Detroit Half

You know what I think the first place prize of the Detroit Half Marathon should be? A walking tour of the city.

Back in June, I ran the Dexter/Ann Arbor Half Marathon. It was a good race. I trained hard, running three times a week for the three months leading up to it. I finished with a time of 2 hours 15 minutes and 47 seconds. So you would think that for my next half marathon I would train even harder so that I could beat my previous time. That would be incorrect thinking. In all honesty, I started out training hard, and then life set in and all of the sudden I didn't have as much time as I used to.

In the four weekends leading up to the marathon (keep in mind these are the weekends that count the most because you are reaching your longer runs in your training), I was surprisingly busy. The first weekend I went camping and sea kayaking up in northern Michigan at a place called Pictured Rocks. (Click the link for a photo album.) And it's really hard to put in an 8 mile run when you're camping. The second weekend I went to Toronto and Niagara Falls. (Click the link for a photo album.) I didn't run that weekend because...ummm...they don't allow running in Canada...okay...okay...I was just lazy. But still, it was a lost training weekend. Then the third weekend, I did run 9 miles. I finished it at a 10 minute and 20 second pace. Not bad, I guess I'm not totally out of shape. And finally the fourth weekend, the weekend before the marathon, I was shooting an action film. I'll post more on that when the film becomes available. So Nate, since you were not able to run on the weekend, you ran during the week right? Nope. There are 31 days in October and I ran on only one of them. Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into.

The cool thing about the Detroit half marathon is that you cross over the US boarder to Canada. The bad thing about it is that in order to do this you have to cross over on a mile long suspension bridge. And this wasn't one of those flat suspension bridges. There was a MEGA arch on this bridge. The first half was grueling, but not so bad because it occurred around mile 4. The killer obstacle occurred at mile 8 when I was crossing back into the US via THE TUNNEL. As you decend into the depths of the Detroit River, you have no idea of the pain that awaits you as you attempt to climb out of it. I really hate tunnels.

So your training was sub par at best and you walked a lot on the bridge and in the tunnel. What's the damage? How bad did you do? Well, thanks to some small group prayer the Wednesday before, I did freaking AWESOME! I finished with a time of 2 hours 11 minutes and 27 seconds. That's 4 minutes and 20 seconds better than my Dexter/Ann Arbor time. Wow. I should not train for these things more often.

Stingrays

If you haven't already heard, Steve Irwin (a.k.a the Crocodile Hunter) died today by a blow to his heart from a stingray barb. When I read this, I immediately thought of the caribbean cruise I took with my family three years ago. On this cruise my family and I participated in an excursion where we actually swam with stingrays. Now these stingrays were not in captivity like the ones you see at Sea World. We traveled miles out into the ocean to a sand bar called "Stingray City" to swim with these stingrays pictured below.



No, the black spots in the ocean are not rocks...those are stingrays. And yes, people are swimming with them.



Here is my mom swimming with one...



And my sister petting one...



And me, not looking real happy about the whole experience...



And just to give you an idea of how close we were to these creatures and their deadly barbs, here is an underwater shot...



Crazy isn't it? I'm kinda glad I had the chance to do this three years ago, because there's no way in $#@% I'm doing that now.

14-10, ND over GT

I must admit. I'm not as bothered as I thought I would have been by the loss. It's been a long time since GT has had a respectable nationally televised loss like they did tonight. In last year's televised games, aside from the Auburn win, we got killed by Virginia Tech and lost to a very beatable NC State. Oh well, I still don't like Brady Quinn. Next up is Samford and then Troy. Ah, some easy wins before the Virginia match up.

College Football...It doesn't get any better than this!

Care to sing along with me?


I'm a Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech and a hell of an engineer,
A helluva, helluva, helluva, helluva, hell of an engineer.
Like all the jolly good fellows, I drink my whiskey clear.
I'm a Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech and a hell of an engineer.


I'm six years removed but there's nothing like college football season to make me feel like I'm still on campus (and have a life). And this year is gonna be even better than previous years. No more regional coverage of Michigan, Michigan State and wimpy Wisconsin preempting my Georgia Tech games. No more watching ESPN.com and clicking the "refresh" button repeatedly to get the blow by blow of what's happening during the game. This year I've ordered ESPN GamePlan! "Bring college football home with ESPN GamePlan. Offering up to 250 extra college football games from the hottest conferences across the country, ESPN GamePlan is the ultimate college football package."

I'm getting goose bumps already.

This Saturday Georgia Tech kicks of the season against Notre Dame. It will be an interesting match up considering Georgia Tech's uncanny ability to beat a 16th ranked Auburn team, then lose to NC State giving them their first ACC conference win of the season and then turn around and beat a No. 3 ranked Miami team, crushing their national championship dreams. Whatever road they decide to take this year, it will be a fun one and I'll be able to watch every bit of it along the way.

GO JACKETS!

Go Ahead

For the past month I've been listening to this Christian rock band, Disciple, while training for my next half marathon. Initially I really liked the band because the intensity of the music motivates me to push myself harder during runs. But recently, I've started paying attention to the lyrics of the songs and found out something really awesome. They are pretty powerful.

Each song of the CD has a corresponding verse on which it is based. The song that has peaked my interest the most is called "Go Ahead" and it's corresponding verse is Romans 8:28 (And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.) In the song, the singer is talking to "the evil one" saying:


I feel the poison cutting through me
Spreads like a cancer all over me
Could it be the you're so insecure
That you have to curse me
Go ahead with all you got
Try to break me down
Do you think you can hurt me
All the pain you'll inflict will make me stronger


I have to say that this is an interesting take on Romans 8:28. First of all, I think it's intriguing that the artist paints a picture of the devil being insecure. I don't think I have ever thought of him that way. And then I remembered reading somewhere that a behavior of some insecure people is to belittle and breakdown others so that in the process they elevate themselves and make themselves feel better.

Then comes the challenge made by the artist, "Go ahead with all you got. Try to break me down. Do you think you can hurt me." WHAT?!? Are you crazy! These are the things that go through my mind as I hear these lyrics. Do you know anyone who would challenge "the evil one" like that? Do you know someone who would purposefully want more pain and suffering in their lives to make them stronger? But maybe that's not the point the artist is trying to make. Maybe the artist wants us to have a glimpse of the total realization of who we are in Christ. Because when you think about it, to make such a bold statement, you've really gotta know what side you're on and who is backing you...

Noah's Ark

I believe most of Western culture is familiar with the biblical story of Noah and the ark that God instructed him to build due to the coming of a massive flood of the earth. But what most people don't know about is that there exists a Noah's Ark here in the present day. Deep in the foothills of Wisconsin, in a little town called Wisconsin Dells lies an aquarian paradise. With over 70 acres within its boarders it's billed as the US's largest waterpark. That's right folks. The place to which I am referring is Noah's Ark waterpark "America's largest waterpark".

Now, I know there are a lot of angry Texans out there right now screaming "Your wrong, Nate! Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, Texas is America's largest waterpark!" And this is what I say to them. While Schlitterbahn has been voted America's BEST waterpark by The Travel Channel, it isn't America's LARGEST waterpark. Schlitterbahn is composed of two parks Schlitterbahn West (40 acres) and Schlitterbahn East (25 acres). Even if you combine these two parks as one, it doesn't beat the 70 acres of Noah's Ark. Not to mention that Noah's Ark has 41 water slides compared to Schlitterbahn's 17.

As my traveling cohorts and myself entered the park, the first question of the day was whether to go barefoot or wear sandals throughout the park. Troi decided to where her flip flops while The Maniac and myself went without. I have to admit that I laughed at her decision, but it would be Troi who would have the last laugh. Little did I know that the entire park is paved with asphalt. And with temperatures reaching 95 degrees that day, I might as well have been walking barefoot on red hot coals all day. A less stubborn man would have gone back to the car and got his sandals. I'd like to meet that man someday.

Instead of recounting the days events, I'll just touch on two particular rides. One of which is my favorite at waterparks...the lazy river. But this one was different than your typical lazy river, this was an Adventure River! But not adventure like "huge rapids and waterfalls", this was adventure like "when you least expect it, we squirt water on you!" Ah, there's nothing like floating peacefully on your back on an inner tube, with the sun's warming rays feeling good on your skin, just barely sinking into a blissful slumber when frigid waters come crashing down on your face and into your nose, causing you to choke into sudden alertness. So then I flipped over and floated on my stomach, at which point the squirting water was more refreshing than suffocating.

The second ride of interest really isn't a ride, it's a pool...a wave pool called "Big Kahuna". I'm not sure why wave pools interest me so much, but I think it may have to do with the mechanics of generating the waves. This particular wave pool was cool because it created two types of waves: long rolling ones (like at the beach) and short choppy ones (like when you are in rough waters). While some like to go out into the deeper portions of the pool, I like to stay where my feet still touch the bottom. That's because while I can swim, I don't float. I have the buoyancy of a cinder block. When I tell this to most people, they don't believe me. They say that all people float and it's because I'm nervous that I sink. As if the specific gravity of an individual changes based on the emotional state he or she is experiencing at the time he or she enters the water. Come on.

Well, it's been a week now and I'm still thinking about the fun time I had at this waterpark. I need another event to occupy my everyday thoughts and quick. How many weeks is it until college football begins?

To blog...or not to blog...

A month ago, I set myself up with a blogger account. In that time I've come up with a measly 3 blogs. Yes, I know. It's sad. Thirty days and only 3 blogs to show for it. It's not as if I haven't tried to blog. I sit at my computer for minutes at a time mulling over topics about which to blog. In the end, I end up watching another episode of Stargate SG-1 from Netflix or the Real World/Road Rules Challenge. Is my life that boring? I don't think so.

I just spent a really awesome weekend at a water park and an amusement park with some really cool people. So why don't I blog about that? I'm not sure. I could write about my first experience at Culver's and how awesome their butter burgers are? I could blog about the largest water park in the US being located in Wisconsin Dells, WI. (What's up with that? Come on Florida, California, and Texas. Get your act in gear.) Or maybe I could blog about the incredibly hot day we spent at Six Flags Great America. Or the awesome view from the 38th floor of an apartment complex in downtown Chicago? Or the many laps we took around the block of the McDonalds trying to get into the parking structure (also in downtown Chicago).

Do you know what a Urial is? It's a type of sheep. Why couldn't I think of that on the car ride to WI?