About Me

My name is Joe Ely. I’m 52 (as of November 2004), married to my wife of 30+ years, Gretchen and we have three sons, a daughter-in-law and two grandsons..

David is 27, married to Susan and they are the parents of twin sons, Andrew and Nathan. Plus, they are expecting another child in June, 2006. David is a medic in the US Army and just returned in August from a year-long tour in Iraq. We were all thrilled to have him back safely.

Our second son, Nathan, lives in Portland, Oregon. Like his mom, dad and brother, he’s a Purdue graduate. Nathan is an account executive with a temporary help agency in Portland. It is a great match for his skills in communicating and reading people. He’s 25, is thrilled to have a nephew named after him and is enjoying living on the West Coast.

Matt, is 17 and a junior in High School. He’s a deep thinker and a perceptive kid. He is a very good student, active in Debate and considering his college plans.

Gretchen is my best friend and a wonderful woman. She is a remarkably giving and caring person and this shows well beyond our family and into our neighborhood and community. We met while undergrads at Purdue in the early 70s and were friends long before we started dating. That’s a good recipe for a great marriage.

I’ve been doing technical management for most of my career. The most absorbing thing I’ve ever done is to implement a concept called Lean Manufacturing over the past 6 years. It is the best shot we have at preserving good manufacturing jobs in the US and it absorbs much of my time.

My faith is important to me. As a follower of Christ, I seek to have my faith impact the way I deal with my family and work worlds in a positive and helpful way.

The name of this blog, “Run with Perseverance” flows from my faith. This is a phrase from the Bible that says, in full, “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1). This is good advice for life and running illustrates this so well. Thus, I’ll mention how I see my faith interacting with my running and life from time to time in this blog. I hope you find it helpful.

Thanks for reading my blog. I hope it is an encouragement to you.

Persevere

13 Miles, Whadda ya get?

ORN: 13.1 miles, 2:08:22, 9:48 pace

First real long run since the Half Marathon on October 15. Wow, it felt good. Settled into a good pace and just kept rolling. It was another beautiful fall day…started out at 52 degrees, ended at 62, very unusual for this time in November.

Took my usual long route down around the Purdue campus. With the Purdue-Illinois football game kicking off at noon, there was a lot of action there. Plus, I had police to hold traffic as I crossed the streets there…hey, just like a race!

Also concluded today that I’m going to go for 20 miles in the HUFF on December 17. It is a three lap race around a reservoir. Last year I ran one lap. This year, I’m going for two. So, we ramp up the training. 14 miles next Saturday, 16 the week after that, 16 again on 3 Dec, then taper to the race.

Persevere.

Back Home

ORN: 5 miles, comfortable pace
Wednesday 5 miles, 53:20

Spent 3 days on a business trip and am back home for a while. Ran on Wednesday in a state park in the dark at 5:30am. A nice run, but not relaxing, as I didn't know where I was and had to focus on the road, not the run.

Got home this afternoon and snuck in 5 miles before dinner...nice, gorgeous fall day, temp around 46, sunset on crisp blue sky. Saw Venus and Mars as I concluded the run.

Will go for 13 on Saturday and then decide how much I will run at the HUFF.

Persevere.

Priorities

ORN: Over weekend...zero
Monday 5 miles, early evening, easy pace

Spent Fri-Sun in Colorado Springs with my oldest son David, who is just back from Iraq. He's an Army medic and I hadn't seen him since his safe return. Wow, what a wonderful reunion. He's doing well and I'm sure proud of him.

And I didn't run at all. Had some marvelous weather and I stayed inside. Why? Because of the time with David. My time with him was precious and I didn't want to lose it.

Years ago, I heard a wonderful quote from Howard Hendricks who said "If you own anything you cannot give away, you don't own it, it owns you."

Yeah. Which includes running. It was a good exercise for me to "give away" running for the sake of wonderful time with David.

As much as I enjoy running, it can't become an idol, a "little god" that must be daily worshiped. So, it was good to not run. And it was nice to come home and run again.

Persevere.

Windy 5

ORN: 5 miles, medium effort

Very windy this morning, something I don't see here in the summer. 56 degrees, so only needed a LS technical shirt and gloves to be very comfortable. But the wind is a harbinger of the winter weather to come. Running, daily, in dark and cold and wind.

Which is why I find it helpful to have my spring race schedule worked up soon.

Seasons. They are good teachers.

Persevere.

Workin' out the Kinks

ORN: 3 miles, easy

Always interesting to me how the first mile is the hardest mile. Funny feelings as I crank my bod up in the morning. Creeky feelings, twinges, odd pangs.

And the key is always to just take it easy and keep going. These things always work out. By the first mile marker, they are forgotten.

Good lesson there, way beyond running.

Persevere.

Mid-week Hard Run

ORN: 5.0 m total, including 4.66 m @ 8:36/mile

This week a pace run. After a warm up, did 40 minutes at a target pace of 8:40 (on the Forerunner). Beat it slightly.

I want to get my legs used to running quickly, at least once a week. It does help with the total time...at least 8:36 is not completely unknown territory.

Damp but not cold, on this first of November. Dark, though, very dark.

Persevere