Monday, July 27, 2009

Amazing Statistic

I have Dr. G: Medical Examiner on in the background, and she gave the statistic that 800,000 Americans go missing every year.

Eight hundred thousand...that's thousands a day...

And more than 80% of these are people who go missing on purpose...  Wow.

Training and Faith

As I ran today in preparation for the Chicago Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon this weekend, I began to think about the faith lessons that training for a race teaches.  I'm not talking about the sort of stuff you'll read if you Google "running spiritual lessons"; I appreciate the ideas of "running to obtain a prize", perseverance, and heart, but I'm thinking of more tangible lessons of trust--trusting an author and the plan he has for you.

Race training is about managing the balance between pushing yourself and allowing your body to recover; consequently, most modern marathon/half-marathon training calendars never have you running race distance at pace, and often if you're running close to race distance, it's at a much slower pace.  A body simply needs certain time to recover, and pushing yourself every run and/or running too much can wear you out, cause injury, and leave you exhausted and hurt on race day.

In this environment, you approach the race having never run even close to the race distance at pace--and this fact is in your thinking the entire time you train.  Consequently, you have to make a choice every day to either (a) trust the training schedule and run your allotted miles and pace, or you (b) over-run out of a fear of not being prepared.  As a recovering perfectionist, it's often hard for me to relax when there is an opportunity to "prepare more".  It's often hard to truly enjoy and embrace a day of rest, especially if I've missed a run during the week.  So-called 'easy' runs close to race-day are opportunities to overdo it and practice race pace.

But if I trust that the author of the training schedule knows what he's doing and has my best interest and success in mind, I can take the needed rest day "in faith", knowing that it will be for the best.  If I'm willing to trust, I can enjoy a leisurely short run rather than calling an audible and adding distance or trying to cut time.  My training calendar becomes a budget; I can make advance decisions about how I'll spend my running 'dollars', knowing I'll have the resources I need when the 'bill' comes due.  I surrender the responsibility for my training to the author of the calendar, and I trust his experience and expertise that he's allowed for and balanced my need to challenge myself and my need to recover.

Training also mimics faith in that it is about keeping the end goal in mind while celebrating progress and the little victories along the way.  Every small step--insignificant in itself--is a manageable application, a course-correction from where I am to where I want to be.  In this way, training is less "something to do" but a focus on "who you are".  The runner I am at the beginning of training couldn't--on his best day--run the race at the goal pace.  Unless there is development and growth, the goal remains out of reach; on the other hand, the runner I am at the end of training sees the goal pace as reachable.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Shrewd Little Saleswoman

As I exited Krogers yesterday, I saw a lemonade stand just to my right on the way out.  Since I have a Life Principle that states "Never bypass a lemonade/bake-sale stand without buying something; it encourages the seller and is often quite tasty.", I took a few minutes to check it out.

A group of about 4 girls (forgive me, but I think they were in the 8-10 yr range...I'm not good with approximating kids' ages) were selling lemonade to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (JDF).  My dad used to go to great lengths to support the JDF fundraisers at his former workplace, so I always recognize the fundraisers and have a soft spot for them.  The lemonade was only a quarter, so I thought it a small price to encourage the girls, given they've given up their morning to do such an others-centered thing. (BTW, it wasn't until later that I began to think about the whole sickly-sweet lemonade/diabetes irony, so if you're already there, kudos...) 

When I gave the young cashier my dollar, she asked, "Do you want any change?"

With one question she basically put me in the position to choose between my measily 75 cents and the eventual cure for childhood diabetes!  Of course I said no.

Either (a) she was coached to always ask that by some adult, (b) she had so many people say "keep the change" that she began to ask, or (c) she's naturally got the makings of a successful sales/fundraising career. 

Brilliant.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

A Tender Moment

I just witnessed a man negotiate getting food at the street festval with his wife, a woman who seemed to be suffering from some sort of dementia. From the way he patiently negotiated the crowd and kept his arm around her, it was clear she was dependent on him, easily relying on him for direction.

It was clear that she was a bit lost in the commotion of the crowd. I was concerned for her when he stepped away for a moment to ask a question of one of the food vendors. When he returned, the relief and comfort of having him near was clear from the embrace they shared.

I can't remember when I've witnessed such a tender exchange. Maybe I'm making an assumption, but I think I got a glimpse of what their lives together have been in better times.

May we all experience such events in our lives...

In Von's Window this morning

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Celebrating Freedom

I can't remember the last time I held a sparkler.

Happy Birthday, USA!

Bluegrass 10K Results

This was my first 10K road race, so I was actually pretty pleased with the results.

I ran it in 45:33 (7:15/mi pace) and finished 35th/213 in my division (male, 30-34).  I finished 284th out of 3304 finishers overall... 

Friday, July 3, 2009

A Slight Miscommunication...

Last January when I came back from Tyler and Arpitha's wedding in India, a friend asked if I would agree to share some photos and stories from the experience to his Methodist Men's group meeting this summer.

He recently smiled and handed me this month's newsletter. Apparently the secretary got a bit confused about the subject of my presentation...

Let the good-natured ribbing commence.