Community Bible Experience

Last week, as a church, we began following the Community Bible Experience - New Testament reading programme.

As you will see from the short video below this is basically an 8 week reading programme that covers the whole of the New Testament. But this programme follows the text of the New Testament without any of the familiar chapter headings, chapter numbers, verse numbers, footnotes etc. that many of us who have a 'normal' Bible will be familiar with.



I have found the first week very interesting - although the length of the readings takes a bit of getting used to. Each reading is the equivalent of several chapters in length and most of us who follow some kind of regular Bible reading programme will be much more used to a few verses at a time.

But reading in big chunks does give a good overview and also shows up recurring themes and words. Looking forward to house group tonight to see how others have found the first week.

Final Marathon Race Report

Well, about time I wrote something about yesterday's marathon. Let's just start by saying it was really disappointing. You'll remember that last week I said that I was looking for 3:45 but I'd be consolable with under 4 hours as that would be a PB. At no point did I expect it to take 4:42:35. So what happened?

Cramp. 

Up to the half way point everything was going really well. I was slightly behind schedule but nothing that I couldn't make up in the second half. Then about 13.5 miles I felt my right calf hint at cramp, so I slowed a little just to try and make sure that it didn't develop into anything more than a hint. But after a few more hints it finally went at about 15 miles where I had to stop and stretch it. But every time I started again it cramped again after two or three paces. It soon became clear that this wasn't going away any time soon, and it was a case of either pack it in or walk most of the way to the finish - which was still 11 miles away!

With over £2000 of sponsorship resting on me finishing there was only one option. And taking it easy at least meant being more able to take in the atmosphere. High-fiving quite a few children. And walking along at the edge of the route meant that lots of people in the crowd shout your name! (But 'Come on Keith, you're looking strong' and 'you're nearly there' really doesn't help that much when everything you've trained for has gone totally out of the window.) 

After a few miles of walking it was just a case of a slow run until one of my legs or even feet cramped again. Some miles it was run 0.2 miles and walk the rest. Other miles I managed to jog for most of the mile. Here are my mile splits.

Really frustrating as I have not had any trouble with cramp in any of my training and I've run at that pace for further than 15 miles. The most likely reason is that it was hot - a lot hotter than any of my training - especially training at 5am. I think that the marathon was probably the first time this year that I've worn short sleeve this year.

At least with on-line tracking those who were waiting for me at the finish line knew that something had gone wrong, but that I was still running and would get there eventually.

But, however frustrated and disappointed I was, we still raised over £2000 for the work of Christian Aid - which was always more important than me getting a PB. It just didn't feel like that yesterday. And today I have been able to go up and down stairs - something that took the best part of 3-4 days last time.

So, another marathon in the future? I wouldn't rule it out.

Marathon update - 4 1/2 hours to go

Only four and a half hours until the off. How am I feeling? Nervous. The last three nights I've woken up around 4am - which I know is quite normal during my training - but then I needed an alarm clock to get me out of bed. This was just worrying about getting there on time, not forgetting something important, have I done enough training, how much should I drink on the way round... The only consolation is that in terms of resting my muscles it is being horizontal that is important not actually being asleep.

I know the physical signs in my body of when I'm stressed - and these last few days they've all being saying 'stress'.

Now I just need to be confident that I've trained well and not start off too fast. This last week I haven't run further than 3 miles, had two complete days of rest on Thursday and Friday, got to bed early, and eaten well. Yesterday morning I went out for a two mile jog in the sunshine.

Everything I need is ready either to be put on or packed. I've read, re-read and re-read again the final instructions. This morning's breakfast will be - coffee, porridge, a banana and a bagel.

The tracking page on the marathon website is now up and running. Click here for the link.

My race number is 37962. Type that in and then press the 'show tracking and results' button.

For progress during the race if you then click on my name it will take you to the page with 5km splits. [Although this page says the race starts at 9.45am it is actually starting at 10am.] For details of my planned times at these points click here.

I'll be back much later to let you know how it all went. Don't forget that I'm running for Christian Aid - and I'm sure there will be points on the course where some of the stories featured in the weekly videos I've been posting will keep me going. Thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far. If you haven't and you want to just pop over to www.virginmoneygiving.com/keithtarring Thanks.

Solar panels, goats, tools, nets, blankets and tents

If you've watched several of these weekly Christian Aid videos I put on here you will have seen something of the variety of work that Christian Aid are involved in as they seek to help people out of poverty for good. There is the pressure on governments over land rights or tax justice. There are the small scale initiatives such as solar panels or provision of a few goats or tools that allow communities to get their foot on the first rung of the ladder. There is the formation of co-operatives to help small communities get a fair deal for their labour. And then there is the emergency response to a crisis. 

In today's film Janet Symes, Head of Middle East Region at Christian Aid, explains how partner organisations in Lebanon are responding to the refugee crisis, as well as talking about how our partners in Syria and Iraq are responding to the humanitarian needs of those affected by the conflict. 



In just three days time I'm running the London Marathon for Christian Aid. To sponsor me visit www.virginmoneygiving.com/keithtarring

Keeping Track

Today I visited the London Marathon Expo and picked up my running number and shoe chip as well as a few other bits and pieces. I also finally got round to ironing my name on my Christian Aid vest.

For those who would like to know how I'm getting on on Sunday I think you'll be able to follow my progress on the results page of the Virgin London Marathon website - click here. On Sunday if you click this link there will be a 2013 section (I'm assuming). If you click on the Results you'll be taken to a page where you can enter the names and numbers of any runners you know. You can then ask for 5km splits. Not sure exactly how it works but I'm sure you'll be able to work it out with a bit of fiddling and clicking here, there and everywhere.

Added on 19th April - here is the official link that VLM have now posted to track runners from 7am on Sunday: http://results-2013.virginlondonmarathon.com/2013/

Progress of every runner is recorded every 5km using a timing chip that fixes to the laces of one of your shoes. There is also a mat at the start line and one at the finish. The mass race starts at 10am but it will take several minutes to cross the start line - but the chip isn't activated until it crosses the line.

Chip is fixed using small ties - not shown in this photo

Every 5km along the course there is a mat across the road, and as the chip passes over this area it is recorded on computer. This information is fed live to the website so you should be able to follow my progress in 5km chunks. [Looking at last year's results and entering a random race number you'll come up with a runner's name - if you click on their name you'll get the break down of their race.]

My dream goal is to finish in 3:45. If it all goes wrong on the day but I get under 4 hours I'll be consolable with the thought of a new PB. The biggest danger is to go off too quick.

As you may have picked up from some of my previous posts, running is a hobby designed for those who like statistics, numbers and spreadsheets etc. So here's an extract from my pacing spreadsheet which gives miles in the first column, the equivalent in kms in the second column. The third column is the time taken to reach each mile marker if I'm on course for a 3:45 finish. The final column is splits for a sub 4 hour finish. The race starts at 10am and I'll probably cross the start line within 3-5 minutes, so looking to finish about 1.48-1.50pm.

Mile	KM	03:45:00	03:59:59
1	1.6	00:08:35	00:09:10
2	3.2	00:17:11	00:18:19
3	4.8	00:25:46	00:27:29
4	6.4	00:34:21	00:36:38
5	8.0	00:42:56	00:45:48
6	9.7	00:51:32	00:54:57
7	11.3	01:00:07	01:04:07
8	12.9	01:08:42	01:13:17
9	14.5	01:17:17	01:22:26
10	16.1	01:25:53	01:31:36
11	17.7	01:34:28	01:40:45
12	19.3	01:43:03	01:49:55
13	20.9	01:51:38	01:59:05
14	22.5	02:00:14	02:08:14
15	24.1	02:08:49	02:17:24
16	25.7	02:17:24	02:26:33
17	27.4	02:26:00	02:35:43
18	29.0	02:34:35	02:44:52
19	30.6	02:43:10	02:54:02
20	32.2	02:51:45	03:03:12
21	33.8	03:00:21	03:12:21
22	35.4	03:08:56	03:21:31
23	37.0	03:17:31	03:30:40
24	38.6	03:26:06	03:39:50
25	40.2	03:34:42	03:49:00
26	41.8	03:43:17	03:58:09
26.2	42.2	03:45:00	03:59:59

One of the things I picked up today was a pacing band that fits round the wrist with this 1 mile break down info on it (columns 1 and 3) - to help runners make sure they keep to the right even pace.

Why do I need this as well as a GPS watch? Just in case the watch stops working!

Don't forget the race is on the tele - you may see me whizz by at one stage!

I'm running for Christian Aid and although I have now reached my target of £2000 every little extra will help transform some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities in the world. Thanks for you support.

www.virginmoneygiving.com/keithtarring

Responding to the sad news from Boston

Regular visitors to this blog over the last few months will know that I have posted a lot about running and my preparations for the London Marathon which is now only five days away. The word 'marathon' has been in the news non stop since yesterday evening for all the wrong reasons.

Unless you have been in a media exclusion zone you can't have failed to hear about the tragic events at the end of the Boston Marathon, which is the world's oldest annual marathon and very popular with runners from across the world.

But how do we respond in the face of such events?

On Facebook and Twitter I have noticed a number of people pointing out that in Baghdad yesterday 31 people were killed and hundreds injured in a series of bomb blasts. They ask the question - why is it that Boston gets the headlines?

In different parts of the world today people will die - they will die as the result of terrorist bombs and guns; they will die in acts of war; they will die of starvation; they will die of perfectly preventable illnesses. There are simply too many cases to report - and therefore our news media chooses which tragedy we hear about and how it is reported. And most of the time we simply never hear about what is going on. Often, when we do hear, we simply absorb this information and the statistics wash over us. Occasionally something in the story brings events a little closer to home - and then we might have some reminder that these numbers are never simply statistics - they are people - they are families. And then we might be jogged to pray for those who are suffering. We might respond by donating to help those affected.

One of the questions that keeps being asked on one of the running forums that I contribute to is 'why?' Why do people carry out such seemingly mindless acts of violence against people who are totally innocent? But there is also an acknowledgment that good will not be overcome by evil. After the Boston explosions people ran towards the blast sites to help the injured. 

For those of you who proclaim to be followers of Jesus how do we respond to these kinds of events that we see on our televisions?

In the short term, our hearts go out to those affected and we pray for them and for those who are seeking to help.

But in the longer term we also ask God to help us see the world through his eyes. God never sees us as statistics. We are individuals loved by God. Across our hurting world there will be numerous families who will be grieving today - very few of those situations we will hear about on the news, the majority we will know nothing about. And so we pray for our world.

But is prayer all that God asks us to do? In Mark 4 there are a couple of parables about the Kingdom of God - it grows bit by bit, from small beginnings to something that will fill the whole earth. Evil will not overcome good - Jesus has already told us that. And the Kingdom of God grows as love forces out hatred, as light forces out darkness, as hope forces out hopelessness, as peace forces out anxiety... 

Events in Syria slip in and out of our news, as does Iraq, Iran, North Korea... Some situations we never hear about. But across our planet there are aid organisations working on the ground to help the suffering. People that we will never know personally, stories that we will never hear, parents who will never cry on our shoulder, hugs we will never be able to give - but we can play our part through prayer and financial support as the Kingdom of God grows and God overcomes evil.

Occasionally events on the news 'put things into perspective'. By which we usually mean we see a little more clearly those things that are really important and those things that actually don't matter very much at all. Personally and practically I can't do much to help the victims of the explosions in Boston or Baghdad - but what can I do closer to home? How can God use me to extend his kingdom today? How can I make the world a better place for the people I come into contact with today?

Marathon update - only 6 days to go!

Less than a week to go now. The most frustrating thing about this last week was being on holiday in Devon and only having short runs scheduled. When most of your running is done on the pavements of NW London having a 12+ mile run with four miles along a disused railway through the woods, followed by six miles along the coastal path makes for a refreshing change. Unfortunately my longest run this week was 8 miles - but at least I got one run up the estuary.

It wasn't this warm or sunny!

I did run a few miles too many this week - a couple of the 4 milers were closer to 5 so that I could take in most of the sea front.

This coming week I only have three x 3 miles and one 2 mile run scheduled before Sunday. All the hard work is done. Now it is just a case of having an easy week, getting enough rest and sleep, and making sure that come Sunday I am as fresh as possible. Eating is also important this week - building up energy levels by getting the right amounts of the right kind of carbohydrates - plenty of pasta, bread, rice etc.

The theory is that the hard work is already done. If not it's too late to do anything about it now. I started specifically training for this marathon at the beginning of November. Since then I have been out for 105 runs, covering 760 miles. That has taken a total of 111 hours 46 minutes and 4 seconds. 53 of those runs have been before 7am. The average temperature of those runs has been -29*C. Three of these runs were between 20-21 miles. (One of these statistics might be a slight exaggeration.)

Is it enough? I guess we'll find out on Sunday!

Later this week the Marathon Expo opens where all runners go and pick up their number and other essentials - as well as having the opportunity to spend hundreds of pounds on vital running gear!

Pop back later in the week to find out how you can track my progress online during the race.

If you would like to sponsor me you can do so at www.virginmoneygiving.com/keithtarring

Older and quicker - we'll have to wait and see

Exactly 10 years ago today I was almost certainly wide awake and nervously looking forward to running the London marathon. The training was done, but I had no idea what to expect. In the end I managed a time of 4:01:14. In 8 days I'm going to try and better that time and go under 4 hours.

As you will know if you've followed this blog since January, I am running for Christian Aid. My aim is to raise £2000 - and thanks to many of you I'm nearly there now - remember every little helps. If you want to add your support you can do so at www.virginmoneygiving.com/keithtarring

Each week this year, on Thursdays, I have been posting a short video that demonstrates some of the work that Christian Aid are involved in. As you will have seen Christian Aid often work with small, local organisations that are very aware of the situation 'on the ground' and whose work transforms the communities in which they are based. The money is used to provide communities with the helping hand they need to get themselves out of poverty - and to then stay out of poverty.

One of the arguments used against giving aid is that most of the money is wasted due to corrupt governments. The new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby countered this argument in his blog yesterday. Click here to read what he had to say.

In a few minutes I'm off out for a gentle 8 miles. Nothing longer than 3 miles next week.

Tax Justice in Central America

In Guatemala and El Salvador low tax revenues are linked to massive levels of child malnutrition and lack of government resources to tackle the problems that poor communities are facing.

The poorest pay a far higher proportion of their income on the equivalent of VAT and other indirect taxes, whilst the business elite enjoy generous tax incentives. Christian Aid is campaigning to end secrecy in the international tax system which costs developing countries like Guatemala and El Salvador billions of pounds a year.




In just over a week I am running the London marathon to raise £2000 for Christian Aid. I still have not quite reached this target. Thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far - but if you would like to sponsor me you can do so at www.virginmoneygiving.com/keithtarring

Marathon update - 2 weeks to go

This week has been the first week of my taper. A total mileage of just over 30 miles with the longest run of 12 miles. This coming week the runs are even shorter. There are still some faster sections but these are getting shorter and shorter. This week it's four runs of 4 miles and a longer run of 8 miles. These weeks are about not over doing it - so that the body can repair any of the damage from the high mileage weeks that have just gone and get ready for two weeks time.

I'm running for Christian Aid, to raise £2000 for their work. You can sponsor me at www.virginmoneygiving.com/keithtarring

Land rights in Bolivia

Only three more Thursdays to go now until the London Marathon. The short video clip below demonstrates how the help of Christian Aid, through partner organisations (in this case 'the Centre for Research and Training of Peasants' or CIPCA) helps marginalised indigenous communities to work their way out of poverty.

Key to this struggle was securing the rights to the land. But this was followed by a range of initiatives. For example the community were given 20 sheep. After two years they could give 20 sheep back - to help other communities.

I am running the London Marathon to raise £2000 for Christian Aid. You can sponsor me at www.virginmoneygiving.com/keithtarring

Light of the world

Here are a few pictures from our Good Friday and Easter Sunday services.

Last year we did a series from Leviticus and one of the things that comes through from a lot of the OT ceremonies is how they appeal to all of the senses.

And I think that in some church traditions too many babies have been thrown out with too much bathwater. 

This Easter I thought I would make use of a wooden cross that I made a few years ago out of a long piece of decking. The cross piece swivels round 90 degrees to make it easier to transport when I want to use it in school assemblies etc.

The Christmas tree lights remind us that Jesus is the light of the world and their position on the cross links with the line from the hymn 'When I survey the wondrous cross' that says 'see from his head, his hands and feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down'.

During the service the lights were turned off and the lights and the material were removed and the cross was placed on the floor. By way of a response to the crucifixion we each literally nailed something we had written to the cross.

This may have been a thank you, or a sorry, or a hope or a dream. It may have been a prayer. But these were hammered into the cross. And so for a few minutes in the service there was the sound of hammering - and as people discovered: light taps with the hammer are no use if you want to get the nails into the wood. You need to take the hammer back and give the nail a really good blow to get it into the wood.

Later, after the service, and in preparation for Easter Sunday, each of the nails was removed. In the place of each nail mark a hole was drilled. Then the lights were fed through the holes from the back.

For those who were at both services, and who noticed the various connections between this cross and the how it was on Good Friday, I am sure this Easter Sunday image will have spoken to different people in different ways.

At it's most simple the lights were back on - Jesus is alive.

Then there is the visual reminder of how Jesus is able to take our weaknesses and our failings and shine through them.

Maybe you have some thoughts to add...

Marathon update - 3 weeks to go

My training has now entered what is known as the taper. These are the weeks in the run up to a marathon where training starts to drop off. The bulk of the hard work is done, now is the time for the legs to recover and nearer the race for levels of things like glycogen storage to be maximised.

The main focus for this last week was my final long run. As you will have read last week this was going to be the third 20 miler with the option of going up to 21, and running the last five miles at marathon pace - depending on how I felt. Well, I felt rubbish! There was no way this was going to be pushed to 21 and there was no question of doing the last five miles anywhere close to marathon pace. 

Although not ideal I'm not too worried by this because there are reasons / excuses: 

1) First of all I had quite a bad cold and I guess that has to have an effect. 

2) Then I started too fast. I've mentioned before that all my training is recorded and logged using my GPS watch - this means I can look back over different runs and compare. This run the first half was done much quicker than it should have been so although the overall average pace was good I was ready to collapse at about 18 miles rather than getting quicker and able to carry on beyond 20 miles. This is a reminder of the importance on the day of not going off too quickly - which is easier said than done in all the excitement.

3) The day before there was a 10 mile run that was done slightly quicker than marathon pace - which obviously won't be the case on the big day. This was also the end of a record 47 mile week and a record 181 mile month. My legs might have been a bit tired.

4) I had eaten too much chocolate, cake and crisps in the previous few days. This won't be happening again between now and after the race!

This final long run was also a chance to finalise 'fuelling strategies' - what to have for breakfast, how long before the start of the run, what to eat along the way, what to drink...This side of the run went well with no adverse effects!

The other runs this week went well and to plan. Five runs and 47.55 miles.

This coming week will still see five runs and the shorter faster runs stay in place, but the length of all runs begins to drop off. The long run this week is only 12 miles and total mileage of about 30 miles. The risk over these next few weeks is not to have confidence in the training that has already taken place and run either faster or longer than the schedule dictates.

Sponsorship is coming along with less than £300 to go now to reach the target of £2000. Thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far. I'm raising money for Christian Aid and you can sponsor me at www.virginmoneygiving.com/keithtarring