Month: November 2008

Timberlake Half Marathon Race Report

Pre Race
The race had a start time of 8:00 AM. Ft. Walton Beach/Eglin AFB is a bit over an hour from my house in Pensacola. I left at 6:00 this morning. That meant that I had to have breakfast more than 2 hours before the race. I know some people prefer that timing, but I have always done well with 1 to 1.5 hours before. Especially a long race. I had planned to take a snack to chew on after I got checked in, but forgot it at home.

I got my race packet which included a shirt and race number. Not too complicated.

It was about 62 degrees.

Race
Since we were running a 5K and a half marathon (3.1 and 13.1 miles) the finish line was .1 miles behind the start. We moved up to the starting line as a group since everyone was milling around the finish line. I had heard it was a very informal start without any long speeches. They moved us up to the starting line just a couple of minutes before 8:00. At 8:00 a guy with a megaphone simply said, “Ready. Set. Go.,” and we were off. No gun. No yelling.

Miles 1-5
Mile 1 was 20 seconds too fast. No big surprise. The second mile I pulled back to perfect race pace. Goal was 9:10 per mile and I ran mile 2 in 9:09. Mile 3 I was still in the mode to slow down I guess. I ran that 20 seconds too slow. So the 20 seconds I banked in the first mile was negated in the 3rd. Mile 4 and 5 were 9:15 each. So I was 10 seconds too slow up through mile 5.

Miles 6-10
Starting with mile 6 I put seconds into my favor at each mile for the rest of the race. I ran 3 of those miles in 8:58 and the worst of the 5 was at 9:06. By this point I was 47 seconds ahead of my goal and knew that I was running really strong. There was no way I was going to miss my goal. By mile 10 I was catching up to someone who had run mile 3 with me and pulled away. It was finally time to reel him in and leave him behind.

Miles 11-13.1
Each mile was under the goal. Mile 13 time was exactly the same as mile 1 time (within .3 seconds). I ran the last 1.1 miles strong with the confidence that I had run a strategically excellent race. I had a plan and executed it perfectly.

First 6.5 miles was 59:31 and the second 6.5 was 58:29. I ran a 1 minute negative split.

Final unofficial time was 1:58:55. Goal was 2:00:00.

Race Observations
The race is run on a paved out and back road on Eglin Air Force Base. All the way out we had the wind in our face. We also were climbing the whole way. Though it did not seem like it, we climbed a total of 164 feet over the 6.5 miles going out. Not overly significant, but combined with the tailwind coming back and going down toward the water, that really helped with the negative split.

Post Race
I was really hoping for an age group award since it was such a small race. I was very disappointed when so few people turned around at the 5K turn around point. The fact that so few turned around and that the vast majority of the people running looked to be in the military, my hopes of an age group award plummeted quickly. I think 3rd place in my group ended up with a 1:27 race. I did not pay attention well at the awards ceremony since I knew I had little hope.

I got my first massage today. It was just 10 minutes or so, but it may help with the soreness.

The point of doing this race today was purely to set a PR. I knew with my marathon training that I was in great shape for a fast race. However, I have not put in any fast miles since my marathon. I have only done maintenance runs. So I was a little nervous that I might have trouble maintaining the pace. After the 3rd mile I was feeling pretty confident and by the time I hit the turn around I knew I would beat 2 hours, it was just a matter of by how much.

This was my first official half marathon. I have run 3 on my own on courses that I have mapped out in the neighborhood. My best time was 2:16:23. I also had the 1/2 split during my full marathon. That time was 2:11:XX. That means I averaged about 1 minute per mile faster than any other half that I have run.

I will be living with a big grin on my face for a few days.

Observations from a week with missionaries

Monday through Wednesday of this week I was in a conference with other missionaries and pastors who are closely associated with our mission board. While we are independent Baptists, we depend greatly on one another to accomplish our work. It was great getting together with a group of friends whom we had never met, but because of association, are immediate friends.

Preaching
We had some great preaching during the week. We had a main speaker and several other men who preached during the time there. One of the preachers was the doctor who spoke on gluttony that I posted previously.

Singing
We had some great singing primarily provided by Evangelist Bill Blount. I have always enjoyed his company. He is a generation or two older than me, but out of all the guys in our group, he is one of the most technologically advanced in our group. He was sporting a Samson Zoom H2 that he set up for recording our sessions. I told his son that when Bro. Blount makes his exit from this world that I wanted to be in the will for the recorder.

Reporting
One of my frustrations of the week came from the missionaries when they spoke. Having spent so many years in camping ministry, I see the need to keep things moving on schedule. We had one session where the missionaries were given 5 minutes each to give an elevator pitch of who they were, what their ministry is and what they are doing to accomplish that.

Remember that we were missionaries in a room full of pastors. These pastors are men who are there partially for the purpose of seeing which missionaries they would like to align themselves with and financially support. The missionaries needed to do everything they could to make an impression on these pastors. While support will not be determined on this 5 minute speech, it could affect whether the missionary got a meeting in churches for possible support.

Every missionary went over his 5 minute limit. Some went over by as many as 3 minutes. Pastors are very jealous of their time in the pulpit. When a missionary can’t stay within the time limit imposed on him, a pastor is going to be less interested in having the missionary in his church. I have been told by some pastors that if I went over, by one second, the time limit I was given that it would instantly mean I would not be supported.

One of the missionaries proceeded to talk about how he has been in churches in which the pastors have lied about their willingness to support missionaries. Also how some pastors have put on a show in front of other pastors to look good, and then privately told the missionary he really was not interested in missions. Basically he spent his 5 plus minutes disparaging pastors across the board. Not real smart when you are in a room full of them. Those are things you may experience and think, but you should never say out loud. And certainly not to a group of pastors that you want to support you.

Fellowshipping
I had a great time getting together with other missionaries and pastors. Many of these men I have known for 8 years. They have become friends by association.

Though I was there as part of a conference of missionaries, I was able to see PlaneT3rry again. He was “in the neighborhood” and took time out to drive down to the meeting area and take me out for dinner. (Thanks again for supper!) This was only the second time we have met in person, but it seems like we have been friends for years.

Driving
When it was all over on Wednesday night I loaded up my stuff and started the 11 hour trip from Pigeon Forge to Pensacola. I left about 10:30 at night and was able to drive until 2:00 AM. When I am alone, I am somewhat of a minimalist. Hotels are over-priced for just one person. I slept about 5 hours in my van while shivering myself awake occasionally. I had on 2 shirts, a sweatshirt, 2 jackets and a suit coat. I misplaced my sweater, which would have been my best defense against the cold. But, I got the rest I needed and made the trip home without any problems.

Microwave popcorn

I wanted to make microwave popcorn last week, but hate the pre-packaged stuff. Might as well eat a candy bar loaded with salt if you eat that.

Long ago I heard that you could make popcorn in the microwave without having to spend the big bucks. I knew it involved a paper bag and loose popcorn. But that is all I knew. With a little googling I was able to find a lot of information on it. I found all kinds of videos and step-by-step how-tos. But it is not nearly as complicated as they make it sound.

What you NEED:

  • Lunch bag
  • 1/4 cup loose popcorn
  • Microwave

What you may want:

  • All items from above
  • Teaspoon of oil or butter
  • Salt

Easiest method is to just put your corn in a bag, fold the top down a few times so that it stays shut, squeeze out the air and place bag in microwave and cook for 3 to 5 minutes (depending on your machine). Listen for the pops to taper down to about a pop every 2 or 3 seconds. Don’t over cook it. Only takes doing that once to prefer tossing out uncooked kernels as opposed to eating burnt popcorn.

If you want to add some oil and salt you can do that right in the bag before popping.

Power level seems to have an impact not just on cook time but moistness/dryness of the popcorn.

Handle like any other microwave popcorn. Don’t burn yourself opening the bag.

Gluttony

I heard an excellent sermon on gluttony yesterday. It is not something you often hear preached. The man who preached it is not a pastor, but a medical doctor. I have known Dr. Emmett Manley for about 8 years. I have heard him speak on just a couple of occasions.

Outside of the content of his message, which you can listen to below, he had an excellent stage presentation. He finished his sermon at exactly the minute he was supposed to. I wished all preachers would learn to do the same. While I realize that not every sermon needs a time limit, when you are in a conference and trying to keep a specific schedule, it helps no one for you to steal time from the next speaker.

He also had probably 6 pages of notes. I was sitting so that I could see when he flipped from one page to the next. He had a very detailed outline, but you would never know that he was reading from such copious notes.

I don’t put this here because I have become a health nut. I just think that it is very well presented from a Biblical perspective and this is applicable to more than just food.

He is speaking to a room full of preachers and missionaries. Well more than half the group was more than “a little” overweight.

Gluttony: Dr. Emmett Manley [ 28:17 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Twitter revisited

A bit over a year ago I talked about using Twitter. I have recently (within the last 3 or 4 months) gotten much more involved with twittering.

I own 2 Twitter accounts if you want to follow me. The first one is the one I have been using for a year and a half. That one is the username dpeach. That has mostly been tied in closely with my running buddies. I have a few people who follow me there who do not run, but my main following is made up of people who run and are interested in running news.

My second, and new as of tonight, Twitter account is DavidPeach. I am going to use this one as more ministry related content. I may still post some things about my running, but I plan to make it more about our ministry.

As we explore different ways to help missionaries stay more connected to the people in the churches, this has come to my mind as a great opportunity. My friend Jeff at Missionary Geek and I have talked in the past about using social networking as a way to engage our supporters. I have dismissed much of it because of the problem I see of allowing other people to view my connections. Sometimes, sad as it is, I have been told that I would, or would not be, supported based on who I would be working with. I could understand if the problem was doctrinal, but it never is. First off, I am not going to seek support from a church that I cannot agree with doctrinally. It is always based on personalities or quirkiness that really does not matter in the big picture. Therefore, I have avoided using social networking as a means to communicate with my supporters.

My mind has been steered with the help of some of the people whom I follow on Twitter. The main one being Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson. I have followed him for 2 months. In that time he has told me what new books Thomas Nelson is publishing; he had informed me that they have changed the dress code at the office; and, I know when he plays golf even. Does any of that really matter? Not if I am thinking about what book I would purchase from them. But what it does do is put Thomas Nelson constantly on my mind. That is exactly what I want from people who say they are praying for me and my ministry as well as supporting me financially. I want them to think about me constantly. I want them to know I am a real person who struggles with the same things they do. I think Twitter can deliver that.

Now you can follow one, or both, of my accounts. There may be some cases where I would cross post between accounts, but mainly the DavidPeach account will be ministry related and dpeach will be everything else.