Category: Richmond, VA

One adult male assured success today in the latest edition of The Clinic. Whitesnake appeared in spirit. Temperatures were 70 and sunny. According to the rabbits on Watership Down, the following might have happened:

Slow mosey from the hotel to the golf course. Route today was cart path south through neighborhood, then into Monarch Beach Golf Links, circling towards CA-1 (PCH). Next take the tunnel under PCH, do the cart path loop on the beach side (sort of twice, but it’s hard to explain), then the public path parallel to the beach. At the dirt trail, drop down onto the beach, heading south at the water’s edge to the rock formation, then reverso and retrace steps northbound (note: air temp was 49, water temp 58). Find, then take, the stairs back up the cliff to the concrete trail, then up the Hill of Doom, pass through the tunnel (with a quick nod to YHC’s childhood vehicle, the VW Van immortalized on the Jungle Bus Mural), and back into Sea Terrace Park. Proceed left / north to pick up the public trail, then right / east and it metaphorically felt like YHC was turning for home. Quick jig left / north and back to the virtual hot tub at the hotel.

YHC has been hitting bootcamps. Time to start up the running again. But, this one is in the books.

Number, name, and YHC said a quick word of thanks to be able to have mornings like this one.

Announcements:

Some of us are not able to make the Grow Ruck (YHC has travel Sunday a.m. and high school soccer at 7:45 on Saturday a.m.). If anyone is looking for an early Saturday workout, send YHC a note. A handful of us are likely to have a Dogpile workout at 6. We may have 2 guys, we may have 20. All are welcome. Feel free to double-dip.

NMS:

Hard to beat conditions like this morning. No moon. Just a thousand stars. And, almost no light (in places). Ideal conditions for a cart path run. Lots of darting rabbits out for a little pre dawn meal coupled with the occasional surprise of a cart path ending at a secluded tee box. In the darkness, other minor impediments appear. These included a cast iron gate blocking access to one neighborhood and a set of orange traffic cones acting as a warning for a soon-to-appear 1-foot high iron chain across the path. Life has minor hurdles, in this case literally. The Clinic is not in Kansas anymore.

YHC ran early today. In the 4’s. It’s easy to become philosophical under the stars on the beach at that hour. YHC kept coming back to a simple question: “What is good leadership?” And, a corollary, “Who is a good leader today?”

It seems today that our society has landed in a place where the answers to those questions often make reference to the failures of someone else. Example: “Well, Trump has massive flaws, but so does Biden.” How many of us have said or heard something like that? YHC kept wondering whether we should measure the faults of one person by reference to those of another. That feels like a relativist cop-out in avoidance of high standards. And, too often, if we have low standards for others, we have low standards for ourselves. Simple faults or lies become prevalent and repetitive. If we say it enough, some people believe it will be true. That is false. We are each called to have high integrity, high standards. Each man – each of us as men – has to stand on his own. Each of us is responsible for our actions – independent of the actions of others. Push yourself, don’t hurt yourself, is not just about physical fitness.

If you are still reading, then as YHC said, it’s easy to become philosophical while running alone on a deserted beach. YHC was reminded mid-run of a conversation with a local pastor. The question posed was to finish this sentence. “And they’ll know we are Christians by our…”

FWIW, the jokes that morning included…sexual affairs with porn stars, general hypocrisy, petty lies to make ourselves sound better, accounting frauds, disparagement of Gold Star mothers, touching women in their junk, and, for that matter (and in the spirit of bi-partisanship), unsolicited back rubs of young ladies (and older ladies, for that matter).

Be accountable. Raise your standards. Help your pals do the same.

Prayer Request: YHC’s nephew left the Marine Corps about 2 weeks ago. He’s struggling. While it’s nice to have freedom to wake on his own schedule, a 21-year old with no job, a wife (who he does not live with), a more-than-slight penchant for alcohol, and the limited / socially impractical skills of firing a machine gun and a Mark 40, all make for a tough transition. If any of YHC’s brothers are still reading and have advice, YHC would love to hear it.