Today my son and I participated in the Rust Belt Bloggers’ Neighborhood Walk. I pushed him around a section of Squirrel Hill and took pictures at most intersections and few other places.
Neighborhood Walk
2 Replies
Category Archives: personal
2008 Race for Pace 5K
Well, I didn’t finish the Race for Pace in under 25 minutes, as I’d hoped. Still, I can’t be too disappointed. Running on a very hilly course just one week after running a grueling half marathon, I finished in 25:20. Not bad. 🙂
A Tale of Two Races: 2008 Great Race 10K and Chamber Classic Half Marathon
It was the best of races. It was the worst of races.
On September 28, I ran a PR in the Great Race, finishing in 50:49. That’s more than 3 minutes faster than last year’s 53:56. The only way I could have been happier is if I’d broken 50 minutes.
The Chamber Classic half marathon was a different matter entirely. I’d hoped to run the Ikea HM, but the blessed event of my son’s birth prevented that. I figured the Chamber Classic would be an adequate replacement race. My next HM opportunity won’t be until late March. Training has been going well, as have races. I’d hoped to break 2 hours and felt ready and able to do so.
I was wrong. I did terribly. The race started out fine and through 8 miles I was on pace for a 2:00:39 finish. Something happened during the 9th mile, though. I hit a wall…hard. I completely ran out of energy and my legs felt like lead weights. I jogged occasional and forced myself to run through the finish, but I had to do a lot of walking. I finished in a dismal 2:14:30. Hopefully I’ll be able to set a PR and break 25 minutes at the Race for Pace 5K tomorrow.
Belated Birth Announcement
Sorry for taking so long to do this. I’m sure those who preceded me in parenthood understand how non-existent my free time is. 😉
On Monday, September 1, 2008, my first child was born. Alexander Craig Williams arrived at 4:28 AM after 7 hours of drug-free labor, weighing 7lbs 2oz and measuring 20.5in. Woot! 🙂
In Search of Catholic “To Kill a Mockingbird”
I met my wife three years ago in northern Quebec, and at the time she could barely speak English and I could barely speak French. Now that we are both proficient in each other’s language, one of the great joys of our married life has been to introduce each other to the literature of our respective languages. I will never forget the day she finished “To Kill a Mockingbird.” She fell in love that day with the English language and has explored dozens of authors since, from C.S. Lewis to J.D. Salinger to Margaret Atwood.
Now my wife is thinking of becoming Roman Catholic (she was one of the few Evangelical Baptists in Quebec when I met her). She has asked me for books to read that will give her sense of what the RC religion is all about. This has got me asking myself: what is the “To Kill a Mockingbird” of modern Catholic literature–by which I mean the most gripping, readable book that should be every newcomer’s first introduction to the RC faith? She is presently reading Ste-Therese of Lisieux’s “Story of a Soul,” which, though excellent, is not exactly Catholic 101. She is already a well-read Christian, and has basically exhausted C.S. Lewis.
Any suggestions?