Interesting Video on Running

Chicken Noodle Soup and 7 Up

I don't know how this keeps happening, but I keep getting sick. The latest bout started last night and continues today. This is the third time in three weeks. I'm thankful for chicken noodle soup and 7 UP and for a wife that serves both of them to me. Hopefully I'll get better soon and hopefully this is my last time getting this.

California International Marathon

This is a great race. It has lots of things going for it:

• Excellent organization.
• Good expo.
• Fast course.
• Agreeable weather.
• Well trained and excited volunteers.
• And...Sacramento is a cool city.

I got up around 4:00 and had some last minute fuel: chocolate chip cookies, a Pear Apple Strudel Clif Bar, and some Lemonade Gatorade.

I took the bus to the start line. I say next to a woman in her mid 50s who has run Boston for 25 straight years. Interesting conversation.

I met up with my friend Kurt before the race. We decided to go out at 6:40 per mile. We checked our gear in and edged our way up to near the front. The start was a little hectic with many of the relay runners taking off fast during the first mile. Even the five lane road was a little crowded.

Kurt and I cruised through the first 10 miles together. Here are the splits:

1 - 6:36
2 - 6:16
3 - 6:24
4 - 6:09
5 - 6:28
6 - 6:32 (10K was right at 39:59)
7 - 6:24
8 - 6:27
9 - 6:28
10 - 6:26 (10 mile split was 64:14)

At 10 miles I started having stomach problems. No details are necessary, but running became very uncomfortable. I had to let Kurt go. Here are miles 11 to 13:

11 - 6:33
12 - 6:33
13 - 6:33 (Half split was 1:24:40)

Shortly after the half way mark I got sick. I had to stop for about 30 seconds and then got started again.

14 - 7:08

Then I felt better for a while:

15 - 6:41
16 - 6:41
17 - 6:46

I got sick again at the 18th mile. Again I had to stop for about 20 to 30 seconds.

18 - 7:18

At this point I thought about quitting. I had the flu much of the week, I was slowing down, I still had 8 miles to go, I was getting cold, I had gotten sick twice, I wasn't able to hold anything down, I had a huge blister forming on my right foot, and I just wanted to call it a day. I was thinking: How can I finish? Then I thought: How can I not finish? I had trained pretty hard for the race. Amber was waiting for me at the finish line. I had taken time off from church and travelled over a thousand miles to run. I was going to finish even if I had to walk.

I held up pretty good for a few miles:

19 - 6:55
20 - 6:55
21 - 6:51

At the end of the 22nd mile I got sick for the last time. There wasn't much left to get sick this time around. But I had to stop for nearly a minute. This one took all the energy I had left.

22 - 7:55

The last 4 miles were pretty much a death march. The blister on my right foot was screaming. Every other step was nothing short of painful. I just tried to stay under 3 hours for the race and made it by a mere 15 seconds.

23 - 7:30
24 - 7:42
25 - 7:50
26 - 7:38
.2 - 1:33 (2:59:45)

I found Amber after the race and got some much needed anti-nausea medicine. I was going to, and probably should have, taken it before the race, but I was worried that it would cause drowsiness. I had to take a couple of pills post-race. After a bath and laying in bed all day, I felt good enough to go polish off a plate of ribs and some serious ice cream.

It wasn't what I wanted from the day, but I finished. We'll try it again in Boston in four months.

I think the best part of the day was watching the marathon from our hotel room after we got back. It was so cool to see so many runners accomplishing their dreams. Some of them were out there for four, five, and even six hours. Each of them has their own story. Each of them was more than a finisher - they were a winner.

Laugh Loud: A Message of Hope

You can listen to today's message here.

1. Connect to the Source

From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. –Acts 17:26-27

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. -John 15:5

O Lord, you have formed us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in you. –St. Augustine

Belong to a Village

In numbers we are better off.

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.

Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. –Galatians 6:2

Do the Right Thing

God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. –Matthew 5:6

What are you hungry and thirty for? Well…if you want your hunger and thirst to be satisfied…Jesus says start with justice. Start with doing what is right. This Christmas that our hunger and thirst for life isn’t satisfied or quenched with what is under the tree.

To lend each other a hand when we’re falling…Perhaps that’s the only work that matters in the end. –Frederick Buechner

Go For Broke

Death twitches my ear. “Live,” he says, “I am coming.” –Virgi

Hope doesn’t come from sitting idly waiting for life to pass us by.

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. –Isaiah 41:10

Never measure the height of a mountain, until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was. –Dag Hammarskjold

Training Update

I have come down with a case of the flu or something and have no desire to run, eat, etc... I made it through the sermon, barely, and have been in bed since. Oh well...it will give me an opportunity to catch up on my blog!

Legacy

Part of my legacy

I spoke about leaving a legacy this morning. You can listen here. Here are some of my notes:

Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. -1 Corinthians 3:10-14

Let’s tell our young people that the best books are yet to be written; the best paintings have not yet been painted; the best governments are yet to be formed; the best is yet to be done by them. –John Erskine

Convictions

“There is a critical difference between beliefs and convictions: a belief is something you hold on to, but a conviction is something that holds you. A conviction is a core value from God’s Word that anchors us, shapes us, permeates our lives, and becomes such a part of us that it’s who we are.” –Kerry and Chris Shook

The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever. –Isaiah 40:8

But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash. –Matthew 7:26-27

Character

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him. –James Miles

Community

But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” –Luke 10:40-42

The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn. –Ralph Waldo Emerson

When you were born, you were crying, and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you will be smiling, and everyone around you will be crying. -Anonymous

Training update

10 mile break-down run

3 miles at marathon pace
4 minutes rest
8 x 800 meters at 5K pace with 60 seconds rest between reps
4 minutes rest
3 miles at marathon pace

I felt great the entire run.

59:07 for the 10 miles - 5:54 per mile.

Wedding

I had a little problem at the wedding I did today. I made it through the first half -- no problem. I've done over a hundred, so I'm pretty good at them by now. When it came to exchange their vows, I didn't have that part in my script that was in my little leather folder. Nor did I have the part about the exchanging rings or the Unity Candle. As they looked at each other, I took a deep breath and went for it. Thankfully I have done enough weddings and I had it memorized. I was a nice wedding, thankfully I didn't mess it up.

Training Update

I ran with Gary, Dave, and Jalan from the Pedestrian Bridge to the top of the Lewis and Clark Monument early this morning. The bottom to the top of the bluff is about a mile and a half long. It is a pretty wicked hill. The view from the top is worth the climb. The temperature was a bit chilly and there was a cold north wind. We did 12 miles pretty easy.

View from the Lewis and Clark Monument

Leaving a Legacy

A few months ago, the family and I went to my mom's house in northwest Iowa. It is a little town, maybe a thousand people or so. Most are Norwegians. Many are farmers or at least want to be farmers. But times have changed. Today, the people work at a few small manufacturing plants and a food distribution center. There is a small grocery store. A couple banks and a gas station. I think there are four small churches. The people cheer for their 8 man football team in the fall. Although I haven't lived there for twenty years, when we walked through the streets or went to the local pizza place, the people still knew who I was and greeted me with a firm handshake or an occasional hug. Many of you have been to a place like this before.

There is a house one block due north from my mom's house. It is a dirty white and hasn't been painted in a long time. The roof needs replaced. A window in the garage is broken. The weeds are overgrowing pretty much everything. This is the house where my grandpa Adolf and grandma Elva used to live. The house looks much different than it did twenty years ago. It was immaculate. A big vegetable garden used to encompass much of the side yard. The lawn was mowed every few days and the flowers were watered early every morning. In the winter, smoke would come from the chimney from the wood fireplace that grandpa built by himself. During the other three seasons, many of the neighbors would gather on the front porch. You could usually smell grandma's baking as you entered the house. She kept the house spotless and sanitized. Although grandpa was born in Norway, every morning, when it wasn't raining, he would go out and raise the American flag on his white, oil-base painted flagpole.

Maybe somebody will buy the house and fix it up. Maybe not. Maybe some new family will create new memories in that house. Maybe it will just be torn down. Either way, I look at the house and part of me is sad. But thankfully, grandpa and grandma's legacy isn't that little house on First Street. Their legacy is years of investing their lives in others. Grandma was as loving and nurturing as you were going to find. She was a true servant. She embodied what grace is all about. Grandpa was hardworking and tough. He was frugal and thrifty. He was a listener and made some of the best lefse and coumpa this side of Oslo. More than anything else, he was wise.

I write this early on a Friday morning in my home office. Part of their legacy is in this house now. Part of who they are is who I am. Part of who I am is who our two boys (who are making the writing of this a bit challenging at the present time) are. Legacy isn't about stuff. It's about people. What kind of legacy are you leaving?

Fresh Lefse

Training Update

Nothing. No time. Busy day and I went to the Millard West football game tonight.