Thursday, February 28, 2008

Interval Training

Little things matter. More often than not in our culture, it appears to be the big things that catch people’s eye. But I think that small is often more compelling than big. And in the sport of running, for your average person, nothing could be more true. What you eat. How much you sleep. Even the simple act of a short, disciplined, daily workout are all very small things. But together they are big.

Last Spring a friend gave me a book to read called Daniel’s Running Formula by Jack Daniels. The author had several excellent suggestions one being the importance of interval training. I’d practiced intervals on and off for several years. I hate doing intervals. They are hard work and I usually have to do them alone because I can’t convince my friends to do them with me. This is especially true in the winter—its cold, its dark, its tiring, its lonely. It’s awful!! But it’s a little thing.

A recent New York Times article (NYT Jan 31, 2008) noted, “One of the major determinants of endurance performance is oxygen consumption. You have to make training as intense as you can,” says Dr. Tanaka, a research physiologist from the University of Texas. The article went on to say that if you had to cut back on anything, cut back on volume, not intensity. Running with intensity is what intervals do. It’s a little thing. It’s the yeast in the dough of the sport of endurance running.

Last summer I determined to put Daniel’s ideas to the test. I’d flirted with breaking the illusive three-hour marathon barrier for several years. After doing intervals consistently for four months I did it at New York—2:59:16. I didn’t stop my intervals training, even in the off season, and ran several half marathons this winter, each time breaking my previous personal best and finally snapping the 1:20 barrier. Why? Because I’m a great runner? Nope. While my body does process oxygen and lactic acid better than some people, it is my opinion that it was really the intervals. And the results have been no little thing.

Welcome Baby Faye

Over the course of the past two years I’ve spent a lot of time in Hawaii. The mystery of how such beauty can bubble up from the center of the Pacific ocean still amazes me. The God of the universe has a unique way to capture our attention! Last summer our youngest daughter informed us that she was having a baby. I was in Hawaii when I received the news. And now, bubbling up from Southern California (hardly the center of the Pacific ocean) has come our first grand daughter. I’d like to introduce you to Faye Marley Marth. She was born February 22 and weighed in at 5 lbs. 13 oz.

She’s as beautiful as an Hawaiian Island sunset and her connection to that idyllic paradise is cemented in history. Welcome Faye. You are loved and a gift from God to us. The writer of the Psalms says, “children are a gift of the LORD...Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man/woman whose quiver is full of them (Psalm 127:3-5). Chris and Lyndi are a bit tired right now but that is to be expected.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Lent

This was written by my friend Eric Heron, a professional musician who works with churches to help restore a sense of worship. You can go to unkeptrecords.com to learn more about Eric, Natalie (his lovely wife) and their music. (Dave)

CARNIVAL vs. LENT
Today is February 5th, Mardi Gras – (Latin for “Fat Tuesday”).

Mardi Gras has become for many an active reflection on our human tendencies to over-imbibe in drink, over-indulge in food, and allow our other senses to wander far from the things of God. It is a “carnival” in every sense of the word. ("carne" = flesh).

A flight to New Orleans for Mardi Gras might not be worth the decadent experience of it all. Nevertheless, what occurs on Fat Tuesday serves as a powerful set up for the season that immediately follows it. I am speaking of the season of Lent. (click here to view a larger version of the painting to the right, entitled: The Fight Between Carnival and Lent by Pieter Bruegel the Younger, 1559)

Lent officially begins on the Wednesday that is forty days (minus Sundays) before Resurrection Sunday. Called Ash Wednesday, it is a holy day which evolved relatively late in church history (around the 11th century). On this day, worshipers attend a service in which ashes are imposed on their foreheads in the sign of the cross. Though the exact content of the worship service may vary between Roman Catholic, Episcopal, and Mainline churches, these services always contain prayers that acknowledge sin and emphasize repentance. Imagine the increased relevance this holds for the one who has over-indulged just one day before!

Lent is thought to have originated as early as the second century as the final period of preparation for those catecumens (new disciples) who were ready to be baptized at Easter Vigil. In 325 CE, the council of Nicea first referred to Lent as “forty days” and officially fixed this fasting period to immediately precede Easter. Close to 350 CE, Cyril (the leader of the church at Jerusalem) referred to Lent as “a long period of grace, forty days for repentance”. By the 5th century, all Christians – not just those preparing for baptism – viewed Lent as an important part of their personal and corporate worship experience.

The question for us today is: Do we need the season of Lent?

Many Protestants tend to shun such “Catholic” holy days as too programmed or perhaps too somber. I would argue, however, that all believers need Lent. I have heard it said that Protestants tend to “rush to the Resurrection” and avoid deeper reflection on what historically came before. I think this rushing is not helpful and ultimately it is destructive. I know that I personally need to intentionally reflect on my own sin in this world of security and comfort that allows me to so easily ignore the evil that lurks just below the surface. It seems fitting for us to pause and acknowledge our sin, which is what has made the Resurrection necessary in the first place.

Thankfully, media like The Passion of the Christ and various ecumenical movements have helped less “Catholic” Christians see the value in stopping to reflect on all that precedes that happy day when the stone was rolled away.

If we agree that the Lenten season is helpful and maybe even necessary toward forming us as good disciples of Jesus, a second question arises: What, then, will we do about it?

I am choosing to fast for the next forty days. I will kick it off my fast by attending the local Episcopal church's Ash Wednesday service. Each time I deny myself, I will be reminded of the “way of discipleship” (Mark 8:34). Whenever I am tempted to break the fast prematurely, I will go to prayer and thanking God for the many ways his grace has touched me and my family. I suspect that though this will not be easy, it will be a rich way to prepare for the beautiful feasting (just add an “e” to fasting) day when friends and family gather in joy and celebration.

How will YOU prepare for Easter this year?

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Some of the historical information above was taken from: James F. White, Introduction to Christian Worship, third edition (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000), 56 & 69.