Last week's training went well - even with the snow that arrived on Friday. Originally forecast for about 12pm on Friday, I moved my runs around hoping to get my long 14 mile run in on Friday morning before the snow. The snow came early, starting about 8.45am, but I still managed to get out and do 14.2 miles - fresh snow provides enough grip for a steady pace. The snow was still sufficiently crunchy and fresh on Saturday morning to allow for a 'slow' 7 miles. The snow might be a real pain, but it does make for some beautiful scenery - my 7 miles included 2 local parks, one of which has a few minutes amongst the trees - I could almost be running in the woods!
So last week's training was not affected by the weather, with all 5 sessions going to plan and a total of 34 miles run. Fresh snow during Sunday means that Monday morning's run might be able to go ahead - but after that I'm expecting the pavements to turn into ice rinks - like they were on Sunday morning. This week there are again 5 sessions planned but this is a 'cut back' week in the schedule. Every few weeks there is a slightly easier week to allow the body to recover and adjust to the ever longer and longer runs. The long run this week is cut back to 'only' 10 miles, but there is more emphasis on the shorter faster runs - not good in the snow. I might have to make enquiries at local gyms to find out if any of them do a one week membership deal that only involves using their treadmills. Looking at the forecast it seems that the ice is certainly going to be around for most of the week.
If you have a short attention span then you've probably stopped reading this post already. But if you're still with me: this term, on Sunday mornings, we're looking at the first part of Mark's gospel. Mark is the shortest gospel, full of action, constantly moving on to the next thing - none of the long speeches that you might find in the other gospels. Mark wants to introduce us to Jesus and Mark wants us to come to the conclusion that Jesus is who he claimed to be and that following him really is worth it. When Jesus calls his first four disciples in Mark 1:16-20 they immediately leave everything and follow him. But Jesus doesn't just call them to follow, he gives them a task to do (17). Mark wants us to be under no illusion - following Jesus won't be easy. Jesus, after the high point of his baptism, is immediately led into the wilderness where he is tempted by Satan. John, after the high of seeing crowds responding to his preaching and getting baptised, finds himself in prison. We won't get as far as chapter 8 in this series but there (8:34-35) Jesus says, 'whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it'. The first disciples leave everything to follow Jesus. Are you following Jesus? What has he called you to? Are you doing it?
Those of you who visit this blog on a regular basis will know that in April I am running the London Marathon for Christian Aid. Each Monday I am writing a post about how my training is going. But what do Christian Aid do? Christian Aid are involved in lots of projects across the world. Their aim is that we might all be able to live life to the full, free from poverty. In this time of recession we have heard a lot of negative responses to the value of third world aid - how it all ends up in the wrong hands, how it makes communities dependant on 'the west' etc etc. Over the next few weeks, through a number of videos, hopefully we will see how the work of Christian Aid and its partners on the ground in some of the poorest communities really are able to make a difference. Every penny that we raise together really does make a difference. As we will see, a lot of what Christian Aid do is not about providing with people with aid in the form of food or medicines - but rather it is about giving them a helping hand so that they are then able to go on and work their own way out of poverty. So, for example, £6.50 is all it costs to provide a large and small hoe, and a large and small farming knife - s set of basic tools that will allow communities in rural Sierra Leone to farm the land and grow crops. £24 can buy an energy efficient stove for a family in Tajikistan. This cuts fuel consumption - and therefore energy bills. It also cuts unhealthy smoke fumes - leading to improved health. With less being spent on fuel and medicines families are free to make choices about sending children to school etc. If you would like to sponsor me to run the marathon then please visit my sponsorship page at www.virginmoneygiving.com/keithtarring This video highlights another aspect of the work of Christian Aid - putting pressure on governments to ensure fairness where current systems favour the well off at the expense of the poor.
We all know from experience that music has the ability to affect us emotionally - songs can be very powerful. We also know that some songs have the ability to get in our heads and stay there for days on end. Sometimes this is good - sometimes it's really annoying. On Sunday evening we had a look at some our favourite songs and hymns. And over the next few weeks, on a Tuesday morning, I'm going to link to some of those songs that were mentioned. Hopefully some of them will get stuck in your head and spend the day there - not just the tunes but particularly the words. First up was 'How great Thou art' which was chosen along with the following video from 1961. The person who chose this hymn on Sunday writes:
'Then Sings My Soul' is addressed to the Lord and stirs my heart to pull out all the stops and praise him. It was translated from a Swedish song, using the Swedish tune, and it was often sung by George Beverly Shea (now aged 103) at Billy Graham crusades, like the one I attended in 1950 during the week of my conversion to Christ.
