BTiful

Today, I received this email...

To have given blood, sweat, and tears for something that truly matters is something I will always cherish. I have loved seeing, in many different ways, the amazing things that Building Tomorrow does.

I am so proud to have been connected with this organization, and I am excited to see what the next 5 years holds in store for BT!

A little more than five years ago, I set out to name a vision of engaging young people in the United States in the quest to provide universal access to education to children in rural sub-Saharan Africa. For a few weeks straight, I'd keep a pen and paper next to my nightstand, writing down words and phrases that came to mind. The following morning, I'd enter them in to a URL bar, type '.org' at the end and see if anything came up. buildingtomorrow.org, led nowhere. Score. With what many have described as a 'Build-a-Bear-esque" looking logo, Building Tomorrow stormed on to three college campuses that fall. Outwardly, the vision was simple-students stateside would support the construction of schools in Uganda. Inwardly, well, there was nothing. A recent college grad working where his stockpile of Lego's once stood, that was the closest I'd ever really come to building much of anything. How these schools were going to come about half a world away was really anyone's guess... Tonight, with the help of our Honorary Chairman Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 160 guests will join us in downtown Indianapolis as we celebrate Building Tomorrow turning five years old. The journey has been an incredible one-filled with countless moments of anxiety, excitement, challenge and camaraderie. In a few short months, Building Tomorrow will open the doors to our 10th academy in Uganda, providing classroom space for over 3,000 rural students. Behind those classrooms are thousands of stateside students, from elementary school all the way through college, who've embraced the notion that social change starts with them. On behalf of the hardest-working team you'll find anywhere, we say webale nyo, thank you very much, for carrying Building Tomorrow atop your shoulders and continuing to believe in the transformative power of education. We couldn't be any more thrilled to celebrate this awesome occasion, knowing full well the incredible work that remains ahead of us. Good thing we're just getting started. -George PS - If you'd like to make a donation in honor of our 5th birthday, please do.

Run the Rocks

This morning, I ran the Run the Rocks 5K at the world famous Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, CO.

Or, as is shall be called from now on: The Ouch Run, or the more daring Coloradans are Crazy Dash.

For the first two miles, I was thinking this was going to be my favorite race. It looped around the parking lot, and shot down the road. Nothing but winding mountain road straight downhill. As I was running down the hill at a ridiculous pace, all I could think about is how I wanted to be on a bike so I could be flying down the hill. One of those hills.

Train of thought: I am dominating this race! I am going to dominate my PR. This. Is. Awesome!

Down. Down. Down. Down.

As I kept going downhill, passing the amphitheater, dropping far below the elevation of the finish line, I had this epiphany of impending doom. I have to go up. Shit.

The last mile & a quarter was brutal. BRUTAL. 98% of the people around me had to stop and walk up this beast for a good portion of time. The other 2% wanted to. I was one of them. That amazing downhill turned into this wretched, soul crushing uphill.

Up. Up. Up.

To top it off, Red Rocks has what I have deemed "The Staircase of Death." So after killing yourself on the back half of the 5K, the finish line was at the top of the S.O.D. Ugghhh...

I honestly haven't had my butt kicked that hard since high school football workouts.

This race made me realize 2 things:

-I need to really get into trail running if I am going to be racing in Colorado.

-I am going to HURT tomorrow.

Time: Not so good.

Workout: Amazing!

What a beautiful morning in Colorado!

Yewtahh

An unforgettable weekend getaway.

Friends. Fall. Mountains. Mormons. Football. Face Paint. Choir. Colleges. Dinosaurs.

Laughter. Lots and lots of laughter.

Top 5:

5. Reconnecting with friends - That's what this trip was all about - friends I haven't seen in a long time, even years... and spending time with people I love.

4. Fall drive through the mountains - There are few things more beautiful than driving through snow-capped mountain roads as the leaves are changing.

3. Acting like a 4 year old at Thanksgiving Point - Face painting, photo booths, digging for fossils, making magic wands, 3D movies, and exploring the museum. Side note: If a girl dressed in a cat costume tells you that something is "legit," do not trust her. It will end up being a creepy wizard doing lame magic tricks that even 4 year olds called out that they were fake. Lesson learned.

2. BYU football game w/ Team Voyles - So much laughter. In case you're curious, if you start an amazing rendition of "If you're a Cougar and know know it, clap your hands," only one person will clap.

1. Mormon Tabernacle Choir - Dream come true. You NEED to go see them perform before you die. Leave now.

Fitty

I started this most recent journey at 284 pounds.

BOOM!

Coincidentally, this is my 50th post on this blog. Not even kidding.

The Mountains Are Calling...

Every time I am in the mountains...

I feel free

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks

-John Muir

When I close my eyes I see you

No matter where I am

I can smell your perfume through these whispering pines

-Zac Brown Band "Colder Weather"

10,000 Reasons To Smile

I was nervous for today.

I haven't had the time to do much running recently, even though I've been pretty active. But not what I was hoping for heading into my first 10K.

As the morning unfolded, I came up with a list.

Jeff Parker's Rules for Running a Race

1. (For the venue) If you have one speaker at the starting line, don't expect the entire crowd of thousands to hear anything the announcer says.

2. If you can not run a mile, do not start at the front of the pack. Especially when there are pacing groups.

3. Not every woman should be allowed to wear spandex shorts or pants.

4. NO man should be allowed to wear spandex shorts or pants. Or booty shorts (yes, that happened).

5. If you quickly change your path OR stop, please look behind you before you do so. You might get trampled.

6. Nobody under the age of 14 or over 60 should be allowed to run. When they beat me, I feel bad about myself.

Ok, now the race.

It. Was. Awesome!

The race started outside Sports Authority Field at Mile High (Broncos), went through the Pepsi Center (Nuggets/Avalanche), and through Coors Field (Rockies), looped back, and the finish line was at the 50 yard line of Mile High. The sports fan in me loved every second. The runner in me hated it. Because at the entrance to each stadium, since thousands of people were funneling through small hallways, everyone had to walk for a little bit while trying to cram into them. Those small breaks honestly added probably 6 minutes to my time. So I realized that it might not be the best race to try to set a PR or in my case, set the bar for a 10K, but as I ran through the tunnels and saw views of the stadiums that nobody else gets to see, it was all worth it.

For the majority of the race, I was fine. Good pace. Good rhythm. In the zone. I smiled as I crossed mile 5, but then I started to crash. Honestly, the last mile was the 3rd most difficult mile I have ever ran in my life (2001 when I ran my first mile at 275 lbs, 2010 when I ran my first mile at 284 lbs). Miserable... Aching... Must... Keep... Going...

As I rounded the corner of Mile High, entered the tunnel, saw the field, and more importantly- the finish line, I took off. 6.2 miles later, I crossed the finish line.

Had there not been the stalls at the stadiums, I probably would have finished somewhere in the 1:02-1:05 mark, but I have to go with when I crossed the finish line.

Official time:

1:09:12

Shoutout: I received this in the mail the other day from a great new friend. Thanks for the support!

A Decade...

I feel like it's cliche and tacky to make a post about 9/11. But as I started thinking about the day, and as the tears started falling, my fingers started typing.

New York has always felt like my second home. Growing up, we would take a trip to visit family every few years, and I fell in love with the city. I knew the streets and subways of NYC more than I knew Minneapolis. To say I love New York is an understatement.

In April of 2001, my mom and I spent my spring break in NYC. My life was a mess. I was suffering from depression, and was going downhill fast. I couldn't feel anything in my life. Only hurt. So my mom let me choose whatever I wanted to do for the trip - there's only one thing I wanted to do. Go to my favorite place in the world- the top of the World Trade Center.

Standing on top, looking out at the city, looking out at the world, I remember feeling something. Feeling peace. Feeling comfort. Feeling free.

Five months later, I was in the middle of Mr. Krebs' multimedia class. I was a junior in high school. Someone ran into the room and told everyone to turn on the TV. I felt a dagger as I watched my favorite place in the world up in smoke. As I watched the towers fall, my heart fell with them. I numbly went from class to class, and I couldn't stop crying. I started freaking out, so I called my mom, asking if she had heard anything from my family who lived in NY. Nothing yet. Eyes glued to the TV. Later found out they were ok, watching the events happen from their house.

Tears streaming down my face. Eyes glued to the TV. That's all I really remember for the rest of the day.

Thousands of people lost their lives on September 11, 2001. I remember feeling so much pride along with the rest of the country in the weeks and months that followed. Even now, whenever I look back on that day, I think of the people like me who were struggling through their lives. Who went to NYC to escape their worries. Who stood on top of the towers, and looked out at the world on that beautiful September day. I feel for every single life that was lost on that day - in NYC - in DC - in PA. But my heart really goes out to an unknown few. I know there were people like me standing on top of the WTC.

As I watched the towers fall, all I could think of was how many people were in my favorite spot, just tying to feel alive.

My favorite patriotic song, thanks to Mr. Disney.

Rock the Walk

24th Annual AIDS Walk Colorado

First race in Colorado. I've been feeling pretty good with my running lately. In the last couple weeks, I almost hit 5 miles, and I have gained a lot more consistency. Heading into the race, I wasn't sure what to expect. I wanted to beat 30 minutes for the first time ever, but I wasn't confident that it was going to happen. At least not today. That would never happen today... (wink wink).

I bumped into my new friend Carli, and as we wandered toward the start, we chit chatted about running, races, life in general, and her recent triathlon! We listened to some awesome speakers, sharing stories about how important the fight against AIDS is.

Countdown. Ready. Go.

About a half mile into the race, my ipod died. Flash back to 12 hours before. Guess which smarty forgot to charge his ipod. There's nothing more that I hate than listening to myself breathe while running. Now I'm stuck listening to that and worrying about everyone within a 12 mile radius that can hear how loud I breathe/wheeze while I run. Picture Toy Story.

So señor huffandpuff continued trotting his merry way along. Since I didn't have music, I would offer words of encouragement to those that stopped mid way. "Come on!" "Let's go!" "You've got this!" I am positive that without these words, they would have not finished and dropped dead from exhaustion. You're welcome, strangers!

At about the 2.5 mile mark, all I could think of was "is this entire f***ing course uphill?" Because it was. Both ways. In the snow. Some dude that was huffing and puffing along side me for the whole race (again... no ipod. Double huffandpuff < solo huffandpuff) decided after a solid mile of being within 20 feet of each other, he would finally pass me and try to win. Douche.

Then, downhill. Sweet, lovely downhill.

Passed a few people. "Keep going!" "Almost there!" Again, I prove to have the most epic words of wisdom during races.

With about .1 to go, this girl decided to be a maverick and broke away from her friends into a dead sprint. So she flew by me, and I was like "YES!" (Again... brilliant!). About 10 seconds later, I started my sprint, and she started to slow a bit... so I just started yelling "Don't let me catch you!"

So then she started gunning it again, and we had that playful, competitive race to the finish line. Then I passed her.

And the douche.

Boom!

Fist bumps all around to my new compatriots, and a double-take walk back to the timer to see if I read that correctly. That couldn't be right...

Time: 29:00

Top 5 Performance Moments

Concerts. Plays. Large venues. Small venues. Day. Night.

I love going to shows of all kinds and witnessing the gifts that so many people have been given. Ever since my first concert, when my mom brought me to see Neil Diamond, I have had an appreciation for music, for the arts- for talent.

Some highlights:

Most random: Weird Al Yankovic

Most rebellious: Skipping a day of high school to see Mariah Carey at the Mall of America

Best concert I was dragged to: Justin Timberlake & Christina Aguilera

Most sweaty: Various Warped Tours

Most ridiculous (almost): Bought tickets to Raffi, but friends bailed, so gave them up to mom's friends to bring their kids.

Most people on stage singing a Beatles song: Unknown order show- 4 bands (15-20 people) on stage singing "Hey Jude"

Most irritating: Bowling for Soup talking about nothing for 10-15 mins between each song.

First musical I was obsessed with: Starlight Express

Favorite song from a musical: "Endless Night" from The Lion King

Favorite cover performance: "In Your Eyes" performed by Jared Mahone

So many times, there are those moments that stick with you - that transcend the performance itself and become something bigger. Those "you had to be there" moments that when you see it, you feel lucky that you were able to witness. Here is my list of my top 5 favorite moments from any performance.

Honorable Mention 1: Roster McCabe live in studio.

In undergrad, my amazing friend Tanya and I had a radio show on our campus radio station. For the most part, it was pretty general - play some songs we like, talk about songs, bands, shows, music, life, and all around randomness. We weren't going to win any Peabody Awards or anything like that, but we had an absolute blast. Some of the coolest days were when we were able to bring live bands into the studio (the only show that attempted this) for performances. Tanya went to high school with the lead singer of Roster McCabe, so she got half of the River Falls campus to become obsessed with them. She pulled some strings, and was able to get the boys to come in and do an acoustic performance for our listeners. In the words of Jeff Parker, which were repeated about 6 times during their time in the studio: "Uhh-mazing!"

Honorable Mention 2: Goo Goo Dolls

My favorite band of all time is the Goo Goo Dolls- the first time I saw them was in high school when they performed at the Minnesota State Fair. The show was great! And that is when they solidified themselves as my favorite. But the best part came at the very end. Their encore consisted of them singing "I Want You to Want Me." And just about for the entire song, confetti was being launched into the crowd. So much energy, and a great finale to an unforgettable show.

5. Elton John

One of my "Bucket List" shows, and it finally happened in 2010. All I need to say is 10 minute piano solo in the middle of "Rocket Man." Self-explanatory. Unbelievable.

4. Anthony Rapp & Adam Pascal

I saw RENT for the first time when it was on tour in St. Paul. Not going to lie, I wasn't that impressed. It was good, but after falling in love with the movie, the play was a let down. Then, the announcement came that it was closing on Broadway, and Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal, two of the original cast members, were going on the farewell tour of sorts. So I decided to go again. The two of them made the entire show. You could see the chemistry and the power that only the two of them possess. They were born to play Mark and Roger. And when they sang "What You Own," a song that features the two of them, that's when you could see the magic.

3. Naturally 7

Naturally 7 came into my life during the NACA Northern Plains regional conference in 2006. At these conferences, bands, comedians, magicians, singer/songwriters, and performers of all kinds have a showcase, where they get about 15 minutes to dazzle the crowd of college students, hoping to be booked at their schools. N7's showcase was, without exaggeration, easily one of the best performances I have ever seen (if not the best). Their style of a capella, which they call Vocal Play, is unlike anything you will ever hear. I am so glad they are starting to gain some international attention, thanks in part to Michael Buble, because everyone needs to know who they are.

2. Idina Menzel

For the whole story, read this post. But this night was one of those moments- being in the mountains. Being in a place as beautiful as Red Rocks. The sun setting. The orchestra. Idina's powerful voice. When she sang a slow, soulful version of "Finale B" from RENT, and had the entire crowd singing those powerful words, "No Day But Today," you couldn't help but get chills.

1. American Idiot

My favorite performance moment came on an epic adventure to NYC with my friend Rose. We lucked, or I suppose "friendshipped" our way into getting tickets to see American Idiot, the Broadway show that features all Green Day music. I reluctantly decided to go along with it, and I am so glad she talked me into it! The show was great- not a whole lot of plot, but the music is GREAT!! (and I only like GD a little bit). By the end, the story wraps up nicely, and leaves the audience moved. But the most unbelievable moment is the encore. The curtain lifts up, and all of the cast members are on stage with acoustic guitars, and they all start singing "Time of Your Life (Good Riddance)." On the night we saw it, it was the last show for one of the cast members. So they sang it to him. 19 amazingly talented people singing their hearts out, dedicating one of the most heartwarming songs ever created, and saying goodbye to their friend. It was simply... perfect.

New Altitude, New Attitude

When it comes to my running, over the past few months I have had my ups and downs.

I have had my bad stretches, dealt with heat, with soreness, laziness, and struggled through runs.

I have had great stretches, setting PR's, running longer distances, and feeling healthier than I have in a long time.

Then I moved to Denver.

I was stubborn, and thought that the altitude wouldn't really affect me. I was wrong. 2 weeks later, I'm still huffing and puffing more, but I'm getting there.

More than that, I have found myself getting frustrated. Since the move, I have basically had to start from scratch. The first run, I hit 1.25 and couldn't do any more. Slowly but surely, that has increased. I have still been obsessed with my time though, and beating myself up when I can't keep my speed up. 9 something miles have transformed to 12 somethings, or 11 somethings, and that gets disheartening. As much as I love the elevation and the mountains, they're killing my confidence!

Last weekend, I ran with some people that helped me change my perspective. I don't know if I'd call it an epiphany, but something definitely clicked. I had a great conversation about my need to get over myself and my competitiveness. My frustration has led to lack of motivation. Lack of motivation has led to lack of results.

So I tried something new. For the first time since December, I did not time my run. I just went. Didn't care about speed, or pace, or time. Just me, my music, and the pavement. And you know what? It worked. I know it was slow, but it was almost a half mile farther than I have made it since I've been here, and I could have kept going if I pushed, and didn't have to go to work. And I wasn't frustrated. I felt good!

So I think this new revelation is one to stay. Forget the things that cause the negative. Leave it all behind. And once again, focus on the love for working out. For being outdoors.

For running.

"Today I will do what others won’t, So tomorrow I can do what others can’t"