The Joy and the Pain

At some point you're gonna have to learn to enjoy the suffering. As these old sayings go, "Nothing worth while is easy... If it were easy everyone would be doing it... What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." The burning in your chest when you try to breath after finishing your very first 5-mile run doesn't mean you dying... It means you're finally living. And the funny thing is, that feeling eventually goes away. And that means you're getting stronger.

This is a concept that every successful triathlete is familiar with as well as every saint who has a rich and rewarding walk with Christ.

The Bible tells us that if we are to be transformed into something pure, righteous, and holy, then we are to be refined with a purifying fire. So... don't look at your life and let fear overwhelm you when you consider your future, don't stress about the things you can't change, and don't check out at the first sign of adversity. Lace up your shoes a bit tighter and listen to the voice of your trainer who promises he's not going to push you past your limits.

So whether in life or in your triathlon training, you should look at the pain as part of the process of becoming an endurance athlete. Like I said, this is not a new concept. Just check out this passage of scripture written thousands of years ago.

The book of James, Chapter 1, verses 2-3. Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

That brings me to this week's training. I finally got an MRI on my neck after being hit by that car back in June. I'm trying to figure out why I keep getting headaches and why my hands keep falling asleep when I ride my bike. After seeing the films, the doctor is referring me to the same neurosurgeon that did my lower back surgery this time last year stating, "near spinal chord contact". I know... kinda makes me nervous. I should be finding out this next week if I got something bad going on in my neck. So... no swimming this week, for obvious reasons. I've run about an hour every day and felt pretty good doing it. By the end of the week my knees were giving me some indication that they wanted a rest, so I took Thursday and Friday off. Today (Saturday) I went on a 4 1/2 hour bike ride and have been trying to shake the tingling feeling out of my hand for the past 4-5 hours, and since then my quads and I aren't on speaking terms... they say they no longer want to be my friends. This Ironman is truly going to be one of the most difficult things I've ever done. OH JOY!!!!!

Finding God in Triathlon

Ok, so I haven't posted in about three weeks. That's not because I haven't been training... or I haven't had anything interesting to write about... because I have. As far as workouts, just copy and paste the weekly routine and swap the weekend bike rides out with long weekend runs and that's basically what I've done for workouts. This past Saturday I ran the ten mile 10 for Texas in 1:23. Pretty happy with that. However, later that day I got sick. I rode the bike for an hour and ran 3 miles the next day to try and shake off the weakness and that pretty much laid me out for the rest of the weekend. So I've taken Monday and Tuesday as rest days, I've eaten a bunch of junk food, and now that I'm feeling better I'm gonna hit the road again today. But that's not why I haven't blogged. Not because I've been sick, and not because I haven't had anything interesting say. Believe me, I've thought about writing about the shin splint that I feel creeping in on my right leg and how I'm going to go about heading it off at the pass and keep it from derailing my training. No, I haven't written... because... I'm questioning the purpose behind the blog. I don't want to write a bunch of words that just a few people read and appreciate. I want to write something that is going to change people's lives. I don't say this to be arrogant. And I don't say this because I think triathlon has the power to change some one's life. If you do not apply yourself to triathlon and are not able to call upon some inner strength to be a success, triathlon will remain another sport or pass time that you used to think was the answer to all your problems. Much like that Solo flex machine or ab-lounger gathering dust in your garage. I don't want to be like Tony Little on his "Gazelle" and make you think that all you have to do is hop on this thing we call triathlon and all your problems will be answered.
I write about triathlon because it's a great way to recognize and have your life changed by the power of God. There is no greater metaphor in the wide world of sports for the idea of the trinity... Father, Son, Holy Spirit... than the triathlon. Three separate entities coexisting as one powerful being. So, If I am to continue writing about triathlon, I will not be writing so you can think that I am something special for attempting to race an Ironman. And I will not be writing so as to mislead you into thinking that this might help you medicate your particular emotional, physical, or spiritual needs. Much like planting a flag on a mountain, it represents a journey. This is my testimony of the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the race that I am training to run victoriously. The opportunity that was made available to me is also available to you. Not just an opportunity to get in shape and do something that a lot of people will never do, but an opportunity to change your life and live for something bigger than yourself, a chance to live your life with purpose... whether you actually run a triathlon or not.