tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62598722024-03-13T19:27:38.638-05:00My Brother, The ThiefBrian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.comBlogger849125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-39735778845137552782016-07-19T01:57:00.000-05:002016-07-19T01:57:13.676-05:00Be Sure Your #LintonLies Will Find You Out<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYthEF9jpx-EbAhsA2QA7zG2mcv6bWYS-6OEOQZ909oGksFGmwQsLv1Jrhyphenhyphend-ZxP4JL4muV1F7W2IjJx-WQpUyP8iHgP35OjS8yXYi3Af3Nl8HRWwRaFy4DE1j627yW9rkIGf9jQ/s1600/lies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYthEF9jpx-EbAhsA2QA7zG2mcv6bWYS-6OEOQZ909oGksFGmwQsLv1Jrhyphenhyphend-ZxP4JL4muV1F7W2IjJx-WQpUyP8iHgP35OjS8yXYi3Af3Nl8HRWwRaFy4DE1j627yW9rkIGf9jQ/s200/lies.jpg" width="129" /></a>You've all heard the story before. Young, attractive, fish-out-of-water is faced with a terrible situation. Deep in the jungle, facing crocodiles, lions, 12-inch spiders, crazed militiamen brandishing AK-47s. Facing trouble on all sides, and given the option to evacuate, our heroine decides to stay to bring comfort to a helpless HIV positive orphan named Zimba.<br />
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The problem with this story, however exciting it may be, is that it never happened. It was an utter fabrication. Recently, an actress named Louise Linton published a memoir called "In Congo's Shadow" which got little publicity... <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/how-my-dream-gap-year-in-africa-turned-into-a-nightmare/">until excerpts were published</a>.<br />
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Somehow, someone seemed to overlook the fact that Zambia is online. Zambians and expats alike were outraged at the pure fabrication. It made a mockery of peaceful, safe, civilized Zambia. The hashtag #lintonlies was born out of this outrage. So was a Twitter account under the name of "Zimba."<br />
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Pretty soon, half-apologies were issued along the lines of "I'm sorry if someone was offended." Linton's father threw in his $.02 worth (actually less than 2 ngwee worth) and gave his own pathetic response. But the Twitterstorm got worse. As did the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Congos-Shadow-Louise-Linton/dp/1522708049">Amazon reviews</a>. When the excerpt was published, there were ten reviews, all positive. Very quickly, those reviews were "overshadowed"by the negative, calling her out on her lies. Soon the book itself was listed as "Out of Print."<br />
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Articles<a href="http://qz.com/723430/africans-are-ridiculing-this-white-savior-memoir-by-an-actress-who-spent-a-gap-year-in-zambia/"> slamming Linton</a> cropped up all over the internet. It's pretty obvious that she simply wanted to advance her career, and what better way to do so than to show how wonderful she is. But because of her lies, it all backfired.<br />
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I suppose "no publicity is bad publicity" but now her name is going to always be associated with #LintonLies.<br /><br />I know I have been tempted to lie to make myself look better. When I was in college, I played soccer for the Northwestern University Soccer Club. Not the Varsity team, but at the club level. We played small college teams, mostly in the Chicago area. But it was easy to tell people I played for Northwestern University. Technically true. But also intentionally misleading. So I make sure, if someone asks, that I tell them the truth. Like the truth about me playing for a semi-pro soccer team... My friend organized a college indoor soccer tournament, and he invited his former team, the Charlotte Eagles, to come and play. They arrived without a goalkeeper, so I was asked to play with them for the tournament. So (again, technically) I played for a semi-pro team. But to be honest, I wasn't on the team. I suppose I was the "semi" in semi-pro. :-)<br /><br />The problem is that our lies will always find us out. Whether in real time, like #LintonLies, or in eternity.Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-65292543342017861632016-07-02T13:27:00.001-05:002016-07-02T13:27:34.563-05:00Junior High BoysIt is official. We have a junior high boy in our family (no, besides me). Our oldest son's voice changed recently (funny when he gets called out for talking during a school assembly because he's the only one with a bass voice), and now he sounds like me.<br />
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His list of favorite movies, though still including the Lord of the Rings and all things Star Wars, has grown to include the Blues Brothers and Monty Python and the Holy Grail.<br />
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He belches loudly at his brother for no reason. At the dinner table.<br />
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He makes inappropriate jokes.<br />
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He secretly thinks Dad jokes are funny.<br />
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He thought Napoleon Dynamite was the worst movie ever. Like anyone could really even know that. But he is constantly imitating Napoleon. With dead-on accuracy.<br />
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It is a riot having a junior high boy. No, life hasn't gone too fast. No, he's not still my baby boy (thank God - he was an awful baby).Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-56303523248332786802016-07-01T13:05:00.002-05:002016-07-01T13:05:57.921-05:00Get Outta TownSomething we've always liked doing is day trips. In Ohio, we tried to find all the historical sites near enough to drive to, especially if there was hiking available.<br />
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This week's trip was a day trip to Chaminuka, a game park and lodge near Lusaka. It's only about an hour (+) from our house, and one bonus was that the 20 km of gravel/dirt/rock road from the airport to Chaminuka was largely paved!<br />
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We got there around 9:30 which gave us time to explore a little before going on a game drive. We saw giraffe, zebra, eland, bushbuck, impala, ostrich, wildebeest, and elephant. That doesn't include the fenced-in cheetahs, lion, and lynx.<br />
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After the game drive, we hung around the lodge for a while. Andrew and I tried to play snooker. I don't understand the game, and the big sign with the rules didn't help a whole lot.<br /><br />Then we had lunch, a buffet with fresh grilled chicken, beef, pork ribs, and African sausage (as well as a lot of other stuff). Delicious and enough to stuff me.<br /><br />We played around the pool (the kids got in, but the water was pretty cold), met some members of a mission team from Willow Creek (Chicago) who had been serving in Lusaka, and then we went fishing. Actually, Andrew and I went fishing while the rest of the family went for a boat ride.<br />
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Yeah, our fish weren't very big. But Andrew was pleased as punch to have caught fish (I think we each caught three. Maybe he caught four. None were much bigger than the ones pictured).<br /><br />It was a really nice day trip, though too expensive to do often. But who else is going out and seeing these kinds of animals close up?</div>
Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-24907128440784256852016-05-02T08:16:00.000-05:002016-05-02T09:06:13.077-05:00Lafarge Lusaka Marathon, Take 2Last year I ran the Lafarge Lusaka Marathon pretty much on the spur of the moment. Though I ran a good race (pretty well untrained), the experience itself was terrible. Bad traffic, a difficult course with no signage, and an awful finishing experience made me vow to never run this race again.<br />
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However, as this year's race came near, members of the Lafarge team approached us runners to ask our opinions on the race and what improvements we would like to see. I was very frank with them and even shared my race report from last year (which ended with "I will never run this race again.")<br />
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Because of the efforts they seemed to be taking, we as a group decided we would run this race again. Give them one more chance.<br />
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The Sunday before the race, a group of us went to survey the new race course. It was a good course, mostly flat, with a couple short hills and a couple long gradual hills. The shake-out half marathon was great, giving me a lot of confidence going in to the race. Before the shake out, I was still up in the air as to whether I would "run" it or "race" it. After the 1:44 half marathon on Sunday, I figured it was "race."<br />
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Saturday morning came early - I woke up before my alarm (this usually happens when I have to get up super early). I had gotten everything ready in advance, so I was up and ready to go. I got a call to pick up one of the runners on the way, which was no problem. We got to Levy Junction to find tents and a stage built in <i>front</i> of the mall this year - a good change to start with, as last year we had to go around to the back after finishing.<br />
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I got everything ready, no problem, except that as I was stashing my car key I dropped it... down in the back of the spare tire! I tried and tried to get it out, to no avail. I scraped up my arm trying to get it. I borrowed someone's stick and flag and couldn't get it. Finally the runner who I had given a ride to get there was able to help me (his arm is skinnier than mine). By this time they were assembling the runners to the start line. In the chaos, I neglected to re-apply Body Glide. Thankfully, that never came back to bite me, but I was scared when I remembered it.<br />
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They did some announcements and stuff - I didn't really pay attention; I was getting into the zone. There were scores of selfies and standing around, then they herded us out to the start line. I dashed behind a tree for a quick bathroom break, then the race was on!<br />
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I was carrying my phone for this race - not ideal by any stretch of the imagination, but better than having no distance/timing option. I would have rather had my iPod, but it requires headphones while the phone has speakers. So I had my music going for the whole race. That was a good pick-me-up.<br />
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The first half went by pretty quickly and uneventfully. I was pleased at how well they had controlled traffic. I ran with a guy named Ben who was running his first marathon. His friends were working with the organization in some way, so they convinced him to run. The splits went by quickly, all right within the time I was hoping for, and we zoomed through the first loop (half marathon) in 1:41. I was really happy with that time, as it was right where I wanted to be to make a surge for the second half. I was hoping to beat 3:30, with a goal of 3:25. 1:41 put me right there. The first half was great, as there were lots of runners who were doing the half marathon. Now it was on to the lonely second half of the race.<br />
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Along Independence Avenue, the traffic was really bad... on the other side of the street. The traffic police had done a good job of shutting our side down. While we were running along, this old bearded guy came running along next to me along the median, calling out "Zambia wins!" over and over again as he ran next to me. I stopped and gave him a handful of gummies, as he had been running along with me for about 1/2 km. Plus, the gummies were weighing my shorts down. They kept sliding, especially as I got sweatier and sweatier.<br />
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About 25 km in (15 1/2 miles or so) I started to fade a little. The heat was getting to me (it got up to 86*F) and I was really looking forward to the Mountain Dew and the peanut butter sandwich I had prepared. My friend was planning to deliver them to me at about 30 km (around 19 miles). I figured I would gut it out until then. But 30 km came and went and no friend... when I sent a text, I found that they got stuck in traffic and wouldn't be coming. This made things physically difficult, as I needed the extra kick from the peanut butter and the Mountain Dew, but it was also mentally taxing as I was counting on it and looking forward to it.<br />
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That was the beginning of the end, as I let myself walk once or twice or three times or four. I don't even want to report this part of the run. I did decide to ditch the rest of the gummies after they melted in my pocket. I tried to eat one but it tasted like sweaty sugar and chemicals. So I threw them in the ditch. At least my shorts wouldn't fall down anymore!<br />
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The voice on my phone kept telling me the time and the distance and the time per kilometer, and the hope for 3:30 died pretty quickly. As did the hope for beating last year's time. My friend Richard caught up with me (the only one who beat me at the ISL Ultra 6 hour run) and asked if I needed some drugs. I gladly took some (ibuprofen). I was in pain by that point. He also gave me some glucose to eat which perked me up a little. Our friend Sarah also caught up to me and pulled me along. The glucose had me perked up enough that I was managing to run again, maybe plod would be a better word. We rounded the loop around Levy Junction and finished! The best moment was, as we rounded the last corner headed for the finish line, Ted Nugent's "Homebound" came on. I got goosebumps and maybe teared up a little.<br />
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But as we were finishing, I saw a sheet of corrugated metal from a nearby worksite sitting right in our path. Sarah went one way and I went the other way around it... except that some moronic workers decided to try to pick it up and move it, right as we were heading that way! I yelled at them, really loud. Probably incoherently. And barely managed to miss them.<br />
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We crossed the finish line, right over 4 hours, and as I crossed, my legs just went out from under me. It felt like they just turned into jello. Thankfully, there were plenty of people around to help me to my feet and to get me to the medical tent where I got some nasty stuff to drink and some ice to put on my legs and back and neck.<br />
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I was very disappointed in my race, especially as I was hoping to run sub 3:30 and ended up at 4:02. I went through a lot of emotions on the race.<br />
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Following the race, they handed out medals (right by the finish - again, a good change!) and a little goodie bag with a sandwich and a bottle of orange juice! The sandwich really was good. Almost as good as the Mountain Dew, which I got shortly!</div>
Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-8921138939746808772016-04-10T01:09:00.000-05:002016-04-10T01:09:15.289-05:00Isuzu ISL Ultra Marathon Race RecapI had never run an ultra before. I had run six marathons: Columbus (twice), Kentucky Derby Festival, Erie Marathon at Presque Isle, Lafarge Lusaka (Zambia), and Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe).<br />
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My friends are training for Comrades Marathon, 90 km in South Africa. While I'm not training for it, I have run a lot of the training runs (including back-to-back-to-back-to-back half marathons on Easter weekend). I had decided I wanted to run this 6 hour marathon a couple of weeks ago, just to say I'd done it more than anything else. I wanted to push myself a little more than I had done before.<br />
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Building up to race day, I knew the Comrades crowd was going to run. There were several others who were going to run as a team (the Lusaka Running Club team won last year and wanted to repeat). Richard, the guy who is training the Comrades team made sure to tell them all not to race. But my friend Val and I, who are not running Comrades, were free to race. Richard also started insinuating that I was the one to beat in this race. I thought I had a good chance of actually winning it, but only if Richard didn't.<br />
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The night before race day came, and I got everything ready. Bottles of water, some frozen, some just cold. Bananas. Oranges. Coke and Mountain Dew. And clothes. Lots of clothes. Three shirts, four pairs of socks, three pairs of shoes, two pairs of shorts, and sweat pants and a hoodie. And my trusty yellow hat.<br />
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Friday's weather was perfect running weather. Cool and cloudy. But then, all night long, it rained. It rained hard, keeping me awake a lot of the night. It was still raining when we got to the race. Richard and I got there just after 6 and set up an Easy-Up tent (another friend came and added two more). And it rained.<br />
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We got the news that due to some electrical problems, the race (set to start at 7) would start 15 minutes late. Then another 15 minutes. I was freezing cold, as I had headed over to the start line in my shorts and singlet. Then they got the electricity working, having run a cable across the street from the school, and they were ready to start us.<br />
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Before we start, I want to back up. This race actually had two races. a 6 hour race and a 3 hour race. The 3 hour race was to be punctuated by people throwing color packets on one another. I'm just not into that and was a little worried that I'd get it all over me and my Lusaka Running Club singlet or that I'd have to go to church with dyed hair. The 3 hour run would be crowds of little kids and teenagers and I wasn't looking forward to that. But it is a school function, first and foremost (ISL is the International School of Lusaka).<br />
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So anyway, the start. The race director got us to come up - not too close to the mat so we didn't trigger it early, and said, "Start." I was a little surprised, but off we went.<br />
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It was a 1 km loop through a rather narrow trail, which wasn't a problem as the numbers weren't great. Did I mention that it was raining? Hard? So the trail was already muddy. Especially around by our "camp" where there was a sharp switch-back in the mud. It was hard running through the mud, but Val and Rich and I were managing 5:30 or faster for many, many loops. The mud was awful, though, and it was hard to keep your footing. And did I mention that I hate mud? I sure did to everyone around.<br />
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Things went really smoothly for a long time. The race crew started throwing bundles of tall (cut) grass on the really bad muddy areas, and that helped a lot. Still it rained on, and the path was a mud bog. Mud was everywhere. Twice I had to stop and scrape mud out of the insole of my shoes. It was even hard to untie my shoes because the mud was so thick on the laces.<br />
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As we ran, I got the feeling I was in the top 3 - there was one guy who was unaccounted for (JoJo) and Rich, Val, and I stayed up there.<br />
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It continued to rain. Soon one of the RDs came and announced that the 3 hour run was cancelled, but we could keep going if we wanted. Then I overheard her telling the other RD "It doesn't seem like any of them want to quit." I was glad that they didn't pull the plug on our race. I think we would have continued it anyway unless we got kicked off the course.<br />
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Around 40 km, I had a sudden twinge in my upper groin muscle, so bad I had to walk/limp most of a loop. I decided I was done. It was a tough decision, but I figured there was no reason to hurt myself worse. DNF is better than injury.<br />
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I sat down, stretched it out a little, then decided I might as well see if I could walk it out. That felt fine, so after almost another loop, I continued running. I never felt it again the whole run.<br />
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Another factor that came into play about 30 km was my watch. My Garmin (GPS watch) has been losing charge, so much that I have stopped using it. But at the last moment, a friend who wasn't able to run lent me hers. So I was running with it, keeping track of my pace and my distance, but then it just shut off. So I went back to my Timex. Unfortunately that led me to lose count of laps. I thought I was 1/2 lap ahead of Richard (so did he) but I was really behind him.<br />
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At about 40 km I stopped to change shoes. My feet were really hurting and my shoes were so muddy, so I switched from my old Kinvaras to my Asics GelLyte 33s. Good move. It was like I got new legs and new feet.<br />
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The rain stopped, and it got windy, which was nice because it dried some of the course a little. But it was cold. I found the driest line, usually right along the edge of the trail, getting in the weeds a bit, but footing there was better. Otherwise it was slippery and mushy. I had a couple of loops where I ran with a friend and we were unintentionally slopping mud all over each other. Did I mention how I feel about mud?<br />
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At one point near the start line I saw a family and their little boy started laughing at how dirty my feet were. I told him "I'll let you in on a secret - this is my second pair."<br />
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I decided I would go for 50k. But when I hit 50, I figured I'd keep going. I was amazed how fast the last hour went, me just plodding along. I got my lap count figured out (this is when I figured out I was in second place). Richard was gaining on me, and shouted out, "If you walk a bit, we can walk together." He thought I was still ahead of him, and this was just one of his tricks. Like saying earlier "I'm only doing 40km." "50 is all I've got in the tank today." Yeah, right. But I was glad for the company, especially as I knew he was really ahead of me!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZXDsSV8-nI4rFk-MuXbRZAQ86J4DCYJRhYZqEq06iuBHFMCeaNBmpwimORwBd3LTBjdbZjOmemfY9yVOR2hL35Gc4IqY5I9bFPkr37m68ng-hrw7Ib_yPQlrJj86sgzJsG3GNA/s1600/Ultra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZXDsSV8-nI4rFk-MuXbRZAQ86J4DCYJRhYZqEq06iuBHFMCeaNBmpwimORwBd3LTBjdbZjOmemfY9yVOR2hL35Gc4IqY5I9bFPkr37m68ng-hrw7Ib_yPQlrJj86sgzJsG3GNA/s400/Ultra.jpg" width="223" /></a><br />
We finished up the last couple of loops - there were 3 minutes left when I crossed the line with 54 laps - not enough time to try for another. As it turned out, Richard's 55 was enough for a course record, while my second place 54 was 6 more than last year's winner.<br />
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One cool thing was the support we got. We had a tent with friends in it (and those running the relay, when they weren't running, hung out there). They had music playing (though Kenny Rogers' The Gambler wasn't all that motivating, it was certainly a positive distraction. Though playing it {randomly} when I was considering the DNF was pretty funny) and they had all our dry stuff and our food. So when I'd go by on a lap, I'd just tell them, "Next loop, I want a sandwich" and they'd get out my sandwich box." Or they'd open a Coke for me. Or an orange. It was awesome. It was like a full-service hydration/nutrition station. They even gave stuff to people who weren't in our club.<br />
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They had an award ceremony and it was funny listening to some boys who won their age group of the relay. They were amazed as each number of loops was read. They had combined for 61 or so among 4-5 runners. When they heard that we had done 50+ on our own, they were amazed.<br />
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Actually I was amazed. I'd never done more than 42, and here I was, second place overall with 54 loops - more than 54 km...Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-87623054043677511982015-06-29T05:12:00.001-05:002015-06-29T05:12:40.332-05:00Victoria Falls MarathonSince before I moved to Zambia, I looked forward to running the <a href="http://www.vicfallsmarathon.com/">Victoria Falls Marathon</a>. For a while, I wavered about the plan for the race; would I "race" it, or would I "run" it? By "race" it, I mean, would I train to run it fast and work to the goal of beating my PR (personal record) of 3:24; or would I run it (just enjoy the run)?<br />
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In August, I met a fellow school parent/runner, Johan, and we began running together after school drop off on Tuesdays and Fridays. Somewhere along the line, Johan decided he wanted to train for his first marathon, which would be Victoria Falls. Coupled with the fact that he would be returning to Sweden to live, this made up my mind; my goal became to run the race with Johan and to help him complete his first marathon.<br />
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After long training and multiple long runs, we decided on a goal time of four hours...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb7zuaOd_Oe4WRMVsBkodPBNh3dkxC6eDB88LXWPpaHMIkBZ1IF410zp6SHB8AtmrKXAOLeVdKXt33TNS6cy-dYB4_bLB4cjHCxcszJaqeKeO1FIv7V19aLWad0eAiRZ_xXK4VKA/s1600/10014133_10155831873455195_3603952883094506978_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb7zuaOd_Oe4WRMVsBkodPBNh3dkxC6eDB88LXWPpaHMIkBZ1IF410zp6SHB8AtmrKXAOLeVdKXt33TNS6cy-dYB4_bLB4cjHCxcszJaqeKeO1FIv7V19aLWad0eAiRZ_xXK4VKA/s200/10014133_10155831873455195_3603952883094506978_o.jpg" width="150" /></a>The run started with a drive to Victoria Falls, camping overnight Friday night, carb-loading spaghetti for lunch, an easy shake-out jog Saturday evening, no pasta at the restaurant on Saturday evening (even though the waiter assured us that the pasta was very good), and camping on the floor of Johan and Klas's hotel room on a leaky air mattress (I reinflated it three or four times during the night).<br />
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Sunday morning, I ate a bowl of oatmeal and an orange, drank half a bottle of Mountain Dew, and went down to the start line (right outside the hotel). It was nice being right there before the race; I reached the start line only 10-15 minutes before the gun and was in perfect time to start. I met a fellow Northwestern Wildcat who was also hoping to break 4 hours in her first marathon and a couple of other fellow runners and then the race started.<br />
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The first thing we did was go downhill to the Victoria Falls Bridge into Zambia. I worked hard to keep our pace slow - it would have been easy to go out way too fast, as our legs were fresh, it was downhill, and there is a lot of energy and adrenaline at the start of a race. The plan was to run even 5:40 kilometers (that's about 9:06/mile), but for the first kilometer or two, 5:25 would be excusable. The bridge was incredible, especially seeing the view of the falls, and well before the turn-around, we saw the elites heading toward us. They are so fast. When I saw the guy who was in first, I told the others, "He won't win." Funny thing, when we saw the front-runners later, I never saw him again. You could just see that even if he had a good 5K, he didn't have that for 42.2.<br />
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We followed the route back into Zimbabwe, on a curvy road through the National Park (there was elephant poop everywhere - apparently some runners who were back a ways got mock-charged by an elephant while running!), and up lots of hills. All along, I kept checking my Garmin to make sure we were right around 5:40.<br />
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The water stops were plentiful, where they'd give out little sealed baggies of water. I saw one guy struggling, trying to open it with his hands. The key was to rip it open with your teeth. I managed to hydrate really well - in fact, I have never, ever had to pee as many times as I did along this course. Funny thing; at about the halfway point, I felt something sticking in my ankle; I thought it was just my sock bothering me, but after the race, I found that I had picked up some little thorns in my sock on one of my bathroom breaks!<br />
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The first half went by in just seconds over 2 hours. About this point, I was experiencing some serious tightness in my left hamstring. I decided to just forget about it, which turned out to be the best thing. I had to laugh when I felt better at 30k than I had at 20k.<br />
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The kilometers just kept on clicking by, right at 5:40. Along the way, I saw baboons, warthogs, and even a donkey (I think it was tame, though). The water stops began serving Coke or Fanta as well - I loved having Coke breaks (I actually walked with the Coke cups). I also ate a pack of Gu Chomps - I'm a little embarrassed that I've had these for as many years as I have; I bought them at least 4 years ago. They were a little hard and extra chewy, but that was good, because it meant they lasted longer in my mouth. When I was getting ready to eat my first one, however, a guy told me, "You'd better watch out; there are baboons ahead." I stuffed the bag back in my pocket, and I was glad I had, because they are quite aggressive.<br />
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We did a couple of loops, it got hot, and there were a couple of major uphills. On one of these, right about 35km, Johan hit the wall. For those of you who have run this distance, you probably know how he felt. I tried working with him "This is less than our loop from the school," but there's nothing anyone else can do to get you through it, and though he didn't quit, he urged me to go ahead.<br />
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I decided if I was going to go ahead, I was going to push the pace. The other hopeful 4 hour runners had long since dropped back, so I was on my own. I wish I'd counted roadkills; I was picking off runners left and right. In fact, nobody passed me. Not even one runner (now, to be clear, I was overtaken while drinking Coke, but I re-passed every one of them). It was just one after another, and I loved it.<br />
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My pace started dropping, down under 8 minute mile pace for the final 7km. There was a period where we went down a long straightaway through a residential area, and that was boring and hot and I just concentrated on catching other runners.<br />
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I knew that the 41st kilometer would be the toughest, as it was entirely uphill, yet I still managed to drop the pace. The finish itself was a little unclear, as I came upon an area full of cars and lots of runners who had finished their half marathon race. But the course turned back into a school, where a fellow Lusaka runner told me, "Save a little; the track goes around a long way." I figured I could keep the pace, especially when I saw how close I was to 4 hours so I ran hard, with my Garmin registering a top speed of 5:30!<br />
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I crossed the finish line at 3:59:46!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHVqN9wzv8ZVi9r3MoDNIBAyfTDIZ5-kPQ3h00rnUlPDpgl_vG7sOwbymY4V96oawPPruv1cBX7i8CNPURFR5oxRnzP_MHB-vpYKSTb7paSSZeWisi1_YZSoy5eb7qM6bt1cEQEA/s1600/11666086_10153467965644740_296394984985624004_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHVqN9wzv8ZVi9r3MoDNIBAyfTDIZ5-kPQ3h00rnUlPDpgl_vG7sOwbymY4V96oawPPruv1cBX7i8CNPURFR5oxRnzP_MHB-vpYKSTb7paSSZeWisi1_YZSoy5eb7qM6bt1cEQEA/s320/11666086_10153467965644740_296394984985624004_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
At the finish line I was given a bottle of water (that's the last thing I wanted at that point) and my medal (pretty cool design) and told to "sit here and wait for your shirt" (in the sun). I waited. They didn't have my size (M). Or small. So I got a large one.<br />
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There was no free post-race food or anything other than the bottle of water available, and I didn't have any money, but a friend lent me some, with which I bought apple juice, which tasted fantastic.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgouqmfLyyjKY18-nEXTJEO_yDds7kafkox5Icfn-e2CUmq_cocjNfJz0febPCsra2GN6HT_5vrPncnwNyTp57-cLOMK8la8sTUWfETc0d61hqo5SfVv-GedPprxdnIO1y1GQ7A/s1600/11403384_1108161165865261_2456915696613408027_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgouqmfLyyjKY18-nEXTJEO_yDds7kafkox5Icfn-e2CUmq_cocjNfJz0febPCsra2GN6HT_5vrPncnwNyTp57-cLOMK8la8sTUWfETc0d61hqo5SfVv-GedPprxdnIO1y1GQ7A/s320/11403384_1108161165865261_2456915696613408027_n.jpg" width="176" /></a>Johan and Klas finished shortly after I did (I believe Johan made it in 4:10, which was fantastic, especially for how hard he hit the wall). I made it back to the hotel and soaked my legs in the pool for a while.<br />
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The best parts of the race: I negative split. I've never managed that, not in any marathon. It wasn't a huge difference (2:00:35 for the first half, 1:59:11 for the second), but it was cool. I also nailed hydration and nutrition during the race. And passing so many people without being passed? That was the most incredible feeling.<br />
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It was also cool to have such great support from the Lusaka runners. Lusaka Fitness Club and Lusaka Running Club made a great showing and it was amazing to have them all cheering and all the camaraderie.<br />
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After the race, and after cleaning up and eating, it was time for an all-night drive back to Lusaka (definitely the low point of the whole adventure).<br />
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This was night-and-day different from the Lafarge Lusaka debacle in March. A great marathon experience.Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-80204461499511401412014-04-21T16:02:00.001-05:002014-04-21T16:02:38.632-05:00Mizuno Wave Sayonara ReviewNotice that When my favorite training shoes (Asics Sky Speed) were discontinued, I had to find a new go-to high mileage trainer. The Facebook group "Running Shoe Geeks" overwhelmingly pointed me to the Mizuno Wave Sayonara. <div><br></div><div>I was in Columbus and stopped in Roadrunner Sports and they did a whole gait analysis and determined that, yes, Sayonara would be a good match. But they didn't have any. </div><div><br></div><div>Finally after waiting a while, I found a pair online (no discount) and bought them. As soon as they arrived, I wore them on a quick run. I loved them. No break-in time. Fit was amazing. Firm underfoot but not clunky. And fast. Did I mention that I felt fast in them?</div><div><br></div><div>The problem is with durability. Not only is the upper frayed and tearing all along the little plastic lining around the toe, but the rubber on the heels is toast. Compared to my Sky Speeds with double the mileage. Notice that the rubber is gone on the Sayonaras (330 miles) while it is just worn on the Sky Speeds (650 miles)<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaMnB9HQpKJzBc5WzXghz2Xe1j0QHcoS149NV0fefBoYmVKBGujSRhpvKfft036ofx7bq_VKf-w6X-6zDMAYCvHyx8c8ei_M5X22-ha1yfBXVL9fYLhEsWwOIlD-hq214FdFJ0Dw/s640/blogger-image-838953727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaMnB9HQpKJzBc5WzXghz2Xe1j0QHcoS149NV0fefBoYmVKBGujSRhpvKfft036ofx7bq_VKf-w6X-6zDMAYCvHyx8c8ei_M5X22-ha1yfBXVL9fYLhEsWwOIlD-hq214FdFJ0Dw/s640/blogger-image-838953727.jpg"></a></div></div>Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-35829513947864914492014-04-01T14:51:00.001-05:002014-04-01T14:51:49.436-05:00Inaugural Sts. Peter and Paul Road Scholars 5K race recap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Inaugural races are sometimes a bit of a crap-shoot; sometimes they aren't all that well-marked, sometimes there are issues with the course or the prizes or the expectations of the race. Sometimes it's a good idea but not that great of a race. And of course, sometimes the weather is bad. You never know what you'll get at the end of March in Ohio!</div>
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I got news of a local inaugural race to benefit the Sts. Peter and Paul school here in Wellston - about a block away from my house. Many of my kids' friends and fellow Cub Scouts go to Sts. Peter and Paul, and I'm glad to support the school. Especially by doing what I like to do: race!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeiTLRFzZGS2tRN5lax3_vjtEoOXXB4HTFD_azyaY8aJlDUxhhZ2t6aBkmOyUToe-Xe8xKCOCA8JcxAjDXOk3o-Og_4PMRuk-EOPlLCBaM1SRSEcFAj7kms56FH_2HS7-0EM_0FA/s1600/start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeiTLRFzZGS2tRN5lax3_vjtEoOXXB4HTFD_azyaY8aJlDUxhhZ2t6aBkmOyUToe-Xe8xKCOCA8JcxAjDXOk3o-Og_4PMRuk-EOPlLCBaM1SRSEcFAj7kms56FH_2HS7-0EM_0FA/s1600/start.jpg" height="139" title="Who is that adult pushing through all of the kids at the start line? " width="320" /></a>The day before race day came with a terrible weather forecast: 40*, extremely windy, and rainy. 80% chance of rain at the start. But that rain held off (until after noon, actually!) and the start was uneventful. Easy instructions (out and back on a bike path - it doesn't get much easier than that) and thank yous to some really generous sponsors, and we were ready to go. </div>
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I kind of felt like a jerk at the start line. After all, this was a race benefiting a local school, and school children (most likely from that school) were up at the start line ready to go. A whole line of kids... and one giant adult, toeing the line. We got the "GO" and off we went. </div>
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A couple of the kids went out strong - at about the 1/4 mile mark, I said to the kid next to me, "If you keep this pace up, you will win." He would have, too. We were about a 6:30 pace, and if it had come down to it, if he had kept up with me that long, I would have let him win. Maybe.</div>
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After the 1/4 mile mark, the kids trailed off, and I didn't see them again until the turnaround. The wind was with us on the "out" so the "back" was a little tougher, especially with no competition left. The most interesting thing that happened on the race was that I had to pass a (non-racing) runner with his dog - this dog has snapped and snarled at me before. Thankfully this time it didn't. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68atiPr5CyT_PaltDhyRiNC65eAwI4ockMtf-vD2uRNI7lfeeDXsZEAeZV7C5BYNYxNl7ln-gvwbrkfP8rrh68nRnP7Ec6Wvvma2Tdbq1UURjNkNxyPCXUE7yXM0B4d6BfOeEiQ/s1600/winning.image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68atiPr5CyT_PaltDhyRiNC65eAwI4ockMtf-vD2uRNI7lfeeDXsZEAeZV7C5BYNYxNl7ln-gvwbrkfP8rrh68nRnP7Ec6Wvvma2Tdbq1UURjNkNxyPCXUE7yXM0B4d6BfOeEiQ/s1600/winning.image.jpg" height="320" width="165" /></a>Did I mention that I run on this course almost every day? I know it really well. I intentionally didn't run the tangents - I felt like because this was an out-and-back course, I should keep to the right. I thought I would run into traffic on the "back" section because not everyone respects the "keep-to-the-right" rule, and because there was a simultaneous 3K walk race going on, but there were no problems. In fact, as I came closer to the finish, I was motivated to catch some of the walkers ahead of me (there's a reason why my final .1 came in at a 5:48 pace). Well, besides the fact that I had a lot left in the tank after cruising the second and third miles. And the fact that I wanted people to see me running fast. Which doesn't give any good reason why my finish photo looks quite this terrible. My time was 20:35, which is a good solid minute slower than my PR - I attribute this to several factors. The first factor is that I haven't been running as regularly or as high mileage as I had been. Going on the cruise earlier in March contributed to it as well - that caused my mileage to slip and caused my waistline to expand (which was the second factor). The third factor was either that I wasn't mentally tough enough to race hard on my own or that I understood that there are days you race for pace and other days you race for place; since I had "place" sewn up, I didn't push the pace.</div>
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After the race was done, I ate a giant Amish donut and then ran a cool down lap around the lake (about 1.5 miles). Some of the other runners thought I was showing off. I really wasn't; I just know I need to cool down. After the cool-down, I ate another donut and put my warm-ups back on and waited for the awards. While we waited, the State Park Naturalist showed off his little owl, which was a really cool bonus.</div>
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Awards were good - the overall winners got a 6 month membership to the Rio Grande University fitness center. Pretty awesome award, if you ask me. That was beyond the trophies and medals. Age group winners also got medals. </div>
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Pictures were from Paul Boggs at the <a href="http://www.jacksoncountydaily.com/sports/article_f9afa306-f0d5-5e83-9faa-135bbf02e7e5.html?mode=image&photo=1">Jackson County Daily</a>.</div>
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<br />Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-28665050873568661792013-11-29T09:56:00.001-05:002013-11-29T09:56:44.665-05:009th Annual Larry Cox Turkey Trot RecapI love running Thanksgiving Day races; it has become one of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions. The first one I ever ran was back when I was in seminary and I ran the Nicholasville Turkey Trot a couple of times. Once I ran a small race near my parents' house in Kentucky, and I've also run the Columbus/Upper Arlington four milers. Two years ago, I won the inaugural MVRB Turkey Trot, a race my friend put on to race money and food for a local (Mt. Vernon) food bank. So this year I was looking for a race and found out that the Larry Cox Turkey Trot would be held in Chillicothe, a race to benefit the Southern Ohio Crime Stoppers and in memory of fallen officer, Larry Cox, an avid runner who was shot and killed while off duty in 2005.<br />
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Looking online, I could only find records of the first five finishers - which should have told me something... I also found a blogger who has run this race every year (including running it in an amazing time of 14:55). I decided I would run. Then I found out that a friend from town was going to be running, so I begged a ride from him. He said, "It's going to be cold" to which I replied, "Yep, no PRs this time."<br />
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On race morning, it was indeed cold. Jason's truck thermometer said it was 13*. Thirteen. I dressed for it: tights with warm up pants, warm long sleeve tech shirt (from Erie Marathon - we were laughing because I wore a marathon shirt to a 5k... but Jason wore a shirt from the Toughest Mudder 50k... and we met a guy at the start line in his Burning River 100 miler shirt), vest, jacket, hat, and mittens. I got signed up and it was frigid out there. My feet (in Asics Piranha racing flats) were numb when I started my warm up run. Sign up was kind of crazy - there were tons of people. They were sending the "pay in cash" over to the "pre-registered" table, so I went that way. I couldn't get my pen to work - too cold - so I filled everything out in pencil. When I found out that I would have to pick up my t-shirt later at some other location that I didn't know where, I decided I really didn't need a t-shirt. (race only was $15, with a t-shirt it was $24, and with a hoodie it was $35 - I just donated the extra I'd paid).<br />
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I ran for a while to warm up, then got back in the warm truck, then finished with some more running and finally was warm. I ditched the jacket, vest, and warm-up pants and made my way to the start line. There were lots of fast-looking runners there. The pre-race normal stuff went on, but the cool part was where the RD announced that Keegan Rathcamp (the guy who'd run sub 15) was going to carry Larry Cox's shoes - that his shoes have been carried in every race. Very classy. After the National Anthem was sung, we were ready to go!<br />
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The initial surge was fast, and I let it carry me. I made sure to remind myself, "You're not racing these guys; you're just running a speed workout." - this was my expectation: I had decided in advance that I was simply going to do my speed workout (3x1600 at 6:32) with no other expectation.<br />
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The course was extremely easy. Easy to follow and easy to run. There were two little hills, but they were nothing. There was some ice in a couple of patches, but as long as I watched my footing, it was no problem (nothing like the Frozen 5k I ran at NU where I hit a patch of ice and went flying, taking another runner out in the process). I kept on at a pretty steady pace, running the tangents as much as I could (Duke, my Garmin, measured the race at exactly 3.1 miles, so I must have done pretty well running the tangents!). The first mile slipped by at 6:13, and the second mile was 6:16.<br />
<br />
During the second mile, we went up onto the bike path where I ran a ton of my workouts while my boys were in soccer practice. The wind was against us, so I drafted for a while behind a high school runner. He was slowing down a little bit, so I passed him and told him, "just tuck in behind me and let's go get the next guy." He was happy to oblige. I just kept doing that - basically doing a fartlek workout - drafting for a moment, then passing and catching up with the next guy and doing it over.<br />
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The third mile finished up on the street with a little uphill and ice before heading down into the park. Once we were in the park, I knew it was close, so I tried to pick up the pace a bit. The third mile was in 6:20, and the last .1 I managed a 5:04 sprint. I was excited to see 19:20 - a PR for me by 7 seconds. It was great running this time, as I haven't managed anything close for over two years (since before I was sidelined with plantar fasciitis a year ago).<br />
<br />
At the finish line there was no means for placing or record keeping of any kind. I'm not sure why we got bibs (probably just to help them know who was a bandit). So there was no way of knowing how I did, overall place or age group. But 19:20 is pretty solid in my book!<br />
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I was so psyched about the PR that I went back and ran the course backwards for a cool-down, cheering for the other runners. The bike path part was a little hectic as it was full of runners and I kind of had to dodge them as I was going the wrong way! I found a friend (Andrew's soccer coach) and turned back and easily ran back with him and his kids, finishing up with about 3 miles of cool down.Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-6779228262894356352013-11-14T13:58:00.001-05:002013-11-14T13:59:20.052-05:00Part of the TeamI was watching a playoff soccer game last weekend and noticed that after one team scored, their fans began singing. The song was really catchy and stuck in my head for a long time. So I went online and found this video of their song: Believe<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Pa1DJ008t9Y?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Now, aside from this being a catchy earworm, it got me thinking. What is cool about this chant/song/cheer is that it came from the crowd. The audience, if you will. But they aren't *just* the audience. They are an important part of the brand and supporters of the team. The last phrase in their cheer is "we're here for RSL." The fans are there to help their team to victory.<br />
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This is a different way of thinking than many other sports fans. Instead of the fans being there for the team, the team is there for the fans. When I was a recent graduate of Northwestern University, my friend had 50 yard line tickets for the football team. I would sometimes sit with him on the 50 yard line, and when the team needed loud fans, we would stand and cheer and yell. And the old grouches around us would say, "sit down!" and "quiet down." They weren't there for the team. The team was there for them.<br />
<br />
I see the same kind of difference in the church. There are "audience" members who show up on Sunday. They hope to "get something out of" the service, but they don't want to put anything into it. They'll be quick to "boo" if they don't like the song selection or if the sermon is poor. But they aren't "there for RSL" - they are there for a performance. But that's not *church* - the church <i>is</i> the people. And even more than the example of the RSL cheer, the church isn't just the "audience" - the church is on the field as well.Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-24029948690630862572013-10-29T09:25:00.001-05:002013-10-29T09:25:48.081-05:00Chris Tomlin Concert<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3RLElNMxJy3wqWIsHmjBYnuzCGoGOQJqiV4TWVmaRr0dQOzwyRcJNucRRxZuPrFq-WpATW0ACNAcnD2yZcaWZmIuMsnsH2gPdU_2MULfBUwckpoiQemU7ID_7zWktd7aS46i91A/s640/blogger-image--1615194850.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3RLElNMxJy3wqWIsHmjBYnuzCGoGOQJqiV4TWVmaRr0dQOzwyRcJNucRRxZuPrFq-WpATW0ACNAcnD2yZcaWZmIuMsnsH2gPdU_2MULfBUwckpoiQemU7ID_7zWktd7aS46i91A/s640/blogger-image--1615194850.jpg"></a>I hadn't been to a concert in ages, but I had seen Chris Tomlin as worship leader back at my Youth Specialties Convention days - so I knew what to expect. Not much talk, and a lot of worship music. I was not disappointed. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I really liked the new songs, and they plays enough old favorites to keep everyone happy. They even brought out beach balls for the finale (ok, that was a little cheesy). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">But the greatest moment was totally unscripted. It was at the beginning of a song (I Will Rise), the song started slowly and the lyrics were about Jesus overcoming death- and the crowd began to cheer. Not just polite "I like this song" cheering, but from the heart. And even Chris Tomlin noticed. You could see in his face that he was blown away, pleased, and totally humbled by the outpouring of excitement for what Jesus did. True worship, indeed!</div>Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-35972800159094414222013-10-29T09:19:00.001-05:002013-10-29T09:19:08.096-05:00Pastor AppreciationI have been a pastor for twelve years, and something I learned as a pastor was that October is Pastor Appreciation Month. Funny that I never heard I such a thing until I was a pastor. <div><br></div><div>Anyway, this month is a little strange. The first time I "celebrated" it, I was an associate pastor, and the senior pastor told the committee that it was time to solicit donations for pastor appreciation. Awkward!</div><div><br></div><div>So in various churches I have seen it done differently, but it has always followed one of two patterns. Either nobody says or does anything, or the congregation gives a monetary gift. </div><div><br></div><div>After last year's experience was in the former category, I wasn't expecting much this year. But the church surprised me with an after-church lunch and a trip to a Chris Tomlin concert (including money for dinner and gas and they even provided babysitting)!</div><div><br></div><div>I have always been a proponent of "experience" gifts and this fit the bill and was also a great time for a date night with Tara!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL2xaJsUu66EUp7b2_Roys91l6-D-q53Yn3xLjJBET8t9thIxbVzl-AJkuw5a2O2GLFLAD35rbXInhFHiiUbADqWE64yEWjnUxT44PMFwfOTBxsR2pK2dx1bLbcPSPbCid6kZX6w/s640/blogger-image-1018768937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL2xaJsUu66EUp7b2_Roys91l6-D-q53Yn3xLjJBET8t9thIxbVzl-AJkuw5a2O2GLFLAD35rbXInhFHiiUbADqWE64yEWjnUxT44PMFwfOTBxsR2pK2dx1bLbcPSPbCid6kZX6w/s640/blogger-image-1018768937.jpg"></a></div></div>Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-60740306752959704292013-04-20T13:27:00.000-05:002013-04-20T13:27:00.841-05:00Tri-County Triangle Trail Half-Marathon<br />
<a class="workout-title" href="http://www.dailymile.com/people/RevRun/entries/22226155" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #474d4f; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.666667938232422px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tri-County Triangle Trail Half Marathon</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404547; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 17.53472328186035px;"> </span><span class="workout-distance" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #474d4f; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.666667938232422px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">13.1 <span class="workout-distance-units" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">mi</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404547; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 17.53472328186035px;"> </span><span class="workout-time" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #474d4f; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.666667938232422px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">01:34</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404547; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 17.53472328186035px;"></span><span class="workout-pace" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #a1a1a1; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 17.53472328186035px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;">07:08 pace</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #404547; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; line-height: 17.53472328186035px;"></span><br />
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No plan? No problem. I didn't train with a specific plan in mind, and I just hoped to get below 1:40 today. This morning I got to Frankfort in plenty of time and picked up my packet. I got the wrong size shirt, and they didn't have any more (they asked if I signed up late - let's just say, I was #17, meaning I was the 17th person to register). So they gave me an extra t-shirt from last year's race as an apology for giving me the wrong size. I mostly stayed in the car to keep warm; it was cold and windy out there! I kept second-guessing what to wear, and I ended up with shorts (of course), long sleeve tech shirt, run DMC jersey, hat, gloves, compression sleeves, and Sketcher GoRun shoes.</div>
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When the race was ready to start, I made my way toward the front... expecting to find fast runners and tuck in behind them, I was kind of surprised to see nobody up there. I had seen some guys who looked fast hanging around, but I guess they were running the 5K (which started 5 minutes after the 1/2). After observing a moment of silence for Boston and everyone affected (NOTE: even if you're a spectator, when the announcer announces a moment of silence, SHUT UP. Tell the person on the other side of the cell phone that you can't talk. You can wait the 30 seconds. How rude), the starter gave us a count down and the race was on.</div>
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I stepped out quickly - my feet felt extremely light and we were going downhill and there was a stiff wind at our backs. One runner went out faster than I was, and he looked strong and I knew I couldn't try to stick with him. So I tried to find my pace and just run. I was thankful that I'd brought my iPod - my hard running playlist was really handy, especially since I didn't see another runner until after the turn-around.</div>
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I would bore you with my mile splits, but just think "somewhere around 7" for all of them. I was right on pace. In the first few miles, I was second-guessing my clothing; I was too hot pretty quickly. But would I need the extra clothes on the return run into the wind? During the fifth mile, I took off my shirt (yes, <a href="http://www.dailymile.com/people/MVNUSID" style="border: 0px; color: #0bb5e8; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dave P.</a>, I ran shirtless for a while) and just put the short sleeve shirt back on. A little tricky to maintain a 7 minute mile pace while changing clothes, keeping an iPod on, etc. I dropped the shirt, my hat, and my gloves off at a water stop, and they returned them to me after the race.</div>
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At the turn-around, I was at 46:22. Then came the wind. The first mile after the turn-around was brutal. the wind was straight in my face. But this was the first time I got a view of the competition... they were far enough behind that I knew I had 2nd place wrapped up. Kind of a scary thought - with that far to go. So this became more of a mental race than physical.</div>
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The wind wasn't bad for the next few miles, until the last mile, when it was brutal again. I kicked it as much as I could, knowing that a PR was possible. At some point, Duke got confused and was reading the miles a little long. I'm not sure when, maybe mile 8, but it said 13.26 instead of 13.1.</div>
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The finish was rather uneventful, as I had 2nd wrapped up. I got a medal, a coupon for a free Road ID (nice, since my old one is outdated with my old information on it), and a coupon for a free Subway sandwich. I made my way back to the picnic shelter, where a three-piece bluegrass band was jamming and they had a whole bunch of bean soup (not much cornbread left, but it was really good) and cookies. I went out and cheered for other runners and waited for the end of the run, when the water stop people came back with my gear.</div>
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It was a good run, and I was extremely happy with my result!</div>
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Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-2491435869231837272013-04-15T21:37:00.001-05:002013-04-15T21:37:44.719-05:00Boston Marathon Thoughts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In 2006, I ran my first marathon, and I got the bug. In 2011, I decided it was my year to qualify for the Boston Marathon. It's like the holy grail for many of us. If you aren't "in the know" - there is a certain cut-off time you have to achieve to qualify to run the Boston Marathon (graded by age and gender). As I improved my race time, I determined that I had to qualify in 2011. Why? Because of two factors: #1: they were changing the qualifying time, subtracting five minutes from each group, meaning the next year, qualifying times would be five minutes faster; and #2: because I was turning 40, one of those age group changes that meant I was gaining five minutes... so 2011 seemed to be my window, my once-in-a-lifetime moment.<br />
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I missed qualifying by four minutes, but the Boston Marathon, for me and for so many, is like the Holy Grail of running. So that is part of the importance of Boston.<br />
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Now, if you know me, you know I usually run alone. I trained for four marathons almost exclusively by myself. I relish the group runs (and once drove 100 miles one way for a group run at Highbanks, a park on the north side of Columbus), but because of where I live, I run almost all of my runs by myself. All of my 20 milers... on my own. There is a huge aspect of long-distance running that is solitary.<br />
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But running is a team sport. That team is my family; my wife, who walked probably ten miles with two little kids to support me at the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon in 2007, my sons, Jonathan, who ran the Ken Keener Classic 5K with me a couple of years ago, and Andrew, who always wears my race bibs after the races.<br />
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That team is someone like Nathan H, my seminary buddy, who ran with me and my dog daily for a long time and who ran the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon with me in 2007. That team is Dave P, who I first met in person when he came and ran with me on my worst training run ever (I think I walked more than ran). Dave also ran me in when I did the Erie Marathon in 2011 when I had nothing left in the tank (that so-close-to-Boston-qualifying time). That team is all of my Run DMC buddies who I hadn't met yet who were the most awesome water stop on last year's Cap City Half Marathon course. But that team is best seen in that Run DMC team's performance at the Xenia Marathon recently. I wasn't even there, but reading their stories inspired me, how many of them showed up just to cheer on their teammates and friends, and the most awesome scene of all, a whole group running in a friend to her first marathon finish.<br />
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Runners are awesome. Runners are family. Which is why the bomb attack on the Boston Marathon hurts so much, why it seems so personal. Yes, I have personal friends who were there. Yes, I have personal friends who were there there, who were so close to the bombing, who had just been there at that spot, who are safe. But it's more than that, because runners are family. That's my family you just bombed. The 8 year old victim could have been my son, there to cheer for his Daddy, who worked his tail off to get there. This hurts because it is personal.<br />
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But because runners are family, you know we will band together. You know that the team will overcome. But for the moment, I will enjoy every step of my runs.Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-78465009471014159272013-03-29T14:05:00.002-05:002013-03-29T14:05:30.553-05:00One ThingWhat is one thing you feel you can't say in the church?<br />
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Please be as specific as you want. And please feel free to comment anonymously.Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-9972548867332031752013-01-23T14:55:00.000-05:002013-01-23T14:55:26.676-05:00Excuses, excusesI would set out all of the excuses why I haven't updated the blog lately, but the reality is, it hasn't been important enough for me to do so. I haven't had anything interesting to write about, and I've been busy, and I haven't felt like writing. Honestly it has been enough to keep the Facebook statuses up to date (is statuses a real word?).<br />
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So I will continue to sporadically write a restaurant review, a race recap, or something interesting, but, in case you were trying to keep up with my life solely based on this medium, well, sorry. Call me or drop by instead ;-)Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-33724429957785521662012-09-06T14:04:00.001-05:002012-09-06T14:05:00.223-05:00Race Recap Jackson YMCA Y RunFor the past four years, Labor Day weekend has meant Sweet Corn Festival, and my favorite activity, the Ken Keener Classic 5K. I always love running that course - I know it backwards and forward. Who knows how many times I ran it? This year I contemplated making the trek to Millersport for the run, but I decided not to - a 1 1/2 hour drive one-way for a 3.1 mile race made me decide against it. And then I heard they had to suffer through a thunderstorm (which didn't dampen the crowd - according to official results, over 400 runners and walkers completed the course).<br />
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Since I didn't get to race, I ran my own 5K on the Wellston Bike Path around Lake Alma. I ran 5K in 20:39, which I found out later would have been fast enough for first place in my age group at the SCF. But all was not lost, as I found out there would be a race in nearby Jackson on Labor Day itself.<br />
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I got everything ready to go, but when I was halfway there, I realized that I had forgotten my Garmin. I could either turn back and not get enough time to warm up or I could run "naked" (without a watch or iPod). I chose naked.<br />
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I don't remember ever having an easier sign-in for a race - there were no bibs or numbers or anything. I "paid" for my race with new clothing items to be given to area school children.<br />
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After warm-ups and stretching, we made our way to the start line. There weren't many who toed the line - everyone was hanging back a bit. I quickly found the kid who would eventually win - it wasn't hard to guess... the fit kid in the current year cross country t-shirt is probably a good bet for the winner. So I started by him. At the start, I wasn't surprised that he jumped out fast. After about 20 yards, I knew I couldn't stay with him, so I settled into my pace. One more guy was out in front of me, and another caught up to me right away. I stayed calm and just ran (and stayed on #3's shoulder). It was actually nice to not know my pace; I just ran this race for fun.<br />
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Somewhere along the first mile was a long, steady hill - not very steep, but enough of a hill to kill the #2 runner, and #3 and I ran him down. Not long after that, I passed #3 and though he was game enough to try to stick with me, that was the last I saw of him.<br />
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For an inaugural race (I refuse to use their "First Annual" terminology), they had marked the course extremely well and for a low-staffed race team, they had a great number of volunteers pointing the turns. Along the course were a few hills, nothing too steep, just enough to keep it interesting. Some of the course was through residential tree-lined neighborhoods, and though the roads weren't closed, traffic was minimal enough.<br />
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I never had any more competition, and #1 guy was gone (he finished nearly a minute ahead of me). I probably had 30 seconds on runner #4 (yellow shoes - he was the only other guy I had thought might be competition), who passed #2 and #3 somewhere back there. My finishing time was 20:06, my best time this season, enough for 2nd place overall and 1st in the 40-44 age group.<br />
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When I got home, my 6 year old was excited about my ribbon. My wife was just glad I didn't get a trophy ;-)Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-45072271974303361342012-07-06T09:13:00.002-05:002012-07-06T09:13:53.961-05:00Move-in ExcitementIf you are a United Methodist Pastor, you start to find is that the one thing constant is change. No, not that most of our United Methodist Church people love and embrace change (most of us humans don't, for the record - this isn't by any means a slam on the UMC), but it's inevitable as an<span style="background-color: white;"> itinerant UM pastor (and for the congregations we serve) that change is gonna come.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Back in February I got the news that I would be moving. Four months is a long time to transition, especially when the chance to make the transition is severely lacking (long story, and this is not the place to go into it), but the end of June finally came and it was time to move.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://www.herlihymoving.com/">Herlihy Moving Co</a> came in on Wednesday and took very good care of us. They were extremely hard-working and very professional - it was the best move we've experienced yet. We had more stuff than they thought we would, yet they got it all packed into the truck.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Thursday was move-in day in Wellston. Did I mention that it was 100* out on move-in day? The house heated up fast. There were several people from the church who came out to help move us in - they seemed to expect to be moving boxes but were instead put to work helping us move out of the boxes. Our dear friends Steve and Rita from Millersport came down (they brought our instruments so they didn't end up in the moving truck under all the furniture) and spent the entire day with us; Steve painted the closets for us while Rita spearheaded the "get the kitchen in order" project.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Food was provided, and the kids found friends to play with. In fact, the boys were at the neighbors' house all day playing with their kids! That night I ended up sleeping in the boys' room, because there's a window air conditioner in there (lucky!!). </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Friday came and so did more heat. And then, while we were out for dinner (we hadn't yet bought any groceries), a huge storm came through (70+ mph straight-line winds) and knocked out power to, oh, pretty much all of Ohio. Including us. So our second night in Wellston was without electricity. As was our third. And it was still around 100* every day and very humid.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Sunday morning was my first service at Wellston Hope, and we still had no electricity. That's OK; in New Knoxville, I got three years of practice preaching in a church with no air conditioning! Service went pretty well - the lower attendance actually was helpful to me in trying to learn names. It'll still be a while until I know them all and even longer until I know who is related to whom. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Sunday evening's excitement came in the form of a fire. A landmark business caught fire as the power came back on, and it was a doozy. Pretty much the whole town came out, as well as 12 fire departments. Unfortunately the building was a total loss. According to the paper, however, it was insured. It always stinks when a local business suffers like that.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">That was enough excitement for me. To top it off, we lost electricity again on Tuesday for about 24 hours, and parts of town still aren't back on the grid. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Welcome to Wellston!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-44207969545211468302012-05-28T12:18:00.000-05:002012-05-28T12:20:11.760-05:00Remember<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><i>Every year on Memorial Day, Millersport holds a parade with a color guard, American Legion members, the high school band, and a bunch of children on decorated bikes (they also hold a bike decorating contest). The parade goes from the elementary school down to the canal, makes a loop, and stops while the American Legion members shoot a volley over the canal. Then the parade resumes back up the street and turns back to the cemetery, where the band plays the National Anthem, one of the local pastors gives a speech, Taps is played, and the American Legion members fire another volley. This was my year to give the speech; below is the text of my speech.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In my
upbringing, Memorial Day meant a few things. Primarily, it meant the running of
the Indianapolis 500. It also meant picnics and firing up the grill, maybe for
the first time of the year. For many, this is the weekend of big sales, and
it’s the last gasp of Spring before Summer hits – school children are already
thinking about summer break and Memorial Day always meant the end of school. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">None of
these things are bad. The Indy 500 is a great race. There are great sales this
weekend. It’s always great to spend time with your family and friends and to
get outside and enjoy a long weekend. And the end of a school year and the
beginning of summer are all great things to celebrate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But the
difficulty is that when we take Memorial Day over for all of these purposes,
then we dilute and forget the true reason for the observance. I’m convinced
that much of our culture has a very short memory. We spend our school careers
cramming as much last minute information into our brains, hoping we remember it
the next day for the test, and then, once we’ve finished the test, we jettison
it all. One question I asked <i>all the time</i>
as a student, and never understood until college, was “How does this affect
me?” I lived under the incorrect assumption that history was just a bunch of
stories, some of which were inspirational and encouraging, others of which were
embarrassing and discouraging, but really just a bunch of stories about dead
people, and that those stories didn’t have any bearing on me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">How wrong I
was. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Our history
is vitally important for us to remember. In <u>Reason and Common Sense</u>, the
first volume in his five-volume work, <u>The Life of Reason</u>, the
philosopher George Santayana writes: <i>Progress,
far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is
absolute there remains no being to improve, and no direction is set for possible
improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is
perpetual. <b>Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat
it.</b></i><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">All we need
to do is look in the mirror to understand that change is the only constant in
the world. I cannot go back in time. I will never be the age I was yesterday. I
cannot change what happened in the past. However, this does not mean I can just
forget the past. Do we want to have to fight the same fights our forefathers
fought, or do we want our children to have to fight those same battles?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Unfortunately
our culture has a very short memory. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Today we
remember those who have given their lives in service to our country in the
United States Armed Forces. As we remember them, we celebrate the freedom they
fought for, the freedom that we have to spend this weekend the way we want to,
the freedom to gather together, and even the freedom to ignore the sacrifices
made on our behalf. If we do not remember these things, we could easily end up
giving away the freedom they fought for. We can too easily slip into the
attitude of “let someone else do it” or “let someone else pay for it” forgetting
that everyone gets to choose whether to be part of the solution or part of the
problem. But we too easily forget.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Today as we
reflect on the sacrifices made on our behalf, remember to remember. In the
Bible, the word “remember” is found over 166 times. In Genesis, after the
flood, God provides a rainbow so that Noah will always remember the covenant
God made with him. In the book of Numbers, the people of God were required to
have tassels on their garments, so every time they looked at the tassels, they
would remember God’s commands. God commanded the Passover as a remembrance of
His deliverance of His people out of Egypt. Samuel set up a stone, calling it
Ebenezer, which means “stone of help” as a constant memorial of how God helped
them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On this
Memorial Day, I ask you, what helps you remember? You might not know the
stories of those who gave their lives in service to our country. Rediscover the
lost art of reading. Go to the library and read about the heroes of the
Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the War of 1812, the Spanish-American War, World
War I. Talk to a veteran and learn the stories of those who were there. Don’t
ever think of those who gave their lives as a homogeneous group – every one of
them has a name, a family, a history. Every soldier who died in service to our
country left behind a legacy, the legacy of freedom we enjoy today. When we’re
done here, take a moment and walk around this cemetery and notice the flags.
Note the names you see, and recognize how many of those family names are still
in town, how “those people” are really <i>our</i>
people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Which brings
me to this: it can be easy to classify some people as heroes – after all, they
lived heroic lives and died for what they believed in. They accomplished heroic
actions and died to give us the freedom we enjoy. It can be easy to call
someone a hero and to ignore the fact that when you ask a hero about his heroic
measures, he will always tell you, “I was just doing my job. I just did what I
was called to do.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And when you
realize that, you might just realize that every one of us is called to be a
hero, too. The memories that I’m talking about today, the memories of these
heroes who gave their all for us, they are only dead memories if they do not
spur us all to action. To truly honor their memory, we must learn our place in
the story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Our memories
require action. What are the requirements of your memories? As we reflect on
the sacrifice made by our brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, neighbors,
friends, and those who have gone before us, serving our country, even to death,
a proper response is to serve your country as well. Some have served and
continue to serve in the military. Others serve in their churches or in civic
organizations. Here are some responses that we all need to take part in: Become
an informed voter. Work to make your home and neighborhood a better place. Don’t
just sit around and complain about how our society has gone downhill since you
were young – do something about it! Don’t just complain about politicians and
politics in general – work to affect them. Use the influence you have to make
the world around you a better place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Memorial Day
is not about random cook-outs and sales. It is about the memory of those heroes
who died bravely serving our country, and it is about our response to that
memory. So as we go from this place, take a moment and contemplate how God
would have you respond. Then don’t hesitate. Go and live out a fitting
response. But know that doing nothing is no response at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus told a
story about a king who gave three of his servants money, telling them to put it
to work. When he returned home, the king asked the servants what they’d done
with the money. The first servant had doubled his money, so the king put him in
charge of ten cities. The second servant had earned 50% more, and the king put
him in charge of five cities. The last servant had hidden his money in a piece
of cloth. He responded to the king: <i>‘I was afraid of you, because you are a hard
man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“His master
replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words… Why didn’t you at least put my
money in a bank so I would earn interest?’ Then he said to those standing by,
‘Take his money away from him and give it to the one who has ten.’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Sir,” they
said, ‘he already has ten!’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“He replied,
‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one
who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This parable
is relevant to our situation today. We have all been given different amounts –
but how we respond is what matters. The actions of the past demand a response
today. What will yours be?<o:p></o:p></span></div>Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com0Broad, Millersport, OH 43046, USA39.8961666 -82.537691539.8839846 -82.55743249999999 39.908348600000004 -82.5179505tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-19945718682611600732012-05-05T21:39:00.002-05:002012-05-05T21:40:56.615-05:00Cap City Half Marathon race recapLast year I ran my second-ever half marathon race at <a href="http://www.capitalcityhalfmarathon.com/">Cap City</a> and ran a very nice PR (1:36). This spring I was originally planning to run the Earth Day Marathon, but by February I was all stressed out about it, so I decided to bag the marathon and focus my attention on the half. After running 1:36 last year at Cap City and 1:36:51 for the first half of the Erie Marathon and running 1:37 or so in a training run in snow flurries this winter (one of the few snowy days we got), I set a goal of 1:30, which would mean averaging under 7 minute miles for the race.<br />
<br />
Along the way, I started a friendly challenge with <a href="http://www.dailymile.com/people/christianhigh">a friend</a> from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokomo,_Indiana">my hometown</a> (<a href="http://christianhigh.blogspot.com/">who writes a very insightful and thoughtful blog</a>); his training was stellar, and we were both shooting for 1:30, so we challenged one another to a "virtual race" (he was racing in the Indy Mini while I would run Cap City).<br />
<br />
Two weeks before the race, I went to Texas for an intense leadership development course, and while I fit in training, it was difficult (due to the intensity of the course as well as the heat and humidity). But even though it was cold back in Ohio, that humidity turned out to be training for Cap City.<br />
<br />
By two days before the race, I was getting twitchy, and the day before was nuts. I went to the expo and got my shirt (nice - red this year; I was disappointed that last year's was gray) and wandered through the expo. I didn't find anything I wanted (tried on a pair of racing shoes but they had that dreaded medial post that doesn't work for me). I did talk to my friend Ben for a few minutes, but other than that, and the humor I got from having to walk through the "Hell City" Tattoo convention to get into the expo, the expo was really pretty dull.<br />
<br />
After getting home, I took my twitchy legs out for a spin - just a couple of miles (one fast, one slow) and got everything together for the race.<br />
<br />
The night before the race, I felt like I hardly slept at all, so when 5am rolled around, I was up and ready to go. I ate breakfast (a bowl of cereal and a banana and a bottle of Gatorade) and was on my way. I met up with my friend Rob and headed for downtown.<br />
<br />
After getting parked and finding our way toward the start, I met up with some friends from our running group (Run DMC) for a photo op, and then I made my way into starting corral A. It was kind of crazy trying to get to a good spot (the MC was calling "last call to get into the corrals" so I had to fight my way through the crowds in corral B), but when I finally got a good spot (and not directly in front of the PA), I heard someone call my name... it was friends from Lancaster who I've run 5K races with. I had a great time with them, hanging out, talking. I really needed a bathroom, but there was no time... after some interviews, some music, and the National Anthem, it was race time!<br />
<br />
This year I was committed to <i>not</i> go out too fast. My Lancaster friends took off in front of me, but I stuck to where I felt comfortable. I did stop at the first port-o-john I found, and my auto-pause on my Garmin activated, so I lost a few seconds there.<br />
<br />
There was a pretty good crowd with signs and noisemakers, but I was focused on the race and really blocked most of it out. The "entertainment" along the race course was pretty lame - it was actually a negative in most cases. I don't want to hear some guy with an acoustic guitar singing Otis Redding - that's not very motivating. The only act worth mentioning (positively, that is) was the drum corps near OSU.<br />
<br />
I think one reason I like long distance running so much is because it's a natural for me - I tend to go inward, and running is a good way to do this. I thought a lot while I ran, not necessarily about anything, but just thinking.<br />
<br />
As we ran along, I found myself trying to keep pace with a few people - it just seemed like we had similar pace. I trying to keep them within striking distance. On High Street (on OSU campus) I smelled the wonderful smell of fresh donuts, and that made me think of my banter with Christian High about eating donuts and running...<br />
<br />
Definitely the worst part of the race, even worse than the humidity, was the intersection of the 1/2 marathon and the 1/4 marathon. The 1/4 marathon runners/walkers took up the whole street, so I spent a lot of time and energy dodging through them. I was extremely glad to see our paths split!<br />
<br />
I didn't care much for the brick section, either - footing was iffy throughout that area.<br />
<br />
I brought along two Powerbar gels (the one gel I have found that I like) and I took one at the 5 mile mark and one at 10. I felt like that was a good use of them and that they gave me the extra fuel I wanted about that time. The other thing that gave me a good boost was the Run DMC group at the last water station, around mile 12. At that point, I already had a large-ish group of runners in my sights, and they propelled me forward after them. I loved the last hill; I just picked off runners one after another on my way up the hill. Nobody passed me in the last mile.<br />
<br />
Duke (my Garmin) had me at 1:33:31, but the Cap City website had 1:33:42. Whatever the case, I was slightly off my goal, but well under my (previous) PR (1:36).<br />
<br />
After finishing, I stuck around, waiting for my friends (including my ride). After-race fare was the usual (water bottles, bagels, bananas, oranges). I didn't go into the post-race-party, having no desire for a free Michelob Ultra or champagne (I think they were giving that away again this year), but I did grab a blessedly delicious cup of chocolate milk.<br />
<br />
It was a very good race, despite the humidity, and despite the news I found later, that my friend in Indy had defeated me by almost a minute.Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com4Columbus, OH, USA39.9611755 -82.998794239.766445000000004 -83.3146512 40.155906 -82.682937200000012tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-21756452003475249922012-02-28T10:28:00.002-05:002012-02-28T10:28:25.045-05:00Fire Fighters, a parable<br />
Once upon a time, there was a town where house fires were rampant. It seemed like every week, someone's house or barn or outbuilding caught fire. There was pretty much no way to stop the fires, so the townspeople just watched the fires, hoping that their home wouldn't be next.<br />
<br />
But one day, a fire fighter came to town. He explained fire-fighting techniques and how to use tools, water, fire extinguishers, and even smoke detectors to stop the devastation. As he taught, others became interested in fighting fires, and so the fire fighter trained them.<br />
<br />
Soon there was a solid group of fire fighters. They were committed to fighting fires wherever they broke out in their town. Instead of weekly fires, it seemed like they would happen monthly, then less frequently, and shortly there were fewer and fewer fires. More and more of the townspeople became fire fighters.<br />
<br />
In not much time, it seemed like almost everyone in town was a fire fighter.<br />
<br />
The fire fighters would gather together every week to receive more training and to interact with each other. They would receive the latest training and encourage one another in fire fighting. As they gathered together, they realized that they would be better off if they had somewhere central to gather and to store their fire fighting equipment. So they pooled their money and built a fire station. Now they had one central place to gather.<br />
<br />
But gradually something happened. While most of the townspeople were fire fighters, there were still some who were not. And the fire fighters began to resent those who were not. Why should we go there and risk our lives while all of <i>those people</i> have had every chance to become fire fighters? And so every once in a while, a house or barn would catch fire, and the fire fighters might not put it out, depending on whose house or barn it was.<br />
<br />
Then, based on who was a fire fighter and who was not, there came to be parts of town where the fire fighters did not go.<br />
<br />
Soon the fire fighters realized that they didn't know everything about fire fighting, but there was a fire fighting school nearby that trained fire chiefs, so they got together, pooled their money, and hired a fire chief. He would come to town and train the fire fighters so they could be more effective.<br />
<br />
So every week, the chief would bring the town's fire fighters together to talk about fighting fire. The chief was a really good fire fighter, always in the forefront of any fire fighting efforts. As he taught other fire fighters how to fight the fires, they found out that his methods were different from theirs, and though they were more effective, they were often more difficult. Or perhaps it was just more difficult because they were not used to all of the new equipment.<br />
<br />
Over the years, the fire fighters became comfortable in their new role. It was a rare occurrence when a fire fighter's house caught fire, but when (if) it did, the fire fighters were quick to respond (though there were some who grumbled that a fire fighter's house should never catch fire). Outside of the fire fighting community, there were more fires than ever, but they weren't in areas where the fire fighters ever went, so it did not bother them.<br />
<br />
Weeks, then months, then years went by without a fire. Every week, the fire chief gathered the fire fighters together to talk about fighting fires, and once a year, the fire fighters had a big fire fighting outreach, where they invited anyone who needed a fire extinguished to come and learn about fire fighting. But in all truth, the fire fighters had not fought a real fire in years.<br />
<br />
Then one day, the fire station caught fire and all of the fire fighters died.<br />
<b>The end</b>.<br />Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-10735764206673029972012-01-29T22:09:00.000-05:002012-01-29T22:09:00.161-05:00Worst Sermon EverI'm sure every preacher has had the experience where a sermon that the preacher expects to be life-changing falls flat. I'm sure every preacher has had to deal with crickets when they intentionally left a pause for the laughter to subside. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has heard "nice sermon" after a tough, prophetic message. And I'm sure other preachers have written "the worst sermon ever" before. I have even had the experience where I have had a sermon all ready to go and God told me to preach something else (very rarely!). But something that has happened several times happened this week.<br />
<br />
I wrote the worst sermon ever.<br />
<br />
It was hard to write. I had a tough time concentrating on the text at hand. I had a hard time concentrating at all, to tell the truth. Sunday morning came around, and I wondered if God would suddenly give me an alternate text so I could bail on the sermon I had written. But God was "strangely" silent. So I delivered the sermon as written.<br />
<br />
And it was just what the people needed.<br />
<br />
Why should I be surprised? That's the way God seems to work - making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland, as He revealed in Isaiah 43:18-21 (which "just happened" to be the text I was preaching from). Why would God do this? To humble me, reminding me that it's not my words that inspire or change lives; it's His Word. Always.Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-14919587675706601852012-01-20T14:40:00.001-05:002012-01-20T14:40:46.980-05:00Ten Things I Love...<div>
There's an old joke that goes like this:</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #990000;">A mother went to wake her son for church one Sunday morning. When she knocked on his door, he said, "I'm not going!"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #990000;">"Why not?" asked his mother.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #990000;">"I'll give you two good reasons," he said. "One, they don't like me. Two, I don't like them."</span></div>
<div>
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<span style="color: #990000;">His mother replied, "I'll give you two good reasons why YOU WILL go to church. One, you're 47 years old. Two, you're the pastor!" </span></div>
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There are times when any of us "don't like the church" - even the pastor. When I was doing my internship at Southland Christian Church in Lexington, KY, senior minister Mike Breaux remarked that there were times when he didn't want to be pastor. He would dream about becoming a greenskeeper on a golf course. One day he approached Bob Russell, the senior minister of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville and asked him if he'd ever thought about that.</div>
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<br />"No way!" Bob answered. After a pause, he said, "I wouldn't be a greeskeeper; I would manage a Dairy Queen!"</div>
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There are times when it's tough being a pastor - there are times when it's tough being a church member. Yet I love the church. Here are some reasons I love the church.</div>
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1. God loves the Church. He even goes so far as to call the Church the Bride of Christ. If God loves the church, I do, too! It's not cool to say, "I like Jesus, but I think His wife is a skank." </div>
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2. I am constantly amazed by how people are growing in their faith.</div>
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3. It is great to be a part of something greater than myself. There are things that the Church does every day that I couldn't do at all by myself. An example is our "Christmas is not your birthday" offering, through which we gave over $2000 to the Hebron New Life Baby Pantry. I couldn't have done that, but the Church did. And that's just one small example.</div>
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4. People in the Church love my family. Families in the church give my kids Christmas presents just, not because they are "the pastor's kids" but just because they love my kids for who they are. When we take "extra" kids into our family, there are amazing people who step up to help my wife with them during services or to make sure our first girl has pink clothes to wear.</div>
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5. God believes in the Church. God believes that the Church can be the vehicle to carry His Word to the world, and I love that!</div>
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6. A diverse community comes together in unity. This can be hard to achieve, but I have seen it in action. When the focus is on Jesus Christ, all of the other stuff becomes extraneous. </div>
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7. When we get together, it's celebration time! God doesn't only work on Sunday morning; God is continually at work. Therefore, when we get together once a week, we can celebrate what God is doing!</div>
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8. Praise with other people is greater than praise by myself. It is so wonderful to sing praises as I go running, but it's way better to join with others in singing, raising hands to the Lord. </div>
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9. The Gates of Hell won't prevail against the Church! Isn't it awesome that Jesus gives humans this amazing power? We can storm the Gates of Hell, because Satan is powerless against us!</div>
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10. Jesus is here! He said where we gather together in unity, he will be there with us. Isn't this the picture of church! </div>
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There are many, many more things I love about the Church, but I needed to limit it to 10 to make it a proper Top Ten list. What about you? What do you love about the Church?</div>Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-5887422572370622112011-12-27T16:27:00.003-05:002011-12-28T14:01:06.927-05:002011 Family RetrospectiveI have had several people tell me they were just ready for 2011 to be gone and to get the new start in 2012. It has been a difficult year for a lot of my friends, and it can be easy to focus on the negative. But something I heard today stuck with me; nobody has "proof" that positive thinking "works" but we know that negative thinking does.<br />
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So here are some highlights of the past year.<br />
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Early in February, I went to a conference in Minneapolis (you have to mean to go to a conference then and there - you don't get there by accident) and ended up getting snowed in and staying a little later than planned (thanks, Joel, Shay, and Juju (and don't forget Jake) for letting me crash at their place!) I went running there - outside, of course, in the -8* windchill... those northerners are tough!<br />
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Of course, less than a month later, my family got the opportunity to go on a cruise. We had never done it before but the price was right and the destination (western Caribbean) was perfect. I had to ask what one must do to be appointed the pastor of the Antigua Methodist Church! ;-) One of my highlights was snorkeling. That was a blast! We didn't even mind being "stuck" on the ship, and I was the only one who ever felt seasick. Running around the little track while the ship was moving was somewhat adventurous!</span></div>
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In the Spring, Jonathan continued to play soccer, and I was one of his coaches. We had a good time, and it was fun to see the kids grow in their skills. Andrew decided not to play Spring soccer, because he just wanted to play baseball. But when soccer season started, he was very disappointed to not have a game!</div>
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Both boys got to play on the same t-ball team; Andrew loved it and Jonathan put up with it. I've never been a baseball player or fan, but I managed to get out a lot with the boys to play catch or to practice batting. </div>
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In May, I ran a personal best in the half marathon at Cap City (Columbus). I ran 1:36, which was16 minutes faster than I'd ever raced (though I'd run a 1:44 in training). It was a fun race; I could get into racing half marathons!</div>
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June, July, and August had us taking short travel breaks. In June we went to Lakeside (for my Annual Conference) - we took a side trip to ride on the <a href="http://www.cvsr.com/">Cuyahoga Scenic Railroad</a> with the cousins. In July we went to Lake Michigan with Tara's family. The boys always enjoy the beach. In August we went to <a href="http://www.campsychar.org/">Camp Sychar</a> and spent ten days there. It was really hot, but I still managed to have the most mileage of the summer while we were there, as the Kokosing Gap Trail was a mile away from camp.</div>
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Erie, Pennsylvania, was the setting in September, as I ran the Erie Marathon at Presque Isle. I was shooting for 3:20, which was the cut-off for my (new) age group to qualify for the Boston Marathon. My training was solid, but I fell short in my attempt by 4 minutes. I wasn't upset about it, because it was still as 16 minute personal best. Who can complain about that?</div>
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Since we were already that way, we decided to go on to Niagara Falls. The boys really loved it, and I was surprised how well my legs cooperated after Erie. We walked <i>a lot</i>! Jonathan and Andrew got to experience their first out-of-country trip, as we stayed on the Canadian side.<br />
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In the fall, both boys got to play soccer. I coached Andrew's U5 team, the Kickers (the team chose their name). They were so much fun! Jonathan played for the CFA Academy team, meaning they traveled all over the Columbus area for their games (in addition to two practices per week). They also had a tournament in Cincinnati, where they were runners-up (losing in the championship game in penalty kicks after overtime). That was a lot of soccer, especially since I didn't play this year!<br />
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For my <span style="font-size: xx-small;">40</span>th birthday this year, I went for a three-day silent retreat, and I loved it. I loved getting to spend uninterrupted time with God. What a fantastic birthday gift.<br />
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Jonathan also started Cub Scouts this year, meaning popcorn sales, den meetings, pack meetings, badges, everything-o-rees, and Tara and I leading his den. He really enjoys it, and Andrew can't wait until he gets to be a Cub Scout.<br />
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We also joined AWANA this year, and it has been a blessing watching (and helping) the boys memorize scripture and have such fun doing it. During my Christmas sermon, I was so proud as I watched Andrew quoting John 3:16 along with me.<br />
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Through this year I have made some good friends, especially running friends, and have been blessed by so many people. I am looking forward to what God has in store for us in 2012!Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6259872.post-73171749647303311162011-12-09T16:42:00.001-05:002011-12-09T16:53:47.898-05:00Over the Top<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Today for my day off, we planned a busy day, including a trip to <a href="http://www.thechiller.com/">The Chiller</a> to enjoy their (less expensive) noon skate. On the way out, we picked up some used ice skates at <a href="http://www.playitagainsports.com/">Play it Again Sports</a> (think early Christmas presents), and we were all excited to try them out.</div>
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When we got to the Chiller (we go to the "Ice Haus" one at Nationwide Arena), it seemed awfully empty... and the guy behind the counter told us why; there was no noon skate scheduled today. It seems the Blue Jackets had scheduled the ice, and, well, if it weren't for the Blue Jackets, there wouldn't be an Ice Haus. He really politely told us that if we wanted to, we could come back for the skate at 3:45, which wasn't really a choice for us, because we needed to be back to M'port around 4.</div>
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We tried to think of something else to do with the kids in the arena district, when the guy behind the counter came back out. He explained that the goalie had been out skating and had only used a corner of the ice and it would be better ice for what they had scheduled later if the ice was more cut up, so if we waited for a while, we could skate after all. We just had to wait for one guy who was out practicing.</div>
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It was actually cool to watch him practice - it can be easy to forget how quick a hockey player has to be to excel in his sport. But after he had finished, we got the go-ahead to take the ice. We had a great time!</div>
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Jonathan really is picking up ice skating. Andrew spent a lot of time on the ice. But both boys had a lot of fun, and Tara and I enjoyed it fully.<br />
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But that wasn't all. The guy behind the counter, feeling bad that we had to wait so long to skate, gave us four free passes to come back and skate. And when we were leaving, he gave the boys each a Columbus Blue Jackets hockey stick.<br />
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He didn't have to let us skate at all; after all, the mistake was ours. He could have just told us "sorry, we don't have noon skate today" and we wouldn't have held it against him, the Chiller, or the Blue Jackets. But he went above and beyond, over the top even, in his customer service. What an awesome day!Brian Vinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.com1