Houston Marathon 2009

I ran the Houston Marathon January 18, 2009. And Ira ran with me. 26.2 miles. A journey of pain. A journey of laughter. A journey of sorrow. A journey of wonderment (ie. why and how much longer). And a great symbol of my life now. When I see the words of scripture about running the race, when I hear about others who have completed their races, when I learn of friends with the desire to start the training, I grow joyful.

It was interesting to me how much emotion I felt after my final long training run before the marathon, yet did not become emotional at the end of my race. It was as if the training, the discipline, the effort, the struggles of training and completing the training were more important than actually crossing the finish line. Wow. Amazing isn't it?

How did it feel? Well, I wore 2 knees braces, as you can see in this picture, which allows my knees to feel no pain. I did not cramp up at all during the 5hour 50min and 5sec run. I slowed down quite a bit in the last 2/3rds of the race, even walking more than I should. But I never had the thought in my head "I am going to stop". I kept moving forward. My brother, who ran in front of me the entire time, until the last second (ha), continued to push me, motivate me, encourage me. And for that I am grateful. With him in front, I had something to run after... even if it was to hit him and make him shut his mouth hahaha. There is an excitement in seeing those you love on the sidelines rooting for you, holding up signs and banners, cheering and offering you oranges and nurturing care. We had a few moments of rest during those moments, then we picked ourselves up and continued on. I think the memory that stands out the most for me is seeing my middle son Jackson running with his yellow sign, cheering for me, smiling so huge, and loving to see his daddy run this race. His desire was that I beat Brad, but in those moments on the course, I could tell he was just happy to see his daddy out running the race. That made me run on. And that makes me RUNSTRONG.

Brad came up with that slogan a few months back, and we got some wristbands made that said RUNSTRONG. (The black on you see in the picture). And now here it is over 2 weeks after the race, and I have not run. There's almost a depression about it, finishing this goal, but there is also this need to express to everyone I see that "I RAN AND COMPLETED A MARATHON". There's a quote in the movie, Spirit of the Marathon, that really moves me. "No matter how fast or slow, once you cross that finish line, it will change your life forever. Because you now know there is nothing you can't overcome".

And some thoughts during my race that keep me going:
So push it. Don't stop keep running. I can; I will. Think light, not fast. One step at a time. I need a break. I need to stay hydrated. Wow, look at him, if he can do it so can I. Only a few miles til we see the kids. Come on, let's go, almost there. I see Downtown. This is the last turn. There's the finish line. Look... there's Jen and the kids "WAHOOO". Wow, the last tenth of a mile. I throw my hands up, asking the crowd to cheer me on as I strive towards the finish line. I hear the cheers. I see the smiles. I am enjoying the moment with my brother. He reaches over just as we step towards the line and grabs my arm and pulls it up..... WE FINISHED!!!!!

Houston 1/2 Marathon

A few weeks ago, I participated in my first 1/2 marathon. This was quite a feat for me and my brother. Running side by side the entire time. But through it all, I took Ira, Sophie, Laura and Joe with me. We all have our marathons to run, and many of us can tell our story of pain, defeat, regret, joy, victory, and brotherhood... for that is what the design of life is intended to be, a race together.

Ira in Tibet: And a Happy New Year

Ira in Tibet.
August 2007
Left Ana Gabriela
Right isabel Pastor

Mr. OConnor's 5th Grade Class

The Ira Hays Wristband Club 2007 recognizes the following:
















A group of 70 or so 5th graders, with the help of our good friend and teacher, Mr. O'Connor, raised more than just money for Ira. Their effort and dedication, and care has provided me with a renewed flame for life. I would like to extend a heart-felt thank you to those kids, their parents, the teachers involved in guiding their hearts into a world full of need. We praise God as we think of you.

A new year, a new class

2007 brings us to the year that Ira will turn two years old. It celebrates the generosity and love shown from you; those who know the Hays' from church, from the community, from the streets, from their friends, from their family, and just from the blog. No matter how you stumbled upon their story, the impact of the kindness and smiles have rippled to many.

It's with this prelude, that I now introduce a remarkable act of kindness. More details may come of this later, but I felt I had to recognize the 5th grade class once again. Although, it's a different group of kids, the response to Ira is the same. You may recall this class was recognized as the group who purchased the 1000 wristband.
They have raised $1,375.00 through the sales of wristbands for Ira. Now that is one awesome 5th grade class. Praise God!!
More details to follow ...

Ira Wristband Ornaments

I had a good idea today about how to remember and honor our friends this year at Christmas... how about an Ira wristband ornament?! We'd be happy to wrap a wristband around an ornament of your color and ship it to you, or just order a wristband and do the work yourself.
May the following prayer be with you this Christmas season:
O come, Hope of Ages, fill our hearts with prayerful patience as we cling with great hope to God's promise. Teach us both patience and eager anticipation as we wait for you.

Ira in D.C., Part II

My wife and I took a trip to DC for the first time last month. Following the footsteps of those middle schoolers from Tahoka, we got to see some historical and beautiful sites. Of course it's hard to get both of us together, traveling alone, so we did our best.
Here is a picture of us sitting at the Lincoln Memorial. The group of teens in the fluorescent shirts were sitting on the steps singing youth group songs.












This picture is from the new WWII Memorial. They have these mural type engravings depicting different "scenes" of life from the American home during the war. A tribute, I thought, to the time Ira's Great-Grandpa spent overseas, as well as to my grandfather. It's never too late to say thank you to anyone.