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• » Kent Steiner

Kent Steiner

Elgin, IL
Total Raised: $1,717.85

1. Tell us about yourself and your family?
My name is Kent Steiner my wife Deanna & I have been married for 15 years and we have three children Riley 8, Rayna 7, Roslyn 20 months.

2. Have you ever done a half or full marathon before?
Yes, I’ve done a number of half’s but only 2 marathons before (Chicago 02/04).

3. What are your biggest challenges for race and what is your goal?
Getting the miles in that I know I will need to have under my belt so I don’t blow out and just have to drag my cramping legs in the last few miles. I know from experience after hitting the wall and having to drag myself in from 17 mile mark in my first one and the 22 mile mark in the second. My goal is to have enough endurance in my legs to be able finish strong and run through the pain. 26.2 is a long way you know!

4. How did you know Mitch?
I got to know Mitch through his participation in the sports ministry at Harvest. Mitch & I played on two teams together. Mitch was a guy you definitely wanted on your team because he would just go non-stop, get after every loose ball, post anyone up even if they had 8 inches and 50 pounds on him, and just throw his body all over the court. It was a blast playing ball w/ him and sweet to win the championship the first season. It was great getting to know him on the court but much more significantly off the court in our small group time. During our first season Mitch was his especially friendly and engaging self but was more on the outside looking in when we got down to talking about what God was doing in our lives. What was amazing to see was the Lord get a hold of him very quickly and during the next season Mitch really starting pursuing his relationship God. He was clearly on fire for his Lord! I couldn’t wait to hear what the Holy Spirit was producing in his life each week. Mitch truly found out that nothing in this world compared to his personal relationship with Jesus and serving Him. I was privileged to have a front-row seat in seeing a young man transformed by God before He took Mitch home to Himself.

5. Why are you doing this race for MSF?
I have been running for a few years but am truly excited to run w/ a purpose for supporting the foundation. I am committed to MSF because it is creating new ministry opportunities for others because of what God did in and through Mitch!

Journal

October Update  •  Monday, October 01, 2007

1. Please tell us how many months you have been training for this race and if you have your training totals please share.  (include running & biking mileage and any other cross training you have done)

I have been training for 8 weeks specifically for the marathon.  I started training for half-marathon distances in the spring.  Looking back I have averaged close to 20 miles running a week, 50+ miles a week cycling and an hour of swimming each week.  It has been great to see others on our team doing so well in their training!  One great thing is my bro has lost over 20 pounds…way to go Craig!

2. Tell us what you’ll be doing the Saturday before the race?
I will try not to focus on the inevitable upcoming pain but I will be focused on three things: “rest up” as much as I can, ”drink up” must be hydrated, and the fun part “eat up” got to do some major “carb loading”!  Please remember to pray for us as we prepare for the big day.

3. The race is almost here, please share your thoughts about the endless hours of training, your sacrifices and what this has done to impact or even change your life?
God has protected and provided for me in amazing ways!  He has protected me from any major or nagging injuries so I can enter the race day healthy.  This is a big deal and I am very grateful because there will be a number of runners lining up on the starting line who won’t be injury free.  He has provided by so many of you generously supporting me and our team through the Mitchell Swaback Foundation.  I’m very excited to see how God uses the gym for many great ministry opportunities!  Harvest is currently intentionally reaching out this weekend to those who are lost in our community.  I am praying for God to draw many people to Himself and this gym will give us another tool for reaching out.

Another great thing is I have been able to run w/ a few others from Harvest the last few weeks.  It has been great to share in the fun and pain together as we pursue the 26.2!

I am looking forward to running this race for a number of reasons.  One main reason is because of what I have been learning in doing a few other races this season.  I have intentionally competed with a mindset towards knowing God’s presence in the moment and the ability to give Him the glory.

In this race I will be running w/ others but it is an individual competition.  I have been blessed to know God’s presence w/ me in moments of pain, feeling good, frustration, determination, and the mental battles that go on w/ your body.  Knowing and experiencing “God w/ me” during those times is truly special and shows me I have something that nothing in this world compares too!  It is in that truth that it is pure joy to be giving Him glory throughout race!

September Update  •  Tuesday, September 04, 2007

1. Share with us your workout schedule for August?
I was able to start getting my long runs in this month!  I know that the miles need to be logged or I will be really hurting or sitting out the 26.2.  I came into the month in pretty good overall shape but I had to start climbing the ladder.  I started off the early part of the month with a couple 12-13 mile runs and now have gone through 16, 18, and even a 20 (my longest training run ever!)  I should be running  a little more mid-week than I have but I feel good that I have gotten up to the 20 bench-mark.  FYI, I just read my brother’s Craig’s log and he has run the total distance to get to Idaho or something like that since he has been training.  That is amazing and fantastic for him!  It is great to see what is happening w/ the other runner’s on our team.

2. How are you holding up physically and mentally?
Praise God, I am so thankful to Him to be at this stage physically w/out any ongoing injuries or health issues.  I recently saw a few people in a race that most obviously started w/ an injury or significant ailment.  I am blessed and truly grateful for this opportunity that many others don’t have and I shouldn’t take for granted.  Please pray for my health and no lingering injuries!

Mentally, I do have to quickly mention my18 miler this month.  I was going to do my next much needed long run a couple weeks ago and I got a call at 5 a.m. from my running partner that he was having some major leg cramps.  So, I was bummed not to be heading out on my long run because one of the main reasons I am doing this is to do it w/ others.  I therefore resigned myself to doing a shorter run at the gym on the treadmill (aka “dreadmill”).  When I began to do my run at about 5:45 a.m. is when I realized…I really need this long run!  I just decided that I was going to have to do it no matter whether I liked it or not.  I’m sure you wondering as I would be…if I was “out of my mind.”  I must have been but what needed to be done was accomplished.  Yes, it was long and somewhat boring but it wasn’t as bad as I thought.  I thank the Lord for getting me through it!  It truly was preparation for the “no matter what” mindset I am going to need to get all the way through to the finish line on October 7th!

3. Athlete’s Journal:  Please make this your journal for the month of August and share with us everything and anything you would like?
I have one significant thing to focus on this past month.  I have been blessed to have so many people ask and care about how my training is coming along.  I have family and friends who don’t even regularly run on their own ask about how it is going.  They truly want to know how I am doing whether it is their “cup of tea” or not.  If it has been going good they are ready to be thankful w/ me or if it has been hard they are there to encourage and consol me.

I also have intentionally been asking others on our team how they are doing.  I really do want to know how they are and what is going on w/ their training.  I have been very happy for those who have had a good day of running or are doing better than they were hoping.  I also have felt for those who have had a bad run, gotten hurt, or haven’t yet reached their training goal. This will only increase as we get closer to the end and especially on race day.  I realized we have such a great thing going here!

Romans 12:15 instructs me that I am to “rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”  This marathon training is just a “small thing” when it comes to overall life.  How good and right it is for me to practice this with others:  to truly care how people are doing, to take time to rejoice w/ others whether it directly affects me or not, and to enter in and to really “weep with those who weep” and “bear one another burdens.”

For this to happen…I must allow people to know when I am rejoicing or weeping so they too can come alongside me.  Sometimes it seems like I don’t want to bother people or take their time.  Just like how I am telling others how my running is going…it is a good reminder that I should allow others to appropriately enter in my life.

God has made the body of Christ to be amazing instrument of ministering to one another if we follow Him!

Last thing: Thank you all so much who have given various support to my and our teams’ goal of taking on this race for the provision of finishing the Mitchell Swaback Center.  I greatly appreciate the prayers, direct encouragement, and the giving that have been made.  Thanks for joining the team!

August Update  •  Wednesday, August 01, 2007

1. What makes you keep going on a day when you just aren’t having a good run or training day?
I think about the fact that I am so blessed to even have the health to run and ramp down my time expectations to get through it.

2. What things are you doing to prepare physically and mentally for the marathon?
I am physically trying to get in regular runs so I can build up my long runs in the near future.  Mentally I need to begin to focus on the marathon goal so I will get the training in now to know I have prepared myself for the 26.2 distance…so when the pain and fatigue come in the race I will be confident I can push through it!

3. In what ways are your family or friends helping support you while training?
One neat thing is my son and daughter now want to be a part of this.  I took my son out w/ me for the first part of my long run this past weekend and now my daughter wants to join me.  My wife Deanna has been especially encouraging because even though this type of endurance stuff isn’t her thing she has intentionally tried to understand and experience it w/ me.  I like that!

Is there anyone in particular that helps motivate you?
I am especially motivated because I am doing this w/ a bunch of friends and especially my two brothers Craig & Keith.  Watch out for the “Steiner Brothers!”  I truly wouldn’t want to do this type of thing w/out the fun fellowship of others.  It is really great to have the same goal w/ others and be able to share in training (C’mon Garman we have to get after it) or just finding out how it is going.  The “I know how you feel” statements are flowing this time of the season as everyone is ramping up their mileage.

4. Athletes Journal:
I really want to do this…so I decided I will start my journaling August 6th.

July Update  •  Monday, July 02, 2007

1. With three months remaining before your race what’s going through your mind?
Two things:  First, oh boy I need to start putting in the longer miles ASAP.  As some of us have mentioned to each other as a realistic reminder “26.2 miles is a long way!”  Second, in the face of such a challenge I am remembering what a privilege it is to be given a body that is healthy enough to compete.  Many others do not have this opportunity.  I am so thankful to be able to do some triathlon and running races this year.  God has been so good to me and I want to train (within the limits of my other priorities) to do my best in this marathon for His glory.   The joy of the Lord is my true strength!

2. What is your training schedule for the month of July?
Because I did train for a half-marathon in May I have a good foundation.  I just need to get back after the long runs.  I will be building up endurance by doing a weekly run between 10 – 14 miles and then run 1 or 2 other times per week between 4 – 8 miles.  I am also training for triathlons over the summer so I will be getting some good cross-training in through swimming and biking

3. What is your long run up to?
About 13 miles is the longest so far this season…

4. Athletes Journal:
As I mentioned earlier I truly want the joy of the Lord to be my strength.  A quote from a commentary I was reading on Ecclesiastes 2 states “To expend God-given resources for human accomplishment alone is empty.”  A few times I have had this thought arise… “now why am I putting this time and effort into this training?”  How true in life is it that I quickly get off track from the reason for doing what I am doing.  This really applies w/ my running.  I can be focused on the action rather than the heart.  The opposite is also true as well.  If I initiate my heart to open up to the Lord and worship Him w/ my goal being to glorify Him this has been some very precious time w/ my Father. 

A while ago I left my I Pod on a plane and was very disgusted to loose it.  I loved using it while I would run and had some great music to listen to and was looking forward to be putting messages and verses on it to learn.  However, I have been blessed not to have anything to take w/ me again because it has allowed me to be quiet before the Lord.  I have had to choose to seek Him to lead me to what He would have me dwell upon.  Let me tell you He has used it to get my attention!  Also, yes God does meet me in my secluded quiet times but outdoor running brings a sweet understanding of the truth to be in the world but not of the world.  I can view w/ amazement His creation of this world (trees, sun, people…) and appreciate many of the things man has made (nice homes, a Lexus…) in it but His presence w/ me reminds me I am not home.  I think when I can afford it I will get an I Pod again but I will be leaving it a home more often! 

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