2016 LAKE MARTIN 100 Mile Endurance Run

"When I saw the sun rise for the second time on the same run..."

I read this statement in a race report three years ago, and it symbolized for me the magnitude of running 100 miles.

THE PLAN

The Lake Martin 100 Mile Endurance Run was my second 100 mile finish.

My first 100 mile run (2015 Tunnel Hill) began after sunrise.

It had 2,500 feet of elevation gain, a rails-to-trails surface, and I enjoyed the company of a pacer for the last 24 miles.

This one would be different.

Originally, I planned in my annual schedule to run the Pinhoti 100 the first weekend in November, but I forgot that is when my wife usually plays in a tennis tournament in Gulf Shores. While researching other potential races like Thunder Rock (May) and Arkansas Traveler (Oct.), it became clear that Lake Martin was the one I needed to run.

I signed up on January 11th; ten weeks before the race. I ran my previous 100 miler last November, rested a month, then ran the Rocket City Marathon, Recover From the Holidays 50K, and Mountain Mist 50K in December and January.

Garmin Training Runs

Building on this, my plan was to run 50 miles per week for a total of 500 miles before the race. I made it to 310 averaging 38.75 miles/week for 8 weeks and rested for two weeks.

The second part of my plan was to average 1,000 feet of gain per 10 miles of running. I averaged 910 feet.

The third part was to reach my peak in training at the Black Warrior 50K and Mount Cheaha 50K on back to back weekends one month out.

These two 50Ks have 3,000+ and 5,000+ feet of gain, respectively. When I completed them, I felt Que Sera, Sera.

My last long run was 18 miles on the northern "loop" of the Lake Martin course a week after the 50Ks and two weeks before the race.

I did not run during the two weeks leading up to the race.

LAKE MARTIN 100 Elevation Profile

With 12,000 feet of elevation gain, I viewed it as an appropriate challenge and a gateway to the more technical trail races with higher gain that I may like to do in the future.

I could not be happier with my choice.

Does Christianity Teach Immortality of The Soul or Resurrection of The Body?

Jesus ate supper in a resurrected body

"As they were saying this, Jesus himself stood among them. But they were startled and frightened, and supposed that they saw a spirit. And he said to them, 

"Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have."

And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them" (Luke 24:36-43).

Immortality of the soul and resurrection of the body are separate historical beliefs.

Immortality of the soul is based on Plato's Greek dualism.

Resurrection of the body is based on Jesus' Jewish Christianity.

Most in Western Christianity have been taught to interpret certain passages in the NT with an assumed Greek dualism of the soul being more important than the body. This is not early Christianity. First-century Christianity involves the belief in the resurrection of the body, not the immortality of the soul escaping it.

Why does this matter?

Faith Is Not Absolute Certainty

Greg Boyd writes,

"I contend that certainty-seeking faith tends to inflict a selective learning phobia on those who hold to it. It’s no secret that, at least in America, evangelical Christians sort of have a reputation of being narrow-minded and intolerant. Deny it though we may, research has established it."

"There are a number of plausible explanations for this, but I believe one of the main reasons has to do with the widespread assumption that a person’s faith is as strong as they are certain."

"Imagine a Christian I’ll call Bob. Like most other conservative Christians, Bob believes that he is saved by believing the doctrines that are “necessary for salvation.” And, like most others, Bob assumes that his faith is as strong as he is free of doubt."

"It’s apparent that for Christians like Bob, one’s sense of security is anchored in their level of confidence that their beliefs are correct. If Bob were to lose confidence or change his mind about any of these things, his salvation, as well as his acceptance as a fellow “saved” believer in his church, would at least be thrown into question, if not absolutely denied. Not only this, but Bob’s sense of identity, purpose, and well-being is wrapped up in his remaining convinced his beliefs are correct. With so much at stake, how open do you really think Bob would be to seriously studying books and dialoguing with people who might pose strong challenges to his core convictions? And how capable do you suppose Bob would be at objectively assessing the merits of points of view that disagree with his own, were he to somehow muster the courage to examine them? The answer, I think, is obvious."

"Not only this, but neurological studies have shown that the pleasure centers of our brain are activated whenever we encounter facts or opinions that confirm beliefs that are important to us. Conversely, they also reveal that our amygdala, which controls our “fight or flight” reflex, is activated when we initially confront facts or opinions that conflict with these beliefs. And, as we noted in the previous chapter, most of us know firsthand, to one degree or another, how painful it is to doubt beliefs that are important to us. Cognitive dissonance over important matters can be excruciating!"

The Bible Does Not Interpret Itself

 "The Bible says..." "God's Teaching," etc.

 WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF EVIDENT

Tautology is "using different words to say the same thing even if the repetition does not provide clarity."

Tautology also means "a series of self-reinforcing statements that cannot be disproved because the statements depend on the assumption that they are already correct."

Even for those who claim to use the Bible to interpret the Bible, tautology is involved because the other verses that are used are assumed to have a self-evident meaning, too.

Why is this important for Americans to understand? Because American thinking is built on "self-evident truths."

In an excerpt well worth your time found here, Richard Hughes exposes five myths America lives by. One of the five myths is the myth of "Nature's Nation." I have included a quote from Hughes below that I use to show how a part of our worldview influences our interpretation of the Bible.

I believe that the ingrained myth of Nature's Nation in American minds hinders insightful and edifying Bible study, and therefore, it hinders commanded Christian maturity (2 Pet. 3:18).

There Are 5 Major Myths

Hughes writes:

"The myth of Nature’s Nation is rooted squarely in the principles of the American Creed. The creed proclaims that among all the truths one might encounter in a lifetime, there are certain truths that are simply 'self-evident,' and require no formal proof..."

"Those truths are 'self-evident,' the creed contends, because they are rooted in 'Nature and Nature’s God' and therefore reflect the way things are meant to be.... the notion of Nature’s Nation has often annulled America’s debt to history, tradition, and culture and led Americans to believe that the contours of American civilization—the way things actually are—simply reflect 'the way things are meant to be..'"