More Pichers

If you look closely, you will see a lone deer walking across the parking lot.
I was just getting out of my car one afternoon at the college campus where I was staying and here came a deer slowly walking across the pavement.
There are a lot of deer in this area (Newark).




As promised, I include more pictures from my travels.

Due to my limited abilities, I cannot get the pictures to go where I want them so you will have to figure what is what.

Included is another picture of the Bartlett brothers.
Brother Tony, is on the left, Brother Danny on the right (duh).
I include another shot of the church building.
I consider the building very functional and generally pretty.
The sanctuary/auditorium is very similar in layout to what I proposed to brother Spanogle for the new Morgan City building.
I do not believe this idea was ever seriously considered.

Also presented are a few more pictures from the wedding of Jill and David.
More to come....

Busy Me

It has been a busy (and tiring) two weeks.
On Monday, July 16, I traveled to Newark, Ohio, to Brother Tony Bartlett's congregation – the Licking County Church of God, for their annual campmeeting.

I had a pleasant time and enjoyed the fellowship and services.
The sermons seemed especially clear and strong this year.
It was good to see my Army buddies – Tony and Danny Bartlett, Walt Williams, and Abraham Jeeter – whom I met in Korea.
This was also the time and place that we learned of the Church of God.
I traveled back to Alabama on Friday, July 20th.

My Saturday run was limited to two miles because of my fatigue from all the travel the previous day.
It was a useful session but I cannot say it was fun.
But it is good to be running again.

The curve ball came Monday at work, where I was assigned to a project on Redstone Arsenal.
This involved setting up tents, carrying equipment, and basically playing Army like I did forty-one years ago.
The temperature each day has been around ninety degrees.
I am not the man I was then.
I went home each afternoon exhausted.

Thus, the run this past Saturday was again limited to 2.3 miles.
I was clearly tired, but I was visited by a biological problem that I work diligently to avoid.
This morning I failed.
The distress this caused only added to the distress of the session.
Like I have said many times, it is good to be running again, but the practice has its hazards and problems.
This is one of them.

And this Saturday was a very special day in that I was to travel to Knoxville, Tennessee to attend the marriage of Jill Allison and David Parker.
I did not want to miss this very special event.
So after the run, and my usual shopping trip, I drove to Knoxville.

I have known David since he was about one year old.
He is a dear brother and I have always enjoyed his company and fellowship.
He is now about forty or so and has never been married.
I have prayed for years that his patience and faithfulness would be rewarded; and so they have.

I do not know Sister Jill as well as I do David.
What little I have been around her she has seemed a sweet, kind person with a hint of fun hiding beneath her quiet exterior.
She was married to Jimmy Allison – one of the most intimidatingly spiritual and talented young men I have ever known.
He was big, handsome, and an awesome singer.
I always admired him from a distance.
I felt that if I were to stand too close to him, the obvious differences and inequalities between he and me would be too apparent, so I kept my distance.
I just assumed that he was a “good” daddy and husband also.
What little I saw his interactions with his family seemed to support that impression.

Tragically, Brother Jimmy died a couple of years ago (three or four years now?) of cancer (I think).
For sister Jill and her three children, I cannot imagine the shock, pain, and loss this circumstance must have caused.
I was shocked.
I have never been able to express my sympathy to sister Jill and the children for their loss.
I certainly did not want to spoil a happy event like her wedding to David by bringing up her sad past.
But my heart went out to her back then and my prayer is that she will find comfort and happiness with David.







So, a couple of hours Saturday were spent greeting old friends and saints that I have not seen in several years, and meeting/observing a new generation of children whom I know not.
Then, because of local church responsibilities, I had to jump in my car and drive back to Huntsville that evening.
I made it all the way from Huntsville to Knoxville to Huntsville on one tank of gas.
430 miles round trip.
Actually, I stopped for gas about one mile from my house because my tank was so low.
I get really nervous when my needle gets close to “E”.

More wedding pictures to follow....

Bizee Daee

Saturday was very busy for me.
First of all, the morning run was interesting/useful.
I ran my three mile course again, trying to build my strength.
I felt a bit tired starting out - not my favorite signal at that time.
But I motored on, doing my best to focus on the moment and not get into the dread of how the finish will feel, etc.

I surprised myself by scaling the two forty-foot hills with nominal effort.
As I started the second loop (the big mile-and-a half loop) I was feeling pretty good.
Near the end of mile two, I could tell that I was tired, but my breathing remained at the comfort level until I crossed Old Madison Pike for the final quarter mile.

By then, I knew I was going to be okay.
As I entered the final one hundred yards, I was able to push myself a little and speed up for a strong finish.
I hesitate to call the final push a "sprint" but there was enough to add a little extra to my pace.
Trying to cool down afterward in the warm (70 degrees) muggy (80% humidity) air was a slow process.
The run turned out to be slow, as well.
I started at 6:06 AM and ended at 6:48 - 42 minutes.
That was disappointing, but like I said before, I will take time over speed at this time in my life.
It feels great just to be running again.

THEN - it was home to begin preparations for my trip to Ohio.
Monday I am going to Newark, Ohio to attend a church campmeeting.
I will be visiting by old army buddy Tony Bartlett, now bishop of the Licking County Church of God.
Preparation involved doing laundry, mowing grass (it has finally rained enough in the last two weeks to inspire the grass to grow enough to require trimming), cleaning, buying certain foods that lend themselves to travel, etc.
I plan to return Friday.

A full report will be presented here next week. (with some pictures!)

Thots on Live Earth

One of my most pet of peeves is millionaires telling me how to live my life and spend my money.
Such is this weeks Live Earth concerts nonsense.

The purpose of such exercises is so the rich, caring rock and roll performers can ease their guilt from being so rich and lazy by preaching to the rest of us about some “cause” that is “good” for everyone.
In this case it is about “saving” the earth from global warming.
More specifically, man-made global warming.
More specifically, evil American capitalist-made global warming.
More specifically, evil American capitalist oil comany-made global warming.
It is difficult to imagine a more futile and stupid exercise.
Of course Albert Gore, Jr. is associated with this so you know it has to be stupid.

First of all, these people believe that it is the homes and power plants and factories of evil capitalists (read: rich Republicans) that produce the evil “greenhouse” gases that are causing the earths atmosphere to warm up, which will cause the ice at the north and south poles to melt, which will raise the level of the ocean, which will flood their fancy beach houses, which will force them to move somewhere else.
All of this is assumed to be caused by people, even though there is no evidence that people are causing any change in the temperature of the earths atmosphere.

In fact, there is a lot of evidence that the earths temperature has gone through several cycles of warming and cooling in the past thousands of years, when there were very few people on the planet.
Who caused that?
Campfires, maybe.

And regarding the melting polar ice caps: have you ever seen a glass full of ice overflow as the ice melts?
No.
Because ice in water displaces an amount of water equal to its mass.
So the ocean is going nowhere.
The moon raises and lowers the tides four or five feet two times each day and we have not perished yet.
So what is the problem?

And guess what one of the biggest contributers of “greenhouse” gases is – methane.
Guess the largest source of methane – cow farts.
Really.
So guess what, they want us to stop eating beef.
Really.

Try to follow this.
The compassionate, caring, rich movie stars and compassionate, caring, rich rock and roll stars want all the rest of us to stop eating hamburgers.
This will cause the evil, capitalist Republican ranchers will stop growing cows.
No cows = no cow farts.
No cow farts = less methane.
Less methane = less “greenhouse” gases.
Less “greenhouse” gases = lower temperatures.
Lower temperatures = more polar ice.
More polar ice = lower sea levels.
Lower sea levels = we save the planet.
Woopee!

And the compassionate, caring, rich rock and roll stars, and compassionate, caring, rich movie stars get to keep his/her big beach house.

But there are several problems with this scenario.
Here is one -
Just one volcanic eruption sends more carbon dioxide and methane and ash into the atmosphere than all the the stuff all the people on the planet can put in it.
So even if all people everywhere were to reduce their “greenhouse” gas emissions to zero, the next volcano would more than undo all of our efforts.
So why bother?

So, this leads me to some questions....

1 Are the compassionate, caring, rich rock and roll stars, and compassionate, caring, rich movie stars going to sell their mansions and live in little houses like the rest of us, so that they can use less energy, like they want the rest of us to do?
2 Are the compassionate, caring, rich rock and roll stars, and compassionate, caring, rich movie stars going to stop eating beef, like they want the rest of us to do?
3 How much extra energy was used to power the big amplifiers and lights for all these concerts for Live Earth?
4 And how much energy was burned running the multiple 18 wheelers that delivered all the equipment for all of the Live Earth concerts?
5 How much energy was burned by the jets and limos to deliver the compassionate, caring, rich rock and roll stars, and compassionate, caring, rich movie stars to the concerts?
6 Are all of the compassionate, caring, rich rock and roll stars, and compassionate, caring, rich movie stars going to change all of their light bulbs like they want all the rest of us to do?
7 Are all of the compassionate, caring, rich rock and roll stars, and compassionate, caring, rich movie stars going to sell their big SUVs, race cars and limousines, and drive little, expensive, slow electric cars, that only go 50 miles at a time, like they want all the rest of us to do?
8 Are all of the compassionate, caring, rich rock and roll stars, and compassionate, caring, rich movie stars going to wipe their butts with one square of toilet paper like Sheril Crow wants all the rest of us to do?

I think not.

I have an idea.
Lets all go to Taco Bell and buy a big BEEF and bean burrito and have a methane party.

Surprise! Again!

After the rather disappointing news of a couple of weeks ago that my running course was not three miles, as I intended, but two miles (2.3 to be ezakt), I set about to re-plot my path to really (reelee) be three miles.
So today, Saturday, I tried out a modified course that, according to my calculations, was 3.15 miles.
It should be pointed out that it is one thing to have a course of a planned length, it is quite another to actually run the whole length of it.

As you may know, I took advantage of the holiday on Wednesday and ran the two mile course in the early morning (six AM).
I was not pleased with my performance that day ( I felt tired, etc.) but I had a successful run nonetheless.
It was not intended to break new ground in distance or intensity - just a "maintenance" session.
It served that function, so in that view, it was a successful session.

So today, I was somewhat concerned that I would still feel weak and not do well on my new longer path.
My concern was not necessary.
I started out cautiously, mindful of the longer duration of my planned session.
The time was 6:08 AM.
The weather was typical for this location and time of year - about 70 degrees with about 95 percent humidity (really).
It was so humid that there was fog just a few dozen feet above the ground.

After some minor whining from my left hip and hamstring, everybody settled down for the task at hand (or foot, if you like).
Hill # 1 went well, with accelerated breathing starting only after I reached the top.
Hill # 2 also went well, with accelerated breathing starting late in the segment.
Breathing was slightly impaired because of the heavy, wet air.
After topping hill 2, instead of turning right, I kept going straight, crossing Old Madison Pike.
I wondered if I could make this additional mile and a half loop.
In the back of my mind, I was prepared to nurse my wounded ego (or id) if things got so difficult that I had to stop running and walk for a few minutes.

But the longer I ran, the better I felt.
This was a segment of my old running course.
I had traveled it many times in years past, so it felt familiar and comfortable.
At the end of the first half-mile leg, I was feeling surprisingly strong.
I turned right for the second half-mile segment, still feeling good.
As I turned right again, to begin the last half-mile portion of this loop, I wondered if my breathing would hold to my more relaxed one-per-four-steps level or bump up to the one-per-three-steps rate, like it did the last time I ran this loop.
Interestingly, my breathing held to the lower rate until I crossed Old Madison Pike and turned left for the last quarter-mile segment.
But by then I could almost see my car.
I was nearing the finish line, and elevated breathing was more in order.

By now, my body was beginning to talk to me about various points of discomfort.
None of this was urgent or even painful, and I was pleased (again!) that all systems were still go for the finish.

As I entered the parking lot of the office park where my car was parked, Run Command Central gave authorization for the session to stop at the near end of the long office building near my car, rather than the far end, as a reward for the good performance.
But my body (and ego or id or whatever hidden part of me that responds to challenges) signaled it's intention to push to the far end of the building.
To be sure, I was tired.
There was no sprint here.
But there was no letup, either.
My legs, though tired, were pushed to maintain - and even increase - their pace as I traveled the final one hundred yards.
I worked to lengthen my strides as I approached the end point.
It was with great satisfaction that I stopped running and began my cool-down walk.
I was very tired - and pleased.
I ran the whole way.
The time was 6:45 AM.
It had taken me 37 minutes to run three point one five miles.
I am not as fast as I used to be.
But at this point in my life (read: age) I will trade speed for time and distance willingly.
And to my surprise - again - I am stronger than I was last week.

Out With The Old, In With The New

Let the chronicles show that, on this, my third anniversary in my little house, the clothes washing machine that came with the house has died (or at least became greatly impaired) .
According to the records it was 17 years old.

This was not an unexpected event and, according to plan, a new machine was procured.
So now I have a nice, white, new Kenmore washer installed as of this day.
It is a top-load machine.
I did not take the so-called "energy efficiency" bate and opt for one of the new (and expensive) front-load washers.
My sister did so, but I doubt that she will ever see the payback in energy savings vs. the huge price of such machines (almost three times the cost of my machine).

Water is not expensive, and never will be - in spite of what Al Gore says.
Reducing the cost of heating water can be controlled by installing a water heater (not a tankless - that is another subject) that is well insulated, and installing a low-flow shower head (as I have done).

I am looking forward to washing my first load of clothes in my new machine.
(Friday is laundry day.)

Reality

It was with some dismay that I realized that I had miscalculated the length of my new running course in Research Park.
I originally thought it was 3.2 miles.
But as I was plotting a slightly longer course, I realized that the length was only 2.2 miles.
So this past Saturday morning I changed the path of my course to lengthen it to three miles.
Well, almost.

The new path bypasses the one mile loop with the hills and substitutes a 2.2 mile loop that is virtually flat.
Total new course length - 2.7 miles.
Further adjustments will be made to get it to three miles.

The motive is to build some distance ability - endurance.
I did fine the first two miles or so, then, for no apparent reason, my breathing kicked into three-step mode.
It stayed there for the duration of the run.
I was not impressed with my performance.
I fear that I need to get used to this.

Near the end of the session, part of me wanted to stop, but Run Command Central again overruled the impulse and pushed me to the far end of the building near my parked car.
It was a good session - no hurting joints, no whining muscles.
There was just general fatigue from the hips down.
The normal (as in, common) reaction to a taxing run.
Hopefully, I will gain some endurance as I slowly build my distance.

Because of the Independence Day holiday Wednesday, I plan to run this course again (at six AM).
We shall see how I do.

A Difficult Day

This was suck it up day.
I am speaking of my morning run.
The weather was nice - about 65 though a bit humid.
I have been busy all week with Vacation Bible School and have not exercised like I would desire.
Thus, I was a bit concerned that my Saturday run would be more of a challenge.
This, after my surprising (to me) progress thus far.

And it turned out as I had feared.
From the first steps there were complaints from various locations - lower back, left hip left hamstring and left knee.
But after a few hundred feet, everyone seemed to settle down to muted mumblings.
It was clear to me after the first eighth of a mile that I was tired.
I did not feel strong and I dreaded how my body would react to the two small hills yet ahead.
I did okay going up the first one and did not go into faster breathing until I reached the top (a common point for the extra effort to manifest itself).
It took more time than I wished for my breathing to settle down again as I went down the first hill, but I did regain my usual composure - such as it is on a run.

Halfway up the next hill - almost a quarter mile long - my breathing kicked into three-step mode again.
I was working and I felt it.
But by this time, I had resigned myself to a test of my will over my aging body.
I had a plan for victory - run, no matter how I feel.
No stopping for ANYTHING short of impending injury.
Topping hill two, I expected my breathing to remain faster than my preferred rate, and it was so.

(I learned in racing that if I was to do well - decrease my race times - I would have to push myself into the three-steps-per-breath rate in the first five minutes of the race (for a 5K race) and maintain that rate for the WHOLE race. It worked.)

So, today, I just accepted that I was in race mode and was going to have to dig in and go for the finish line, like in the racing days.
Strangely, I accepted the challenge with surprising ease.
(I do not consider myself a person who seeks or enjoys challenges - in spite of what I have learned about myself from racing, so I am still surprised when I catch myself pursuing a difficult goal.)
This was not a "fun" run (like last week); this was work.
But it was the "no pain- no gain" thing.
Do it and get better, or wimp out and pay the price of diminished strength and rebuilding later.
Fortunately, all of the whiners stayed relatively silent for the duration.

I spent much of my time working to make sure that my left foot pushed off the same spot on the balls of my foot behind my second and third toes, just like my right foot does with no effort.
(My left foot likes to flop around if I do not force it to behave.
If not made to obey proper form, it likes to push off of the end of the big toe.
I am not sure why.)

When I reached Governors Drive West, I had to stop for a poorly timed car to pass.
Sometimes, having to stop is the death knell for a difficult run because it is so difficult to get going again.
Not today.
I just dug in and started again.
It was hard, but by this time (about a tenth of a mile from my finish point) I was pushing myself to see just how much mojo I had in me.
I was tired but that was part of the point of the whole session.

As I approached the end, my mind - no doubt in response to my tired body - suggested that I stop at the first corner of the building I was approaching.
The Run Command Center immediately rejected the suggestion and decreed another stopping point closer to my car - and farther away from my then current location (at the FAR end of the building).
And that is were the run ended.
I was too tired to do any sprinting at the end.
It took extra effort just to maintain my pace at that stage.


As usual, I felt the dichotometric feelings of tiredness and exhilaration from the endorphin rush.
Run duration: 34 minutes 21 seconds.
I later verified that this course is indeed 3.2 miles long.
It is good to be running again.

Busy Week

This past week has been quite busy.

THE CAR

I was having a problem with my car.
The check engine light came on last week and my mechanic was bothered by the reason (computer code).
It indicated a more serious problem or it could be a bad sensor.
Anyway, he ordered a new sensor and I took the car in this week to have it installed.
But another problem developed and it took him three days to get it fixed.
I won't go into all the details.
Needless to say, (but not needless enough not to say it) I hate being without my little car.
Timothy was picking me up and taking me to work.
One of the guys at work was taking me to the mechanic shop each afternoon to see how my car was doing.
The mechanic was taking me home each evening when my car was not fixed.

THE EYE EXAM

Thursday I had an appointment with the eye doctor for my annual checkup.
I had to borrow the car of one of the guys at work to get there kuz my kar was broken.
anyway, one of the benefits of going to the eye doctor is I get to see what my blood pressure is.
This year it was 115/65.
My resting heart rate was 50.
Those are good numbers.
I am pleased.
The $400+ for the new glasses was not a good number.
But my eyes have not changed very much.
That is good.

THE FRIDAY LUNCH

I had lunch with the guys from work.
This is a custom we have developed over the years - lunch out on Friday.
Interestingly, we went to a new restaurant called the Red Robin.
They make hamburgers, primarily.
The place was busy, crowded and noisy.
And seated at the table next to us was my former wife, and all of my children celebrating my daughter's 32nd birthday.
(why I was not invited, I do not know)
If this was deliberate, I hope they were embarrassed.
Anyway, it was good to see all of my chillins.

THE RUN

The Saturday run was productive.
After the rather difficult time I had last week, I was hoping to build on that effort and get a little stronger, and that proved to be the case.

As before, half way up the second hill my breathing became more rapid, but once I reached the top and started down the quarter-mile down-hill, it settled back to the more comfortable rate.
I was able to keep my breathing at this rate until the very end.
But I was feeling quite good toward the end and so the last several hundred feet I pushed my speed and let my breathing go where it wished.
It was a good run.
There was some minor whining from my left leg, particularly from my left hamstring about mid-way up my thigh.
It never became bad enough to bother the festivities.
The complaint was duly noted and ignored.

JOSH

Saturday, Josh came over for a visit.
It was sort of his Fathers Day present.
We went to lunch at Cracker Barrel and chatted about many things.
It was a pleasant time.
I always enjoy visiting with my children.
Getting their perspective on life is usually interesting.

Run And Learn

Well, I received additional education about myself this past Saturday.
I decided to forsake my uphill course for a "flat" one.
The idea was to run a course of which I knew the distance, rather than guess.
So I went to my old course in Research Park.
If you were to see this portion from the air, it would look like the number 9.
The loop is exactly one mile with two hills on it.
So I started at the bottom of the nine, ran up to the loop, turned left, ran around the loop and back to the start point.
Just short of three miles.
But as I was coming up the second hill at the top of the nine (about a quarter mile long), I had to kick my breathing into the "one and a half" mode.

Some explanation - my usual "comfortable" breathing rate while running is one breath every four steps.
When I work harder, my breathing rate increases to one breath every three steps.
There is a fourth breathing rate that is reserved for the end of races where I sprint as fast as I can and breathe as fast as required.
I do not pay much attention to my breathing rate vs. my steps during this time.
It seldom lasts longer that about thirty seconds.

Anyway, if my breathing increases to the "one and a half" rate too early in a run, I try to slow down to allow my breathing rate to drop back to my comfort pace.
Well, Saturday I could not get my breathing back down to my comfort rate so I ran the last mile or so under some duress.
This surprised me.

I thought that my uphill Bankhead course was a tougher course even though the second half is all down hill.
Not.
Flat with two smaller hills is harder, it seems.
So, rather than run my beloved Bankhead course for a few weeks, I will run the Research Park course until I am strong enough to handle the "flat" course.

The workout Saturday was substantial.
Fortunately, nothing broke.
In fact, nothing even whined.
No knee problems, no hip problems, no connection problems.
Just general tiredness.
I was very tired afterward.
It was a familiar feeling - tired yet still feeling the high from the endorphins generated by the session - from my racing days.

I did my usual two-mile walk this morning and could feel several complaints from stiff hams and calves.
Pain is good.
No pain, no gain.
So pain = gain.
Ergo, I gained this weekend.
Woohoo.

It is good to be running again.

Another Good Run

As both of you can see, my Saturday morning runs have become the milestones of my week.

This is because my weekdays are mostly the same (get up at 5 AM, shower n shave, dress, cook breakfast, make lunch, do the dishes/pans, go to work, work, come home, change clothes, do house chores if needed, cook dinner, watch the news while eating, do the dishes/pans, check my investments/email, goof off, read my Bible, go to sleep.

Sundays are taken up with church activities which sort of mirror the weekday schedule.

So Saturdays are special to me.
And running again is really special to me.
I love running.
I am not sure why.
The exercise is good for me, but there are other ways to exercise (which I do).
The burning of calories is good for me, but there are other ways to burn calories (which I do).
The endorphin high is fun, but one has to work pretty hard to get it (no other form of exercise gives me the same rush that running produces).
[And running six miles - about an hour - produces a stronger, longer-lasting high than running three miles - about thirty minutes.]
I suspect that it is all of the above.

Anyway, this morning I was late getting to my course - 6:08 AM.
I parked even farther away from my first location a few weeks ago.
I ran all of this part of Pratt Avenue - almost 1/4 of a mile I would guess - then up Bankhead Parkway.
I was concerned that the slight incline of Pratt would cost me some strength on the steeper Bankhead.
But I was, again, cautious and did not push my pace as I started out.
To my surprise, I did not even break into my more rapid breathing as I have before going up Bankhead.

I was expecting to have to work harder on this more extended course, but the extra distance and starting incline seemed to be easily offset by my increasing endurance.
This is a surprise to me.
I did not think that I could improve this easily/quickly after not running for over a year.
Anyway, I ran all the way up Bankhead with no major problems.
The outside of my left calf did some minor whining off and on the whole run but never threatened to shut me down.

At mid-point, as I was walking up The Hill, my glutes and hammys - especially on my left side - announced their mild displeasure with the task at hand.
This was not unexpected as I treated them to two sets of twenty lunges on Thursday.
Sometimes my body takes two days to respond to an exercise session.
Two days from Thursday would be (duh) Saturday. (!)
Running down Bankhead there were only slight mumblings from some attachment where my left hamstring attaches to my hip/glute area.
Again, nothing to stop the parade.

As I was running down Bankhead, I met three or four small groups of runners coming up.
We greeted each other as we approached/passed, as is the custom with most runners in this area.
Most of them were women and all looked very nice.
Of course, as with most groups of people, they were younger than myself - young enough to be my kids, in fact.
The good news is, by this time my endorphin rush was on the rise, so it is hard to feel bad about myself (old, skinny, alone, etc.).

When I got to the bottom of Bankhead, I continued onto Pratt, which was now a nice slight downhill grade, and I enjoyed the gravity-boosted easy run down the middle of the street - a privilege of we early runners.
Near the end of the course, I was feeling so good, I increased my speed to nearly a sprint to wring out the last of my strength.
I stopped running near my car and walked for a couple of minutes to cool down and allow my heart to come off of its peak rate.
This session had taken just over thirty minutes.
It was a good run.