What My Parents Taught Me

Dear Dad, or Mom, or other parent figures in my life:

I have seen some of you post on Facebook over the past couple weeks, where you've said that voting for Trump is "the right thing to do.".  It has really bothered me and I’ve been thinking about it for several days so I could better articulate why. I have friends of all political stripes and I think I am able to get along with them all fairly well, most of the time :). But with your comments, the strongest emotion I felt was betrayal.

Just fyi: I know that you care deeply about our country and want the best for it. And I have read and reread this post, not wanting it to be offensive or hurtful, so I hope it comes across that way.

I was raised under your guys’ tutelage. I know you tried to teach me many things. A sampling of what I took from it:

• America is a land of freedom and opportunity. You can do anything if you work hard.
• It is worth standing up for what is right, even if you stand alone.
• Don’t bully others, and help those that need assistance.
• Everybody deserves dignity and respect, even if you don’t agree with them.

For much of my life, many of your generation have railed against Democrats in general and the Clintons in particular. The Clintons deserved a good amount of the criticism they’ve received; sex scandals, lost emails, general corruption, etc. I never shared the same contempt for them that you had, but I could understand where you were coming from – the Clintons made a mockery of our expectations, values, and laws, and it was easy to feel angry about that. The Republicans generally put forward presidential candidates that didn’t have the same glaring scandals as the Clintons.

…And then came along Donald Trump. The primaries happened and the Trump Train got rolling.

He said, “let’s ban Muslims from entering the US and monitor their mosques.” My initial thought was, my parents taught me that it’s not right to discriminate based on religion; that’s one of America’s strengths. And I spoke up. But you guys were silent.

Then he said, “we will defy the Geneva conventions and torture our enemies and their families.” And I spoke up, but you guys were still silent.

Then his video was released about him groping other women. And all I heard was, “Bill was bad too.”

I’m not going to go through a full laundry list of the illegal/unconstitutional/ugly things he has said. He has said them, multiple times, on video, and we can find them pretty easily. Trump has never walked back any of those policies or statements to any significant degree. Those positions explain why a raft of Republicans have refused to support him.

But it was the insistence that voting Trump was the "right" thing to do that really got me.

For the last 20 years, I’ve listened to you guys criticize the Clintons. That they have attacked our religious freedoms, that they are corrupt and immoral. That those fatal shortcomings disqualified them from office. And now that Trump is the Republican nominee, you are supporting him through some very similar flaws.

Can you not see the disparity between your words then and actions now?

When, in the history of the world, did electing an extremely flawed person for a couple political favors ever work out well for a country? Doesn’t leadership need to come from the top down?

Are you really that certain that Trump is going to follow through on his promises? You’ve seen how many times he’s shifted his other policies, right?

*******

I get that you don’t want Hillary to win. That’s fine. But let me put this to you in a different way.

I saw Evan McMullin for the first time a couple days ago in Boise. He is the most decent of conservatives’ options. (He’s…actually a conservative, and has been reliably so his whole life.)  He is EASILY more principled than Trump.  (I think my dirty socks may have more principle than Trump does.)

At what point do you stand up for principled leadership? Is it only when you stand a 50% chance of winning? 40%? 5%?

Our founding fathers had the audacity to think that a just cause gave them license to fight, even though their chances of victory were very small. They put a heck of a lot more at stake than a couple of supreme court nominees. Were their votes wasted?

Can you not see that you lose the moral high ground when you’re willing to support Trump through some of the same weaknesses you lambasted the Clintons for? That some of us will have a hard time not chuckling for the next 20 years when you complain about liberals that attack Christians’ religious freedoms, when you wouldn’t actively defend those freedoms for Muslims?

Can you not see that some of us feel confused that we are the ones having to raise our voices—because we don’t feel like our parents are brave enough to weather political defeat in order to honor the principles we thought they were trying to teach us?

I respect your vote for Trump. I can understand the political calculations you are making, though I think the judicial gains are shortsighted when compared to the precedent that would be set for who we’ll elect and how they can act.

Just please don’t criticize those that choose to vote another way, even if it hurts your nominee. I’ll probably vote McMullin, and he will likely lose handily, but at least I won’t have to admit to myself that I voted for a terrible candidate just because he was polling highest. And literally, that is the main reason it seems many are voting for Trump—not because they like or trust him or think he’s a good option, but because everybody else is doing it. I am perfectly fine losing as long as I stood up for what I thought was right. (I learned that from you guys, you know.)

Why George Foreman and I are so similar

So, here we are, 2 months before registration for the Boston marathon.  How are things going, you ask?  Well since you asked, I’ll tell you.

I am behind schedule.  The past few weeks, I haven’t been able to hit the targets we were hoping to hit.  This may be due to my age, the accelerated pace of training, or the overall stupidity of running.  Whatever the reason, I’m a bit behind.

My schedule has gotten really cramped as of late.  Business is going well and I’ll be traveling quite a bit the next few weeks.  I have 4 weeks left in my MBA program, and that is getting busy.  I’m running about 35 miles a week, and last but not least, my wife delivered our baby boy Dylan!  While I’m glad all of these things are going on, they make for some long days and long nights.

Dylan Lee Rampton, 7 lbs, 4 oz, and abs of steel.

His first night's rest.  A peaceful little man, he is.

I was thinking about quitting last week.  Let’s be honest, the adrenaline of my goal has completely worn off.  It probably fell off the bandwagon somewhere around mile 200 of training.  It’s been humid and in the 90s for the past month.  It’s been a battle to get out the door each day, especially with the frustration of falling behind in my goals.

I emailed Coach Eric and told him about my struggles and state of mind.  His response:

Heat -- oh YES it is affecting you.  As a bigger guy it is hitting you much harder.  In fact, you may be much fitter than you think but the heat is holding you back.  It happens to everyone in the summer but more so to you since you are a bigger guy.  It won't ever go away per se, but its effects are limited as you get fitter.  The heat could be adding 14-27 seconds per mile onto your longer runs.  Look at this chart for some more info:  http://206.214.217.133/articles/hic.pdf

Boston qualifying: I would look into charities.  I am being honest.  I would put your chances at qualifying right now around 20%.  I actually think you have improved much more than I expected and will continue to if you are committed.  You were really asking for a nearly impossible task to be achieved and now I am a bigger believer than when you signed up; I just think it will take some time.  I would recommend trying the charity and then getting your number bumped up after qualifying by time in the later fall or early winter.  Truth be told, you have impressed me with your gumption, willingness to attack this process, and raw will to succeed.  Pretty inspiring actually!

20% chance?  That was a lot better than I was hoping for lol.  That’s like an old George Foreman with a puncher’s chance of winning the heavyweight title.  I’m bald, old, and over the hill like he is so we do have quite a bit in common!

I’ll be honest, it was nice to add a little outside perspective, and take some pressure off myself.  I’m still aiming for Boston, but in the end, I feel like I will be happy with the outcome as long as I know I’ve given it my best effort.

And let’s be honest…I won’t go down, at least without a fight.

More updates to come!

The Fun Bell Has Rung

Here are good examples of the tents that were all over the track this past Saturday.

Let’s make it official; my Saturday runs are no longer fun.

I know there are some of you that swear by running, that it’s wonderful, it helps you clear your mind, it increases your energy, blah, blah blah.  Truth is, you have a mental disease.  You are kind of like the people that have Alzheimers; they are sick, but they just don’t know it.  You running lovers have this same problem.  I am still healthy enough to know better.

My runs are starting to get longer.  Saturdays are my speed days; I go to a track, and run like a freaking banshee for much too long.  Yesterday I warmed up for 2.25 miles, then ran 6 half-mile intervals at a 3:20 pace, then cooled down with 1 mile.  (The whole time, I was dodging a bunch of lacrosse teams whose parents deemed the running track the best place to set up their spectator tents.  How silly of me to think that the track was for running, and the grass for tents and chairs.  It’s like they think their tax dollars went towards that track or something.  But I digress.)

I got home.  I was very sweaty, I was very tired, I was very hungry, and pretty much just grumpy.  I have to admit, Boston was not motivating at that point…just about the only thing that sounded motivating was sitting in fetal position in a cool, quiet place, eating lots of food, and sleeping for like 4 days.

My total distance this week was 31 miles.  That is continuing to climb each week.  Most of my workouts are 45-60 minutes long and burn between 800 and 1000 calories.  This is hard work.

So, I’ll worry about a good attitude tomorrow.  Today, I am going to consciously wallow in self pity lol.

For all of you running lovers, we need to find you treatment.

Until the next post!

I am Skinny and Fast!

Peace and love, everybody.  Peace and love.

I’m skinny!  I’m fast!

I’m kidding!

Let’s be honest, no one has ever accused me of being the skinny type.  That title is reserved for my older brother Jeremy, who is my same height but 60 pounds lighter (and weaker, I tell him).  But I have dropped 2 or 3 pounds over the past month or so, and I am slowly losing my baby fat that I’ve gained over the past few years.

This past Tuesday was my long run.  Normally I do those runs on asphalt, but this time, I went to a track and ran 7 miles.  I didn’t feel like circling through the neighborhood 5 times (I think that kind of freaks out the ladies that are out for their evening stroll) and I wanted to try running on a flatter surface, so off to the track we went.

Now, mind you, my long runs are also “easy” runs, meaning that I don’t try and push the pace.  I just focus on my form, breathing, etc. and just run.  Since we were at the track and it was easy to measure the distance, I had Tammy yell out my mile time.  8:15, what?  Then on my next mile, 8:15, WHAT?  I thought my “easy” mile times were around 9:30 or so.  I pulled back and took a really comfortable pace (8:45) for the last 5 miles, but I was elated that I felt so good.  Back when I first started training, I did one 7:45 mile and was exhausted at the end.

So, anyway.  Am I some miracle runner from Kenya that runs 3 minute miles and laughs while doing so?  No.  But I’m seeing some definite progress in my strength, endurance, and speed.  It’s exciting.  I haven’t missed an exercise day during my 6 weeks of training (other than two days I took off due to knee pain in early May).  My knees seem to be holding up.  We have quite a ways to go to reach 7 minute miles but I have a growing glimmer of hope that it may just be possible!

And, a note about my wife Tammy.  She has been my faithful personal cheerleader on Saturdays, helping me time my intervals for speed training.  She’s been awesome to encourage me and be invested in my goal.  She's 8 1/2 months pregnant and I am excited for our little boy to arrive (he’s due June 24), but I’m a bit sad to lose her on my training runs for a while as she tends to our little one.  Thanks Tammy!

Talk to you all soon!

Please take a moment to admire my shoes (and calves).

Prosthetics and a Purpose

A view from the driveway...a beautiful day!

Good morning everybody!

I just got done with my Memorial Day run, a 3-miler in quiet, sunny, 60-degree weather.  (Mind you, I still didn’t enjoy the running, but the atmosphere sure was beautiful.)

I wanted to share a bit more about why I’m aiming for Boston.

My heart broke for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings, both those that survived their injuries, and those that weren’t as lucky.  They were just normal people celebrating a great event, and in a second, life changed drastically for them.  As I’ve seen different events on TV – tornadoes, shootings, bombings, tsunamis – it has become more and more real to me that I may not know when my time is coming.

Truth is, these recent events have come at an interesting time in my life.  My wife is due with our first child in June.  I am 32, and it is becoming clearer each day that my life is going by so much faster than I anticipated it would as a 16-year-old.  And I’m grappling with the possibility that I may not be making quite the difference in the world that I hoped I would when I was 16.  Heck, sometimes I can’t even get my Sunday School class of 11- and 12-year-olds to listen to me.

I can’t get around the fact that I’ve lived a charmed life.  I have never experienced the death of an immediate family member.  Both sets of my grandparents are still living.  My family has enough to pay the mortgage and bills.  I was able to go to college.  I’ve traveled to many countries and met many amazing people.  My life has already been a full one.

As the bombings unfolded, I realized that those people didn’t ask for what they got.  I also had the thought that we’ll likely see a couple of the Boston amputees at the starting line next year, running the Boston Marathon with their prosthetics, doing their best with the cards they’ve been dealt.

As for the others, the ones that perhaps won’t have enough rehab time to be ready for Boston – I guess I’m trying to be their legs.

I don’t know if that makes any sense.

What I do know, is that I really do have quite a strong dislike for running.  With each wheezy mile that I run, I’ve been thinking about those around me that are suffering.  Thinking that maybe someone will feel just a bit comforted, knowing that somebody else is doing something hard too, with no certainty of victory—just the hope to make it through the next workout in one piece.  That’s what keeps me pushing on the hard training runs, because I certainly wouldn’t do them just for fun.

Several weeks ago, it struck me with renewed force.  When I was born, I was guaranteed a second of life.  Everything since then has been a gift.  I’ve felt a renewed sense of urgency to make the most of the time.

So there you go.  That’s my motivation.  Don’t know if the jumbled thoughts make sense to you, but they do to me.

Now, have a great Memorial Day!

Training, Taco Soup, and the Race Against the Clock

Dinner!

So what does qualifying for the Boston Marathon entail?

To be honest, I’m not exactly sure.  I do know that the odds are not in my favor.  So I’m definitely worse off than Katniss Everdeen.

In terms of time, you basically have to run a “Boston qualifier” marathon in 3 hours or less.  These courses have been certified to be the correct length.  The Boston Marathon, unlike many other marathons, imposes a time qualification by age group.  They accept the fastest runners first.  And they’re expecting great interest in the race next year, so I may need to be a bit quicker to safely make the cut.

So, how hard is a 3 hour marathon?  Well again, I’m not exactly sure.  But I did hear that Lance Armstrong ran his first marathon in barely under three hours.  I figure, since he’s only a world-class athlete, he clearly has less going for him than I do for me.  Being 32 and an IT consultant clearly gives me advantages in knowing how to operate my iPod Shuffle and measure the distance of my runs very accurately with GPS.

If you google around, 3 hour marathons aren’t easy.  But for some people they can be attainable with consistent training.  My problem is that I have to qualify for Boston by about September 15, and most of these 3-hour marathon training plans are for 8-12 months.  I’ll have about 5 months total to prepare.  And like I said in my first post, I hate running, and I’ve never done a marathon before.  So there’s no guarantee I’ll make it.

I’ve looked at ways to gain as much advantage as I can.  I’m altering my diet to include more protein, fruits, vegetables, and all the “healthy” stuff.  Tonight we had the taco soup above, full of black beans, chicken, green beans, onions, corn, tomatoes, and some taco seasoning.  I’ll freeze a bunch of it and then heat it up after exercising so I’ve got a quick, protein-rich meal ready.  And I’m eating less sugar and fat.  I’ve changed my eating schedule so that I’m eating soon after exercise, because it’s my understanding that that’s the best way to get your body to store the food as energy rather than fat.  I’m trying to get 8 hours of rest a night, and I’m timing my workouts to give me more recovery time after running on pavement.  I’m going to try and find a qualifier that is slightly downhill, which can improve my times as well.

Coach Eric talked about the training this way: I’ve got to strengthen two areas—my legs, and my lungs/heart.  The legs are the chassis, and my heart/lungs are the engine for running.  He said my legs will give out first to injury during intense training, so we’re doing quite a bit of cross training like biking, elliptical, or swimming.  These allow me to exercise my heart and lungs without wearing out my legs too much.  We’ll build the running mileage up until the marathon in September.

So, can I do it?  Maybe.  Can I do it by September?  I don’t know.

Several years ago, somebody told me that there’s power in just making a statement, throwing your hat over the wall, and doing everything in your power to make that statement come true.  A month ago, after talking about it for a few days, my wife challenged me to throw my hat over the wall.  And I did.

So I’ll say it again, I’m gonna qualify for Boston.  Talk to you soon.

The First Setback

Well, being the ripe old age of 32, I was bound to have knee issues.

Truth is, if you look at my brothers, we all walk a little bit like ducks.  Not totally like ducks, but a little bit.  We got it from our dad.  Skyler, my youngest brother, is adopted.  You wouldn't be able to tell really, except for the fact that he doesn't walk like a duck...the lucky duck.

Two of my brothers have had knee issues before.  My dad has had knee issues.  None of it has required surgery or anything, but it seems that I have similar genes to my family.  Go figure.

After my run on Wednesday, I had swelling and soreness in my left knee.  Will take a couple days off.  I imagine we'll be treading this fine line for the next 4 months, exercising as much as possible without causing significant injury.  When I ran my half marathon I dealt with the same thing but my knees seemed to adjust as I trained.

At first, I was disappointed and thought, "well, there goes the goal.  If my body won't handle the training, I can't make it."  But, Coach Eric told me to try again on Saturday.  We'll see what happens.  You never know if you don't try.

My Face is Swelling!!!

Tammy graduated this week!  Wahoo!

Her parents came out for graduation, and we decided to spend the weekend at Savannah, Georgia and Hilton Head Island.  We had lots of fun.  I ran each day (except Sunday, that's my day off).  Saturday was a "circuit training" day, where I did several timed runs of 100m and 400m distances.

We drove to the Hilton Head High School, since I could see a track there on Google Maps.  Turns out, the whole thing was fenced off, with barbed wire to boot.  Now, if it was just me, I may have chanced it and tried to squeeze through the barbed wire.  However, my 8-month pregnant wife wasn't feeling up to it, so we just eyeballed the field from the parking lot and guessed the distances for my running.

It was a good, hard workout.  At the end, I had an allergic reaction...it's happened twice before over the past few years.  My chest/lungs tightened up a bit, I got hives, and my face swelled.  It was an adventure!  Still not sure if it's a bug bite, pollen, or something else causing it.

I forgot to take a pic of it, but here's one from the last time it happened, just to give an idea.  Nice selfie, I know.

Meet Coach Eric

Coach Eric.  He even looks legit.

Alright, peeps.  Today, I’d like you to meet my coach, Eric Heintz.  You can see his bio here. http://www.highmilesrunning.com/pages/coach_heintz

I haven’t met Eric in person yet, but from our phone calls and emails, he seems like a cool guy.  He’s a running coach at an Atlanta high school.  He has a young family and, well, he likes running.

I figured since I’ve never run a marathon before, and I’m trying to do so in a 5 month window, I’d need some help.  While Tammy and I try to eat healthy and exercise pretty regularly, I am pretty clueless about real running training.  The main things that I know are that you need running shoes and it makes you sweat a lot.

Eric has helped design a plan for me that will hopefully help avoid injury while building up the necessary stamina and speed for the marathon.  He warned me that there's absolutely no guarantee that I'll qualify in this short of a timespan.  But he agreed to do his best to help me make it.  I really like how he is succinct and...coach-ish.

Normally I'm fairy self-motivated, and all-or-nothing in how I approach goals.  It's been good to have Eric to temper that enthusiasm so I don't bust my legs and joints up front.  I like him.  I recommend him.  And that's all for now.

The Reason

My wife Tammy and I.

Hi. My name is Colby, and I hate running.

I run maybe twice a week because it’s healthy.  Usually 3-4 miles each run, just enough to keep my heart healthy(ish).  I lift weights.  I like weights.  Weights like me.  But I hate running.

On the other hand, my wife, Tammy, loves running. The first thing she did after getting three positive pregnancy tests in a row was to start googling running strollers for the baby.  She got one from her mom and is ecstatic about it.  It may have replaced me as her single greatest prized possession.

I think I watched the Boston Marathon bombings with the same feeling of horror and sadness that others did. My heart hurt for the suffering that was forced upon so many people by that act.  Add that to the Sandy Hook shootings, the Aurora shootings, and all the other sad things that happen, and it made me painfully aware that life can be so very fragile and precious.

So, enter my running.  I don’t know how to show my support for people that have gone through these and other horrible things.  But I wanted to do something.  And I wanted it to be something hard, so that I could stand with all you people that have lost limbs or loved ones, and let you know that there are a lot of us out here cheering for you and willing to walk beside you in your journey.

I am going to try and qualify for the 2014 Boston Marathon.  I need to run a 7 minute mile for 26.2 miles to do that.  Right now I can run 1 mile in 7:45 and I’m gassed.  I have until mid-September to bring my times down.  I have never run a marathon before, and there is no guarantee I will qualify for Boston—I will need to avoid injury, train hard, and have a lot of luck on my side.  But I’m all in on the effort part.

My name is Colby.  I love working out.  I have always and will always hate running.  Now, see me run.