Long Run Solutions

A day at the ball park!

When I woke this morning, I didn't think I would be high fiving Clint Hurdle, the manager of the Colorado Rockies. This morning wasn't that different than any morning. I reluctantly pried myself out of bed, stumbled down the stairs into the kitchen and poured myself a bowl of cereal. Just as I finished my cereal, my youngest son Mitchell sleepily stepped off the bottom step of the stairs and entered the kitchen with his eyes still mostly closed. Having nearly perfected the art of being an annoying father I asked, "Mitchell, do you know how your 'best day ever' starts?" Before he could mutter a response I gave him a hug and said, "By getting out of bed".

And so, another day of possibilities began......

After church Roy Jr. announced that he had been given four Rockies tickets and he and his 80+ year old father were going to the game. This left two tickets, free for the taking, if anyone was interested. My son's elbow immediately struck my in the ribs.....twice. I made a bee line for Roy.

As it turned out, the tickets were pretty good, as the picture below of Rockies first baseman Todd Helton attests to.

The actual seats were one section width away from the corner of the Rockies dugout on the first base line. I have sat in some pretty good seats, but these were the best.

This was quite a game. The atmosphere was positively electric. The Rocks needed to win and they needed help from the Brewers. The Brewers did their part by beating the Padres and the entire crowd was aware that it was up to the Rockies.

This picture is Ryan Spillborghs hitting a single. Take a close look. Somehow I managed to get a picture of the ball in the frame just before he hit it. I guess it was just one of those days.

Here is a picture of Mitchell next to Roy Sr. with Roy Jr. standing behind.

And the Rockies celebrating after their 4-3 victory.

Which leads me to the high five of Clint Hurdle I talked about to start this article. That first picture was taken just after Hurdle's high five of both my son and I. This next picture is Kaz Matsui as he handed my son a pack of baseball cards.

What a day! Thank you Roy Jr. for the chance to see the game. It was so good we immediately bought tickets for the "play in game" against the Padres. GO ROCKIES!

Perfect Marriage

Note: If you are looking for the moosehunt.wmv video, scroll down.

Finally, after much trial and error and failure, there is a brief instructional video for women on how to assure that they will have the "perfect marriage". Ladies, take heed!

Men, click below and feel free to share this video with your bride to be. For those of you who are already married, maybe this hint will help....

Download weddingdress.wmv

Feeling like a Jog?

I am. I have a 1/2 marathon coming up in a bit over two weeks and I am feeling ready. One more long run this Saturday, one more speed workout the following week, one race pace 5k and a few easy runs and it will be the big day.

Tuesday I did speed work. It both just about killed me and made me feel strong. I did 800 repeats as follows:

800 - easy jog

800 - 2:47

800 - 2:58

800 - 2:57

800 - 2:56

1200 - easy walk / jog

I have been in shape to run a little faster than this in the past, but having only been back on speed work for a couple of weeks, it was better than I expected. Speed work sucks. Speed work works.

Tonight I ran 5.6 miles. The odd total is because I am running a plan that calls for 45 minutes of running. So tonight I decided to run what I call fast/easy. What I mean by that is I am going to do my best pace without over stressing myself. No huffing and puffing and I try to finish feeling like I could run many more miles at the same pace. I did my usual 5 1/2 min. run to 1/2 minute walk. In the end, I ran a pace of about 8:10. That is really exciting to me. I would be absolutely thrilled if I could average 8:00 minute miles in the race coming up.

Just like anything else in life meeting goals equals a good feeling. Right now, I am meeting goals and feeling like a jog.

The Most Amazing Hunting Video Ever

This video is a must. I have never seen a hunting video clip as good as this one. All I can say is wow....and check it out!

MooseHunt.wmv

I was just wondering........9.23.07

Beyond the absence of war, how do you define peace?

Speed Work Anyone?

Ask any distance runner and they will tell you that they can't stand speed work. What I have found is that most runners just don't do speed work. It hurts to do speed work and it is so different than any other running done by a distance runner that it just gets put on the back burner.

I started running just before I turned 40 and almost immediately (within 3 months) started training for a marathon. The training program I used was called "First" and it told me to do speed work once a week. Not knowing any better, I did it. I would head over to the high school track and run on the nicely maintained rubber like surface. I did 400, 800, and 1200 repeats. A couple of mile repeat workouts were spiced in as well.

These workouts hurt, but they were also satisfying. Keep in mind, no one had told me I was supposed to hate speed work yet. I considered these workouts a nice diversion from my distance runs and I had read that speed work is critical to running a good marathon time.

And then the cumulative effect of everyone telling me how much they hated speed work took its toll on me. I stopped doing speed work as I trained for a marathon this last spring. Interestingly, I don't think it had a negative impact on me in the race. I am starting to feel like speed work is critical though.

Beyond the whole physiological advantages of speed work, the thing I noticed about speed work that helps me is in fact the pain that we all want to avoid. Speed work training is more painful than distance training. It is exactly that, the pain, which holds a big benefit for me. The pain of labored breathing and a racing heart and rubbery legs helps me keep my distance training "pain" in perspective.

So, here's to speed work. May the pain of speed work pay off for you in your distance training. I does for me.

Eternity is a Long Time

John 3:16 says that God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son, so that whoever believes in him shall never die, but have eternal life.

Wow. That is a big idea isn’t it. Actually, there are a couple of big ideas in that simple verse from the Gospel of John. I’m struck at this moment by the end of this verse “never die but have eternal life”. Can we as humans even get our minds around God’s promise of “eternal life”?

Before I was 30, I felt so bullet proof that in some ways eternal life may have been an easier concept then. Because my body didn’t ache and recovery from injury was quick, the thought of dieing just didn’t occupy much of my time. Also, I had been blessed with very healthy people around me.

It was somewhere in my 30’s where I was beginning to understand that I wasn’t going to beat the system and live forever. That sounds good doesn’t it. Sort of philosophical. I must have been getting older and wiser. Maybe a little. But, I think instead of accumulated wisdom it was something more like life and death smacking me in the face in some very obvious ways. Children being born, and growing, and smiling, and crying. The tragic death or two of a friend or an acquaintance that all of us experience if we remain among the living. A grandparent, an uncle, or an aunt who pass on from old age or cancer.

These are the experiences that God put’s before us. These are God’s way of smacking us in the face. We struggle, or at least I know I have. We cry, maybe if just in private. We put up a strong facade, so as to not have to be challenged to deeply by the inevitable end that God is showing us.

And then there is 40 something. Or maybe for the smarter or more faithful one’s it is younger. I work out harder now to prove that I can kick most 30 year olds butts. But, I am starting to understand something that has been elusive all of these 40+ years. And that is that “His will be done”. Not my will. Not my beautiful sons’ or daughter’s or my wife’s will. Not my parent’s, my friend’s, or my boss’s will. No, God’s will be done. End of story. End of story? Well, yes. And also, beginning of story.

And here we are back at John 3:16. This is the part where God gives his son Jesus up to forgive the sins of the world. That is, he gave his son for you and me. And with the blessing of the Holy Spirit who builds our faith through the Word, we come to understand God’s simple plan for salvation. That simple plan is easily stated as:

          

Jesus death and resurrection = forgiveness for all our sins and eternal life

Which brings us back to this “eternal life” part. Boy, I’m still struggling with what exactly eternal life is. I do know the definition, but good Lord, eternity? That makes the life we sometimes suffer and struggle so mightily in today a mere blip on the radar screen. Like a blink of the eye I guess. We need only confess with our mouth and believe with our heart. Salvation and eternal life are so easily yours and mine.

And here is what amazes me and makes me think that this life is really only a blink of the eye. It makes no difference whether we confess our faith in Jesus when we are 10 years old and live a life of belief, or if we confess our faith 10 seconds or 10 days before we die. It counts the same in God’s book. It counts for eternal life and I hope and pray that we see each other in eternity one day.

A video for Osama bin Laden

Bill Keller, an evangelist from Florida, has made my day. The video message link attached is a must, must, must link to check out. I hope you enjoy this little message to Osama as much as I did. I just wish I would have thought of this first.

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

Bill Keller

WASHINGTON – An American television evangelist has turned the tables on al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden – sending him a video message warning him to repent of his sins and convert to Christianity.

"Osama, since you seem to be a fan of video messages, I thought this would be the best way to communicate with you," says Bill Keller, host of the Florida-based "Live Prayer" TV program as well as LivePrayer.com in a message being posted to YouTube and 20 other major video sites in the U.S. as well as some 50 in the Middle East.

Britney Speers may get new underpants

This is a 'par for the course' quote for the strange world in 2007:

Simon Cowell says:

"We have decided we can bring Britney back," the normally caustic Cowell confirmed. "We are serious. We plan to buy her underpants, get her bigger shorts to perform in and get her away from her stupid friends."

Ooooh, Simon.....you have hit my funny bone on this one. Good Lord, hasn't he said what all of us have been thinking and hoping.

I mean come on. Isn't there someone other than Simon Cowell who loves the Britster enough to get her to stop embarrassing herself regularly. How sad.

As Dennis Miller said when asked what he thought about the Britney situation, "I mean come on, I don't want to be the last one to tell a joke about her before she kills herself". Apparently, the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards are happy to make the last joke.

That may be the most sensible idea I have heard. And, in case you were wondering, he was not joking when he said it. How about the media quit laughing at this sad case of public self destruction. Maybe instead, we could all agree to say a prayer for her.

I was just wondering....09.11.07

Why do clearly blessed Christian people often spend so much time searching for answers outside of the Bible?