This morning I finally retired my last pair of the original Kinvara that were in my rotation, and replaced them with a fresh pair of red Kinvara 2s. That means that I now only have a single pair of Kinvara 3s in my unused inventory, and those should enter the rotation within the next two weeks.

Our nice weather from the weekend continued this morning, with temps in the mid 60ºs and relatively low humidity for this time of the year. The schedule deviated a bit from normal in that today was simply a 70 to 75 minute easy run instead of my normal Monday tempo workout.

Nathan and I met at the Bellevue United Methodist Church parking lot, and ran through the surrounding neighborhood for a couple of miles before hitting the Harpeth River Greenway and then Edwin Warner Park. After a couple of very, very easy miles we then settled into a nice rhythm with splits for the final seven miles between 7:59 and 8:18.

Overall this run felt pretty good, though I could tell we had run fairly hard on Saturday. My legs were just a touch fatigued, so it was nice to have an easy run instead of the normal tempo workout. It was also nice to be able to talk with Nathan about the Olympic Track and Field events from over the weekend. I’m really gonna miss the Olympics.

In total we finished right at 9-miles with an average pace of 8:23 per mile.

Beast Mode…ON!

Neil Young and Bruce Springstein sing “Whip My Hair” – If you’ve never seen this it is a MUST WATCH! Also, if you’re not familiar with the original by Willow Smith you can catch it by going here.

You can see more Neil and Bruce goodness in this video – Also another MUST WATCH!

P.S. Jimmy Fallon is one seriously talented dude.

What an impressive surge as he crossed the 23-mile marker! I didn’t think he would be able to challenge Kipsang or Kirui from Kenya in the last few miles, but he left them in the dust. Very well run race in hot and humid conditions.

On another note, I’m extremely proud of Meb Keflezighi on his fourth-place finish for the U.S. I didn’t think he had any shot of finishing in the top five, or even the top 10 for that matter. His move from 14th to 4th over the last five miles was awesome. Way to go Meb!

Finally, while I didn’t think the U.S. had any chance to medal, I never imagined both Ryan and Adbi would drop out of this race. With Meb at the end of his career, and Ryan continuing to under-achieve, it looks like the future of U.S. men’s marathoning is very much in disarray. Maybe we can hope that Galen Rupp will eventually decide to move up to the marathon. Would be fun to see what he can do at that distance.

The Equation of Life (Ecclesiastes 9:11-12) – Audio recording of my Wednesday evening sermon at Kingwood Church of Christ in Murfreesboro, TN on July 18, 2007.

Life doesn’t fit into an equation, and is full of injustices and things that just don’t seem to make sense. This study looks at ways in which we can be ready to deal with the unexpected and unfair things that are a part of life under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 (ESV)

¹¹ Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. ¹² For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.

As I’m watching the Men’s Olympic Marathon go through loop after loop this morning I keep thinking about this movie…“Hey kids, look, Big Ben, Parliament.”

My favorite race so far in these Olympic games has been the men’s 10,000m with Mo Farah and Galen Rupp taking Gold and Silver. However, tonight’s men’s 4 x 100m relay was fantastic. As much as I wanted the U.S. to win Gold, I was blown away by Usain Bolt’s final leg. Ryan Bailey had no chance at all to hang with him. He is just amazing to watch, and his stride is absolutely stunning. What a great way to close out the track and field events with a new world record anchored by the fastest man on the planet.

Plan to be up at 5am to catch the action live.

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The weather this morning was GLORIOUS, with temps around 64º and a slight break in the humidity. This made a BIG difference today.

My original scheduled called for 16 to 18-miles at easy pace, but yesterday afternoon I got the OK from John to do the marathon workout with our group in Percy Warner Park. The plan was to do 4 x 3-mile repeats around marathon pace. I still wanted to get in 18-miles, so Nathan and I met at the Beech Grove picnic area in Percy Warner around 5:20am for a little extra.

We were able to get in just over 4-miles before beginning the workout with the group. I noticed during the warmup miles that my Garmin 405 was having a lot of trouble keeping up with our pace since we were running under heavy tree cover. My goal for the repeats was to land somewhere between 7:16 (BQ Pace) and 7:05 (Goal Marathon Pace). For repeats 1, 3, and 4 we ran a loop between the 7 & 8-mile markers on the main drive.

This loop starts off with a sharp incline that lasts for about half a mile, so I told Nathan I wanted to start conservative and then pick-up the pace once we crested the hill. The whole way up the hill I had a hard time getting the pace on my watch below 8:00, but it felt like I was killing myself. Once we reached the top, Nathan told me that our average pace for interval was 6:58, and I knew that my watch was going to be worthless today.

From this point forward Nathan kept our pace on his Garmin 305, and we slowed down our pace considerably for the remainder of this interval. We finished the first 3-miles with an average pace of 7:15 per mile, and I felt FANTASTIC. Between each of the repeats we ran easy for just over a quarter mile before beginning the next one.

For interval number two we actually left the park and ran and out-and-back route on Chickering Road. The way out was much easier than coming back due to the inclines, but we still ran a negative split and finished the second 3-miles with an average pace of 7:10 per mile.

We returned to the loop for our third interval, and I told Nathan that I wanted to get a lot closer to 7:05 for this one, but wanted to take the big hill fairly conservative. When we crested the hill our average pace was around 7:35, and over the next 2.5-miles we lowered this average to 7:04. I honestly could not believe how good I felt today. 7:05 pace felt very comfortable, and this was a BIG confidence boost.

For the final interval we were joined by Tyler who was visiting our group. We started on our normal loop, and crested the hill with a 7:19 average pace. I had told Nathan that I wanted to shoot for 7:00 pace on this one, and by the time we reached the end of the first mile we were almost there. Instead of looping back to the cars we turned out of the park again and finished up on Chickering Road with an average pace of 6:58 per mile.

We ran just under a mile back to the cars, as a cool-down, to finish up our 18-miles. I feel like Nathan and I CRUSHED the workout today. I don’t think I’ve felt this good since the Rock n’ Roll New Orleans Marathon in March. This was WAY easier than the 18-miles I ran last Saturday, and our average pace was almost 45-seconds per mile faster today.

In total we finished exactly 18-miles with an average pace of 7:45 per mile with warmup and cool down. Our average pace for the 12-miles of tempo intervals was 7:07 per mile, and our pace progressed almost exactly the way I would want for a marathon. We got a big boost from the weather conditions today, but this was not an easy course with over 1,500’ of cumulative elevation gain.

In addition to getting a big confidence boost out of today’s run, I’m also extremely proud of Nathan. He is killing it this summer, and I’m convinced he is gonna obliterate his marathon PR at the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon this November. Our average pace today with warmup and cool down is 15-seconds per mile faster than his PR. I’m excited to see what he is capable of.

Beast Mode…ON!

What a great race by Mo Farah from Great Britain to win Gold in the Olympic 5000m. I LOVED the look on his face as he was crossing the finish line. Was really hoping Lagat or Rupp would have a big kick at the end to make the podium, but it didn’t happen.

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After missing last week’s JSRC track workout because of my business trip to NYC, it was good to be back with the group tonight. We continued to have a slight break in the weather with temperatures around 86º at the start. However, even with the cooler temps the humidity was still pretty intense.

All through the warmup and strides I had a little twinge that ran all the way down my right leg and into my foot. It didn’t feel like a muscle strain or anything like that, but more like a nerve twinge caused by a tight hamstring. Whatever the case, it didn’t affect my stride, but just felt strange. Thankfully, once we got into the meat of the workout I didn’t notice it at all.

Here’s the rundown…

• 2.8-mile warmup
• 6 x 100m stride outs
• 4 x 200m f (100m recovery / 400m recovery)
• 4 x 250m fgfg (150m recovery / 400m recovery)
• 5 x 200m gfgfg (100m revoery / 400m recovery)
• 4 x 250m f (150m recovery)
• .78-mile cool down

All short intervals tonight, but I felt fantastic throughout the repeats. I ended up running the entire workout with Sue Anne, and it was really nice to have someone to run with tonight. Our consistency was a little wobbly during the first two sets, but we got dialed in during the third and fourth. In total with warmup and cool down I finished just over 8-miles with an average pace of 7:59 per mile.

One neat thing tonight was that Olivia, Kate, and Sara came out to meet me near the end of the workout. I got to run one cool down lap with Sara and another with Kate. Pretty Cool!

Beast Mode…ON!

The biggest shock this morning was seeing temps below 70º for the first time in quite a while. The humidity was still really high, but it was nice to get a break in the temperature.

My schedule called for 50-minutes at easy pace with 6 x 100m stride outs at the end. For the first time in a few weeks, Nathan and I decided to run trails, and met at the Deep Well Trailhead in Percy Warner Park…

We spent most of our 50-minutes on the red trail (Mossy Ridge Trail) and kept a very chill, but steady pace throughout. My legs were pretty tight on the steep hill at the start, but started to loosen up fairly quickly. By the end of the first mile I was feeling fairly strong on the steep climbs. Even though this trail is only 4.5-miles, there is over 1,500’ of cumulative elevation gain…

The weird thing today was that I felt pretty timid on the downhills. Being able to run fast on trails like this requires letting go, picking your spots, and trusting your footing. Well today my mind was just a little more hesitant than usual. I’m guessing this has to do with the fact that I fell twice during my last trail run, and that the Milwaukee Marathon is just a little over 8-weeks away.

All-in-all it was a tough, but enjoyable run on the trails with Nathan. The beauty of the park is amazing, and trails are definitely the best way to experience it. After finishing up our 50-minutes, we did the 6 x 100m stride outs on a section of the main drive by the trailhead. We both started off the strides fairly conservative, but picked up the pace considerably with each repeat. In total we finished just under 5.2-miles with an average pace of 10:42 per mile.

Beast Mode…ON!

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Well, today is my 38th birthday, and I was pleased to find that running at 38 feels very similar to running at 37 (so far). The best running present I could have asked for was a nice, chill-paced run with my buddies, and that is exactly what I got.

Today’s schedule called for 60 to 70 minutes at easy pace. Nathan, Josh, and I met at the Percy Warner Park main gates, and ran through the streets of Belle Meade on what was another crazy humid morning. After a first mile of 9:25, we kept the next four miles in the 8:40s and 8:50s.

At the end of mile five I suggested we take the fairly hilly Jackson Blvd all the way back to Belle Meade Blvd before heading to the main gates. After a small protest from Josh, we headed that direction and began to hit the hills. For some reason going up these inclines felt great, and I sub-consciously lowered the pace to an 8:14 sixth mile.

The highlight of a run on Jackson Blvd is passing the infamous “Gateway” mural that is painted onto the side of a house at the corner of Jackson and Harding Place…

For those of you unfamiliar with Nashville, Belle Meade is a very, very affluent area, and the fairly recent unveiling of this mural has caused quite a bit of controversy with their neighbors.

Anyway, after leaving Jackson, we finished up our run by taking Belle Mead Blvd back to the main gates at Percy Warner. All-in-all this was exactly the type of run I needed after the hard effort yesterday. I continued to feel better throughout, and my legs felt much better at the end than when we started. In total we ran for just over 65-minutes and finished 7.43-miles with an average pace of 8:48 per mile. Very enjoyable birthday run!

Beast Mode…ON!

On Wednesday evening I will be preaching at Bellevue Church of Christ in Nashville, TN. This will be part of our “Summer Series” where different preachers from around the area are invited to speak each week. Since this is our family’s home congregation, it will be particularly exciting to be able to participate. Our theme this summer is “King Jesus:  Glimpses of His Majesty,” and my assigned topic is…

• King of Generosity (Matthew 26:2-13) – We will be looking at the details of this unusual story and three things it can teach us about our own generosity as we work in the Kingdom of God.

If you are in the Middle Tennessee area, we would love to have you join us on Wednesday evening at 7pm for our mid-week study!

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Despite the controversy surrounding his “blade” prosthetics, I have found the efforts of double-amputee Oscar Pistorius (“Blade Runner”) in the Men’s 400m during the 2012 London Olympics to be nothing short of inspiring. It’s hard to think about making excuses after watching him compete…

Yesterday, during the 400m semifinal in which Pistorius did not qualify for the finals tonight, I was blown away by the act of sportsmanship exhibited by eventually 400m gold medalist Kirani James. After completing the semifinal, James walked over to Pistorius and asked if they could exchange bibs. He took Pistorius’ bib, embraced him, and then held it high in the air as he walked around the track…

James offered the following when asked about the exchange…

“Just spur of the moment,” James said. “Oscar should be a huge inspiration for everybody, whether you’re a track athlete or a normal person. You can be somebody no matter what kind of disability you have.

“Being out there and competing against Oscar is a huge honor for me. He’s a great guy, very down to earth. I’m happy to be here and compete against Oscar.”

Tonight Kirani won the first ever gold medal for his home country of Grenada, which seems fitting after such a classy move and show of sportsmanship.

These are some of the reasons why I LOVE the Olympics! Congrats to Kirani and Oscar!

Turns out this news is well over a year old, but I just found out about it today. Here’s a little backstory…

Back in February 2008 I was fortunate to be able to get an appointment with Dr. John Griffin with The Peripheral Nerve Center at Johns Hopkins Medicine. This came after experiencing bizarre neurological symptoms since August of the previous year, visiting several local doctors, and enduring numerous tests. My symptoms included numbness and intense burning over 95% of my body.

My experience at Hopkins was absolutely amazing, and I had never met a physician like Dr. Griffin. He spent a LONG time with me, was incredibly kind and reassuring, and ultimately diagnosed my previously unexplained condition. He told me that I had a very rare peripheral nerve disorder called Small Fiber Sensory Neuropathy. In addition to this, he also told me the following things about my condition:

• It is an auto-immune disorder that was most likely caused by a common virus like a cold or stomach bug. The immune system literally attacks/destroys the small fiber nerves in the skin causing the intense burning and numbness.

• The reason for this defective response by the immune system currently cannot be explained.

• Continued damage should cease within the first 5 years of the disorder.

• It should never affect my large fiber nerves, which means that it would never impair my muscles or my movement.

• The symptoms could be largely controlled/suppressed by taking daily medication.

These last two things ultimately gave me back my life. Several months before my first symptoms I had fallen in love with running, but was unable to run after the symptoms began. As a matter of fact, I didn’t want to do much of anything after the symptoms began, and fell into a deep depression.

After a couple of weeks on the medication I was largely symptom free. Also, other than an occasional flare-up, I  have remained symptom free until now, and obviously was able to run again.

Today at work the topic of my experience came up when a coworker was talking about some neourological issues his father is having. During the discussion I tried to look up Dr. Griffin and found the following article in the Baltimore Sun…

Dr. John W. Griffin, Hopkins neurology expert, dies

April 19, 2011 | By Frederick N. Rasmussen, The Baltimore Sun

He was a prolific researcher and writer who was highly regarded for his study of axons, the nerve fibers that conduct electrical impulses

Dr. John W. “Jack” Griffin, an internationally acclaimed expert on diseases of the peripheral nervous system and founding director of the Johns Hopkins Brain Science Institute who had also headed the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine’s department of neurology, died Saturday of bladder cancer at Gilchrist Hospice Care.

The Cockeysville resident was 69.

This news made me sad, but also caused me to think about the incredible blessing that Dr. Griffin has been for our family. R.I.P. Dr. Griffin….And Thank You!

Congratulations to Tiki Gelana, Priscah Jeptoo, and Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova on finishing 1-2-3 at yesterday’s Olympic Women’s Marathon in London. It was pretty impressive to watch them pull away during final miles. I was especially impressed by Arkhipova who seemed to be losing contact with the leaders, and then had a surge to catch back up. You don’t see that very often.

However, I’ll admit I was pretty disappointed after the race from an American perspective. It was tough to watch Desi with such a noticeable limp in her running gate, and then have to pull out after only 5k. I also thought that Shalane had a legitimate chance at a medal, but this obviously didn’t come to fruition. However, I know Shalane and Kara poured their guts out during the race, and I’m proud of them for finishing strong. It was also cool to see Kara helping Shalane as they walked off the course together arm in arm. Hoping to see all three of them bounce back quickly, and can’t wait to cheer for them in their next race.