Life after a Mountain-Top Experience

photo courtesy of St. Olaf - Chazz NOT seen here, but I do recognize this part of the run - just around the "2nd loop".




Motivation:

"I was always looking outside myself
for strength and confidence
but it comes from within.
It is there all the time."
~Anna Freud

Results!

So, I guess that most readers will already know this, but to recap, the race was great. I wanted to finish under 35 minutes, and when I passed the clock, I thought I saw 34:12, or somewhere around this number, so I feel pretty good about the run.

It was so nice to have many people there participating and cheering us on. I was blown away by the support and the nice thoughts and the whole day was a whirlwind of thoughts and feelings. It was not what I had planned, but just a great, fun day.

The garmin forerunner recorded the run, but the recording mechanism didn't end at the 5K, so the results are skewed. It does indicate that my time was better than last time, but didn't tell me the accurate final time.
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4086120

Maybe St. Olaf will post the times? Not sure where I would find this, but I will be patient and see what happens.

So, there is one chance to rectify this "recording" problem - I am doing one more 5K before taking a break from road-running. The weather is still nice and it is fun to run in the fall colors, so here is the final 5K training week, until next summer. I plan on improving, or staying current, with the time I made and record it on my garmin - I will double check to make sure it correctly records the 5K race length, a little tweaking is required.

If you happen to be in St. Paul, MN on Saturday, here is the information:

Saturday, October 6, 7:00 a.m. - Noon
Events take place on the State Capitol Grounds in St. Paul. A day of fun for the entire family with a 5K run/walk, family fitness mile, kids runs, and other activities including arts, crafts and games.

5K Start Time: 8:30 a.m.
The 5K course starts and ends on John Ireland Boulevard, near the State Capitol. This out-and-back course takes you through the neighborhoods of St. Paul and finishes at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon finish line, located near the intersection of John Ireland Boulevard and 12th Street.


5K Training for Week 10 out of 9
This week do the following.

• Sunday = Rest
  
• Monday = Brisk five-minute warmup walk
  Jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).
  Five-minute walking cooldown
• Tuesday = Five-minute walking warmup
  Elliptical workout - 25 min
  Five-minute walking cooldown
• Wednesday = Brisk five-minute warmup walk
  Jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).
  Five-minute walking cooldown
• Thursday = Five-minute walking warmup
  Elliptical workout - 25 min
  Five-minute walking cooldown
• Friday = REST! - Prepare mentally for the race.
• Saturday = 5K run
• Sunday = Rest - go to church or spend time with your family and friends. Have fun

Notes:

Joshua 3:

"Then Joshua command the priests to carry the ark into the Jordan river, which was swollen with the spring rains, for it was the tenth day of the first month, the time when the people were to select the lambs for the Passover. And it happened exactly as he said; as soon as the priests were standing in the water the flow ceased and the water stood up in a great mound upriver. The priests walked on dry land to the center and stood there while the people crossed over.

When all the people were across, Joshua called the twelve men and told them to go to the middle of the riverbed near the priests and the ark and bring back twelve large stones to be placed as a monument beside the Jordan. They also built a heap of twelve large stones in the middle of the river bed. When they were finished, Joshua told the priests to bring the ark the rest of the way over.

As soon as the priest's feet were up on the river bank the river resumed flowing just as it had before God had stopped it.

They camped that night in Gilgal. And the twelve stones that they took out of the Jordan, Joshua built into a monument at Gilgal. And he spoke to the people of Israel, "When your children ask in time to come, 'What are these stones doing piled up here?' Then you shall let your children know that Israel came over Jordan on dry land and took these stones from the middle of the riverbed and piled them here for a witness. "

So what do you do after a "Mountain Top Experience"?
It is important to take some time to "come down from the mountain" and not stumble. A good way to do this may be to make a monument to what is important to you.

I have on my desk a rock from August 26, 2007 that says "5K & Healthy Body" and has the date (08-26-07). The stone came from a small group event that encouraged us to think about the meaningful events in our lives. We read the Joshua story above, and thought about times where we crossed the rivers in our lives. What was significant about these journeys? What do we have to remember them? The members of the group wrote down several things in our lives that we are grateful for, that shaped or molded us, and that we want to give praise for. I had many things written down, but was compelled to only memorialize these 4 words on the rock I was given. I really liked the idea of using something physical such as stones to remind us of important events, milemarkers and accomplishments.

Earlier in the week, I read an article recommending that everyone start and keep a "Yay me!" file that records your successes, projects completed, and kudos received from important people at your work. It wasn't recommended as an "Ego boost", but as a reality check. It is so easy today to find the negative, critical, or feel unmotivated or uninspired, that you should have a reality check of reminders of your accomplishments and the affect you have had on others. I have a "yay me!" file, and I for a long time thought it was a crutch to help me from spinning into a melancholy funk. When I read these nice letters from my important friends and family, it makes me feel connected to others, and needed. Lately I have seen other people write about the importance of this personal file, and I think it is not a crutch, as I had assumed, but a tool that can be used to help you from sliding into a "Lone Ranger" syndrome. You don't have to carry every burden on your own - if you know there are connected with others. Having reminders of these connections is a good thing.

Do you have a "yay me!" file, or have you created any monuments of accomplishment? What memorials do you have that remind you of important events or people who you are connected to or have helped to form or mold you?

After a mountain top experience, it is easy to slide back into work, back into routine, back into life as usual. But if you feel like life is different - the way you feel is different - then take some time to acknowledge this feeling, try to recognize the change that you feel about yourself and where you fit in your world. It sounds out there, but I think it is important to somehow have a way to connect back to the experiences you have had.

On the way to St. Olaf for the Homecoming Bonfire, my friend Kurt was playing Mason Jennings song "Adrian". The lyrics are such:

"From now on I am part of you
I am the story that you'll tell
Let my life empower you
Let my troubles teach you well

Let your burning hatred go
Learn yourself until you know
That fear is where all hatred begins
We don't fear death my adrian

Turn your eyes but don't fail to see
The love you feel inside your skin
We don't fear death my adrian"

It is a sad song, but the words reminded me of the stones at the river Jordan. Being connected to your past - making your successes a part of you to share with others to empower and encourage - using your troubles to teach others something new about themselves. These are all "Renaissance" attributes and should be considered to be part of the experience as a whole.


#Diet Notes#

The food item of the week is Squash. I have a beautiful butternut squash sitting on my kitchen counter, but haven't cut it open yet. I may need some help. What are your recipes? Send them to me, or better yet, please send me a comment, using the form below.

I bought a couple new books this week. The first is "The Extreme Smash Fat Diet" and the second is the Men's Health "ABS Diet Book". These are both small softcover books that I can easily put in a pocket and take with me to read while having coffee or out of the house. I bought them specifically because both of these books have recipes for 1 or 2 servings, and they look easy to make and nutritious. As I have mentioned, one of the big problems that "bachelor studs" have which may help keep them overweight is that cooking for one person is a hassle. Don't get me wrong, I like cooking for myself, but most recipe books are for 4, 6 and 8 person servings. Sometimes it is just too difficult to make something that involves too many ingredients, too many steps. After a long day of work, the last thing you want to do is engage in a whole big project. Maybe it is easier to call for pizza or chinese take-out. So it is important to find ways to make this "eating healthy" thing easy and fun. I have collected many resources that can help with this. Magazines, such as "Cooking Light" were good for this - I think they have a fast and easy meals section. (I need to buy one of these magazines next time I go out shopping. )

I saw a couple recipes in these books that are single serving and they look good and healthy and easy. Also, the Extreme Fat Smash book has a nice compilation of "Snacks under 100 calories" that I may share on this blog after I have had a chance to try some of them.


#Geek Notes#

Oh, I bought another book: Peachpit Visual Quickstart Guide for Dreamweaver CS3. I have a trial version of Dreamweaver, and I am going to learn/teach myself how to use. This has been one of my "geek goals" for a while. Last time I went job hunting, two places specifically asked about this skill, and I am deficient. It seems like a fun thing to learn, but will take some time each week to get through.

I bought another book, that I will discuss in a later posting. You will have to stay in suspense for a while.

#Music Notes#

So, on Saturday night, while still sorting out the events of the day, I treated my mom to an Orchestra Concert by the St. Olaf Orchestra. It was wonderful, and not a normal performance. It was part jazz, part West Side Story, part trumpet solo, part Zorba the Greek, part Buena Vista Social Club, part Cuban, and part Rumba. Not normal "orchestra" music from what I remember, but it was awesome.

The best part? The 2nd song featured something that conductor Steve Amundson indicated that he had never had before at St. Olaf. The solo was played on the piano accordion, like the one that I play. It was a nice song, written by Daniel Kallman, titled "Un Tango Nuevo" from "Pura Vida".

Seeing this "anomaly" was just another sign for me that I need to get serious about my musical practice and play. Everyone in the audience enjoyed the song. I am now encouraged to add the accordion back into my weekly regiment when I review and tweak my goals and objectives (which will happen sometime in October).


So thanks again to all for the great weekend - and enjoy the time on the mountain-top. Soon, it will be time to find new trails to chart, new peaks to climb! Isn't this exciting!


more later,

Chazz

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