Maillot Jaune

Almost one month from the West Georgia 100 bike ride where some friends and I will try to tackle the 66-mile course.  I don’t quite have the 100-miler in me.  To date the most that I have ridden is 50-miles.  I figure that if I push myself in the 66 it will give me a good feel for what the bike portion of a 70.3 will feel like this fall and give me a baseline to establish realistic goals for pacing. 

            I would classify myself as a runner first and foremost, but there is something so freeing about being out on the road bike.  Despite some of the inherent dangers I absolutely love it.  In my office I have a painting of Lance Armstrong called ‘Maillot Jaune’.  Every time I see it I get fired up to go ride thinking every ride is one step closer to my own personal Maillot Jaune, completing at least 51 races over the next however long it takes. 

            I am up to 34-miles in my preparation so slightly behind if I were to follow the traditional no more than 10% increase each week or two.  I know that running, swimming, and biking shape are different, however I am banking on some of the running cardio (along with some motivation of friends) to carry me through.  

I am so thankful for the opportunities and abilities that I have been blessed with to go out and enjoy racing.  As I progress through the upcoming training regiment I will try to update the blog to discuss what went well, what didn’t work, and what I am learning along the way.  The biggest training lesson learned this past weekend is the importance of nutrition.  One would think with my background I would always consider this, but I sure bonked during a training ride this weekend.  I crawled in at a snails pace of 12-13 mph the last 3-4 miles on Saturday.  I plan on consulting with a professional sports nutritionist with a triathlon background to help prepare for upcoming training demands.  If I can afford the session I will try to post useful tips.  

Heroes

            Do you ever hear something that gets you all fired up and excited?  That has been the case for the past two weeks leaving church.  Our current sermon series is entitled “Heroes.”  The past two weeks have included two men who were sold out for living according to the will of God and nothing else: Jonathan and Nehemiah.  These men’s stories are amazing; they especially tug at the heartstrings of guys.  

            Jonathan’s story is like something straight out of Hollywood with scenes that bring to mind Braveheart or Gladiator.  My understanding is that Jonathan is a relatively young man at this point in I Samuel 14; however he takes one of only two swords in the Hebrew army and his armor-bearer to take on an army of giants.  He goes into battle telling the armor-bearer I will go to take on these men.  He was faithful to the burden God had laid on his heart despite not knowing what the outcome would be.  The outcome turns out to be God gave them the strength to go William Wallace (or Maximus) on them.  I encourage you to read the story for full details.

            Nehemiah was a man after God’s heart.  Nehemiah is determined to rebuild the wall to protect Jerusalem (Nehemiah 6:3).  Four times his enemies attempt to lure him into a meeting in which they intend to do him harm.  Each time he is working on finishing the wall and he responds, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.”  Nehemiah had a clear vision of what God wanted him to do in his life.  Anything that contributed to that vision he said, “Yes” and anything that distracted him from his vision he said, “No.”  What amazing discipline and passion. 

            As I am running my race of unknown distance but for sure finish line I hope to find my “battle” and “wall.”  I want to be able to say, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.”