Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Untitled
When racing on Saturday I felt alive. The morning event was a 10 mile trail race on a course I know well. Inauspiciously, the day began at midnight. I could not sleep any longer. I was jacked up and wired--tapped in to the work ahead. But sleep or no sleep my lungs and sinuses were working well. For once, I was not ailing from an upper respiratory infection. Despite the insomnia I knew I could crack a good one.
I ran easy for half a mile, down the Little River entry drive, down the walking path, down the fire road. I heard Ringo say, "Move Up," but I knew to be patient. I was somewhere between 10th and 15th position. No fear and easy breathing.
When the course went left, I did not die. "Go Left and Die" is a scary rapid on the Middle Green River, but going left for me meant something far from death, instead the true beginning of my effort when I could tap into my race plan. I surged forward with my first planned mile at an increased pace. Up and over the steep hill passing the accomplished hill climber who buried me last summer in New Hampshire. Duncan ran further ahead and I passed him too. By the time we turned right swiftly skirting the many ice patches, I was in fourth.
I could see Ben Hovis leading, James Pearce following, Mitch McLeod in third. Down, down, down to the river we darted. My mile ended in 5:37. I felt okay, but ready to ease back a bit. Luckily, the front three were easing up a bit. I stayed on their heals on the bank of the river. River right, that is, as one faces downstream. The terrain was frozen and fast, crunchy and sticky. My lugs dug in and I felt secure. The runners up ahead looked a bit sloppy and unsure of footing, surely what was keeping me close to these fast runners with moderate effort.
Short and quick up the steep hill away from the banks of the river. Letting them gap me rather than red line lungs and legs. I'd catch them at the top in the long and winding pathway back out to the road. I did reel them in though Ben began to gap James and Mitch. I tried not to care. My work would not and could not begin again until the next water stop, at about the five mile mark.
This was the easy time of the race. Measured. Disciplined. Care-free. Paradoxes, yet somehow true. Over the dry bridges, along river right again and bracing for the stairs. Don't move up too early. Don't red-line on the steep stairs up. As we ascended, I could see that Mitch was laboring. Gave me a chance to ease back and plan a pass the moment we turned left and off the single track onto the short stretch of fire road. I passed him quickly on the road and darted right and hit LAP amidst heard but not seen cheers for "Monk." Quickly, I was beginning to reel in 1st and 2nd, but they seemed to speed up upon sensing my shortening line. Now, my second mile of increased effort became about staying with them. When we went left off the trail and onto the dirt road, they went even faster. I know I was pushing, but they were still separating from me. At the least I hoped we were dropping any podium pursuers with this hard mile which was measured at 6:40. Pretty good for this stage of the race. My mind calculated that I was still averaging better than 6:30s, but no time to think about splits in more detail. My strong sense was that my legs were taking me faster over this path of earth than my previous three efforts in 2006, 2007, and 2009. But would I fade? The doubt wanted to creep in, but I kept it at bay and turned my focus back to the race plan of three by mile pickups. I had no plans to fade.
Duncan passed me. I passed Ben. Lows and highs, but I was focused on the farm in the distance at the 7.5 mile mark. I could not see too well as I approached. My eyes felt frozen and I think portions of them were. Slightly blind, I gathered myself through the two throbbing dips. These gullies were punishing, but yet they marked the end of my recovery period. I came out of the second dip, hit LAP and got to work in the next gear I could find. It was there and I locked in the clutch and set to work remembering that this hill had been my breaking point last year to Russell as he pulled in behind and readied himself for a pass. It would not go down like that in 2010. No fourth place would pull me in on this day.
I saw red in the distance and was disoriented. Was he ahead or behind? No matter. I could only control my own destiny. Pull red in or gap the crimson clad torso. It made no difference. Until I reached the stone walkway and the road crossing the mile would not be complete and I had many steps to cover before my race strategy could be realized. Up and down and up the very nasty teeth of that hill--the one with two trail choices at the top. I went left without any course markings. I knew the way, my legs have probably covered it 30 times racing or training. Then it was time for the long winding stair steps down, back and forth, back and forth. I could see the leaders ahead at one point. The two were separated from one another and neither seemed too far away--maybe a minute, hard to say.
The watch vibrated 6:58. Given the hills I was very pleased. I imagine that previous years that mile has registered nearly eight minutes.
I was done if I thought too much about it, but this is the time of the race we train for. I knew I had about ten minutes of pain to endure. A time equivalent to a Lower Wormhole in the Carolina North Forest and I'd be done. Get after it. Hold third place and run my P.R. for the course.
I could hardly see now with freezing water on my lenses. Fastest way to warmth was to run faster. I pushed and pushed and pushed some more. After coming near the asphalt walkway with less than a mile to go, I could feel myself losing concentration--slipping into that late race coma. The trail is difficult to pick up through here and I was getting sloppy. PAY ATTENTION. Watch your marks. Get home fast.
I passed the last road crossing and high-fived Zap. It felt good to see her bright self and it reminded me of other Little River races in years gone by. I passed what I assumed was a 7K runner from the other race, but he was moving fast, maybe a 10 miler off course? No time to wonder. I was not moving fast, but I did my best and attempted a sprint into the chute. I closed my eyes and it felt so good to protect them from the cold after an hour of exposure. I was so tired and so cold and so happy with 66:30 and third place.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Monday, December 14, 2009
Fishing at Mallard Pointe
Found this picture and it just made me happy. Love that lake and those kids.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Advent Meditation
Christmas is coming and if one knows his or her Bible well, the fourth gospels' contribution to the story is not so much narrative as it is poetic. The Book of John does not give the play-by-play events in the manger, but I think John is reflecting on the whole inbreaking event that comes to fruition that early morning which we celebrate on December 25. What happens that day in Bethlehem is the full realization of what it is to be human.
Saint John begins as Genesis begins, "In the beginning," so time really matters, as it always does. At a particular place and time, in the beginning, even if we cannot pinpoint that particular date on a calendar, was the Creator and his Son, here known as the Word. They were together, molding and shaping our world into being. Laying down the rebarb in the concrete so we would have a solid foundation. We would be a humanity in a world of great fortitude. We could weather many storms as our narrative lays out. We could, with God's help, persevere catastrophic natural and social disasters.
But it is my belief that the world came to know fuller what it is to be human when Jesus came. Too often we think of Jesus as divine and separate, and he is all of those things lifted up--King and Saviour and many more descriptions. But Jesus gives us the working definition and understanding of what it is to be human. It is him. It is his body. It is his way of being in the world. It is his way of dealing with friends and enemies. It is his humble walk upon the land. It is his prayer practices. It is his calm in the face of danger. It is his strength when made weak in the face of death. It is his absolute confidence that he would be raised to new life to return to the beginning and the end where He and his Father both created the world and brought this project to completion.
Too many people hold up the way of Jesus as something for Jesus and not for them. Thank God I don't have to be like him. But that's a copout. We know we are not him in fullness, but we are to be like him in all ways imaginable. That is why we partake of his body and blood. He asks us to do as he does in the world. Love our neighbor. Find our worst enemies and imagine a way to make friends. Take up the cross rather than a sword when conflict arises when we presume that we might be able to end violence by being a part of it. Jesus gave us a roadmap and simple directions. Follow me. Do as I do. Don't sell yourself short thinking that only I, the Christ, am capable of doing these things. You are a part of me now and we will do it together as part of the same Body.
Babies teach us that we do not belong to ourselves. They are need freaks. Beautifully, they let us know that we are a part of something greater than ourselves. Individualism is a pretty useless term when it comes to infants. Babies are not independent and it turns out neither are the adults that surround them. Maybe this is part of the reminder of Christmas morning. We don't know much of the story from the time of Jesus' birth until he shows up in the Temple with his parents roughly a decade later, but here's some of how it goes. Mary and Joseph were blessed and burdened to be yoked to him in those years. To care for him, feed him, protect him. That's what it means to be part of the same Body.
The other night about an hour after bedtime my two year old got stuck in the bottom of his sleeping bag. I knew the cry was different, more troubled than usual. Would he have gotten out on his own? I don't know. But when I retrieved him and calmed him down and sang him back to sleep, I was reminded that we are a part of one another. By God's grace we have been grafted together and all the years that this little boy lives, I'll come if he needs me.
Jesus needs us to follow better than we usually do. We may think he is this independent saviour of the universe and solely ascended to the right hand of the Father looking down on us chastisingly. But he is right here, limping with us, crying with us. His body is not whole if we abuse our own and others. He will wait, but we want to get on with healthful living now. Obey his commands. You'll hear them, involuntarily if you habitualize them enough. The best responses of the body are the involuntary responses. I don't have to think my heart into beating. My brain and ticker work that out without any decision on my part. We are seeking habits with Jesus that make the relationship move closer and closer to involuntary responses. Imagine yourself alveoli of the lungs. Breath in and out and listen as the dance carries on day after day and night after night. And trust that God, through the miracle of Resurrection, keeps lungs breathing and hearts pumping even after death. It may be bodily different than that after death, but the bind of the Body cannot be broken. Jesus has made promises to be with us always. On a day that you forget it, open a Bible and read the last sentences in Matthew's Gospel.
For me, some of the toughest work comes in forgiving those who see him differently than I do. Who understand war as part of what he wants. On my better days, their contribution, though different than mine, is all part of God's amazing imagination. He sets up relationships of conflict so that we can be reconciled. What a beautiful and creative way to have different body parts learn to work in concert. Isn't God cool? Know that you are part of God's body today and every day. As Matthew begins my favorite biblical sentence, "REMEMBER."
Saint John begins as Genesis begins, "In the beginning," so time really matters, as it always does. At a particular place and time, in the beginning, even if we cannot pinpoint that particular date on a calendar, was the Creator and his Son, here known as the Word. They were together, molding and shaping our world into being. Laying down the rebarb in the concrete so we would have a solid foundation. We would be a humanity in a world of great fortitude. We could weather many storms as our narrative lays out. We could, with God's help, persevere catastrophic natural and social disasters.
But it is my belief that the world came to know fuller what it is to be human when Jesus came. Too often we think of Jesus as divine and separate, and he is all of those things lifted up--King and Saviour and many more descriptions. But Jesus gives us the working definition and understanding of what it is to be human. It is him. It is his body. It is his way of being in the world. It is his way of dealing with friends and enemies. It is his humble walk upon the land. It is his prayer practices. It is his calm in the face of danger. It is his strength when made weak in the face of death. It is his absolute confidence that he would be raised to new life to return to the beginning and the end where He and his Father both created the world and brought this project to completion.
Too many people hold up the way of Jesus as something for Jesus and not for them. Thank God I don't have to be like him. But that's a copout. We know we are not him in fullness, but we are to be like him in all ways imaginable. That is why we partake of his body and blood. He asks us to do as he does in the world. Love our neighbor. Find our worst enemies and imagine a way to make friends. Take up the cross rather than a sword when conflict arises when we presume that we might be able to end violence by being a part of it. Jesus gave us a roadmap and simple directions. Follow me. Do as I do. Don't sell yourself short thinking that only I, the Christ, am capable of doing these things. You are a part of me now and we will do it together as part of the same Body.
Babies teach us that we do not belong to ourselves. They are need freaks. Beautifully, they let us know that we are a part of something greater than ourselves. Individualism is a pretty useless term when it comes to infants. Babies are not independent and it turns out neither are the adults that surround them. Maybe this is part of the reminder of Christmas morning. We don't know much of the story from the time of Jesus' birth until he shows up in the Temple with his parents roughly a decade later, but here's some of how it goes. Mary and Joseph were blessed and burdened to be yoked to him in those years. To care for him, feed him, protect him. That's what it means to be part of the same Body.
The other night about an hour after bedtime my two year old got stuck in the bottom of his sleeping bag. I knew the cry was different, more troubled than usual. Would he have gotten out on his own? I don't know. But when I retrieved him and calmed him down and sang him back to sleep, I was reminded that we are a part of one another. By God's grace we have been grafted together and all the years that this little boy lives, I'll come if he needs me.
Jesus needs us to follow better than we usually do. We may think he is this independent saviour of the universe and solely ascended to the right hand of the Father looking down on us chastisingly. But he is right here, limping with us, crying with us. His body is not whole if we abuse our own and others. He will wait, but we want to get on with healthful living now. Obey his commands. You'll hear them, involuntarily if you habitualize them enough. The best responses of the body are the involuntary responses. I don't have to think my heart into beating. My brain and ticker work that out without any decision on my part. We are seeking habits with Jesus that make the relationship move closer and closer to involuntary responses. Imagine yourself alveoli of the lungs. Breath in and out and listen as the dance carries on day after day and night after night. And trust that God, through the miracle of Resurrection, keeps lungs breathing and hearts pumping even after death. It may be bodily different than that after death, but the bind of the Body cannot be broken. Jesus has made promises to be with us always. On a day that you forget it, open a Bible and read the last sentences in Matthew's Gospel.
For me, some of the toughest work comes in forgiving those who see him differently than I do. Who understand war as part of what he wants. On my better days, their contribution, though different than mine, is all part of God's amazing imagination. He sets up relationships of conflict so that we can be reconciled. What a beautiful and creative way to have different body parts learn to work in concert. Isn't God cool? Know that you are part of God's body today and every day. As Matthew begins my favorite biblical sentence, "REMEMBER."
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Go Marathoners
I'm totally pumped up about running. All morning, reports have been coming in about terrific performances by friends at marathons all over the South.
My wife, Kristen, broke four hours (3:58) at Charlotte. She had a goal. She went out and knocked it out. Check.
Jason ran 2:47 at Kiawah. No surprise to me. He's a machine and showing signs of the old days which means fast running in 2010 coming out of Bull City Running Company. Hopefully, I can sneak into his slipstream and draft.
Brendan ran 3:07 at Kiawah. Sweet Boston qualifier.
Topo ran 2:59 at Huntsville, Alabama. What a great performance.
Tic ran 3:01. Disappointing, if I had to guess that it wasn't about 90 seconds faster, but it's still sub seven's and he's still going to run a sub three. Maybe he and I need to put a January race on the calendar and go knock it out.
Jordan hopped in the Charlotte Marathon, and what the heck, won it. 2:29. He's the new Karhu/Craft rep. and we went for a run last week. Great guy and I look forward to future runs in Charlotte or Durham.
Congrats to all who have endured the Trials of Miles, as Quentin Cassidy would say.
My wife, Kristen, broke four hours (3:58) at Charlotte. She had a goal. She went out and knocked it out. Check.
Jason ran 2:47 at Kiawah. No surprise to me. He's a machine and showing signs of the old days which means fast running in 2010 coming out of Bull City Running Company. Hopefully, I can sneak into his slipstream and draft.
Brendan ran 3:07 at Kiawah. Sweet Boston qualifier.
Topo ran 2:59 at Huntsville, Alabama. What a great performance.
Tic ran 3:01. Disappointing, if I had to guess that it wasn't about 90 seconds faster, but it's still sub seven's and he's still going to run a sub three. Maybe he and I need to put a January race on the calendar and go knock it out.
Jordan hopped in the Charlotte Marathon, and what the heck, won it. 2:29. He's the new Karhu/Craft rep. and we went for a run last week. Great guy and I look forward to future runs in Charlotte or Durham.
Congrats to all who have endured the Trials of Miles, as Quentin Cassidy would say.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
November Blues
Ben Harper is playing on the radio. He always reminds me of Bob Marley. At first I thought I was to be buoyed by Redemption Song, but then the melody slipped me into a more melancholy gutter with "I'm gonna burn one down." I don't want to burn one down. I don't want marajuana in my body or even alcohol. I have not smoked in decades. I have not had a drink in more than two years. I'd like all drugs out of my system that ruminate inside my abdomen--Levaquin, Tylenol, Naproxen, Gyacin, Ibuprofen. They all make me feel groggy. I was sweating on a crisp fall morning, clearly my body trying to break another low grade fever associated with this raging bacteria which resides inside my skull.
But after the perfect biscuit, herbs and rich with flour, egg scrambled just right, and bacon overflowing, dipped in Texas Pete, and a little more coffee I emerge from the doldrums. It's not class IV rapids, but it's moving swiftly. Less rocks to dodge, more downstream V's. A deep breath, reinforcing that it was a good idea to go home and irrigate for a second time since waking three hours ago. I have a love/hate relationship with the saline rinse, and the netti pot, and the standard clear bottle. They help me in an eco friendly less invasive sort of way. But every time the contents of my nose come streaming down into the shower or the sink I am reminded of how diseased I am. How much ugliness lives inside my sinus passages. I was healthy for a long stretch this Fall. Did I get cocky? Do I not deserve healthy months? I hear people say I haven't been sick in years. How I envy them? I'm downright jealous. Sins--I know and I am dealt a punishment.
I am in a constant war with George. We bicker. I can do better. Stop berating him. He is a little boy. Lots of energy. Described as wonderful and charming by most who know him. I could do better by him. I know he misses his mother and I am no substitute. I don't do things like she does and I feel it.
I am angry with Patrick, the military, our country for how it romanticizes war, this one in Afghanistan. Is Patrick's homecoming such a great event? He took a job and a season of it has come to an end. Why do we drop everything and treat soldiers like gods? They have made choices. Choices to pick up weapons and put themselves and others in harms way.
Note, late 2017. I wrote this original draft in November 2009. It is difficult to read, particularly the last paragraph. I wish I had been more mature at the time, more generous with my brother-in-law Patrick as a soldier, more generous with all who serve. But, I felt the way I felt. War is Hell as Sherman once said. I don't really know that first hand, but I believe the thousands who have agreed with the sentiment.
But after the perfect biscuit, herbs and rich with flour, egg scrambled just right, and bacon overflowing, dipped in Texas Pete, and a little more coffee I emerge from the doldrums. It's not class IV rapids, but it's moving swiftly. Less rocks to dodge, more downstream V's. A deep breath, reinforcing that it was a good idea to go home and irrigate for a second time since waking three hours ago. I have a love/hate relationship with the saline rinse, and the netti pot, and the standard clear bottle. They help me in an eco friendly less invasive sort of way. But every time the contents of my nose come streaming down into the shower or the sink I am reminded of how diseased I am. How much ugliness lives inside my sinus passages. I was healthy for a long stretch this Fall. Did I get cocky? Do I not deserve healthy months? I hear people say I haven't been sick in years. How I envy them? I'm downright jealous. Sins--I know and I am dealt a punishment.
I am in a constant war with George. We bicker. I can do better. Stop berating him. He is a little boy. Lots of energy. Described as wonderful and charming by most who know him. I could do better by him. I know he misses his mother and I am no substitute. I don't do things like she does and I feel it.
I am angry with Patrick, the military, our country for how it romanticizes war, this one in Afghanistan. Is Patrick's homecoming such a great event? He took a job and a season of it has come to an end. Why do we drop everything and treat soldiers like gods? They have made choices. Choices to pick up weapons and put themselves and others in harms way.
Note, late 2017. I wrote this original draft in November 2009. It is difficult to read, particularly the last paragraph. I wish I had been more mature at the time, more generous with my brother-in-law Patrick as a soldier, more generous with all who serve. But, I felt the way I felt. War is Hell as Sherman once said. I don't really know that first hand, but I believe the thousands who have agreed with the sentiment.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Garmin Connect - Activity Details for 10 mile time trail--ATT
Garmin Connect - Activity Details for 10 mile time trail--ATT
Great workout this morning. Legs felt fresh after 15 on the trails yesterday. Hope to run well for a half marathon in Concord, NC two weeks from today.
Great workout this morning. Legs felt fresh after 15 on the trails yesterday. Hope to run well for a half marathon in Concord, NC two weeks from today.
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