September Stride

Running, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

This weekend, I attempted to make a foray back into the world of running. Joined by my fiancée Jamie Reaser and long time friend Kevin Kuhn, we registered Friday night for a local Morgantown, WV race called the September Stride. It’s a 5K race that supports the Richard Rosenbaum Foundation. I think it’s pretty cool to think that I can run a race, get a solid meal and a free t-shirt, and support a great cause at the same time.

Friday night, we registered at the pre-race pasta dinner. There were two types of pasta, salad, green beans, drinks, and bread lined up for eating. The meal was absolutely incredible, and if that wasn’t enough, the keynote speaker for the evening was Canadian Olympian and former WVU athlete, Megan Metcalfe. She shared anecdotes from her big push toward the Olympic games, and answered questions from the dinner guests as well.

And there were door prizes. Jamie won a new pair of Adidas running shoes, and Kevin won $10 gift card for Ruby Tuesday and two movie passes. I received an energy bar for asking Ms. Metcalfe a question during a Q & A portion of her talk. By the way, the race was Kevin’s first attempt at running—EVER! He totally rocked it too. His goal was to finish, and he did it, and did it well.

As fun as all of the prizes were, Saturday morning offered a rude awakening as I stumbled back into the world of running races. Kevin, Jamie, and I met at my house and walked from my house to the starting line (it was a low-key warm up). Then Jamie led us through a series of dynamic stretches during the last portion of our walk and then it was race time.

It was a bit of a mini-reunion for me at the race. I saw friends from church and from my old job at Mylan pharmaceuticals. I had forgotten what a tight-knit community the world of local runners is. It was great to see so many friendly faces, and introduce my Jamie to fellow runners who have touched my life thru the years.

I had also forgotten what a challenge it is to run a 5K. In September 1999, I ran the September Stride on a whim, and was incredibly frustrated with my 26:13 race time, six months later I ran the same course in 20:11. After the race, Kevin had Jamie and I out to his place, and we were able to enjoy an incredible lunch as well as a relaxing post race recuperation time in a hot-tub. Eleven years later and my time was 27:25—I think I half expected to be able to run like I did ten years ago, but that expectation was not steeped in the hot-tub of reality.

All in all it was an incredible day! I got exercise early in the day, had a relaxing soak in a hot tub, and I was able to spend time with some great people. And now, I have a time to beat for my next race.

If you are thinking about running a race, just do it. Get out there and give it a try. As much as there are several runners out there, you are really only competing against yourself. Running a race affords you an opportunity to gear up for a goal, and is a fun way to connect with friends.

Here’s hoping Jamie, Kevin, and I can stick with it and continue to improve, and that you can do the same.

FALLfest 2008

FALLfest 2008, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

Last night, I went to FALLfest. It's the annual concert event that welcomes students back to morgantown. Literally thousands of students and guests attended the event. There was a wide variety of artists on stage including this guy, Lupé Fiasco. He was the only person who I watched the entire set for. While his lyrics were not always the most eloquent or family friendly, he provided a high energy performance, and even took a moment of silence to remember all of those who were killed in the previous year as a result of campus violence or who were victimized in campus rapes. I was actually really impressed with the way he was able to rhyme while running and jumping at a fast pace as he and his crew danced while they rapped and sang.

FALLfest had a little something for everyone, and the headliners even included a Christian band called Day of Fire.

I spent yesterday evening going back and forth between sozo and the mountainlair--trying to connect with students as many made the return trip to morgantown just in time for classes to start.

All in all there were about a dozen of us who spent the evening together wandering through the crowds and standing packed like sardines for the event on campus.

The semester is on it's way now. Folks are scurrying all about campus as they strive to make their way around and learn the ropes.

And, in the middle of it all, I was able to join several thousand others in enjoying a free concert with friends.

Reflections on 2007 Part IV (Fall)

Reflections on 2007 Part IV (Fall), originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

Well this is my last installment of reflections on my previous year. It's pretty unreal to me just how much happens in our life in one year, or one day for that matter. Much of the time I think we are fairly unaware, but perhaps this year will be different. Perhaps today will be different.

My fall seemed to be one defined by taking time to reflect. Sozo, the coffee shop, was up and running, and we had a tremendous fall at h2o. But amid all of the busy-ness, I found myself focusing on taking time to reflect during the day. In the summer, I felt like I really didn't find too many spaces for Sabbath to my shame. So I made sure to carve out time for family, and for myself. (Including a short vacation in California).

Fall always brings a myriad of festivals to West Virginia, and so the fall kicked off for me withThe Preston County Buckwheat Festival in Kingwood, WV and the Mountain State Forest Festival in Elkins, WV.

And then, the most significant event of the fall occurred in the wilderness of West Virginia. Jacob Allen, an eighteen year old autistic boy, and a member of Chestnut Ridge Church in Morgantown was lost for four days in the Dolly Sods Wilderness Area. Several hundred people joined in the search, and thankfully he was found! I believe God used Jacob to expand people's faith and sense of community here, and all over the country. I know my life won't be the same as a result of all that happened in the wilderness that week.

In other news, our entertainment life has suffered as a result of the Writers Guild Strike in Hollywood.

I think that more than any other time of year, I was able to see how little gestures go a long way. From my connecting with lenny in los angeles, to my simple step of riding a bus as an act of stewardship on a snowy day, to spending time in a nursing home I saw the large effects of seemingly small decisions and commitments.

As you and I journey through 2008, there will be tons of "little" decisions that will have an impact for the either the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of self. May you and I take small steps every day that lead to large impacts for the sake of the gospel of the Kingdom.

Trout Fishing

Trout Fishing, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

Yesterday, I decided to call up my dad and see if he wanted to go to Spruce Knob Lake and fish. I have been trying to juggle some things around to get a day to hang out with my dad, and things just worked out. Also, I knew he really wanted to see the fall color before it was gone. For several years, he and my mom would travel the state in autumn to enjoy the changing colors and the scenery of the place we call Wild and Wonderful and Almost Heaven. It was really cool to be able to venture out together.

For me, it was cool because Dad and I were able to spend some quality time together with no hurries and no worries. Seems like more and more I have a hard time making a clean break from my vocation and my "normal life". Seems a bit strange probably, but for as much as many would applaud my efforts to create a space of separation for relaxation, there are those voices in my head(maybe they came from other people at some point)--those voices that lay a huge burden of guilt at times for trying to pull away.

Well, regardless of all of that, I had a wonderful and relaxing time with my dad yesterday. And I caught a monster brood trout too. We met in Bridgeport, and drove together into the fall color. Yesterday marked the first time I have been able to fish with any seriousness since my friends Steve and Liz flew me to Minnesota and took me to Canada because they wanted to insure I took a break and relaxed once in a while.

It's so ironic to me that back when I started working at Mylan I bought my lifetime hunting and fishing license, and it was around then that I found myself with little time to hunt or fish.

Do you ever feel like that--like the gaps or the margins keep getting smaller? I think we have to really fight for those margins.

And in the end, if we fight for the margins, we might be able to enjoy the fall colors with family, or even better, we might land a huge trout on the bank of an Appalachian lake with enough witnesses for photographs.