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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
When I was 25, it was a very good year.
2009 Races
5.2.09 -- 15K Trail Run -- PKTR -- Forest City, IA
5.31.09 -- Sprint Triathlon -- MCPD -- Mason City, IA -- 3rd Overall
6.14.09 -- Olympic Triathlon -- TRINONA -- Winona, MN -- 3:09:40
6.28.09 -- Olympic Triathlon -- Rochesterfest -- Rochester, MN -- 2:47:40
7.4.09 -- 11 Mile Ride-Run -- 4th of July -- Storm Lake, IA -- 1:01:46
8.22.09 -- Sprint Triathlon -- Dog Days -- Belmond, IA -- 54:??
8.29.09 -- Half Marathon -- Beed's Lake -- Hampton, IA -- 1:49:30
9.12.09 -- 105-Mile Bike Ride -- Jesse James Days -- Northfield, MN -- 5:30:00
9.19.09 -- 5-Mile Run -- Frontier Days -- Forest City, IA -- 39:40
10.3.09 -- 5K Run -- Waldorf Homecoming -- Forest City, IA -- 21:15
10.18.09 -- Half Marathon -- Des Moines -- Des Moines, IA -- 1:46:41
11.21.09 -- 7 Mile Trail Run -- Living History -- Des Moines, IA
I have 10 more t-shirts in my closet because of all these races. I'm going to give the cotton ones away and selfishly keep the dri-fit shirts.
2010 is going to be a big year for me. My first half Ironman triathlon will be in June and I'm really going to push my limits in 2010.
Can't wait!
Enjoy the ride,
Damm
5.2.09 -- 15K Trail Run -- PKTR -- Forest City, IA
5.31.09 -- Sprint Triathlon -- MCPD -- Mason City, IA -- 3rd Overall
6.14.09 -- Olympic Triathlon -- TRINONA -- Winona, MN -- 3:09:40
6.28.09 -- Olympic Triathlon -- Rochesterfest -- Rochester, MN -- 2:47:40
7.4.09 -- 11 Mile Ride-Run -- 4th of July -- Storm Lake, IA -- 1:01:46
8.22.09 -- Sprint Triathlon -- Dog Days -- Belmond, IA -- 54:??
8.29.09 -- Half Marathon -- Beed's Lake -- Hampton, IA -- 1:49:30
9.12.09 -- 105-Mile Bike Ride -- Jesse James Days -- Northfield, MN -- 5:30:00
9.19.09 -- 5-Mile Run -- Frontier Days -- Forest City, IA -- 39:40
10.3.09 -- 5K Run -- Waldorf Homecoming -- Forest City, IA -- 21:15
10.18.09 -- Half Marathon -- Des Moines -- Des Moines, IA -- 1:46:41
11.21.09 -- 7 Mile Trail Run -- Living History -- Des Moines, IA
I have 10 more t-shirts in my closet because of all these races. I'm going to give the cotton ones away and selfishly keep the dri-fit shirts.
2010 is going to be a big year for me. My first half Ironman triathlon will be in June and I'm really going to push my limits in 2010.
Can't wait!
Enjoy the ride,
Damm
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
A Name and A Train
On Sunday, I ran in the Des Moines Half Marathon with the goal of running it in 1 hour and 44 minutes (about 8 minutes per mile).
I had spent a few weeks doing speed work and trying to train myself to run faster. The four day Vegas trip didn't really help me reach my goal and staying out until 5 am on the Friday night before the Sunday half marathon probably didn't help either.
I ended up finishing the race in 1:46:45 -- about 3 minutes off my goal but still right around 8:09 per mile -- not that bad and at least my times are improving.
I have to admit that I was a little jealous that my buddy Fitz ran the race in 1:36 but he's a great natural runner and has also spent a lot of time training this summer.
Overall, I'm just really glad that I have some friends who are getting into running/biking as much as I am!
Anyway, the highlight of Sunday's race wasn't my finish time. The two highlights on Sunday came by way of a name and a train.
---
On Thursday I decided that I was going to make some sort of goofy shirt for the race. I ended up writing my first name on the front of the shirt and on the back I put something to this effect: "Official Pacer -- GOAL TIME -- BE:ER.13 -- Ladies, Join Us! -- Just shout out your phone #"
You wouldn't believe how many people did 1 of 3 things:
1) Yelled "Go Josh" with a huge smile on their face.
2) Said "That shirt is awesome!" having read the back of the shirt.
3) Asked me how I was going to get phone numbers when I had my iPod headphones on.
My answers were:
1) Thanks or a thumbs-up.
2) I would reply, "Thanks!" -- "Too bad this awesome shirt has got me 0 phone numbers."
3) "I have the volume on really low."
A few girls talked to me about the shirt but didn't give up the phone number. Shucks!
Overall though, most of the cute girls were behind me a ways and I'll just say that's why I didn't get any phone numbers.
Fitz and I talked to our buddy Clint after the race and met his new girlfriend, Abby. Great to see him and meet her!
What I won't forget from Sunday is how many people yelled "Go Josh!" during the race.
They didn't know me but they cheered for me just because I had written my name on my t-shirt.
I think more people would cheer for each other if they just knew each other's names.
---
Okay, so about this train. As Fitz and I are walking back to the finish line after getting sweatshirts at his car, we see a train cut across the route and delay a few of the half-marathon finishers. Luckily I had my camera on me and snapped a few photos. Then, amazingly, the elite marathon leaders approached the train and the leader of the marathon actually had to stop in his "tracks" for about 30 seconds with only 400 meters left until the finish line.
He was a Kenyan and he kept saying "Where is the finish, where is the finish?"
I took more photos of this unique sight and once the train passed I told Fitz that I had to send these to the Des Moines Register because I knew they would get printed.
Sure enough, they did. One photo appeared on the Monday front page and another photo (the one above) appeared on the front of the sports page and in the online article.
Evidently, the photo was also used by WHO in Des Moines.
---
On Sunday I learned two things:
1) People want to cheer us on and if they know your name, they'll yell it!
2) Trains (obstacles) might get in our way but they pass and pretty soon we can get back to...
Enjoy(ing) the ride,
Damm
Monday, October 12, 2009
A Winter Wanderland
It snowed today.
Huge, soft snowflakes reminding me that I live in Iowa.
While it was only a temporary look at winter, it reminded me that I'm going to have to find something worthwhile to do this winter besides working out and hanging out with friends.
I have so many things on my list and hopefully I'll be done with most of the "home improvement" items by the time winter truly rolls around.
In November, I'm off to Peru to visit a former player that played golf for me at Waldorf. I'm excited to go on my second overseas trip and my first trip to South America.
But I know that when I get back, winter will probably be waiting for me.
I want to start learning Spanish, get in sick shape for once, read quite a few books, begin my Half Ironman training program, watch some good movies, travel out of Forest City when I can, and learn to use my Nikon camera better.
But, shit! Where to begin?
Can I really do any of these things or am I just making another list that won't get completed?
This winter I want to wander away from my old way of doing things -- the open-a-book-but-don't-finish-it way.
I want to travel in a new direction. Complete some goals for once.
So this week I'm writing the prologue blog that will hopefully lead to an epilogue blog by the time spring rolls around in 2010. (Yes, I'm aware that the previous sentenced had some sick rhymes in it.)
I hope you'll join with me in this Winter Wanderland. A chance to check off some of those items on our bucket lists. Let me know what you're planning on doing and we'll hold each other accountable.
And if we only make it to Chapter 8 or 9, we'll push each other toward the conclusion that holds some resolution for our goals.
And while we write our winter blogs, we'll still be...
Enjoy(ing) the ride,
Damm
Huge, soft snowflakes reminding me that I live in Iowa.
While it was only a temporary look at winter, it reminded me that I'm going to have to find something worthwhile to do this winter besides working out and hanging out with friends.
I have so many things on my list and hopefully I'll be done with most of the "home improvement" items by the time winter truly rolls around.
In November, I'm off to Peru to visit a former player that played golf for me at Waldorf. I'm excited to go on my second overseas trip and my first trip to South America.
But I know that when I get back, winter will probably be waiting for me.
I want to start learning Spanish, get in sick shape for once, read quite a few books, begin my Half Ironman training program, watch some good movies, travel out of Forest City when I can, and learn to use my Nikon camera better.
But, shit! Where to begin?
Can I really do any of these things or am I just making another list that won't get completed?
This winter I want to wander away from my old way of doing things -- the open-a-book-but-don't-finish-it way.
I want to travel in a new direction. Complete some goals for once.
So this week I'm writing the prologue blog that will hopefully lead to an epilogue blog by the time spring rolls around in 2010. (Yes, I'm aware that the previous sentenced had some sick rhymes in it.)
I hope you'll join with me in this Winter Wanderland. A chance to check off some of those items on our bucket lists. Let me know what you're planning on doing and we'll hold each other accountable.
And if we only make it to Chapter 8 or 9, we'll push each other toward the conclusion that holds some resolution for our goals.
And while we write our winter blogs, we'll still be...
Enjoy(ing) the ride,
Damm
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Verse 2 or You Can't Lose This Game
Tao Te Ching, 2nd Verse
Being and nonbeing produce each other.
The difficult is born in the easy.
Long is defined by short, the high by the low.
Before and after go along with each other.
So the sage lives openly with apparent duality
and paradoxical unity.
The sage can act without effort
and teach without words.
Nurturing things without possessing them,
he works, but not for rewards;
he competes, but not for results.
The 2nd verse of the Tao Te Ching is the beginning to my explanation about why we are all here.
And let me tell you the summary of this blog -- life is not about winning or losing.
It's not about a God who condemns some and saves others. There are too many ways for us to lose if life is a game.
I've always had many questions about life and why we are here.
Will a child in Africa who never hears of Jesus Christ go to heaven?
Will the Dalai Lama go to heaven?
Is there a heaven?
Would a great Buddhist be condemned to hell for not believing in Jesus and a "horrible" Christian be saved because they profess to "believe?"
All these questions have made my mind spin. And the answers that pastors, friends and writers have provided just don't answer these questions.
No answers came for me until I began to believe in universalism -- the idea that all people are "saved" -- that all people will go to "Heaven."
The Tao Te Ching has only affirmed what I had already come to believe a few years ago.
The 2nd Verse explains the reason for humanity's existence. We are here simply to experience life so that someday when we reach enlightenment, nirvana, heaven or paradise, we will understand how great it is.
And just because we are all "saved" does not mean that we should just go out and do whatever we want to do.
The "rules" of life are here for a reason. Writings like the Bible and the Tao Te Ching, offer ways for us to live a better life. To truly be happy and content. But as Buddhism tells us, life is full of suffering and most of the time we will not win.
We will not be the best looking person in the bar. We won't be the fastest runner. We won't live a perfect life. We will get sick. We will experience stress and grief and loss.
But as the Tao Te Ching tells us in the beginning of the 2nd Verse:
Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty,
only because there is ugliness.
All can know good as good only because there is evil.
Or as T.S. Eliot wrote:
We shall not cease from our exploration
And at the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time
So life is about exploring. About experiencing beauty and ugliness. About knowing good and evil.
So one day...when this life ends, we will return to the Tao -- we will go to heaven and we will only know good.
And it will be great.
And for once we will have truly won.
Don't be afraid to believe that we all get to win. It truly changes how you see the world. Everyone is your friend. All are on your team.
This is what I believe Jesus meant when he said to treat your neighbor as yourself. And what the Tao means when it says we all were born of the Tao and we will all return to the Tao.
Oneness. UNI-versalism.
It's a beautiful thing. We all get to....
Enjoy the ride,
Damm
Being and nonbeing produce each other.
The difficult is born in the easy.
Long is defined by short, the high by the low.
Before and after go along with each other.
So the sage lives openly with apparent duality
and paradoxical unity.
The sage can act without effort
and teach without words.
Nurturing things without possessing them,
he works, but not for rewards;
he competes, but not for results.
The 2nd verse of the Tao Te Ching is the beginning to my explanation about why we are all here.
And let me tell you the summary of this blog -- life is not about winning or losing.
It's not about a God who condemns some and saves others. There are too many ways for us to lose if life is a game.
I've always had many questions about life and why we are here.
Will a child in Africa who never hears of Jesus Christ go to heaven?
Will the Dalai Lama go to heaven?
Is there a heaven?
Would a great Buddhist be condemned to hell for not believing in Jesus and a "horrible" Christian be saved because they profess to "believe?"
All these questions have made my mind spin. And the answers that pastors, friends and writers have provided just don't answer these questions.
No answers came for me until I began to believe in universalism -- the idea that all people are "saved" -- that all people will go to "Heaven."
The Tao Te Ching has only affirmed what I had already come to believe a few years ago.
The 2nd Verse explains the reason for humanity's existence. We are here simply to experience life so that someday when we reach enlightenment, nirvana, heaven or paradise, we will understand how great it is.
And just because we are all "saved" does not mean that we should just go out and do whatever we want to do.
The "rules" of life are here for a reason. Writings like the Bible and the Tao Te Ching, offer ways for us to live a better life. To truly be happy and content. But as Buddhism tells us, life is full of suffering and most of the time we will not win.
We will not be the best looking person in the bar. We won't be the fastest runner. We won't live a perfect life. We will get sick. We will experience stress and grief and loss.
But as the Tao Te Ching tells us in the beginning of the 2nd Verse:
Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty,
only because there is ugliness.
All can know good as good only because there is evil.
Or as T.S. Eliot wrote:
We shall not cease from our exploration
And at the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time
So life is about exploring. About experiencing beauty and ugliness. About knowing good and evil.
So one day...when this life ends, we will return to the Tao -- we will go to heaven and we will only know good.
And it will be great.
And for once we will have truly won.
Don't be afraid to believe that we all get to win. It truly changes how you see the world. Everyone is your friend. All are on your team.
This is what I believe Jesus meant when he said to treat your neighbor as yourself. And what the Tao means when it says we all were born of the Tao and we will all return to the Tao.
Oneness. UNI-versalism.
It's a beautiful thing. We all get to....
Enjoy the ride,
Damm
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