Today’s Run

This was the 3rd day from week 2 of my “Return to Running” program, which includes:

• 3 to 5-minute walking warmup
• 4 x 5-minute run / 2-minute walk
• 3 to 5+ minute walking cooldown

Today’s run was through the streets of Green Hills in a driving rainstorm, following 1-hour on the elliptical at the Green Hills YMCA. Even though it was tough running in such miserable conditions, it was NOTHING compared to what the participants in the Country Music Half Marathon and Marathon had to deal with today for 13.1 or 26.2 miles respectively. It rained heavy throughout the race, and in honor of my running comrades who endured these nasty conditions, I give you one of my favorite Bill Bowerman quotes:

There’s no such thing as bad weather, just soft people.

Kudos for being true runners today! You definitely earned your medal.

As for my run, it was not fun, but I felt OK considering the weather. Just happy to have it over with. In total I got in 20 minutes of running and 11+ minutes of walking for 2.94-miles completed.

• Miles: 2.94
• Time: 31:30 minutes
• Pace: 10:40
• Shoes: Saucony Hattori LC (#2)
• Route: Abbot Martin, Vailwood, Hobbs

Cross-Training

• Elliptical >> 1 Hour

Beast Mode…ON!

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Today’s Run

This was the 2nd day from week 2 of my “Return to Running” program. This includes:

• 3 to 5-minute walking warmup
• 4 x 5-minute run / 2-minute walk
• 3 to 5+ minute walking cooldown

Kate still had 2 miles to go for the ING Kids Rock marathon that culminates on Sunday, so she joined me for this run to finish it out. I’m very proud of her for completing all 4 of the running intervals without having to stop and take a break. She was a real trooper, especially considering that it started raining about 1/4th of the way through the run. I’m also happy to have been able to run at least part of the kids marathon with her, since I was injured while she completed most of the miles. This afternoon, we kept everything very chill since Kate was with me, and because my legs were feeling timid after some intense cross-training yesterday. In total we got in 20 minutes of running and 18+ minutes of walking for 3.22-miles completed.

• Miles: 3.22
• Time: 38:10 minutes
• Pace: 11:50
• Shoes: adidas Energy Boost (#1)
• Route: Harpeth Pkwy, McPherson Dr, HR Greenway

Cross-Training

• None >> been feeling rough today with seasonal allergies. Decided to take the night off from cross training.

Beast Mode…ON!

Kate had two pieces of art selected for “Evening with the Arts” at Lipscomb Academy, and they remained on display at the school for the last couple of weeks. All of the selections were made by the art teacher and the world renowned artist Michael Shane Neal. This event ended a few days ago, and we cannot wait to get them framed for display in our home. We are so proud of Kate! Here are the two items selected:

Per Kate, this is a water-color painting where she used salt mixed with blue paint for the ocean water to give it the cool effects. She also used a white crayon for some of the electric “shocks” and bubbles. The painting includes a clown fish in the lower-left, an electric eel in the upper left, and a big puffer fish in the middle. I love this one!

Per Kate, this is a torn paper mosaic made from construction paper. I love the mix of colors she used on this one, and this is also her favorite of the two.

This is the cover of the May issue of Boston Magazine. It is comprised of over 100 pairs of shoes worn by participants in the 2013 Boston Marathon. Inside the magazine are runner’s stories for 15 of the pairs, and many of the additional stories can be found on their website. This is fantastic.

Boston Magazine has an article (Behind the May Boston Magazine Cover) on their website that explains how the cover came about. Here is a brief excerpt:

Then our design director, Brian Struble, and deputy design director, Liz Noftle, came up with the concept of taking shoes worn during the marathon and arranging them so that the negative space is in the shape of a heart. For reasons I’ll explain in a moment, I knew as soon as I heard the idea that we had our concept—not just for the collection of essays, but also for the cover. In fact, I quickly realized that the stories of the runners who wore those shoes would be even more powerful than the essays we’d commissioned. We quickly changed course and settled on the cover concept and the outlines of a feature package: We’d shoot the shoes collectively to form the heart, but we’d also photograph them as individual pairs to illustrate the stories told by the runners in the package (which we called “The Shoes We Wore,” and which you’ll find in the May issue).

What an awesome idea, and amazing they were able to pull it off.

Today’s Run

After a rest-day yesterday (Day 7), tonight marked the beginning of week 2 in my “Return to Running” program. This includes:

• 3 to 5-minute walking warmup
• 4 x 5-minute run / 2-minute walk
• 3 to 5+ minute walking cooldown

It was nice to actually get in more minutes running than walking for the first time since my return from injury. I was a little fatigued since Olivia and I had done an hour of aqua jogging earlier today. However, my legs still felt really good throughout on a perfect evening through the streets of Bellevue. In total I got in 20 minutes of running and 12+ minutes of walking for 3.1-miles completed.

• Miles: 3.1
• Time: 32:29 minutes
• Pace: 10:29
• Shoes: Saucony Kinvara 3 (#8)
• Route: Sawyer Brown, George Patton

Cross-Training

• Aqua Jogging >> 1 hour
• 100 Pushup Routine >> Week 3 / Level 3 / Day 3 – 120 total reps (this hurt)
• Pullups – 14 total reps
• Balance Squats x 25 reps (each leg)
• Calf Raise Squats x 25 reps (2 x 15lb dumbbells)
• Wall Squats – 90 Seconds
• Step-Back Lunges x 15 reps (each leg with 2 x 15lb dumbbells)
• 3-way lunge x 15 reps (each leg)
• Chair Salutation x 2 (30 sec each)
• Toe Roll Iso Lunges x 20 reps (each leg)
• Groucho Walk – 45 seconds
• Hip Hike x 30 reps (each leg)
• Monster Walk with Band 2 x 12 reps (each leg)
• Clamshells with Band 2 x 15 reps (each leg)
• Toe Flexor x 60 reps (each leg)
• Dorsiflex Raises x 75 reps

Beast Mode…ON!

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This is a great message to see…

I got an email today from my dear friend, and frequent running partner, Paxton with some insightful analysis of my training log and possible factors that could have lead to my recent stress fractures. A number of members of our running group have accounts on RunningAhead.com, and have access to each other’s logs. Without prompting, Paxton looked through my logs for trends in the data that could provide insight into what threw me into my recent injury cycle. Paxton works in genetics, and is an expert in looking at datasets and graphs. He sent me a couple of annotated graphs from my log such as the one below:

He pointed out several things that were present in the data, but the one that jumped out to me was the fact that tempo and interval mileage accounted for almost 50% of my total mileage for a given week or month, just prior to both of the stress fractures. This is obviously way too high, but was exacerbated by the fact that it was also accompanied by a significant uptick in mileage. This is another example of how I allowed my obsession with Boston to push me over the edge in my training.

A big thanks to Paxton for selflessly spending this time to look at the data and help me out. It means a LOT to me. I will definitely remember this when I put together my full training schedule for NYC. I wish I knew some way to get both Paxton and Nathan into NYC to run with me. Would be great to have the Bellevue Trio in NYC together.

Today’s Run

Today was the final run for week 1 of my “Return to Running” program, which includes:

• 3 to 5-minute walking warmup
• 4 x 4-minute run / 2-minute walk
• 3 to 5+ minute walking cooldown

It was a very pleasant evening for a run with mostly clear skies and temps in the mid 70s. My legs are pretty sore from an intense leg workout last night, so the running segments were very, very easy through the streets of Bellevue. In total I got in 16 minutes of running and 17+ minutes of walking for 2.9-miles completed. Since this was the end of week 1, tomorrow will be a rest day before week 2 begins on Thursday.

• Miles: 2.9
• Time: 33:43 minutes
• Pace: 11:39
• Shoes: Saucony Kinvara 3 (#8)
• Route: Bellevue – Sawyer Brown, Todd Pries, Baugh

Next Step to New York

I already knew that I had guaranteed entry to the 2013 New York City Marathon, but it was still exciting to get this email today as confirmation. Now just have to remember to sign-up tomorrow!

Cross-Training

• Aqua Jogging >> 1 hour with Olivia
• In and Outs x 25 reps
• Seated Bicycle Forward x 25 reps
• Seated Bicycle Backward x 25 reps
• Crunchy Frog x 25 reps
• Wide Leg Sit Ups x 25 reps
• Hip Rock n’ Raise x 25 reps
• Pulse Ups x 11 reps
• Roll-Up / V-Up Combo x 20 reps
• Oblique V-Up Right x 25 reps
• Oblique V-Up Left x 25 reps
• Leg Climb x 24 reps (1 grab)
• Mason Twist x 50 reps

Beast Mode…ON!

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When I was in high school, and even through college, Queensrÿche was my favorite band on the planet. I listened to the albums Rage for Order, Operation Mindcrime, and Empire so much that it was ridiculous, and saw them in concert at least 3 times. This lasted through the 1997 release of Hear in the Now Frontier, which was not great, but still had a few songs worth listening to. I tried listening to some of their stuff from the late 90s through the 2000s, but found most of it to be terrible.

Well, fast forward to today….there are now TWO bands recording and touring under the name Queensrÿche. One with the original lead singer, Geoff Tate, and no other original member. The other with original members Michael Wilton (Guitar), Scott Rockenfield (Drums), and Eddie Jackson (Bass), along with Todd LaTorre (Lead Vocals) and Parker Lundgren (Guitar). The new songs coming out of the Geoff Tate version are the same old mess that was typical of Queensrÿche from the late 90s and 2000s. However, the song above is the first single, “Redemption,” from the other version of Queensrÿche, with Todd LaTorre on vocals. I must say that I’m really, really digging this song. As a matter of fact I think that Todd LaTorre sounds more like Geoff Tate used to sound than Geoff Tate does today. Also, this song is much closer to classic Queensrÿche than anything that was released after Empire in 1990.

Definitely worth a listen….I have been wearing out the YouTube version since they have not officially released the song for purchase. Thanks to Chris Miller for originally pointing me to this new single.

Today’s Run

So, the title of this post might be a slight exaggeration, but I did feel like I had a swarm of gnats in my face for most of today’s run on the Harpeth River Greenway. Yesterday (Day 4) was a rest day, so this was the 4th run from week 1 of my “Return to Running” program, which includes:

• 3 to 5-minute walking warmup
• 4 x 4-minute run / 2-minute walk
• 3 to 5+ minute walking cooldown

It was a beautiful afternoon, with temps in the mid 70s, and my legs felt fantastic. Just like last Friday, I had a hard time keeping may pace from getting too fast during the running segments, but it is so great to be running again! In total I got in 16 minutes of running and 17 minutes of walking for 3.2-miles completed. Tomorrow should be the last day from week 1 of my program before a rest day on Wednesday.

• Miles: 3.2
• Time: 33 minutes
• Pace: 10:21
• Shoes: adidas Energy Boost #1
• Route: Harpeth River Greenway

Cross-Training

• 100 Pushup Routine >> Week 3 / Level 3 / Day 2 – 102 total reps
• Pullups – 13 total reps
• Balance Squats x 25 reps (each leg)
• Calf Raise Squats x 25 reps (2 x 15lb dumbbells)
• Wall Squats – 90 Seconds
• Step-Back Lunges x 15 reps (each leg with 2 x 15lb dumbbells)
• 3-way lunge x 15 reps (each leg)
• Chair Salutation x 2 (30 sec each)
• Toe Roll Iso Lunges x 20 reps (each leg)
• Groucho Walk – 45 seconds
• Hip Hike 2 x 15 reps (each leg)
• Monster Walk with Band 2 x 8 reps (each leg)
• Clamshells with Band x 30 reps (each leg)
• Toe Flexor x 60 reps (each leg)
• Dorsiflex Raises x 75 reps

Beast Mode…ON!

by Timothy Agee

From the May 2013 issue of Gospel Advocate magazine…reprinted by permission.

In the midst of a culture filled with smart phones, social media, streaming video and on demand TV shows, churches of Christ across the country are struggling with how to attract and retain young adults within their congregations. In this context, the church is sometimes viewed as a relic that has trouble relating to the younger generation.

In response to this issue, some churches have embraced a strategy that has watered down the message of the gospel and that relies heavily on entertainment and social interaction to appeal to young adults. They emphasize the “experience” without the religion. They try to make the church “cool” by changing it to look more like the world. But if we do not take the time to teach them the Bible, can this approach possibly lead to an authentic relationship with Christ and His Word? Will they find answers to the deepest questions about their faith and be prepared to face the world with all of its dangers? Will they ever be motivated to take ownership of their faith?

When facing this challenge, we must realize that the church, as established on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), is still relevant today without our intervention. When we attempt to make it more relevant for today’s young adults, we may actually make it less relevant by taking the focus off the most important things, thereby compounding the problem.

Young adults are smart enough to see through things that are superficial. If we try to use entertainment, they will move on to something else once they find a better alternative. If we try to make the church appear more like the culture, they will quickly see it as a cheap imitation. If we present them with only a shallow representation of the Word, they will look for something else to fill the void and will quickly be “devoured,” “scorched” or “choked” by the influence of the world:

And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them (Matthew 13:4-7 ESV, emphasis added).

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Video: Teaching Sara to ride a bicycle in the Bellevue Church of Christ parking lot. Lots of Fun!

Today’s Run

Since Olivia also has a stress fracture (and is still a ways away from being able to run), the two of us planned to go to the YMCA this morning for some aqua jogging. I decided to head over there about an hour before and get in my run through the streets of Green Hills. This was the third run from week one of my “Return to Running” program, which includes:

• 3 to 5-minute walking warmup
• 4 x 4-minute run / 2-minute walk
• 3 to 5+ minute walking cooldown

This run felt harder than the one yesterday afternoon, but I think most of this was related to the hilly terrain. My legs still felt pretty good, with no pain, which is the most important thing right now. The temps at the start were in the mid 30s, which felt pretty cold after reaching the 80s earlier this week. In total I got in 16 minutes of running and 17 minutes of walking forf 2.9-miles completed. That makes 9.6-miles for the week since tomorrow will be a rest day. Not quite the 50 to 60 I’m used to, but at this point I’ll take it!

Cross-Training

• Elliptical >> 20 minutes – After I finished my run, I went inside the YMCA and jumped on the elliptical until Olivia arrived.
• Aqua Jogging >> 1 hour 20 minutes with Olivia – So much better to do this with Olivia than by myself.
• 100 Pushup Routine >> Week 3 / Level 3 / Day 1 – 85 total reps

Beast Mode…ON!