GET YOUR KICKS.....

After taking a cross country trip, writer Bobby Troup composed the song, "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66."  The song made famous this stretch of highway (US 66) from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Although I'll have some "tune up" races and runs prior to this, that starting point, Chicago, is the sight of my next Abbott World Marathon Majors race, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.  On October 9th (exactly one month before I turn 51), I will set out to complete the 2nd of 6 World Marathon Majors.  My goal is to complete all 6 before I turn 60!

This year, 2016, is the year that I'm challenging myself, physically, to run 4 full marathons, and per the schedule, the BoA Chicago Marathon will be number 3 for the year (I already have completed the Fort Smith (Arkansas) Marathon on Feb. 14th and will run the Lincoln (Nebraska) Marathon on May 1st).

Once again, I will be running for a reason and that reason is to raise awareness and money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN (the site of my 4th and final Marathon of the year!).  The founder of St. Jude's, Danny Thomas, once said, "No child should die in the dawn of life."  That together with the Mission of St. Jude's, "Finding Cures. Saving Children." is what keeps my focus during the long training in all types of weather.  St. Jude is a wonderful organization and I encourage you to go to www.stjude.org for further information.   

Over the next 7 months leading up to the BoA Chicago Marathon and through the rest of the year, I'll be documenting this journey via this blog, Facebook, Twitter, Periscope and Instagram. Here is how to find me and keep up:

Twitter/Periscope:  @_timpeterson
Instgram:  tcpeterson01
Facebook: search for Tim Peterson and ask for a "friend request" 

Follow along and "join" me on this "trip" as I "Get my "kicks" at the start of Route 66!"

Now, let's go "run the world!"

[to support my efforts as a St. Jude Hero for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, go to heroes.stjude.org/timpeterson]

WHERE IN THE WORLD....

"Welcome to the Abbott World Marathon Majors Ambassador Program!"  This is what I saw earlier this week when I opened an email.  Time to back up and fill you in....

My running focus in 2015 had ONE goal; Get into and run the TCS New York City Marathon to cap off my (self described) "best year yet."  I turned 50 a week after this race and I wanted 2015 to be memorable.  I did get in (first time lottery pick!) and had a GREAT time training for and then completing THE Race Like No Other!

When one trains for a marathon, there are many miles to log...which means many hours to think.  Days after running the streets of New York, I asked myself, "what's next?"  

I like to set goals.  It keeps me focused to the process. While still in New York, I told my wife, "I think I'll go after running all 6 of the World Marathon Majors (Tokyo Marathon; B.A.A. Boston Marathon; Virgin Money London Marathon; BMW BERLIN-MARATHON; Bank of America Chicago and the TCS New York City Marathon)."  What a great goal to set that would take a few years to complete I thought. 

As the new year hit, I saw a post about becoming an Ambassador for the Abbott World Marathon Majors.  There was an application with a series of essay type questions.  I figured, why not?  I qualified based on their criteria of being enthusiastic and having a passion for running marathons to help speak to a larger running community.  So, I filled out the form and submitted it.

So with one major down (2015 TCS New York City Marathon), it's now time to set my sights on the other 5.  I'm not sure when I'll get them all done, but know this, I.WILL.GET.THEM.ALL.DONE!!  I truly believe that the only way one won't hit their goals is to give up and quit.  The Bank of America Chicago Marathon wasn't in my sights this year...until now!  Let's see if we can get into this one now! 

Stay tuned in and see WHERE IN THE WORLD is Tim as "Tim Runs The World!"

RUNNING CONNECTS US

I went for a run today.  3 miles. I like to run.  I'm not very fast, but run I will, in all types of weather.  Usually, I listen to music, but today I decided to use this 30 minutes of time to think. 

I was going back over 2015 in my head.  I thought about some new friends of Chris and mine from Virginia, the Rickard's.  The wife of this dynamic duo is Pam.  I first met Pam in the pages of book given to me by my wife, Chris.  The book, "A Race Like No Other," by LIz Robbins, about the 2007 New York City Marathon.  Ok...I think I need to go back and set this up:

In November of 2014 I turned 49.  I decided that I was going to have my "best year yet" as I exited my 40's and launched into my 50's!  What better way to cap off this "best year yet" then to run the BIGGEST marathon in the world, the New York City Marathon!  I knew it ran the first Sunday of November each year, which in 2015 was November 1st....8 days before I turned 50.  Now, fast forward to Christmas 2014.  Chris and I have a little "tradition" that we do when exchanging gifts to each other. We normally set a small budget between $50 or so TOTAL, which requires one to get VERY creative.  A number of years ago, I set a theme to my gifts and we have been doing that ever since.  Well in 2014, Chris' theme for me centered around "Running Your Race" with the NYC Marathon being the dream/target.   Among other things, Chris gave me the book with a note that said, "It's time to Run Your Race...NYC here we come!"  

I began to read this book, and with each page it got me inspired more and more that I HAD to get into this marathon (I won't discuss here, but there are about 4 ways to gain entry into the NYC Marathon and each of them, the odds are not in your favor!).  In this book, the author, Liz Robbins, "follows" the journey of a number of runners: some elite/professionals and other "Jane's and Joe's."  The constant:  everyone has a story to their journey.  One of these people was Pam Rickard.  Pam's journey grabbed me.  I kept waiting to when she would show back up in the pages of this book (I would highly encourage this book, whether you are a runner or not).  Shortly after the beginning of 2015, I was out on the NYC Marathon Facebook page and there was a picture posted of Pam and a NYPD Officer.  I believe I commented on it and Pam replied to my comment.  I was floored.  So I did what most of us would do....I trolled her Facebook page and asked her to be my "friend."  She accepted!  Blown away again.  Over the next months leading to the marathon, we had good FB posts of encouragement and mostly me just tracking ALL the cool things she was doing. Here is where we get to the title of today's blog.  Pam invited Chris and I to meet up with her and her husband Tom, the day before the race at a running shop on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.  Here's a pic to our meeting:

Pam is all over the country running, meeting with people, mostly connecting with others.  If connecting is a "spiritual gift,"  I believe Pam is flowing in it.  She tags many posts with "#runningconnectsus" and it's so true.

I think about all those that partnered with me to help the families of St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital as I ran as a St. Jude Hero.  We don't know all that those funds will do, but we do know that it is making a difference:  Running Connects Us

All those that have been influenced by Miss Robbin's book and did something they never thought possible: Running Connects Us

I recently connected Pam with another friend who shares a similar journey and passion to see a community healed.  I don't know where this will go, but:  Running Connects Us

Maybe it's someone reading this that is being inspired to go after something bigger than themselves...whether it's a running/fitness goal or something else:  Running Connects Us

It all started with a dream to run a race and a "random" Christmas gift (side note: I asked Chris what prompted her to order this specific book?  She said that when looking, it STOOD out to her....coincidence, fate, chance, luck or a "gentle leading?").  Your path is YOUR PATH..."let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." Hebrews 12:1b

So as you travel down the path on your journey, my encouragement to you today is to "Run YOUR Race," and remember, RUNNING CONNECTS US!

WEEK 12 and SOME OTHERS

As I conclude Week 12 (of 18) of my marathon training for this years TCS New York City Marathon, I want to give you a recap of the past few weeks:

Week 9  - Tough week.  Only got in 2 out of 3 mid week runs but didn't miss 10 miler on the weekend.  Also, we brought home a 5 yr. old Boxer rescue named Bella (she's with me in the pic above supporting St. Jude!)

Week 10 - I did get all my runs in, but boy was it hot and humid this first week of September.  My long run, 15 miles, on the weekend, started out good, but the back 7.5 miles was extremely difficult due to heat and humidity.  

Week 11 - I have been experiencing some different knee pain than what I have ever had in my training runs.  I chose to bypass the 8 miler I had scheduled and decided to ride the recumbent exercise bike as well as hit up the elliptical.  On my 16 mile run on Saturday, Sept. 13th, I felt good and the weather was nice...55 at the start and 65 at the completion, about 3 hours later.

Week 12 - Fall is starting to show up a bit.  Had good temps this week and especially on the weekend 12 miles (step-back week) where the temps were 48 at the start and 54 at the conclusion 2 hours later.  Paced good on the miles all week.  

As we enter into week 13, I have and 18 miler to complete over the weekend of the 26th as well as my midweek runs.  It's getting close....41 days from today (9/21) is Nov. 1st.  I told my wife, Chris, last night that it is amazing how my quest for this year is almost here and over.  Which brings me to the picture above:  September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and most of you know that I'm running the NYC Marathon as a St. Jude Hero for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital....raising money and awareness (to help support, go to http://heroes.stjude.org/timpeterson).  Did you know that 1 in 11 families with a child diagnosed with cancer files for bankruptcy?  At St. Jude families do not pay for treatment, travel, lodging and food because they believe all a family should worry about is their child.  That is why I'm running this marathon to cap off my BEST YEAR YET.  That is why I get up early or run late....so that families do not have to be concerned about how they are going to pay for on going treatment for their child and they can concentrate on getting them better.

Will you #SHOWYOURGOLD ?   See you next week for a Week 13 recap!

WEEK 8 - RED & YELLOW, BLACK & WHITE....

This past weekend I took my son Caleb on a belated college graduation trip...2 years belated.  It never seemed as if our schedules lined up:   I had just started a new job in March of 2013 and he started shortly after graduation.  Don't really know where 2014 went...but now we are here, 2015 in New York City!  

Since we are 8 weeks into the 18 week training schedule, the long run miles are getting bigger and from my past 2 full marathons, I know how important it is to not miss the long mile trainings.  So I said to Caleb that I had 13.1 to run while in NYC and want to see if he would run with me?  He didn't hesitate (I'm sure during and after he was questioning his logic) and on Saturday, off we went.  We started down 42nd Street West toward the Hudson River.  We ran on a nice path up to 68th and then over on 70th to Central Park.  After making a loop and a bit more around CP, we headed down 5th Ave until we reached the 13.1 mark!  The picture above is from Central Park and the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain that was placed there in Central Park in 1864.

There were many people out early on Saturday morning (we started our run at 7:30) whether we were running the sidewalks of the city or in Central Park.  One thing that I took note of was ALL the different types of people we came across:  young, seasoned, tall, short, men, women, thin, not so thin, etc.  All shades of color and many different languages could be heard.  It made me think (I had this thought another time I was in NYC); this must be what Heaven is like.  Galatians 3:28 says it best, "There is neither Jew nor Greek; slave nor free......for you are all one in Christ Jesus!"  Whether we are from New York or Nebraska; the United States or Sweden.....wherever we are, whoever we are, we are all "...precious in His sight!"

Smile at everyone...give a kind word too!

Keep on running!

WEEK 6 Training: 42 days down....84 to GO!

12 weeks.  84 days.  As of today, I am 1/3 the way done with my marathon training with 12 weeks to go.  Funny how these past 6 weeks of training just flew by.  If that is any indication, I'll be prepping for my follow-up blog to the TCS NYC Marathon!

As I reflect back over this "1st Period" (a little hockey reference there..go Wings!), it's been a good/productive 6 weeks.  I have covered 100 miles (missed one 4 mile run while my wife was in the hospital during week 4) and feel good about the training.  I had a chance to train in the cool temps of Michigan in Week 1 and the heat and humidity of my beloved Nebraska since then!  

The miles in these next 6 weeks section will really start to build up and although it is still hot and humid, I'm ready for them.  Each day it get closer to Nov. 1st, the more and more I think about the race; what will it be like?  What is my strategy; run for a PR or run like a tourist and take it all in?  I see/read on some of the NYC Marathon pages I follow that there are many like me, who this is their first NYC and are looking for information and although I have so many questions, I want this to be an experience like nothing else I have experienced so that this truly will be a "Race Like No Other."

However I choose to run, one this is certain, in 84 days, I'll be lining up with 50,000 others to take on the streets of New York through the 5 Boroughs.

Keep your focus as you pursue your goals/dreams.  As Ben Franklin said, "Well done is better than well said."  Don't just talk about it...DO something about it!

Keep running!

UPDATE:  Running as a St. Jude Hero for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, for this my 2nd time, is a great joy for me.  To date, many have helped to contribute to this great cause through my efforts as a St. Jude Hero.  I have a goal to raise $3500 and currently we sit at $2410...that is 68% of the goal raised!  Thank you to all who have made this possible.  If 22 people can give $50, we'll surpass the goal.  If $50 is too much, ANY amount is great and goes to a fantastic cause.  To help support my efforts, go to http://heroes.stjude.org/timpeterson  Thank you!

WEEK 4 & 5 NYC Marathon Training - Summer Daze!

WOW!!  What a CRAZY past 2 weeks.  When one sets out to have their "Best Year Yet," you might not stop the think about, ahead of time, disruptors to your plan.  In Week's 4 & 5 of my training, I had one such "disruptor" and another just pre-planned activity that was in the mix.


My plan has me rest on Mondays and Fridays and then run Tues-Wed-Thurs-Sat with Sunday being a cross training day.  Week 4 started out as a usual week.  Tuesday, July 21st, I did my training run after work.  That same day, my wife wasn't feeling well, so she came home from work that day and headed straight to bed.  After my run I checked on her and still no sign of relief.  At 3:30 on Wednesday morning, she woke me up to take her to the hospital.  Acute appendicitis was the diagnosis.....appendectomy was the plan!  It was a rough week for her but she turned the corner and is now doing great.  I missed my Wednesday run, but finished out the week. 

Week 5 training went as planned and finished off the running with a good paced 10 miler on Saturday Aug. 1st.  This weekend was also my wife's parents 50th Wedding Anniversary.  So it was a busy, yet great way to cap off the past couple of weeks.

So, what does all this have to do with being my BEST YEAR YET and training for the NYC Marathon?  Plenty!  Whether you are training for a marathon, doing a "plank" challenge or whatever, we are all going to be faced with "disruptors."  It's our response during these times that will determine the desired outcome we have to our plans/goals.  Control what you can control....remember, "My response is MY responsibility!"

So as you set out on your own BEST YEAR YET journey, remember, you are an overcomer and you can overcome!

Keep running to your BEST YEAR YET!!


UPDATE:
With the upcoming TCS NYC Marathon, I am running for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as a St. Jude Hero.  My fundraising goal is $3,500 and to date, I have 68% of that goal reached, $2,410 with 90 days until the race.  Please consider supporting my efforts and St. Jude's by going to http://heroes.stjude.org/timpeterson.  Any amount is greatly appreciated.