Happy Birthday To Me!!!

After downing a large size burger from Red Robin (jalepenos, pepper-jack cheese, salsa, mmm-mmm) last night, I had to pay the piper this morning. It was a little tough at the get go, but ended up logging 5.4 miles at an 8:55 clip. It feltgood running and I stretched it out for about a 1/4 of a mile. There was fresh snow on the ground and it covered up some ice patches. I slipped a few times, but at the end of my run I truly bit it. I must have been parallel to the ground, landed flat on my back (hard!), but did not hit my head. I was pretty embarrassed at first but then my back was tightening up. I nice fellow was driving by when it happened and pulled over to make sure I was alright and even offered a ride - there are still some good Samaritans out there!

Today, after many searches over the last 3-4 months, I finally acquired a Wii game system (and a Wii fit). Pretty exciting!

Losing it!!!

Wow - big week for the weight loss as I dropped 5 POUNDS!!! Pretty awesome - I'm now down for a total of 24.5 pounds since it started. Running, lifting weights, and crunches has been paying off. I ran an easy 3.2 miles today in 28:34 - 8:59 miles.

I've also held my commitment with my daily bible reading and worship devotional. It's become routine now. Put Anna to bed, read devotional, read bible... when I know that I will miss a day, I read in advance instead of trying to play catch-up.

My friend Chris (remember him from below? - www.chrisjane.org) has been selected to play on the Big Ticket Festival Tour. It's a play-in competition to be picked to play at the actual Big Ticket Festivel which is a summer Christian music tour in Gaylord, MI. Third Day, Dave Crowder Band, Newsboys will all be performing and this could be Chris' big shot! If you are in the Grand Rapids area, stop by Resurrection Life Church in Grandville. The Tour plays from 2-8pm and Chris is scheduled to go on at 4:00 and has a 1/2 hour set. Pray for Chris inspire and lead others to a worshipful experience!

Run in the Sun (and sometimes snow)

Beautiful sunny winter day in northern Michigan today. Went for a nice, easy 30min run and ended up running 3.34 miles (8:59/mile). Not too shabby for not even pushing it. Went long on Saturday - 6omin run equaling 6.6 miles (9:07). The run felt good, but it snowed the whole time. Had icicles hanging from the eyelashes and eyebrows. Last week, I lost another .5 pound in the biggest loser which puts me at 19.5 pounds total. This should be a much better week as I have been trying to bear down a bit - especially because my birthday is this weekend and we're heading to my favorite restaurant (Red Robin)!!!

Reflective Run

I went for a 30 minute run today with lots to think about. One of my best friend's father passed away this past week and the funeral was this morning. TM was diagnozed with cancer a very short three months ago. How quickly that time passed for my friend. Today was an awesome celebration of his dad's life - including great music in which my friend accompanied the band on the drums. There were many witnesses and testaments to the life of TM - and also joy in the fact that he had accepted Jesus Christ as his savior. Someday, we'll all get back together again.

Susan and I are so blessed to still have our parents with us and so very much involved in our lives. Three months seems like a short time, but we can lose loved ones in a blink of a second. Remember to say "I love you" today, and tomorrow, and the next day. Peace.

Happy Valentine's Day

It's back to Michigan winter temperatures with some freshly fallen snow out there. I like to run in the cold and it was perfect today - about 28 degrees with just a light wind. I ran my longest run yet in this new year - 42 minutes totaling 4.5 miles. It felt good and it's good for you! Did some lifting today also - building some muscle. I lost another 2.5 pounds this week in the Biggest Loser contest - down 19 pounds total. What a difference from 6 weeks ago - both in weight and how far and fast I can run.

My friend Chris Jane is a Christian singer/songwriter. He just received copies of his newly published CD - Watching the Leaves Go By. He's the former Praise Band Leader at my church and is extremely talented with a God-centered heart. Check out his webpage at www.chrisjane.org and you can also listen to some of his songs or buy his CD. You'll enjoy it!

Feel Good Day

It's a beautiful, sunny, warm day today. Topped out at 57 degrees on February 10th - wow! I had one of my speed workouts today. I did a 5 minute warm-up run then a 20 minute interval training where I ran hard for 1 minute, ran easy for 1 minutes, and so on. It was a good workout and for that 20 minutes, I average 8:35/minutes per mile. This once a week activity will help slowly increase my speed. Last week I did some hill training where I would run as hard as I could up the hill, then jog back down - repeating 10 times. Now that was a workout. It was cold and I thought my heart was going to burst.

I have a church council meeting tonight and I've been thinking a lot about what I am going to say. These runs really give you time to think. Anyway, in my 365 Worship the King devotional, last night's message was perfect timing. It talked about what the church is and what it should be. One important message to take with you - "It's not always 'What Would Jesus Do,' but we should be asking, 'What Is Jesus Doing With Our Lives?'" Amen!

February Warm-up

Wow - it's 42 degrees outside! It felt great to run without my fingers feeling like they were going to fall off. It was a little windy, which made it a little more difficult to run, but it still felt great. At least it wasn't raining yet - it's supposed to sometime today. It will be a mess out there if/when it does.

I ran 3.84 miles today at a clip of 9:10 per mile. Yesterday I ran 2.5miles at 8:52/mile. My speed is increasing. Since I ran a marathon last year, my goals this year are to run leaner and faster. I'm going to run 5k and 10k races with the ultimate goal for breaking 20 minutes for a 5k race. Right now I'm about 27:40 - So I have a ways to go. Two years ago, I ran a self-timed 5k in 21:30 - So, I think I can do it. Of course, this hope is based on no injuries and continued weight loss. I'm done about 17 pounds since the beginning of "Biggest Loser." Yeah!!!

Spam I Am (not)

So, sorry for the long delay. Apparently the blogspot.com thought I was using this site to send spam to all of my friends (future ones too). After numerous requests to unblock the site, someone finally reviewed it and said that I am good to go again.

It's been over two weeks and I've been running and lifting like crazy. I am currently in first place (with my teammate Lisa) in the "Biggest Loser" contest - having lost 13.5 pounds!!! It feels good. My latest long run last Saturday was 3.87 miles in 35:21 - so about 9:07 miles. I've signed up for the Irish Jig on March 21st but was blocked out of the Shamrock Shuffle because I didn't sign up on time. Bummer!

I'm also one month into my quest to read the bible in a year. It's been a great joy and is a great way to wind down before going to bed. I'll catch up more later!