Countdown to Triathlon - 285 Days to Race Day (See Installment 8 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The fact is that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can.
Robert Cushing

I need to remember the above, especially when the pool is not as warm as I would like it to be.

I forgot my lap top when we left for Lake Tahoe and couldn't write the blog on my cell phone.  Saturday we went to Amador County then to Lake Tahoe until late last night.  Here's a picture I took from an Amador vineyard.

What a difference a week makes - No Snow to Snow

Last Week

This last Sunday

Last week along the river on the way to Lake Tahoe, the trees still hadn't turned colors.  Saturday night the weather turned very cold and snowed.  On the way home we saw that the trees had finally turned but were covered with snow.  What a beautiful sight.  But, "Mr. I don't stop when driving" wouldn't let me get any pictures.

The bike won't be ready until later today and I will have left for Bible Study in Hughson so I won't be able to start the bike riding until tomorrow.  Roxi was really happy to see us and to resume our walking. 

At the pool:  The lady who manages the pool coached swim teams for many years and said she'd help me to swim the laps and even teach me how to walk faster.  She watched me swim laps and showed me a technique that I had never known before.  I had told her that I swam one summer at Arden Hills Country Club under Sherm Chavoor who coached Olympic star, Mark Spitz.  She asked me if I remembered any of the techniques from then.  Goodness!   I was sixteen.  That was 50 years ago. Besides, he didn't spend time with the likes of me - I was definitely not Olympic material and it was such rough training that I quit at the end of the summer.  I wish my folks would have convinced me to "tough it out".  Anyway, she showed me that the strongest part of the stroke in freestyle is when your arm is in the back position.  At that point, you should "flip" your hand backward to get more propulsion.  I never knew that and so now I am practicing the technique.  It goes along with the idea of the clip less pedals on the bike - getting more distance for the same effort.

Have a great day, Everyone!

The Journey - Installment Eight

By the second week I began to have knee trouble.  We rode out to the cemetery and back bringing our mileage up to about seven miles, round trip.   I had lived in this area for 29 years and never noticed while riding in the car that there is a hill down to the cemetery.  In the car the road seems flat.  Coming back up that hill I thought my heart would explode.  I stated that day that my goal was to ride the hill without being winded. A great goal but I had no idea how long it would take to achieve it.   I was riding on Tuesday and Thursday by myself and Don had been urging me to carry identification and my cell phone when riding alone.  I began being bombarded with people urging me to wear a helmet.  I couldn’t understand what the big deal was about helmets.  Somehow I had ridden a bicycle all of my youthful days without one and had survived unscathed.

            After riding for a month, I really became concerned because my knee hurt under the knee cap most of the time I was riding.  I realized that I was still winded riding up slight hills and that I would need to train more than just with Don.  I made an appointment with my doctor and had my knee x-rayed.  I was told to take an anti-inflammatory medication but told that the x-ray really didn’t show anything particularly wrong other than normal wear and tear.  On Tuesday, August 7^Th, I met Don and Rob at the bridge crossing the irrigation canal at the entrance to the town of Hughson.  We began riding on the canal banks in order to avoid the traffic.  What a magnificent sight we had each morning as we watched the sun rise.  We even were able to see the workers who were picking the fruit in the peach orchards.  We had a most beautiful route through walnut, peach and almond orchards as we wound along the irrigation canal.  The road was rough but quite passable and we began to ride a little farther each day.  One day we would determine that the next time we rode we would ride to the next bridge; then to the next bend in the canal and so forth until our goal was to reach Hickman Road about 7 miles from my home.  We continued each time we rode to go a little farther.  On the days I didn’t ride with Don, I usually rode into Hughson and out the other side of the town keeping along well-traveled roads.  I felt that the irrigation canals were too dangerous for a lone woman to ride. 

            One morning I stopped at a friend Terri’s house and talked with her.  She presented me with an insulated water bottle for my riding.  Some times while riding alone, I would stop by a friend’s house and chat for a time.  I tried to make the experience enjoyable as possible and it also was a way of escape from the bike riding.  Of course, stopping to chat was not helping me to increase my speed and distance and was certainly not part of a rigorous training routine

287 Days to triathlon

We're up at Lake Tahoe and I forgot my lap top. Check back Tuesday. It's snowing like crazy.
Barb

Countdown to Triathlon - 288 Days to Race Day (See Installment 7 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below) 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

...Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, gift, or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home.
   The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.
       - Charles Swindoll



It's raining today and we've not had a cold snap so leaves are falling before they've turned colors.  I did took this photo yesterday but most trees are still green.  People on the east coast get the blessing of all the fall colors. I believe this is a Pistache Tree and one of the few that are giving us the brillian colors right now.

The bike's not ready yet.  It seems that when a bike sits around for eight years, the gears are'nt  quite up to par. Imagine that! They're changing the tire and fixing the brakes,  So, Monday or Tuesday I get to overcome my extreme fear of getting on the bike.  I really don't know why I am so afraid when you think of how many miles I logged training for the bike ride each day.  It definitely has to do with having both my knees replaced and gaining about 50 pounds.  My balance is not the same because of both of those elements.  I'm afraid of falling and breaking my knees, although that probably wouldn't happed because they are tittanium steel.  The surgeon did tell me that I could ski with my new knees if I didn't do the "bumps", moguls.  Fat chance I would do that anyway.  But he did say that if I fell wrong while skiing, I could shatter my leg bones.  Now that sounds like something fun, doesn't it.  So I'll skip skiing (which I never really enjoyed anyway - only skiied to be with the family) and try not to fall off the bike.  But it's scawwy as my granddaughter Madison used to say!




The Journey - Installment Seven

THE POWER BEHIND ME IS GREATER THAN THE TASK AHEAD OF ME!

            One Saturday in July 2001, I happened to stop by Don and Wanda's  home to visit with Wanda.  She was opening her mail at the kitchen counter.  As she opened an envelope from a Christian camp, a small card fell out on the counter.  It read, “The power behind me is greater than the task ahead of me.”   Wanda handed me the card and told me that the saying should be the motto for my ride.  It was necessary many times throughout my training and eventually the actual ride for me to recall this motto in order for me to keep from quitting when the going got tough.

            Wednesday, July 11, 2001,  I met Don at our corner at 6AM.  He rode the two miles from Hughson, our little community, to meet me to begin our ride for the day.   We rode 4.3 miles the first day and I felt that I had really accomplished something great.  We continued to ride every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning about 6 AM.  I began to keep a journal of the trips, where we rode, how long it took and any thing that was noteworthy.  My notation on July 13^th was, “the buns are so sore that every bump matters.”  That problem continued for about three weeks and caused agony whenever we hit bumps.  Some of the problems which we encountered were dogs that chased us and trucks and cars which did not slow down at all.  One morning, a truck drove past us so fast that it blew Don’s cap from his head and caused me to swerve off the road into some stickers.  I discovered that my hands would go to sleep during my rides and I would have to constantly shake them to help relieve the numbness.  We began to gradually increase our distance and occasionally someone from the church would accompany us such as a young man named Rob  or Don’s daughter Julie who was visiting from Los Angeles, or a wonderful, sweet young woman by the name of Neva,

NOTE

Does "The Power Behind Me" contradict what my sweet Daughter-in-law Morena said about the Lord being "before" us.  No!  In Exodus 13:21 (New International Version) the Bible reads, " By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night." But in Exodus 13:19-20, it reads, "Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, ²⁰ coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long."   So you see, the Lord goes in front of us and also has our backs.  What a wonderful comfort that is!!!

Countdown to Triathlon - 290 Days to Race Day (See Installment 6 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

A Thought for the Day

To get something you never had, you have to do somethng you never did.
The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.

In other words, I have to do things I've never done before to accopmplish something I've never done (a triathlon).

It is always interesting to me how God gets my attention.  I have been carrying an index card in my Bible study binder for months which had the above words on it.  I don't know where I got the card and I've seen it many times.  Today, it fell out of the binder and I saw it through new eyes.  Is this training for the triathlon God's will?  In 2001, God actually told me to do the bike ride.  However, this endeavor is the total opposite of the bike ride.  I didn't inquire of Him about this triathlon. He didn't tell me to do it.  My sister and I just decided we would train for it and participate in the race.   I would imagine that He would think it a good idea since our bodies are  be the Temple of the Holy Spirit and I have not been treating my body as such. This training would certainly be a good thing for my body.  But I'm not God, thank God, and I don't read His mind.  Therefore, I am asking Him if I should do this triathlon.  I am now praying that if this is not His will for me, that He would slam the door shut on the opportunity.  For instance: if I broke my legs; my artificial knees popped out of my skin;  if I  got hit by a car; or the triathlon committee emailed me to say there had been a mistake and I am not really registered and there are no places left;  then I would know it isn't His will.  But until I hear otherwise, I will continue on course.  I won't use the excuse either,  that the training is too hard and say that God must not want me to do it then.  I have asked God to forgive me once again in my life, for plowing ahead and then asking.  Will I ever learn?

Don't you just hate it when you think of some really great thing to share with someone; something really inspirational, so magnificient that you just can't believe it.  Then you forget what you were going to say.  What a waste.  In fact, I told several people today to be sure and read the blog today because I had some really great thoughts to share.  You wouldn't believe how wonderful they were and now they're gone out of my mind. I'm really embarassed that I said anything about it this morning until I had committed the ideas to paper or the computer.   These ideas must not have been that great after all or I would surely be able to remember them.  They sure seemed inspirational at the time.  It reminds me of something our Bible Study Fellowship teaching leader, Pam, said this morning. She said that God knew before He even created the universe what his plans were to be and how they would be carried out.  I had to smile when I heard that because I thought, "It's a good thing I'm not God, because I would have made all those plans, then would have forgoten how I was going to carry  them out."   I don't suppose any of you reading this have experienced that phenomina.  Forgetting seems to be occurring more often these days.

rev·e·la·tion    n.

1.

a. The act of revealing or disclosing.

b. Something revealed, especially a dramatic disclosure of something

     not previously known or realized.

2. Theology A manifestation of divine will or truth.

I feel that God has revealed to me by way of Bible study, that perhaps I have been prideful.  We've been studying in Bible Study Fellowship, the Book Isaiah. We have learned that  because of Israel's and Judah's unfaithfulnes to the Lord, He was going to send the King of Assyria to discipline the twelve tribes.  Assyria came and captured Israel and came up against Judah, overtaking the outlying towns  clear up to the gates of Jerusalem.  The King of Assyria was proud and didn't consider that what he had done was due to God's intervention.  He claimed that everything that happened was because of himself, the king.  He pridefully announced that it was his strength, his wisdom, his army, etc.that accomplished the capturing of the tribes of Israel and most of Judah.   The Bible is quite clear that God hates pride and that pride goes before a fall.  There are many other verses which tell of how much God hates pride. Because of his pride and because the king tried to do things that God had not intended him to do, he and his army were destroyed.  My prayer must be that I not let pride creep into my efforts.  I must remember that whatever I do is by the grace of God.  His gives us His  grace.  We don't earn it.  It is unmerimeted or unearned favor from Him.  He gives it to us freely if we'll accept it and His Son Jesus.  It is quite easy and very human that when someone compliments us on our accomplishments that we allow ourselves to be puffed up or as they say, "to get a swelled head".  I must gurad against that at all cost.  I want this triathlon to be a blessing to me and others.  I don't know how God will use this experience or if He will.  But I must be willing to to be used by Him. 

The Journey - Installment Six


LET THE TRAINING BEGIN

            As with most good intentions, I had intended to start training on the newly acquired bicycle from my customer (the girl’s bike), immediately.  By the middle of February of that year I had sixteen months to prepare for the ride.  That seemed like a lot of time to get in shape and I knew that I would need every bit of that time. However, it seemed that there was always something that got in the way of taking the time to train.  Before I knew it, July was upon me and I had less than a year.  That was a very sobering moment when I realized that the time was dwindling away without my having made any effort at all.  I decided that I could not send out letters asking for donations until I had several months of training behind me and had lost some weight.  I was fearful people might worry that I would not complete the task at hand and they would have contributed their hard-earned money for nothing.   Since many of the people from whom I would seek donations were not Christians, the very act of contributing to a ministry unknown to them would be based on their desire to help me reach my goal and I had to demonstrate that I was doing my part.

            The first part of July 2001, my Pastor, the Reverend Don Slaven, asked me with whom I would be riding.  Since we lived out in the country, he felt it wasn’t safe for me to be riding alone.  When I replied that I would have to ridie alone because there was no one to ride with me, he said he would ride with me three or four times a week.  The only problem was that he didn't have a bicycle.  By this time, I had picked up Mike’s bike and had discovered that it was definitely too tall for me, even with the seat lowered.  I called Mike and told him about Don volunteering to ride with me and asked if Don could borrow his bike until he could buy one of his own.  Mike agreed and I gained a riding partner.  How interesting that his bike was a perfect fit for Pastor Don and I had earlier wondered why God had given me two bikes to use.  God had a good reason.  The next day I took the tires in to the bike shop to have heavy-duty tubes replaced on my customer’s bike, purchased an odometer/speedometer and water bottle to prepare to begin riding with Pastor Don the next morning.  I made a practice ride to the corner, which is one-quarter mile, and back home again.  I made that trip twice which totaled one mile – the first mile of the ride.   I wondered how I would ever ride more than two hundred miles when my legs hurt on that short distance.

            Early one morning, several days later while I was waiting at the corner for Don, I was straddling my bike with my feet on the ground, contemplating the bike ride which was now only 10-1/2 months away.  I spoke out loud to the Lord about my inability to comprehend how I could possibly complete such a long ride the following June.  The strangest thing happened.  It was like a movie being played in my head.  I could see myself on a bike.  There were no other riders in view.  This movie even had sound because I could hear my breathing, which was labored, and I could see that I was hot and perspiring.  At that moment, standing astride my bike with my feet on the ground, I was rather cool because it so early in the morning before the sun was even up above the horizon.  I had only ridden a quarter of a mile from my house and I was not hot or perspiring.  I recognized at that moment, that God had generously and graciously given me a preview of the ride to encourage me and show me that I was definitely going to be a part of the National Bike Ride for the Family.

            Having received this confirmation, I was so excited that God would take time to encourage me like that.  But as human beings, we often tend to be quite fickle and have short memories.  Some weeks later I was again discouraged by the fact that I was only riding ten to twelve miles per day.  Don had not been able to ride with me and I was having difficulty pushing myself to do what needed done.  This was the perfect opportunity to allow Satan to slip in unnoticed.  A thought even crept in and I began to ask myself if perhaps I really didn’t hear the Lord tell me to do the ride.  Maybe it was not real but just my imagination.  I quickly dispelled this notion because I knew that I never would have thought about doing this ride myself, not in a million years.  Satan would not have suggested it because all the glory was going to God . I was telling everyone all that God was doing to encourage and help me.   Satan would never wished for God to get the credit.  So the Scriptures came immediately to mind, “Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7) and “Get thee behind me Satan!” (Matthew 16:23; Mark 8:33; Luke 4:8).   I would repeat these two Scriptures many times over the coming months.

Countdown to Triathlon - 291 Days to Race Day (See Installment 5 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

It's so nice to walk in Lodi.  The streets are wide, sidewalks everywhere, huge trees line the streets.  It is amazing how friendly people are when you are walking with a dog.  It does take a little longer, though, because almost every one I pass asks to either pet her or comments on what a beautiful dog.  Of course, Roxi loves all the attention.  One lady today even stopped her car and pulled over to the sidewalk and asked what kind of dog Roxi is.  Then she had to tell me all about her dog.  TOO BAD I DON'T GARNER THAT MUCH ATTENTION WHEN I WALK.

She's tired now after her walk.

A Training Word to the Wise     How do you eat an elephant? (One bite at a time!) 

I must train, one lap at a time; one block of walking at a time; one half mile of biking at at time.

STATS

Triathlon Goal  -Swim .62 mile; bike 17.5 mile; walk/run 3.4 miles

Weight Loss - since 11/1/10 -  4.40 lbs.
Laps -needed 70 (25 yd pool=1 lap) I will train for a mile so that .62 mile seems easy. 
(1 mile= 71 Laps)
Laps on 11/1/10 - 16
Laps on 11/3/10 - 12 (EXCUSE NO. 1 - I swam laps after one hour conditioning instead of  before conditioning as I  did on day 1)
Walk Roxi -  11/1/10 - 1.5 miles, 38 minutes
Walk Roxi -  11/3/10 - 1.1 miles 33 minutes (EXCUSE NO. 2 - didn't leave enough time and have a hair appointment - a gal's got to get her roots done. )  Really sad story, after hurrying my walk and getting to the hair dressers, my appointment was at 9:00 not 1:00 so I missed it and have to do my own darned hair.  I was counting on being beutiful today.  


               
I tried something new today.  Instead of being in the pool at 7 am which is just barely light and cold when I leave, I need to stop being the "all or nothing girl".  I noticed that they have a 9:00 am conditioning and 10:00 lap swim.  That seems more reasonable and I can do Bible Study or walk the dog before I go.  The early time will still be availaable if my schedule calls for that time.  It just occurred to me that it isn't necessary to get out in the cold so early - I'll accomplish the same thing at the later time and I can stay in the house doing whatever I need to do without making myself miserable.  Good choice, huh?

Here's where I swim.  The pool is on the second
floor where the two cernter windows are.  I don't know how the structure can hold up all that weight of a pool, but then I'm not an engineer.  This used to be Bob's high school but they closed it for children/teenagers due to lack of earthquake standards  Now it is a senior center and art's center.  I guess it's okay if old people die in an earthquake.

One of the streets where I walk.  We haven't had a cold snap yet so most the trees are still green.







The Journey - Installment Five

President’s Day that year of 2001 fell on the birthday of our daughter Heather’s husband.  Since I had procrastinated in obtaining a gift, I decided to drive to Modesto, about a 15 minute drive from our little town of Hughson, in the central valley of California.   As I drove into Modesto I complained during the entire trip to the Lord about not having what I needed for the bike ride.  I drove straight to one of the local movie theaters and purchased two theater passes.  A restaurant, which was only a block from the movie theater was my next stop to purchase a gift certificate for dinner for two for Heather and her husband.  While in the car that day, the radio was on and tuned to Good News Radio, a wonderful Christian station out of Merced, CA.   Between the movie theater and the restaurant, in that short amount of time, I heard part of a broadcast, which was discussing a book written by Jim Talley, called Reconcilable Differences. Immediately, my accountant came to mind as he was about to go through a divorce.  I thought that this book might be helpful to him.  I vowed not to forget to call him when I returned home.  After purchasing both sets of tickets, I climbed back into the car and was heading out of the restaurant driveway.  In order to return home I had to turn right.   All of a sudden the thought occurred to me that my accountant’s office was located on that very street only a couple of blocks away, on my way home. As I approached his office, I had the thought that most likely the office would be closed because it was a holiday. But as I approached his building, I discovered that all the employees’ vehicles were in the parking lot.  As I entered the office I commented to the receptionist that they should all be having a holiday and she replied that there is no holiday for them until after tax season is over.  At that very instant, the client that was visiting with my accountant, Mike, walked out of the office and left the building.  I did not have an appointment but as it happened, Mike was now free to see me. A non-believer, reading this story would now just see a series of coincidences.  A believer sees the hand of God.

 He and I discussed the book that I recommended to him and then I began to tell him about the bike ride.  He was very excited, encouraging and congratulatory. I told him that it was possible that I wouldn’t be participating in the ride because I did not have the two hundred dollars for the entry fee nor did I have a bicycle.  I can honestly say that I was not telling him that so that he could offer it to me.  I only mentioned it in passing.   He asked me how tall I am and I replied that I am 5’4”.  He informed me that he had a very good mountain bike just hanging in his garage and that I would be welcome to borrow it.  Even though he is over 6’ tall, he suggested that if we lowered the seat as far as possible, it would probably work for me. I asked him if the bicycle had a bar across it.  He replied jokingly, “No, Barbara! I’m riding a girlie bike!”

My second question was, “Does it have speeds?” He said, “Of course it has speeds!”  I knew in my heart that the bike wouldn’t be the correct height for me, but I thanked him profusely, told him how much I appreciated his offer but added that he hold that thought because I would need to wait until I received the two hundred dollars.  I stood up to leave and as he followed me to the door, he stopped and told me to wait a minute.  He walked over to his briefcase, reached in, pulled out two, one hundred dollar bills and handed them to me.  I was stunned but replied that I couldn’t accept the money.  “Of course you can!” he answered in such a way that I knew that God had provided my entry fee through a kind and generous man.  I thanked him with a very grateful heart and left his office

            My next stop was to see a customer regarding her window treatments.  As we sat and chatted, I told her all about the ride and the need for the two hundred dollar registration fee and a bicycle.  Before I came to the part of the story about having just received these items, she excitedly informed me that she had a mountain bike in her garage and it hadn’t been ridden since before her baby was born and wouldn’t be riding it for some time.  She told me that it was like new and suggested that I use it for my training.  I asked her if it were a “girl’s” bike. To my great excitement, she answered that it was indeed a “girl’s bike”. 

            Within a couple of short hours I went from complaining and whining about not having a bicycle and the registration fee to having the use of two bikes as well as the two hundred dollar entry fee in my purse. How awesome is our God!  But wait!  I only needed one bicycle.  Did God make a mistake?  When I think of the circumstances of that day and how the Lord worked out all of the challenges that were facing me, I stand in wonder and awe.   Some unbelieving people would say that all of the above events were simply coincidence.  But I know for a fact that if I had not been going to Modesto that day and had not been listening to the car radio at just the right minute, I wouldn’t have thought to visit my accountant.  If I had telephoned him from my home about the book I wanted him to read, I would not have thought to tell him about the bike ride.  If his office had been closed because of the holiday and if he had been out of the office or unavailable for a drop-in visitor such as myself, I wouldn’t have mentioned the ride and I wouldn’t have been blessed with the money and bike.   I believe that God had two reasons for giving me two bikes that day.  One reason was probably to show me how silly I was in complaining and not trusting that he would provide.  The other reason will become evident in the next section.  There is an old saying that says, “When God calls a person, He equips them.”  At the time it seemed a little like overkill to get so much at once, but it was also His way of getting my attention.  It was if He were saying, “Look here, don’t you think I can do something as simple as providing a small amount of money and a bicycle when I have created this entire universe from the galaxies to the most minute details on a tiny little baby?  I created the earth and everything in it and I created you!”  It didn’t occur to me until later the significance of all of the circumstances of that day or how God had instrumented that whole series of events that began with my procrastinating in buying the gift for my son-in-law.

Countdown to Triathlon - 292 Days to Race Day (See Installment 4 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

My dear sweet Daughter-in-law, Morena, gave me this encouragement yesterday in the form of a Scripture:
"As God leads the way, you will make it!!!!!!! Keep Him in front of you at all times. You can't do this on your own, but we know who can get you through this. "Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power, help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You." (2 Chr 14:11) King Asa gave this battle to Him. He didn't say, "Lord, don't let "me" fail. I love this verse because it tells of a story of one that knew he couldn't win a battle (King Asa) and acknowledged God to be in the fore front. If He is before ("be for") you, then who can be against you, how can you loose?  So, during your adventure, make sure you are behind Him rather than your own program. He is sure to bless you! Let this be a time to glorify Him!"

A great encouragement for me and something to keep in mind at all times while I train.

Training today -  Lost 3.5 pounds yesterday.  May be all water - but that's okay - I'll take it!

Training was a bust today.  I learned a very important lesson - Make sure that I don't have any appointments in the morning.  I had an appointment at 9:00 which was made before I decided to do this training.  I thought I could make it work but then the day got away from me.  I was letting it stress me to the max and decided that I could walk the dog tonight when I get home from Bible Study but that's not safe.  So I didn't get my exercise in today.  I have to remeber that it's not all or nothing.  Let this be a lesson to me for the future.  Tomorrow it's pool time and a new day.

The Journey - Installment Four

            After I hung up the phone from speaking with my husband,  I was again feeling physically sick about the whole mess I seemed to be in.  At that point, I resigned myself to the fact that I would probably be doing the ride.  It wasn’t until much later that I realized how ashamed I needed to be for my devious actions, which by the way, the Lord subverted, through my husband Bob, for His purposes.  Having agreed to be part of the ride, I said out loud to the Lord, “Okay, I’ll do the ride, but you’ll have to provide the $200 and a bike.”   I then called the bike ride office in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and spoke with Joe Silveria, the bike ride manager.  I asked him how much time I had until I had to send the money so that I wouldn’t lose my place on the team.  He didn’t know for sure and left the line to ask someone.  No one seemed to know the answer to that question, but since the northern California ride was not being held for such a long time, he said that I would have some time to raise the money.  I told him that I was not worried about raising the $3000 donations because I had calculated that if 150 people sent $20 each, then the total could be met.  I felt that this was a reasonable solution to raising the donations.  The two hundred dollars was a different matter because I didn’t feel that I could ask people for help with that part of raising the finances.  Joe told me that if I couldn’t raise the two hundred dollars that I could call back in a couple of weeks and possible he could find a sponsor for me.  I was thrilled that someone might be so generous as to donate that money on my behalf.  After the phone conversation with Joe, and upon reflection, I felt that if it were really the Lord who was requiring me to complete this ride, then the money should come from around my sphere of influence.  I was still not certain in my own mind that all that was happening was part of God’s plan.  If God would have sent me a letter telling me all of this and signed it “God”, perhaps I would have believed it, but then, maybe not. I just felt that I needed more confirmation.  Like  Joshua, who in Judges 6:36-40 felt he needed further confirmation that God was going to be with him,  I too felt that I needed an “in your face” proof of God’s intentions regarding this bike ride.

            I began to tell others about the ride and was astounded at the response.  Everyone was so supportive and told me that they would donate toward the cause.  After about two weeks of spreading the news, I began to question the Lord because I was telling so many people about the ride and yet I still did not have the two hundred dollars or a bicycle.  I told Him that I was going to be really embarrassed when I had to inform everyone that I was not going to be able to participate in the ride.  I actually began whining and complaining about it to God.  Unfortunately, this whining and complaining continued throughout the next year and a half.  I had studied the books of Moses in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) a number of years before and had learned in this study that God is Holy, He expects obedience, and He hates whining, grumbling and complaining. Yet here I was, doing just that!  I am constantly amazed when I reflect about this entire journey, that God was so patient and merciful.  I have often thought how great our God is and if I had been God, I would have at the very least, smacked me along side of the head to get my attention.  How patient though, is our God.

Countdown to Triathlon - 293 Days to Race Day

Goodbye Lake Tahoe.  Hello training.  What a Difference a day makes.  Going from "0"exercise and training to ? And see below, installment 3 of "The Journey". (To see the first installment, click under my picture in the red jacket, on the right and click on "While we're waiting to begin". )

Yesterday I was enjoying the beauty of Lake Tahoe - today I was in the pool.  My first day!  I think that the last time I swam laps was 1964 when Bob and I took a scuba diving course at the YMCA in Sacramento. 



That's what I looked like back then.  Sweet young thing - now I'm a 65 year old grandmother of 10.

293 days seems like a long time, but I'm sure it will be here before I know it. The goal for the race is:

Swim .62 miles; Bike 17.5 miles; Run 3.4 miles

 Here's how the training went on my first day:

 I thought for sure I'd only be able to swim to the other end of the 25 yard pool.  However, I really surprised myself.  I swam up and back (1 lap) to the tune of  8 laps or 200 yards, (.114 miles) .  At the end of each lap I had to rest and at the end of 200 yards my chest was heaving but I did recover quickly.  It took me about 20 minutes.  I stayed for the one hour conditioning class and met a lot of really nice ladies.  I have always thought that the water aerobics classes were a waste of time and that they couldn't really do much good.  Let me tell you - by the time I got out of the pool, my legs were weak and I felt as it my body weighed ten times more than usual.  I felt as if I were walking in slow motion all the way to the showers. 

Now I will begin my daily one half hour walk with Roxi. I plan to walk every day for at least one half hour and eventually do a walk/jog.  Here's Roxi and I on our first day out.  You can see I'm not going out for a beauty contest.  We walked 1.5 miles in 38 minutes.  Not setting the world of sports on fire, but it's a beginning.  If anyone knows how to figure out how fast that is, let me know.  Not very fast - certainly not a 4 minute mile.  But,  I'll improve.

While I'm expending all energy and thoughts to training, the neighbor was having trees trimmed.  We have a huge Privet tree in the back yard and decided this is as good as any to take out the Privet and Plum trees. The tree service said we have the biggest Privet in town.  It is such a pesky and drops leaves and berries all year into our fountain and all over the yard.  Good riddance, I say!

 The Journey - Installment Three

About three weeks later, horror of all horrors, a letter came in the mail from Focus on the Family.  I was expecting that it would say, “Thank you for your application but all places in the northern California ride have been filled.”  When I read the letter it said, “Congratulations!  You have been accepted….”  At first I only read that beginning sentence and I had a sinking, sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.  I then proceeded to read the remainder of the letter. I had heard on the broadcast that January day, that those participating in the ride would raise $3000 for the ministry of Focus on the Family.  One thing stood out in the letter of which I had not been aware was that a two hundred dollar registration fee was required to hold my place.  At that time I felt I couldn’t afford to send the fee to Focus on the Family.  In my mind there was absolutely no way I was emotionally, physically or financially prepared to begin such a ride.  Immediately I began to think of how I was going to get out of this situation.   Since my husband of 35 years (in 2001), had not heard a thing about the ride, I decided to call him at work.  I just knew he would say, “You’re right! We don’t have the money right now and how in the world do you think you are going to do a ride like this?” Then I could say, “Well, sorry Lord, but my husband doesn’t want me to participate in this ride.”  Can anyone even imagine that I would do such a thing – as if God didn’t know even before the thought entered my mind what I was planning to do? 

I called Bob at work and told Him the entire story beginning with hearing the broadcast, God telling me to participate, my submitting the application and that very day receiving the notice of acceptance.  I was so sure of what he would say.   He did begin his comments by saying, “You’re right!  We don’t have the two hundred dollars right now.  But if you embark on this ride, you have to complete it because you will be taking a spot on the team which could have gone to someone else.”  His reaction was totally different than I expected.  I was really stunned because I was counting on him being my way out of this situation.   Bob had recently become a Christian after many of us had prayed for his salvation for eighteen years.  Before his acceptance of Jesus Christ as his Savior, he would have put have told me not to embark on this bike ride. 

(To be continued)