Today starts like any other day, but its ending is gonna be a whopper. Tonight my buddy James and I fly out of SFO at 9 for a nice 11 hour flight to Munich and then on to Sarajevo, Bosnia. Why, you ask?Couple of reasons. To hang out with these great people. To see our ministry in action. To find out if they golf there. To eat lots of bread and meat. To see this amazing place that I have prayed for and supported for going on a decade now. I'm excited for the adventure. I'll also welcome your prayers!I'll try to post some pictures this week. We leave tonight and fly home on July 12. Not sure where in the world Bosnia is? Here you go:
Around the Dixon casa this summer, we are trying to take one day each week to get out and experience an adventure. We're calling these Family Fun Days. It's a work in progress, but today Amy and I realized that our three goals are: free (not counting a meal), local (within say 20 miles) and new.
So this morning, we loaded up the brood and drove them downtown to the Fresno Met. We had heard that the first 25 people get in free on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and when we got there 20 minutes before the doors opened, it became clear that we weren't the only ones who had heard about that deal! So...so sad, we drove on past. No Bob the Builder exhibit for us on this adventure! Next week?
Our back-up plan took us north of RiverPark up to the small town of Friant. Really, "town" is a bit strong. The only two stores you would recognize are the Subway and a Shell station. Other than that, we're talking local establishments such as "Friant Pizza," "Lake Millerton Boats," and, my favorite, "The Dam Diner." Friant, you see, exists only because there is an enormous dam that overlooks the town. Pictures and stuff here.
Sadly, the dam was closed. Dam. So we did what every adventurous family would do and took a right turn down a marginally paved road...into the San Joaquin Fish Hatchery (site here). From there, the wonders really never ceased. Fish as far as the eye could see. Big fish, small fish, newborns. The kids ate it all up. We probably could have spent the whole day there. It was a terrific way to spend our first Family Fun Day. Couple of pictures:
Father's Day at the Dixon's is off to a great start. We all rolled out of bed this morning early so that I could run a 6 miler in downtown Fresno. Then donuts on the way home. Now vegging in front of the US Open. Here's the rundown of what's going to be a great day:Now: US Open11:00/30: two soccer games on, the US/Egypt game and, more importantly, Brazil/ItalyAfter-lunch napsAfter-nap trip to the park to playSometime this afternoon, there's NASCAR from Sonoma5:00: Dodgers v. Angels on ESPNDinner: POT ROAST in the slow cookerGood times. Happy Father's Day everyone, and especially to my Dad who is right now hurtling across Kansas on his way to New England!
You get 5 clues, and no fair peaking at the twitter stream to the right...1. Madonna.2. Trail Camps.3. Higuera.4. Beach.5. Cabo.
Amy and I realized this morning that one year ago today, on June 13, 2008, combined we weighed approximately 90 pounds more than we do today. 90 pounds!And, in a related story, only one of us was pregnant a year ago today...
Daddy: "Hey Lucy, it's time to go. Let's get in the car."Lucy: "But Daddy, you don't have a shirt on!"Daddy: "I don't need a shirt; I can just go like this, right?"Lucy: "Noooooo. Because your belly..."Daddy: "What's wrong with my belly?!?"Lucy: "It has fur on it."
The marathon post mortem continues up in my gray matter...1. About that wall...there's this scene in Run, Fat Boy, Run (rent it!) where he's trying to punch through the wall at the end of his marathon. Turns out the wall for me was at mile 20 and I didn't get through it until mile 25. Here's what I mean:At mile 20, I recall being at exactly 3 hours. That's on my goal pace.Then, I'm pretty sure I hit the 4 hour mark just past the 25 mile marker.Which means that it took me a full hour to run those 5 miles.Which means those were 12 minute miles.Which means that those where the miles where my dreams of the 4 hour mark went sour.Next time, more training runs approaching and passing that 20 hour wall...2. Pain report...my muscles are almost back to normal. I made it a couple miles on the elliptical today at the gym with no worries. Also, I've been walking a lot each day this week. On the other hand, my left knee is still a bit gimpy. But the big problem are my toenails. It ain't a pretty picture down there! I emerged from the marathon with three lovely blisters, and, let's see, 4 blackened toenails. Currently, my left big toenail is threatening to come off. It hurts to wear a shoe. Among other things, no basketball for me this weekend out at CBS!3. Video...turns out the good Rock n Roll folks actually have a video of each runner crossing the finish line. Wild. The site is here. Find the video link, type in my name and watch the middle of the screen at around 4:12:50ish. I'm in a red hat and, wow, do I look worked...Off to Catalina tomorrow through Tuesday. I'm hoping to be out on a run again next Thursday. Get ready Jeremy!
So it's done. Or, more to the point, the race is done. It's the soreness that keeps on giving. Here are the results:Time: 4:10:03Overall place: 3,393 (out of 13,291)Gender place: 2,406 (out of 6,828)Age group place: 417 (out of 1,154)Total pace: 9:3310K split: 56:22 (9:04 pace)Half marathon split: 1:57:43 (8:59 pace)21 mile split: 3:13:35 (9:13 pace)Some analysis:1. As all can see, I was on my goal pace or faster through the half marathon. In fact, I was quicker than 4 hour pace until about mile 19.5 when the dude holding the 4:00 sign and his gaggle of hangers-on passed me for good.2. That mile 20 or so point was where I met up with Mr. Cramps, and he and I ran together for the rest of the race. The best way I could describe it would be to say that my leg muscles felt like they were bubbling. Calves, groin, hamstrings. A mess. I eventually settled into a routine where I would walk through the water stations and up the hills and then shuffle or jog in between. I wasn't alone though; from mile 20 on, people were all over the sides of the road stretching, wretching, crying, etc. Not to get too philosophical about it, but yesterday I told Amy: "the marathon takes all you have and then asks for more."3. I'm thinking my primary problem was my lack of suitable training. I did one long run of 20 miles, and that was just last weekend. Other than that, I missed the majority of long runs due to injury or schedule. I'll want to correct that for next time, so that when I get to mile 20, my legs have a category to understand what's happening.4. We really do not have hills in Fresno/Clovis. They do here. In particular, that stretch from miles 8-10 up the 163 was brutal. And maybe the downhill was worst of all!5. Weather. I was whining on Saturday about the SD marine layer. On Sunday I was delighted by it. Great running conditions.6. Fans. It makes a huge difference having buddies out on the course. As I would approach where I knew folks were at, I'd run a bit quicker, wipe off the snot and straighten out my cap. So thanks to James, Serene, Jonathan and Matt at mile 8.5, Amy, the kids and her fam at mile 12, Joe and Angela at mile 19 and then Amy and the crew again at mile 24. And then a big shout-out to James to collecting what was left of me at the finish.In the end, I had a great time. I think I might have the bug. What's next? How about this?!? Or maybe this? Pictures coming soon...
Hi from the floor of our hotel room. The stretching has begun. Amy and I are outta here at 5 and on our way down to the starting line. Weather is 60 degrees and cloudy. Feeling a mix of anxiety and excitement. I'll twitter/fb the results ASAP, or check back here later in the day. Also, you might find info here on the results page.
Here we are in SD. 15 and a half hours til the gun goes off. Here's where we stand:1. The weather. It's windshield wiper time around here. I'm just sayin. I'm sure the locals call this a "marine layer," but it's raining today. Weather.com says that it'll be similar tomorrow morning. Glad I brought long sleeves. I also bought at running hat today at the Expo to keep the drops away.2. Health. Long night last night in the hotel. 6 of us in one room...let's just say hats off to my Guatemalan friends who do this routinely, cause it was tough. So not a lot of sleep. Left knee is fine so far; right hamstring is annoyingly tender. We'll see if that impacts tomorrow.3. Cheering section. The kids made flags for me. Amy and her fam are ready to go. Also, it's been cool to get the text/email/fb/vmail love. Thanks everyone. If you're interested they will supposedly broadcast the finish line (site here). I'll try to blog in the morning before the race, or you can follow me on twitter/facebook.4. Last supper. Rumor has it it'll be pasta and tri tip tonight at Brian's. Looking forward to that. Then tomorrow morning, it's either gonna be a bagel and banana or a nice bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats. Game time decision.There you go. Now I'm off to attempt a nap...
...and here's the full report.1. Put in a 20 mile run last Saturday. Ideally, in the name of something called "tapering," the weekend before would be mild. But in my case, I felt that psychologically I needed to have a 20 miler under my belt going into the marathon. So it was a calculated gamble; do the long run the week before and hopefully don't hurt yourself.2. Unfortunately, the gamble has thusfar proved to be a bit mixed in terms of results. I am glad that when I line up next Sunday morning to run I'll do so knowing I can make 20 (and I did it in just barely over 3 hours, which is the "right" marathon pace). But I also picked up a bit of a sore right leg. Calf and hammy. So, lots of rest (and a bit of stress) this week.3. Lots of people are asking me how I'm feeling about the marathon, and I always answer that I'm both excited about it and a bit fearful. I'm wary of running 26 miles in pain (nagging left knee, new right leg), but at the same time in my head I have this vision of what finishing will feel like, and it's gonna be sweet.4. Last prep this week: emailing my buddies in SD to invite them out to watch, prepping the ipod, figuring out how and where the fam is going to cheer me on and, possibly, ideally, getting a 4ish miler in on Wednesday or Thursday.Keep you posted...
Thanks to Deron for sending the link to this. 63 marathons in 63 days?!? Get outta here!
Yeah so that marathon thing is coming right up. Here are the recent key updates:1. New shoes. I got some new shoes for my birthday and have been running in them now for a bit over a week. The old ones lasted some 300 miles. Rest in peace. 2. Injury report. My theory has been that my sore left knee has been caused by running in shoes that were starting to break down. So far I've noticed a bit of improvement in the knee with the new ones. I hope that trend continues. For those of you following at home, I'm thinking the diagnosis would be runner's knee. And then the other day I got a blister with the new shoes...UNDER MY TOENAIL. Nasty. Other than that, no problems.3. Training. I did 10 miles on Monday morning on the race course. Beautiful, and I think it will really help me on race day to have done part of the course. This coming Sunday morning, I'm aiming for 20ish miles, the last 6-7 with Jeremy. That will be my last big, long run before the marathon. 4. Race strategy. I'm starting to think through the run. What will I eat and when? How often will I drink? What's the best way to think about the race from a strategic standpoint? Is it better to see the race as 4 legs of 6.55 miles? Should I think of it as four 5 mile quarters followed by a 10K to the finish? Most importantly, which songs on the ipod and in which order?!? Lots to mull over out on the road these days...5. Logistics. We're going to leave for Irvine (or somewhere around there) on Friday the 29th. In to San Diego on Saturday for the Expo to pick up my number. Lots of pasta on Saturday night. Gun goes off at 6:30 on Sunday morning. I'm in corral 8 of like 23, so I won't see the line until about 6:50 I'd imagine. Spa at the hotel on Sunday afternoon followed by Casa de Guadalajara for dinner. Amy's family is coming out in force, I'm hoping some IV buddies will come cheer, and Grandpa Ha told me today he's flying down. I'm grateful in advance for the support!Lastly, the goal. I'm hoping for 4 hours, and I'm cautiously optimistic. 4 hours would be a bit over 9 minute miles. Wish me luck!
For your present, here's a picture where--miraculously--everyone is looking at the camera!
Let's see. Why might Rob's left knee be sore this week?a. Along with the rest of me, it turned 37 on the 24th and the decline has been swift and severe.b. Injured chasing Josh's 7 year old buddies around at his birthday party last Sunday.c. Gimpy left hamstring last week caused me to run funny.d. Shoes wearing out.e. All of the above?30 days and counting...
Grace walks into our room: "Mama, there's a jewel in my nose."
Victory!
We've recently gotten hooked up with a home group from our church, and so we've been meandering our way through the book of Acts on Sunday nights. As the series comes to a close, we've arrived in the latter third of the book, and, well, I've been exposed. As in, I like to think that I'm a bit of an Acts scholar since in IV through the years we've spent so much time teaching and training out of Acts. Problem is, I've realized that what I really mean is that I'm good through about Acts 15. After the council, I'm really Acts illiterate. So it's been terrific to keep going with this study.The other night Amy and I came across a little gem of a passage in Acts 20:7-12. And, as a sometimes preacher, all I can say is that it's good to know I'm not alone in having people fall asleep during my talk. Plus, at least I've never killed someone! The text is here. Here a couple of things I love about it.1. Paul INTENDS to speak until midnight. For some of us, going long just happens. For Paul, it's purposeful. He's leaving in the morning, and there are some things he needs the people to hear...and that's just how it's gonna be.2. Evidently, Paul's a bit boring. I love it how Luke writes it: "as Paul talked on and on." Reminds me of the teacher from Charlie Brown's class.3. The only thing that stops the boredom is a resurrection. How bizarre is this! Dude falls 3 stories onto his dome, dies and then Paul gets to perform a miracle. Not only does Paul not get prosecuted, he comes home the hero! Brilliant!4. Unfazed, Paul just keeps talking. Like the energizer bunny, he keeps going until dawn! I'm wondering if perhaps this happens often for Paul. Maybe he's used to people dying during his sermons?
Recently I was talking to Jeremy about how my alarm clock has pretty much become obsolete. I mean, I could count on my two hands the number of times here at home that I've used the alarm over the past 7 years. It got me thinking...what does wake me up?!? Here's my list of things that have woken me up over the past couple of months:Yelling kids from down the hall.The birds outside our window.A little girl's dome pressed into my back (this morning's culprit).The squeaking of Josh's bed springs as he flops around.The annoying and intermittent "ack" that our (dying?) refrigerator makes.The air conditioner or heater kicking on.The street sweeper coming by on Fowler (with the accompanying realization that I forgot to move the Taurus).Thunder and lightning.Amy's allergies.Baby noises in general.The prospect of a long run.Remembering about something I need to do.Little girls crying out in their sleep.The sound of our television still on playing an Oprah rerun.
Lucy, anticipating a great morning tomorrow:"Momma, who is going to take us to 'Mornings with Mom' tomorrow, you or Dad?"
Our littlest one just had her 6 month birthday on the 1st and with it a nice check-up. 4 vaccines later, here were her numbers:Weight: 17lbs, 12oz in the 75th percentile (gets that from her mom)Height: 27.75 inches, which is off the charts (gets that from her dad)Head size: 45cm in the 95th percentile (gets that from her beloved Uncle Nalley!)
Since I acquired this acute case of A.O.R. (Adult-Onset Running) in June, I have now run three half marathons. The first two involved things like timing chips, thousands of running partners, Jeremy, medals at the finish, Amy and the kids waiting and water stations out on the course. The third one was this morning. This time, none of that was there. But I did run my 13 miles. For the record, the time was a 1:56:06. Also, memo to my two concerned mothers: no bonking this time! It's a part of a serious ramping up for the marathon in May. Here's the plan for the rest of the time:4 weekly runs:1. Short recovery run on Monday (3ish miles)2. Longer run at tempo on Wednesday (8-10 miles)3. Whatever seems good on Friday4. Long run on Sunday (or Friday/Saturday in a couple of cases)Sunday schedule:April 12: 14 miles (in Sacramento)April 19: 15 milesApril 25: there's this 5 mile race up at WoodwardMay 2: 17 miles (on a Saturday)May 10: 18 milesMay 17: 20 miles (Jer, I'll run over and pick you up and we can run out to Kearny to meet the fams)May 24: TAPER! 8ish milesMay 31: The Big Daddy
To begin with, let's just all agree that any flight that lands successfully is by definition a good one. So, just so we're clear about that.Last night I caught a United Express flight from Denver to Fresno. Here's the story:First of all, it was a blustery evening in Denver last night. Because of that, we left late. Turns out that when there are thunderstorms in the area the FAA wants more space between take-offs in case something goes wonky. So it meant that we sat on the tarmac for awhile. It also meant that, in the words of the pilot: "the climb-out is gonna be bumpy." Indeed.To compound this problem, only one of our aircraft's two air conditioners was functional. Aside from causing me to wonder...hmm, what else might not be "functional" on this plane, it made the cabin warm. I mean, warm. Bumpy and warm. Bumpy and warm.The other thing is that evidently there is another FAA regulation that with only one functional air conditioner, you are only able to fly up to a certain altitude. And for us that altitude happened to be, oh, right at the cloud line. Which meant that it was bumpy the whole way home. Bumpy and warm. It also mean that the flight attendant had to stay seated, which meant no drinks. Bumpy, warm and thirsty. People were not happy. Bumpy, warm, thirsty and pissy.And because all of that wasn't quite enough, with about 40 minutes to go, I was watching the flight attendant and she was on the phone with the pilots when her eyes turned into saucers and she quickly hung up the phone. Her gaze was directed at the woman in 2B, right in front of me, who was...BARFING. Bumpy, warm, thirsty, pissy and the lovely smell of vomit. We landed, and it was the fastest I've ever seen a plane cleared out.
In Madison for IV Spring Management meetings. They've been good and all, but wow am I ready to head home tomorrow. It's an Urbana year this year, so we're all at work on pulling that off. Early promo stuff is now available. I was stoked to find the following video. It features one of our old Cal Poly students Scott Johnson. Enjoy!
A few running posts, coming right up!OK people, as of today the SD marathon is just over 2 months away. That's coming soon! I'm feeling the training pressure. On the flip side, thanks for the VCCC congregation for their generosity this morning! I went and preached the morning service and they gave me a gift which will basically cover my entry fee.So yesterday I went out for what I was hoping to be a 13+ mile cruise, but as the miles passed by, it became clear that I was starting to struggle. I ended up stopping for water 2 or 3 times and eventually cut the run after 12 miles and walked the rest of the way home. Once I got there, I collapsed onto the floor and proceeded, over the course of the evening, to down 2 gatorades, 2 glasses of apple juice and like 5 glasses of water.In a past life, I was a road cyclist. And we had a term for what happened to me yesterday. We called it "bonking." Most of the time, we bonked when we did not take on enough water or food during a ride. Common symptoms were a lack of energy and general loopiness (more than usual!). I had both of those things going on yesterday for sure.So, some takeaways from the experience:1. Gotta drink more before a long run. Especially as it gets warmer around here. Yesterday it was pushing 80.2. Gotta drink during a long run. To do this well, I need to plan out my routes better. Yesterday, I had a water fountain waiting for me at 6.5 miles (at Fowler and Shepherd), but when I got there it was broken. Curse the City of Clovis! I'm thusfar resisting any sort of Camel-back, handheld water bottle or, worse, those pods on a belt systems, but I don't know. 3. Gotta eat during a long run. Especially if I really want to do a marathon. Problem is, my stomach gets a little hinky during a long run. Yesterday, I had a bag of beans, but do I need more than that? Something different than that? Ideas? What works for you?Off tomorrow to Denver and then on to Madison on Tuesday for the week. Running shoes are ready to go!
What a beautiful day today here in Clovis! One of the 5 or 6 good ones we get all year it seems. So I strapped on my GPS watch and walked a bunch. Did you know...It's .63 miles from our house to the officeIf you take the longer/preferred route, it's .90My little stretch break march around Toys R Us is .40 milesFrom the office door to Panera it's .35Tack on another .34 from Panera to TargetTo go get Lucy at her portable from my office is .39 door to doorAnd from my office front door to Office Max is a robust 333 feet.Just over 5 miles all told. Loved it.
Good news for aging runners? Here.
So the first two rounds of March Madness are in the books, which makes tonight the perfect time to fill out one's brackets. Oh wait...Let it be said that thusfar the 2009 version of my brackets are a shambles. I'm in two different yahoo leagues this time, and I'm mired mid-pack in the Golf Odyssey one and I'm second from the bottom in the yearly Sexton family grudge match.My numbers: 21-11 for round 1 and 12-4 for round two. The good news is that at this point, I have only lost 1 potential elite 8 team. For some reason, my synapses misfired and I had Arizona State advancing in the South Regional.Lastly, for the record, here's what I've got from here:Michigan State beats Louisville to make the final 4 out of the Midwest Regional,UConn beats Memphis to make the final 4 out of the West,Duke tops Pitt to make the final 4 out of the East,And North Carolina makes it out of the South.From there I'm with the President. Put me down for Carolina over UConn in the final with the Tarheels winning going away behind 24 and 13 from Hansbrough (pictured) in his final collegiate game.
We had a great time this morning at the half. No rain, good temp. I liked the course. Here's my post-race analysis:1. I finished with a 1:43.18. That was better than the goal I had for myself, and it even beat Fram's goal for me! Pace was 7:53/mi. 2. Some splits. 10K was 49:49. Halfway was 52:33. Second half was therefore 50:45. 3. Overall, I finished 380 out of 3,603. Age group was 63 out of 261.4. I'm giving the Sport Beans by Jelly Belly a B+. Tasty and I suppose they did the job (or at least I believe they did, which is just as good). Also, a nice incentive ("OK, when I get to the 9th mile, two more beans..."). I recommend them. Now to the couch to collapse in front of the Lakers. Thanks to Todd and Danny, Amy, Josh and Lily, the Browns, Brad and Adam for coming to watch. And thanks to Tina, Fram, Jeremy, Scott and Paul for taking the challenge with me!
Up early here in Sacramento ahead of the Shamrockin' half marathon. Gun goes off at 8am. For inspiration, I just read Teri's post about her run yesterday. Good job Teri!!! Weather looks good, though it's gonna be cold at the start. Ah, what to wear?!? Long sleeve undershirt? Arm warmers? Definitely gloves. Here's the plan...the goal time is 1:50. Jeremy and I are going to shoot for running 7 miles in the first hour in order to give us a shot at making that time. From the 7 mile mark, it'll basically be a 10K. According to this site, we'll need to run at an 8:24 clip to make our goal. Doable I think.So 13.1 miles of suffering coming right up! Is this guy ready? Keep you posted.
As a final tune-up for next weekend's half marathon in Sacramento, I decided to race the Blossom Trail 10K in Sanger yesterday.And, as usual, my 10K goal was to break 50 minutes. A brief recap is in order:In late September, my first race in ages was the Cross City 10K in downtown Fresno. I was just glad to finish. Time: 52:25, faster than expected.Then, at Thanksgiving, I got all fired up to break 50 and entered a turkey trot in Sacramento. Everything looked great, until I ran into a wall of 28,000 other runners. The end result? 50 flat. Sick.Next, on New Years, I entered a 10K up in Auburn and surely this would be the time! Little did I know that the course was, to put it mildly, mountainous. Rugged. Streams and rocks and stuff. I labored home with a 55:21, a pulled calf and a battered ego.So to yesterday's race. What a beautiful day on a beautiful course. Beautiful time too! 45:00. Wow, how I wanted to break 45 as I approached the line! Alas. But I'll take 45 flat, with 5K splits of 23:08 and 21:52 (once again, shoulda gone out faster!). On to the Shamrockin' half next Sunday!
Lucy, after Robert had been talking about God as our Creator:"Daddy, why did God create flies?"What a joy to see the Holy Spirit at work...
This past Saturday morning I raced a 4 mile jaunt around Carmichael up in Sacramento. It was a great event, and I finished with (for me) a sporty 28:29. Results site here.But as hard as my cardiovascular system was working, I think my brain was working harder during the race. And for the first time since I've been back running and racing, I realized that I wasn't sure what to focus on during the race. I had some options:1. How bad I was hurting. This was an unpalatable option, for obvious reasons.2. The music. The iPod was once again in effect for the race. And off and on, this was the place to focus. A shout-out to P!nk for providing the lyrical angst necessary to get me from 2.5-3.25 miles.3. My form. I'm always trying to remind myself: "swing your arms, short strides. Swing your arms, short strides. Swing your arms, short strides..."4. Work. At one point, to keep my mind off of #1, I tried to actually think about work. That lasted for about 4 strides.5. Time and distance. Now, with my Garmin GPS watch, I can measure time, distance, pace and other metrics in real time. I couldn't decide if that was a blessing or a curse (or both). Plus, I'm sure I looked like a dork running along glancing at my watch every half minute or so.6. My competitors. Certainly lots to focus on here. Eventually I decided to pick out a runner ahead and focus on them and then try to catch pass them. A special thank you to that tall dude out in front of me with these enormous calves. I mean those things were bigger than Gracie....7. The scenary. This is usually good off and on. I like looking at what I'm running by, but it never seems to hold my attention for that long.8. This blog post. The big winner, evidently!
Josh walks into the room before bed, sighs and says:"I wish I lived here. I don't like our old, lazy house."That can be arranged...
...Gracie. It's the 12th, which means our little girl is two short months away from turning 3. Almost done with the terrible two's! Hallelujah. Here are 7 things I adore about Gracie at this age:1. Her ringlet. She has this curl that hangs down her forehead and almost always covers her right eye. See picture below.2. She's stubborn. I was going to say that "she's as stubborn as the day is long," but really it's more a whole weekend's worth of stubbornness. God bless her. And us. Let's just say that disciplining her is...different than disciplining Josh and Lucy. God save us all as she gets older!3. When she yells "Daaaaadddy!" when I walk through the door. It's often accompanied with a big hug. And just as often, well, I melt into a puddle on the floor.4. Her singing. Our Grace is always singing. It's out of tune, way too loud and totally beautiful. And 9 times out of 10, lately it's the Barbie and the Diamond Castle theme song...5. How she's a thug. Physical Grace. She overpowers Lucy and often does the same with Josh. She climbs a lot and is always falling down. She's gonna be a great athlete.6. Her addition to our family blessing. At dinner-time we together say our corporate grace: "God is good, God is great. Thank you for this food, and help us to have a good dinner. Amen." And which point Gracie chimes in with: "We love our bread, we love our butter, but most of all, we love our ____." And it's fill in the blank time. Sometimes it's what we're eating, say macaroni and cheese. Sometimes it's what she sees in the room, say our high chair. Other times, well, it's non sequitur city, as in: "but most of all, we love our...booty!" OK...7. How she gets your attention...just to get your attention. Several times a day, our conversation goes like this: "Daddy, Daddy, I have good (or bad) news!" Then, before I can respond, it's: "ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah." Forever. She has nothing to say, she just wants your attention. On occasion, when I keep looking at her while she's "ah"ing, she'll finally just say: "nevermind" and then walk away.Here's our little thug right here:
It's been awhile since we've had a proper running-related post, so here we go. Some updates from the roads and trails:1. Injury report. Turns out that that heinous New Year's Day 10K that Michelle dragged me to was the gift that kept on giving. Everything was almost done being sore about 5 days after. Everything that is, except my right calf. Would you call it a calf strain? Pulled calf? Not sure, but that's what it was. Because of it, I logged no miles from Jan. 1 to Jan. 18. 17 days to heal. Is that good?2. Running buddies. A huge running highlight in the last month or so has been running with friends. It's like everyone recently up and decided to run! Very cool. So thanks to Beth, Jeremy, Bob, Nalley and Teri for letting me run with you. And thanks to Tina, Adam, Scott, Paul, Nicole, Joseph and others who I'm running alongside "online." It's so motivating to run with friends. For a fun recap on our recent 5:45am Tour de Henderson, NV, check out Teri's blog here.3. Running book recommendation. I loved My Life on the Run (here) by Runner's World's Bart Yasso. The guy is a nut, but the book is great for motivational stories. Because of Yasso's "interesting" descriptions, I decided to cross running the Antarctica marathon, nude racing and a jog up Kilimanjaro off my bucket list...Next up, something off of this list by some dude with a cool name.4. Upcoming races. I'm signed up for a 4 mile jaunt on Valentine's Day in Sac (here). Then next it's a half marathon on March 15th in West Sacramento (here). The big goal is...um...gulp...sigh...the San Diego marathon (here). So that's all coming up, but first it's 9 miles tomorrow morning at 8:30 on the Clovis trails with Jeremy!
...what's bizarre is that according to the box score he didn't have a rebound. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Wouldn't you think that over the course of 19 made baskets, there would at least one put back, tip in or rebound dunk?!? The guy evidently needs to work harder...
Yep. 'Cause these Dixon/Isch Super Bowl nachos were RIGHTEOUS!
So we've had a number of pseudo-endings to sabbatical. Let's see.There was the official end date of December 8th.There was my first Divisional Staff Meeting shortly thereafter.There were countless "hand off" conversations as I picked up after Tom.There was the first Divisional Leadership Team meeting last week in Visalia.There have been countless emails and decisions to make.And, what the heck, I got my official, shiny, new business cards.But none of that, none of it! says "sabbatical is over" quite like...My first car rental. That's right folks, start up your scoreboards at home. Tomorrow morning we're off to the airport to get my first rental since returning. I'm off tomorrow to SLO and then Saturday in Santa Barbara. Back late Saturday night.
...and Josh has so far sailed through his surgery and recovery. In fact, I'm starting to think that these two weeks may go down in history as the best two weeks of his life! Consider:He has two whole weeks off from school.His portable DVD player has pretty much been "on demand" for the last couple of days.His diet consists of: pudding, ice cream, milkshakes, Jamba, popsicles and gatorade.He's got a ton of extra Wii time.I'm no expert, but those narcotics seem like they're working.He's getting a ton of sympathy from everyone who sees him.
And he gets to stay in his pajamas all day long!
I'll spare you the up close shot, but here's the suffering patient:
Saddled for the past several years with chronic fluid behind his ear that has led to countless ear infections (and co-pays), tomorrow Joshua is going in to get his tonsils out, his adenoids removed and ear tubes put in his ears. Needless to say, we'll welcome your prayers. He goes in at 8:30am.
...I asked Amy to marry me. Thank God she said yes. Best use of Mint Milanos, the neighborhood bench and the old "broken down car trick" I've ever seen!
A good rant every now and then is good for you, yes? Let's see.To the media, stop pulling things out of context and creating controversies where none exist.To Palin, go ahead and complain about whatever you want, just NOT Tina Fey...To the economy, get better already.To the housing market, get better even quicker than that.To the sun, show up around here sometime, will ya?To toys on the floor, put yourselves away!To my right calve, get better. I want to run.To politics, extremes suck. To fund development, let's see some victories for our staff!To the inside of my left knee, no more soreness.To Russia and Ukraine, figure it out and turn the gas on for the Balkans already!To Blagojevich, just step down.To the Lakers, win the title this year.To my inbox, answer yourself!And to sleepnessness, away with you!!There. I feel better. Have a nice weekend.
On essentially a whim, my sister-in-law Michelle and I entered the Resolution Run on New Year's Day. This run had 5K, 10K and 10 mile options, and I picked the 10K. The race started at 1pm, and it was held in Auburn, CA.Which should have been my first clue.Because in 2003, the Auburn city council passed a resolution calling itself "the endurance capitol of the world." According to the city website, this little gold rush town is home to at least 6 different crazy adventure events, and it's probably most famous for being the end point of the fabled Western States 100.So we pull into the parking lot to a sea of what I would call the "hardcore running fringe." No fun runners there. No Big 5 shoes. North Face as far as the eye could see. These people were there for a serious run, and that's what it was. Let me explain:1. The first mile was completely downhill. Imagine a running down an Olympic luge track. Or a dried-up water slide. My sweet new Christmas GPS watch tells me we lost 1,300 feet in elevation in the first mile and a third. It was sick. And as I'm flying down this fire road, I'm thinking two things: first, "Lord, please don't let me fall" and, second, "Oh crap, I gotta go back up this beast."2. After about a quarter mile, we were done with the asphalt. This was no race across town with the police stopping traffic. We're talking about trails here. And little streams. And rocks. And tree roots. And horse dung. And horses. I don't know if you've ever been to Fresno, but there isn't a trail in the whole place. This was new territory for me. Thankfully, my sweet new Christmas shoes did great. Oh, and I avoided falling off the side of the cliff in my exhaustion. That was good too.3. This race reduced me to a walk. Several times. OK, often. The uphill was intense and it turns out the last mile or so is actually run on the Western States trail. My favorite part was when I was forced to stop and step aside on this section of uphill single track in favor of this 60+ year old grandpa. "You're doing great," he muttered as he passed me by.In the end, it was the toughest 6 miles I've run since High School. I ended up posting a time of 55:21, good enough for 4th in my age group and 19th overall. Today my calves are in knots and I can barely walk around the house. My shoulders hurt for some reason, and I think I lost a bit of my sanity yesterday.
And, yes, I can't wait to do it again next year. Here's a shot of me dragging my carcass toward the finish line...
Here you go:
So this Fall I've run in 5 different events and 2 of those have been 5Ks. Both were held on a cheesy out and back course at Fresno State. At the Komen Race for the Cure in late October, I finished with a 22:46. Then, a couple months later, I dragged my carcass across the line in 21:22 at the Pelco Toys for Tots run. Along the way, I learned a couple of things about racing a 5K:1. No matter how fast you go out, you should have gone out faster. Especially after doing the half marathon, the 5K feels like a sprint to me, and there's simply no time to ease into the race. At the Pelco race, I ran the first mile in 7 minutes. That wasn't good enough. Because it left me too much to make up at the end of the race. If I want to beat 20 minutes, which is becoming my 5K goal, I will have to go out in 6:30 or better. Next time.2. Please be up in front at the start. OK, so it wasn't a repeat of the Thanksgiving debacle, but for some reason I started at the back again at the Pelco gig. Which meant having to first slow down and then rush past a mass of some 25 high schoolers from the Clovis PAL program. What a mess! Next time that'll be me up front standing next to the dude in racing spandex...3. The last .1 matters. I used to sort of blow off that last .1 miles and say "oh, the 5K is 3 miles." Now, I'm careful to say "yeah, that's 3.1 miles, and wow that last .1 sucks." Because it does! I calculated that I went through the 3 mile mark at 20:45 at the Pelco race, which means it took me another lung-bursting 37 seconds to run the .1. Oh how I loathe that .1!
It's not the tree.It's not the daily trip to Target to get more presents.It's not even the sacred act of watching Christmas Vacation with my family.It's the eggnog in the fridge, and it just arrived yesterday!
Amy and I are proud to announce that our Lucy got married this morning. At recess. To a boy named Austin. First marriage for her, fourth or fifth for him. Evidently he's been working his way through the pre-school...The happy couple are registered at Target.
You go on a four day golfing vacation with 5 of your best college friends of course! Back late Tuesday night. With the trophy this year!
Me: "So, Josh, Daddy has to go to work again today. All day. I won't be home until after you're in bed."Josh: "Man, I'm going to kick your leader into outer space."Me: "Wow."Watch out Tom...
Q: So, Rob, today is the last day of your sabbatical. How do you feel?A: Well, I'm mixed. On one hand, I'm looking forward to hanging out with staff and working to advance the mission. On the other hand, we have so enjoyed our sabbatical that there is a bit of mourning happening around our house. Joyfulness and mourning, both at the same time.Q: That's understandable. How did you spend your last day?A: I got up and did yardwork in the front. Then the Loveridges and Ischs came over to help us put up our Christmas lights, and then they stayed for lunch. After lunch, I ran 2 miles up the gym, worked out, then ran 4 miles home. Then for dinner, Amy and the kids took me out to Claim Jumper to mark the end of sabbatical. It was a good day.Q: What's up first as you get back to work?A: Tomorrow at 2:30 we start a 4 day Divisional Staff Meeting here in Fresno. The good news about coming back for that is that everyone will be here and I'll be able to catch up quickly. The bad news is that I'll be going from a lazy sabbatical daily schedule to a full day meeting schedule, with all the requisite intensity and relational output. I'm pretty sure I'll be in the back of the room in the fetal position by dinner tomorrow.Q: Now there's an image! How about Amy? How is she feeling about what's going on?A: Wouldn't you know that tomorrow night is the kids' Christmas program and I'll be missing it. How wrong is that timing?!? First day back and we're already pressed by the work v. life tension! So Amy will drag the kids to the program and, Lord willing, she'll come home with all 4 and at least a shred of her sanity intact. It's tough. We're mourning.Q: Any chance we could hear more about your sabbatical?A: A good chance. Amy and I are almost finished interpreting what God has been doing on our time off, and I will try to write it up soon. I'll post it when I do. But it's been truly spectacular for us. A really great time.Q: Good to hear that. Blessings as you reengage with the work.A: Appreciate it. Thanks. And good job; that interview was terrific.
...but, come January, I could be blogging from here. Sweet.
Tomorrow:9:55-12:02 Nice, quiet train ride to Bakersfield12:02-3ish Host a raquetball clinic for Bob, Joseph and Lovie3ish-5ish Dominate in some disc golf5ish Dinner with good friends6:20-8:14 Smooth trip home.Yes.
