The Blog of Awake My Sole

Friday, April 13, 2012

21 Questions from the Class who thought I looked like Shaggy!

Yesterday, was blessed with the opportunity to share with Elementary School students in Pella about the Awake My Sole journey.

Got to speak 10 times.

One of the classes thought I looked like Shaggy from Scooby Doo. They put together 21-questions for me to answer. Thought I would answer them, and then share them with others.

1. How many pairs of shoes do you go through in one year? 8-10 pairs of shoes. I try and replace shoes after 300 miles.

2. Do you ever get to celebrate your birthday? Yes, my birthday is in July, and this year I will be celebrating it in Dubuque Iowa.

3. What do you do if you get caught in a storm or a tornado? Seek shelter. Safety is important to me.

Running in a blizzard in January

4. How can you run so long? By training, and by eating the right foods to fuel my body. Also, mentally training to "endure the low points."

Some of my inspiration.

5. How old are you? In my 20's.

6. What happens if you break your alarm button on your GPS and you get hurt? Use my phone to call 911.

My GPS unit. The "red-button" is located under the red "SOS" flap.

7. Do you like to do other things like draw pictures? I love to hike, play soccer, take pictures, read books and throw a frisbee. Here are some pics from my journey so far.

8. What if you get caught in an ice storm? Find some ice skates. :)

9. How many miles have you ran in your life? I'm guessing around 13,000 miles. But that is a approximate guess.

10. Did you run on the track team in high school? Nope. I played soccer, hockey and wrestled.

11. Have you ever gotten in ﬁrst place in a race? Yes, when I ran the Lincoln Marathon my senior year of high school and I placed first place in my division.

12. Did you ever run out of all your clothes cause they got too small? Not yet, but I have WORN OUT clothes by using them too much.

Pair of Jeans with a hole in them.

13. Why do you like running? This is a tough question. It's almost like asking me "Why do you like breathing?" I like running, because I love the way I feel after a long run. I like being able to finish and say, "Thank you God for allowing me to run." I absolutely love to run. I hope to run till I can't run anymore.

14. What do you think about for 20 hours of running? It's my most creative time, where I think about new ideas, and things to write about. I think about my family, my friends and my faith.

15. What happens if you get too hot? Stop, find some shade, rest and drink some cold water. If I'm still really hot, take an ice-bath.

16. How long do you run in one day? Between 25-68 miles & 9-18 hours.

17. What if no one lets you sleep at their house? Rent a hotel. Haven't had to do this yet. People are very hospitable. I enjoy staying with host families, cause I enjoy meeting new people.

My host family in Orange City

My host in Spencer Iowa (He also wanted to push my cart to see how much it weighed)

My host family in Sac City Iowa.

18. What happens if you lose your GPS? I will stop someone to ask for directions to the town where I need to go.

19. How many trophies and medals do you have? Seven. Some medals from marathons I ran, and a trophy for the one I got first place in.

20. What happens if you run out of money? Hopefully this wont happen, but if it does, I will have to rely on the help of others.

21. How do you make money? Places where I speak, pay me. Also, people who are inclined to financially support, do so. Also, some companies sponsor me for using their products.

If you have a question for Jim, e-mail them to AwakeMySole@gmail.com

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

AMS for kids - Des Moines & Pella

This week I'm in Pella Iowa. Last week I was in Des Moines.

If your kid has a "birdman" pic, please send them to AwakeMySole@gmail.com or POST to the "Awake My Sole" facebook page.

AMES Iowa AMS for kids HERE

Des Moines wrap up, Pella Running recap & Blog Post

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Des Moines wrap up & Pella Running Recap & Blog Post

AMS for kids

Des Moines Video Wrap Up

Running to Pella Recap

Start Time: 800a End Time: 700p

Weather: Lots and lots of Hills. Wind was at my back. Ran on 12 miles of dirt road. The temps were great. Ben started the run with me. Also, made sure to lather up on sunscreen.

Number of dogs who barked & chased me: 9 (actually was scared by a dog while I was taking a pic of the hills).

Caterpillars: 0

Total Mileage: 43.6 miles

Cops who stopped me: 0

leaving Des Moines

Hilly. Was tough running 43.6 miles pushing a 150 pound cart.

a nice little treat in Monroe Iowa.

Back roads of Iowa.

In Pella. Tulips and Windmills. So excited to be here.

BLOG POST ::: "ADVOCATE"

Advocate --- Who are you standing up for???

noun

a person who speaks or writes in support or defense of a person,cause, etc.

a person who pleads for or in behalf of another; intercessor.

a person who pleads the cause of another in a court of law.

www.dictionary.com

This last week, I was blessed with an opportunity to stay in the Des Moines Iowa community. My week in Des Moines went by fast, and stirred within me a theme I have been experiencing in each town as I travel.

On Wednesday morning I was able to meet up with a church youth group from Sioux City Iowa. They were spending their spring break helping out a local Des Moines organization, one which helps those IN NEED in the community.

The youth group from Sioux City serving on their spring break

In conversing with the director of the organization, we got on the topic of Advocacy. People who stand up for people, who help others in need and who help those who might not be able to help themselves.

After my conversation, this word "Advocate" rolled around in my head the whole week, even more so with it being Easter Week. You see, I am a follower of Jesus, and for me and what I believe, Jesus is the ultimate advocate. He is my intercessor, and because I follow Jesus, he in return leads and commands me, his follower, to be an advocate for others. I am called to be an advocate on other's behalf. Especially those who need an advocate, which often are the poverty-stricken, the oppressed and those who are taken advantage of.

The idea of advocacy is found all throughout the Judeo-Christian scriptures:

Psalm 82:3: “Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.

Matthew 19:19b: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

As I've journeyed across Iowa with Awake My Sole, I have come across other "ADVOCATES."

In Sioux City a group advocates for elderly people in nursing homes.

In Orange City an organization advocates for women and kids in difficult circumstances.

In Spencer there is a place called The Dream Center who advocates on behalf of students and for community members who have basic needs to be met.

In Storm Lake I was hosted with a family who advocates for immigrants to help them learn English so they can assimilate better into the community.

In Webster City I came across a clinic called Justice For All who advocates for people who don't have health insurance to help them get the proper medications they need.

In Des Moines I served with several organizations who advocate for those in their own community.

Every follower of Jesus is called to be an Advocate. There are many needs to be met, and followers of Jesus must help come up with creative ways to help meet those needs. It will often lead us into helping others who don't have the same beliefs as us, but because we believe God creates all humans, we advocate for them. Most of all, we advocate for others, because we have experienced Jesus advocating for us.

Wrestle with this question, "Who are you an advocate for?"

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

"That motivational speaker was dumb"

This last week, I enjoyed my time in Ames Iowa. A great community with some wonderful people.

A Bicycle was my mode of transportation for the week. I love riding a bike after running a long distance, it really helps my legs feel good, and gets them moving in some good ways.

Wednesday was my busy day for speaking. Was able to speak a total of 10 times at both the Ames Middle School, and then at the First Evangelical Church of Ames.

Was blessed with meeting a lot of new people. By the end of the day, my body was tired. You could tell in my voice, it was strained, and I sounded like an old-raspy man.

:::An awkward interaction I had with a student at the Middle School:::

I had just finished speaking at the middle school, and I had to return the Visitor Badge to the front office. Because I rode a bike to the school, I then went to the bike rack which was behind the school. I was unlocking my bike, next to a student who was also unlocking his bike.

He didn't notice I was right next to him. He was conversing with his buddy, and he said, "That motivational speaker was dumb."

It caught me off guard, because I spent the whole day there, and heard many encouraging things from students, so I had spoke up and said, "I was dumb?"

He turned around, and was totally caught off guard.

He quickly responded, "I didn't mean that."

It was a bit awkward for him, and fun for me.

He felt really bad for what he had said, and apologized. I told him not to worry about it.

I am aware there are some students & adults who wont connect with the Awake My Sole message, and they don't have to, its not for everyone.

My goal in speaking is to INSPIRE others to DISCOVER, DO & INTEGRATE their abilities in to their life. My hope is they leave "asking questions" about the direction of their life.

I rode my bike back to my host home that afternoon being okay with knowing a student didn't care for the words I shared, but at least it got him thinking.

Running with purpose in every step...

Jim

Here are a few more pics I was able to take during my time in Ames. Thanks to Grandpa Jim for allowing me to use his bike. That bike allowed me to get around.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Des Moines - Running Recap

Start Time: 730a End Time: 415p

Weather: Really hot. Did a lot of sweating. Little wind. The morning it was overcast, but around 9ish it cleared. Got sunburned. When I ended, it was around 88 degrees. Summer-like conditions.

Number of dogs who barked & chased me: 2

Caterpillars: 1

Total Mileage: 35.4 miles

Cops who stopped me: 0

Was joined by Darci for 8 miles.