Humid and Humble

Early this morning as I awoke the sounds of the thunderstorm was shaking the

house. We have a tin roof and the rain drumming out the cadence of the day was mesmerizing. Running in the rain is great but running in a thunderstorm is not very smart.

The storm lifted and out we went. You have already guessed what the morning was like by my title; a bit humid. We also ventured out a little later in the morning and the heat was beginning to rise. Yesterday's great times were replaced by a slower pace and little struggle. Humbled by the situations of heat and humidity we pushed on to complete the workout.

I keep saying we because my daughter had a rare day off and went with me. It was fun working with her. In fact, having her out there pushed me to go a little father.

This reminded me of what the Scripture says, "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up." James 4:10. In those times that you chose to submit to the humbling be prepared for the Father to lift you up. He does it every time.

Do you need to be lifted up today? Simple - humble yourself in His presence.

Today: warm up, dynamic stretch, 3.3 miles, mile of interval training. skipped core!! And Stretched.  

Secret of the Surprises

Running today was amazing. I had not anticipated the thrill in moving down the track. It was so much fun I added some aspects that had not been planned. The best word I have for it is "Surprise".

Life has a way of surprising you too. In the middle of the grind and disciplines that create a productive life will be some very exciting days. It is this way with your spiritual walk too. Keep spending your time in the investment in daily Bible reading, prayer, spiritual conversations with people and you will get the surprises along the way. A simple verse will take on new meaning, another angle of experience will enlighten your heart with old, now fresh, truths.

The secret to the surprises is found in the daily disciplines of seeking the little steps. I love what Wisdom says,  "I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me." Proverbs 8: 17

Today: 2 miles (sub 8 times!!), dynamic warm up, agility ladder training, jump drills, 2 sets of stadium stairs, cool down mile, and 5 min of
core crazy & long stretch. 

Productive Remembering

In my old stomping grounds this morning. Did something I never dreamed of doing three years ago. I went for a run. Yup, a run! Cool thing for me was running along the river banks where I grew up. Oh and running across the bridge that I used to ride across as a small kid.

Memories flooded me this morning and actually slowed my pace several times. But the memories were this morning more important than the miles and the times. (But I did keep the ole Garmin rolling!) Thoughts of family and friends kept rolling over me just like that river over those rocks. Seeing the old mill made me remember how important family is to me. In that mill my grandfather provided for his 3 kids, my dad was the middle one. Harvey Newman was a proud and godly man who loved his family, worked hard, and was a church-man.  He may not be the start of our legacy of faith but he kept it going.

Later today I will spend sometime with classmates. Some of these guys I have not really seen in 30 years. It is wonderful to reconnect with them, to refresh,  and to laugh. Many of the greatest events of my life happend around these guys. Today is going to be a good day.

Here is a Scripture that came to mind as I was running.  "I thank my God every time I remember you." ((‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ NIV)

For my family this is your verse from my heart today! And for my friends old and new alike you are in my heart and I do thank God for you.

(Today: 3 miles, stretch, and soaked in a cold pool -great for swelling). 

Guard your heart

This morning my mind was enthused about the time at the track. I bound out of bed and hurried over to get going. Your mental state is 75% of the battle and the other half is physical. Truly the mind is important to setting up ahead of time how great things can be for the training session.

This reminds me of what the Scripture says , "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."  (‭Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬ NIV). So let's set your mind today. Put your guard out on that heart cause it a important for everything else flows out of it.

Today: 800 warm up, dynamic stretch, 3 miles, core crazy, stretch.

Principle of Rest

There is a principle that must be applied to any workout in order to gain maximum effectiveness. That is the Principle of Rest. I have a tendency to violate this principle. In my mind I imagine that the best results come from pushing yourself and pushing even farther. No breaks! No rest! No pain, no gain.

Contrary to my opinion the body is designed to need rest. Therefore, the principle of rest will not be violated. You either learn to rest those aching muscles or your body will break down on you and force the rest. By the way it is better to take the time to rest and recover.

Spiritually this principle hits home too. As we progress through life we tend to pick up cares. They maybe ours or someone else's, but they are load bearing and have a way of tearing us down. We keep pushing through I guess to prove that we are spiritual giants or something with no breaks. You know it's just the way we are made (sarcasm intended).

Jesus gave us this principle of rest for just a time as these.  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28‬ NIV). So take some time to rest those weary bones and weary burdens.

Today: rest and recovery! I'm sitting on my front porch about to read a good book and drink some high quality H2O!!

Ouch! Endurance Hurts

Sore muscles can work on your attitude. When things hurt, especially things you didn't know you had, it can create an interesting situation for you. Hurts can impact your thoughts about how hard to keep going. Or hurts can shout at you to stop.

But there are somethings that you have to just keep pushing through in order to get better. The muscles may be sore but they need to keep moving in order to
build. Your body may want to tell your mind to quit. The mind has to take over and tell the body what to do in order to get better.

All this reminds me of painful times in the past. Whatever the issues appear to be they can sideline us or move us forward. Even grief can sideline you for too long if left un-healed. Whether it is grief, painful disagreements with a loved one or friend, or disappointments in life in general we must endure through the soreness to get better.

Hebrews 10: 35-36  Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.  For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:

All this is your choice - you can get better or you can get bitter.
I vote for the better way.

Today: warm-up 400, dynamic stretch, 3.5 miles, 2 sets of stadium stairs, 5 minuets of "crazy abs", and great stretch. (But oooo I am sore)

Dreams require a little WORK

Here we go again. And boy do I have a dream about this summer. The weather has warmed up and the track is buzzing with action early in the morning. My dream is to get back at this running joy.

Funny how dreams don't just happen. If you want to move from the couch to the 5K as they say then you have to do just a little bit of work. Dreams don't just come true without a little work.

I think that we have always known this truth but our inner lazy kid wants to get the dream without the work. Recently, I found a little verse in the Scripture that confirmed this and caused me to really begin to think. Solomon wrote, "For a dream comes through much activity..." Ecclesiastes 5:3a.

So go ahead and dream but get ready to go to work to make it happen.

Here was my work this morning: mile warm up, dynamic stretch for 20 min, 3 miles, core work, long stretch, and two wonderful conversations with friends.
(Take 6 minutes to watch this video for some motivation.)