The Rock in Times of Trouble: Psalm 61

 

King David’s Perspective on God’s Greatness: Psalm 61

I picked Psalm 61 because I appreciate David’s perspective on trouble. He magnifies the Lord to the point where his personal issues fade. It’s a wonderful practice for Christians today. “When my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” (verse 2)

It’s a verse about perspective, but not in an intellectual way. This is all heart and passion and desperation. It’s the kind of thing you write when structures are crashing all around and you don’t know where to go. David’s Psalm provides us with the best window into his mind and emotions. He always reminds himself of God’s bigness in all situations.

God is a High Tower, a Shelter and a Foundation for all those who fear His name. When we examine all the ways God is bigger, we rest in the knowledge of His plan.

It’s true for kings, it’s true for us.

The Rock as a high place

The first attribute of God in Psalm 61 is His highness. Being high above allows us to see the whole picture clearer. As a kid we used to visit a small touristy town called Dubuque, Iowa for the scenery. Usually around the fall, the leaves change enriching its beauty and bringing tourists from all over the state. They have a trolley that climbs a track up a steep hill where you can see 3 states (Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa) and the Mississippi River. It’s a stunning view. Everything else looks small and insignificant by comparison. Illinois and Iowa are mostly flat, farming states. It’s not often that we get to see such a distance.

Nothing changes in our circumstance when we get high up and take a look around. But our perspective shifts, enough to take on a new appreciation and a grander scale. When we allow God to be our high tower, He gives us opportunity to let Him take control. That act is one of faith, it’s made clearer by our perspective shift. In I Samuel 24, David gets a chance to kill Saul but decides to send a message instead. Saul is tormented by jealousy over David’s popularity. He took his men into En Gedi to find and kill David. Along the way he stops to use the toilet in a cave not knowing that David and his men are hiding there.

Instead of killing Saul, David cuts off a piece of Saul’s clothing and shouts at him. The message from that day was clear, “I could’ve killed you easily.” Saul repented to David after that. He realized his family was safe from retribution, a big part of the reason for the chase. David’s high tower moment came from within; God convicted him about even cutting off the piece of clothing. He said “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.” (1 Samuel 24:6)

Such was David’s reverence of God’s plan, that He wouldn’t harm the anointed servant. He writes “You’ve given me the heritage of those who fear Your name. You will prolong the king’s life, his years as many generations” (verses 5-6)

The Rock as Shelter

David’s second attribute of the rock is as a shelter. We’re all familiar with the value of a shelter. Whether in hiding from enemies or as a covering from rain, large rock formations cover us from the elements. I remember going to a popular picnic spot as a kid in a local park. We always went there in case the rain, a likely scenario in May, disrupted our plans for barbeque and hiking. The park had a nice open air shelter with picnic tables and grills just under the covering. On a few occasions we had to grab our food and tableware and high tail it for the shelter as a popup shower moved in.

Noah and his family understood the value of a shelter as the rain came and filled the earth. They were saved due to their obedience and trust in the rock. Coincidentally they landed on a rock after 40 days. A mountain chain in modern day Turkey is the likeliest place for it. The ark became a shelter from the deluge; because of Noah’s obedience, God provided a way through the trouble. On the other side of that obedience was new life, and a future he couldn’t have imagined before the flood.  

Obedience requires trust. David points to this in verse 4 “I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.” Noah’s trust that the rains would come and overwhelm the earth, seemed truly crazy. But only a lifelong closeness with the Heavenly Father will dispel doubt. The ark became a shelter for Noah and his family, not to mention the animals, but the presence of the Lord is our permanent shelter from trouble.

The Rock as a Foundation

David’s third attribute of God is as the immovable rock or foundational rock. What’s so important about an immovable rock? We can count on it to be there. 

In the storms of life we need something to grab onto that won’t be washed ashore. My favorite example of the immovable rock is from Daniel chapter 2 and his interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The king had an intense, meaningful dream that he didn’t understand. He called his soothsayers for help. When they couldn’t help he tried to kill them. Daniel stepped in and gave the interpretation. He saw a statue made of gold, silver, bronze and clay. It represented all the kingdoms of the earth. But a rock crushed it to pieces and grew into a mountain that filled the whole earth. 

The rock represents the Creator’s dominance over the whole earth. Kings and kingdoms rise and fall, but the God who put everything in place will reign forever. Notice too how important it was that the rock was not made from human hands. The other kingdoms were all built on human ability and intellect. The rock was here from the beginning. It’s immovable, permanent and unyielding.

Conclusion

It's particularly important to realize how much bigger God is than the current political climate. I think we are in a rock sort of period right now. In the next decade, God is going to upturn a lot of old families, castes, societies and governments. 

He is going to remind us again, that He is the Lord of all and His foundation lasts for eternity. I like how Elihu defines the justice of God “When He gives quietness, who then can make trouble? And whether it is against a nation or a man alone? Than the hypocrite should not reign, Lest the people be ensnared. (Job 34:29-30)

Psalm 61 is for us today. The chaos may come, but God is our Rock.

 

Rick Rubin's 'Coaching' Philosophy

 

The Inherent Creativity of Music Producer Rick Rubin

I heard Rick Rubin on the Joe Rogan Experience, the other day.

His name is familiar because I used to listen to a lot of metal. He’s produced records for System of a Down, Metallica, Slayer and many others. He’s worked with a lot of hip hop artists and even top 40 radio artists like the Dixie Chicks and Kanye West. The list is impressive. I assumed he’s kind of a studio genius because of his work, but he calls himself a coach. Helping artists find their path instead of setting up a specific route, is his style.

Be Receptive

The thing I got most from the interview, creatives need to change their process or setting or way of thinking on occasion. It’s helps to reset the mind so ideas can flow more freely. This is implicit in the interview. Writing is a creative discipline so I listened close. He recorded an album for the Red Hot Chili Peppers in a rented house. They had done 4 albums before Blood Sugar Sex Magik and had bad experiences in the studios. Rubin didn’t elaborate on why. He hinted that this might have been their drug phase. The point was, lets mix this process up and change the energy in the room. It’s a theory that’s worked well when bands want to get unstuck.

He's a feel guy, not a process guy. What that means to me is, he doesn’t have a plan or strategy when he sits down to record. It sounds like he gets the most of out of people by forcing them to think differently or feel differently.

Be Open to Change

I need to change something about my writing process because I lack inspiration most of the time. Not that I need to be inspired to write. Often it’s a slog that requires working through ideas until something sounds good. This works most of the time, but it’s limiting too. My words are flat for a long while until they start to round out with complexity. I start out with ‘See Jane run’ types of sentences. But new ideas pop into my brain, eventually. I don’t experiment with other environments because I like consistency. But I think a change in approach is exactly what I need.

The problem I have with feel versus process, is the seeming lack of discipline in feeling. This might be a stereotype. When someone tells me they just kind of feel things out I assume they’re lazy. Like someday they might not feel like working, or working a slow pace. But when a giant in the music industry says it, I take notice. It’s not a lack of discipline where Rubin is concerned. But he is more in touch with his instincts and keeps working the problem by testing and discarding.

Be a Fan

Rubin didn’t give one specific piece of technical advice. Other than his early work with LL Cool J and trying to record a raw sound, he talks purely about instinct. He comes off polished and almost seminar ready. I imagine the book he wrote forced him to evaluate his philosophy on creativity. Although the idea of the bearded Rubin at a hotel conference room pointing to a slide show paints a hilarious picture.

One more piece of advice that rang true. Don’t create for an audience other than yourself. This isn’t a quote. I’m paraphrasing because I like to personalize. He said he never created anything because he thought there was a market. He recorded hip hop albums because he was a fan of the music. He paid for a boutique pro wrestling company because he loves the sport. It never occurred to him to make tweaks or changes to appeal to the largest amount of people. Trying to figure out what people want is a recipe for disaster. When you lose the joy of making your own product, what’s the point? It doesn’t mean you can’t change course or come up with a better way to create. It just means, opinions from others shouldn’t decide your direction.

He summed up his ‘coach’ philosophy like this “How you experience the world is what makes you artist you are, or the creative person you are”.

Conclusion

Of all the advice people give, this one rings true to me more than any other. Rick Rubin essentially said, be yourself. It’s the most innocuous, banal piece of advice that you hear. It’s also the most worthwhile. Riches and fame are fleeting and difficult to achieve. If popularity is the goal you’re in it for the wrong reasons. Whatever “it” might be in your life. God created us in His image with unique talents of our own. Our creativity is a reflection of His design. When we work through our interests and take pride in creating, we Honor Him.

Now I just need to come up with ways to change my writing routine.

 

 

Fair Snare

 

I went to the fair yesterday for my usual one full day of bliss. Not really bliss, but I do enjoy the fair as an adult. Most years I eat too much and spend the evening trying to recover. This would be the year that I didn’t over do it. This time, I would be responsible.

 We hardly went as kids. There was no money for it and in Illinois the fair is kind of the last hoorah of summer. Bad timing with all the back to school shopping.  Here in Oklahoma it’s the first week of October and still feels like summer. I certainly went once or twice as a kid, but I remember it being a smaller deal. For some reason it all felt very no-big-deal-ish.

Probably because I live within walking distance, in Tulsa it’s a large-scale event that lasts 10 days. I’ve decided my favorite part of the whole experience is the livestock shows. A friend came over to my place and we walked through the livestock complex first, looking for horses or goats or pigs. It might be my mistake, but for some reason I thought there was a horse show. Maybe that’s not a state fair thing. We did see a pig show and a parade of malcontent sows. They'd rather not be on display I guess. 

Getting pigs to move in a particular way and stop when you want them to seems like miserable work. I think W.C Fields said something about never wanting to work with kids or animals. In this case the kids were leading the animals. Some kids looked to be about 8 or 9 years old, but experts.

We figured that the pig show was similar to a dog breeders’ show. The hogs are judged based on specifications of the breed. The judge gave a hilarious description of the hefty pig as being “athletic and feminine”. Oh, and she apparently has a “stout frame”. As funny as that was, no in the crowd seemed to disagree. They applauded the same as if their toddler just won a spelling bee. The ones in attendance probably knew exactly what to expect. There weren’t a lot of random city types gawking at the event like me. Most had either entered a pig or knew someone who had.

Same deal with the bulls. We got to sit in the open air stadium and watch the judges select the champion bull. They stood next to their handlers as still as possible. It’s remarkable to me that a human can lead such a massive animal around by the bridle. Some of the handlers were petite teenage girls. One in particular was having a hell of time keeping her bull still. He kept jerking his head around, obviously annoyed with the whole process. She handled it like a champ though, just walked him around in a circle until he calmed down.

I witnessed a sow giving birth in one of the indoor birthing centers. I imagine the hog farmers planned this timewise for such an occasion. The sow next to her had given birth to 8 piglets the day before, this one had 10 before we left. A crew of ‘professionals’ stood around helping the mother with the process. The girl doing the dirty work, getting her arm inside the birth canal and pulling out piglets one at a time, was a pro. She pulled out each piglet and handed it off to another girl who wiped it down while the vet clipped the umbilical cord. Of all the events to see, this was the best.

We did the usual food and drink stuff. I bought a Italian sausage with the works and had ice cream. Later I filled up on a funnel cake because, this is a fair after all. The last two years I’ve been seriously disappointed in the main course food. The desserts are always good but the meat is consistently dry and I struggle to find something that makes me seek it out every year. Maybe it’s never been great. The food is all savory smells and visual enticement but after taking a bite it’s like, why did I spend so much on this shitty sandwich/stick/burger?

It's mostly why I’m always ill after walking around the fair. The main course food is terrible so I fill up on sweets and sugary drinks. Yesterday was no different. I wanted a lime aid for the walk home. It would be my final purchase this year so I got a souvenir size cup. Yeah I’m a sucker. I spend the next couple of hours eating tums and trying to feel normal again. I didn’t even eat that much relative to other years. But the fair, in all its wickedness, couldn’t let me go without a kick in the stomach once more. I thought I’d gotten out this year unscathed but nope. Like the demon that took Gandalf down with a final snap of his whip, the fair caught me just before I climbed out.

Next year will be different, possibly.

 

Sabotage on Nord Stream: Whodunnit?

 

"Listen up Ya'll it's a Sabotage". Apologies to the Beastie Boys but what's going on with the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea? 

There were two explosions today under water. The gas stated bubbling up to the surface. It looks like someone sabotaged them. No one is confident to say for sure, but it’s a little too convenient given the hostilities between the US and Russia. I know the war is officially between Ukraine and Russia but let’s be honest, it’s a proxy war. Since World War II it’s been NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and Russia; NATO is really the United States.

There are two major pipelines in the Baltic Sea that supply gas to Europe, Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2. NS2 isn’t operational yet but only because of some official signatures. NS1 had been shut down for maintenance work in August. Both were ready to go until today’s explosion. Germany will be affected the most. A large percentage of their energy is tied up in Russian gas, despite warnings not to buy Russian gas from US presidents. But they’ve taken so many nuclear power plants our of operation they had little choice. Their green movement always pushed harder and had more resonance than here.

How is it connected to the war in Ukraine? My first thought was that Russia did it to punish those NATO countries supplying tanks and weapons to Zelenskyy and co. Not only does it force the price of gas sky high, it makes European citizens angry enough to riot against their own government. That might be wishful thinking. Wealthy European countries don’t overthrow their hometown governments…or do they? This is a perfect pinch point for a revolution. High prices and freezing temperatures create a volatile mix in the population.

The US might have done it too. What do we stand to gain by crippling our NATO allies and shutting off the tap from Russia? We can sell LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) to the continent and make a small fortune. Without Russian gas they’ll have to look elsewhere. Who else can supply so much before the snow starts falling? I’m not an expert on LNG but, apparently it’s dangerous to transport. Transporting a few thousand, highly flammable and combustive tanks is not a great idea. One Twitter account called cargo ships with LNG on board “floating hindenburgs”.

Most think America is responsible. I’ve seen countless clips of President Biden threatening to kill the Nord Stream 2 deal from earlier in the year. One showed former Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, threatening to shut down the Nord Stream 2 project if Russia invades Ukraine. It’s as close to a threat as I’ve seen.

Right now at least the US is the biggest suspect. The CIA warned Germany just a few weeks ago about possible attacks on the pipelines; quite ballsy if they did indeed sabotage it.

I’m not sure why Germany wants to be a slave to Russia for this much it’s energy anyway. Germany will become a model to the rest of us on the dangers of handing over national security to a historic enemy. Energy policy is not like transportation or immigration, the pain is felt right away when you don’t get it right. Biden shut down the Keystone XL pipeline after taking office. His energy department has slow walked new leases for drilling ever since. Prices went up almost immediately. 

Hopefully this long cold winter puts an end to the green lobbies everywhere. Enough with these damn Marxist, humanity hating demons. They’re anti life and anti progress. 

A bigger concern for Ukraine however is the potential release of nuclear weapons. Vladimir Putin has threatened to do it. Might he use them as a response to the sabotaging of the pipelines? This assumes that the United States actually did blow a hole in them.

I’m usually full of opinions on the state of the world. Not tonight. I’m praying a lot more nowadays. A full scale war with Russia is a genuine possibility, especially if Putin thinks his back is against the wall. But I’ll continue to believe in God’s perfect plan and timing. When all seems lost, our God is victorious.

 

The Four Winds: A Review

 

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah: A Review

A few things come to mind while it’s still fresh. It’s about courage, adaptation and fighting for the next generation. That’s a broad swath of themes I’ll admit. I thought the story might focus too much on the mother daughter relationship and ignore the plot, not so. It’s as much historical as it is relational. There are pro-labor undertones that books about the Great Depression just can’t help but inject.

Setting

The Four Winds is a story about adapting to difficult circumstances and pushing aside the fear long enough to survive. Set in the Depression era, Texas wheat farmers struggle to keep their land despite reckless dust storms and drought. A young woman (Elsa Wolcott) from a well-to-do family gets pregnant from by an Italian farm boy, Rafe Martinelli. Her family forces her to live with the Italian (immigrant) family in a harsh send off. She’s not suited to farm life. Her previous days were spent with books and learning. Even in her childhood home she is unloved. Her unattractive looks (compared to her sisters) create her nagging low self esteem.

But she’s determined to make her life work with her young husband and in-laws out on the prairie in the Texas pan handle. Life is hard but fair. You plant fields and get a harvest. People from what would be called the Dustbowl region lived on mostly wheat, cotton and corn. But prices started falling in the late 1920s then the Great Depression hits, making it worse for everyone. The arid land was depleted due to over-farming and a lack of rain. A severe drought caused dramatic dust storms that buried homes and made it impossible to grow anything. Many packed up and moved to California for work in the massive orchards and cotton fields just to stay alive.

Conflict

This Dustbowl history is the backdrop for the harsh conditions that Elsa and her husband Rafe survive in. They have two children: a girl, Laredo and a young boy, Ant. Rafe isn’t quite up to the life of toiling on the farm just to survive another day in the diminishing land. He takes off for California to find work, leaving his family to fend for themselves. Eventually conditions force Elsa and her kids off the farm as well, and to California for work.

A lot of the tension in the story is between Elsa and Laredo. Laredo blames her mother for her father leaving. She’s passionate for a different life and can’t imagine being a farmer. Her needs are purely selfish but understandable. Elsa’s rejection from multiple people (Rafe, her family) is too familiar and it creates a toughness in her. But also, it limits her view of herself, her attractiveness and worth. Through trial and error, she learns when to push and when to back off. Will Laredo ever see her mother’s sacrifice as something other than weakness?

Effect

 The author, Kristin Hannah shows poverty and among Okies as effectively as John Steinbeck did with the Grapes of Wrath. From the traveling jalopies packed with family possessions to the squatter’s camp full of hopeless migrants, it’s a sad portrait of extreme desperation. Hannah’s intention was to show a terse but grudgingly respectful bond between mother and daughter. But any reader will also be moved to gratitude for the age we live in. Our country could descend easily into another depression with just a push. The dollar could collapse, oil could become very cheap (or very expensive) and credit could completely dry up. These are real possibilities.

It's not fear but gratitude that makes me appreciate paychecks, full gas tanks and grocery shopping. For all the rich narration and social/pollical overtones, it might be the description of destitute families clawing for survival that has lasting resonance with me.

Stories come alive in ways that historical facts alone never could. They put flesh and blood on the skeleton. Most of us know a little about the Dust Bowl but need a fuller picture. Yes, this story is fictional but reflects so many similar scenarios across the country during the Dust Bowl migration. Starting over is a difficult chore in any economy. All the more true in a depression, with a family in tow and no work to speak of. Federal Aid was spotty in those days as FDR’s New Deal programs struggled to be consistent. Starvation and death were closer than imaginable.

complaint

My only complaint is the hero status of the labor organizer, Jack Valen (Great name for sure). Despite Elsa’s hand to mouth existence, Hannah makes the guy Not Providing Jobs the plucky hero. I get desperate times and desperate measures, but the price crunch in commodities affects everyone. Yes, even the bastard land owner working families to the bone. How much work would be available if the cotton didn’t have a market? Communist’s only think of workers and never capital. It’s a simplified way to look at difficult times.

Conclusion

 I’m surprised she missed the similarity between Laredo’s immature attitude on life and her embrace of communism. A number of scenes play out with her practically stomping her feet at the injustice of her family’s situation. It’s a perfect exhibit of communism’s emotional appeal and youthful ignorance of complex economies.

It's a heartbreaking story of accepting struggle and finding inner strength for life’s journey. The Four Winds won’t make you feel good, but it will make you appreciate your life and realize how much worse it could be.

The Damn is Creaking on the Vax Lies

 

I just watched an interview (paywall) with Edward Dowd on Epoch TV. He’s a former Blackrock portfolio manager and numbers analyst. Most stock analysts can spot trends before anyone knows something is a trend. Mr. Dowd is no different. I heard him on Steve Bannon’s War Room a few months ago. He’s been evaluating two sets of numbers that show an increase in All Mortality rates. First, the group life death claims. Second, he looked at CDC (Center for Disease Control) numbers of the same All Mortality rates.

Together, both measures show an increase of roughly 40% deaths in the American population. 

That’s an astounding number. It’s close to what a bloody war would look like. Anytime the death rates spike during peace time something is very off. But no one is really talking about it. This is his lead in, all this death and not a peep?  How many news shows lead with this information? I heard Alex Berenson mention something similar on Joe Rogan. He didn’t divulge too much though. Without a report or a book, something to present, it’s just academic right now.

Mr. Dowd is sure this is a vaccine problem. This isn’t how science is done, I get that. You don’t say, this has to be the jab because the deaths increase just as most people were being mandated to do so. But we’ve all heard anecdotal evidence about soccer players dropping on the pitch. You’ve read at least one story about an uptick in myocarditis (an inflammation of the heart muscle).

 The most significant finding is the first set of data he analyzed, the group life policies. Those are the corporate death benefit payouts from large companies. Large corporations usually have new employees sign a recipient in the case of accidental death. It’s considered a very low risk investment. Full time working adults don’t generally have drug overdose deaths or suicide problems on a large scale.

For this group to show a large increase in deaths (40%) points to something extremely irregular. Dowd says a 10% increase correlates to a once in a two hundred year flood. An increase of 40% is off the scale. The CDCs own numbers were higher as well but, as a metric for the general public it’s bound to be a little higher. CDC analysts told Dowd that the deaths were because of long Covid, suicides and missed cancer screenings. Obviously they don’t want him digging, don’t want anyone digging.

Is some of the increase because of drug overdoses and missed cancer screenings? Sure. 40%? No way.

Dowd and his partner looked at numbers from March of 2021 to February of 2022. He met Doctor Malone, the creator of the mRNA technology, at a mandate protest in Maui. Malone has been a tour de force in the anti mandate world, and added much needed gravitas to the movement. They both agreed, Dowd would look at death reports from funeral homes and insurance companies. It’s when the puzzle pieces started to fit together and the picture came into view. The interviewer asked the most pertinent question his motives, are you shorting pharmaceutical company stock? That crossed my mind too. Fortunes were made by housing market speculators because they saw what no one else saw in 2008. The patient ones raked in a healthy percentage on the collapse.

Dowd reassured viewers, he isn't making money. But if he sees it, likely others are going short on the drug companies.

I learned another interesting fact about Pfizer’s first drug trial. They failed their first endpoint, All Cause Mortality. More people in the product group died than in the placebo group by a measure of 23%. I’m not sure how extensive the sample, but that’s unbelievable. Pfizer tried to hide the information but a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request showed how they ignored it and focused on “Effectiveness” instead. That’s bad enough for a drug company to hide information directly related to the safety of the product. But for the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to sign off on it, it’s criminal behavior.

There will be a lot of law suites in the next 5 years. It’s such an all consuming problem I don’t see a way around. The government can’t cover up a lie this big. Eventually the damn is going to break and all the lies they’ve tried to hold back will wash away the institutions in the valley. Two institutions will be forever remade, the government and the pharmaceutical companies. That’s probably a good thing in the end. Even if Pfizer (Moderna, the rest) survive in some capacity, their trust level will be so degraded they won’t be able to make allergy medicine for cats without a 10 year study.

 

Nerves and Excitement: The Marathon Awaits

 

Training and Learning How to Compete

I’m less than two months from my goal of running my first marathon. At the end of October, I’ll head down to Fort Worth for and test the legs.

My apprehension comes from the fact that this is a new thing for me. Not running, but running such a long distance race. The longest I’ve run before this was a half marathon. Technically I ran with a group of people doing a 19 mile run 2 years ago. I didn’t finish. It was a stretch for me just to hang around as long as I did. I’d guess I stopped at 17 miles; not bad for a exhausting, collapse-on-the-couch all day run.

But I wasn’t ready, the stress of that distance put too much pressure on my feet. Two weeks after the plantar fasciitis was so bad I had to stop jogging for months. Was that long distance the main culprit in my injuries? I’m not sure. But I am sure that it was too far for what my body could handle. I’m doing it smarter now. Every week is an opportunity to extend my distance, strengthen my legs and increase my endurance.

Since then I've been a little skittish about these longer distance crucibles. 

I'm Back with the same group I had to leave 2 years ago because of nagging foot pain, I’m in better shape than I was. Lighter, yes, but mostly just stronger and not pushing hard on the pace. This group has a theory about increasing distance, run slow. That’s not just some esoteric notion on how to run either. I’ve done a little research and it checks out. But it’s not the only theory on running. A lot of coaches and trainers like to use speed work. For at least one day during the week I try for speed work too. If nothing else it breaks up the monotony of slow jogging.

I use the treadmill instead of a high school track, so it’s not quite as fun. What can I say? I like to run early and when school is in session it’s not like I can rush on to the track and get my speed work in. The school security guards would probably tackle me. And it’s the only time I have to train like that. This being the second week of September the time is slipping away. I’m nervous about my performance. I think I just need to let the anxiety go and hunker down for a long run. I need to get this event behind me and have a better feel for how to train next time. For now I’m taking advice from the experts in the group who run at least one every year.

I’ve found that running is a solitary pursuit even in the longer group runs. It’s rare to run side by side with another person for more than a few miles. Pacing is too different. Even at only a second apart it won’t be long before the separation began. Then there are the midweek runs which take up more than half the total miles. Those are also done alone, at least in my case. But even with the loneliness, the value of group solidarity makes a difference.

For example, I mentioned to another member that without the rest of the group finishing ahead of me I would’ve stopped. When the others finish ahead of you (not all of them) it makes you want to finish too. It’s like they’re rooting for you to join them at the finish. It’s just enough of a motivator to push your tired body the last stretch in the heat. Alone, I would’ve just walked. But with a group I have a team that’s counting on me to finish.

This Saturday is 14 miles. I’m hoping for a nice chilly morning and a lot of energy.