McPHERSON COLLEGE - Bulldogs and Tigers Unite for a Cure

McPHERSON COLLEGE - Bulldogs and Tigers Unite for a Cure

Getting Back.......

Well, it has been awhile.  It has been a long while since my last blog.  When the fall season approaches at school, it seems like I'm usually trying to find every extra minute to focus on recruiting students for the next year's class.  So......blogging hasn't been one of my top priorities.

It's funny how things have changed.  Mom has been gone for almost 4 months and of course there hasn't been a day that goes by that I don't think of her.  I find myself still wanting to call her everyday after work like usual.  There has been good days and bad days....which is to be expected.

So let me update everyone on my miles.  Recently, I just hit the 400 miles mark.  If you can do the math in your head, I'm a few miles behind.  It took while to get back in the swing of things after I took some time off when mom passed.  The weather has also created a dilemma as well.  I plan on hitting the pavement, (or treadmill) hard this next week. 

I am going to follow a training plan I found online that I think I will like.  Previously, I was not following any plan, so I'm hoping this will help me stay on task. 

Tomorrow night, I will let everyone know how I'm staying active the PanCan.

Good night!!

Razorbacks, Rainbows, Reminiscing.........and Running.......

On July 31, 2011, my mom lost her battle with pancreatic cancer.......

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind.  We were able to get mom back home from the KU Med Center a few days before she passed.  She would of wanted this.  My dad, my sister, and I were by her side the whole time. Fortunately, mom also got to see her two sisters and mom a few days before she passed.

Although many tears were shed the next few days, a sense of peace came over me.  Finally, my mom was free of pain.  Finally, my mom was not battling any more.  Finally, my mom was free.  There is no doubt in my mind that Pappa, Grandpa, and Mark G. were their to meet her when she arrived at the gates of heaven.

I have been overwhelmed with the amount of support our family has had not only the past few weeks, but the last 3 years.  The community of Ness City has been nothing short of amazing for my family.  Also, the McPherson College community and the admissions team have been a incredible.

On Tuesday, we had mom's vigil.  As soon as we stepped out of the church, my cousin took a picture of the sky..........

I'm sure that rainbow is mom letting us know she was there!!  :)

Funny thing is, this wasn't the last sign we saw from mom.

Checking the weather the night before mom's funeral, Ness City was supposed to have a high of 115!!  We had planned the funeral at 9am for this very reason.  When we awoke that morning, it was cool as a rain had fallen that night.  Actually, it was kind of chilly!  The temperature in Ness City that day didn't get above 87 degrees.  That's mom......having it her way.......

The past few weeks have also seen a change in my running.  Actually, I haven't run at all.

So, the running continues tomorrow.  It will probably take me a few weeks to get back in the swing of things, but I know mom will be there with me the whole way.

I truly appreciate everyone's support through this trying time.

Remember to Teach, because mom was the greatest teacher.
Remember to Pray, because there are many people still fighting pancreatic cancer.
Remember to Support, because everyone can take part in this fight.

Matt

End of June

The end of June is quickly approaching and I have started to get a hang of balancing work, running workouts, and P90X.  So far, as of June 27th, I have logged 173 miles of running.  Although the longer runs have become easier, I have set a goal to start making runs faster.  Most miles I am averaging around an 8:45 pace and I would like to continuously drop that to an 8:20 pace.  I've made a new music list to help me do this, mostly consisting of techno music.  :)

Mom continues to fight to get better.  Two weeks ago, Kelsey and I got to spend the weekend with Kelsey's niece Kayleigh.  We drove to Hays on Saturday and visited the Sternberg Museum.  What a great trip!  Kayleigh loves dinosaurs so we thought it would be awesome to check it out.  Here are a few pictures below of the day!

That's a Big Dinosaur!!

Kayleigh through the greenhouse.

Kayleigh was a little scared of T-Rex (her favorite dinosaur)

After the Sternberg Museum, we made our way to Ness City to spend the night with my mom and dad.  Kaleigh was happy to see my mom.  We all loaded up that evening and went to the park where Kayleigh was super impressed with Ness City's park.  She loved going down the slide and showing off for my mom.  

Edited pic......one of my new hobbies.

Like I said, mom continues to fight to get better.  She is continually eating better and getting stronger.  A few times I have called during the evening I have caught mom and dad at one of John's (my cousin) little league baseball games.  I'm glad that she can get out of the house to do these things still.  One thing about Mom, she loves baseball, so June is always spent watching the College World Series.  One of my fondest memories of a child during the summer is watching Wimbledon and the College World Series with mom.  I can remember her and I watching John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors in tennis matches and just spending time together.  Great memories!!

Thanks again to everyone following this blog. Remember, if you have friends or family that want to support a cause, tell them about my journey.  I hope you continue to read my blog and follow me.

Remember to Teach.  Remember to Pray.  Remember to Support

I Hate It.....But I Love It......

Pretty crazy right?

Yes, Kelsey and I have started the P90X program.  We did this program before we got married and we felt it was time to start it again!  So, last week, we started our adventure.

Are we sore???!!!  Of course, we know that after the first few weeks of working out, the soreness will go away and it will become easier.  I was pretty bummed last Thursday when we couldn't find our Yoga cd since it was one of my favorite workouts.  We will keep you updated with each phase on how we are doing.

After the Suicide Hill Run, my legs were really hurting, so I took a few days off.  I think with the longer runs I'm going on, my body is still getting used to the pounding.  The runs have become harder as well since the weather in Kansas is brutal during the summer.  I decided last week that I would start getting up early in the morning to run some.  There are a few days I will do a morning run and an afternoon run and then take the next day off or do a short run on my off days.  I have to coordinate with the P90X workouts on my days off, so it will be a work in progress over the next few weeks.

I'm not going to be able to make a few races that I wanted to, so I'm going to focus right now mostly on the MOPS run in Marion as well as the half marathon run in September in Hutchinson.

I have a few ideas of some neat mom stories in the next few blogs so stay tuned!!

Remember to Teach.  Remember to Pray.  Remember to Support.

10K

Suicide Trail Run

There is Suicide Trail Run.....................

Last Saturday I ran in my first 10K!  What an awesome experience it was!! Kelsey and I drove up to Little River at 7:30 am so that I could get there at a decent time to warm up.  Little River is a small community just 15 miles west of McPherson.....such an awesome town.  Little River was in full force at 7:45 when we got there!  I saw alot more runners then I thought I would.  I got a good warm up in by jogging a few blocks and stretching real good.

Right before the race started, I noticed that there were about 30 people in the 10K race. People of all ages were in our group.  When the gun sounded, everyone started sprinting!  HaHa.....I thought to myself, "No way I'm going to keep up this pace for 6.2 miles!"  I got behind a group of people that were running about an 8:15 mile pace, so I got behind the group and kept the pace.

Beginning of Race

The first 2 miles were ran on pavement and dirt roads, something I was really used to.  My legs felt pretty heavy these miles.  My legs have felt really heavy the past few weeks, so I knew I needed to push myself.  My second mile was ran about the same pace....8:30 pace.

Then, the hills started.  At the second mile, the pack turned onto a cow pasture and started the uphill climb.  Most of the 3rd mile was going up and down hills in pastures.  The scenery was awesome and weather was just great.  The pace really slowed down though........10 min pace.  My legs were not used to the hills and rough terrain.

After the 3rd mile, my legs finally felt good.  I took the pace back down to a 9 min pace.  Although there were tougher hills and even 2 creek crossings, my legs felt really good to push myself up the hills.  I knew the "Suicide Hill" was coming up, so I wanted to keep this pace until that mark.

The 5th mile is when "the hill" showed its ugly self.  Really steep and really rocky, the hill was really tough to go up.  I got 3/4 the way up, and brisked walk the rest of the way up.  After I finally beat the hill, it was pretty much smooth sailing to the finish line.

Finish Line

My final time was 54 minutes and 1 second. I beat my goal of less than an hour.  I'm really looking forward to running in some more trail runs in the near future!  Thanks to Little River for putting on a great event!!

Getting some Gatorade and a banana after the race

MMMMM.......banana.......

The miles keep coming.......

Quick thank you to Lynette for sponsoring miles! I appreciate it so much!

I hope to blog more often now that summer has started.  So keep watching!!

Remember to Teach.  Remember to Pray.  Remember to Support.

100 miles down....

Well, if you are watching my daily mile tracker, you might notice 3 digits now!! I ran 4 miles with one of my good friends this evening to make my total number of miles up to 102!!  I'm really excited to get past this hurdle considering it took longer than expected to get here.

Next Saturday I will run in my first 10K race.  The 10K is in Little River, KS and is called the Suicide Hill Trail Run.  Now, looking at what the race is called, I'm surprised anyone wants to participate.  This will be a cross country race with two creek crossings.  It will be interesting to see how I do since I have only ran on pavement since I have started.  Kelsey will be coming with me to take a few pictures and cheer me on.  After the race, we will head west to see mom.

This week is finals week at the college, which is always an emotional week.  It is especially emotional this year since my first real recruiting class are graduating.  It has been a great 4 years watching them grow both spiritually, mentally, and personally.  I must say, McPherson recruiting a fantastic class 4 years ago.

Mom has continued chemo and continuing to eat very well.  I can not wait to see her next weekend.  Thanks again everyone for your prayers and support.

Remember to Teach.  Remember to Pray.  Remember to Support.