Monday, September 29, 2008

Soon to come...

Pictures.

of what?

I thought it would be intersting to sort of track the physiological changes my body will go through while training for this epic endurance challenge.

1. I will be posting a picture of myself when I officially start training for the Ironman. Look for it soon.

2. I will post a picture sometime in April...about half way through the training.

3. I will post a picture the day before the race.

4. And I will post a picture after the race.

I might look the same in every picture..haha.

But, maybe we'll be able to notice some changes in my build/muscle structure/body fat %? Who knows! Should be intersting!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Friday, September 19, 2008

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

"All to the greater glory of God."

Have you ever seen Chariots of Fire? There's a line from that movie where Eric Liddell says to his critical sister, "When I run I feel His pleasure." I've always loved that line. I've always loved that truth and have resonated with it.

Endurance sports are more to me than just a physical challenge. Though they are that, and I do love the challenge... pushing my body to the limit. Endurance sports are more to me than just a way to stay fit. Though, they are that, and I do enjoy being fit. Endurance sports are more to me than just a way to eat whatever I want. Though I do enjoy the diet my sport allows.

To me endurance sports are Worship. I truly feel the Lord's pleasure when I'm running, cycling... not so much when I'm swimming, hehe. and I do truly, strive to do all things to the greater glory of God.

Now, honestly, I don't always keep this holy mindset. Sometimes I'm just riding to get the ride in.

And it's sort of illusory. You can say the ride is going to be worship. You can pray that God would be glorified through the race...but it's not really tangible. It's a focus. It's a mindset. I'm not really sure I can explain how I give God glory through my ride or my run. I'm not even sure that when I say I am that I actually am. But I try.

But, yes, the IRONMAN. I pray that this year of training will be a year of worship. I pray that the 10+ hours I spend in the water and on the roads of Louisville would bring God glory.

All to the greater glory of God.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

A little history.

I've been talking about Ironman for years.

I think I laughed the first time my dad suggested Lucas and I should run a marathon...but these things just happen. You train for and run a 5K. Then a 10K doesn't sound so crazy. Suddenly, you've agreed to go on a 12 mile run with some friends and before you know it everyone's talking about a marathon, then you're training for a marathon, then you've registered for a marathon, then you've completed 5 marathons and are currently training for your 6th!

The triathlon progression didn't happen quite so smoothly. I think for a number of reasons. Reason 1: It's expensive! Running shoes. Bicycle. Helmet. Goggles. Exorbitant registration fees.
Reason 2: It's a huge time commitment! Training in the pool. Training for the bike. Training for the run. It just takes up a lot of time and energy.
Reason 3: The Ironman is intimidating! I know how hard it is to ride over 100 miles. I know how hard it is to swim 1 mile, let alone 2.4 miles. and I know how hard it is to run a marathon! Now...do them all consecutively? Are you crazy?

I guess some of my readers (do I have any readers??:) might not know what an Ironman is.

An Ironman is triathlon. It consists of three sports: Swimming, biking, running.

You begin with a 2.4 mile swim.
Then you ride your bicycle for 112 miles.
You finish it up with a 26.2 mile run (a marathon...)

If you can do all of this in 12 hours...that's very respectable.

So I've sorted played around with Triathlons for the last few years. Olympic distance. International distance (Perhaps the triathlon equivalents of 5K and 10K runs)...even getting up to doing a couple 1/2 Ironmans a couple summers ago.

I wouldn't say I ever really caught the Triathlon "bug." I've been quite content to race on my bike team and run a marathon every so often.

However, though, I don't love Triathlon, I do love endurance challenges. I believe that's why I keep returning to the idea of trying to complete an Ironman...it's one of the ultimate endurance challenges.

So here I am. I've talked long enough. I've put it off long enough. It's time to put my body, my mind, my endurance, my strength, my spirit to the test.

I registered for the 2009 Louisville Ironman.

We'll see how it goes.

So this blog is to act as a sort of training journal. I want to keep my friends, family, loved ones, or any passer-by informed on how things are going.

More to come.