CN Tower Climb - UPDATE!

Well, I did it!  I climbed the 1,776 stairs of the CN Tower: 144 flights of stairs plus another 6 flights after the finish line – they don’t mention those 6 extra flights of stairs in the publicity materials… J

Thank you to everyone who so generously donated to The United Way for this event.  Thanks to you, I raised $710 for The United Way!  Your giving spirits are amazing! 

This event was a unique experience.  I have never climbed much more than a handful of actual flights of stairs before (not counting stair climber machines), so to complete this task was something I never thought I would do.

It took me 32 minutes and 8 seconds to climb all 1,776 stairs.  It was different than running for that length of time, or even longer, because climbing up stairs is not the same as running on a level surface.  Also, there was no scenery to look at.  Just stair after stair after stair…

The CN Tower stairwell has steel steps, concrete walls, and concrete landings at the top of each flight of stairs.  The lighting is stark and utilitarian.  There are no windows, just a heavy metal grate along one side of the stairwell, to protect people from the open airshaft that runs the entire height of the tower.  Some might feel that it is claustrophobic (the narrow space with concrete walls) or even acrophobic (looking down the open airshaft), but it was okay for me. 

The first 40 flights (about 500 stairs) went quite well and I remember thinking that I should pace myself, there was still a long way to go.  At the 47^th flight, I took a 1 minute break, with the plan that I would stop at about 1/3 of the way, then at 2/3, then finish the climb.  At Flight 77, I decided to take another 1 minute break, because I realized that only two breaks for the entire climb was not going to work for me.  I ended up stopping 4 times in total, to give my muscles a chance to re-oxygenate.

During the course of the climb, I ended up passing people who were also taking sporadic breaks, then they would leapfrog past me when I stopped.  Okay, “leapfrog” might be too energetic, they plodded past me – we were all tired at this point!

I remember passing Flight 89 (about 1,100 steps) and thinking “This is officially not fun anymore.  I am tired but I still have almost 50 flights left to go.”  A little while later, I saw a sign on the wall – a literal sign, not a figurative one.  I might have been tired but I was not having visions! The sign said “Only 500 steps to go!”.  Believe it or not, that was not a motivational message to me at that time!  500 is not a small number…

However, I seemed to get into the zone shortly after that and before I knew it, there was another sign that said “Only 100 steps to go!”.  Now we’re talking!  I can do this!  I am doing this!

There were people cheering on a landing at the top of the stairwell, encouraging the climbers to “finish strong”, so I quickened my pace for the last couple flights.  I clocked out with my timechip wristband and then… I turned and saw the rest of the stairs that I would need to climb to reach to the observation level of the CN Tower and the elevator to go back down to ground level.  Those last 50 stairs were tough to climb!

Once I reached the observation level, there were more people cheering and that felt really good to see and hear.  I walked around the perimeter of the tower, taking advantage of the beautiful view and reflecting upon my achievement.  I actually climbed all the way up here!  I looked down through the glass floor and it helped give me perspective on how high I had just climbed. 

The elevator ride back down was only 58 seconds long, just a bit less than the time it took to go up the tower.  I collected my T-shirt that had my completion time written on it, drank some water and ate a couple granola bars, then I headed home to shower and take a load off my feet for a rest.  I earned it!

By the way, my 11-year old son David climbed the CN Tower the day before I did, with his Scout Troop.  We found out the Troop was doing the climb after I had committed to doing it for my work’s charitable campaign, so I only attended Saturday’s climb as a chaperone/Scout Leader.  David had asked me if I would do the climb with him, but I didn’t think I could do it on Saturday with the Scouts and then do it again the following morning with my work colleagues.  As it turned out, David and I would have only started the climb together.  With his exuberance of youth and the energy that comes from facing a challenge with your peers, David raced up the stairs in a fantastic time of 20 minutes flat!  He really enjoyed himself and he was none the worse for wear, since he played goal in the hockey game that he had that same afternoon.  Ah!  To be young again! J

Between the two of us, David and I raised $810 dollars!  We are proud of our achievement and also proud of our family members and friends who supported the cause by donating, as well as those who wished us good luck before the event.

If you happen to want to donate now, it is still possible until Friday, November 11.  Any amount is appreciated, and tax receipts are available for donations of $25 or more.  My webpage link is right here:

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1163606&supId=439912082

Please don’t feel obligated, I just wanted to give people the opportunity to donate if they meant to, but it slipped their mind. 

Thanks again for your support!

1,776 steps for a good cause

Tomorrow, I will climb 1,776 steps to the top of the CN Tower in support of the United Way.  My family and friends have overwhelmed me with their generosity in donating much more than I had planned on raising. 

After I told my son David that I had committed to doing the climb, he wanted to do it too.  He did the climb this morning with his Scout Troop - 85th Old Mill Scouts.  I was thinking of doing the climb this morning with him but I attended as a Scout Leader chaperone and waited for him and his fellow Scouts at the bottom.  He finished the climb in 20:00!  I am not sure I will be nearly that fast, so I am glad he did it at his own pace.  I am very proud of him!

I will update this blog tomorrow, after my climb.

Donald Trump is Campaigning Like It's 1856

Despite the US Civil War and 160 years of social and technological progress, people's beliefs in some parts of America have not changed since 1856. Donald Trump’s current Presidential campaign platform: anti-immigrant, anti-minority, anti-“elite” nativism – appears to have support in many of the same areas of the US as the “American Party” of 160 years ago.

The “American Party”, who were also known as the “Know-Nothings”, started out as a semi-secret society and were called the “Know-Nothings” because if outsiders asked members about the party, they were supposed to say, “I know nothing.”  The group was made up of white Protestant men who were disturbed by the influx of immigrants during the 1840's and 1850's, especially Catholics, which changed the social landscape of America to something that was new to these nativist Americans - and they didn't like it.  They wanted to Make America Great Again, that is "back to the way it used to be".

Look at these comparative maps showing Trump support in 2016 (areas of strong support in red) and the Know Nothing Presidential Results in 1856 (areas of strong support in yellow):



Of course, in 1856 much of the western part of the US was sparsely inhabited, and the red areas of Oklahoma, South Dakota, eastern Colorado and northern New Mexico were still territories at that time, so they were not included in Presidential elections.

However, there are a number of regions that are surprisingly similar: much of the Old South still supports the ideas the Trump has revived from the Know-Nothings, such as Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama along the Gulf of Mexico.  The Appalachia states of Tennessee and North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky are still strong in their support of those ideas, even Missouri and upstate rural New York follow the same pattern in 2016 as they did in 1856.

Interestingly, South Carolina did not support the Know-Nothings in 1856 and that seems to hold true for Trump 160 years later; it is one of the few areas in the US southeast that is not dark red in the Trump support map.

California in 1856 voted for the Know-Nothings as a backlash against Chinese immigration at that time, there still seems to be support for those ideas in the southwest, although it is more spread out through Arizona, western Oregon, and northern Nevada, perhaps because of Mexican immigration in those areas of the US.

As much as Trump has tried to refer back to the Republican Party as the “party of Lincoln”, it is quite clear that his ideas are actually those of the Know-Nothings. In fact, Abraham Lincoln despised the beliefs of the American Party. In a letter, he wrote:

“I am not a Know-Nothing – that is certain. How could I be? How can any one who abhors the oppression of negroes, be in favor of degrading classes of white people? Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by declaring that 'all men are created equal.' We now practically read it 'all men are created equal, except negroes.' When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equals, except negroes and foreigners and Catholics.' When it comes to that I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.” Browne, Francis Fisher (1914). The Every-day Life of Abraham Lincoln: A Narrative and Descriptive Biography with Pen-pictures and Personal Recollections by Those who Knew Him. Browne & Howell. p. 153.

Possibly the only difference between Trump and the Know-Nothings would be to subsitute Muslims for Catholics. Trump and his supporters seem to fear Muslims for the same reason the Know-Nothings feared Catholics (especially those who had recently emigrated to America): their religious beliefs and loyalties would be opposed to what the American Party saw as national beliefs and loyalties.

There are other similarities between Trump and the Know-Nothings: their popularity increased dramatically, from 50,000 to over 1,000,000 members in only one year as the Whig Party collapsed in 1854. With only the Democratic Party remaining, many people joined the American Party rather than the newly-formed Republican Party. This is similar to Trump’s astonishing rise in popularity since he started his campaign last year, with the post-Tea Party vacuum of leadership of the current Republican Party.

Despite its sudden rise, the American Party also declined quickly.  Millard Fillmore (a former President with the Whig Party) only garnered 23% of the vote in 1856, behind the Democrat and Republican candidates. 

Hopefully, Trump's campaign and ideas will go the way of the American Party: with the election of Abraham Lincoln and rise of the new second party (Republican), as well as internal dissent among the Know-Nothings, their influence and existence were short-lived.  By the 1860 Presidential election, the American Party was all but gone for good.

While racism and intolerance are unfortunately still alive, let's all work toward making sure those beliefs don't win on November 8 by showing the facts of Donald Trump's campaign, his past actions, and his temperament make him unfit for the US Presidency and that all good, thinking, compassionate people will not accept those ideas as representing our society.

INSANITY workout - complete!!

I am a week late in posting this, but I finished the Insanity workout! I am very happy with myself, this was a tough challenge and I did it!
My weight didn't drop a whole lot, but my fitness has really improved and I am down a belt loop and a shirt size since September 1. More importantly, I feel better about myself and that has translated to more success in other areas of my life such as my personal relationships and my demeanor at work.
My Fit Test results are almost shocking, because of my gains as well as the fact that I beat the athletes in the video in a number of the exercise! Here are my results:
Fit Test 1 (Day 1) Fit Test 5 (Day 63)
Switch kicks 54 Switch kicks 128 Increase of 137% (video 110 reps)
Power jacks 43 Power jacks 61 Increase of 42% (video 65 reps)
Power knees 85 Power knees Increase of 47% (video 125 reps)
Power jumps 30 Power jumps 68 Increase of 127% (video 50 reps)
Globe jumps 8 Globe jumps 11 Increase of 38% (video 11 reps)
Suicide jumps 9 Suicide jumps 17 Increase of 89% (video 25 reps)
Push-up jacks 14 Push-up jacks 23 Increase of 64% (video 42 reps)
Low Plank Oblique 40 Low Plank Oblique 64 Increase of 60% (video 70 reps)

I took this week off to let my muscles and joints really recover. I found that the last week or two were tough for recovering from the previous day's workout, so I have to remember that I am not a professional athlete and I am not in my 20's anymore.

Lessons that I have learned from doing these extreme video exercises:
1. Follow the form that they show in the video - this will lessen the chance of injury. I found a few times I hurt myself because I was not following the correct form, either because of fatigue or simply not doing it correctly.
2. Listen to your body - I have also injured myself by pushing past my body's limits to try and match what the young people in the video are doing, mostly in terms of pace. I have to do MY best, not THEIR best.
3. Modify, modify, modify - If you have limitations due to past injuries (for example), modify the exercise to fit what you are able to do. It is better to do some form of the exercise than not do it at all.
4. Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym - This is a lesson that I know in my brain, but my heart and stomach don't always listen! This is the hardest part of my challenge with weight loss: I love food and I need to remember that every little decision on what I eat or drink adds up over time, even though they seem insignificant in the moment. Making smart choices throughout the day will add up to better results in the end, just as poor decisions or procrastination ("I'll eat better tomorrow") lead to poor results.

I look forward to continuing Insanity this week coming; as the title of this blog says, I am on my journey back to fitness and this leg of the trip was a success!

INSANITY workout

I just started the INSANITY workout, from the makers of P90X. Cheryl and the kids got this for me and I am glad to have a new workout routine. The exercises live up to the name! Follow my blog at phil90x.blogspot.ca

10 kilometres, 59:54!

I finally ran 10 kilometres in less than 60 minutes! I have not been running much this summer, I have been spending almost every spare moment completing landscaping projects on my property, leaving little time and energy for running. Most weeks I might get out once or twice, at most.

The last ten minutes of the run were hard, almost every minute my mind was saying, "Just walk for a bit and rest," but I pushed through that nonsense and finished 10 kilometres in 59:54. I know it is only 6 seconds faster than 60 minutes, but it is still a personal victory. Now to get back into a regular running schedule and keep dropping the time, with the eventual goal of running another half-marathon!

Dartmouth Natal Day Race

I had originally planned to run the 2 mile race today, just to have fun and not be too serious with it. I thought the run was at 9:00 AM or so, but when my sister Michelle called me at 7:05 AM, asking if I was still going to run, she informed me that the race started at 8:15 AM!!!

I left the house in a rush and forgot my Garmin, so this was going to be an old-school run with no clock to go by. I decided to run with Michelle, again thinking I will just go for a fun run.

With a few hundred metres to go before the finish line, I told Michelle I was going to run the 10K. She gave me her Garmin and I ran with her to the finish line of the 2 mile race. After about another kilometre, my task ahead of me finally sank in. I will have to run three 2-mile loops around downtown Dartmouth, not just one! Did you know Ochterloney Street has a hill near the harbour? It does. Did you know Crichton Avenue has a hill before Hawthorne Street? It does.

Anyway, the run went well and I finished in 62 minutes, which is pretty good for me, after rolling about of bed an hour before the race with no intention of running 10K.

Thanks to everyone for all the cheers and shouts of encouragement along the way!

Rock The Hill

I had a good time at the Rock The Hill concert last Friday, July 14. Bands played from about 3PM until midnight. I got there at 6 PM to see and hear Seether, who have some really good songs, especially "Broken". After Seether was Coheed and Cambria, a band that I was not familiar with, but they were good nonetheless.



Of course, Metallica was the main draw for the 20-30 thousand people in the audience especially since they hadn't played in Halifax for 18 years, before many of the audience members were even born! They rocked the hill for 2 hours and played many of their classics as well as some songs from their latest album.



I was about 100 feet from the stage, close enough to see the band and get some good photos. The show itself was something to behold, with a huge screen, multi-level stage, flames, Metallica beachballs and even fireworks!



I was impressed to see how much fun the band members had (OK, maybe not Lars so much) and how they stayed on stage after the show to throw out literally handfuls of guitar picks and tell the crowd how much they enjoyed playing for us. My cynical side told me that they understand marketing and branding so well that they acted as if they were emotionally involved with the crowd and I'll bet they do the same thing after every concert. My optimistic side told my cynical side to shut up and enjoy the afterglow of a really fun show.

10 kilometres, 1:00:30!

Father's Day 2011 - I went out for a 10 K run this morning and did it in 60 minutes and 30 seconds! So close to my goal of 60 minutes!

I did the first 5 K in 29:05, then did 10 and 1's for the second 5 K. I ran the last ten minutes by mentally counting my paces, which really improved my pace over that period, I ran the last kilometre in 5:20! I am going to try doing that earlier in the run next time. I completed 9.88 kilometres in 60:00 and finished the last 120metres in 30 seconds.

I felt good afterwards and I feel even better knowing that my 60 minutes 10 K is within reach.

Lunenburg 5 K Muffin Run

I had fun on June 12 when I ran the Lunenburg 5 K "Muffin Run". The route encircled the downtown section of Lunenburg, which is such a historic place the UNESCO designated it a World Heritage Site.

This was on my mother's birthday, so for her present I decided to do the 5 K run with my sister. There were other Team Myles members there: Jacki Stevenson, Sheila Doyle and Susan Graham. It was good to see them, as well as the other Heart & Sole members: my brother-in-law Gordon Crooks, as well as Sarah Austin and Paul Wesson.

I really enjoyed running with Michelle, it gave us a chance to catch up and talk for a half-hour, which we haven't done for a while.

True to the name of the run, there were hundreds of homemade muffins available after the run. Heart & Sole's trophy for this run was given to the member who ate the most muffins. Through sheer determination, I won the muffin-eating competition and I have vowed to never again eat so many muffins at one time!

10 km, 1:03:25

Ran 10 kilometres on the Salt Marsh Trail after church today. I needed this run, I was missing it. Isn't that one of the first signs of addiction? Come on, I can quit anytime I want! :-)

I used my Garmin 305 today, and I kept track of my split times per kilometre. It is actually pretty easy to use and to check on stats afterwards.

My first kilometre took only 5:26 and at one point I was running at a 4:13/km pace. I did the first 5 kilometres in 29:21, which is not bad for me. I did the 5 km back to my starting point by doing 10 and 1's, with 3 walking segments. I figure this added about 90 seconds to my time, but it also gave me a bit of a rest to run at a fairly respectable pace for the second half.

My goal is still to break 60 minutes for 10 kilometres. I ran 9.45 kilometres in 60 minutes today, so my goal is definitely achievable.

6.7 Km Recovery Run Around Cole Harbour Heritage Trails

I felt really good today during and after my run around the trails off Bissett Road in Cole Harbour. The Heritage Park Trails consist of loops that connect so you can make your run as long or as short as you like. They are in green on the attached map. I actually ran all of the trails in green except for the one that extends northwest from the northern parking lot, my route included a few double-backs to the main trail.

I ran the Panorama Trail to re-acquaint myself with it before our hike with the Cubs tomorrow evening. Then I ran the Jersey Jack Trail, The Brook Trail, The Poor Farm Trail (a residence for the destitute of Halifax County in the 1800's and early 1900's), as well as the Costley Farm Trail (named after the family of settlers who lived there). Interesting juxtaposition of the "Poor Farm" and "Costley Farm" being located adjacent to one another. Finally I ran to my starting point via the Salt Marsh Trail, for a total of 6.7 kilometres.

The terrain and views of Cole Harbour made the run very interesting, especially the almost-two-kilometre Costley Farm Trail is a mountain bike trail, versus the rest which are maintained trails with crusher dust and no roots or rocks all over the place. Running on the Costly Farm Trail was kind of like running while playing hopscotch for 2 kilometres. This trail in particular was a really good workout but in retrospect, I am lucky I didn't twist an ankle or slip on a rock since it was raining during my run.

I remember feeling really energetic during the run, like I felt years younger, so maybe I am making progress after all!

2011 Bluenose 10k is done! Now what?

Yesterday was Team Myles's "final exam". I would say that we passed with flying sneakers! While I didn't see all of my teammates after the 5k and 10k runs, I met with most of them and everyone said they felt good and they all looked great!

Lately, we have been discussing how to keep 2011 Team Myles going, post-Bluenose. Some members want to keep running together and we have talked about a Team Myles alumni running group. I would like to participate in organized runs together, like the Lunenburg Muffin Run on Sunday, June 12.

Our 2011 Team Myles members are individuals with different schedules and needs, so I think we should be flexible in what methods we use to keep Team Myles going. Perhaps a couple or a few teammates will continue running together twice a week, maybe others can help with next year's team by running with the 2012 Team Myles during their training.

Participating in some organized runs in the future with Team Myles feels like the best fit for me. We can still get together and enjoy each other's company but it won't be such a strict time commitment. I know I had other responsibilities that kept me from some team runs, as did pretty much every other TM member. I plan to start running with Heart & Sole running club in Dartmouth, it is closer to home for me and I have family and friends in the club.

In my mind, getting together for "reunions" at organized runs -- including, of course, next year's Bluenose! -- will keep the bonds of our experience going while allowing us to grow as runners and make connections with others in the surprisingly large running community in HRM.

Thanks again to everyone involved with 2011 Team Myles: my teammates, our trainers and especially the ladies who organized us and who kept us motivated by training with us, by keeping TM events going, and most importantly by keeping us smiling and laughing with their great personalities!

Everyone worked so hard on 2011 Team Myles, you should all be so proud for your accomplishments. Congratulations and see you again soon!

T minus 22 hours and counting...

I am off to volunteer with Team Myles, handing out race kits this afternoon. Afterwards, my teammates and I will be carb loading (I started early with pizza yesterday!). Tomorrow is the big day! I have not yet run the route, but I think the hill training and distance training will give me the strength to not only complete the 10 kilometres, but hopefully break the 60-minute mark.

Huge thanks to Team Myles: my teammates, the co-ordinators, and of course our trainers Kris and Devon. This has been a great experience and I look forward to continuing my running after tomorrow!

Benny Bullog 5 k Trail Run

Yesterday, I ran in the Benny Bulldog 5 k Trail Run in Dartmouth's Shubie Park. The event was in support of St. Leonard's Society to help homeless men and women in HRM. I saw a number of people I knew at this run, most of whom were there because they are part of Heart & Sole Running Club in Dartmouth, but also a former SMU rugby teammate of mine as well as a fellow Sigma Chi whose company Winmar Restoration was the event's main sponsor. These chance meetings represent the serendipitous side of the running community. If not for running, I would probably never seen the SMU rugby teammate again and it had been many months since I had talked with my fellow Sigma Chi brother.

There were 116 participants this year, about double the number of runners at last year's event. Almost all of this increase was due to the hard work of my sister Michelle Kempton (with me in the photo above), her husband (and also a Sigma Chi) Gordon Crooks and their friend Tori Greff, who organized 45 Heart & Sole members who ran in the Benny Bulldog 5 k Trail Run yesterday. Great job, you guys!

I must also thank the event organizers Stacy and Tim Chesnutt, who obviously worked very hard to co-ordinate the run, as well as the numerous prizes that were donated by local companies (I won a gift certificate to Sushi Nami!).

After the run, Heart & Sole had a potluck picnic at Shubie Park, which was a nice time to meet some other club members and for me to try quinoa for the first time!

This run was a good one, but my Friday night pre-event training of going to a buddy's house to play poker, eating junk food, and getting home at 1:00 AM didn't exactly help me. I was hoping to break 30 minutes for the 5 kilometres, but ended up finishing in 30:57. Granted, trail running, with hills et cetera, is different from street running, but I was a bit disappointed. To me, this result proves the importance of rest and proper fuel for one's body -- not just for races, but every day.

I am only going to run once more before Bluenose, so I am not running tired on race day. See you at the Bluenose!

10 kilometres, 1:01:08

Knocked off a whole 7 seconds from last Saturday's run, but I wasn't feeling the run today (versus last week when I was up for the run). I camped with my Cub pack last night -- yes, in the rain! -- so I was less-than-energetic today. I did the first 5 kilometres in slightly under 30:00 but the stretch from 6 km to 8 km was tough with a few uphills and I wasn't feeling the love. Still, I sprinted the last 300 metres and managed to have a 6:00 final kilometre.

This run shows that even though you don't always feel like running, you can still have a decent result. I am glad I went out today and it was a "big picture" run for me, meaning that this run was a small piece of the "big picture" of training for the Bluenose as well as getting back to better health, rather than a huge accomplishment in and of itself.

Keep putting one foot in front of the other!

10 kilometres with hill repeats, 58:20!!!!!

One way to stay hydrated when running is to drink water. Another way is to run in rain showers that drench you within minutes!

I did my hill repeat training again today and amazingly, I knocked off 4 minutes from my time last week!!! The wind was not as bad as last week, but it was still blowing down the hill and there were a few very heavy showers that left me completely drenched.

Unfortunately, I found out that my Running Room Fit-Wear jacket was not waterproof. It is listed on the website as "water resistant, wind proof, breathable". It kept out the wind and I did not get too warm, so it worked well other than the rain. One bonus feature of this jacket is that the arms zip off so I can wear it in warmer weather - which I look forward to doing this summer!

My run was as follows:
1600 metres from home to bottom of hill, 5:50/km pace = 9:20
400 metres up hill (2:20 pace = 5:50/km), 400 m down hill (2:20 pace) x2, 1 minute rest = 10:20
400 metres up hill (2:20 pace), 400 metres down hill (2:20 pace) x2, 2 minutes rest = 11:20
400 metres up hill (2:20 pace), 400 metres down hill (2:20 pace) x2, 3 minutes rest = 12:20
400 metres up hill (2:20 pace), 400 metres down hill (2:20 pace) x2, 4 minutes rest = 13:20
400 metres up hill (2:20 pace), 1200 metres to my street, added another 400 metres to add up to 10,000 metres! 11:40 for final 2,000 metres (5:40/km pace for final 2 km!!!).

Total run time 58:20 for 10 kilometres!

I had lots of energy at the end and sprinted for the last 100 metres. I am really pumped for the Bluenose 10 kilometre run on May 22! I am definitely aiming for a sub-60 minute 10 km run now!

10 kilometres, 1:01:15!

New personal best this morning, and for me the best part was that I took no walking breaks! I really wanted to take a break as I approached the 30 minute mark but I decided to run through it. I actually found the second half of the run to be easier, probably because I was warmed up (and no hills). 10 km in under 60 minutes is in my sights!

10 km with hill repeats, 1:02:40!

I missed yesterday's Team Myles run because of my prior commitment with my Cub pack. The Team Myles run plan was to go 1 km to the MacDonald bridge and then cross the bridge 4 times, with increasing rest intervals after each crossing, finishing with a 1 km return run back to the start, for a total of 6 kilometres.

Well, now I know those distances because I measured them on RunKeeper.com, an exercise measurement tool that my brother-in-law uses to post his runs on facebook.

I didn't know the distances before my run this evening after work, so I decided to make up my own version of bridge training. We have a 400 metre hill near our home, so I ran to it (1.6 km from our place to the bottom of the hill), then I ran up and down the hill 8 times, in sets of 2 times each, with increasing rest intervals in between each pair of uphill/downhill runs: 1 min, 2 min, 3 min, 4 min, as per Kris's instructions for the bridge training for yesterday.

I figured it might be close to the bridge training but maybe a bit more, figuring at the time that the MacDonald bridge is maybe 1.6 km across (it is actually 1.0 km across). Well, partway through, I did the math for my route and realized all I had to do was add another 400 metres to the end of my run and I would have completed 10 kilometres!

My run was as follows:1600 metres from home to bottom of hill, 6:15/km pace+/- = 10 minutes
400 metres up hill (2:30 pace = 6:15/km), 400 m down hill (2:30 pace) x2, 1 minute rest = 11 min
400 metres up hill (2:30 pace), 400 metres down hill (2:30 pace) x2, 2 minutes rest = 12 min
400 metres up hill (2:30 pace), 400 metres down hill (2:30 pace) x2, 3 minutes rest = 13 min
400 metres up hill (2:30 pace), 400 metres down hill (2:30 pace) x2, 4 minutes rest = 14 min
400 metres up hill (2:30 pace), 1200 metres to my street, added another 400 metres to add up to 10,000 metres! 12:40 for final 2,000 metres (6:20/km pace for final 2 km).

Total run time 1:02:40 for 10 kilometres!

I managed to keep pretty close to my target pace of 6 minutes per kilometre, once I deducted the waiting time between pairs of hill intervals. The surprising part was how much energy I had after all the hills! I felt great and still kept pretty close my target 6 min/km pace even after running back up the hill a 9th time to return home! I know I had gas left in the tank and I wonder how much further I could have run tonight.

I ran up the hill using a midfoot/ball of foot strike and downhill and on the flats to and from the hill using a traditional heel strike. I find the midfoot/ball of foot strike forces me to shorten my stride up the hill and have quicker pace with less impact on my heels. It also forces my torso forward a bit, making the climb a bit easier.

Here is a link to a blog on Chi running for more info on foot strike methods.

Hill repeat training works! I look forward to Saturday's run to hopefully see the effects in a faster/easier run.

Sermon that I delivered at church on Monday

Good evening,

Tonight I would like to talk to you about "Internal Prisons", the power of a parent’s love, the power of God’s love for us, tonight's scripture reading from Acts 16:6-40, and what it means to us as Christians.

I am sure that some of you have heard of the TV show “Hoarders”. This show is about trying to help people who have turned their homes into prisons by cluttering their homes to the point of being unlivable and in some cases dangerous to be in. The houses are physical examples of the hoarders’ internal prisons that were created as defence mechanisms after suffering through major life catastrophes such as divorce or the death of a loved one.

The hoarders have accumulated so many possessions and they end up simply going through the motions of life because, in their efforts to shield themselves from against being hurt again, they build walls to shut other people out, but ultimately they only succeed in shutting themselves in.

Sadly, these people are so wrapped up in living in the past that they are no longer living in the future and they are affecting their future.

We all know someone who suffers from their internal prison. If we honestly look at ourselves, we can realize that each one of us has some form of defence mechanism that inhibits us and limits our happiness.

Addictions are a prime example of this. Not just addictions to alcohol or narcotics, but other things: food, negative thinking, harmful relationships with others, to name a few examples.

These addictions are behaviour patterns that we have fallen into that may have turned into something far greater than we could have imagined, but may be easily observed by others.

This is the tragedy of internal prisons: the person who is inside the prison cell was also their own prosecutor and judge, the architect and builder of the prison, as well as the jailer who ensures that we live out our sentence – a sentence much harsher than others would give us – the self-imposed sentence of unhappiness and isolation from others, including God.

Negative ways of thinking, holding onto past hurts, either real or imagined, self-defeating thoughts, low self-confidence; these are a few ways that we keep ourselves from being happy, from living the best and fullest life that we can live. These are all obstacles that keep us from living how God wants us to live.

God loves us much more than we love our own children, so much that we have trouble truly understanding God’s love for us, since our own love for our children is probably the strongest emotional bond that we know in our lives.

Let us appreciate God’s strength as our father, to still love us even though we may rebuke Him, turn away from Him for a time, ignore His advice, refuse or forget to talk with Him in prayer, and sometimes believe that we can successfully live our lives on our own without His help and guidance.

Anyone who is or was a parent of a teenager can relate to what I just said. Cheryl and I have 5 children: 3 older boys aged 17 to 20, and 2 younger children aged 4 and 5.

Our younger kids, with their spirit of youth and innocence, believe what Cheryl and I tell them because they have faith that what we say is the truth. They trust us completely to take care of them and they know that we love them and only want what is best for them.

Our older children have more “grown-up” attitudes and they tend to rely on themselves first; they may listen to our advice, if they ever ask for it, and quite often they ask for it after they have exhausted their own resources yet still face their dilemma. Does this sound familiar?

We have all been there, we have all made our own way, separated ourselves, at least for a time, from our parents – those who gave us life, raised us the best they could, and who only want us to have the best lives that we can. Just like God. I suggest that we should all be more like our younger children: trust in God with all your heart and all your soul.

Our weaknesses, doubts and insecurities cause us to build internal prisons. God's strength can break down our prison walls and guide us to do great things in His name.

An example of this is the case of Rick and Dick Hoyt. Rick (the son) was born in 1962. He has cerebral palsy. Dick and Judy (the parents) fought to have Rick integrated into the public school system rather than have him institutionalized, as they were advised after he was born.

In 1977, Rick told his Dad that he wanted to participate in an eight-kilometre benefit run for a lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident. Dick agreed to push his son Rick in his wheelchair. They finished the eight-kilometre run, coming in next to last. Afterwards, Rick told his Dad, "When I'm running, I don't feel handicapped."

That started a lifetime of ahievement, including over 1,000 races, 68 marathons and 6 Ironman triathlons, which consists of a 4-kilometre swim, followed by a 180-kilometre bike ride, and then a full 42-kilometre marathon run. By the way, Dick Hoyt turned 70 years old last June and he and his son Rick just ran their 29th Boston Marathon today!

This is the power of a father's unconditional love for his child.

For his own part, Rick graduated with a degree from Boston College, despite having the challenge of cerebral palsy. Rick broke free from the physical prison of his body's limitations to achieve his own goals. Not bad for someone who was supposed to have been institutionalized at birth.

Now, I would like to shift gears and talk about the Scripture reading from Acts.

Acts is an important book in the Bible because it is the link between the Gospels and the Epistles. It is the first history of the Christian church after Christ’s ascension into heaven and it focuses on the ACTS of the Apostles, how they responded to The Great Commission. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave his disciples what is now known as The Great Commission: Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The passage in Acts 16:6-40 describes one of the mission trips of Paul, Silas and Timothy and Luke. Luke, the author of Acts, changes his account from “he” in verse 10 to “we” in verse 11, so what we are reading here is a first-hand account! They tried to continue their travels in Asia Minor (what is now Turkey), but the Spirit wouldn’t let them. They were told by a vision to go to Philippi in Macedonia, in the northern part of Greece.

It was here that the first Christian church in Europe was founded. The church had such an impact that Paul wrote letter to the Philippians, when he was in prison awaiting his sentence. This letter shows the mutual love between Paul and the congregation at Philippi.

The jailer in Acts 16 was saved because of the testimony of Paul and Silas’s actions. Through their actions, the jailer stopped from killing himself and instead won eternal life in Christ. The jailer realized he was lost and needed saving, which is the necessary step for all sinners to be saved. The jailer’s actions and testimony were so compelling that everyone in his household also came to Christ. The new convert is often the best evangelizer!

As Christians, we have learned that the best testimony to Christ that we can give is by living as Christians, which we can only do with the help of the Holy Spirit.

As God loves us, so does He forgive us. Once we accept God’s forgiveness for our sins, we can forgive others and most importantly ourselves, and finally release ourselves from our internal prisons. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)

We can break free/be released from our internal prisons by simply opening the door to Jesus when he knocks. (Revelation 3:20)

From 1 Peter 5:7, "give God your burdens, don’t carry that weight all by yourself", and 1 Peter 5:10 "Hardship gives us the opportunity to grow spiritually and to get closer to God."

Great opportunities to evangelize to others can come from our hardships, like Paul and Silas bringing their jailer and Lydia to Christ in Philippi.

We are shown throughout the book of Acts the importance of the local church. This is shown in the example of the jailer’s salvation as well as how Lydia, a woman and the first Christian convert in Europe, started a spiritual revolution in the Western world. We must follow their example and live the Christian life, being as Christ to one another.

Whatever your burdens are, you do not have to face them alone. God's promise to us is that he will always be with us, we simply have to believe in Him. As believers, we are all representatives of Christ.

If something is troubling you today, take the time after the service to pray with Father John or any of us in the congregation, so that you too can know the healing power of God's forgiveness that will free you from your internal prison.