Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Why I'm a Morning Runner


I loathe running in the evenings... In case you have never been to Mississippi during the summer, it gets a little warm and humid.  I would much rather wake up earlier and get my miles in before the sun comes out to scorch the Earth.

I've had one major problem in the past couple of weeks though; it's impossible very hard to get up early.  I'm not sure if I'm getting inadequate sleep, uninterrupted sleep, or something else, but waking up early has become a victory each morning. 

Today, I woke up a little early and hit the roads.  I only had 2.5 on the schedule (thankfully).  I run a loop around the local high school which is right at 1 mile around.  The complete first mile was amazing!  The sun was still down behind the pines.  By the time I started my 2nd lap, the sun came out and it was mad.  It hammered me with it's rays for 9/10 of the loop, which was difficult.  After 18 minutes and 40 seconds, I was done with my 2.55 miles.

Another good thing about early morning runs... only one shower per day.


St. Jude Update:

Thanks so much to the two families that donated to St. Jude since the last post!!  No donation is too small (or large)!  Every dollar gets me closer to fulfilling my pledge! 

Updated stats:
I pledged to raise $2,500 total.  So far, I have $185, which leaves $2,315.

  • If I had 231 people donate $10 (and one $5), I would reach my goal.
  • If I had 92 people donate $25 (and one $15), I would reach my goal.
  • If I had 46 people donate $50 (and one $15), I would reach my goal.
  • If I had 23 people donate $100 (and one $15), I would reach my goal.
  • If I had 1 person donate $2,300 (and one $15), I would reach my goal! :)
There are tons of combinations of how the money can be raised and the pledge fully-compensated.   Will you help?


To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.
-Steve Prefontaine 

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

And so it begins...

Well, I have officially started my St. Jude marathon training. 

That was a tough line to type...

I ran my first marathon last December (St. Jude Marathon in Memphis) in a grand time of 5:16:52.  Let me begin by saying that 5:16:52 was no where close to my projected time.  Even with my lack of training, I was still hoping for a time around 4 hours.

Race-day Attire
Family Picture before St. Jude Marathon 2012
This was my St. Jude patient that I was running for!
The race started great!  I loved the course and running through people made my adrenaline rush.  I was speechless running through the St. Jude campus and seeing the patients and their families lining the streets.  I received several "Thank You's" from families due to me wearing a St. Jude Heroes shirt (signifying that I raised money for St. Jude).  The begining of my problems occured at the half-way point... At mile 13, the half-marathoners went to the right to finish their race whereas I turned left and really grasped the idea that I was only half done with my event.  I continued on until around mile 16.  I hit my wall.  I hit the wall hard.  I ran the first 16 miles without stopping, then my body said "That's enough."  I began to walk with short spurts of jogs mixed in.  Wogging (walk & jog) the final 10 miles really killed my time, but I was fortunate to finish the marathon.  I will forever be able to say that I ran a marathon and it felt so good to apply the 26.2 sticker to my truck's rear glass.

Finishing the 2012 St. Jude Marathon

My awesome son, although he was in a sour mood

My beautiful wife and #1 supporter!


St. Jude Marathon Finisher's Medal
The 26.2 sticker

After the race, Rebecca said that I could never do another one due to the stress she had while waiting on me to finish.  And truthfully, I was OK with this idea.  My running-icon, who also happens to be my oldest brother (Chris), said "Give it time, you'll want to run another."  We went back to our hotel and after a long shower, I laid on the bed for the majority of the day.  Thankfully, I was able to watch Alabama defeat Georgia in the SEC Championship game (ROLL TIDE!!) as I lay in bed.  Later in the evening and on into the next day, I began reading the current issue of Runner's World and low-and-behold, they ranked the "Top 10 Marathons to Run in 2013."  This got my small brain spinning on the potential of doing another.

I realized that I did want to run another marathon.  I wanted to run the St. Jude marathon again to conquer the course that almost conquered me.  I want to prove to myself (and to others) that I can finish 26.2 miles strong.  I want to finish a marathon in 4 hours or less.  I want to set the example of not giving up to my 3-year old son.  I want to run for the children who have been diagnosed with cancer.  I want to run to raise awareness for the amazing organization that is St. Jude Children's Hospital.

So in May 2013, I signed up to run the St. Jude Marathon once again.  But I also signed up to raise money for St. Jude.  I pledged to raise $2,500.  To me, $2,500 is a LOT of money and I sure couldn't write a check like that (I mean, I could write a $2,500 check, but it would bounce all the way back to me).

This is where you can help me help St. Jude.  Please consider donating to St. Jude through my Heroes Fundraiser site.  100% of money goes straight to St. Jude and it's tax-deductible!  I would not ask someone else to do something that I wouldn't do, so I have donated already and will almost certainly donate more throughout the pledge-drive.  The money needs to be raised by the end of October, but I would LOVE to have it all raised much earlier than that.

Whether you donate or not, please pray for the children of St. Jude.  Pray for their families.  Pray for the doctors and medical staff.  Pray for the other St. Jude Heroes as they raise money.  I have had two grand-parents die from cancer.  I can not imagine having cancer, much less my child.

Also, if you donate to my pledge... THANK YOU!  Training for a marathon is incredibly tough.  Asking for people to give money to you is even tougher for me.  I can not describe the hate I have for asking people for help, but this cause really touched me last year and each person who donates has the chance to be as equally blessed.

If you are interested in donating, please visit this link; St. Jude Heroes - Dusty Wise.  Feel free to share the link for this post via email, Twitter, Facebook or smoke-signals.

I pledged to raise $2,500 total.  So far, I have $75, which leaves $2,425.
  • If I had 242 people donate $10 (and one $5), I would reach my goal.
  • If I had 97 people donate $25, I would reach my goal.
  • If I had 48 people donate $50 (and one $25), I would reach my goal.
  • If I had 24 people donate $100 (and one $25), I would reach my goal.
  • If I had 1 person donate $2,400 (and one $25), I would reach my goal! :)
There are tons of combinations of how the money can be raised and the pledge fully-compensated.   Will you help?


Please leave a comment if you have any questions!  And thanks!

Before you exit this page, please meet the June 2013 Patient of the Month.  Her name is Mae.  She is 6 years old.  Mae was found to suffer from Wilms tumor in October 2010.  Read the rest of her story and others like her HERE!



 Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they
were to success when they gave up. - Steve Prefontaine