Take steps in right direction

Editor's note: Daren Schumaker of Cedar Rapids and Dennis Lee of Walford are attempting to run across Iowa's 99 counties to raise money for the American Heart Association. They have completed 63 counties. This is No. 63. Next: Hancock

By Daren Schumaker, community contributor

Math and science. Not really the best words to use if you're trying to peak someone's interest.

The fact of the matter is, since closing our high school and college text books for the last time, not too many of us have done much more than scratch the surface of the math and science we were once forced to study.

The dust has settled - and it is thick. Skills that were once razor sharp have become dull like butter knives. Who really needs to know how to balance a checkbook, let alone a chemical equation? Math and science teachers (and bankers) probably would best be able to answer those questions.

Believe it or not, the mathematical and scientific concepts we learned days, weeks and years ago actually have value outside of the classroom. Simply stated, what you put in is what you get out. When it comes to life, this concept is of the utmost importance.

Humidity and heat woke early on Aug. 23, and already had made themselves comfortable by the time we met in and departed from Walford at 6 a.m. Gary Boesenberg and his wife, Jane, also woke early and decided to tag along and play with us in Clarke County.

We followed Interstate 80 west to Des Moines, passing through a pounding rain that darkened the sky for miles and miles, before jumping on Interstate 35 and heading south to Highway 34 where we again rolled westward to appropriately named Clarke Union Avenue, where we would start the day's fun. The rain had passed, but humidity and heat still were around for the party, and they brought a friend - hills.

At 9 a.m. we took our first steps into what felt like a cool breeze, enjoying a brief downhill before embarking on a steady climb that lasted more than three miles. The sky remained overcast and we continued eastward, climbing hills and chewing up miles. Before long we were able to pick out a few water towers on the horizon, running up another long and steady pull and passing a sign that welcomed us to Osceola. We already had chewed up 10 miles.

We continued eastward, crossed over I-35, and started to shuffle through the saturated streets - the rain had really come down in Osceola. We passed an intricately designed and decorated Victorian home before jumping off Highway 34, circling the Clarke County Courthouse, frolicking through a farmers market, and returning to our eastward march on Highway 34. We had chewed up another five miles before a second sign let us know we had officially left the limits of Osceola.

By now the sun was out, enhancing the humidity and heat, and a monster of a hill was bearing down on us - a steep climb that lasted more than a mile before increasing in difficulty and transitioning into a bridge over several sets of railroad tracks that served as the home for coal-carrying trains.

As we reached the peak, Gary silently decided he had had enough and it was time to start resting up for Ironman Wisconsin. Gary waved us onward. We continued to climb hills, battle the heat and cut through the humidity -- a cool breeze in our face helping along the way. We noted many things - a fire hydrant in a ditch that was no where near civilization, grasshoppers galore, and the evidence of flash flooding. Before long we could see the end - Lucas County - but we still had well more than a mile to run before we would reach our requisite 26.2-mile distance. We finished with an out-and-back on a gravel road, completing our 63rd county in 85 degree heat a mere 3:53:31 after we had started.

Moral? Equations always balance. Two plus two always is four. In life, what you put in is what you get out. You've got to give in order to receive.

Whether it be a relationship, your career or your health - you get what you give. The quirk is what you put in to your life doesn't always appear on the other side of the equation in the way you think it should. Things don't always work out like you think they will, but equations always balance.

The extra 15 minutes you put in on the treadmill and the salad that you ate for lunch might not translate into a smaller number on a scale, but might motivate someone else to take similar steps. If you want to be healthy, you have to take steps in that direction. Eating potato chips and sitting on your sofa won't get you there, no matter how hard you try.

Don't be content. Each of us has been guilty of simply going through the motions of life, but we only get one chance at this. If you want something, you've got to work for it. We hope what we are putting into our lives will help us, but if it helps one of you, too, we will be just as happy with the outcome. The love and sweat you put into your life is equal to the love and sweat you get out of it. Love yourself, love your life. Put some sweat into it. Get up, get active. We only get to do this once, so make it good. Knock the dust off. Work to return your skills to razor sharpness. Trust us, it is difficult to nap on the edge of a knife.

Stay sharp, stay awake and enjoy the math and science of your life.

Inspiration through perspiration. Become active or make a donation to Team 99 Counties or the American Heart Association to help fight heart disease.