Friday, April 24, 2009

"Thanks for asking."

I watched There will be Blood last night. Thomas hadn't planned on watching the movie with me. However, there we sat, enthralled. I'll give the film that, it is engaging. Beautiful cinematography. Slow, beautiful study shots. Fascinating characterization. It's an interesting story...I'm not sure what to think, really. The flim kept my undivided attention. It's rare that a movie will do that. I usually get bored, antsy, eager for the credits to roll.

Daniel Day Lewis' character is brilliant. His dialogue. His mannerisms. His expressions. His way of speaking to people. His solitude and privacy.

I would say more...but I'm not ready to yet. I need to ponder this one for a few more days. If you've seen it, then I'd love to read your thoughts and impressions. If you haven't seen it, it's definitely worth your time.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Boston Marathon 2009.

I ran the 2009 Boston Marathon on Monday. 26 miles, 385 yards. Hopkinton to Boston. It was an amazing day.

I wasn't nervous about the run. Curious is more how I would describe my feeling. This marathon was the least prepared I'd ever been before a marathon. The past two months I hadn't been running. I ran 12 miles on the Monday a week before the race. I was sore for three days. Then I ran 5 miles on the Friday before the race...before that, it'd been about 7-8 weeks since I'd ran. I haven't been a slug, however; I've been training quite intensely on the bicycle. But still...even with all the cardio and endurance cycling provides...26.2 miles is a long way...and pounding on the legs and body is quite brutal. And being sore after 12 miles, I wasn't quite sure how I would hold up. I was curious. Will I feel okay? Will I have a total melt down? Will it just be average? Will I pull out some sort of crazy feat?

The weekend was great. I stayed with friends in Boston on the North shore. My friend Laura also went for the weekend. So it was a great time being with friends. Very relaxing.

Another friend, Angie, was also running the race. I stayed with her on Sunday night, close to downtown, in her apt. It was great having a friend also running the race. We were able to encourage each other in our lack of preparations :) Her brother made us breakfast in the morning. And it was nice just having a friend on the bus to Hopkinton.

Race morning was perfect. The weather was cool and slightly overcast. The energy in Hopkinton was fabulous. 26,000+ runners taking care of last minute race preparations. Talking, laughing, hanging out, getting ready. Sort of a nervous energy just crackling through the town.

I ran Boston in 2007...the worst weather I've ever run in. COLD. WINDY. RAINY. It was awful. I mean, it was sweet running Boston, but it was awful. The runners suffered. The times suffered. The crowd turn out suffered.

I remember being impressed with the crowd in 2007. It was still a lot more people cheering than normal. And I remember being a bit sceptical when people told me it was probably about 1/10th of the normal turnout.

They were not exaggerating.

Since the weather on Monday was so beautiful, the crowds were full and energetic. The number of screaming spectators along almost the entire 26.2 mile length of road was overwhelming! People handing out water and gatorade. Kids asking for "high fives" and handing out orange slices. It was great! It awesome how the city gets behind this race. And definitely made running a lot more enjoyable.

My run went well. I was maintaining about a 7 minute mile pace for most of the race. I was really good about staying relaxed and focused, not letting the crowd or the downhill sections lure me into running faster than I knew I should. I was on pace to do it in just over 3 hours, thinking maybe if I felt good enough I could pick it up at the end and come in under 3 hours. However, the last 6 miles or so, the hills took it out of me. I never slowed down too much, but I also didn't have the leg turnover to pick up the pace at all. I finished with a time of 3 hours and 7 minutes.

The highlight of the race: Wellsley College. There's a big sign proceeding the Wellsley section which reads, "Feel the Scream." They are not kidding. About a half mile before you get to Wellsley you can already hear them screaming. And when you get there...it's wild. 1000s of screaming college girls :) holding signs that say "Kiss me!" Well, all right. Mostly I just ran along the fence giving "high fives." A few times, though, I went for it. Twice I got cheeked...they turned their faces at the last second. One time, though; money. Wellsley...yeah, I'll be back to Boston some day :)

So, yes. It was a great weekend. Great time with friends. Great time relaxing away from work and the daily grind. And a great race. I'm quite sore, though. I think I'll just relax and take it easy.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Into the Wild.

I finished the movie Into the Wild for the second time. It's becoming one of my favorites. It is a difficult movie to watch. The story is beautiful and tragic. It hangs heavy with me. After the movie is over I can feel the film for a couple days...


I think the film is such an experience for several reasons:


1. In some ways the character, Alexander Supertramp, reminds me of my bubby. The movie is sad...and makes me even sadder when I imagine this happening to my brother.

2. In general, the character is likeable. The people he meets love him. You, the viewer, love him. It's sad to imagine their feelings and reactions when they found out what happened.

3. The end is just so tragic. He journeys to Alaska alone. While there he comes to realize that "Happiness only real when shared." However, at this point he's trapped. The river is flooded and can't be crossed. He also mistakenly eats a poisonous plant. So you long for him to leave, journey back to his friends, and really start embracing life...but he can't. You watch him die.

4. And the story is just good. It's inspiring. You love what he's doing and how he's doing it.


I also like how the film is set up. It is set up like chapters of his life. The chapters have a flow to them. You see his childhood, becoming a man, learning wisdom, etc. And while the flow of the chapters makes a lot of sense, the timing is all over the place. The things he learns have a study flow, a logical progression. However, the time in which they're learned jumps all over the place. He might learn something while on the Bus in Alaska. Then his next lesson comes before he even leaves for Alaska. Perhaps that helps us as the viewer to see life more completely...not as a series of random events, lessons learned along the way, but as our collective experiences, relationships, past and present, shaping us and molding us into who we are. I like that.

The movie awakens in me a desire for adventure. I love his spirit. I love his refusal to settle. He's not charmed by things of this world: power, fame, wealth. I do not want to be charmed by these things either. However, there is also a twinge of sadness throughout the movie. You see him in relationship with people he meets along the way...and it's sad that he's choosing such a lonely road. Especially, in the end, at his end, when he realizes what he's missing, the people he's missing...and as happy as he's been in the mountains of Alaska, it would have been made sweeter by sharing it with loved ones.

It's hard to reconcile these two things in my mind. He awakens in me a desire to live freely and adventurously. However, I also share his desire for community and relationship...for a family. I'm wondering how the two go together. I don't think the only answer is living like a hippy in Slab City. Part of me wants to sell it all and just go on the road, into the wild. However, I know from past experiences, and also from watching his experience, that would not ultimately satisfy. We are made to be in relationship and in community.

Ultimately I want to honor God with my life. I don't want to settle. I don't want to just slip into the mainstream. However, I also don't want unrealistic romantic ideas of what life should look like to keep me from being happy or content.

I'm excited about Bolivia. It will certainly be an adventure. I'm stepping into the unknown. New job. New people. New place. New language. New culture. I pray that I can constantly rely on the Lord for strength, for wisdom, for peace.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Death and Resurrection

I've been thinking about Christ's death and resurrection lately.

I think I understand the point of the death. I'm sure I don't understand it fully. But I get that Christ lived a perfect life. The penalty of our sin is death. And Christ paid that penalty on the cross. He took the punishment for my sin. He had to die because of my sin, our sin. He is the atoning sacrifice. Penal Substitutionary Atonement. Penal - death is required. Substitutionary - Christ died in my place. Atonement - through his blood we're made one with God, the relationship is reconciled.

And I believe in the resurrection. I believe Christ rose from the dead after three days. I believe that it was prophesied. I believe he said he was going to come back to life. However, I have trouble getting my mind around why he had to come back to life. What did it accomplish...what was completed with him coming back to life?

My friends and my mom have given some good insights.

The wages of sin is death. Jesus paid the penalty in dying and conquered death by coming back to life. So death has no power over us. We are in Christ, we are new creation.

Jesus is also our High Priest. He is our intercessor before God. In coming back to life, he returns and is our constant and eternal intercessor.

Also, the fact that he said he was coming back to life. Coming back to life and appearing to his disciples, proved who he is! He is who he said he was!

So, yeah, this really has nothing with endurance sports, or going to Bolivia...just something that was on my mind.

I'd love to hear/read any further thoughts.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Ironman? Not this year...

As I mentioned earlier, James 4 has been the verse, or verses, of the year.

I had big plans for 2009. I was signed up to compete in the 2009 Louisville Ironman. I had my training regime all worked out. I was going to swim and run through the winter...ride when weather permitted. I was going to train hard for the 2009 Boston Marathon. I figured that would break up the focus of the training year. I could focus hard on the marathon. Then after the marathon I could focus hard on the Ironman. It was all planned out. I was motivated. I was enjoying being in the pool...a first for me. I was running well, swimming better, and cycling well. It was looking to be a great first Ironman.

Things started to go awry when a job opportunity came along. Late in December I heard about and applied for an overseas teaching position. There's a school in La Paz, Bolivia called Highlands International School. It is a Christian school. I have a friend who's been teaching there for the past three years. She loves her job and the stories and adventures she goes on always sound amazing. Well, I was informed of an opening at this school for the Spiritual Life Director... I applied. I interviewed. I was offered. I accepted!

Initially, I was hoping I could take the job and compete in the Ironman...surely it would all work out. As I continued with the interview process, however, the Ironman started to seem less and less likely. School would start in the middle of August. I would need to be there end of July...best case scenario, I would come home for the Ironman weekend, compete, fly back and continue teaching.

The director didn't think this to be the ideal situation. It would make me miss a lot of school. I would miss a lot of training... and it would have made for a grueling week of traveling and competition... So the more I thought and prayed about it, I decided to forgo the Ironman and take this job.

So that's what I've done. I have decided not to compete the Louisville Ironman. I leave for Bolivia on July 25!!!

I'm excited. really excited. It feels like God has a hold of my life. I'm on the road to God only knows.

I'm still running Boston Marathon. It's next Monday. But since Louisville fell through my training hasn't really been going great...I've been cycling a TON! But running...not so much. So Monday will be interesting.

Should make for a fun weekend, though. I'm going to Boston with one of my close friends and we're meeting up with and staying with some of our close friends. Should be awesome.

I can't promise that I'll write an update after the marathon...but I will try.

This blog is no longer an Ironman training blog ("when was it ever an ironman training blog?") I will try to keep things current though. I will try to share about my experiences in Bolivia, teaching, living, serving.

Keep it real, y'all.