A Personal Triathlon

Have you ever heard of the Iron Man competition? That's an event in Hawaii where the participants swim (750 meters), ride a bike (20 kilometers) and run (21 kilometers)? It's one of the most famous Triathlons.

Today I completed each of those same 3 activities but of course not in anything close to those distances. I went to the gym this morning and rode 3 miles on the stationary bike. Then I swam laps in the pool for about 1/2 an hour. When I came home this afternoon I walked my dogs in the cemetery about a mile. I would have gone longer but my legs were starting to hurt.

That's by far the most exercise I've done in a single day since my surgery. I got on the bike with the goal of pedaling as far as it is from my house to my church, 3 miles. The 1/2 hour swim is what I usually do. The walk with the dogs, is usually 2 miles but I cut it short as I said.

Until today I've never understood why people train for long distance running or other endurance events. I could never see the reasoning behind it. I mean why work for months just so you can run 26 miles. Why?

Today when I finished at the gym and realized that if I walked the dogs I would have accomplished my own little triathlon I liked the feeling of going just a bit beyond what I thought I could do. I understood the motivation behind achieving the goal of running a marathon. It's the idea of pushing yourself to see if you can do it. The goal of accomplishing something that seems, at first, beyond your reach or reaching a standard set by someone that seems, initially, impossible to you. It brings to mind one of my favorite songs from the Broadway show, Man of La Mancha. The song is called "The Impossible Dream". It's lyrics are about someone going beyond what they seem to be capable of achieving.

In the New Testament the Apostle Paul refers to the Christian life as running a race for a prize. That race is a marathon not a sprint. Also the book I'm currently reading talks about working out your Christian life to get yourself into the spiritual shape God wants you to be in the same way you work out your body so you can be in good shape. The book calls it spiritual sweat.

The insight I realized today regarding the running of a physical race and setting physical goals needs to be applied to my relationship with Christ as well.

Perhaps I need to set a goal of achieving my first triathlon as a Christian. Maybe that means reading the Bible, Praying, and helping someone in need all in the same day. That maybe the place to start.