A New Idea!

More to come on this later but I'm excited about this so I'm mentioning it right away. We have been planning on putting together a Team Downhere running club. Here's the beginning stages of what it will be about.

The purpose of Team Downhere is to Condition, Connect and Contribute. We want to Condition ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually to be in the best shape possible. We want to Connect with each other so that we can encourage one another and help each other along in this journey. We want to Contribute by having others benefit from all that we do as Team Downhere.

So as we travel around with downhere we'll let people know where we are and hopefully be able to get a run in with some team members. Beyond that we'll have marathons and half marathons that we'll participate in where we will try to help others in need through the organization World Vision. For instance, the goal chosen ahead of time for the team could be to help a community that is in need of clean water by raising enough money to dig a deep well for them. Or the goal may be to help some families by providing specific farm animals or even enough animals to start a farm for themselves. As a team working towards this we believe we'll be able to accomplish much.

We also want to help people get started running and give people who are already running motivation to keep going. Things like developing training programs, and creating regional running groups are some of the things that we think would be beneficial.

Now what I'm extra excited about is that we are planning our inaugural run to be in Nashville April 2008 and we just secured a Team Downhere $10 discount for the run. So now it really feels like the wheels are in motion.

I'll write more as we get the main web site up and developed. We're still working on how everything will work but I was bursting and thought some of you would like to know about it!!

If this interests any of you drop me a comment or tell me in person and I'd love to tell you more about it.

GL

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My son the artist!

Thanks Randy for a post with some great pictures. We visited our friends Randy and Chris yesterday while in Franklin. Randy is the one who is really responsible for starting my running career. Randy is a painter and had his easel and paints set up. Since Jonah loves to paint he asked pretty quick if he could paint. He made some pretty cool creations. We'll have to scan a couple and put them up. Anyway, check out Randy's blog to see Jonah in action.

GL

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Good old Peanut Butter

Well I haven't been in Sweden for a couple of weeks now so I guess it's time to update ye olde blog. I wish I was still running like I did in Sweden though. I had my fastest 8 miles ever while there. I ran 8 miles in 59:30 and that's with taking all of my walk breaks except for one. I take a 1 minute walk break after every 9 minutes of running.

Anyway, I've been on a bit of a peanut butter kick for the last few months and it turns out it was a smart move. Check out this article I found on Runnersworld.com.

PEANUT BUTTER A GREAT RUNNER'S FOOD
It sticks to your mouth-and to your muscles

We all know that peanut butter sticks to the roof of your mouth. But do you know that peanut butter might also help you "stick it out" during a hard workout or an intense race? It's true. In fact, peanut butter-yes, that sticky companion to jelly on all those sandwiches your mom made-just might be the best runner's food on the planet.

"When it comes to the food choices runners can make, you can't do much better than peanut butter," says sports dietitian Nancy Clark, author of Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook.

To read the full article go here.

As an aside, while I was in Northern Ireland a couple of years ago we were having sandwiches at a friends house. I decided to have a peanut butter and jam sandwich. The mention of this combination was too much for our host. She couldn't believe I would possibly put those two things together. Funny how a staple sandwich here doesn't even exist there. Then again we don't often have an Ulster Fry here do we? To find out what an Ulster Fry is you may have to ask our resident Northern Ireland blogger Supersimbo.

Glenn

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In Sweden

I arrived in Sweden today with the band. We're in the city of Halmstad. This is the view when you walk out the front door of our hotel. So far Halmstad seems like a pretty cool place. It's right on the water and has the Nissan River running right through it.


After we had supper we went for a walk along the river all the way down towards the ocean as far as we could go. We saw this boat on our walk. It looks much bigger in real life.

I'm hoping to rent a bike tomorrow as well as go for a run so I should have opportunity to see more of the city and to get more pics. The question will be if I can get the pics onto my compy. The camera seems to be acting up. Time to try and get a good night's sleep.

GL

p.s. I didn't have my camera with me so I stole these pics from other people. Here are their links.
Pic 1
Pic 2

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Vote For Running

I don't know which sports you may be interested in but I figure if you are reading this you know how I have a love for running. One of the people who have inspired my running to a new level is Dean Karnazes. I've mentioned Dean before on here. I posted about his book Ultra Marathon Man back in October 2006 and I posted how a phrase from his book helped me out in the Nashville Marathon this past April. Actually, the last thing I read the night before the marathon was about Dean running 100 miles to a marathon then ran the marathon in 3:15!!! Now that's a way to get perspective.

Recently I received a hydration backpack for my long runs. Check it out here. (Thanks for the birthday gift Sherri!) I made sure I got the one Dean uses made by The North Face. I figure if he can run a hundred or two miles with it on it should be good for my short 12-20 mile runs.

I believe there is WAY more to running than just getting in shape or beating your best time. The people I know that have started running seem to have changed more than just their physical health. But that is another blog post that I'll have to explore another day.

Anyway, Dean is nominated for an ESPY (ESPN sports awards) in the category of "Best Outdoor Athlete". I think it would be a great boost to the running community if a runner could win this award. Running is so often forgotten and so many people take part in it. Strange.

So please, even if you are not a runner, take the 30-60 seconds to follow THIS LINK and vote for Dean. Just scroll down to "Best Outdoor Athlete" select Dean and choose vote! And hey, if you are a blogger and a runner, and I know some of you are, please post about this too and let's get an ESPY for Dean!

To visit Dean’s blog go here.

GL

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Birthday Thank You's

So it seems Facebook now makes it possible for us all to remember birthdays. That's pretty sweet. I don't think I've ever received so many birthday greetings ever. Oh, there's another one just arrived in my email. One sec . . . Thanks cousin Joel!! Now, there are way too many to respond to. I seriously feel overwhelmed. So if you sent me a "Happy B-Day" or "HaPpY bIrThDaY!!" or anything else aloing those lines, please accept a big thank you. You were all very kind to take the time to do that.

I do need to highlight one birthday greeting in particular though seeing as it may be the best one I've ever received in my whole life. If you are at all offended by certain words you may not like it but if you find the word "Frig" at least slightly humorous you are in for a treat. Behold!


My sister told me she's had this one in her 'back pocket' for a few months now. Nice find!!!

And yes 31 is wonderful. I feel truly blessed by Jesus whom I strive to serve as best I can daily. I have an amazing wife, a bright healthy little boy, a family that loves me very much and friends all over the world who care for me. What else do I really need?

GL

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Congrats Canada's Anaheim Ducks

". . . for the most part, this is a Canadian team and that's not an accident. Bryan Murray, who built most of this squad, freely admits that when drafting, he sought out large Canadian youngsters." read full article here

I must congratulate the most Canadian team in the NHL, the Anaheim Ducks, on winning the Stanley Cup. Way to go boys! We're all proud of you up here and glad you beat the bad guys from Ontario. Gotta give props to the Anaheim fans too. Way to go on supporting your team and hanging in there.

So now it's over, for a few months anyway the best sport in the world will be taking a break. The best sport with the smartest and most affluent fans apparently. Check this out.

"Hockey is by far the smallest of the big four sports in terms of total fan base, television dollars, and sponsorship. However, the NHL fan base is the most affluent and well educated of the four." read full article here

There ya go folks. So statistics say that I'm better educated and more affluent than NFL fans or NBA fans or MLB fans or NASCAR . . . wait a second that's not a sport. I guess stats can't always be right.

GL

Thanks Fred for the heads up on Anaheim's Canadian-ness.

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The Cambridge Predators

Are the Nashville Predators moving home base to my hometown, Cambridge Ontario? Looks like some people think so. Let’s take a look at some of the info.

Canadian entrepreneur Jim Balsillie has entered into a letter of agreement to buy the NHL's Nashville Predators for US$220 million Balsillie is co-CEO of Waterloo-based Research In Motion (RIM), the company that makes BlackBerry hand-held devices. Think about this. In February, RIM purchased a large plot of land -- 26 acres in Cambridge off Can-Amera Parkway, between Lingard and Townline roads. Picked it up from a home builder. Paid about $3.8 million. Might be a simple plot on which to build grand new digs for bursting-at-the-seams RIM, now occupying 21 buildings in Waterloo. Or the site could land in Balsillie's hands and become a perfect place to erect a big rink for a big-time team. Close to the 401. Close to the Breslau airport, where international flights are welcome. Most importantly, it appears to sit about 82 km from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. You see, the Toronto Maple Leafs hold a veto power over any plans to drop another NHL club within 80 km of their ice palace.
- Aaron Fisher

Everyone talks about Hamilton as being the place Balsillie would move the team but Hamilton is within Buffalo and Toronto’s territory and it would cost the Predators too much to stay there. It appears that Hamilton is just a contingency plan in case the team HAS to move.

Don't get me wrong, I really hope that the predators stay in Nashville unless of course they move to Cambridge. That would be my one exception.

Anyway, interesting stuff! Or at least entertaining.

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