Ironman 70.3 Buffalo City 2011

It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life, something that I will remember for ever. I will write more about my experience and share some more videos and photos once I have gotten my head around it all.

Jailbreak 2010

I completed my last event before Ironman 70.3, it was held in the Cape during December. What a nice event and I felt really good.

It is Ironman next week and what a journey it has been, the problem with triathlon is that it is so addictive because I am already wondering and thinking about my next challenge. I will do a video diary next week which I will post as a legacy for my kids and a reminder to myself for when I get to old to do this anymore!

Choose your counsel wisely...

Whilst out cycling the other morning a couple drove past me, slowed up and asked me for some directions to a particular venue. They had to proceed to the traffic circle and turn left, which is what I told them...only once they were out of sight did I realize that I forgot about another traffic circle which is before the one I told them about. It was at this traffic circle that they turned left (the wrong one), just like I told them to, the road I sent them on was a 4x4 dirt track that the local farmers use, it had been raining and the road was rather "muddy", and they were driving a luxury BMW, not a car made for this type of road! I had to laugh as I cycled past the dirt road. I hope that poor couple found their destination in the end, but it got me thinking.

A good lesson can be learnt here...make sure you go to the right place when looking for advice, make sure your guide knows where he's going. Go to the right source when looking for guidance. Jesus is that source! So often we go to our friends when we want some advice, they mean well (just as I did with that couple), but they are probably sending you in the wrong direction.

When you need help...ask the right person and that person is Jesus!

Pain and Perseverance

  

After about 70km on the bike (in the blazing sun) this morning I started to think about...pain. Pain most certainly is not pleasant and no one likes to be in pain. But what it does is it brings life and everything around you into sharp focus. Pain makes you feel, think, question, doubt...

Pain is also so much more than just a physiological sensation it has emotional, psychological and social implications

I can’t help think about Jesus and the time in his life when he was falsely accused, betrayed, arrested, tortured and nailed to a cross. He knows what it is to experience pain, he was not exempt from it, and even though he did ask the father if this cup could be taken from him...he still embraced it, I think because he knows that pain has value.  The Bible talks a lot about perseverance, for example in the book of Revelation it talks about the fact that those who persevere will inherit the kingdom of God. Pain is one way of testing our Perseverance.

I guess what I am saying is pain...is not all bad. Some Pain is a good thing because it makes the end, the victory, the finish line so much sweeter

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hebrews 12:1  “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (NIV)

94.7...Done

Well, I have finished my first 94.7 cycle race and really enjoyed the experience. My start time was rather late (9:15) and by the time I started the race it was already 35 degrees - so it was very hot. I finished the race in 3h40min and finished 5th out of my start group, which I am relatively happy about. My poor wife had to sit in the sun all day waiting for me to finish, so at least I had one supporter there which was nice. Next is the Jailbreak triathlon to be held down in the Cape in December it will be my last training event before Ironman in January.

94.7

This Sunday is the 94.7 cycle challenge it will be the first time that I do it, it is a 95km cycle race in and around Johannesburg. I am hoping to do it in about 3h30min so let's see how close I can get to my goal. We had our Bible study group last night and I was just once again remind of the truth and the value of the lessons found in the book of James especially when it comes to "the tongue", how important it is to tame the tongue. We can cause so much damage, hurt and ruin our reputation (which takes years to build) by shooting our mouths off. The Bible tells us that wise is the one who holds his tongue! May God give us the wisdom to know what to say, when to say it and how to say it!

The Sheep

I saw something this morning, whilst out on the bike which was such a visible reminder of God’s love for us. I was cycling past a sheep farm and one sheep escaped and was running in and alongside the road, this silly sheep was putting himself and passing motorists in a great deal of danger.  The farmer had stopped and was running around trying to round this one lost sheep up – but this was one stubborn sheep and he (it had to be a boy sheep) was having none of it, running round in circles doing its best to avoid the farmer.

Coming back along the same road I saw that the farmer was still busy trying to get this sheep back to safety, into the fold. 

It was just such a beautiful picture and a reminder that my God will not give up on me, he is persistent and relentless in his love for me – he is committed to my salvation and wellbeing.

“The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” – Luke 19:10 (GN)