Running for RETA

Yesterday I really did run for RETA! I ran the 5Kin organized by the youth at the Nappanee Missionary Church. They have focused on "Kids In Need" this year. They put on the 5K race to help kids in need, specifically by raising support for RETA and for the International Justice Mission, which fights human trafficking.
It was a joy to see Roxanne and all her crew from RETA. Roxanne spoke to all the runners right before the awards ceremony to explain the RETA mission and thank people for their support. There was a display table for RETA, a self-guided tour describing the life of an expecting mom, lots of RETA T-shirts being worn and lots of RETA family photos. Joni and her family ran in the race, Roxanne walked it, and her husband Tom cheered us all on.
The 5K race was part trail and part road race. The morning was sunny and cool: just right for running fast. I ran my personal record for a 5K: 22 minutes 48 seconds (I think that's about 7:21 per mile). At the end of the race I turned off of the grass onto the asphalt of a parking lot for a 100 yard run to the finish line. A young guy (later I learned he was Matt, about 15 years old) raced past me on the right. No way I was going to let him pass me at the end! I took off, and we sprinted side by side across the parking lot, each straining to get ahead, knocking elbows, me growling with the effort. And I passed him, finishing a fraction of a second ahead! Matt gave me a high five. That finish was for the old guys. I got second in my age group (the geezers); my friend Arvil got first for men our age.
The 5Kin race featured a little white chihuahua wearing a gray doggie sweater with a race number pinned to it. The dog ran with his owner. I heard a woman runner say that when she had to walk part of the race, the dog went by. The woman said to herself, "I can't let a chihuahua pass me!" So she started running again, and finished just before the dog.
RETA handed out a flier at the race, which included the list "Ways to Help RETA:"
* Pray for us and our clients!
* Donate Family Store items or food for our Food Pantry
* Make a financial donation
* Invite a speaker from RETA
* Volunteer
and much more. Check it out at www.retaforlife.com.

Marathon

A week ago I ran my first marathon. 26.2 miles past the historic buildings of the old Ft. Benjamin Harrison, along pathways in open fields, through deep woods, over rolling hills and along Fall Creek, on the northeast side of Indianapolis. It was the Community Health Network Marathon, and many of the 6,000 participants were running to support some medical cause.
My wife, Linda, was great team support. Because she was there I could wear my sweats to keep from freezing, and hand them over to her just before the race began. She was there at mile 6 and mile 12 and at the finish line to cheer me on. She drove me home when my muscles were too sore to press down on the accelerator.
I ran well for the first half of the race, cruising along at about 9 minutes 15 seconds per mile. I passed some runners, and some runners passed me.
But around mile 18 pain crept into my thighs. Around mile 20 my calf muscles cramped up. I came to a full stop, but even just standing there my calf muscle was twisting and rolling. I kept moving, walking sometimes and jogging sometimes. For the last mile I was able to run again, at about 9 minutes 30 seconds for the last mile. I finished in 4 hours 56 minutes.
It was a day of odd events. A guy in a yellow shirt and a cheesehead hat passing me at mile 6. A spectator dress like mothman, waving a skeletal claw at me. A volunteer racing across a meadow, chasing away a couple of deer so they wouldn't gallop through the pack of runners. Two women in pink tutus running past me at mile 19. One runner telling another, "Yeah, there was the time I didn't watch my step and I found myself standing knee-deep in the carcass of a deer."
Mostly I had time to think. About the beauty of the day. About how my body was performing at that moment. About the next step in the race. About the next step in life.
My mother almost died the week before the race. She has lived many years and has struggled with Parkinson's Disease for a long time. She lives in a nursing home in Indianapolis. She had an unresponsive episode but came out of it after a couple of days. One day soon she won't. But I pray that the Lord will hold her safe always, whatever comes. I thought about that a lot as we ran.
I will run a marathon again, God willing. I learned a lot about how to prepare. Run more, stretch more, drink more water just before the race.
Pray for RETA and the families they serve, that the Lord will give them endurance for the long run.

Crazy Love

I'm reading the book "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan because we'll start studying it in our Discipleship class in a couple of weeks. Francis suggests that when we develop a deeper relationship with God we want to praise Him for His glory. Francis said, "Over time I realized that when we love God, we naturally run to Him - frequently and zealously." I understand should and ought and must. Those attitudes are probably what motivate me to go to church or open the Bible. But want to praise God? I pondered that as I went out on my long run this morning. I left right at sunrise, and as I started running I realized the eastern sky was blazing with colors as the sun rose above the horizon. It ws glorious. I started running faster so I could get to the county road where I planned to run east, so I would have a better view of the sunrise. And then it dawned on me: I was running to catch a better glimpse of God's glory. OK, I'm beginning to get it.
At about mile seven on my run I saw a little boy in pj's run out to the end of his driveway to get the newspaper. He ran back to his house at full speed - but tripped and skidded on his knees. He just knelt there in the driveway, wailing at the top of his lungs. His grandma came out and said gently, "Oh, why don't you get up and come inside and we'll take care of that." "I can't," the boy cried. So his grandma helped him up and guided him inside with her arm around him. I was overwhelmed. I am like that little boy whose knees got skinned (sometimes by my own fault, sometimes because life happens). God is like that grandma, compassionate and loving. I think I can't, but God can, if I'll trust Him. Can I show that kind of compassion and love to someone else? OK, I'm beginning to get it.
I ran 20 miles today. My first marathon is about a month off. I am trying to build up miles and endurance on the long runs, not worried so much about speed or time. My friend Randy, who has run several marathons and will run in Toronto in a couple of weeks, reminded me not to over-train and get injured. I ran hard today, but tomorrow I'll rest. After worshiping God. Because I want to.
Keep praying for RETA. Check out their website at www.retaforlife.com

Trash Talk

I ran 18 miles this morning in preparation for a marathon in a few weeks. I ran a nine mile loop twice, which meant I got to see the same scenery twice. Unfortunately there was a lot of litter by the side of the road. People throw all manner of trash out of their cars instead of saving it for a wastebasket. On the second loop, I discovered the litter could be a convenient mile marker: plastic fork, Cheese Nips box, Miller Lite 6 pack - this must be mile twelve.
Its sad to think that people can consider children to be disposable. Even though children are already conceived, they can be terminated. Even though children are a beautiful gift, they can be neglected and abused. But the folks at RETA love children, and have compassion for young men and women who struggle with what it means to be a parent. Perhaps you can help RETA, so children aren't treated like litter.

Captain Obvious

It rained steadily while I ran 13 miles this morning. I didn't mind because it cooled me off even as the day got warmer. But after several miles of rain and sweat and car-spray and buggy-spray I was soaked. Around mile 11 a man on a bicycle rode up next to me. He looked me over and said, "Yer goin' to get wet." Captain Obvious strikes again. Ok, he was kidding me. I smiled and said "I'm already wet."
Sometimes we're all wet. We make a poor choice. We are just wrong. We sin. We still need help. That's what grace is: even when we're all wet, we are still taken in, and dried off and helped and given a new start. I sense that RETA is a gracious place.
So after running long and hard and getting wet I'm going to take a shower. And then dry off.
I hope Captain Obvious didn't get too wet himself.

Lost

I ran a 5K race in a senior games competition this morning. Yep, I'm a senior, at least by their rules. It was a trail course, mostly through the woods between the Goshen Millrace and the Elkhart River. The course was confusing because of all the repeated loops and intersections of trails that weren't always clearly marked. At one T intersection I came to a dead stop trying to figure out whether to turn left or right until I saw another runner, Paula, off to the left. Near the end of the race I came to a stop again, unsure whether I was supposed to keep running down a paved road or turn onto a dirt trail loop. Fortunately the front runner, Roland, was coming out of the loop and pointed the way. I made it to the finish line, just ahead of a swarm of mosquitos. My fellow runners helped me out today. Otherwise I might still be lost in the woods. They pointed the way when I literally didn't know which way to turn. I suspect that's the way it is when RETA volunteers help the moms and dads who come to RETA for help. Sometimes we need someone to show us the best way to turn, so we don't get lost. Maybe you can volunteer for RETA. You can check them out at www.retaforlife.com.

Wonderfully Made

I ran 13 miles for my long run yesterday. It was a hot and hard run. My water bottle ran dry around mile 9. I was glad for the water fountain in the park. I'm finding it difficult to get in a long run in when it is both cool and daylight.
I have been reading an article about muscle tissue in a running magazine. We have three kinds of muscle in our bodies: cardiac muscle (to run our hearts); smooth muscle (to run our involuntary functions like digestion); and skeletal muscle (to make our bodies move). And we have three types of skeletal muscle: slow-twitch; intermediate fast-twitch; and fast twitch. The different types of skeletal muscles can be used for different speeds of running. The best runners develop their muscles so they draw on them in the most efficient manner to run faster and longer. That's why they are elite runners. As David said in Psalm 139, our bodies are truly "fearfully and wonderfully made." Today, my muscles are reminding me I ran a long hard distance yesterday.
In Psalm 139, David also wrote about how God "knit me together in my mother's womb." One of the programs of the RETA ministry is Pregnancy Help Services. RETA can help direct a pregnant woman to material and medical assistance, as well as dealing with the emotional aspects of pregnancy. You can read more about it at www.retaforlife.com

Rain Race

I ran the Steve's Run 10K race this morning in Michigan. The race starts in downtown Dowogiac. The course runs 6.2 miles down the main street, across a railroad bridge, through a golf course and along dirt trails around the campus of Southwest Michigan College. Steve was a young recent graduate of the college when he died of cancer. He had been the announcer for the Southwest Michigan College Roadrunners. The annual race draws hundreds of people to keep Steve's memory alive and to support the fight against cancer. I registered as a cancer survivor and got a special T-shirt which I wore in the race. (I had prostate cancer surgery last March and I'm recovering well.) The rain fell steadily as I signed in this morning. Rain doesn't slow down a race like this. As long as there is no lightning the race goes on. You just give in and accept that you are going to get soaked and muddy and you are going to enjoy it. I stood under a storefront awning in downtown Dowogiac, dodging the rain while we all waited for the beginning of the race. I met Arvin from Chicago, who declared that running in the rain was better than running in sub-zero windchill and snow in Chicago. Agreed. I heard a couple next to me conversing in German. They switched to English to ask me how the race was set up. They saw volunteers standing in the street holding up signs with times on them: eight minutes; eight minutes thirty seconds; and so on. They knew the purpose of the signs was so you could place yourself in the pack according to the time you thought you'd run. But, they asked, did the signs refer to kilometers or miles? "Miles," I said. They replied that was a little odd since the 5K and 10K races are measured in kilometers. I shrugged and said, "Crazy Americans." They laughed. We lined up in the street. I missed my friend Mark who ran the race with me last year but had to sit out this year due to a sore foot. When the race started we surged down the street, our timing chips setting off a steady beep as we crossed the timing strip at the start line. As I settle into a long run I slip into a meditative state. I focus on the road a few yards in front of me as brief impressions pop up and fade behind me. A man with a boom box playing Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again." A giant American flag rippling overhead from a fire department aerial ladder. An old German shepherd sitting in front of her dog house, barking a slow steady beat, "Woof! Woof! Woof!" just like she's saying "Go! Go! Go!" (She did the same thing last year.) A man with feet as big as Sasquatch plopping down on the asphalt as we negotiate a sharp decline from the railroad bridge. The white lime line on the golf course, guiding us to the woods. The steep hill through the cemetary, where a lot of people fell back. Sasquatch passing me on the left. A volunteer yelling "FIRE UP!!" (which was Steve's old pre-race cry.) Another volunteer uttering a laconic "fire up" as we passed by. (Its all good.) Another volunteer out in the woods wearing a safari hat and holding up a sign that said, "Look out for the zebra crossing." I love the trails the most. Today they were muddy due to the rain. At one fork in the trail you could take the high and dry branch, or the low and muddy branch. I chose low and dirty. Hooray mud! Finally we were out of the woods and did the last two miles on straight and flat roads. I picked up the pace for the final mile, stretching out my stride. When I turned the last corner and the finish line came in sight I sprinted. I finished in 54 minutes 40 seconds, a time that pleased me. A volunteer handed me a wooden tongue depressor with my place written on it. Just like old high school cross country days. As I chomped on a bananna after the race, I celebrated with several friends: Jim from work; Mark and Jamie and Arvil from South Bend; Arvin from Chicago; Mark from Wakarusa; and Gary from the Two Rivers Runnings Club. It was a good day to be a cancer survivor.
Keep praying for RETA. Keep the board members in prayer as they make decisions for the ministry.

Storm

I planned to run 12 miles yesterday but stopped at 4. It was too hot to run in the afternoon and by the time it cooled off in the evening, when I went out to run, storms were rolling by. The storms mostly stayed to the south, but some of the lightning got uncomfortably close. Running, and life in general, goes that way. Sometimes you have to adjust.
The skies were blue for the Elkhart County Fair by today. RETA has a booth in commercial building F at the Fair. We were out at the fair this afternoon when a friend, Nate, called out to me. He said that since I'm "running for RETA" he thought to stop by the RETA booth at the fair to learn more about RETA himself. That's great. I hope you'll stop by the RETA booth yourself.

Pass It On

This morning in church we shared testimonies about what we have been doing to take Christ's love out in our community. The youth group went door to door and collected canned food and prayed for people. One adult class put a new roof on a single mom's home. Another class cleaned the apartment of an older woman who needed some help. I talked about how "I'm running for RETA" while they put my blog and the RETA website address on the screen. This evening I went for a slow 3 mile run to wind down after racing yesterday. On the bike path near the golf course I passed by Linda from church. She pointed at me and called out, "Hey, didn't we talk about this in church this morning?" So people are paying attention - not to me, or to the classes in church, but what the Lord is doing in our community and through RETA. It will be interesting to see where this path leads.

Race Day in the Fruit Flats

My son Roger and I ran in the Bristol Fruit Hills Classic 5 K race (3.1 miles) this morning. The temperature was cool, the humidity was low, and I was ready to run. We visted with some friends we ran into: Steve and Kathleen from Elkhart, and Arvil from South Bend. All ages were there, from grade-schoolers to senior citizens. Arvil and I are in the same age group, solidly middle age. He got first for the men in our age group, and I got second. The course was new to all of us. Last year the race was run south of Bristol, up and down steep hills past former fruit orchards. Some people complained about the hills, so this year the race director, Gary, designed a whole new course that was shorter and completely flat. In a race, I like to pick someone who is just a little faster than I am inclined to go, and keep pace with them, to challenge me to move faster during a race. Today's pace-setter got ahead of me after the half-way point, but I still got a time I was very pleased with. When you race you get a "bib tag" which is a piece of paper with your race number and your name on it. You pin it some place visible on the front of your shirt. I also made up a "bib tag" with the logo for "I'm running for RETA" and wore it just above my race number. Pray that my RETA tag will open up some conversations at future races. I need to find some way to laminate the RETA tag because the ink ran with my sweat today. Tomorrow at church a number of Sunday School classes and individuals will share testimonies in worship about projects they are doing to take Christ's love out into the community. I'll be talking about running for RETA to support the RETA ministries. I just want "Running for RETA" to be a tool the Lord can use as He sees best.

Steps

I calculated that my feet hit the pavement over 12,000 times during my 9 mile run last Saturday. I need an odometer on my running shoes.
How many steps do we get in life? God knows. Yes, God knows. We don't know whether the number of our remaining steps are many or few. But we can trust God for each one. We can dedicate each one to Him.
I see that RETA's Annual Golf Outing is August 28th at the Black Squirrel Golf Club in Goshen. Its a fun way to support RETA. Learn more about it at www.retaforlife.com. I suppose you could ride in a golf cart when you play at the golf outing. Or you could walk it. Which would involve a lot of steps.

Long Run

Today I covered nine miles. I say "covered" because I had to walk part of it. I learned an important lesson: even when you are reduced to a walk, at least you are still moving forward. And I learned that God provides. There was a strong wind from the west after the storms. On the way out the wind was at my back and pushed me along. On the way back, the wind was in my face and cooled me down. Thanks, God.
Last week I started a 16 week training program so I can run my first marathon in mid October. Each weekend calls for a "long run," which gets progressively longer as the weeks go by. I couldn't finish a marathon today. But if I work toward it, step by step, I can do it.
I suspect its much the same for the parents who come to RETA. Take the Mother's Club, for example. Mother gather each week for support in parenting, for friendship and teaching in life skills. Learning how to be a good parent is a challenge for any of us. Others can help, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Step by step we can get there.
The recent RETA newsletter listed some needs: newborn baby diapers; boys summer clothing sizes 12 months and 18 months; baby wash. If you want to help, go to www.retaforlife.com.

Appreciating Life

This new blog gets around! Roxanne at RETA sent an e-mail to some RETA supporters about it, including a RETA board member who works with my wife. The board member forwarded the e-mail to my wife, and my wife forwarded it to me. Full circle. I'm glad people are learning about it.
I ran four miles this evening. One thing I like about running is that it makes me feel alive. I can hear the rhythm of my breathing. A mama robin scolding me for getting too close to her nest. Kids playing out on a ball diamond. Friends who call out my name as I run by. Life is a gift. RETA celebrates life. Check them out at www.retaforlife.com. Keep praying for them.
Thanks for your prayers. My ankle did just fine when I ran this evening.

Welcome to My Blog

I'm starting this blog to dedicate my running to the RETA ministry here in Elkhart County, Indiana. Those of you who know me well know I like to run. I run to keep fit. I run for fun. I especially like to race. This season I have already run the Indy Mini-marathon (13.1 miles), the Elkhart Two Rivers Meet (15K), and the Sunburst in South Bend (10K). Now I'm running for a purpose. I want to use my running to encourage people to support RETA, in prayer, through volunteer time and with donations. RETA is a Christian ministry that serves families. In future posts I'll tell you more about it. My next race is the 5K at the Bristol Fruit Hills Classic on July 10th. Pray for me as I train, especially that my sore Achilles tendon gets better. I've been resting it, but I think I'm ready to run again.