DECEMBER/2008 RUNNING

Here's the running tally for December:

Total Miles Run - 101.97 (according to mapmyrun)
Days of Running - 17
Longest Run - 10.64 miles
Approx. calories burned - 13,074

AND, for the year of 2008 here's what I did with my two legs:

Total Miles Run - 1253.08
Days of Running - 195
Longest Run - 26.2 (Bayshore Marathon)
Approx. calories burned - 94,232
Pairs of Shoes: Five

BEST OF 2008

In no particular order for each of the categories

Sports Moments:

- Michael Phelps eight gold medals
- Tiger Woods wins the US Open
- Giants beats the Patriots in the Super Bowl
- Kansas wins NCAA Men's Basketball Championships
- Usain Bolt gold medals in the 100m and 200m
- Federer/Nadel Wimbledon Final
- The entire Tampa Rays season

Movies (from what I saw):

- Batman Returns
- Wall:E
- Rachel Getting Married
- Kite Runner

Newsmakers

- Obama
- Sarah Palin
- Anyone on the Economy

Music

- "Viva la Vida" (Coldplay)
- "Narrow Stairs" (Deathcab for Cutie)
- "Gotta Be Somebody" (Nickelback)
- "You Found Me" (The Fray)

MIAMI DOLPHINS!!

Miami Dolphin fans everywhere, say it loud and say it proud ... AFC CHAMPIONS!

From one win (ONE stinkin' win) in 2007 to the Division Championship and playoff berth the next season. Never been more happy to be a Dolphins fans!

CHRISTMAS LETTER

(The Christmas Update from yours truly ...)

Have you ever had one of those years when you feel all the fortunes and blessing poured out upon were almost too much to handle? You know, one of those years where there were so many good things that happened in your life, you feel guilty about it. OK, so maybe you haven’t had one of those years yet but that’s been 2008 for me in nutshell. So much has happened that I will probably forget some of the details but, I’ll give it a try …

SAINT MARY’S

Coaching tennis was something that I never thought I would do again but some how I found myself serving as the assistant coach at Saint Mary’s. It was quite the struggle to balance coaching tennis and serving as the college’s Sports Information Director for the second time in three years but I managed to survive the whole ordeal. Working with a team of eight freshman and two sophomores can take years off your life. The season ended with a 13-9 record and a fourth place finish in our league standings. Not terrible but it could have been better.

My time as the Sports Information Director came to a close at the end of July. I enjoyed my time working at SMC. I never imaged that I would spend nearly three years working there. It was a good experience. The people I interacted with at that job made the position what it was.

MARATHON

My first running experience came in June of 2007 when I ran a 5K in South Bend. After those 3.1 miles I remember hitting the preverbal “runners high” and the running thing has had a hold of me since. I started toying with the idea of running a full marathon about a year ago and then decided to go ahead sign-up for the Bayshore Marathon in Traverse, City, MI at the end of May.

It was, without a doubt, the hardest physical thing I have ever done. However, it was extremely gratifying. All the hard work of training those early winter mornings paid off in a big way and crossing that finish was absolutely amazing. Granted I could barely walk for two days but it was worth it and I’ll be doing another marathon soon.

LOS ANGELES

Ever since leaving L.A. after my Mosaic internship in August of 2006, I really wanted to return. This past summer afforded me that opportunity. I really liked my time in South Bend but it was time to move on.

Moving out to Los Angeles without a job can be a pretty scary venture. You need a series of events to work in your favor. Having a plan doesn’t hurt either. Fortunately for me things came together fairly well for me. The first few weeks I stayed with a friend of mine from my college days (big break #1). Of the 60-70 jobs I applied for, I got a grand total of three interviews. Actually, that’s not that bad. Fortunately for me this really good job within the Public Events Office at Caltech was opening (big break #2).

My official title is “customer service coordinator” in the ticket office. They use the exact same ticket software I used while working with the South Bend Silver Hawks (big break #3). Working at Caltech is the first job I have had were I am not working in the sports field. You know, it’s kind of a weird feeling not working in the athletic realm any longer but I enjoy what I do and the place I do it at. One of the best parts of living in the L.A. area is that my apartment is in Pasadena (big break #4) and I walk to work everyday.

I’ve been spending time volunteering among the homeless. I need to be doing more of that. One of the major reasons that I moved to L.A. was to help with the massive homeless epidemic in this area. By no means do I feel like I’ve done a “bad job” at helping but I know I can do more. It’s great to be apart of what’s going on and helping people “revitalize their life” so this next I will be taking steps to increase my involvement in that area.

Lastly, another really nice part of living in L.A. is I get to be apart of a great church community. I absolutely love being apart of Mosaic. They have such a great group of people on so many different levels.

MISC.

As you can see by the picture I “officially” graduated from Bethel with my Masters in Ministries. It was pretty neat experience to walk across the stage and receive a graduate degree. What a good day to celebrate all the work that went into writing and researching seemingly endless numbers of papers that were due during my five semesters as a graduate student.

ALL THE BEST!

PRO-ACTIVE, RE-ACTIVE

Do you ever stop and wonder how things would be different in your life if you made an effort to be more pro-active in your everyday choices then re-active?

NFL - ONE WEEK LEFT

* I haven't been this giddy as a Dolphins fans since 1993 (the last time they played in the AFC Championship game). It's amazing how they keep winning. They don't have nearly as much talent as half of the team in the league. However, they just keep playing solid football in all facets of the game. One win till the playoffs! Just please one more win!!

* The Giants have established themselves as the team to beat in the NFC. Not because they are the No. 1 seed and defending champs, but they ran the ball and played solid defense at will in the second half against the Panthers (certainly a Super Bowl contender).

* Like the Giants in the NFC, the Titans are the team to beat in the AFC. HOWEVER, do not count out the Steelers or Colts.

* How on earth the Chargers are still in the playoff hunt boggles the Mike Shanahan out of me?!? They were 5-8 and now just one win from hosting a playoff game!

* The Cardinals are one of the most embarrassing NFL teams to make the playoffs in years. Their performances the last two weeks is just, well, a huge embarrassment!

* If I was a Cowboys fan (which I will NEVER be), I would just give-up on the them. No consistency at all. Stop having faith Cowboy fan!

QUOTABLE C.S. LEWIS

"If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.”

LOYALTY, BASEBALL, $$

Baseball is one of my favorite things in the world.

I think I am a fairly loyal person to my friends, job, etc.

So I liked this article ... A LOT! - here.

Thank You for the honest piece Bill Dwyre!!

JESUS WANTS TO SAVE CHRISTIANS

Rob Bell has done it again!

His first book was mind opening. His second book was extremely thought provoking. His third book is just brilliant. A work of art if you will.

This is a book about theology. He is pretty straight forward in letting the reader know that. In fact, ever since I was introduced to Rob Bell four (or so) years ago that’s pretty much what he is all about. He makes the Bible come alive in ways that will probably make you uncomfortable while effectively challenging you to live a life that advances the Kingdom of God.

The book is written in short one sentence paragraphs.
Thus making it quick to read.

However, his points really stand out using this method.

Can you hear the cries of the oppressed?

What will you do about those living in oppression?

The Bible is filled with stories about God hearing their cries and helping them.

You get the feeling that he has a lot more to say on the whole idea of redemption and what it means to truly live a life that brings people out of exile. However, he gets across his points very clearly and powerfully.

Jesus Wants to Save Christians as well as the church.

NFL - TWO WEEKS LEFT

* The Miami Dolphins are 9-5 and two wins away from the division title and a spot in the playoffs! This is one year after winning just one lonely game last season. They haven't given up a touchdown in three games. Let's hope the streak continues to five games and on Jan. 3/4 Dolphins Stadium is hosting a playoff game.

* Can the Cowboys please go away? Normally I could care less about America's Team but this is absurd. Jerry Jones is going to be the new Al Davis before all is said and done. Terrel Owens is a cry-baby and he actually has the ability to make people feel sorry for him from time to time. Can some team beat them so we don't continue this drama into the postseason.

* The Steelers/Ravens game was one of the best of the season. You don't need offense to make for good drama on the field.

* If Carolina beats the Giants on Sunday evening, they have my vote as the team to beat in the NFC in the playoffs.

* Peyton Manning and Co. are setting themselves up for a nice playoff run. Granted they will have to do it all on the road but this is a team no one in the AFC wants to play right now.

* Who's idea was it to let the Browns on Monday Night Football three times in 2008? They are embarrassing.

* The Lions will find a way to beat the Packers in week 17 to avoid an 0-16 record.

TRUST IN THE MEDIA?

Stepping onto a soapbox for a moment …

I have been some what of a faithful reader of Newsweek over the past two years and for the most part I find their articles fairly insight, interesting and thought provoking. However, in their recent issue the cover story was about how the Bible supports gay marriage.

Granted the editors knew this topic would bring up controversy – and it certainly has – but this article is written fairly terribly. I have read it four times and still have a hard time completely understanding the authors justifications for biblical support of gay marriage. Clearly she supports gay marriage (which is fine and it’s her prerogative) but her personal opinion on the subject seems to be more evident than trying to cite how the Bible supports gay marriage. I found myself trying to really, really hard to understand her arguments but it was like chasing the wind. The author wasn’t going to convince my with fairly shallow points.

Being something of a Biblical literate, after reading this article my “trust” in this publication seems to be damaged a little bit. I enjoy reading their articles on politics, war, the environment, etc., etc. to further educate myself on a wide range of topics. Usually these topics I am not as up to speed as I would be on the, say, the Bible and gay marriage.

I understand that there is media bias out there. I was a journalism undergraduate after all. But after this specific example of “journalism” my belief in the mainstream media continues to dwindle. It’s frustrating because I want to trust these so called experts but who is worthy to be trusted anymore? Having my worldview broaden on a regular basis is actually something of a pleasure. But at what (or who’s) expense is my worldview being broaden? Is it a completely informed new view?

It's kind of like the X-Files, I want to believe but I just don't know what to believe anymore.

Off the soapbox.

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL

It is a good thing that I didn’t pay to see this movie.

When I saw the first trailer for the movie a few months back I was mildly excited to see it. However as the opening date came closer my excited became very tempered. After seeing it, now I know why. This is the kind of movie that you wait till TNT or TBS shows it during a rainy Sunday afternoon two years from now.

There are all these small story lines that never get built up and mixed-in with those story lines is this under-lying political message of how humanity is messing up the planet. However this idea of keeping our planet “healthy” stays true to the original movie from 1951. With all these different stories going on in the movie, the film seems to end real abruptly. Really, the movie is over now so go home because the credits are going to role.

The thing of it is, this could have been a really cool movie. And maybe some of my expectations factored into my distaste for the film but it’s just not that good. A co-worker asked me on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the best) what I’d rate this film. A 3.5 at best!

RETURN TO THE ROSE BOWL

Back to my experience on Saturday morning running around the Rose Bowl …

… So I actually met the guy who was running ultra-fast that day. I was buying new running shoes last night and the conversation went something like this:

Fast Guy (David): Hey, didn’t I see you running around the Rose Bowl Saturday morning?
Me: So were you the person that passed me three times running really fast?
Fast Guy: I was doing a tempo run.
Me: Have fast were you going?
Fast Guy: I was doing 5:17 mile splits. Best tempo run I’ve ever done.
Me: (my jaw drops to the floor) How far did you run?
Fast Guy: 10 Miles
Me: I got to admit, I’m fairly jealous. Can I have these in size that makes me go that fast?

(Laughter)

I couldn’t believe he was hauling THAT fast. More power to him. I was running 10.5 miles that morning at 7:50 pace and felt very pleased wit that. It’s all good! It actually was quite amazing to see a guy run that fast. Kind of glad I got to witness it.

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

It was one of those movies were you walked away saying to yourself, “what a great movie but what was the central story line?”

Even though there wasn’t a central story line or plot, it is a beautifully made movie that is extremely well acted. The only downside to the movie was the way the movie was filmed. A lot of shaky camera movement but in many ways it made the movie more real. Just don’t eat anything that makes your stomach turn before watching this movie.

Anne Hathaway’s character Kim just got out of rehab in dealing with a very after a very “checkered” past. Her performance is absolutely stunning. Seriously, this is one of the best acting jobs I have ever seen. It’s up there with Heath Ledger as the Joker, Sean Penn as death row inmate or, maybe even, Jim Caviezel as Jesus.

Her story is wrapped up in the story line of her sister’s Rachel’s wedding that is taking place just a few days after Kim gets out of rehab. Rachel’s wedding is quite a ride that involves bridesmaid in-fighting, a bi-racial/bi-ethnic wedding, a divorced father and mother and, of course, a sister just out of rehab.

The movie in some odd and peculiar way it’s family of version of the movie “Crash” (and, that’s a compliment).

It’s a really good movie with raw emotion that felt real throughout. A highly recommend this movie. Don’t be surprised if this flick picks up several highly quality Oscar nominations.

MARATHON HAZARD

The race director of the Luton Marathon had a cruel twist to his marathon when a single car accident caused the cancelation of the marathon. I got to tell you, I feel for this poor guy.


And I thought fire danger and poor air quality was a bad reason to cancel a race. Yikes!

WIDE AWAKE

One of the best parts of reading anything written by Erwin McManus is the way he inspires. He knows how to get under your skin and really poke you until you are living the life that God has called you to lead. His recent book “Wide Awake” is certainly no different.

The under lying theme throughout the eight chapters is to really start living and stop merely existing. It is time to start living out the dreams we have instead of just thinking about them. As a person trying to live the life Christ wants me to lead, we need to stop living in mediocrity and begin challenging ourselves to live out the dreams God has placed within each of our souls.

DREAM – THE ARTIST

“Is it possible that you are not living the life of your dreams because God has asked you what you want and you are asking for way too little? … I think a lot of our prayers make God wonder why we think so little of him … Living Wide Awake is about realizing that the world need you to live up to your potential.” (Pg. 16-18)

DISCOVER – THE EXPLORER

“If you stop learning, you will stop growing and will never create a life beyond the one you have right now.” (Pg. 37)

ADAPT-THE ALCHEMIST

“The more challenging the circumstances, the greater your opportunity to see God raise you to a new level of living … After all, if the world were flat , there would be no mountains to climb.” (Pg. 67)

EXPECT – THE BELIEVER

“Faith was never meant to be primarily a noun. It is a verb that donates actions … Faith is not the Christian version of a wish.” (Pg. 98, 100)

“God’s promise is not that everything will go well for us but that our lives with be well lived.” (Pg. 112)

FOCUS – THE SEER

“… the question isn’t what should I be doing? But who am I becoming?” (Pg. 141)

CREATE – THE ACTIVIST

“Your dreams are not simply a source of inspiration but the stewardship of your life.” (Pg. 161)

ENJOY – THE HEDDONIST

“The less you enjoy your life, the weaker you will be on your journey. Why? Because the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Pg. 205)

INVEST – THE ROMANTIC

“Every successful life is the expression of the investment of many others. This, if for no other reason, is why people are our most important investment.” (Pg. 212)

RANKING THE BOWL GAMES

With 34 bowl games this college football bowl season (yes, 34!!) there is reason for excitement but also a reason to wonder, “how did that team get a bowl bid”

Check out what some of these bowl participants get - here.

So without further a due, in honor Bruce Springsteen forth coming new studio album, here’s a list from best-to-worst of bowl games. The list is based on watch-ability, excitement revolving around the game and interest from fans that aren’t alums of the respective schools.

NO SURRENDER (games that should go down to the wire)

*BCS National Championship – which Oklahoma shows up?
No. 2 Florida vs. 1 Oklahoma
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*Rose Bowl – Anyone got tickets?
No. 8 Penn State vs. No. 5 USC
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*Fiesta Bowl – For the third time in four seasons these two go at it
No. 10 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Texas
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*Poinsettia Bowl – BY FAR, the best bowl game before Jan. 1
No. 9 Boise State vs. No. 11 TCU
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*Holiday Bowl – The winning team scores AT LEAST 50 points
No. 13 Oklahoma State vs. No. 17 Oregon
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PROVE IT ALL NIGHT (good/decent teams with something to prove)

*Chick-fil-A Bowl – Always a fun game to watch, GT is playing in its backyard too!
LSU vs. No. 14 Georgia Tech
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*Sugar Bowl – Undefeated non-BCS vs. one-loss SEC, very interesting!
No. 6 Utah vs. No. 4 Alabama
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*Sun Bowl – two stud running backs in this game
Oregon State vs. No. 20 Pittsburgh
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*Capital One Bowl – Another game to watch good running
No. 15 Georgia vs. No. 18 Michigan State
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*GMAC Bowl – A little luster is gone is Ball State isn’t undefeated
Tulsa vs. No. 22 Ball State
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*Cotton Bowl – Both teams played a MAJOR role in the BCS crap
No. 25 Ole Miss. vs. No. 7 Texas Tech
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*Gator Bowl – Maybe the best bowl game were both teams aren’t ranked
Clemson vs. Nebraska
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*Alamo Bowl – Get ready for A LOT of points
No. 21 Missouri vs. No. 23 Northwestern
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*Las Vegas Bowl – Wasn’t BYU suppose to be a BCS buster?
No. 16 BYU vs. Arizona
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*Outback Bowl – You must watch Iowa RB Shoon Greene
South Carolina vs. Iowa


TAKE ‘EM AS THEY COME (it is what it is -- not terrible)

*FedEx Orange Bowl – Very “blah” on paper
No. 12 Cincinnati vs. No. 19 Virginia Tech
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*Hotels Music City Bowl
No. 24 Boston College vs. Vanderbilt
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*PapaJohns.com Bowl – Rutgers QB Mike Teel is worth watching
NC State vs. Rutgers
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*Emerald Bowl – At least it is two “name” schools
Miami vs. California
---------------------------------
*Meineke Car Care Bowl – One last time to watch WVU QB Pat White
West Virginia vs. North Carolina
---------------------------------
*Sheraton Hawaii Bowl – Can ND end a nine-game bowl losing streak?
Hawaii vs. Notre Dame
---------------------------------
*Champs Sports Bowl – Two VERY inconsistent teams
Wisconsin vs. Florida State
---------------------------------
*Humanitarian Bowl – Nevada is highly underrated
Maryland vs. Nevada

SHUT OUT THE LIGHTS (good game to catch-up on sleep)

*Insight Bowl – I really want to like this game but just can’t
Kansas vs. Minnesota
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*International Bowl – Great story about Buffalo winning the MAC but this is fairly boring game
Buffalo vs. Connecticut
---------------------------------
*AutoZone Liberty Bowl –This game has potential to be fun but it’s worth a first-half nap on the couch
Kentucky vs. East Carolina
---------------------------------
*magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl – It’s worth watching USF defensive end George Selvie but that’s it
Memphis vs. South Florida
---------------------------------
*Texas Bowl – MAC vs. old Big 12 = wait till the fourth quarter to watch
Rice vs. Western Michigan

LONESOME DAY (does any care at all?)

*Independence Bowl – how did NIU get a bowl bid?
Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech
---------------------------------
*New Orleans Bowl – If over 10,000 people come, it’s a miracle
Southern Mississippi vs. Troy
---------------------------------
*Eagle Bank Bowl – No one likes a rematch of game played in the regular season
Wake Forest vs. Navy
---------------------------------
*New Mexico Bowl – Two teams that just, well, aren’t worth watching
Colorado State vs. Fresno State
---------------------------------
*Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl – Big Yawn!!
Houston vs. Air Force
---------------------------------
*Motor City Bowl – Umm, seriously??!
Florida Atlantic vs. Central Michigan

UNIQUE RUNNING

Over the past few weeks I have experienced three unique running events that may never happen to me again.

1) The weekend of Thanksgiving I was up at Big Bear Lake to do some relaxing. It’s an absolutely beautiful place to visit. I was most excited to do a run around a portion of the lake during my visit. The small town is home to U.S. Olympic Marathoner Ryan Hall so I wanted to “tap into” whatever aurora he personality has. I mean, if an Olympian runs up there, then there has to be some sort of extra energy, right? Anyway, it was an absolutely breath taking run (and it wasn’t because I was running at 6,500 feet). The lake, the mountains, the general scenery was amazing for those nine miles.

2) Last Tuesday (Dec. 2) I was doing a normal 4.5 mile run through Pasadena on an overcast, damp morning. I run through a puddle and feel something on the back of my right leg. Thinking it was just some water, I continue running for another two minutes. I still feel something on my right leg. Not wanting to stop running, I swipe my right left with my hand. What I grabbed was slime. What I grabbed was a worm. A worm!! Some how it got attached to my right calf when going through the puddle. Let me tell you, it was quite a slimy experience.

3) On Saturday morning (Dec. 6) was doing a 10.5 mile long run at a very simple pace. During the middle 3.1 miles it takes to run around the Rose Bowl in the counter-clockwise manner I was running, I passed by a runner who was going clockwise around the Rose Bowl three times! Three Times we passed each other! Granted my 8:00/minute pace was a little slower than normal but this guy was hauling it around the Rose Bowl. Three Times in just a 5K loop! During that third time I saw him I felt really slow in that moment then I realized that I was watching someone run REALLY fast; and I was jealous.

MORE LATER ...

Clearly the last several days have been VERY quiet on my blog. I promise I will remedy this situation soon with book reviews, random thoughts, links, etc. shortly.

My desire to update my blog has slowed to a crawl recently but I'll get back on it soon!