Got this in an Email

A Diamond Rio tune from 2005, but I hadn't heard it...

"In God We Trust"

Thought I recognized the light house in the video.

FYI for those planning to run KDF Full/Mini

Here's an excerpt from a announcement on the KDF Marathon/Mini website.

Registration for Festival Races May Close Early!By: KDF Press
OfficePosted: 2/25/2008 4:34:52 PM

Runners Encouraged to Register Now

Registration for the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon and miniMarathon on
April 26 has currently surpassed 9,200 runners and is on pace to reach the
previously announced cap of 12,000 entrants within the next two to three weeks.
Runners who are training for either race are STRONGLY advised to register now to
ensure a guaranteed entry. Registration is available at www.derbyfestivalmarathon.com.
Entry fees are $50 for the mini and $75.

Garbage

In my last post I talked about the long running allowing me to clear my head of accumulated garbage. Like a computer clogged up with bad files, the different file folders in my head were bogged down and moving slow. I'll share some in hopes it might do someone else some good.

Faith/God - Since we are to put him first in our lives, let's start there. If, heaven forbid, you do read all my posts, you'll remember that I admitted some time back to having become impatient with the Big Guy. My life got in the way of my relationship with God. Church became one more thing to cram into a hectic schedule. As my long runs tend to do, I found time to think things through, pray, and of course, he didn't hold any grudges. Now to work my way back to where I was. A very wise Sunday School teacher always tells us about how our growth is not a straight line graph or continual rise, but a steady increase with plenty of peaks and valleys, he even has a diagram he's created. Smart guy, better yet, one of God's guys.

Family - Rule #1: "They are a blessing! Don't forget it dummy." Rule #2: When patience runs short, refer to rule # 1. Rule #3: When you're not sure what your doing matters, refer to rule #1. Rule #4.....

Running - Running started out as a way to improve my health. Now it is a way of improving my life. Every struggle I face, particularly on a long run, I can see a parallel in my daily life. From the motivation to get up and get out the door, to overcoming the self doubt, the mental hurdles, the physical barriers, and the desire to stop and take it easy short of my goal. That is why I said I need the Marathon. There are challenges, both my own creations, and the creations of others that I need to overcome. What I know from training for and accomplishing my first one is that from it I draw the confidence I need to know that I can (with God's help) overcome my adversaries. I can accomplish what others won't even dare try. I'm not giving up.

I know it sounds like a sappy line from a movie, but that's the only way I know to describe it. For me personally, the shorter distances don't do it for me. I know I can handle a 1/2, I may not run it fast, but I know I can complete it with little difficulty. The full requires me to challenge myself physically and mentally. Most of all it is something I do for me, because it's there.

So there you go, a little insight into my life recently. If it bored you, sorry. If your's is going worse, even more sorry. If it helped hearing that someone else struggles, glad I could help.

What are they thinking?
There is a girl/lady that is at the "Y" every morning. She burns up a stair climber every morning. The reason I first noticed her.....no, not OLS...was that she came in one morning and worked out in jeans. I thought man, that's dedication to workout after forgetting your gym clothes. Well, apparently she didn't forget them, she's worked out in jeans multiple times since then. Anyway, back to my point. The other morning as I'm leaving, this girl/lady, who busts her tail everyday on cardio equipment, is sitting in her car, reading a magazine and smoking a cigarette. Now I've known people who worked out so they could wear what they wanted or even eat what they wanted, but I was left shaking my head and asking as I drove off, "What is she thinking?" Oh well, to each their own I guess.

Test Run

The Test Run was postponed yesterday due to a late night trying to plan a Disney World trip that in the end is just too darn expensive to justify at this point in time. Yes, they advertise affordable packages, they just don't tell you that it's only affordable if there are 4 in the family, add a 5th and things grow exponentially.

Anyway, I postponed the run until this morning. Again, I stayed up late, GO VOLS! But, I got up anyway, drank a large cup of coffee, laced them up and headed out.

My original plan was to avoid the cold by doing 5 miles on our treadmill, 5 outside, and 5 more on the treadmill. After stepping outside to lay my GPS where it could sync, I decided to do the whole run outside.

Long story short, my run went well. 15 miles in 2:19. Stuck with my game plan, ran 5, walked while consuming a pack of Jelly Belly Sport Beans, which have now replaced gels as my carb source of choice. The walks lasted for 1/4 mile. Felt good through 10, 10 to 12 felt a bit rough, 12 through 15 was, except for leg fatigue, pretty good. Afterward, a bit of pain under the left knee cap, but otherwise, good to go. KDF Marathon? Why not?

HUMOR and T.M.I

Thank goodness for the caffeine in Coffee, even if it is a diuretic. Oh yea, and then thank goodness for big a tree in the deserted part of the industrial park at mile 2, the deer trail off the side of the road at mile 4, and the construction site and heavy equipment at mile 10.

In a post on his blog, Brian (BaldPastorGuyStuff) shared his creative way of dealing with cold, ummm, frontal winds. Brian, sorry dude, but it didn't work for me. Ladies, I'm sorry that some guy somewhere decided what adhesive to use on items generally reserved for your use. The strip didn't hold and the only thing that received protection from the cold was my left shin, as my "shield" made its way down my running pants left leg by mile 3. (My wife just commented that she is glad I'm secure in my man hood, as I read this paragraph to her. Honestly, it took a lot for me to try this Brian's suggestion.)

Anyway, it was good to do a long run. My recent training has been focused on conditioning and weight training, and has not been conducive to thinking. I was able to clear out a lot of garbage in my head today. I need to do this marathon. I'll explain in a future post.

Moment of Truth

I am debating on whether or not to test my conditioning this Saturday. The Marathon training schedule for the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon calls for a 15 miler. If I attempt this and complete it, and have no harsh after affects, then I will likely push my training in the direction of logging the mileage necessary to get ready to complete the full marathon. Completion, not competition being the goal.

If I decide to do the Marathon, I'll issue two invitations. One is for you to come see me stagger across the finish line. The second is my victory meal. Texas Roadhouse's 32 oz steak while wearing my finishers medal!

My angst is the amount of time required to log the long runs. The 15 miler will require a little over 2 hours. To keep from robbing time from my family, that means a 5:30 am start time and then hoping I've not burned up all my energy and left drained for the day.

I'll keep you posted. On a side note, my daily runs are going well. I'm logging them on treadmills in conjunction with working out with weights, but have this week's runs have not taxed my heart rate as much as past training, and I've been able to frequently log training miles below the 8 minute per mile mark.

Drought

John 4:13-14(NIV)
13Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

As I wrapped up a shower at the "Y" today and reached to shut the water off , I remembered how the "Y" in Raleigh had signs up asking people to turn off the shower when lathering up and when brushing their teeth. Raleigh, like much of the Southeast, faced water shortages this past summer, and continues to deal with the effects, despite winter rains.

I thought about how I couldn't remember dealing with a water shortage here in Jeffersonville, and considered our water source. While my current home is on a rural water supplier with wells away from the Ohio River, the City of Jeff's water is drawn from multiple wells drilled near the Ohio River's northern bank, and the City of Louisville actually treats river water for it's supply.
Yes, North Carolina and South Carolina have rivers, but when I thought about the rivers I knew of in those states, I realized that most are, while broad in width, not very deep and consist of many rocky shallows. While fun for recreation, good for some types of fishing, and pretty to look at, they are not as adept at sustaining life as deep rivers like the Ohio and the Mississippi.

Just like those shallow rivers, a shallow faith can be very impressive, it can be beautiful, and can even yield positive things, but what that shallow faith can not do is sustain through the droughts of life. Only a faith that runs deep sustains in those times when "showers of blessings" seem few and far between. May God grant us all a faith that is a fountain flowing "deep and wide".

Starting over...

Exercise long enough and you'll have to reaccess where you're at and start
down a different path to reach new goals.

Live long enough and you'll have to reaccess where you're at and start down
a different path to reach new goals.

Believe long enough and you'll have to reaccess where you're at and start
down a different path to reach new goals.

In each case, it usually requires starting over, trying a new approach to an old problem, or sometimes that new way is just slowing down and taking things a day or a step at a time.

If you frequent here often enough, you've probably noticed it has been a few days since I changed the miles on my log, much less posted. Last Tuesday night I suffered a bought with a still unknown illness, awake most of the night with nausea, but spared the usual results. The next day I was drained, exhausted and nauseous. As I type this, I still find myself fatiquing easily and not feeling the greatest in the digestive trac.

Being sick on the road had the effect of compounding the affects of being away from my family for the majority of the past 4 weeks and having nothing but guarded conversations with virtually everyone I speak to. I fit the descriptor many of our mothers have used over the ages when addressing our continued misbehavior. I was "Sick and Tired". You name it, and I was fed up with it. Work, people, family, God.

So where am I at today, or tonight rather? I made the decision today that I had to start over. I had the right to make the choices that impact my life, then our pastor delivered another sermon written specifically for me, although others got to hear it and learn from it, I hope no one starts feeling as though he is only interested in a select few members. I'm just now learning that God put my name on one of the books of the Bible to make it easy for me to find the lessons I need to hear.

Decision #1 today was to not ruin another day with my family. I didn't, they didn't, and we had a blast at lunch and then at the mall, and then visiting my mom and dad. Decision # 2 is to take one day at a time and do my best to be patient and give God time to work things out in our lives. There are more decisions to make, more choices, but hey it's a start, and when you don't like what you see in the mirror, starting over is the only choice.

Get Started

I've talked to several people this past month who have talked to me about wanting to get in shape. I've tried to be encouraging and supportive, and they seem as though they have every intention, but when I follow back up with them later, I find they never even started.

My usual pep talk to someone "talking" about starting to diet, or exercise, or both is to make sure they know what, in my opinion, the two toughest obstacles are. The first is starting, the second is staying with it for the first two months. After that, I've found that you've typically adjusted to a new lifestyle, and perpetual motion takes over.

I'm usually met with skepticism. Seems that people assume that if you're in shape, you've always been that way. Trust me, I wish that were true. In fact, I've found that most of the folks I know who are consistent in their fitness training and running, have been overweight at one point in time, and that holds true for me as well. There also is an assumption that those of us who exercise have no problem sticking with it. Again, for me at least, this is incorrect. Yes, exercise is a habit and an ingrained part of my life now, but there are days when it is a grind and just one more item on a laundry list of things to squeeze into my day. That's when having a exercise partner comes in handy. Someone to be accountable to, someone you don't won't to let down.

I didn't want to do a long run this past Saturday. I wanted to do my 4 miles on the treadmill at the Y, do some heavy upper body work, and call it a day. No such luck. Three people had responded to an email about the long run on Saturday morning, and so I was stuck. Glad they did. I enjoyed the run, as my long runs have turned into my only outdoor runs, and I felt great afterwards. I then headed to the gym with Jina, who, in the past month, due to increased enthusiasm, has become a great partner in my fitness efforts, which leads to another point about accountability.

Jina is my long distance partner most days. While I travel, I usually check to see how her day at the gym went, and share with her what I did. In the past, this was generally an annoyance for her, but now we compare notes. Why the change? Her enthusiasm and drive has increased. When looking for a partner, if you can not find someone to train at the same level as you, find someone with similar drive. In this respect, a distant friend or relative can serve to keep you motivated, share in your victories, and help you through when you may not "feel" like going another day.

In closing, let me offer one warning. If you are not fully entrenched into a workout routine, be careful in choosing a partner. That best friend or sister or cousin or brother, who isn't as motivated as you can bring you down. They may not want to spend as much time at the gym some days, or they want to talk during your entire workout, or they only want to run x miles today. One other warning, if you choose your spouse as your partner, don't try to push them into being as hardcore as you are...trust me on this one!

Yeah, this marathon post is complete. After falling asleep while typing it on Sunday (thanks Jina for picking the laptop up off of my lap before I dropped it), being interrupted to board a plane, and of course the hassle of getting work done first, it is finally complete. I'm running spell check, but fragmented thoughts may be present (wouldn't be the first time) because I'm not going back and proof reading it. There, I've typed a useless author's note just to make it even longer.

Degrees of Difference

OK folks,

I earned my bachelors degree at Indiana University Southeast. For those outside of Indiana, it is a satellite campus of, you guessed in Indiana University, so when not around Louisville, KY, I accurately tell people that I have a degree from IU. I'm usually pretty proud to state that my degree is from a well known state school, however there are degrees of differences among degrees.

Why am I telling you this, to waste your time. No, it's because tonight I left the downtown Nashville YMCA and drove a few blocks to a Chili's restaurant to grab a bite. I typically sit at the bar or bar area when I travel. That's where the beer and women are...just kidding Jina...actually that's where the TVs are, and trust me, as great as it is to sit in front of the TV and eat dinner at home, it gets old real fast out on the road. OK, OK, I'll get to the point.

I went in to watch at least some of the North Carolina vs. Duke ball game. I think I was the only one. You see this Chilis is located near and serves the Vandy (Vanderbilt University) crowd. So what is the difference between the Vandy crowd and your typical state school crowd. The dominant conversation at the bar was not about sports or the game on TV. It revolved around day trading, tech stocks vs. oil/gas futures, etc. I'm not talking about a conversation between two people. I'm talking about a full blown vocal debate between 5 or 6.

Adds a new layer to the old joke..."What does the X State grad say to the U of X grad at the drive in...."Do you want fries with that!"

If you read this on Thursday or Friday, please reread last Friday's post, as it applies this week as well.

A Knight to Remember

Let's get one thing straight from the start. I am not Bobby Knight's biggest fan. I have always been critical of him for demanding discipline from his players, but exercising little self discipline. Secondly, I'm not a dyed in the wool IU fan. I was a UK fan, but have distanced myself after the way Tubby Smith was treated. Lastly, as a youngster, I rooted for UofL. Back in the days of Ellison and Spencer, and prior to Denny Crum's "prop48" recruiting debacles. Yes, I'm a firm believer in student athletes, not athletes who might be students, and the current UofL leadership, well, I'll keep my opinion to myself. So currently I watch the occasional college game to pass time and will only get deeply involved once March madness arrives. So, with that being said, I'll get to my point.

Bobby Knight was disdained by many and loved by many, but all indications are that he could have really cared less. He did things his way. In a world where people in power, and out, try desperately to gain acceptance and support by jumping on whatever band wagon happens to have the biggest following, he remained constant.

His demand for discipline was, no doubt, a by product of his early coaching career at West Point, and as society demanded less of young men, and superstars were made and pandered to even in high school, his team remained his team. You played by his standards or you didn't play.

Much was made when he departed IU about his handling of his players, but yet, of all the kids he coached, I only recall two offering criticsm of the way they were treated. Who is the better judge of him as a person, those who sit on the sidelines, or those who played for him?

The stories seldom told of Bobby Knight are those surrounding his charity work. Why? He keeps it private, he doesn't pander to the public for approval. I remember in college, a business law professor, who was a friend of Bobby, telling us how mad the media was because he didn't do a press conference after the previous weekend's game. They said he was angry about the loss. The professor told us that, in fact, Bobby had committed to attend a children's hospital fund raiser immediately after the game, and refused to make it public just to appease and explain himself to the media.

Ok, Bobby isn't a saint. Perhaps he may not fall into the category of a good person. However, I think we can all learn from his example. We need to learn to and be committed to stand firm in our convictions, regardless of what others think about them. We should speak out when we feel there is injustice, regardless of what it might cost us. We should teach our children that there are things in this life that are more precious than playing time on a team, money in the bank, a current job, potential jobs, a grade in class, etc., etc.

So we must ask that person in the mirror, "At the end of your day, your week, your month, your year, your life, "Did you stand up? Did you stand firm? Or did you weigh the consequences and trade away your beliefs and ideals for something less?

Thanks

Thanks for your Prayers Friday!

To keep the election theme going on the polls, I've posted a 4 horse, I mean 2 elephant, 2 donkey, race in the poll. I also gave you an out as well. Vote if you want to, might be fun to see if it is a predictor of the elections to come.

Thanks again for your prayers.

...thou preparest a table before me...

A Personal request from me to my handful of readers.

I can't elaborate, but please pray for me today. The 23rd Psalm, unfortunately, seems very appropriate today.

Thanks in advance.

James