Category Archives for "running"

2008 – Week 3 Exercise Recap

So far so good, here’s my recap for the week:

1/14 – 7.7 miles
1/15 – 7.3 miles
1/17 – 5.2 miles
1/18 – 7.8 miles
1/19 – 1.0 miles

Total mileage for the week – 29 miles.

Three good weeks in a row. This week coming up will probably be a bit of a step back and then we’ll keep building.

Until the next post…

2008 – Week 2 Exercise Recap

Well, I made it through the second week of the new year, and I’m still making progress. Here’s my mileage update for the week.

Monday, 1/7 – 7.5 miles
Wednesday, 1/9 – 7.3 miles
Friday, 1/11 – 7.5 miles
Saturday, 1/12 – 3.7 miles

Total mileage for the week 26 miles (that’s two tenths of a mile short of a marathon).

Until the next post, “baby we were born to run…” (Bruce Springsteen)

2008 – Week 1 Exercise Recap

Okay, I won’t beat around the bush – I’d like to get in better shape this year, lose a few pounds, perhaps run another marathon (did I just type that?). So, here’s a recap for my own record (and perhaps to inspire you).

Tuesday (1/1) – Ran 3.2 miles around the area. The weather was in the 40s, and the course was fairly hilly.

Wednesday (1/2) – Ran 7.2 miles on the treadmill at the YMCA. The course was flat, and the Y was crowded with all those New Year’s Resolutioners.

Thursday (1/3) – Ran 7.5 miles on the treadmill at the YMCA.

Saturday (1/5) – Ran 4.1 miles on the treadmill at the YMCA before Isaac’s basketball game. It was good to get loosened up.

Total mileage for the week – 22 miles. I’ve also been trying to insert daily core training into my routine. It’s a start, we’ll see what next week brings.

Until the next post, keep on running…

Interview with Alberto Salazar

I love hearing stories about people who have undergone significant life change. Last night, I was reading an interview with Alberto Salazar from the October 2007 edition of Runner’s World magazine. The interview took place following Alberto’s surprise heart attack and near brush with death. Here’s an excerpt from Amby Burfoot‘s interview with the distance-running legend:

RW: Hearing your story is taking my breath away. What’s it like for you to relive it?

AS: Every time I think about it, I’m shocked that I’m still alive. I can’t believe how blessed I am that this miracle took place. It’s hard to think that I was basically dead for a certain amount of time, and now I’m still here. It’s very sobering. For a couple of days, I was going to sleep at night wondering. Am I going to wake up in the morning?

Now I’ve gotten over that and moved on to the reality of my situation – knowing that I’m going to face this again, maybe from my heart, maybe not. Maybe I’ll see it coming, maybe I won’t. But it’s going to come again. And that makes you think, Are you prepared? It forces you to delve into every part of your life. You think about things you’ve put off, regrets you might have. You begin to ask: Do I have some unfinished business? Have I let old disagreements get in my way? Have I left certain words unspoken to my brothers, father, sister, friends?

And it makes you think: You know what? I’m going to take care of all this stuff now. I’m going to start crossing things off my list. I feel so lucky that this happened, because now I see things much more clearly. I see that it’s stupid to worry about money and investments. Do people think I’m a great coach? That’s an ego thing; it doesn’t matter to me any longer.

God could have saddled me with some major physical or mental problems, but he didn’t. I’m so thankful that I’ve been set straight, and I only got a slap on the wrist, so to speak.

RW: You haven’t used the words exactly, but it sounds as if you’re saying this heart attack was part of a master plan.

AS: Yes, absolutely. I’ve always believed that God has a plan for all of us, but he doesn’t force it on us. It’s up to us to have the faith to follow the plan. In my case, I feel that I’ve been living a pretty good life – I’ve tried to be helpful to people, I’ve tried to help my runners perform at the highest level. But now I’m thinking God expects more from me than just that….

For more of this interview go here.

This interview reminds me of a verse from Colossians 4:2-6:

2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Are you and I making the most of every opportunity today?

Until the next post…

Knuckles and Bozo

This morning, I ran 11.65 miles with Joe Homan and Dave Freed. It was a beautiful morning – low humidity, mild temperatures, great friends. Actually, we ran 10.05 miles. The remaining 1.6 miles was spent trying to make sure our new friends Knuckles and Bozo didn’t get hit by a car. Let me explain.

Knuckles and Bozo are the names we gave two dogs who ran alongside us for about 5 miles on the Perkiomen Trail. They were very friendly – perhaps too friendly. When we finally stopped to look at their tags, they lived at least 5 miles away. Amazing! Thankfully, a lady from the SPCA happened to be driving by as we were finishing up our last bit, and she offered to take them to their owners. This is certainly a funny story that we will remember for a while. We were actually starting to wonder if Joe was going to be adding two new pets to his family.

What a great day!

Until the next post….

Map My Run

One of my buddies turned me on to a cool website. If you are a runner, biker, hiker, etc. and are curious about how far you actually went on your outdoor journey, you can go to http://www.mapmyrun.com/. At this website, you can trace your route on a map, get your distance, see your elevation, etc. It is pretty cool. Yesterday, I did a 3.33 mile hill interval workout. I hit a maximum elevation four times of 277 feet. And had a minimum elevation of 153 feet. Check it out.

Until the next post…

Legs for Lindsey

Last Wednesday evening, I journeyed to Evansburg State Park along with 250 other crazy people to brave the extreme heat and humidity for a good cause. We ran a race called Legs for Lindsey, a 5K that has been set up to raise money for Sebastian Riding Association. Sebastian is a club that gives disabled kids a chance to ride horses for fun and therapeutic purposes. Lindsey was one of the club’s members until a couple of year’s ago when she lost her battle with leukemia. This 2nd annual event was a great way to pay tribute to a girl who brightened many faces.

I look forward to running this one again next year on 08/08/08.

Until the next post….

I Want To Be In On It

Here’s a passage that I read earlier today from I Corinthians 9. As a dabbler in running since high school, I have always identified with 24-26. However, when I read this passage again today taken from The Message version of the Bible, I was especially inspired by Paul‘s words in the verses that precede this. I want to be in on the Message.

19 Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of
everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in
order to reach a wide range of people: 20 religious,
nonreligious, 21 meticulous moralists, loose-living
immoralists, 22 the defeated, the demoralized–whoever. I
didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in
Christ–but I entered their world and tried to experience things
from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of
servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a
God-saved life. 23 I did all this because of the Message. I
didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!
24 You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race.
Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. 25 All good athletes train
hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades.
You’re after one that’s gold eternally. 26 I don’t know about
you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it
everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! 27 I’m staying
alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping,
telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.

I hope to press on toward the prize. I want to win the race. I want to hear, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Until the next post….
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