Tag Archives: Running

Palm Sunday and Mounds State Park

Posted on 1 April 2012 | 5 comments

Today is Palm Sunday. I love Palm Sunday because it means that Lent is almost over. While I love the season of Lent, I love its end as much as, if not more than, its duration. I enjoy thinking about serious things, but I also enjoy the excitement that comes with Easter and realizing that all the suffering and sadness comes to an end with the risen Christ. Though I am not silly enough to think that all of our earthly suffering comes to an end. I know that very real pain exists in this world, and I know that even remembering the resurrection of the Messiah is not enough to assuage some pain.

Palm Sunday is also one of my favorite Sundays because, for many churches, it is one of very few high holy days where children are encouraged to play a part in the service. Too often, I think, churches don’t have children participate in the service (they might totally mess things up, right?) unless it’s a special service, like a Christmas play or something. Children and youth seem to always be an afterthought in the Church, but we’d be well off to listen to their voices and learn from them, like a reciprocal relationship, instead of always putting them off to the side, in Children’s Church or the Nursery or the Alternative Youth Service. I love Palm Sunday, because it almost always involves small children, and any willing youth, waving palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!”

I remember how special I felt when I was a child and I got to be one of the Christians who proclaimed the coming of the Messiah. I (probably over-zealously) shouted my Hosannahs and waved my palm branch before (possibly not so) delicately laying it on the pile of branches on the altar of the church. I had a little extra spunk when I was younger. After Sunday School we got to go collect a branch apiece to take home with us, and I would always take it home and press some of the individual leaflets in my little white leather-bound KJV bible with Jesus’ words in red letters. That bible was so cool because it was a children’s bible, but it was a real translation (if you can call the KJV a real translation), and it had these strange watercolor type pictures in every book. I remember the one for Genesis was Joseph in his amazing rainbow coat. The Preface to the Christian Scriptures had this picture:

I remember getting in so much trouble in Sunday School over this exact picture. One of the adults was explaining to us, “See there is no door knob on the door, which means that you have to open the door to let Jesus inside. He can’t just open it himself. You have to let him in.” Then I said, “Um, the side of the door you can see has the hinges. The hinges are never on the same side of the door as the knob. Jesus is standing in front of the knob, so we can’t see it.” Let me just say, it doesn’t pay to be an observant little kid in a conservative evangelical denomination (Nazarene). I am sure my punishment by my Sunday School teacher for this event is one of reasons we ended up becoming Methodist. For all their faults, at least Methodists use their brains! But back to Palm Sunday.

I am not sure that I’ve ever missed a Palm Sunday service before in my life, but today we chose to sleep in and then go for a walk at Mounds State Park. Going to Mounds was a great choice since all the wild flowers were bloomed out and the weather was a little drizzly but perfect for hiking. We walked the opposite direction that we usually do, and it’s the way I like better, because I notice more beauty coming around that way. I’m not sure why I notice more, but I do. And today was no exception. The park was absolutely beautiful. Breathtakingly so. I didn’t wave any palm fronds, and I didn’t shout Hosannah, but I was able to worship in a way I don’t usually worship in a building called Church.

So this week, as I look forward to Easter, I plan to do several things to remind me of what is coming.I am going to play more, run more, and swim more. I am going to fast, eating only one meal (dinner) each day. And, I am going to pray more and be more mindful of the beauty all around me.

Peace.

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I have found that writing here (nearly) every day during Lent has done wonders for my mental health. Paying attention to the things around me and reflecting in a spiritual way always makes me feel better, more connected to my surroundings. I don’t know why I don’t keep this up. One entry a day isn’t too much to ask, right? Also, I just cut my hair; it’s pretty crazy, but so am I.

Crazy Hair. Woot. Woot.

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Posted in Art, Children, Christianity, Easter, Goals, Grace, Hair, Lent, Mental Health, Play, Religion, Running, Spirituality, Swimming, Writing

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Lent Day 38: Relay for Life

Posted on 31 March 2012 | 3 comments

Last night Bec and I met up with our friends Sarah and Celeste to walk for a few hours at the Relay for Life. We calculated that we probably walked about six miles while we were there and it was a three-mile trip to get there and back, so we walked about 9 miles last night. My ankles are a little sore today, because I haven’t been walking barefoot as much as I should be, and I haven’t been running at all. I wore my trusty Vibram Five Finger Classics for the walk last night, and my feet love me for it. They were a bit sore last night, but today they feel great. My ankles, not so much, but my feet feel awesome! I love barefooting!

This coming week, since I’ve been unsick for about a week now and my energy is coming back, I plan to make a concerted effort to get up at 5AM to run two miles and then head to Ball Pool to swim two miles every morning. On Fridays, I want to just go swim three miles. I figure running two miles four days a week (Monday through Friday) and then a longer run of at least five miles (on Saturdays) is a good way to get back into the pleasure of running without the pain. It ends up being thirteen miles of running and eleven miles of swimming each week as a good solid base to add onto this summer when I have more time. Bec and I have been going to the Mounds to walk every Sunday, which is a nice way to start the week, but I want to get my body back into shape.

Food Like This Fuels Me: Pork Chops and Spinach Salad

Much of my mental and spiritual well-being hinges on my body feeling well, so when I am not exercising regularly I don’t feel whole. The food I’ve been eating has helped tremendously, and I’ve lost 25 pounds since January 1, but I just want to be able to run and swim without the pain and with the pleasure. I haven’t eaten chocolate or ice cream for a week, which has helped to keep my blood sugar more stable.

I’m not sure what the connection between this post and Lent is, but I can say that I think we are designed to be at an optimal fitness for our own bodies. I’m not by any means saying that we shouldn’t be fat, because I don’t mind being fat nor do I think it is the sin that our love US culture makes it out to be. I mention that I lost 25 pounds, simply because I have. I completely changed the way I eat and what I do with my body, and it’s changed me. Did I set out to lose weight? A little bit, but only because I want to be able to run more, longer, faster, better, because I love how I feel after a nice, long run. Minus the sore feet because I am heavy. The bigger sin, than being fat, might be not using the resources God gave us to make our bodies be the best they can be. Whatever that means for you.

Maybe that’s how this ties into Lent: God wants us to be the best we can be for the sake of worshiping [Them] with no constraints. I suppose it’s kind of like yesterday’s post, in that God wants us to be able to play and worship with reckless abandon. For me, that means being able to move my body in a joyful galumph over trails in the woods, or to move my body like a fish through the lake waters. Beautiful movement = joyful worship.

 

 

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Posted in Barefooting, Fat, Food, Goals, Lent, Mental Health, Paleo/Primal, Photos, Relationships, Running, Spirituality, Swimming

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Lent Day 9: Insomnia and Catharsis

Posted on 1 March 2012 | 2 comments

I haven’t had insomnia this badly since I was in college. For this week, I am averaging about three good hours of sleep. At least, unlike college, I am not so jittery I can’t stay horizontal, so I am rested, but not well-rested.Our hotel situation worked out strangely, in that many of the AWP Conference goers received king-size beds instead of two double beds for groups of three adult-size people. I refuse to sleep in a king-size bed with two friends, no matter how close they are, so I volunteered to sleep on the floor. I don’t mind sleeping on the floor, but it isn’t as conducive to good sleep as I would like.

Tonight’s keynote address is with Margaret Atwood, the author of one of my favorite books, Oryx and Crake, and another book I have found becoming frighteningly realistic, The Handmaid’s Tale. After her address, several of us are going to go out for a bit. My plan is to exhaust myself and have a couple of nice hard ciders, so that I will be sure to get some sleep tonight. I also plan to run in the morning. I haven’t been exercising much the past couple of weeks, and I think the extra energy I’m not spending may be contributing to my insomnia. We’ll see.

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Chicago is a spiritual meditation. Chicago is cathartic.

Stop Here to Get Chocolate-Covered Gummi Bears

Don't Forget to Exit I-90 Before This Toll Booth

Expect a Beautiful View of the Lake

Bring Plenty of Supplies

Eat at Lou Malnati's on State Street

Eat at Trendy Cafes

Consume the All American Breakfast of Sausage, Eggs, and Hash Browns

Wash It Down With My First Greek Coffee

Don't Swirl Well Enough

Watch A Worker-Artist Clean A Goddess

Watch Him Work Some More

Make Black & White Photos During a Session in a Ballroom

Revel in Beauty Whenever & Wherever She Shows Her Face

Hope and pray and wish and dream that I can sleep tonight.

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Posted in Art, Beer, Christianity, Cider, Coffee, CW, Food, Goals, Grace, Lent, Mental Health, Paleo/Primal, Religion, Running, Spirituality, Writing

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Conference. New Shoes. Fish Stir Fry.

Posted on 23 January 2012 | 1 comment

Conference

I was pleasantly surprised by the conference I went to today. Last year this same conference was pretty useless, and I left more frustrated than educated. This year, however, I went to two sessions by a woman named Jamie MacDougall. Her sessions were fun, upbeat, and informative. I got several great ideas about how to use primary documents to provide students with historically amazing mentors.

For example, if a student is excited about feminist history, s/he could look at the primary documents of the Women’s Suffrage Movement in order to better understand some of the people who were involved in it. Through those documents, that student could then begin to form an understanding of the mentor’s philosophies, work ethic, thoughts, friendships, theories, collaborations, and other facets of their lives. Through this research students will become protégés of the famous person, choosing to pattern their lives after their role model/mentor, whether the mentor is alive or long passed.

I also attended a session about quality curriculum, which inspired me to completely revise the way I approach the standards in my classroom next year. I think between the two sessions, I have a lot of work to do over the summer to make my classroom more student driven, but also more clearly focused on quality topics. Of course, this may mean being much more creative with gathering texts and with how I use the libraries (Ball State, Burris, and Muncie Public).

New Shoes

Typically I run with no shoes or very minimal shoes, but as I mentioned in another post, I have a trail run coming up this Saturday. Today it is 40ish degrees and rainy, but by Saturday it could be zero and snowy or icy. I decided that running 6.55 miles in the snow might call for more foot protection than my VFFs could muster, so I purchased the flattest trail shoes I could find. I wanted some with decent tread in case of snow, a large toe box for my wide used-to-being-barefoot feet, and a pretty sweet design. I think I got all three things, but they are certainly not minimalist. I feel like I am on stilts when I run or walk in them, and I hope I can get used to that by Saturday night. If the weather allows, I’ll still be running in my VFFs and keeping these Adidas Vigors as my standby shoes.

Casual Shoes

Fish Stir Fry

This meal was entirely made up by me. If the recipe I am about to post resembles another one that exists, the similarities are entirely coincidental. Also, I am not real hip to measuring things, preferring instead to go by instinct. I am sorry if that bothers you, but it’s just how I cook.

Recipe: In butter, saute several cod pieces/filets (use a couple more than you think necessary because they do cook down a little), which you’ve seasoned with seasoned salt and pepper, for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove them from the wok or skillet and just let them hang out for a bit.

In the same pan, saute some green onions, grated fresh ginger, diced bell peppers with some salt and pepper. When those start to give off a good smell, add in some broccoli and carrots. Cook all the mess until your broccoli and carrots are almost the desired tenderness, which for Bec and me is al dente. Then spoon all the vegetables to one side to let them stay warm, while adding the fish back into the other side of the pan to warm it back up.

If you want it all mixed together, you could do that now, but I prefer to serve out the vegetables first, topping them with the fish. I think the plate looks prettier this way, not like I just glommed out some stir fry and slapped it on the plate. I didn’t take a picture of this meal, but it was pretty tasty. The cod was a good choice of fish, but I think many other meatier types of fish would work, too.

Today’s Bible Reading: Genesis 22, 23, 24 and Matthew 6: 19-34

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Posted in Christianity, Cooking, Fat, Food, Goals, Literature, Paleo/Primal, Reading, Running, School, Teaching

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