I think me and dad have officially found a marathon to run... SBS Marathon in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is supposed to be one of the fastest courses on earth and beautiful, as it is next to a large mountain range and lake. I have spoken to one of my teachers who is a runner and he ran the half marathon there. He said the only hard part was that it was really cold, but the race itself is really really good.
What this marathon means now is that I have motivation to run. The past weeks, if I haven't been completely worn out by school or sports (or been in Cambodia), I have been up to run with dad early. All of which have been good. I can't remember a run, that wasn't a long run, that hasn't been unbearable or even "bad." All have been really good... even the short runs by myself.
The Friday I got back from Cambodia, not even an hour after I got home I was out the door again running in the rain. It was probably one of the most memorable runs I will ever have because, for one, I found a stride within me that I had never found before. It wasn't a fast stride and definitely not a slow one, but one that fits me... perfectly. I loved it, to say the least. Next was that simply, it was a run in the rain. If it is raining, I could run the circumference of the world... and then again. It gives me this special hype and seems to give me energy instead of take it away. My love for rain is unexplainable...
All I am trying to say about running is simply that I now have motivation, so waking up in the morning with the knowledge that I am close to running a marathon on the other side of the world that I am used to, is just amazing. And next is just that I have found a good groove, so when things start to settle down, like at Christmas, I will pick it all up and run whatever my body wants to take, which I like the thought of.
November 17, 2009
September 30, 2009
ACSIS Cross-Country Champioships
So I have been talking a lot about future and stuff... and not enough about present things. I probably just have not been talking enough in general. I am not big on "small talk" so this is difficult, but I like to write so I will try harder. Okay?
Well anyways, I was invited by a coach at ISS to run the cross-country meet at SAS on Friday. To tell the truth I was not all that excited. Before the race I remember wishing I was running a 100 miler rather than a 3.1 miler. Going into Friday I thought that it just might be the hardest, most grueling, fastest race I have ever run. Fast, hard, and especially grueling runs are not cool to me. I think it is more of an accomplishment to run as far as your body will take you rather than as fast. Put me on a road and say "run straight for as long as you can" and that would suffice. I just hope to never become ann Anton Krupika, where I probably don't eat enough, run 200 miles a week, and have no time for friends and stuff. I have to say that that man is just insane though. I do hope to be able to run as consistent as he does, but not as far and fast.
But anyways, I warmed up really well and felt great! I ran a few sprints and stretched probably 4 times. Me and dad have this routine stretch that we always do before a run and it takes like 10 minutes, so four of those will tell you how much I stretched. I drank tons of water the last two days or so and ate pasta for dinner the night before made by my mother. (It was good too :) ) You might think that is a little extravagant for just a 5k, but I was really really nervous. But for some reason when I line up on the starting line, those nerves completely disappear. I don't know why but they do. The race director blew the horn to start and off we went.
Because of my background in running, which is not a lot but much more than probably every kid there, I knew how to run a race. I started off slow, not going for show like everyone else did. I paced myself at the beginning, so much so that I thought after the finish that I could have run it faster from the start. Right at about 2k people started to get the idea in their head saying," Wow I started off too fast." About 3k I made my way to the second pack of kids, because their were, in fact, some incredibly fast kids there. About 4k the pack finally spread out to where I had no more people to draft off of and so I sped up a lot. I kept my teammate in sight the last kilometer and with about 1k to go, I caught up with him and said,"Dude let's go!" We started almost at a sprint until we hit the track. We caught up with and passed about 5 people in the process, and one guy stuck with us.
Then something happened that seems to happen every race I run. The last stretch of the race seems to be a "non-memorable" time where is does not matter how hard or bad I hurt, I pick up the pace and hit full-throttle. It's weird though because that last section of the race you already don't have breath but something hits you and when you start sprinting, you basically just stop breathing. I don't know if I am the only one that does that, but... Well I passed up my teammate and the dude that couldn't be shaken and hit the finish like in somewhere around 21 minutes. My previous 5k record was just under 23 so I definitely PR'd. I was happy and so was my teammate, Aurthur. Afterward, some SAS people through an ice-cold towel or my head and gave me a freezing cold 100 Plus to drink and I felt good. I finished 23rd out of something like 100 people and Aurthur finished 24th, seconds behind me.
I am pretty proud of what I ran, but I still hate 5k's, and I always will. haha
Well anyways, I was invited by a coach at ISS to run the cross-country meet at SAS on Friday. To tell the truth I was not all that excited. Before the race I remember wishing I was running a 100 miler rather than a 3.1 miler. Going into Friday I thought that it just might be the hardest, most grueling, fastest race I have ever run. Fast, hard, and especially grueling runs are not cool to me. I think it is more of an accomplishment to run as far as your body will take you rather than as fast. Put me on a road and say "run straight for as long as you can" and that would suffice. I just hope to never become ann Anton Krupika, where I probably don't eat enough, run 200 miles a week, and have no time for friends and stuff. I have to say that that man is just insane though. I do hope to be able to run as consistent as he does, but not as far and fast.
But anyways, I warmed up really well and felt great! I ran a few sprints and stretched probably 4 times. Me and dad have this routine stretch that we always do before a run and it takes like 10 minutes, so four of those will tell you how much I stretched. I drank tons of water the last two days or so and ate pasta for dinner the night before made by my mother. (It was good too :) ) You might think that is a little extravagant for just a 5k, but I was really really nervous. But for some reason when I line up on the starting line, those nerves completely disappear. I don't know why but they do. The race director blew the horn to start and off we went.
Because of my background in running, which is not a lot but much more than probably every kid there, I knew how to run a race. I started off slow, not going for show like everyone else did. I paced myself at the beginning, so much so that I thought after the finish that I could have run it faster from the start. Right at about 2k people started to get the idea in their head saying," Wow I started off too fast." About 3k I made my way to the second pack of kids, because their were, in fact, some incredibly fast kids there. About 4k the pack finally spread out to where I had no more people to draft off of and so I sped up a lot. I kept my teammate in sight the last kilometer and with about 1k to go, I caught up with him and said,"Dude let's go!" We started almost at a sprint until we hit the track. We caught up with and passed about 5 people in the process, and one guy stuck with us.
Then something happened that seems to happen every race I run. The last stretch of the race seems to be a "non-memorable" time where is does not matter how hard or bad I hurt, I pick up the pace and hit full-throttle. It's weird though because that last section of the race you already don't have breath but something hits you and when you start sprinting, you basically just stop breathing. I don't know if I am the only one that does that, but... Well I passed up my teammate and the dude that couldn't be shaken and hit the finish like in somewhere around 21 minutes. My previous 5k record was just under 23 so I definitely PR'd. I was happy and so was my teammate, Aurthur. Afterward, some SAS people through an ice-cold towel or my head and gave me a freezing cold 100 Plus to drink and I felt good. I finished 23rd out of something like 100 people and Aurthur finished 24th, seconds behind me.
I am pretty proud of what I ran, but I still hate 5k's, and I always will. haha
September 12, 2009
What's been going on in the world of Jakeb
Well, I technically don't have a world but the title sounded good. I have got lots of things going on or about to go on.
Running... I have not really been running. I got sick and have "actually" been out for 2 weeks or so. I have run the long runs necessary and a little in between but getting up in the mornings just got harder and harder. Tomorrow morning I will try to run 12 with dad. Hopefully it will all be well.
School is okay. Not really excited about the next two years. College sounds really good at the moment because the U.S. sounds really good at the moment. Thoughts of graduating early are creeping up in my mind and I am sure my parents are not ready for that. I really, really miss having great Christian friends to talk to all the time and do stuff with. In the school I am in, I can't find that. No one shares the same belief as I do and it doesn't help my faith all that much. But on the school note, I have way too much homework, or way more than I ever had in the U.S. and I do not like it one bit. I constantly have 1000 word essays to do and math homework every night and studying for a physics test or something like that. It feels like all the teachers are only thinking of themselves and that one class. When they think a few problems is easy to do in one night, they give us a few more, not thinking that we have 7 other subjects. I don't like to stay in my room for a long time, so I try to get to Starbucks when I have the money because it is some-what of a home away from home. Good coffee and sometimes a song that has come from the other side of the meridian.
Next, I signed up for a 5 day bike ride through Angkor, Cambodia where it is all country and a whole bunch of ancient temples and stuff. We ride about 20 Km a day to different sights. I wish it was more. One of my pet peaves is waiting on people slower than me. Not that I am fast, but I like to get where I am going. I guess you could say I like to do things my way. But I just hope we can ride an average speed and that their aren't a whole bunch of people that like to wine. That and I really hope we are nowhere near the city. I would hate to go to Cambodia to ride in the wilderness and hear some cars and motor bikes in the distance. Not fun at all.
And last but most likely first is Nepal. Mom, Anna, Dad, and me are all going to Pokhara, Nepal to experience the Himalayan Mountains and me and dad will do some hiking up to Poon Hill and some how end back down in Pokhara in three days. Not sure how it will all work out but dad has been and hopefully he knows his stuff. While we are not hiking, the whole family will be doing some shopping in Pokhara and some good eating as well. I hear they like Daal Bot their.
But that is what is happening at the moment. I also am trying to raise money for going back to Kenya. In order to do that I am trying to get quotes on a shirt so I can sell them to whomever wants to buy them. If anyone who is reading this wants one then comment please. You could be one of the firsts to have a really cool looking shirt designed by my completely awesome, artistic cousin Erin. Not sure how much they will be but I am sure you won't waste your money. I also except prayers... I really like prayers and so does God.
Well now you are caught up in the life of Jakeb...
Running... I have not really been running. I got sick and have "actually" been out for 2 weeks or so. I have run the long runs necessary and a little in between but getting up in the mornings just got harder and harder. Tomorrow morning I will try to run 12 with dad. Hopefully it will all be well.
School is okay. Not really excited about the next two years. College sounds really good at the moment because the U.S. sounds really good at the moment. Thoughts of graduating early are creeping up in my mind and I am sure my parents are not ready for that. I really, really miss having great Christian friends to talk to all the time and do stuff with. In the school I am in, I can't find that. No one shares the same belief as I do and it doesn't help my faith all that much. But on the school note, I have way too much homework, or way more than I ever had in the U.S. and I do not like it one bit. I constantly have 1000 word essays to do and math homework every night and studying for a physics test or something like that. It feels like all the teachers are only thinking of themselves and that one class. When they think a few problems is easy to do in one night, they give us a few more, not thinking that we have 7 other subjects. I don't like to stay in my room for a long time, so I try to get to Starbucks when I have the money because it is some-what of a home away from home. Good coffee and sometimes a song that has come from the other side of the meridian.
Next, I signed up for a 5 day bike ride through Angkor, Cambodia where it is all country and a whole bunch of ancient temples and stuff. We ride about 20 Km a day to different sights. I wish it was more. One of my pet peaves is waiting on people slower than me. Not that I am fast, but I like to get where I am going. I guess you could say I like to do things my way. But I just hope we can ride an average speed and that their aren't a whole bunch of people that like to wine. That and I really hope we are nowhere near the city. I would hate to go to Cambodia to ride in the wilderness and hear some cars and motor bikes in the distance. Not fun at all.
And last but most likely first is Nepal. Mom, Anna, Dad, and me are all going to Pokhara, Nepal to experience the Himalayan Mountains and me and dad will do some hiking up to Poon Hill and some how end back down in Pokhara in three days. Not sure how it will all work out but dad has been and hopefully he knows his stuff. While we are not hiking, the whole family will be doing some shopping in Pokhara and some good eating as well. I hear they like Daal Bot their.
But that is what is happening at the moment. I also am trying to raise money for going back to Kenya. In order to do that I am trying to get quotes on a shirt so I can sell them to whomever wants to buy them. If anyone who is reading this wants one then comment please. You could be one of the firsts to have a really cool looking shirt designed by my completely awesome, artistic cousin Erin. Not sure how much they will be but I am sure you won't waste your money. I also except prayers... I really like prayers and so does God.
Well now you are caught up in the life of Jakeb...
August 6, 2009
Kenya in One Word...
Oh Kenya. How can I explain Kenya to someone who hasn't been? It is impossible. I can't do it and I can't possibly put it into a few words for you, or it would be about 1,000,000,000,000,000 pages long. But I will try to give you a feeling or explanation of how I felt when I got there and when I left............... Overwhelmed. Overwhelmed in the condition Kenya is in, the condition of the people of Kenya, the condition of Segera and Endana. But through the midst of my awe in the way things were, I could see how I was sent and others were sent to help things that are to become there. I was overwhelmed in the endless possibilities that Kenya has to offer itself. Though it might be a poor country, it has a ton of potential and all I see there is what can happen rather than what has already happened.
So not only was I overwhelmed in what I could see physically, but God overwhelmed me with a huge since of Himself being in the people there. We are rich to the point of not being able to see God through our selfish desires, but because of the few things they have, they desire God everyday and let down their sorrows and troubles on Him to take care of. I am jealous. I am speechless about what I saw and can't quite say any more. God has worked through them so much and I feel that I came away with more by going to Africa than I could have possibly given them. What could I have given them. Materials??? Why??? Materials are good and all but they have God in full blast in that mission and community that I felt "overwhelmed."
So there is an attempt of what Kenya was like. I have stories but stories can't quite tell the precise feelings either. So I might pop one out every once in a while in my blog or something. There are definitely some funny stories that I will tell. But there you have it. The long awaited (maybe not) Kenya post. Sorry it took so long.
June 18, 2009
In Tokyo
So I am here on a plane, 35,000 feet in the air with the temperature like negative 50-60 degrees outside traveling over 600 miles an hour and I am comfortable in business class with flight attendants serving me coffee and sushi. If that is not overwhelming or unimaginable to you then there is something seriously wrong. Technology amazes me. I have been on more uses of transportation in the last 15 hours than I have in my life. But as every second goes by, every foot of distance, I am the farthest away from my home in America than I have ever been. It all started to be real to me very quickly as our first plane took off. Even though we were going in reverse, from Dallas back to Houston, the whole trip started to really creep up on me. I am not going on a vacation. This is a some-what permanent home for me and to say the least, I am so crazy excited. It’s hard to think that even though there may not be a physical marker to show that this is a new chapter in my life, God has completely showed me and made an emotional mark telling me that t
his is a next step and that I am going to love every bit of it.
But anyway, I will try to post this in Tokyo. Right now we have about 5 or 6 more hours before landing and I am jamming out to some Creed and Coldplay. House has kept me good company and especially Everybody Loves Raymond. The stupid flight only had 3 episodes though. Haha . The Pink Panther 2 was quite disappointing. I didn’t find it as funny as the first. I will write again after we land in Singapore and maybe post some pictures. The lady is walking around right now and I want more coffee so I am leaving. Man I am gonna hate couch after being spoiled in business class………….
I'm here in Tokyo... haha posting this post.
June 12, 2009
The Things I Got To Do Before We Leave
Ok so everyone has had a chance to say goodbye so far to mostly all of our friends and the whole thing is starting to be really real. Yesterday Tori and I said goodbye to all our friends that are leaving for Bigstuf (which happens to be the greatest camp on earth). I am not all that worried at the moment because I will see them in Kenya, but that will be the hard part... for me anyways. Being thousands of miles away from the people you have grown the most fond with for at least a year at a time is not that pleasurable.
I had the pleasure of running with Zach one more time, playing marbles one more time, laughing way to hard one more time, watching a funny movie (Rocketman) one more time, shooting the Bud n' Breader one more time (Zach will appreciate that one), having one more serious injury, giving Kyle one more big, over-longed sweaty, somewhat undesirable hug, getting a haircut by the one and only Jason Culvorhouse at Urbaneve, and calling Amy one last inappropriate name before we leave.
But oh this won't be the last of any of these for sure... (sorry Amy)
June 8, 2009
The Start of Something Great.
Dad and I were talking one day while running about a certain event and how some people take it as the beginning of something great or the end of something great. Moving was, at one time the beginning of something great, a new chapter in life, a next step in this journey called life. The point is coming, though, where moving seems as if the end of something. The end of a chapter. I can’t bear the thought of leaving my friends. But this can’t be the end of my relationship I have with every one of you. I have been thinking about what friends will leave me and move on and who will keep in touch for years to come, but I don’t want to think about that. People keep asking me,” Are you sad or excited?” and the truth is I am way completely excited. Excited about too many things that I am worried I will be disappointed. But the truth is also that I am getting to a low point about leaving everyone behind in America. It seems like a heavy weight is pushing me down to my knees.
Then, the other day I was doing a devotional, and a verse popped up that said,” Do not worry about anything, but instead pray about everything.” So these last few days I have tried hard to lay everything down on God. I went to 6:33 and the service was great! It got my mind going about why I am a Christian and why I believe what I believe. This gave me hope and lifted some of those weights off my shoulders. Then came the party after 6:33. We played and had such a good time that it only further showed me what I would miss. But it also showed me that I have some incredible friends who, no matter what direction we go in, we will always keep in great touch and continue to have a great time. So now, with this new found encouragement and trust I have in God, my point of view has changed. The move is a start of a new chapter because whether I like it or not, this is my next step with God, and in order to continue my walk with God, it has to happen. Things are starting to look bright again.
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