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Welcome to One Day Out, a weekly newsletter to help deepen your faith, enhance your health, and guide you in pursuing a purpose-filled life.

Opening Prayer

Lord, you are so worthy of all of my praise. I pray that you give me an unquenchable thirst for Your word and a heart that longs for you. Help me honor you in everything I say, think, and do each day.

Growth is Found in Discomfort

My mom texted this verse to me the morning I set out to take on the biggest physical challenge of my life.

Last week I ran across the Grand Canyon (and back) with 8 other guys. It took 15 hours 11 minutes and 46 seconds to get from the South Rim to the North Rim then back to the South Rim. It ended up being 43.24 miles— the longest distance I have ever run.

When I received a text from my friend a few months back inviting me to go, I was hesitant and nervous. The furthest I had run up to that point was a 35-mile ultramarathon in May 2023, but since I suffered a cardiac arrest I hadn’t run more than 10 miles at a time since.

I knew this was going to be a whole different ballgame, but it ended up testing me in ways I never even imagined.

1. Preparation is key

Truthfully, I didn’t prepare for this challenge as well as I should have. The week and a half leading up to it, my car was in the shop which stopped me from going to the only hill in Austin that was going to help me train for downhill running and power hiking.

I was able to get two multiple-hour training sessions in there before heading to the Grand Canyon, but I didn’t bring enough water and was not following the fueling strategy I would execute on the day of the run because I didn’t have a plan.

Thankfully, I brought enough fuel, water, and electrolytes with me that I didn’t bonk or have GI issues, but if I were to do it again, I would put more intention both into my training and my fueling strategy.

Takeaway: Daily habits and intentional preparation lay the foundation for achieving big goals.

2. Lean on your support system

I was nervous leading up to R2R2R because I didn’t think I had prepared properly and I was taking on this challenge with guys who had done multiple 100+ mile races and had much more experience than me.

These guys were beyond supportive and encouraging and used their knowledge and experience to help out me and the other guys and never looked down on anyone. It was a team effort to get the whole squad to finish the quest.

Takeaway: Don’t let your pride stop you from asking for help when you need it. We go further together.

3. Pace yourself

Long efforts like this are much different from a road race. If you come out of the gate too hot, it will be hard to recover.

The first 8 miles were all downhill, and while we were all feeling fresh and were tempted to send it down, we made sure to stop and take breaks, refuel, and rehydrate even if we didn’t feel like we needed to.

In the days leading up, I debated if I would stop after getting to the north rim. I still wasn’t confident that I would do the entire rim to rim to rim.

After a brutal 3 hour climb up the north rim, I was thankful we took so many breaks because if we hadn’t, I may have called it once we got there.

Takeaway: Going at a sustainable pace allows you to go further vs. going fast and hitting burnout.

4. Be present in the moment

For the first 5 miles, we were in complete darkness and I couldn’t see the beauty of my surroundings. But as the sun slowly started to rise, we came to an overlook that took my breath away.

As tempting as it was to keep looking at my watch and think about how much further we had to go, views like this made me stop and give praise to God as I was in sheer awe and wonder at His creation.

One of my friends asked me, “How do you describe this in one word?”

My answer was simple,

“God.”

Psalm 96:6 says “Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary” (ESV). The Lord reveals His great power, holiness, and might through His creation.

The deeper I got into the pain cave, I would turn to marvel at His creation and pray to Him asking for presence and strength to get me through.

As Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13, “ I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”

Takeaway: Find moments to pause throughout the day to give God praise and worship for the life He has given us and for His marvelous creation.

5. Know your limits, but push them

From miles 39-43 I was in the deepest pain cave of my life. Every ounce of me wanted to start complaining and feel sorry for myself.

With just a few miles from the finish, I wanted to give up.

At that point, I knew there was nothing I could do but keep moving forward, but I had to fix my attitude and heart posture. I didn’t care how long it was going to take, I was going to finish with a cheerful heart.

Romans 5:3-5 says “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (ESV).

It was my decision to put myself through this suffering, and without the strength that God has given me through His Spirit, I don’t know if I would have made it through.

I had a lot of time to meditate on Scripture and sermons I have listened to, and I was reminded that it is not about living up to our potential, it is about giving glory to God for the potential He has given us.

Takeaway: We are capable of more than we can imagine when we know Christ.

6. The journey changes you, but not like God changes you

I used to throw around the term “life-changing” like it was nothing.

Competing in a race, going on a trip, attending a retreat, enduring a difficult season of life, etc. all have the possibility of giving us a new perspective and may change how we approach our daily lives.

Running across the Grand Canyon was no different— it was witnessing God’s beauty on display and giving Him praise and worship for His creation that continues to amaze me, and for the strength, resilience, and perseverance He has given me.

However, there is something so profound that has truly changed my life like none other:

God’s word.

I spent the first 23 years of my life chasing after worldly success: money, status, power, etc. thinking it would fulfill me, but it never filled the void I felt.

After years of chasing after vanity and my self-righteousness and ambitions, I started reading the Bible consistently and it has and continues to transform me.

It shows us the blueprint for how to live a Godly life and helps us better understand God’s true nature and character.

Takeaway: Having experiences like this is great, but don’t forget the one who allows you to do them.

Workout of the Week

20-Minute Full Body AMRAP (as many reps as possible)

This week’s workout of the week is a quick 20-minute AMRAP that will hit every muscle group in your body, get your heart rate going, and build strength and endurance!

It consists of:

• Barbell Bench Press

• Pull Ups

• Barbell Front Squat

• Hanging Crunches

• 400m Run

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes!

I upload new workouts and recipes to the Upspace App weekly, download it here and get 7 days free to check out the full details + other activities from me to help you boost your health and quality of life!

Closing Prayer

Father, thank you for giving me a body capable of giving you honor and praise. Thank you for revealing Yourself through Your word and creation. You alone are worthy and deserving of all of my praise. Lord, transform my mind and my heart through Your word and equip me with the wisdom to be a soldier in Your army and build Your Kingdom.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Know others who want to grow in their faith, optimize their health, and live a biblically sound life according to God’s word? Share this and let’s grow His Kingdom!

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