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When I was in high school, and even through college, Queensrÿche was my favorite band on the planet. I listened to the albums Rage for Order, Operation Mindcrime, and Empire so much that it was ridiculous, and saw them in concert at least 3 times. This lasted through the 1997 release of Hear in the Now Frontier, which was not great, but still had a few songs worth listening to. I tried listening to some of their stuff from the late 90s through the 2000s, but found most of it to be terrible.
Well, fast forward to today….there are now TWO bands recording and touring under the name Queensrÿche. One with the original lead singer, Geoff Tate, and no other original member. The other with original members Michael Wilton (Guitar), Scott Rockenfield (Drums), and Eddie Jackson (Bass), along with Todd LaTorre (Lead Vocals) and Parker Lundgren (Guitar). The new songs coming out of the Geoff Tate version are the same old mess that was typical of Queensrÿche from the late 90s and 2000s. However, the song above is the first single, “Redemption,” from the other version of Queensrÿche, with Todd LaTorre on vocals. I must say that I’m really, really digging this song. As a matter of fact I think that Todd LaTorre sounds more like Geoff Tate used to sound than Geoff Tate does today. Also, this song is much closer to classic Queensrÿche than anything that was released after Empire in 1990.
Definitely worth a listen….I have been wearing out the YouTube version since they have not officially released the song for purchase. Thanks to Chris Miller for originally pointing me to this new single.
Today’s Run
So, the title of this post might be a slight exaggeration, but I did feel like I had a swarm of gnats in my face for most of today’s run on the Harpeth River Greenway. Yesterday (Day 4) was a rest day, so this was the 4th run from week 1 of my “Return to Running” program, which includes:
- 3 to 5-minute walking warmup
- 4 x 4-minute run / 2-minute walk
- 3 to 5+ minute walking cooldown
It was a beautiful afternoon, with temps in the mid 70s, and my legs felt fantastic. Just like last Friday, I had a hard time keeping may pace from getting too fast during the running segments, but it is so great to be running again! In total I got in 16 minutes of running and 17 minutes of walking for 3.2-miles completed. Tomorrow should be the last day from week 1 of my program before a rest day on Wednesday.
- Miles: 3.2
- Time: 33 minutes
- Pace: 10:21
- Shoes: adidas Energy Boost #1
- Route: Harpeth River Greenway
Cross-Training
- 100 Pushup Routine >> Week 3 / Level 3 / Day 2 – 102 total reps
- Pullups – 13 total reps
- Balance Squats x 25 reps (each leg)
- Calf Raise Squats x 25 reps (2 x 15lb dumbbells)
- Wall Squats – 90 Seconds
- Step-Back Lunges x 15 reps (each leg with 2 x 15lb dumbbells)
- 3-way lunge x 15 reps (each leg)
- Chair Salutation x 2 (30 sec each)
- Toe Roll Iso Lunges x 20 reps (each leg)
- Groucho Walk – 45 seconds
- Hip Hike 2 x 15 reps (each leg)
- Monster Walk with Band 2 x 8 reps (each leg)
- Clamshells with Band x 30 reps (each leg)
- Toe Flexor x 60 reps (each leg)
- Dorsiflex Raises x 75 reps
Beast Mode…ON!
by Timothy Agee
From the May 2013 issue of Gospel Advocate magazine…reprinted by permission.
In the midst of a culture filled with smart phones, social media, streaming video and on demand TV shows, churches of Christ across the country are struggling with how to attract and retain young adults within their congregations. In this context, the church is sometimes viewed as a relic that has trouble relating to the younger generation.
In response to this issue, some churches have embraced a strategy that has watered down the message of the gospel and that relies heavily on entertainment and social interaction to appeal to young adults. They emphasize the “experience” without the religion. They try to make the church “cool” by changing it to look more like the world. But if we do not take the time to teach them the Bible, can this approach possibly lead to an authentic relationship with Christ and His Word? Will they find answers to the deepest questions about their faith and be prepared to face the world with all of its dangers? Will they ever be motivated to take ownership of their faith?
When facing this challenge, we must realize that the church, as established on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), is still relevant today without our intervention. When we attempt to make it more relevant for today’s young adults, we may actually make it less relevant by taking the focus off the most important things, thereby compounding the problem.
Young adults are smart enough to see through things that are superficial. If we try to use entertainment, they will move on to something else once they find a better alternative. If we try to make the church appear more like the culture, they will quickly see it as a cheap imitation. If we present them with only a shallow representation of the Word, they will look for something else to fill the void and will quickly be “devoured,” “scorched” or “choked” by the influence of the world:
And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them (Matthew 13:4-7 ESV, emphasis added).
Video: Teaching Sara to ride a bicycle in the Bellevue Church of Christ parking lot. Lots of Fun!
Today’s Run
Since Olivia also has a stress fracture (and is still a ways away from being able to run), the two of us planned to go to the YMCA this morning for some aqua jogging. I decided to head over there about an hour before and get in my run through the streets of Green Hills. This was the third run from week one of my “Return to Running” program, which includes:
- 3 to 5-minute walking warmup
- 4 x 4-minute run / 2-minute walk
- 3 to 5+ minute walking cooldown
This run felt harder than the one yesterday afternoon, but I think most of this was related to the hilly terrain. My legs still felt pretty good, with no pain, which is the most important thing right now. The temps at the start were in the mid 30s, which felt pretty cold after reaching the 80s earlier this week. In total I got in 16 minutes of running and 17 minutes of walking forf 2.9-miles completed. That makes 9.6-miles for the week since tomorrow will be a rest day. Not quite the 50 to 60 I’m used to, but at this point I’ll take it!
Cross-Training
- Elliptical >> 20 minutes – After I finished my run, I went inside the YMCA and jumped on the elliptical until Olivia arrived.
- Aqua Jogging >> 1 hour 20 minutes with Olivia – So much better to do this with Olivia than by myself.
- 100 Pushup Routine >> Week 3 / Level 3 / Day 1 – 85 total reps
Beast Mode…ON!
Today’s Run
My run this evening on the Harpeth River Greenway felt really, really good. Last night I was pretty tired, especially since it came after spending an hour aqua jogging in the pool. Tonight my legs felt fresh, and I had to fight to keep from running too fast. This was the second run from week one of my “Return to Running,” which includes:
- 3 to 5-minute walking warmup
- 4 x 4-minute run / 2-minute walk
- 3 to 5+ minute walking cooldown
I got in 16 minutes of running and 25 minutes of walking for a total of 3.75-miles completed. Tonight also marked my first run in the new Adidas Energy Boost shoes. In an earlier post regarding my planned training changes for 2013, I mentioned that I wanted to run in more cushioned shoes for runs 10 miles or greater. After doing a lot of research, I settled on the Energy Boost. Today I stopped by our local Fleet Feet, and they happened to have my size in stock. The sales guy said that they are selling so fast that they don’t even have any on display in the store.
Anyway, even though this run was MUCH shorter than 10 miles, I decided to have a go in the new shoes. They felt fantastic. Much different than my Kinvara, but still really, really great. I’ll write a full review once I get a few more runs under my belt.
Cross-Training
- 100 Pushup Routine >> Week 3 Push-Up Test – 35 Reps
- Pullups >> 12 Total Reps
Beast Mode…ON!
It wasn’t much, but it’s a start…
Now that I’ve been released to run by my doctor, tonight marked the beginning of training for the 2013 ING New York City Marathon. Week 1 of the “Return to Running” program provided by my doctor calls for
- 3 to 5-minute walking warmup
- 4 x 4-minute run / 2-minute walk
- 3 to 5+ minute walking cooldown
Not exactly Ironman training, but I’m happy to be back on the road! In total I got in 16 minutes of running and 19 minutes of walking for a total of 2.9-miles completed through the streets of Bellevue.
Cross-Training
Since my running total are going to be quite meager for a while, I’ll still have to lean quite a bit on cross-training to maintain fitness. This afternoon Olivia and I did just over an hour of aqua jogging at the Y. My Favorite!!
Beast Mode…ON!
Back on August 7th of last year, I included the following near the bottom of a post regarding a run through the Belle Meade area of Nashville:
The highlight of a run on Jackson Blvd is passing the infamous “Gateway” mural that is painted onto the side of a house at the corner of Jackson and Harding Place…
For those of you unfamiliar with Nashville, Belle Meade is a very, very affluent area, and the fairly recent unveiling of this mural has caused quite a bit of controversy with their neighbors.
Well, very shortly after this post, the owners of the home painted back over the mural with the original white of the house. After asking around a bit, I found out that it was never intended to be permanent, but the owners considered it their “gift to Belle Meade.” Whatever the case, I’m sure the neighbors were quite relieved.
Today, as I was driving home, I turned down Jackson Blvd. again, and this is what I saw:
While I always thought the original “Gateway” mural was kind of cool (though completely out of place), I find this particular mural to be hideous!
What do you think?
Just finished with my 4-week follow-up orthopaedic appointment, and it turns out that my left femur injury was a stress reaction instead of a full-blown stress fracture. What this means is that I can start the “Return to Running” program as soon as today instead of waiting an additional 2 to 4 weeks. The program will be painfully conservative, but at least it means I can get back out on the road!
I reviewed my planned training changes with him, and he was very supportive of them, especially the idea of only running 5 days a week. He said that back when he worked with Nike elite runners in California and Oregon, their coaches never had them run more than 5 days per week, even though they were racking up LOTS of mileage. He agreed that adding one additional rest day from impact would greatly reduce my chances of sustaining another stress fracture. 
He also said that he would be perfectly OK with me running doubles on some days during a week, as long as I still took 2 days off from running per week. He said that these days off from running did not have to be days off from workouts, just from impact activities.
All of this was very encouraging, and he said that training for New York this November should not be a problem at all. To that end, today I hope to start the slow climb back up the mileage mountain with his prescribed “Return to Running” program. It is a 10 week program, as defined below, which I will be doing 5 days per week:
- (Week 1) Run 4 minutes, Walk 2 minutes. Repeat 4 times.
- (Week 2) Run 5 minutes, Walk 2 minutes. Repeat 4 times.
- (Week 3) Run 10 minutes, Walk 1 minute. Repeat 3 times.
- (Week 4) Run 15 minutes, Walk 1 minute. Repeat 3 times.
- (Week 5) Run 20 minutes nonstop.
- (Week 6) Run 25 minutes nonstop.
- (Week 7) Run 30 minutes nonstop.
- (Weeks 8 to 10) Increase nonstop running 5 minutes per week.
- After week 10, increase time/mileage by 10% per week.
In addition to this, I am scheduled for a bone density study next week, and then will follow-up with my doctor in 6-weeks to make sure everything is progressing as planned.
Beast Mode….Back ON!
Big thanks to my buddy Paxton for sharing this….definitely worth reading. Written by ‘Runner’s World’ columnist Peter Sagal who ran in Boston, and was helping to guide a legally blind runner through the course. Pretty compelling:
Article >> Eyewitness to Bravery, Horror by Peter Sagal (RunnersWorld.com)
Today I almost deleted my Facebook account…
I was not an early adopter of Facebook, but these days nobody would question that I have fully embraced social media. This is not only through the use of Facebook, but also Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and even my personal Blog that is connected to these various services. In many ways social media has become an incredible tool for someone with my interests and background.
There are some obvious benefits to this technology, such as the ability to keep up with the lives of friends, former classmates, family members, and those that share my personal hobbies such as running. However, these things are only the tip of the iceberg.
As an active member and Bible class teacher at the Bellevue Church of Christ, social media provides me with an additional avenue of communication for church events, fellowship opportunities, Bible class notes and handouts, and those in need of prayer and encouragement. As a guest preacher and Bible class teacher, I have been blessed to work with a number of churches in Middle Tennessee through the years. Facebook and Twitter have provided me with a great way to stay in touch with my brothers and sisters in those churches, when this would have otherwise been difficult. It has also made it easier to keep up with the efforts of missionaries in other countries, especially those I’ve personally worked with in southern Honduras.
However, for all of the good things about Facebook and social media mentioned above, there are many things that really concern me, especially when coming from Christians. I remember vividly the moment when I found out about the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012. I was overwhelmed with sadness, and all I could think about was the need to pray. Probably the best post I saw on Facebook in response to this unspeakable act was from our preacher, Tom Riley…
Unfortunately, this was not the typical response that I saw from my fellow Christians. Between Facebook and Twitter I would estimate that 7 of every 10 posts coming from Christians were regarding the political implications of the attack, rather than anything concerning the victims, the families, the community, or most importantly….prayer. This shocked me.
Article >> A perfect Marathon day, then the unimaginable
Must-read column from the Boston Globe by Kevin Cullen. A couple of paragraphs below that just broke my heart:
The location and timing of the bombs was sinister beyond belief, done purposely to maximize death and destruction. Among those who watched in horror as a fireball belched out across the sidewalk on Boylston were the parents of the schoolkids murdered in Newtown, Conn. The Atlantic reported they were sitting in a VIP section at the finish line, across the street from the explosion.
This is how bad this is. I went out Monday night and bumped into some firefighters I know. They said one of the dead was an 8-year-old boy from Dorchester who had gone out to hug his dad after he crossed the finish line. The dad walked on; the boy went back to the sidewalk to join his mom and his little sister. And then the bomb went off. The boy was killed. His sister’s leg was blown off. His mother was badly injured. That’s just one family, one story.
Article >> Attack will test marathon community by Bonnie D. Ford (ESPN.com)
Article >> A Joyful Day in Boston Ends in Shock by Jason Gay (WSJ.com)
Article >> So Close, Yet So Far by Amby Burfoot (RunnersWorld.com)
Article >> A Bomb Is the Opposite of a Marathon by Jeff Edmonds (logicoflongdistance.com)
Another compelling article regarding today’s events from by Ezra Klein, writing for washingtonpost.com
Article >> If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon
