Week 6 of 16: Audio visual aids

Rather than being verbose this week, I thought I would post a couple of videos that (I hope) explains why I do what I do.

First up, a YouTube vid on Gawad Kalinga:

This vid was put together by Earle Zulueta, who was one of the members of the missions team to Antipolo, Philippines, with my church in January 2008. The trip left lasting impressions on all of us. The title shot may look familiar to a lot of you ... :-)

OK ... with the Summer Olympics well underway in Beijing, here are a couple of vids by Josh Cox on U.S. Olympic marathoner Ryan Hall ... I include these because of something he said in an interview on RunnersWorld.com: "I have found that when I am running for myself, it is easy to throw in the towel when things get tough but, when I am running for others, I don't allow myself to give anything less than my best."

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 America 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.

On the training calendar this coming week

Last week's brief recap: took a couple days off, which were easy days on the calendar, so nothing lost, and much gained by way of recovery. Fun on the track last Wednesday, where I did six 800 meter (about a half mile) repeats at my 10K pace minus 50 seconds ... haven't had that much fun in a workout since ... since ... whoa, since high school! :-)

Monday: 8 miles easy

Tuesday and Thursday: Cross training at the Student Recreation and Fitness Center at Cal State San Bernardino

Wednesday: 10-mile tempo run, 2-mile warm-up with 6 miles at slightly faster than planned marathon pace, 2-mile warm down

Friday: 8 miles really easy

Saturday: 20 miles at Bolsa Chica Beach with GK