The beautiful day!

Wow was it gorgeous today! I had to work today from 12-8 but I made sure that I got outside and made the most of the morning while I could. I got to experience my favorite run of the week...long run saturday, all ten miles of it! There was almost no one out on the trail today either. I passes 5 bikers and 1 other runner. So many people missed out! I hope that they were just saving their venturing forth for the afternoon. I am hopeful that we are finished with the cold for the year even tho I know better because this is Pennsylvania. But I am that much closer to running in a Gettysburg this May! Slightly less important is that there is only 15 days til the Pirates home opener!

Running around and out of touch.

My capacity to get so busy that I get out of touch with what is important to me, my relationships with God, my wife, and the rest of my family. Or should I say that I allow myself to think I am too busy to spend the right amount of time in these relationships. Time management has always been a difficulty for me and with the workload that is ahead of me until the end of the semester is not going to make it any easier for another month and a half.
In an effort to stay connected with God when I am running around during a busy time I pray on the move or when I have a few moments, listen to christian/praise & worship music, and read my bible reading for the day during lunch, but it always feels like half of what it could be and never wholly sincere on my part. I always get a powerful conviction that I am planning God around my day and that it should be the other way around. It is great to see God at work around you and to notice Him throughout the day, but that is not a substitute for quality time with Him.

"Running" Errands

Yesterday I had to take my car to the shop to get repaired. While it was there I got a ride to work and was there for most of the day. After work I needed to go pick up my car but instead of getting a ride, I decided to run to the shop, which was over six and a half miles away. It is also an uphill run literally for the first 2 miles. It was a great time tho, although my legs are a bit stiff today from the hills.

It will be nice to be able to use this blog for my own topics now that we are done with them for tech pete class. One more project down, 1473 more to go before the end of the semester!

Nike+iPod = AMAZING!

I just got the nike+ for my iPod over the weekend and started using it. That little device may be the coolest technology I have ever seen or used in my life. It took 10 seconds to set up and is so easy to use. I went on my first run with it this morning and it was so motivating. At any point in the run I could have feedback saying how long I had been running, my total distance covered, and my current pace per mile. After the workout I loaded the info from my iPod to nike.com which keeps a log of your runs. Truly an amazing technology and so much fun to use. Also it makes me want to go out and run more when I can compare and compete against or with other people over the internet. Does anyone else have this for there iPod?

The Spring Break Wind Down

Something occurred to me that I thought could never occur to anyone ever: I am ready to go back to school this week. I must have had to high of a bar set from last weekend, because this whole week has not been productive at all for me, and that has left me tired and irritable. I am definitely ready to get back in the regular routine of things, even if that is all the work of some classes and the just plain busy work of other classes. As far as activities go I actually went running yesterday afternoon with Amanda for six miles. We had a really good time and the weather was perfect. The weather turnaround the second half of this week has been so awesome. I am not looking forward to when it gets bad again, because this is western PA and it will.

Being enjoyably exhausted.

In just the last two days I realized how worn out I was after this past weekend. I was on such mental overload that it affected me physically throughout the week thus far. Yesterday I actually let myself sleep in, so I went to bed at about 11 weds night and woke up at 11 thurs morn, so that should tell you how tired I was. I felt so refreshed that I actually got out the door to go run yesterday. Wow was it a great day for being out to! I ran about 8 miles in the gorgeous weather in an even more beautiful creation! I ran a very hilly route which left me exhausted, satisfied, and blistered. I love the feeling of being physically spent but still able and willing to function mentally the rest of the day. So I did just that, spending time with Amanda and reading my book that I am thinking of using for my history report. Although I may have been tired I had enough energy to walk with Amanda down to the local coffee shop. Who was ever too tired for great company and coffee?

Outdoor activities this weekend.

This weekend was a little busy for me that left only a little bit of time to stay active. I was fortunate enought to go to Seneca Hills Bible Camp for a men's camp. I was able to go running on saturday before dinner which was nice. Even though it was only three miles it was still nice to get out. Hopefully with this week being break I will be able to get out more. I was also able to sit down with my friend Jon who is the program director at Seneca and talk about all the stuff that he wants to do to improve the climbing/challenge course program at the camp and also the outdoor activities that could be upcoming for the camp. It is so exciting to be able to be involved in the ministry at the camp. I was so encouraged by how all the men at the camp/retreat/conference seemed to get so much out of it. Hopefully this will carry over as they go back to their "normal" lives today and this week.