TheRunningRev.Com

Losing Weight

Two years ago today I ran my first race in 11 years. On April 29th 2006 I ran a 5k and as a result became hooked on running. I ran that race in 25:08 and knew that I could knock 8 seconds off my next race and the rest, as they say, is history. Over the last couple of years a lot of people have asked me how much weight I have dropped, the answer is about 45 pounds, however this picture speaks more clearly than the numbers.

This used to be my favorite suit but if I let go of the waist the pants would fall to the ground and I would be thoroughly exposed!

Having dropped this weight I can honestly say that I feel great. It makes me wonder about all the extra weight we carry with us through life... the stuff that slows us down and prevents us from being the people we were created to be.

The weight of unforgiveness, harboring a grudge or past resentment that weighs us down and prevents us entering the future at full speed. God calls us to forgive those who have wronged us, so we can run into the future that God has for us.

The weight of past failures, those things that constantly cause us to doubt ourselves, broken relationships, discouragement, loss of hope. When we trust in God we are promised a fresh start.

Some of us carry excess spiritual weight. We have years of sermons, bible studies, small groups and Sunday School making us fat because we have never taken the time we need to exercise our faith and put into practice the teaching of God as revealed to us in the Scriptures. We have failed to be the wise (wo)man  that Jesus speaks of at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. The one who hears his words and puts them into practice is the wise man. Many of our churches are full of obese Christians who desperately need to work off some of their spiritual calories.

Imagine if churches were to put its members on a spiritual diet and push its members into a regular exercise routine to burn off those spiritual calories, a routine of evangelism and service (not in a legalistic manner). What difference would it make if we had more healthy, active and fit Christians in our pews?

Thinking about qualifying for Boston

I really enjoyed watching the Boston Marathon on Monday morning. What a great race, I'd love to run it someday, but only if I qualify. To do that I need to run a 3:20 marathon or else wait another five years and then run a 3:30 marathon!

A 3:20 marathon... that means taking almost 15 minutes off my last race.  It means running a 7:39 pace for 26.2 miles.  That's not going to be easy.

Having watched the race on Monday I headed out for my run. Just six miles, twenty short of the marathon, It wasn't to bad... at first. I wanted to push fairly hard today to get a feel for where I'm at and ended up running a 7:36 pace. I knew there was no way I could have kept up this pace for much longer. Today I wonder if I have the drive, passion and perhaps more importantly the physical ability to run Boston.

Sure I do, I'd love to run Boston and one day I will! Bring it on.

80+ Degree Running Weather is Back

Winter running is definitely at an end, all the cold weather gear has been put away until late fall. Today was the first day of running in 80+ degree weather.

In spite of the low humidity (we won't enjoy that for long) it was still really draining to pound out the four short miles I ran today. I don't overly enjoy running in the heat, but I do like the challenge of it. The best part is the feeling afterwards, there is a real sense of accomplishment.

Monday Fun

The kids had the day off school, it was a teacher workday. My older two children and I spent the day hanging out while our youngest went to her day care. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining bright in the spring sky.

When Jenny arrived home from school we decided to go for a run before picking up number 3 child from daycare. Jenny and I ran while the girls rode their bikes on a four mile run through the neighborhood. A great family activity. This may have been my favorite run ever!

Church Team Running The Army Ten Miler

I know it's still a few months away but registration for the Army Ten Miler is filling up fast. To date we have twelve people signed up to run on our church teams in the race. This is the largest race I've run in, 26,000 running over ten miles, it's crowded on the course but the support is fabulous, you never feel like you're running on your own.

If you know anyone in the Centreville area who might like to run with us have them get in touch with me.

My goal is to run somewhere between 7:10 and 7:15 per mile. To do this I'm going to need to get in some speed work over the summer.

Continuing to recover... sort of!

I know that after a marathon you're supposed to take things easy for a while, but that's easier said than done!

Monday I went out for a short run, three miles, but didn't take it easy. I decided to push a little on the first mile, so I ran a 7:15 pace, went easy on the second mile, 8:05 pace and then pushed the final mile at a 6:30 pace. I was hurting on Tuesday!

Yesterday I ran an easy four, no idea of the pace but it was sunny and in the mid-60's, just fantastic!

Recovery Week

It's been a week now since the race. I had a great massage on Monday and then took the rest of the week off, doing nothing. Yesterday I laced up my shoes and ventured out for a three mile run. It was great to get out and run again, it was the longest break I've taken since my vasectomy grounded me for a week! My legs still felt a little heavy and they still have a little healing to do. Perhaps I should have taken today off but I decided to go out and run four today. I really enjoyed it, 7:46 pace, but still that heavy feeling.

Tomorrow I plan to run three miles and then take Tuesday off, depending on how I feel I may take Thursday off as well.