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New blog host!

runalong@charter.net — 2008-01-07T12:33:22-08:00

OK, after examining my options I was much more impressed with blogspot than I thought I would be. So please link to my new site:

ultrapastor.blogspot.com

I still haven't added all the features and options that I want to (including links), but I'll be posting more frequently since blogspot is about, oh, 17 zillion times faster than RapidWeaver. There won't be any more updates to this site but it will stay up semi-indefinitely for those of you who are looking for the Europe, Swiss or Haute Route pics (just keep scrolling).

Runalong is moving!

runalong@charter.net — 2007-12-17T08:18:22-08:00

Well, duh; I wouldn't be "runalong" if I stopped moving now, would I?

But I'm going to be changing blog software and my blog address sometime in the next two weeks. This site will remain open for awhile to direct folks (both of you) to my new site. I'll be glad to be rid of Rapid Weaver, whose slowness and buggishness have been two of my main reasons/excuses for blogging so sparingly as of late.

Stay tuned for details.

Muir Beach 50K

runalong@charter.net — 2007-12-17T07:59:26-08:00

So, first my life was upended by the installation of new wood floors, requiring us to abandon our kitchen and living room for a couple weeks. Well worth it, I might add!

Then I got sick. Not just the usual bothersome cold, but the knock-me-down and confine-me-to-quarters-for-several-days sort of "cold" like I haven't suffered through in a decade or more. No running for Markie! (No blogging either, in case you didn't notice: Sorry, but when I get sick I just have nothing to say).

Last Monday I woke up feeling OK but a little blah. I headed out for my first run in ten days and it wasn't bad. And when I got home the blahs were gone. That blah feeling? I remember that. It's how I used to feel all the time before I started running. Back then I wouldn't have called it blah, I just thought it was normal. It only seems blah in comparison to how I feel most of the time now. New Year's Resolution anyone?

Tuesday morning I woke up with sore quads (quadriceps are the big muscles in the front of your thighs, the ones that hurt after a lot of downhill running). Sore quads after an easy, flattish 6-mile jog? Not good! My main objective this fall has been to toughen up my quads in preparation for the 24,000 feet of steep downhill running at the HURT 100 next month.

OK, they'll get better after a few days, right? Wrong. I ran 10 miles Tuesday and they got worse. Cut back to 7 miles Wednesday- no better. 12 miles Thursday and on Saturday morning I found myself lined up at Muir Beach for a 50K with over 7000 feet of steep downhill running. Leaving my motel that morning my quads were burning as I walked downstairs. A little soreness the day after the race would be fine, but not at the starting line!

I started out slow, just hoping to be able to finish (before the day was over I would see lots of people walking slowly and painfully down hills, their quads blown out by the previous miles). The fact that my lungs weren't yet clear of residual gunk didn't help either.

Headed out slow, talked with some old friends along the way, took it easy as planned. The quads hurt, but not a lot, and they never got any worse. About eight miles in I found myself running along a ridge, with Hwy 101 and the Golden Gate Bridge and SF skyline below me and to my left, as I chased Santa Claus.

I eventually passed him, wondering how in the world he was going to get all those presents delivered in one night if he couldn't even keep up with me, and found myself finishing the first loop (33K) in 3:51. That would have been good for 23rd place out of the 78 runners who chose the 33K option, but I still had a 17K loop to go. Since I've run this race twice before and my previous best time was 6:08, I realized I had a decent chance for a PR for the course and a sub-six-hour finish. I wished I hadn't spent so much time on the first loop standing arond chatting and such at aid stations, and off I went on loop two.

Despite my handicaps, I finished in 5:56 (same time as at Quad Dipsea three weeks ago), with quads intact (yes, they are quite sore today, but not as bad as I expected) with a new confidence for HURT (it's always a good feeling when you hand Santa his butt on a platter!). Apparently all those extra miles this fall are doing some good. I'll be pushing it hard now for two more weeks before tapering.

Breath of Heaven

runalong@charter.net — 2007-12-17T07:56:57-08:00

For your Christmas enjoyment, my daughter has a lovely ASL interpretation of the Amy Grant song on YouTube. Check it out...

David's Got a Brand New Blog.

runalong@charter.net — 2007-12-17T07:51:47-08:00

I'm sure most of you remember the classic rock song by that name. Well, the hit tune has now been made into a real blog! David is a professional writer so don't expect any of the trivial drivel you find here at Runalong. Lots of Harry Potterish insights though, from an evangelical Christian perspective:

Moral Imagination Now

Faith and Politics

runalong@charter.net — 2007-12-17T07:44:55-08:00

A lot of nonsense is being written, but this article by Rod Dreher is well-worth reading.

He makes a point about Mormonism that I have been waiting for someone to make, then he goes on to explain, correctly, that this is not a reason to not vote for Romney (though there ARE other reasons not to!):

2. Anyway, the Latter-day Saints church teaches that all other Christian churches are apostate. A heretic is someone who rejects one or more doctrines of religion, but an apostate is someone who has rejected the religion entirely. How is it, exactly, that you can get mad when people you regard as apostates consider you to be ... apostate? How does that work?

Indoor Trail Running?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-12-17T07:40:03-08:00

I thought, "what a dumb idea." However, on further review, I hope this is a big seller this Christmas. It's the next best thing to being there.

(Click on the pic for the link to the video).

Recent runs

runalong@charter.net — 2007-11-27T11:00:27-08:00

I finally uploaded pics from some recent runs. The first is Boulder Creek Falls. If you notice that nice log sticking out over the pool at the base of the falls, I might warn you to be careful if you decide to walk out on it. The second picture is taken as I am falling off its slippery surface.

And this is the view of the Sacramento River from the cool new Hornbeck trail in Redding that I ran a couple weeks ago...

Quad Dipsea

runalong@charter.net — 2007-11-27T10:44:12-08:00

The Dipsea is a famous and popular 7.1 mile race from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach each June. It includes nearly 2500 feet of ascending and descending and is so steep that there are 676 steps built into the trail. The Quad Dipsea, as you might guess, goes there and back and there and back. Having run 20 miles, including a 6 mile race, on Thursday, I wasn't out for a fast time, just to get some good hill training in before my upcoming 100 miler in January. Before the race Dave Combs asked me what my expectations were and I answered, "Have a good time, take some pictures, finish in under six hours." At this race I met all my goals! (You can see the official results here).

I finished in 5:55, putting me safely in the top third of entrants, and had a fun and enjoyable, almost even easy, day. My split times for the four legs of the race were 90-90-89-86. My Quads were sore on Sunday and Monday, but not too bad, indicating that I should be able to handle HURT's 24,000 feet of descent in 8 weeks.

Someone took a video of runners crossing the river: pretty boring unless you know some of these folks, but that's me stopping to take a picture at 7:23 into the video. The picture I took is just below. Yes, at mile 2 I was already seven minutes behind the leader, Eric Skaggs, who finished the race in less than four hours (eight minutes per mile average!)- amazing considering how slow the stairs are- both up and down.

Gutsy girl!

runalong@charter.net — 2007-11-26T10:16:03-08:00

At the Quad Dispsea I saw a girl of about 18-20 years hobbling down the long steep steps toward the beach, crying and wincing everytime she put weight on her right leg. It reminded me of this amazing recent story and video.

Every day is an ultramarathon...

runalong@charter.net — 2007-11-26T10:12:05-08:00

...for this guy. What an amazing story!

Huckabee?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-11-26T10:09:50-08:00

I'm starting to take a fresh look at him after reading this article.

Other guys run with the big dogs...

runalong@charter.net — 2007-11-26T10:02:59-08:00

... and here I am trotting with the turkeys!

I ran the "six" mile Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving with nearly 700 other folks, including my middle daughter and Mrs Runalong. The babes were just hoping to break 90 minutes but they ran sub 12 minute miles and both finished in 1:08 and change. I was shooting for 45 minutes, having run it in around 43 minutes, several years ago. It's been a long time since I ran a race shorter than a marathon.

It was fun for about a mile and the rest of the way I just wanted it to be over. I was talking to friends when the gun went off and started near the back of the pack, forced to walk and pick my way through several hundred recreational runners for the first (slow) mile; then I picked it up to about a 7:40 pace. At the mile 5 marker I realized I would have to run the last mile under 6 minutes to break 45 so I eased off a little. Imagine my surprise when, as I approached the finish, the clock read 45:03... 45:04...

Turns out the last "mile" was only 0.75 so I could have broken 45, albeit on a short course. I also ran to the course and back home again for a total of 19 or so miles for the day. Ted snapped my pic at the finish:

German Artist

runalong@charter.net — 2007-11-26T09:59:15-08:00

Our daughter is a short-term missionary in the Black Forest. She recently bought some new winter clothes and painted a flower on her wall. She doesn't get her talent from me!

And here's the dorm where Becky works and lives (view from the back):

Every boy needs a dump truck

runalong@charter.net — 2007-11-19T12:47:00-08:00

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY? (written by kids)
You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.
-- Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.
-- Kristen, age 10

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?
You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
-- Derrick, age 8

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?
Both don't want any more kids.
-- Lori, age 8

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?
Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.
-- Lynnette, age 8

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?
I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.
-- Craig, age 9

WHEN IS IT OK TO KISS SOMEONE?
The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.
- - Curt, age 7

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?
It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.
-- Anita, age 9

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?
Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a dump truck.
-- Ricky, age 10

Boldly running where no man has...

runalong@charter.net — 2007-11-19T12:39:18-08:00

A new trail just opened northwest of town. I came across it by chance and checked it out (8 mile loop with nice views of the Sac River) and that left me running back to my car via the power line roads around dusk. One of the few local residents saw me and told me to be careful, they've had mountain lion problems in the area. Did I make it out alive? Tune in next week to...

OK, not much suspense, eh? I don't know why, it always works on "24" even though we always know Jack is going to survive.

Anyway, no cougars, but I did see a bear as I neared civilization.

I've done about 500 miles in the last 9 weeks, a lot for me (hard core ultrarunners would laugh). I'm feeling good and looking forward to the six-mile Turkey Trot this Thursday (my first "short" race in years) and the 28.4 mile, 10000 feet of climbing (and 10K descending with a total of over 2500 stairsteps) Quad Dipsea next Saturday.

Deconstruction

runalong@charter.net — 2007-11-19T12:37:43-08:00

My house is torn apart, in a manner of speaking, as we are putting in new flooring in the kitchen, living room and dining room (aka "Blogging Central"). Thus, not much blogging until all the king's horses and all the king's men do their thing.

Dave Barry- Runalong Condensed Version

runalong@charter.net — 2007-11-19T08:48:22-08:00

16 RULES THAT TOOK ME NEARLY 60 YEARS TO LEARN by Dave Barry

1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

3. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

10. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

11. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.

13. A person who is nice to you but rude to a waiter is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)

16. Thought for the day: Men are like fine wine. They start out as grapes; and it's up to the women to stomp the crap out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.

Chuckabee

runalong@charter.net — 2007-11-19T08:46:42-08:00

Lugano and Mount Bre

runalong@charter.net — 2007-11-05T21:53:05-08:00

One of our favorite places in Switzerland was Lugano (near Italy) and one of our favorite hikes was the hike up Mount Bre. We took the funincular part way up and climbed from there. It was a big long loop on a warm day, but worth it! Afterwards we had a meal at the most beautiful cafe in the world (IMHO).

Spirituality vs Religion

runalong@charter.net — 2007-11-05T21:49:10-08:00

The ultrarunners group got into a rare discussion of spiritual issues recently. I stayed out of it until some misconceptions about "spirituality" vs "religion" cropped in. I wrote the following and to my surprise it had its intended effect as numerous runners wrote back to thank me for giving them a new perspective to consider...

I've been trying to stay out of this, but one small factual correction. This is a common misconception:
Spirituality is a goal. Religion is a means to it.

Spiritually and religion both have the same goal: a right relationship with God/god (however defined).

The difference is this:
Religion is when you do it in community, with others (think: Francis of Assisi)
Spirituality is when you do it by yourself, your way (think: Frank Sinatra)

America is highly individualistic and thus Americans tend to prefer "spirituality". Numerous sociologists have analyzed this phenomenon. We tend to look at various belief systems, pick and choose different elements like at a buffet, and create our own customized personal religion: this is spirituality (as distinct from religion). A little Buddha, a pinch of Jesus, a cup of Ayn Rand, a smidge of yoga, a dollop of Oprah, a bowl of organic food and there you go- your own personal faith-system! Spirituality generally makes no claims to present universal truth about anything (God, humans, right and wrong, etc); it's about "what's true for me" and what makes me FEEL spiritual. If any parts of it ever start to make you feel uncomfortable you can just chuck them and replace them with others (unless it is a nice warm "spiritual" sort of uncomfortableness).

Religion is messy. You have to deal with other people. It's called "organized religion" (disparagingly) because doing things with other people always requires a certain amount of "organization" - easily avoided if you keep your spirituality as a strictly private matter. Common and shared beliefs and practices require not doing everything your own way, submitting to ancient traditions and teachings, etc. "Submission" is historically at the very core of religion and is probably the main reason most Americans don't cotton to it. The beliefs of religion are considered by believers to be either universally true (as in Christianity) or at least binding on the community of faith (as in Judaism). Within religion, personal spirituality is considered a subset, not a substitute.

The Road to HURT

runalong@charter.net — 2007-11-05T21:43:14-08:00

The HURT 100 mile race is in January with 24,000 feet of climbing and just as much descending. Historically only about 25% of those starting the race have finished and only a half-dozen or so in my age group have ever finished. There are roots and rocks and mud and steep hills and drop-offs, and frequently rain, but what trips most people up isn't the roots and rocks but the 36 hour time limit.

My training is going well, October was my third highest mileage month ever (though at 239, not that high by ultra-runner standards) and I got some speedwork and hill training in. I'll be looking to do more miles, more hills and more speedwork in November. The Quad Dipsea should help with the hillwork.

Stupid RapidWeaver!

runalong@charter.net — 2007-11-05T21:41:21-08:00

I don't like this blogging program at all. It has been slow and buggy since I started using it. I much preferred iBlog, but when it got all weird on me I couldn't get any technical support to fix it and so switched to RW. It just "ate my homework" again after I spent half an hour doing this week's entries. Maybe I'll just have to switch to Blogger.

Engadine Valley & Swiss NP

runalong@charter.net — 2007-10-29T09:29:04-07:00

There are four major language groups in Switzerland, the smallest of which is found in the southeast part of the country between Italy and Austria. The language is Romansch and we found this to be an area of lovely towns virtually undiscovered by American tourists. Of course that meant that language was a bit of a problem but most hotel and restaurant folks spoke just a wee bit of English, so we got by.

It was our first, but by no means last, experience of detraining in a town where we had no reservations. I left the girls with our bags and wandered around Zernez checking for an affordable but decent place. The hostels were not up to our standards, but I found a nice, almost deserted, family run hotel for $40 per person per night (breakfast included). Throughout the trip, we never did have a problem finding an affordable place to stay.

Zernez is also just north of the Swiss National Park, the only national park in Switzerland, and the only area preserved in its natural state (most of Switzerland is given over to small farms and ranches or "alps", as they call them. It turns out that in its natural state, Switzerland looks a lot like California or Colorado. We took a bus and got out just south of the park; my faithful companions hiked back partway with me, including a summit, and then caught another bus back to town. I continued over another ridge and hiked back to our hotel thus successfully crossing the SNP from south to north. Woo-hoo!

I got snowed on, rained on, hailed on, blown around and saw an ibex and a herd of chamoix.

Unhinged Atheists

runalong@charter.net — 2007-10-29T09:25:16-07:00

Who scares you more? Religious believers or the "new atheists"?

A professing non-believer makes the case that the latter are both more worrisome and less persuasive than the former.

Foretaste

runalong@charter.net — 2007-10-26T13:56:32-07:00

As I said last week, some days I feel really good during my run and sometimes I feel old. The days I feel old are a harbinger of mortality and as such, are probably spiritually useful (silver lining and all that rot).

The days that I feel really good are spiritually useful also. For they are also harbingers, harbingers of immortality. When I'm running a long or tough course and all is clicking and I seem to be temporarily transcending my bodily limitations I get a three-dimension, all-five-sensual taste of what heaven will be like in my new sin-and-death-and-curse free body. It's one thing to know such things intellectually, but to actually be able to FEEL, coursing through my whole body, a sample of what that will be like is truly, in the most literal sense, glorious. And faith-building: it makes it a lot easier to rejoice that my real home is in heaven and that this world and this life will soon pass away.

Caveat: If you'd like to try this experiment at home- be forewarned: it takes a while to get there. But it's worth it.

Fire!

runalong@charter.net — 2007-10-23T23:09:03-07:00

My dad lives in Escondido, and has chronic lung problems, but fortunately he is in the midwest at the moment. The "Witch" fire has burned to within a few miles of his home but apparently hasn't moved much closer today. Most of the houses burned in Escondido are at the opposite end of the city. My sister lives east of San Diego, but hasn't had to evacuate yet.

Our assistant pastor, Bob, is a volunteer with the fire department and is currently in southern California with a Redding crew.

Prayers are appreciated, on all fronts.

Here's what it looks like from the satellite:

A "feel good" story

runalong@charter.net — 2007-10-23T13:52:15-07:00

I've been feeling REALLY good lately. I wish I knew what caused it so I'd know what to do to keep it going. When I say that I've been feeling good, you have to understand that I never really know how well I'm feeling until I go out for a run.

Generally, I almost always feel pretty good. Not much detectable difference from day to day. But when I go out for my run, some days I feel great and some days I feel old and some days are average. I never know until I get out there.

The last two months I've been consistently feeling great. Even the week after a grueling 50 mile race!

How good? I've never felt this good, this consistently, in the ten years I've been running. Yesterday I zipped up and down South Fork in 85 degree heat and it didn't even seem hard (seven miles and 2000' climb to the top, then down).

I'm starting to ramp up my training for the HURT 100 in January, so this is happening at a most propitious time!

Runalong: The Fund

runalong@charter.net — 2007-10-23T13:49:55-07:00

I've got a virtual mutual fund I "manage" over at Marketocracy. You can click here to see how I'm doing.

Of course I wouldn't be telling you about this if I wasn't doing phenomenally well.

Switzerland: Alpenzell to Wildhaus

runalong@charter.net — 2007-10-22T20:48:27-07:00

Our first hike was an overnighter from Wasserauen (near Alpenzell) to Wildhaus via Megaslip & Falensee. After days of rain and iffy forecasts we were happy to see the hike begin under partly cloudy skies and warm temps. Little did we know. This was our break-in/ shake-down hike but it turned out to be pretty challenging. Mrs R complained, "you didn't break us in, you broke us!" but I ignored her.

The first section took us uphill to Sealspee where we got some fresh milk at a little dairy; then a challenging and gnarly, but beautiful climb up to Megaslip where the weather got a little more ominous. For some strange reason, the girls wanted to stop here, but we pushed on, er, up, to Wilderalp Pass 3000+ feet altitude above our starting point. Then a muddy downhill through a ranch and down to Fallensee. We stayed in a barn loft above dairy cows. Bad news: It stunk of dairy cows. Good news: There were 60 mats in the loft, but we were the only ones there. We had homemade macs and cheese for dinner and bread, cheese, milk and chocolate for breakfast. I slept well until they started bringing the cows in for milking at 5.

The next day started out on the up-and-up, in the fog and through some snow in poor visibility. Miraculously, when we reached the top (Zwingli Pass; another 2000' climb); the sky cleared and the sun came out and we enjoyed beautiful weather and views on the way down, and down, and down.

St Gallen and Stein Am Rhein

runalong@charter.net — 2007-10-15T09:55:12-07:00

Back to Switzerland! I've shown you our pics from the 100+ mile Haute Route but our other two weeks were nearly as magnificent. We started out tamely, doing the tourist thing for a couple days before our first hike. The first two pics take you from the sublime (the Protestant Cathedral in SG was absolutely stunning) to the ridiculous (the tiny little stainless steel public potty saved space by having you do everything in one basin- including washing and drying (OK, above the basin, not actually in it). The other three pics are from the beautiful little town of Stein Am Rhein- the monastery, downtown and um, well, I just liked the blue paint on the last building.

DC 50

runalong@charter.net — 2007-10-15T09:47:49-07:00

Determined to best my time of 9:41 from back when I was a young lad of 40-something, I started out the race at a blistering (for me) 11 minute per mile pace. I managed to maintain that for the first 26 miles up and down the east Bay hills, through the mud (it poured Friday) and was actually passing runners steadily despite starting faster than I prefer.

The next four miles are all uphill and took an hour, then I got back to my 11 minute pace for the remainder of the journey. The last six miles were absolutely miserable as my legs were shot (tingly and crampy and exhausted) and the heat (near 80) was making me woozy and dizzy. Plus I had to run this section at a ten minute pace to finish under 9:30. Despite the fact that three people passed me in the last mile (Bummer! - no one had passed me for the last 30-some miles), I finished in 9:27, utterly spent. If suffering and self-discipline build character, then I'm a real character!

Running through the Redwood and Eucalyptus groves and past the viewpoints of San Francisco added highlights to what was otherwise a tough day at the office. Today I feel like that guy from Petticoat Junction ("and there's Uncle Joe, he's a-movin' kind of slow at the Junction").

After the turnaround I saw Helen Klein, she was in last place (she was at mile 22, I was at 31) with two bloody knees and no chance of making the cut-off at mile 26. Still she had plenty of time to finish those last four miles to the cutoff in less than an hour which would have given her a sub-seven-hour finish for a tough hilly trail marathon. Not bad for an 84-year old!

A one-eyed man in the land of the blind.

runalong@charter.net — 2007-10-11T14:42:14-07:00

My friend, Peter Fish, is 71, so when he begins a sentence by saying, "It hasn't been a good year for me healthwise," I prepare myself for bad news. But he's an ultrarunner, so bad news is relative. He went on to mention that, nevertheless, he's still able to run about 50 miles a week.

People hear that I run ultras and sometimes they just burst right out: "Are you crazy?!!"

Yeah - crazy like a Fish!

John Tierney chews the fat

runalong@charter.net — 2007-10-09T09:29:45-07:00

Tierney is a contrarian science columnist. I like that since most scientists are sheep. Fact is, no one can keep up with everything in every specialty so most people, including scientists and doctors, rely on what "experts" in other sub-fields say. One expert speaks, thousands follow and pretty soon you have a "scientific consensus" based on the flimsiest of foundations.

Nutritionists are the absolute worst. "Baaaaa!" You have to drink eat glasses of water a day. Don't eat eggs. And what could be more obvious than the obvious: Fat makes you fat. Or does it?

It was the best of times...

runalong@charter.net — 2007-10-09T09:17:39-07:00

"My life is good and getting better all the time. But life in the US is bad and getting worse." So says almost everyone who lives in the USA.

Michael Medved blames the media. And who can blame him?

Chicago Marathon

runalong@charter.net — 2007-10-08T13:38:19-07:00

This is one marathon I would like to run someday since I'm from the Chicago area. It's a fast course so my (tentative) plan is to run it in October '09 and qualify for Boston the following spring. Since I turn 55 in '09 the qualifying standard for Boston will become a little easier for me that year and I expect to be right on the bubble.

I'm glad I didn't run yesterday as it was the hottest CM ever (88 degrees with 80% humidity) and entrants were more likely to end up in the hospital (hundreds did, one died) than get a PR. But if you don't think marathons are exciting, check out these finishes from yesterday's men's and women's races for first place:

Spain

runalong@charter.net — 2007-10-08T09:55:29-07:00

Our trip to Spain was brief, just a few days, but we got to stay with our good friends the Munros, missionaries to the immigrant community around Madrid. They live in a suburb and the train station near their home is where the terrorists boarded the train a few years ago and planted that bomb that killed so many people just before the last Spanish election. I preached in the church there on Sunday July 1 and we got to tour Segovia, Alcala and Madrid, along with a few other stops along the way. While there Mrs Runalong got an incredibly painful migraine one evening; SCARY painful; but fortunately there have not been any reoccurences.

Mrs R shops for a new suit:

The Mod Squad visits a castle...

The Roman Aqueduct in Segovia was more than Adequate!

The Mod Squad in Madrid...

They just don't build churches like they used to!

More pics in part two below.

Spain 2

runalong@charter.net — 2007-10-08T09:43:20-07:00

Most of the tall buildings in the Madrid area have storks nesting on top:

Alcala is the birthplace of Don Quixote's creator. Mrs R just couldn't seem to get into the spirit of posing...

The church took about 20 minutes of the service to profusely thank and praise the Munros for their service this past term...

The Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Mile Race...

runalong@charter.net — 2007-10-08T09:19:47-07:00

... is next Saturday. I'm in decent, though not top, shape and will be shooting for a time around 9:30. I ran the DC four years ago and finished in 9:41 so it would be nice to find that I'm just getting better with age! OTOH, I won't plan to go quite all out as the DC is more of a training run, my last chance at a 50 mile race before the HURT 100 mile race in January.

The DC 50 is named after one ultrarunning legend and directed by another, Ann Trason, probably the greatest female ultrarunner of all time. With over 15,000' of elevation change (half up and half down) it is moderately hilly by western trail race standards.

Humor for Lexophiles

runalong@charter.net — 2007-10-08T09:12:24-07:00

A running acquaintance sent these:

I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.

Police were called to a day care where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.

Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.

The butcher backed up into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.

To write with a broken pencil is pointless.

The short fortune teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.

A thief fell and broke his leg in wet cement. He became a hardened criminal.

When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, U.C.L.A.

The math professor went crazy with the blackboard. He did a number on it.

The dead batteries were given out free of charge.

A will is a dead giveaway.

Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.

A backward poet writes inverse.

In a democracy it's your vote that counts; in feudalism, it's your Count that votes.

A chicken crossing the road: poultry in motion.

When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.

The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.

You are stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.

He broke into song because he couldn't find the key.

A lot of money is tainted: 'Taint yours, and 'taint mine.

A boiled egg is hard to beat.

A plateau is a high form of flattery.

Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.

When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.

Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.

When Helmets Make No Sense

runalong@charter.net — 2007-10-08T09:08:34-07:00

David emailed me these pics awhile back.

Runalong?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-09-30T20:18:26-07:00

September was busy (as you could tell by my infrequent blogging), October will be too. So as not to frustrate my few remaining (and long-suffering) faithful readers I have decided to henceforth publish Runalong on a weekly basis, on Mondays. I'll enter stuff as I come up with it and publish it all each Monday. Check in once a week and I'll try to make it worth your while!

Life is Simple: Eat, Drink, Hike

runalong@charter.net — 2007-09-30T20:12:55-07:00

In Zermatt I found the perfect souvenier t-shirts, with our mantra! Next installment I'll take you to Spain.

Trinity Alps Wilderness

runalong@charter.net — 2007-09-30T20:03:52-07:00

Yesterday three of us took a little jaunt through one of the most popular sections of the Trinity Alps, Canyon Creek. Our 20 mile journey took us up past waterfalls to Canyon lakes and L Lake with a side trip to Boulder Lake. About half running and half hiking we had a great time on a beautiful fall day. Sadly I forgot my camera, but this was my favorite view (courtesy of Google Images):

Haute Route Finale

runalong@charter.net — 2007-09-30T19:45:10-07:00

The last day of our trek was one of the very best. I wrote it up a couple weeks ago and my computer ate it and it sufficiently discouraged me that I'm just now finally getting around to re-doing it. At any rate we enjoyed a relatively flat stretch toward Zermatt with splendid views of the Matterhorn; manifold wildflowers and few more "trisky" sections. Above Zermatt my now-buff companions decided to take the underground funicular down to town while I enjoyed a run down the heavily travelled trail (many tourists take the ride up and walk down) through a couple cute villages, past a waterfall and, of course, past hordes of Japanese tourists who looked at this gray-bearded American flinging himself wildly down the hill with looks of amazement. Perhaps they wondered if something was chasing me.

In Zermatt we met up with our Swiss friends who we had shared several dinners with. Sybille has since written to us, inviting us to visit her and her family in their hometown. Maybe someday. We had a celebratory meal, bought a couple souveneirs, and eventually hopped the train back to Germany and thence to home. It was time to leave and go home- we all could feel it. We didn't want it to end. But we were ready. We didn't know what we felt, but it didn't really matter. We were going home. But when I look at these pictures...

Modern Prophet: Rupert Holmes

runalong@charter.net — 2007-09-21T15:48:25-07:00

A married couple are divorcing after they chatted each other up on the Internet using fake names.

Sana Klaric and husband Adnan poured their hearts out to each other over their marriage troubles.

Using the names 'Sweetie' and 'Prince of Joy' in a online chatroom, the pair thought they had found a soulmate with whom to spend the rest of their lives.

It should have turned out like a real-life version of the 1979 Rupert Holmes song, Escape, where a couple meet through advert by someone 'who likes pina coladas and getting caught in the rain'.

But, unlike in the song, there was no happy ending after they turned up for a date and realised their mistake. Now the pair, from Zenica, Central Bosnia, are divorcing after accusing each other of being unfaithful.

Sana, 27, said: 'I was suddenly in love. It was amazing, we seemed to be stuck in the same kind of miserable marriages. How right that turned out to be.'
But when it dawned on her what had happened, she said: 'I felt so betrayed.'

Adnan, 32, said: 'I still find it hard to believe that Sweetie, who wrote such wonderful things, is actually the same woman I married and who has not said a nice word to me for years.'

They accused each other of being unfaithful! They felt so betrayed!

Every once in a great while there really is immediate justice in this world.

Excedrin headache #999

runalong@charter.net — 2007-09-19T10:35:40-07:00

I had a junior high teacher who claimed that he stopped getting headaches once he threw away all his aspirin. I thought he was nuts. Maybe not.

“If you get more than two headaches a week and take pain pills for them, you’re at risk.”

Have a cuppa theanine

runalong@charter.net — 2007-09-19T09:49:48-07:00

Well, yesterday was the big day, hope you didn't miss it! The Fourth International Scientific Symposium on Tea and Human Health presented its latest findings and apparently the teaologists are all atwitter over the discovery that a component of tea called theanine apparently enhances alpha brain-wave activity, leading to "a calmer, yet more alert" state of mind. It works synergistically with caffeine and probably explains why I, a 32 ounce per day tea drinker, am such a lert, he calmly testified. If you want theonine, you've got to drink tea; apparently tea holds the patent on this stuff 'cuz you can't get it from any other sources.

Other compounds in tea, polyphenols, flavonoids, catechins and magic fairy dust, may help prevent dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurological disorders, all of which are far more common in Americans than in Asians. Mrs Runalong notes that apparently it doesn't do anything to reverse congenital neurological disorders; but I'm not sure what she's trying to get at.

Anyway, tea also may fight cancer, heart disease, obesity and global warming. OK, they didn't say "global warming" but they do say "may" a lot though they never point out the obvious implication of the word "may" which is that it also "may not" do any of these things. So why not add global warming to the list!

Seriously, these were Real scientists (link), and the benefits of tea drinking, while not fully established in every detail, look to be manifold. But be warned: the stuff they sell in bottles in the convenience store, next to the soda pop, has so much "high-fructose corn syrup" that it will probably do you more harm than good. HFCS is proving to be one of the worst things in our diet, but I'll save that for another time. Right now, I've got to finish my cup of Yunnan.

Disclaimer: I made up the part about magic fairy dust. Sorry to disillusion you. Here's a true fact to make up for it: Canadians drink more than seven billion cups of tea per year! Per capita! OK, that's one true fact and one false fact. I can't help myself, it seems to be some kind of neurological disorder that even theanine can't cure.

McKenzie River 50K: What a wonderful race!

runalong@charter.net — 2007-09-11T12:26:26-07:00

I just watched the video (below) so the song is on my mind, but Saturday really was a great day. It's probably the most fun I've ever had in a 50K race.

Because I didn't do much running in Switzerland I figured I wouldn't be able to go very fast but at least I did enough training in August to be able to finish the distance respectably. So I started out slow; the first five miles is technical and uphill anyway and I was stuck behind a line of about 30 other runners so I just relaxed and hoped I'd feel well enough later to be able to pick up the pace a little (though I figured I'd probably be lucky just to maintain). At least if I went slow I could enjoy the beautiful day without having to suffer too much.

It IS a beautiful course; following the river through old growth forest and past waterfalls, etc. Because of the lava and other roots and rocks it tends to be the scene of numerous bloodied knees and it has a long history of yellow jacket attacks, but we quibble.

After the first aid station the rest of the course tends slightly downhill but I just continued to cruise along, not knowing how my body would respond as the miles wore on. I passed several runners on the technical downhill sections as I tend to be relatively fearless/stupid about such things and was able to blow past those who were trying to get down safely (I got through the day w/o any falls. This time).

Nearing the halfway point I was feeling really good so I decided to start doing some real racing and see how far it would take me. It took me all the way to the end and I still felt great when I crossed the line. I did the first half in 2:51 (approx 11 minute pace) and the second half in 2:25 (approx 9:30 pace) and had fun, fun, fun all the way. As it was I was only five minutes slower than my previous trip here when I was a young pup of 47 years old and I could have broken five hours if I hadn't been so conservative. You just never know.

All six of us in the Redding contingent finished. Among us we only had one bloody knee and one bee sting.

What a wonderful day! (Click here for race results)

And I think to myself...

runalong@charter.net — 2007-09-11T12:24:53-07:00

... that this is really a wonderful video:

(thanks to Doug)

Mckenzie River 50K

runalong@charter.net — 2007-09-06T21:47:29-07:00

I'm heading up to Oregon with Steve, Ted, Mark, Lorelei and Ronny to run in the McKenzie River 50K. It's a relatively flat and fast course for a trail 50K, but I'm not relatively fast right now. I should do OK but my hopes of using this to set a new personal record for the distance have been tempered by my lack of running while in Europe.

I wrote a scintillating report about our last day of the Haute Route, but my computer ate it. I'll redo it Monday; it was one of the best days of the whole trip. After that I'll do a little British show and tell for you. Have a great weekend!

Extreme Male Syndrome

runalong@charter.net — 2007-09-06T21:13:44-07:00

Here is amazing new scientific evidence that men and women are ...

Different!

Background: In the 50s the sexes were different: men were better.
In the 60s and 70s the genders were the same.
From the 80s until now we've been different again: men are worse.

This scholar argues that men are better than women... and worse.

What do you think?

A great story

runalong@charter.net — 2007-09-05T01:02:46-07:00

Sit down with a cup of tea (hot or cold, depending on where you live) and read Marcia's amazing account of her solo run through the Sierras.
Excerpt:

Tyger, tyger, burning bright
In the forests of the night.

The poetry of William Blake strolls across my consciousness as I pass through mile after mile of pitch-black forest. There are no tigers here, and the only thing burning bright is the light of my headlamp. I am comfortable alone in the forest at night. There is very little to be afraid of in these mountains. But, yes, things do occasionally happen to people who wander far off into the mountains at night, and those thoughts do not escape me entirely. I remember John's last words to me, as he kissed me goodbye early that morning. "Have fun. Don't get eaten."

Haute Route: St Nick to Europa Hut (Part 1)

runalong@charter.net — 2007-09-04T11:11:20-07:00

Thursday was another rest day for the ladies. I hiked up to the little village of Gasenreid, a short but steep 1500' climb and found a great hotel (the only one in town) with a nice big room with a balcony overlooking the valley (see pics) for $40 per person (super cheap by Swiss standards). Then I made the easy flat two mile walk over to Grachen, a cute touristy ski town, where I met a couple of cute chicks who had taken the bus up from St Nick. We wandered around the shops, stocked up on food for the last two days of our trek, ate lunch at "Mike's Place" and walked back to Gasenreid together.

Pics 1 & 2: Grachen; Pics 3-7:Pics taken of our from our hotel in Gasenreid.

Haute Route: St Nick to Europa Hut (Part 2)

runalong@charter.net — 2007-09-04T09:31:41-07:00

Later that day, Mrs. Runalong and the Bex read together while I wandered around town. Friday morning we continued soouth on the Europaweg, a 20 mile trail from Grachen to Zermatt. After a tough 1500' climb we would spend the next two days traversing high above the valley below. Because the hillside is very steep the trail is very challenging in places with lots of boulders and scree and abrupt drop-offs and a fair amount of up and downness. But the views were consistently magnificent, as you can see.

Praise the Lord, after weeks of iffy weather when even the best days were hazy, our last few days on the trail were postcard perfect! We did have one scare when Bex slipped and fell while crossing a steep and dangerous cascading stream but the only damage was to Dad's nervous system. Europa Hut was crowded and offered no privacy at the end of an exhausting day, but it's the only game in town. Tomorrow will be our last day... and one of our very best!

Climbing out of Gasenreid:

Snack time; looking north...

Becky's feet; Gasenreid & Grachen...

Decisions, decisions...

Can you see them?

Cross the danger area quickly!

A long ways down...

Almost there...

For the first ten days of the Haute Route, click here and scroll down.

A lesson in humility

runalong@charter.net — 2007-08-31T13:07:08-07:00

Insights du jour: Political Wisdom

runalong@charter.net — 2007-08-31T09:41:57-07:00

Political Wisdom? Isn't that an oxymoron? Almost. But there are a few sane voices out there now and then. Here are two that helped me think more clearly this morning - these are just excerpts to give you the flavor, click on the links for the full articles:

"Do you ever get the feeling that at this point Washington is run by two rival gangs that have a great deal in common with each other, including an essential lack of interest in the well-being of the turf on which they fight?"- Peggy Noonan, speaking about Iraq, but applicable to the state of most current political debates.

Thomas Jefferson wrote the most important words in American history: “all men are created equal.” Jefferson was also a slave owner, which made him a hypocrite. But the fact that Jefferson was living a life that was at odds with his principles doesn’t invalidate and shouldn't weaken the principle; it only means that we, as fallen creatures, need to strive harder to live up to what we know to be right. - Peter Wehner on Hypocrisy.

Haute Route: Grauben to St. Nicholas

runalong@charter.net — 2007-08-30T19:08:22-07:00

Hurray: It's a sunny day! Or is it? Now it's cloudy but it looks like it might clear, or will it? The day started sunny, then the low clouds moved in, then out, then back in, then we were socked in at the top of Forcletta and getting pelted with hail. Bummer. The views on the downhill side of today's hike are supposed to be some of the best of the whole route. And now it's clearing. And the view from the point is one of the most spectacular vistas we've ever viewed! Fantastic views both up the valley (toward Zermatt and the Matterhorn, though we can't see them yet) and down valley and across the valley toward Grachen and Gasenreid.

The little town of Jurgen, perched precariously on the mountainside, high above St Nick was as cute as advertised. Mrs Runalong and the Bex hopped a tram for the unexpectedly thrilling ride down ("hey, it's a LONNNNNG way down!"). I ran youthfully past about 20 shrines (taking the day full circle from merry hail to Hail, Mary) and met them at what turned out to be a disappointing village.

St. Nick seemed largely deserted with only one affordable hotel and one place to eat. The overly made-up woman at the tourist center thrusted her heaving bosom to and fro as she talked: "Dorms? That's for big groups." "Are they nice?" "I don't know anything about dorms. We have nice hotels..." Yeah, OK, whatever. Fortunately she was an anomoly compared to most of the people we met. Our hotel room was huge however and, oddly enough, included a tanning bed and sauna!

Pics 1-2: Going up! By the time we got to the top (pic 2) we were socked in & it was hailing & howling! Pics 5-6: Jurgen (pic 4 looks north; pic 5 east & pic 6 south).

Haute Route: Zinal to Grauben

runalong@charter.net — 2007-08-29T00:22:41-07:00

To be honest I can't remember much about this section. My notes say that it was only an "OK" day, as there were low clouds most of the day blocking any views. Fortunately the remaining days of the trip were Grrrreat!

Pic 1: Typical Zinal home. Pic 2: A typical scene from an "OK" day.

What he says...

runalong@charter.net — 2007-08-28T23:18:50-07:00

When someone asks me what I think about global warming, I've basically answered along these lines...

only not so eloquently.

Haute Route: Les Hauderes to Zinal

runalong@charter.net — 2007-08-28T00:57:29-07:00

I bought Mrs R a knee brace at the pharmacy and that seemed to help her a lot today. At breakfast there were, as usual, several kinds of cheese set out. My lovely wife reached out with her hand and grabbed the slice that looked best to her... oops, that's not cheese, that's butter... "yuck!" Two members of our family got a big laugh out of that.

We all hopped on the bus Monday morning; I got off at Les Hauderes, where I had left off yesterday; Mrs Runalong and Bex stayed on to La Sage, a few miles up the road. It was a fairly easy hike until I met them at La Sage, then it got steep. The views behind us were wonderful (see pics). It was a steep climb of about 4000' to the Col de Torrent where we were greeted by more panoramas and a steep hike down to Lac Moiry with tons of wildflowers.

The cabin at the Lac Moiry dam was expensive so my two companions hopped another bus to Zinal while I went up and over another high Col to a big ski area on the other side. The sky was threatening but apart from a touch of rain mixed with snow flakes it turned out OK. Not having a pack I was able to run wildly down the long, steep, technical trail to Zinal, going as fast as I could without risking a disastrous fall. Thus we again completed two stages in one day.

On the bus from Les Hauderes to La Sage, an old (80-ish) couple got on, barely able to climb up onto the bus and totter gingerly back to their seats. They had backpacks and hiking poles and got off at a trailhead for a hike.

1) La Sage, (2) Hiking out of Val d'Herens, (3) Lac Moiry, (4) Zinal

It's not enough to mean well.

runalong@charter.net — 2007-08-27T12:30:52-07:00

Good intentions can have bad consequences. Our welfare system, from LBJ until Clinton's reforms, is a case in point. Combined with the sexual revolution it lead to an epidemic of broken families and fatherless homes which in turn lead to further poverty and untold suffering.

If we want to help poor people through the political system (I assume we want to and are finding ways to help as individuals and churches); then we need to understand poverty: its definition and causes - before we can begin to figure out how to "cure" it. You want your doctor to make a careful diagnosis before they he starts prescribing drugs and surgery- good intentions aren't enough!

This article provides a lot of background and data that anyone needs to consider as we look for ways to reduce poverty in the US. That's a good goal and should be the aim and prayer of all Christians. But we also need to be wise and be sure we are truly helping. Good intentions might be enough to make us feel better about ourselves, but unless they really help solve the problem (and not make it worse!), they're not worth squat.

Understanding Poverty in America.

Haute Route: Arolla to Evolene

runalong@charter.net — 2007-08-27T12:08:32-07:00

I promised Mrs R and Bex a rest day so they took the bus from Arolla to Evolene and I hiked to Les Hauderes where I took a bus to Evolene, which was not on the route but was a pretty town with affordable accomodations.

Sunday morning July 22nd in Arolla: there was no suitable church in the small village but we were nevertheless treated to contemporary Christian music (in French) over the hotel speakers while we ate breakfast. They had the best yogurt we ever tasted and you could add homemade apricot or raspberry puree! A few hours later I stopped at a small dairy farm where a very nice lady who spoke only French served me the best glass of milk I've ever had.

It was basically a rest day for me too as I hiked/ran to Les Hauderes (about 2/3 of the way to Evolene); a cute little town that was having a big street fair (I enjoyed some fresh Belgian waffles) and then caught the bus to Evolene where we found a very nice hotel (and Becky got her own room) with real wood panelling. Obviously it used to be THE PLACE in Evolene and was showing its age a little but we really enjoyed it. Evolene is a very pretty town and we all enjoyed our rest day.

The dairy area (2); and Evolene:

Haute Route: Prafleuri to Arolla

runalong@charter.net — 2007-08-24T00:05:18-07:00

What a day!!!

It began by climbing up a small col. From there we saw beautiful Lac des Dix (Lake Dix), though it was initialy covered by some beautiful clouds; from the col we could see the next four hours of our route; had a close encounter with chamois (see pics); followed by a long hard climb, then a brief descent to Cabane des Dix; across a glacier and up a steep pile of boulders to a narrow trail with big drop-offs.

From there we climbed a 70' ladder to the top of the cliff (a bit tricky with a backpack and a bum shoulder as well as being psychologically intimidating); then the long, long descent to Arolla (sensory overload with the extravagant profusion of wildflowers and the sound of glacial ice cracking loudly). There we found our best lodging yet at a great price (they were even playing contemporary worship music over the sound system in the restaurant- in French!).

Again there were times this fine Saturday in July when I wondered, "What have I got us into?" Mrs R had a tough day (hangover from yesterday's tough hike) but she pushed herself really hard and made it. But the story is best told in pictures...

(Too many picks for one entry - continued below)

Haute Route: Prafleuri to Arolla: Part 2

runalong@charter.net — 2007-08-24T00:01:21-07:00

The only way across this icy river was to flop up on this rock and over:

Haute Route: Mont Fort to Cabane de Prafleuri

runalong@charter.net — 2007-08-23T10:04:14-07:00

Friday July 20th was a very "trisky" but fascinating high country hike. We saw two ibex and three chamois; hiked across scree and boulders and snow and a tricky river crossing (due to getting off course). The snow crossings were steep with unpleasant consequences should one fall but the snow was soft and we made it safely. At times though, I did wonder, "what have I gotten us into?". We hiked past the Grand Combin and had many great vistas on a day with lots of warm sun and a fair share of cold rain with thunder. The weather changes dramatically and rapidly in the Alps.

But everyone was in a good mood. Then, near the bottom of the last descent, I caught my foot on something and fell. Trying not to fall forward down a semi-steep muddy and rocky path with my big backpack I rolled left and managed to fall with no damage except...

Somehow, while falling, I tore something in my shoulder. Immediate and searing pain. I could barely move my left arm and that only with great pain. Fortunately we were only hiking and not mountain climbing so I could get by without one arm!

As soon as we got to the hut a huge storm hit and lasted most of the evening. Cabane de Prafleuri was unimpressive in itself but for one thing: dinner was all you can eat! After eight hours of hard hiking, that's no insignificant blessing.

How old would you be...

runalong@charter.net — 2007-08-22T20:43:28-07:00

... if you didn't know how old you are?

Mike Flynt returns to playing college football after taking time off to get married, raise kids, have a couple careers, etc.

Haute Route: Champex-Mont Fort

runalong@charter.net — 2007-08-22T06:50:08-07:00

Day 4 began with a lllooonnnggg descent from Champex to the town of Sembrancher where we then had to walk to the far end of town to buy food for the next two days and use the only ATM we would see from day 2 to day 6. Sembrancher, at about 2000' elevation is the lowest point on the route, had a very interesting old town center of old buildings and narrow streets.

The ladies hopped a train to Le Chable, four miles up valley, while I got a little run in. Then they took the trams up to Verbier and almost all the way up to the hut we would stay in; while I hiked up the mountain, climbing from 2000' elevation to 8000'; equivalent to climbing out of the Grand Canyon. It wasn't bad (or if it was, I've forgotten) except that it was the warmest day of the trip. The views were great and I made good time arriving at the hut around five, sooner than anyone expected me. Thus we actually completed two stages in one day (Champex to Le Chable & LC to MF).

We hung out with some of our new friends we'd met in Trient and I tried to get some dinner but the one hut worker didn't speak any English and couldn't believe how stupid I was every time he spoke German to me and I just stared back blankly. He'd try speaking louder but it didn't work. I could tell he was getting frustrated with me so I gave up; but later Ellery, a German-American teen from Berlin who was hiking the route solo, interceded for me and got me some much appreciated spaghetti. Later we stood out on the deck and watched the clouds come up the mountain toward us. We didn't get to see a sunset but we saw a lot of lightning.

Pics: Sembrancher; looking down toward Le Chable and Sembrancher;
Cabane du Mont Fort

20 Timeless Money Rules

runalong@charter.net — 2007-08-21T08:27:40-07:00

I'm usually not a big fan of Money magazine but this is one of the best investment-advice articles you'll ever read.

A list that begins with "Be humble" and ends with "Keep money in its place" earns the Pastoral Seal of Approval.

Haute Route: Trient-Champex

runalong@charter.net — 2007-08-21T07:33:52-07:00

Day 3 was pretty challenging; 4400 feet of ascent (and almost as much descent) over 9 miles. As Mrs R kept noting; Swiss miles are NOT like American miles. She's right: nine miles would normally just be a typical day's run for me but in Switzerland it's a full day's hike. Must have something to do with the 4400' of climbing. Also: the Swiss don't follow American guidelines for slope and steepness. They KNOW about switchbacks, we found them here and there; they just don't like to use them most of the time. Why waste all that time when you can just go straight up?

In Trient we met quite a few English-speaking folks, including some Americans. This was a surprise. By this time we had been in Switzerland for two weeks and had not met any Americans and had rarely overheard someone from Britain or Australia speaking English. Of course we weren't going to the big towns or the popular tourist destinations for the most part, preferring off-the-beaten path villages and such. Because many of the people we met were also doing the Haute Route we saw them frequently over the next week although we weren't all moving at the same pace. Still it was nice to make some new friends.

From Trient we climbed and climbed and climbed up to Alp Bovine (or, as we'd say in America, "Cow Farm"). We had some great views of the Rhone Valley. To my surprise we met some trail runners coming down the opposite way; this part of the Haute Route is also part of the equally demanding Tour du Mont Blanc route which circumnavigates Mont Blanc. There is a multi-stage trail race that follows that 100+ mile route in August and these folks were training.

After the long hard climb to the top of the Col we sat down for a picnic lunch. The spot was already occupied by another group of about 15 hearty hikers enjoying their bread and cheese and the marvelous views in both directions. More trail runners? No, this group consisted entirely of women, none of whom appeared to be under 65; none of whom appeared to be athletic (most of them were noticeably soft around the middle). But they had made the climb and were having a great time- they left the spot while we lingered.

Later we had one of the gnarliest descents of the trip, practically straight down a cliff with a "trail" consisting primarily of routes and rocks. Runners call these "technical trails" - this one was more "technical" than "trail". It was nasty. But as we neared the bottom, there was this church ladies' group (or whatever they were; in the US they would have been a knitting group), sitting by a waterfall, resting and snacking and talking and laughing. Our church has a 50+ group but they mostly go out to eat and have sing-alongs: I don't think we could get them to join us for a hike up to Alp Bovine! Later we saw the women in Champex at the end of the day; tired but happy.

After leaving the col we stopped at a little cafe up on the mountain in the middle of nowhere and bought more outrageously priced cokes. While we were there a helicopter landed and two guys got out and had cokes also. In the Swiss mountains helicopter patrols are routine.

All day the weather was unsettled. Shortly after we got to Champex we had a big downpour with lightning. It was the first of many evenings in a row in which the weather held off all day for us and broke loose just after we got to our lodging.

The dorm in Champex was a little tacky, one of our least favorites, but not crowded, and all the hotels were ridiculously expensive. Becky and I went out for spaghetti (or was it pizza?). We ate a lot of spaghetti and pizza on this trip because: A) They were often the only two things on the menu we could read (though we weren't always able to translate the pizza toppings) and B) they were usually the only two things we could afford (about $12-15 per person as opposed to $30+ for most items). In the morning we all got a yummy and calorie-laden breakfast at the bakery.

Pics: 1- The Little Ol' Swiss Ladies' Club rests after a 4000' climb.
2- Alp Bovine and the Rhone Valley
3- The Descent of Gnarliness

Haute Route: Day 2

runalong@charter.net — 2007-08-20T11:19:40-07:00

The second day of the Haute Route is moderate by HR standards; 7.5 miles and 3000' each of ascent and descent. Mrs R opted to avoid most of the ascent by taking the tram up to Col de Balme (7000' altitude); Becky hiked up the first half with me and then took the $1 tram up the second half. I met them at the cafe on the top where we enjoyed marvelous views (and tiny little coca-colas for $2 each) before descending from France into Switzerland and the town of Trient. It was the first day in which my lovely companions learned that going downhill is much harder on the body than going uphill!

This was our first night (of many) on the route in which we had no reservations, but not to worry. There were plenty of room at the inn (the ONLY inn in Trient). Here's a pic from the top, looking back; and the beginning of the long descent toward Trient.

Haute Route 1

runalong@charter.net — 2007-08-19T18:06:38-07:00

Rather than start at the beginning of our amazing summer adventures, I'll begin with the end. The last two weeks were spent hiking the Haute Route from Chamonix, France (at the foot of Mt Blanc) to Zermatt, Switzerland (at the foot of the Matterhorn). The route, which began as a cross-country ski touring route has been adapted for summer hiking. It goes from the most massive mountain in Europe to the most recognizable. The guide book (by Kev Reynolds) recommends doing the route over 14 days; I set our trek up as a 13 day adventure. Because we would be staying in huts or villages each night, we didn't need to carry any camping gear. Also, if the going got too rough for Mrs Runalong, she could skip a day here or there and take a bus to the next village. There were also some trams and gondolas along the way if she wanted to skip a big climb or descent (she did!). I carried her clothes and stuff along with my own and she carried our lunches and such. Becky carried her own stuff.

From the guidebook: "Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn- recipe for a visual feast! To walk from one to another is to sample that feast in full measure; a gourmet extravaganza of scenic wonders... In two weeks of mountain travel you will be witness to the greatest collection of 4000 meter (13,000 feet) peaks in all the Alps and visit some of the most spectacular valleys. There you'll find delightful villages and remote alp hamlets, wander flower meadows and deep fragrant forests... cross icy streams and glaciers... The route is over 180 meters (112 miles) long. It crosses eleven passes and gains more than 12,000 meters (40,000 feet) in height."

Our first day was easy; after a long train ride from Locarno; we arrived in Chamonix in late afternoon, grabbed a few burgers at McDonald's* and headed toward Argentiere only six miles away in the valley.

Mont Blanc

*A beautiful building, inside and out, with espresso and beer on the menu and free wifi!

I'm baa-yack...

runalong@charter.net — 2007-08-18T00:30:33-07:00

Two months between posts seems like long enough, eh? I've been back for two weeks but have been getting caught up with stuff. By Monday I'll have my first entry and pics from Europe up. It was a vacation of a lifetime, yessirree, Bob. Spread the word!

The Lord Alps those who Alp themselves.

runalong@charter.net — 2007-06-17T19:09:04-07:00

Runalong (the blog) will be in a deep trance the next six weeks while Runalong (the Magnificent!) is traipsing around Europe with his wife and daughter.

After visiting with missionaries in London and Madrid we will join up with our missionary daughter in Germany's Black Forest. From there the three of us will take trains and buses around Switzerland, visiting the German, Italian, Romansch and French sections of the country. We will be hiking and staying in hostels and barns and farms. One three-day hike will take us from Liechtenstein into Austria and then into Switzerland; our final two week trek will begin in France at Chamonix and follow the Haute Route to Zermatt, Switzerland with views of Mt Blanc and the Matterhorn.

I won't be taking my computer or cell phone or checking email or blogging- I'm one of those people who believe that the best vacations are those that provide the greatest breaks from "normal" everyday living.

Lord willing, I'll be back in early August with lots of pics and videos and stories; tanned, rested and ready for action!

Falling shorts!

runalong@charter.net — 2007-06-17T18:58:20-07:00

So I was preaching on Psalm 32, one of my very, very favorites and I came to verse 2 which declares the blessings of the man whose sin has been covered. I was explaining the meaning of the word "covered" and of the word used here for "sin", which means to miss the mark or to come up short.

Great truths in a great passage with great comfort and great application. What wasn't so great were the words that somehow came out of my mouth:

"Blessed is the man whose falling shorts are covered by the Lord!"

Bush Rocks!

runalong@charter.net — 2007-06-15T00:09:10-07:00

Fred Thompson speaks plainly on right-to-life issues

runalong@charter.net — 2007-06-14T23:26:38-07:00

Click on the pic:

Ruth Bell Graham

runalong@charter.net — 2007-06-14T21:32:00-07:00

Billy Graham's wife is celebrating the day she's been waiting for for a long, long time. After a long illness she has found complete healing in the presence of the Lord today at age 87. She was, in every respect, the great woman behind the great man. I look forward to meeting her someday. Pray for Billy; I'm sure he's looking forward to re-uniting with her.

If you don't "know" Ruth; read this and this.

News you can use: Protect your kids for free.

runalong@charter.net — 2007-06-14T14:03:10-07:00

Adolescents should never be allowed to have unrestricted access to the internet. Speaking from a male perspective (as is my usual habit), the flood of sexual hormones that CONSTANTLY course through a teen boy's immature body are too strong for reason or the best of intentions to overcome. And habits that are picked up during adolescence are very, very, very hard to overcome later in life (thank God there was no internet when I was a boy!).

While there are several good blocking software options, many parents just don't get around to buying and installing them. So here is something you can RIGHT NOW, without spending any money, to protect your children. You should do this before they reach fourth grade, or asap. I promise you, your sons will thank you for this when they are older (and will probably resent you if you do not!).

Link

Life was richer back then.

runalong@charter.net — 2007-06-14T09:12:31-07:00

"Children are so cocooned by their parents that they rarely venture far from home and have little concept of space, volume and how the world actually works, David Willetts, the shadow education secretary, said yesterday.

The area in which children were allowed to range freely by their parents was a ninth of what it was a generation ago, he said."

Adjoining my home is an undeveloped tract of about 700 forested acres where I do a lot of running. Many children live in the adjoining subdivisions but I almost never (maybe a few times a year) see any boys out there riding bikes or exploring or playing the way we would have done almost daily when I was young. Some of it is overprotective parents, much of it is simply a lack of imagination brought on by an excess of indoor entertainments.

I never cease to be deeply saddened by this loss: children today are so impoverished, and unnecessarily so. They have more stuff, but fewer and narrower experiences (despite greater travel and multiple organized activities).

More here.

One

runalong@charter.net — 2007-06-12T08:15:05-07:00

I just KNOW some wild-eyed Christian bloggers are going to (probably already have) attack this as some sort of evil, demonically-inspired coalition.

Sigh.

But I'm in.

How about you?

Matthew 25:31-46

Go here. Now. Thank-you.

Romney for President?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-06-10T14:15:37-07:00

Actually I've been leaning toward Fred T; but this video might just sway me to give Mitt another look:

What's wrong with Huckabee?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-06-09T09:49:51-07:00

Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas is a former Baptist pastor, a social conservative with a compassionate heart, a warm and engaging fellow... why is he languishing in the polls? Some think it speaks to the demise of the religious right but I think the real reason can be found in the following, seemingly irrelevant quote:

"The majority of an independent-voter panel that watched last night's presidential debate expressed serious concerns about the Democrats' ability to fight the war on terror," the Post reported Monday. "Doug Schofield, 36, a benefit accounts manager from Franklin, said the terror issue could push him to vote Republican --although he's gay and more in tune with the Democrats' liberal social agenda," the Post said. Americans want to elect an un-Bush in 2008. But we also want to elect a grown-up who will protect us.

Not that Huckabee (or the Dems in question) aren't "grown-ups", but of the Republican candidates, Mike doesn't seem like the kind of tough, experienced, hard-nosed guy you would look to in a time of crisis. If a bunch of bullies attacked you, you'd rather have Rudy or McCain or Fred at your side than Mike Huckabee or the lovely and talented John Edwards. Like Bill Clinton he's from Hope, Arkansas and he reminds me a lot of a Republican Clinton, ca 1992. The Bill Clinton of 1992 wouldn't be able to get elected today, post 9/11. In the 90s we wanted nice guys for president. Today Americans want someone who isn't like Bush, but who nevertheless is manifestly strong.

I'd be happy to have Mike as my pastor or best friend, but for Commander-in-Chief I'd prefer someone more like Fred.

Immigration reform

runalong@charter.net — 2007-06-09T09:28:26-07:00

Well, I for one was sorry to see the recent immigration bill defeated. Lots of conservatives opposed it, but many supported it for the same reasons I did.

To get bills passed in a divided government, compromise is necessary. That means each side gets some of what it wants and gives up some of what it wants. Generally, when the final bill comes forward for a vote, purists on both sides denounce it because of the compromises.

My view is generally more pragmatic: we are never going to pass a bill that has everything we want and none of what our political opponents want. IIf the proposed compromise bill passes would we be better off than if we stayed with the current state of affairs, or would we be worse off. In other words, don't compare the bill to a perfect bill we will never see, but to current reality.

Some conservatives opposed it because they thought it would be worse than nothing. But most seemed to oppose it because it fell short of the ideal. Now we're stuck with the mess we already have and little hope of any change. If you don't like "amnesty", guess what? We've got de facto amnesty right now, just as we have had for a long time. If the Republicans who opposed this bill will come up with changes for the better that the Democrats will support (without which, nothing will happen), I'll say I was wrong. But I fear we're stuck with the current mess now for a long, long time.

Here's a good analysis: Link

Bear attack!

runalong@charter.net — 2007-06-08T23:00:23-07:00

A friend called me yesterday to ask if I wanted to go on a long run in the Trinity Wilderness. Seems he had been "attacked" by a bear a few nights earlier while camping. He needed to go back and retrieve what was left of his newly purchased tent and sleeping bag and see if anything could be salvaged. Usually I'm swamped on Fridays but this week I was able to clear the time and go on this unexpected adventure.

He was awakened in his tent at 2AM by a bear trying to get in. He managed to get dressed while the bear temporarily backed off and grabbed a few items including his gun (my friend, that is, not the bear). He fired two warning shots but the bear did not back off and continued to act as if it was going to attack. He left and came back the next day to find his tent and bag shredded. He collected a few items, including the stove and cup shown here but wanted someone to go back with him when he collected the rest.

I successfully kept the bears at bay on our 20 mile journey. It was a beautiful day and an enjoyable run.

Insight du jour: PJ O'Rourke

runalong@charter.net — 2007-06-07T08:38:39-07:00

"Everyone wants to save the world,
No one wants to help mom do the dishes."

Short-term Genius

runalong@charter.net — 2007-06-05T16:29:24-07:00

The good news is: I'm an investing genius!
The bad news is: I'm bragging about it.

Just checked my retirement portfolio and for the year to date my investments are up 13.8% vs 7.8% for the S&P 500 (not including dividends reinvested). From 2001 - 2006 my IRA was up 160% overall, while the stock market rose 80% during that time. My investment choices are somewhat limited in that all of my 403b money (same thing as a 401K) is restricted to Vanguard funds and Jeanie's deferred comp is restricted to a few index funds. So on March 21 I set up a pretend portfolio of how I would invest $1million, if I had a mill and could invest it however I chose. That portfolio is up 15.7% since the first day of spring, during which time the stock market is up about 6.5%.

Wait! Come back! I'm not done!

I got thinking about this because I played a stock market game put on by Smart Money that lasted six weeks. Since I tend to hold stocks for a long time, short term trading really isn't my gig but just for fun I entered- but instead of making trades every day like most players I just bought my eight stocks at the beginning and held them throughout the game. I finished 110th out of almost 1800 players.

And finally: I also joined the Motley Fool CAPS group: nearly 30,000 strong. After a month and a half I am ranked 1,889th. (I gave up watching Criminal Intent reruns late at night to play CAPS instead). In each venue, with different picks, I've been stomping the market; "stomping," I say!

The CAPS thing is kind of addicting: I've gone months at a time without checking my actual portfolio, but I check my CAPS score every day. I don't care if my retirement fund dwindles away, as long as I outscore the other CAPS players!

(Disclaimer: For those of you who don't know me, the way I deal with my pride is by mocking myself.)

We now resume our regular programming.

Mt Shasta: My pics

runalong@charter.net — 2007-06-04T20:10:04-07:00

Just a few of the pics I took Saturday:

100 mile runs

runalong@charter.net — 2007-06-04T19:51:53-07:00

I'm not running Western States this year as I'll be in Jolly Ol' during the race (June 23-24) but I found a nice video promo on YouTube:

But I do hope to run the HURT 100 next January in Hawaii. A few years ago Monica Scholz ran 23 or so 100 mile races in one year. I ran with her for awhile at Western States a couple years ago and she told me that HURT is her favorite. And, you guessed it, I found HURT on YouTube also (Paul Sibley's inspirational tale):

Mt Shasta Climb

runalong@charter.net — 2007-06-03T16:32:18-07:00

About time: After living here for a quarter century I finally climbed Mt. Shasta yesterday. Bob, who's been up it several times, took Stu and I on the 7000+ foot vertical climb to the summit at 14,262. We got up at 2AM after being awakened by other groups beginning as early as midnight. You need to start early as it takes most people 8-12 hours to summit from Horse Camp (where we camped) and it's best to start heading down by noon as the snow starts to get real slushy and the chance of thunderstorms increases in the afternoon.

Our route, via Avalanche Gulch, is visible in both these pics. The arrowhead-like rocky section in the middle is called "the Heart". We went up the snowchute to the right of the heart, through a gap in Red Banks (above the heart) and then left up Misery Hill to the summit.

Due to a dry winter there wasn't much snow this year. The plastic boots I rented weighed about 400 pounds each (conservatively) and were as uncomfortable as they look. We left camp at 2:45 and summitted just after 10:00. The altitude was hard on me and I was really struggling to breathe. I got a nasty altitude headache that didn't quit until we got back to Redding. Bob hardly seemed to break a sweat. We met another ultrarunner at the top, Kevin Sawchuk- he and his group had come up from Bunny Flats, where we were parked, in 5:05. But then Kevin IS fast, and he wasn't wearing big plastic and lead boots.

The route is very steep and crampons are essential and there are some great, long glissades coming back down. Above Red Banks, many hikers leave their packs behind for the final ascent. I kept my pack on and Stu asked if I had brought my waist pack. At least, that's what I thought he said. He was really asking if I had brought one of the "waste packs" issued to us by the USFS when we got our summit permits (for making doo-doo on the mountain). He was having some stomach issues. Thinking he wanted to borrow a small WAIST pack for the summit ascent, I said, "no," then Bob said "yes, you do," and pulled the WASTE pack out of my mesh pocket. I hate to think of what would have happened to my WAIST pack if I had brought it and offered it to Stu!

The rest of the story is best told in pictures, the reason these pics are so good is because I didn't take them (thanks, Bob!).

Just a friendly reminder!

runalong@charter.net — 2007-06-03T13:47:23-07:00

Rapid Weaver automatically archives each month on the first day of the new month. To read more exciting and life-changing recent entries, click on "May 2007" in the sidebar. Remember kids: "Runalong with Pastor Mark: It's Blogoriffic!"

The Dangerous Book for Boys

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-31T08:33:27-07:00

"In a radical departure from modern schoolroom readings, the book has almost nothing to say about feelings, relationships or how boys can learn to cry. It valorizes risk, adventure and manliness.

Today's boys inhabit a danger-averse world where even old favorites like tag and dodge ball are under a cloud - Too competitive! Someone might get hurt! The National Parent Teacher Association recommends a cooperative alternative to the fiercely competitive "tug of war" called "tug of peace."
By contrast, "The Dangerous Book for Boys" has detailed instructions on how to hunt, kill, skin and cook a rabbit."

"Wild at Heart" for the younger set! Link.

David and Bathsheba

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-31T00:00:38-07:00

You can listen to the two sermons from 2Samuel 11 & 12 here. I'll be preaching on Psalm 51 the next two Sundays.

Monster Pig or Trick Photography?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-30T23:43:07-07:00

We link, you decide:

MonsterPig.com

Hog Washed!

Is Atheism Rational?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-30T20:49:55-07:00

That wasn't really the name of the debate between Christopher Hitchens and Douglas Wilson, but it's where it ended up. I hate to spoil the ending but if atheism IS rational, Hitchens stubbornly refused to show how it could be. Hitchens' arguments were the usual potshots that your local village atheist, teaching at the JC or pumping gas at the mini-mart, would offer. Wilson's responses centered on whether or not morality is an objective reality or a subjective sentiment, and the implications of either view, and on whether there is any reason to assign any value whatsoever to human thought if one accepts atheistic principles. Here's an excerpt from Wilson's end of the rope:

Take the vilest atheist you ever heard of. Imagine yourself sitting at his bedside shortly before he passes away. He says, following Sinatra, "I did it my way." And then he adds, chuckling, "Got away with it too." In our thought experiment, the one rule is that you must say something to him, and whatever you say, it must flow directly from your shared atheism—and it must challenge the morality of his choices. What can you possibly say? He did get away with it. There is a great deal of injustice behind him, which he perpetrated, and no justice in front of him. You have no basis for saying anything to him other than to point to your own set of personal prejudices and preferences. You mention this to him, and he shrugs. "Tomayto, tomahto."

I am certainly willing to take the same thought experiment. I can imagine some pretty vile Christians, and if I couldn't, I am sure you could help me. The difference between us is that I have a basis for condemning evil in its Christian guise. You have no basis for confronting evil in its atheist guise, or in its Christian guise, either. When you say that a certain practice is evil, you have to be prepared to tell us why it is evil. And this brings us to the last point—you make the first glimmer of an attempt to provide a basis for ethics.

You say in passing that ethical imperatives are "derived from innate human solidarity." A host of difficult questions immediately arise, which is perhaps why atheists are generally so coy about trying to answer this question. Derived by whom? Is this derivation authoritative? Do the rest of us ever get to vote on which derivations represent true, innate human solidarity? Do we ever get to vote on the authorized derivers? On what basis is innate human solidarity authoritative? If someone rejects innate human solidarity, are they being evil, or are they just a mutation in the inevitable changes that the evolutionary process requires? What is the precise nature of human solidarity? What is easier to read, the book of Romans or innate human solidarity? Are there different denominations that read the book of innate human solidarity differently? Which one is right? Who says?

And last, does innate human solidarity believe in God?

Here are links to part one and part two. From part two you can link to the other three parts.

And here is a link to excerpts from Wilson's book on the topic of atheism. He's a fine writer.

Update: If you are really interested in how secular philosophers try to solve the morality problem, here's a typical example. Once you wade through all the lingo and analyze his three concluding "lessons" you will realize that the author, as is typical of such attempts, basically is saying, "I really don't have a clue, but I can give you a nice survey of the various alternatives that have been proposed."

Freedom to chews

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-29T15:23:12-07:00

From an AP story: "Utah led the nation, with people in nearly nine out of 10 homes saying smoking was never allowed. The state's large population of Mormons, who eschew tobacco, probably contributed to that statistic, the agency said."

Lots of baseball players eschew tobacco as well. I suppose smokeless tobacco would be one alternative where smoking isn't allowed. Personally, eschewing tobacco seems kind of disgusting to me, but apparently Utah's population of large Mormons disagrees.

Well, it could be true...

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-27T21:41:44-07:00

For awhile in high school I dated a girl with a wooden leg but I had to break it off.

Falwell's Surprise

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-27T16:31:48-07:00

"In March he said that he planned to continue as chancellor for another 13 years, until he was 86. In 1997 he wrote, 'God may call me home today, and I would have no complaints, but in my heart of hearts I actually believe that He is going to give me another 20 or 30 years. If you read some day soon that "Jerry Falwell has died," be assured that i was greatly surprised.'"

Strange, isn't it. There's nothing more certain, and nothing more unexpected.

Are Vegans Baby-killers?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-22T11:21:10-07:00

For the record, my answer to that question is "no". Some of my best friends are vegans and they have a pretty good grasp of nutrition and what it takes to be a successful vegan. That isn't one of my aspirations but I needed to clear the air before linking to this op-ed which comes dangerously close to implying a "yes" answer to the question in my title. I would say, if you are going to be a vegan, be a scientific vegan. Don't make it your religion (many vegans do). Be sure you know what you are doing (most vegans do).

My reason for linking to the article is this: Most nutritionists and nutrition-journalists drive me nuts because they are such lemmings. They just repeat the company line and don't seem capable of, or interested in, really looking at the evidence (or lack thereof) behind the recommendations they so confidently assert. The truth is: we really don't know a lot about nutrition. So even though Nina Planck doesn't provide, in the links that follow, the kind of scientific evidence for her claims that I would like to see; I appreciate the fact that she is willing to think for herself and challenge the status quo.

Her claims about "real food" may be valid. At the very least they tend to agree with my biases! Read and ponder for your own self:

Meat: Yes!
Whole Milk: Yes! (Raw)
Low-fat diet: No!
Q&A with Nina Planck

From our "No Comment" department...

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-21T14:56:40-07:00

... comes this headline from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Finding cause of diarrhea is a process of elimination

Your money or your life?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-20T20:38:40-07:00

I've often commented on the fact that if you ask someone over 60 what is most important to them (temporally speaking), they always answer: health. "All that matters is if you have your health," yet, if you ask someone under 60 what they are doing to prepare for retirement years they can tell you all about IRA's and retirement plans and how they are trying to save and invest for the financial aspect of retirement, but few are doing anything to ensure that they'll be in good health in their latter years.

Now, there are no guarantees: your investments may go sour and good health may elude you even if you do all the right things. But if we sacrificially prepare for financial well-being, shouldn't we prepare for the more important matter of health?

The current Money magazine, of all sources, agrees. The greatest regret of retirees isn't failing to provide for themselves financially, but failing to invest in their health (p18). And health is a two-fer: "Want to double your portfolio's size? Exercise, cut out fats and don't smoke."

Later in the magazine they look, Money-style, at which form of exercise gives you the most health-bang for the buck. The clear winner: Running: more than four times better than swimming and seven times better than cycling (per dollar spent).

Hey, if I can inspire John Stumbo, maybe I can inspire you too!

McDonald Forest 50K

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-19T23:17:59-07:00

I've always wanted to do this race but it's a long way away and conflicts with a lot of other races I like to do but I finally "just did it" this year. I had to finish the sermon and a bunch of other stuff first so it was 12:17 Friday afternoon before I left for an almost six hour drive and 10:20 Saturday evening when I returned from a nearly six hour return trip. In between the race itself took me just short of six hours (5:53).

On the way up I passed Callahan's Restaurant near Ashland. It was at Callahan's a few years ago that I, as a newbie ultrarunner, met Scott McQueeney, with lots of UR experience, including Badwater, though he was a few years younger than I. We talked quite a bit over dinner one night just before the Siskiyou Outback 50K. A few years ago I was going to run McD but it ended up on the same day as my daughter's graduation from college. Decisions, decisions.... (just kidding!). Scott ran McD that year and finished right about the time I would have finished, then collapsed and died of a massive heart attack. Running makes your heart stronger, but if you have bad genes...

In Corvallis I ran into the same (mostly) bunch of Ashland runners I ran into six years ago in Auburn, CA just before my first ultra, the Way to Cool 50K. Now, as then, they invited me to join them for dinner.

As is the case with most of my races, McD has virtually no flat sections, only ups and downs. The RD's had asked me if I would make a film of the race as I had of the Miwok race a couple years ago but I said not this time, I wanted to see the course first- maybe next year. Lots of people at the race knew me because of the Miwok video (and/or because of other races or the internet or maybe even direct revelation from God- running up the trail a guy I'd never met, upon hearing I was from Redding, asked if I was Mark Swanson- he never did say how he surmised that).

Also in the race was John Stumbo, pastor of the Alliance church in Salem, one of the largest in our denomination. Since I have a long streak of coming in first place in the Pastor's division (which exists primarily in my head), this could be a problem. He ran the race last year and finished in 6:06. I was hoping for a 5:35 finish, so I thought I'd be OK.

I talked to John before and after the race. I'd met him once when he spoke at a pastor's conference, but I couldn't remember what he had spoken about or if we had talked at all. I was quite surprised when he told me I was the reason he was here, his "inspiration" and recounted, seemingly verbatim, a conversation we had had in which he had asked me about running, I had told him how I started out just running to the end of the driveway, etc, etc. We continued to talk a little at the beginning of the race but I'm a slow starter and he looked like I was holding him back so I let him take off (he did), figuring I would catch him later when my superior sense of pacing would enable me to pass the too-fast starters.

The course was fine: Typical Oregon forest and ferns and a couple spectacular viewpoints. One of the aid stations was populated (infested?) with hippies: Hippies with really, really bad hair. BTW, did you know that when Oregon runners blow the snot out of their noses it lands on the ground and interacts with the decaying vegetation and turns into banana slugs? Some second generation Oregonians have actually evolved to the point where they just blow fully-developed slugs out of their noses!

Anyway, the early going was marred by the insistence of some runners to continually shout "Aflac!" at each other. Maybe something to do with the U of O Ducks? I'm not sure if the shouters were for or against the Quackers. I have to admit that through hours of practice they had virtually perfected their spot-on imitations of the obnoxious TV duck.

Back at the ranch I was having some trouble. I just couldn't generate much energy going up hill. I had trouble running the easy grades and when I walked I couldn't walk as fast as normal. My mind would tell my body to speed up and my body would reply, "try and make me!" My mind would reply, "we've been here before body, I have ways to make you accelerate," and my body would reply, "neener-neener" and refuse to speed up. Just one of those days.

On the downhills, however, I was, as usual, SMOKIN'! Younger runners would hear me bearing down on them from behind and would step aside and cower in fear as I sped by, followed by a sonic boom. I was just flying down steep grades, gliding over roots and rocks, the personification of power and grace. This is important so listen up, kids (well, it's not important to you, but it is to me, so listen up anyway).

You see, if there is one thing I've noticed about old people, it is that they don't like going downhill or down anything. They move slowly and gingerly and cautiously. I, on the other hand, was flying downhill recklessly and fearlessly. The lesson is obvious: Old people don't do that. I do do that. Therefore, I am not old. I told you it was important.

But all in all it was a tough race what with all those uppity sections of trail. I finished in 5:53, about 30 seconds a mile slower than I'd planned. Rev. Stumbo, on the other foot, finished in 5:10. I was still the fastest out-of-state pastor.

Anyway, it doesn't matter who won or lost (the actual winner set a course record at just under 4 hours) or how fast I went. All that matters is that I'm not old.

Springtime is baby time!

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-15T20:34:12-07:00

Out in the woods the critters are doing their birds and bees thing. Yesterday was the first time I'd ever come across baby coyotes frolicking in the field. They looked to be no more than two weeks old, red and fluffy and big-eared and absolutely adorable, even to a grizzled old grouch like moi. I turned a corner and there they were, three of them: Huey, Louie, and Dewey.

I went back today with my camera and tried to sneak in on them from the other side. They were out there doing their Disney "fa-la-la" cute animal thing, but they heard me and ran away before I got close. I went over and sat on the ground and waited. After a half hour I decided to give them five more minutes or I'd leave without them (that'd teach them!). Just then I heard a rustling noise and saw two ears sticking up in the grass about 30 feet away. How Huey got there without me seeing him or him noticing me I don't know. But all I could see were his ears, he's only the size of Nehi.

A few minutes later L & D came scampering out acting like kittens. None of them noticed me. I watched for awhile but couldn't get close enough to get any better pics with my point-and-shoot camera than these shots of Huey. Trust me, these guys (gals?) are cue-ute.

This is my cat...

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-15T20:25:06-07:00

His name is Nehi. Like the soda. And because that's how tall he is:

Some people accuse us of putting him on a pedestal...

Nehi is very amusing. Sadly, he doesn't find me so.

Makin' the rounds

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-14T08:52:50-07:00

This has been making the rounds of the blogosphere lately. Personally, I'd take the cat. But don't show this to a certain daughter of mine who doesn't much care for her husband's cat...

HT: Scotte

yeccchhhh!

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-12T18:18:58-07:00

Headline from WSOC-TV news:
"Royals To Get A Taste Of Angels' Colon"

I'd rather have frog juice.

How much do local stations charge for gas?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-12T11:23:23-07:00

You can find out by entering your zip code here.
Not all stations are included (Arco doesn't show up in my area and they're often cheapest).

Insight du jour: Charlie Munger (age 83)

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-12T11:18:47-07:00

"I'm not going to complain about my age because without it, I'd be dead."

Getting to know your friends

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-10T16:54:24-07:00

This has been going around the internet. You are supposed to copy it and sent it to all your friend(s), who then answer and yada, yada. Although I'm a sociable people-loving person (that's my story and I'm sticking to it), after reading about 30 people's responses to "what color are your socks?" and "Cherries or Blueberries?" I decided to dedicate my version to Ted's cat (who doesn't mind the cussing, but may take offense at #12):

1. What is your occupation? I'm currently occupied filling out this survey.
2. What color are your socks right now? Same color they were yesterday.
3. What are you listening to right now? I can't listen and type at the smae tmie. %$^!, see what you made me do!
4. What was the last thing that you ate? Arsenic, he answered posthumously.
5. Can you drive a stick shift? No, but I can drive a car with manual transmission.
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? I call Warren Buffet once a day to give him stock tips.
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Not anymore.
8. How old are you today? 25, he answered dyslexically.
9. Favorite drink? This time of year: Tadpole smoothies.
10. What is your favorite sport to watch? The Tour de Fargo
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? no, everyone's hair is this color where I come from.
12. Pets? Varies, let me check the freezer.
13. Favorite food? Hot dogs (see #12).
14. What was the last movie you watched? The Last Picture Show (was that supposed to be a trick question?)
15. What's your favorite day of the week? Tomorrow
16. How do you vent anger? None of your #^*@! business!!!
17. What was your favorite toy as a child? The chemistry set, until the FBI took it away.
18. What is your favorite season? cayenne pepper
19. Hugs or kisses? Anything chocolate is fine with me.
20. Cherries or Blueberries? Cherries. I have a bag of dehydrated blueberries that says, "Helps prevent aging."
21. Living arrangements? That's next on my to-do list.
22. What is on the floor of your closet? carpeting.
23. What did you do last night? None of what they're accusing me of.
24. Favorite smells? Earthworms dying on the sidewalk after a summer rain.
25. What inspires you? Rich celebrities who drone on about simplifying their lives.
26. What are you afraid of? Anything that prevents aging.
27. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? I'll take the plain cheese.
28. Favorite dog breed? Oscar Meyer
29. How many states have you lived in? Confusion, Denial, Disarray... I could go on.
30. Favorite holiday? Send Your Children to Work Day

Broken record #47

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-10T13:08:26-07:00

Here we go again...

"According to the data, people who maintain their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are otherwise slim. "The whole concept of being fat needs to be redefined," said Bell, whose research is funded by Britain's Medical Research Council.

When it comes to being fit, experts say there is no short-cut. "If you just want to look thin, then maybe dieting is enough," Bell said. "But if you want to actually be healthy, then exercise has to be an important component of your lifestyle."

There are some things you can't buy on easy street.

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-07T23:44:10-07:00

The length of the road to the South Fork summit: 7 miles.
The elevation gain: 2000'.
The date: May 7, 2007.
The temperature on the digital sign as I drove to the trailhead: 102º (I don't think it was really that hot).
The first: First time I ran up to the top with no walking breaks.
The time: 73 minutes to the top, breaking my old record by four minutes.
How much did the last two miles cost? Don't even ask.
How close did I come to breaking into a walk the last half mile? Don't even think about it.
The views at the top: Almost worth it*.
The seven mile gravity-assisted descent: Almost worth it.
The feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment at the top: Priceless.

*Would have been worth it if I hadn't been up there so many times before.

How to run.

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-07T23:40:38-07:00

Time for our annual free running lesson for all Runalong readers!

If running was always as hard as the last two miles up South Fork this evening, nobody would run.
When you start running, all running is as hard as that. That's why most people don't stick it out.
Why make yourself miserable?

But after awhile, your body adapts. With proper training, even those last two miles up South Fork wouldn't have been so bad.
Running in an untrained body is no fun. But running in a trained body is as easy as walking.

The trick is getting through the training period.
The training period is ten weeks long.
For those ten weeks you need to commit an hour a day, five days a week.
The more days you skip, the longer it takes for running to become easy. The longer running stays unpleasant, the slower your progress, the less likely you'll stick with it until it does become easy. One hour a day, five days a week, ten weeks. The benefits of fitness to mind, body and emotions are amazing. But you've got to make the ten week commitment to get there.

Here's how to make those ten weeks more pleasant-
Go at the same time every day. Every day + same time = habit. Habits are easier than having to decide every time. If you have to think that hard about it, sooner or later you'll think, "I'll just skip this once." Even with a habit it will be a temptation. Habits are hard to form, but make life easier.
One hour: dress for running- make sure you have good shoes. Go outside- weather won't kill you. Run until it starts to feel unpleasant. One minute maybe. Walk until you recover. Repeat until twenty minutes are up. Note your location. Turn around and do the same until you are home. Take a shower and get dressed. Your hour is up.

Don't push yourself too hard. The process takes time and trying to speed it up makes it take longer. Tomorrow you will run a little more and walk a little less and go a little farther. In four to six weeks you'll be running the whole way. Don't rush it- what matters isn't how fast you can run three miles but whether you are still doing it a year from now.

After the ten weeks are up, IF you have been consistent, you may now adjust your running to your schedule. You only need to run three times a week to maintain fitness; 15 miles a week is ideal for most of the benefits of exercise and fitness. That should take you about three hours a week. That will do you until you die. After that it gets even easier!

Gas Prices: A Runalong Update!

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-07T14:38:52-07:00

On January 1 I announced to a world atwitter with anticipation that I had invested some of my retirement money in an energy fund (VGENX) on the theory that if gas prices kept going up my investment should go up as well and that would take some of the sting out of the sticker shock at the pump.

Well... pump prices HAVE gone up- currently over $3.30 a gallon here in Redding and since Mrs. Runalong has a 90 mile daily commute, that's a lot of petrol. Between us we're investing over $300 per month into global warming (another complementary Runalong service for our good friends in Canada!).

So how has the VGENX investment worked out? Well (as in oil's well that ends well), our gain to date is just over $2300 which more than covers all of our gas expenses... except... that we would have made about $1600 anyway if we had just invested the money in an index fund so we really only made $700 which does NOT cover all of our gas bills... except... that we would have spent $900 (vs the $1200 we did spend) on gas even if prices had remained steady so our $700 gain easily outpaced our additional $300 in gas costs.

Alas, like most things in life, this somehow is not proving to be as satisfying as I hoped!

Are you my father?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-07T08:48:38-07:00

It's "Down on Artificial" day at Runalong. If you thought artificial butter was bad, what about artificial insemination, i.e., life without father?

Friends don't let friends eat microwave popcorn.

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-07T08:46:49-07:00

At least not if it has "artificial butter flavor".

ATV (Amazing Tornado Video)

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-05T23:32:40-07:00

Beautiful but deadly:

(via instapundit)

Pastoral Politics

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-05T09:10:26-07:00

The definitions of "conservative" and "liberal" seem to be rather fluid lately. In foreign affairs which is conservative and which is liberal: isolationism or intervention? Conceptually, leaving things alone would seem more conservative than jumping into the fray, but we all know that conservatives today tend to be more interventionist than liberals (though there are many exceptions).

The French have an election tomorrow. The candidate who wants to introduce some radical changes is considered "conservative" while the one who wants to pretty much preserve the status quo (that's French for "femme fatale") is viewed as the liberal. Meanwhile, "conservationists" are more often liberals than conservatives, which seems to defy etymology.

Generally, liberals want to see the government take on more responsibility for the well-being of the citizens while conservatives would prefer to be granted more freedom to care for themselves and others without government "meddling". Liberals see government programs, supported by mandatory taxation, as the simplest and surest way to meet human needs; conservatives fear that the unintended consequences of such programs will outweigh the good they may do as well as fearing letting too much power reside in one organization under the theory that power corrupts.

I'm painting with a broad brush, but my point is simply this: the liberal candidate for president of France would, if elected, be the best looking head-of-state in history (sorry about that, all you Margaret Thatcher groupies!).

No wait: my real point is this: The liberal-conservative conundrum, as brilliantly and concisely presented above, cannot be easily resolved by an appeal to Scripture. Few of us are completely socialistic or completely libertarian and the question of where to draw the lines (more government or less) must generally be resolved on pragmatic grounds. Christians should not claim divine authority for their positions on whether or not we should invade Iran, raise taxes or ban automatic weapons, etc.

I happen to be a conservative on most political issues. But my political opinions are just my opinions. A lot of pastors and other "Christian leaders" don't seem to remember that. Why does it matter? Because the Gospel is of life and death importance, is the Word of God, not of man, and we need to be absolutely clear on when we are speaking for God and when we are presenting our own views. Blurring the lines between the two will not convince any political liberals to become conservatives (or vice versa) but it will convince unbelievers that our views about God and salvation are politically motivated rather than divinely sanctioned.

Sometimes, on social issues such as abortion, we CAN speak for God. But on most economic and international issues, we can only speak for ourselves. Make sure the people you talk to know the difference, and know that YOU know the difference!

For information purposes only - French election:
Liberal babe vs. Conservative non-babe:

Sweet Dreams!

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-04T13:21:48-07:00

I dare you to think about this AP news item just before you fall asleep tonight...

Gonzalez adds three ladles of hot, white bean broth, two generous spoonfuls of honey, raw aloe vera plant and several tablespoons of maca - an Andean root also believed to boost stamina and sex drive - into a household blender.

Then she drops the frog in.

Once strained, the result is a starchy, milkshake-like liquid that stings the throat.

At least 50 customers a day ask for steaming beer mugs of frog juice at Gonzalez's countertop-only restaurant...

Big brother knows where your cell phone is...

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-04T09:42:17-07:00

Don't believe me? Go to this site and type in your cell phone number (or anyone else's) and wait while it hones in on your location.

Real Value

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-03T21:05:17-07:00

Stay on the beach in Hawaii for $5 a night. Pastor Mark tells you how (and more)!

Spring Break in Sicily

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-03T15:49:47-07:00

That's how Bex spent her spring break last month. Hard to believe that we'll heading to Europe to see her NEXT month (that's the one after this one). Anyway, here are her pics from Sicily.

But what's with the Frog Crossing?!

Cool websites

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-03T15:38:26-07:00

It's Thursday evening at 10 pm. You're too tired to do anything useful but not quite ready to fall asleep. You'd surf the net if there was anything to surf. Don't worry kids; Runalong is here to help! Here's a link to a couple dozen sites worth checking out. One of them is bound to keep you busy until you start to nod off. You may even want to bookmark a couple.

Chutzpah, indeed.

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-02T21:16:26-07:00

Mark Krikorian titled this post "Chutzpah" - now there's an understatement for you!

The head of the Episcopal Church, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, is complaining about Nigerian Anglican bishops coming to Virginia this weekend to formally install the head of the conservative breakaway denomination in this country. Here's what she said: "Such action would violate the ancient customs of the church."

I kid you not. The female head of a church with a practicing homosexual bishop planning to "marry" his lover, a church that could accept into seminary the adulterous homosexual governor of New Jersey, a church that embraces splitting open babies' skulls and vacuuming their brains out, is complaining about violating ancient customs? Wow.

April, fly she will?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-02T21:14:11-07:00

Where did the April posts go? It appears that on May 1 they automatically archived themselves- you'll find them near the bottom of the sidebar. I don't have time to see if I can de-automate that or not. And while were at it, where did the 20th century go?

Do sunscreens cause cancer?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-05-01T21:03:02-07:00

Along with all the revisions in dietary recommendations comes this shocking new development: we may be making ourselves more susceptible to cancer and other diseases BECAUSE WE ARE AVOIDING THE SUN!

Authorities are implicated because the main way humans achieve healthy levels of vitamin D isn't through diet but through sun exposure. People make vitamin D whenever naked skin is exposed to bright sunshine. By an unfortunate coincidence, the strong sunshine able to produce vitamin D is the same ultraviolet B light that can also causes sunburns and, eventually, skin cancer...

Those studying the vitamin say the hide-from-sunlight advice has amounted to the health equivalent of a foolish poker trade. Anyone practising sun avoidance has traded the benefit of a reduced risk of skin cancer — which is easy to detect and treat and seldom fatal — for an increased risk of the scary, high-body-count cancers, such as breast, prostate and colon, that appear linked to vitamin D shortages.

The sun advice has been misguided information "of just breathtaking proportions," said John Cannell, head of the Vitamin D Council, a non-profit, California-based organization.

"Fifteen hundred Americans die every year from [skin cancers]. Fifteen hundred Americans die every day from the serious cancers."...

Read the whole article!

Fred Thompson for President!

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-30T23:09:08-07:00

He's expected to announce his candidacy this month (May). But can a presidential candidate really get away with saying stuff like this?!

Indoctrinate U

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-30T23:04:39-07:00

Meet the new non-conformists...

02:03:04 05/06/07

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-30T22:55:40-07:00

At three minutes and four seconds after 2 am next Sunday morning it will be.

It's exactly the same, only completely different...

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-30T13:56:49-07:00

From Sunday's LA Times:

Just as Jews, during some traditional Passover feasts, ask God to bring down his wrath on the Gentiles who "don't know him," and many Christians believe that hell awaits those who don't subscribe to their faith, Muslims are led to believe that killing the enemies of Islam can be justified.

"Just as"? The Bible says, "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone... Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay', says the Lord... Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 13:14-21).

Leaving justice against evil-doers to God's ultimate judgment is not "just as" taking vengeance into one's own hands. Not even close.

Affordable housing: a novel approach

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-27T10:36:21-07:00

Click on the pic:

Is Religion good for you?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-25T12:20:28-07:00

These two studies say "yes"- you'll live longer and it's good for kids. I have mixed feelings about studies like these. On the one hand, the Bible teaches that most religions are NOT good for you. So there's that. And on the other hand, telling people today that something is good for them is practically synonymous with "eat your tofu" or "spend twenty minutes every day on the stair-stepper" - anything good for me must be boring or tasteless or worse, right? There's no JOY nowadays in things that are "good for you". Make yourself miserable, you'll live longer: If I'm miserable why would I want to?

Of course I believe that you can enjoy eating and exercise and other things that are truly good for you; including a lifestyle that follows Jesus passionately. But it seems like American marketers and promoters divide everything in two camps: Stuff you'll enjoy and Stuff that's good for you.

Actually, Stuff That's Good For You, is usually stuff that isn't pleasurable at first, but becomes more and more satisfying with time. And Stuff That's Bad For You is often stuff that offers immediate but shallow gratification with unpleasant and long-ranging side-effects.

If you live the way your Creator intends for you to live, things will go better for you than if you don't. But all religions are not created equal. And a spiffy life on earth is not the ultimate focus of Jesus' teaching.

Hey Barbara!

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-24T13:10:20-07:00

How's this?

Barbara was complaining that she couldn't read my new blog because it showed up as black on blue on her computer. So I'm trying a different look. This program makes it easy to change looks so maybe I should just publish a different look each week. OK, maybe not. Anyway did anyone else have that problem? I changed programs to resuscitate commenting but there hasn't been much commenting on the new blog. Is it because you're all black and blue? Is this any better? They all look fine on both my Macs.

Now if I could just figure out how to get the sidebar to look the way I want it...

All Religions are alike, except when they're not...

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-22T20:35:52-07:00

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world," and "Render unto Caesar..." He never got involved in political battles and warned his disciples that "those who live by the sword will die by the sword." His final words in Matthew's Gospel are: "Go into all the world, making disciples... baptizing... teaching..."

Mohammed lead his followers in rogue military raids against other tribes; began slaughtering Jews almost as soon as he became a prophet; and encouraged his followers to be (literal) warriors for Allah. In his farewell address he said, "I was ordered to fight all men until they say 'There is no god but Allah'."

I think it would make a not insignificant difference if someone converted from following Mohammed to following Jesus, or vice versa.

Run Easy

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-22T20:23:04-07:00

When you go running with a friend, you never know what you'll end up talking about...

In case you missed Kool April Nites...

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-22T19:56:23-07:00

Here's a collection of er, non-standard vehicles. For example...

I used to believe...

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-21T23:07:33-07:00

When I was kid I thought all dogs were boys and all cats were girls. Someone actually wrote that as their contribution to this site. Thing is, I still habitually call our dog (female) "he" and our cats (both males) "she". Anyway, check it out, it'll bring back some memories and prompt a few chuckles.

Example: i used to believe, that at funerals, the priest said,"In the name of the Father, the Son and into the hole he goes".

Reality Pop Quiz

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-20T10:14:09-07:00

Reality pop quiz: When rational people can dispassionately discuss whether it's better to dismember or collapse the skull of a pre-born baby, are they still allowed to call themselves rational?

The whole article is well-worth reading.

Satisfied?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-19T13:11:18-07:00

If you're looking for job satisfaction, become a pastor! According to a recent study, clergy reported the highest degree of job satisfaction of any profession at 87% (I told my staff it would have been 100% if they hadn't included the youth pastors!). Seriously, 87% sounds about right. My work is very satisfying about 7/8 of the time and very frustrating the other 1/8. If God doesn't call you into full-time ministry, that 1/8 will drive you out in a hurry, though I expect the stress is a lot less for assistant pastors than for senior pastors. We're responsible for everything, we get credited for everything and we get blamed for everything and 90% of everything is completely out of our control!

Teachers also rated near the top which explains why my wife and I live in a state of uninterrupted bliss.

Well, not quite, but about as close as can be had in a sinful world. Of course for Christians happiness is another stewardship- a gift given to us for a time to share with others. Other studies have shown that gratitude and altruism increase happiness. It's a circle, but not a vicious one.

Hey Teach!

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-18T21:49:25-07:00

Having spent many years in college classrooms, both as professor & professee (?), this is hilarious...

American River 50

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-15T18:30:55-07:00

Well, the big day came. I trained as well as I could, pushing the red-line without crossing it (the endless quest to train as hard as possible without breaking) and went out to see if I could beat my old 50 mile personal best of 9:03 (set four years ago) with a sub-9 finish. I was confident enough to begin to wonder not just IF I could break 9:00, but BY HOW MUCH?

Despite the predictions of occasional showers totalling all of 0.10 inches for the day Saturday morning arrived wet and it kept raining pretty much all day long. By early afternoon the horse trails that make up the last 20 miles of the course were getting pretty sloppy and slick. The temp never got above 55 so it was a tough day for crews and volunteers - the real heroes of the day. For runners it wasn't too bad. Not perfect, but cool is always better than warm when you are running.

I followed my plan of running 7/8 of a mile at about 8:20 pace followed by 1/8 mile of walking: lather, rinse and repeat 30 times until you reach the horse trails and things get more vertical and technical. I covered the first 30 miles this way by 10:38 AM - right on schedule. I worried if this faster than normal pace would burn me out (I was red-lining it again) but, though it was tough I was able to keep up the same level of intensity almost to the end. My pace got slower, as did everyone's on the steep and rocky and muddy trails, but I kept pushing- walking any significant uphill sections and running everything else. Some of the downhills were so technical that they weren't any faster than the uphills.

I realized for the first time (my fifth trip to American River) how many long sections of flat runnable trail there were mixed in with the steep technical stuff. Usually I haven't been fond of flat portions late in a race. Uphills I could walk, downhills I could run but propelling myself over the flat sections of miles 30-50 has always been tough. Yesterday, thanks to my training, I looked forward to these flat sections (some quite long) as opportunities to make up time.

I stayed on schedule and began aiming for a finish around 8:30, which I figured at this point was the best I could do if I really pushed. My calves began to tighten up because I was running faster than usual, thus pushing harder off on each step than usual and my body wasn't used to it. I was passing people consistently the entire race.

By the time I got to the last big hill (1000' climb in 4 miles) I was pretty much spent. Two guys passed me as I tried to move up the early steep portion; only the second and third person to pass me in the final 40 miles of the race. I realized 8:30 was just out of reach and pushed to make at least 8:38- which would be exactly one hour faster than last year. I got to the finish line in 8:35, beating my old PB by 28 minutes (more than 0:30 seconds per mile) and last year by an hour. I finished 92nd out of 500 starters; 9th out of 96 finishers in the men's 50-59 division. (Results here).

(Update: Whoops, the joke's on me, I guess. I just looked up last year's results and my memory deceived me. Last year's time was 9:33).

And when I got to the finish, I was finished. I had nothing left.

My three friends from church all finished as well, despite battling some huge impediments (injuries, sickness, lack of time to train, etc). My daughter, who began running last August and has barely been able to finish 50 kilometer races within the allotted times was concerned that she wouldn't be able to make the cut-offs at AR. I knew she could do the distance, but...

She made the first cut-off (mile 31.5) with 6 minutes to spare and finished with 12 minutes to spare. HOORAY!

I plan to let this time of 8:35 stand. Training that hard and running that hard were satisfying, but took a lot out of me. I'd rather have longevity in my running career than worry about moving up from the top 20% to the top 10% of my age group. Besides, if I can keep at this long enough, it will keep getting easier and easier to be at the top of my age group; maybe even take first place (there was only one 70+ finisher in each of the men's and women's divisions this year)!

Thanks to all for prayers and encouragements. Now back to more important matters.

Nation's Joggers Sick Of Finding Dead Bodies

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-13T10:33:32-07:00

I've only found one so far and that was plenty. Most cases seem to happen on Law & Order but hey, everyone on that show finds dead bodies. I have found a couple of stolen cars though, as recently as last week. But most of the bodies I've come across have been alive and well.

Anyway, you can read all about this horrific trend here.

I am not a prophet, nor a son of a...

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-13T10:07:48-07:00

... but I'll step right into it anyway. Since I know you are all atwitter with excitement over the 2008 presidential election now that it is a mere 20 months away, here are my fearlessly bold predictions, counter (as is my wont) to the prevailing wisdom of our esteemed professional pundits.

Drum roll, please...

Dems: Hillary and Barak will take each other out and Bill Richardson will become everyone's alternate choice. Hillary has too much baggage and too little like-ability and Obama is already proving that he isn't ready for prime time - he shoulda waited. Plus, the Clinton team will hit him hard with everything they've got. Edwards won't be able to raise enough money as potential donors will be too concerned about his wife's cancer prognosis. Anyway, despite his flaws, Richardson is probably the strongest candidate the Dems have.

Pubs: McCain and Guilani may not take each other out but there are parallels to the Dem side with McCain playing the Hillary-role of heir apparent who isn't well-liked by much of the primary-activist base and Guilani playing the Barak-role of "everyone loves his image but he lacks experience in a campaign of this sort and will probably self-implode" (with lots of help from his rivals). Romney, Gingrich, Huckabee, et al? Fuhgeddaboutit - none of them are going anywhere. The Republican nominee, in a landslide, will be Fred Thompson.

For the record, I could live with any of the Pubs as Prez, though I don't really trust Rudy or Mitt. Huckabee is probably closest to me (hey, he was even a pastor!) but I don't think the country is ready for a former pastor as president right now. I don't have the problems with McCain that others seem to have- he'd be fine with me. My first pick, though he's wise not to be running this time, would be Jeb Bush. Maybe in '12 or '16. He's my man!

Do I miss Imus?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-13T09:26:47-07:00

Of course not. I wouldn't recognize his voice if I heard it. All I know about him prior to this week is that he's reportedly a very crude but funny and insightful guy. If you can't be funny and/or insightful without being consistently crude, I'm not interested.

This week he got fired for referring to some black college basketball players as "nappy-headed ho's". Many conservatives appear to be appalled by this, apparently because:
A. Black rap musicians use terms like this frequently, including last year's Academy Award winning "Best Original Song".
B. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton wanted Imus fired, therefore he shouldn't be.
C. There's a lot of hypocrisy in what kinds of "hate" speech our culture does and doesn't allow.

Christians, like myself, tend to favor freedom of speech both on moral grounds and because there's a lot of people out there who would love to shut us up. Call that self-interest if you will, but a Christian believes that everyone NEEDS to hear the Gospel - for their own self-interest.

OTOH, we are disturbed by the increasing acceptance and promotion of "filthy talk" in all its manifestations- throughout the media and entertainment industries at all levels and throughout daily speech. And it isn't just a matter of taste or preference (though for people who generally avoid such language, it is that also, especially when it comes to excrement), it's also a belief that human beings should aspire to what is good and beautiful and uplifting and that to call other people graphic names is demeaning and unloving and also because crude sexual terminology de-sacralizes something God intends to be held sacred and beautiful and private.

So Christians often have sought, by various means, to get the media to clean up its act. Thus we should be at least somewhat happy to see the likes of Imus get their due, right?

Yes, right. Whether or not such restrictions are applied perfectly (they never will be), at least there is an acknowledgment that we should try to maintain a certain civility in our public discourse. Hey, that's something! The problem with Imus' speech isn't it's content (it appears, like many similar instances, to have been simply a spontaneous attempt at humor that fell flat) but the manner.

Personally, I'm not all that bothered by scatological humor or terms. To be honest, as a card-carrying guy I frequently find it quite funny (though, as a pastor I am careful to suppress my laughter in public). De-frock me if you will but I still believe that if Jesus were teaching his twelve in a small room and, at a crucial moment, one of them "tootled vigorously" - that Jesus His Own Self would have burst into laughter with all the rest.

Much sexual humor and crude sexual terminology is demeaning and de-sacralizing and is thus seriously harmful. Taking the Lord's name in vain, telling people to be damned or go to hell, are sins that trivialize the most serious and holy truths that God has revealed to us. The oft-mocked question, "Is nothing sacred?" is really a serious inquiry that deserves a serious answer from people whose main concern is not an adolescent desire to offend or amuse but a deep concern for what is best for humanity in general and specific humans in particular.

If the Imus firing leads others to get in touch with their inner censors and be a little more careful about HOW they express themselves, we will all benefit.

American River 50 Mile Race

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-12T21:21:28-07:00

We leave tomorrow! Steve and I will be shooting for under nine hours. Mark hasn't had much time to train so he'll just be shooting for the finish line. Likewise Lorelei, who has trained but this is her first 50 miler and she finished her three 50K's near the very back of the pack. Ted is just hoping to make it to the starting line (ITB problems). We'll be joining 500 others. Sound hard? Helen Klein finished the race in 2004 in about 12 1/2 hours (the cut-off is 13 hours). She set a record for her age group. Of course, at 82, she WAS her age group.

The weather is expected to be cool and slightly damp. I'm getting antsy...

Real men do

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-12T21:18:22-07:00

Are You A Dult?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-12T11:58:42-07:00

The world needs more dults!

Seriously, kids(!), how "adult" are you?

This test has the usual flaws (many questions don't can be interpreted variously) but it would be a good learning tool if you are mentoring (or parenting) a young person (or immature "adult").

How adult are you?

Politically Incorrect

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-11T21:22:33-07:00

Hey cool! I learned how to embed YouTube videos into my RW blog!

Anyway, this is the only H2CU that anyone ever called the church and complained about. Can't say that I was too surprised, I sort of pushed the envelope in this one...

Can we KNOW that we are going to heaven?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-11T21:14:19-07:00

This is how I answered the last time I was asked that question:

The evangelical view of salvation, which is basically what the Reformation was all about (Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, et al seeking to return to the earlier views of Augustine, Paul, et al after the medeival RCC made salvation works-based in order to control people): is that salvation is entirely a work of God, received by sinners as a free gift of God's grace and cannot be earned or deserved in any way. Jesus paid for our sins on the cross (the atonement) and salvation is free to all who trust in His person and His work. Once we are justified (a once-for-all-time event), i.e., our debt incurred by our sins against God is declared paid by Jesus, we cannot lose our salvation.

To reiterate what I wrote before: our life as Christians is not meant to be a worrisome, "I wonder if I'm being good enough and doing enough to please God enough to let me in" (which presumably would be followed - after death- by "Hey look, we made it, we're the good people", resulting in a heaven full of at least semi-self-righteous people); but rather- "I don't and didn't deserve salvation any more than anyone else but Jesus paid for my sins and I've been adopted into God's family by grace and nothing I can do will ever cause me to be rejected" This security leads to a life of gratitude, peace, joy and growing freedom from self-interest (no longer having to obsess over our own eternal prospects we can focus on serving others). If you never quite know if God has accepted you there will also be a hesitancy to be grateful (hard to be grateful for something you don't know if you have), and a certain lack of peace and joy for the same reason.

And, as I hinted earlier, the whole theology is wonderfully spelled out in the hymn "Amazing Grace" by former slave-trader John Newton.

Scriptures which encourage believers to rest in the security of knowing they are fully and eternally accepted by God include (among many others):

(click here for references)

In that last reference the Greek word translated "know" (oida) refers to a settled, certain knowledge.

Weaving More Rapidly

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-11T21:03:57-07:00

Well I went ahead and bought RW, I hope it was a good choice. In many ways iBlog was more convenient. It was easier to set up the sidebar, I could use little logos for my categories, and other things were more intuitive or were only a click away. But Rapid Weaver seems to have better support and a brighter future and hopefully it will keep getting better. I haven't decided on a theme yet (the overall look), there are two or three supplied themes, including this current one, that I like but I might shell out a few bucks and buy this one as I like the wood look and I'd like something with variable widths and a little more adaptability. RW has a steeper learning curve so maybe that will help me keep Altzheimer's at bay for a few more years.

Run for your life!

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-10T10:21:48-07:00

Yet ANOTHER article on the mental and emotional benefits of aerobic exercise. A word of advice to any of you in mental health professions (especially if you work with troubled youth!): get ahead of the crowds on this one and do yourself and your clients a favor- soon exercise will be a standard prescription for mental health patients and juvenile delinquents- might as well lead the way!

Don't veggie, be happy.

Who taught chocolate to talk a lot?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-10T10:16:27-07:00

More good news from the dietary front:

The drop in blood pressure among participants who consumed cocoa products for at least two weeks was in the same range as achieved by someone taking drugs commonly prescribed to control high blood pressure.

I've been limiting myself to about 1/2 ounce of dark chocolate a day (high fat content). I think I'll up that to an ounce. Have to be a good boy and take my meds!

Orange you glad...

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-10T10:04:11-07:00

From an article on hot new car colors...

Right now, orange is going strong and should last. "Orange sales are increasing in popularity," he said. "I've developed orange products right up to 2010."

Once again, I'm quite the trendsetter!

Going Up?

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-09T20:38:19-07:00

Maybe later I'll remember to forget

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-09T20:36:14-07:00

Here we go again. Mrs. Runalong made out a shopping list for the grocery store and then left it on the bed. She does something like that several times a month. (So do I, but that really isn't relevant here, so why are you even bringing it up?).

What was I saying?

Oh yeah. Anyway, she called me from the store to see if she had missed anything on the list while shopping from memory (haha!).

She hadn't. All 25 items present and accounted for.

My wife has an amazing memory!

When she remembers to use it.

rw test 1

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-09T13:33:13-07:00

we are weaving rapidly.

Blah, blah, blogging (and running)

runalong@charter.net — 2007-04-03T22:48:08-07:00

I apologize for the lack of blogging, I spent about 5 hours Friday and Monday evening trying to troubleshoot and fix Runalong but, as you can see, to no avail. I even downloaded and tried the iBlog beta update version 2.0 and it had the same problem. I've played with rebuilding my blog and with iDisk and everything I could think of and am pretty much out of ideas. And the "support" at iBlog doesn't answer my emails. I don't think iWeb is going to work for me and I'm not crazy about switching to Blogger but I'm running out of ideas and patience.

Anyway, today is the first non-Sunday in 5 weeks that I haven't gone for a run. My legs appreciate it. Last week I finished most of my runs with one mile at about 7:15 (hard enough to be hard, but not too hard). Yesterday I finished my short 7 mile run with two one-mile runs of 7:15 and 6:54. They're getting easier. I'll only run about 30 miles this week but I'll do about eight of these fast one-milers to keep my aerobic conditioning up. In the American River 50 Mile Race (4/14) I plan to do the first 29 miles (paved and mostly flat) at about a 9 minute mile pace. Studies have shown that in long races a 5 to 1 running to walking ratio is best for most runners so I'll be running 7/8 of a mile at about an 8:20 minute per mile pace, followed by 1/8 mile walking at about a 12:30 pace (90 seconds) to get my 9:00 average (6.67 miles per hour).

The last 21 miles of the course are hilly (over 3000 feet of climbing and equal descent), technical and possibly muddy so I'll be shooting for an 11-12 minute pace there to meet my goal of a sub-nine hour finish. My previous four finishes have all been under 10 hours with the fastest several years ago at 9:03. I'm a little older now (so they tell me) but I'm better trained this year so if it isn't too hot on race day I think my odds of meeting my goal are pretty good. We have five of us going from our congregation (counting my daughter) which just may be the most people from one congregation ever to run in any one ultramarathon!