33 Mins for 3 today.
Just keeping track.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Let me start gathering notes for that spiritual autobiography
About Al
The name "Old Whig" comes from Hayek's "Why I am not a Conservative," in which he disparages conservative positions and places himself in the Lockean camp. He says some things in praise of Edmund Burke in that article...fortunately Burke once wrote a piece called "A Vindication of Natural Society," which makes it possible for me to continue using that moniker.
My Life
Milestones: My "best friend" punched me in the stomach three times in Kindergarten. (Maybe that shouldn't be listed first, but chronologically it's the first thing that disturbed me. It was the birth of a deadly rage, in me.) Dad taught me to fight and I "got even" with that sob. That was never satisfying. I wanted to be friends, or at least be left alone. Both of those were out of the question. He wouldn't leave me alone, and he couldn't take me. Beating him up became a grim, several-times-per-week chore. Nobody offered him psychological counseling or me a better solution. Christ! I was 5, 6, 7, 8 years old! People are telling me, "You're fighting too much," or "violence doesn't solve anything..." Funny that nobody seriously tried to stop us. Ever.
...
Age seven: accepted Jesus as my Savior and was baptized. We went to a Wesleyan church which is a fundamentalist offshoot of the Methodists. My mother was raised Missionary Baptist in Oklahoma, and occasionally we went to an Assemblies of God church in town. In college, I called myself a Baptist/Methodist/Pentacostal. The first and the last figure the other is a variation of Satanism. Ho ho ho!
Age eight: started beating the crap out of my enemies. It got to be a dull chore.
Age nine: Read the whole Bible. When I was done, I started rereading it, bogged down in Leviticus, skipped ahead to Numbers, bogged down again, skipped to Deuteronomy, bogged down again... No, I was good with the Books of History, plodded through the Books of Poetry and the Major Prophets (Daniel is good story-telling), gave up on the Minor Prophets, except for Jonah and went ahead to the New Testament. Most of the preaching and teaching I heard all those years was from the New Testament, though we did some OT Bible studies from time to time over the years.
I should talk about what a lousy witness for Christ I was at school. I'm sure nobody ever thought I was anything but a heathen there. If they knew I was a Christian, they were repulsed by me. I had a foul mouth, talked "dirty," ...and, most shameful of all, when I became a big jock, I bullied some people. There's a guy named Dave I need to make amends to.
College: German major, Math & Philosophy minors. Graduated a nihilist. Nothing was true unless it was right in front of my face. I went to the Grand Canyon to make beds. I was shanghai'ed to drive a delivery truck (because the boss was a racist and the other candidate was black).
I found that part out when I got to know the boss better. I was ashamed to look the other candidate in the eye after that.
I need to check something. Some part of me doesn't want me to describe my time at the Canyon. Or doesn't like the way I've done it, now, twice. I've discovered two ways to accidently delete a post.
Suffice it to say, I met a guy who was the quintessential Christian moron, rejected him, read Nietszche and enjoyed godlessness for a while.
Where I'm at right now:
We raised our kids Lutheran, though, lately I've been monkey-wrenching church attendance. I've just been absent when it's time to go, so nobody goes. It's not the right way to handle it, I'm sure.
It's hard for me to believe that my wife didn't get that I was an atheist until I said it flat out a couple of weeks ago. I guess she was working really hard at keeping two and two apart. I suppose the whole thing of rejoining the choir made a really effective smoke screen. (I like singing and I like the style of music we sang - and the choir director and members... But I can't help them spread that word anymore.)
I have three witnesses that prove there is no god: my brother, my stepson and the guy from the Canyon. They're the strongest Christians I know and all nutty as squirrels.
The name "Old Whig" comes from Hayek's "Why I am not a Conservative," in which he disparages conservative positions and places himself in the Lockean camp. He says some things in praise of Edmund Burke in that article...fortunately Burke once wrote a piece called "A Vindication of Natural Society," which makes it possible for me to continue using that moniker.
My Life
Milestones: My "best friend" punched me in the stomach three times in Kindergarten. (Maybe that shouldn't be listed first, but chronologically it's the first thing that disturbed me. It was the birth of a deadly rage, in me.) Dad taught me to fight and I "got even" with that sob. That was never satisfying. I wanted to be friends, or at least be left alone. Both of those were out of the question. He wouldn't leave me alone, and he couldn't take me. Beating him up became a grim, several-times-per-week chore. Nobody offered him psychological counseling or me a better solution. Christ! I was 5, 6, 7, 8 years old! People are telling me, "You're fighting too much," or "violence doesn't solve anything..." Funny that nobody seriously tried to stop us. Ever.
...
Age seven: accepted Jesus as my Savior and was baptized. We went to a Wesleyan church which is a fundamentalist offshoot of the Methodists. My mother was raised Missionary Baptist in Oklahoma, and occasionally we went to an Assemblies of God church in town. In college, I called myself a Baptist/Methodist/Pentacostal. The first and the last figure the other is a variation of Satanism. Ho ho ho!
Age eight: started beating the crap out of my enemies. It got to be a dull chore.
Age nine: Read the whole Bible. When I was done, I started rereading it, bogged down in Leviticus, skipped ahead to Numbers, bogged down again, skipped to Deuteronomy, bogged down again... No, I was good with the Books of History, plodded through the Books of Poetry and the Major Prophets (Daniel is good story-telling), gave up on the Minor Prophets, except for Jonah and went ahead to the New Testament. Most of the preaching and teaching I heard all those years was from the New Testament, though we did some OT Bible studies from time to time over the years.
I should talk about what a lousy witness for Christ I was at school. I'm sure nobody ever thought I was anything but a heathen there. If they knew I was a Christian, they were repulsed by me. I had a foul mouth, talked "dirty," ...and, most shameful of all, when I became a big jock, I bullied some people. There's a guy named Dave I need to make amends to.
College: German major, Math & Philosophy minors. Graduated a nihilist. Nothing was true unless it was right in front of my face. I went to the Grand Canyon to make beds. I was shanghai'ed to drive a delivery truck (because the boss was a racist and the other candidate was black).
I found that part out when I got to know the boss better. I was ashamed to look the other candidate in the eye after that.
I need to check something. Some part of me doesn't want me to describe my time at the Canyon. Or doesn't like the way I've done it, now, twice. I've discovered two ways to accidently delete a post.
Suffice it to say, I met a guy who was the quintessential Christian moron, rejected him, read Nietszche and enjoyed godlessness for a while.
Where I'm at right now:
We raised our kids Lutheran, though, lately I've been monkey-wrenching church attendance. I've just been absent when it's time to go, so nobody goes. It's not the right way to handle it, I'm sure.
It's hard for me to believe that my wife didn't get that I was an atheist until I said it flat out a couple of weeks ago. I guess she was working really hard at keeping two and two apart. I suppose the whole thing of rejoining the choir made a really effective smoke screen. (I like singing and I like the style of music we sang - and the choir director and members... But I can't help them spread that word anymore.)
I have three witnesses that prove there is no god: my brother, my stepson and the guy from the Canyon. They're the strongest Christians I know and all nutty as squirrels.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Moron running
Just so I don't forget, after the race last Thursday I jogged back to the start to get the girls, so there's two miles total that day. I ran 38 minutes Friday night - not sure how far, I cut across a park at one point. Saturday I ran from the house to and around Palmer Lake - seven miles in 80 minutes; and today I ran 75 minutes for an as-yet unmeasured distance. I'd like to think it was over six miles, but I haven't mapped it out yet. It'll be a good route to have in my Map-My-Run profile, because I'll be using that one again and expanding out from it.
I'm feeling over trained right now, so I'm going to rest tomorrow.
I'm feeling over trained right now, so I'm going to rest tomorrow.
Friday, May 14, 2010
I'm feeling pretty cocky today
No, I can't say that I really kicked butt in the TC 1-Mile. I ran too cautious a race and finished in 8:09. I was slowed in the beginning by people who had no business lining up in the front. That's what I get for running in the "Family Wave."
No, I had good reason to do that. The Master's wave started a half hour later, and I was headed back to the car by then. And that was good, because... Laurie was working late and I had the girls with me. I think they had a mildly good time. After picking up my race packet - number and chip and a pretty cool looking shirt - we had an hour to kill downtown, so we walked over to this sculpture park in front of an office building. Naturally the younger girl got us all yelled at by a security guy by climbing all over everything. Actually, he looked like he understood perfectly, but 'orders is orders.'
But, sorry, no death, destruction or great bodily harm ensued... No chases - per se - or slaking of wanton lust, for those who demand such things.
No, I had good reason to do that. The Master's wave started a half hour later, and I was headed back to the car by then. And that was good, because... Laurie was working late and I had the girls with me. I think they had a mildly good time. After picking up my race packet - number and chip and a pretty cool looking shirt - we had an hour to kill downtown, so we walked over to this sculpture park in front of an office building. Naturally the younger girl got us all yelled at by a security guy by climbing all over everything. Actually, he looked like he understood perfectly, but 'orders is orders.'
But, sorry, no death, destruction or great bodily harm ensued... No chases - per se - or slaking of wanton lust, for those who demand such things.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Cinco de Mayo? Aw, bleep! Missed it.
Misleading title alert.
As a follow up to the previous post, I found myself sending this message...yes, to someone who cares:
As a follow up to the previous post, I found myself sending this message...yes, to someone who cares:
I'm signed up for the Twin Cities Marathon on Oct. 3, but I'm not asking you to include that. I'll need to do some races to train for it, so it won't be hard to get the numbers. I'm signed up for the Twin Cities 1-Mile next week. There's the Manitou 15K on June 5th I could be ready for, the Minnesota Half Marathon on Aug. 7… so 1+9.3+13.1 gets me 23.4… Just need to throw in a 5k.So there's a basic outline of my training program for this summer (summer starts right after the snowstorm tomorrow night). 9.3 miles by June 5th is pushing it quite a bit, but I'll deal with it (I hope).
Saturday, May 01, 2010
Now I've done it
I finally overcame my ambivalence about running another marathon and signed up for this fall's TCM. I certainly wasn't expecting any feeling of elation over it, but I feel downright euphoric. I'll be darned.
I had already signed up for the TC 1 Mile on May 13th, but I was having a heck of a time getting motivated to train for it. I'd done a few 2 and a half mile runs, but I wasn't working it into a habit. Now I walked 3 miles at lunch yesterday and ran 2 and a half last night and this morning. Last night I pushed a measured mile a little. I did it in ten minutes. This morning I dogged it a bit and did the mile in about ten and a half.
Sunny and 52 this morning. Kind of cool for a t-shirt and shorts, but I managed to work up a sweat. I took a "before" picture of myself, but I don't think I'll share it until I have a fairly impressive "after" picture.
I was surprised by how elated I felt after I filled out my registration. Apparently something inside me really, really wants to do that. I guess I don't just want to be "a guy who ran a few marathons." This'll be my fourth TCM. I took last year off to let my feet and legs heal up, but, emotionally I felt rotten all year. I didn't like not having the big goal out there to reach.
It's absolutely the peak of Spring here. There are pink, white and red apple blossoms all over everywhere, the lilacs are in bloom, the young leaves are neon green, the whole world smells like candy... What a wonderful time to be coming back to life! It was sunny and 52 during my run this morning. A bit cool for a T-shirt and shorts, but not too bad. Exactly the weather I'll want on October 7th, or whenever race day is.
I banged my knee on a chair last night. It's hurting pretty bad now, though since I managed a slow jog for two and a half miles, it probably won't screw up my training for the TC 1-Mile. It would if I were planning to win, I suppose, but I don't. I just want to get close to 7 minutes.
The wife's at Clutterers Anonymous right now and the kids are watching cartoons. I haven't showered up yet.
I had already signed up for the TC 1 Mile on May 13th, but I was having a heck of a time getting motivated to train for it. I'd done a few 2 and a half mile runs, but I wasn't working it into a habit. Now I walked 3 miles at lunch yesterday and ran 2 and a half last night and this morning. Last night I pushed a measured mile a little. I did it in ten minutes. This morning I dogged it a bit and did the mile in about ten and a half.
Sunny and 52 this morning. Kind of cool for a t-shirt and shorts, but I managed to work up a sweat. I took a "before" picture of myself, but I don't think I'll share it until I have a fairly impressive "after" picture.
I was surprised by how elated I felt after I filled out my registration. Apparently something inside me really, really wants to do that. I guess I don't just want to be "a guy who ran a few marathons." This'll be my fourth TCM. I took last year off to let my feet and legs heal up, but, emotionally I felt rotten all year. I didn't like not having the big goal out there to reach.
It's absolutely the peak of Spring here. There are pink, white and red apple blossoms all over everywhere, the lilacs are in bloom, the young leaves are neon green, the whole world smells like candy... What a wonderful time to be coming back to life! It was sunny and 52 during my run this morning. A bit cool for a T-shirt and shorts, but not too bad. Exactly the weather I'll want on October 7th, or whenever race day is.
I banged my knee on a chair last night. It's hurting pretty bad now, though since I managed a slow jog for two and a half miles, it probably won't screw up my training for the TC 1-Mile. It would if I were planning to win, I suppose, but I don't. I just want to get close to 7 minutes.
The wife's at Clutterers Anonymous right now and the kids are watching cartoons. I haven't showered up yet.
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