First Step Toward My Next (and possibly last) Marathon

Today, I did the first six miles as part of the official training for the Philadelphia marathon this fall.  20 weeks from yesterday.  Six miles at an easy 8:20ish pace.  Was supposed to run within 10 seconds of 8:30.  The first two miles were overlay fast.  First one wanted to make sure not to go too slowly.  Second one was mostly downhill and I got way ahead of myself but pulled back.  Then, the last four were run all within 2 seconds of 8:25 (plus or minus).  So, I once again have reached a point at which I find that I can settle in.  That is good.  Hopefully I'll be able to settle into a 7:20 pace by the time of the Philadelphia marathon.  Today--easy run.  Good start.  Nothing certain given that I am 20 weeks out.  But for day one it is just fine.

That puts me up to 1090 total miles for the year.  That puts me near Nevada, Missouri.  In that city there is a church called St. Mary's.  Once again, it simply fascinates me that so many churches are named to honor the Mother of Jesus.  

Today's observation.  The first day of training is the beginning of an evolution.  An evolution from someone who, no matter how much I love running and no mater how many marathons I have done before (five), I go from being a runner to a marathoner.  Planning to earn that title one more time.  Perhaps for the last time although none of my running friends believe that.

The evolution is not a revolution.  Marathon readiness does not occur all at once.  

What does Mary tell me about evolution?  Mary's trasnformation from a young woman engaged but not married to the Mother of Jesus was a revolution.  She accepted God's presence.  She accepted God's word.  While surprised, she just went with what the angel Gabriel said and followed God's will.

I shared a prayer with a friend that is my expansion of the Serenity Prayer.  The standard Serenity Prayer is "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."  As someone who recited the Lord's prayer each weekend, I thought it would be interesting to adapt to a more specifically Christian context.  Not for everyone.  Not everyone is Chrisian.  But it works for me:

God,
grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
the faith to follow Thy will in all things,
and the wisdom to sort it all out.

I have blogged about the Serenity Prayer before.  This is a new version for me.  I'll see whehter I still like it in a few months.  But the key is that it forces me not only to ask God for gifts, but also to remind myself to follow His will.  Combining these two things is a powerful guide for me to live my life and evolve over time to being all that I can be and all that God has intended for me to be.  

A Little Less Activity but a Nice Final Full Day

Yesterday, I started the day with 6.2 on the treadmill.  I had hoped to run outside, but it was still very wet and I needed to control the time of the workout.  I got started a little late and we planned to walk to town for the parade.  So, I "only" did 6.2  That still makes 37.2 for an "easy" week.  No complaints there.  And a total of 1084.2.  That puts me just on the other side of El Dorado Springs.  And I continue to run along.  

The walk to the parade was very pleasant.  Temps were much lower and little humidity.   The parade itself was fun--including the precision lawn chair drill team that did the "water sprinkler" routine right in front of me and Sherry where we were sitting on the curb of the street next to a beautiful Irish wolf hound.  Then we did a little more mostly window shopping, ate lunch down town at the Dockside Grille (both had excellent and frehsly prepared fish and chips), went to Bailey's Bubbles for ice cream and walked back.

Had a low key afternoon with reading and napping.  Dinner was simple--spaghetti with sauce and tomatoes.  We tried a New Hampshire Reisling we had picked up.  So-so at best.  It is hard to grow excellen grapes in NH.

Then a bit more reading.  Sherry got some pictures of the sunset and fireworks going off a night late.

The day was simple.

Our time being present together was incerdibly valuable.

We head home today.

Back to work tomorrow.

Other things take over--county fair, need to replace the Volvo, back to school in the not too distant fugure.

But this has been an excellent week and we will be stronger together moving ahead. 

Above and Beyond

Yesterday, I ran 10 miles on a treadmill. Not my favorite way to do 10 miles.  Not anyone's favorite way to do 10 miles.  I ran it in 1:21:50. Not exceedingly fast.  Nor exceedinly slow.  7.2 MPH for the first half.  7.5 MPH for the second half.  I needed three more miles than I'd planned at the start of the week to burn off extra calories consumed on Thursday evening in the form of a peanut butter s'more pizza that I had for dessert.  The mileage puts me up to 1078.  I am still on US 54.  Near El Dorado Springs, MO.  In that town there is a Catholic church, St. Elizabeth.

St. Elizabeth's above and beyond was that she gave birth at an age when no one expected her to. She gave birth to the very important John the Baptist.  She (through John's jumping for joy still in the womb when Mary arrived pregnant with Jesus) was one of the first to recognize that Mary was going to be the mother of a very special child.  And her words in Luke Chapter 1 gave us the basis for part of the Hail Mary prayer.  What a wonderful story at that point in her life.  What faith and insight.

Faith and insight--what I explore and try to express through this blog.  

My above and beyond yesterday started with three extra miles.  The remainder of the morning was slow as Sherry and I tried to figure out what to do on a soggy Fourth of July while waiting for our dinner cruise.  We ended up mostly hanging in the morning.  I ate mostly her leftovers from the night before for lunch.  But we went to this cute little family restaurant called Morrisey's for lunch. I got a lovely bowl of French onion soup.  Sherry got a lobster macaroni and cheese that included bacon.  Awesome.  I suppose my "above and beyond" there was finishing hers.  We underestimated how much food she woudl get.

Then, we went to the grocery store to get a few extra things.  Sherry's above and beyond--coming with me to the grocery store which she does not usually do.

After that in the afternoon we played ping pong at the Windrifter.  That was fun.  We split four games.  Above and beyond for both of us as we rarely play ping pong.  

Then we went on the dinner cruise.  Three hours around the lake.  Very nice.  Dinner was good.  Dessert was good.  One drink each.  Fun people watching.  Good music.  Even the Marshall Tucker band song that I criticized for neither having a flute nor a decent synthezied flute was good.  The band was energetic.  The crowd was energetic.  And as anyone who has ever performed for a crowd knows, the more the crowd reacts, the better the band plays.  It is a really cool feedback loop.  We even danced some.  Need to dance more.  It wa very fun.

Then a longish but safe drive home back around the lake.

Great day.

The feedback between teh band and crowd is kind of like the feedback in any pair.  The more one person engages, the more the other person feels wanted, needed, and loved.  (Thanks to Meatloaf for the list of three.)  The more the other person feels wanted, needed, and loved, the more he or she engages.  The feedback loop continues.  And the relationship grows stronger.  Our marriage this week.  Our marrige forever.  

Intervals on the Track--Multiple Paces in Life

Yesterday, I ran intervals on the treadmill.  I had expected originally to do all easy miles this week, but another seven miles on the treadmill at a constant pace was just not appealing.  Today, I may have to run the treadmill again as the rain is supposed to be nearly constant.  Yesterday's run was 2 miles warmup (8 min/mile), 3x1 mile (7 min/mile) with 1/4 mile rest between each (8 min/mile) and then 1.5 miles cool down (8 min/mile).  Loved it.  For my virtual pilgrimage this puts me still on US 54. This time in Osceola. MO.  Still headed west.

The intervals represent a change of speeds on the track or in this on the treadmill.  Life yesterday was a bit of a change-up from the several days before.  Although still illustrating the importance of little things and the importance of presence in the week that Sherry and I are spending together.

Afte rmy run, I made what has become the standard for breakfast this week--the yogurt parfait.  Although to try to make the yogurt last, I ate my granola and berry mixture with soy milk poured over it.  And to add some calories given my run (not that I needed them after dinner and desert the night before), I also ate some cherries and a banana.  We went to the same beach again (Brewster's).  It was cooler, less sunny, and less crowded.  I brought a Tom Clancy book to read.  We had the same lunch with one interesting differnece--Mr. Mallard was stalking us today.  The day before, with more children there were more choices for food. Yesterday, he came right over to (and even onto) the blanket we used and stood watching us eat.  Even tried to nip at Sherry's sandwich.  Odd.  We left just before it started to rain, although the rain was brief.

Back at the Windrifter, we had a not so busy afternoon.  Specifically, Sherry was a bit tired so she napped for a while.  That was fine as I tried to answer fewer emails and really treat it as a vacation day.  Ended up making it through more than 250 pages of the novel I started.  Will try to knock off as much as possible before I go back to work on Monday.

Then we went out to dinner.  This time to Jo Green's Upper Deck.  Fun.  It was a simpler meal.  Stuffed clams to start.  Just soda to drink.  Sherry got the a selection of fish.  I got whole belly fried clams which were really good.  The fritters they served were also excellent.  We were debating desert and I ordered a peanut butter s'more pizza.  It was about the size of a small tortilla with a combination of peanut butter, chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker crumbs spread on top.  Very yummy.  Divided into six sections.  I surprised our waitress by eating five of them (reason for a few extra miles planned for this morning.)

Then we came back and just chilled.  Sherry reading stuff mostly online.  Me making my way through the novel.  Watching a silly movie on cable.

A change up in terms of a less full day with more active and less active parts.  But still a good day, indeed.  

May There Be Words

May There Be Words

Word are powerful things.

There are times when I have used them to hurt.

The volume.

The tone.

The meaning.

And when they hurt someone else they ultimately hurt me too.

Emotionally and spiritually—and perhaps ultimately physically

As hurt is never something I look back on

And feel good about.

But most of the time I use them for positivity.

Describing.

Presenting.

Teaching.

Talking about my passions.

Seeking meaning.

Longing.

Cheering on.

Cheering up.

Thanking.

Wishing.

Loving.

Healing myself.

Praying for healing for others.

Inspiring.

For some of us words come as easy as does

Music

Or dancing

Or visual art

Or other forms of expression do for others.

But for me it is words.

Always words.

Written words are easier than spoken words.

But both come.

Having the words come is a blessing.

Continuing to have the words come easily

Is an answer to my prayers for

Clarity and expression.

Praying that words will come for others does not guarantee they will.

But I know there are friends who need words

In their lives

Right now.

I pray they find them.

And that they fall on receptive ears.

A Day at the Beach

Yesterday I hopped on the treadmill at the Windrifter where Sherry and I are staying.  I haven't used a treadmill for pure mileage (as opposed to gauging my time in a progression run) in quite some time, but I did yesterday.  And I did not push the speed.  I ran 7 miles in one hour.  Just accumulating more miles.  I am now at 1061 as I plan to hit 1082 by the time we return to Baltimore.  1061 puts me about 8 miles west of where County Route 240 meets US 54 in Collins, Missouri.  Another town with no Catholic churches but a Baptist church.  The world needs all the prayers it can get.   

The treadmill is something that some people find boring because there is often little variation as it is used and there is certainly no change in scenery.  So, maybe some people will find this entry a little boring as it repeats a theme I have been focusing on all week.  The simple things that a couple can do together to make their relationship go around and to keep it going in a very positive way.

Yesterday after I ran, I came back to the room and fixed breakfast.  Once again a yogurt parfait of vanilla yogurt, granola, and three types of berries.  All good and I had the same thing as Sherry this time.  My stomach did not react negatively which suggests to me more strongly than ever that what got to me in Ocean City (in the digestive week from hell the week before Father's Day and my slowest 5K race in a long time) was something in the water in OC or someting on a fresh fruit or vegetable that I was served.  

In any case, after that we were both online for a bit as we tried to decide what to do for the day.  In the end we decided to go to the beach.  Specifically Brewster Beach.  It was an interesting beach on Lake Winnepsaukee as there are two small docks with starting blocks for swinning on one end.  They use pool ropes to section off the area to run swimming lessong and they have a local pool team.  It is a pretty interesting way to run the local water sports.

The beach itself is small and seemed to attract everyone from us (first time on a beach all summer and fair-skinned enough to show it) and some others like us to those who were well tanned.  Moms with kids.  Young couples. And a pair of mallard who ruled the beach.  They were so comfortable around people that the male walked right up to and over our blanket twice--not paying any attention to us.  And he stole a Dunkin Donut hole right out of a little boy's hand.  The beach had two guards who were very good--directing away a boat that had pulled up too close to the area they were guarding and keeping kids and parents on the straight and narrow.

We spent about four hours there and left just in time.  While it did not start thunderstorming while we were on the 5-7 minute drive back to the Windrifter, it did rain really hard once we got back.  

While there?  We mostly just hung out.  No tension.  Just together.  Enjoying the sun but trying to avoid burning.  Did not bring a book to read but did check email on the iPhone occasionally.  Got in the water that was cool but refreshing.  I didn't swim but Sherry did.  Ate the lunch that I had made of peanut butter and honey on wheat. Sherry had also packed us each a banana.  I threw out the trash for us both.  On our way back from the beach we took a little detour just to see what is at the end of Clark Rd--a small park called Clark's Point.  It was a lot of fun.

Back at the Windrifter we showered and hung for a while mostly answering emails and doing other stuff online.  We then went to dinner at Wolfe's Tavern at the Wolfeboro Inn. It was a very nice place for dinner.  We had an Adelsheim Pinot Gris to go with an appetizer of mussels with veggies and then Sherry had a shrimp pot pie with lobster sauce and I had grilled chicken.  Dessert was a flan for me and a cobbler for Sherry.  Both were excellent.  Dinner was nice as aside from getting a text from our son, we carried on a conversation the entire time.  No electronics (after I got done looking up wine options).  Just us.

And that is how we have been spending vacation.  Just us.  Together and focused.  Day after day.  Maybe a theme that is as boring as a treadmill run to some.  But refreshing and renewing and affirming and strengthening for me and Sherry.  All good.  

More Simple Gifts

Today, I had my first run in New Hampshire--ever.  Some places I go I have run at conferences.  But I have never been to a conference in New Hampshire.  In fact, as mentioned yesterday, I haven't been in New Hampshire since I was 9.  So I probably "ran" somewhere at that time.  But it was just that as a kid I was running as part of play.  Rather than running for the sake of training.  Although, I have commented before that running is one of my grown up forms of play.  Today's run can be seen at http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/532704711 with all the hills in all their glory.  Mostly down for the first mile and a half.  Then back up.  The mostly down for the next two miles.  Then back.  All good.  I even spent a half mile in and a half mile out on the local cross country trails.  

Where does that put me on my virtual pilgrimage--at mile 1054.  That is 14 above 40 per week for the first 26 weeks of the year.  Definitely at or beyond where I planned to be.  I think I am in a great position to make my goal by year's end.  In the meantime, I am on the outskirts of Weaubleau Missour on US 54.  No very nearby Catholic churches.  There is a Baptist church in Weaubleau.  I would have to think about what type of direct exposure I have had to Baptist churches. If this run were really across America rather than only virtually across America, I would probably stop for the sake of learning about the Baptist church a bit.

So, the run was slow.  8:55/mile.  It was a great way to see the area.

And that brings me to another day of simple pleasures after my run.  Sherry and I started from Wolfeboro, went to the Castle in the Clouds (a fascinating mountain top estate in Moltonborough, NH), and then went to the the outlet mall in Tiltin, NH.  That allowed us to circumnavigate Lake Winnipessaukee.  So much like my run of going out and back, we went out and back together.  We spent the long day together from chatting even before I ran (I didn't mean to awaken her at 6), the my fixing her breakfast when I came back (a yogurt, granola, strawberry, blueberry, blackberry parfait), to the drive to the castle, to seeing "The Pebble" and the Falls of Song at the first stop, to seeing a cool scenic overview, to walking around the house at the top and reading all the interesting notes about the historial details together, to having lunch at the cafe.  It was a big lunch.  Each of us had a soup as part of our appetizer.  I had clam chowder.  Sherry had a lobster stew in a tomato base.  Both were good.  And both were serious bowls.  We also got Bavarian pretzel bread sticks with an awesome cheddar sauce.  That was a lot.  Then I got an English pub burger while Sherry got a lobster roll.  We needed the lobster role explained to us.  Our very pleasant waitress, Rachel, was surprised we needed lobster rolls explained to us.  We topped it off with a chilled bottle of crisp white wine.  Not usually wine for lunch, but it worked on the warm day on the patio.  We took long enough and ate enough that the wine didn't affect us.  We got a book at Lucknow (the original name of the estate) at the gift shop. Then we drove to Tiltin.  We started with cold drinks from Starbucks.  Then we went into nearly every store that sold something other than just kid stuff.  In the end we bought only four items.  But it was a great way to walk off the food and fullness from the huge lunch.  I carried everything we bought to allow Sherry to have her hands free to look and try a few things on.  Then we drove back together.  Sat together catching up on emails.  Then, I served water, cherries, and chocolate.  We didn't need much food.

But once again it was just about being together.  Enjoying presence.  

And tomorrow will be another great day starting off once again with a run.