What's the point?

It seems a long time ago that I wrote anything here that linked in with our Sunday morning series looking at Mark's gospel.


In Mark 4:1-20 Jesus tells his disciples a parable about a farmer who sows seed in his field. Some of the seed lands on the path, or among the rocks or in the middle of the weeds - and none of this seed produces a crop. But the seed that lands on the good soil produces a great harvest.

A parable is a story with a point - but quite often the point is not obvious - which in a sense is the point of the point! In this chapter Jesus tells his disciples that the reason he uses parables is so that although people hear and see what Jesus is saying and doing they won't understand or respond. Which seems a bit harsh.

But this is one of the things that separates 'the disciples' from 'the crowd'. The crowd are a bunch of spectators who like what hear and see but who don't really want to think about it too much and who certainly don't want these things to have an impact on the way they live their lives.

The disciples on the other hand know that a parable is a story with a point - and that it is a good idea to know what that point is, and to then apply it to your own life, and then to be obedient. It's just that they don't always understand the point. So they ask Jesus to explain it.

When a disciple reads the Bible, or one of the parables, we read it from a perspective of this is the word of God, therefore I believe that it will apply to my life - and through prayer, we ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand and apply the word of God. We also realise that the best course of action is to obey God in everything we do. But this process of reading, understanding, applying and obeying is not quick or easy. It takes time. It takes effort. It can be costly and painful. But that's the difference between the crowd and a disciple. The crowd enjoy the story. The disciple wrestles with it until she or he hears from God.

Marathon update - 5 weeks to go

Last week was the second of three high mileage weeks with a long run of 20 miles. A combination of:

• still being cautious regarding my hamstring,
• the cold weather, and 
• just couldn't be bothered

meant that I missed Monday's quick run, taking it as rest day. Week 19 on the chart should have been as high as weeks 17 and 21...

To compensate I ran a little further and a little faster on Tuesday. By Wednesday everything was back on track. The hamstring is ok - but I can still feel it in the background - but I am aware from past experience that this close to the big day any niggles are as likely to be psychological as physical.

This week's longer runs were a combination of 10 miles at predicted marathon pace on Friday and then 20.5 miles at an easy pace on Saturday. This long run went well in the end - although didn't feel too good at the half way point - but then you're trying to get the previous day's run out of the system. In the end the quickest three miles were the last three - all done at around marathon pace. My final 20 mile run will be in a couple of weeks and I will try to cover the final 5 miles at marathon pace.

In total last week consisted of 4 runs, with a total mileage of just under 42 miles. That's a total of 99 for the month and 398 for the year so far.

This coming week is another slightly easier week with 'only' 34 miles scheduled and a long run of 12 miles.

Another thing I was pleased to discover this week is that I have mis-calculated my faster / quick pace for interval or tempo sessions - I have been running too fast - which might be why my hamstring was complaining. I had based my times on my quickest 10 km race pace - I should have been using my predicted marathon pace. So, for example, I was running my 1 mile intervals in sub 6:45 but I should actually have been going at 7:23. Also my tempo pace was too quick at 7:00 (which I never managed to achieve anyway - I think the quickest pace I managed was 7:09 and that was probably downhill with a tailwind). Instead I should be looking at something much closer to a whole minute slower.

This week's running needs to get underway in less than an hour with a 6 mile run with the middle 4 miles run in 30-31 minutes. At least the sun is trying to shine. And I think it is about time I started using the shoes that I'm actually going to use on the day. My current shoes have done 458 miles since December and are therefore about half-way to retirement.

I'm running the marathon for Christian Aid and you can sponsor me at www.virginmoneygiving.com/keithtarring

This little light...

One of the ways that Christian Aid provide support for some of the poorest communities in the world is through funding and training of small local organisations. These local groups have the advantage of knowing the people and knowing the situation. In this short video today we see the difference that helping individuals stand on their own feet and set up a small business makes. We'll also hear about one initiative from a group called Tough Stuff who provide affordable solar panel kits.

I lived in Kenya for a year and in Kenya it gets dark at about 6pm every night and gets light at about 6am every morning. So if you're going to study for school, or read, or do anything in the  home during the 12 hours of darkness you need a light - and many families have no access to any kind of national grid. So this means purchasing fuel for lamps - money that can't then be used for medicines or school or food. But affordable small solar panels that can be linked to a light and a battery charger can make a real difference, as you'll see here.

Marathon update - 6 weeks to go

This week hasn't gone quite to the plan. A problem with my right hamstring meant that I have had to miss one run, shorten a couple of others and run everything slower than scheduled. But at least it was a cutback week so hopefully it won't make too much difference over all. Better to miss a few days rather than do any more serious damage. I should have a better idea how things are after the next couple of days when I try a couple of runs at marathon pace or faster.

So in the end last week's total was only 26.7 miles. The mileage for this coming week is over 46 miles. The long run this week is the second of the three 20 mile runs.