Polka-Dot Jersey Pursuit

The title is a little misleading, but it sounds like there will be some killer hills in Branson, MO waiting on me this fall during the 70.3.  I used to consider myself a respectable climber, however, I currently live in one of the flattest regions in the country!  It also isn't the most convenient to get hill climbing in around here.

I had to drive over an hour to get to Camelback Mountain in Phoenix on Sunday to test out my climbing legs.  There was a nice loop on East Valle Vista Road that had a 2.3-mile loop with about 0.8-miles of climbing.  Only about half of that was "steep" relatively, but required for me to be up out of the saddle.  What I learned is that I need to get my legs back (not all that shocking, but eye opening).  My quads felt the fatigue quicker than they should have.  The steep climbs consisted of a double switch back.  Ordinarily I wouldn't see myself needing to stand up out of the saddle for the first leg before the switch backs began.  I recommend the route because you can easily bounce over to some nice bike-laned roads near Arizona State University.

It looks like my off days are going to have to consist of me driving to Camelback, South Mountain, and north to the Sedona area to get in some long and challenging hill work.  I really miss my hills and mountains back home.  And I really miss my usual riding groups!  You know who you are.

Maybe I have an inner Andy Schleck that I can tap into to conquer some climbing.  "Polka-dot" jersey here I come (I realize that is highly unlikely for me, and I don't think they do that in ironman competitions.  But you get my point.).

Happy Training!  I get my new Specialized Romin Evo Pro black/white saddle on Thursday.  Motivation to work on climbing strength so I don't have to stand.

Movies Say It Best

In my first blog post last year I told you my story and how I wanted this blog to continue to tell the story of how my relationship with Jesus Christ intertwines with my passion for endurance racing.  It hasn't been the easiest for me to express this clearly.  I still haven't quite gotten the hang of this "telling a story" thing.  Thank God for Hollywood and the movie Chariots of Fire!  

I had never actually seen that movie all the way through until I came across it on TV last night.  The movie did exactly what my hope for this blog is.   Now I realize that the main character, Eric Liddell, is a world-class athlete who won Olympic gold, which is on a whole different level from what I do or will ever do.  

That being said, when Eric Liddell says, "I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast.  And when I run I feel His pleasure," this resonated to my core.  When I am able to get in a groove during a training session or during a race I feel that God made me the way I am for that exact moment.  It is hard to describe the exact feeling.  All I can say is that it is a beautiful feeling.  

In an awards ceremony speech Eric Liddell articulates beautifully the parallel of running a physical race and faith in Christ.  He is able to challenge the crowd to do more than just watch a race.  He invites them to take part in it.  Speaking in terms of the journey with Jesus:

         "You came to see a race today. To see someone win. It happened to be me. But I want    you to do more than just watch a race. I want you to take part in it. I want to compare faith to running in a race. It's hard. It requires concentration of will, energy of soul. You experience elation when the winner breaks the tape - especially if you've got a bet on it. But how long does that last? You go home. Maybe you're dinner's burnt. Maybe you haven't got a job. So who am I to say, "Believe, have faith," in the face of life's realities? I would like to give you something more permanent, but I can only point the way. I have no formula for winning the race. Everyone runs in her own way, or his own way. And where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within. Jesus said, "Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you. If with all your hearts, you truly seek me, you shall ever surely find me." If you commit yourself to the love of Christ, then that is how you run a straight race."


Exquisite!  I couldn't say it better and that is why I didn't try.  


Our church back home (http://gracechurchsc.org/) in Greenville, SC recently went through the book of Ruth (http://gracechurchsc.org/resources/grace-teaching/).  What I am learning is that action trumps everything and movement is how God works.  Now the challenge is stepping out and trusting God will meet me as I pursue Him in the world around me.  


Happy training!  

Time to be worried?

I am only in week 2 of my half-ironman training plan and my hip pain from last year has returned!

Extremely unfortunate.  I had been stringing together some of the best runs of my triathlon "career" until this point.  When I get to the 2-mile point in my runs my left hip begins to get sharp pains as my gluteus medius and minimus trigger points flare up.  This causes them to become inhibited and all hip stability goes out the window.

I thought this had resolved since being dry needled a couple of times this winter in addition to my being the most consistent with hip and core strengthening than I have been in nearly 10-years.  Now I need to find a physical therapist in Arizona who can dry needle my hip so I can progress my rehab exercises and re-initiate my running program.

Fortunately, I have been able to continue my cycling and swimming without any ill effects.  Worst case scenario I have to switch my entry from the 70.3 to the aqua-velo (swimming and cycling only).  However, it is still early in the training so I think I will be good to go.  I have always been a pretty good half-marathoner so as long as I feel good a few months prior to the event I think I can make up for the lost time this early in the plan.  At that point in the race the sheer exhaustion should outweigh any pain anyway.

I always knew that I was a runner first and foremost, but this has definitely confirmed that because I do not feel like myself right now.  There is nothing better than getting lost in thought listening to a great sermon or a great song while going out for a long run.  Let's hope that between me and my physical therapist we can get this thing figured out!

Happy training to you.  May it be injury free.  And if not, I feel your pain.

~ Scott

Super Moon Ride

Saturday's "super moon" was amazing!  I wish I would slow down more often to enjoy the scenery around me.  One thing I do tend to notice are full moons.  I have a particular affinity for them ever since I found out my dad used to count how many he experienced from the time he was diagnosed with cancer to the time he passed away.

I woke up at 4 a.m. Sunday morning to begin preparing for a 70-mile bike ride.  I rolled out of the apartment complex around 4:45 a.m.  The moon was still up in the west reflecting so much light that my head lamp was near obsolete.  As I rode south toward the Estrella Mountains the sun began to rise in the east.  The sky was unlike anything I had ever seen before.  There was a perfect line where the light of the new day and the dark of yesterday met in the middle.  Spectacular!  That in addition to the view of mountains 360 degrees around me made for quite the start to a long ride.

It  feels great to have a 70-mile ride under my belt heading into half-ironman training program (which starts tomorrow).  It gives me a sense of starting ahead of the game.  At least for the cycling portion, anyway.  That was the hardest leg of my first half-ironman race.  I am going to have to find some better climbing around here in order to prepare for the Branson bike course.  I consider myself a good climber, but the Branson course is supposed to be pretty brutal from what I have heard.

I think that my work schedule and the soon to be scorching Arizona weather will present an opportunity to encounter many more amazing morning sunrise views.  A nice reward for a non-morning person.  Although as I am approaching 30 I am becoming more and more of one.  Funny how that happens.  If you would have told me that I would enjoy mornings even as early as a year ago I would have thought you were crazy.

Tomorrow should be the start of quite the adventure.  If all goes according to plan in 5-months I should be at the starting line of half-ironman Branson with the confidence of knowing that the hard part is over with and the rewarding part is about to begin.

http://ironmanbranson.com/   check it out!

Where are you going?

Great question, huh?  I believe this is a question my in-laws are thinking all the time when they think about me.  Thanks to some great opportunities for personal and professional growth (and my impulsiveness/being stubborn), my wife, Julie, and I have been pseudo-nomads the past few years!  We will have lived in 4 states (counting South Carolina twice) in the past 3 years.  I think it is all part of the great adventure of life.  

Moving has allowed us to meet some great people along the way and guide us in decision making for where we may want to settle down (at least for a while).  We have been blessed to have a great network of friends and colleagues in Greenville, SC.  In addition to great friends, we are connected to an awesome church (www.gracechurchsc.org) that challenges us to engage and faithfully serve our community.  

Julie and I have been talking a lot about what that looks like for us.  I don't know where that will lead us long-term, but again, just part of the adventure.  In the short-term, God is helping us to recognize some needs in our local and regional communities.  I think we both recognize how serving those around us can help prepare our hearts and vision for serving internationally one day, Lord willing.  One of the good things about moving across country is that it has allowed Julie and I to sit down together more often to have meaningful conversation about how we envision ourselves serving together and what all that may entail.

We are fortunate to have friends that share the same passion to serve those in need as we do.  This is one of the reasons we know Greenville is where we will be going once my fellowship in Surprise, AZ comes to an end.  I think God has placed us along side a great group that shares or same passions and desires for God, community, and endurance racing (this last one may apply more to me than Julie).  Like I expressed in my original blog post, my goal for this blog is to share what I am learning about in my journey with Jesus as well as my race training.  

So where are you going?  

For now, I know we are going to live it up while in AZ, go to Greenville, and then hopefully conquer another 70.3 (checking another state off my list!).  Beyond that, who knows.  I hope that my story continues to be as exciting as it is now.  

I hope that going doesn't sound like I think everyone has to actually go somewhere.  It may mean just doing something.  I think "going" can mean finding opportunities to mix things up locally.  Whether that means finding service opportunities locally or doing something that you always wanted to but have been too scared or busy to start, I challenge you to take a step out of your comfort zone and live this life to its fullest.  

I hope to have some exciting posts in the future to document how God has been faithful and used us to bless those around us beyond what we could ever imagine.  

~ God bless!