Some submitted questions

Welcome one and all again, to another viewing of the ever so blah blah blah blog! If you are reading this, I thank you because I haven't bored you out of your socks yet and to those I have bored, I apologize on behalf of myself, my country, and of my mother too.

Nonetheless, this new blog is going to feature some questions from viewers who have emailed me and to those who have missed my email address, it is jeffylube40@hotmail.com and yes, I do view emails from viewers of this blog. These questions are random and I have selected some to display for those who have emailed me. And please feel free to email me on anything.

1.) Who or what has influenced you to start running? Well, it all started with my father, Jeff Turning Heart Sr., he was a standout athletic runner back in my home state of South Dakota. But after many years, a lot of have influenced me, Billy Mills, Steve Prefontaine, Alan Webb, Frank Shorter, Josh Cox...the list can go on and on for me.

2.) What brand of shoes do you prefer to run in? That is an easy question, Nike. Nike was always my brand to wear growing up because at the time, as a kid, I liked the swoosh and it stuck with me. I wore Nikes from as a young runner to today. But to me, Nike was more than just a brand, I became and still a part of the Nike running circuit.

3.) Where did the idea of the mohawk start? Well, if you have read the recent blog I posted, Evolution of the mohawk, we wouldn't get addressing this question, would we? Just kidding, the mohawk started up as for fun last year, for league dart season. After awhile, I was asked if the mohawk was going to make a comeback and I thought about it and voila, mohawk is back and my good friends at Universal Athletic designed an awesome shirt that reads "Hawk Nation" with a guy with a mohawk as a graphic detail.

4.)Who has been your biggest supporter? Easy, my mother. Growing up, my mother was always my inspiration and supporter because she helped raise at the time, 4 kids, by herself. And I know with as busy as she was, she would always encourage me to be my best at my own standards. Every time I've had a bad race, she was there to rub my back and say, "You've done your best and I am so proud of you." Or when I was leaving for a race, she would always say, and to this day, "Run like the wind, never look back. Turn and burn." No matter the race, she supports me in it.

5.) What got you into running for charities? It all started with this past summer. I just got back into racing and trained for the 5k in Underwood during Harvest Fest and I lost a friend to suicide. I was distraught, angry, confused, anything but good. And after I ran that race, I've wanted a challenge, so, I was approached with running the half marathon in Bismarck, ND. As I did my research on the race, I looked online and the website had a link, "charities" and I looked at the different charities and respectfully, they didn't click with me right away but I chose one that wasn't on their list, suicide prevention. I then contacted those who ran a non-profit organization, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and got everything going, my donor wall, my contacting of many and next thing you know, I was at the race and it felt so great to run for something other than yourself. And after that, my thought was, "I love running for charities, to be able to give back to those who need it." And that is how I got into running for charities. Look for my upcoming races in 2012. They are going to be great!

6.) Team Heart Militia is your running squad, what does it mean? Well, Team Heart Militia was something I started for myself because it was a personal quest. It still means, if you're going to go through your own battles, you bring your heart with. Without your heart, the battle is lost. And as time went by, I would come up with my own design concepts, my own quotes and artwork on the shirts. To have a quote to help inspire many to do their best.  I am very proud to say that I have 3 runners on my squad that do great and I now have 7 honorary members of my brigade.

7.) If you run while listening to music, what is on your playlist?  Funny you should ask that, my playlist on my iPod is labeled as "workout" and it consists of many artists that get me going. I have artists like, Tinie Tempah, TobyMac, Chipmunk, Icon For Hire, The Game, Shinedown, Eminem, The Red Jumpsuit Appartus, Skillet, Living Colour, Pink, Avril Lavigne, Paramore, the All American Rejects, Rev Theory and of course, Kelly Clarkson. I listen to everything because I really do not have a genre I stick with. I am not biased. Just as long as I can relate to the song or feel their vibe in the music, I am good.

8.) Tell us something funny about you? Well, umm.....I do like to sing....and dance, at the most random moments. Call it geeky but music is my thing. There would be times where I would hear a song and I can't help it. Even though I get weird looks or laughs, I am confident in myself because it is out of fun and life should be like that, fun. And I would like to apologize to many who have seen me dance or have heard me sing before...I am sorry for that. I should come with a rating or a warning label across my chest. And I do make voices or come up with weird sayings, especially with my friend, Alan.

9.) Tell us something serious about you? At times, I am very grateful to be alive and doing what I love to do. There are moments where my reflection on my life is blurred and vivid because I had to grow up so quick and had to be strong at a young age. And that I have lost a lot of great people in my life and it sucks at times because they were always there for me, for awhile, I used to think that everything I touched, dies. But as I got in touch with my faith, I knew that just having them in my life was great enough to share what they taught me and stand for what they stood for too. And to this day, I still do not know my real father that well.

10.) What has been your best race? I always say this, because it is true. My best race is always my next. My races that I have done were great and phenomonal but you cannot put a label on a race as "your best" because the next race can be your best or the next one. I love my races, no matter the outcome because of my heart.

11.) Are you seeing someone special? Why? Are you asking me out? Just kidding. Well, at the moment, I just had a date with someone that was overdue because of various conflicts in schedules but who knows what is next? I haven't met that special someone yet.

12.) In your recent blog about losing weight, how did you go about doing it? What is your secret? My secret is this and it is not much of a secret now that I have told you. Don't think about the weight, think about the workouts. It is all a mental thing because when I started working out and running, the last thing on my mind was the weight. I was thinking about the next workouts. And next thing you know, I lost 14 pounds and then it was 20 pounds and then it was 30 pounds. And some days, I ate very healthy, raw vegetables, fruit, drank lots of water, I gave up using salt in my diet. It was brutal but it is the price you pay to run your best.

13.) What is your favorite movie to watch before a race? My favorite movies to watch are the Rocky Balboa movies, Without Limits, and Running Brave. Geeky, I know.

14.) What can we expect out of you in 2012? The very best that I can be. By April, you will see how great I can be and the great I can bring to many. Just watch.

15.)  If you had a speech to give the youth who are looking to be runners, what advice would you give them? My advice would be my speech, that no matter how hard life is going to hit you, take those hits because if you can get up from those hits and keep on moving, you are already winning. Never sell yourself short because if you do, you're not going to cut it in the long run. The next fad is the next recycled item for pickup on garbage day. Use your heart, your mind and yourself to know how hard you can push yourself. And never lose faith, in yourself, your gift and your beliefs. And never give up, always give in.


Well, those are some of the condensed questions that I had to format into this blog without going into their email responses and to those who have emailed me questions, there you go. Some that are personal, I will email you back this week.

I hope you all enjoyed this new blog and to you critics, I am still smiling. Thank you.