I finally ran a 5k (3.1 miles) in under 30 minutes. That was one of my many short-term goals in running. Now I am upping my miles so that the 5 mile run is not the long run of the week, but the “easy” run. I’m down a solid 25 lbs now and feeling great. 15 more lbs to lose and innumerable more miles to overcome.
My unplugging from tech is going well and the family has noticed. With that I have been re-organizing myself and my approach to work/ministry. Scheduling certain tasks for specific times has been helpful, and I am trying out a different hack on the GTD system. I think this simpler approach will work better for me than what I was doing in the past.
I’ve also been working on “assimilation” stuff for Redeemer (the process of becoming a productive part of the Redeemer family, from first time visitor to ministering member). I’ll be sharing this stuff as we work out the details.
For fun, check out Gaper’s Block today (online Chicago zine). One of my recent photos is featured in their Rearview Section.
I use online calorie counters a lot. I came across a new one today: A Calorie Counter. It’s very nice.
I am the Lead Pastor of Redeemer Fellowship; husband to Jen; Dad to Katherine, Elias, Madeline, and Kilian. If you're in town you can probably find me in the local coffee house or running through the neighborhoods.
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Thanks for the update on your running – it is encouraging to see someone stick with it!
I have a question, though, about the GTD system you are trying. How do you handle context lists? It seems like a pain to have to scan your entire list to find the items that you need to do when you are at your computer or when you are a the store. Any thoughts?
Hey, Joe. I’m 16 days away from my first race — a Half-Marathon (13.1mi). *gulp* I’m up to 8mi runs now and feel like adding another 5mi won’t kill me — that’s a nice feeling.
I haven’t really paid much attention to timing a 5k, but I’m really close to being able to pull that off. I normally do long runs of 5mi+ at around a 10:30 pace. Surely, I could pick up the pace on a 5k. I’ll add a 30min 5k run to my list of goals.
An aside: It took me 4 weeks to figure out that it really helps to stretch, especially my Achilles. The first 2 or 3 miles were always difficult because my Achilles were tight. I finally started stretching them real good, and it is much, much better now. I initially stretched for about 1min total, but I starting doing 5 sets of 1min stretches for each leg, and it’s made a world of difference. Anyway, just wanted to pass that on in case any out there is as stubborn as I am about stretching.
Ben, I hope my email answered your question.
Cameron, Yeah I stretch regularly and have no trouble there. Though I hardly stretch at all before the run. I stretch after thoroughly following the advice of most of the running gods.
Do you keep a running blog? I’d love to hear how the half marathon goes!
I don’t have a running blog. The only thing I have available is my RunningAhead log.
I’ve been contemplating making a running blog as a form of positive peer pressure for my friends and family. I hadn’t given it a ton of thought until I saw your running blog for the first time today, so I’ll see what I can do. If I do, I’ll let you know.
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