A Full Day of Racing for the Keebler Family

A lot has been going on the last week or so, and I didn't realize how bad I needed to get back to racing. Today's race was the Texas Tech Rec Sports Triathlon. A fun and fast race that is 400m swim, 12 mile bike, and a 2.5 mile run. If any of you are ever interested in trying out triathlon I can't recommend this race enough. The Tech staff puts on a great race for competitive people, and they even have a shorter distance that is the recreational distance. It is always a good time.

In years past I have seen so many new people trying out triathlon for the first time just for once, and sometimes it has been the first step in a new lifestyle. Then other times I have overheard some of the kids in complete disbelief when there friend showed for the start with no sleep and possibly still drunk. That one made me miss college. Today I heard an older guy mention that he has only swam twice in his life before the race, and that was last week. No matter he was still there this morning to start. I was really glad to have met him this morning.

Today Jerred and I decided to ride to the race, about 45 minutes, then race, and then end it with another 1:45 minute ride home. Needless to say I was good and warmed up for the start. The swim felt ok, but I  was in a bunch of folks at the end and couldn't get around them. Even with that my swim was still on track even a little faster. 

I pushed the bike the first lap, and then tried to keep that pace throughout the four laps. After the first lap I could feel my legs starting to ache, and was really worried that I was pushing it too hard. Near the end of the bike the winds were picking up, but I was still keeping my pace even with legs that were filling like lead.

Going into the run I knew that I had a couple of guys right behind me, and I was going to have to push it as hard as I could. The first half one guy stayed right behind me until the turnaround, and then he made his move. I was able to stay right behind him, but we were pushing a hard pace for me. I wasn't sure if I was going to have anything left to try to go past him again. Near the end of the run is a small hill that I thought was as good as any place to go for it. When I passed him all I heard was, " Oh hell he has some kick left." I was going all out when I passed Susan, and she said, "uhmm you might want to push it he is right behind you." He wasn't at that point, but  she does have a funny way of motivating me. It was a lot of fun even if I was really close to puking at the finish. 

After the race Jerred had talked me into going for a ride before we got back to the house. That turned out to be about an hour and forty five minutes of me trying to hang onto the back wheel of someone a lot better at cycling than me. To say the least I was hurting and am still feeling a long day of good pain. 

We were able to finish off the day with Anna running in a  great race put on by Leigh and Nick Cordes called the Cardinal's Mud Run out at the Spirit Ranch. So it has been a great day of racing for all, and now time to get ready for the week. Another couple of races coming up  and big news, but more on that very soon!

                                                     Anna and her friend Loren running

                                                            Anna in full race mode!

                                                   I think she is going to need a bath!

The Wicked Beaver Recovery Method

We had a great opportunity today to get to welcome our friend Sabine back to Lubbock. We were so graciously invited (we might have invited ourselves) by the Howells to a small gathering at the Wicked Beaver Brewery in Wolfforth, TX.

 This is a new microbrewery that is really producing some new great beers, and we are proud to say from right here in the greater Lubbock area. I will have to say I was really liking the Timber Ale, but the Midnight that had been aged in an oak barrel nearly took my breath away. Keep your eyes out for their beers on your local supermarket shelves, and make sure you don't pass them up. Here is their website so you can check them out.  Wicked Beaver Brewing Thanks again Michael for letting us hang out with you and the family for awhile this afternoon.

As always with good beer the best thing is seeing good friends and getting to know some new ones. Here are a few pics to prove that it isn't always about training and eating good. After a hard week of training finishing up with a 2 hour run Saturday, then a couple of hours on the bike Sunday before Church. I am beat up mentally and physically. Nothing recharges me better than a little fellowship with friends over a cold beer.

                                                         

                                                As always a good box makes a great toy!

                                                           Martha, Jurgen, and Sabine

Keebler and Jurgen

                                                              Allie "helping" clean up

The Wicked Beaver always points the way!

                                                  Keep an eye out for the Wicked Beaver.

Until next time,
Keebler

Who's Keebler?

I am sure that some of you that are reading this have wondered, especially those of you that knew me from way back, who the hell is Keebler. The short story is that Keebler is me and I am Keebler. Well as these things go sometimes it came from a quick little comment from one friend to another that started the ball rolling. It might serve well to show a few pics from the old Keebler days to put things in perspective. You know those days where I hadn't quite learned if you eat and drink whatever you want and sit on your ass you tend to expand. Turns out the shorter that you are the quicker the expansion tends to happen.

(Side note: As I was loading this picture Anna, my oldest says, "Not to be rude, but I don't like that shirt. Uhmmm, and not to be rude, but your head is kind of big." She tells it like it is!)

Happier than I was earlier!

Anyway on with the story. So my neighbor was talking with another one of our friends, Scott, when I came up and Scott tells Jurgen that I am just like a Keebler elf short and always happy. Now later on Jurgen added to it that I was always short, fat, and happy. As soon as I heard it I knew that it fit me well. Now I didn't know at the time that I was going to go from 50lbs overweight to a slightly deranged triathlete, but over the years this nickname that was given to me from two great friends has gotten me through a lot of crap.

We all get labeled in some fashion or another over the years, but instead of letting labels define us why can't we redefine the labels. I am still the same vertically challenged happy person I was 6 years ago, I just have a little less to carry around now. The reality is still the same no matter how tough a day is, how bad a race is going, or how much pain I am in, someone can call me Keebler and it makes me smile. Then when I smile I feel I can pass along a little bit of that happiness to help someone else. Sometimes our road is rough, but as long as we can go forward we are good. To quote my Father-in-Law, Jack, no matter how bad it is, it is always better than the alternative.  

                               Fun times at Vineman 70.3 with the best cheering section ever!  

So raise a glass, eat some good food, and remember that if a vertically challenged, formally fat West Texas guy named Keebler can change then you can too!!!  Good Luck and all the best from mine to yours.

Keebler

                                

                                       

Back to the Beginning

 I know that it has been a long break between posts, but this one has been harder to write than all of the others. As usual I am doing this backwards. I figured it was time to go back and explain what J.D. 's Heart is all about, or at least try to put it into words for the first time. It is really hard for me to put my thoughts down on something that I'm not sure what it is, or what it is going to be but you feel passion for everyday.

J. D. or Jimmy Don is what most people called him, but my Sister and I called him Dad, my Mom called him her husband, the Grandkids called him Pawpaw. If I could sum him up in one sentence I would say that he was a quite man that was more prone to laughing than talking.  He tried to teach me many things that now I wish I was listening to a little closer, but the one thing that I was listening to was that I should never quit something I start.

The reality is that I can look back over my life, and see many chapters that God put in front of me that have led me to where I am now. The essence of JD's Heart might have started with my good friend, Jurgen, telling me that I was too young to be as fat as I was then, or it could be said that it started when I knew that we were going to have Anna. All I can say for sure is that when my Dad passed away on my birthday in 2009 I knew that this cycle had to end with me.

I titled my testimony and my website J.D. 's Heart, because it is about the affect one man's heart can have on so many people. We as individuals selfishly believe that how we take care of ourselves doesn't matter to those around us, but in reality we each can be the biggest forces of change in our families and communities.  No matter if you are young, or been around a few years, you have to work hard to stay here. It took me having kids and losing my Dad to see the truth that if I want to be here for the future I have to make changes now. Unlike how most of us wait until we lose someone, or a doctor tells us we have no other choice. We each are blessed with one body, and we should respect it. Trying to lead a healthier lifestyle doesn't guarantee you won't get sick, but it at least gives you a little bit more of a fighting chance. We don't want to believe it but our lives can change in the time it takes for a red light to change. Instead of believing that if you aren't sick your healthy. Try to look at your health as something that you have to fight for everyday even it is just doing something small.  Then when the time comes that you have to really fight you might just be in a much better place to keep going.

What I put my body through is not for everyone, but I promise you that you would be surprised at what your bodies can take, and in some cases want. Every time that I think that I have reached my limits I wake up the next day to find that those limits are not where they were the day before.

This drive I have now was developed because I want to always be striving to be healthier spiritually, physically,and mentally for my family. Along this journey for myself if I can help inspire others to look for their own reasons to be healthier then those people will have more of a chance to fight. No matter how each of us leave this world we will only have one last heart beat. To this day in my mind I hear my Dad's last heart beat echoing, and helping others find a reason to be healthier helps me to keep hearing it. As long as I can I want to keep helping other's to find their reason to fight. 

Ask yourself when your heart beats for the last time will it echo or will it fade away? That is what is behind JD's Heart. 

Thank you Dad.

Keebler

                             

First look at the new JD's Heart T-Shirts

Here is the first look at the new JD's Heart t-shirts! Thanks Sarah Collins for the great art work, and House of Ink for the great job on the shirts. Those of you that got yours with the first order send us pics that way we can put them on here. Here is the first, very beautiful, model of our first ever JD Heart t-shirt. Hopefully, someday when you see this symbol you will know it is someone that is trying everyday to make a difference in their health.

-Keebler

                                          The little blond gremlin found her way into the pic!

Buffalo Springs 70.3 Race Report and a Few Other Things

I know this has taken a long time to get to, but I have been doing what is best for recovery, family and friend time! Before we get to that I want to send all of our love and prayers to our dear little friend Noah Hurst, who broke his leg yesterday and just got out of surgery, get well soon our little friend!

I am sitting here typing this while watching the 7th stage of the Tour de France, and trying to recover from a very nice long trail run this morning with Susan's running group from Cardinals. Thanks for letting me jump in with all of you here and there.

I was thinking back this morning about Buffalo 70.3 and was trying to remember the pain that I know was there, but the funny thing that keeps happening after these races is that it fades quickly. I will try my best to get it right, but as usual I try to remember the good things rather than the bad. It could also be the fact that if I remembered how painful these races can be I would question the sanity of my friends and myself!


Swim

I was nice and warmed up for the race start which is really rare for me. I usually am talking too much to everyone around to remember to get in even a little warmup ( I know that is a surprise to most of you). When the race started I had a hard time right off getting in a good position running into the water, and this was going to stay the same throughout the swim. Before the first buoy I had been kicked in the head, I hit someone else in the head on accident, and choked on nice lake water twice. Not to mention I couldn't find a clear area to swim long enough to feel good like I was making any sort of headway. Coming out of the water I was really glad that was over, but expecting that I was way off of my normal time. I came out with a 31:12, which is where I am normally. A very good surprise, but considering that  I have seen my some swim improvements lately I had really hoped for a little better time.

T1


Normally not much to say here except this time I decided to go on the wrong side of my bike rack. I guess a first time for everything. One good thing was seeing my friend Ron volunteering on the bike out. Friendly faces always make a race much better.

2:13

Bike


Lucille and myself were really feeling good on the first half or more of the bike. I was keeping a higher pace than normal for me in a race, and was really hoping to make up some time on the bike for once. As usual for me I had many of the fast people pass me like I was standing still, and really all I could do was keep it steady and limit the damage. The bike is still where I need the most work but that takes time. After coming out of the back canyon and turning west I hit a strong headwind that really knocked me back for a few miles. As I was getting closer to the park I started passing people again, and that was making my legs feel better to get a few spots back in the overall. Coming up on the last climb I could feel that I had pushed my legs harder than I had in previous races, and as the climb started the insides of both legs started cramping from top to bottom. To be brutally honest I was trying to not panic, because trying to climb with both legs cramping could have shut me down where I was at for more than I wanted. Luckily, I made it to the top and when the pressure came off the cramps let up. Crisis averted!

2:55:44

                                           It was Keebler time on the 4th climb of the day!


T2

I would love to tell you that I went straight to my back rack, but yes I went to the wrong side again! Susan might say at this point that once I hear a loud pop it means that my head is out of my butt. I hadn't heard that pop yet!

2:01

Run

Part of my race plan was to push as hard as I could to get to the run sooner rather than later hoping for cooler temps. I could tell on the first 2 miles that I had pushed hard, and my legs felt worse than they had in a long time for a race. Plus the temps might have been cooler than later in the day, but they felt hot to me! Before the first hill I was starting to get my legs back, and started to pick rabbits (people) in front of me to start trying to close the gaps. I was passed fewer times on the run, and mostly by people that were crazy runners. I did find that if I could stay steady up the hills I could make some good headway. Only on the 2nd climb did I have some issues with my right hamstring, but thankfully it went away before the midway and I was able to keep going. Another thing I did on this race was take my time at each water stop, and make sure I could get cool and keep hydrated. I also found that if I dumped water and ice down the back of my jersey it cooled me off better, but that is probably due to my head being in my butt :) Coming back into the park I was feeling good and started picking up the pace a little. I stayed this way until the last mile, and to my surprise I had enough to put in a strong finish. Besides a little stitch in the side it was one of my best feeling finishes.

1:57

Finish - 5:28:44
Overall - 213/832
Age Group - 42/97

After looking back at this race with a couple of weeks gone I am very happy with it. I was 10 minutes faster than my race in April, and from when I raced Buffalo 2 years ago I was 20 minutes faster. This was my second fasted race in much rougher conditions than Vineman last year. Susan noticed the biggest difference. I am finishing and not feeling like I am going to die, but instead recovering quicker from the races. Some of that is due to my conditioning, and some of it is due to getting off of statins. I will always have an issue with my cholesterol, but with this healthier lifestyle and working with my docs I will keep fighting to do what I can. It is just that I don't want to solve one problem while causing others. I know there has to be a balance, and I will keep searching.

Now time to enjoy some good drinks, good food, good workouts, and most of all good times with family and friends. Over the next few weeks I will figure out what races are next, and will get some of the pages updated.

                               Nothing like finally making it to "The Spot" on a good trail run

Enjoying the family and the 4th

I have been very bad on keeping the blog updated, but in reality it has for one of the reasons I am doing this. Since Buffalo (yes a race report is still coming) I have been spending some good quality time with family and getting in a few workouts to keep fit or fat (whichever you choose). Today I had just a little time to update before my brother in law (Tracy) starting giving me grief for being inside on the 4th.

I have felt good since the race except for a little issues with my back seizing up. Things were fixed quickly by my chiropractor, thanks Dr. Wilson, and today I went on a very enjoyable 8 mile run around   Snyder. Many things can be said about Snyder, but no matter what it will always be home!

Anyway more later, and everyone please have a very Happy and safe 4th!

Keebler