The Short and the Long

Well, it is official now. I am an Ex-runner. I have been having foot pain in both my feet for the last 2 months. I tried to ignore it and even pressed my luck by running a half ultra marathon (50 km).

Now my feet hurt from standing too long.

So I went to a podiatrist on the recomendation of a good friend of mine and had my feet checked out. His assessment: Plantar Fasciitis. He wants me to try orthotics for my shoes. Yuck.

I've heard a lot about running with orthotics and most if it isn't encouraging.

So I am going to stop running for a short while. I may start again but for now, I am an ex-runner.

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Why do I run anyway?.

When I was younger, it was to escape screaming babies and give me freedom in a restrictive environment. I planned my runs so they would not interfere with Mo's schedule. She could sleep while ran.

It also got me out in the fresh air and allowed me to think.

It was a time of meditation. Eventually I discovered God in the pages of my journal and the miles of my journey.

The longer my runs became, the more able I was to listen to that vast, small voice.

Recently I ran an excersize that was just over one km. Although the distance was short, I still heard that small voice. Yup, still with me. So a short run can be meditative too!

I guess in the Long Run, a Short Run may be just as therapeutic.

Go with the Flow

I am flowing water.

I fall from the sky in a fine mist, noticed on the face and hands. I collect into puddles and nurture seedlings. In time I collect into streams that meander through thick brush.

Unknown to me, ancient trees drink of me and say a silent thanks.

More flow and I develop into a river. Confined by the banks of propriety, I am none the less a strong force; to be reckoned with.

Small children play at my banks and are delighted and cherished.

I cross the plains in no particular hurry, knowing that my steady progress is assured.

I reach the precipice. Fear grips me. I draw together and try to shrink from the edge! Then I become the waterfall for a brief moment. Dizzy, spinning, released, joyous. Free, in my glory, fully alive.

Crash, into the pond I go in a blaze of foamy excitement. Collecting myself into pools I rest, then press on with relentless (breathless) unhurried placidness. Perhaps rapids next?

Composed as an exercise at The Wall by Tim Rosborough

What’s in a name

I miss-typed my own blog’s URL and got this one. Interesting pictures, but no recent posts. This little number gave me a giggle. I thought, hey, those could be state lotto numbers!

Now I just need to be in a State...

And beleive in lottos...

And buy a ticket...

And get lucky!

Nah too much work.

You Are HERE

I haven't fully looked at this site yet, but I thought it was an interesting collection of information. I like to know where I am at. This site litererally tells me my place in the universe.

Stay Tuned Bloggers

The PBGs haven't been as active in my life until recently but, as you can imagine, they don't always operate near the surface. I had a strong experience this past weekend that I am preparing to post for your reading pleasure.

Time is short right now but I have some notes in my draft pages and I will post as soon as I can.

Stay tuned!

Prelude to Grace

I had had a very stress filled weekend. I probably got about 20 hrs of sleep over the previous four days.

Now it was Monday morning and I was on my way to work. My mind was fuzzy on the outside and fizzy on the inside. I had a lot to mull over. It is not surprising then, that I had already missed one turn-off and needed to do a quick double lane change, nearly missing a second one.

And my thoughts turned to the PBGs. They haven't been in the foreground of my mind lately, but in times of emotional stress they like to visit. I rarely pick up a pop can while running anymore. Many of the symbols the PBGs and I used a year ago have now been forgotten.

But I guess they have been busy replacing my pseudo-mumbo-jumbo with more conventional lingo. While driving, I spotted the symbol of the fish. My wife told me all about this ancient symbol of the Christian faith. And just in case I didn't get it, the owner of this particular Honda Prelude included the letters J E S U S in the middle of the fish to make it clear.

Here, I thought, is a clear sign. Of what, I am not sure, but a clear sign. I almost put it out of my head right away. "Nah, God never communicates that clearly to me." I remember thinking of the scene in Jim Carrie's movie "Bruce Almighty" when he says to God, "Give me a sign". God sends him a whole truck load of street signs. Bruce ignores this and several other obvious signs and winds up crashing into a tree.

So I payed a little more attention do my driving. Good thing too because as I was nearing work the car directly in front of me slammed into a van in the turning lane ahead of him.

Big bang, broken windshield, airbags deployed, car totaled. I pulled over and, like in a dream, got out of my car to help. A second witness was already on the scene. He knew first aid and immediately took charge. He showed me how to immobilize the car driver's head while he checked him over.

So I guess the PBGs have given me a new symbol. I think this symbol means, "Wake up! Life is too short to walk (or drive) around in a fog!" In other words, the fish symbol is very much a Prelude to Grace.

Lent -- No Playing Around

Well, it's Shrove Tuesday today so I have been casting about trying to decide what to give up for Lent this year...

But before I get in to that, perhaps I should give a quick status report from last year's Lent project.

I managed to stick to my goal and clean up every day for 40 days. Most days I did pretty well. Some days I had trouble getting over 30 items. The following day(s) I would try to compensate by picking up extra things so the average was still above 100 items.

Some of the areas I tidied are still looking respectable. Others are in need of cleaning up again. The house still seems pretty cluttered, but I am still working on it.

One of the big reasons that I don't clean up as much as I would like is that I spend way too much time on the computer. It's takes far less energy to sit in front of the keyboard than to wash the kitchen floor. It's far more fun to cause pixelated mayhem than to scrub a toilet. It's much more challenging to play a game of Stack 4x4 against an opponent from half way around the planet than to sort through old mail and dust the entertainment center.

So this year I plan to give up computer games. No more Kingdom of Loathing. No more Civilization III for me. Every time I even think about playing a computer game, I will stop and clean up instead.

Mind you, I will still allow myself to spend time on the computer. After all, who could give up Blogging?

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Editor's note: Apparently I am not alone in my lenten journey. My old web-sparring mate Ron Shank had also vowed to give up e-games. Hey Ron, I thought of it (and posted about it) before you did. ;-)

Mississippi Squirrel Revival

This one goes out to all the Death Racing Squirrels.

Mississippi Squirrel Revival

So even squirrels can be agents of the PBGs.

I hope that this year I will be able to run with RTS, perhaps for the third leg of the Death Race. On the other hand, I am not sure I have enough time to train up for it.

The Red Deer Marathon is rapidly approaching. I have heard that the Vancouver marathon group at the Running Room are already running 19 km. That race is only 3 weeks ahead of mine. I had better get my buns in gear and get seriously training if I want to do any marathons this year.

If that weren't enough, there are schedule conflicts too. My family was planning to go to the Naramata Church Camp near Penticton this summer. The weeks we want are at the same time as the Death Race.

I don't quite know what to do. I hope I don't need a squirrel in my pants to help me get into gear!

How Cliche

On my run the other day I was giving advise to a friend via a well used cliche.

"Those who cut their run short today will be able to run another day"

Ok, so I mangled the cliche a bit to fit it to the situation. I do that a lot.

Later, during our final mile I was thinking about my advise and cliches in general. Cliches are not really carriers of information. They only have value if you have experience their essence. Having heard them is not the same as knowing them.

So if, for instance, I tell you to give your body a rest so that you don't injure yourself, you only really understand my advise if you have ignored that advise and done yourself harm in the process. Sure, you can imagine what it is like to push yourself too hard and get injured. You may have heard others talk about their war wounds. But to really understand, you have to experience the pain. The withdrawl. The slow recovery. The struggle to rebuild yourself to your former fitness level.

So a cliche is a warning to the uninitiated and a reminder to experienced. The former doesn't really get it until they become the latter.

Search Google Image PBGS

This page is one of the results I got when I searched for PBGS on the Google Image search page. It is a Korean Dietary Supplement product called ShapeRite (TM) (by NO means an endorsement, BTW!). The web site is mostly in Korean, but the bottle label is in English.

So, if you want to get in shape, use PBGs

Our Fearless Leader

You may not know this (how on earth would they know, you haven't blogged in months) but over the summer I have been a run leader for RTS's half marathon clinic. My 2hr 1/2 marathon group was a small, tight knit group. After running in the Kelowna 1/2, we have continued to run together. We have become good friends and enjoy our time together.

When I am not running with the Running Room bunch, I am running with Neal and "Ginny". Neal is recovering from a recent injury and as a result, our runs together have been slow (~9 min/mile) and short (4 miles).

So between these two running groups, I am not doing much running with just the PBGs.

That doesn't mean that life isn't complicated or challenging, though.

My new job is challenging. It would be easier if my bosses just told me what they wanted me to do and then let me spend my time wallowing in details. But no,... they want me to take the lead. They want me to Design and Plan and Direct and Decide!

I have a suspicion, however, that it isn't just my bosses who want me to lead. I feel the delicate influence of the PBGs.

• They first got me doing rotations in church school
• Then the big call to lead the boys' group
• Then a stint helping with church Stewardship and all the phoning (shudder) that required
• Next, 1/2 marathon clinic run leader

Do you know what my Running Room group likes to call me?

Our Fearless Leader. With all the work I have done recently on the leader part, now all that's left is to work on the fearless part.

Dig Deep

As near as I can recollect†, I was running pretty hard and not feeling very good about it. I was in the middle of my marathon training and my notes say that I ran "19 long miles/ 30.5Km". The PBGs', in their various ways suggested that I "Dig deep". And, as is usually the case, the dig deep message applied to other areas besides my aching calves.

They said, "Dig deep in your running for that is the only way to improve your conditioning and attain your goals"

"Dig deep in your quest" to listen to the needs of others around you and respond in a Christian way. The surface is there for scratching because most of the truly pivotal stuff is not displayed on the surface.

"Dig deep in your personal relationships" for you never know what lies beneath the layers you are already familiar with.

"Dig deep into spirituality" for there will always be depths that have never been plumbed and mystery waiting to be enlightened.

†Originally experienced July 10, 2004 so these thoughts are not as freshly squeezed as they aught to be. It had great punch when I lived it but may seem more like pressed leaves in retrospect.

Must Be Weird to Care

It must be near Hallowe'en or something†. On my run I saw 4 black cats. I think it could have been a witches convention in Mill Woods or something. And I am not talking seeing the same black cat 4 times or over a large span of time. I saw 3 of these cats on the same fence. Pretty weird, eh?

But that isn't what I was going to talk about. Half way through my run I saw a young mom sitting on the curb with a small toddler in her lap. Her head was covered with a hood and she seemed to be rocking the child back and forth. It seemed to me that she was in distress. I even thought I heard her crying.

Indecisively, I stood across the street, catching my breath from some hard running. Should I approach and offer help? Is she really in distress or was I just imagining it?

"Are you ok?" I asked her.

Apparently she must have been just playing a silly game with her toddler. She looked at me as if I had a banana sprouting from my ear. She thought I was on crack or something. "Get away from me you loser," was written all over her face.

Is it so wrong to care? To take an interest in someone else's emotional state? Is it that unusual to notice someone's pain and reach out?

At the time, her reaction didn't bother me, but I did have the presence of mind to say, "Don't look at me like I am weird. I'm not weird." It didn't really change her opinion of me. But I was glad that I stood up for my supposed kind deed.

What would you, dear reader, have done? Would you risk looking the fool? Would you go out on a limb? Even if it was likely that you would be rebuffed? If she really was in need, what would I have done then?

Don't be shy. Let your 'higher right' speak out. Say what you feel needs to be said.

Or, just leave a comment if you want to.

† Actually, this post has been in my drafts since mid September. I did imagine a witch convention at that time however.

Here are my results from the What's my footprint quiz on the Earth Day Network

CATEGORY	GLOBAL HECTARES
FOOD	3.5
MOBILITY	0.2
SHELTER	0.6
GOODS/SERVICES	0.6
TOTAL FOOTPRINT	4.9

IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 8.8 GLOBAL HECTARES PER PERSON.

WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 1.8 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE GLOBAL HECTARES PER PERSON.

IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 2.7 PLANETS.

Thanks to my friend David (CIV handle Croxis) over at Paradigm Shifter for the link.

Soap Box Derby: Huge Lead

Didn't I tell you it was a huge lead? Eat my dust, red wagon! 

Soap Box Derby: They’re Off!

And they’re off! The hill is fairly steep, but the start is still slow. The dragon car has a huge lead. 

Soap Box Derby: First Race

First big race. Red wagon doesn't look TOO fast. Cross your fingers! 

Soap Box Derby: Father and Son

Father and son together 

Soap Box Derby: Lined up to race

Lined up and ready to race 

Soap Box Workshop: Finishing touches

Mom and dad put on finishing touches.White under coat and black top coat. Mom did a wonderful job with flames and dragon. Bear in mind that the race is only 12 hours away!