Lessons from a Fun 5K

So, yesterday I ran a 5K called the Heather Hurd 5K.  It is organized in remembrance of a young woman killed by a distracted driver.  The pictures of multiple individuals killed by distracted drivers on display at the race yesterday (left) is haunting.  There are many reasons car accidents happen and will continue to happen. This one can be avoided.  Maybe someday everyone will catch on.  The race and the idea of avoiding senseless death and injury in the future are part of #WhatMakesYouSoar for me yesterday

So, what else did I learn yesterday?

First, I learned that I could run about the same time as I ran last year.  I ran a 19:16 this year.  Last year I ran a 19:11.  This year, I could have run exactly the same time and I would still have gotten the 5th place overall that I did (instead of 3rd place).  The field was faster this year.  That is a great thing for the race--to attract not only more runners but better runners.   My first mile was fast (and the first mile included both a serious downhill and a serious uphill).  I lost a good bit of speed on the second mile and then regained a little on mile 3.  At the start, I was off to the side in row 3.  (The rows were not all that wide.)  I got out in the lead group that consisted of about twelve to 15 individuals.  That shook out to where I was in eighth about a half mile in.  On the climb up the hill as mile 1 ended, I ran past one guy up the hill and another guy as we topped out on the hill.  That left me in sixth heading into the second mile.  I had my eye on the two guys closest in front of me.  By the end of mile 2, I was able to catch the guy who was one in front of me.  I believe, when all was said and done, that it was more his getting tired than my acceleration, but I did set my sight on him and get him.  I had the guy who was fourth clearly in sight the whole time.  But I ended up finishing about 9 seconds behind him.  (I've gotten good at estimating as I had thought it was about 10 seconds before I saw the official results.)  The other three ahead of us were about a minute ahead of me and the winner broke 18 with no one near him.  When all was said and done, I was able to run with the idea "don't let anyone pass by me again," and there were 22 seconds between me and the nearest runner behind me.  So, it was all a good lesson.

The other part of yesterday's lesson comes from my bib number "57".  It didn't occur to me immediately when I saw my bib number, but I had used "57" indirectly with a friend recently (although it was neither a bib number nor a race time at that time).  The reference 2 Cor 5:7--a verse commonly interpreted as "walk by faith and not by sight."  How did the relate to yesterday?  Well, I tried to look at my watch as little as possible throughout the race and just run hard.  No "sight" of the pace as I went along.  Just the faith that running my hardest would be the right thing to do.  Might I have found the encouragement to push a little harder if I stared at my watch?  Perhaps.  (Especially since I ran 6:01, 6:33, 6:29 for the three full miles, maybe I could have found a way to pull just a little harder.)  But since I could see a guy ahead of me the whole time, I'm not going to put too much emphasis on seeing in this case.  It is what it is.  The race was fun.  I was first in age group and brought home a lovely medal.  I love the cause.  

Before I talk about other spiritual/numerical insights from yesterday, I do want to say that when I was running "against" a walking bunch yesterday (on the course at the same time) and the bunch was students from Harford Community College, one of them shouted out "great job, sir".  I suppose being the first one over 40 to pass them, I should simply take that as a sign of respect, but it always sounds weird to be called, "sir."

Two other numerical insights.  First, with a time of 19:16, I went looking for some inspiration there as well.  And I found it in Luke 19: 1-6.  It is the beginning of the story of Zacchaeus the tax collector.  The story is that Zacchaeus was a wealthy tax collector and short.  He wanted to see Jesus so much that he climbed a tree.  Jesus invited him down from the tree.  Zacchaeus climbed down to receive Jesus and take Jesus to his house.  It is the story of someone who wants something so much that he will make every effort to get it.  And it is about the faith that I seek to show.  As I continue to lead my life (running or otherwise), I hope to keep my faith as a guide at the center of it.  

The final insight comes from my 2000 mile goal.  With 7.1 miles yesterday (I did 2 miles of warm up and 2 miles of cool down--to the surprise of a race marshal who asked if I was going for a second run in my cool down.  I didn't tell her it was actually the "third.")

I sit at 1930.5 miles today (a rest day--giving me more time to write).  I will pass 2000 miles two weeks from today during the marathon.  My goal is to add 0.5 miles total to the remaining workouts over the next two weeks. (I run on 9 of the 13 days between now and marathon day, so this is adding only a small amount to each or even just a half mile to one.)  If I add the 0.5 miles, I will then hit 2000 miles at exactly the 20 mile point.  

That would be cool.  Why?  The 20 mile point has been my "issue" in each of the marathons I've run.  I have been able to hold pace for that long but struggled through the last 6.2 miles.  What is the name of the town I am heading for in my virtual pilgrimage?  Truth or Consequences.  What will be my truth?  What will be the consequences of making or not making it to my goal?  I will find out in the 10K that remains after I hit my 2000 mile goal.  What is the name of the church that I am running to in my virtual pilgrimage?  Our Lady of Perpetual Help.  That is such a great image for what I will be asking for in prayers when I am at the 20 mile mark--help through the rest of the race.  

Life continues to scream out for me to connect the dots in some pretty incredible ways.  And doing this continues to nourish my soul.  It gives me strength.  It gives me meaning.

I hope that readers and listeners find meaning as well.  

Contrasting Runs

Two runs since my last blog entry.  Each one was seven miles.  Yet they were incredibly contrasting runs.  The run on Tuesday was yet another outdoor progression.  I started fast at 8:10 (I was supposed to run 8:30) and brought the pace down so that mile 6 and mile 7 were run at right about 7:15.  That is good as that is supposed to be my marathon race pace on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. I was quite comfortable with the pace coming down each mile, and I was definitely happy to comfortably hold the race pace for two miles.  I did find it interesting to note that when I first sped up from 7:30 to 7:15 I felt like I had to scamper just to make sure I increased the pace satisfactorily.  But within the first blog of running at that pace I felt much better.

Then, today, I was supposed to run 10 miles that included a track workout.  Sometimes for long track workouts I run to the track, run on the track, and then run home.  Today, I drove to the track and intended to run on the track with a friend.  Instead, after we circled the athletic field several times we decided that the officer who normally is there to open the track was probably not going to show up.  In fact, we found that the officer never showed up even after we completed our run.  So, it was good that we decided to do something else.  We agreed on a run down to the far side of the Inner Harbor.  A run with which we are both very familiar. 

The run involved splits of 8:58, 8:39, 8:09, 7:58, 7:53, 7:41, and 8:43.  It was all good.  We sped up so that my running mate could get the feel of running closer to what she expects to be her race pace in the Army 10 Miler this weekend.  And I felt good without over-exerting. 

The run was not what I had planned.  It was not as challenging.  It was not as fast.  It was not as flat. 

But it was with a friend.  And it was something that just felt good.  And since it occurred during a rest week, it was not something that I worry too much about not going exactly as planned. 

The fact that I took it all in stride shows how easy it has become to just deal. I didn’t feel the need to push much harder on what is supposed to be a relatively restful week. I know I can probably fit in a track workout tomorrow without disrupting the flow of my overall training.  And I know that no matter what else happens all I can do is work with the time and resources I have to prepare for the best run on one day.  And I just have to accept that.  And make the most of the opportunities that present themselves. 

By the way, that puts me up to 1712.9 miles total on the ear on my way to my goal of 2000 miles.  I have no doubt I will make it.  Now it is just a matter of getting there.  And I’m continuing along NM 104.  It is interesting to think of myself as being in the state in which my virtual pilgrimage will end.  What will I find when I reach the town called Truth or Consequences?  What will be the truth that is revealed to me in my life through all my activities?  What will be the consequences of all the running I have done this year?  How will I be better off?

Half Way There

So, in the three days that included yesterday (since I last blogged), I have run 8 miles, 7 miles, and 13 miles.  Yesterday’s 13 miles was nice as it was the furthest I’ve gone on one run since I did 14 on the day before Mother’s Day.  That’s a long time to go without hitting a half marathon distance.  But that’s okay.  The 13 miles today run as 3 by myself (warm-up) and 10 with my long time training partner (passing one other pair of runners three different times on the NCR trail) brought me to 1,000 miles total for the year.  Before I go and reflect on that, I will explain how I passed one set of runners three times.  In short, I ran from about the half mile point on the trail up to the two mile marker and back to get three miles as warm-up.  On my way back, I passed two runners just before the mile marker.  My running partner was already there when I got back so after sending a quick text to my 18 year old we turned around and headed back out on the trail.  We were running a pretty solid sub 8:30 average—a bit faster than this other pair.  So, we ran past them headed up to the 5.5 mile marker.  And we passed them again as we (and they) were returning to the parking lot at the half mile point.  I’m not sure if they thought I was totally crazy.  They realized how fast I was running.  So did another pair who were setting up a water stop at around the 2 mile marker and then were sitting on a bench at the parking lot at the half mile marker.  They commented to me and Joselyn that we must have been going pretty fast as they had just gotten back by driving.  Of course, the drive is longer than the run.  And they were not yet in the car as Joselyn and I ran past.   

That leads me to think about six different things.

1. Where am I on the 2000 mile quest.  Obviously, at mile 1000. But where on the map to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico am I?
2. What are the nearest Catholic churches?  Where I am there is not a lot right on the roads I am on.  But it is interesting to see what is nearby.
3. The very different way I accumulated 1000 miles by June 22 this year compared with how I accumulated 1000 miles on June 30 last year.
4. The fact that I registered for the Philadelphia marathon and put down 3:10 as my goal time.  Today’s miles were run as 3 and 10.  That sends me looking for scripture inspiration.
5. With the thought of scripture, I consider what I heard in church this morning.
6. Plus one comment I heard on a radio program this morning about letting ourselves have a time each day to be purposeless and timeless.

Let’s begin with the easy one.  On the map that I created with 2000 miles by walking from St. Pius X in Towson, MD, to Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Truth or Consequences, NM, I am on Lowell Williams Road in Linn Creek, MO. I am about to turn onto A-68.  Pretty much the middle of nowhere.

When I search for Catholic churches in the area, what comes up?  Two different St Anthony churches sort of nearby.  One in Camdenton and one in Iberia.  In any case, St Anthony is the saint to whom many Catholics say a prayer asking for intercession for finding something.  Whether there is anything other than superstition there is not for me to judge at this time.  What is interesting is that while someone running with no purpose out in Linn Creek might seem like they themselves are a bit lost and need to be found, I’m actually feeling less lost than I have in a long time?  Is life perfect?  Of course not.  But all that is good about my professional life (that was good a year ago) and all that is good about my running while (which I think is better than ever) and all that is good about my kids’ lives (which has more certainty than a year ago) and all that is good about my church life (a new ministry role for the first time in a long time and the right combination of ministries) and all that is good in my spiritual life (mostly writing this blog) and all that is good in my married life (stronger than it has been in a long time as we move ahead to a new life with only two kids at home regularly starting this fall) is good.  A year ago I could have said that some parts of my life were feeling very lost.  Now, I still have a ways to go to find balance.  To make sure that everything gets done.  To make sure that I fulfill all responsibilities.  But I am not feeling lost at all.

Accumulating 1000 miles.  Last year, I ran the Boston marathon in April for 26.2, plus three workouts of 20+ miles, and a couple 18’s.  That is more than 15% of the distance in just 8 runs.  I was still running with Back on My Feet a lot and I was trying to mix it up a bit.  That is much different from this year.  My longest this year is 16 miles.  And I don’t think I’ve done that more than once.  I have run a lot of days.  I have spent less time driving to run.  About the only place I’ve driven to run is the NCR trail.  Perhaps a couple times from the store in Timonium.  I don’t think I’ve been to Loch Raven this year.  And I have run the old B-10 course that goes through Druid Hill Park just once.  So, a completely different type of consistency.  A lot more 6-8 mile runs.  A lot of time spent just putting the miles in.  Just three 5K races.  It is a much more liberating and liberated feeling.  Of course, I have a purpose—stay fit  But no particular place to go.  A lot more “making up the course as I go along”.  And a much different feeling.  I may not be as fast as I was last year (at least based on my race times so far this year) but I am fitter, I have a better sense of how important running is to me.  And I have continued to develop a better sense of just how to work in running around the other things in my life that are ultimately more important to those who are important in my life no matter how important running is to me.  Another thing about 1000 miles is that it is half way to my goal.  I’ve thought a lot about halves recently. Celebrating 22 years of marriage at age 44—I’ve been married half of my life.  Depending on what life expectancy calculator you use, I have lived just a little over half my life.  What will I manage to do in the second half that I haven’t done in the first half?  Hopefully lots of things but given how much I’ve already crammed in, it will be interesting to see what happens.  Finally, this week we will be running half miles at half marathon pace for our track workout.  So, half is a good thing.  And with my focus on positivity, I always see the glass as half full rather than half empty.

So, I stopped here yesterday and I’m picking up on Monday morning with the remaining three topics.  So far, the key is that 1,000 miles in just 173 days has changed how I look at the importance of running, the way I run, the way I see running interacting with the rest of my life, being positive, and being the employee, father, and husband I am supposed to be. 

I hope that others find a similar return from their running or other fitness activities in terms of how it can improve their well-being and their basic outlook on life.

So, on to the last three topics.  I ran the workout yesterday as 3 and 10.  I also put 3:10 as my time for the Philadelphia marathon.  I would love to hit 3:12:08 (a 7:20 pace the whole way).  To get myself down into the 3:10 range, I would have to take off another 3-4 seconds per mile.  The 7:20 per mile is something I’ve held for 20 miles.  Just have to hold it for the last 6.2.  And taking another few seconds per mile off, we will see.  But the key here is that I turned to scripture for some inspiration from 3:10.  I noted Acts 3:10 in the missal yesterday.  “they recognized him as the one who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with amazement and astonishment at what had happened to him.”  (From the USCCB website.)  In any case, this is at the end of a story about Peter and John curing a man who was “crippled” from birth.  He had been begging for alms all his life.  The man’s feet and ankles were described as growing strong.  This story about strength and being helped by faith and by saintly individuals rings true with me.  The strength in light of my running is obvious.  But there is emotional strength as well.  And there are the many people—coaches, fellow bloggers, friends—who have helped with both physical and emotional strength over the years.

What did I hear in church yesterday?  It was the feast of Corpus Christi.  It was interesting as the Old Testament reading mentioned manna, a food the Israelites were not familiar with.  In the Gospel reading, the idea of real presence (the Catholic belief that we participate in the body and blood of Jesus through the Eucharist) was explained—another story of a food that the people were unfamiliar with.  The homily given by our Deacon explained that well.  And it reminded me of connecting the dots between readings.  And he even used the phrase nourishing the soul to talk about what the Eucharist does.

Finally, the comment about purposeless and timelessness.  The program is OnBeing.  It is a program about religion and philosophy.  The host was interviewing someone who was talking about play.  I was listening to this after my run and thinking about running as play.  Is it?  It is purposeless?  In the scheme of wanting to run a faster marathon, no.  In the scheme of weather my running matters to anyone other than me?  It is pretty purposeless.  And although I can say that I was looking at my watch occasionally while running yesterday, it was a time of relative timelessness.  Talking without worry about how long it was taking.  And sometimes running in silence.  The last mile and a half or so was that way. Just running.  On the NCR trail there are some notable things to see but it is quite possible to lose one’s sense of time and place.  It really is an incredible meditative experience.  Especially when running at a pace that was enough to be “work” but not so much that I was breathing hard. 

So ends my epic blog entry.  Now, it is time to get on with a new day.  A new run.  A new attitude.

A Day of Rest

It is fitting that on a Sunday, I am experiencing a day of rest in my 2000 mile quest.  Some Sundays I have decided to run just to get the legs loosened up after a Saturday long (and often faster than necessary) run.  Other Sundays I have run to try to make sure my mileage stays up.  Finally, my Sunday running also depends on the other stuff going on.  And today the outside activity is taking my nine year old to an ice hockey game about an hour away.  And it is colder this morning.  So despite getting new shoes yesterday, I am taking today off and will break in the new shoes tomorrow.

The experience of getting new shoes was a very good one. I was thinking of trying a new running shoe store, but given when I was able to go yesterday and given the store's hours, I was not able to make it.  Since my old shoes had 650 miles of use and that is about the maximum I have been choosing to accept (more than the 500 maximum recommended by the manufacturer), I really needed new shoes.  In any case, I ended up at the same store at which I have bought at least my last eight pairs of running shoes.  The nice thing was that it really went with my pragmatic vision and spirituality.  Going back to the same place--the place where I had been a member of training groups from the summer of 2010 through the fall of 2011--is a bigger picture issue.  The vision was clearly communicating to the salesperson exactly what I was looking for.  More miles than last year and possibly faster.  And with that we tried on a new version of the same brand and model I had before and then a new model from the same manufacturer and three other shoes.  In the end, I made the smallest change possible--the new model of the same manufacturer.  The key is that it what the salesperson said (and I realize he could just be saying this afterwards) that the best move would be a small change with then the opportunity for a greater change later on.  The key is that the new pair has less support than the old pair.  And the other manufacturers' shoes had even less support.  So, we will see if the pragmatic small change leads to even greater change later on.  To go with my vision of being an even better runner.  (And a better person overall.)


So, since today is Sunday, it is a great day to share the information I have gathered about the church at the end of my virtual pilgrimage.  In a direct email from the archivist of the diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico.  To the left is a picture of the outside of the church.

So, I also received some information about the church in the same email.  Here it is.  It is quite extensive giving the history of the start and some relatively current information:

Our Lady of Perpetual Help wasn’t established until the town of Hot Springs was founded to serve the construction crews of Elephant Butte Dam.  Many small churches preceded it to serve the thriving mining and ranching communities of the last century and the first third of this one.  Mass was celebrated as early as 1916 in Hot Springs High School.  By 1921 construction had begun on a permanent church that now serves as the parish hall.  Over the years it was improved, and enlarged until it became the central church of the Catholics of Sierra County.  In 1939, Rev. Joseph Mueller, added a residence to the church and moved the administration of the Catholic church of the area from Monticello to his new rectory in Hot Springs. Following the Second World War the need for a parish hall was met by deciding to build a new church and converting the previous church into the parish hall.  With minor additions and improvements this second church has served the Catholics of the area well for over sixty years.  The present church building was dedicated on December 16, 1949.  In 1961, the house and property on the east side of the rectory were acquired so that the church owned the entire block. Rev. Art Roberts, C.S.B. arrived as pastor in July of 1994 and recommended a two-year study of the long-range needs of the parish.  The result was the transformation of the existing building.  Many problems presented themselves in the course of the renovation, but the final result is a joy to behold.  It is a fitting tribute to the previous generation that built the building and to the present generation who had the courage to invest in its future service to the area.  It is one of the finest buildings in Truth or Consequences and a credit to Catholics everywhere.

The history clearly shows the importance of serving others, serving a need that provides a vision for the area and for the economy, and the importance of growth over time.  I will ponder the history (and the history of the town) a bit more as time goes on.  But this is a great start to thinking about where I am "going".  

Conceptualizing 2000 Miles: A Virtual Running Pilgrimage

So, on January 2nd, I ran my first 8 miles of the calendar year.  I talked about that 8 mile run yesterday.  No need to review.

Today, I did not run.  I have many friends who braved the snow and ice on the roads to either drive to run inside on a treadmill somewhere or to run somewhere outside.  Congratulations to them after the snow last night.  I didn't feel inspired and had a bit of a headache.  That is not enough to keep me in bed when it is 40 degrees out.  But at 25 degrees (or less) and 4-5 inches of snow it was a "no go" for me.

What I did do today is think about how I will accumulate my 266 hours (or so) of running at 8 minute miles over 250 (or so) days during the remaining 363 days of the year.

And I spent some time thinking about what 2000 miles would actually mean.

And to link to spirituality, I found a route from St Pius X church in Towson MD (where we attend and participate) to a church called Our Lady of Perpetual Help in a town call Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, that is 2000 miles.  Here is a link to the pdf describing the path.  Going from one church to another makes it like a "virtual running pilgrimage."  Ending up at a town called "Truth or Consequences" for a goal that is so big and a quest for which I consider "truth" to be success and consequences to be the many possible ways of failing or being injured along the way, is pretty cool.

It is too bad I won't be doing this in reality as it will take me through Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and into New Mexico.

So, each day, in addition to whatever else I want to blog about, I'll mention where I am.  The first eight miles that I ran yesterday takes me from our church to  somewhere on Greenspring Avenue north of the city.  It doesn't quite get me to the Church of the Resurrection in Lutherville that led to my early Christmas morning writing about connections from the perspectives of two priests (one Catholic and one Anglican) but it is interesting to me that in the bigger picture of trying to conceptualize my 2000 mile quest as a pilgrimage, even the first stop is near a church.

What will tomorrow bring?  12-16 miles on a treadmill at the Y on a bitter cold morning.  Once I see just how many I run, I will update and we will see where it leaves me on the trail.

Goal is set.  Now, to see where it takes me.