Diana Andrews – iCan Athlete Spotlight – 10/19/12

The things I said I will never do….but I’ll get to that later.  First let me introduce myself.  I was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia until the age of 16. Like most immigrants, my mom came looking for the American dream, and over the years she brought us all along.

I am married and have 3 wonderful, bright and smart boys, Jamen 14, Matthew 12 and Kinnick 7.  We are a family against all odds, or as psychologist will put it, blended/mixed, bicultural, biracial family, throw in a few other issues and VOILÀ!!!  The perfect family… I guess what I am trying to say is that it has been a challenge, and it has taken a little of determination, compromise and love to make things work.

Which brings me back to the things I said I will never do.  Let me give you a little background about me.  I have never been an athlete. I didn’t play sports in school, not only because I was not interested but  because they were not supported, but things changed about 5 years ago, when I finally decided to start working out. However, running has never been in my plans, or was not a workout option, yet I kept meeting people with this passion, almost love for it, which I couldn’t really understand. How can you love to go out and run 5, 7, 10 miles all at once? That was something I said I will NEVER do, I was not a runner, I was simply not interested in it.

Until I heard about the iCan project, a good opportunity…I thought.  As I said before my way of exercising was by working out, very early in the morning. Not by choice, but by convenience. It was during one of my early YMCA classes that the instructor announced this opportunity. Looking back, I think the lack of sleep and, at that time, right after a hard class, the lack of oxygen in my brain, made me inquire about this opportunity. The information was passed on to me and I read it all…for a few days I kept going back to coach Loran’s web page and read it again, and again, and thinking of the reasons within me, why would I want to participate. Finally I talked myself into doing it, after all, all I was doing was submitting my application. What are the odds that I was going to be chosen?  There’s got to be a lot more people interested in this, with better qualities, eager to participate, willing to run, with a “special” love for it than me. So just like that I hit submit, days went by and I kind of forgot about it…a few days later I got the e-mail I have been chosen….What have I done?!

It has been a great opportunity.  I have met amazing people, all with their own goals and demons to fight. Most importantly, with their own willingness to succeed.  I have pushed myself out of my comfort zone and into a new adventure.  It has giving me the opportunity to show my boys what commitment, hard work and challenge means. If you put your mind and efforts into it, you achieve what you want.

Life, just like our family, is about opportunities, challenges, commitment, and how we deal with them.  And at the finish line the big prize, for me, my family!

Debbie Kelly – iCan Athlete Spotlight – 10/2/12

So…

Three friends walk into a bar….

I know it sounds like a joke, and maybe in some weird way it is. After all, “are you joking” seams to be the most common response when I tell people that I’m training for the Des Moines marathon. However, as I sat in the bar eating my cheesy fries and listening to my two friends talk about Coach Loran’s iCan challenge and it suddenly became something that I wanted to do.

I’m not exactly sure why. I’ve never “enjoyed” running; couldn’t run a mile to save my life and thought people who did marathons were basically NUTS. However, the more I thought about it the more I knew this was a challenge I didn’t want to slip away. I wanted to be able to say, “I did that.”

Most people assume it’s something that’s on my bucket list. But it’s not; in fact I don’t really have a bucket list anymore. I used to think it was a great idea to write down things you wanted to do before you die and cross them off as you go. The only problem was I kept adding to the list but never crossing anything off. I kept waiting to do those things later, some day, eventually; after all I’m planning to live to be 100 so there’s no hurry. Right? Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

On Dec. 30, 2008 while on vacation in Texas I started having these little muscle spasms. I was positive they were from the stress; I mean joy, of a holiday road trip in the middle of a huge ice storm with my wonderful family. But after 5 spells my husband took me to the ER were we were soon informed, “Oh, you have a brain tumor”.

Yup, pretty much like that. The old rip-the-Band-Aid-off method of delivering bad news. I even laughed out loud when the doctor said it because it seamed so absurd. But as I sat there and things started to sink in, my thoughts eventually drifted to my bucket list. At the very top of the list was a trip to the Louvre in Paris. It’s been at the top of my list ever since I decided to become an Art major in college. What respectable artist doesn’t want to go to the Louvre? But the more I thought of my bucket list the more I realized I didn’t want to do anything on my list. None of it seamed important. All I wanted to do was go home and spend time with my 3 boys and husband. I wanted to snuggle on the couch till we fell asleep, laugh until my face hurt, and enjoy every second of my beautiful family.

6 days later I woke up in recovery.

I knew my name and could wiggle my toes. I had survived my little scare without a single complication and felt like the luckiest person in the world. Not just lucky everything turned out ok but lucky that God gave me a wake up call. I changed my perspective on life and stopped putting things on a list for later. I made a conscience decision to live everyday and to not let opportunities pass me by, even if they scare the be-jeez-us outta me. And doing the Des Moines marathon definitely scared the bejeezus outta me.

But some how Coach Loran convinced me that this was something he could train anyone to do.

“Even me?”

“Yes, you.”

He calmed my fears. He took this HUGE task and made it somehow seam do-able. Everyday I had something to do that pushed me farther. He kept saying, “It’s progress not perfection”. Progress not perfection, progress not perfection would repeat in my mind as I started to jog/walk.

Keep in mind I couldn’t run 1 mile and have plantar fasciitis. Which if you don’t know what that is, it feels like I have a dozen infected splitters in the bottom of my feet. And every once in a while if I step just right I get a whopping zing up my entire leg. Fun-Fun.

But with Coach Loran’s help I was soon able to run 2 miles, then 6, then 10 (in a huge rain storm), then the next thing I knew I ran 16 miles. 16 MILES!!! But the funny part is when I reached the end my GPS only said 15.8. Which wasn’t good enough for me. So I kept running… in circles… in the parking lot… staring constantly at my GPS till it turned to 16.00. I’ve officially turned into one of those crazy runners.

But seriously, going from the couch to a marathon has been such a huge battle for me, both physically and emotionally. A battle I couldn’t win without the support of the iCan team — this group of complete strangers that has been there for me every step of the way. Literally, every, single, step — these strangers, turned friends, have been amazing. They have helped me accept it doesn’t matter how fast my time is, only that I have the courage to step up to the starting line. And because of them I know I will have the determination to cross the finish line.

So whenever I look back on my life, whether it’s next month, next year or when I’m 100, I will be able to say, “that was pretty great”.

Hayley Nixon – iCan Athlete Spotlight – 9/26/12

The truth is, I don’t have enough time or energy to train for a marathon. At least that is what I had been saying for over five years.

I have always been a runner…at least 6 days a week, 5 miles a day at an 8:00 pace. And that was the problem. I could do that in my sleep. I probably did do it in my sleep a few times. After my fifth, (gasp) child was born in March. I needed a major “ME” project. For the sole purpose of stress relief.

Wait a second, I will back up. Liza is indeed my 5th child- in 5 years almost to the day that is. 5, 3, almost 2, almost 2 and 3 months is what I wrote for my iCan team essay entry. Which was short and sweet and to the point. I’m pretty sure I wrote it while nursing a baby, wiping someone’s behind and pouring a sippy cup of milk all at the same time… No joke.

The point is, I had, ahem HAVE been pregnant or nursing for over 6 years now. CONSECUTIVELY…NO BREAKS! You would think that throwing in one extra child would have been a piece of cake, especially right after twins. Despite little Liza Nell being the best baby in the world, she threw me for a loop. I felt every day was like a day spent in the silly silo. I knew it was because I wasn’t giving myself any type of outlet. Sure, I was back to the old regular 5 mile run, but I was basically worthless…purposeless. I needed a challenge!

I saw the link for the iCan team on a friend’s Facebook page and entered, without thinking another second about it. I knew if I thought about it, I would talk myself out of it. I have always wanted to run a marathon but I’ve ALWAYS been saying, “I am just too busy right now”, or “I am so tired right now.” I realized in an instance (even with the utter chaos around me) that I would be saying that forever. There will always be a reason “I can’t” do it. But that didn’t matter anymore. I needed to push those reasons aside. So that is what I did, and have been doing for the past 3 months.

And it has definitely been a challenge.

I have still been up nursing in the middle of the night and I have still probably “sleep ran” through a number of runs. But I have never missed a mile. I have even had to hire babysitters to watch my kids so I can go for runs while my husband is out of town, or pushed a jogging stroller on fast tempo runs. And I have been tired, both physically and mentally. But it has been and it definitely will be worth it.

I absolutely cannot wait to see my husband and kids at the finish line after 26.2 miles and give them all giant hugs! They have earned it just as much as I have!

Danielle Fengel – iCan Athlete Spotlight – 9/24/12

“Never in my life did I envision that I would be signing up to run a marathon. I’ve never wanted to run a marathon. In fact, I typically think that marathoners are a bit out of their minds. Who wants to endure the pain of 26.2 miles.”

That was how I started my iCan application. And throughout this journey, I’ve been faced with challenges, nervousness, pain and even injury. But all of those negative things have been balanced out by feelings of excitement, butterflies, a sense of team, accomplishments, milestones and friendships that were born by pounding the pavement that will live on, far past 26.2 miles.

One of my greatest fears entering this challenge was the fear of failure. I’m generally a confident person, I take on challenges everyday, but when it comes to myself and putting myself out there, I’ve always just stepped aside. Until now. I faced the iCan Challenge head on and went from barely working out to running 11 miles in 8 weeks. And through that part of the challenge, I redefined for myself what success meant. It wasn’t coming in first, or even second. But it was about being part of a team and pushing myself. I succeeded the first time I timed myself for a 3 mile run. I succeeded when I pushed past the nerves and conquered the 6 mile run. And I succeeded when I ran 8 miles of the marathon course and ran my longest intervals, my fastest mile, fastest 5K and fastest 10K. Even though I finished last. I felt a great sense of accomplishment and pride for myself, because I did my personal best and had learned to no longer define myself by those around me.

And, while I doubted this would ever happen, I’ve found a love for running. Maybe it’s the fresh air, but more than that, it is the feeling of accomplishing something and of saying I’m a runner.

A few weeks ago, I was feeling extremely energetic for the longest long run yet, 15 miles. I met the group, did some stretching and was ready to roll. Then it happened. I stepped away from the group for just a minute before we set out toward the trail and heard a loud pop, followed by shooting pain on the inside of my calf. I panicked. Coach Loran, being the external optimist that he is, was hopeful that it was just a cramp and we tried to walk and stretch it out. After a few minutes he said “you’re done for today” and gave me orders to elevate it, stretch it and ice it. I limped around for the rest of the weekend before making a physical therapy appointment later that week and ultimately being referred onto a sports physician for a calf muscle strain/tear. It has been 4 weeks since I’ve been able run, but I’m staying active and optimistic that I may still be able to participate in the half marathon. I’ve been able to get in a walk with my team here and there, and can do the low-impact elliptical.

Never did I think I would say this, but I’m jealous of my team members who conquered 18-20 miles this last weekend. And I miss running … I miss the trails, the feeling, the sense of accomplishment and my teammates. So, while I may not be running 26.2 alongside them, I’ll be their biggest cheerleader. And I’m not done running. I can’t wait to lace my shoes up and get back out there. This challenge has changed who I am, how I view myself and my bucket list. This may not be my race, but someday, I will have my race.

Angela Powers – iCan Athlete Spotlight – 9/16/12

Hi. My name is Angela Powers and I am a recovering victim, who used to be held down by Fear of Failure, Fear of Success, Fear of living and being happy to live.

I have three young girls and want to keep their lights shining bright, and their dreams big with a “stop at never attitude”. So to practice what I preach, I had to jump and hope that when I fall I will learn something from it, and get back up and start again. Failure is only a stepping stone and not a road block in my life anymore.

So here I am, having joined the iCan Team. With that one decision, God has blessed my life with a team that is encouraging even when they are down. It is amazing to me that complete strangers have become my most cherished friends. I cannot thank them enough.
This journey is not about how fast I reach the finish line, but the fact that I am not afraid to start; and when I cross the finish line, I am not afraid to accept that I am a winner for completing 26. 2 Miles.

Through the “Go Giver” spirit of Loran, Leah, Abra, and my daughter, Taylor I leaped again into what I believe I was born to do: Pay it forward by giving kids and parents what I wished for as a child, which is high self-confidence and a Mentor. On August 12, 2012 I launched an 8 week I AM Program. It currently has 11 (8-10 year old) wonderfully awesome girls (and their Moms/Dad). The I Am Team is a self-esteem builder and running clinic. We would like to invite anyone who wants to join us or cheer us on in the 5K Walk/Run on October 13th for the Free To Breathe run at Raccoon River, West Des Moines with a 9:00 am race start. This will be the first 5K most of these girls have ever done and I cannot wait to see their sense of accomplishment because they are working so hard to reach this goal.

So, thank you Loran, because the iCan experience turns out not to be just about running, it is about changing lives and I finally get It.

I saved the best and biggest thank you for last. That is to my husband for all the extra duties he has endured because of my early runs and long runs. It is a very selfless act on his part, and I appreciate everything he does so that I can be a better me.

Steve Carlson – iCan Athlete Spotlight – 9/11/12

I hate running.

I’ve uttered that sentence countless times in my lifetime. Some people run a marathon because it’s on their bucket list. Prior to three months ago, the only thing related to running I would have ever put on my bucket list would have been: never run another mile the rest of my life.

Seriously, when I completed my first 10-week session of Farrell’s eXtreme Bodyshaping back in 2005, I ran my final testing mile in a respectable 6:28. I distinctly remember thinking afterwards “Thank God I’ll never have to do that again.”

God has a great sense of humor. I don’t know how else to explain why I’m doing this.

When a friend told me earlier this year she wished she could pursue some of her passions in life, I told her she should talk to my friend Loran. He made a courageous decision to leave a good job in corporate America to pursue his passion of serving people through fitness training and ministry.

Within 30 minutes of that discussion, my friend sent me an email saying “is this him?” It was with a notice from our company’s wellness intranet page about the iCan marathon team and the free training being provided by Loran Storts.

I read the notice, and the strangest thought I’ve ever had immediately came to my mind: I should do this.

As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t shake the notion. Instead of fading away, the idea tightened its grip on me. It was a step way outside my comfort zone, but one I felt God was pretty clearly calling me to take.

What appealed to me was that it was about so much more than just preparing people to run a race. By incorporating the principles of the book the Go-Giver — which is about investing your time, talents and treasures into the lives of others — it was about preparing people to live a life of service and giving to others. That resonated with me.

So I applied and was accepted. It’s been kind of hilarious from the beginning, starting with when I told my youngest daughter, who is 16 and splits time between my house and her mom’s. Upon hearing I was going to run a marathon, she slumped her shoulders, smirked and made a sweeping motion around my house as she said “Great, you’re going to die and leave all this for me to deal with.”

Although I’m a fitness enthusiasts and have taught classes for seven years at Farrell’s, there have been times in the past three months where I thought my daughter’s comment may have been prophetic.

At 50, I’m pretty sure I’m easily the oldest of the iCan participants, and on occasion my body has reminded me of that. But I’ve also found running to often be exhilarating as we’ve reached distances that would have never seemed possible before. I also never imagined I’d be telling people how great it is to hop in a tub with 20 pounds of ice, which I’ve found myself looking forward to in the midst of long runs.

Had I set out to do this on my own, I wouldn’t have the foggiest idea how to go about it and wouldn’t have gotten far. The chance to work with someone as knowledgeable as Loran coaching and inspiring a group of people who are in it for more than just a sense of personal accomplishment has really appealed to me.

My perspective on running has shifted from “Thank God I’ll never have to do that again” to thank God I get to do this. And oh by the way, I don’t hate running anymore. Sometimes…   I may even like it.

But usually not until after I’m done.

Sindhu Srivastava – iCan Athlete Spotlight – 9/6/12

Towards May-end a coworker sent out an email about a 16 week iCan training program for IMT Des Moines Marathon. I had always wanted to run long distance but have never been a runner and could never muster up the courage to actually do it. The most interesting aspects of the training program were: 1. Professional coaching by Coach Loran; and 2. Participants were required to read the book “The Go-Giver” by Bob Burg. Both were to be provided by Coach Loran for free! This seemed as good an opportunity as any to take up the challenge to finally run a marathon. Of course, there was another catch: aspiring participants needed to fill-up a form explaining why they wanted to be part of the
iCan challenge. Since training for marathon is not an easy undertaking, I was expecting that my wife would not be too happy about my participation in this challenge. I talked to her about it; she turned out to be quite supportive and enhusiastic about it. This
solidified my intent to participate. I promptly filled out the form and sent it in. Lo-and-behold, a few days later I received an email informing me that I had been selected for Coach Loran’s training program. Perfect.

Coach Loran is a true go-giver. The first thing that struck me was that he commenced the training program at his home – inviting complete strangers. It became quite obvious at the outset that Coach Loran had very strong support from his family as well as his associates and well-wishers. His training program is both gruelling and fun. I have already run personal distance records week after week during the weekend group runs – including a half-marathon three weeks ago. We are now past the halfway mark in the training program, and I am grappling with bad hamstring tendonitis. Last three weeks have not been very kind to training for marathon. When I met Coach Loran last week for one-on-one meeting, he told me how last year his doctor had told him that he won’t be running much again (due to a foot that had fractured several times over). Needless to say, Coach Loran did not heed his doctor’s advice, he is back to running again. I have drawn tremendous amount of inspiration from his story, and I am determined to continue with training for marathon. In fact, during one of my personal distance records, Coach Loran ran the last half with me, pacing me and giving me confidence that I could do it faster than I had imagined. He showed me how to overcome mental block during longer runs. You see, Coach Loran is training the iCan team not only for marathon but also motivating to be a go-giver!

This picture was taken before one of our iCan team Saturday long runs.