I'm just kidding.
Was a little late getting moving this morning. Always my biggest challenge. Probably a large part of the reason I suppose that I'm a night owl.
Felt like I read about half of the Internet today to stay informed.
Finally at about 3:30 p.m., I bundled up and covered up and went and walked 5.45 miles in Springwoods Village at a pretty good clip, 15:17 per mile.
In 11 days, I have 56 miles of running and brisk walking. That's a win. :-)
My daughter and I went out late in the afternoon and early evening to investigate something that could possibly have taken place next Sunday for Easter Sunday.
I enjoy being asked my input on things to see if they're doable or not. I appreciate the trust people have in me to ask.
People always value being asked.
They may already give abundantly of their time when they see an opportunity, but still appreciate having their opinion of things.
It's almost as important as saying "Please" and "Thank you."
During that journey, I had my first Whataburger burger since the Shelter in Place took affect.
And the Patty Melt Combo tasted pretty good.
In running, the Lufkin Area Pacesetters today reported via their Facebook page that long-time runner Zeno Boehmer of Nacogdoches passed away on Thursday at the age of 90.
Zeno was an eight-time finisher of the Chevron Houston Marathon and a three-time finisher of the Aramco Houston Half Marathon. His complete race history from those events, courtesy of houstonresults.com, can be found below:
1984 - 3:21:22 (age 55)
1986 - 4:02:59 (age 57)
1987 - 3:53:27 (age 58)
1990 - 3:46:11 (age 61)
1992 - 4:21:02 (age 63)
1993 - 4:14:54 (age 64)
1995 - 3:47:28 (age 66)
2005 - 2:11:45 (age 76)
2008 - 2:31:14 (age 79)
2009 - 2:50:26 (age 80)
He also ran the Dallas White Rock Half Marathon in December 2004 at the age of 75 in 2:11:19.
Huntsville's Ken Johnson said in a LAPS online forum in February 2012 that he "first met Zeno at a race in Woodlville in April 1987. He was about 60 at the time and was the overall winner of the Half Marathon. Being a wimp, I opted for the 10K event. I have been in awe of Zeno ever since and have run many races with him. Super guy."
Ken was commenting on the following post by the group's Lynne Perkins:
How bad do you want it? This is something a friend of mine and I were talking about recently, and it really struck a cord with me. How many of us really go that deep and ask ourselves that question?
It comes in everyday choices we make. It comes in living it, breathing it, becoming it.
I was talking with a person in my church this past Sunday, and somehow (can’t imagine how) the subject turned to running.
I told him I had just run a race in Nacogdoches that Saturday.
He said “you know there was this guy I used to work with at the paper mill years ago ... you might know him, his name is Zeno Boehmer”.
I said, “Oh Zeno! I have known him for years! He is a running legend. He ran the 5k this Saturday too. He is 83 now.”
Then he said, “I remember old Zeno would go up to the roof of our plant and run around the entire edge of it. He ran it so often that the rocks on the roof had been worn and pushed to the side and had created a “track”. He would always run up and down the stairs too. He was always eating nuts and seeds, healthy stuff.”
He said a few other things nice things about him but these two things really stuck with me.
I kept thinking about the fact that YEARS later the memory of Zeno running around on the roof of that mill and eating healthy, made an IMPRESSION on so many.
And while he was telling me about it in a joking manner, I could tell he had the utmost respect and admiration for Zeno.
So when I think about “how bad to I want it” I have to ask myself - do I have that same willpower in me? That same drive and ambition to run even when it’s not convenient, even when others laugh, even when it’s tedious and not ideal conditions? Doing the grunt work, the day to day routine runs, has to be something that is inside of you, you have to love it, live it, breath it - to get to the end prize, whatever that goal is you’ve set for yourself.
Zeno was in his mid seventies when I FINALLY beat him in a 5k.
My mission in life at the time was to beat him - it wasn’t easy. Zeno was running sub 25 min 5Ks. I passed him in the last 100 yards of the Nac. Jingle Bell run. I was so excited!!
He was so gracious, he congratulated me, but don’t think for a second that it didn’t get under his skin.
Just a month later at a 5K in Dayton, in 26 degree weather, we raced and I passed him in the first mile - staying under an 8 min. mile pace - he stayed behind me until mile 2. Then he inched past me.
I kept thinking, “That’s okay, I’ll pass him back no problem." Well needless to say I could not pass that man!
We truly raced that day. That whole race was between me and him in my mind. The finish line was coming up and I started sprinting, as did he.
We crossed the finish line - him at 23:59, me at 24:01! Now THAT is what "How bad do you want it?” means to me.
He made an impression on me that day that I have never forgotten.
And Zeno is still proving that today, at 83 years of age, he is still out there running, entering these races and giving it all he has.
Time may have slowed him down a bit, but his heart is just as strong and his pure love of running is something we could all learn from.
How bad do you want it.....words to live by.
Listened to the sermon of the Berean Bible Baptist Church in Paranaque, Phillipines and Pastor Mike Reap, a missionary from the Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI), this evening as the Phillipines is 13 hours ahead of Houston.
Pastor Reap was in the church that I grew up in - North Freeway Baptist Church and North Park Baptist Church - many times and even when I visited the Greater Waco Baptist Church once here in the last couple of years - another BBFI church, his name came up when I discussed NFBC/NPBC with their pastor.
As I was trying to figure out the time difference and realizing that the YouTube video didn't line up, I checked the church's website and saw that Pastor Reap and his wife's travel back to the Phillipines, scheduled for this past Thursday, had been cancelled.
His message was "Worshipping a Sovereign God" and that involves being reverant to a sovereign God, obey Him and worship Him.
Podcasts that I listened to today:
An ICU nurse in New York City talks about the experience of treating COVID-19 patients, and explains how nurses in her unit are banding together to meet an unprecedented challenge.
Road To Resilience: Calm Through Chaos [04/01/20; Mount Sinai Health System, NYC]
17 minute listenCOVID-19 Slows The Census Count, And A Truck Full Of Toilet Paper Goes Up In Flames: The Good, Bad, And Ugly Of The News [04/03/20; Houston Public Media]
13:28 listen
These were things COVID-19-related that I read and found interesting today. Maybe you will too.
Interesting Poll Results and Response. Worth the read.
1,350 New York Readers on the Mounting Challenges and Anxieties of Life During the Pandemic [04/04/20; New York Magazine]
430,000 People Have Traveled From China to U.S. Since Coronavirus Surfaced [04/04/20; New York Times]
Hope.
Number of coronavirus intensive care patients in Italy drops for first time [04/04/20; Reuters]
Very informative. Don't shy away because of the outlet.
The geopolitical battle for the COVID-19 narrative | The Listening Post (Full) [04/04/20; Al Jazeera English]
Wuhan's death total is believed to be more than 40,000, not the 2,563 reported.
And we'll still have runners clamoring over medals - for any and every race - the majority of which come out of China.
Chinese families should be sweeping graves now. But thousands still haven’t buried their dead. [04/03/20; Washington Post]
It’s Hardly Shocking the Navy Fired a Commander for Warning of Coronavirus Threat. It’s Part of a Pattern. [04/04/20; ProPublica]
Statement From SECNAV on Relief of CO Aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) [04/02/20; US Navy]
Was James Carville writing this piece? (Will see who gets it.)
2020 Elections: It's the coronavirus, stupid [04/04/20; Politico]
Virus hot spots in South poised for disproportionate suffering [04/03/20; Politico]
Migrants and Advocates Call to Close Detention Centers as COVID-19 Spreads [04/02/20; Texas Observer]
'No problem whatsoever': Trump downplays Fauci absence at coronavirus briefing [04/03/20; Politico]
How Authoritarians Are Exploiting the COVID-19 Crisis to Grab Power [04/03/20; Human Rights Watch]
Armenia: Law Restricts Privacy Amid COVID-19 Fight [04/03/20; Human Rights Watch]
Don't disagree, but the Nature study referenced (I clicked) made the decision based on the testing of NINE patients.
To help stop coronavirus, everyone should be wearing face masks. The science is clear. [04/04/20; The Guardian]
This is a bit more compelling. 243 > 9.
Here’s the study behind why NYC Mayor de Blasio now recommends masks in public [04/03/20; CNBC]
The study is here and involved the investigation of 243 patients in Singapore.
Duh.
White House says anyone 'in close proximity' to Trump or Pence will get rapid virus test [04/03/20; CNN]
Cats can infect each other with coronavirus, study finds [04/03/20; New York Post]
TSA limits checkpoints at George Bush Intercontinental Airport; Houston Airport System expects significant decline in March passengers [04/03/20; Community Impact]
Other things I've been reading ....
Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan among 2020 Basketball Hall of Fame inductees [04/04/20; USA Today]
Search for Kennedy family members missing in Chesapeake Bay has ‘turned from rescue to recovery’ [04/03/20; Washington Post]
RFK granddaughter, 40, and son, 8, presumed dead after Chesapeake Bay mishap, family says [04/04/20; Fox News]
Should send this to Bill Maher.
Liberty Fulbright Finalist Brings Science to the Fashion Industry [03/30/20; Liberty Champion]
Have a great Sunday.
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