Ramblings – Final Thoughts on a First Impression

The Art of Going Around in Circles

It has been just over a month since I started my longest race to date in New Jersey. I did not expect it to take me this long to take the time to compose my thoughts and share them with you. By far, this race was the most complicated and hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’m still drained by it in a way I can’t quite explain. The race itself was the culmination of over 15 months of preparation and countless hours of mind-numbing speculation. I am going to spare you the details of all that preparation and share my race experience in the way I experienced it.

Before I begin, I want to tip my hat and say thanks to Rick and Jen McNulty and their whole family for a wonderful event. Three Days at the Fair is a well-run event, and that starts with having great race directors/hosts. After experiencing the event I understand why folks have come back year after year to the fair. The atmosphere they help create is welcoming and encouraging. When you’re in over 96+ hours into an event, that can make the difference between finishing strong or convincing yourself to quit. I would like to give a special shout out to their son Randy who was there to greet me every lap during those cold, mind numbing nights. It was very much appreciated and helped me maintain just a touch of my sanity.

Setup

I arrived in New Jersey at the Sussex County Fairgrounds around lunch on Sunday, May 9th, just in front of a nice rainstorm. When I arrived, there were only a handful of folks milling around and picking out spots along the course to set up their tents/aid stations. The real fancy people had motor homes/trailers/popups already placed around the first 2/10ths of a mile of the 1-loop. During this time, I met Steve Smith from Kentucky. Steve is a seasoned endurance racer whose crazy race calendar makes me look a lot saner. I would not have survived the first 96 hours without Steve’s continuous encouragement and checking in.

Ultimately, I selected a place on the out and back straightaway next to Steve a little less than a 1/10^th of a mile from the start/finish line. I set up my pop tent and placed my cot tent right behind it and conversed with my fellow racers before leaving to get last minute supplies. I opted to spend the night in a half a star Econolodge in town of Newton, New Jersey, instead of my tent. This would be the last time I would sleep more than 4 hours straight for the next 3 weeks.

The Fundraiser

On top of running a race, I was running a fundraiser for Shelby Emergency Assistance (SEA). My idea was why not kill two birds with one stone. 2020 kept SEA from conducting many of their usual fundraising events. I felt like the race would be a unique way to raise funds so the slogan was born, “Jeff will run so that you don’t have to.” Slick campaign flyers and photos were made up and we started the campaign roughly 10 days before the race with a fundraising goal of $5,000 for SEA or $10 for every kilometer I planned to cover.

My Goals

I had several different levels of goals for my 6 Days at the Fair. My first and minimal goal was to get 311 miles (500 kilometers) of movement in over the course of the event to support the fundraiser. That translates to just over 52 miles a day. My secondary goal and target goal was to get 372 miles (600 kilometers). My reach goal was 404 miles. My game plan was to knock out 75-80 miles in the first 24 hours with 1-2 hours of sleep during that time followed by 4 hours of sleep in every 24-hour period following that except for Day 6 where I would settle for only 2 hours of sleep. With my fuzzy math this came out to 120 hours of movement and 24 hours of sleep/rest. The thing about game plans and ultras and endurance races is that they are all good and fine until you encounter blisters.

Race Day

I arrived back at the fairgrounds about 2 hours before race time. Other folks had started to fill in the open spaces next to the out and back area around me. It seemed to be a popular spot. I slowly began to meet many of the other folks just as crazy as me. In all, 48 people signed up and started the 144-hour race. In addition to our race, there were folks running a variety of other races including 72-, 48-, 24-, 12-, and 6-hour races. Every morning at 9 a.m. folks would start their respective races. This made things a lot more interesting as we got closer to the weekend when folks running a 24- or 12-hour race with fresh legs.

The Loop

I made the conscious choice NOT to go around the loop prior to the race. I wanted to be surprised on Monday morning. The thing about 1-mile loops is that they are not created equally. Hour after hour and day after day they wear on you differently. From above, the course looked like a mushroom with a line coming out of the bottom of it (the out and back). The course began on a nice brick concourse that was a false flat with structures on either side and big hardwood trees providing cover. It was immediately followed by a concession stand area that served as the race aid station. A small 2-3 foot step up put the course’s restrooms right in front of you before a quick zig-zag that led to the out and back part of the course. This is where the bulk of people set up their aid stations/RVs/tents. The back part of the out and back slow slid down a small decline before it took a right with a slight incline to break back left on a long half mile bend that would make the top of the mushroom. At the end of the long bend there was another left on an unpaved gravel path for a short stint before making a right and then another left to carry you back to the start finish line. If you are wondering, I typed all this from memory as the course is permanently burned into my memory now.

The Race

Day 1 Monday Funday

My race began at 9 a.m. on Monday, May 10^th. I started the race in true Alabama fashion with my Bubba Gump hat along with Run Forest Run shirt from the 717-mile virtual race infrom 2020. For good measure, I color coordinated with shirt my socks with my shirt. If you are going to look tacky, at least try and look good doing it.

My first day on the course went well. I put down 73 miles, slept for about an hour and a half, with no blisters. I mixed running with mostly walking. I focused on only running the declines on Day 1 and walked the rest. Overall, I was happy with how things started off. I felt great and moved great. The first night was cooler than I expected, and that helped slow me down a little. Either way, all my goals were still in reach, and almost nothing was bothering me.

Day 2 Sleepless in Augusta: Part 1

Day 2 continued on from Day 1’s success. A handful of runners showed up at 9 a.m. to start their respective races as the fools in the 144-hour race kept moving on. At this point in the race, I had a pretty good idea on who everyone was and their ability level. It was fun to watch the front runners as they lapped me and watch their effort levels. There were some truly amazing athletes out on the course and watching their performances was inspiring and encouraging. During this time, I listened to primarily audiobooks during the day and my music playlist at night. I hit my first 100 miles before dark and got a couple of more laps in before trying to get my first real sleep. It did not work. I laid down around 8 p.m. and was back up at 9 p.m. without sleeping. 4 hours later I tried again. I managed to lay around for 2 more hours without being able to fall asleep. My pace slowed and my left knee started bothering me during an even colder night than the first. At the 48-hour mark, I was just 122 miles in. About 10-15 miles less than I had planned.

Day 3 Sleepless in Augusta: Part 2

On Day 3 the lack of sleep and bum knee started getting to me. I briefly left the racecourse around 11 a.m. to go get a knee brace at a local Walgreens. Ultimately, it was more of a nuisance than a help l, and I quickly abandoned it. I opted to slow down my pace and keep moving as I found myself unable to go to sleep. I began to feel the wear and tear on my body as it desperately wanted rest. My body was so amped up that it was unable to find rest. When it got dark around 9 p.m., I opted to go take a shower and try and sleep. The warm water helped my aching muscles, but once again I tossed and turned for an hour before I gave up on sleep and went back on the course. At this point I was unable to carry a conversation with anyone. I covered 46 miles on Day 3 to 168 miles, and I began to feel my race slip away.

Day 4 Sleepless in Augusta: Part 3

I hit my lowest point on Day 4. My body and mind were so exhausted that I could not rest. At this point, I was over 24 hours without caffeine as I was trying to help my body rest. I went out and would complete a lap , and come back and try toand sleep. I did this pattern for most of the daylight hours. My memories from days 3 and 4 are spotty at best as I really do not recall much except several conversations with Steve and my girlfriend, Lora. Steve had been fairly close on mileage with me up to this point and then he put 30 – 40 extra miles on me during the day as he got his second wind.

At this point I began reassessing my goals. I never thought my inability to sleep would do me in at an endurance race. But that is where I found myself. At around 5 p.m. that day, I left the fairgrounds again and drove into a local diner in Newton to eat a normal meal. I was looking for anything to help me sleep. I had been taking melatonin gummies and depriving myself of alcohol for well over 30 hours at this point. I came back to the fairgrounds and propped my feet up and tried to relax. Frustration does not adequately describe where my headspace was at during this time. I took another shower and finally, at 9 p.m. I fell asleepto sleep for 4 hours.

They say nothing good happens after midnight. I tend to agree, but not in this case. When I woke up, I was shaking from the cold. My body had been running hot the last couple of days and those early May New Jersey nights ain’t nothing to mess with. Those 4 hours of precious sleep changed the trajectory of my race. It would be all I needed to complete my race. I got back out on the track and began making laps again. I was not as fast as I once was, but much faster than I had been. I started running calculations in my head of what I needed to get back to my goal of 311 miles and I was doing well enough that is was still a possibility. At 9 a.m. Friday morning I had completed only 24 laps for a 24-hour period for a total of 192 miles, but I had a new lease on life. I also had much needed support coming. I began looking at this race like a 48-hour race. I only needed 119 miles to meet my goal.

Day 5 Eastbound and ‘Round

With semi-rested legs and a new lease on life I kept plugging away miles and the stupendous rate of 2.8 – 3.2 miles per hour from roughly 6 a.m. on Friday, all afternoon, and into the night. I had switched off audio books to the Ski playlist I had made for my time out on the slopes in Colorado. It kept me moving. Every lap I recalculated what I needed to make my goal. It only changed by seconds, but I kept banking time.

Roughly 105 hours into race, the main thing I had been missing showed up: my crew. By biggest mistake/regret during this whole race was not having a crew with me. It slowed me down considerably every time I took breaks or when I needed to find something. Activities I’m used to taking me 5 minutes took 10 -15. It is also hard to work on your feet or get good rest when you are doing everything yourself.

My girlfriend Lora arrived at roughly 6 p.m. and joined me for a couple of laps to see the course. She was the one behind the time lapse video made that WordPress won’t let me share without paying them lots of monies. Her first task was grabbing me a sandwich from Jimmy Johns from a place called Sparta a couple of miles away. I needed some different fuel than I had been getting. I never got to ask her when she walked into that Jimmy John’s if she said, “This is Sparta,” but I would like to believe she did. At least that is the way I’m going to remember it.

I kept trudging away the miles and keeping my pace above where it needed to be to meet my goal. I made the decision that I would forgo sleep again as I was not tired anymore. Looking back, I do not think I would have been able to sleep if I had wanted to. The primary reason being that Lora had already occupied my one-person cot tent and was sound asleep. The secondary reason was that I was still carrying that second wind. My mood was great, my body was moving, and I was experiencing that runner’s high that I had not seen since my first day. At the 120 hours mark I found myself at 256 miles covering 64 miles in the previous 24 hours. A far cry from the pitiful 24 miles I had put up from the day before.

Day 6 – No Sleep Til’ Brooklyn

At 9 a.m. my goal became clear. I needed to cover 55 miles in the last 24 hours to reach 311 miles. The day got off to a great start and then it started getting hot. Nothing will zap you quicker at an endurance race than temperatures getting into the 70’s with humidity and sunshine. We also picked up a plethora of new people running a variety of shorter races. The track got fuller, and I felt my energy starting to zap away around noon, but I did not stop. I attempted to slow down my pace slightly to try and conserver energy and keep my heart rate down. Cloud cover moved in the early afternoon giving some respite from the sun, but it was still hot and humid, and I forged on. At this point I’d make 5 – 8 laps and stop to take a break and let Lora work on my feet. At this point, I had a lot of inflammation in the bottom of my feet. Herurt foot rubs were one of the reasons I was able to finish.

By 9 p.m. that night I had crossed the 286-mile mark. I started to feel the effects from lack of sleep and a bit too much sun, but I knew I did not have time to rest. There was no guarantee my body would start back up from a 2–3-hour nap, and I did not want to risk it at this point. I trudged on into the night and was kept conscious mainly by the 12 – 24-hour racers who were passing me really frequently. There is nothing like watching someone on 3 hours legs versus those on 135-hour legs.

Around 1:30 a.m. I passed the 300-mile mark and made my 303 miles (The Belt Buckle distance) at 2:53 a.m. to an almost empty concourse. I decided to have a little fun and use a prop that had showed up earlier on Saturday, a plastic leg. Here is that video in its fullness:

When I got back to my tent to have my feet worked on following that lap, I passed out within 15 seconds of Lora starting to work on my feet. She let me sleep for 45 minutes as I was beyond tired. I got up and struggled through the final 8 miles and completed lap 311 around 7 a.m. Lora was there with me for my final lap as she made the wise decision that I needed to stop. Lora began cleaning and packing up as I stretched my legs before going to shower.

The Aftermath

There were many great things about the race, but the award ceremony was special. The New Jersey Trail Series has been hosting this event for over a decade, and they give out awards for lifetime miles. I got to watch several people receive awards for lifetime miles in the thousands. It was obvious that they have a very tight knit trail running community in New Jersey and watching this ceremony just reinforced what I had been seeing all week. My biggest regret is I did not get to enjoy all the camaraderie as I spent too much time in my head fighting the inability to sleep.

The fruit of 6 days of labor on my “vacation”

After receiving two lifetime medal tokens for mileage (100, 250) and a brand new “303” belt buckle we started the drive south through the Delaware Gap and on down Interstate 81. Surprise, surprise, I was unable to sleep on the car ride south. We stopped in Virginia after driving for 7 hours and spent the night before coming the rest of the way home on Monday. Sitting in the car for a 15+ hour drive was probably not the best way to recover, but I needed to get home from my “vacation” to get back to work.

I was fortunate as I did not suffer many of the setbacks, I’ve faced in my previous endurance races. I had very few blisters and I was still able to walk well after stopping the race. My biggest problem was sleep. It took me over 3 weeks after the race to sleep more than 7 hours continuously. My Fitbit tracker told me that I got 14 hours of sleep during the 144-hour race. However, I know that many of those times it counted an hour of rest here and there I did not sleep. I realistically got around only 6 hours of actual sleep across a 144-hour period. As I write this now, I feel like I am still recovering from this aspect of the race. For now, I will continue to recover and likely wait until October to attempt my next multi-day race: The Endless Mile.

Thank You’s

I would like to start of by thanking the McNulty’s once again for hosting an amazing race. I would like to thank Steve Smith for helping me keep my sanity during the first four days of the race and beyond. I can’t believe you went and did another multi-day race 4 days later. You are a Wildman! I would Like to thank Dr. Amiee Mellon for putting together a wonderful fundraising campaign for SEA. I would also like to thank Lora Vaughn for coming to my rescue, getting me across the finish line and home. This would not have been possible without you. Finally, I would like to thank all of you who gave to the SEA campaign. That $7,500 will go a long way to helping families in Shelby County.

The Final Numbers from the Fair (May 10 – 16)

Steps Taken: 694,000+

Calories Burned: 84,806+

Funds raised for SEA: $7,500

Miles Covered: 311 Race Miles

Redbull’s consumed: 18

Measured Sleep: 14 hours (~6 actual)

Weight lost: 8 lbs. / 22% body fat

Cousin Eddie sightings: 3

Audiobooks completed: 2.5

Gritty sightings: 2

Bear sightings: 1

Belt buckles earned: 1

It’s Never Too Late To Go Back

It’s been about 40 months since I wrote anything of substance for public discourse. I remember it well, or at least my Google docs does. It was the last Bowl Extravaganza Spectacular of Ridiculous: The Final Final Final Predictions for the infamous JP Predicts website. It was the end of a five-year journey where I joined three friends in writing absolutely ridiculous game capsules and predictions of SEC and Top 25 football games. I (JP) brought the bizarre insight. Ash was the most credible sounding, Nate was the Vandy fan who wore his heart on his sleeve. Honest Abe was anything but honest, but probably the most well liked. Yet, only a few select people ever knew who he really was behind the personality (It wasn’t me). The Prediction website brought us notoriety in the form of thousands of semi-faithful weekly readers, guest spots on radio, hate mail and even eventually a regular gig on in studio on a weekly radio show. My father always told me I had a face for radio… I think he was right.

So why did it stop?

Writing two weekly columns during football season and trying to keep them funny eventually wore me down. Heck, I think it did everyone else if I’m being honest. You can only recycle so many Dan Mullen jokes before they get stale, just like Florida’s offense since Urban Meyer left. If I (JP) provided the heart of the predictions, Ash and Nate provided the meat or substance of it. Honest Abe was the blood that kept it relevant, despite a BAC three times the legal limit. I began losing my passion for it in the Fall of 2016. In between grad school, professional career, a football prediction website, and life your time fills up and you burn out. Looking back I made one big mistake. I forgot to the really talk to my fellow predictors before pulling the plug. I just made the decision it was over and I was done. It’s never too late to back and apologize. In my truest form…

To Ash…

Thanks for jumping on the train even before it left the station. You got me to think outside the box and helped turned the website into more than I every thought would be. It rekindled our friendship and has led to some pretty amazing adventures long after we closed up shop. I don’t think there would have been years 2 – 5 if you had been absent. Also you brought Nate on board. Everyone needs a Vandy fan for a whipping boy, but I would have never found him myself. Besides, I needed someone that could be better than me at least 40% of the time. Thank you for being my Cole Naughton Jr. in my Rick Bobby world.

To Nate…

I always wanted to call you Nate Dawg, but for some reason I didn’t. That’s at least something to be thankful for on your end. Where Ash was on from the beginning, you caught the train before it left the station and none of us were the wiser for it. Having that second voice of reason as well as the eternal optimist and the champion of the underdog is what made our shtick with the penny flipper work. You ate crow with the best of us and the site would have had a different tone without you. Ultimately the brand (if that’s what you want to call it) would have suffered. I will remember you fondly and keep you in my thoughts and prayers for living in the land of the Leghummpers.

Honest Abe…

Ol’ Abe… You know and I know that the site would have never existed without your expertise. What I didn’t expect is for you to run with the idea of a penny flipper I dreamed up and own is so thoroughly. The true nature of your Jekyll and Hyde personality only made things even more funny for those of us who knew who the man/woman behind the penny really was. We never knew until almost publishing time what you were going to write or who you were going to insult. You always got the last word. If you had been a rug, you would definitely tied the room together. I’m sorry about how things ended and I feel bad that you don’t even watch football anymore. However, I won’t apologize to your or Ash for my disdain of Miller Light. That’s just a bridge too far for me.

So what’s next?

So now that I’ve gotten all that off my chest, I feel like I can start writing again, mostly guilt free. It was an apology that was long overdue, especially since we never got paid. I’ve missed writing almost as much as the Houston Astros or New England Patriots miss integrity. And if you are reading any of this for the first time, I recommend starting at the beginning. I’m got some lofty goals out in front of me maybe some stories to tell that will help others. If nothing else, I do it for mama.

A Change of Plans…

There is an old saying that “life happens while you are making plans.” I started this year with some rather lofty goals and plans. Some of these lofty goals included running 1200 miles, adding to my existing half-marathon challenge, and beginning to outline an autobiography. Slowly, these goals began to fall by the wayside. I’ll touch on them later. So lets talk about goals I can mark off the list.

4. Raise the $1300 I committed myself to raise for the Bell Runners

For those of you wondering, I met my goal for fundraising for the Bell Center thanks to your generosity. Together, we raised over $1400 for a great cause. Thank you once again. The Mercedes Half-Marathon was one of my most memorable runs. Wearing that red Bell Runner shirt was a real honor. I got cheered on along the whole route because I was wearing that red shirt. It helped me finish when I did not feel like it.

3. Run my first marathon

My intention when making this goal was to run a full marathon this fall. In the spirit of the title of this blog, things changed. Sometimes you bite off more then you can chew and I was afraid that is what I had done when I signed up for the Run for Kids Challenge at Oak Mountain State Park. Instead of attempting to run my first marathon, I attempted an ultra-marathon of 50 kilometers. That’s roughly 5 more miles than a marathon. I told almost no one about the attempt until I was over half way done with the race. Despite a leg injury, I finished my first ultra-marathon. The real awesome part was being surprised by my parents when I crossed the finish line. To date, this is the last organized race in which I have participated.

So what happened to the other goals?

Life happens when you are making plans. Three months ago today I started back to school. It is something I had thought about for awhile. On a Tuesday night I was challenged by a Dean to go back to school and on Wednesday morning I was enrolled into classes. Going back to school after a 10 year hiatus brings its own challenges. The biggest one for me was reading. For the past three months I’ve pretty much had a headache every day. At first it was do to reading. Now there seems to be consensus that they have continued due to a pinched nerve that was a result from poor posture related to… reading. How’s that for irony?

So with a change in plans my time for running and other hobbies greatly diminished. The headache didn’t help either. On May 3rd, I ran 31.07 miles in one race. Over the next 2 months, I ran a total of 28 miles. This included not running a single mile during the month of July. I watched several of my ambitious goals die. But out of death comes rebirth. I replaced them with a thirst for knowledge and academic achievement. I haven’t added any new formal goals, but I will.

So what’s next?

This summer I completed four prerequisite classes online so that I could start the MBA Program at the University of Montevallo this fall. I’ll be taking two classes in the evening as I continue pursuing further education. I’m excited and nervous at the same time. I haven’t sat in a classroom since April of 2004. However, I am looking forward to the challenge.

On a side note, I’m back for a third straight year with my SEC football prediction site, JP Predicts. My friends Ash, Nate, and Honest Abe are back this year as well. Last year I was the most accurate person of record (print or internet) when it came to predicting winners in SEC football games. I’m hoping to keep up that track record as we go into football season. So if you like football and you enjoy a good laugh, please check out our website at www.jppredicts.com or like us on facebook. Until next time…

Someone Worth Running For…

When I signed up to be a Bellrunner, I was told by more than one person that it would be a rewarding experience. They didn’t lead me astray. This past Wednesday, I went to the Bell Center to meet the child whom I’m going to be running for next weekend in the Mercedes Half-Marathon. So what is the Bell Center and what does it do?

“The Bell Center for Early Intervention Programs has provided quality early intervention services in a center-based program in Birmingham. Here, infants and toddlers at risk for developmental delay receive services from transdisciplinary teams which include a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a speech-language pathologist and an early childhood special education teacher as each child works on specific individual developmental goals.”

River after they took the speech device off of his wheelchair.

I arrived a little bit early so that I could see the end of a class at the center. I was greeted by River’s mom, April. She introduced herself and then we started talking about her son. River was born July 14, 2011. From the beginning, there were problems and River spent the first 8 weeks of his life in NICU units. At 8 months old, he was diagnosed with Spastic Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy. This type of Cerebral Palsy causes all four of his limbs to experience muscle tightness which makes it very difficult to walk. I talked to her about my story and the problems my family faced when I was young. I even emailed her a link to my first post on this blog. She emailed me a link to her blog if you want to find out more about River as well as her journey.

After talking for a bit, she led me into a hallway where I could observe the end of a class. What I saw was amazing. There was a roomful of children …and every one of them had at least one adult working one-on-one with them. Some of them were in wheelchairs, others in walkers, and some without anything. It was a very busy classroom as there were more adults than children. I watched as the kids and their helpers were huddled around a leader for the end of the class and they all sang a goodbye song.

After class ended, I went into the classroom with April to meet her child. River was in a wheelchair being attended to by a Physical Therapist. The Physical Therapist had been working with him during class time on using a device attached to the wheel chair to help him communicate. Progress had been slow that particular day.

His mom wasn't lying when she said she got a good picture! — His mom wasn’t lying when she said she got a good picture!

If there was one thing I took away from the brief amount of time I got to spend with River that day is that he has the most precious smile. He was pretty much smiling the whole time I was in the room with him. I’ve heard rumors that he likes to sing, but he was a little quiet on this day. When it came time to leave for the day, River seemed genuinely excited to be out of the wheel chair and in his momma’s arms. I hope he enjoys this next week at Disney World with his family!

One of the most remarkable parts of this story is that the Bell Center provides all these services at a significantly low cost to families when compared to the multitude of services offered. (Families tution and fees cover roughly 12-15% of the costs per child to run the Bell Center) They do this without the aid of state and federal funding. The Mercedes Marathon Weekend is the Bell Center’s biggest fundraiser and I’m participating in it this year as a Bellrunner for River Thomas. I need your help to reach my goal of $1310 (That’s a hundred dollars for every mile I run). Please click on this link (http://www.imathlete.com/donate/JeffreyPurvis) and give what you can… every dollar will make a difference. I wish the Bell Center had existed when I was a child as I believe I would have been referred there for the multitude of issues I faced. Luckily for me, I had a mother who wouldn’t take no for an answer and kept searching for answers and help. But I know a place like the Bell Center would have helped and given her the support and direction that she often had to find on her own. Thank you once again for your support!

I’m All About Goals: 2014 Edition

Last year I posted about the importance of making goals, not resolutions. Here is a list of my goals from January of 2013:

1. Be more positive in everything I do. (???)

2. Eliminate all unsecured debt. (Completed)

3. Take another real vacation. (Completed)

The first half marathon of five that I ran last year.

4. Run a half marathon this year (Completed)

5. Being Mario Mendoza (Maintained)

Only a handful of people caught the fact that my first goal was in fact, a resolution. Why is that a problem? Because it’s hard if not impossible to verify if I accomplished it or not. It was very subjective oriented where the rest of my goals were objective oriented.

In July, I revisited my goals, and made new ones based on the ones I had already completed. They were:

6. Put at least 15% of after tax income into savings (Did not Complete)

Half Marathon #3: Magic City Half. Thanks to Ryan Murphy for always being there to get pictures!

7. 8 Half Marathons in 8 Months (4 down, 4 to go)

By making goals and not resolutions, I was able to objectively measure success. I can look back at 2013 and know that I actually achieved something, not just feel like it. So when it was all said and done, I went 4 out 5 with 1 still in progress. For those of you who chose to make resolutions rather than goals, how did that work out for you?

2013 was a fantastic year. I accomplished many things that I did not think were possible at the beginning of the year. I also realized that I achieved many of my goals even before the halfway mark of last year. I’ve taken that into consideration for my 2014 goals. With all that being said, here are goals for 2014.

1. Run 1200 miles

Why 1200 miles? Simple. That’s the amount required to get a Birmingham Track Club jacket. It also requires me to be very consistent all year. It’s a little over 23 miles a week, or a 5k every day of the year. It will also be a goal I cannot complete by June. For what it’s worth, I ran just over 543 miles this year.

Unfortunately, I don't think I can run a half in one of these... — Unfortunately, I don’t think I can run a half in one of these…

2. 12 half-marathons in 12 months.

I’m essentially extending my 8 half-marathons for 8 months challenge for the rest of this year. The challenge is going to be finding races I want to run after April when temperatures start heating up. The only exception to this rule is that if I run a race further than a half, I’m counting it as my de-facto race for the month because…

3. Run my first marathon

I really don’t want to run a half-marathon and a marathon in the same month. It’s expensive enough as it already is. I quietly had plans to run my first half on December 14th, but I made the call two weeks before not to attempt it.

River Thomas: The brave young man I'm running for. — River Thomas: The brave young man I’m running for.

4. Raise the $1300 I committed myself to raise for the BellRunners

Back in October, I signed up for the Mercedes Half-Marathon as a Bell Runner. I committed myself to raising $1300 for the Bell Center in Birmingham. Right now I’ve only managed to raise $25. So what is the Bell Center? The Bell Center for Early Intervention Programs is dedicated to maximizing the potential of children from birth to three years of age who are at risk for developmental delay. As a Bell Runner, I have been assigned a child to raise money in his honor. I plan on meeting him when I get back from Pasadena. This is where I need your help. I have a little over a month to reach this $1300 goal. So if you want to help me, you can click this link here to learn more. Thanks for your support!

5. Outline my Autobiography

It wasn't all bad. At one point in my life I was a trendsetting dresser. — It wasn’t all bad. At one point in my life I was a trendsetting dresser.

This goal is not meant to sound egotistical. But this goal won’t make sense if you haven’t read my blog “Hope Can Feed a Starving Man for Years on End…” I have a great memory, but I honestly don’t remember very much from the first 17 years of my life, especially the first 12 years. What I can remember was hellish at times, sprinkled with some good parts, but mostly frustration. It doesn’t help that I know about it, but don’t remember it. There are fragments that I sometimes piece together. But overall, a lot of its a blank. I know my own story. I’ve heard the details so often that I can visualize it, but I don’t remember it. Why is this important? Because some people need hope. I can’t imagine being in my parents shoes facing some of the issues they faced with me. I lived through it, but ultimately they made the choices that allowed me to be me. I don’t remember much, but I want to know all of it. It’s a story that needs to be told. I think I can write it. I’ve got to start somewhere and it begins by getting it into an outline. This by far, is the most challenging goal I’ve set. It’s going to require quite a bit of input from family members.

6. Write on this Blog at least once a month

I started this blog as a way to vent, convey, or just to tell stories. During football season, JP Predict’s takes up a good bit of time. But there is no reason for me to go months between posts. It’s just bad form.

7. Pay off my Second Mortgage

Last year, I paid off all my unsecured debt. It’s been a huge burden lifted from my shoulders. My goal this year is to get it down to just a mortgage.

8. Start saving 10% of every after tax dollar.

I don’t think I need to add anymore detail. Thanks for reading my goals. I’ll periodically update you as the year progresses. Thanks for reading my goals. Now help hold me accountable.

A challenge for me, a challenge for you…

I just finished reading my last entry and realized it has been almost three whole months since I wrote for this blog. Shame on me. My entries so far this year have focused on goals… specifically my goals. Last time out I referenced my five goals and my progress. For those of you who haven’t been keeping up at home or too lazy to read my last two posts, here are my 2013 Goals:

1. Be more positive in everything I do. (In progress)

2. Eliminate all unsecured debt. (COMPLETE)

3. Take another real vacation. (Kinda-sorta)

4. Run a half marathon this year (COMPLETE)

5. Being Mario Mendoza (Steady as she goes…)

Last time I wrote it was right before I ran my first half marathon in April. I really should have taken the time to write a blog entry about the experience, but I did not. I completed my first half with an official time of 2:22:24. That was 2 seconds slower than what I was aiming for. Not bad for a 13.1 mile run, but I know I can do better.

So what’s next?

At least I wasn't last... — At least I wasn’t last…

The best thing to do when you reach goals is to celebrate them and then move on by setting new ones. I completed goals #2 and #4 early in the year. I originally intended to run my first half-marathon sometime later this Fall, but peer pressure pushed that time frame up. The elimination of all unsecured debt was actually a left over goal from last year. So two goals complete means two new goals to set. So what are they?

1. Put at least 15% of after tax income into savings

That sounds like a lot of money to put back, but its essentially re-purposing the money I was spending to pay off debt and just putting it into savings. I’ve actually been doing this since March. I still use my credit cards several times a month for sizable, planned purchases. However, I always pay them off before the next cycle. The second goal is a bit more crazy…

2. 8 Half Marathons in 8 Months

photo (57) — At the finish line of my first half marathon.

I know some of you probably just read that goal and said “What the…” To be honest, my plan was to run a full marathon before the end of this year. However, I decided that I wanted to work my way up to running a marathon so that I wouldn’t just treat it like a bucket list item and only do it once. Since my first half-marathon, I’ve continued to run… even in these awful summer months. I was training, but I wasn’t sure for what…

About two weeks ago, I noticed the Birmingham Track Club sponsors a “Triple Crown Half Marathon Challenge.” Three half-marathons in three months. I looked at the line up and realized that none of the races would interfere with college football or Montevallo plans. So I contacted my running buddy Ash and he said he would join me in the challenge.

Then I started looking at other races I wanted to run in the cooler Fall/Spring months and I realized that I could easily find at least one half-marathon every month all the way through April. Then the most dangerous thing started happening, I started scheming… I talked to a couple of my trusted and much more advance running friends and they told me that I should be capable of this feat as long as I stayed injury free. They told me as long as I don’t try and push for a full marathon during this time I probably would be alright… Probably. You have to remember, some of these people run 18 miles once a week and call it a Sunday run.

So my own personal challenge was born. 8 half-marathons in 8 months. This will be a bit of a challenge for me, but I feel like it will push me to be a better runner and continue to stay in shape. It will also help me push for a full marathon next fall. So here is my race schedule for the next 8 months. The first three races are set in stone as well as the Mercedes. The rest are tentative.

September 22, Talladega Half Marathon

October 12, Montgomery Half Marathon

November 24, Magic City Half Marathon

December 7 or 29th, Panama City Half Marathon

January 12, Servis1st First Bank First Light Marathon, Mobile

February 16, Mercedes Half Marathon, Birmingham

March – Tuscaloosa or Seaside Half Marathon

April – Homewood 4.13 Half Marathon

My plan is to keep a running journal about this challenge on this website. I’m either going to really like running after all of this or I’m going to take up cross-stitching or crotchet instead. Now for my challenge for you…

So what is the challenge for you?

Many of you know that I started writing about college football two years ago during my exploits with the Tiger Tail Team Van. The best thing to come out of that whole experience was that I started writing again. My Tales from the Road segment was well read on the Tiger Tail Team website as well as at the AUFamily website. When it became impossible to continue on with the Tiger Tail Team, I decided to continue on with my favorite part of writing, which was the predictions. It appealed to me because my non-Auburn friends were reading it.

We love all things jorts at JP Predicts.

Last year I decided to start a website based solely on predicting SEC football games in a humorous manner. I named it JP’s Politically Incorrect Predictions. Without the help of my friends Ryan, Ash, and “Honest Abe” I would have never been able to get it off the ground. When it was all said and we produced 47 articles and had over 30,000 visitors to our page. Not bad for a website that doesn’t have any advertising.

We want to grow the website even more this year, but we need your help to do it. Last year most of our traffic came from a small handful of individuals sharing our stuff on SEC message boards. Despite numerous likes, comments, and returning visitors, most people failed to like our facebook page and were dependent on the same people to provide them with weekly links to our articles.

We love the fans... — Expect to see pictures like this, often.

Here is my challenge to you…

If you read and enjoy our “Politically Incorrect Predictions” and other stories please like them, share them, and help us grow. We aren’t doing this website to make money, but to have fun. We realize that not everyone is a college football fan or enjoys our type of humor. But if you do, please help spread the word. Most, if not all of you have family, friends, co-workers, or enemies that would get a kick out of what we write. Besides, it’s much easier to write when you know you have hundreds if not thousands reading your material as opposed to dozens of people. So please help us out if you can! And if you already are like my friends Chris, Michael, and Jamie… we are truly thankful. If you didn’t see one of the twenty links to our website, here is another one for you.

www.jppredicts.com

Until next time…

Goals, Goals, Goals… (a quick update)

photo (52) — Reaching for your goals can be tough… especially in a suit.

Way back in January, I made a brief blog post about why goals are so much better than resolutions. I haven’t written anything for the internetz since. I went as far as to include five realistic goals for this year. (I guess I can be thankful writing wasn’t one of my goals) They are:

1. Be more positive in everything I do.

2. Eliminate all unsecured debt.

3. Take another real vacation

4. Run a half marathon this year

5. Being Mario Mendoza

So how am I progressing on these goals? Well, I’ve made progress on all goals and after this weekend, I should have two of them completely marked off the list.

1. Being more positive in everything I do

The first goal on my list is more subjective than objective and can be difficult to measure. It is the most resolution sounding goal on my list. I honestly haven’t found the best way to try and measure this goal. However, I wake up every morning and try and find the good in the world around me. At the same time, I’m trying not to lose my objectivity when it comes to tough or problematic situations where being positive is not a realistic option. When this happens, I try to focus my energy on finding a positive solution. Often this involves asking myself the “miracle question” which is the key to Solution Focused Therapy. I’ve found it to be a tremendous help. I actually used this approach in coming up with my short term and long term goals.

Current status: On-going

2. Eliminate all unsecured debt

I actually started making a concerted effort to eliminate all unsecured debt last year. I’m very proud to say that I achieved this goal back in March. It’s quite nice not having to pay interest on a credit card. Now I’m actively starting to save all the money I was spending on paying off my credit cards to build a formidable savings account back up. Then the next step after that is active investing…

Sorry goggles, not this year... — Sorry goggles, not this year…

Current status: Completed

3. Take another real vacation

I haven’t taken vacation yet this year. I was tempted to take a ski trip, but I didn’t. I’m pretty sure I’ll take a trip to the beach sometime in August. If I could amend this goal, it would be to take an international vacation. I’m working on that right now…

Current Status: In progress

4. Run a half marathon this year

No caption necessary. You can make up your own.

My original plan called for me to run a half marathon sometime this far. Right now I’m way ahead of schedule. I’m signed up to run a half marathon this weekend in Homewood. For those of you who have been paying attention, I’ve started logging some miles and distance the last several weeks. I can thank the quicker than planned attempt at the half to my friends from the “Monday Runday” run group at Tin Roof.

Current Status: Soon, real soon…

5. Being Mario Mendoza

You’d think I would start shedding some serious pounds with as much running/working out as I have been doing.

I really haven’t. However, my metabolism has definitely started to shift into ludicrous speed. So I’m definitely eating more right now… and I’m continuing to be Mario Mendoza

Current Status: Steady as she goes

So what does this all mean? It’s about time to reassess and replace my completed goals with some new ones. Like running, it all begins by putting one foot in front of the other…

Too Heck with Resolutions… I’m all about Goals.

New Years was ten days ago. I’m sure that most of you who are reading this made or at least thought of making the infamous New Year’s Resolution. I’m betting many of you did. In the words of Dr. Phil, “How’s that working out for you?”

Its been my experience that resolutions are a waste of time. They are often open ended, vague, and oral in nature. Ultimately, the lack of attention to detail and the game plan to get there will lead to failure. A prime example is “My New Year’s Resolution is to lose weight this year.” That’s great that you want to lose weight! But how are you going to go about losing it? How much weight do you want to lose? You see the problem here folks? There is nothing quantifiable and its just really a statement. I’d like a million dollars. However, without goals and a detailed game plan to achieve those goals I’m just as likely to get my million dollars as you are going to lose weight. That’s not to say that making resolutions is a bad thing, but it is only the beginning of the process.

With that said, I’m going to share some of my goals with you for this year. I’m not going into all the detail behind them, but putting them in writing is one of the bigger parts of any goal setting process…

Everybody loves a winner... — Everybody loves a winner…

Goal 1: Be more positive in everything I do.

I know that seems vague to those on the outside and goes against everything I just criticized several paragraphs before. Honestly, this is more like a resolution, but I’ve made it into a goal. When I was younger, I was an optimist. When I looked at a bad situation, I could find the silver lining or something positive in almost any situation. As I have gotten older, I’ve become more of a realist. It has its pluses and minuses, but I’ve noticed that I to focus too much on the negative, which is often the exception. I’m trying to be more encouraging and positive in everything I do. It just fits me better as a person. I’ll measure the success of this goal by the quality of company I keep. Nobody likes being around a Debbie Downer… except for Depressed Darrell.

I'd still keep one... — I’d still keep one…

Goal 2: Eliminate all unsecured-debt

I had this goal last year and made significant progress against it until some unforeseen circumstances came along… like a week long cruise to the Caribbean that I hadn’t properly planned for. I’m still using the same game plan I’ve had on this one for awhile. I expect my tax return to wipe the last of it out. This will allow me to…

Goal 3: Take another real vacation

If it is one thing I regret I haven’t done more of it is traveling. I’m still working on some ideas for something fun to do and this will be an evolving goal. I expect a good week long summer trip that doesn’t involve the beach. I’d love to get out of the country and go somewhere exotic, like Georgia. Although I do plan to take a week long trip to the beach as well.

Hey, it worked for Simon Pegg... — Hey, it worked for Simon Pegg…

Goal 4: Run a half marathon this year

Ah, so here is a very easily measurable goal! It will take some work to get there, but I’ve got the beginning of a game plan. Right now I run anywhere from 4 – 10 miles a week. I’m planning on gradually stepping that up and working it in with my Crossfit even more. That means physical activity 4 – 5 times a week. Building endurance is the name of the game and both activities will benefit each other. I’ve set a November deadline for this activity.

Goal 5: Being Mario Mendoza

I am Mendoza. My line: You do not cross.

Being what?!? Last year I set a goal to get my weight below the “Mendoza Line” or 200 pounds for those of you who don’t understand my baseball rhetoric. I broke it only to recross it over and over again last year. I blame my coach Mark Smith and Trinity Crossfit for that. Where I might not have lost the weight, I definitely lost the fat. My weight has stayed consistently between 200 – 208 range for the past several months. Instead of trying to limbo under that Mendoza Line, I’ve decided to be one with it. However, I still want to tone up some more…

Well these were just some of my goals for 2013, what are yours?

A Year Later…

Yesterday it had been one year since my last surgery. Trying to remember anything from the first few months following surgery are actually still foggy, but I remember almost everything from the day of the surgery. I published my first blog post to this site attempting to explain things to some and clarify things to others. If you have not read it, I recommend you click here before reading on or you might be a little confused.

So what is different a year later?

Cosmetically, not much. Unless you haven’t seen me in the last 15 years or so you wouldn’t notice really anything different. My eyes tracking together has gotten better and that’s about it.

Mentally, everything is different. The last 12 months I’ve my life have been the most interesting in my life. To be honest, I only really remember about the last 10 of them. The first two after surgery are really just a blur at this point. For those of you who know how much I love my memory, its rather frustrating not being able to remember big chunks of two months of your life. Before I get any further tangents, I’ll try answer some questions.

Why is everything “mentally” different? The world just looks different. When things looks different, you perceive and process it differently. In the past, things returned to “normal” several months after surgery. This time it never did. I can’t tell you if it is a good thing or a bad thing. It’s just different.

Does this bother you? It is more frustrating than anything else. I’m not sure if it is the new “normal” and things are truly better or something is truly wrong. I lean very heavily towards the new “normal.” I feel like my peripheral vision is better and that things are better. However, my mind is taking a lot longer to adjust to these changes. Hence the reason why everything is “mentally” different.

What is “normal” to you and why would it have changed? or Why do you not remember much from after the surgeries? I had two separate eye surgeries within four months of each other. After each prior past surgery I had periods of times to adjust and develop a new “normal.” I don’t think I ever fully recovered or adjusted from surgery number six before I had surgery number seven. So when I had both eyes operated on last December, it changed everything.

I don’t remember many details from last January and February, but what I do remember is everything being very different after the surgery. It was like everything was “out of place” and things looked very “surreal.” An good analogy would be it was like looking at the world through someone else’s glasses. To be honest, it still feels very surreal right now when I start thinking about it. It was like my mind was having a very difficult time trying to understand and process what it was seeing. It’s gradually improved or either I’ve just gotten used to it.

Why would having eye surgery mess with your memory? We perceive the world through our senses. Most people rely on what they see and what they hear the most. Most of the way my memory functions is tied to sight. Changing the way I see things also seemed to change the way I processed and stored memories. It caused a “hiccup” in my process. The mind is a powerful thing and has seemed to adjust to the new settings.

Are you done with surgeries? I don’t know. Right now I don’t feel like the issues I’m experiencing are something that can be fixed with a scalpel. I feel like they are cognitive. I saw the world a certain way for 32.5 years. I obviously feel like I see it differently now and I’m still relatively new to it. For the time being, I’m sticking to my mantra of Patient Time.

What’s next? Patient time… and a brand new season of Archer on January 17th!

If you have any questions feel free to post them in a comment or just ask! Thank you for reading.

The Challenges of Staying Regular…

Those who have known me for a majority of my life would tell you I had two gifts growing up… drawing and writing. The last piece of art that I produced was completed in May of 1998 and hopefully still hangs on an old friend’s wall in Hoover. The last piece of composition that I produced that wasn’t a school assignment was July of 2000… That was until July of 2011 when I wrote my first “Tails From the Road” piece for a new blog I had started.

Looking back at it now, I find it hard to believe that I went eleven years without composing something of meaning or importance outside the classroom. It really makes me sad when I think about all the things I could have or should have written about. I might have to slowly start telling some of those stories over the next several months. As for the art, I still haven’t picked up the pencil and started drawing… I’m not sure I ever will.

Today’s challenge is staying regular when it comes to writing and blogging. I’m sure several of you opened this blog expecting something different because of my mother and her special tea… but that’s a story for another time. Last year, I composed all the material for the now defunct Tiger Tail Team website. Every week, I wrote a story about the prior weeks adventures as well as my weekly predictions. I pretty much did all the writing. However, they certainly wanted to read everything before I published it (which is understandable). What I did not appreciate was one of the particular people wanting to act as an editor on anything and everything I published.

The whole process got extremely exhausting. I was gone every weekend. I spent Sunday afternoons and Monday nights writing a 2000 -2500 word “Tails From the Road” piece. Then on Thursday, I would compose a 1500 – 2000 word politically incorrect prediction piece. Averaging 4000 words of composition a week for a hobby took its toll.

The first week of the tiger tail team website, it got a little over 200 hits on the pieces I produced. I got very excited. Two weeks later, that number was over 2000 hits. By the end of the season when I stopped, it was closer to 3000 hits a week. All told, the website got over 16,000 visitors in about a three month period. My stories ran concurrently on another website as well. That blog produced a staggering 60,000 hits last year.

By December, I was burned out. I had some amazing adventures, but those I was involved with did not share the same dream or vision for the venture that we had started together. We have since gone our separate ways. One day I will take the time and explain that story, but part of it is still playing out.

One of the best things to come out of the whole adventure/ordeal was that I had rekindled my passion for writing. I started this blog which you are reading shortly before the new year. The challenge has always been to find something that interested me enough to sit down and write. I’ve updated it on a very irregular basis, but I’ve kept it much more personal. I’m planning on keeping it that way…

This last summer, I decided I wanted to continue to still write about college football. Looking back through the old websites statistics, I discovered that the predictions part of the website were popular among people from other teams (“Tails From the Road” was very much an Auburn thing). They would read the “Tails From the Road” story that involved their team, but they would keep coming back for the weekly predictions. One of my goals was to write to a wider fan base than just the Auburn one. Writing a weekly predictions for all SEC teams would provide me with an avenue to do so. The predictions were one of my favorite things to write, hence www.jppredicts.com was born.

I can’t tell you the amount of time it takes that goes into the predictions every week (actually I can). It’s very time consuming and at times, there are a thousand other things I would rather be doing. The challenge is to produce something that is humorous, doesn’t cross too many invisible lines, and some how remains accurate. It’s not as easy as it sounds. I’ve picked up a couple of friends along the way to help me along this adventure (Ash and Honest Abe). I’m not sure where it is going, but it continues to grow. Many of you who read this post also read the politically incorrect predictions. The best thing you can do to help us is to like our Facebook page and “share” and “like” our posts and stories. It helps us grow and we want to keep growing. By doing so you can help us stay regular when it comes to posting new material.

Until next time…