Maybe I am wrong, but I have always felt that someone has to earn trust... Family trust excluded...It is a given that I trust my wife with the secrets of my soul...Even when I was in the military, I didn't trust the people above me just because of rank. I respected the rank, but they had to earn their trust. It is the same way within the City Fire Department. While I do respect the ranks above me, trust isn't something that is automatic. Today I had a conversation with a friend of mine to see if I was in the wrong about this. He explained that I was not. It is something that I have been struggling with. It made me think....as fast as I could... about 4 people I could really trust.
1. Billy Hill-- I have been through a ton with this guy...good times and bad...he was there for me when I moved out of the house at 15. He gave me a couch to sleep on. We were together when a drive by almost killed a friend of ours daughter and we took the streets to beat the crap out of those who shot. He has been my confidant for years.
2. Tim Wilken----I was on a group date when I was stationed in Wyoming with an attractive person..I got up to use the restroom and when I returned I saw Tim at a table about to fight 8 guys because the disrespected my date in front of everyone when I was away...I knew right then that I could trust this dude with my life..The type of friend that if I called right now, he would drive from Wyoming to help me out.
3. James Berry---Out one night in San Angelo, as the only white kid in the club, I caught some static...Next thing I new James was taking up for me and got punched in the face...IT WAS ON!! 3 on everyone else and we survived. I will never forget that night....Race when out the window and my friend went to blows to protect me.
4---Ray Lagares----January 2001 we were playing a game of flag football against the Marines. There rusher kept knocking me to the ground and I got upset....I uttered some words and the next thing I new what seemed like the entire Marine Corp was coming after me. This was all caught on video and the only thing you see is Ray running to help me out...2 against ? Cooler heads prevailed but the fact that he was willing to take a beat down with me....I will never forget it...
I am sure there are more that I could name but these are the ones that popped into my head.....Trust is earned...it doesn't have to be fighting but I believe it has to be a situation that really test you in order to find out who really steps up on your behalf. Just some rambling thoughts that have been going through my head...
Friday, May 13, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Running Strong....or just running
The half marathon is over and I must say it was an expierience...After arriving in OKC, meeting up with Johnny and Lee and carb loading at the Cheesecake Factory, we made it to the hotel. The thought of going down to the lounge and hanging out for a while was good until we had to wake up at 430 in order to be at the race.
Walking outside Sunday morning was great. The temp was 56 degree and that was a blessing. The weather reports were saying cold and rain for Sunday so when we walked outside we were plesently surprised. As we got into the car we saw the first lighting bolt strike. When we got out of the car at the race, the temp had dropped 20 degrees and God opened the sky's with wonderful rain! I havent seen rain in months here in Lubbock so I was glad to see some.
The race was delayed 30 min due to lightning and we lined up at 630 in the corral with the other casual runners. We never could find Jay who was going to be our pace rabbit, so the 4 of us decided to stick together...Until johnny had to pee! The race starts and 3 of the 5 started running together. At mile 4, Lee feel back a little and Phillip and I took off. We were running strong on the cold wet course until mile 5 when we both had to stop at the porto potty! It took us close to 4 minutes to drain ourselves and I took off before phillip on my way to running a great time (for me). Phillip ended up catching me and passing me at mile 8 but I stayed within a few hundred yards of him and felt pretty strong up to Mile 11.
Mile 11 stunk! I started cramping so bad with every step. My first thought was to stretch it out and run faster. This was not a good idea. I had to stop on the side of the road and stretch my legs. After running about a 830 mile for 11 miles, it took me close to 19 minutes to get from mile 11 to mile 12. The last few miles were a blur as I tried not to cramp and strolled to the finish line.
As I crossed I see Phillip and Johnny wrapped in Solar blankets waiting on me. My first thought was Johnny didn't run. He had to have passed me and Phillip at some point and we never saw him. Must have been at the porto potty. Johnny amazed me. He said he was so concered about finding us that he just took off.....Ran fast all the way to the finish and beat both me and Phillip. About 20 min later, Lee crosses the finish line...This was awesome. If you dont know Lee he has a great story. He is a big guy but the size of his heart is bigger than anyone I have ever met.
After we found Lee and had been standing around the cold really got to us. It was FREEZING! We made the half a mile walk back to the car and headed to the hotel. Jay had passed us somewhere along the way and finished 5 minutes before Johnny and Phillip. It took me 2 hours and 10 min to finish. 10 min short of my goal, but you can't help cramps!
Learned....I will never be able to run with the best, but I am not going to quit. Running is an ultimate test of your mental capacity. Unlike the FFCC where you know you are done in 2 min, running 13 miles will have you question your mental strength from the start. Everyone is tired, everyone wants to stop and walk, everyone wants to quit and everyone is hurting...you just have to keep running. I need to apply what I learned running this race to my spiritual life and family life. When it gets tough just put your nose to the grindstone and RUN.
Walking outside Sunday morning was great. The temp was 56 degree and that was a blessing. The weather reports were saying cold and rain for Sunday so when we walked outside we were plesently surprised. As we got into the car we saw the first lighting bolt strike. When we got out of the car at the race, the temp had dropped 20 degrees and God opened the sky's with wonderful rain! I havent seen rain in months here in Lubbock so I was glad to see some.
The race was delayed 30 min due to lightning and we lined up at 630 in the corral with the other casual runners. We never could find Jay who was going to be our pace rabbit, so the 4 of us decided to stick together...Until johnny had to pee! The race starts and 3 of the 5 started running together. At mile 4, Lee feel back a little and Phillip and I took off. We were running strong on the cold wet course until mile 5 when we both had to stop at the porto potty! It took us close to 4 minutes to drain ourselves and I took off before phillip on my way to running a great time (for me). Phillip ended up catching me and passing me at mile 8 but I stayed within a few hundred yards of him and felt pretty strong up to Mile 11.
Mile 11 stunk! I started cramping so bad with every step. My first thought was to stretch it out and run faster. This was not a good idea. I had to stop on the side of the road and stretch my legs. After running about a 830 mile for 11 miles, it took me close to 19 minutes to get from mile 11 to mile 12. The last few miles were a blur as I tried not to cramp and strolled to the finish line.
As I crossed I see Phillip and Johnny wrapped in Solar blankets waiting on me. My first thought was Johnny didn't run. He had to have passed me and Phillip at some point and we never saw him. Must have been at the porto potty. Johnny amazed me. He said he was so concered about finding us that he just took off.....Ran fast all the way to the finish and beat both me and Phillip. About 20 min later, Lee crosses the finish line...This was awesome. If you dont know Lee he has a great story. He is a big guy but the size of his heart is bigger than anyone I have ever met.
After we found Lee and had been standing around the cold really got to us. It was FREEZING! We made the half a mile walk back to the car and headed to the hotel. Jay had passed us somewhere along the way and finished 5 minutes before Johnny and Phillip. It took me 2 hours and 10 min to finish. 10 min short of my goal, but you can't help cramps!
Learned....I will never be able to run with the best, but I am not going to quit. Running is an ultimate test of your mental capacity. Unlike the FFCC where you know you are done in 2 min, running 13 miles will have you question your mental strength from the start. Everyone is tired, everyone wants to stop and walk, everyone wants to quit and everyone is hurting...you just have to keep running. I need to apply what I learned running this race to my spiritual life and family life. When it gets tough just put your nose to the grindstone and RUN.
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