Runalong with Pastor Mark

Facebook, si.

2009-05-11T23:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry Faithful blog-readers but I just can't seem to do both Facebook and the blog. I may post stuff here occasionally, but mostly on FB. I like it because I get a lot more feedback, it's more of a conversation than I'd get from the blog. Hope you'll join me there!

Marin Headlands!

2009-04-19T17:51:00.000-07:00

On top of Mt Tam, SF over my left ear.

Hiking above Sausalito.

Our accomodations.

I spent three days at the Marin Headlands Hostel (great place and cheap!) just north of the Golden Gate Bridge with Mrs Runalong. One day was really windy but we still had great hikes and drives around Muir Woods, Mt Tam, Muir Beach, Stinson Beach, Rodeo Beach, etc, etc.

We fixed breakfast and dinner at the Hostel and ate lunch in Sausalito. On Wednesday I ate a little kid for lunch.

Superhumanly fit and slightly deranged. Moi?

2009-04-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

Seed Magazine:

Ann Trason, Scott Jurek, Matt Carpenter. These are the megastars of ultra-distance running... If their names are unfamiliar, it’s probably because this type of extreme running is almost universally seen as a fringe sport, the habit of the superhumanly fit, the masochistic, the slightly deranged.

Every Run is a New Adventure

2009-04-11T13:16:00.001-07:00

Steve and I did a 3 hour run north of church that included a lot of off-trail running/hiking/probable trespassing. But we had some great views and didn't get shot! We heard shooting, and got chased off an isolated site with a shed and well by two guys in pick-up trucks full of high-quality planting soil. Ran through an abandoned vineyard/winery (Redding is probably not the best climate for that). The wildflowers were amazing, the grass was green, the snow-capped mountains glistened in the deep blue sky on a perfect - sunny but cool - spring day.

Help me identify this mysterious blonde!

2009-04-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

I put out my camcorder and caught a little bit of her- some sort of ground squirrel? not native to Redding, CA! about 18" long, 600' elevation, diurnal, lives in a burrow. Note coloring, ears, tail. Thanks!

I'm a Runner and I Don't Get It!

2009-04-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

My last couple runs I was surrounded by wildflowers and trees blossoming. I saw wild turkeys, two bald eagles, a great blue heron, a golden marten, deer... I enjoyed the greenery all around me and the snow-capped mountains on the horizon. I exulted in the changing seasons and in the feeling of being able to run up and down hills with pleasure.

Within a linear mile of me, thousands of people sat in front of their TV's or computers in their hermetically-sealed dwellings. They have to watch their diets (I eat as much as I want, which is a lot); and still gain weight (not me). They complain of being tired all the time and of the various aches and symptoms and conditions associated with growing older. I have lots of energy and am in the best shape of my life (going on 55). Running isn't work, it's a joy.

If I meet one of those people, and they learn that I like to run long distances almost daily, they will often look at me with something like pity and say something condescending like, "Good for you, I just don't get why anyone would choose to run like that." I think they actually feel sorry for me!

Yeah, well, I used to be a non-runner and I remember symptoms and chronic tiredness and staying cooped up because getting out was just too darned demanding and having to watch everything I ate and still adding inches to my waist and worrying about my heart and all that other stuff that was happening to my peers.

I can understand friends who say, "I wish I could run but I can't because (legit reason)" or "I prefer biking/swimming/pogo-sticking" or "I really should but it's hard to get started" (that was me for 20 years). But the ones who think that vigorous exercise would detract from their well-being and enjoyment of life?

Maybe I'm dense, but I just don't get it.

Run, Grandpa, Run!

2009-04-05T14:08:00.000-07:00

So last Wed we got a call from our daughter in Sacramento- the baby they were seeking to adopt, which they were told would be hospitalized for three more weeks, was suddenly released to go home and surprise, I'm a grandpa. My wife headed down immediately, I planned to follow Friday. Naturally I was thinking about where and when to run while there and thought of AR50- not to enter (too late, too much time commitment), but to pace- but alas, none of my local friends were going down this year and I couldn't find an entrants' list.

Then Robert posted, at that very moment!, a request from a girl who had lost her pacer last minute and wanted a reasonable facsimile to get her through her first 50M, which she had been training very very hard for. I called her, did the interview, and got the job as the best qualified applicant out of a pool of one.

Lainie's parents, sons, husband and various others were crewing her and a friend wanted to pace her but wasn't very fast. Lainie is fast.

My sole pacing experience was for Klas Eklof at Hardrock in '06 and I didn't mess up his run but since I don't generally use pacers I wasn't totally clear on the concept. But I made some guesses and basically figured out what was expected of me- keep her on pace, eating, drinking, peeing, electrolyting, etc. Distract her if she was in pain, help her focus if she wasn't. Encourage, prod if necessary, shut up when uncertain.

She was aiming for a finish between 8 &9 hours, I did an 8:35 last time, so that seemed a good match. She told me she was really aiming for 8:20 (10mpm avg); and based on her prior results that looked like a good goal. I found her parents about 5 seconds before she reached Beal's point (I didn't know what she looked like except 32, 5'0" tall and 97#) and they pointed her out. It was about 9:50 AM, 3:50 into the race. Right smack dab on schedule.

She had been planning to run the first half at a 9:30 mpm pace (which would have got her to BP at about 10:10) and the second half at 10:30 pace but I told her that wasn't realistic at AR. (AR is 27 miles of flat pavement to BP, followed by 23M of rolling trails). With her speed she should be looking at about 3:55 to Beal's and 4:25 from Beal's to finish. So far so good.

We took off from BP and started to get acquainted. When I felt she was a little slow I told her we should stop talking and she should focus on her pace. She got back in the groove and eventually we were able to converse without her slowing down. Eventually she asked me what I do for a living and I told her and she didn't freak out.

I almost committed the unforgiveable sin when she stopped suddenly for a log across the trail- we were moving fast and I was close behind her while we chatted and when she stopped I crashed into her- she managed to get over the log OK, I smashed my shin and fell over the log and onto her foot. I feared I had twisted her ankle or caused some other dream-ending injury. It was a horrible moment. But she was OK. As soon as she got her shoe back on.

The trails were dry, the weather was perfect and it was so fun to run that section of trail faster than usual and feeling better than usual (I've run AR 4 or 5 times). Despite over 700 people in the race, it wasn't at all crowded up here with the speedy people.

Worried about her other pacer's abilities (she was going to take over at Rattlesnake- mile 42) I agreed to come down the big hill from the finish and meet her (the RD assured me it would be OK for her to have an extra pacer after Last Gasp). When I met her, about 2 miles from the finish, she was all alone, having left her pacer at the bottom of the hill.

It is amazing how easy that hill is when you haven't run 48 miles to get there. I spurred her on and she made good time to the top, passing several more runners on the way up. Lainie finished in 8:05, 10th woman overall, and she moved up from 6th to 3rd in her age group after Beal's Point and from 94th to 68th overall.

I'd like to think that this is due to the excellent pacer she had, but it probably has a lot more to do with her 100-mile training weeks. She was consistently strong and steady and really didn't need much from me. Maybe just a little on the hill. Maybe.

Still, I'm 2 for 2 as a pacer at not-screwing-things-up, and once again I had a blast. If there was a place that had ultras every week, and if I lived there, I'd be volunteering for pacing duty every time I wasn't racing. It's about as much fun as you can have for free!

I may be a grandpa, but I've still got my wheels!

Welcome Joshua!

2009-04-02T17:36:00.000-07:00

My oldest daughter and her hub have been trying to adopt one or more special needs children. Last week they were told of a baby that would be available and Lori began visiting him in the hospital. He was born in December, three months premature. We have reason to believe his birth mother was a drug user.

He's had several operations, but appears to be doing very well. We were told he might be ready to go home in three weeks or so. Then yesterday when Lori went to visit she was told she could take him home that day! And it wasn't an April Fool's Day joke.

Surprise!

Mrs Runalong is already down there and I'm heading down to Sac tomorrow. Naturally, as long as I'm in town the day of the American River 50 I offered to pace someone during the second half of the race. And I'll be taking my sermon and taxes to work on. But that's all trivia. I can't wait to meet our boy!

Sonoma 50M report

2009-03-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

I was treating this as a training run for my summer exploits (Three 100 milers in three months). I knew recovery time would be crucial so I've been trying to toughen myself up. Thus, two weeks after going all out at Cool, and after about 40 miles of running this week (no tapering), I wanted to go out, have a good time, finish in a reasonable time (not back of the pack) and yet hold back enough that I would be able to recover rapidly and get right back to running and training.

It appears my goals were met. I finished in the middle of the pack, took about 24 pictures, the race felt easy (most of the time, there are always some "bad" stretches), and I'm feeling pretty good Sunday evening (which is when I usually feel the worst).

I saw a bunch of friends at the start- besides race director John Medinger (publisher of UltraRunning magazine) and his assistant Stan Jensen (run100s.com) I saw Luanne Park, Suzanna Bon and Kelly Ridgway, who, among them, too, three of the top four places in the women's division. Also talked to David Wright, Chuck Wilson, Jim Winne and Tina Ure among others.

We were off at first light (before sunrise) and I hung out near the back of the pack, feeling stiff and tight as it took about four miles to warm up. Taking pics along the way, at one point I jumped up on an old log to take one from a higher angle, the log started rolling, and I rode it aways before falling off- safely and with camera intact. Lots of ooh's and ahh's from the peanut gallery (which included assistant-race-director Lisa Henson).

The course was mainly in the shade during this section with lots of rolls- up and down, up and down, never very far up or down though. The first big downhill came just before the mile 12.2 aid station. We finally got a brief flat stretch after the third aid station before our first big climb, fully exposed to the sun, a steep 600' ascent. At the top the nice views included a view of our next aid station, the turn around point, 4.8 miles away (but only about a mile as the crow flies).

To get there we had to drop about 700', then climb another steep exposed 750' hill (it was now approaching noon). In this section we saw the leaders heading back the other way. At the top of the hill we still had about a mile of steep rollers- up and down and up and down and...

I got to the turn-around at 5:23 (12:03pm) and headed back, not wanting to push too hard, but wanting to get even splits. I saw Mark Vegh midway back to the next aid station, unfortunately he just missed the cut-off at the turn-around and had to drop.

I felt really good on the return, except for the two too-steep descents. Otherwise the constant up and down felt good, run downhill a little ways, then walk up a little ways and repeat over and over and over. I thought I was making good time and I was passing lots of folks but at about 14 miles out I caught up to a woman in blue and I could not pass her. For the next three hours I followed her, chased her, always between 10 and 200 feet behind. Usually I pass people on the downhills and lose ground going up, but she pulled away from me on the downhills and I caught back up going up. Then we would crest and off she would go.

The running felt easy and the two of us passed a lot of folks and, when I saw that I wouldn't quite make even splits, helped each other make sure we at least broke 11 hours. (Her name was Monica Moore, age 35). With about 1.5M to go I started to get bonky, I hadn't been eating enough in the heat and I slowed down a little, finishing in 11:56 (5:33 return), about two minutes behind Monica. I'll blame the heat (80º in the afternoon and a lot less shade) for the slowdown. Granted, I wasn't really pushing too hard, but neither was I taking as many pictures as I had outbound. I know a lot of other runners were two or more hours slower on the return than they were going out.

I usually don't feel like eating for awhile, but I headed straight to the tamales (excellent!) and had a couple of those with rice and four seven-ups while visiting with Mark and Luanne and Monica and Suzanna (women's winner) and others as we watched some of the runners I had passed coming in. ;-)

I picked up my very cool finisher's jacket and we took off for home, stopping at Foster's Freeze for a SuperBigGulp size Caramel Malt (4 trillion calories). We got back to Redding by 11 and after preaching at two services this morning I was ready for a nap. I feel much better now though than I did after Way Too Cool. And I didn't fall!

Sonoma 50M pics

2009-03-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

Mark Vegh is just a blur in the early morning light.

David Wright splashes along.

Ooh! Ooh! A flat section!

Run? In this heat? With these views?

I finished in 10:55, details shortly.

Sonoma 50M

2009-03-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

I'm heading off to the Sonoma 50 miler. I'm taking it nice and easy and will be back with pics by Monday. I haven't been posting much on the blog as I've been spending more time on Facebook instead. But I'll still have race reports, etc. And totally superfluous pics of my cat.

Way Too Cool 50K

2009-03-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

My goals were to get a 50K PR (previous PR - 5:11 at McKenzie River) or at least to get a WTC personal best (previous best at WTC- 5:18 in 2001- my first ever ultra; each of my subsequent three visits were significantly slower). My quest was made more challenging when the WTC powers decided that the course had been too short and added 1.2 or so miles to it this year to make it officially (?) 31.0.

I got my WTC record by four minutes and missed my 50K PR by four minutes. I'll be running the much easier Tehama Wildflowers 50K next month and so have a good chance of getting my PR there.

The trails were in perfect condition today, the weather was perfect and I ran a good race but the four or five big steep climbs were a little too much for me. Most of the rest of the course I was running between 9:00 and 9:30 per mile. I finished 7/36 in my age group. My friend Ron Adams from Vancouver also finished 7th in his age group.

24 year old Leor Pantilat won with a blistering 7:05 pace (3:40 total), which is absolutely astonishing to anyone who has been on this course.

As usual I struggled on the big climbs and flew down the descents. Many of them were technical, but I am pretty fearless and pass a lot of people on these downhills, folks who are much more timid (or intelligent) than I.

I remember the steep technical descent in a rutted, technical rocky section between miles 8 & 9. I was passing so many others, and going so fast that at one point I literally flew down the course.

Yes, I know what "literally" means.

I always wondered what would happen to my attitude about downhills if I ever took a big fall on a steep, rocky downhill section (my occasional falls have generally been gently with soft landings). I caught my toe on a rock while speeding down, and went airborne in full, arms-outstretched Superman mode. Unfortunately I was unable to fly all the way down past the rocks and came down in a bad place.

Fortunately, God sent an angel to protect my face, head and bony parts. My water bottle protected my left hand. My right hand doesn't look bad, but the bleeding didn't stop for about a half hour afterwards. (Unfortunately, I had just taken my gloves off). If there had been sharks, I would have been in trouble.

My lower left leg got pretty messed up. I couldn't see how much because (fortunately) I was wearing tights. I could tell that the tights were torn, the shin was scraped up and the leg was basically sound.

Fortunately no one saw me (the people I passed were still a ways behind). So I stood up, surveyed the damage, said "ouch" or something like that and did what our dads and coaches always told us (us boys, that is) to do in such a case: "shake it off". The whole thing took less than a minute and didn't bother me (though I could feel it, and the blood dripping off my hand in two places was a nuisance). I continued down the downhills fearlessly. Of course, one might argue, it really wasn't all THAT bad of a fall.

When I finished and took my tights off, it looked like you'd expect- road rash and some funny and impressive swelling.

Way Too Cool results are posted here.

Are you motivated by sex?

2009-03-06T10:58:00.000-08:00

If so, get exercising!

I was tempted to link an article a couple days ago showing that overweight people found less pleasure in sex than folks with a more ideal Body Mass Index.

But I wasn't sure if it would come across as motivational or as, well, something else.

But today's surfing uncovered a new study showing that statins (the drugs nearly everyone over 50 seems to take to lower their cholesterol) also lead to a decrease in sexual pleasure.

Exercising helps control weight and improves your cholesterol.

Motivated yet?

Life! Affirmation! Diversity! ... oh, never mind.

2009-03-05T14:01:00.000-08:00

I'll just copy and paste this one in full. Via James Taranto:

"Some students at Alveda King's speech Tuesday night did not expect a strictly literal interpretation of the advertised 'life affirming choices' speech," reports Central Michigan Life, student newspaper of Mount Pleasant's Central Michigan University:

The niece of Dr. Martin Luther King spoke out strongly against abortion at her "Can the Dream Survive?" presentation in Warriner Hall's Plachta Auditorium. Some students were surprised to learn that was the topic of her lecture. Several of the about 650-person audience walked out.

"I felt a little misled personally," said Flint senior Detrone Turner, who said he thought the speech was going to be about increasing diversity.

And of course the best way to increase "diversity" is by refusing to listen to anyone you disagree with.

Lassie the cat

2009-03-04T12:00:00.001-08:00

A Bremerton Fire Department official says an elderly woman has her cat to thank for saving her life in a smoky house fire.

The woman's smoke alarm was going off as smoke billowed through the vents from her home heater but she slept through it. Her cat jumped up on the bed and pawed at her face until she woke up.

Says Fire Lt. Charlie Rinard, "If the cat hadn't woken her up, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have made it."

We're Out of McNuggets! Call 911! (seriously)

2009-03-03T10:45:00.000-08:00

Key Excerpts from Today's Police Log:

Told McDonald's was out of Chicken McNuggets after paying for a 10-piece, a local woman called 911.

Three times.

"I called 911 because I couldn't get a refund, and I wanted my McNuggets," Goodman told police.

"Goodman maintained the attitude 'this is an emergency, my McNuggets are an emergency,'" the report states.

Goodman's 10-piece selection has 460 calories and 29 grams of fat.

When I was a boy...

2009-03-02T09:32:00.000-08:00

So you don't believe that when I was a boy I had to walk 5 miles through the snow and broken glass uphill both ways to a one-room unheated schoolhouse?

Here's proof:

Today kids want Wiis and Gameboys and stuff for their birthdays.

When I was a boy, this was cutting edge toy-dom:

Physical Fitness + Nature Time = Smart & Steady

2009-02-26T09:27:00.004-08:00

I'll bet this also applies to middle-age adults and senior citizens:

Last month, Harvard researchers reported in The Journal of School Health that the more physical fitness tests children passed, the better they did on academic tests. The study, of 1,800 middle school students, suggests that children can benefit academically from physical activity during gym class and recess.
A small study of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder last year found that walks outdoors appeared to improve scores on tests of attention and concentration. Notably, children who took walks in natural settings did better than those who walked in urban areas, according to the report, published online in August in The Journal of Attention Disorders. The researchers found that a dose of nature worked as well as a dose of medication to improve concentration, or even better.

20,000 miles! Woo-hoo!

2009-02-26T09:27:00.003-08:00

That's like running to the moon and back 0.04 times!

(see my running stats in the right hand column).

A Touchy-Feely Running Story

2009-02-23T19:35:00.001-08:00

So, Saturday morning Ted, Steve, Mark and I took off for a little 23 mile run (that was my sales pitch anyway). Steve said he could only go part way, claiming that he had a life or something. We ran over the river (on an ancient dilapidated footbridge) and through the woods, down to the Sundial Bridge (where Steve turned back), up to the Fisherman's trail by Keswick Dam and headed back home by (mostly) another way.

On the return to Sundial we left Mark where Steve had left us as Ted and I planned to run up the Water Tower Hill and Mark was, after 20 miles, pretty much out of gas. Mark believes that running should be painful and involve lots of suffering and that therefore, training is cheating. He just takes off on long runs and races with minimum preparation and somehow remains cheerful as he slows down more and more with each passing mile. By the time we left him he was in the gear that Ted accurately named, "Glacial".

No one has seen Mark since.

Ted stuck with me up the hill and up a few more hills until, at mile 23 (about 2 miles short of the finish) he dug way down deep and found... nothing. Bonk! I left him behind as well, ignoring the little naggy internal voice of conscience humming "He ain't heavy, he's your brother...", and pressed on.

As I past Mark's house, with Ted's car out front, I thought of good buddy Ted, crawling back on all fours through the mud and broken glass and I reached into my pockets to see if I had some memento I could leave on his car as a token of affection and penance. But alas, I had no Hallmark card, no money, no trinkets or fancy gifts in my pockets for Ted. But I took everything I found there, EVERYTHING I had, and I left it all for him, on his windshield. I held nothing back.

Isn't that the truth, Ted?

For all you moms!

2009-02-19T15:03:00.000-08:00

Trillions of dollars!

2009-02-19T08:06:00.000-08:00

The federal government is spending money so fast, trillions and trillions of new spending and bailouts, that a billion dollars is beginning to sound like pocket change. Granted, a dollar isn't a lot of money, but then a minute isn't a lot of time either... yet the New Testament is barely a billion minutes old.

In Me I Trust

2009-02-19T07:59:00.000-08:00

God is opposed to the proud and gives grace to the humble. So it isn't surprising that the world's top expert on Top Experts says that the most trustworthy experts are the most humble. Hubris and arrogance goeth before the fall. Sometimes it takes awhile, but an inability to be self-critical is always a ticking time bomb. This interview is about financial experts, but applies to all of us:

How can we nonexperts test our own hunches?
Listen to yourself talk to yourself. If you're being swept away with enthusiasm for some particular course of action, take a deep breath and ask: Can I see anything wrong with this? And if you can't, start worrying; you are about to go over a cliff.

David After the Dentist

2009-02-15T18:00:00.000-08:00

"Is this real life?"

Busted!

2009-02-14T16:29:00.000-08:00

Why do men run ultras?

Two words: Childbirth Envy

Here's proof!

A Most Wonderful Rant

2009-02-13T12:51:00.000-08:00

National Pastors Convention- 1

2009-02-11T21:56:00.001-08:00

So far, so good. The first worship band, Ashton Hill, was OK, but seemed pretty generic to me. The current band, Sons of Korah (pic), have set the psalms to music and are absolutely phenomenal.

Highlights: This morning's message by Rob Bell on the need for pastors to forgive. To really, really forgive. If we want to survive. It was good to know that the various criticisms and such I get are pretty much par for the course; yeah, I partly deserve them but at least I'm not getting it any worse than anyone else. The downside is, that means it will never go away! And that's why practicing real forgiveness is so important. I'm pretty good at that, but I can slip into feeling sorry for myself or getting too down on myself. Thanks, Rob!

Yesterday's seminar by Larry Osborne on "Sticky Church" was about retaining the people you already have. Well, that was the topic, and it was about that, but mostly it was about strategic ministry through small groups and I got lots and lots of good insights and ideas.

I stopped at the Apple Store next door and it was the slowest I've ever seen it there. The Apple guy, when he found out I was a pastor, hung around and talked with me about faith and church for about 15 minutes.

Apple might be feeling the recession but, to my surprise, the Conference attendance is quite a bit up from last year's.

Competition is better than Monopoly

2009-02-10T09:50:00.000-08:00

I'm heading to the National Pastors Convention (I won a free registration). Meanwhile, here's wisdom from Thomas Sowell:

Human beings are going to make mistakes, whether in the market or in the government. The difference is that survival in the market requires recognizing mistakes and changing course before you go bankrupt. But survival in politics requires denying mistakes and sticking with the policies you advocated, while blaming others for the bad results.

Rainbow Run

2009-02-07T21:33:00.001-08:00

Today in San Diego County. More pics on my facebook page.

Today's Amazing Athlete

2009-02-02T21:19:00.000-08:00

This one's a little different, but just as awesome:

Great run, record month!

2009-01-31T20:58:00.000-08:00

Ted and Steve and Mark and I ran the big 31 mile Shasta Dam- Ribbon Bridge loop today (Steve and Mark cut out at Mark's car at mile 23). I only went off course once, and I had to ignore Ted's insistent protests to do that. Otherwise it was a fine run on a very warm January day. I finished the month with 322 miles, breaking my old one month record of 311; only my third time above 300 (only my 6th time above 250 for that matter). I'm feeling pretty strong as I continue to prepare for the Cool 50K on March 14. The next couple weeks my running will be a lot lighter as I'll be on the road with much of my schedule dictated by others. Ted took these pics: the first in the rail trail tunnel; the second on Shasta Dam. Since I had just run up the 800' climb to the dam my air time was a little subpar.

What Will They Think of Next?

2009-01-30T16:31:00.000-08:00

Another Day, Another Insanity

2009-01-29T22:30:00.000-08:00

Insanely Good: Part 2

2009-01-28T23:03:00.000-08:00

Them NFL dudes got nothing on this dancer: strongest man on the planet?

The Legacy of the Boomers?

2009-01-28T09:16:00.000-08:00

If anyone wished to know what the baby-boomer generation would do when, in its full maturity, it hit its first self-created, big-time recession, I think we are seeing the hysterical results. After two decades of unprecedented economic growth, rampant consumer spending, and unimaginable borrowing to satisfy our insatiable appetites, we are suddenly going into even larger debt and printing trillions of dollars in paper money to ensure that someone else after we are gone pays the debt.

Speaking as a bona fide baby boomer, I guess I should feel defensive about Victor Hansen's remarks, but I figure the next generation is going to figure out how badly we (forgive the verb, but I can't think of another that fits) screwed them within the next decade or so and by then it will be undeniable anyway.

The current "stimulus" package going through Congress with Obama's blessing will either:

1. Greatly improve the economy.
2. Have no significant effect.
3. Make things worse.

Unless #1 comes true, it's hard to see how spending nearly $3000 for every every man, woman and child in America is justified when future generations will have to pay it back with interest.

Personally, I don't think the bill, with its billions for TV converter boxes and the like, will do any good but will make it harder to fix things (like Medicare) in the future. I hope I'm wrong. I'll even be tempted to vote Dem next time if I am. But it sure looks to me like more of the same kind of thinking that got California into the mess we're in already.

At best I suspect it may turn out be an OK deal for those of us 50 and over and a rotten deal for everyone else. Of course, it will get spun as: "It did work! Granted the economy still stinks, but it would have been even worse without it."

Whatever. Just don't blame this baby boomer if I'm right.

Japanese T-Shirts

2009-01-27T22:18:00.000-08:00

Everybody loves worm puppy sometime...

I just hope #124815 sees this before it's too late!

And we'll keep loving myself until we get it right!

I'm glad to see you too. Now back away, verrry slowly...

How Good? INSANELY Good!

2009-01-25T20:58:00.000-08:00

HT: Ted Hering

The Gospel according to America

2009-01-24T23:41:00.000-08:00

American quasi-christian folk religion is best summed up in that great Christmas "carol" that we all know so well...

You better watch out, you better not cry,
You better not pout, I'm telling you why,
Santa Claus is coming to town.

He's making a list and checking it twice,
He's going to find out who's naughty and nice...

He sees you when you're sleeping,
He knows when you're awake,
He knows if you've been bad or good,
So be good for goodness sake!

The interpretation isn't difficult. It's a Christmas song and Jesus ("Santa Claus") came the first time on Christmas Day and He's coming back for Judgment Day. In the meantime He is watching you and keeping score and every good and bad little boy and girl will get what they have coming to them so YOU BETTER BE GOOD!

So we all (well, most of us) sort of try to be good (as we each define "good"), but we're worried because actually we haven't always been all THAT good (even by our own lax standards!) and lo and behold, Christmas comes- an annual dress rehearsal for the Great White Throne, and YAY!!!- we got lots of goodies.

And so did the brat next door and the bully on the playground and the delinquent down the street and... pretty much everyone we know, regardless of how good or bad they seemed to actually behave.

It seems Santa is pretty much just bluffing, trying to squeeze a few random acts of kindness out of any gullible boys and girls, but he's really just a big old pushover who loves giving out toys and in the end, he just throws out all his lists and scorecards and EVERYONE GETS THE GOODIES!

Yay! Yay! and Double Yay!

And that's how God works and that's how salvation works and that's how the final judgment will work and so go ahead and try to be good if you want, but it really doesn't matter much to the Grand Ol' Teddy Bear in the Sky.

This morning

2009-01-23T09:02:00.001-08:00

By the time I found the camera the mist had risen. Too bad.

Meet the New Boss...

2009-01-22T08:43:00.000-08:00

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Changefest '09 - Obama's Inaugural Speech

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

I am not making this up...

2009-01-21T18:30:00.000-08:00

Actual headline, from a real newspaper (not the Onion):

Former French President Chirac hospitalised after mauling by his clinically depressed poodle

Maybe next time he'll just surrender?

The Democrats are in Power. You're a Republican. Now What?

2009-01-21T09:02:00.001-08:00

Here's some excellent advice. Direct from Hollywood! Example:

And finally, DON’T use the fact that many on the left behaved abominably for the past eight years as an excuse to behave the same way. America needs adults. And if it bothered you when they did it, it’s a good sign that you shouldn’t do it.

My Strange Body

2009-01-20T09:48:00.001-08:00

1. I STILL have laryngitis. The doctor says not to worry, but I may need a few weeks of complete silence to get better. We'll make that decision next month. I can talk fine when I'm running, but as soon as I stop I go all hoarse and crackly. I may need to preach from a treadmill!

2. I also asked the doc about my shoulder, which has been bugging me since it mysteriously began hurting last May. It's a mild pain, not noticeable most of the time, but still, I'm too young to be old. I had it X-rayed and was told there was some calcification and I'd need to see a physical therapist. That night it hurt much worse than it's ever hurt before- woke me up and kept me awake several times. The next day it stopped hurting altogether. Hasn't bothered me since- first time since May. Go figure. My atheist and agnostic friends will be happy to know that no special praying (that I know of) was involved.

3. If I make it thru the next 2 weeks, this will only be the third time I've run more than 300 miles in a month (twice my norm). The other times it was really tough, then just near the end of the month I'd start feeling better and end up feeling like superman (running wise). Early last week, less than halfway through the month, I was really struggling. Legs of lead. Slower than a speeding snail. Then (about the same time as my shoulder got better) it passed and I got the superman feeling back. Sometimes, if you push your body too hard, it breaks. Sometimes it says, "hey, if we're going to have to work this hard we better get stronger... fast!". You wouldn't want to race me up a mountain right now!

More Signage

2009-01-17T17:31:00.000-08:00

On Making Good Decisions

2009-01-16T09:50:00.001-08:00

Though he was commenting on the economy, David Brooks said something that I'll be thinking about for awhile in the context of "life in general":

As Jonah Lehrer writes in his forthcoming book, “How We Decide,” there are certain circumstances (often when there are many options) in which gut instincts lead to the best decisions, while there are other circumstances (sometimes when there are a few options) when calm deliberation is best.

Brooks also noted that the old view of consumers and investors as "rational" is now seen as too simplistic, and that other psychological factors need to be given greater consideration than in the past. I believe the Bible has been making the same point. Repeatedly. Emphatically.

Unfortunately Brooks doesn't explicitly mention sin per se, but obviously baser motives such as greed and fear have long been known to affect consumption and investing decisions. Today we are experiencing the consequences.

Nevertheless, back to the money quote by Lehrer on "How We Decide". Verrrrry Interesting. In the context of Proverbs 3:5-6, of course.

Relativism = Nothing-ism

2009-01-14T20:43:00.000-08:00

from The Dictatorship of Relativism:

It is often said that relativism is the conviction that, when it comes to morals, there are no such things as absolute values and, when it comes to knowledge, there is no such thing as absolute truth. It is worth meditating on the use of the word “absolute” here. If there were a law against abusing innocent words, we would be justified in contacting OSHA about this unfair exploitation of “absolute.”
What a relativist really believes (or believes he believes) is that 1) there is no such thing as value and 2) there is no such thing as truth. The word “absolute” is merely an emollient, a verbal sedative intended to forestall unhappiness. What after all is the difference between saying “There is no such thing as absolute truth” and saying “There is no such thing as truth”? Take your time.

My one disagreement would be that I really don't believe that relativists really believe what they say the believe. They may SAY they don't believe in Value or Truth, but they act, over and over and over again, as if they do. Which is to say, Values and Truth are inescapable. Absolutely.

The Mystery of Prayer

2009-01-14T09:35:00.000-08:00

When you pray for someone, say for a friend who needs to lose weight, you are dealing with at least three volitions: There is your friend's own choosing/acting/free will, which obviously does not disappear when you pray for them to make certain choices. There is God's perfect plan and sovereign will for the situation as He looks down and in His wisdom steers people according to His plan; obviously He will not move in a way that thwarts His perfect will just because you pray otherwise. And there is your prayer (and mine), which, according to the Bible, has power to move God and people, but obviously (thank God) is not sovereign.

So what exactly does intercessory prayer do? It doesn't over-ride your friend's will; it doesn't make God act differently than He knows is best. Yet Jesus said repeatedly that it does make a difference with God and man and history.

Will someone not be saved because I didn't pray for them? Because I didn't pray for them enough? (Jesus taught the importance of persisting in prayer). Because enough people didn't pray for them enough? Surely no one will be denied heaven because someone else was slack in praying! So does intercession do anything? Jesus says, emphatically, YES!!!

So what does it do?

I don't exactly know (and neither do you!).

But I believe that part of it must be to show us the interconnectedness of all lives. My life, God's Life, your life, (and everyone else's lives) are all interconnected in mysterious and unfathomable ways. God ultimately controls the circle of connectedness but you and I have the God-given ability to add fresh input into the circle and so affect all the connected parties.

Sometimes God over-rides your acts and my prayers, sometimes He honors our choices, even if they aren't what He would have chosen. When I'm tight with God, my prayers tend to more closely reflect His will and are more consistently effectual ("If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it shall be done for you.").

Many years ago I was deeply moved to pray fervently and consistently for my younger sister for a year. I had little contact with her that year (2000 miles away) but she met a Christian guy (to whom she is now married) and became a Christian that year. She chose to respond to God's grace, God intended to save her before He prompted me to pray, but my prayers brought me into God's plan and were part of the circuit.

The absolute literal truth: No man is an island. But how prayer works is still a mystery to me. But then so is advanced physics. And people are more complex than particles!

You Asked for a Sign...

2009-01-13T20:34:00.000-08:00

Scotte Hodel

2009-01-10T10:35:00.000-08:00

I just learned that Scotte passed away last night. As I wrote to his wife, I don't think I've ever felt so sad at the passing of someone who I'd never met.

The following is a poem his daughter wrote for him at Christmas. It has a lot of "insider" references to stories that Scotte told her/ read to her when she was young, but no matter...

Daddy
By Kayla Hodel
12/26/2008

I dreamt last night that I was young
Little enough to crawl between you knees
I was so excited to find you smiling down at me.
Just to know that you thought I was
Ta Petite, Your Little Girl

[prechorus]
It's 1 am and I don't know
How much longer before I'll sleep
But Daddy, oh Daddy please

[chorus]
Tell me again 'bout how a donkey
Taught a man to honor God
Or sing to me again about
The steps it takes to follow
All my days.
And is that Roscoe in the sky
Sniffing treasures up in space?
And if you reach the end of your song,
Is there a monster there to make me laugh?

I slept too late, I grew so fast
But my Daddy, he held on tight
I loved it all - the laughs, the cries,
The "momma" look I'd practice with my eyes
When you'd tell a joke that gotten so old
No considerate person would let it be told.
But Daddy, oh Daddy please-

[chorus]

But Daddy, I love you, I love all your crazy smiles
I love you for your nose's appreciation of food
I love you for your teaching and your playful fiddlings
You've taught me more than you'll ever know.
What can I give in return?

[bridge]
Do I get my Gonzo at the end of the book?
The one who can do voices and crazy looks?
Do I get to keep you, my daddy?
A child is a gift, but I think God regifted-
Because when you got older he gave you to me.

Pray for Scotte's wife Viva and for Kayla and Adam. Their faith is strong, but how can you not miss a guy like Scotte?

Supreme Lack of Utility

2009-01-10T10:15:00.000-08:00

"... Perhaps the genius of ultrarunning is its supreme lack of utility. It makes no sense in a world of spaceships and supercomputers to run vast distances on foot. There is no money in it and no fame, frequently not even the approval of peers. But as poets, apostles and philosophers have insisted from the dawn of time, there is more to life than logic and common sense. The ultra runners know this instinctively.

And they know something else that is lost on the sedentary. They understand, perhaps better than anyone, that the doors to the spirit will swing open with physical effort. In running such long and taxing distances they answer a call from the deepest realms of their being -- a call that asks who they are ..."

- David Blaikie

(Hat tip: Paige @ A Serious Case of the Runs)

Spelunking

2009-01-10T10:10:00.001-08:00

I used to do a fair amount of spelunking in southern Illinois and Indiana when I was in high school. We'd hike out through some farmer's field in the hills to a hidden cave entrance only hard-core spelunkers knew about and go down, maybe crawling on our bellies for awhile before coming into a huge cavern or perhaps hauling in an inflatable raft to an underground river with blind albino fish. But we never did anything like THESE. Click on either pic to see some really amazing cave pictures...

The View from the Deck

2009-01-09T19:37:00.000-08:00

This morning at sunrise and last month in the snow:
My cat's name is Nehi. Can you figure out why? (Two reasons).

True Love Waits

2009-01-09T08:24:00.000-08:00

Yes, please, read the whole thing!

"Virginity Pledges Don't Stop Teen Sex," screams CBS News. "Virginity pledges don't mean much," adds CNN. "Study questions virginity pledges," says the Chicago Tribune. "Premarital Abstinence Pledges Ineffective, Study Finds," heralds the Washington Post. "Virginity Pledges Fail to Trump Teen Lust in Look at Older Data," reports Bloomberg. And on it goes.

In other words, teens will be teens, and moms or dads who believe that concepts such as restraint or morality have any application today are living in a dream world. Typical was the lead for the CBS News story: "Teenagers who take virginity pledges are no less sexually active than other teens, according to a new study."

Here's the rub: It just isn't true.

Physical - Spiritual (Matthew 8)

2009-01-08T08:41:00.000-08:00

I read Matthew 8 this morning, in which the physical and spiritual worlds collide with the advent of Jesus' ministry on earth. He heals with a word, calms a storm the same way; casts demons into pigs and, rather than give thanks that the demons are gone, the people complain about the loss of pigs.

Human beings, alone among physical creatures, have spirits. The physical and spiritual worlds collide in every human being. Everything else that is physical is only physical. Everything else that is spiritual (angels, demons, Our Heavenly Father, cherubim, etc) is only spiritual. Only humans (including Jesus) are both.

The physical and spiritual worlds meet in the human mind. Our mind is physical- without your brain-meat your mind doesn't function! Our mind is spiritual and non-physical. We can think immaterial thoughts and contact God and control our physical bodies with our mental powers.

The spiritual immaterial part of a Christian's mind- his spirit or soul, has been regenerated and seeks God. The physical, the human brain, is still "flesh"- unredeemed until we die and our raised with new bodies, new brains - and still has lots of bad habits and inclinations.

In Matthew 8, at the onset of his revelation of how to be fully human, Jesus demonstrated that a person who is walking with God has authority over the physical world, authority over the spiritual world, and can live in the spirit of Romans 8:28 (Jesus' calm in the storm) because God's peace and love control his spirit and he knows that when this body is lost it will be replaced by one that isn't defective.

He has this authority because God has this authority and he lives only for God's glory and will.

The people in Matthew 8 didn't get it. Do we?

Thinkin' 'bout my sugar...

2009-01-07T00:20:00.000-08:00

The average American consumes about 150# of sugar per year (I've seen estimates ranging from 135 to 185). Hunger is a God-given desire. God built hunger into our bodies so we would eat the food we need to get the nutrition we need to be active and healthy.

Say we need about 2100 calories a day. In the Garden of Eden we could wander around and our hunger would lead us to eat about 2100 calories of the goodies there (carefully avoiding the apples or whatever that forbidden fruit really was) and in so doing we would get all of our nutritional needs met: fat, protein, vitamins, fiber, minerals, etc.

Now say that each day we eat 1400 calories of that good nutritional food and 700 calories of sugar. What's the problem? Obviously we are only getting about 2/3 of our actual nutritional needs met now.

If we consume 700 calories of sugar a day we either need to eat 2100 calories of real food (for our nutritional needs) and the additional 700 calories of sugar will make us gain one pound every five days or, if we limit ourselves to 2100 calories total we rob our bodies of much of the nutrition they need to function at their ideal capacities.

And yes, 150# of sugar works out to approximately 700 calories a day.

My problem is I'm training hard this month, which means I need an extra 1000 calories a day, and I can't figure out how to do that without eating a lot of sugar and fat (I'm not feeling much sympathy here!). Well, I know how to do it in theory, but I get tired of fruit and whole grains after awhile.

In fact, if there were any donuts in the house right now...

Today's "Message" (Mt 6)

2009-01-06T09:15:00.000-08:00

Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.

Use the phrase "Running Fast" in a sentence...

2009-01-04T23:00:00.000-08:00

How shall I fast? Let me count the ways. There's:

The partial food fast (fast from one or more types of foods, generally the smaller the breadth of the fast, the longer the time frame: e.g., fast from beef for a month, from meat for a week, from fat for a day).
The complete food fast: one meal, one day or longer.
The solid food fast (certain types of liquids only)- one day or longer.
The non-food fast: abstain from some regularly used, non-sinful, enjoyable item or activity for a day or longer; e.g., from the internet or other media; from a hobby (running?), etc.

Why fast? In the Bible fasting was often associated with mourning and repentance and prayer and was undertaken in response to a crisis or great need. A regular (non-crisis) fast helps us learn that we do not have to obey the flesh's every craving; helps us step outside of our habitual activities and better understand the place and power they hold in our lives; help us better understand hungering and thirsting for God; serves as a constant reminder to pray; etc.

Facebook?

2009-01-04T19:50:00.000-08:00

I'm on Facebook and after ignoring it for a long time a bunch of people asked me to be their "friends" so I'm trying to figure out how to best make use of it. It seems like a good idea in theory, but sort of clunky to use in practice.

It enables me to touch base quickly with some folk I couldn't otherwise have found, but I'm not really into the whole "Right now I'm thinking of trimming my eyebrows but I can't find the hedge clippers..." genre.

OTOH, I did put a whole bunch of cool pics up there- an easy way to share photos. And I think it has capabilities I haven't yet discovered (and maybe never will).

At least now I can keep an eye on the teens in our church (and vice versa?).

Shasta Dam to Sundial Bridge

2009-01-01T16:39:00.000-08:00

Steve, Ted and Shasta Dam

Mark V leaving Shasta Lake far behind

Runalong, high above the Sacramento River

1/3 of the way to Sundial

Ted and Steve running the power line hills

The glass-bottomed finish line

The four of us are now averaging 20 miles per day for 2009. At this rate we'll each run over 7000 miles this year!

Very Tempting...

2008-12-31T17:49:00.000-08:00

Running Goals for 2009

2008-12-31T14:43:00.000-08:00

Yeah, it would be a lot easier if my goals would just stand still...

But, while I have numerous spiritual and personal goals for the year, I'm not willing to publish most of those here (but you can ask me when privately if you lay awake nights wondering!).

Running-wise (and I always run wisely), my big goal for the year is to run three 100M races this summer. It takes me a long time to recover from a 100M race and I generally do one a year, so this is, for me, a big goal.

I like to have a big goal each year for motivation. It's easy to run when the weather is nice, but at other times just knowing that if I don't train I'm going to end up in deep doo-doo down the road, is a highly motivating reminder.

I'm also hoping to set a PR (personal record) at the Cool 50K in March. Cool was my first ultra (2001) and I finished in 5:18. The two times I've run Cool since I finished in around 5:30 and 6:00. My fastest 50K is 5:12 at McKenzie River though I did a 4:30 at "50K" that was actually a few K short of full deck.

All of which means, after two months of light running (100M per month) I've got to get cranking starting tomorrow. I did get 2100+ miles in for the year, a lot for me; and I'm rapidly closing in on 20,000 miles lifetime (19,553 since 1997).

We've got a pretty good New Year run planned, I may even have pics for you... next year. May your 2009 be a year of prayers answered beyond your expectations!

The world's most patient man

2008-12-28T16:03:00.000-08:00

How valuable is patience? This guy can't read or write, but because he's the world's most patient man, he just earned $20 million dollars for his work!

Hat tip: Ted H

An Honest Atheist

2008-12-27T10:01:00.000-08:00

What's amazing about this article isn't what is being observed (the power of the gospel to change lives from the inside out) but the person doing the observing. Please read the whole thing!

Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.

Trash-talkin' Wives!

2008-12-27T09:54:00.000-08:00

My wife (and for that matter, most of the wives I know personally), avoids the problem discussed here (with only occasional slip-ups!) but I've observed many, many wives in my time who couldn't seem to stop putting down their hubs; whether they were present or not.

OTOH, I've heard lots of men put down their wives to their faces, but almost never hear a man say anything bad about his wife when she isn't present.

Before anyone calls me a sexist: it's OK if there are some ways in which men behave better than women. When I was a kid I thought cats were girls and dogs were boys. Lots of people today seem to believe that women and girls are angels and men and boys are devils.

"I think women are likely to notice so much more easily the things that aren't getting done," Mrs. Weiner-Davis said. "If they happen to notice what does get done, since women are often perfectionists, the only thing husbands hear is what they aren't doing right. Who wants that?"

Quite frankly, I am not surprised. I honestly don't think women spend much time thinking about how they treat their husbands.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T21:40:00.001-08:00

Focus!

2008-12-16T09:19:00.001-08:00

In our church, we call our small groups "Focus Groups" and tell everyone that the purpose is to help us keep our focus on the right things. One of my main goals as a pastor in this culture is to try to figure out how to help Christians be more focused, and thus disciplined, in their spiritual and relational lives.

The "seven deadly sins" include one called "sloth". But "sloth" as defined by the church never meant sheer laziness. Rather it meant a lack of passion, or focus, for the things of God. You can be very busy, very disciplined, very focused (on lesser things) and still be slothful in the eyes of God. Many activities are simply ways of avoiding authentic commitment to our Lord.

David Brooks touched on this today, in his NYT column:

Control of attention is the ultimate individual power. People who can do that are not prisoners of the stimuli around them. They can choose from the patterns in the world and lengthen their time horizons. This individual power leads to others. It leads to self-control, the ability to formulate strategies in order to resist impulses. If forced to choose, we would all rather our children be poor with self-control than rich without it.
It leads to resilience, the ability to persevere with an idea even when all the influences in the world say it can’t be done. A common story among entrepreneurs is that people told them they were too stupid to do something, and they set out to prove the jerks wrong.
It leads to creativity. Individuals who can focus attention have the ability to hold a subject or problem in their mind long enough to see it anew.

As we approach a new year, it's the perfect time for each of us to do some self-evaluation and ask ourselves: what am I focused on? What am I TOO focused on? What am I not focused enough on? What do I need to change to get my priorities where I want them to be?

Today's Political Commentary

2008-12-16T08:40:00.000-08:00

In response to the President's request at the end of this interview:

Taking care of wife and baby...

2008-12-13T20:18:00.000-08:00

People Unclear on the Concept(s)...

2008-12-11T21:12:00.000-08:00

Exhibits A and B:

The top pic is for real (San Diego - I only hope that they are going up the down escalator). The bottom pic? Must be another megachurch built around the Pastor's (Chris's) charisma. I never have to worry about that!

You asked for a sign...

2008-12-11T21:08:00.000-08:00

Both offer good advice...

CIM: My Head is Spinning

2008-12-07T16:46:00.000-08:00

My goal, when I signed up for the California International Marathon, was to break 3:46 and qualify for the Boston Marathon in 2010. But later, after running a half-marathon last month in 1:39 I realized I should be able to break 3:36 and qualify for 2009 (the standard gets easier as I get older). I also thought, that with an ideal race, I could break 3:30. CIM is a fast course, might as well go for it!

My goals came into question when I spent about 21 of the 35 days prior to the race suffering from various colds. The last, and worst cold is the one that left me with laryngitis up to the race and a very nasty deep dry cough. The night before the race I was kept awake most of the night by my coughing.

So I went into the race undertrained and badly needing sleep.

I started out at a 3:35 pace, running at around 7:45 minutes-per-mile with one-minute walking breaks each mile for an 8:12 mpm average. This worked out fine for 17 miles. The weather was cool, dry, windless, ideal.

At mile 17 I started to feel dizzy and walked a minute until it went away. From there to the finish I kept getting dizzy when I ran, but it would clear up if I walked a minute. This slowed me up a lot. And my legs started tightening up (lack of training). I'm not sure what caused the dizziness, but it may have been an after-effect of the cold or the sleeplessness.

I still managed to hang on for a 3:39 finish. And I felt much better after a nap.

On Giving 100%

2008-12-06T22:17:00.000-08:00

A fellow ultrarunner posted the text from a sign he really liked (on the door of a gym):

"By entering here, you agree to give 100% of what you have. There are no second chances. Every day, every moment is an opportunity to excel, to be more, to be your best. Do not squander your time by going through the motions. Train hard and get results. At the end of the day, look in the mirror and ask yourself if you gave it your all. If you do not have this type of commitment, do not waste your time or ours"

I responded:

One of the greatest challenges of life is figuring out how to give 100%, 100% of the time. If you literally give 100% to your workout, you may not have much left for the remaining 16 hours of the day. If you give 100% to the first 100 yards of an ultra, you'll fall short of 100% for the race.

One of the most transferable lessons I learn from ultras is pacing. What's a pace I can sustain and give my most and my best to all my responsibilities? Giving 100% to marriage or parenting or spiritual growth or friends or even to a career is a lot more challenging than giving 100% to a race or a workout and involves incorporating rhythms of rest and restoration, etc.

It's the greatest challenge (and for me, one more area where I find Jesus to be the perfect role model- "Run with endurance the race set before you, fixing your eyes on Jesus..." [Heb 12:1-2]). There is something within me that so wants not to give anywhere near 100%, and something else, deeper, that won't settle for less.

Life lived well isn't easy.

Life lived easy isn't really life.

Silent Reading

2008-12-06T11:44:00.000-08:00

It's been a strange week, being muted by laryngitis. I had to cancel all my appointments, including a message I was supposed to give at the seminary chapel. Mostly I've been doing lots of reading. My voice is barely starting to return (barely) and providentially I was planning to take this weekend off to go to Sacramento to visit "the kids" and run a marathon. I wouldn't have been able to preach anyway.

My energy finally started to come back Thursday and I've done a couple of tune-up runs and my lungs are clear so I'll give the marathon a go. Should be OK. I still have a nasty deep dry painful nighttime cough, but today's the first day my throat hasn't hurt.

Here are some of the books I've been reading in the past few weeks:

Jesus and the Victory of God, by NT Wright (scholarship on the historical Jesus)
Full Dark House, Christopher Fowler (mystery, good but not great)
Refiner's Fire, Mark Helperin (long, outstanding novel!)
Blue Latitudes, Tony Horwitz (re: Captain Cook)
The History of Christian Thought, Jonathan Hill (basic but I need the review)
Sources of the Self, Charles Taylor (great book by a great philosopher, very deep)
Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered, James Wilhoit (excellent and comprehensive guide to spiritual growth)
The Unnecessary Pastor, Eugene Peterson & Martha Dawn (various essays on spiritual leadership)

How Much Would You Pay?

2008-12-05T09:22:00.000-08:00

Back to the title question in a moment. First:

CHICAGO – Older adults who exercise regularly show increased cerebral blood flow and a greater number of small blood vessels in the brain, according to findings presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

The study, conducted at the University of North Carolina (UNC) – Chapel Hill, is the first to compare brain scans of older adults who exercise to brain scans of those who do not.

"Our results show that exercise may reduce age-related changes in brain vasculature and blood flow," said presenter Feraz Rahman, M.S., currently a medical student at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. "Other studies have shown that exercise prevents cognitive decline in the elderly. The blood vessel and flow differences may be one reason."

The researchers recruited 12 healthy adults, age 60 to 76. Six of the adults had participated in aerobic exercise for three or more hours per week over the last 10 years, and six exercised less than one hour per week. All of the volunteers underwent MRI to determine cerebral blood flow and MR angiography to depict blood vessels in the brain.

Using a novel method of three-dimensional (3-D) computer reconstruction developed in their lab, the researchers were able to make 3-D models of the blood vessels and examine them for shape and size. They then compared the blood vessel characteristics and how they related to blood flow in both the active and inactive groups.

The results showed that the inactive group exhibited fewer small blood vessels in the brain, along with more unpredictable blood flow through the brain.

"The active adults had more small blood vessels and improved cerebral blood flow," said the study's senior author, J. Keith Smith, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of radiology at UNC School of Medicine. "These findings further point out the importance of regular exercise to healthy aging."

Granted, this is a very small study (link); it is supported by many other studies (granted, the word "prevent" in paragraph 3 should be "slows"); and is intuitively supported by the long-known fact that aerobic exercise causes the body to grow new capillaries (one major reason why running becomes a lot easier about six weeks after you start a consistent program).

Added to all the other proven psychological and physical benefits of aerobic exercise (check out this, that, and the other), try this little thought experiment: How much would you pay for a daily pill that could provide for you all the benefits that running provides? $5, $10 a day? More?

Guess how far I ran last night...

2008-12-02T23:48:00.001-08:00

Speechless

2008-12-01T16:48:00.000-08:00

The day began with a coughing fit that left me with a headache and a stomach ache. I felt like I was about to cough up my stomach lining and decided that the only reasonable thing to do was to rush over to Dr. Tim's office, interrupt whatever he was doing with some whiny hypochondriac "patient", and demand an immediate prescription for the strongest cough medicine known to man. And full anesthesia until it was filled.

The flaw in my brilliant plan was the realization that as soon as I barged in and attempted to commence shouting my demands, nothing would happen. Or everyone would laugh at me. Because today, my lips move, but no sound comes out.

Fortunately, the OTC cough syrup that did nothing yesterday worked miraculously well today and Dr Tim's office presumably got through the day blissfully unaware of what-might-have-been.

I've had mild laryngitis before, but never like this. I had to go out and buy more cough syrup and I stopped at Manhattan Bagel and Barnes & Noble. Everywhere I went people asked me questions like, "How can I help you?" and then looked at me while I tried to figure out, "Now what do I do?"

I can whisper, sort of, but then I have to get close to people, which, for their sakes I've been trying not to do. If I try to talk, the first syllable of the first word comes out kind of croaky and after that it's just lips moving and (inaudible).

Now you understand why I'm blogging so much today. It's my only outlet.

Living Life to the HILT

2008-12-01T11:25:00.000-08:00

Let's talk about character development.

One part of spirituality is like an on-off switch: you are either genuinely yielding your life to Christ or you are not. The other part is maturity: With time we are to become more and more like Christ in our characters. This part is progressive.

My mnemonic for character is HILT. The key components are:

Humility
Integrity
Love
Trust

Humility grows out of truly comprehending grace and is a somewhat inevitable outcome from truly seeking to grow in integrity, love and trust. Since God is opposed to the proud but blesses the humble, it is obviously essential.

Integrity means developing congruence between your visible life and your invisible life. Your visible life is what you do in public and what you say. Your invisible life is what you do in private and what thoughts you allow to run through your mind. Integrity is when visible and invisible are an undivided whole. None of us have arrived; the question is: is this something you constantly strive for, or not? If not, the opposite of integrity is hypocrisy. According to my Bible, Jesus is not terribly fond of hypocrites.

Love is the fulfillment of the law and the goal of the gospel. All of the bad things we are not supposed to do: the reason is because they keep us from love. Christian growth isn't just sin management. Sin (the flesh, selfishness, lethargy, apathy) needs to be reined in and controlled because it gets in the way of loving and growing in love. If you are growing in love for God and people you are growing. Anything that helps you grow in love is good; anything that gets in the way is an impediment.

Trust = Faith. We are humble (we stop trusting in ourselves) so that we can exercise faith in God. If your goal in life is to please God, then go and learn what this means: "Without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God."

Grow in these and you are growing indeed! And yes, this will all be on the test!

That's just sick!

2008-12-01T10:48:00.000-08:00

"That" being yours truly. Here's some advice: If you wake up and are coming down with something, running a 10K race as fast as you possibly can under the conditions will NOT help your body fight or minimize the incipient cold.

Hopefully I'll be fully healthy by the big marathon next weekend (I feel a little better today), but I only got about 100 miles in in November, compared to my "normal" average of close to 200. You are supposed to train harder for a marathon, not less, but it is what it is and if I'm healthy I should still be able to make the Boston qualifying standard for 55 year olds (3:45:59 or less) and qualify for the Boston Marathon in 2010. If I have a REALLY good day I may break 3:35:59 and qualify for a BM in 2009 (no comments on that last phrase, please!).

Right now a REALLY good day would be one with as much energy as the average septuagenarian. Have you ever coughed until your stomach ached? You don't miss it, do you?

The Itsy Bitsy Spider...

2008-11-29T10:16:00.000-08:00

...ran up my window shade.

Bad Timing?

2008-11-27T15:47:00.000-08:00

After two 10K races at a 7:30 pace I was surprised how easily I ran the half marathon ten days ago at a 7:30 pace. And expected I would run today's "Run to Feed the Hungry" 10K at 7:15 or so. My goal was sub-45, reality was 46:21. And it warn't easy! Here I am, stuck on 7:30 again.

46:21 isn't bad; it was good for 393rd place out of 5782 total 10K runners (around 30,000 participants, including walkers, in the 5K and 10K); but it was disappointing to have to work so hard to maintain 7:30 (actually 7:15 for the first half and 7:45 second half pace) per mile.

But that's not the bad timing. The b.t. was waking up at 3AM with a sore throat (the Bex and Mrs Runalong have been sick for about a week, their colds began with sore throats). I didn't sleep much after that between the sore throat and night sweats and almost backed out altogether. Once I decided to go I decided to go all out and see what happened.

After all, if fever is the body's way of fighting sickness, elevating my body temperature must be a good thing, right?

Well, I did OK, my sore throat hasn't come back, I can still look forward to a 10K PR someday, and my amateur gourmet chef daughter almost has Thanksgiving dinner ready. So there's plenty to be thankful for! I hope you're feeling genuinely thankful as well. Yes, there's always "SOMETHING" in this fallen world, isn't there? But there's lots more to give thanks for.

On Losing My Edge...

2008-11-22T14:03:00.000-08:00

Speaking of which (see previous post), I'd fallen into the habit of using baby shampoo for all my shower-related hygienic rituals. I use it on my hair because I have to wash it daily and it's gentle; but I've also been using it everywhere else since it's basically the same thing as liquid soap.

Anyway, despite my massive quantities of testosterone, I'm pretty much a soft, gentle guy.

My wife, however, seeking a more manly shower experience for her hub, bought me something called "Edge". It's a "man's" soap. She liked the smell, but hadn't seen the commercials which document Edge's powerful "chick magnet" abilities.

I used it for awhile, but am happy to be returning to baby shampoo. As a credentialed "man of the cloth" I found it unbecoming to always have to be beating off the babes everywhere I went.

Now that that's that, I need to find a cure for my dog's related problem. Teddi has become quite the "tick magnet" as of late. They tell me she needs a product called "Frontline" but I'll try baby shampoo first.

The Other Half of my Insomnia Problem

2008-11-22T13:55:00.000-08:00

So far, so good with the "just say no to nutrasweet" campaign. I haven't had any bad nights since, though I still have varying levels of insomnia. At least I'm relaxed now when I'm not sleeping!

As for the remaining insomnia, an article in the current issue of TIME may have pinpointed my "problem". Researchers recently reported that "men who reported the most difficulty sleeping also had the highest levels of testosterone".

Go ahead, make up your own joke. None of the one-liners that I'm thinking of are appropriate for this family-safe blog.

Insomnia Breakthrough!

2008-11-19T13:33:00.000-08:00

I've been long plagued by insomnia (runs in the family) and it has gotten worse as I've gotten older. I had hoped that taking up running would help cure it, but it didn't seem to have any effect.

I tried melatonin, but it didn't seem to help much, if at all.

I seem to have two types of insomnia: a mild type where I sort of drift in and out of a light sleep for hours. Sometimes five minutes seems like an hour and sometimes an hour seems like five minutes. I seem to wake up OK in the morning and it isn't that big of a deal, more of a nuisance.

The other type is where I feel like I'm on intra-venous caffeine (I avoid caffeine after 3:00 pm). I get jittery, can't lay still, can't relax. Very nasty.

After 20 years, I may have found the problem re: the nasty type. I hadn't had it for about a month then got it three nights in a row last week. The third night I suddenly noted a correlation that had long escaped me. Nutrasweet (aspartame).

This started around 20 years ago when I switched from regular to diet soda. Recently I had cut back on soda altogether and last week I bought some caffeine-free diet Dr Pepper and drank some the three evenings I subsequently couldn't sleep. I've been sleeping fine since.

Correlation doesn't prove causation, but I can live without diet soda. Time will tell if the nighttime jitters come back or have been banished forever.

Nothing like a cold to make you better.

2008-11-15T17:42:00.000-08:00

My cold came and went in three days. But it only stayed away for one. Then back for two very fluish days (last weekend), a slow recovery and a couple of 8M runs on Wed & Thurs to try to get myself in some sort of condition for the Half Marathon I was signed up for today.

I didn't actually feel fully recovered even Thursday, but my runs went well and I was pretty confident I could maintain an 8:00 minute mile pace for my goal of 1:45. I knew sub-1:40 was out of the question, even fully healthy, since that would require running a 7:30 pace; which is about what I did at the two 10K runs I ran in the last month. And those were real struggles!

But I also remembered that often Olympic racers in various events do surprisingly well when coming off a layoff. And we have a saying that too much tapering is better than too little. So I felt pretty confident, but hardly doubt-free.

The race also gave me a chance to see Ronny & Lori's new house and spend some time with them. And they ran in the race also.

I came in 14th overall (out of 208), first in my 50-54 age group, finishing in 1:38. My pace was almost exactly 7:30 (the flat, fast course was about a quarter mile short of a true half-marathon). After running the first two miles at my planned 8 mile pace I found my speed picking up to around 7:20. I tried slowing down, but 7:20 felt good so I decided to give it a go. I still took my five planned brief walking breaks.

At 7:20 I was blowing past folks from mile 3-13. The last two miles were really hard, but that's what you expect. In my 10K four weeks ago, at the same pace, the last four miles were really hard. So, if I stay healthy, I should be able to qualify for Boston (I need a time under 3:45) at the marathon in three weeks.

Ronny finished in 2:13 and Lorelei in 2:32, which are pretty good efforts considering they just started training seriously about two months ago.

This was only my second half-marathon. The first was in San Diego, 1999, and was the first time I had ever run such a long scary distance. My time there was 1:42 or so, but it did have a big hill at the end.

One more for the road...

2008-11-07T08:55:00.000-08:00

As I patiently explained to my rude friend, Ted, I've been sick this week so instead of running I've been surfing (the net). Thus the YouTubishness of my blog. I'm not quite over it yet but I'm to the point where I'm not sure how much of my lethargy is from the cold itself and how much is due to sitting around all week so I'm going to head out for a run this afternoon and hope it cures me of the vestiges.

But before I do, here's one more I found last night. Time lapse northern lights, filmed in Canada. Almost enough to make you believe in God!

Oh, did I mention that I beat Ted (though not by much) in our six-mile race last Saturday? I wasn't going to say anything, but, judging by his comment to my Dominoes post, it's obvious he's still bitter about it. Get over it, Ted!!! ;-)

Domino Effects

2008-11-06T22:32:00.000-08:00

Here's the most amazing demonstration of the domino effect you've ever seen...

... with the exception of THIS one, which is even cooler...

True stories of prayer in action...

2008-11-06T22:06:00.000-08:00

You don't always get what you want when you pray. Me neither. Good thing.

In the last election I only prayed for two specific outcomes, although there were many races and issues I cared deeply about. I need an "OK" from God before I'll pray for something like this.

In a day full of bad news, both prayers were answered. Prop 8 passed (thanks largely to a record turnout of black voters wanting to get out and vote for Obama, 70% of whom also voted for Prop 8).

The other? Our local grade school wants to relocate to my backyard. Almost literally. About 50 feet from the second story window where we eat meals and where I work on my sermons (and write this blog, etc). They needed to pass a bond first. I found out just a few weeks ago (the location hasn't been publicized) and thought about campaigning against it, taking flyers to the neighbors, but decided to just pray.

Five local school districts had bond issues on the ballot. Four passed (one of them by 13 votes). Only ours lost. I don't always get what I pray for but I see a lot more coincidences when I pray than when I don't.

Gee!

2008-11-06T22:05:00.000-08:00

So you want to be a jet fighter pilot? Here's your first test...

Do you know what this is?

2008-11-04T08:53:00.000-08:00

Or should I say "who"? Click on the pic for the astonishing answer!

Calories Do

2008-10-29T13:04:00.000-07:00

Life keeps getting in the way of blogging, what with computer crashes and home repairs and such, but for the moment, there's this article from the NYT. Unfortunately, they failed to point out that if you run 10 miles a day you can increase your caloric input by 50% without gaining weight!

Just to hammer the point home, the New York City health department earlier this month put signs inside subway cars pointing out that most people need only about 2,000 calories a day.
The number of calories in food shocked most New Yorkers, according to a September survey by the health department. A Starbucks blueberry scone delivers 480 calories. A Quiznos regular tuna melt is 1,270 calories. Wraps, the refuge for low-carb sandwich lovers, can top 800 calories. Bagels pack more calories than doughnuts. A large bucket of buttered movie popcorn has more than half the calories anyone should eat in a day.

This Means WAR!!!

2008-10-21T08:27:00.001-07:00

Still Running...

2008-10-18T20:52:00.000-07:00

I took it easy for a few weeks after Plain and now I'm running again and feelin' goo-ood! I've noticed more energy and speed in my runs, an extra spring in my step, that I haven't felt for a long time. Rest is good.

I ran a 10K today and finished in the top ten! OK, so there were only about 20 starters. Still.

I was curious to see how I'd do since I haven't been running a lot or doing much speed work, and I did do 12 miles the afternoon before the race. I didn't want to do too well because I have two more 10K's coming up in the next five weeks and I didn't want the first one to be the fastest!

I'd only run one 10K before, about 8 years ago, in 46:09. Today I finished in 46:57 (7:28 pace) at about 95% effort. I was told afterwards that the course GPS'd at 6.3 miles (10K = 6.2) so subtract 45 seconds and my equivalent true 10K speed would have been 46:12. Not too shabby for an old man! (Seriously, God is good- by His grace I've been injury free for the last two years).

My big goal is to run the California International Marathon in Sacramento this December and qualify for the Boston Marathon. I need to run the marathon faster than 3:45 (a pace of 8:45/mile). So far, so good.

Impulsive? Not when it comes to making money!

2008-10-17T08:34:00.000-07:00

People who have jobs (and don't lose them) get up and go to work every time they are scheduled to do so. It's amazing how consistent they are! They don't consider whether they feel like it or not (except in extreme situations) or say, "I went to work yesterday, I'll just take a break today", or "I better get some yard work in before the weather changes."

Except for vacation or genuine sickness, they just do it.

Committed Christians used to treat Sunday morning worship that way.

Committed Christians used to treat church prayer meetings that way.

Committed Christians used to treat their daily appointment with God that way.

Impulsive Christians claim that all of that is legalistic and that they are much more pleasing to God now that they have thrown off those confining straitjackets. Or at least I guess that must be what they'd say. Most of them really don't want to talk about it.

Can you be a good worker if you don't have a nearly inviolable habit of going to work every day when you are scheduled to?

Can you be a good Christian if the basic cornerstones of Christian growth and obedience are not nearly inviolable habits (insofar as it is within your control)?

That's not a rhetorical question. The answer, he testifies dogmatically, is "no".

Time for a little culture...

2008-10-16T16:39:00.001-07:00

When Bruce Springsteen is good, he's one of the best ever. Here are two classics- a performance of "Glory Days" on David Letterman's last NBC show that defines performance Rock & Roll music at its best; and, in a very different vein from about 12 years later, an outstanding music video that evokes small town folk music, celebration and community while still ROCKing. If these don't put a smile on your face, you'd better check your pulse!

He looks a lot different, but he's still wearing (almost) the same shirt!

Copper Clappers

2008-10-16T07:48:00.000-07:00

Sergeant Joe Friday takes on Peter Piper:

Ignorant of his wiles? (SF 1)

2008-10-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

The apostle Paul claimed, on behalf of the first generation of believers, "we are not ignorant of (satan's) devices." Can our generation say the same today? Or have we allowed ourselves to do what the Bible insists we must not do, "become conformed to the spirit of the age"; a spirit that is stubbornly and insistently opposed to God and His ways?

Over the last 15 years I've done a lot of studying and contemplating on the question of what it means to be conformed to the world, that is, to the spirit of the age, in early 21st century USA.

In addition to post-graduate studies at Gordon-Conwell Seminary and teaching a class at Simpson College on "Faith and Culture" I have read scores of books and taken hundreds of pages of notes.

After awhile your mind gets filled with ideas about "consumerism" and "materialism" and "post-modernism" and "hedonism" and "subjectivism" and a dozen or more equally insidious "-isms" that form a sort of shorthand for the philosophies and cultural habits that condition our thinking in non-biblical ways.

What I still wasn't getting, after all this time, was a summarizing concept; a way to succinctly shorten all these so-called "shorthand" labels into a defining concept that would pinpoint the underlying satanic strategy to infiltrate the minds and lifestyles of Christians and render us spiritually impotent.

Teaching people about a bunch of "-isms" and their dangers wasn't cutting it. Helpful- yes; truly liberating- no.

Over the last year, however, my thinking has finally begun to crystallize and I believe I can summarize the basic gist of satan's core strategy in one word. Granted, anytime you do that you risk oversimplifying. I'm not saying that this is all there is to be said, but I am ready to say that I think that this is where the crux of the battle is being fought, and, to be honest, lost.

I'll be saying more about this in the months ahead, and, in our congregation, we will be exploring (throughout 2009) practical (i.e., radical, but realistic) ways to not only face up to this battle (as few are doing) but even, by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, turn the tide. But for now, I'll just give you the one-sentence summary and let you mull and pray over that yourself for awhile.

Make no mistake, this will be a battle. This is so insidious, and has become such a deep part of us, that many, if not most will shrink back from this battle, opt out, much like the "great" warriors of Israel did when confronted by Goliath.

This is OUR Goliath, and I'm sure that my practical suggestions will seem like not much more than a sling and five smooth stones. But I am confident that, as with David, there are invisible Realities, that will make our weapons much more powerful than they appear!

As in the parable of the sower, there will be yet others who will enter the battle with initial enthusiasm but will quickly drop out. When I say "radical, but realistic", I'm serious about both halves of that equation.

Here's my thesis: Satan's major strategy to undermine the Church in our generation, can be summed up as: Impulsiveness. I'll develop what I mean later. For now I'll just say that the opposite of impulsiveness, in real world terms, is Habit.

I'd rather let you mull this over yourself than spell out my case. I'll just add one clarification: I'm not saying that good habits are all we need to be godly. I am saying that they are necessary, and that they are the opposite of impulsiveness, and that the habits necessary for godliness are largely absent from our generation.

Feel free to comment. More... much more to come!

News from my backyard

2008-10-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

I've been hearing a lot about how Mexican drug cartels have been growing marijuana on public lands in California, particularly in the Redding area. Fortunately the USFS just hired two additional law enforcement agents for the area (before that there was only one!). The agent I talked to told me I'd be safe running in the woods if I stuck to the trails and roads, but if I got off trail, especially in the gullies, I'd be taking a big risk.

Here's news for you potheads- the marijuana you're smoking (unless you grew your own) is probably the opposite of organic:

"I've seen the pesticide residue on the plants," Foy said. "You ain't just smoking pot, bud. You're smoking some heavy-duty pesticides from Mexico." (full story here)

Meanwhile the growers, in addition to spraying and dumping pesticides by the gallon, are spreading rat poison, illegally killing bears and other wildlife, and setting dangerous booby-traps to keep people out.

Smoke a joint, pollute the earth.

This is how guys dance.

2008-10-08T19:08:00.000-07:00

VP Debate on SNL

2008-10-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

I did watch the debate and thought Sarah did fine. And I have been appalled by the concentrated attack on her by the media. But I have to admit, SNL's take on the debate really was hilarious:

A lesson in fuhnehticks

2008-10-04T22:19:00.000-07:00

This is cute, see if you can guess his age before it's revealed at the end: