Next Location...back to the southeast

OK, this is old news to most people at this point, but we're now getting ready to move back to the States.  My next assignment is Ft Benning, GA.  I'm supposed to be with an armor battalion that does training for new soldiers (among some others).  We've known it was an assignment at Ft Benning for about a month, but I received my request for orders (RFO) a few days ago.  My formal, written orders should be cut tomorrow.  We're looking at about 90 days before we move back to the States.

The last few months have not been a lot of fun as we've wrestled with the question of whether or not God was allowing us to move back into civilian ministry.  It has actually been the main reason we didn't blog much for a while.  We didn't really want that discussion and that process out in this particular medium.  We decided to set out the "fleece" of asking God for a particular assignment.  We asked for Ft Rucker or Ft Benning.  I honestly didn't expect either.  My resume had been completed.  I had already begun talking to friends about church openings.  It's taken me a few weeks to get comfortable with staying in this type of ministry. 

Personally, I'm just glad to be heading back to the southeast.  We'll be back in SEC country for football season.  Isaac may get to experience his first Ole Miss game (I haven't decided if he's ready for that one).  We'll actually get to experience summer temperatures, which is exciting.  If you don't know, those of you who live in south MS are currently experiencing temperatures Belgium will be getting in June.

Claire's Turn

I realized a few minutes ago that this evening was a replay of about two years ago.  Em & I had friends over for a late lunch after chapel today.  They brought homemade banana pudding for dessert.  (By the way, banana pudding is a spectacular way to finish up pulled pork sandwiches).  After the Quiggs left, I began picking up glasses, unloading the dishwasher, etc.  Basically, it was the normal post-company routine.  When I noticed Claire was no longer playing with Isaac, I walked back into the kitchen.  She was using a serving spoon to finish eating her fill of dessert.  She continued to do this long after the picture.  Being tired, I wasn't up to fighting with her about it.  Plus, Isaac did the exact same thing a couple of years ago with a minor difference.  He ate the cherry pie while the adults were still eating dinner.  I suppose I prefer that I at least got a large bowl of pudding.

 



Snow Day

Obviously from the title, I'm at home today.  Belgium managed to be unprepared for snow this morning.  Weather.com predicted 1-3 inches yesterday and 2-4 inches today.  It amazes me that this information was available yesterday morning and the snow plows and salt trucks still weren't rolling.  At least it lets me play with the kids some today.  

Otherwise, we ran The Hague Half Marathon this weekend.  The whole trip was great.  We went up with another couple from the battalion Saturday morning.  We had one of the best meals I've had in months at lunch.  Dinner wasn't bad either.  (Almost half of how I judge any trip is food).

For the race, there really wasn't any type of Expo beforehand, which is unusual for such a large race.  It had rained for several days, so the park the tens and packet pickup were in was a field of cold mud.  The race itself was great.  The course ran through nice residential and business areas before looping back out to the shore of the North Sea.  Crowds were always there cheering you on, and while the race was full it wasn't as packed trying to run as some races I've been in.

Emily was trying to finish the race in under two hours, so I paced her.  She finished in 1:56, beating me by more than a minute.  (I had to make a pit stop at mile 12 and couldn't quite catch up).  There are a few pictures from the race that should be in  my online albums later today.

Now I know not to trust my body

I started running around 15 years ago.  Over that time, I've been reasonably consistent.  The only major gaps in were periods where I was recovering from some type of injury.  Generally, I've always followed the advice of listening to my body.  The only significant injury I've had was due to pushing past pain in my ankle. (No one tell Emily I'm admitting that.)

Yesterday I learned that my body isn't all that trustworthy.  I did a twelve miler along the canals in Mons.  It's a nice, flat route.  The weather was perfect.  (And I mean perfect by normal standards, not the ridiculously low standards I have for weather in Belgium).  Emily & I are running a half marathon in The Hague next month.  I can finish a half without training, but I'm throwing a few long runs in to get my pacing set.  I held an easy pace for the first 8 miles.  Somewhere between 8-9, my pace began creeping up.  By mile 9, I was 30-45 seconds faster per mile than I had planned to run.  My legs felt good.  My heart rate was good.  I decided to go with it because I was feeling good and only had 3 miles to go.

Then comes the last mile.  The heart rate is still ok.  The legs hurt.  They aren't fatigued.  They hurt.  The pace drops back to the original, easy pace.  My legs still hurt.  I finish the last half mile at a walk.  Had I been running the half, I would have pushed through.  Since it was a training run, I know i have to get my mileage back up.  (The last month really has been limited to treadmills or cross training.)

Back Up and Going (Sort of)

One of my brother's asked me the other day if I had completely discontinued the blog.  I suppose I had temporarily.  It's one of those things that just didn't happen over the holidays.  Between Emily, myself, and the kids someone was always sick or out of town.  I got back from the States on Tuesday morning.  My father had a stroke and I went back to see the family.  Emily, typically, responded by taking care of all of the household, budgeting, and parenting for 8-9 days.  Dad is doing well and will eventually recover all use of his right side.

Right now is a little hectic and I'll try to put up a longer update this week.