Home and Slight Jet Lag

Our flights were good coming home and as usual, it takes pretty much all day to come home from the west coast. The girls did well while we were gone and even had cleaned the house before we made it home. Amazing!

Sondra is pretty jet lagged today and probably will be a little more sensitive to me being jet lagged some when I come home from other time zones.

I went to the chiropractor today to have him check my shoulder. It was slightly out, but the problem I am having with it seems to be more than what he can do. I am afraid that I might have a tear in the rotator cuff and my dr. thinks that might be the case as well. I am going to do a little therapy for a couple of weeks and see if I can get it better. I hope it takes care of it. It has been pretty sore for the last few weeks. Sondra's mom had shoulder surgery last week and started rehab today and seems to be doing pretty well.

I am home until Friday and then off to Hawaii. Have a few meetings there and get to see a couple of friends. Unfortunately it looks like there will be no golf for me with this shoulder doing what it is doing. Sadness.

Ran an easy 5 today and have 10 miles with 8xhills in the morning. Not one of my favorite workouts but is needed.

Mt. Hood

This is like my sixth or seventh time to be in the Portland area and the first time to see Mt. Hood from the ground. I have flown over it a few times and seen the top, but never from the ground. My wife says it is because she was with me this time. I think she is right. We have enjoyed our time together.

I led a couple of conferences up here, one for adults and one for youth and they both went really well. These folks up here in the NorthWest are very appreciative and always thank me for coming "all the way from Nashville."

We took a drive over to Multnomah Falls and saw some beautiful sights on the way over and on the way back. Mt. Hood was especially beautiful, glistening in the sun and covered with snow. We are headed to catch some dinner and then head back to Nashville early in the morning. It will be good to be home for a few days and then off again.

Also, congrats to a couple of my friends, Raymond and Alex, for completing their first marathon today in Nashville. They both finished the race in pretty good time. A number of other friends completed the 1/2. Congrats to them all.

Florida to Oregon

I finished up my meetings in FL yesterday and caught a plane home that allowed me to spend some time with our daughters, watch LOST (which was pretty lame), repack the bag, get a little sleep and then head back to the airport for Oregon. The good thing is that Sondra is with me and it is always good to be with her.

We plan on catching some good dinner at Salty's on the Cumberland (one of my favorite places in the Portland area) and then try to stay up awhile and get on Pacific time. She is actually taking a little nap now. I went for a 5-miler that was supposed to be a 10-miler but I am going to do that one tomorrow morning. I am just a little weary from traveling the last few days.

We plan on catching the Japanese Gardens up here, let me lead a couple of conferences on Fri/Sat and then just hang out some more. Should be fun.

A Busy Week

I am attending and leading some meetings this week in Florida and Oregon. I arrived in the Destin area this morning and it is nice and sunny. Got a 5-miler in and the breeze was really nice. Met with the folks I needed to meet with and then headed out for dinner. Grilled amberjack from The Back Porch was incredible. Had a table overlooking the water and the tide was rolling in. The only thing missing was my wife.

I have a few meetings tomorrow and Weds. and then head home for the night and then it is off to Portland. Should be good, but much cooler.

I have a 12-miler tomorrow so I need some good sleep tonight. The last few nights have not been the best sleep. Gotta run, 24 is coming on. Let's hear it for the Jack Bauer Power Hour!

Some Great Weather

Our second Spring of the season has sprung. About a month ago the trees and flowers were blooming like crazy and then we got the super frigid weather in and it killed the new leaves on the trees, sent the bermuda dormant again, and messed with the weed and feed I had thrown on the yard. In other words, $40 worth of self-yard work wasted.

Now it is absolutely beautiful and I am now paying someone else to do my lawn. I still mow but leave the weed and feed to the professionals. And . . . my mole family is back in full swing. Our yard is grand central station and the comings and goings have been frequent. I am going to rid our yard of the moles if it is the last thing I do.

Yesterday was a 16-miler and it was absolutely beautiful weather. Cool and sunny and I ran on the green way so it was fairly shady even though I still got quite a bit of sun.

I am traveling some this week so it will be tough to get all the training in I am supposed to do, but I will figure it out and make sure it happens.

The Virginia Tech Tragedy

I have waited to post about the killings at Virginia Tech trying to figure out how to respond to such news. First off, I cannot imagine what the families of the victimes are going through right now. I know that I have spent quite a bit of time praying for those injured and the families of those who were injured or killed.

No way to make sense of all of this. The more we learn about the shooter the more we realize just how lost of an individual he was. I cannot help but think about the shooter's parents and the horror and sadness they must be experiencing too. I cannot help but think about the number of opportunities this young man must have had to choose to act and think differently and for whatever reason, chose to kill. I wonder what churches, community organizations, etc. might have tried to reach out to this young man and no real connection was made. It is obvious that he was not in a "normal" pattern of thinking. In the last few years, he had been involved with some special care and released.

It is truly a tragedy. I wonder what student out there is needing for some one to reach out to them and rescue them from feelings of purposelessness. I wonder who it is that I need to come alongside of and show genuine care and concern? I know that evil is real. I know that it is defeated but I must get involved to help others know that truth.

Boston Marathoners

What a rough day to be running up in Boston. Cold, windy and wet. The last time I ran (2004) it was 86 degrees and pretty miserable from the heat side. I think I would rather run it in the rain and wind but really both extreme conditions pretty much stink. I have a couple of friends who are running their first Boston today so they will have stories to tell. That is what Boston is about anyway. The whole experience is one to take in. In fact, if you are not a runner, I would encourage you to go up some time and just observe. It is a great city and an awesome event.

It looks like maybe we are going to start warming up here in Nashville again soon. It will be good to not have to put so many running clothes on to head out in the mornings. I get to run 10 miles tomorrow with 6x800s mixed in. I just love speed work. Did an easy 5 this am and it is always nice to run the easy days easy.

14-miler, Treadmill, and Rain

What a combination. I really despise having to get on the treadmill to do my long runs (short runs too) but today was one of those days. It was really raining when I woke up and was fairly cold with little relief in sight. I loaded up the gear bag and headed to the Y to climb on the treadmill and run. It was very warm inside and I really just do not like the treadmill. I ended up doing 8 on it and then saw where we had about an hour break in the rain, so I headed to the greenway and did 6. It was good to have the discipline to get the run in. One of my buddies up at the Y ended up doing 16 on the treadmill. Disciplined or crazy? You be the judge.

Last night it was off to McGavock High School for their choral program and it was incredible. Our friend, Mitch, is the choral teacher and he always does a great job getting the kids to produce more than they ever thought imaginable. Last night was no exception. It was a great show and Mitch is to be commended once again. He has an incredible way getting students to do their best.

The cold weather is headed our way again and looks like more rain for tonight. We need the rain, but the cold weather is a pain. It will soon be warm for good. I think I am ready.

OKC and Home Again

I left Tues. am for a trip to OKC and met with a guy who is going to be helping with a camp that we do each summer. He has done it a lot in the past and is a great guy to work with. He is a professor at Oklahoma Baptist University which is a good school by the way.

Made it to the Hornets/Clippers game Tues. night and it was actually okay. Hornets won in overtime and the seat I had was pretty good. The NBA wears me out a little bit with all the walks that go uncalled and the look of the prison yard by some of the body art on the players. Chris Paul was a lot of fun to watch for the Hornets and Elton Brand (stinking Duke alumni) was incredible on the floor. He could score at will and ended up with 30plus points.

Met with some staffers that we will use this summer and they are a great team. I am excited to have them on board and know they will do a good job. I also met with some Oklahoma youth ministers on Thurs. and was greatly encouraged by the caliber of leaders we have in student ministry positions in many churches.

It is good to be home. Looks like rain this weekend and with a 14-miler scheduled tomorrow it may be pretty sloggy, but I plan on making it happen.

Jack Bauer is the Man!

I still think one of the most entertaining shows ever is 24. The critics have panned this season, but even though it is not as good as Day 5, Day 6 is a good one (or bad depending on perspective). Last night's ending was out of the blue for me. I usually have the knack of kind of figuring out where they might be headed, but bringing Audrey back was classic. We thought that maybe Jack was going to get an hour to rest and NO! Chang calls and Audrey is in his grasp. She's not dead but she will be if Jack does not do just as Chang says. I like it.

Got some speed work in today and made a quick run by the hospital (in my running clothes no less) and saw Hannah and Kevin. I decided I would not bother them if they were sleeping but they both saw me and waved me in. She is doing good and has been moved into a regular room. That is great news.

Pretty Fun Stuff

Even though it was unusually cold this past weekend, it turned out to be a good weekend. Easter is always one of those exciting times of the year when focus becomes really clear and I am reminded of what really matters in life. The risen Lord sure keeps all of this other "life" stuff in proper perspective.

Services at church were good and there were a lot of people on campus. The SS class that we teach on Sunday mornings is made up of couples without children and they are just a great bunch of folks. I really enjoy preparing, presenting, and learning from them.

Our friend Hannah is doing pretty well and finally resting and swallowing and hopefully will get to go home in a couple of days. Pretty incredible surgery they did on her neck and she has responded pretty well.

We enjoyed a wonderful meal yesterday with our friends Mitch, Christy, and Graham and Christy's mom, Wanda. Sondra fixed some good stuff and everyone was home including Lindsy which made it even more fun.

I travel some this week and am headed to an NBA game tomorrow night in OKC. Hard to think of me going to see the NBA but a friend offered a free ticket. I am a ball nut so I can not pass it up.

Official training for the San Francisco Marathon started for me this morning. An easy 5-miler today and 800s begin tomorrow. We will see how it goes. The race is July 29.

Cold, Really Cold

The last few days have just been stinking cold here in Tennessee. I was going to do some mulch yesterday but with the wind and the low 40s temps I thought better of it. We did participate in a Good Friday service at church that was really good. We did a Christ in the Passover service and it was led by a Jews for Jesus missionary. Very meaningful.

Our friend Hannah had major surgery on her neck on Thurs. so we have made a few visits to the hospital and she is doing pretty okay. Not great and not bad, just pretty okay.

The Masters is really interesting. The field has really backed up and now Tiger is one stroke off the lead and in the final round tomorrow. I plan on camping out in front of the tv after church and after our Easter lunch. I love the Masters. It should be good.

Lady Vols

Pretty fun watching the Lady Vols win it all last night. Pat Summit is an incredible coach whether you like her or not. She is a winner and someone who is a great motivator. I think it is pretty incredible the run that they had. A friend of mine is convinced they were not the best team this year, but they came home with the trophy. The Gators winning on Monday was no real surprise. My bracket fell apart in the final four but overall I did okay.

It has been awhile since I have blogged but we have been busy just the same. Really excited about the whole Passion Week observance and of course, the resurrection is the pivotal part of this season. Puts everything into perspective in my life. Looking forward to a day off as well with some mulch work going on. The weather has turned off cool so the mornings have been pretty nice running. A little breezy, but good running.