It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses
About this same time last year, I remember thinking I had been extremely fortunate to have only missed one race due to injury, especially considering how many races I’ve participated in since 2008. Well, a year later, and 2 stress fractures later, I have now missed 8 total races. This really hit me yesterday after Olivia was diagnosed with a severe tibial stress fracture, and will miss the upcoming St. Jude Country Music Half Marathon. Between the two of us, we have now missed 12 races due to stress fractures and other injuries. These are…
Timothy
Olivia
There’s a LOT of running frustration in the Team Agee household right now. However, as I always say, this is NOTHING in the grand scheme of things, and we are very, very blessed in the life that we have.
Since both of us will be missing the St. Jude Country Music race, Kate will be carrying the Team Agee banner as she participates in her 8th kid’s marathon!
For students in my Wednesday night class on Romans: Handouts and Notes for Romans Chapter 15 are now available online. Lord willing we will cover this great chapter during class tomorrow night at 7pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
Last night I posted the following statement regarding Southwest Airlines:
On a @SouthwestAir flight. Passengers still standing in the aisle, but no remaining open seats. I hate this airline.
Well….let me now share with you: “The Rest of the Story”
Turns out Southwest had not oversold the plane as it first appeared, though the real story is almost worse. I was the second passenger on the plane, and saw a large number of children boarding (I would estimate 30+ under the age of 12) after I had taken my seat. Many of these children were carrying large trophies, some of which were taller than they were. I later learned that they had participated in a large chess tournament held in Nashville.
After most of the passengers had taken their seats, the flight attendant in the back announced to the passengers still standing in the aisle that there were no more seats in the back and they would have to grab a middle-seat in the front. The front flight attendant quickly announced that there were no seats remaining in the front, so they would have to find a seat in the back. At this point I counted 10 people still standing in the aisle.
This back-and-forth went on several minutes, before the flight attendent in the back admitted that the reason why the back of the plane was “full” was because she had buckled the chess trophies into multiple seats in the back of the plane, even though it was a completely full flight.
You can’t make this stuff up.
I’m so over cross-training instead of running, but I’m still doing it anyway!
This week I’ve completed…
Today I started out the morning with an easy 30 minutes on the bike before leaving to go help a friend move for about 4 hours. Once I got home, I really didn’t want to head back out the door to the gym, but at this moment I’m finishing up an hour on the elliptical before doing some upper-body work.
Today has been a tough day because I had to miss the Oak Barrel Half Marathon in Lynchburg, TN. This is one of my favorite races, and I was hoping this year to finally place in my age group after 2 consecutive 4th place finishes. Turned out that the top 3 were between 1:28:36 & 1:30:45. Last year I ran a 1:29. Made it tougher to swallow.
I am happy for my friend Paxton though who finished second in his age group and got to take home that sweet oak barrel plank award.
Anyway…everybody else keep beast mode going while I’m on the bench.
The link below is to a great post/article from my friend Taylor about difficulty in accepting God’s grace. Taylor is one of the most sincere and caring people I know, which makes his words even more humbling to me. Definitely worth a read.
http://www.taylorezell.com/why-i-struggle-to-accept-grace/
That’s what is so amazing about God, He doesn’t want our IOU’s. He knows that we will always continue to write bad checks and increase our debt (sin). He has already written a check for us, we just have to accept it. He wants us to accept His grace. He wants ME to accept his grace. Yet I struggle to do that every day.
Sara, do you want to be a runner like daddy when you grow up?
No…I want to be Sara when I run!
Running has enhanced every aspect of my life. If everyone ran, the world would be a better place.
-Josh Cox (@JoshCox)
A couple of weeks ago I posted about my interest in the adidas Energy Boost, and today they officially introduced two new shoes in the Boost line, which will only be available at the Boston Marathon expo next week before they are available to the general public in the fall. I’m particularly intrigued by the adizero Adios Boost model (pictured above), which is an updated version of the current world record marathon shoe.
Per adidas
After the successful launch of Boost midsole technology with an energy return unlike any other, adidas is providing a sneak peek of the latest iterations with the unveil of the adistar Boost and adizero Adios Boost during the marathon. Limited pairs of each shoe will be available exclusively at the adidas booth at the Boston Marathon Expo before they go on sale to the public in August and October, respectively.
This is to another video from Desi Davila’s comeback from a femoral (femur) shaft stress fracture that forced her to miss the 2012 Olympic Marathon and 2013 Boston Marathon. I first watched this today as I was cross-training on a stationary bike, and man did it get me fired up to get back out there on the road! Very solid workout in cold conditions.
Here’s the short description from the Flo Track website:
In one of her first workouts back, Desi Davila knocks out a 6 mile cutdown in the cold Michigan winter.
Desi Davila is absolutely one of my favorite runners in the world. This video is the first time she has spoken publicly since dropping out of the 2012 London Olympic marathon after only a couple of miles. At the time of the marathon, she was dealing with an undiagnosed upper-leg injury, which was later discovered to be a femoral (femur) stress fracture. This is the same injury that I’ve now experienced twice over the past seven months, and seeing this video gets me fired up about getting back on the road. I know she hasn’t announced any future races other than the 2016 Olympics, but I’m kid of hoping she decides to make her comeback at the New York City Marathon this November. Would be cool to have both of our comebacks at the same race!
Here’s the description of the video from the Flo Track website:
She’s back. In her first interview since the London Olympics, Desi Davila opens up about the highs and lows of the Games. Leading up to the Olympic Marathon, Davila knew something was wrong, but hadn’t found a firm diagnosis. After 2.2 miles, she was forced to step off the course left wondering “what could have been.”
It wasn’t tendonitis or some mystery injury. After another MRI, doctors found a stress fracture at the top of her right femoral shaft. She’s fully recovered, but how long will it take her to regain her Olympic form?
Not too long.
