Here are the photos from Logan’s Scout Camp (Ben Delatour…which is near Red Feather Lakes in Northern Colorado). Just click on any photo to see them at full size (and press “ESC” to exit out of the gallery).
Enjoy…
Marathon Training Weeks 2-3
The first two weeks of my marathon training have been rough. For the previous month I’ve been taking a little breather so it’s been hard ramping my mileage back up. I also learned a key lesson (one I already knew, but had to learn the hard way apparently): Do NOT run immediately after a big meal. I did it. I regretted it. Ugh!
Last week I had two runs that needed to be done during Scout Camp. The elevation at camp was over 7.000 feet and it was hilly. Got the runs in and they felt good. Over the past two weeks I also finished an 8 and 9 mile run (from the church to the house). That’s been the hardest part…getting the long runs back into my routine.
Here’s the training plan for this week:
- Monday: 3 miles @ 9:56
- Wednesday: 5 mile tempo run (3 @ 8:23)
- Saturday: 10 miles @ 9:56
- Total = 18 Miles
Aside from some serious hiking during summer camp, I haven’t done much cross training so I still need to get that into my routine. I’m also having a tough time mentally picturing finishing 26.2 miles…9 miles has been hard enough and that’s only about a third of the distance! Trusting the training and taking it little by little.
Weight Loss Goal: 20 lbs lost (185 target)
Weight Loss Update: Lost 2 pounds in the last two weeks…197 right now.
Summer Camp 2011
This Sunday Logan and I take off for our first-ever Boy Scout Summer Camp. I remember going to two summer camps when I was a Boy Scout (seems like eighty thousand years ago). I don’t think we’ll actually see much of each other, but I have a feeling we’ll both have a lot of fun!
Next year he’ll be going solo…a week away from family all by himself. Part of growing up and becoming his own man. Has me a little nostalgic…I can still remember bringing him home from the hospital. But it’s great to see him learning, growing, and becoming…well, Logan.
Not exactly sure what’s in store for the two of us next week (aside from some rock climbing and an obstacle course for me…and hopefully some R&R). However, I full expect it to be yet another chance to build some memories…even if we are on two sides of the camp. ;o)
Drifting
I came across an interesting phrase this morning in the book of Psalms. Incidentally, I think maybe the Psalms are simply us getting to view King David’s journal (along with a few other writers). They are intensely personal, often raw expressions of David’s thought and feelings at the moment. Of course, they are spiritually focused…but they represent what was going on in his life at the time. I wish I journaled and prayed more like King David wrote in the Psalms.
Here’s what he said this morning that caught my attention:
Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips. Don’t let me drift toward evil or take part in acts of wickedness. (Psalm 141:3-4)
It’s that “drift toward evil” phrase that has me thinking this morning. We all have this tendency…to drift away from God and toward the very thing that separates us from Him. Often it’s not a fast movement, but a slow and steady drifting (the word works).
Too often I drift and need a course correction. So I echo David’s request…
O Lord, don’t let me drift toward evil today…let me run to You!
Are You a Journaler?
I have a question for everyone today (and yes, I’m hoping for some dialogue…so let ‘er rip in the comments). Here’s the question:
Are you a “journaler”?
And if so, why? If not, why not?
My answer is both “yes’ and “no”. I have a journal and every once in awhile I even use it. It seems to go in cycles for me. I’ll journal for a good 6 months or so on a consistent basis and then for some reason I stop and don’t pick it up for awhile.
Right now I’m in a “down cycle”…not journaling much at all (aside from blogging, but I don’t think that counts). My suspicion is that journaling is quickly becoming a lost art. Maybe Facebook has taken its place…which is not really good since Facebook is done in the open for all to see, while journaling is a private affair.
Maybe it’s time for me to pick mine up again. What do you think…?
Marathon Training Week 1
Here we go! Today marks the first day (and week) of my 16 weeks of marathon training (I’m already tired just thinking about it). I still don’t have my mind fully wrapped around running 26.2 miles, but I haven’t had my mind wrapped around any distance I’ve attempted so far…so I’ll just trust my training and hope for the best.
Here’s what this week has in store for me (I’m following the FIRST Training Program that focuses on three runs per week plus cross-training):
- Monday: 3 miles @ 9:58
- Wednesday: 5 mile tempo run (3 @ 8:26)
- Saturday: 8 miles @ 9:59
- Total = 16 Miles
I also plan on two cross-training days including at least one day of TRX training (love that thing, but it hurts!)
Weight Loss Goal: 20 lbs lost (185 target)
Weight Loss Update: Lost 5 lbs last week (great start, expect things to slow down from here)
I’m sure that’s more than anyone really wants to know…but here we go anyway…
Bolder Boulder 2011
It’s a little late, but I’m finally getting around to posting about my last run…the best of the past 12 months: 2011 Bolder Boulder. I decided late last year I was going to run this historic race for no other reason than to say I did it. I expected it to be over-crowded and walk away with the experience but never wanting to do it again.
I could not have been more wrong! This was the best race of the year because it is run so well. There are a LOT of people, but they manage them perfectly. No over-crowding. No running shoulder to shoulder for the first two miles. I will be back next year (and so on) for as long as I can make it.
Of course, it didn’t hurt that I ran a PR for a 10K either. My original goal was to run it in a 8:00 per mile pace, but my training wasn’t going as well as I’d hoped so I changed that to around 8:45 by the time race day came around. I finished with a very encouraging 50:32:96 (8:08 pace). If it hadn’t been for a BRUTAL mile 3 I might have hit my original goal…but still very happy!
The atmosphere surrounding this event is second to none. Running through the neighborhood streets in Boulder is nothing short of fun. You never know what you’re going to see: from slip & slides, to BBQs, to music0filled parties, to men dressed as female belly dancers (that one made me pick up the pace!). I can’t wait for next year’s race already.
Here are a few pics from the event…
Me at mile 5
Plugging Along...
The Home Stretch!
Crossing the finish line (Yep, that's me in the red circle)
Following His Example
I got a double whammy in my scripture reading this morning. With Father’s Day fast approaching (how did that happen so soon), a specific phrase kept leaping off the page at me. Now, I’m not usually one to use a “Hallmark holiday” such as Father’s Day as a reminder of how we dads are supposed to act (I’d much rather do the celebration thing instead).
Even so, the words I read this morning are a good reminder. I’m in the portion of 1 Kings where the author is running through all of the kings that lead Judah and Israel after King Solomon’s death. It’s a long list…primarily because each one of them did “evil in the Lord’s sight”. As a result He wiped them off the planet (you’d have thought the later kings would have put two and two together).
What caused these men to go so far off the rails? Here’s the cause for almost every one of them (with King Asa being the main exception). This is just one example out of many that say the same thing in one form or another…
“[Nadab] did what was evil in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of his father…” (1 Kings 15:26, NLT)
What a reminder for all of use dads. Generations of Israelites had to put up with bad kings who led them down the wrong path all because these men did what came naturally to them…they followed their father’s example. Reminds me of the sappy Philips, Craig, and Dean song…only because it’s true…
In His Name
In my preparation for the sermon this Sunday I’ve hit upon a theme that I may not end up including in the sermon, but it’s been rattling around in my brain and I need to get it out…so here we go.
We’re going through the book of Acts and we’re at the part of the story where Peter & John have healed a man who hasn’t been able to walk since he was born (over 40 years). When Peter heals him, this is what he says:
“In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” (Acts 3:6, NLT)
This causes a big commotion and Peter preaches to a big crowd (with big results). This is what Peter tells that crowd:
“Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.” (Acts 3:16, NLT)
Peter & John then get arrested by the religious leaders. They get to spend a night in jail before being grilled by the religious elite. What’s the first question they ask Peter & John?
“By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?” (Acts 4:7, NLT)
Peter’s answer…
“Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,* the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead.” (Acts 4:10, NLT)
The council doesn’t like this answer and they have a little sidebar to figure out what to do. They can punish them because the people saw the miracle and have started to believe in these men and in Jesus. They also can’t do nothing because they already arrested them…that would make them look stupid. So what do they do? Here’s the compromise they come up with:
“They called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.” (Acts 4:18, NLT)
Peter &John basically tell them “No can do” (my paraphrase) and the council ends up letting them go with a stern warning.
Are you seeing the pattern? This whole thing focuses on the concept of healing, teaching, and preaching “in Jesus’ name”. Peter & John even return to the church and tell them everything that happened. The church prays for boldness and they ask God:
“Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:30, NLT)
This is a concept we don’t fully get in our day and age. We’ve watered down the idea of “Jesus’ name” to the point where it’s not much more than the rote ending of our prayers: “In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen”. I’m guilty.
But it’s so much more than that. The Hebrew concept is that when you do anything in someone else’s name you are doing it on their authority…as if they where there doing it themselves. I miss that mark…not even sure I’m hitting the target.
And I was reading Richard Foster this morning and this is what he had to say on the subject…
“To pray in the name of Jesus means to pray in full assurance of the great work Christ accomplished—in his life, by his death, through his resurrection, and by means of his continuing reign at the right hand of God the Father…To pray in the name of Jesus means that we are praying in accord with the way and nature of Christ. It means that we are making the kinds of intercessions he would make if he were among us in the flesh.” (Richard Foster in Prayer).
So I’m re-thinking how I use Jesus’ name. I want it to be more than just the punctuation mark of my prayers. I want it to be the power in my spiritual life…as Jesus representative. His power not mine.
Marathon Training Preview
Next week I begin a journey that just over a year ago I said I’d never take (famous last words). I begin my 16 weeks of marathon training…leading up to the Denver Rock-n-Roll Marathon on October 9th (yes, I am officially signed up). I still haven’t really wrapped my mind around running for 26.2 miles, but that’s pretty much been the case for every distance I’ve faced in the past year. As Anita said last night: “That’s what the training is for.”
As part of my training, I plan to record my progress…but not on quite the same regularity as when I was doing the Couch to 5K program last year. My plan is to have one blog post per week with a review of the past week’s training and a preview of what’s coming up for the week. I hope to keep a record of my progress (or lack of) as well as keep myself accountable.
To get that started, here are my goals as I begin preparing for my training:
- Start the marathon: I know, sounds obvious…but this really means no injuries so that I can actually run the race.
- Finish the marathon: Since this is my first marathon this is really the ultimate goal…but I can’t just leave it there…
- Finish in under 4 hours: This is my stretch goal and what I’m training for…big goal, but you gotta have goals right?
- Lose 20 lbs between now and the race: This one has two purposes…first, I need to lose the weight and second, that will be 20 lbs I won’t need to carry with me for 26 miles.
I’m still fine-tuning my training program, but I know for sure that it begins next week. So stay tuned for more…26.2 here we come!
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