after running with my wife, i set out to run a few more miles. i felt good for the first few minutes, but then needed to slow down a bit. i stopped off at a friend's house to avoid a bear attack, then continued my journey. i planned to run five miles, but quit at 5K. i just couldn't go on. i'll rest up now before tonight's midnight run.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
2.04 miles in 22:26
connect.garmin.com/activity/137807225
my wife wanted to run this morning, so i went out with her. after about a mile, we had to stop by the house so she could change clothes. she'd worn tights and a jacket and she was overheating. after the quick garment swap, we ran another mile or so. we walked some since she was feeling tired, but we made it to the end.
my wife wanted to run this morning, so i went out with her. after about a mile, we had to stop by the house so she could change clothes. she'd worn tights and a jacket and she was overheating. after the quick garment swap, we ran another mile or so. we walked some since she was feeling tired, but we made it to the end.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
2.10 miles in 19:58
connect.garmin.com/activity/137302708
my brother is leaving to go back to colorado later today, so this morning we went out for a run together. it was beautiful out - 50 degrees with a light wind and lots of sunshine! we ran the same two-mile route i ran yesterday. it was fun! I pushed him a bit and he came in at a better pace than he usually does. wish he lived closer so we could do this more often.
my brother is leaving to go back to colorado later today, so this morning we went out for a run together. it was beautiful out - 50 degrees with a light wind and lots of sunshine! we ran the same two-mile route i ran yesterday. it was fun! I pushed him a bit and he came in at a better pace than he usually does. wish he lived closer so we could do this more often.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
2.01 miles in 15:27
connect.garmin.com/activity/137006781
i woke up refreshed this morning. vacation and time spent with family does wonders for the body and soul. i decided i'd go out for a run and burn some calories rather then take them in.
i felt good when i started out, so i pushed the pace a bit. i ran along school to main and then headed north past the hot and cold water towers to maple. on maple i ran past the church to terrace and turn south. i ran at a sub-7:00 pace for some of the home stretch and finished just around the corner from home.
i walked it on in, checked the trash to see if they'd picked it up yet, then stepped inside. the girls came home shortly after that, so there's no shower available. i guess i'll stink for a little while. no harm in that. i am a man!
i woke up refreshed this morning. vacation and time spent with family does wonders for the body and soul. i decided i'd go out for a run and burn some calories rather then take them in.
i felt good when i started out, so i pushed the pace a bit. i ran along school to main and then headed north past the hot and cold water towers to maple. on maple i ran past the church to terrace and turn south. i ran at a sub-7:00 pace for some of the home stretch and finished just around the corner from home.
i walked it on in, checked the trash to see if they'd picked it up yet, then stepped inside. the girls came home shortly after that, so there's no shower available. i guess i'll stink for a little while. no harm in that. i am a man!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
1.25 miles in 11:28
connect.garmin.com/activity/136145120
my youngest daughter and her friend were bringing up the rear on the santa hat run and i ran with another runner and her dog back back to find them. we missed each other because they were cold and took a shorter route back. it was a nice cool down run for me and a better test of my foot since i ran faster for a little bit. toe still hurts, but i can manage.
my youngest daughter and her friend were bringing up the rear on the santa hat run and i ran with another runner and her dog back back to find them. we missed each other because they were cold and took a shorter route back. it was a nice cool down run for me and a better test of my foot since i ran faster for a little bit. toe still hurts, but i can manage.
3.10 miles in 30:51
connect.garmin.com/activity/136145147
18 people showed up to participate in this morning's santa hat run! my whole family ran! a few supporters and the local newspaper reporter showed up too!
i ran the whole route with my eldest daughter and ryan k. two other dailymilers also joined in the fun running behind us. we ran at a nice social pace, talking the whole way. our fingers nearly fell off in the cold, but our heads were nice and toasty in red and white faux fur!
i think everyone enjoyed the run and we'll have even more for the event next year! yippee!
18 people showed up to participate in this morning's santa hat run! my whole family ran! a few supporters and the local newspaper reporter showed up too!
i ran the whole route with my eldest daughter and ryan k. two other dailymilers also joined in the fun running behind us. we ran at a nice social pace, talking the whole way. our fingers nearly fell off in the cold, but our heads were nice and toasty in red and white faux fur!
i think everyone enjoyed the run and we'll have even more for the event next year! yippee!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Glory to God in the highest...
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’
“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’
“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’
“So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” (Luke 2:8-20, New International Version)
Perhaps you’ve heard this story once or twice before. Linus recites it every year for Charlie Brown and the rest of the gang. Many families read it before they tear into their gifts Christmas morning. I’d guess you’ve heard it if you’ve shown up at any gathering of Christians in December.
Do you understand why this story is important? It’s the beginning of the God-in-the-flesh narrative. “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son,” starts here. The One who will die in our place is born! Good news! God has come to save us! He’s through with the alienation that man’s fall into sin inserted into His good creation!
How do men and angels react? With praise! From heaven we hear the angel of the Lord proclaim: “I bring you good news of great joy!” A whole host of angels joins in: “Glory to God in the highest!” The shepherds visit the child in the manger and return to their flocks “glorifying and praising God.”
All who heard of the baby’s arrival were amazed! And why shouldn’t they be? It isn’t every day that God steps in to save the world. People are supposed to appease God. That’s what every other belief system teaches. This God – the one who reveals Himself in the Bible – takes the initiative! He sacrifices Himself so men and women don’t have to suffer His wrath. Those who put their trust in Jesus, the baby born in Bethlehem, are no longer condemned! Those who have lived in rebellion against God all their lives can have eternal life!
How do you react to what Jesus did for you? Is your heart filled with joy? Perhaps you don’t understand. You were dead in your sins. You could not save yourself. You needed help. God came to save you!
How can you not shout and sing this Christmas? Praise God with the angels!
“Glory to God in the highest!”
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Saturday, December 17, 2011
safety matters
Safety is important to athletes. When they step out the door on any given day to run or bike or walk alone, they want to know that if they should become injured or incapacitated, someone would be able to, at the very least, reach a loved one. To meet this need several companies have offered identification bands in varying sizes and colors. Most have emergency contact numbers and basic info on them. A few offer other services linked to the web. A relative newcomer to the sportsman’s ID universe is 1BandID. The brainchild of Joe Vukson, an athlete who cared about his own safety, this band offers one feature the others don’t: it is nearly impossible to forget! The ID velcros to the athlete’s watch or GPS band, something they aren’t likely to leave behind.
Several members of the dailymile team – five women and four men – tried the 1BandID on for size. From the ordering process to customer service to usefulness, they agreed that this entry into the market was a winner.
Each team member involved in this review ordered their own band on the product’s website. They found the process fairly straightforward – pick a color, fill in your information, pay for it, it’s done!
Each band’s ID tag allows five lines of info. The first gives the athlete’s name. One member of the team ordered an ID that her whole family of runners could use. She put all of their phone numbers and info on it. The second line holds the person’s city, state and country. The next two lines can include phone numbers or other contact information. One reviewer who put her mom’s and her fiancé’s numbers on her band commented, “It's nice to know that if one person wasn't home or didn't answer, there is a backup person people can contact if something should go wrong.” The final line is left for the sportsperson’s short mantra. One person spoke in amazement, “A lot can be put on such a small plate!” Another reviewer who didn’t order his with a motivational quote this time thought he’d order another just to add the feature.
One minor complaint voiced by a reviewer or two concerning ordering was having to count characters when entering information. The 1BandID site doesn’t count for you. If you submit your info with too many characters, you will be returned to the entry page to shorten it.
Once everything is correct and an order is submitted, a confirmation email is automatically sent. A second email is sent when the product is shipped. There is not tracking info, but everything went very smoothly. Everyone in the dailymile test group received their ID quickly. When one of the team discovered a typo in his city information, it was immediately replaced. This caused this reviewer to exclaim, “Awesome customer service! I have no negative things to say!”
A few of the reviewers already had another brand of ID. Others had been considering getting one. Those who had another product already were unanimous in their assessment. To quote one in particular: “I always forget to wear it when I go out for a run and sometimes struggle to search for it as I have no clue where I last put it.” Others echoed that sentiment. The other comment from another brand’s user was the size of the print on the ID tag. He said, “I was used to having the writing a little larger.”
Those who had been thinking about an ID purchase for some time said things like, “I'd been wanting to get [an ID], but had held out as I really didn't want to wear something else on the other wrist.” The 1BandID’s design removed their hesitation. A female said she was glad for one less thing to rub against her skin. That was a big plus for her on long runs!
The dailymile team members put the 1BandID on a number of different GPS devices and watches. When one of them first saw the product, she thought it might feel bulky on her watch. She was also concerned that the velcro could be scratchy. Another concern of other reviewers was added weight. When they took the 1BandID out for a spin, that fear was allayed. The band was lightweight. One male commented, “I don't even notice it is there!” Two female reviewers shared their excitement about being able to choose a color that coordinated with their GPS unit.
Most reviewers put their 1BandID on once and left it. There were a few, however, who had minor problems. A couple of female reviewers with small wrists had minor quibbles. One mentioned that she has to remove it and put it back on again for every workout. The other could not find room on her watch. By the time she put her GPS device on to size, there wasn’t able to secure her 1BandID to the strap on either side. One side of the band was too short. While the ID could be put on the side with the buckle and the slotted band it was a tight fit and she feared her watch band would come loose allowing the ID to slide off. This reviewer worked out a solution to her problem, strapping the ID to her shoelaces. That worked out well for her and, incidentally, for another reviewer. The first reviewer said, “With the velcro I can move it from shoe to shoe with ease, no unlacing needed.” One male with smaller wrists could only fit the band on one side of his GPS. The only reviewer who could not fit the 1BandID on her watch band attached it to her hydration pack. She went for a 24 mile run with the 1BandID and it stayed in place with no chaffing or hotspots. Her assessment: “I think the strength in the idea of the 1BandID is in its versatility. While marketed for use on a GPS watch or similar, it works with any piece of equipment you take on the road with you.” She added this one suggestion: “I'd like to see it available with different widths and lengths of velcro to further expand its usability.”
One reviewer noted a feature that the 1BandID currently lacks. There is no online interface where users can update medical info that emergency workers can access by phone or online. They suggested that this might be important to athletes with lots of medical problems, especially those whose conditions are potentially life threatening. He hopes that the 1BandID might include this feature sometime soon at least as an option.Taking all things into consideration, every gear tester felt they could recommend the 1BandID to their friends. They talked about the peace of mind they had wearing this piece of gear.
Here are a few of the comments that team members made about the product:
“I would highly recommend this to any runner or anyone needing to always have ID or special instructions on them.”
“I'd recommend this product to anyone that wears a watch or Garmin while training.”
“Overall a great item to have in my running gear!”
“1BandID is a fantastic safety option…when you can't carry your wallet, purse, or I.D. on you.”
“This is one of those, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ products. Genius!”
“My wife loves the fact that I'm running with ID now.”
“I highly recommend 1BandID, it is a brilliant idea!”
Interested in another safety product for athletes? Check out my review of Knuckle Lights.
Interested in another safety product for athletes? Check out my review of Knuckle Lights.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
4.01 miles in 35:08
connect.garmin.com/activity/133001643
the weatherbug said it was 16 degrees with a 16mph northwest wind when i went out to run this morning. it read 14 with 11mph winds when i got back. oh, those terrible teens! not really! all things considered this was probably one of the more pleasant runs i've had in awhile. i ran just for fun, circling around most of the north side of town. i even went north of the railroad tracks, something i hardly ever do for fear of being stuck on the wrong side of the tracks and being late. i glanced at my garmin every once in awhile, but didn't concern myself with pace or distance. i ran until 6:30 and quit. i'll save running the temperature for another day.
the weatherbug said it was 16 degrees with a 16mph northwest wind when i went out to run this morning. it read 14 with 11mph winds when i got back. oh, those terrible teens! not really! all things considered this was probably one of the more pleasant runs i've had in awhile. i ran just for fun, circling around most of the north side of town. i even went north of the railroad tracks, something i hardly ever do for fear of being stuck on the wrong side of the tracks and being late. i glanced at my garmin every once in awhile, but didn't concern myself with pace or distance. i ran until 6:30 and quit. i'll save running the temperature for another day.
Monday, December 5, 2011
3.25 miles in 27:30
connect.garmin.com/activity/132938249
i drove my daughter to piano lessons and ran while she was tickling the ivories. i didn't want to run north since the wind was howling from that direction. it was cold, too. when i left the house it was 23 degrees with winds in the 15-20mph range. saw a few flakes of snow here and there during my run. i should have been singing, "running in a winter wonderland!"
i drove my daughter to piano lessons and ran while she was tickling the ivories. i didn't want to run north since the wind was howling from that direction. it was cold, too. when i left the house it was 23 degrees with winds in the 15-20mph range. saw a few flakes of snow here and there during my run. i should have been singing, "running in a winter wonderland!"
Saturday, December 3, 2011
1.96 miles in 21:11
connect.garmin.com/activity/132488600
after i finished my race and rested a bit, i turned around and ran back to find my wife. i located her just after the second to the last hill and ran her in to the finish. that accomplished i ran back out and found the last person and ran them in too. it was a nice way to cool down.
after i finished my race and rested a bit, i turned around and ran back to find my wife. i located her just after the second to the last hill and ran her in to the finish. that accomplished i ran back out and found the last person and ran them in too. it was a nice way to cool down.
3.08 miles in 0:23:11
connect.garmin.com/activity/132488603
this race was great! all my friends who did the packing of packets and organizing of volunteers did an awesome job! i can't imagine any complaints.
i flew into the starting area with less than ten minutes to spare after returning from my daughter's honor band concert in dodge city. that was insane! next time, if there is one, we're leaving right after her part of the concert. oh, well. live and learn.
i flew through the first part of the course, the downhill with the wind at my back part. i looked down while i was still on main and saw that i was running at 5:45 pace! that's nuts! i never run that fast except when i'm doing speedwork.
when i rounded the corner onto santa fe and headed toward the park, i slowed to a more reasonable pace. i ran into the park and passed one person. after that i was passed by two people while in the park. i figured out later who it was and was glad i didn't try to keep up with them. she ended up third female and he was second place male.
out of the park, i had a guy on my tail for quite some time. he passed me just before we headed up the hill on haskell. he ended up being the third place male. i crossed the finish line less than a minute behind him, the fourth overall male. that made me seventh overall.
i'm pretty pleased with my time considering the course and weather conditions. the wind was awful and it was coooooold!
this race was great! all my friends who did the packing of packets and organizing of volunteers did an awesome job! i can't imagine any complaints.
i flew into the starting area with less than ten minutes to spare after returning from my daughter's honor band concert in dodge city. that was insane! next time, if there is one, we're leaving right after her part of the concert. oh, well. live and learn.
i flew through the first part of the course, the downhill with the wind at my back part. i looked down while i was still on main and saw that i was running at 5:45 pace! that's nuts! i never run that fast except when i'm doing speedwork.
when i rounded the corner onto santa fe and headed toward the park, i slowed to a more reasonable pace. i ran into the park and passed one person. after that i was passed by two people while in the park. i figured out later who it was and was glad i didn't try to keep up with them. she ended up third female and he was second place male.
out of the park, i had a guy on my tail for quite some time. he passed me just before we headed up the hill on haskell. he ended up being the third place male. i crossed the finish line less than a minute behind him, the fourth overall male. that made me seventh overall.
i'm pretty pleased with my time considering the course and weather conditions. the wind was awful and it was coooooold!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
2.00 miles in 22:16
connect.garmin.com/activity/131953344
my plan called for an easy run. my wife's called for two miles. perfect! we ran together. the plan was to run to main street and back and then out and back again, but when we got to main, we changed plans and went for a bit more looping route. we had a great time. my wife ran the whole time even up the hills that would until recently have made her stop to walk. she's going to do great at saturday's race. can't wait!
my plan called for an easy run. my wife's called for two miles. perfect! we ran together. the plan was to run to main street and back and then out and back again, but when we got to main, we changed plans and went for a bit more looping route. we had a great time. my wife ran the whole time even up the hills that would until recently have made her stop to walk. she's going to do great at saturday's race. can't wait!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
God will finish what he started...
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:3-11, NIV)
I love the good news Paul starts his letter with. If you are a believer, God is working to make you more and more like Jesus. It may seem like things go well for a while and then everything falls apart. You stumble carelessly into some stupid trap of the devil and feel miserable. “Ugh! Not again!”
Fear not! God has not given up on you. Not by a long shot. He sees the end and he’s not frustrated in the least. He’s still at work and he won’t quit!
Let me remind you of God’s promise to his children. These words apply to you if you’ve put your faith in Jesus. “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
That’s awesome news, right? What God started in you, he’ll finish! Keep entrusting yourself to him! When you fall down, get back up!
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4.01 miles in 33:53
connect.garmin.com/activity/131675909
no lazing around today. i got up before my alarm went off at 5:00, got dressed and headed out the door...after checking dailymile and snooping around facebook a bit. (confession is good for the soul.)
i walked a block and then started my warm up. i ran a little over a mile to the track at pratt high and then started in immediately on my 6 x 200m workout. the "sprints" were supposed to be at 800m pace, so i didn't kill myself and was able to run between each of them.
i did all six of them and then ran right out the gate and home by a slightly different route. the mile or so i did on the streets was a great cool down.
no lazing around today. i got up before my alarm went off at 5:00, got dressed and headed out the door...after checking dailymile and snooping around facebook a bit. (confession is good for the soul.)
i walked a block and then started my warm up. i ran a little over a mile to the track at pratt high and then started in immediately on my 6 x 200m workout. the "sprints" were supposed to be at 800m pace, so i didn't kill myself and was able to run between each of them.
i did all six of them and then ran right out the gate and home by a slightly different route. the mile or so i did on the streets was a great cool down.
Monday, November 28, 2011
3.10 miles in 35:56
connect.garmin.com/activity/131615605
i was a lazy bum this morning. i woke up before my alarm went off at 5:00, got up, reset it for 6:00 and went back to bed. don't be hatin' me now. you'd have done the same thing if you were faced with a 6 x 200m workout.
instead of this hard workout, i ran a 5K with my wife tonight. we dropped our daughter off at piano lessons, walked a bit and then ran the entire rudolph run route without a single break! i was (and am) so proud of my wife for gutting it out. this is the first time i can remember her not taking at least one short walk. she's ready for this saturday's race. hope she does even better!
i was a lazy bum this morning. i woke up before my alarm went off at 5:00, got up, reset it for 6:00 and went back to bed. don't be hatin' me now. you'd have done the same thing if you were faced with a 6 x 200m workout.
instead of this hard workout, i ran a 5K with my wife tonight. we dropped our daughter off at piano lessons, walked a bit and then ran the entire rudolph run route without a single break! i was (and am) so proud of my wife for gutting it out. this is the first time i can remember her not taking at least one short walk. she's ready for this saturday's race. hope she does even better!
Saturday, November 26, 2011
10.38 miles in 1:29:41
connect.garmin.com/activity/130997373
i didn't set an alarm last night. i figured i'd run with the gorun group at 6:30 if i woke up on time. if not, i'd get a few hours of extra sleep and run on my own later. i woke up at 5:00, so i made the group run.
the parking lot at health strategies was empty when i got there, but a few seconds later winston pulled in followed quickly by patrick. a minute or so later, kevin showed up and then lacy and a few others. the group was probably 10 to 12 strong when we left. i didn't count.
the wind was insane, but didn't bother us much in among the houses. here and there we felt its nasty, biting teeth, but it wasn't as bad as i thought it might be.
i kept up with the group for the first few miles, then dropped back a bit. my plan was to keep them in sight so i wouldn't get lost and i pretty much succeeded at that. when they turned around, i did the same. they caught up with me and ran on by, but i somehow hung on long enough to get back to familiar territory.
i ran the route religiously until i hit central, then left it to take the shortest route back to the parking lot. it didn't cut off much. when the rest of the crew ran into the lot, i heard them say they'd run 11 miles. my shortcuts took off a half mile or so.
after stretching a bit and talking, i loaded myself up and headed back to the in-law's.
i didn't set an alarm last night. i figured i'd run with the gorun group at 6:30 if i woke up on time. if not, i'd get a few hours of extra sleep and run on my own later. i woke up at 5:00, so i made the group run.
the parking lot at health strategies was empty when i got there, but a few seconds later winston pulled in followed quickly by patrick. a minute or so later, kevin showed up and then lacy and a few others. the group was probably 10 to 12 strong when we left. i didn't count.
the wind was insane, but didn't bother us much in among the houses. here and there we felt its nasty, biting teeth, but it wasn't as bad as i thought it might be.
i kept up with the group for the first few miles, then dropped back a bit. my plan was to keep them in sight so i wouldn't get lost and i pretty much succeeded at that. when they turned around, i did the same. they caught up with me and ran on by, but i somehow hung on long enough to get back to familiar territory.
i ran the route religiously until i hit central, then left it to take the shortest route back to the parking lot. it didn't cut off much. when the rest of the crew ran into the lot, i heard them say they'd run 11 miles. my shortcuts took off a half mile or so.
after stretching a bit and talking, i loaded myself up and headed back to the in-law's.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
3.10 miles in 22:49
connect.garmin.com/activity/130649898
happy thanksgiving, everyone! i rolled out of bed this morning around 9:00 and hit the streets of wichita near my in-law's house. i walked a half mile or so south and then turned around and ran for all i was worth in an attempt to be a bit more competitive in this year's "feed the turkey" 5K. i had to do better in order to beat Ray J. and Brian A.
i ran up seneca for half a block and then turned into the parking lot at the baseball diamond. i ran across the lot and then along the sidewalks to the south high parking lot. i turned north and ran up to 33rd.
turning west on 33rd, i ran back and forth for a mile or so, circled around the block and then, toward the end of my 5K, turned north to finish near "home".
i hit stop at 3.1 miles with a time of 22:49. not 100% sure, but this may be a PR. i'll have to go look. i know it's only the second time i've been under 23 minutes. i guess we'll see in a while whether that's good enough to beat ray and brian!
happy thanksgiving, everyone! i rolled out of bed this morning around 9:00 and hit the streets of wichita near my in-law's house. i walked a half mile or so south and then turned around and ran for all i was worth in an attempt to be a bit more competitive in this year's "feed the turkey" 5K. i had to do better in order to beat Ray J. and Brian A.
i ran up seneca for half a block and then turned into the parking lot at the baseball diamond. i ran across the lot and then along the sidewalks to the south high parking lot. i turned north and ran up to 33rd.
turning west on 33rd, i ran back and forth for a mile or so, circled around the block and then, toward the end of my 5K, turned north to finish near "home".
i hit stop at 3.1 miles with a time of 22:49. not 100% sure, but this may be a PR. i'll have to go look. i know it's only the second time i've been under 23 minutes. i guess we'll see in a while whether that's good enough to beat ray and brian!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
3.10 miles in 35:17
connect.garmin.com/activity/130550262
enjoyed a little outing with my wife this morning. we drove to o.j. watson park and jumped onto the the river walk on the north side to run. we ran north until we ran into a construction zone that closed the sidewalk. we turned around and finished 5K just as we were getting back to the parking lot. we walked a bit to cool down and then drove back to her parents' house to clean up for the day.
enjoyed a little outing with my wife this morning. we drove to o.j. watson park and jumped onto the the river walk on the north side to run. we ran north until we ran into a construction zone that closed the sidewalk. we turned around and finished 5K just as we were getting back to the parking lot. we walked a bit to cool down and then drove back to her parents' house to clean up for the day.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
the long way to work
connect.garmin.com/activity/130328950
i took the long way to work in the lunch room today. i rode out past the school and on to cullison via old highway 54. it was pretty windy, but i was somehow able to maintain a decent speed. i would've been faster with dan's help, but he wasn't with me.
in cullison i took main street north to highway 54 and took it back toward the school. the change in scenery was nice. i picked up some speed with the wind mostly at my back from the northwest. i climbed up hills with ease. the only trouble i encountered was the blast of wind coming off of trucks in the westbound lane.
i made it to the school with time to spare. i changed into the dry clothes i'd brought with me in a backpack and assumed my position watching the kids. the first hour was easy because the fifth and sixth graders ate in their rooms. the second hour was fun since the basketball teams from cowley college were there for most of the time and the seventh and eighth graders watched them. a couple guys put on a dunking exhibition for them. with five minutes to go, the college teams cleared the court and the junior highers took over.
when i'd dismissed the middle schoolers, i changed again and rode back into town. it was considerably warmer by this time, so i was glad i'd decided not to put both jerseys back on. my gloves were a bit too warm, but the rest of my gear was just right. i rolled to a stop before 1:00 and took the newspapers in to get them ready for delivery. (21.04 miles @ 16.8mph)
i took the long way to work in the lunch room today. i rode out past the school and on to cullison via old highway 54. it was pretty windy, but i was somehow able to maintain a decent speed. i would've been faster with dan's help, but he wasn't with me.
in cullison i took main street north to highway 54 and took it back toward the school. the change in scenery was nice. i picked up some speed with the wind mostly at my back from the northwest. i climbed up hills with ease. the only trouble i encountered was the blast of wind coming off of trucks in the westbound lane.
i made it to the school with time to spare. i changed into the dry clothes i'd brought with me in a backpack and assumed my position watching the kids. the first hour was easy because the fifth and sixth graders ate in their rooms. the second hour was fun since the basketball teams from cowley college were there for most of the time and the seventh and eighth graders watched them. a couple guys put on a dunking exhibition for them. with five minutes to go, the college teams cleared the court and the junior highers took over.
when i'd dismissed the middle schoolers, i changed again and rode back into town. it was considerably warmer by this time, so i was glad i'd decided not to put both jerseys back on. my gloves were a bit too warm, but the rest of my gear was just right. i rolled to a stop before 1:00 and took the newspapers in to get them ready for delivery. (21.04 miles @ 16.8mph)
Monday, November 21, 2011
freezing to death with dan
connect.garmin.com/activity/130185127
it was 34 degrees when i called dan to see if he'd like to go for a little ride. he said, "yeah, i think i could do that." so we did.
we rode up and around the cemetery on the north edge of town and out to highway 61 where, after a brief encounter with our warmup dog, we headed north toward preston. for the twelve miles or so on highway 61, we shared pulling duties. dan probably took the lion's share, but i did my part here and there.
when we hit preston, we turned south toward cairo (pronounced kay-row around here). we eased up a bit and rode side by side most of the way. the wind had switched around a bit so it was ever so slightly against us. mostly from the east, but a little southerly. we had to pedal downhill to hit 18-19mph. grrrrr!
when we hit highway 54, the ride finally got superfun. (i hope that's a word!) the wind was at our back and we could cruise along at 20mph or so even on most of the uphills. we were going to "ride the temperature", but when we got to town, i decided i needed to stop and get ready for my nephew's basketball game. i don't want to be late and i have to walk. which means, of course, that i'd better get off here and get going! (30.74 miles @ 18.3mph)
it was 34 degrees when i called dan to see if he'd like to go for a little ride. he said, "yeah, i think i could do that." so we did.
we rode up and around the cemetery on the north edge of town and out to highway 61 where, after a brief encounter with our warmup dog, we headed north toward preston. for the twelve miles or so on highway 61, we shared pulling duties. dan probably took the lion's share, but i did my part here and there.
when we hit preston, we turned south toward cairo (pronounced kay-row around here). we eased up a bit and rode side by side most of the way. the wind had switched around a bit so it was ever so slightly against us. mostly from the east, but a little southerly. we had to pedal downhill to hit 18-19mph. grrrrr!
when we hit highway 54, the ride finally got superfun. (i hope that's a word!) the wind was at our back and we could cruise along at 20mph or so even on most of the uphills. we were going to "ride the temperature", but when we got to town, i decided i needed to stop and get ready for my nephew's basketball game. i don't want to be late and i have to walk. which means, of course, that i'd better get off here and get going! (30.74 miles @ 18.3mph)
Sunday, November 20, 2011
big commuter miles
what a week! i got in several visits to people in need and ran a number of extra errands. i rode out and back to the school every day (except friday) and took new routes home collecting cans to recycle. the seven bags of cans i picked up this week will help kids go to camp next summer. i would have been over 70 miles, but on friday i had to drive out to the school to take my daughter's friend there to spend the rest of the day with her. this week i'll be on vacation, so my mileage will be down. that's okay with me. family time will more than make up for the "loss" of ride time. can't wait to see my little newborn nephew again! (66.89 miles @ 11.2mph)
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Devoted to God's Word...
Here’s what Luke reported as he observed the activity of the church in Jerusalem just days after the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42)
A pretty impressive list! One worth studying. One worth adopting!
The church spent time listening to these closest of Jesus’ followers. They took their words to heart as if they were direct messages from God. They believed the truths. They obeyed the commands. The Holy Spirit, working through the first leaders, brought hundreds, even thousands into the church. People’s lives were changed! The church thrived! The whole known world was changed!
If the church today is to succeed as that church did, we too must be devoted to the apostles’ teaching! Understand! That means the Old and New Testaments! In fact, the words the apostles referenced when they shared the good news were all from the Old Testament! They proved that Jesus was the Savior by pointing to the words of the prophets. They said over and over, “He fulfilled the prophecies! He is the one! Don’t miss him!”
Today, we have an advantage the first believers didn’t have. We each can have a written – or should I say printed? – copy of the content of the apostles’ message. We can study the Bible for ourselves. We can hear God speak through it anytime, anywhere.
We in America have the freedom to own copies of the Bible, to read it and -think about it, to assemble and talk about it together. Don’t take these things for granted. Be devoted to the apostles’ teaching. Spend time reading it. Listen to God as you do so. Obey what he says!
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injury avoidance
connect.garmin.com/activity/129032013
i was supposed to do a 40-minute tempo run this morning. i was excited about it because i'd finally figured out what i was supposed to do on one. i'd evidently misread the directions before, because the description i read yesterday was complete different.
alas, this new found knowledge was not to be used this morning. on my run yesterday, i developed a sharp pain in my toes toward the end of my 5-miler. i ran for less than a minute today and it came back with a vengeance. i debated with myself for another minute or so on the virtues of fighting through the pain and then stopped. no sense in aggravating an injury.
i walked back to the house, changed into cycling gear and hit the road. i decided to check the distance on a loop i'd like to run some time, so i headed north on champa and then down maple.
at maple and main, i almost had to wait for a train, but the last car cleared the tracks just as i got there. i whizzed past the cars sitting at the intersection and turned north onto highway 281.
i rode north on 281 until i hit the first road headed east. turning east gave me a bit of a reprieve from the blustery winds that had been in my face. i rode across 20th and then turned south on 61.
riding past the pratt community college campus, i prayed for the students. they need some blessing around finals time, i'm sure. i continued on to the hotels and then turned west onto maple at the southern baptist church.
i rode down the hill around and then rocketed up the hill to terrace. turning south on terrace, i enjoyed the slow curves and then made the final 90-degree turn onto school. i buzzed some walkers at school and howard and then pulled quickly to a stop in my driveway.
so now i know the north 20th loop (i just named it today) is a little over 10K and i can run it with confidence on a day when my time allows it. i think i'll go in the opposite direction when i'm running. that way i don't have to cross traffic as many times. (6.59 miles @ 15.8mph)
i was supposed to do a 40-minute tempo run this morning. i was excited about it because i'd finally figured out what i was supposed to do on one. i'd evidently misread the directions before, because the description i read yesterday was complete different.
alas, this new found knowledge was not to be used this morning. on my run yesterday, i developed a sharp pain in my toes toward the end of my 5-miler. i ran for less than a minute today and it came back with a vengeance. i debated with myself for another minute or so on the virtues of fighting through the pain and then stopped. no sense in aggravating an injury.
i walked back to the house, changed into cycling gear and hit the road. i decided to check the distance on a loop i'd like to run some time, so i headed north on champa and then down maple.
at maple and main, i almost had to wait for a train, but the last car cleared the tracks just as i got there. i whizzed past the cars sitting at the intersection and turned north onto highway 281.
i rode north on 281 until i hit the first road headed east. turning east gave me a bit of a reprieve from the blustery winds that had been in my face. i rode across 20th and then turned south on 61.
riding past the pratt community college campus, i prayed for the students. they need some blessing around finals time, i'm sure. i continued on to the hotels and then turned west onto maple at the southern baptist church.
i rode down the hill around and then rocketed up the hill to terrace. turning south on terrace, i enjoyed the slow curves and then made the final 90-degree turn onto school. i buzzed some walkers at school and howard and then pulled quickly to a stop in my driveway.
so now i know the north 20th loop (i just named it today) is a little over 10K and i can run it with confidence on a day when my time allows it. i think i'll go in the opposite direction when i'm running. that way i don't have to cross traffic as many times. (6.59 miles @ 15.8mph)
Monday, November 14, 2011
2.98 miles in 35:50
my wife wanted to try out the rudolph run 5k course, so we dropped our daughter off at piano lessons and walked to the starting line. we ran down main street to lemon park and looped around the park's sidewalks. just before we left the park, we stopped to walk a bit so my wife could catch her breath. she was not happy about the rest of the course which is mostly uphill. we walked a few times more and then turned off before the finish to get our daughter.
Give God the glory...
“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” (1 Corinthians 12:21-26)
Don’t you love this church?! They’ve got messed up people who think they’re so good they don’t need anyone else. A touch of arrogance, pride, conceit. Yuck!
Who do you think it was that got to strutting around like a peacock full of themselves? It was the folks just like you and me. It was the guys who forgot who gave them their gifts. It was the gals who thought their gift was the best or most important. It was the men who believed they were able to do it all. It was the women who looked down their noses at those who only encouraged or only helped or only served.
I hate to say this, but I suspect it might have been a few of those in the church gifted with the ability to teach. There are certainly plenty of otherwise godly men and women in the church today who begin teaching, draw a huge crowd and sadly become full of themselves. They become self-confident instead of God-confident. They rely on their speaking skills rather than on the Spirit of God. They quickly cease to be useful to God or his church. They do not bring glory to God nor do they benefit anyone else with what they say.
Let me say this plainly: I am no different than you. I am and you are single members of the church God has put together. I happen to be gifted by God to teach. If anything I say is helpful to you, it’s not because I’m smart or witty or engaging. If you are helped, it’s because God has chosen to speak to your heart. It’s because your heart is set on hearing him.
You are gifted by God to do what you do. You are called to encourage and speak wisely. He has called you to pray faithfully and lead diligently. He has enabled you to give generously and share Jesus with others.
When you see God work through you, don’t get all excited about yourself. Get excited about God! He invited you to join him in his work. You obeyed and God worked through you. Give him the glory!
-Sign up for my regular email list by sending a blank email to knowthetruth-join@freegroups.net.
Don’t you love this church?! They’ve got messed up people who think they’re so good they don’t need anyone else. A touch of arrogance, pride, conceit. Yuck!
Who do you think it was that got to strutting around like a peacock full of themselves? It was the folks just like you and me. It was the guys who forgot who gave them their gifts. It was the gals who thought their gift was the best or most important. It was the men who believed they were able to do it all. It was the women who looked down their noses at those who only encouraged or only helped or only served.
I hate to say this, but I suspect it might have been a few of those in the church gifted with the ability to teach. There are certainly plenty of otherwise godly men and women in the church today who begin teaching, draw a huge crowd and sadly become full of themselves. They become self-confident instead of God-confident. They rely on their speaking skills rather than on the Spirit of God. They quickly cease to be useful to God or his church. They do not bring glory to God nor do they benefit anyone else with what they say.
Let me say this plainly: I am no different than you. I am and you are single members of the church God has put together. I happen to be gifted by God to teach. If anything I say is helpful to you, it’s not because I’m smart or witty or engaging. If you are helped, it’s because God has chosen to speak to your heart. It’s because your heart is set on hearing him.
You are gifted by God to do what you do. You are called to encourage and speak wisely. He has called you to pray faithfully and lead diligently. He has enabled you to give generously and share Jesus with others.
When you see God work through you, don’t get all excited about yourself. Get excited about God! He invited you to join him in his work. You obeyed and God worked through you. Give him the glory!
-Sign up for my regular email list by sending a blank email to knowthetruth-join@freegroups.net.
5.50 miles in 45:54
i did not want to run today. not at all. hal said, "run eight 400m sprints." i rebelled. i decided i'd just run a mile and call it good. "hal isn't my boss!" i thought.
i ran my mile. it felt awful. my intestines began actively pushing for relief. i made it back to the house. enough said.
i went back out and suddenly the desire to run was back. i decided to do my speedwork on the streets instead of at the track. who likes running around in circles? not me! so i ran a quarter mile and jogged a quarter mile, repeating the sprints eight times, just like hal said. i guess i'm not as much of a rebel as i thought.
when i'd done my last sprint, i jogged three quarters of a mile and called it good. really good compared to what i wanted to do. glad i got out there instead of going back to bed.
i ran my mile. it felt awful. my intestines began actively pushing for relief. i made it back to the house. enough said.
i went back out and suddenly the desire to run was back. i decided to do my speedwork on the streets instead of at the track. who likes running around in circles? not me! so i ran a quarter mile and jogged a quarter mile, repeating the sprints eight times, just like hal said. i guess i'm not as much of a rebel as i thought.
when i'd done my last sprint, i jogged three quarters of a mile and called it good. really good compared to what i wanted to do. glad i got out there instead of going back to bed.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
8.20 miles in 1:16:22
it was beautiful out this morning. cool, crisp, windless! perfect for running a long, lazy run. thankfully, that's what hal told me to do today. run 75 minutes! i ran down to the rudolph run route and did a two full loops around it with a couple of slight variations in the second loop. a few of the christmas light displays were up and lit so i got a small taste of what the race will be like on december 3. it's going to be great! soon after i entered the park the second time around, i spotted a young buck running through the park. he stopped to stare at me a couple of times and then ran off. couldn't help but wonder if it was rudolph himself, though i didn't ever see the red glow. maybe it was a cousin.
Friday, November 11, 2011
5.37 miles in 43:01
connect.garmin.com/activity/127881900
hal insisted i run a fast five miles today. i really wanted to run longer. we compromised. i ran fast for more than five miles.
i chose a rather silly route. i decided to run a zigzag pattern from my house out to ninnescah and back, making sort of a chain looking route. this gave me some interesting uphills and downhills here and there and kept me from getting tired of the same old route. (i wonder how many sentences i can end with route.)
never felt really tired. felt nauseous for only a moment or two on the return trip. a good morning run. not sure how it's going to work out to get a 75-minute run in tomorrow. i guess time will tell.
hal insisted i run a fast five miles today. i really wanted to run longer. we compromised. i ran fast for more than five miles.
i chose a rather silly route. i decided to run a zigzag pattern from my house out to ninnescah and back, making sort of a chain looking route. this gave me some interesting uphills and downhills here and there and kept me from getting tired of the same old route. (i wonder how many sentences i can end with route.)
never felt really tired. felt nauseous for only a moment or two on the return trip. a good morning run. not sure how it's going to work out to get a 75-minute run in tomorrow. i guess time will tell.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
5.03 miles in 39:57
connect.garmin.com/activity/127527848
hal's advanced 5K training plan called for a 40-minute tempo run this morning, so that's what i gave him. the last time i ran the same workout, i ran 5 miles in 40:04. my goal for today was to blow that away!
i started running around 5:40. my legs were a bit stiff at first in the cold, but they warmed up fairly quickly. after the first couple of blocks i decided to keep my mind off the pain of my tempo run by never taking more than one block in any direction. if you look at my map, you'll see that i succeeded at making a path only a drunken sailor could follow.
my first two miles were sub-8:00 pace, coming in at 7:41.5 and 7:52.9. a few of those seconds ahead of pace were taken away in the next three miles, but not all of them! i hit 5 miles at 39:46!
i could've stopped there, i suppose, but i kept running until my garmin read 40:00. i stopped it and walked a block or two for cool down. i happened to walk past the neighbor's house just as he was letting his dogs out to do their duty. his boxer doesn't like people and she charged me. she nipped at my heels a couple of times, so i kicked her in the snout. that and her master's "bad dog!" yells took care of the problem and i made it the rest of the way home without mishap.
hal's advanced 5K training plan called for a 40-minute tempo run this morning, so that's what i gave him. the last time i ran the same workout, i ran 5 miles in 40:04. my goal for today was to blow that away!
i started running around 5:40. my legs were a bit stiff at first in the cold, but they warmed up fairly quickly. after the first couple of blocks i decided to keep my mind off the pain of my tempo run by never taking more than one block in any direction. if you look at my map, you'll see that i succeeded at making a path only a drunken sailor could follow.
my first two miles were sub-8:00 pace, coming in at 7:41.5 and 7:52.9. a few of those seconds ahead of pace were taken away in the next three miles, but not all of them! i hit 5 miles at 39:46!
i could've stopped there, i suppose, but i kept running until my garmin read 40:00. i stopped it and walked a block or two for cool down. i happened to walk past the neighbor's house just as he was letting his dogs out to do their duty. his boxer doesn't like people and she charged me. she nipped at my heels a couple of times, so i kicked her in the snout. that and her master's "bad dog!" yells took care of the problem and i made it the rest of the way home without mishap.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
ugh!
connect.garmin.com/activity/127329165
what can i say? i wasn't feelin' it this morning. my 5K training plan called for rest or an easy run, so i decided to bike. i got all geared up for the cold and headed out. it was windy and a bit wet, though nothing was actually falling from the sky. i rode into the wind for a bit, went east, rode awhile longer into the wind, circled back around, rode over to the highway, took as much headwind as i could stand, turned around and my headlight battery went dead. sure glad i wasn't miles out in the country when that happened. i rode around town a bit with the low beams on, then rode back home. not very exciting, but all i really wanted today.
what can i say? i wasn't feelin' it this morning. my 5K training plan called for rest or an easy run, so i decided to bike. i got all geared up for the cold and headed out. it was windy and a bit wet, though nothing was actually falling from the sky. i rode into the wind for a bit, went east, rode awhile longer into the wind, circled back around, rode over to the highway, took as much headwind as i could stand, turned around and my headlight battery went dead. sure glad i wasn't miles out in the country when that happened. i rode around town a bit with the low beams on, then rode back home. not very exciting, but all i really wanted today.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
8.00 miles in 1:17:23
connect.garmin.com/activity/126655266
i decided to check out hal's advanced training plan for the 5K and jump in where i need to be to compete on december 3. the plan called for a 75-minute run, so i set out to do that. time was all that mattered, not speed, so i ran down to lemon park and ran for awhile in the woods on leaf-covered trails. it was fun to get lost in the moment and not really think about time or speed at all.
after awhile, i got tired of ducking under and jumping over downed trees across my path, so i left the trails and ran out and around the sidewalks the park offers. i left the park and a half mile or so later, met up with another runner. don was just out doing his regular 3.5-mile run, so i ran along with him for a quarter mile or more before turning off on new street to head back home.
i passed the 10K-mark at 59:37 and kept running. when i reached 1:15, i kept going since i was close to 8 miles. i just felt like running more. when i hit 8 miles, i stopped and walked a block before heading inside.
i decided to check out hal's advanced training plan for the 5K and jump in where i need to be to compete on december 3. the plan called for a 75-minute run, so i set out to do that. time was all that mattered, not speed, so i ran down to lemon park and ran for awhile in the woods on leaf-covered trails. it was fun to get lost in the moment and not really think about time or speed at all.
after awhile, i got tired of ducking under and jumping over downed trees across my path, so i left the trails and ran out and around the sidewalks the park offers. i left the park and a half mile or so later, met up with another runner. don was just out doing his regular 3.5-mile run, so i ran along with him for a quarter mile or more before turning off on new street to head back home.
i passed the 10K-mark at 59:37 and kept running. when i reached 1:15, i kept going since i was close to 8 miles. i just felt like running more. when i hit 8 miles, i stopped and walked a block before heading inside.
insane wind posse
connect.garmin.com/activity/126608934
i called Dan M. this morning and asked him if he'd like to go for a ride. he asked what the weather was like. i said, "it's 43 with winds in the 25mph range." he still agreed to go. we're both a little off kilter.
the first few blocks south on howard should've told me this was an ill-fated journey. i could hardly move against the south wind. there were several times that i felt like i was going to fall over. when we turned east, it wasn't much better and we were still in town.
riding south on country club road, we got our first real taste of the fury. it was awful. i wanted to wave at a couple of runner friends, but i didn't dare take a hand off the hoods. i was fighting to stay upright!
heading east on lake road was crazy! we were leaned way over trying to stay in our lane so as not to be hit by passing vehicles. we made it past the fish hatcheries emptied ponds and the lake without anything terrible happening. then we hit the hill climbing up from the lake. uphill against this kind of wind is NOT fun. i tried to stay on dan's wheel, but i just couldn't do it. i had no strength in my legs, no "want to" in my mind. my "want to" was back under the covers in bed.
i somehow made it up and over the second hill and endured the eastbound trek to glendale umc without falling over or being eaten by the new dog at the bottom of the second hill. dan lost part of the coating on his helmet about halfway there. the wind just took it and ripped it off. did i mention it was windy?
the trip back was a little better, but the westbound portions were still a bit arduous. still had to fight to stay upright. southbound sections were awesome though. i hit 41mph going down the same hill i'd only done 8-9mph going up. that was fun until my bike started wobbling. scared me a bit.
we made it back into town and, dodging traffic, reached home. i'm sitting here indoors wondering whose bright idea it was to go for a ride. must've been dan. he's crazy! (16.83 miles @ 14.1mph)
i called Dan M. this morning and asked him if he'd like to go for a ride. he asked what the weather was like. i said, "it's 43 with winds in the 25mph range." he still agreed to go. we're both a little off kilter.
the first few blocks south on howard should've told me this was an ill-fated journey. i could hardly move against the south wind. there were several times that i felt like i was going to fall over. when we turned east, it wasn't much better and we were still in town.
riding south on country club road, we got our first real taste of the fury. it was awful. i wanted to wave at a couple of runner friends, but i didn't dare take a hand off the hoods. i was fighting to stay upright!
heading east on lake road was crazy! we were leaned way over trying to stay in our lane so as not to be hit by passing vehicles. we made it past the fish hatcheries emptied ponds and the lake without anything terrible happening. then we hit the hill climbing up from the lake. uphill against this kind of wind is NOT fun. i tried to stay on dan's wheel, but i just couldn't do it. i had no strength in my legs, no "want to" in my mind. my "want to" was back under the covers in bed.
i somehow made it up and over the second hill and endured the eastbound trek to glendale umc without falling over or being eaten by the new dog at the bottom of the second hill. dan lost part of the coating on his helmet about halfway there. the wind just took it and ripped it off. did i mention it was windy?
the trip back was a little better, but the westbound portions were still a bit arduous. still had to fight to stay upright. southbound sections were awesome though. i hit 41mph going down the same hill i'd only done 8-9mph going up. that was fun until my bike started wobbling. scared me a bit.
we made it back into town and, dodging traffic, reached home. i'm sitting here indoors wondering whose bright idea it was to go for a ride. must've been dan. he's crazy! (16.83 miles @ 14.1mph)
library materials return
connect.garmin.com/activity/126608945
cato normally isn't involved in "around town" errands, but i was planning to ride with dan right after i got back from the library, so he took me to the library and back with some materials i needed to return. the wind was crazy, but didn't slow me down too much in town. i'm used to going slow on errands anyway. (2.48 miles @ 12.6mph)
cato normally isn't involved in "around town" errands, but i was planning to ride with dan right after i got back from the library, so he took me to the library and back with some materials i needed to return. the wind was crazy, but didn't slow me down too much in town. i'm used to going slow on errands anyway. (2.48 miles @ 12.6mph)
Thursday, November 3, 2011
3.10 miles in 27:18
connect.garmin.com/activity/126174876
you know you've had a good "winter" run with a friend when your post workout conversation sounds a bit slurred. numb lips and facial muscles don't work perfectly and some words just don't come out right.
i had one of those runs this morning. my friend, mike, agreed on monday to join me this morning for a second test run of the rudolph run 5k route. we knew on monday that it might be a little cold, but rain was predicted wednesday so, rather than get wet, we chose thursday. not sure how mike feels about that decision now.
we started right at the corner of third and main and ran the same route i ran last tuesday. it was really nice at first with the wind at our backs. we warmed up nicely as we ran down main street. there was hardly a hint of the cold that was to come. we turned on santa fe, ran past the old pratt train depot and on into lemon park where we did a single loop on the sidewalk.
coming out of lemon park, we ran a block north and turned right (not left as i told mike) into sixth street park. we took it's winding road up to sixth street and turned right again to run over to haskell. if you remember my report from last week, you'll remember haskell as the street with the nasty hill. it didn't seem as bad today. a little steeper at one point, but not bad. we made it to third street and took a one block jog to the west before taking rochester up to second and heading for "home." that's when things got cold. the northwest wind froze everything. i didn't regret my decision to wear tights at all.
running along second, mike developed a stitch in his side that only went away after we finished. i felt bad for him, but there wasn't much i could do to help. we just ran through it. i asked mike if we should ring amy's doorbell when we ran past and ask her why she didn't get up to join us. he didn't think that wise, so i just yell, "good morning!" as we sped by.
when we turned onto main, my garmin read 3.03 miles. we ran the block south and the readout rolled over to 3.10 right when i hit the crosswalk we'd started from. perfect! we've got our route!
following the run, we enjoyed a little numb-faced conversation as we walked around the block.
you know you've had a good "winter" run with a friend when your post workout conversation sounds a bit slurred. numb lips and facial muscles don't work perfectly and some words just don't come out right.
i had one of those runs this morning. my friend, mike, agreed on monday to join me this morning for a second test run of the rudolph run 5k route. we knew on monday that it might be a little cold, but rain was predicted wednesday so, rather than get wet, we chose thursday. not sure how mike feels about that decision now.
we started right at the corner of third and main and ran the same route i ran last tuesday. it was really nice at first with the wind at our backs. we warmed up nicely as we ran down main street. there was hardly a hint of the cold that was to come. we turned on santa fe, ran past the old pratt train depot and on into lemon park where we did a single loop on the sidewalk.
coming out of lemon park, we ran a block north and turned right (not left as i told mike) into sixth street park. we took it's winding road up to sixth street and turned right again to run over to haskell. if you remember my report from last week, you'll remember haskell as the street with the nasty hill. it didn't seem as bad today. a little steeper at one point, but not bad. we made it to third street and took a one block jog to the west before taking rochester up to second and heading for "home." that's when things got cold. the northwest wind froze everything. i didn't regret my decision to wear tights at all.
running along second, mike developed a stitch in his side that only went away after we finished. i felt bad for him, but there wasn't much i could do to help. we just ran through it. i asked mike if we should ring amy's doorbell when we ran past and ask her why she didn't get up to join us. he didn't think that wise, so i just yell, "good morning!" as we sped by.
when we turned onto main, my garmin read 3.03 miles. we ran the block south and the readout rolled over to 3.10 right when i hit the crosswalk we'd started from. perfect! we've got our route!
following the run, we enjoyed a little numb-faced conversation as we walked around the block.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
back in the saddle
connect.garmin.com/activity/125975243
how long did my sad and forlorn road bike hang in the garage longing to hit the open road? how long was he neglected for the dream of a sub-2 hour half marathon? poor cato. don't you feel sorry for him?
when i took him out this morning, he seemed happy to see me again. he was eager to eat up the miles, to show me some speed. unfortunately for him and for me, the wind had another idea. it was blustery to say the least at 5:30 when i left the house. i fought to maintain 13-14mph on the way out. i had to rise out of the saddle to climb hills with the gale fighting me at every stroke.
on the way back, with a little assistance from the same wind, i gained some speed. at every "no passing zone" sign, i sprinted. on a few of the hills, i made it up and over the top, but on most of them i only made it near the summit before my heart exploded. weeks off the bike will lead to such things.
i made it back to town and had one last power burst up the evil hill up to pizza hut. i banked hard onto howard and then let up, my work done. i rolled up and over the incline and around the corner to home. cato was happy. i was too. life is good! (17.40 miles @ 15.6mph)
how long did my sad and forlorn road bike hang in the garage longing to hit the open road? how long was he neglected for the dream of a sub-2 hour half marathon? poor cato. don't you feel sorry for him?
when i took him out this morning, he seemed happy to see me again. he was eager to eat up the miles, to show me some speed. unfortunately for him and for me, the wind had another idea. it was blustery to say the least at 5:30 when i left the house. i fought to maintain 13-14mph on the way out. i had to rise out of the saddle to climb hills with the gale fighting me at every stroke.
on the way back, with a little assistance from the same wind, i gained some speed. at every "no passing zone" sign, i sprinted. on a few of the hills, i made it up and over the top, but on most of them i only made it near the summit before my heart exploded. weeks off the bike will lead to such things.
i made it back to town and had one last power burst up the evil hill up to pizza hut. i banked hard onto howard and then let up, my work done. i rolled up and over the incline and around the corner to home. cato was happy. i was too. life is good! (17.40 miles @ 15.6mph)
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Thanks for the gifrts!
"Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body." (1 Corinthians 12:14-20, NIV)
This church in Corinth has problems. There are people in the church, evidently, who believe they aren’t worth much. It could be there was a pitiful lowliness infecting some of the members of the body or maybe it was just plain jealousy. Instead of rejoicing in their gifts and calling, these poor souls looked at the gifts of others and cried, "Woe is me! I’m not worth much. Look at the great things that guy who’s performing miracles is doing."
How ridiculous! They have the same Spirit of God working in them. Their gifts are just as God-given. God chose the gifts they had so that the body wouldn’t be lacking in any good thing, so that it would be healthy.
A healthy church has a good mix of the gifts. A healthy church is full of people showing God to the world in a wide variety of ways! Any church that has only one or two gifted people doing what God’s called them to is going to be weak and ineffective. The body is sick when only a few are using their gifts. So rejoice in the gifts God’s given you. Don’t look around and covet the abilities God’s given your sister! You are a part of the body. You are becoming, through the Holy Spirit’s work in you, exactly what God wants you to be. Thank God for what he’s given you to do.
"God, thank you that you’ve made me to encourage others."
"Lord, thank you for allowing me to give generously to meet the needs of others."
"Father, thank you for the opportunities you’ve given me to use the gift of wisdom."
"Jesus, thank you for the gift of faith you’ve given me to help your church."
God has arranged all the parts of the body just as he wants them to be. He has gifted you in a special way. He chose your gift mix and put you here so that his church would be whole and healthy. He’s done the same for every believer who walks through the doors of your local church. Your neighbor has the gifts God chose for him. That person sitting across the aisle has other gifts that, when she uses them, benefit you.
Can you pray this? "God, thank you for giving me spiritual gifts. Thank you for giving my brothers and sisters gifts, too."
Now, go encourage another believer. Thank them for using their gifts. Tell them why you are thankful to God for them.
-Sign up for my regular email list by sending a blank email to knowthetruth-join@freegroups.net.
This church in Corinth has problems. There are people in the church, evidently, who believe they aren’t worth much. It could be there was a pitiful lowliness infecting some of the members of the body or maybe it was just plain jealousy. Instead of rejoicing in their gifts and calling, these poor souls looked at the gifts of others and cried, "Woe is me! I’m not worth much. Look at the great things that guy who’s performing miracles is doing."
How ridiculous! They have the same Spirit of God working in them. Their gifts are just as God-given. God chose the gifts they had so that the body wouldn’t be lacking in any good thing, so that it would be healthy.
A healthy church has a good mix of the gifts. A healthy church is full of people showing God to the world in a wide variety of ways! Any church that has only one or two gifted people doing what God’s called them to is going to be weak and ineffective. The body is sick when only a few are using their gifts. So rejoice in the gifts God’s given you. Don’t look around and covet the abilities God’s given your sister! You are a part of the body. You are becoming, through the Holy Spirit’s work in you, exactly what God wants you to be. Thank God for what he’s given you to do.
"God, thank you that you’ve made me to encourage others."
"Lord, thank you for allowing me to give generously to meet the needs of others."
"Father, thank you for the opportunities you’ve given me to use the gift of wisdom."
"Jesus, thank you for the gift of faith you’ve given me to help your church."
God has arranged all the parts of the body just as he wants them to be. He has gifted you in a special way. He chose your gift mix and put you here so that his church would be whole and healthy. He’s done the same for every believer who walks through the doors of your local church. Your neighbor has the gifts God chose for him. That person sitting across the aisle has other gifts that, when she uses them, benefit you.
Can you pray this? "God, thank you for giving me spiritual gifts. Thank you for giving my brothers and sisters gifts, too."
Now, go encourage another believer. Thank them for using their gifts. Tell them why you are thankful to God for them.
-Sign up for my regular email list by sending a blank email to knowthetruth-join@freegroups.net.
Monday, October 31, 2011
I Don't Give a Dime!
Note to self: A dime does not equal $305. I dropped a ten-centy under my car the other day. I couldn't find it, so I decided to back the car out. While I was in reverse, I was looking out my windshield for the dime instead of watching my mirrors to make sure they cleared the garage door. Sudden cracking sounds alerted me to the breaking of the driver's side mirror casing. I got the bill today. Duly noted.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
19.00 miles in 3:47:47
connect.garmin.com/activity/125136833
you'd think after a half marathon in the morning a runner would call it good for the day. not me! after our church's cajun dinner, a friend and i went out to pace another friend on his 100-mile run from haviland to wichita.
we found him and another pacer about the time another guy showed up, so he went from one pacer, the winner of today's half marathon, to four pacers.
when you're running with a guy who's running 100 miles, your job is to stay with him and keep him motivated. after running 31 miles during last year's 100-miler, i knew even a bad joke was appreciated if it broke the monotony. therefore, i told plenty!
my original plan was to run until around midnight and then go home, but i decided to run 19 to make this my highest mileage 24-hour period ever. with the half marathon earlier, the one mile warm up before that and the 19 tonight, i covered 33 miles on my feet between 7:30 saturday morning and 12:45 sunday morning.
i am tired, but it's a good tired! can't wait to hear about the final 40 miles of the 100-miler!
you'd think after a half marathon in the morning a runner would call it good for the day. not me! after our church's cajun dinner, a friend and i went out to pace another friend on his 100-mile run from haviland to wichita.
we found him and another pacer about the time another guy showed up, so he went from one pacer, the winner of today's half marathon, to four pacers.
when you're running with a guy who's running 100 miles, your job is to stay with him and keep him motivated. after running 31 miles during last year's 100-miler, i knew even a bad joke was appreciated if it broke the monotony. therefore, i told plenty!
my original plan was to run until around midnight and then go home, but i decided to run 19 to make this my highest mileage 24-hour period ever. with the half marathon earlier, the one mile warm up before that and the 19 tonight, i covered 33 miles on my feet between 7:30 saturday morning and 12:45 sunday morning.
i am tired, but it's a good tired! can't wait to hear about the final 40 miles of the 100-miler!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
13.10 miles in 1:54:
connect.garmin.com/activity/125027628
i don't like to eat less than two hours before a race, so i got up at 5:00 this morning so and ate a peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich. i kind of ate on the go while i made sure i had everything i needed for the race. i'd think of something, jump up and go get it. i was finished with my food before 6:00 despite all the interruptions, so i was good to go.
i woke my wife up around 6:00 and when she was ready, we drove up to the church to pick up the prize goodies our ladies were providing and to take on marc and nate who were traveling with us. with everything loaded up and everyone on board, we headed to haviland.
when we got there, we picked up our packets, pinned on our numbers and then went out for a warm up run. got done with that around 7:30 and waited around for the 8:00 start.
right at 8:00 the half marathon pack was lined up ready to go. we had prayer led by one of the women running and then adam "fired" the starter's pistol.
i ran the first couple of miles with ryan. and travis at a little under 8:00 pace. i felt good, but knew if i kept running with them, i was going to pay for it later, so i backed off my pace a little and settled in to what i thought would get me my 1:50 finish.
i made it to the 5K mark at 24:47 and continued on out into the country. about that time i got "chicked" by the second and third place overall female finishers. they were running strong and i let them go.
the cross country section was much nicer this year than last year. the grass was mowed and i could see where my foot was going to land, so it didn't slow me down any. i was glad for that. i came out onto the sand road doing well.
running north was awesome. i kept my pace under the 8:23 pace i needed for a 1:50 finish for most of the time. my pace climbed above that only on the small rolling hills. on the third or fourth rise, i hit a wall. i could not get my feet to move faster than 9:00 pace. ugh! it was irritating, but what could i do? you can only go as fast as your feet will carry you.
i hit the 10K mark at 51:20. i was really happy with that. my time for the 10K last year was 53:38. ha, ha! take that, skinny kid!
i got to the end of the northbound section and turned around. that's when i discovered that the wind which had been at my back for all that time had picked up. it was like smashing your face into a tree. it was awful! my pace dropped seriously and i was passed by a couple of runners. i kept plodding along and never stopped though i seriously considered it numerous times. "just a little walk," the voices said. i refused to give in.
when i got back to the turn which put me on the same stretch of road as the 10K runners, i found myself right behind a guy in a red and grey tech tee. he was holding his side like he had a cramp when i first saw him. he was only a little way ahead of me when he stopped to walk. i got close to him, but he started running again. we played that yo-yo game for most of the rest of the race. he finally ditched me in the last half mile or so.
last year when i hit the city limits of haviland, i found the energy to run harder. i had nothing this time. i did what i could. i ran up the little incline to the corner leading to the finish line and then pushed as much as i could. when i crossed the line, the clock read 1:54:32. i missed my goal, but still feel pretty good about my run. despite feeling awful, i still posted my second fastest half marathon time ever. i bested my march trail half's time by nearly ten minutes.
after the race, i walked a bit to cool down and then gathered the dailymilers for a quick photo. there were quite a few more than the six or so that participated last year. (i'll post the picture in a bit.)
they had some trouble with their tracking software, so i'm not sure about my age group finish or my place overall. i know one 40-49 year old was ahead of me and one was behind me, so unless the fourth guy who was registered was one of the others ahead of me, i finished second among the middle-agers! we'll have to wait till the results are posted to be sure on that.
so there you have it. i ran the best i could considering the conditions and i finished a few minutes slower than i wanted to. i'll get that 1:50 sometime. for now, i need to rest up. i'm helping pace my friend adam on his 100-mile run later on this evening. hope i can walk by then.
i don't like to eat less than two hours before a race, so i got up at 5:00 this morning so and ate a peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich. i kind of ate on the go while i made sure i had everything i needed for the race. i'd think of something, jump up and go get it. i was finished with my food before 6:00 despite all the interruptions, so i was good to go.
i woke my wife up around 6:00 and when she was ready, we drove up to the church to pick up the prize goodies our ladies were providing and to take on marc and nate who were traveling with us. with everything loaded up and everyone on board, we headed to haviland.
when we got there, we picked up our packets, pinned on our numbers and then went out for a warm up run. got done with that around 7:30 and waited around for the 8:00 start.
right at 8:00 the half marathon pack was lined up ready to go. we had prayer led by one of the women running and then adam "fired" the starter's pistol.
i ran the first couple of miles with ryan. and travis at a little under 8:00 pace. i felt good, but knew if i kept running with them, i was going to pay for it later, so i backed off my pace a little and settled in to what i thought would get me my 1:50 finish.
i made it to the 5K mark at 24:47 and continued on out into the country. about that time i got "chicked" by the second and third place overall female finishers. they were running strong and i let them go.
the cross country section was much nicer this year than last year. the grass was mowed and i could see where my foot was going to land, so it didn't slow me down any. i was glad for that. i came out onto the sand road doing well.
running north was awesome. i kept my pace under the 8:23 pace i needed for a 1:50 finish for most of the time. my pace climbed above that only on the small rolling hills. on the third or fourth rise, i hit a wall. i could not get my feet to move faster than 9:00 pace. ugh! it was irritating, but what could i do? you can only go as fast as your feet will carry you.
i hit the 10K mark at 51:20. i was really happy with that. my time for the 10K last year was 53:38. ha, ha! take that, skinny kid!
i got to the end of the northbound section and turned around. that's when i discovered that the wind which had been at my back for all that time had picked up. it was like smashing your face into a tree. it was awful! my pace dropped seriously and i was passed by a couple of runners. i kept plodding along and never stopped though i seriously considered it numerous times. "just a little walk," the voices said. i refused to give in.
when i got back to the turn which put me on the same stretch of road as the 10K runners, i found myself right behind a guy in a red and grey tech tee. he was holding his side like he had a cramp when i first saw him. he was only a little way ahead of me when he stopped to walk. i got close to him, but he started running again. we played that yo-yo game for most of the rest of the race. he finally ditched me in the last half mile or so.
last year when i hit the city limits of haviland, i found the energy to run harder. i had nothing this time. i did what i could. i ran up the little incline to the corner leading to the finish line and then pushed as much as i could. when i crossed the line, the clock read 1:54:32. i missed my goal, but still feel pretty good about my run. despite feeling awful, i still posted my second fastest half marathon time ever. i bested my march trail half's time by nearly ten minutes.
after the race, i walked a bit to cool down and then gathered the dailymilers for a quick photo. there were quite a few more than the six or so that participated last year. (i'll post the picture in a bit.)
they had some trouble with their tracking software, so i'm not sure about my age group finish or my place overall. i know one 40-49 year old was ahead of me and one was behind me, so unless the fourth guy who was registered was one of the others ahead of me, i finished second among the middle-agers! we'll have to wait till the results are posted to be sure on that.
so there you have it. i ran the best i could considering the conditions and i finished a few minutes slower than i wanted to. i'll get that 1:50 sometime. for now, i need to rest up. i'm helping pace my friend adam on his 100-mile run later on this evening. hope i can walk by then.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
3.78 miles in 30:01
connect.garmin.com/activity/124404858
i'm helping a local organization put together a 5K, so today for my 30-minute tempo run, i scouted out the course i am creating. the plan is to take in as many of the town's christmas lights so main street and lemon park were required elements in the course i come up with.
i started at the alleyway next to the municipal building on third street and ran out to main and ran south all the way to santa fe on the far south side of town. turning east on santa fe, i made my way to lemon park and took a spin around the sidewalks trying to imagine all the bright christmas lights that will make seeing where i'm going much easier. when i got back to the park entrance i left and ran north up pine to ninth then turned east to run through sixth street park. on the far side of sixth street park, i took sixth street over to haskell, ran up the hill heading north on that street, then turned west on third street and ran to rochester. i turned north on rochester and took it to second where i headed west back to main street. a one-block jog south on main brought me back to third street and a half block later i hit my starting point. 3.2 miles! ugh! now i have to figure out how to get rid of a tenth of a mile.
after i finished scouting my route, i ran the few minutes more that i needed to finish up hal's prescribed 30-minute tempo run. i basically just ran a two or three-block loop and called it good.
this is my last workout before saturday's half. i'll just have to sleep in till 6:00 or 6:15 the next to mornings. don't know if i can handle such torture!
i'm helping a local organization put together a 5K, so today for my 30-minute tempo run, i scouted out the course i am creating. the plan is to take in as many of the town's christmas lights so main street and lemon park were required elements in the course i come up with.
i started at the alleyway next to the municipal building on third street and ran out to main and ran south all the way to santa fe on the far south side of town. turning east on santa fe, i made my way to lemon park and took a spin around the sidewalks trying to imagine all the bright christmas lights that will make seeing where i'm going much easier. when i got back to the park entrance i left and ran north up pine to ninth then turned east to run through sixth street park. on the far side of sixth street park, i took sixth street over to haskell, ran up the hill heading north on that street, then turned west on third street and ran to rochester. i turned north on rochester and took it to second where i headed west back to main street. a one-block jog south on main brought me back to third street and a half block later i hit my starting point. 3.2 miles! ugh! now i have to figure out how to get rid of a tenth of a mile.
after i finished scouting my route, i ran the few minutes more that i needed to finish up hal's prescribed 30-minute tempo run. i basically just ran a two or three-block loop and called it good.
this is my last workout before saturday's half. i'll just have to sleep in till 6:00 or 6:15 the next to mornings. don't know if i can handle such torture!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
2.00 miles in 14:27
connect.garmin.com/activity/124204415
since i'm in taper mode for this saturday's race, i only had to run two miles this morning. before i went to bed, i decided to give it my all on these two miles to see what i could do. thankfully, when i woke up, my legs were in the mood for a little speed, so i hit the streets racing.
i did two laps around the lawrence, holly, larimer, manor loop that my wife discovered was almost exactly one mile. i ran my first mile in 7:09, the second in 7:18, giving me an average pace of 7:13.5 per mile. checking my blog, i found that this is the fastest i've ever done two miles. my fastest before this was 14:42. i'm pretty pumped about that.
tomorrow i run 30 minutes of tempo, then it's rest time. i can either rest or run easy on thursday. not sure what i'll do. friday is a rest day and saturday is race day! finally!
since i'm in taper mode for this saturday's race, i only had to run two miles this morning. before i went to bed, i decided to give it my all on these two miles to see what i could do. thankfully, when i woke up, my legs were in the mood for a little speed, so i hit the streets racing.
i did two laps around the lawrence, holly, larimer, manor loop that my wife discovered was almost exactly one mile. i ran my first mile in 7:09, the second in 7:18, giving me an average pace of 7:13.5 per mile. checking my blog, i found that this is the fastest i've ever done two miles. my fastest before this was 14:42. i'm pretty pumped about that.
tomorrow i run 30 minutes of tempo, then it's rest time. i can either rest or run easy on thursday. not sure what i'll do. friday is a rest day and saturday is race day! finally!
Monday, October 24, 2011
4.48 miles in 47:48
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/123987116
usually on monday morning my legs feel fresh and ready to go, but there was no "pop" in my legs today as i warmed up. they felt tight and grumpy as i headed to the track for speedwork. i didn't think i was going to make it to the end of this mile and was surprised that it ended up under 9:00 pace. glad my legs don't usually feel like this.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/123987119
hal's plan for this week began with speedwork at the track - six 400m repeats to be exact. after a horrible warm up, i was sure this was going to be a miserable experience. it would take me two minutes to run a lap. ugh!
the actual versus the imagined was night and day different. i felt really good while i was running the sprints. i ran them in 1:27, 1:26, 1:26, 1:24, 1:29 and 1:30. these times were consistent with my times the last time i did 400m repeats. averaging this workout against september's gave me a 1.5 second improvement. yeah, i'm a numbers geek!
i was really tired between sprints, but somehow managed to pull each of these off without much trouble. it's interesting that i feel like i'm in high school again when i run a 400m dash. that was my race back in the day. my mind remembers how to do this. too bad my body can't still do the "quarter" in less than a minute. that'd be fun...until i keeled over.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/123987123
i walked for a while after my final 400m sprint. i stopped and gasped for air, bent over with my hands on my knees for a bit, too. the exertion had done me in. after my heartrate was back down in the 120s, i ran back home slooooowly to cool down. i didn't even try to keep it sub-9:00 this time. i didn't care. i just wanted to get home without dying. i did. that is all.
usually on monday morning my legs feel fresh and ready to go, but there was no "pop" in my legs today as i warmed up. they felt tight and grumpy as i headed to the track for speedwork. i didn't think i was going to make it to the end of this mile and was surprised that it ended up under 9:00 pace. glad my legs don't usually feel like this.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/123987119
hal's plan for this week began with speedwork at the track - six 400m repeats to be exact. after a horrible warm up, i was sure this was going to be a miserable experience. it would take me two minutes to run a lap. ugh!
the actual versus the imagined was night and day different. i felt really good while i was running the sprints. i ran them in 1:27, 1:26, 1:26, 1:24, 1:29 and 1:30. these times were consistent with my times the last time i did 400m repeats. averaging this workout against september's gave me a 1.5 second improvement. yeah, i'm a numbers geek!
i was really tired between sprints, but somehow managed to pull each of these off without much trouble. it's interesting that i feel like i'm in high school again when i run a 400m dash. that was my race back in the day. my mind remembers how to do this. too bad my body can't still do the "quarter" in less than a minute. that'd be fun...until i keeled over.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/123987123
i walked for a while after my final 400m sprint. i stopped and gasped for air, bent over with my hands on my knees for a bit, too. the exertion had done me in. after my heartrate was back down in the 120s, i ran back home slooooowly to cool down. i didn't even try to keep it sub-9:00 this time. i didn't care. i just wanted to get home without dying. i did. that is all.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
3.10 miles in 37:39
a few minutes after i got back from my 14-miler, my wife was ready to run the three miles hal prescribed for her. i could barely move when we were walking. running felt better. we ran our daughter's paper route so she'd know how many miles she walked daily and then did a spur north and back south to finish up the 5K. i immediately stretched and applied ice after we finished. i don't know why my hamstring has to be so hateful!
14.00 miles in 2:01:40
connect.garmin.com/activity/123439057
i got to sleep in this morning. it was awesome! when i finally rolled out of bed at 6:00, my legs were ready to go. i got ready quickly and hit the streets running. i ran north to the cemetery and then ran east across highway 61 and out into the dark countryside. i wanted to get a little running on sand in before next week's half marathon in haviland. nearly half of that course is on sand or dirt roads. today's two or three miles on that surface gave me no problems. hope that is true next week.
i hit highway 54 and ran along it until the turn off for the county lake. i ran down the hill to the turn and then turned west. i hit 10K at 52:12 and kept going. the one-hour mark passed just about the time i was climbing the nasty hill on lake road. that was about the time that i first saw a pace over 9:00. i just had to take the incline a little slower.
i made it over the top and ran down to highway 281 which i took into town. as soon as i crossed the bridge, i turned east and took a jaunt through lemon park. even though the surface was smooth and the terrain basically flat, i slowed again. my right hamstring was starting to whine and complain about its workload about this time. i did what i could to keep pushing, but there were many times that a glance at my garmin revealed a pace above 9:00. i gritted my teeth and kept on.
i left the park and started to slowly make my way back toward home. i ran through ninth street park and then ran back up and over the hill on sixth street to oak. i ran north on oak to 2nd and took 2nd east. from there the rest of the course is kind of a blur.
i hit the half marathon distance at 1:53:10! that means i only need to kill off 3:10 to meet my goal next saturday! woohoo! i kept running and hit 13.82 miles at the two-hour mark. i'd never been that close to 14 miles before, so i made my legs finish out the final .18 before i stopped. my half marathon time back in march was 2:04:15. i'm thankful to hal for the plan that's helped me and to God who gave me the will and the strength to accomplish what i've done. can't wait till race day to break that 1:50 barrier!
i got to sleep in this morning. it was awesome! when i finally rolled out of bed at 6:00, my legs were ready to go. i got ready quickly and hit the streets running. i ran north to the cemetery and then ran east across highway 61 and out into the dark countryside. i wanted to get a little running on sand in before next week's half marathon in haviland. nearly half of that course is on sand or dirt roads. today's two or three miles on that surface gave me no problems. hope that is true next week.
i hit highway 54 and ran along it until the turn off for the county lake. i ran down the hill to the turn and then turned west. i hit 10K at 52:12 and kept going. the one-hour mark passed just about the time i was climbing the nasty hill on lake road. that was about the time that i first saw a pace over 9:00. i just had to take the incline a little slower.
i made it over the top and ran down to highway 281 which i took into town. as soon as i crossed the bridge, i turned east and took a jaunt through lemon park. even though the surface was smooth and the terrain basically flat, i slowed again. my right hamstring was starting to whine and complain about its workload about this time. i did what i could to keep pushing, but there were many times that a glance at my garmin revealed a pace above 9:00. i gritted my teeth and kept on.
i left the park and started to slowly make my way back toward home. i ran through ninth street park and then ran back up and over the hill on sixth street to oak. i ran north on oak to 2nd and took 2nd east. from there the rest of the course is kind of a blur.
i hit the half marathon distance at 1:53:10! that means i only need to kill off 3:10 to meet my goal next saturday! woohoo! i kept running and hit 13.82 miles at the two-hour mark. i'd never been that close to 14 miles before, so i made my legs finish out the final .18 before i stopped. my half marathon time back in march was 2:04:15. i'm thankful to hal for the plan that's helped me and to God who gave me the will and the strength to accomplish what i've done. can't wait till race day to break that 1:50 barrier!
Friday, October 21, 2011
3.10 miles in 24:35
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/123180792
i felt like doing something new today, so i did a completely new route. i ran south across highway 54 and then ran around and around the blocks just south of it, covering every street in that small section of town. it's a fairly hilly (for kansas) section, so i got some work on climbing while keeping my heartrate under control. still, it wasn't a killer workout. i got in the three miles hal required and threw in a tenth for good measure.
i felt like doing something new today, so i did a completely new route. i ran south across highway 54 and then ran around and around the blocks just south of it, covering every street in that small section of town. it's a fairly hilly (for kansas) section, so i got some work on climbing while keeping my heartrate under control. still, it wasn't a killer workout. i got in the three miles hal required and threw in a tenth for good measure.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
6.20 miles in 50:08
connect.garmin.com/activity/122798047
i did not want to get out of bed this morning. it was warm under the covers. i did not want to run. i just didn't feel like it. i did not want to be cold. it was 34 degrees out. i did not want frozen fingers. i forgot my gloves. i did not feel like running for an hour. i tried to do so anyway. i did not want to stop to pee. i had to. i did not want to brown my shorts. i stopped again. i did not want to be late for breakfast. i quit at 10K instead of getting a full 60 minutes in. i'll probably want to run tomorrow. it's a rest day.
i did not want to get out of bed this morning. it was warm under the covers. i did not want to run. i just didn't feel like it. i did not want to be cold. it was 34 degrees out. i did not want frozen fingers. i forgot my gloves. i did not feel like running for an hour. i tried to do so anyway. i did not want to stop to pee. i had to. i did not want to brown my shorts. i stopped again. i did not want to be late for breakfast. i quit at 10K instead of getting a full 60 minutes in. i'll probably want to run tomorrow. it's a rest day.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
3.10 miles in 24:37
connect.garmin.com/activity/122594575
hal said, "give me three miles!" i said, "yes, sir! right away, sir!" and gave him an extra tenth of a mile to show my dedication...and to make it easy to track my fitness since i've done more 5K training runs than three-milers.
it was rather brisk this morning. the thermometer read 39 degrees with wind speeds in the teens! that gave me a sub-freezing wind chill! i chose to wear my new arm warmers in addition to the uniform pieces i wore yesterday. they were a great help.
i felt good throughout this run, staying under 8:00 pace except when running up hills. the most annoying part of the run, besides the near code brown at the end, was the problem i had with my heartrate monitor strap. for the first three or four minutes, i tried in vain to keep it wrapped around my chest. it was having none of that. it kept slipping down. i don't know how many times i pulled it up before i finally gave up and let it rest at my waist. i guess i'll have to cinch it up before tomorrow's tempo run.
hal said, "give me three miles!" i said, "yes, sir! right away, sir!" and gave him an extra tenth of a mile to show my dedication...and to make it easy to track my fitness since i've done more 5K training runs than three-milers.
it was rather brisk this morning. the thermometer read 39 degrees with wind speeds in the teens! that gave me a sub-freezing wind chill! i chose to wear my new arm warmers in addition to the uniform pieces i wore yesterday. they were a great help.
i felt good throughout this run, staying under 8:00 pace except when running up hills. the most annoying part of the run, besides the near code brown at the end, was the problem i had with my heartrate monitor strap. for the first three or four minutes, i tried in vain to keep it wrapped around my chest. it was having none of that. it kept slipping down. i don't know how many times i pulled it up before i finally gave up and let it rest at my waist. i guess i'll have to cinch it up before tomorrow's tempo run.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Advertizing Alert!
Note to self: Be careful how you share your opinion about a product you love on social networks that don't allow advertizing! I got a warning today from one of my favorite sites after someone complained about a comment I added to their post that they thought smacked of spam. Oops! Apologies to all! Duly noted.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
13.47 miles in 2:00:02
connect.garmin.com/activity/121669310
i met up with gretchen this morning for a two-hour run. we started off right at 5:30 as planned and headed south to the other side of town. we meandered this way and that, staying mostly to the outside edges of town at first, then doubled back on ourselves and zigged and zagged back up to our meeting place.
at an hour, gretchen had had enough and peeled off. i continued on running the rest of my time north of 54. i ran out to pratt community college and covered several of the roads on campus before popping back out on 61 and running north to the cemetery road.
i passed the cemetery about the time i was supposed to pick up the pace. i didn't have much pick up, but i pushed it a little harder. i ran around my daughter's paper route, hoping to see her and wave, but never saw her. i covered every street. no paper girl! this concerned me a bit, but i continued to run.
after another run through the paper route with a slight diversion north, i came back around to home and right at two hours hit stop. i'm pretty pleased. i covered more than a half marathon in distance and felt pretty good the whole time. there was only one time that i felt a little nauseous and a few minutes when i thought my hamstrings might start cramping. the nausea passed and the cramps never formed.
two weeks till the run for missions. this morning put a little doubt in my mind about my new 1:50 goal, but i'm sticking with it. it'll get me up and out the door every morning from now until then.
i met up with gretchen this morning for a two-hour run. we started off right at 5:30 as planned and headed south to the other side of town. we meandered this way and that, staying mostly to the outside edges of town at first, then doubled back on ourselves and zigged and zagged back up to our meeting place.
at an hour, gretchen had had enough and peeled off. i continued on running the rest of my time north of 54. i ran out to pratt community college and covered several of the roads on campus before popping back out on 61 and running north to the cemetery road.
i passed the cemetery about the time i was supposed to pick up the pace. i didn't have much pick up, but i pushed it a little harder. i ran around my daughter's paper route, hoping to see her and wave, but never saw her. i covered every street. no paper girl! this concerned me a bit, but i continued to run.
after another run through the paper route with a slight diversion north, i came back around to home and right at two hours hit stop. i'm pretty pleased. i covered more than a half marathon in distance and felt pretty good the whole time. there was only one time that i felt a little nauseous and a few minutes when i thought my hamstrings might start cramping. the nausea passed and the cramps never formed.
two weeks till the run for missions. this morning put a little doubt in my mind about my new 1:50 goal, but i'm sticking with it. it'll get me up and out the door every morning from now until then.
Friday, October 14, 2011
5.00 miles in 40:04
connect.garmin.com/activity/121432957
forget two hours! that isn't enough of a challenge. my new half marathon goal is 1:50. there. i said it. i am shooting for something bigger than i could've imagined last august when i started running. mind you, i have a stupid, silly goal faster than 1:50, but i'm not throwing that one out to the public yet. you'll know it if i make it. you'll hear the shout clear up in chicago!
today's run was simply amazing to me. i was running along, all comfy like, so i looked at my garmin. i was running at 7:08 pace! what?! that's nuts! i backed off a bit knowing it had miles to go, but i was blown away. 7:08 should not feel easy! even slowing down, my first mile was 7:38. after that i settled into a rhythm that felt good and set the cruise.
when i turned onto country club road, i knew i was going to slow down a little climbing the hill. i also knew i didn't want to push too hard and risk a heart rate spike that would cause a blow out. i've done that plenty of times. ugh! so i maintained the same "feel" running up and over the hill that turns onto lake road. i hit the bottom on the other side of the hill at around half of the five miles hal demanded of me today, so i turned around and ran back up the steeper side of the hill and back into town down country club.
from there i took a zig zagging route back up to dillon's, ran through the store's parking lot to avoid the highway traffic which was just beginning to pick up a little and ran north on lawrence. by this time i could see a sub-8:00 finish if i worked just a teensy weensy bit harder. i tried my best and missed it. my average was only 8:01 when i stopped the garmin. i am such a failure...NOT!
i loved this run! it gave me back my confidence. i was concerned that i'd lost too much speed sitting out for two weeks in the middle of my training, but, if anything, i've gotten faster. that's why i'm setting my sights on a loftier goal. you, my dailymile friends, are going to hold me to it and push me on to stupid, silly fast!
forget two hours! that isn't enough of a challenge. my new half marathon goal is 1:50. there. i said it. i am shooting for something bigger than i could've imagined last august when i started running. mind you, i have a stupid, silly goal faster than 1:50, but i'm not throwing that one out to the public yet. you'll know it if i make it. you'll hear the shout clear up in chicago!
today's run was simply amazing to me. i was running along, all comfy like, so i looked at my garmin. i was running at 7:08 pace! what?! that's nuts! i backed off a bit knowing it had miles to go, but i was blown away. 7:08 should not feel easy! even slowing down, my first mile was 7:38. after that i settled into a rhythm that felt good and set the cruise.
when i turned onto country club road, i knew i was going to slow down a little climbing the hill. i also knew i didn't want to push too hard and risk a heart rate spike that would cause a blow out. i've done that plenty of times. ugh! so i maintained the same "feel" running up and over the hill that turns onto lake road. i hit the bottom on the other side of the hill at around half of the five miles hal demanded of me today, so i turned around and ran back up the steeper side of the hill and back into town down country club.
from there i took a zig zagging route back up to dillon's, ran through the store's parking lot to avoid the highway traffic which was just beginning to pick up a little and ran north on lawrence. by this time i could see a sub-8:00 finish if i worked just a teensy weensy bit harder. i tried my best and missed it. my average was only 8:01 when i stopped the garmin. i am such a failure...NOT!
i loved this run! it gave me back my confidence. i was concerned that i'd lost too much speed sitting out for two weeks in the middle of my training, but, if anything, i've gotten faster. that's why i'm setting my sights on a loftier goal. you, my dailymile friends, are going to hold me to it and push me on to stupid, silly fast!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
4.00 miles in 32:14
connect.garmin.com/activity/121205244
i had to do a real-life test of the shin splints, so i ran fairly hard today. wanted to test my endurance too. i was afraid sitting out for almost two weeks would slow me down. both tests came out better than i expected. the shin splints weren't painful at all. a twinge here and there and a little soreness, but no pain! the endurance was still hanging around too. i felt comfortable running at around 8:00 pace the whole time. i didn't slow down a lot later in the run. only time will tell, but i think i might be back to where i want to be by the end of the month. i'm thanking God for his healing and getting back at it now.
i had to do a real-life test of the shin splints, so i ran fairly hard today. wanted to test my endurance too. i was afraid sitting out for almost two weeks would slow me down. both tests came out better than i expected. the shin splints weren't painful at all. a twinge here and there and a little soreness, but no pain! the endurance was still hanging around too. i felt comfortable running at around 8:00 pace the whole time. i didn't slow down a lot later in the run. only time will tell, but i think i might be back to where i want to be by the end of the month. i'm thanking God for his healing and getting back at it now.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
There's a Fly in My...
Note to self: It is good to aspire to do great things. It is NOT good to aspirate a gnat or any other bug for that matter. I hate it when I'm riding down the street and an insect goes all suicidal on me. Couldn't they pick someone else's airway to end it all? Duly noted.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
3.10 miles in 26:01
connect.garmin.com/activity/119859471
as i said yesterday in a comment to someone, my shin splints are at the "just annoying" stage - not a lot of pain, just generalized soreness and tenderness to touch. after walking my daughter's paper route for her this morning and experiencing no problems, i decided to go out for a test run. i wanted to see if and when the pain started. i really didn't experience all that much pain, certainly nothing unbearable. there were twinges here and there, but not bad. i ran around town and hit the 5K mark just as i was passing the house again. not bad for an unplanned route! i walked to the refrigerator immediately after i walked in the door. i downed some gatorade and then put ice on my shin for 20 minutes. after some stretching and a shower, i'm feeling no worse than i did before. maybe i'll start running every other day this week and see how it goes. i've got three weeks until my half, so i don't want to risk reinjury by overdoing it.
as i said yesterday in a comment to someone, my shin splints are at the "just annoying" stage - not a lot of pain, just generalized soreness and tenderness to touch. after walking my daughter's paper route for her this morning and experiencing no problems, i decided to go out for a test run. i wanted to see if and when the pain started. i really didn't experience all that much pain, certainly nothing unbearable. there were twinges here and there, but not bad. i ran around town and hit the 5K mark just as i was passing the house again. not bad for an unplanned route! i walked to the refrigerator immediately after i walked in the door. i downed some gatorade and then put ice on my shin for 20 minutes. after some stretching and a shower, i'm feeling no worse than i did before. maybe i'll start running every other day this week and see how it goes. i've got three weeks until my half, so i don't want to risk reinjury by overdoing it.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Why are you afraid?
My heart races every time I think about the wolves that waited on my back porch, hungry for a bite of first grader. If I let my thoughts run wild, I can still see their eyes glowing red in the darkness. Their shadowy forms still lurk around the edges of my mind. They are for me the oldest representation of fear. Their presence on our stoop paralyzed me. I willed myself forward, but my legs would not budge.
These phantoms, as menacing as they seemed to my young heart, were not real. Their razor-sharp claws and saliva-dripping jaws did not exist. I saw them, but they weren’t there. The back steps of our house were, in reality, safe and secure behind a six-foot privacy fence. The light was always on when I walked home from church after sundown. I had nothing to fear at all. There was no danger.
Jesus’ disciples faced a similar fear one night. They were in a boat on the open sea when a terrible squall came up. The storm’s vigor threatened to sink their vessel. Despite years of experience fishing on this body of water, they were terrified.
“Teacher,” they shouted, shaking Jesus awake, “don’t you care if we drown?”
The Master, yawning and stretching, spoke to the furious gale. “Quiet! Be still!” The tempest stopped obediently. The surface of the deep was as smooth as glass. Their sails hung limp.
Jesus looked sleepily at his followers and asked simply, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
The twelve were too stunned to answer. The weather meant nothing to this man. It was no threat to him. The wind was his servant, the water his slave.
“Why are you so afraid?”
The recession’s bad. My son’s disobedient. My friend’s addiction is killing him. Layoffs have been threatened. Milk costs $4.
“Quiet! Be still!”
Jesus is master over all that you fear. He cares about you. He knows your needs.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-33)
“Do you still have no faith?”
Trust God with your life. Put him first and allow him to care for your needs. In reality, you have nothing to fear. He is master of much more than the wind and waves.
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
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