Our Local Hero & Rockstar

For my 100th post I wanted to do something a little different to make this post particularly special.

I took my first step to becoming a runner on October 1, 2010, but little did I know that I would look back to June 2010 to a day when I met Kenneth "Koach" Williams for the first time.  I didn't know much about him but I did know that he could play the blues harmonica and was a runner.  I told him I wanted to ask him a question.  I asked, "Can a fat boy like me run?"  He told me that it could happen but the most important thing is to avoid injury.  While he was answering my question, I was about to chow down on a couple of cheeseburgers.  After that day, I didn't think much about it until I had "the accident" (you can read about it here) and I felt I had to do something.  I walked out the door at little after 11:30am on Oct 1 and started my journey.

I had the chance to ask Koach a few questions.  I also found a great site about something that I had heard about shortly after I met him but didn't know anything about.  My first question to Koach was, "When and why did your start running?"

I found out that he had starting running in 1977 after a trip with a guy that had "done an unusal thing: he had run a marathon!"  Here is what Koach said happened after that trip:

“I wasn’t very familiar with that and didn’t run at all at that time.  When I got home from the trip I went to the football field the next morning and ran one half mile.  The rest, as they say, is history!!!

"I moved forward fast.  I ran a marathon 10 months after starting running.  I ran the Chicago Marathon on Sept 24th, 1978, along with 9,000 people.  It was to be my only marathon, I thought, but that was not to be.

"After that marathon, I continued running, but just a few days a week and not many miles.  But about 9 months later, the urge hit again, and I decided to try it again.  I was running really well at that time and thought I might just qualify for Boston.  What a mistake!  I went out at a fast pace.  At 10 miles, I was just over 70 minutes; my buddy, who was able to drive the course in the car, pulled alongside and said: “You better slow down, you are going out too fast”.  I responded back… “Naw, Man, I’m in the groove”.  By 18, I was toast and beginning to walk.  I did the marathon shuffle in for a 3:32, which was pretty good, considering.  He never let me forget me saying I was “in the groove”.   I did one marathon per year for years, and finally qualified for my first Boston Marathon in ’90.  It took me 13 more years to qualify for a second one, but since then, I’ve run 11 consecutive Bostons.”

Most of you know that I’m a big fan of the Coke 10K that we have in Corinth every May and I couldn’t pass up the chance to ask Koach why he wanted to found and direct a race.

“In 1981, Corinth didn’t have a really nice race.  We had some that came and went, but not one of our own.  My company, Corinth Coke, was celebrating its 75th anniversary and I talked our folks into adding a 10k race in conjunction with all the other things we were planning.  We teamed up with a local guy, Jimmy Whitehurst, who was very active with one of the kidney nonprofits.  We put together the Coke Kidney Classic 10k.  We had 148 runners the first year.   The first race our employees ever saw, they hosted.  I was very proud of them for that.   The kidney folks weren’t interested the next year and we weren’t interested in having those two words in the title of a race, so we went out alone. Again it was successful and we have continued since then.  But it has not always been easy and has not always been popular with our own people who wondered if we were diverting too much energy on something that had only an indirect effect.  Don’t think anyone has a problem seeing its positive benefits 32 years later.”

“I love running and it’s my passion.  I coach runners that wish to run a marathon and I enjoy doing that so much.  My running friends mean so much to me and I love them all.”  Although Koach tells me much of his spare time is spent with running and running-related things, he does have other interest too.  One of them, and the most important, is his large family.  They include his wife, who was his college sweetheart, their four kids and spouses and all of their 14 grandkids!!!  He says, “We all live within 50 miles of each other and are very close and supportive.”

Koach also looks forward to going into work everyday because he loves the business he is in and the people he works with.

Some of the things he enjoys doing is fishing and duck hunting.  He says, “I also love playing the blues harmonica and played in a blues band for nearly 15 years.  I love kayaking and other water sports and I enjoy checking off bucket list items with my buddy.  I am very, very thankful for the life that God has allowed me to live.”

My last last question was simply, “What advice would you give someone that is just starting out to becoming a runner?”  Not surprisingly, he replied, “Be patient!  You will continue to improve for years.  Never give up!”

With Koach’s help, guidance, and encouragement, I have definitely become the runner I am today.

After poking around online just a little I found that Koach has ran from the Mississippi state line just north of Corinth all the way to the gulf coast.  How Awesome is that?  Here is the link where you can read his daily log of his journey.  Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and read to the top.  Here is another link to the Run it Fast website where you can learn more about Koach and his passion for running.

Thanks, Koach, for all that you have done for me in my pursuit to becoming a runner and all that you do for our great running community in Corinth, Alcorn County, and around the globe.

Small Changes Add Up

It's starting to warm up even more here in Mississippi and I haven't made it to the point that I'm comfortable running in the heat just yet.  I had to carry my truck by the shop on Wednesday and was going to do loops around the parking lot until my truck was fixed but I only made it 1.55 miles because it was so hot.  The temp at the time was 93!

I tried again on Saturday morning and when the group started it was nice.  My first 12 miles or so were pretty good but after that it was all downhill.  Jeff and I ran up the ridge road and when we got back I told him, "You just go on ahead and you can just come back and get me when you finish.  I'll just take whatever I have at that time."  I still ended up with 14.4 miles but my pace was really off at 12 minute miles.

Last week I told you I had a big announcement to make.  I already knew when I posted last week but didn't want to reveal "my secret" until Wednesday.  I did post on the Facebook page for this blog and a little later on my Facebook page.  Three years ago this month, I met Kenneth Williams and asked him about running.  It has taken me that long to prepare for what I'm going to do in December.  I have registered for the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, AL.  I'm excited and nervous at the same time!  Jeff is running the marathon at St Jude the weekend before and then running the RCM too!  Thankfully I'm only running the half at St Jude.

Most of you know that I drive a truck and while I'm out on the road it isn't always easy getting a healthy meal.  I do carry a cooler with me and that makes it a little easier.  Although I am not the only one that has made small changes over the last two and a half years, I have made some.  I have written before about what I eat but sometimes we need to hear things again.  I have, and still am, making little adjustments in my diet that over time will make a big difference.

One of the changes that I made was back in February.  I started putting almond milk on my cereal and drinking it instead of using regular milk.  According to the package, almond milk has 50% more calcium than regular milk.  That isn't the reason I switched.  The reason was because I had been drinking 1% milk and it has 102 calories per 8 oz.  That doesn't seem like a lot but if you compare it to 30 calories in almond milk and you drink one cup a day, that adds up to 1 pound of weight loss every 7 weeks.

One of my favorite changes are dates.  I will eat a serving of dates (5-6) instead of eating a candy bar.  They are naturally sweet and are so good.  Not to mention the fiber that is in them that makes you feel full longer than a candy bar will.  I'm not say I don't eat candy bars anymore.  I'm just saying I eat fewer of them.

I mentioned cereal when I was talking about almond milk.  It is hard to find a cereal that I don't want to just eat the whole box in one sitting.  Some cereals also require me to eat more than "one serving" because it just doesn't satisfy me.  Take for example Cheerios.  I will eat two cups of them for a total of 200 calories.  Add in the almond milk and a cup of yogurt (80 calories) and I have a total of 340 calories.  On the other hand, I also like to eat Kashi Go Lean Crunch.  One cup of it has 200 calories.  I can eat just one cup of it because of the fiber and protein in it and then add on the other stuff for the same amount of calories.  I do change it up from time to time and eat a banana, some apple slices or might even drink a cup of orange juice.  I don't want to get bored by eating the same thing all the time.

I've been made fun of for making this change.  It's not one that I do all the time but quite a bit.  Instead of having chips with my sandwich, I will have celery.  I know most people like the salty taste of chips but I think I like the crunch better and celery has that "crunch".  Again, here we go with the math.  An average serving of chips has 140 calories.  And since I usually eat 2 servings of celery I will use it in my example.  Instead of eating the 140 calories in the chips, if you changed just three times a week to eating celery you will have saved 330 calories per week or 1 pound in just under 11 weeks.  See how easy it is?

How have you made little changes in your diet to help you?  I'd like to hear.  Please leave your comments below.

That's going to do it for me this week and you will want to come back for sure next week.  It will be the 100th post and I have something very special planned to share with you.

A Must Read: Hey, Out of Shape Girl

Last week was a very busy week for me but I still had the opportunity to get in just over 22 miles over three days.  Since I took Sunday before last off and knew I was going to Evansville, IN, I ran on the Greenway Passage again for the third time.  I still didn't have my Garmin so used my iPhone to track my mileage and ran 6.5 miles and it was nice.  I was hoping to see Mr Don again but didn't.

Since I had to work the rest of the week and didn't get a chance to run, I had to wait until Saturday morning to pound some pavement.  I had planned to go out to 350 but had to pass this week because I didn't get in until late.  I got up and hit the Coke course and ran for 5 miles with my "new" Garmin.  Even after 5 miles it only lost down to 89% of battery.  Hopefully this one will serve me as well as the old one.

Jenni, Jeff and I decided we were going to meet at the church at 6:30 but nature had other plans for us.  A thunderstorm was moving in from the south and it had lightning in it.  After messaging each other we  ended up meeting a little later.  I ended up with 11miles, Jeff with 14, and Jenni with 15.  I enjoyed the run and enjoyed the company even more.  Thanks y'all!!!

There may have been a reason I didn't make it out the 350 Saturday morning.  As I running up to the 4th street bridge, I noticed a keyless remote laying on the side of the road.  I stopped and picked it up and put it in my pouch.  I went ahead and had forgotten about it until I saw a car and pickup coming down the road really slow.  The guy driving the pickup was hanging out the window and seemed to be looking for something on the side of the road.  I looked on the front of the car and it matched the emblem on the remote.  The lady driving the car wouldn't stop but I pulled the remote out and waved it for the guy.  Of course he pulled on up and thanked me.  It was the least that I could do.  I'm glad they came along. I had met the lady earlier in my run pushing a baby stroller and apparently she had dropped it on her way out.

One other thing that I want to share with you is something that I came across on Facebook and posted it on the Facebook page for this blog but you may not have seen it.  I do know that 360 people have read it just from the page and I'm sure numerous on other sites.  If you are in doubt about starting your journey and you wonder what other runners might think about you, then this is for YOU!  I wished I would have written this.

Hey, Out of Shape Girl. 
Yes, you. The one feigning to not see me when we cross paths on the running track. The one not even wearing sports gear, breathing heavy. You’re slow, you breathe hard and your efforts at moving forward make you cringe.
You cling shyly to the furthest corridor, sometimes making larger loops on the gravel ring by the track just so you’re not on it. You sweat so much that your hair is all wet. You rarely stay for more than 20 minutes at a time, and you look exhausted when you leave to go back home. You never talk to anyone. I’ve got something I’d like to say to you.
You are awesome.
If you’d look me in the eye only for an instant, you would notice the reverence and respect I have for you. The adventure you have started is tremendous; it leads to a better health, to renewed confidence and to a brand new kind of freedom. The gifts you will receive from running will far exceed the gigantic effort it takes you to show up here, to face your fears and to bravely set yourself in motion, in front of others.
You have already begun your transformation. You no longer accept this physical state of numbness and passivity. You have taken a difficult decision, but one that holds so much promise. Every hard breath you take is actually a tad easier than the one before, and every step is ever so slightly lighter. Each push forward leaves the former person you were in your wake, creating room for an improved version, one that is stronger, healthier and forward-looking, one who knows that anything is possible.
You’re a hero to me. And, if you’d take off the blaring headphones and put your head up for more than a second or two, you would notice that the other runners you cross, the ones that probably make you feel so inadequate, stare in awe at your determination. They, of all people, know best where you are coming from. They heard the resolutions of so many others, who vowed to pick up running and improve their health, “starting next week”. Yet, it is YOU who runs alongside, who digs from deep inside to find the strength to come here, and to come back again.
You are a runner, and no one can take that away from you. You are relentlessly moving forward. You are stronger than even you think, and you are about to be amazed by what you can do. One day, very soon, maybe tomorrow, you’ll step outside and marvel at your capabilities. You will not believe your own body, you will realize that you can do this. And a new horizon will open up for you. You are a true inspiration.
I bow to you.
--- flintland.blogspot.com

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you again next week for a big announcement!

Chasing Our Shadow

I got lazy writing my post during the Memorial Day holiday but I didn't slack on getting my miles.  The week that ended the day before Memorial Day I ran a total of 25.5 miles.  I got lucky and got to run during the week again on the Greenway Passage in Evansville, IN, that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago.  I made it all the way to the Ohio River at about the 4 mile mark.  If you ever get the chance to run on this trail then do so.  You will remember it for a long time.  Unfortunately, I didn't carry my iPhone with me to take pictures because I thought the rain was going to move in but it never did.
During that run, my Garmin 405 decided to die on me. I thought I'd charged the battery but when I plugged it up it had 0% charge. To make a long story short, I called Garmin and was told it was probably the battery and they could send me a refurbished 405 for a fee. Needless to say, I paid the fee and as of this writing my "new" is on the way.

The Saturday and Sunday before the holiday I ran 10 miles on 350 and 7.4 on the Coke route.  While Jeff and I were running on Sunday morning, we were talking about racing and competing.  Neither of us really compete against other runners at the race but if we place the that is the icing on the cake.  As we were talking and having this conversation, I pointed toward the ground in front of me and said, "That's who I'm competing against right there!"  At the time the sun was to our back and our shadows were "running" just in front of us.

This past Saturday I ran the Butterfly 5K in Waynesboro, TN.  Let me tell you, if you haven't ran this race and you live close then it is one your should run next year.  Not only does it benefit a great charity but the race is absolutely the best 5K I have ever ran.  The race director, Jim Beavers, personally invited me to it during the Rotary Run in the Park back in April and I'm so glad that I went.  The course is partly on the highway but the traffic control and the support were great.  I heard that it took 60 volunteers to pull it off and they did just that.  It's a race that I'm looking forward to running again next year.  I had hoped to run a PR and do it under 30 minutes but it was warm and I ran a 31:24.  I was still proud and that is a good time too!

Earlier in the week I two other days of with 7 miles and 3.1 miles so my total for the week was only 13.2 miles.  I slept in on Sunday and did run at all.  I made up for it on Monday but I'll have to tell you about that next week.

Thanks for stopping by this week and hope to see you again next week.

What Motivates You?

One of the best things about the sport of running is that you can either be a participant or a spectator at a race.  I have done both and have a good time doing either one of them.  Of course, I love getting out there and running with all the others but there is something about standing on the side of the course and cheering for your friends and perfect strangers.  This past weekend I had the opportunity to be a spectator at the Mango Madness 5K here in town.  It is ran on the XC course.  I decided this year to not to run it because, well, trail running just isn't for me.

Now that summer is upon us, I decided to search the Internet for some tips on running in the summer.  My first summer of running was way back in 2011 and while I was still blogging I wrote this post on running in the heat.  Here are a few others that I found:

1. 20 Tips to Stay Cool on a Summer Run
2. SeasonalSafety Tips for Runners (this covers all four seasons)
3. Articles from Runner's World on running in the heat

I know I have written several times about motivation but that is one of the things that we all need and we need it often.  I pretty much did the walk/run thing alone for over a year and a half.  I really shouldn't say "alone" because I did have people that encouraged me and gave me lots of help.  The alone part is that I was alone during all of my runs.  My first run with someone else was on Christmas Eve of 2011.  The next time I ran with someone was on June 2, 2012.  It wasn't because I didn't want someone to run with me it was that I did want to hold someone else back if they ran faster than I did and that someone else was "everybody else".  I was a fast runner and had to take lots of walk breaks just to get through the miles I wanted to cover.  Little did I know that there was a someone that was faster than I but was willing to slow down to a pace that I could handle and help me along and encourage me.  Even though I ran alone sometimes, I ran with the group out on 350 for many Saturdays.

A few months ago, I discovered another source of motivation on Facebook.  There is a group called Truckin' Runners.  We aren't all truckers but we all are in the trucking industry.  When I first joined the group, there were like 128 of us.  As of this writing we are up to 190.  Most of the time we post our runs in the group but sometimes a newbie might ask a question.  It is a really great motivator because we know that if we aren't out there "gettin it done" and somebody post that they walked 2 miles in 38 minutes the we need to get off our rears and do something for ourselves.  I know when I see other people post their runs that I feel a little guilty if I haven't ran in a few days.


What motivates you?

That's going to do me for this week.  Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you each have a great week and I'll see you here again next week.

Running the Greenway Passage

This last week has been a busy week but I managed to sneak in three runs for the week for a total of 20 miles.  My first run was on Wednesday morning in Evansville, IN.  I was near a park and got up early so I could walk the half mile down to the park and get a nice run in.  While I was making loops around the park, I was meeting a lady every so often.  The second time she gave me a thumbs up.  The third time I saw her she was coming from a different area than I was running so I decided to go the way she was coming from.  I saw an asphalt trail and was looking at the sign with the map and trying to figure out where I was on it.  An older gentleman came walking by and I asked him about the trail.  He told me it was 6-8 miles down to the river but I told him that was too far.  We chatted for a few minutes and I found out his name was Don.  I found out that the name of the trail was called The Greenway Passage.  I headed out and ran about two and a half mile out and then back.  It was so pretty.  I took the two pictures in this post on the passage.  I ended my run with a total of 7.75 miles.

My next run was the next morning.  I was home and went out and got in another 4.25 miles and called it quits.  Since I was going to a baseball game on Saturday, I decided to get up early and run on Hwy 350 with Jeff.  This was also the weekend of the Gum Tree 10K down in Tupelo but I didn't have time to run the race and make it to the ballgame too.  Jeff and I ended up running 8 miles and my legs were tired!  It was a good run though.

If you don't already know, I am auctioning off a 2013 Coke 10K race shirt.  It is size X Large.  I was donated to me by my good friend, Rob Williams.  I am auctioning off this shirt for St Jude.  You can click on the tab at the top of this page for details on how to place a bid.  Since I am "conducting" this auction myself, I won't have any fees to pay to Ebay and the entire amount will go towards my fundraising effort for St Jude.

That's something that I forgot to mention last week.  I am running the St Jude Half Marathon on December 7th and I am so excited!  I really don't know what to expect but I do know what others that have ran it have told me.  It's obviously a feeling that you have to experience.  Of course, I will tell you all about it afterwards.  If you would like to make a donation to St Jude and help me out please click here and you will be taken to my personal fundraising site.

That's going to do me for this week.  Thanks for stopping by and if you'd like to have that race shirt, be sure to get in your bid soon.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

The race shirt & medal

This past weekend has got to be one of the most exciting weekends, if not the most exciting, in the city of Corinth, Mississippi.  Streets are blocked off, you aren't allowed to park on certain streets after 5pm on Friday, and the finish line has been assembled and looks marvelous!  It was the weekend of the 32nd Coke 10K!  This was my third year to run this great race and we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather.



Friday night some of us gathered at Pizza Grocery and had a great dinner together.  It is always good to get together with other runners and their families and get to know each other.  As we were discussing the weather outside, we were kind of worried about how the weather was going to be at race time.  During dinner, it was raining and didn't seem like it was going to stop anytime soon and it had turned off cold too.  I finally got to bed that night after putting out my running clothes for the next day.  I didn't really know what to wear so I laid out short sleeve and a long sleeve shirts.

Michael kissing Shrek?

After waking about 5:30, I checked the weather and the rain had moved out and there was 0% chance of rain at race time.  Jeff and I had decided we were going to run a little before the race and get warmed up.  I'm glad we did because it was cold.  During our run, I wore a long sleeve shirt but had carried two other shirts with me to change into because I knew I'd be wet from running just a little.  After we finished 3 miles, we knew we were going to be needing a short sleeve shirt and not the long sleeve.

Before the race, I had two or three people come up to me and introduce themselves and told me that they had been following me either on here or on my Facebook page.  Of course I thanked them for reading and we stood around and chatted for a few.

Jeff and Me

I really didn't know how well I was going to do but after the horn sounded, we were all off!  So many people were passing me and I knew I had started too far in the front.  After the first two miles, I started to pass some of those that had passed me earlier.  At the 5K mark I knew I was on pace to get a PR and I didn't want to slow down.  I continued on and when I crossed the finish line had a time of 1:01:16!  That was 46 seconds faster than my previous PR!  I was proud!

Post race was great too!  I had heard that many folks had set new PRs and some runners I knew won trophies.  The weather was just right for running and much better than it was last year.  I won't go into much detail about last years race since I wasn't blogging at the time, but let's just say it was a little warm.

Later in the evening, the rain moved back in and it was still raining Sunday morning.  I used the rain Sunday morning as an excuse to not run and hoping I get a chance to run during this week.  I ended the week with almost 15 miles and finally made passed the 300 mile mark for the year. My goal this year is 1,000!

Thanks for stopping by this week and I hope you have great week!