Keep the Earth below my feet

As I prepare for the upcoming 10.8 km Egg Nog Jog in December, the 21.1 km Chilly Half Marathon in March, and eventually the 42.2 km Cleveland Full Marathon in May I thought back to my first Marathon.  As I have talked about many times I now have the full support of my family. My first marathon was the Mississauga Marathon 2009.  For some reason the Race director scheduled it on Mother`s day.  The next part of this writing is taken from an email sent to a group of Faithful and somewhat naive Ladies who offered to pray for me as I attempted my first marathon.  Faithful, because they are still praying for me and my family.  Naive as I am like the gift that keeps on giving in that they may never be free of my prayer requests.

"I am not the smartest husband, and I have a lot to learn about members of the opposite sex.

However even I realized that 12 years of marriage, and bearing me the two most wonderful kids in the world deserved some sort of special reward for Mother`s day.

In one of my rare wise moments I saw that watching your husband limping around the house, watching him taking Epsom salt baths, popping Advil’s, and smelling the wonderful fragrance of tiger balm muscle cream, was not what Gloria expected as a reward.

So I decided I would take Gloria and the girls out for dinner on Saturday, the night before the marathon.

I should have saw what was coming next as for quite some time Katarina and Isabella had been asking me about what they called "my race".  I quickly told them it was a Marathon I was not going to race.

This didn`t seem to work so well as the next day they would again inquire about "the race."

Katarina hadn`t shown as much interest as Isabella but at dinner she found out that the first three finishers would receive cash prizes.  I hope I do not bother Lisa Cheong too much in the future because this girl has a career somewhere in the financial market, and I could use some connections.

Well at dinner Katarina asked me what our family would do with the money if I was to finish first.

I assured her there was no possibility of this happening.

She then asked me what we would do with the money if I came second.

I again assured her there was no possibility of this happening.

She then asked me what we would do with the money if I was to come in third place.

Yet, again I assured her there was no possibility of this happening.

She told me I had to think more positive if I wanted to finish well.

I think I had dashed her plans of another family vacation.

Next was Isabella's turn.

I finished 336 out of 1413 competitors.

I was, and am a little surprised and quite content with my placing.

Don’t let Isabella’s sweet and angelic looks fool you.

Do you know her response to her Father’s placing?

Daddy you did terrible!

Three days have not softened her stance, as I suppose she had visions of her father on a podium collecting gold like Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt, so hearing that 335 people beat me is not a consolation prize for her.

Well as they say, “if you want to know where you stand in life ask a child.”

Since that interesting dinner I have come a long way as has my family.  Katarina really got excited about the Boston Marathon prize money $150 000 and worked out a deal with me that our family would keep half and Ratanak International would receive half if I was to win this race.  As you will see later I came quite a ways back of collecting the prize money.  Katarina has come to accept that I will never make any money at my running and celebrates the fact I am able to finish.

In the above email I wrote three days have not softened Isabella.  I think it took three years for her to accept my placing’s.  In Boston you are given a number based on your qualifying time.  I was given the bib number 8 144.  To say Isabella was not impressed is an understatement.

Isabella has come full circle thanks in part to a group of Teachers at her School who run 10km races and were impressed when she told them of my running.  This summer while watching a world class track meet on television Isabella asked me if "I could beat these runners?” yes she has come full circle indeed.

I remember a song from my childhood; it is from the show Sesame Street.  I am going to play this game with you now but I am going to change the words from things to people.

One of these things (people)

One of these people is not like the others.

One of these people just doesn`t belong.

Can you tell which person is not like the others?

By the time I finish my song.

          This is Reid Coolsaet

Birth place Canada

 

Height 5feet 9inches Weight 140 pounds

Accomplishments:

3rd place Toronto Waterfront Marathon 2011 time of 2 hours 10 minutes 55 seconds

27th place London Olympics Marathon 2012 time of 2 hours 16 minutes 29 seconds

1st place Around the Bay 30 km race 2012     time of 1 hour 33 minutes 20 seconds

 This is Geoffrey Mutai

Birth place Kenya

Height 5feet 6inches Weight 119 pounds

Accomplishments:

1st place  Boston Marathon 2011 time of World`s fastest ever 2 hours 3 minutes 2 seconds

1st place New York Marathon 2011 time of  Course record 2 hours 5 minutes 5 seconds1st place Berlin Marathon 2012 time of  Course record 2 hours 4 minutes 15 seconds

  

This is me
 

 Birth place Canada

Height 5feet 11inches Weight 185 pounds

Accomplishments:

6 234 place Boston Marathon 2011 time of 3 hours 25 minutes 10 seconds

683 place Around the Bay 30 km race 2012 time of 2 hours 26 minutes 22 seconds

6th place Erindale Park Children of Merendon Mountains 10km 2011 time of 45 minutes 19 seconds

As I compare my accomplishments against these two World class Marathoners of whom I have raced against I am grateful people make donations for Ratanak International when I run instead of relying on me to try and collect prize money.  I also can see where Isabella may have had the gift of wisdom at a very young age.

Throughout the years I have heard many Pastors’s using the story of the frog in the pot of water in a sermon.  The story is that if you put a frog in a pot of boiling water it will jump out right away.  If you put the same frog in a pot of cold water and gradually turn the heat up the frog will not notice the difference and will stay in the pot being boiled to death.  The Pastor always used this story with sin in our lives being the frog.
I used to wonder why I never heard an example of this story being used in the positive.  For example Mother Theresa and other great people of our time.  Did they have a gradual process of doing good that lead them to a lifetime of the amazing blessings that they were responsible for?

I have come to realize training for a marathon in my life has become the frog, in that I am doing much more then when I started in September, but I have a long way to go to when I really stretch out my training in March and April.  Like the frog if I tried to train now like I will in April I am pretty sure I would be injured.

This is, for those who are interested a two week sample of my training.  It is a pretty good reflection of what I do to prepare for a marathon, although each week I will add a few more minutes of training to each cardio exercise, until my outside runs are over three hours with 10x Centennial Hill, my treadmill runs will be as long as seventy minutes, my elliptical training will be as long as two hours, and my bike rides will be well over one hour.

To save time and space when I write worked out; it means approximately a 45 minute time I take to lift weights, stretch, and do sit ups.

October 28 ran outside for 48 minutes

October 29 worked out, 50 minute elliptical

October 30 worked out, ran for 50 minutes treadmill

October 31 worked out, 10 minute bike 40 minute elliptical

November 1 worked out, ran for 23 minute treadmill

November 2 worked out, 30 minutes elliptical

November 3 ran outside for 72 minutes including Centennial Hill 5X

November 4 day off

November 5 worked out, ran outside for 53 minutes

November 6 worked out, 45 minutes elliptical

November 7 worked out, ran outside for 77 minutes including Centennial Hill 5X

November 8 worked out, 40 minutes bike 20 minutes elliptical

November 9 worked out, ran for 50 minutes treadmill

November 10 day off

November 11 ran outside for 63 minutes

Now I close with the words from a new Mumford and Son song which inspired me as I ran outside last weekend.

Below my feet
Keep the earth below my feet
For all my sweat, my blood turns weak
Let me learn from where I have been
Keep my eyes to serve
My hands to learn

This is a prayer of sorts for me as I do not track how many miles I run to prepare for a marathon, but it must be in the Thousands. What I could never track are how many steps I must take. This must be in the Billions and yet it would only take one misstep to injure a person. I have read about professional athletes tearing up muscles by falling on the treadmill, or even slipping on ice.

Geoffrey Mutai who I mentioned earlier developed severe cramps in the 2012 Boston Marathon and had to quit at the 18 mile mark, ending his chance to compete in the London Olympics.

So, yes Lord keep the earth below my feet as I run!

These words also take on a deeper meaning as I relate it to running in my ravine. The day I wrote this the weather was 18C Sunny and beautiful; but I really look forward to the winter down my ravine when I run in solitude.

Sometimes God speaks to us away from the hustle and bustle of life. Sometimes God speaks to us in the wilderness wherever that may be, for me this is in my ravine. In the Bible Jesus was lead into the desert to be tempted. Moses was in the wilderness when God appeared to him in the burning bush. David before he became King was hiding from Saul in the wilderness.

Keep the earth beneath my feet as I run! Let me see things as you do, let me use this unusual gift of preparing for a marathon to further Your Kingdom which in my life is advocating for the girls in Cambodia.

In spite of my sweat of hard work many times I am afraid and my blood goes weak. Let me learn from my experiences and may I bring you Glory.

In the song I mentioned above the chorus is sung three times. The first time is very low, the next time is a bit higher, the last time the lead singer`s voice literally explodes as he is singing with such emotion. That day as I ran it seemed as if I sang the first two verses but the third one I listened to as a foreshadowing of the trying weeks ahead and the reward that awaits at the end of them.

Keep the earth below his feet

For all his sweat, his blood turns weak

Let him learn from where he has been
Keep his eyes to serve
His hands to learn

That day as I ran a choir of 30 000 sexually exploited children in Cambodia sang this verse to me, and for me.

To sum up training for and running a full marathon is the hardest physical event I will do in my life. I was interviewed recently at work and I told the person interviewing me knowing what I know now I do not think I would run a marathon for myself. For a Country I have never been to, to a group of people I have never met though, this is easy.

Larry

3Strands3Examples3LessonsLearned

When I started writing a few years ago a small group of friends enjoyed my writing and asked me to forward my latest to them.  In the last nine months I have started this blog Larry42km.  The original group still receives the first notice of my writings, but in this time I have added a few more followers some of whom I let know of my writings.

When I started putting my writings onto this blog I had no idea of how this system works but it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.  Something in the program keeps a running total of views, lets me know the time a person looks at my blog, and even which Country the person is viewing my blog from.

Saturday September 22 I had a milestone and much like many things in my life until a few years ago I would not have even have known of the significance of this milestone.  I had my 888th view.  Yes, the Chinese number for good luck.  I am not superstitious and I am not Chinese but I felt blessed that in a short period of time that many people have read about the work of Ratanak International, possibly some for the first time, and hopefully at least one person has made the decision to become involved in making a difference for the exploited children in Cambodia.

That particular Saturday was meaningful in another way as the Ratanak Toronto Core group had our monthly meeting.

This was an exciting time as Lisa Cheong Country Director for Cambodia was sharing some of her experiences of the last year that she served in Cambodia.  (Lisa is the person who started this group and is responsible for most of us learning about Ratanak International and it`s work.)

Tears are a part of most meetings.  Although done in as sensitive as a way as possible (without the media approach of shock value) the stories we hear about for example a five year old’s repeated sexual abuse is hard to stomach.  I find the Documentaries equally as disturbing and really hard to watch.  When the abusers try to explain away or justify their actions I am angry enough to physically hurt these men, but what really gets me is the victim`s and their families.  They look so beaten down, so hopeless I usually cry at the unfairness of these people`s lives.

My 10 year old Daughter Isabella asks many questions.  She always has and I hope she always will.  When you ask questions you are not accepting the "status quo" of what the world tells you and you are trying to find your own answers.  Some questions do not have answers that can be explained.  One question Isabella asks me quite often of which I cannot explain is "Why do you continue to be involved in the girls in Cambodia lives’ if it makes you cry?"   I would most rather do anything else than cry in public.  Yet possibly these tears are what is used as the fuel for standing up to and confronting great evils in our lives.

The first thing Lisa did at this meeting was hand out a bracelet to each person, a few people put them on with Lisa showing them how it was done.   I somehow missed the instruction and put the bracelet in my pocket thinking I would figure out how to put it on at home.

The bracelet letters say Ratanak Int`l, the colour is green with yellow strands.

A small card tucked in to the bag that came with the bracelet says

This item was handmade with Love

by girls rescued from sexual slavery.

Your support is greatly appreciated.

Another card in the package has the words

Human trafficking has been identified as the fastest growing criminal industry in the world.  Agape International Mission (Ratanak Partner) works to rescue these girls from the horrific life they have endured and restore them to happy children once again.

3Strands jewelry includes a seed from the Sandlewood tree, native to Cambodia.  These seeds represent the life of a Cambodian child rescued from sex trafficking.  These same girls, as young adults, make all 3Strands jewelry by hand and are now ready to grow.

I have the bracelet with me now; each time I read these words tears well up in my eyes.  I feel like David in The Bible when he refused to drink the water after his three soldiers broke through the enemy’s line risking their lives because he said he was thirsty.  I feel sort of unworthy in a way.

I do not know if I will ever wear this bracelet.  I have thought of putting it with my running medals, for now it will stay in the bag.

Lisa than talked about a new program Ratanak has been working on for quite a while.  Ratanak with Lisa in charge has done a lot of hard work to set up a program for girls in Cambodia who are on their way to recovery from sexual slavery and want to have a chance at an Education, and are not quite ready to live on their own.  Twelve girls will be accepted into this program.  What I found so encouraging is that these twelve girls will be taken from other programs that have rescued children in them.  I like this because now twelve girls who are rescued from slavery will be able to take the place of the former girls who are ready to move on.

I wrote down some of the words from a Document titled Client`s Right and Responsibilities I just wrote down the rights.

You have a right for a safe place to live.

You have a right to express your feelings.

You have the right to be loved and accepted for who you are.

You have the right to a clean bed and clean clothes.

You have the right to protection from physical and emotional harm, abuse and harassment.

You the right to eat nutritious food

You have the right to receive medical care.

You have the right to learn to read and write.

When I read the words I was grieved for how much I have taken for granted in my life of privilege as I assume these rights every day of my life, no one has to state them to me.  Yet, how often instead of gratitude I seem to find things to complain or become upset about.

Hopefully I can look at my life in comparison to these Girl`s lives and harbour a Spirit of Gratitude, especially with Thanksgiving approaching.

 

 

When you see these pictures there is something common in all of them.  The girl’s eyes are not shown, this is for their protection.

Other people around the world who suffer and need help (AIDS victims, natural disaster victims, food and water shortage victims) have been victims of neglect, these people are victims and need help but more times than not we choose to look the other way and ignore their situations, instead of offering help.

The girls that are shown situation are different, in that they are also victims but of abuse not neglect.  Someone has deliberately physically harmed these girls.  In our increasing liberal world it is still a crime to sexually abuse a child.  So when these girls are rescued they are actually in some danger as they are potential witnesses against the powerful men who have abused them.  Their eyes are not shown for their protection.

Sometimes I think their eyes are not shown for my protection.  "The eyes are the windows of the Soul."  What stories could the eyes of a young child whose life has consisted of being a victim of repeated sexual abuse tell me; possibly more than I could bear to hear.

Annie Lennox wrote a song Universal Child about looking into the eyes of a young child dying of AIDS in Africa.  I think the meaning holds true for a young child of repeated Sexual abuse in Cambodia.

Universal Child

And when I look into your eyes,

so innocent and pure.

I see the shadow of the things

that you`ve had to endure.

I see the tracks of every tear

that ran down your face.

I see the hurt, I see the pain,

I see the human race.

I can see you, your everywhere,

shining like the Sun.

I wish to God that kids like

you could be like everyone.

Lisa then showed the words from a quote by Agape International Mission again a Ratanak partner

Did you know that when you

pray and give toward one of

our rescued girls without ever

seeing her face you help rebuild

her dignity.

You are giving a selfless love

that expects nothing in return.

THAT is what changes a life.

Right now I would like to thank all of those who have contributed funds and prayers to my Marathons, and to the many people who took part in and contributed to the Ratanak 5km walkathon.  I have thanked you, Ratanak has thanked you.  The Children you will never meet thank you!

On this note I get a sense that this year" I am going to go for it" for the Cleveland Marathon.  By this I mean in asking for donations.  Recently I was encouraged by some members of the Toronto Core Group  and their boldness in asking for funds for the "Ride for Refuge" a bike ride where all money from this group went to Ratanak International.  Be forewarned if you read my blog you will probably be sent an email in late April asking if you are able to make a contribution.

A few weeks ago Gloria told me she saw me running up Lakeshore Blvd in the Toronto Marathon nearing the finish line.  I do not remember the exact quote but it was something like " I saw you were in a lot of pain and it did not look like you were having a lot of fun."

She than told me it reminded her of another athlete she had heard about who climbed Mountains for his Charity and used the thought of the children`s pain and suffering compared to his and this image kept him going.  For myself this is true to a point; as I think of how much pain that these children have endured, the many moments in training for and running a Marathon when I think of stopping sometimes a picture of one of them appears to me and I keep going.

 

This is such a moment a photographer captured in the Toronto Marathon.  What I find amazing about this picture is my eyes.  The same as the children in Cambodia you cannot see my eyes; they are closed as a result of a combination of Pain and Sun.

The other day when I was running in my Ravine I saw an image I have seen before that will be my families, and my reward.  One day my family and I will see a sort of unveiling; we will be able to look into the beautiful eyes of Cambodian girls that we do not see now.

Revelation 21 vs 4

He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Family you sacrifice a lot for me as I train for the Marathons and I am grateful; this sacrifice has started already and only becomes greater closer to the Marathon.  You have given me a "carte blanche” as long as my work involves helping the exploited Children of Cambodia.

Beautiful Family we may not see these beautiful girls eyes on Earth but we will see them in Heaven, and they will know us by name.

Thank you for all you allow me to do.

Larry

 

May Angels lead you in

May angels lead you in

Hear you hear me my friends
On sleepless roads the sleepless go
May angels lead you in
May angels lead you in

These are some of the lyrics from a song May angels lead you in performed by the group Jimmy Eat World made famous in the movie A Cinderella story.  I like the song a lot; it is an interesting song as a choice for the movies love song as it is not a perfect fit, as it deals with loss and regret more than love.

 

One night while laying out on a lawn chair looking at the clouds moving overhead I thought of these words as a fit that I can see for the next steps in my life.  I thought back to all that has happened in my six years of being involved as a volunteer for Ratanak International and I wondered to myself "do I make these decisions that seem so strange so risky on the surface?"  Decisions so out of character of my personality, or is there a force so much greater than myself leading me to these choices?  Indeed as I embark on the next path of my life I truly see that Angels have indeed led me in and are all around me, not to say life is easy and everything goes perfect, far from it at most times, especially as my involvement in the Cambodian children's lives goes a bit deeper. My last entry on this blog was immediately after the first ever Ratanak 5km walkathon.
 

I wrote I felt the need to rest to take the Summer off of being actively involved in the work of Ratanak International. A Pastor friend confirmed this decision as he emailed me "I affirm your decision to take a break.  The woodcutter who stops every now and then to sharpen his axe will end up cutting a lot more wood then the woodcutter who never stops working.  May the Holy Spirit sharpen the keen edge of your passion for the exploited children of Cambodia so that it will penetrate more hearts." Taking a break was not easy for me.

Jeremiah 20 vs. 9 

If I say I will not mention him or speak any more in his name, his word is in my

heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones.

I am weary of holding it in; indeed I cannot.

This sums up my feelings for the exploited children in Cambodia.  I could not go cold turkey. I sort of worked out a compromise.  I received emails from people in the Toronto core group letting me know about some of the latest news.  I also sent out a couple of emails, and I would go on the Ratanak website quite often to catch up on the latest news.

I did rest as I found it nice actually getting about seven hours of sleep some nights helped my body recover.  I did not pray as much as I should have.  My beautiful family enjoyed the hot weather as much as we could, we did get to the beach and a cottage as well.  I almost finished the mountain of yard work only to have another mountain appear.

What I can relate to in the words of the Pastor are not so much about the axe, but what I feel was accomplished in my time off is that the arms that swing the axe and the body that controls the arms were rested allowing me to see into the future. Two events of the last week showed me that my "sabbatical" is over and it is time to go forward.

I attended a race to benefit the Impoverished Children of Guatemala.  I picked this race because it was at Erindale Park where we held the walkathon.  I was hoping to again see the outlook of the park and areas on where Paul and myself can improve (Paul willing) if there is to be a Ratanak race in 2013.  I did indeed see a few areas I could have improved on and met three people who encouraged me.  The first was a man who was a year older than myself and was quite an accomplished runner, he actually won this particular race.  He called our ages "vintage"  nicer then some other names that come to mind, and he gave me a lot of ideas including the name of a book that he felt should help me to run faster.  I am not holding my breath on the faster, but I am hoping to become more efficient.

The next person I met was an endurance athlete who does crazy things to raise money for Charity.  He recently rode his bicycle from Calgary to Mexico.  He also is the Ontario Sales Rep for a company who sells Natural products for endurance athletes, he gave me his card and we have exchanged emails of which I have been encouraged to ask any questions related to keeping hydrated during training for and actually running in a marathon.  The last person I met was the race director.  I encouraged her for taking the time to organize this event that benefited needy children and let her know about my involvement with Ratanak.  She responded that "we are kindred Spirits" and that she attended the Meeting House in Oakville, had heard about the exploited children in Cambodia and had purchased a CD of Kelita Haverland`s (A woman who has raised a ton of money and recognition for Ratanak through her gift of Music.)

The next event occurred a few days later at a friend of my families Cottage.  There was a map on the wall that caught my attention, especially the name of the map.  I could not find a picture of the map on the Internet but I believe I found something even better.
The monument is called The Wilberforce Settlement.  In 1830 a group of fugitive Negro slaves from Cincinnati settled in this vicinity.
The settlement was named after the great British abolitionist William Wilberforce.  I thought later about what "sacred" ground that this area was founded on.

 

One day during the Summer I thought back to a chance encounter I had in April 2011.  It was the night before the Boston Marathon and my family went to a Restaurant for dinner to meet some Cousins we have who live in Boston.  At the table next to us was a large group including an older man and a man in a wheelchair.  As my family left our table the party next to us asked "who was running tomorrow?"  Someone pointed at me and they wished me luck, someone from our group told me that is "Team Hoyt."

I had not thought about this encounter until the middle of July this Summer, when I decided to google the man`s name. The father`s name is Dick Hoyt, his son`s is Rick.  The son was born with a severe case of Cerebral palsy.  Dick pushed his son in his wheelchair for a short race over thirty years ago.  Rick told his father "he felt like he was running the race."
Dick said "that was all he needed to hear."

They have completed over 70 full marathon`s together, including 30 Boston Marathons.

They have completed 247 triathlons together.

They have completed 1 077 total races together.

If interested I would highly recommend looking up "Team Hoyt I can only Imagine on YouTube" as this video shows how much sacrifice this Father does in the course of a race, this particular one is in Hawaii and is an Ironman triathlon. They have inspired more people then they will ever know.

Their theme is "Yes you can." To say the least I was very inspired as I watched and thought about the Love and sacrifice that this Father was willing to endure to help his son.

 

 

I realized in a strange way my biggest contribution to Ratanak and the exploited children in Cambodia seems to be the unique ability to run full Marathon`s and until I am not able to I should continue this pursuit. The question then became which marathon should I aim for?

Before the Toronto Marathon I thought if I run a B.Q. short for Boston Qualifying time I would have to consider running in The Boston Marathon next year.  I even had a future title penned Back to Boston.  I finished ten seconds short of a B.Q. time, so this was out of the question for this year.

I then thought a perfect race would be a marathon in one of the American States close to the Canadian border in the spring providing it would fall within my work schedule.

I choose this because I figure my family deserves some sort of a mini-vacation for their support.  By going to the United States my family could do some shopping on the day when I recover from the marathon. I can run a full marathon, but within ten minutes at a crowded shopping mall I have been known to get headaches, dizzy, nauseous etc. Believe me this is a win win situation for me and my family.

Now I had to decide which marathon to run in. Buffalo has a marathon in the spring, but I felt not this year perhaps in the future. New Jersey has one as well, but at a recent wedding my family attended.  A couple told me it took them eight and a half hours to make the trip to Mississauga from New Jersey.  I felt this was a little on the long side. Michigan has a marathon as well, but this is its second year and I felt there could be some organization problems. Pennsylvania has one called the "North South Marathon."  Each participant has to wear either a grey or a blue shirt symbolizing the side they would support in the American Civil War (I am not joking).  Although one year I would like to run for the side that fought against Slavery I felt this was not the year so I took a pass. A sign part way through my runs in the Ravine mentions that this trail is "the Etobicoke Creek Trail.

 

It starts in Toronto, winds through Mississauga, continues through Brampton and upon completion will end up in Caledon some 50 kms away from the start.

I thought of the four Marathons I have run in, and their Cities:

Mississauga         Mississauga Marathon`s 2009-2010
Toronto                Toronto Marathon 2012
Brampton             Boston Marathon 2011
Caledon               Cleveland Marathon 2013

I know absolutely nothing about Cleveland.There is a lot of positive`s however, the date May 19 fits in with my work schedule and I will only have to take minimal time off.  This is also on Victoria day so my Daughter`s will not have to miss much time at school.  The Hotels I have looked up are about half the price of Boston, also it is not as far as a drive.  On the website participants are encouraged to send out inspiring stories of why they have chosen to run this marathon, and I have sent my story in.

Some possible challenges are Gloria will have to work on the Friday before the marathon so I may be driving to a City I have never been to at night, also May 19 is the latest date I have ever run a marathon on and I fear like Betty White`s sitcoms title it may indeed be "Hot in Cleveland" for this marathon.

So now for the fun. I will begin training for this in September.  I have hopefully learned how to be ready for a marathon and I will slowly build the necessary miles allowing me to complete a full marathon.

 

This means I will have to start having Epsom/Sea salt baths again.

This means I will have to figure out how to make my work`s allotted funding for Massage Therapy (hi Melanie) and Acupuncture (hi Esther) last.

This means I also will again become a frequent shopper at the Running Room Outlet store (hi Carey).
This means my house will again have the aroma of Tiger balm.
This means I will have to get used to sleeping with ice packs under whichever body part hurts most again.
This means my seven hours of sleep I am getting in the Summer will be a thing of the past.
This means my family and coworkers will see me a little more tense, a little more on edge.
This means so much to me I am excited just typing this out.

In the Movie "How to train your Dragon" a boy named Hiccup befriends a Dragon named Night Fury in secret, as Hiccup is a Viking and Dragons are Viking`s enemies. Night Fury`s tail was wounded when Hiccup caught it so Hiccup designed something which allowed the Dragon to fly.  A very moving scene is when Hiccup who lost his own leg in a fight with a huge dragon securing Night Fury`s freedom walks outside for the first time with his prosthesis.  Hiccup walks over to Night Fury and is able to ride his Dragon again.

In the Bible Jacob had a wrestling match with the Angel and walked with a limp for the rest of his life. Dick Hoyt who I mentioned earlier has had some Injuries requiring Surgeries which are the result of running so many races with his son. I have came to realize there is something very beautiful in being willing to sacrifice for someone or thing, even to the point of injury. I hope that what I perceive as a sacrifice that some may find Beautiful.

I sent a copy of the Hoyt`s story to Brian McConaghy founder and Director of Ratanak International. This is his response "Such a picture of a father`s love.  An illustration of God`s love for us.  We are told to run the race but in actual fact we are carried.  Every day of our Christian walk we are carried.  Until one day we will be carried over the finish line and credited with all the work that was not ours.  The "well done faithful servant will be the result of us being carried and placed at the foot of the throne by Grace.  Our only effort was to accept the offer of being carried and yet God credits us with being "runners" amazing!

My first reaction was to think of the incredible Humility this man has as if anybody could feel a little pride for the lifelong pursuit of sacrifices trying to bring freedom to the children in Cambodia surely Brian would be the one.  As I thought about his word`s for a few days I saw where his illustration actually is a recurring story in my races. 

I am far removed from the naive person who said five years ago I was going to run a Marathon.  My eyes have been opened to the physical difficulty, as well as the emotional and especially spiritual challenges. I start out each year strong, Healthy, and positive. During the course of my training there always is some pain or injury to work around.  I usually try to train harder then the actual race will be.  I try to run more Hills then the marathon will have.  Last year I ran a training run of 28 miles which is longer then an actual marathon.  I run on a treadmill at my Gym at least once a week to help with speed and also to get used to the uncomfortable heat that hits me in a very poorly ventilated area.  In spite of all this I seem to have a huge surprise in many of my races.

In a 10.8 km race called the Egg Nog Jog in Halton Hills last December, A man started chanting "Me Ha My, Me Ha My, Me Ha My." and tried to pass me at the 6km mark, for some reason I sped up and raced ahead of him. About a minute later the same man came up beside me only this time I could swear I heard him saying "They are Mine, They are Mine, They are Mine." in reference to the children in Cambodia, again I sped up and raced ahead of him. Third time I hear him coming again, louder this time "They are Mine!, They are Mine!, They are Mine!"  I said "No they`re Not, No they`re Not, No they`re Not and again refused to let him pass."  This man did not pass me before the finish line.

At the 2009 Mississauga Marathon I wrote about the lady who followed me up the steepest Hill and used my body to shield her from the 50 km/hr Wind, at the top of the Hill she said ”thanks I would not have made it without you."  I wrote about how the girls from the NewSong Center have to climb a steep hill every day for the rest of their lives and how I have to be willing to take on some of their burdens in leading them up this Hill. 

At the 2010 Mississauga Marathon I ran the last 14 kms with severe cramping in five separate muscles in my legs, yet this is also when I wrote about the girls being represented by the rocks I picked up on my longest training runs calling out "No more Auction block for me" as I ran.  At the end of the race I wrote about seeing all 13 girls appear to me singing about their freedom.

The 2011 Boston Marathon`s race was not that eventful, however a computer Crash on the day of registration had me giving up on running in this race, until one night two months after the crash an email appeared to Gloria`s email account, not mine asking me to complete my Boston registration form.  A friend who is an I.T. specialist told me this was impossible and stated that "I have friends in high places."

Last year`s 2012 Toronto Marathon I trained for a lot of things, however I did not train for the dehydration and cramping that resulted from being able to have only one cup of water the last 12 kms of the Race. At the beginning of each marathon race I start out strong.  I feel like I am the father and I am carrying the girls from Cambodia to the finish line.  Something unexpected seems to happen and I feel I cannot take another step.  This is when I usually utter what I have come to know as my marathon prayer out of desperation.  God then answers it and I become like the son Rick while God carries me to the finish line.  The interesting thing is that I have had some races with no problems at all, these are usually the ones in which I place much closer to the front; and yet when I am struggling so much to finish, the times when I feel God has to carry me to help me finish, these are the times when my most powerful writing comes out.

I wish everything goes perfect from now until May 19.  I hope I have an easy race with no drama at all, I hope I raise a lot of funding and awareness for Ratanak International with little effort and excitement, but I am not counting on it.

To close, this Summer I realized how much time and energy I waste on issues that don`t really matter, and how much more efficient I could be if I learned to ignore what does not matter and take stands on only the important issues.

The next words are from a commercial by the company Tap Out which is huge in the Mixed Martial Arts community.

My fight matters.  Does yours?

In everyday life fights materialize.
No championship belts.  No grand prize.
Just the reason you rise and strive to overcome.
It`s not about the battles won.
It`s what you stand for.
It`s sacrificing your comfort, and carrying on for a cause.
It`s for self satisfaction and not the applause.
It`s tearing down walls.
It`s what your exercising your might for.
My fight matters.  Does yours?

Larry