Tuesday Twister 20090721

The children are done with swimming lessons.  We have done our one time at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair and got to see Jars of Clay perform.  Last week was Vacation Bible School.  This week looks to be very slow now.  I do have a goal of 400 miles on the bike that I need to get done this week and weekend, but I am at 282 right now, so it should not be an issue.  I just might have to ride in the rain.  I think next month I will set a goal of 400 miles again.

Here is a tough question I find myself wondering about myself sometimes.  Who is watching you?   Do you make different choices, like different language, spend your money
differently, or dress differently when you are around a different crowd?  Do you catch yourself during the act or after?  Or do you make the choice before hand knowing is it wrong?

Quote of the week:

“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”  Neil Armstrong, July 20, 1969

What I like from this last week:

Money Help for Christians shares why “Why Do People Keep Making Bad Money Choices?“.

Looking into a 529 college savings plan?  Frugal Dad would share his advice.

Just having an emergency fund is not enough in some cases.  Have you thought about different problems you could have and how to access your emergency fun if needed?  Let Frugal Dad help in by reading “The Tri-Level Emergency Fund“

How do you view money?  The Weakonomist gives us a “New Word: Egoeconomics“.  He is just full of new words.

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Cheerful Giver

2 Corinthians 9:7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

Me: “God, I am a cheerful giver!  Really I am.  I tithe every week and I put in the offering at special events, in Sunday School, food to the local food pantry, and even give my time to teach and help others.  I do it all with a smile and never regret doing it.”
God: “Yes, but do you give out of faith that My Plan is in motion?  Do you trust me?”
Me: “Yes God, I trust you.  It is John that I cannot trust.  He goes from the bar to the soup kitchen every morning and then back to the bar.  I just requested that what I give does not go to John, because he is wasting it.”
God: “Do you trust me?”

Oh what cheerfulness I have some days.  I put stipulations on what God can and cannot do with my money, my time, my college degree, my body, and my gifts.  I know what is best.  I can see who is wasting time and then at the last minute asking for my help.  If they could just manage time like I do, then they would not have this problem.  I know who works for a living and who just mooches.  I know that person over there does not even try to eat right or exercise.  I know best, becuase I am … wait, am I not making an idol of my own self?  I seem to be focused on My and if I would give to that person who does not live up to my standards, then maybe I am a cheerful selective giver.  I need to find out more about that verse.

2 Corinthians 9:6-15
But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written:


      “ He has dispersed abroad,
      He has given to the poor;
      His righteousness endures forever.”

Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

Again, God asks me, “Do you trust me?”  Do I?  Well, that is a tough question, because I want to and well I also trust myself.  God asks, “Do you trust me?  Is not my grace sufficient?”  Great God, whip out the Grace question again, sorry.  I find that His grace is sufficient and really I need to model that grace to others.  In my past that I cannot trust myself.  I have made mistakes and, well, I guess I am still not perfect.  God is great and knows more than I do, maybe I can trust Him and give without stipulations.  Give freely and trust that God knows what he is doing.

We all still have limited resources, well I do, so I need to decide where to share my money and time.  I can do this through prayer and devotion and not with my eyes or ears.  The gifts, money, and time I have is not mine, but a gift from God.  It is not even the indescribable Gift that matters the most.  That indescribable Gift comes in the form of his Son who has given His life freely to me, even though I continue to fall short of His great glory.

Now I need to work on giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s.

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Tuesday Twister 20090714

This weekend was great.  I got to go camping and did Muncie Endurathon, which is a half-ironman distance race.   Now this week is Vacation Bible School at church and the children have swimming lessons.

Quote of the week

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” -Michael Jordan

What I liked this week

Smithsonian.com had a good write up about the RAGBRAI (Register Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa).  This year will be the 37th year and it is the “longest, largest and oldest touring bike ride in the world.”  8,500 will officially ride across the state of Iowa in 6 days and another 1,500 riders will hitch up with the group for a day.  Here is a link to the RAGBRAI web site for more information.

What do you have for goals?  Do you set goals?  The Simple Dollar has a great article about “Will You Ever Reach Your Goals?“  I feel goals are very important to have in life.  Goals give you guidance towards your purpose.  Once you complete a goal it feels great to check it off.

So you need to check your credit.  It is a good idea to do once a year to make sure nobody is taking your identity and to see if anyone is looking that should not be.  Moolanomy.com has a great write up about “How to Get Free Credit Reports From AnnualCreditReport.com“.

Are you always looking at the Jone’s to see what they have in their driveway or in their back yard?  Are you tempted to use that plastic just to keep up?  FrugalDad to the rescue with “Do You Suffer From Financial Inferiority Complex?“  Should make you grin and maybe squirm a bit.

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2009 Muncie Endurathon

This is my second time doing the Muncie Endurathon with the first being in 2007.  What is an endurathon?  Good question as it comes up as unknown for the spell checker and Wikipedia does not have an article for the word endurathon.  Anyways, the answer is this; it is a 70.3 mile race that would be equivalent to a half ironman if it would be an ironman sanctioned event.  That 70.3 miles breaks down like this, in order:  1.2 mile swim, 56 miles bike, and 13.1 miles run.  Here I will break down how this event went for me this year with some comparisons to 2007.

First of all, my time was 6:32:47, well long of my goal of six hours.  It was my personal best of the two times I have done this, but I know I can do better.  In 2007 my time was 6:33:29, so I am improving.  I think physically I was more ready in 2007, as I had just run a marathon a month before Muncie and weighed about 15 lbs less.  So this sets up my plan for 2010 being the year that I get that six hour mark.

Swim

I was in the fifth wave and started at 7:18 AM.  The view by that time was great, as there were already 4 other waves in the water.  There were about 10% of the participants that did not have wet suits and I was in that 10%.  The swim was changed from years past and you did not finish swimming into the sun which is a huge plus for an already great course.  The swim is in a “U” shape, with about four tenths of a mile out, parallel to shore, and back to shore.

The water was very choppy with the wind making big waves.  Before my start we were all commenting on how many were swimming to the right of the buoys.  This is legal, but then you have to swim back to the yellow turn buoy, so it did not make sense.   Then I found out why, the waves and wind were driving you that way.  The waves were to your left on the way out, pushing you to the right.  I found myself with the drift we were talking about before the race.

At the first turn you start swimming with the wind and waves.  Soon after this turn I started getting passed by some of the people who started two waves back of me or about six minutes.  This was my first major mental battle.  I could not stand seeing this so early in the swim and would have liked to just swim up to the next boat I come to and quit.  I have never had such thoughts during a race and had to fight through these thoughts.

The second turn came quick since I had been swimming with the wind and waves.  The turn down the home stretch and my attitude is improving.  Now that I found myself drifting to the left of the buoys, but knew why and could compensate for it better.  When I finished the swim it was time to run up the transition area and I was battling feelings of just quitting again.  Why did I have these feelings?  I took my time getting dry and clean before putting on my biking gear, to make sure I was comfortable for the long ride ahead.

Bike

The bike was what I have been most worried about.  I have not been riding as much as I had in past years.  Last year by this time I had done a century ride (100 miles), but this year my longest ride two weeks prior to Muncie had been 35 miles.  I did Warsaw Triathlon two weeks prior to Muncie and knew I needed more bike time before Muncie, so I kicked it up a gear at the time I should be tapering.  I got one long ride around 60 miles in eight days before Muncie and then started to taper.  I think my under training weighted heavily on me during my swim and in the first part of my bike.

I also tried something new for the bike.  I have wanted to use one of the Profile Design’s drink bottle for the aerobars.  Figured this would be better than conventional water bottles and I was right in that it was.  I did learn two things about how to use the bottle correctly.  First, do not fill it with Heed as when you hit bumps it will splash out and get your hands and handle bars very sticky.  Second, would be to try the straw before cutting it too short.  I would have been fine not cutting the straw at all, but looking at it and not testing caused it to be too short.

I started the bike out fine and enjoyed the greenway trail for the first about six miles.  Then it is out on highway 35.  There was cross wind at this point and I knew when we turned west we would have a head wind.  I was not wrong either, head wind.  I cranked away.  At this point it was dark far to the west, but overhead it was clear and I started feeling drops of rain that soon stopped.  My back also started hurting as I was cranking away.  Soon after that a woman passed me and told me my toes were too pointed and that will hurt my back, great advise just as I needed it.

Along this stretch an urge to pee got much stronger and I knew there were port-a-potties at the turn around.  I felt much better after visiting the portable restroom.  I was a couple pounds lighter, gave my legs a break, and had a tail wind, the ride was getting better.  Then at about 30 miles it started getting darker and the heavy rain started.  The cool rain felt great and was very welcome.  About a mile later there was a flash of lightning and then sharp thunder.  In my mind I had concern they would start pulling us off the course and cancel the rest of the event.  More lightning and more thunder, but nobody told us to stop and then just rain again.  We turned to go back north.  Now the rain was washing over my face, mixing with my sweat and stinging my eyes.

I finished the bike and was thankful to get off the steed and run.  Once again in the transition area, thoughts of giving up swarming in my thoughts.  Take off my wet stuff and put on different wet stuff.  I had socks in my shoes and covered with a towel, but they were soaked now.  I wrung them out and put them on anyway.

Run

I had a plan for the run; walk every water break and do not try to run 8:30 minute/mile pace.  I started and ran with a guy from Dayton, Ohio until the first water break.  His wife was also running, but he thought she was ahead of him since she was fast on the swim.  Then I found a 50+ year old guy to run with.  He had on an Ironman shirt, so I caught him and asked him if he has done an Ironman.  The answer was yes, four times he did Ironman at Wisconsin.  We walked through the first water break and then talked more for the next mile.  He was from Lansing, Michigan.  Then I had to stop and tie my shoe and never caught up to him again.

After that I chatted with a few people, but never stuck with anyone for too long.  Just after the turn around, I started feeling my legs wanting to quit, but I pressed on.  My walks through the watering station got longer.  Around 9 miles I started walking up some hills.  Then about mile 11, I switched to walking and running whenever I could.  I usually picked a spot to start running and then picked a spot in the distance that I would allow myself to walk again.  My legs just had nothing left, my body was done.

Then I saw the finish line and figured I should run, so I did.  Gave it all I had, a sprint of sort, but really it was an old man run.  I was done, done, DONE!  I walked around, got my finishers plaque and meal ticket, collected my stuff, changed into something dry, and ate.

Conclusion

I was not physically ready for this event.  Next time I need to spend more time training on the bike and more bricks.  A big plus was walking through the water breaks.  I felt like I took in enough food on the bike course, much more than last time, but it should have been more and taking more gels on the run would have helped.  Electrolytes for the run would be a big help, but I need to find a good way to carry them while running.

I should have never had thoughts of giving up.  That has never happened before and I think it was because of the fact that I did not think I was ready.  I like to learn something spiritually from every event I do and claim it for my own life.  The next morning for Sunday School we were looking at Philippians 3-4 and our main theme was pressing on towards the goal.  I cannot look at what I just did and give up on the race.  It is not just swim or just bike, but I need to finish the race and have a good attitude while doing it.

Philippians 3:12-14: Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.  Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

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Tuesday Twister – 20090707

Tuesday Twister (20090707) This is my first weekly round up.

Tomorrow is 07/08/09, not that it means anything, just need to make sure you are aware of that fact.

This weekend I will be participating in the Muncie Endurathon. This is a half-ironman, 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. I did this two years ago and I am looking to improve on my time. Two years ago I thought my run would be my good part, since I just did the Sunburst marathon in June. I did bad on the run as I think I pushed it too hard and also had blisters on my toes from getting water in my shoe. This time I plan on walking the water breaks and finishing in 6 hours. I will be sharing here on how the race went.

Here is my site of the week…
http://www.islandoflogic.com/ – Island of Logic – Just found this today and it is a teammate at work.

Quote of the week by Bono of U2
“You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It’s clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I’m absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that “as you reap, so you will sow” stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff.”
from Bono: Grace over Karma

What I found interesting…

5 lessons from the garden about fruit bearing – Tips on how to walk the long narrow walk.

How to make your own dishwasher detergent – Save money and do it yourself.

Bible and Money – How they fit together – Faith and money are like a good fitting glove.

Asking for a discount, cannot hurt – Would you ever ask for a deal? Why not? We cannot be afraid of “no”, we are not children any more and it is not a bad word.

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2009 Warsaw Optimist Triathlon

Once again this year I partook in the Warsaw Optimist Triathlon. This is a sprint distance triathlon and is great fun. This event is perfect for someone wanting to try a triathlon. This distance are short and there are lots of nice people that are willing to lend advice, tips, and friendship.

The distances, in order they happen, are 400m swim (about 1/4 of a mile), 13.5 mile bike, and a 3.5 mile run. The lake is a bit weedy, but not bad and the water was 82 degrees this year. The bike is a mostly flat with some rolling hills. The run is nice through the trails, quick loop through a neighborhood and back on the trails again.

My goal for this year was to improve my times from last year. I felt I would be better on the swim and run, but knew I did not bike enough this Spring. All my times improved over last year, and last year was the first time the run was 3.5 miles instead of just three. This was my fifth time doing the Warsaw triathlon and in 2005 it was my first triathlon, so I feel it is special to me.

Winona Lake was in warmer than past years for this event. I started in the third wave and had a great swim. I think I could have gone faster if the water was a little cooler. I did pass three guys from the wave before me and that was very exciting. If you never did a triathlon before, you start in waves of swimmers at about five minute intervals usually the younger guys start first. So passing some 20 something year olds that started five minutes before me was good. My time did improve, but only by 24 seconds.

The bike I did not feel I was ready for and was ready to accept a slower time. When you start there is a hill before you get out on the highway. When I get out on the highway I like to start checking my speed and I was doing about 20mph and my cycle-computer was telling me that I was below average. I ignored this until mile three and I was still under and knew something was amiss. I check my average and it was like 80mph. I let this go until about mile six and then reset, so I would have a good reading on the average. The first half of the ride was into the wind, but it was not a strong wind and it was hard to tell which way it was going. I averaged about 19mph on the way out, which is good for me. At the turn around you could feel the wind at your back and I averaged about 21mph to finish the bike. My time was 41:14, a 1:11 improvement over last year.

The run was where I was hoping to get a good improvement. Last year I was cycling more than running because my ankle was hurting. Well, not that my ankle is better, but this year I ran the half marathon at the Sunburst, so I figured my times would be better than last year. I started out and just could not get my legs. About 2 miles in I got passed by a 17 year old kid and then I decided I was going to slow. I remember passing him in the bike, so I had to keep up with him. That worked for me and I started to feel better as we ran, I usually was in front, but could hear him behind me. Then about 2.5 miles in the first woman passed me, but I could not keep up with her (she finished in 1:09:56). Next year my run will be better as it should be. I think the key will be not to play basketball this winter, as I feel this is when my ankle gets messed up. We will see if I can stay off that court.

Last would be my transitions. Both were faster than last year by eight and 16 seconds respectively and I felt I did good in them. I do not feel there will be room for improvement there.

The best part is the people. I get to see so many people on the race and pre/post race that I know and was visit, talk about the race and just have a great time. I am looking forward already to next year where I hope to be faster and that will keep me motivated to stay in shape. In two weeks I have the Muncie Triathlon, half-ironman, and I am in major need of some bike time before then.

Here is some history of past years with this year:

Year	Swim	T1	Bike	T2	Run	Total
2005	12:06	1:52	46:48	0:38	27:16	1:28:40
2006	10:31	1:11	42:09	1:00	23:18	1:18:10
2007	9:37	1:24	42:47	1:24	22:00	1:17:12
2008	9:47	1:15	42:25	1:39	31:41	1:26:45
2009	9:23	1:07	41:14	1:23	30:23	1:23:29

 

Note that 2008 and 2009 have the new 3.5 mile run. 2007 was the first year with my new bike.

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How Deep is Your Love

Everyone has someone they care about in life. Be it your parents, spouse, children, or friend. We should do almost anything to keep them from being hurt or getting in trouble. There are times when this intervention is not welcome, because they might feel like you are destroying their happiness. Your actions are misunderstood even though you do them out of love. Maybe it was your delivery and maybe the person is just in denial of the truth.

Lets start out with the hypothetical examples:

Example 1: Lets say you have a younger brother who starts hanging around the wrong crowd. This gang of thugs is no good and you know it, the community knows it, but your brother is looking for acceptance in all the wrong places. Lets say this gang of people is a cult of sorts and it hurts you deep down inside to know that he is getting in deeper and deeper. You have to confront him to help him and when you do, he pushes you away and accuses you of trying to hurt him. He thinks you hate him and do not care.

Example 2: How about a friend who is spending money faster than you think she should. You know this friend well and she is charging everything under the sun and you know she is not able to pay the bill. When she is shopping she is very happy and when she is not shopping she is very stressed about the credit card bills. This cycle drives her to spend more and more. You know you have to help her, but how? When you try to keep her from shopping, she gets very mad at you and gets very defensive. Why do you hate her?

Example 3: This is my geek example. Take Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars. Think about when he turns to the dark side of the force. Obi-Wan Kenobi is trying to help Anakin and thinks that Anakin has hope of changing his path back to the ways of the Jedi. Obi-Wan risks his own life to try to save him. Anakin hates Obi-Wan for what he is doing, even though Obi-Wan is acting in love for Anakin.

Example 4: This example is from the Bible. Matthew 18: 12-14: “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”

Love can be perceived as hate:

The first three examples above can show how actions done in love can be mistaken for hate from the wrong prospective. The third example is a parable told by Jesus that shows His perfect love for us. As Christians this is a hard line to walk. On one hand we are to love all of God’s creation and on the other how do we do that without coming across as hypocrites? We know we are not perfect, but sometimes we act that way or might be mistaken as to act that way. Jesus gave us a command to share His good news with all the world. As Christians we have a focus on eternal life as being more important than pleasures in this short worldly life.

We cannot save anyone, only Jesus can. We have to find that balance of sharing and not judging. Here are a few tips on how we can share in love:

1. Make sure, as we share, we are doing it with love. Prayer and seeking God’s will is important to do this. Be accountable to other Christians about your actions.
2. Have a personal relationship with those we are wanting to share with. You do not need to talk about Jesus, but to listen to them. Allow them to share and walk with them. Again, you need to make sure you are accountable to another brother in Christ. You might not be called upon to directly share the plan of salvation in Jesus Christ.
3. Be open when someone is ready to seek God. Be ready with answers or be ready to help them find the answers together. Be open to guidance from the Holy Spirit.

The worst thing we can do is to beat someone over the head with a Bible and hope they find salvation during the beating. I think there is a place and a time for public preaching and sharing, but it should not be a personal attack on someone. Remember, it is the sin that we are to hate and the person whom we love. Let God, who wrote the plan of salvation, do the convicting as we are the instruments at His disposal. Maybe the measure of the depth of your love will be how long you will wait for God to answer your prayers in your friend’s life.

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