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".  

Pragmatic Visionary Spirituality

In a discussion at my office yesterday, someone referred to me as a pragmatic visionary.  That is an interesting compliment, and I spent some time thinking about what I had said that prompted that comment and whether I would think of myself that way.  It is not the first time I have been called a visionary about the business of education and health, so maybe there is something that other people are seeing.  I certainly have never thought of myself as a visionary.  But perhaps that is just being polite and not giving myself too much credit.

In any case, the previous comment about being a visionary (to set the context was with respect to bringing cost-effectiveness analysis to eye care and to nursing.  Was I single handed responsible for it?  No, absolutely not.  But, did my efforts make a difference in bringing this new way of thinking about resource allocation, new techniques, and new language to structure resource allocation efforts in these two areas--yes.  Does that make me a visionary?  I certainly had an idea of why the new methods would be important, whom to reach, and how to communicate them. The last of those may have been the most important--storytelling.   But I'm not at all sure it makes me a visionary.

Today, I will borrow heavily again from my professional blog.  And then, I will expand just a bit.  

In a discussion at my office yesterday, someone referred to me as a pragmatic visionary.  That is an interesting compliment, and I spent some time thinking about what I had said that prompted that comment and whether I would think of myself that way.  It is not the first time I have been called a visionary about the business of education and health, so maybe there is something that other people are seeing.  I certainly have never thought of myself as a visionary.  But perhaps that is just being polite and not giving myself too much credit.

In any case, the previous comment about being a visionary (to set the context was with respect to bringing cost-effectiveness analysis to eye care and to nursing.  Was I single handed responsible for it?  No, absolutely not.  But, did my efforts make a difference in bringing this new way of thinking about resource allocation, new techniques, and new language to structure resource allocation efforts in these two areas--yes.  Does that make me a visionary?  I certainly had an idea of why the new methods would be important, whom to reach, and how to communicate them. The last of those may have been the most important--storytelling.   But I'm not at all sure it makes me a visionary.
Yesterday, the conversation was one in which I simply reflected what I thought I heard a colleague saying, acknowledged that it was important, and built on it.  If there is one business skill that I have (and I really never thought of it as a business skill until I found myself in a business school), it is listening, reflecting, and improvising in the reflection. The aspect of improvising in return, I think is particularly critical for being thought of as a visionary.  Anyone with a take on modern communication skills for business or relationships has heard of reflective conversations.  What I do is expand.  Use my creativity.  Use my imagination.  Use my sense of being part of something bigger to make a difference in how I think and what I say.  It is one of the reasons that I have written before that if I ever get a second tattoo I have thought about including the mockingjay from The Hunger Games. The fictional bird did not simply mimic but changed.  Not always for the better--as I hope to in the sense of being considered a visionary.  But definitely improvised.

It is the improvising that I think appealed to my colleague and led him to the visionary comment.  What did it have to do with?  It had to do with thinking about online education and the role of individual courses versus the role of the program as a whole and the role of thinking about the university-wide reputation and context in which it fit.  Most importantly, acknowledging the importance of thinking not just about the quality of each course but the bigger picture and being able to articulate that bigger picture.  Again, I'm not sure that makes me a visionary.  But it does reflect my view of life.  Always having the bigger picture in mind.  My say is not the end of it.  My experience is not the end of it.  My thought is not the end of it.  I have spent 17 1/2 years as part of a bigger culture and bigger sense of an expansive imagination of what can be.  That is what Johns Hopkins University represents to me. 

The pragmatic side--I kept referring back to the timeline my boss has set.  Acknowledging that while the "big picture" thinking is great, I also have to be careful to meet deadlines.  

The two concepts (being a visionary whether I am one or not) and pragmatism are often at odds.  However, I think it is possible to pull them both together and make them work in harmony to lead to new and interesting ideas being implemented in a timely way.  That is the business of business in general, is it not?  To bring in new ideas, new methods, and new approaches to getting things that need to be done completed.    

So, in addition to my added comments about spirituality above, what else is it that ties any of this to spirituality, my running, and in particular my running a virtual pilgrimage this year.  Well, yesterday I ran 11.3 miles.  A total of 4.3 round trip jogging over and back to a track and a workout that among my friends (and apparently in running circles in general) is called "The Michigan".  As  graduate of the University of Michigan, I was intrigued to find out what workout was so strongly associated with my graduate school alma mater that it had attained this notable status.  

What I found was a variety of opinions and different websites that my running friends directed me to.  The one that seemed to most directly draw on what Coach Ron Warhurst actually did was the following...a workout of approximately 6.9 miles.  

Fast 1600 meters (defined as 15-20 seconds slower than the fastest I can run.  My interpretation, aspirational 5K race pace).  I did it in 5:59 yesterday morning.  Alone on the track  Great way to start the workout.

Then, it called for a 3 minute jog.  I just ran a slow lap.  Probably a little less than 3 minutes but plenty of time to recover.  Each supposedly 3 minute jog as described in what I read was translated into a slow lap around the track.  Cumulative distance 2000 meters.  

Then, 1600 meters about a minute slower than the first one.  This, for me, translates into aspirational 10 mile to half marathon race pace.  (I have run each before but never in a race setting on a hilly course.)  Time--7:00 even on the first one.

Another slow lap.

Next, 1200 meters at the same pace as the first 1600. My time?  4:31.  Just a teeny bit slower but exactly in line with the 6:00-6:05 pace I had planned out earlier in the week.

Another slow lap.

Another 1600 meters at the slower pace.  I ran a 6:56.  Good timing.

Next, 800 meters continuing at the fast pace.  Here is where I really started to feel it but hung together enough to run a 2:58.  

Another slow lap and another moderate 1600 meters.  The latter was run in 6:55.  I actually felt for the first time in the workout that I had to think about running that pace and not going too slowly.  The 7 minute mile on the track usually feels like second nature.  But by the end of the 1600 meters, I had accumulated 10800 meters just on the track (more than 6 miles) with more than 5 being at half marathon pace or better.

The final 400 meters was supposed to be all out.  I was not sure what I had left.   I knew I could do better than the six minute mile pace but really wasn't sure.  I took off.  I ended up running what was essentially a tie for the fastest 400 meter I have run since coming back to running in 2006.  I have run what shows up on my Garmin database as a 1:14 three times.  Once in July 2013 and once in June 2012 besides yesterday.  Given the inexact nature of self-timing and the challenge of running a workout alone, I'm quite satisfied to say that at the end of a workout with more than 6 miles total on the track and more than 5 miles at "speed" level, I was able to pull off my fasted quarter mile effort.  That is pretty amazing.  To the degree that the spirit of toughness of a "wolverine" characterizes Michigan sports and Michigan graduates, I think I lived up to that value.

Again, even my workout can be put in light of a bigger picture.  The spirit of Michigan.

And, I as I continue on my trek, where does that leave me?  Well, with 94.3 miles accumulated so far this year, I am would have run past McConnellsburg and then on to US 30 where I will spend many miles headed west.  It sounds more like a hitchhiking trip than a run at this point, but I keep moving along.  Thinking of a bigger picture.  Thinking of a goal.  And being able to tell the story well enough that I now have started to get information about the diocese and the church toward which I am running in my virtual pilgrimage.  I will share that on a day that is not so full of other work and family stuff.     

And I will continue to think about the concept of pragmatic visionary spirituality and what the three terms together might mean to me.