No Energy

Saturday has become the long run day. Last week, while sure I had to walk a bit, I felt pretty strong. Today was another story. Even from the very start it was s l o w. My goal at the start was to do the 9 miles again. By the time I got to the 3 mile marker I knew I was done. A slow 6 miles or about 8,000 steps on the ole pedometer. (Maybe I should ask for one of those Garmin thingys for Christmas?)

Perhaps it was the unexpected running chasing down Brianna's parade through Camas yesterday. Perhaps it was the Youth Dance at Kendra's church last night. Perhaps it was turning 41. Whatever it was, I am tired and sore.

When is a 9 mile run a 9 mile run?

Saturday I covered about 9 miles in distance. Did I run the whole way? Ummm, no. But according to the car's odometer and the posting on the trail I went 9 miles. About 13,000 steps on the ole pedometer too. So I ran at least 7.5 of those 9 miles. Walking a little after every mile or so. This took about an hour and a half, so about 10 minute miles with the walking. Sigh. Those "easy" 7 minute miles seem so long ago.

Maybe for my birthday I should get one of those fancy Garmin running things (or should I wait until Christmas?)

Monday weigh in. 168 We began this adventure with a weigh in of about 174.

Kendra, B and I are planning on doing the Portland Zoo Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. A nice little 5K I can run.

First Day

Okay, I have to be upfront, I don't know my bible as much as I should. So, when I thought, "hey, why not start off the blog/run thing with a little bit of Ecclesiastes. Well, did I have some thoughts to go through on the beginning of this journey to Portland.

The first chapter of Ecclesiastes basically begins with "It is useless...Life is useless, all useless." I have to admit, this definitely can be considered reads like a 'stop sign' for training for a marathon. I mean what's the point if it's all useless when for much of the time I'm going to be running in the rain of the Northwest. I know it's not going to be fun at times, but useless?!

But, I persisted in my reading. "The sun still rises, and it still goes down, going wearily back to where it must start all over again...The water returns to where the rivers began, and starts all over again."

And, then it hit me. I'm making a commitment; I've made a commitment to start over each day to run again. It's not like I can take the 3-mile run that I just did and take it to the total for a marathon. Tomorrow, I'll have another 3-mile run. And again in a few days. Over and over.

As I ran, another idea hit me like that branch that somehow came out of nowhere. This is just like marriage. Each day, I wake up to the same person and go through the day's activities together. Yea, for most days, it's the same routine--get kids fed and changed, get ready for preschool, go to work, make dinner, grade papers or prepare for the next day. However, unlike Ecclesiastes, I don't consider this situation "useless." I'm quite happy that as the sun rises, my wife is still there. And, when the sun goes down, she's there again. Each day begins and ends the same.

Sure Ecclesiastes' point that "no one remembers the what has happened in the past, and no one in days to come will remember what happens between now and then" is valid. However, it motivates me to appreciate the small things that happen each day. On this last run, I recall a light rain from an isolated cloud. The cool, crisp touch of a few droplets of water on my face. Then, today, I came home to the smell of vanilla, almond granola; a moment just standing at the doorway filling my nostrils with this calming scent. The little things that make a marriage wonderful; the unexpected gesture of fresh granola. These are the things that make life meaningful, not useless. Living day to day rather than dreaming of glory and grandeur. As Ecclesiastes eventually states, "...the best thing anyone can do is eat and drink and enjoy what he has worked for during the short life that God has given him." So, I guess I better appreciate my wife and enjoy that granola just like I would appreciate a rainbow who's lifetime is a mere glimpse of our lifetime.

Here's a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt that relates:

Training Note: My coach (and wife) wants me to do two 3-mile runs and one 6-mile run each week until March. Then, the training will ramp up during the spring and summer to be ready for the marathon in the early fall.

Crop Walk

Today was the Vancouver Crop Walk. Crop Walks are the primary fundraiser for the ecumenical mission agency "Church World Service." http://www.churchworldservice.org/ They do some fantastic work througout the world to feed the hungry. A portion of money raised in crop walks remains in the local community and the rest is used to provide the basic needs of people living in the poorest places in the world.

So it is only a 5k walk. But a very worthy cause. Overall 9,ooo steps on the Pedometer today.

The Challenge

Deann and I visited Cousin Bruce in early September to attend a wedding in Vancouver and to see Brianna dance at the Sausage Festival. In the morning, the three of us went on a run. Well, it was not a pretty sight. Oh, the wooded area that Cousin Bruce took us through was lovely. It was Cousin Bruce that was not the pretty sight. The man, that used to be able to run circles around marathon-running Deann, was huffing-puffing behind.

The conversation turned towards how Cousin Bruce could get back into shape. Ideas were tossed around and a challenge was given. Let's run the Portland marathon together. We could motivate each other. For me it would be my first marathon. For Cousin Bruce, it would be a chance to get back into some semblance of his former running self.

Now, as we kept talking about it, trying to convince two middle aged men that we could actually achieve this goal, we came up with a way to make it a little bit more meaningful than trying to fit into a pair of pants better (oh, how the wasteline grew these past 10 years). To make the training more desirable, we decided to make it a spiritual journey. For each day that we run, we are to look up a passage that we would reflect on as we run. Then, we would take the time to post our reflections on this blog. So, as our feet beat the pavement of a wide open street, the sidewalk of a neighborhood, or the quiet trail surrounded by nature's glory, we will be on a journey, a spiritual journey. Training not only our bodies, but our souls as well.

365 days to go

Cousin Deann has been running marathons forever. I have been off and on (mostly off) running for a long time. Always not quite catching up to that ellusive goal, the Marathon, 26.2 miles. For a few years I ran "Bloomsday" the 12k race in Spokane (7.2 miles) with moderate success. My last one of those was 6 years ago.

So Deann and her husband Pat, who recently finished a triathalon this past summer, have challenged me to finally run that Marathon.

The Portland Marathon is on 10-10-10. How cool is that?

So I am about a month in of running 3-4 days a week. Primarily measuring my runs with a pedometer. Not really worried about milage or time yet just getting in some steps. So Today's run was 12,000 steps around Michigan Hill. A 7.5 mile loop that when I was a teenager I could run in 49 minutes. It took longer today.