332 days till Ironman

Day 1. I am 38 years old..My official home scale starting weight is 287 I did 2.4 miles on my bike at lunch took 15 min. walked another 30 minutes briskly through out the rest of the day. Had to teach tonight, so i will have to make up more of the time this week. Thank you Amber A. for coaching me about time management and help me set goals.. I will post Amber's info latter this week for anyone looking for a trainer.. thankfully she is a good friend and has been willing to guide me to get a good foundation and a plan in place prayerfully we will be finished with that by this week to lay it out.

Day 2. I got up latter then i wanted to, but at 6:45 i still kicked in to do this.. My 2nd oldest son Robert was up already Cheering me on... Go dad you can do it... So i did a little bit more today... i did the 2.4 miles on the bike then I did .8 at a fast walk.... yeah i know run... ha ha.. i started with Jogging but lets just say i felt that maybe my knee caps were going to drop down to my feet... yeah i think i need to do some more tightening of the old muscle mass to keep things where there suppose to be.. with that being said.. the brisk walk is great. my wife is out of town this week so prayerfully the boys will get there work done and we can had down to the city soccer filed and have some fun (cross training) ahh yeahhhh.. it's easier to run if i have a ball to chase. ha ha...

Ok part of my starting this is to be consistent & not give up. The theory I am going on is to slowly build at first instead of rapid... because i do not want to quit. I could go all out, but i think i would be burned out by day 2 and then i would have to recover from doing all that... i think it's a common mistake we all make sometimes.. so my approach to pain is to over come it in small quantities at a time. Consistent gradual pain i can learn to ignore or work past, but sever on set of crippling pain... well that says it all... i don't want to quit I don't think i can say that enough. From what i read it really gets into the mental battle when it gets into the pain. next aspect which is the most important part of my workout with this morning for me was Repentance... i was not able to get into that zone yesterday. Music... ***** ((((Just a by word... Music helps me to move into this from quickly.... today's song of choice... "Look Yourself" from the group Apologetix & the Cd is Apologetix Classics....)))) as country as I am, as a pastor at a Cowboy Church... i love rap maybe it was the arra that i grew up in i don't know.. but it moves me....****** i don't know what it has to do with me or ADD.. but nothing like a great beat to help me focus in... move past the cares of this world.. but it has to be beats with words that really make me focus on what is the most important... and that is the spiritual aspect...

               God started ripping that wide open today, and I promise you Satan was at work to keep me from getting on that bike this morning..... as I started in i just felt terrible for allowing my self to get to a complacent part of my life physically, spiritually, & emotionally God Forgive me for waiting this long to be moved by your spirit, for not setting a goal, for being apathetic to my life, spiritually, physically, for waiting for so long to push my self, to train, and move past being a light weight to moving to being a heavy weight spiritually and physically... it's hard to hold weeping in as you ride or run..
          i don't what it takes for you my friends but what it ever takes move into weeping over the sin that we struggle with.. and as i moved into weeping and asking for forgiveness i moved into an anger.. not a uncontrollable anger but and empowering anger int he midst of prayer. My mind move past my sin and into praying for my friends and recently a family as come to me asking to pray for there house because they felt a spirit was in the house there haunting them.. I went into prayer over that family and that house, and then my mind moved to another aspects of the lives of those who are around me.. I want to encourage all of you who do no know, or who have not experienced prayer in the midst of working out.. i find it even more exhilarating that i can comprehend or explain.. i know it's not the same for everyone, but for me it's moving.

     Two things I felt was affirmation on this journey. one is that i have started. one of our member brought me an article yesterday about a evangelist who has been battling cancer and started running marathons and his journey in doing that. and in this next year we have been praying that maybe God would open a door for one of as a staff to go to India and see the work that we have been supporting as a church, and possible better understand it. low in behold this evangelist on his front page of the his newsletter had just gotten back from India. Since then a friend of my from college that is from India has been in touch with me over the past couple of months. So who know what God might would have in store...

         This is hard for me, because i have just always felt that i just want what God wants me to do, and i have tried to live a life with no dreams, no ambition then to only sever our God with where He would send me, or with what He would want me to do. i don't want my agenda to get in the way with what He desires for my life. so I prayerfully stumble into the time in my life.. invigorated by the challenge, even though it is personal, but it seams that spiritually it has helped me to feel even more alive... maybe it's because i am headed in a direction. I prayerfully seek a balance through this.. I look forward tomorrows prayer time (yes i pray through out the day for people who request, who come into the office, but that is my start of the day prayer time)... Today I could not help but imagine after my time of repentance that had huge angle wings driving me forward.... I know now you get to hear the weird side of Scotty... ha ha but I love all of you... i look forward to living this life to the fullest beside all of you... May we no longer settle for complacency, me wall all work better together for our God, and may our choices impact the world, and leave a foot print for those behind to follow, and my that foot print scream out loud in compassion and love..... "Jesus....... Lovessssssssssss........ youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu" I will live... i will not quit.... I pray your journey has, is, and will be alive and compelling..

From Fat-Man to Ironman!

Today I am 6'2" and I weight 287lbs. Thanks to one of my Best friends (Sam), a little old school rivalry between the two of us, his sister Hannah and her running the Cozumel ironman this weekend..... we have taken off the gloves and thrown down to run a ironman in a year, and if God willing the Cozumel Ironman this time next year. this is where i plan on sharing how God uses this to impact me with this burning desire to do this, and my physical desire to rebel against this. I have some Good friends that will encourage me along the way i am sure, but most of all i have a Great wife who believes in me. I know that an ironman can be consuming, but i am going to strive to balance my work, family life, and preparation for this the best i can while including my family into it as well... I am hyper and a ball of energy and really looking forward to this.. Scotty