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Billy Joel lets Vanderbilt Student Play Piano with Him

This is AWESOME! Billy Joel is one of my top 5 favorite musicians / entertainers on the planet (if not my #1 favorite!). I have been to see him in concert 4 times in 3 different cities, and Olivia and I had two of his songs in our wedding back in 1997.

Well, back in January of this year, Billy had an event titled An Evening of Questions and Answers and a Little Bit of Music at Vanderbilt University here in Nashville. During the Q&A session, freshman student Michael Pollack stood up and said that Joel’s New York State of Mind was a favorite song of his…

“I was wondering if I could play it with you. I would accompany you, that is,” he said.

After this, Joel invited him up to play, and the kid absolutely Nailed It, even getting some major props from Billy at the end. Really cool to watch. Pollack later discussed the moment in an interview with InsideVandy.com.

Pay attention for a little Sinatra imitation by Joel during the song.

Romans Chapter 13 Handouts and Notes are Now Online

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Call Marathon Sports and ask if they will ship you a pair! Or shout out to Tumblrs running Boston!!!

Let me know if u want me to pick up a pair for you when I am at the expo!!!

I sincerely appreciate it, but my issue here is more that I don’t want to wear anything Boston Marathon related until I actually qualify for Boston. The cruel part about these shoes is that they just look so awesome!

I haven’t had many training posts lately, because there hasn’t been much training. Today marks one week since my last run.

Last Saturday I had a great 18-mile run in the sleet and flurries with Nathan, Paxton, and Brian. We started from the Percy Warner main gates and then meandered for a few miles through Belle Meade before heading out to Radnor Lake and back.

On Sunday I woke up with a sore throat, which quickly became one of the worst upper-respiratory illnesses that I can remember. Even though I’ve done little but rest since then, it still turned into a sinus infection and bronchitis later in the week.

Today I was supposed to run the Tom King Half Marathon, but decided to hold off on all running until things in my lungs settle down.

Beast Mode…On Hold!

For someone who desperately wants to run Boston, and is in love with the Saucony Kinvara, these limited edition Kinvara 4s are downright CRUEL! They will only be available at Saucony’s Boston Marathon expo booth or Marathon Sports in Boston.

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Running Warehouse just posted a preview video of the upcoming Saucony Kinvara 4, which is supposed to drop in May. Looks pretty sweet. I’ll be interested to see what the new “seamless bootie” feels like.

So proud of Olivia Agee for her article “Why I Believe,” which was published in the March / April issue of Christian Woman magazine.

You can read the article online at their website

I’m obviously biased, but it is definitely worth taking a moment to read.

Just found out a few minutes ago that I will have guaranteed entry for the 2013 ING New York City Marathon this November. This was supposed to be the case all-along under their “denied three times” provision (which goes away in 2014), but had been very much in question since the cancellation of the 2012 race. They have been working ever since on the logistics of trying to make sure all of the 2012 participants were taken care of.

Well, they just announced that most of the previous guaranteed entries will still be honored for 2013, including those previously “denied three times.” Outside of Nashville, New York is my favorite city, so I’m super excited about the possibility of being part of the 2013 race. Should be awesome!

Now that this is firmed up, I plan to put my name in the the lottery for the St. George Marathon in St. George Utah on October 5th. This is supposed to be one of the most beautiful races in the country, and is also a very fast course with almost 1,500 ft. of elevation loss from start to finish:

Getting in is by no means guaranteed, but it would be a great opportunity to run a BQ if I’m selected. If not, I’ll probably look for a substitute sometime in late September or early October.

Other than these two races, I am registered for the Country Music Marathon here in Nashville again as the official 4-hour pacer for the race. That would put me at 4 marathons for the year, which sounds just about right.

Beast Mode…ON!!

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My thoughts on the 2013 Rock n’ Roll New Orleans Marathon…

Rock n’ Roll New Orleans Marathon
February 24, 2013
runrocknroll.competitor.com/new-orleans

My Run:

The 2013 Rock ‘n Roll New Orleans (NOLA) Marathon was my 13th marathon overall and first since being diagnosed with a femoral shaft stress fracture in late August 2012. My current marathon personal best of 3:12:28 came at the 2012 Rock ‘n Roll NOLA Marathon in ideal weather conditions.

After having a great month of January, my training had been very inconsistent in February leading up to the race, primarily due to my mission trip to Honduras and subsequent illness. I had also been dealing with IT band issues since returning from Honduras, which persisted until race day. All of this left me fairly unsure of my level of fitness for this marathon.