The Waiting Game

After taking about a month off of training, you can probably imagine, I'm ready to get back at it. The Ironman is steadily drawing nearer and I'm not making any fitness progress sitting around the house. And right when I think it's about to get better... I start mixing in some quality 20 minute workouts and light strength training... then... I get yet another setback. I started having some strange stomache cramps with body aches and fever after my workouts. I stop working out... again... to make sure it's just a bug and give it time to pass. But it doesn't pass. So, two weeks later, I go to the doctor... again. This time the doctor sends me straight to the emergency room. Four hours later I'm changing into a surgical gown and getting prepped for surgery. Now... two weeks later (minus my appendix) I am about to crawl out of my skin. The doctor says I need to wait yet another couple of weeks before I start working out again. This is going to be brutal... I can't wait to feel the pain of training again.

Isaiah 40:31
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Teach me Lord to wait.

Are You Listening?

What do you do when you hear bad news? Do you dwell on it and let it affect your future? Does it make you want to fight even harder for what you want? What should you do? I think you have to find a healthy balance. You can't let your life and attitude be affected by things you can't control, and yet you must develop the skills of a good listener. History is filled with examples of leaders that pressed on in the face of adversity to accomplish many amazing things. Likewise, there are many examples of people who ignored the voice of reason and forged ahead... straight to their own destruction. This is the same in life and triathlon. God has a purpose for you and allows you to suffer trials so that you can be refined like gold being refined by the fire. His spirit, at the same time, is speaking to you. If you are not inclined to believe that, you might miss a blessing, or worse, plod headstrong into even more suffering. If you stop running the first time you get a stitch in your side, you're going to miss the fitness benefits that are gained when you push through the pain. And if you keep pushing through that strange little twinge in your knee run after run without giving it a rest, you might risk the possibility of not being able to run in the future. You must be able to listen.
I'm struggling right now with exactly that. I've set a goal of ironman texas on may21st. After being hit by that car during a training ride back in June, the doctor has told me to temporarily stop riding my bike and limit my running to a slow-paced 20 mins at a time. We don't exactly know why my hands go numb when I'm riding my bike, and apparently the doctor sees some lingering concussion symptoms even 5 months later. At what point do I decide that the ironman is no longer a realistic goal? I still have 6 1/2 months of training left , and I have already built my base level of fitness to a greater level than ever before. But... If I don't spend a TON of quality time on the bike over the winter, I will be in serious trouble come May. I guess I'll just wait and see... or... I guess I should say... hear.