Week 16 : Thankful...

"There's nothing a man can't do if the spirit's there." - Franz Stampfl

I've almost met my goal! Muchos Gracias to those who have donated so far and a special shout out to my recent donations over the Thanksgiving holiday:

Mom & Dad (Sue & Dan) Foster
Aunt Marty
Nita & Jim Elizondo
Rique Bobbit
Jan & Henry Skala

You are all awesome! Thanks for believing in me and supporting the cause!

If there's anybody out there reading this who hasn't donated yet, here's some simple numbers:

3 more donations of $1 per mile ($26.20) reaches the goal.
6 more donations of $0.50 per mile ($13.10) reaches the goal.
11 more donations of $0.25 per mile ($6.55) reaches the goal.

Help me reach my goal & gut it out for Team World Vision!



The taper has begun. Only two more weeks until the big race. My midweek runs felt great. Not much soreness after the 20 miler (as compared to the 19 miler). I actually was running a bit faster this week. Blame it on nerves or the recent cool spell. Running in the cool morning air is awesome, though. I love when it's cold enough to see your breath. Maybe it's the "magic" of it because living in Texas, you don't get to see it all that often. There's just something cool about being able to watch your body work.

Week 16 Runs:

Tue: 5 miles
Wed: 4 miles (pace)
Thu: 5 miles
Sat: 12 miles (1hr 48min ~ 9:01 min/mile pace)

Total: 26 miles

The long run this week was 12 miles to start the taper period of my training. For those not in the know, the "taper" is the period of training when you step your mileage down to allow your body to rest and recover before the race. The run felt awesome and I kept it about 20 seconds faster than my usual pace, which I see as a positive as I really want to keep my time under the 4 hour mark.

Since this week included Thanksgiving, I'm going to take this opportunity to give thanks:

To God for giving me the ability and spirit to take on this challenge.

To my beautiful wife Amanda for loving me and being there for me through all the hours I've spent training.

To my 3 kiddos for loving their dad and for being an inspiration for him.

And to all my supporters, thanks for all your well wishes and your monetary donations to my cause!

Much Love!