Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Chicago Marathon - 26 days
September 16, 2014: How things can change over the course of a few days. After taking a day off on Thursday, I ran 8 treadmill miles on Friday, then raced in the Jerry Dove FBI 5K on a RAINY Saturday morning. The race itself went ok. According to my GPS, the course measured 3.2 miles instead of 3.1. This may not seem like a lot, but in running a 5K, the extra 0.1 miles actually adds between 30-60 (or even more) seconds to your overall time depending on how fast you are running. My official time was 16:10. Even with the long course, I was still wanting to break 16:00, but hey, it was a great workout in the soaking rain. God is good. :-)
He is still just as good when things turn slightly south. The day after the race, I wanted to get in an 18-mile long run. With my calf muscles being slightly sore from the race the day before, I was going to take it pretty easy on this long run. However, the run turned short when my left calf cramped up about 5 miles in. It forced me to stop, and call it a day. It was disappointing, but my heart felt at peace. I felt reassured that God was not surprised by this (although I was), and He would see me through it. As I am typing this 2 days later, my calf does feel better. It does not feel 100%, but much better than Sunday. I jogged an easy 5 miles on the treadmill yesterday, and jogged 4 miles on the road today. It's still a bit tight and stiff, but never acted like it wanted to cramp back up either day. On top of this, I caught some kind of cold, and am not feeling very well in general. Not to mention, I had to have my car towed today. :-P All of this is forcing me to rest more......... to rest more physically, and to rest more spiritually in Him. I have to throw my mileage plans for the week out the window; I may have to throw the car out the window :-P (still praying and believing for a good report tomorrow!!); and trust Him with any adversity that heads this way. My training plan and routine of life have definitely been interrupted. However, it's a peaceful interruption. Although frustration and doubt start to creep in at times, my heart is at peace. There is nothing too big or too small for God. He WILL see me through these small trials.
And small trials they are. They are obviously absolutely NOTHING compared to what some people in the world are going through right now. The fact that I feel safe in my home, have food to eat, get to see my wife and kids on a daily basis, and do not have to live in fear day to day is a complete blessing. Even if I did not get to run Chicago after all of the training this past summer, and possibly lose a car, I would still be one of the most blessed people on the planet. Don't get me wrong....it would be disappointing, but I would have no reason to sulk. God has been too good to me, and by His mercy, grace, and faithfulness I know He will continue to be. It is well with my soul. :-)
He is still just as good when things turn slightly south. The day after the race, I wanted to get in an 18-mile long run. With my calf muscles being slightly sore from the race the day before, I was going to take it pretty easy on this long run. However, the run turned short when my left calf cramped up about 5 miles in. It forced me to stop, and call it a day. It was disappointing, but my heart felt at peace. I felt reassured that God was not surprised by this (although I was), and He would see me through it. As I am typing this 2 days later, my calf does feel better. It does not feel 100%, but much better than Sunday. I jogged an easy 5 miles on the treadmill yesterday, and jogged 4 miles on the road today. It's still a bit tight and stiff, but never acted like it wanted to cramp back up either day. On top of this, I caught some kind of cold, and am not feeling very well in general. Not to mention, I had to have my car towed today. :-P All of this is forcing me to rest more......... to rest more physically, and to rest more spiritually in Him. I have to throw my mileage plans for the week out the window; I may have to throw the car out the window :-P (still praying and believing for a good report tomorrow!!); and trust Him with any adversity that heads this way. My training plan and routine of life have definitely been interrupted. However, it's a peaceful interruption. Although frustration and doubt start to creep in at times, my heart is at peace. There is nothing too big or too small for God. He WILL see me through these small trials.
And small trials they are. They are obviously absolutely NOTHING compared to what some people in the world are going through right now. The fact that I feel safe in my home, have food to eat, get to see my wife and kids on a daily basis, and do not have to live in fear day to day is a complete blessing. Even if I did not get to run Chicago after all of the training this past summer, and possibly lose a car, I would still be one of the most blessed people on the planet. Don't get me wrong....it would be disappointing, but I would have no reason to sulk. God has been too good to me, and by His mercy, grace, and faithfulness I know He will continue to be. It is well with my soul. :-)
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Chicago Marathon - 31 days
September 11, 2014 - today was the first day off I have taken from running since June. I know I haven't mentioned my training yet in this blog, but more of that is soon to come. By God's Mercy and Grace, He kept me healthy through summer training, and continues to keep me healthy. In fact, in the months of July and August, I averaged close to 85 miles a week, which is the highest sustained mileage I've run in the past 10 years. He also blessed me with the WV USATF 5K State Road Championship in Huntington, WV. I won the race in 15:02. I also placed 12th and ran the Parkersburg Half Marathon in 1:09:33. This past Sunday, I ran the Canton Half-Marathon as a Marathon-Goal Pace Workout. My goal was to average around 5:30 per mile, and I averaged around 5:32. I won the race in 1:12:31. The 3 weeks leading up to this past Sunday's win in Canton included weeks of 92, 87, and 88 miles, respectfully. That's 267 miles in 3 weeks, which could be my highest amount ever over that period of time. It's possible I could have eclipsed that when I lived in Rochester, NY over 10 years ago, but I am not completely sure.
With that mileage (not a lot for elite marathoners, but quite a bit for me), I planned to take a bit of a down week this week. I originally planned to run around 75 miles this week, but I felt so totally exhausted after work today that I opted to play 'Horsie' with my 4-year old daughter and 6-year old son instead of run. Although I don't feel like it all the time, when I do play with my son and daughter, it is a joy. Just to experience their imagination, innocence, and laughter is truly a blessing from God. As a result my mileage will probably be in the mid to upper 60's for the week, which is okay.
With today being September 11, I would like to post a clip from YouTube (see above this post) that briefly highlights a sermon that Carter Conlon (pastor of Times Square Church in NY) preached the Sunday after 9/11. When I watch it, I feel challenged to truly surrender everything I am and have to God, and live my life totally for Him and His purposes. If you choose to watch it, I believe you will be blessed and challenged as well.
With that mileage (not a lot for elite marathoners, but quite a bit for me), I planned to take a bit of a down week this week. I originally planned to run around 75 miles this week, but I felt so totally exhausted after work today that I opted to play 'Horsie' with my 4-year old daughter and 6-year old son instead of run. Although I don't feel like it all the time, when I do play with my son and daughter, it is a joy. Just to experience their imagination, innocence, and laughter is truly a blessing from God. As a result my mileage will probably be in the mid to upper 60's for the week, which is okay.
With today being September 11, I would like to post a clip from YouTube (see above this post) that briefly highlights a sermon that Carter Conlon (pastor of Times Square Church in NY) preached the Sunday after 9/11. When I watch it, I feel challenged to truly surrender everything I am and have to God, and live my life totally for Him and His purposes. If you choose to watch it, I believe you will be blessed and challenged as well.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Chicago Marathon - 33 days
September 9, 2014 - ......and here is the rest of the story (background on Chicago)......now that I know that my friend is dead serious about this more than generous offer, it really created a sense of urgency about seeking God about this situation. To shorten this long story a bit, I will simply say that over the next couple of weeks after this offer was made, the city of Chicago came up in conversations on at least 4 or 5 occasions. In fact, the first time was the DAY after the offer was made. I asked God to confirm it several times (my lack of faith), and He was Faithful, confirming it every single time. Never in my life did I have so many conversations where the city of Chicago came up....whether it was someone's relative living there; some kind of navy base being located there; seeing a commercial on TV; or something pop up on-line. It was pretty crazy. I could sense God saying, "Chicago!"
With the confirmation and peace I received from God about Chicago, I passed this information along to my friend from church. He told me to just let him know how much everything would be. I said ok, but felt a little funny about it. In fact, several weeks went by, and I did not say anything to him about it (as far as finances go). Finally, one Sunday morning, he walks up to me, and hands me a card with a check in it. He tells me if I need more, then just let him know. After receiving this check, the sense of urgency hit again....I needed to book hotel, plane tickets, pay my entry fee, etc. Even though I shouldn't be surprised about this, it still amazed me that the check he wrote almost exactly covered the expenses of hotel, plane ticket, and race entry fee. In fact, there was around $50 left over. Again, God in His Faithfulness, put an amount of money on my friends heart, my friend obediently wrote the check, and it was all covered. I had already made up my mind that if it wasn't enough, there was NO way I was asking for more money. In fact, God must of known how awkward I felt about actually walking up to my friend and saying, "Ok, it's going to cost 'x' amount of money." This led to procrastination (again), which God, in His mercy, stepped in and took the situation over by telling my friend the amount of money needed. Thank you Jesus! :-)
With this hard to fathom blessing, I became extremely excited, while also feeling a great sense of responsibility. With God laying a blessing on me such as this along with confirming the race He wanted me to run, it's hard not to get excited about the possibility of fulfilling God's purpose in all of this. I know His purpose is pure, true, and perfect. I believe it's so much more than me running a race. I believe that is an important part, but possibly not the most important. Sometimes I wonder if He has set up some divine appointment to meet someone, and possibly share Christ with them in some way. I am not sure, but I want to be attentive and sensitive to His Spirit in all of this. Although doing well in the race is important to me, fulfilling God's purpose is absolutely most important. If I fail to do that, then the rest of it is in vain...........to be continued...........
With the confirmation and peace I received from God about Chicago, I passed this information along to my friend from church. He told me to just let him know how much everything would be. I said ok, but felt a little funny about it. In fact, several weeks went by, and I did not say anything to him about it (as far as finances go). Finally, one Sunday morning, he walks up to me, and hands me a card with a check in it. He tells me if I need more, then just let him know. After receiving this check, the sense of urgency hit again....I needed to book hotel, plane tickets, pay my entry fee, etc. Even though I shouldn't be surprised about this, it still amazed me that the check he wrote almost exactly covered the expenses of hotel, plane ticket, and race entry fee. In fact, there was around $50 left over. Again, God in His Faithfulness, put an amount of money on my friends heart, my friend obediently wrote the check, and it was all covered. I had already made up my mind that if it wasn't enough, there was NO way I was asking for more money. In fact, God must of known how awkward I felt about actually walking up to my friend and saying, "Ok, it's going to cost 'x' amount of money." This led to procrastination (again), which God, in His mercy, stepped in and took the situation over by telling my friend the amount of money needed. Thank you Jesus! :-)
With this hard to fathom blessing, I became extremely excited, while also feeling a great sense of responsibility. With God laying a blessing on me such as this along with confirming the race He wanted me to run, it's hard not to get excited about the possibility of fulfilling God's purpose in all of this. I know His purpose is pure, true, and perfect. I believe it's so much more than me running a race. I believe that is an important part, but possibly not the most important. Sometimes I wonder if He has set up some divine appointment to meet someone, and possibly share Christ with them in some way. I am not sure, but I want to be attentive and sensitive to His Spirit in all of this. Although doing well in the race is important to me, fulfilling God's purpose is absolutely most important. If I fail to do that, then the rest of it is in vain...........to be continued...........
Monday, September 8, 2014
Chicago Marathon - 34 Days
Monday, September 8, 2014 - I know I have said this before, but I continue to be amazed at God's Faithfulness, Grace, and Provision. The Chicago Marathon is quickly approaching, and yes, this blog should have started many weeks ago (there you go....the faithfulness of God. He continues to pour out His love, mercy, and grace....even when I procrastinate about something He has laid on my heart to do. If he has stirred YOUR heart to do something, and you have procrastinated, let me encourage you....IT'S NOT TOO LATE! HE HAS NOT GIVEN UP ON YOU! JUST TAKE A STEP OF FAITH, AND GET IT STARTED!).
Ok, back to Chicago. The purpose of this first post will be to give you some background on how the Chicago Marathon became part of the plan, and I will tell you, God orchestrated the entire thing.
After running the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth, TX in February, I had no definitive plans for a Fall marathon. I was open to one, but wasn't sure which marathon to run, or even if I should run one. I basically gave it to God.
Here is where it gets interesting. Within a few weeks, I was talking with a friend from church about my Cowtown experience. Towards the end of the conversation, he says, "I want buy your plane ticket to whatever marathon you run next. Wherever it is, I want to buy your plane ticket." After a short, speechless shock, I tried to reject his offer, but he insisted. I then told him that there were no immediate plans to run a marathon, but I would be praying about it. The very next week, he comes up to me again. He says, "God keeps telling me that the plane ticket is not enough. He wants me to give more." He then goes on to tell me that he wants to pay for two plane tickets (so my wife could go with me), up to 3 nights in a hotel, and even my registration! I do not know what to say at this point. I make a feeble attempt to politely reject the generous offer. I tell him that is way too much. He goes on to say, "You have to accept this. This is not from me. It is from God." He goes on to tell me how much God has blessed Him, and how God wanted him to be a blessing to me. I am extremely humbled. I am extremely speechless. Who am I to reject such a generous gift from God?................STAY TUNED FOR THE REST OF THE STORY..........
Ok, back to Chicago. The purpose of this first post will be to give you some background on how the Chicago Marathon became part of the plan, and I will tell you, God orchestrated the entire thing.
After running the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth, TX in February, I had no definitive plans for a Fall marathon. I was open to one, but wasn't sure which marathon to run, or even if I should run one. I basically gave it to God.
Here is where it gets interesting. Within a few weeks, I was talking with a friend from church about my Cowtown experience. Towards the end of the conversation, he says, "I want buy your plane ticket to whatever marathon you run next. Wherever it is, I want to buy your plane ticket." After a short, speechless shock, I tried to reject his offer, but he insisted. I then told him that there were no immediate plans to run a marathon, but I would be praying about it. The very next week, he comes up to me again. He says, "God keeps telling me that the plane ticket is not enough. He wants me to give more." He then goes on to tell me that he wants to pay for two plane tickets (so my wife could go with me), up to 3 nights in a hotel, and even my registration! I do not know what to say at this point. I make a feeble attempt to politely reject the generous offer. I tell him that is way too much. He goes on to say, "You have to accept this. This is not from me. It is from God." He goes on to tell me how much God has blessed Him, and how God wanted him to be a blessing to me. I am extremely humbled. I am extremely speechless. Who am I to reject such a generous gift from God?................STAY TUNED FOR THE REST OF THE STORY..........
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