Miles Run:50.74
Miles Biked:85.99
Total Miles:136.73
Stadium Stairs Run*:2244
Steep Steps Run*:1340
Days to Rainier:140
Summit Team:8.55
Aspirin Tablets:42
*for each round trip only the upward steps are counted

Today was pretty great. Aside from all the running. I ran out to Lincoln Park, after sleeping in on my day off. Right down on the Puget Sound the wind was fast and furious. With a high of 33 degrees and a sustained wind of 18 miles per hour, the temperature left something to be desired, but the sun was out and that makes all the difference when you live in Seattle. When I came to the Coleman Saltwater Pool, I took a brief break to do some more dynamic stretching after the 1.3 mile warm-up. Just as I was about to resume, I looked out into the Sound and saw two harbor seals about 25 meters out playing in the white caps. Probably a mother and her adolescent pup.

Just think about it. About 11-ish billion folks have been around since the year 4,000BC. So out of all of them, I get the privilege to sleep in late, turn on my MP3 player, fill a water bottle, grab two pre-packaged bags of trail mix, run some miles to prepare for the hike of a life-time up a giant mountain, oh and by the way I get to stand and watch two seals playing in a scene that can only ever be described as beauty-incarnate. Damn! Thank you God! How did I get the honor to live such a life? What good thing did I do to be rewarded with this? Nothing.
WHY?! I know women who have lived in torment for years; they get horror, and I get sunshine?! I know a man who will never walk again, lives in ever-present fear, and whose worst nightmare is going to bed because when he does he will have even worse nightmares. And I get to run (complaining when I do nonetheless).
Where is the fairness? Why am I not justly given a sentence of suffering, hunger, destitution, and the like?
Man, I am so freakin' blessed. God has been amazing to me.

Dangit, every once in a while the Ghost opens my eyes to the life I live and blows me away.

Pictures. Here is some fresh content! First off a picture from Monday night when I went for my longest run yet: 6.38 miles.

When I started, there was just the mildest hint of snow in the air and bare wet pavement. After an hour, I was still 2.5 miles from home and all the sidewalks were totally white. It was about 24 degrees, and I was glad for the balaclava.
As promised, here are some pics of the stairs and one video of what the view from the top is. When Rainier comes, I intend to show the very same thing.





With that, I bid you all long days and pleasant nights.

Ruth's True Grit

No Stats!
So the movie True Grit...It is the latest Coen Brother's film (I have enjoyed their Oh Brother Where Art Thou?). I saw Grit last week with Greg (can believe I haven't seen that guy in 7 months! Dang, time just slips away sometimes. I need to warn you, I watched the movie with an empty stomach, so my recollections could be completely fallacious. My typically jarring and disonant style will be even more cacophonous than normal due to the distance between my viewing of the film and this review.

"This review"...now that's funny. This is not a review; this is a string of vaguely related memories and incongruent references to other movies, places, and books, so without further mumblings, I give you TRUE GRIT:
The movie opens with this quote "The wicked flee when none pursueth."-Proverbs 28:1. This can be taken two ways, either the pursuers are of no consequence or there are no good people in the movie and all are fleeing from nothing.
The story is of a little (in years but not in guts and common sense) girl whose father is murdered by a field hand who has a long history of murder and theft. She goes to town to see to her father's affairs. We are introduced to Mattie Ross when she goes to see the man who her father had just bought some ponies from. She negotiates through tortious-threat and continual appeals to his self-interest and totally dominates the negotiations getting an amazing deal for the loss of her father's horse stolen by Chaney, her father's killer. It is obvious that she is tough and very intelligent from this point (she reminds me of two people who have crossed my road, that blend of steel and love is rare). She nets $300 which enables her to hire Rooster Cogburn a man who she says has "True Grit". He is an alcoholic marshall for hire who over the course of his colorful career admitted to killing 24 men bound by law. He is a man lacking any ruth. Which coincidentally is a book I just read. Are their subtle literary and socio-political parallels between this ancient text and the post-modern telling of a 1870 tale of justice? Well...Um...since you are the one who asked...Now remember you are at fault for asking...Not me...I have no blame in this, but here goes:
In Ruth, there is a man named Boaz. He dares to redeem the widow Ruth who is a foreigner who was converted to the Hebrew faith, loyally served her destitute mother-in-law Naomi, and traveled a long distance to a strange new land in hopes of fresh opportunity. The whole story is one of the faithfulness of God and the redemption of a desperate woman from tragedy into the most important family line in history. You see she is the great great...great grand mother of Jesus the Christ. The whole book is a slow progression starting with the sad death of Naomi's two sons and the resulting poverty. Through several unlikely and providential events Boaz enters the scene and serves and defends the women until at the very end (right when you ask, "Okay that was a nice story but what is the point?") the curtain is pulled back and we see that this Ruth is the grandmother of King David.
In True Grit, this young "Ruth" faces a horrible tragedy with stolid determination. Her father's money is stolen, her provider and protector is gone. She travels from the family's distant homestead to town in hopes of setting things to right. The whole system is against her, the sheriff says the criminal is long gone into the winderness of the indian lands and is unlikely to be brought to justice. She doggedly pursues justice and finds an unlikely "Boaz" in the one-eyed marshall. She hires him and by pure courage joins him in the pursuit of justice for her father. A Texas ranger, who is also in the hunt for Chaney the murderer, crosses their path (played by Matt Damon a drawling caricature of the Lone Star's gunslingers). They work to track the evil doer and serve justice at the point of a six-gun. Through purely providential means they find Chaney and his gang. The first of the movie's three climaxes shows the marshall facing down four armed men alone in an open field. Up to this point, the stories he has told Mattie seem like braggadocious hubris. But we see the true grit of this man when he charges all four outlaws on horse back with reigns in his teeth and a big iron in each fist. He kills three and the fourth shoots his horse down pinning the lawman. The shot-up ranger sights in his "Sharp's Carbine...a weapon of uncanny power and precision" and shoots the last outlaw from 300 yards. Mattie finds herself confronting her father's killer and delivers a first-class ticket to God's judgement courtesy of Sharp's carbine.
The second climax of the film comes when Rooster runs a horse to death at knife-point to save Mattie's life (the audience's reaction to the "animal cruelty" was odd, either the horse dies or Mattie dies, why did everyone gasp when the horse is run to death to save her life?)
In the end, Mattie's pursuit of justice is satisfied, Marshall Cogburn saves her life, and the underlying metaphor of redemption is hammered again and again.
The cinematography was okay; the hard feel of the film was reinforced by the cold and desolate landscapes used for a back drop. The best part of the film was the dialog, it was clipped and verbose (yes they are antonyms) yet deeply cynical and darkly hilarious. This movie is not the Coen's best but entertaining.

Stairs

Miles Run:39.72
Miles Biked:85.99
Total Miles:125.71
Stadium Stairs Run*:1020
Steep Steps Run*:536
Days to Rainier:144
Summit Team:8.55
Aspirin Tablets:35
*for each round trip only the upward steps are counted

Dang, soon the stats alone will be their own blog post!
Wow! I really don't like running but I found something I like even less. Running stairs! Yeah it is pretty much the reason they invented Tylenol (Also known as the soldier's candy). Being a total rebel, I decided that Aspirin is the real non-conformist pain salve. (Actually I am just too cheap to buy the more powerful stuff to numb the achilles pain). The upside of the stair addition to my routine is that now I have a new stat. Since the progression of stats is denominated in miles, people, and pills, I will record my stair progress in ascended steps, so the number can look all cool and impressive.
So where do I run steps? Naturally I had to choose the most ridiculous place in three states. It is called "Rura Penthe". That is my name for it (ever seen Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country? In the movie, Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy are sentenced to a life sentence to be served at the Klingon dilithium mines on a god-forsaken ice planetoid called Rura Penthe). The stair's official name is probably something like "the Thistle street pedestrian link." Regardless of my fanciful name or its official designation, it is factually the longest continuous set of stairs in Oregon, Idaho, or Washington State. It is horrible.
Pictures will come at some point.
That stair case kicked my butt. The first section is a set of 204 wide steps with a similar height and tred dept as a typical flight at UW's Husky Football Stadium. The average height of each step is about 6 inches. The upper section boasts 11.5 inch steps andan indeterminant number of steps. I tried to count them, but each time I decended from the top, I kept losing count! It seems my body had determined that death was iminent therefore blood no longer needed to be pumped to my brain. Apparently, my body was indignant at my brain for deciding to destroy the body and "turned off the tap" as it were.
That is the first time I have ever been so winded that I couldn't count.
Each step required a leap and delicate landing only to precariously teeter on the edge of oblivion, the only option was to launch myself toward the next towering step. Each of the four times I found myself at the antipenultimate step, my heart was a roaring jet engine deafening my ears; at the penultimate step, every fiber demanded a halt; at the ultimate step, my soul rallied, my imageo-dei was recalled, and I rejoiced. The culmination of each conquering trip toward heaven was my knife.
Carving another tally into the heart's wood of some long-since-dead pine tree, a cellulose Ebeneezer to God's gift of pain and expectation of my goal: Rainier.
Only 144 days left.
Also the cadre grows: Greg (who has beaten some 14,000+ Colorado peaks) and his bride-to-be Melissa (who has run the 26.2 tour de morts some strange folks associate with that beautiful and desolate plain in Greece).
We are men and women dedicated to a cause. Our espirit de corp is high, our passionate temporaires raison d'etre is a white rocky peak less than 200 miles from where I sit.

So why do I keep writing these awkward diatribes about pain and foolish self-abasement?
I really want to stop doing this whole training thing. I just want it to be over. But I am committed (not institutionally, though sometimes I wonder if I ought to be, :P). And I need to remind myself. I need to keep the goal in mind. I write these for the same reason that I sing the song All My Tears by Ex Nihilo; I need to be reminded that after this is finished there is a glorious End.

Gospel Coaching

Miles Run:35.38
Miles Biked:65.75
Total Miles:101.13
Days to Rainier:153
Summit Team:7.55
Aspirin Tablets:25

Had my longest run on Friday. Just under 6 miles. This is the profile:

All went well except for a nagging pain in my left Achilles tendon. But the Aspirin has been a particularly good vintage. It's floral bouquet hints at apples and pears with a distinct wisp of canvased caravels breaking through the August surf along Dutch trade routes bounding from old to new World...Umm okay. Why did I go there? Was I trying to mock the people who write the descriptions on scotch and wine bottles? Was I trying to be over the top with my use of the word "vintage"? Man, I don't know just pretend that my literary verve was inspir...Aww forget it. Moving right along.
Today was a great time of learning for me. I woke up 2 hours late, called Michael at the church and asked him to cover for me. He turned around on his drive home from church and served in my stead while battling a brutal cold. Then I enjoyed the privilege of apologizing to everyone about my lack of leaderliness even after promising to start our pre-service meetings promptly to open the leader's time with their teams. I limped through the morning services on my foot until the church's extra-strength fancy pills kicked in. While I was wallowing in self-reprimands, Pastor Noreiga and then Pastor Cliff hit me with some great Gospel Coaching. I needed to hear their words and be reminded of the doctrine of the Union with Christ. God used these men to break me out of my self-absorbed idiocy and focus on my identity.
Then I "taught" (more like I presented some fantastic material (not from me(wow a parentheses inside a parentheses...it's like my abstract algebra days)) to dArrell, Bernice, Mindy, and Matt then David explained it so well that all of us were blown away by the force of the Gospel). I gleaned the material from a Re:Train event when Pastor Scott Thomas blew my mind with an amazing systematic method for serving pastors using a non-secular coaching practicum. No lame Maslow BS therapy here. So the material served our Leaders at the West Seattle Campus, and I look forward to seeing it implemented effectively.
Man my I have put no effort into transitions lately, probably because I slam out these posts in like 4 minutes each (Sry fer alll dhe tip[]s!). But Phil, Karina, Paul (the only man I ever told, "Paul you intimidate me...I don't know what to say to you"), and I attended Brian Chapell's lecture at the UDistrict Campus on the Doctrine of Christian Unity with Christ. He was...dang it. My words are failing me again. I thought I had cultivated a tolerable understanding of the nuevo lingua franca. However my English iz how vous sez, nit su goud. Chapell rocks. He made Noreiga tear up a little. That is very rare. Chapell has been through hell in his life and had been deeply affected by the Gospel. "The best preachers and teachers have the deepest scars," I think I remember Driscoll saying that. After the powerful word, the four of us hung out, and I had the honor of sharing my city with two newly arrived Germans. We started in the aforementioned district of U. from there we progressed West-ward until we reached the center of the universe...which some less knowledgeable physicists might refer to as Fremont. We enjoyed some fine Greco-Turkish food before seeing the dreaded Troll.

Bet you were expecting some awkward attempt at a humorous anecdote...Well the picture really says it all...
We then Enjoyed the dark night at Gasworks Park and finally ventured up to Kerry Park. The view was clear from Magnolia to West Seattle, from Elliott Bay to Capitol Hill it was beautiful. The night was one of those amazing memories you rarely get to make with dear friends.
Before I type myself to sleep, I've got to tell you about Amber. She went with some of us last Summer to Mt. Rainier during one of my little Camp Muir and back day hikes. She decided oh yeah, whatever its just Muir, I'll bring my Snowboard. So we all slowly hike up and she casually strolls to the camp. Then after enjoying some sun rays, and as we desperately try to suppress our impending fatigue-related aneurysms, she casually says, "See you at the bottom" and coolly exits on her board closing the distance to the parking lot at Paradise in record time. Okay that was mostly hyperbole...but she is one of those hardcore hikers. She sounded interested in the Rainier summit, but she declined my option because she wants to summit "straight". That means she wants to go from 200ft above sea level to 14,410ft above sea level and back in less than 16 hours with no acclimatization. And you know what she could do it. She is hardcore, and I respect that.
Well I have placed more content on the internet. My civic duty is done. See all of you next...event that has a periodicity of between two and three days.

Too Many Things to Stay Focused

Miles Run:29.41
Miles Biked:65.75
Total Miles:95.16
Days to Rainier:156
Summit Team:7.55
Aspirin Tablets:15

Well there are too many little thing happening to really give any depth, so I will try for superficiality today.
I found out today that Google Earth has a magical feature that will generate an elevation profile of any route on Earth. So I entered my current running course and generated this sweet graph. As a total stats guy, I love graphs.

My last two runs were really great. That foot injury was all healed up and by the grace of God didn't bother me. Another thing that probably helped was implementing some common sense activities as part of my run:
(1) Dynamic stretching: a full range of motion quick stretch before starting and during my four brief breaks during the run
(2) Posture: maintaining a head high running position (allowing more lung capacity), squaring up my arms to keep a forward orientation, and making sure to keep a more smooth transition from stride to stride
(3) Drinkning more water especially post run
(4) Static stretching: after runs stretch out all major muscle groups in slow 20-30 second motionless stretching
For any athlete these are probably pretty obvious. However for someone like me who couldn't even make the high school baseball team, I had to do some research to find these little things out. No doubt I am still missing all kinds of techniques and injury reducing rituals, but maybe after making more mistakes I will discover them. Funny that a guy who has spent 6 years doing pro video work with DII and DI Football teams and has seen thousands of stretching drills never put two and two together to realize that dynamic stretching might be a good idea...
So this week I managed to dress up my desk at the office by including this great picture my grandmother created for me:

I have been out to this light house in Pemaquid Maine out on the Atlantic. It is a true likeness. I had the privilege of spending a sunny afternoon with Ethan, Cassie, and Rachael out near the lighthouse. Fond memories of my Epic Road Trip.
As part of my Internship with Mars Hill, I ran across Michael S. and his Myspace page. He is a techno remixer and Here is his page (be sure to check out the song "Fire and Brimstone", he samples Mark Driscoll in his mix). Amazing the talent some folks have.
In completely unrelated news my internship brought me across this rather cryptic quote from the famous Greek Historian Herodotus:

Ou Phrontis, I don't care!

Herodotus recounted the story of a young man who acted with such unreserved exultation at his wedding party that the bride's father (a king) called off the wedding. In responce the young man in the throws of mad exuberance shouted "Ou Phrontis (the king), I don't care!" The story is awesome for the ridiculous audacity of a foolish man living life madly, but passionately (not unlike Kerouac). TE Lawrence liked the story so much he engraved the phrase and placed a permanent reminder above his door. That way any man who came over would know Lawrence's pad was a sweet spot to unwind and forget even the most pressing worries in life. That would be amazing. Really, I want a little of that.
Again switching subjects faster than Rooster Cogburn (just saw True Grit with Greg, pretty good flick from the Coen Brothers) can draw a revolver, yesterday my community group provided a perfect place for God to remind me of his kindness. A week ago last Sunday I walked from 9pm to midnight thinking about my pride and the ridiculous opinion I have of myself. Christ was there through Freemont, across the Aurora Bridge, up old 99, through Belltown, under the scrapers downtown, past the stadiums showing me my arrogance and his forgiveness. Redemption. "The only way our of folly, sin, me-ism, habitual arrogance is worship", Pastor Noreiga's continual refrain. Behavior modification doesn't work. Neither does despair. It was a good walk and better still when I shared my struggle with pride with my church family.
Moving right along (I need to rest, tomorrow is a 16 hour day of interning and campus cleanup), I found this picture from three or four weeks back:

After a community group, we had a snow ball fight this is what my hair looked like following the white combat.
So with all those random pieces of my life clumsily covered, I leave you all with this picture of a beautiful spider's web:

Pain and Road Signs

Miles Run:21.30
Miles Biked:65.75
Total Miles:87.05
Days to Rainier:161
Summit Team:5.55
Aspirin Tablets:15

Running today after biking. Obviously this is a bad idea. So I fatigued my right foot, then pushed through the pain until it failed. Now I'm on aspirin. Reminds me of a song by the White Stripes:

Well strip the bark right off a tree and just hand it this way,
Don't even need a drink of water to make the headache go away

In Europe, a common folk remedy was to chew Willow tree bark because it would reduce pain and reduce fevers. Later researchers discovered acetylsalicylic acid (yeah I had to look up the spelling, chemistry would have been my other major if I had more time, but with only two years of chemistry my memory failed me). The foot thing will be better soon, otherwise my exorcism...I mean exercise schedule will be shot.
Anyway, the best part of the day came this evening. I hung out with my community group, and talked with the guys about what we are all going through and what the gospel means in the midst of our circumstances. I shared just how much I have been seeing my arrogance, and the truth that I must repent of it otherwise why would God honor the proud, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Matt 23:12" I also have been not trusting that all I need to do is worship well and Jesus will take care of the little things, you know like life.
Next us men watched Payback (with Mel Gibson). It was sweet. Some notable quotes from the movie:

GSW: that's what the hospitals call it: gunshot wound. Doctor has to report it to the police. That makes it hard for guys in my line to get what I call, quality health care.

Not many people know what their life's worth is. I do. Seventy grand. That's what they took from me. And that's what I was going to get back.

We went for breakfast in Canada. We made a deal; if she'd stop hookin', I'd stop shooting people...Maybe we were aiming high.

It was a great story of betrayal, opposition, a cunning plan, and ultimately sweet toe-tapping redemption (the children's rhyme "this little Piggy went to market" will take on new meaning when you see this flick).
Good stuff.
So to close out this post, I'm announcing the launch of a new blog: "Josh's Road Signs". It will be dedicated to showcasing all of my collected notes and commentaries on sermons, good books, and scripture. These avenues for greater maturity are much like signs pointing me down one road but not another, telling me to slow and watch for falling rocks, to downshift on steep grades, to watch for crossing wildlife, and the like. We all should be looking for these indicators in our life. Keep your eyes open and if you want to see the signs along my road check our the NEW BLOG. Less than 170 days to Rainier...