Redding Marathon '09

I Finished my marathon in 3:28:06. I was 28th overall and second in my age group, granted there was only 170 people in the race and most of the runners were 35 and older which means I got trounced by a bunch of 40 year olds. For the complete break down see the results page here. The course went from Vista point above the damn, over the damn and onto some rail trail that ran for 11 miles. At mile 15 we hooked up to the River Trail, did one loop around and then finished at the Sundial Bridge. It really was a great course and the first 15 miles were absolutely stunning. Linz and Carter saw me twice during the race, as did Evan, Nance, Zach and Kelly, who caught me at great places along the river trail. Noah and Sarah caught me at mile 18.4--all were a huge encouragement--thanks guys, I could not have done it without you!

The first 18 were a breeze and really fun. I met Mike from Washington DC (pictured below) in the first mile of the race, we ran together and chit-chatted  till about mile twenty. He did his best to drag me along the last six but I just could not hang and he finished about 7 minutes ahead of me--great Guy--I would run with him again any day. Through that section our mile pace fluctuated between 7:15 and 7:30, a pace that put our finishing time around 3:15. The above picture is me feeling great at mile 15. 
This pic is at 18.5. A mile and a half after this picture my pace dropped to somewhere in the nines and it was all I could do to run sub tens. At mile 22 my legs began to cramp severely and continued to cramp off and on till the finish. I have never felt anything like it. I became road kill for the more experienced old dudes and dudettes who whizzed by me at quickened pace, for they had run a young 24 year old into the ground and were proud of it. 
Me at the finish where Linz, Carter, and great friends awaited. After the race, in an attempted to explain the pain, I equated the last four miles to the pain of birth, Linz laughed and said, "Not even close honey, but nice try." 
Me and my new friend Mike--the camaraderie  at these races is incredible.
A hug and a kiss never felt so good. Thanks all for your support.

In Brief

1. Student teaching is amazing. 

My master teachers (mentors) that I am paired with could not be better. 

Some signs that I am in the right place:

I don't feel like a fish out of water, being in front of a class seems as natural as breathing (I have got a lot to work on though--they tell me the craft is never mastered and I believe them), I sincerely and genuinely care for the kids in my class, and finally, I feel more myself then I have felt in a long time.

2. Marathon tomorrow. nervous. excited. hydrated and hungry.

3.  I am teaching the The Great Gatsby to my Juniors. Every one should read it again because it is unbelievably good. Fitzgerald succeeds in giving us pure poetry out of the mouth of Nick his humble and witty narrator. If you read it and don't like it, try it again because it is even better the third time. I am 1/3 of the way into Grapes of  Wrath, put that on your "to read" list too. It is blowing me out of the water and it reads faster then I ever could have imagined. 

4. The Best for last. Carter is turning into a human, not that he never was one, but now he crawls, claps, eats some solid foods, climbs into my lap, gets into trouble (see my wife's blog) and loves me.  

January Will Be Great! Like the rest of 09

For Christmas I got the flu. It came with some great features like chills, cold sweats, the usual fever and a soar throat. Medication was sold separately and like batteries was overpriced. I was sick for a solid five days, five days that were to be a critical component of my marathon training. Oh well, in the words of that nineties pop wonder Chumbawamba, I get knocked down but I get up again. The flu took more out of me then I expected. I did a 19.3 mile run on friday, it hurt, I am sore and now nervous about the race. However, I can not blame it all on the flu, I did slack a little and skip out on two or three big runs. My demise will be the result of a team effort by Flu and Apathy. We will see how it all pans out, I got two weeks to recover and taper my training. . . Giddy-up! 

I also start student teaching at Shasta Hight School this tuesday. I have two remedial freshman classes and a junior english class. It is a relief be making the final steps to a career. I would love to be hired by Shasta High come fall and my plan is to make myself a vital part of the school community, that way when hiring time comes they will say to themselves, what would SHS be without Mr. Tyler?--hire that man!

I am pumped for 2009

Light

Is it just me, or does everything taste better this time of year. Coffee tastes better, wine tastes better, cookies taste better, kisses from my wife (these always feel magical, but none the less they feel extra good), all of it. My theory is that Christmas is magical. Duh--we all know this right, and if you don't think it is magical anymore . . . well, then perhaps you're heart has shrunk. I believe that Christmas owes a lot of it's magical feel to lights. Lights are a big deal, for they stir within the human nervous system a hypersensitivity to everything our little synapses can handle. It is so fitting that light should lead the charge in holiday spirit. Fitting because Christ was light to the world. Light in literature is always symbolic with hope, rejuvenation and life. This is true outside the realm of literature, not just in film and art, but in real life too. Light brings clarity, perspective, and most important, life (ask anyone who suffers from seasonal depression). Christ is light and Christ is life. 

My dad, when talking of his life before he was a Christian, says that Christmas always housed, for him, an inordinate amount of hope. Hope for what I am not sure, perhaps just hope for hopes sake, but none the less there is this intrinsic quality about Christmas--even with all the commercialization. It is a season that is shot through with a magical air of light, life, and hope. 

I should also mention that yesterday I saw, right around mile 13 of my 18 mile rain run, a vary large Bald Eagle perched high up in a tree over the river trail. It was massive, and majestic--it was a Christmas miracle. 

Sweet 16 and I am Committed . . . we will see

I have been toying with the idea of doing the Redding Marathon. It is by no means a big marathon participant wise (only 107 people ran it last year), but the course looks great and the running community here is a fantastic bunch of people. The Sweat Running Club puts on great races and I would expect nothing less of the marathon. 

I tested the waters yesterday and ran 16 miles. I could not have made it if my good friend Ben didn't join me on the last 8 as he was a huge lift and a magnanimous encourager. I completed with fairly decent splits and only a 4 minute differential between my two sets of 8. My pace averaged  7:50 a mile. I would like to see that drop to a 7:30 which would put my finishing time for the marathon around 3 hours and 15 minutes.  I believe this to be an achievable goal but I would really be happy with anything under 3 hours and 30 minutes. I have not handed in my paper work for the race thus making me uncommitted at the moment . . . but we shall see. In all, great run. Being disciplined and testing the limits of my body has garnered minor, but significant transformations in my daily life. Having a baby makes you do crazy things. If Carter was not here I doubt I would be making such efforts. Speaking of Cater . . . 

Carter tells us about his day and explains to Linz and I why he has trouble sleeping though the night. In this photo Carter is in mid-lecture, "I gonna cry till you feed me. I got the stamina to do it and I think I proved that last night when I screamed for 60 minutes strait. You caved in the end as I suspected you would. You are weak and my lungs and desire for milk are strong. Frankly I don't care what What to Expect the First Year says I know what I want and I smart enough to get it. You see mom and dad, It is all in my master plan . . . And don't get so down, strength and perseverance are good qualities, you should be happy I got em."

Carter, the Christmas Baby, looks retrospectively at his sleep performance as of late before making the journey to the Kooy's house for some delicious ribs.
One more picture for you grandma GiGi!

A comment about the weekend that ends in a huge comment/question about Salvation

Great Weekend. Though it is odd and somewhat disappointing that 80 degree weather strike the north-state mid November, I would be kidding myself if I said I haven't enjoyed this present Indian summer. I got several great runs in over the weekend in which my splits were low, solid and consistent. In these runs I was not intentionally trying to burn up asphalt, I think my cruising pace has just quickened and that is exciting for me. Everybody should run because it is seemingly absurd, and life is seemingly filled with absurdity. But the more you run, the less absurd it becomes--kind of like life. Running is a healer, an educator, and life clarifier. I think Jesus would have been a runner if he wasn't the savior.

But alas, to more important things--Linz is on this understanding Mormonism kick. We watched a PBS documentary and now she is reading Under the Banner of Heaven by John Krakauer, a book that is more about fundamentalism and religious extremism than Mormonism. But in all, we have had some interesting discussions. Let me preface this observation/comment/question by drawing your attention to a few facts. As of 2005, according to the World Christian Database, Christianity is the fifth fastest growing religion behind Islam, Bahai Faith, Sikhism and Hinduism. However, Krakauer claims in his book (copy-write 2003) "At present in the United States there are more Mormons that Presbyterians or Episcopalians. On the planet as a whole, there are now more Mormons that Jews. Mormonism is considered in some sober academic circles to be well on its way to becoming a major world religion--the first of such faith to emerge since Islam." All this to say that these religions of the world are overwhelmingly attractive to those seeking a devout spiritual life style. But Why?

Salvation in Christianity, as defined by Wikipedia, is a "gift that comes to an individual by God's grace, sometimes defined as "unmerited favor", on the basis of one's personal belief in and dependence on the substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Salvation in this sense refers to God's activities in bringing humans into right relationship with God and with one another through faith in Jesus Christ." So their is nothing that we humans do but accept the gift. We do nothing, God gets the credit and we get eternal salvation in return. Pretty good deal right? One could say that salvation in other religions of the world is not dependent on God's grace, but rather is dependent on mans ability to do good works. Adherents to Islam follow a strict code of ritual and conduct to attain salvation. Mormons, though they say that their salvation is found in Christ further research reveals that eternal salvation is not granted on an individual level, but is dependent on the salvation of one's entire family. Salvation through works is a staple in every other religion. 

My question to you all is this: What is so appealing about shouldering the responsibility of one's own salvation. The fact that war and injustice riddle the world is a testament to mans imperfection. How could we think for a second that we have within us the ability to get it right by ourselves? Why is the free gift so hard to unwrap? 

Jogging, I believe the j is silent though, right?

 

So as of late, I have endeavored on what many would consider an absurd pastime, running. It probably has something to do with the olympics this year, and also my need as a new father to establish a lasting habit that will usher me into manhood. My belief is that if I have the discipline to push myself though miles of trails and pavement than I will have the discipline to be a better father and a better husband. 

Further, I recently realized that at the tender age of 23 I am now entering the prime of my life--mature enough to think responsibly (or at least I hope), and young enough to demand massive amounts of energy from my body. I thought, why waste such an extraordinary period in my life? I've got old personal records from high school to shatter and bigger and better goals to achieve.

The last reason was an as assistant coaching position. A good friend of mine is the head coach of the Simpson University Cross-Country team. Knowing I ran on a championship team in high school (and were we champions! read the second paragraph in this wikipedia article) I was offered the job and took it. I never thought I would enjoy making runners puke so much. Watching people achieve their goals and push their body to the limits is one of the most exhilarating things I have ever been a part of. To be precise, it comes in a distant third behind the birth of my son and my wedding day.