Pat Castle (goals)

Hi, LIFER's

My strategic goal is to embrace our Team Mission: God first, Defend the unborn (ProLife), Encouragement, Health. Here are my tactical goals while training to reach the finish line of the TC Marathon for ProLife.

* God first: Run closer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit...training allows worship/prayer, sacrifice, action. Celebrate God's gift of life through running (joy).

* Defend the unborn (ProLife): Be part of the solution to end abortion...prayer, communicating our motivations for running, and raising $/mile to help Rich purchase an ultrasound machine for a Gainesville, FL crisis pregnancy center.

* Encouragement: Be a stronger husband, father, son, brother, friend...training allows reflection, prayer, spiritual perspective, patience, energy. Help my Teammates reach their marathon goals.

* Health: Arrive at the starting line prepared spiritually and physically (peace). Courageously reach for my best (break 2:53:51), praising and honoring Christ by striving to maximize my God-given potential.

Training for a marathon is a faith growing experience, providing many opportunities for us to live out our faith (worship/prayer, sacrifice, action). The training gives us greater awareness of our total dependence on God (humility) and allows for more (and deeper) worship/prayer time (greater connection with God's will). A marathon training experience is like being on an extended retreat...the marathon is not the ultimate goal...heaven is the ultimate goal!

Like 2008, let's expect big things as we grow closer together (Body of Christ) and closer to Christ. Completing a marathon is a huge accomplishment (all glory to God!), but this is merely our vehicle (fueled by faith) to help save physical and spiritual lives as we defend the unborn. I am blessed to be part of our team of Christ disciples who defend the defenseless unborn and celebrate God's gift of life through marathon running. Our genuine sacrifices for Christ will bring True joy and peace in our lives and those near us...for eternity...thanks be to God!

Run for ProLife,
Pat
Phil 4:13
life-devotions.blogspot.com

Rich Reich Intro

Hello LIFE Runners,




I am in the Air Force and currently working on my PhD in chemistry at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. I taught chemistry with Pat at the Air Force Academy a few years ago and I co-author the LIFE Group devotions with him.



My goals for the marathon this year:

• Be the voice for the unborn (our running shirts are hopefully going to open up opportunities for speaking the Truth).


• Raise $1000 towards a new ultrasound machine for A Womans Answer Medical Center.


• Finish the marathon without ending up in the medic tent. If successful, this will be my first out of four completed marathons that I didn't look like the walking dead and scare the heck out of my wife Erica.


• Qualify for the Boston Marathon with a 3:15.

Through Christ our Lord,
Rich
Romans 12:12

Steve Castle Intro

Hello Life Runners!
I am signed up for the TC Marathon and really excited about it. I am Pat's little-big brother and will be striving to make all the Clydesdale's out there proud.

Here are my goals in brief:

1. Run for all the innocent little babies being murdered each day - REMEMBER!
2. Stay Healthy - focus on stretching, rest, and smart training
3. Break 4 hours
4. Get under 200lb's by race day - I weighed in at 227lb's

Praise be to God - let's run to finish the race!

Through the love of God...

Steve

Romans 12:12

April Roll Call (Doug)

Greetings....glad to join this group. Thanks to Pat for the encouragement.

Goal: Sub 4 hr and no injuries.

Training: I am tracking my minutes of aerobic activity. Right now I am at 4 hrs per week. Looking to increase that to 5 during the next 3 weeks. My longest run recently was an 8 miler last weekend. Looking to build up to 21 miles about 3 weeks out. I will mostly get Pat's advise.
I am signed up for the Pikes Peak marathon as well (like Pat), so I'll pick his brain later for a good strategy/training plan.

Fundraising: I already have one person who said they would sponsor me :-) Will look for more.

No plane/hotel reservations yet.

Thanks for being part of this group and living your faith.

Peace, Doug

April Roll Call (Bill)

Hello friends and soon to be friends!

Just checking in. I'm excited to run my first marathon! My goal is to finish in 4:30 and to build a stronger relationship with the Lord through running. I pray He continues to give me courage to train my mind and body throughout this journey.

I just found out last week that my beautiful daughter Lindsay can't join me. She is a sophmore at CU and very involved in church on campus. She is a team member for 'Buffalo Awakening' Catholic college student retreat and their retreat just got changed to the same weekend as the marathon. I'm sad for the team but happy and proud of Lindsay for sharing her gift of faith and helping other college kids find theirs. I'm waiting on an answer back on how to transfer her registration on to my brother Joe. Hopefully he can join us.

I'm excited to meet you teammates I don't know and always thrilled to be with the friends God has blessed me with. Suggestion: Lets get together as a group and run once a week and fellowship afterwards (breakfast at a different house each week) Run early Sat morn and eat afterward?

Your Brother in Christ,
Bill

April Roll Call (Shane)

Greetings Team Lifer's from Ohio. Sorry for my slow response ... better late than never. As of now (being that I've yet to run a 20 mile training run), I'm still planning to run the marathon. :)

Training:
- I'm maintaining my regular routine of weights and cardio, which typically entails 1-hr of strength trainining and stretching and 1-hr of cardio (treadmill, bike, eliptical, etc.) 5 to 6 days/week.
- I'll replace my cardio training with Hal Higdon's 18 week training program in mid-June. I still haven't decided between the Novice or Intermediate schedule, but leaning toward Intermediate.

Injuries:
- Nothing serious ... some tender joints at times especially in the knees. I'm a heavy boy (currently weighing in at about 205 lbs), so my knees get a little tired of carrying me around after 5 or 6 miles of running.

Goals:
- FINISH THE RACE!!! This is my first marathon, and perhaps my last ... I still maintain that individuals that purposely set out to run 26.2 consecutive miles are somewhat mentally ill, so I'm trying to limit the progression of this mental illness by stopping after one. :)
- I haven't established a time goal quite yet ... my best half time was 1:48, but that's when I was a slender 185lbs and had two maniacs to train with (i.e., Pat and Duke!). Right now I'm thinking under 5 hours, but I need to see how the training goes.
- Lose some weight. I'd like to get back down to 170-180lbs, which is where I was the last time Pat first roped me into a running event, but then we ran 4 or 5 races that next year (including tw0 half marathons) and I gained 15 lbs in the process. I always hear runners talk about all the weight loss, so I'm hoping to see some of that this time around.
- Experience the Windy City with some very good friends that I love and respect (Pat, Angi, and Duke) and enjoy the fellowship of new friends (the rest of the gang!) ... even if you all are mentally ill to some degree (see goal 1 above).

I look forward to meeting you all in Chicago!

April Roll Call (John - AKA "Duke")

Hi fellow Lifer's- I am finally checking in. New to the blogging scene.....


Training:

• After many months of resting my lower back & body it's time to get my butt in gear & hit the pavement again! It's been too long....
  
• I have been working out on an elliptical trainer for a few weeks now, 3-5 days per week. My plan is to move training outside and start running. I feel as though I have become a fair weather runner this year.
• Will start slow with 3-4 milers x 3-5days per week until I am happy with my lower back & have built a base to work from.
• I will also add some cross training to the mix : Bike riding / Elliptical training

Goals:

• Have fun & enjoy the ride!
• Become stronger - Mentally, Spiritually, & Physically
• Overcome the lower Back problems in 08' -Bulging disc problem is still not resolved. Right leg is not functioning properly as a result...
• Fit some local trail races in this year. Mingo trail race in June would be a great starter...
• Stay healthy & complete the Chicago marathon in 3:30.....
• Get to know my fellow Lifer's better & support overall goals of our team!
• Train on absolutely flat land this year! No Hills.... Ok maybe a few overpasses.

Duke

April Roll Call (Chad)

Training is going well. As Ben said below, we are entering our sixth week of Hal Higdon's 'novice supreme' training. Ben and I found a weekly 5K fun run that we are enjoying. This typically replaces our Thursday 3 mile run.

I am in the thought stages of what my 'pro-life' support will look like. I am attempting to come up with something a little un-orthodox. More to come.

Goals-
- I'm still looking to finish in under 5 hours.
- I would like to run a consistent 10 min/mile pace - so far, I'm only achieving this around 3 miles and end up much greater when I run four.
- Begin 'enjoying' the run more - I'm starting to see this as my body is taking to the distance running well - My wife is happy to see my stomach getting flatter. = )
- Ben and I notice that our lungs get tired a lot faster than our legs. Perhaps some herbal remedy could be suggested: = )

April Roll Call (Ben)

Hey guys this is Ben Fisk just checking in. I'm now officially registered as of this past week! I'll be booking a flight this week.

The training program Chad and I are on is just starting its sixth week, which means we have already completed 5 weeks! Training is going well and I feel great. One of my goals is to run approx 10 minute miles and so far I'm ahead of this pace. More goals to come soon.

I'm also doing some cross training in the terms of sports. I play indoor soccer and church softball once-a-week. I've found that this provides a "fun" aspect to my training.

Run for Life. Run for Christ. Run for the King.

Apr Roll Call (Scott)

All right, I'm checking in.

Logistics:
* I have a flight that lands Saturday at 11:56am at O'Hare.
* I have a Saturday night reservation at the same hotel as the group.
* I leave Sunday at 7:55pm from O'Hare.

Training:
* I have a hybrid approach to my training, since I'm doing the Ascent in August. This training is unusual in that it focuses on minutes of running instead of distance.
* As of this weekend, I hit 102 minutes, which turned out to be about 11 miles.
* I'm running 2-3 times during the week for 50-60 minutes (~5.5-6.5 miles).
* I will switch over to the Higdon schedule after the Ascent in August.

Goals:
* It's all about finishing without injury.
* I registered for 3:45, but I'm clueless what it means to go that distance. The only 1/2 marathon length race I've done is the Ascent, which is mostly speed hiking. I've never done a marathon.
* Improving my health (mind, body, spirit)
* Fellowship

Go Clydesdales!!! (runners over about 170 pounds)

Running Goals (Tracy)

I think I'm the last one to post my goals, but better late than never, right? Here goes:

1) Realize (again) why I have always loved to run – just me, God’s amazing creation (especially in CO), and the peace and quiet to hear His voice and relax from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
2) Become more educated about the ProLife movement and do my part to raise awareness.
3) Complete the training and the marathon while avoiding injury (I’ve had intermittent problems with IT band and bursitis injuries since my competitive running days in college). Hopefully I’ve learned by now how to avoid those all-so-pleasant overuse injuries.
4) Finish the marathon in under 4 hrs – once I get into my training I’ll hopefully be able to refine this goal a little more
5) After the marathon, maintain a healthy and more balanced lifestyle: good food, more consant fitness level, positive attitude, and a growing faith.

I've always said I would run a marathon someday, so I guess I'm finally going to do it. I'm super excited especially since I'm not just running a marathon, but I'm running it for such an important cause. I'm sure it will be a challenging journey, but that's usually what helps us grow the most. And maybe after my husband, Demi, sees how much fun it is, he'll want to join me next time :)

Running Goals (Courtney)

Chicago this year will become my 7th marathon. ( I have to get through Pikes Peak in August first..That will hurt.) My goals for these 2 marathons are:

1. Train HARD for both!
2. Run under 6 hrs for the Pikes Peak Marathon - if it is not to hot..last year = horrible!!
3. Do Hill, tempo, speed workouts - with my awesome runner buddy - Angi on the track off of Northgate!!
4. Eat more = have more energy this year!
5. Get to chicago with no bronchitis/pneumonia (I had that in chicago the year of 2006)
6. Qualify for Boston (3:40) - i missed boston by 18 SECONDS year of 2006.
7. RUN HARD!!

Running Goals (Pat)

Hi, LIFER's:

I normally don't publicize my goals :). For example, Joe Hourigan and my Mom were the only people who knew I was going to attempt a sub 3 hr Pikes Peak Ascent in 2006. I hadn't even committed a goal with Angi or Rich (my running partner). God granted me the perfect day (cool with overcast) and ultimately the "desire of my heart", as I finished with a 2:59:51 (#50/1639)...thanks in part to Padre Pio (a mystical story for another day). I was unaware that Joe Hourigan volunteered to hand out finishers medals at the top. As I crossed the finish line, Joe yelled out, "brother, you did it!" I did it...through our savior Jesus Christ who strengthened me (Phil 4:13)! As the last person to break 3 hrs that day, my finish was described in the newspaper under the subtitle "10 seconds to spare." I was quoted in the article: "When I was about one minute from the finish line, I told myself to let the Holy Spirit carry me forth. After that, I don't remember feeling the ground. I was walking on a cloud."

To be a good teammate and accept my Brother Steve's challenge to post our goals (great idea for accountability), I will gladly publicize my goals for the 2008 Chicago Marathon :).

1. Run closer to Christ through our team fellowship and service to neighbor by defending the unborn, etc (faith).
2. Defend the unborn through education and courage (sacrifice).
3. Celebrate God's gift of life through the training process (joy).
4. Arrive at the starting line prepared spiritually and physically (peace).
5. Courageously reach for my best (break 2:53:51), praising God for the opportunity and honoring Him by striving to maximize my potential.

* Chad sent me a message today with this question, "Can you really not run just 5 miles in 30 mins?" I took this as a challenge :) and will attempt this as a secondary goal...as the Turks say, "Inshallah" (God willing).

For Christian runners, training for a marathon is a faith growing experience because the training sacrifices give us a greater awareness of our total dependence on God (humility) and the training time allows for more (and deeper) prayer time (greater connection with God's will for us). In short, a marathon training experience is like being on an extended retreat. If we surrender the marathon training to God, we will be excited at the starting line but not nervous (faith perspective). Also, with a faith perspective, the marathon is not the ultimate goal...Jesus is the ultimate goal! Therefore, if we were to get injured just a few days before the race (heaven forbid), we would feel some loss (goals 4 and 5 above), but we would have already accomplished the main goals (1 to 3 above)!

Run for Life!,
Pat
Phil 4:13

Running Goals (Angi)

As of March 1st, I'm now out of maintenance mode and back to ramping up training for what looms in the distance (the majestic Peak) and to the East (the exciting streets of Chicago). I was really inspired to get back to serious running after watching "The Spirit of the Marathon" with my good friend and running buddy, Courtney (a fellow LIFER runner). Here are my goals for this season:
1. To support our mission (Right to Life)
2. Like Steve-to be below 200lbs. (hee hee)
3. Like Rich-to avoid the medic tent (hey-I've been there at Indy mini marathon)
4. Like Chad-to run a 6 min. mile pace (I'm sorry Chad, I just had to)
5. Seriously-to add more core training to my regimen
6. To add weekly speed workouts
7. To complete the Triple Crown (Garden of Gods-10miler; Bear Creek Park-12K; and Pikes Peak Ascent (in under 4:15)
8. To finish strong at Chicago with a sub 4 hour time (O2 rich air and no hills!!!)

Run for Life,
Angi

Running Goals (Rich)

Since turning 35 years old last December, I am now in the 35-39 year old age group for the Boston Marathon. My Boston qualifying time has slowed down to 3:15 from 3:10. My goals for the 2008 Chicago Marathon:

1. Gain support for the Right to Life Movement
2. Beat my marathon PR of 3:23 (7:44 pace; 2006 AF Marathon)
3. Finish under 3:15 (7:26 pace) to qualify for the 113th Boston Marathon (Apr 09)
4. Latch onto a 3:10 pace runner and stay with him to the finish
5. Avoid the medic tent!!

Running Goals (Chad)

Last week I praised myself on running 4 miles in about 26 minutes: roughly a six minute mile. I then found myself having a very difficult time just getting 3 miles in 30minutes on the treadmill. Having heard from Angi that she finds running outside easier than a treadmill this didn't bother me so much. However, I decided to re-check my mileage with our vehicles. Turns out that I had barely ran just over 2.5 miles. =) Wow, how cool am I.Today I did the actual 4 miles and it was about 28 minutes; roughly 9.5 minute miles. =)

Goals:
1. work up to an eight minute mile over a 5 mile run.
2. Break 5 hours in Chicago

Running Goals (Steve)

Hey Runners:

Well, I just purchased some new shoes and new orthodics this past week, so I'm all geared up. Now I just need to get my butt out of bed and start running again.

I've been rehabbing goosefoot (pes anserine) bursitis/tendinitis for over a month now, so I'm feeling more confident. Check out this link if your really interested in the injury

http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/sma/sma_pesanser_sma.htm


All I can really say is that it's caused by overuse, weak and tight hamstrings, and a poor stretching regimen (imagine a runner not stretching enough). I thought I was stretching well, but I've received an education these past weeks. I guess as a "Clydesdale" I'm more prone to these types of injuries.


I would like to issue a challenge to everyone to post their running goals so we can track progress and encourage one another as we progress toward Chicago.


I'll lead by example so here goes!

1) Break 4 hours in Chicago (4:23 w/ altitude and mountains in Black Hills)
2) Be under 200 lb's (lose about 15-20 lb's)
3) Improve stretching and strengthening regimen
4) Break 1 hour 45 minutes in a half marathon in September
5) Train and run the Pike Peaks Assent in August

OK, with all that said, let's get some enthusiasm, dialogue, and energy around this fantastic event we are moving toward! God Speed!