Week 5 of 16: A fire, an earthquake, a new PowerBar favorite ... and a 20-mile run

I don't know if interesting is quite the word to describe the last week ... so I guess I might let it describe itself ...

As mentioned in the previous posting, my neighbors and I had to evacuate our apartments early last Sunday (July 27) when one of the units upstairs caught fire. Apparently electrical in origin, the firefighters were able to confine the smoldering flames to an interior wall, as opposed to a common wall the unit shared with another unit. There was one anxious moment (for me, at least) when smoke drifted above the roof line. At that point, I was thankful for renter's insurance ... and began the mental preparation to call the insurance agent as soon as it was all over. But it never got to that point (a big praise to God for that one), and Taylor (my prized Taylor 410ce acoustic guitar) and me were back home after about an hour. The smoky aroma hung around for a couple days, but Febreeze (citrus scent) is a wonderful thing. My apartment smells like an orange grove.

Thursday was the 5.4 magnitude quake that was centered near Chino Hills, which is not too far from here. I was at work, in my office, at Cal State San Bernardino. Initially, I thought the banging was someone on the roof (we've had workers up there doing whatever they do up there) ... then when the ground started rolling, I kind of sat there, looking out to Theo, our student graphics assistant, and wondering how dorky I would look if I ducked under my desk. By then the shaking stopped, and I walked out into the main office, where Sid, my boss had put on his hard hat that is part of our emergency gear (like an idiot, I left mine in my garage at home). Like a lot of people, I learned later, I contributed to overloading AT&T Wireless' network by sending out text messages to check on friends. Thankfully everyone was OK. As for me, the emergency work gear is going back in my car trunk, and I'm going restock my earthquake survival kit ... the last time that was done was shortly after 9-11.

A special treat came in the mail. Not a plug, but I've been using PowerBar products since 1991, when I was heavy into cycling. As a coach for Team In Training, I was offered the chance to join PowerBar Team Elite, which allowed me to get PowerBar products at a deep discount, plus some really cool swag. Even though I'm no long part of the PowerBar program, I still use their products, and I was really curious about some new flavors they have that supposedly are like fruit smoothies. So I ordered a box of assorted flavors: berry blast, tangy tropical and creamy citrus. Of the three, berry blast has become my new favorite, with the "traditional" wild berry now second. I guess it's kind of like having Jamba Juice without the brain freeze and the fear of it melting all over you.

Training during the week remained consistent. As I told a couple friends who asked how it was going, I haven't trained this consistently since high school cross country (my senior season in track was spent on the sideline with a bad hamstring injury). The highlight workout of the week was a 20-miler along the beach with the GK Hero's Run team, from Sunset Beach down to Newport Beach and back. It was overcast and cool, and except for a slight stomach problem (I am so thankful for restrooms every half mile or so in Huntington Beach), it was my fastest 20 miler in training. The last couple miles were pretty hard, though, I just kept telling myself this wasn't just for me, but for a family back in the Philippines who will soon move into a new home once we (yes, you guys, too!) raise $2,300 to build it for them. A friend remarked the other day that I looked really fit (I think it was the tan and the buzz haircut I'm sporting for the summer), but it is nice to know that the fitness is showing up in the workouts. I'm just praying that I'm training smart enough that the best run will be in Chicago on Oct. 12, and not in training.

The funny part was after I was done, and while I was walking around trying to wash the lactic acid out of my tired legs, I mentioned to one of the GK support crew that I really wanted to just sit on a block of ice. So she went and filled a plastic grocery bag with ice, which I thankfully placed on my quads, then hamstrings, calves and feet. It made the ride back to the Inland Empire (about a hour) much, much more bearable.

Just for fun, check this out. It's from Josh Cox, an elite-level marathoner, fellow San Diegan and a brother in the Lord. This was filmed while Josh was up in Mammoth in 2007 training with Meb Keflezighi (2004 Olympic silver medalist in the marathon and a fellow San Diegan) and Dan Browne (member of the 2004 USA Olympic marathon team). All three were training to qualify for the 2008 USA Olympic marathon team at the trials back on Nov. 3, 2007 :



OK, so why am I doing this again?

It bears repeating ... if only to remind me that this is much bigger than just running the Bank of American Chicago Marathon on Oct. 12.

The theme the GK Heroes running (and cycling) are using this year is "LOVE the Poor." The word LOVE is actually an acronym for Lead Others ... be Voices to Empower the Poor. Augustine of Hippo wrote hundreds of years ago: "What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like."

It's a tangible, deeper love that see injustice and seeks to correct it, that encourages people to better themselves, shows them how to do that, and in turn, to be a blessing to others.

So, while the goal is to raise $2,300 to build a home for a family in the Philippines, the long-term goal is to build communities that are self-sustaining and eventually contribute to the fabric of the nation (gawad kalinga = to build a nation).

If you haven't already (and thank you so much to those of you who already have given), please visit my fundraising page for Gawad Kalinga by clicking here. Also, please forward the link of that page and this blog to others you know so that they will have the opportunity to help, too. Spread the blessing that the Lord has given you by being a blessing to others.

And if you think that a small amount is too small to give ... well, there is no such thing ... But if you still feel that way, let me suggest this: Recruit family, friends, co-workers and collectively raise money for the cause. Think of all the water and soda you drink during the course of the week and CRV that goes unclaimed by you when you toss the plastic bottle (hopefully in the blue recycling bin). Why not collect that over, say, a couple weeks, get the CRV and then donate that to Gawad Kalinga? Get a two-for-one in the process ... help the environment and help a family with a new home.

This week's training schedule:

Monday: 8 miles
Tuesday and Thursday: cross training at Cal State San Bernardino's Student Recreation and Fitness Center
Wednesday: 6x800 meter (about a half mile) at 3:30 to 3:45 each, with about a 3 minute recovery jog between each one
Friday: 16 miles
Saturday: 8 miles
Sunday: 8 miles or rest

And finally ...

So far those who have donated (save one) and commented on the blog have been women. Which is great, I have no problem with that. But the observation is this: Where are the males of the species?

Just wondering ...