But there was pink everywhere and people cheering you on.  It hit me as I neared the finish line.  God forbid if I ever have to go through something with my wife, son, daughter, mother…etc anybody close to me, their trials and journey will be so much harder than what I'm doing right now.  Whatever pain, fatigue or frustration I’m experiencing now during this run doesn’t even come close to what others have experienced.  Their hardships and heartaches of losing someone to Breast Cancer.  Watching some of the survivors and family members taking part for lost loved ones is truly an inspiration.  May God Bless these people and I pray for their healing and growth.

In the end, Susan G Komen is the median in which the word gets out.  But it’s the survivors, the police officers throughout the run, the volunteers and the families that make the event worth it.  We run.  We have the easy part. 

 

If it wasn’t for these guys waiting for me at the finish, it would be even harder.

 

Plus, when I get a hug and a congrats from this beautiful woman, what guy wouldn’t want to finish.  Yes, I married up...several rungs too.

 

Coach Bill