Two Runners, Four Runners

Two runners traveling around the city

On foot can have in depth conversations.

Even when the wind rushes by in noisy gusts 

The conversation is rarely disrupted.

Sometimes the runners must shout,

But their banter continues undeterred.

When the number of runners increases

From the number required to play war

To enough to play bridge

Filling the seats at a card table,

The conversation can be more varied

And the experience can be differently fulfilling.

The conversation can involve

The entire company of runners

With more opinions and knowledge informing

What is discussed.

But when the sidewalk is only wide enough

For two abreast

And the noisy wind blows strong from our left

Pushing us toward the water to the right,

The words of either pair are lost to the other two

As the soundwaves are blown wildly away

To float into the sky and join the ripples

Of the water in the harbor.

So, the conversation can continue

In any of six possible pairs.

The joy of the group of four compared to two

Is not double because there are twice as many runners

Or six times as there are that many more pairs.

In fact, it can’t be quantified

But the joy can be differently magical

With so many different ways to share

To light the way and

To lighten the hearts that pump the blood

Into four pairs of lungs

To provide oxygen to power the muscles

In four pairs of legs to move the runners

In unison around the city.

Four lives joined in harmony at sunrise,

Warming like the air as the sky grows lighter,

Carrying the energy of the sun

Like the flowers of the summer

The cold bodies remember from many other runs.

A Christmas Eve Run to Remember

Yesterday, I ran 10 miles on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve has been a strong running day for years.  I'll trace back to 2011.  In 2011, I ran 12 miles by myself--warm enough for shorts but encountered some sleet.  In that year, I ran a little alone, then with Back on My Feet Team Christopher's Place, and then with the team coach a little bit extra.  That was fun.  Two years ago I did a track workout by myself.  Last year I ran a half marathon distance by myself.  And yesterday, I had a 10 mile run that concluded a wonderful year of running with the training partner with whom I ran the most times and most miles this year.

The temps were in the mid-60's.  It was raining when we began at Lauren's house.  It rained for about half the time we were running.  It was windy, and the wind was most often coming toward us--blowing the rain at us making the caps that each of us had on less useful for keeping rain out of the eyes and slowing us down.  But we carried on our run and carried on a conversation about everything from what we knew about different races (particularly ultras) to seeing the latest Star Wars movie (which neither of us had done) to my lack of attention to where we were running yesterday.  Lauren concluded that a lack of attention might actually benefit me in the ultra race that I am going to run in May--it might make the miles feel less challenging.  The "back" part of the out and back run was less rainy but just plain humid.  The water in the Inner Harbor was very high--indicating the abundance of rain we'd had recently.  And for the third day in a row there was really no sunrise to speak of as the clouds and rain continued.  It was so warm that a cold drink of water immediately when we finished was incredibly useful. 

We also went to mass yesterday--as we have every Christmas Eve since I was a young boy.  Yesterday was the first time since we were a family of five (I'll even count 2004 as Daniel was only three days from being born so everyone knew that he was with us) that not all of us were at mass together.  Four of us were already at the family resort where we have vacationed at this time of year for many years.  Our oldest was still back in Baltimore to play at a Christmas Eve mass and another gig on the day after Christmas before he eventually joins us.  The mass was at the Holy Infant Catholic Church in Elkton, VA.  We arrived early (we didn't have to arrive quite as early as we did, but we got four seats together) and were chosen to bring up the gifts.  This year the boys were old enough to carry both the unconsecrated hosts and the wine so Sherry and I were just along for the walk up the aisle.  

The readings the priest chose to use were from the midnight mass.  They began with the reading from Isaiah in which it talks about how the people in darkness have seen a great light.  

And that is where today's tie-in between running and spirituality comes is.  Over the two previous days, I'd had the opportunity to hang with two other fellow runners with whom I don't often have a chance to hang outside of running.  Each of these people is part of the light that I find in running.  And with one of them I had a long discussion about being light for others and how runners are people who tend to be seekers of self and seekers of light.  

So, despite the little natural light that we saw on the run yesterday (there was plenty of light from the streetlights) the light of running itself is something that was experienced in full yesterday.  Physical challenge with the cardio and strengthening.  The joy of spending time with others.  Conversation (everyone who reads this knows I love words.)   And the spirit of being connected to something larger.  Running the streets of Baltimore is not like running on the open plains chasing wildlife for dinner as our ancestors did, but the fact that our ancestors did shows just how primal running can be.

And the ideas of all this--the challenge, companionship, conversation, and connection--are my part of my path to being light for others not just through running but through life in general.  

Truly Conversational Pace

For years, I've had a rule of thumb for some of my runs--if I want to consider the run to be not too taxing, a key question is "can I carry on a conversation?"  Over time, I've learned that I can, if necessary, carry on a conversation at 8:00/mile and sometimes even at 7:45/mile pace.  But I have had very few runs with others at that pace for the entire way this training season.  On the track, the warm up, cool down, and rest intervals are that slow or slower, but the main intervals are invariably faster than that.  For a tempo or progression run, the start (and sometimes the end) was slow, but some of the miles were run at 7:15 or faster.  Not too much conversation at that pace.  Even most of my long runs this training season ended at 7:30 or better as I trained my body to anticipate increased efforts at the end.  And at the end of 15-20 miles at 7:30 or better, I'm not having much of a conversation.  Finally, most of my "general maintenance" (to use Shannon's terminology) miles were run at 8:15-8:30.  But most of those were run alone.  So not much conversation there.

In any case, today I met up with Jackie (who helped me through the last four miles in Philly 11 days ago) to run seven just to catch up.  The seven were a familiar seven miles--the tempo loop that we have used during training seasons for two years now.  From the southwest side of the Dunbar track up to Madison, across to Fallsway, down to Baltimore, across to Exeter, down to Aliceanna, across to Boston, across to Linwood, back up to Baltimore, up the hill by Patterson Park (a very useful thing to get ready for hills during long races), over to Central, up to Monument and back to the start.  And to get 7.0 rather than 6.5, a lap around the Dunbar field but on the sidewalk.

The run took a little over an hour.  In part, because we seemed to hit traffic everywhere at 5:30 this morning.  But, in part, because we ran a truly conversational pace.  Jackie is pacing one more marathon this year, but I have no more races on m calendar at this point.  So, we just ran.  Just to enjoy running rather than with any other goal in mind.  Other than to catch up after the race in Philly.  As Jackie had suggested in email to "runner nerd out" about the race.  We did.  But we also talked about running in general.  Families.  Catholic parishes.  Welcoming.  Compassion.  Music ministry.  You name it.  We might as well have been chatting over a long coffee at Starbucks or over a beer or two at Zen West.

This is part of what makes running so enjoyable.  It is an exercise that for two people who are comfortable running the same pace, you can get a good cardio workout, get a decent workout for the legs, and have a wonderful conversation while covering seven miles all in a little over an hour.  I don't know what anyone near us would have thought of hearing two runners talking about Catholic church bulletins, parishes led by female pastoral life directors, and hills in the Philadelphia marathon all in one run.  But it doesn't matter.  The beauty of a conversational pace is that just about anything is fair game during the workout.

And that is part of what makes running such a great activity for me.

Color for My Tattoo

Short entry today--yesterday I got color added to my tattoo.  One more full visit after today and then a final touch up visit.  Yesterday the human figures and foreground were pretty much completed.  Next time it'll be the background.

It was a different experience than the outline.  And even Emily (at the end) pointed out how differently the color (particularly when some large areas are covered) stresses the skin differently.  More discomfort.  More noticeable.  But the end result was beautiful.

I won't post a picture until after it heals a bit.  The tattoo just looks better after healing.

In addition to changing the intensity of the experience from the first time when the outline was done to this time with the color, the other thing that was interesting was the range of topics of discussion...

Myers-Briggs personality types
Different ways of praying/different spirituality experiences
Homeschooling
Taking kids to baseball games
Bureaucracy
Promotion
Meaning of tattoos
Gamers
Differences in priorities between spouses
Cooking & foods in general
Sunday school
Skin protection
Running
How much the average American really tests themselves spiritually
How individuals use tattoos to "brand" themselves
Bread and circuses (a quote from the third book in The Hunger Games)
The creative process
The distinction between vision and implementation of the creative process

Interestingly so many of these tie together under one heading--self expression.  A critical aspect of life.  Something that I think very hard about a lot of the time.

Two and one-half hours of having a tattoo applied is a long time for conversation.  Having a tattoo artist who is also a very intelligent and thoughtful, spiritual mother of a five year old makes for interesting conversation and makes the amount that I concentrated on the tattoo itself a lot less.

I hope to post a picture by the middle of next week and will, of course, post a final picture when it is done.  

Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread & Well-Being (It's not just the taste)

Last night I posted a picture of the Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread that I had made yesterday morning and that my family (along with my sixteen year old's girlfriend) was having for dessert.  A friend (who had previously shared with me her mom's Irish Soda Bread recipe) asked for the recipe, so here it is and it is not that hard.  The cooking takes an hour or just over.  The cooling takes some time.  But the actual prep can be done in less than 15 minutes (and probably as little as ten) after a few tries.

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Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread

Ingredients
4 ripe bananas, smashed
1 cup sugar
1 cup chopped hazelnuts (this is the easiest way to find them where I shop)
1/3 cup melted butter
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup cocoa
1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).  Mash the bananas.  Add sugar and mix.  Add nuts, butter and the egg.  Mix.  Add vanilla and baking soda.  Mix.  Add remaining ingredients.  Mix till all flour is incorporated.  (As my seven year old likes to say, don't leave any flour "pockets".)  Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan (or a well seasoned stone loaf pan without butter). Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 5 minutes. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

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So, why is a recipe like this relevant to my blog about nourishing the soul.  Well, it was certainly nourishing to those who ate it in a physical sense.  (Yes, it is a bit of a sweet treat but with the bananas and nuts its not all bad.)  But for me it was also nourishing to my soul.  The reason is that it was part of making two recipes before I went to work yesterday--I also made rolls that went along with the entree for dinner as we served store bought ravioli and sauce, added fresh tomato and pepper to the sauce, and had homemade rolls alongside.  I love to bake bread.  And I love to share what I bake.

And when we have my whole family at the table (although the seven year old slept through dinner last night), we have fun conversation.  And when we welcome my sixteen year old's girlfriend she seems at ease with and has fun with the conversation too.  

The feeling of creating--especially when it is borrowing from someone else's recipe but adding my own twist.  The feeling of sharing.  The feeling of family.  The feeling of being at ease with family and anyone who joins my family for dinner.  All are good.

It may help that we live in a house with no TV in the dining room or even on the same level of the house as the dining room.  It gives us a chance (when we do actually sit down) to focus on each other.  We are sometimes distracted by reading the news or the mail.  But last night it was just such a nice time to sit and have conversation.  Also funny that it should come less than a week after our return from Colonial Williamsburg where they may have had more chores after dinner but they certainly had no TV or internet to distract them and I'm sure had to learn to have conversations as well.

There is a sense of wholeness that comes from having a family sit together.  There is a sense of wholeness that comes from good conversation long into the evening.  Can't do that every night with the pressures of my job and other activities that I, my wife, and my kids have.  But to do it at least once in a while really helps to emphasize what drives well-being--good food, good family, good friends, good conversation.  In a home that focuses on the good and blessings of God.