Before The Rooster Crows

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Coco

One of the more interesting sights we saw on our vacation in Germany was churches with rooster weather vanes where we expected a cross to be:

One local tour guide told us that the roosters signified Protestant churches while crosses signified Catholic churches (and a Google search seems to back up that bit of lore), but another local tour guide told us that both Protestant and Catholic churches have roosters or crosses.

But why would a church have a farm animal on its steeple? All of the tour guides agreed that the rooster stemmed from the Gospel story of Peter’s betrayal of Jesus on the eve of the Crucifixion. As set forth in Matthew 26: 34-35, 69-75

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered [to Peter], “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”
But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.

***

Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.
But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”
After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away.”
Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

One tour guide explained that the rooster was a reminder to stand firm in your faith–and not change like the weather or deny your faith like Peter did.

This whole concept is very interesting to me, and I’d like to learn more about this tradition and its meaning.

I wonder what it is like to worship in a place where the symbol on the steeple harkens back to a story of betrayal and shame. Is it a constant reminder of our human shortcomings? Does it steele worshipers to be stronger than Peter? Do I really think that I would have been more faithful than one of the chosen Apostles?

Have you seen a church with a rooster on the steeple?

What do you know about this tradition?

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Easing Back Into Running

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Coco

I was in such a groove with my running before my vacation. While I was ready for that planned week off, I wasn’t ready for the extra time off forced by my ITB flare-up and ingrown toenail procedure. Now that both of those injuries are resolving, I need to figure out how to ease back into my running program and get ready for the Army 10 Miler without doing too much too soon again.

This week I started off with an easy 3 miles on the treadmill.  I hedged my bets by warming up on the elliptical for a few minutes before I warmed up by walking on the treadmill.  Then I ran for 1 mile at 5.7 mph, 1 mile at 6.0 mph, and 1 mile at 6.3 mph.  I walked for 5 minutes to cool down, and took plenty of time to stretch and use the foam roller.

On Tuesday I was back to my elliptical and weights routine, which I mixed up a bit to include some burpees, mountain climbers, and jumping jacks, based on last Saturday’s kick-ass workout.

On Wednesday I went for a 4 mile “test run” outside. My injuries didn’t bother me, but my legs felt heavy and my average pace was about 10 min/mile. I decided the burpees were too much and dropped them from my weight routine on Thursday, although I kept the mountain climbers and jumping jacks.

On Friday I went for another 4 mile run outside. My legs felt better and my average pace was back to “normal” at about 9:35 min/mile.

I planned a 6 mile run for Saturday, but wasn’t sure if I would run outside or on the treadmill. Running outside meant doing the same loop that caused my ITB issue two weeks ago, but I decided that I couldn’t let that fear build and intimidate me.  Plus, it’s a good training course with a mix of flat sections and hills. So, I headed out for that loop, but decided on a slightly different route that ended up being 7 miles.

With hurricane Irene making her way up the east coast, it was very humid and the run never felt easy. Although my recent ITB injury (along the outside of my left knee) was fine, my chronic, nagging ITB issue (along the outside of my left thigh) made its presence known. I decided during my run that I’ve GOT to get that fixed or the Army 10 Miler will be in jeopardy.  I spent lots of time stretching and foam rolling, and am going to look into getting a sports massage this week. (Thanks, Carly, for the tip!)

I hope to resume my usual running routine this week, with 4-ish miles Tuesday and Thursday and 8 miles on Saturday. If all goes well with those runs, I will start planning speed and hill workouts to get ready for the Army 10 Miler on October 9.

How do you get back to your training program after an injury?

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My Husband’s Favorite Banana Bread

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Coco

A Healthy Banana Bread Recipe

Bananas are a staple in our house, but we don’t always eat them all before they get overripe. When one or two bananas are past their prime, I peel, slice and freeze them for use in smoothies or “banana soft serve,” but when I’ve got three or more past their prime, I make banana bread. Over the years I’ve developed a healthy banana bread recipe that my husband really likes–he just needs to learn that the “serving size” is not one mini-loaf!

My Husband's Favorite Banana Bread

So, what makes this a healthy banana bread recipe? It uses unsweetened applesauce instead of butter or oil, and half of the flour is whole wheat flour. Continue reading →

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Shaking Things Up

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Coco

By now you’ve all heard of the 5.8 (or 5.9?) earthquake that hit central Virginia yesterday, sending shock waves up the east coast. I know you Californians are mocking us, but it was my first earthquake experience and I found it quite disconcerting!

I was working at my desk when it hit. At first we all thought the vibration was due to heavy equipment from nearby construction, but as the building kept shaking we headed for the stairwell. It stopped by the time we got there, so we stopped and asked each other what was going on.  (No thanks to my colleagues from California who said it didn’t feel like an earthquake!) We went back to our offices only to be evacuated a few minutes later.

Once I got outside, I was able to reach my son and my mom via text message and confirmed that they were fine. A few minutes later my husband emailed me that he and my Dad’s wife were fine. Phew!

I had a follow-up podiatrist appointment, so as soon as we were allowed back in the building I walked down into the parking garage, got in my car, and fought the early rush hour traffic to get home.

My son made it home first, and said that cabinet doors were open and some things had fallen over. Here’s what my bathroom looked like:

My husband inspected the house as best as he could, and didn’t detect any damage. We did lose a few picture frames that crashed off the wall, but nothing that can’t be fixed, except for this little car.

(That’s its rear windshield up near the top right corner)

I’m sad to hear that the Washington National Cathedral didn’t fare so well (there was damage to three of the four pinnacles), especially after my recent vacation–visiting so many much older churches in Germany has renewed my appreciation for historic architectural landmarks.

Have you ever experienced an earthquake?

If you felt yesterday’s quake, how far away were you from the epicenter?

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Travel Tip: Checking Luggage

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Coco

Most of my business trips are only for a few days, so I usually can squeeze enough gym clothes (always the first thing to go in!) and work outfits into a carry-on suitcase. That saves me time and money–both of which are in short supply these days! When we travel as a family, though, we usually check bags, especially if my 20 year-old clothes horse daughter is with us. On our recent vacation, I learned an important lesson about checking bags:

When you check in as a family, make sure that the agent tags each person’s bag with their own ticket.

That way, when your 20 year-old daughter decides–after checking in, going through security, and buying some magazines for the flight–that the prospect of spending the next 8 days on a boat with her parents is simply unbearable, and announces–through very convincing tears–that she just can’t go, it will be easy for the baggage crew to locate and unload the correct suitcase.

Otherwise, when all you can do is present four claim tickets to the gate agent and explain that hers is the smaller blue bag–not the nearly identical but slightly larger bag from a matched set that your husband used–and give them permission to open the bag and verify that it is full of “girl things”–you will be at the mercy of a non-English speaking baggage handler receiving the information second-hand through a walkie-talkie, and will have to say a prayer and keep your fingers crossed that they unload the correct bag.

(Which they did. Thank you KLM for your very calm, professional response to our very emotional situation.)

*This post crosses the line I usually draw against writing about my kids, but this story just had to be told, especially since I am (almost) “laughing about this later.” If you know my daughter, you are hereby sworn to secrecy and not permitted to breathe a word about this in her presence!

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