My buddy Jason has been battling his weight for some time now. I'm proud of his progress in the gym and tonight he gave me some food for thought. Better yet--ammo for my next blog.
Jason decided to go for a run the other day while waiting for some car repairs at a local tire store. The location he embarked from is in a rather busy section of our city. Traffic can be tough over there, as I can well attest from my own running experiences in that area.
It's great just hearing Jason set out to run, knowing he's been working hard to lose weight. He reminds me a lot of my own struggle to get below 300 pounds and then gingerly attempting to run. Did you catch that play on words, Jason--"gingerly?" Anyway, here's a guy who has taken the leap and is really making an effort to change his lifestyle.
Tonight, at our church small group, Jason told me that during his run he was confronted by a carload of rocket scientists, honking their horn and screaming at him. I've been there, done that and it's infuriating.
How many of us have dealt with some gem of the gene pool that thinks they need to make a spectacle of themselves at the expense of a runner? Let's see...you're in a car, maybe smoking a cigarette, and we're out there running. Hmmm...Jack LaLanne you ain't. You aren't Stephen Hawking, either. In fact, people that act like this make Ernest T. Bass look like a Rhodes Scholar.
I have a little advice for Jason and anyone else that might be out there running and putting up with the Small Brain Club. I know it's hard to let stuff like that slide because I want to smack someone like that across their smart mouths, but you just can't. This may be our only chance to show Christ to this person. There is a way to handle this where everyone wins. If you ever get your chance to confront someone, do it in a Christ-like manner, demonstrating to them why we run and why it's wrong for someone to do this to us.
Runners are a fraternity. We share a common bond when we're out there on the road. As drivers, we're a little more mindful when we see someone running than we would be otherwise. In short, we get it. Maybe what we need to do is help others get it too.
All we can do is control our own actions. But we can make everyone else aware of how vulnerable we feel when it's just us against the environment. All we have a is a pair of running shoes, not a 2000 lb. loaded weapon.
If you're reading my blog and you're not a runner, please watch out for us. We're out there running because we love it, we want to do it, and it will keep us healthy. Don't punish us for wanting a better life. We respect you. Please respect us.
May God bless you with a safe road ahead.
Ever Forward!!!
TFR
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Running and Barbecue
Do those two things go together? When you live in the Texas Panhandle you bet they do! What a weird topic for discussion, but I have to tell you, I always feel a hundred pounds heavier and another step slower after chowing on BBQ.
I wonder if someone ever thought of having a 5k run and barbecue cook-off at the same event? Seems counterproductive, doesn't it? I might just have to do that.
For an extrovert, I'm pretty careful about revealing my life and thoughts to very many people. But here I am, on the WWW, sharing things I never thought I'd say. I am an extremely outspoken person, just ask me and I'll tell you what I think. But when it comes to my deep, personal feelings I don't often share such things aloud.
Most of the time, I feel pretty guilty when I slam a big meal. If you read my profile, you'll see I used to weigh over 300 lbs. When I got down to just under 200, I began to understand what anorexics experience. Looking in the mirror I still saw the same fat dude I faced every day. Nothing had changed. It was as if I couldn't see myself thin.
This went on for months and every time I ate I felt guilty. I deprived myself of the foods I loved, like BBQ and pizza. To this day, I still can't bring myself to eat more than a bite of my favorite pizza. Even then, the first thing I think of is getting out the door and working it off.
I think running and barbecue and pizza can all co-exist. It's taken me a long time to reach that accord with myself. I know I will never be this rail thin, exquisitely cut athlete, but I still strive to look and feel the best I can as I approach my mid-40's.
For a guy who tipped the scales at 315, I've come a long way. I had barbecue tonight and I loved it. And for once, maybe I might even love myself for who I am.
I'm a heavy runner that fights the daily struggle to stay motivated to do the things I do. I want to run my 5k's and let the marathons take care of themselves.
Maybe, just maybe, I'll create the R-n-B 5k. Not rhythm and blues, but "Running and Barbecue."
The Meatball Marathon is still in the planning stages.
God bless you all with great running.
Ever Forward!!!
TFR
I wonder if someone ever thought of having a 5k run and barbecue cook-off at the same event? Seems counterproductive, doesn't it? I might just have to do that.
For an extrovert, I'm pretty careful about revealing my life and thoughts to very many people. But here I am, on the WWW, sharing things I never thought I'd say. I am an extremely outspoken person, just ask me and I'll tell you what I think. But when it comes to my deep, personal feelings I don't often share such things aloud.
Most of the time, I feel pretty guilty when I slam a big meal. If you read my profile, you'll see I used to weigh over 300 lbs. When I got down to just under 200, I began to understand what anorexics experience. Looking in the mirror I still saw the same fat dude I faced every day. Nothing had changed. It was as if I couldn't see myself thin.
This went on for months and every time I ate I felt guilty. I deprived myself of the foods I loved, like BBQ and pizza. To this day, I still can't bring myself to eat more than a bite of my favorite pizza. Even then, the first thing I think of is getting out the door and working it off.
I think running and barbecue and pizza can all co-exist. It's taken me a long time to reach that accord with myself. I know I will never be this rail thin, exquisitely cut athlete, but I still strive to look and feel the best I can as I approach my mid-40's.
For a guy who tipped the scales at 315, I've come a long way. I had barbecue tonight and I loved it. And for once, maybe I might even love myself for who I am.
I'm a heavy runner that fights the daily struggle to stay motivated to do the things I do. I want to run my 5k's and let the marathons take care of themselves.
Maybe, just maybe, I'll create the R-n-B 5k. Not rhythm and blues, but "Running and Barbecue."
The Meatball Marathon is still in the planning stages.
God bless you all with great running.
Ever Forward!!!
TFR
Friday, September 14, 2007
Race for the Cure
After writing my most chilling blog yet (I still have goosebumps from the imagery), I thought I'd follow-up with something a little more positive.
I signed up to run The Race for the Cure here in Amarillo. As you know, I am adamant about diabetes research, but I lost my grandmother to cancer almost 20 years ago. I have numerous friends that have been affected by cancer in some form or fashion.
I figured it's worth running a 5k if it'll help with a cure for cancer. So, a few Saturdays from now, I'll get out there and run a blistering 10-minute per mile (hopefully better) 3.1 miles. I only hope no one's behind me because I want no one injured from the vapor trail. After all, this is a fun run.
Get out there and walk, run, crawl, or hop to champion a cause. It's a great way to raise money and get some exercise.
You can go to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure web site to find an event near you.
Oh, and keep reading for upcoming news about my 8-hour nutfest on the treadmill to raise money and awareness for juvenile diabetes.
Please share my blog with others. I want to hear from you. Write me!
May God bless you with great running.
Ever Forward!!!
TFR
I signed up to run The Race for the Cure here in Amarillo. As you know, I am adamant about diabetes research, but I lost my grandmother to cancer almost 20 years ago. I have numerous friends that have been affected by cancer in some form or fashion.
I figured it's worth running a 5k if it'll help with a cure for cancer. So, a few Saturdays from now, I'll get out there and run a blistering 10-minute per mile (hopefully better) 3.1 miles. I only hope no one's behind me because I want no one injured from the vapor trail. After all, this is a fun run.
Get out there and walk, run, crawl, or hop to champion a cause. It's a great way to raise money and get some exercise.
You can go to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure web site to find an event near you.
Oh, and keep reading for upcoming news about my 8-hour nutfest on the treadmill to raise money and awareness for juvenile diabetes.
Please share my blog with others. I want to hear from you. Write me!
May God bless you with great running.
Ever Forward!!!
TFR
Educate and Stay Alert
It's all over the net. What is it? It's the buzz about "The Perfect Day," as exposed by CNN talk-show host Glenn Beck. I must admit, I never heard of this until watching his show.
I am a conservative and watch Beck's program often. I am also a teacher, which makes me a researcher, by nature. I try not to jump to conclusions and do my best to investigate issues. As an educator, I was alarmed at what I learned from watching the Glenn Beck program.
"The Perfect Day," is a term that describes the time a mass terrorist attack is launched by Al-Queda in the U.S. The principal targets of this attack will be our children and our schools. As demonstrated in the Breslin, Russia attack last year, radicals will use any means necessary to further their cause, even killing innocent children.
I took it upon myself to do an internet search by Googling the phrase, "The Perfect Day." Many counterterrorism watchdog groups are calling for Americans to be on the alert, citing the discovery of evidence pointing to a possible wide-scale attack on schools in America. Such evidence includes stolen school radios, missing school buses in Houston, videos confiscated in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the list goes on and on.
Check it out for yourself by doing a search on the internet and see what you come up with. I don't care what political affiliation you claim, we cannot be lax when it comes to school safety. Even the slightest hint of such atrocities aimed at our children must be taken seriously. I, for one, am going to ask my principal if he has seen or heard any of the story on Glenn Beck and what are our plans at our school to prepare for such an event. I will also present this question to a school board member I know.
As citizens, parents, grandparents, teachers, we must not let this slide. This is a very personal issue as I have one child in high school, another in college, and my wife and I teach in a fairly large school district. It concerns me when I hear there is a real threat to our personal safety at work.
The goal of The Perfect Day, as explained by Bernard Kerik, former NYPD Commissioner and now security consultant, is to create chaos and mass hysteria. The result of this outrage would be the savage retaliation of Americans against Muslim-American citizens, including the bombing and desecration of mosques. The belief by terrorism-watching organizations is that radical Muslims, like Osama Bin Ladin, would use the images of these retaliatory acts as propaganda to further the cause of Al-Queda. Even Glenn Beck said he expected Americans to behave as "animals" in response to seeing our children mass-murdered nationwide.
My call to you is this, my friends: Preparation is not paranoia. There will be some, myself included, that will branded as paranoid nuts. But, can we really afford to not be ready in the event this does happen? To do that is to live as we did on September 10th. Because 24 hours later, our world changed forever. The next 9-11 is out there. It's waiting like a championship boxer for us to drop our hands. Only these guys have no mercy and hit below the belt.
Approach your local school administration and ask them the tough questions that need to be raised. Attend a school board meeting and get this issue on the agenda. Talk to local government officials and law enforcement about what plans they have to combat something like this. And above all, pray to God we never have to face such a tragedy as this.
With diligence, strength, and courage we can stop "The Perfect Day" before it ever happens. Every day should be a perfect day for our kids. Let's guarantee it stays that way.
God bless you all with safe lives.
Ever Forward!!!
The Fat Runner
I am a conservative and watch Beck's program often. I am also a teacher, which makes me a researcher, by nature. I try not to jump to conclusions and do my best to investigate issues. As an educator, I was alarmed at what I learned from watching the Glenn Beck program.
"The Perfect Day," is a term that describes the time a mass terrorist attack is launched by Al-Queda in the U.S. The principal targets of this attack will be our children and our schools. As demonstrated in the Breslin, Russia attack last year, radicals will use any means necessary to further their cause, even killing innocent children.
I took it upon myself to do an internet search by Googling the phrase, "The Perfect Day." Many counterterrorism watchdog groups are calling for Americans to be on the alert, citing the discovery of evidence pointing to a possible wide-scale attack on schools in America. Such evidence includes stolen school radios, missing school buses in Houston, videos confiscated in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the list goes on and on.
Check it out for yourself by doing a search on the internet and see what you come up with. I don't care what political affiliation you claim, we cannot be lax when it comes to school safety. Even the slightest hint of such atrocities aimed at our children must be taken seriously. I, for one, am going to ask my principal if he has seen or heard any of the story on Glenn Beck and what are our plans at our school to prepare for such an event. I will also present this question to a school board member I know.
As citizens, parents, grandparents, teachers, we must not let this slide. This is a very personal issue as I have one child in high school, another in college, and my wife and I teach in a fairly large school district. It concerns me when I hear there is a real threat to our personal safety at work.
The goal of The Perfect Day, as explained by Bernard Kerik, former NYPD Commissioner and now security consultant, is to create chaos and mass hysteria. The result of this outrage would be the savage retaliation of Americans against Muslim-American citizens, including the bombing and desecration of mosques. The belief by terrorism-watching organizations is that radical Muslims, like Osama Bin Ladin, would use the images of these retaliatory acts as propaganda to further the cause of Al-Queda. Even Glenn Beck said he expected Americans to behave as "animals" in response to seeing our children mass-murdered nationwide.
My call to you is this, my friends: Preparation is not paranoia. There will be some, myself included, that will branded as paranoid nuts. But, can we really afford to not be ready in the event this does happen? To do that is to live as we did on September 10th. Because 24 hours later, our world changed forever. The next 9-11 is out there. It's waiting like a championship boxer for us to drop our hands. Only these guys have no mercy and hit below the belt.
Approach your local school administration and ask them the tough questions that need to be raised. Attend a school board meeting and get this issue on the agenda. Talk to local government officials and law enforcement about what plans they have to combat something like this. And above all, pray to God we never have to face such a tragedy as this.
With diligence, strength, and courage we can stop "The Perfect Day" before it ever happens. Every day should be a perfect day for our kids. Let's guarantee it stays that way.
God bless you all with safe lives.
Ever Forward!!!
The Fat Runner
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Fat Running
I recently saw a picture of myself taken at the Walk for Diabetes and all I could say was, "Whoa, I am fat!"
I'm sure people look at me and find it hard to believe I'm a runner. There are days when I can't believe it either. My weight has always been a struggle for me. At the beginning of 2007, largely due to a bacterial infection in my stomach, I dropped 10 pounds. 9 months later I've gained it back.
While I know I'm heavy, I still manage to run a sub 10-minute pace and log anywhere from 15-20 miles a week. So, I don't feel too badly about carrying around the extra weight. Besides, this wouldn't be "Confessions of a Fat Runner" if I got down to 160 lbs. and looked a beanpole.
I'm proud of my ability to run. I know where I've come from and I'm excited about where God is taking me next.
I'll keep laboring down the streets of Amarillo, content with each slow step I take and happy in the knowledge I'm in a select group of people who get out each day and pound the pavement because they want to do it.
Runners are weird bunch. We wear strange clothes, sometimes look like dorks when we run, and garner puzzled looks from people in casual conversations when the word gets out we LIKE running. But, there's nothing like the serenity and solitude of the sounds of your footsteps meeting asphalt and the shallow puffs of breath moving in and out of your lungs.
Running is just you against you and no one else and that's why I love doing it. It's like playing solitaire with a pair of Nikes, instead of Kings.
I confess--I'm a running junkie. And proud to say so. Maybe I'll lose some weight, or have some more pretzels while I'm typing this. I can always run them off , huh?
That's my confession--what's yours?
God bless you and ever forward!!!
TFR
I'm sure people look at me and find it hard to believe I'm a runner. There are days when I can't believe it either. My weight has always been a struggle for me. At the beginning of 2007, largely due to a bacterial infection in my stomach, I dropped 10 pounds. 9 months later I've gained it back.
While I know I'm heavy, I still manage to run a sub 10-minute pace and log anywhere from 15-20 miles a week. So, I don't feel too badly about carrying around the extra weight. Besides, this wouldn't be "Confessions of a Fat Runner" if I got down to 160 lbs. and looked a beanpole.
I'm proud of my ability to run. I know where I've come from and I'm excited about where God is taking me next.
I'll keep laboring down the streets of Amarillo, content with each slow step I take and happy in the knowledge I'm in a select group of people who get out each day and pound the pavement because they want to do it.
Runners are weird bunch. We wear strange clothes, sometimes look like dorks when we run, and garner puzzled looks from people in casual conversations when the word gets out we LIKE running. But, there's nothing like the serenity and solitude of the sounds of your footsteps meeting asphalt and the shallow puffs of breath moving in and out of your lungs.
Running is just you against you and no one else and that's why I love doing it. It's like playing solitaire with a pair of Nikes, instead of Kings.
I confess--I'm a running junkie. And proud to say so. Maybe I'll lose some weight, or have some more pretzels while I'm typing this. I can always run them off , huh?
That's my confession--what's yours?
God bless you and ever forward!!!
TFR
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Running for Diabetes
With school off to a flying start, I've neglected one of my favorite new things to do--blog. With the weekend being here and the kickoff of the NFL season, I've spent most of the day being a guy and watching football.
Yesterday morning, my family and friends came together as a team to walk for diabetes. It was a beautiful morning here in Amarillo. We had rain overnight and the morning air was damp and cool. I would rather have been hugging my pillow at 9:00 am on a Saturday morning, but when you've got a wife and kid that have diabetes you become a crusader, of sorts.
I think I told you how I ran/walked/death-crawled 50 miles last year to raise money and awareness for diabetes. 3 miles seemed such a short distance to travel, but for the 1000+ walkers that showed for Saturday's walk, it was a giant step closer to ending this dreaded disease. My team, Melissa' Marvelous Miracles, raised $630. I'm sure the final tally for the walk will be in the thousands.
Today's blog centers around my hope that diabetes will be cured in the near future--tomorrow would be nice--and my plans to do all I can to bring that to reality.
The other day, while running at the gym, a staff member for our local chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) asked me if I would be willing to run on the treadmill for a little bit if she could get the corporate sponsors to pay per mile. Little bit equals 8 hours. All I could say was, "When do we start?" In case you haven't noticed, I'm nuts. I'll do anything, anywhere, at anytime to cure my daughter. As such, I also have pitched an idea to the local JDRF director about me running/walking/bike running from Amarillo, TX to Washington, DC next summer. I'm waiting for her to approach the board with this for a response.
I don't know about you, but I don't think I've ever had a true calling in life until now. I'm a teacher, but I don't feel a calling to education. Yes, I've been called to be a follower of Christ, but when I look at my life's work there just hasn't been the "calling" I hear so many others say they've experienced in life, like teaching or missionary work.
But now, with a daughter facing real life and death health issues as a type 1 diabetic, my calling is crystal clear. It came to me while running this afternoon in my fave running spot--Wolflin. Finding the cure for diabetes has got to be my passion. Nothing else matters but helping my daughter and wife overcome this. My stepfather has already lost two toes due to complications with his diabetes and I know dozens that are afflicted and struggling with similar issues.
Therefore, I will run to Washington, or New York, or Timbuktu for that matter if it brings about a speedy end to what over 14 million Americans face each and every day.
If I were to ask 100 people to raise their hands if they knew someone with diabetes, or they were afflicted, my guess is almost the whole group would have their hands in the air.
If you don't have it, someone you know does. There are over 20 million out there undiagnosed so they are all around you. It's a time bomb waiting to go off. In my daughter's case, it exploded one December day. The shrapnel left its scars on her body and in her mind.
So, I will keep running for diabetes as long and as far as necessary. I hope you will join us as we fight this battle. It's a battle we're going to win, for my daughter's sake and the sake of many of my students, parents, and family members.
Diabetes is one battle worth fighting and we WILL triumph. The stakes are high, the margins slim, and the payoff will be jubilant.
Take care and may God bless you.
Ever Forward!!!
TFR
Yesterday morning, my family and friends came together as a team to walk for diabetes. It was a beautiful morning here in Amarillo. We had rain overnight and the morning air was damp and cool. I would rather have been hugging my pillow at 9:00 am on a Saturday morning, but when you've got a wife and kid that have diabetes you become a crusader, of sorts.
I think I told you how I ran/walked/death-crawled 50 miles last year to raise money and awareness for diabetes. 3 miles seemed such a short distance to travel, but for the 1000+ walkers that showed for Saturday's walk, it was a giant step closer to ending this dreaded disease. My team, Melissa' Marvelous Miracles, raised $630. I'm sure the final tally for the walk will be in the thousands.
Today's blog centers around my hope that diabetes will be cured in the near future--tomorrow would be nice--and my plans to do all I can to bring that to reality.
The other day, while running at the gym, a staff member for our local chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) asked me if I would be willing to run on the treadmill for a little bit if she could get the corporate sponsors to pay per mile. Little bit equals 8 hours. All I could say was, "When do we start?" In case you haven't noticed, I'm nuts. I'll do anything, anywhere, at anytime to cure my daughter. As such, I also have pitched an idea to the local JDRF director about me running/walking/bike running from Amarillo, TX to Washington, DC next summer. I'm waiting for her to approach the board with this for a response.
I don't know about you, but I don't think I've ever had a true calling in life until now. I'm a teacher, but I don't feel a calling to education. Yes, I've been called to be a follower of Christ, but when I look at my life's work there just hasn't been the "calling" I hear so many others say they've experienced in life, like teaching or missionary work.
But now, with a daughter facing real life and death health issues as a type 1 diabetic, my calling is crystal clear. It came to me while running this afternoon in my fave running spot--Wolflin. Finding the cure for diabetes has got to be my passion. Nothing else matters but helping my daughter and wife overcome this. My stepfather has already lost two toes due to complications with his diabetes and I know dozens that are afflicted and struggling with similar issues.
Therefore, I will run to Washington, or New York, or Timbuktu for that matter if it brings about a speedy end to what over 14 million Americans face each and every day.
If I were to ask 100 people to raise their hands if they knew someone with diabetes, or they were afflicted, my guess is almost the whole group would have their hands in the air.
If you don't have it, someone you know does. There are over 20 million out there undiagnosed so they are all around you. It's a time bomb waiting to go off. In my daughter's case, it exploded one December day. The shrapnel left its scars on her body and in her mind.
So, I will keep running for diabetes as long and as far as necessary. I hope you will join us as we fight this battle. It's a battle we're going to win, for my daughter's sake and the sake of many of my students, parents, and family members.
Diabetes is one battle worth fighting and we WILL triumph. The stakes are high, the margins slim, and the payoff will be jubilant.
Take care and may God bless you.
Ever Forward!!!
TFR
Sunday, September 2, 2007
The Power of the Net
Though I've only been blogging for a relatively short time, God has done some amazing things through my site. He has bridged my world into the worlds of other bloggers and for that I'm thankful.
Take my new friend Carly. She's a blogger and also a teacher, an art teacher--whoa! She has a great story and I'm blessed to have met her. Had I not started my blog site last month I would be less two new friends. It's just cool when you begin to see the real power of the net in action and how it can be used as a tool for God.
Carly, I am thankful. You reminded me what my life is supposed to be about and it's not the treasures of this earth. I am called, as a Christian, to serve others as I serve Christ. I'm not supposed to get caught up in the worldly worries, but transcend above that in the unspeakable joy that comes from a relationship with God.
So, I'll not worry that I didn't get a promotion this summer. God has grander plans in store for me. In my little mind, I can't comprehend all the God is going to do, but I know he's working on it right now, as I type.
I thank God for Carly and Steven and all the others he is going to bring into my life through this blog site.
Whether it's running, blogging, teaching, or whatever you do, do it for the Lord and do it with joy.
May God bless you all with an abundance of happiness.
Ever Forward!!!
TFR
Take my new friend Carly. She's a blogger and also a teacher, an art teacher--whoa! She has a great story and I'm blessed to have met her. Had I not started my blog site last month I would be less two new friends. It's just cool when you begin to see the real power of the net in action and how it can be used as a tool for God.
Carly, I am thankful. You reminded me what my life is supposed to be about and it's not the treasures of this earth. I am called, as a Christian, to serve others as I serve Christ. I'm not supposed to get caught up in the worldly worries, but transcend above that in the unspeakable joy that comes from a relationship with God.
So, I'll not worry that I didn't get a promotion this summer. God has grander plans in store for me. In my little mind, I can't comprehend all the God is going to do, but I know he's working on it right now, as I type.
I thank God for Carly and Steven and all the others he is going to bring into my life through this blog site.
Whether it's running, blogging, teaching, or whatever you do, do it for the Lord and do it with joy.
May God bless you all with an abundance of happiness.
Ever Forward!!!
TFR
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Runnin' Against the Wind
If you live in the Texas Panhandle you're always running against the wind. Regardless of what you may have heard, Amarillo is THE windy city. In fact, according to a study by the American Meteorological Society, Amarillo beat Chicago as the windiest city in America.
Amarillo is the only city where the wind blows from every direction at once. You'll start to do an out and back run, thinking, "If I run against the wind out, I'll have it at my back coming home." Yeah, right! Start out, turn around, there it is again. Sometimes it feels like the wind is blowing straight down from the sky. How does that happen?
Alberto Salazar, the famous runner and now coach, said there is absolutely no benefit to running against the wind and I believe him. When you're a fat runner you have more surface area for wind to hit.
Okay, so how did I get on this subject? Living and running in Amarillo makes you constantly aware of the weather conditions since we don't have those pesky trees to deflect the wind like people do in real parts of the world. Oh, and we don't have mountains to block our view, either.
What do we have? How about some of the friendliest people anywhere. And arguably the most beautiful sunsets around. Yeah, granted the sun isn't setting behind an ocean, but the sky is spectacular at sunset here. The final scene of Indiana Jones and the Final Crusade, where the main characters rode off into the sunset, was shot just outside Amarillo. Bet you didn't know that.
When you get down to it, this may not be the greatest place to run, but I'll take it. I like my little corner of the world and I'm not leaving it anytime soon.
It's fun running down the street and hearing my name being shouted by my past and present students. You get waves from people you don't even know, but such is Amarillo. And I like it just fine.
That's my confession...what's yours?
God bless and Ever Forward!!!
TFR
Amarillo is the only city where the wind blows from every direction at once. You'll start to do an out and back run, thinking, "If I run against the wind out, I'll have it at my back coming home." Yeah, right! Start out, turn around, there it is again. Sometimes it feels like the wind is blowing straight down from the sky. How does that happen?
Alberto Salazar, the famous runner and now coach, said there is absolutely no benefit to running against the wind and I believe him. When you're a fat runner you have more surface area for wind to hit.
Okay, so how did I get on this subject? Living and running in Amarillo makes you constantly aware of the weather conditions since we don't have those pesky trees to deflect the wind like people do in real parts of the world. Oh, and we don't have mountains to block our view, either.
What do we have? How about some of the friendliest people anywhere. And arguably the most beautiful sunsets around. Yeah, granted the sun isn't setting behind an ocean, but the sky is spectacular at sunset here. The final scene of Indiana Jones and the Final Crusade, where the main characters rode off into the sunset, was shot just outside Amarillo. Bet you didn't know that.
When you get down to it, this may not be the greatest place to run, but I'll take it. I like my little corner of the world and I'm not leaving it anytime soon.
It's fun running down the street and hearing my name being shouted by my past and present students. You get waves from people you don't even know, but such is Amarillo. And I like it just fine.
That's my confession...what's yours?
God bless and Ever Forward!!!
TFR
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