Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Ezekiel

Finished Ezekiel yesterday. This is another prophet who prophesies doom and gloom for the Isrealites. He wrote his book after his people were captured and carted off to Babylon, himself included. Ezekiel is a guy who, by today's standards, would probably be considered crazy because he had all kinds of visions. The most amazing one is that in which he sees the rise of the Jews after their death, starting with their bones rising up and becoming covered in flesh and skin and then having the breath of life breathed back into them by God.

The best way to sum up the book, I'd say, is with the often repeated line, "Then you will know that I am the Lord," after Ezekiel describes some terrible catastrophe that will befall those in Jerusalem for their sins.

It's another long-ish book, filled with visions and a few chapters that repeat ad nauseum the exact measurements of the temple once it will be restored.

**NEXT: Daniel

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Long Run (27 km)

Ran almost three laps around Burnaby Lake this morning for a total of 27 km. Took almost three hours. That's the farthest I've ever run.

Actually, it was 21 km of running, 7 km of pain. I can only assume I was running by the end because I made it back to my car, but it didn't feel like running should. My left hip flexor hates me today. Long distance hurts. It really does. Every fibre of my body was telling me to stop the madness. Even now, a cold bath, some good stretching and two cups of chocolate milk later, I still hurt. Even wearing compression socks and sitting with my feet up.

[Side note: compression socks aren't actually going to make a difference to your race, but they're a good idea for after the run, to help your circulation and prevent vein problems. Or maybe it's just a fad, but I got a pair for Christmas last year, so I'm trying them out.]

Here's my question: How do people run such distances without their legs falling apart? I wasn't going very fast by the last half lap, but I felt like I was killing my quads. To get in the training to be able to go 42.2 km I HAVE to be able to run at least 35 km within the next month, but the thought of that distance right now makes me want to cry. Besides cross-training to build up leg strength (and hip flexors), I don't really know what else to do besides run. Because unless I missed a memo, that's the only way to train for a marathon.

Even when it hurts.



Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Running = Ugly Feet

If you train for a marathon, don't bother getting a pedicure till it's all over.



My feet are taking a real beating, running long distances. There are blisters at the tips of my toes and one of my nails has turned light gray. I've heard of this happening, but I never thought it would happen to me. I bought new runners and I just got my orthotics refurbished and I wear synthetic socks. So what the heck? It's pretty gross. But kind of cool at the same time, right?



Monday, August 22, 2011

Lamentations

The Lamentations of Jeremaiah is kind of an extension of the Book of Jeremaiah. It's like the epilogue, in five chapters.

After Jerusalem and the holy temple are destroyed in the 6th Century, BCE, Jeremaiah takes off to a cave outside Damascus and writes this poetic lament for the city and its people. "My sighs are many, and my heart is faint." -- Lamentations 1:22

Damn those Babylonians. Damn them!

But then, there is hope, in the least likely of places: "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him." -- Lamentations 3:21-24

I wasn't expecting Jeremaiah to offer this kind of message. But then again, he ends with this:
"The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning. The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned! For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim." -- Lamentations 5:15-17

I think Lamentations can be summed up thus: God is very wroth. He will show mercy... but not yet.

**NEXT: Ezekiel

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Jeremiah

"Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings." -- Jeremiah 4:4

Finished the Book of Jeremiah tonight. All 52 very, very long chapters. Basically, the prophet Jeremiah laments the Jews' lack of obedience to God and keeps warning them to smarten up, but they won't listen. Jeremiah warns of fire and pestilence and destruction. Sure enough, the Babylonians wreak havoc on Judah.

Mostly the language was confusing and repetitive and the narrative boring. I really hope the rest of the prophets have more to say and report on. They're all more succinct in their writing, though, their books being much shorter, so at least it won't take as long to read any of the others.

**NEXT: Lamentations

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Isaiah

Finshed the Book of Isaiah today, which, I'd say can be summed up neatly with the line:
"Though meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved." -- Isaiah 64:5

Of the 66 chapters in this book, the vast majority are kind of a downer because they're all about how bad God's people have been, and how they should fear his wrath. I'm sure anyone who might have seen me reading this book would have noted my furrowed brow. It's a very serious, maybe ominous book, in contrast especially to a book like Ecclesiastes, which is so much more light and hopeful. Then again, Isaiah is not without hope, too:

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." -- Isaiah 40:31

"Arise, shine: for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." -- Isaiah 60:1

Next is Jeremiah, another fairly long read, at 52 chapters. There are another 15 or so prophets to read before the New Testament, which I am more and more eager to read.

**NEXT: Jeremiah

Monday, August 8, 2011

Long Run (21 km)

Yesterday my brother and I ran two laps around Burnaby Lake (10.6 km X 2) in 1:56 -- faster than my official half-marathon race time (2:06). I'm getting faster.

There was only one problem with yesterday's workout. I started geting stomach/gut cramps around the 3/4 mark, and when I got home I had really bad diarrhea. Really bad. Like, hanging my head over the bathtub in case I puked, bad. And then I lay shivering on the cold tiles beside the toilet until I fell asleep and then woke up an hour later and finally dragged myself to bed. What the hell that was about, I don't know, but I sure hope it was something I ate and not just because of running.

'Cause if running's going to give me the runs, then I'm going to have to find a new sport. So gross. Then again, there's only eight weeks to go till the marathon, so maybe... maybe... it's worth a little tummy trouble.

Friday, August 5, 2011

New Training Plan

It's hard to run 32 km when no one's holding you accountable. Not being in a training clinic, I've let myself skip a couple of the long weekend runs, and now I think I need to change my training schedule to make up for it.

My brother came up with a simple plan. We're going to run 10 miles (17 km) this weekend, and keep adding 2 miles each week until two weeks before the race (20 miles, 33 km), and do just two 10 km runs during the week (Tues/Thurs) as base runs. He said it worked for him before when he ran the Washington D.C. Marines Corps Marathon, so I'm going to go with this. There's only 10 weeks to go before race day, and I definitely don't feel like I'm on track, so I'm going to have to step it up.

It really is more difficult to train on my own than with a club. But if I just put in the time, I should get there. At this point I'm just focusing on crossing the finish line, not on making any stellar time.