Sabbatical #12 - Camp Arcadia, Florida, and Coming Home

It's time to wrap up the Sabbatical Blog entries. When we last touched base, we had returned from London. We had 2 full days at home until we left early on the first Saturday morning of July for our trip to Camp Arcadia in Michigan. It is our annual Sabbath retreat as a family. It was a great week of rest, family, friends, and learning. Pastor Travis Scholl and Pastor Matt Popovits were the teaching deans for the week. They helped us see God in unusual places, and learn what a "Sustainable" life looks like. I was privileged to be able to lead music for the week at camp. Some of my favorite activities were looking for Petosky Stones, playing tennis with my son Zack, riding mountain bikes with my boys, spending time in the craft shop my girls, quiet time with Beth, and long bike rides with Chip May (camp director). Beth's parents, sister, and brother-in-law were able to join us in Arcadia this year. That was a treat.

After a fun-filled week in Michigan, we headed home for about 5 days and packed up for our next adventure.  My two boys went with the Youth Group of Cornerstone Lutheran Church (the new name of Carmel Lutheran Church) and went to the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans a few days earlier. We decided to drive south to Louisiana to spend a few nights with my mom in Mansura LA. It was a relaxing drive down over 2 days, and we had a nice time with my mother and step-father. Beth and I went to New Orleans to pick up the boys at the closing ceremony at the Superdome in NOLA. It was fun to be able to experience the gathering for a few hours as we went to the closing worship. Then the 4 of us drove back to my mother's house.

The next morning we took off for Panama City Beach Florida. We stayed at a beautiful resort and enjoyed a short evening at the pool. The next day we drove across and down Florida to St. Petersburg. I registered for a triathlon and we went out to a great authentic Italian restaurant. The next morning I awoke early to go and participate in the Top Gun Triathlon on the Island of Fort Desoto. It was a beautiful location for a triathlon, and even with a 7am start, it was hot and humid during the race.

After the race I picked up our family and we headed toward Orlando for our trip to DisneyWorld. We checked into the Art of Animation resort, then headed out to dinner at the Spirit of Aloha theater at the Polynesian resort. Beth had gone to this show as a kid and it was very memorable. We wanted to offer our children the same opportunity. We stayed at DisneyWorld for 4 nights, and spent 3 days park-hopping around the property. Disney Studios was a favorite of everyone, especially the Star Tours ride. It was a great trip to Disney, the first for all of us together. After our 4 nights in Orlando, we headed toward home, but first stopped at Beth's parent's house for 2 nights in Tennessee. We enjoyed time with family and boating on the lake. It was finally time to head home, for the end of the Sabbatical...

Sabbatical #11 - Monastery and London

Sorry for the delay with the updates. We have been doing a lot of traveling since we last talked...

After returning from Hawaii, my next race was in Muncie for the USAT Midwest Regionals. I ran the Sprint race and placed first in my age group!

A few days later I had the opportunity to travel to the Abbey of Gethsemani, which is a Trappist

Monastery in the hills of Kentucky. Thomas Merton was a well known monk that had lived there. I stayed 2 nights, in silence, and went to their many worship and prayer times. I spent the days reading, riding my bike in the hills, and going to prayer times. I also enjoyed some of the Bourbon-Fudge that the monks make. I was scheduled to stay 3 nights, but after 2 days of silence, I felt I needed to get home to be with my family. We were also only a few days away from...

LONDON!! When I first talked to Beth about what we might do on the Sabbatical, we discussed "Destination Races" and where we might want to go. It just so happened that Triathlete Magazine had done an article a few years ago about the best Destination Races. The Leeds Castle Triathlon was listed as the #1 race. The Leeds Castle is located south of London in Kent, near Maidstone. The region of Leeds is north of London, in central England. We decided that our family would spend about 5 days in London and 3 days in the country. We booked an apartment in Hounslow and a BnB in Maidstone. I also rented a car for the last half of our stay.

We spent the first 5 days exploring London and learning our way around on the Underground Subway system. It was really fun and a great way to get around without driving. (More on that in a bit). Some of our favorite things were: going up in the London Eye, St. Paul's Cathedral, Evensong worship at Westminster Abbey, Kew Gardens, visiting Greenwich, visiting Wimbledon, and riding the Double-Decker Buses. Marshall and I went to see the play "Titanic" at a small theater, and it was amazing! Our entire family went back to the theater a few nights later to have dinner. The menu had selections that were served on the Titanic. I chose something NOT served on the failed ship, and had one of the top 5 burgers of my life.

In order for us to get out to the countryside, I needed to rent a car. This was a stress-inducing endeavor for me. The streets can get very narrow, and not only is the steering wheel on the right side,
everyone drives on the wrong side of the road. I was given the advice to rent an automatic, and it had to fit 6 with luggage. A Diesel VW Mini-Van did the trick. It got us out to Wimbledon one day, but I thank the Lord for Google Maps. It seems there is no direct route anywhere! We packed up the apartment and headed toward Kent on Saturday morning. Along the way we stopped at a Boarding School to talk to the young man that I was renting a bicycle from, using the website Spinlister.com. There was no room for the bike, so I would have to come back later to pick it up. He left it for me in a closet because he had a cricket match.

We drove out to our AirBnB rental which was located at an Equestrian Riding School. The girls fell in love with the horses and even got a riding lesson. It was a very beautiful setting for 3 nights. And it was located only 15 minutes from Leeds Castle. We had an amazing view just across from the front yard. One night we took a short drive to Chatham for dessert and walking along the shore. We had one of our many servings of fish and chips as well. We had dinner one evening in Maidstone at a great place called Wildwood. I had the best Philly Cheese Steak sandwich I've ever had.


The day of the race came and we all got up early so I could make it there for the 8am start. The race happened on the castle-grounds. The swim (1500m) took place in the moat. The water was only about 5 feet deep, and you could stand anywhere. At one point, my hands were dragging through sludge at the bottom. The bike ride was 26 miles across some beautiful English countryside. The roads were a bit rough, and of course, you rode on the left and passed on the right. The run (6 miles) was then on the grounds, through grass and mud. It was a slow run for everyone. It was very picturesque all morning. I was happy to finish, my right leg was really starting to hurt. I've been nursing a bad hamstring and calf all season.

It was finally time to say good bye to England. While we were there at least 2 historic events happened: England voted to leave the European Union, and the English Soccer Team lost to Iceland in the European Soccer Tournament. It's hard to say what was more of a story at the time we were there. Maybe the third largest story was that we returned the rental van without a scratch on it. I guess the "Full Coverage" option was not needed after all. Then again, that insurance allowed me to sleep at night.

We did not have a "smooth" re-entry into the US. Our flight from Heathrow to Washington DC was delayed 30 minutes...no problem. We still had an hour and a half to make a connection to Indy. It seemed that TSA had a different idea. We made it through customs fairly easily, but the TSA line to re-check in was very long. We ended up missing our flight by 5 minutes, after running across the airport for 20 minutes. We later came to find out that while we were flying there was a large terrorist attack at the airport in Turkey. Perhaps this added to the delay with heightened security. We ended up taking a shuttle to a nearby hotel and spending the night in DC. We awoke at 5am for a taxi ride back to the airport and made our flight back to Indy. We were glad to be home, but had a great time in London. We had 2 days home until... next installment coming soon.

Sabbatical #10 - Ironman Hawaii Trip

Sorry for the delay in getting an update on the Sabbatical. A lot has happened since we last talked. After returning from New York State and the Triathlon Training Camp, it was time to start packing for a trip to Hawaii, the BIG island. This trip was chosen for a few reasons, more on that later. I was able to take Beth along, as well as Marc and Marcey Zolner. Marc introduced me to triathlon racing about 8 years ago. At the time, I never thought I would race in triathlons. We went to see Marc race in a full-Ironman in Louisville, KY. I thought those people were crazy. Now I am signed up to compete in that same race in early October.

The Big Island of Hawaii is where the Ironman Championship race occurs every year, the one on TV. It is from the city of Kona and is the "Grand-Daddy" of triathlon races. Hawaii also hosts a Half-Ironman race that uses much of the same bike course. For those wondering, a full and half Ironman race distances are... Swim 2.4 miles (1.2) Bike 112 miles (56) and Run 26.2 miles (13.1) or a marathon/half-marathon distance. I don't know that I will ever get the chance to do a Full-Ironman in Hawaii, so doing a Half-Ironman might be as close as I get. Marc and Marcey honeymooned in Hawaii 16 years ago. I was able to perform a "Renewal of Wedding Vows" ceremony with them during our stay.

Pololu' Valley

The island of Hawaii was beautiful. We had a chance to swim with dolphins in the wild. We went zip-lining through the rain forest. We hiked down into the most amazing canyon, where the opening scene of Jurassic Park is filmed, when they fly to the island on a helicopter. We ate amazing sushi and fish. Oh, and Marc and I did a little race. We both met our goals for finishing times. It was a hot day for us biking and running through lava fields, but they tell us it was mild compared to most. Those Ironman athletes are incredible that do the "full" in the heat.

We had a great time, and it was a nearly perfect trip. Our last night we went to dinner in Kona at a place called "Rays on the Bay" to see if we would see some Manta Rays. Because our flight was supposed to leave around 10:40pm we were unable to stay late enough to see any Manta Rays. We had an excellent dinner with more good fish. We gassed up the rental van and headed back to the airport. Once there, we noticed that there were only 2 flights leaving the island, and the flight to LAX was delayed until 2:30am. We were sure glad to not be on that flight! Until we got word that our flight Phoenix had been cancelled. Ouch! It was now approaching 11pm, so we tried to get on the flight to LAX, and we did get our tickets changed. But then, the flight to LAX was delayed until 4:00pm, the next day! Seemed the crew needed sleep. Okay, let the pilots get some rest before a 6 hour flight. So now we had to either wait in line behind 300 angry passengers to get a voucher to a hotel, or grab a taxi back to the condo we stayed in. We went for option #2. We got to our place around 12:30am and crashed. We did get an extra night Hawaii, but it was not exactly how we wanted it. Thankfully, our children were in good hands while we were gone. My sister and mother came out for the first half of the week, and Beth's parents came the second half of the week.

Next time, an update on races, training, learnings, and my time at a monastery...

Sabbatical #9 - Long Drives, Triathlons and Bears, oh my!

Thanks for reading this and joining my family and I on this Sabbatical journey! It is a fun adventure.  As I sit in a hotel room in Akron, Ohio, it's time to catch you up to date.

When I first was dreaming of what a Sabbatical would look like, one of my first ideas was for me to attend a week-long Triathlon Training Camp. As I began exploring options that would fit into my time-frame, a camp and coach jumped out at me from New York State. Coach Mark Wilson has been coaching for over 20 years and use to be a coordinator of event for HITS Triathlon. He has since started coaching on his own and runs the Hudson Valley Triathlon Club. I called him and talked to him on the late fall of 2016 to find out about his style. He was very familiar with both Total Immersion Swimming (he had been an instructor of the method for many years but now teaches POSE swimming) but also was an instructor in POSE running. I have studied both and wanted to be instructed directly in each. Mark also owns a bed and breakfast, (Coldbrook BNB) and offered for me to stay with him as part of the camp experience. Check out the link to the website if for pictures, or if you want to spend some time in the Woodstock area. IT'S BEAUTIFUL! I sent in a deposit right away!

Fast forward 8 months and I called Mark the week before Camp to see how things were coming together. It turns out that I was the only person registered. He asked if I minded, I said "NO! I'd love it!" So...I packed up to head to Bearsville, NY for a week of personalized Triathlon instruction. I left on a Saturday evening and made it to Columbus, Ohio for a hotel stay on the road. I got up early and drove the next 9 hours to Bearsville, NY and met Mark and his fiance' Tonia at his house. It was really cool! It's in the woods, backing up to Wilson State Park. We saw a bear in their yard! We headed out to dinner at The Bear Cafe in Bearsville, right on the border of Woodstock. The dinner was great and the company was outstanding. We talked about what would happen for the week at camp. It would begin with a swim at the local YMCA.

 I had a great week. We road almost 100 miles over 4 days, with an amazing climb to a Tibetan Monastery just above Woodstock. I am most excited about the work we did on my running style and speed. Mark gave me a lot of confidence that I can run faster and survive, physically and cardio-wise. He was very complimentary of the bicycling work that I had been doing. (Thanks Cycle Studio, CycleBar, Monon Center LoKe Bikes, and the CLC Life Team!) We had some very good and fast rides together with some amazing scenery. Mark gave me a training plan to prepare me for the 140.6-mile Ironman Louisville Triathlon event that I hope to complete in October this fall.

I spent an evening walking around Woodstock and had dinner on Wednesday at the Landau Grill. (A Sammich - as was listed on the menu). There were plenty of interesting sites, people, signs, and wildlife. One highlight was spending some time in a soup kitchen at  Christ's Lutheran Church in Woodstock. It was a great opportunity to talk to some locals. I picked up a Woodstock bumper sticker to add to our car-topper cargo-carrier. I thought about a tie-dye shirt, but passed. I have a few already.

After a great week of specialized training, I packed up my stuff, strapped my 2 bikes on the back of my MDX, and started back toward Indiana this morning. I currently am staying the night in Akron, OH before finishing my drive tomorrow morning. I miss Beth and the kids. It's been a great week, and I'm ready to be home. Until next time...

Sabbatical #8

While I'm in Woodstock NY (actually Bearsville, NY which is adjacent to Woodstock) for Training Camp, I have some extra "down" time in the evenings. Hence: back to back Blog posts...

My next Sabbatical adventure was a trip to St. Louis to do some exploring. I wanted to talk to some more people in our church about Health and Wellness. I decided to contact some professors at the seminary to see if they had time to talk. I also contacted our regional representative for "Vitality" which is the Concordia Plan for church workers to encourage healthy living. I was able to meet with 2 professors for a while, (Dr Gibbs and Dr Arand) one of them in the faculty lounge. That was a pretty cool hour in the lounge at the seminary. I then had dinner with a 3rd person from seminary, Travis Scholl who is the author of one of the books I'm reading. We talked about the Sabbatical, and about Camp Arcadia this summer where we will be working together for a week. His topic is related to "Epiphanies" in everyday life. I told him that this was exactly what I was getting out of his book.

The next day I met with Steve Gruenwald from Concordia Plan Services and "Vitality". We took a trip to Christ Church Memorial in St. Louis to look at their Health Center. The church converted an old Target building into their church building about 10 years ago. As part of the renovation, they dedicated a large space to be a workout facility. They offer free gym usage throughout the week, with classes as well as free rehabilitation services. It is a large endeavor in which they receive some outside funding to make happen.

Steve and I talked for a while about ways that the Lutheran Church could bring together some of the many groups that are doing Health and Wellness ministry. We also discussed the changes to the Concordia Plans rewards program for workers. He recognized that it is more difficult to get rewards (workers can get gift cards for various wellness activities), but he believes that the website is much more informational and that the focus of the program is trying to get people in better health. For some, me included, the goal was about rewards.

After 1 night in St Louis and some great discussions, I headed back home. The Sabbatical has been a great time of evaluating many areas of my life, including home life. The rewards have been great thus far as Beth and I have learned some things about ourselves that have helped us grow together even closer. Getting out of the routine of life has brought some things into focus that can easily be missed.

My next race (4th overall) was on Saturday last week, an Olympic distance triathlon in Muncie. It was COLD that morning. I spent most of the pre-race meeting and prep in the Men's bath house, trying to stay warm. Even with a full wetsuit on, it was chilly. The first race of the day was the Sprint Triathlon before they let those of us doing the Olympic triathlon start. During the swim portion they had to pull 7 people from the water due to cold and choppy water. They decided to cut the Olympic swim in half, we swam about 800 meters instead. Once I got in the water, I was very glad it was no longer. I felt pretty good after the swim, although I did not feel my feet until half-way through the run, and this was after over an hour on the bike. I got my best Olympic-distance time, but placed further down in age group for this race. It was a large field and my age group is very competitive.

I headed home for the evening. We went out together as a family to church at Northview, a large church in our town for their Saturday service. We then went to dinner at Chic-fil-a before I headed out of town that evening to head to my Triathlon Camp in Woodstock NY. More about that in my next BLOG. Until then...

Sabbatical #7

I thought I'd give you an update on the Sabbatical so far...

When I last left you, I was headed to Camp Lutherhaven near Ft. Wayne for a few days. The retreat was great. I spent 2 nights in "solitary" if you will. I read my 4 books, and took a few walks as well as a couple of runs. I spent some time on the trainer with my bike. I had the opportunity to go to lunch with Brenda Jank who operates an organization called Run Hard. Rest Well.  Her husband Tim Jank is the Executive Director of Camp Lutherhaven. It was great to spend time with her and find out about what she is doing in the area of Health and Wellness in our church. She asked if I would be interested in being a contributor to the website. If I have something to say, I might. She recommended 2 books that I purchased since then, one on Spiritual Disciplines, and one on the Enneagram personality type indicator. I look forward to diving into both of those soon.

My favorite part of my time at Camp was a walk that I took to explore the property. I wasn't sure what to think about, so I started to pray the Lord's Prayer. I must have said it 20 times on my walk, slowly reflecting on each phrase. Each time I said it, I had different thoughts. It was meaningful. When I returned to my room, I started reading "Walking the Labyrinth" again. The author Travis Scholl then started using the Lord's Prayer in the book as an outline for his prayer meditation. Perhaps my reading of his book took me to the same place in my spiritual journey that God was taking Travis, and we ended up at the same place at the same time. I was taken back a bit by that experience, thankful for the chance to have such an event occur in my life.

After 3 days/ 2 nights at the camp I traveled south to Muncie for the night to race on Saturday at the Indiana Spring Sprint Triathlon at Ball State. I checked in at the race the night before and hung out with the race organizers (American Multi-Sport) for a bit and talked about the Sabbatical. They are both brothers in Christ and I appreciate their vision of athletics and competition. I raced in the rain on Saturday. It was not the best of race conditions, and my bike did not want to stop at the corners. I took the ride very slow, especially at the turns. Despite my caution, I was able to place first in my age group. I then traveled home.

Next installment coming soon. I'll catch you up on my trip to St. Louis, my 4th race, and my trip to Woodstock NY! (That's where I am now)

Sabbatical #6 - It has begun

Day #5 of being on Sabbatical. I have finished 2 races, no injuries, good finishes. I'm pleased and looking forward to more races. I have begun reading 4 books: "Sabbath" by Wayne Muller, "Walking the Labyrinth" by Travis Scholl, "Eat This Book" by Eugene Peterson, and the Bible by the Holy Spirit.

I was given "Sabbath" by Pastor Don Hasse before he passed, it was given to the entire staff at CLC at the time. In the introduction it talks about how those who have gone through near-death experiences often come out on the other side with a new appreciation for life. They take more time to "be in the moment" with others, to rest and be refreshed, and to live intentionally. I find that I sometimes live from event-to-event and miss day-to-day life. This book is great for me right now.

"Walking the Labyrinth" was given to me last year by the author whom I worked with at Camp Arcadia for a week. He and I will also be working together during the second week of family camp this year. I am very much looking forward to spending the week with him. He challenges me to grow deeper in my devotion-life. He makes me aware that God is in our every moment.

"Eat This Book" was a part of my seminary training, and I skimmed it, mostly looking for enough information to pass a class. I set it aside years ago for a time such as this. It opens the door to reading scripture with new eyes, or mouth as it were. The idea is that the bible is more than information or knowledge to be gained, but it is meant to dwell in us and shape us. Its intent is to reveal God's work and his kingdom. It shows us something that no other book can, God himself.

In light of the above, I am reading through scripture that it might simply dwell in me and guide me. I am also reading the bible with an eye toward stewardship. I am seeking to grow and be moved in how we are directed to be stewards of all that God has given us. This of course includes our body.

I ran 8 miles today on the Monon Trail. It is a beautiful day. My Garmin says I need 36 hours of recovery after racing Sunday, spin class yesterday, and running today. I think I will take its advice. I am headed to Camp Lutherhaven for 2 nights starting tomorrow. I can't wait. From there I will spend Friday night in Muncie before the Indiana Sprint Tri on Saturday at Ball State. The race director said that I could invite anyone to join me with a 10% discount code of PASTORMAXTEN. How cool is that?

I'll catch up with you after the race...