Major whining for 800 meters

I still love running, although this week I've decided that there are two days in each week when I do not like it very much.

I completed my first marathon barely standing, and the next couple weren't much better. So in a quest for speed and endurance, I visited a running coach who suggested I try speedwork. "Doesn't sound so bad", I thought to myself. "Might even be a fun change of pace." Boy was I wrong. Now, every Tuesday we do Yasso 800's and on Thursdays we do a tempo run. I'll explain....

Though named for Runner's World writer Bart Yasso, the Yasso 800 was actually invented by Lucifer himself. The theory is actually innocent enough. If you want to run a marathon in 4 hours, train to run ten 800 meter intervals each in 4 minutes, with a full 400 meter recovery in between each repeat. So, this insidious method of torture goes like this:
1) warm-up 1 mile at an easy pace
2) sprints (aka gassers, suicides, Herbies). 100 meters at a time at max speed, total 1 mile
3) 10 x 800m intervals, 400m recovery following each one
4) cool-down 1 mile at an easy pace.

The tempo run is only slightly less fun:
1) warm-up 1 mile at an easy pace
2) sprints (see above) total 1 mile
3) 5 miles at a pace 1.5 - 2 minutes faster than marathon pace, no recovery periods
4) cool-down 1 mile at an easy pace.

In warmer weather these workouts can be a challenge. The humidity levels make breathing extremely difficult for me, and sometimes I even feel like I have an elephant sitting on my chest. I've discovered that eating too soon before one of these is a very bad thing (reversals are not fun.... ever try to hurl and run at the same time?). I hate these workouts, but they are pure magic. Over the last couple of years I've lowered my marathon PR by 45 minutes. I've also noticed a dramatic improvements in both my endurance over the last 6.2 miles of a race and my post-race recovery.

I love to run, I just wanted to whine. I'll stop now. sorry...

But Why Would You Want To?

The thrill of victory.

The agony of defeat.

A few days after I ran my first marathon, a friend at church asked me if I had done anything interesting over the previous weekend. When I very proudly informed him of my accomplishment, he just looked at me with his head cocked to one side and appeared quite puzzled. "But why would you want to?", was his reply. That set me to thinking.... and here's the answer....

I love to run. I love going out at 5:00am, seeing the stars, watching the sunrise, feeling the breeze, listening to the birds. I suppose I could be pious and claim that I pray when I run, or worship when I run, or sing hymns when I run. Being a Christian, I suppose those would be the things most people would expect to hear, but my passion for the sport reaches a deeper level. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I do those things, but that's not why I hit the streets before dawn to travel 20 miles in a huge circle.

The music is perpetual, and when I run, so is the hearing. Simply put, I run because it reminds me of who I am in God's eyes. When I feel my heart beating, it brings to mind my ultimate goal, to have my spiritual heartbeat in perfect, synchronous rhythm with the heartbeat of my Creator. Climbing the hills, I have confidence that I can reach out and find my second and third wind, that spiritual rock, that fortress upon whom my life is built. When my legs burn and my lungs ache, I press on because my Saviour endured and completed his mission. The climbs, the downhills and the flats remind of how uneven life truly has been and will be. I sprint to the finish because heaven is my goal and when my time on earth is done, I intend to be totally gassed, to have nothing left to give. The long distance run is the perfect metaphor in my relationship with God.

"I was just running." -- Forrest Gump

Ashleigh made it back from Charleston this evening.... Cindy and Jessi arrived in Kansas City... and John and I watch massive episodes of Home Improvement on DVD... can life get any better?

Our July 4th holiday was good.... we managed to accomplish our goal of watching the Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest. Kudos to the new champ, Joey Chestnutt of California.... 66 HDBs in 12 minutes.... life is good, indeed...

Getting Ready For The 4th

Because of our school calendar, the Fourth Of July holiday represents the midpoint of our summer season. We're getting ready for the holiday. The banks are closed and I'm off tomorrow. Woo-hoo!!!

It's been a busy summer so far. Ashleigh, John and Jessica all attended Student Life Camp in Black Mountain, NC. Ashleigh worked on staff at a Student Life Camp in Myrtle Beach, SC. John and Jessica helped staff our church's Vacation Bible School. Next week Cindy and Jessica will travel to Kansas City, MO, for a conference. Later in the month John and Jessica will help staff a local sports camp, and Ashleigh will work on staff at one more Student Life Camp in Lynchburg, VA. Sounds like a lot of stuff going happening here, huh?

So.... in the middle of all that.... the holiday. We're not quite sure what to do yet. Sleeping in late is a given. So is firing up the grill. Around noon I suppose we'll turn on the TV and try to catch the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Championship from Coney Island. It's been televised for the past two years. It's quite possibly the grossest thing I've ever witnessed (much worse than anything the producers of "Fear Factor" ever imagined), but I just can't tear myself away. We also always try to watch "Pops Goes The Fourth" from Boston, but it's not always televised here. Maybe some day we will score some VIP seats from Maestro Lockhart (we are, after all, Phi Mu Alpha brothers from Furman days), but I won't hold my breath.

At some point before, during or after the celebrating, I hope we can all take some time to reflect on the history of Independence Day. I found this really cool website on the Declaration of Independence. http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/ It contains some interesting biographical information on the signers.

When I was child, my family watched the Red Skelton show every week (that was a time, of course, when parents could view prime time network television with their children without wincing at least three times per half-hour). Recently I came across the following commentary on the Pledge Of Allegiance by Red Skelton. http://www.spiritisup.com/pledgeofallegiance.html Food for thought... I hope we all have a safe and happy Independence Day. Let's go Red Sox!