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For students in my Wednesday night class on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: Handouts and Notes for Acts Chapter 19:1-20 are now available online. Lord willing we will cover this text during class tomorrow night at 7pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
Yesterday’s Run
After a rest day on Sunday (Day 20), yesterday marked the beginning of week 4 of my “Return to Running” program, which includes:
- 3 to 5-minute walking warmup
- 3 x 15-minute run / 1-minute walk
- 3 to 5+ minute walking cooldown
This is by far the biggest jump in running time since the program started, moving from 30 to 45 total minutes of running. I just started off from my house and ran through the streets of Bellevue. When the first running interval started, my legs felt fairly rough. The gears were definitely grinding. However, this gradually got much better throughout the first interval. By the second interval, everything felt great and my stride felt smooth. This resulted in a fairly brisk pace, which was very comfortable. I was surprised how good my legs felt all the way through to the end of the final interval, and there was almost no hint of aching in my leg. In total I finished 45 minutes of running and just over 8 minutes of walking for a total of just under 6 miles completed.
- Miles: 5.98
- Time: 53:11 minutes
- Pace: 8:54
- Shoes: adidas Energy Boost (#1)
- Route: Streets of Bellevue
Cross-Training
- 100 Push Up Routine >> Week 4 / Level 3 / Day 1 – 120 total reps completed.
I started week 4 over again this week because of all the difficult I had going through the first time. Moving back to Day 1 was definitely easier than the first time through, though the shorter breaks still makes it quite a challenge.
- Pullups >> 23 total reps completed
- Balance Squats x 25 reps (each leg)
- Calf Raise Squats x 25 reps (2 x 20lb dumbbells)
- Wall Squats – 90 Seconds
- Step-Back Lunges x 15 reps (each leg with 2 x 20lb 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)
- Hip Hike 2 x 20 reps (each leg)
- Monster Walk with Band 3 x 10 reps (each leg)
- Clamshells with Band 2 x 15 reps (each leg)
- Toe Flexor x 60 reps (each leg)
- Dorsiflex Raises x 75 reps
Days 4 and 5 from week 3 of my “Return to Running” program are now in the books, and I’m looking forward to starting week 4 on Monday. Week 3 has included:
- 3 to 5-minute walking warmup
- 3 x 10-minute run / 1-minute walk
- 3 to 5+ minute walking cool-down
Yesterday’s Run (Day 18)
On Friday I met up with Nathan at Bellevue Church of Christ for an easy effort in a steady drizzle through the streets of Bellevue. It was good to get back out there with Nathan again. My legs were a bit fatigued after Thursday’s run and leg workout, but I still felt pretty good throughout, especially with the easy pace. In total we finished 30 minutes of running and just over 10 minutes of walking for a total of 3.78 miles completed.
- Miles: 3.78
- Time: 40:01 minutes
- Pace: 10:36
- Shoes: Saucony Kinvara 3 (#7)
- Route: BCOC loop
Today’s Run (Day 19)
This morning I decided to start at the same place as my running group, even though I couldn’t do their 11.2-mile run. I had not seen many of them in a couple of months, so it was good to re-connect. Brian was just coming off of the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon in Indy last weekend, and doesn’t have another race on the schedule, so he agreed to join me for my modest workout. We kept the pace very chill on the moderately hilly route through Percy Warner Park, but everything felt really good. The aching in my leg was actually a lot better than during the previous couple of runs. In total we finished 30 minutes of running and just under 11 minutes of walking for a total of just under 4 miles completed.
- Miles: 3.9
- Time: 41:58 minutes
- Pace: 10:46
- Shoes: adidas Energy Boost (#1)
- Route: PW main drive – 7 to 8-mile loop
Cross-Training
Yesterday: None
Today:
Elliptical >> 1-hour completed – I never run with music, but this is one of the things that gets me through a workout on the elliptical machine. Today I hit the elliptical hard, and a lot of that was fueled by listening to “Second Coming,” which is the new album from Stryper. It is basically a greatest-hits album, but all of the tracks were re-recorded, and they are actually better than the originals. They are such gifted musicians and Michael Sweet’s voice still sounds amazing.
- 100 Pushup Routine >> Week 4 / Level 3 / Day 3 – 154 total reps completed
– The target for today was 160, but I crashed again in the 5th set, only getting 34 out of 40. This is the second day of week 4 where I haven’t been able to get all the reps done on the first try. I think I’m gonna start week 4 over again next week, and see if I can build up a little more strength before taking the jump to week 5.
- Pullups >> 22 total reps completed
Beast Mode…ON!
Today’s Run
After getting the all-clear from my doctor to resume running this afternoon, I picked back with day 3 of week 3 of my “Return to Running” program, which includes:
- 3 to 5-minute walking warmup
- 3 x 10-minute run / 1-minute walk
- 3 to 5+ minute walking cooldown
It’s been 5-days since my last run, and it was great to be back on the road. It is interesting that the aching in my leg was worse today than the last day I ran, but it is nice to know that there is nothing structurally wrong, since my MRI was clear. Even with the aching, the run felt great. I started off in the parking lot of the Bellevue United Methodist Church, and ran through the surrounding neighborhood. I took a slight detour in the middle of my second segment to take a look at the new bridge which will further extend the Harpeth River Greenway. I even ran across the bridge, though there was nowhere to go on the other side.
Anyway, in total I finished 30 minutes of running and just over 7 minutes of walking for a total of just over 4 miles completed.
- Miles: 4.08
- Time: 37:43 minutes
- Pace: 9:15
- Shoes: adidas Energy Boost (#1)
- Route: Beech Bend, Harpeth Bend, etc.
Cross-Training
- 100 Push Up Routine >> Week 4 / Level 3 / Day 2 – 144 total reps completed.
The last set called for 36, but somehow I managed to get in 40. It helped that Kate was counting for me, which provided a little more motivation to get through them. - Pullups >> 21 total reps completed
- Balance Squats x 25 reps (each leg)
- Calf Raise Squats x 25 reps (2 x 20lb dumbbells)
- Wall Squats – 90 Seconds
- Step-Back Lunges x 15 reps (each leg with 2 x 20lb 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 20 reps (each leg)
- Monster Walk with Band 3 x 10 reps (each leg)
- Clamshells with Band 2 x 15 reps (each leg)
- Toe Flexor x 60 reps (each leg)
- Dorsiflex Raises x 75 reps
I received the results of my MRI this afternoon, and…
Everything looked good. I’m free to continue with the “Return to Running” program, and training for the 2013 ING New York City Marathon. Leaving the bench and headed back to the road!
It’s amazing how a healed stress injury can feel so much like the beginning of a stress fracture, but it makes sense that whenever bones heal all of the connected nerve fibers will also be affected.
Whatever the case, I’m glad to be back….again! Thanks to everyone for your prayers and encouragement. They are greatly appreciated.
My conversation with Sara (she’s 3) in the car after midweek Bible study…
Me:
Sara, what did you study about in class tonight?
Sara:
5 pieces of bread, and 2 fish
Me:
What did Jesus do with those 5 pieces of bread, and 2 fish?
Sara:
He ate them
That’s a MUCH different story than I learned…
I need to come up with some new pet peeves…my kids don’t seem to care much about the ones I have now.
For students in my Wednesday night class on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: Handouts and Notes for Acts Chapter 18:18-28 are now available online. Lord willing we will cover this text during class tomorrow night at 7pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
I had the follow-up appointment with my orthopaedist this morning, and he recommended that I have an MRI to definitively see what is going on with my femur. Though he acknowledged that this could be a full-blown stress fracture that doesn’t show up on x-ray, his opinion is that the pain I’m experiencing right now is “Phantom Pain” or “Healing Pain” from the previous stress reaction.
He explained that this type of pain is real, but is not caused by a recurrence of the injury. It is instead caused by how the healed injury site interacts with the connected nerves. He said this often feels very similar to the beginning stages of a stress injury.
Whatever the case, I’m just glad we’re going forward with the MRI so I can at least have peace-of-mind regarding the path ahead.
Well, now that I’m back on the bench, time to start doing what is needed to get back off the bench again. To that end I have an appointment with my orthopaedist tomorrow morning to discuss next steps. Prayers for an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan would be appreciated. I’m still holding out hope that I’ll be able to run New York in November.
This afternoon I headed back to the pool for a riveting hour of aqua jogging. Every second I spend in the pool just helps me realize how much I miss running, and pushes me to stay disciplined and work hard to get back out on the road.
Cross Training
- Aqua Jogging >> 1 hour
- 100 Pushup Routine >> Week 4 / Level 3 / Day 1 – 120 total reps completed
– I repeated this day for the second time since I was not able to complete all the reps on either of my first attempts. It was a struggle in the last set, but I got ’em all done tonight! It’s interesting….I’ve been through this routine start to finish twice, and I’ve never had this much trouble with a single workout. Guess this means I’m getting old.
- Pullups >> 19 total reps completed
- In and Outs x 25 reps
- Seated Bicycle Forward x 25 reps
- Seated Bicycle Backward x 25 reps
- Crunchy Frog x 25 reps
- Wide Leg Sit Ups x 25 reps
- Hip Rock n’ Raise x 25 reps
- Pulse Ups x 21 reps
- Roll-Up / V-Up Combo x 25 reps
- Oblique V-Up Right x 25 reps
- Oblique V-Up Left x 25 reps
- Leg Climb x 24 reps (1 grab)
- Mason Twist x 50 reps
My little Sara singing the chorus to “Lord Reign in Me” before going to bed…We both LOVE this song!
by Olivia Agee
From the March/April 2013 issue of Christian Woman magazine…reprinted by permission.
Imagine two young men are at your door, tracts in hand, attempting to share their faith. When you ask why you should believe as they do, they respond, “Because the book of Mormon says so.”
Would this statement alone convince you to abandon your current beliefs and join the Mormon faith? Of course not, and neither would the words “the Quran tells me so” or “the writings of Buddha tell me so.” Yet many times we expect the mere words “because the Bible says so” to convert our non-Christian friends. Now, “the Bible tells me so” is extremely important in matters of doctrine and Christian living, but to non-Christians, those words are not convincing as a reason to accept the Bible as truth.
First Peter 3:15 commands us to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (NIV84). Is this something we know how to do? The evidence is on our side; there are a lot of good reasons to believe that what the Bible says is true. But could we explain them to someone else? With these questions in mind, the following is a short summary of evidence that I personally find most convincing.
Problems With Darwinian Evolution
First, I do not find the evidence for life apart from a Creator to be compelling. Darwinian evolution is full of holes, the most notable being the lack of evidence for life originating from non-life (i.e., abiogenesis); for species evolving into other species; and for the human body developing its systems gradually by natural selection (i.e., irreducible complexity), which was Darwin’s own criteria for the failure of his theory.
This is awesome…Love how they just play it straight-forward, the way it was written. Enjoy:
