faithrunner

On April 22 I made an effort to run the Ouachita Trail 50 Mile run . I had driven up with 3 other runners and was even able to see Grant and Amy English and their family the night before. Grant was an intern at Legacy before landing in West Little Rock. The Start/Finish of the run was less than 15 minutes from the Grace Church parking lot where Grant serves on staff. I had not trained hard for the 50 miler, but I felt I was rested and strong enough to take a second run at the Ouachita National Forrest trails. I had heard the course was rugged, but I had no idea how rugged until I had begun the run. Here's a picture of the approach to Pinnacle Mountain . That's the peak in front of us. Also, this is about 3 miles into the run. As we approached the "mountain," I found myself climbing the face of a boulder field. I definitely was not trained for this...Still only 6 or 7 miles from the start! But, like with every hard climb there is a beautiful sunrise to view from the ...

I have run two runs in the last two months, and to say the least I am finding my desire is greater than that of my feet and my lungs! On March 11, I ran the inaugural Waco-50 event in Cameron Park in Waco, TX . At first glance Waco and run seems like an easy combination, but if you have ever been to Cameron Park that runs along the Bosque River, you know the terrain can become quite steep and rocky. Here's what I looked like starting the 3rd loop. Lesson learned: I tried to fuel with only manufactured products: Heed, Hammergel and Perpetuem That was not enough for me. I loaded up at the beginning of my third loop and although I was already behind schedule, I was able to finish. I need solid food on my long runs. The spiritual lesson is that I need solid food for the run of faith. ( Hebrews 5:12-14 ) Supplements don't cut it by themselves. Second lesson learned: Encouragement from others make all the difference. Shawna Brown, a member of NTTR, saw me dragging at the end of lo...

I created this blog to tell the miraculous story of Alan Ford's recovery from a car accident in August of 2005. You can read that story in the archives of this blog. I want to change course here and begin to use this blog to tell my story from a runner's perspective. First, the disclaimers. I can speak from a runner's perspective because I run. That's all. Running is a hobby of mine, not an obsession. I have joined a running group , which I am proud to be part of and love the community that group offers. I have never won a race or my age group, but I love the sport and will participate in it as long as I can or until, like Forrest Gump , I'll stop one day and say, "I'm tired. I think I'll go home now." I just finished running the inagural Waco 5-0 in Cameron Park in Waco, TX. I'll post later my lessons and how I am training for my next run, the Ouachita 50 Miler outside Little Rock, AR.

Hello... Well, it is January, the holidays are over, and so are those anticipated six months post injury. As I have mentioned before, the first six months are where he makes the most progress, and he has definitly done that. His speech is almost back to normal. His double vision is still present but continues to make itself less noticeable. His left side is doing so much better and though his left arm and shoulder are still not what they were, it is a miracle that it has come as far as it has. Alan is enjoying work and continues to work so hard. It has not gone unnoticed and his boss says that he will attend the next MIT program that they roll out in June. (This is training for a management postition, one he had just acquired the week before the accident, so after one year, he is back to where he was. Praise God.) His spirits are up though he does still struggle with his limitations and accepting what has happened to him as a whole. This is completely understandable and I just...

Well, the post today will touch on several points as we have a lot to tell you. First we will touch on Alan's recovery and work. His last day of therapy is on the 15th of this month and he has already accomplished all goals they were hoping to achieve in physical therapy. Though his left arm is still a little stiff, he has at-home exercises that he can do to help regain the strength and flexibility. His memory and brain continue to heal and doctor's say that the end of January will reveal the fullest part of his recovery. His speech continues to heal on a weekly basis and it has already made so much improvement. There is still some slurring but it hasn't seemed to inconvience him at work too much. He will continue back at work full time once therapy is completed . He has a goal set to be the #1 loan officer for the month of December. He had been named that several months in a row when he started at Centex and he wants to reclaim that title. He already has 4 lo...

Well, Alan has successfully completed two weeks of work. He is working M/W/F and on T/Th he goes to therapy. Work has him in training classes to help jog some memory and familiarity with things and then has him listening to and learning from co-workers in any down time. He is really enjoying being back at work and is anxiously awaiting getting back in the saddle. His company has been really great through all of this; we are blessed to have them as his employer. Alan continues to miracuously get better . God is so good. Alan's new glasses came in that are helping his vision a lot, and they look a lot better than the ones that were half covered with tape. His speech has just recently made great strides; we are hoping that it continues to do so. His gate, or the way he walks, is looking a lot more "normal" now and not so robotic, and although his left arm is getting stronger, he has decided to hold off on weight training until he can go to the gym and lift a decent amount...

I was not able to finish the 100 miles I plan to run for Alan, but I made it to mile 73. If you would like to read about my adventure, go to my Pastor's Posting on the Legacy Church website . I'll update the pledges we have raised by the end of the week. Thanks for all of your prayers and support throughout the weekend. God was present in many ways. Alan, thanks for the inspiration all along the way. Running with you, gene