Ramping Up to 1000 miles

 Come some time this next week I will be breaking 1000 total miles between swimming, cycling, & jogging.  I still but can't help to think about it.. but now also I am drawing closer to entering my first race.  The Freshman Triathlon
Tri-Sition Area It is April 28th. The link is https://www.formstack.com/forms/RedemptionRP-windcrestTri2012

Windcrest Freshman Triathlon - Formstack

www.formstack.com

 

 200meter swim, 10 mile cycling, and 2 mile run...   it's crazy just to think of it....  I am waiting on some information back before I register but as i do i will explain my though process, me registering, and posting that i have finally actually registered for my first race.. my heart is kind of racing as i think about it now.. 

 

   But not as much as my heart races when i think about the things that God is doing in my life.. right now i have the things i do daily to help come along side of our people in prayer & support, our community of Law Enforcement officers God has opened the door for me to build a great friendships with, but also the possibly of Going to India in the Fall.  Possible will be preaching in villages, doing open street preaching & baptisms, and visiting orphanages. In talking with my Pastor friend David it is very exciting to hear the work that God is doing in India.  Even to the point he is calling men & women unto himself via dreams and vision without people having heard the word of God, heard and evangelist or even have been told by a Christian of who Jesus is.. God is calling them to come to follow him, and they are seeking out the church to follow Christ.  It is an amazing story of the work God is doing.. and like Pastor David had shared with me, if God is doing these things around us, how much more should we be willing to join God where he is working in the hearts of people.. Amen... 
         there was a young man who kept having a dream that a man would come and tap on the shoulder to wake him up and as he was waking up he would hear the man say, "Come & Follow me" the young man continued to have these dream for days. until he could stand it no longer. He went to his dad who was in the midst of his Hindu prayers. Afraid that his dad might shun him and disown him, he dared to bother him in the midst of his Prayer time because of this persistent awakening vision he was having.. He said, "dad.. dad... i have had this man coming to me in my dreams, and it is like he is real.. he taps me on the should to wake me up, but as he does, i wake up and find that he is gone, but i hear him saying, "come & follow me".. dad i do not know what to do.. i do not know who this man is.. can you help me dad, who is this man?"  He dad says, "son i know who this man is only because he has started to come to me, and ask me to follow him as well in my dreams to."  "ohhh dad please, you know who he is, tell me.... tell me... tell me who is this man that comes to us."  his dad answers, "son i think it is Jesus the Christ but i do not know him, we should go down to the open baptism down at the market close to the church and listen to what they have to say about him, maybe we can follow him from there."  Those to men came down to where David's church does the open presentation of the gospel and listen to who Jesus was, and immediately, they said, "we want to invite him into our lives, follow him, and be baptized..." wow... then they took the time to share this story with Pastor David what had happen...

          that just gives me chills every time i have the chance to share that with someone.. to Hear our God at work.  I continually pray along side of you, that our God will allow us to be continually apart of his work no matter where we are, no matter where he calls us to go, no matter what lot in life he gives us to have.  prayerfully we will be like those men, "Lord we seek you out to answer your call to follow you, where do we go."  
      have a great night see you at the 1000 mile post... whooooooo!

       triathlon

Week 14: if you look like a whale.....

  the great thing about me being a whale... is that i am starting to swim like one... whoooo
i finally was able to swim up to 2 miles.. 60 laps in the pool in 1hr & 35 min.... ahhh man... that is so exciting.. now i can keep up my swim once a week, i really need to focus back in on my running & cycling.  i have not pushed my self past the 35 mile mark on the bike.. you saw last time i changed out the tires (i went to slicks) for a mountain bike that makes a huge difference.. a 30 min difference in time.. i shaved it off from 3 hours on 35 miles to 2 hours & 30 min for 35 miles...  i really have 50 in the back of my head, i really want to ride that and get it in..  that will be a goal for this next month i think.. to get in a day when i hit 50.. if i can get my speed up more i might can get to where i am doing... ever since i have had the blow out on the pedals i have not gotten in to a consistency again.. and swim days breaks that up too which is kind of crazy...  i am going to try with a friend this week to ride 11-15 miles then run 3-4... and the run will be from a point A to a point B.  so i think that will be fun to do.... i am excited about not running in a circle.. ha ha.. the simple things in life right...
                         Working out is so spiritual... i will not be able to say this enough.  i can not being to tell you how i really enjoy the alone time and prayer time when i ride or swim or run... but i can't begin to tell you how terrible of a mental attack that it is as well.  i forever am getting slammed with just random thoughts of Sin through out my work outs, and i have to some times just focus on one thing about God..  right now i always come back to the four Cherubim who surround the throne.  and they praise God saying, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty who was, and is, and is to come."     some times i have to refocus, or what Paul says, "capture our thoughts" or what i say...." tie them up, and pray they sink to the bottom of the pool".. ha ha...
               hey it's not easy but keep trying...  Don't give up, keep moving forward..  please know that i have not gotten to where i am... i stared with just riding my bike 3 loops a day where i lived.. that was only 2.4 miles then i would walk 2 loops.. but i did that 6 days a week..  yeah i had a sick day, or my pedals were blown out, or i was insane for getting out in the weather that i got out in, or no way am i getting out in that kind of weather.. ha ha..  just..... don't.... quit.....  i may not reach iron man this year.. but maybe next year.. but i will reach it... right????    right!!!!!  catch up with you more soon.. thank you for the comments, the post, the repost, the tweets, and the likes on Facebook. yall are some great friends to have, and prayerfully you know that you are not the only one where you are.. we are in this to-gather.

          Scotty (great red giant)... ha ha 
             

Week 12: Rebellion

My body and mind have struck out against me this past two weeks.. Although greatfully I have made some great strides in my swiming (46 laps in an hour) Everything else has been falling apart.. One of my pedals has blown out, with limited income, I just have to wait to replace it.. Running is free right... My body and mind says sleep is too.. Ha ha...
I want to ride that's help work towards the runni g, but who knows adding the swim element might have actually help my running??? Ha ha wishful thinking..
Weather, and mental capabilities or lack there of over the past week have hampered me.. Prayerfully I can pull out of this anguish..
Crazy flip side!!!!
Spiritually alot of things have come togather.. Have started to pray about traveling to India and had great conversation with a new friend who is the brother of a old friend from college that is a pastor in India.. I had the blessing of talking to Jim via phone today for the first time.. Was awsome.. Had an encouraging word from a friend from church that playfully told me, "keep up the ironman" Thank you for that seriously I quirkily felt good.. No looking for more adds boys just the jest was recived well for sure..
So physical and mental slumps happen and is verry discouraging....
Thank you Father for the spiritual encouragement father.. The hope in continued service for you and along side of your people, forgive me for my stumbles as a man who is weak, is sinful, who is so easly dissuaded.. I am weak father... You ultimately are my drive and my focus of you has been insanely difficult as I battle my flesh Father.. Please Father allow the Holy spirit to continually over take me, wash over me, speak to me, guide me, push me.. Please father help me to be a better sin to you.. One who embraces the hard road ahead, instead of one who hesitates and turns away from it.. Please Father as lame as it sounds I can't even respound to your live verry if you don't help me respond to it.. Please Father help in the name of your son Jesus..... Amen

As always just letting you see I am human, I strugle emensly, and verry often proably get it more wrong then right.. But even with that said.. I can not give up, I can not let go, some how I have to move forward.. Some how.. Some how..
Sorry for grammar it's me, sorry for spelling.... That's me, and for weird words that don't... Ha ha ha that's me writing this from a cell phone...
Don't give up, keep moving forward... We gave to with the help of our God move through these circumstances and try to over come... Yesssss overcome
Sorry it's been so long, and it's so late.. See y'all soon
Scotty

Week 9 & 10 unplanned rest.... it helps sometimes :0)

  Warm up: wow, it has been incredible feeling to get to a point where I can ride a bike 20 miles in 1hr & 45 min.  i know, i know it still slow right,  but i remember when it almost took me 3 hours to ride 20 miles.   I pushed for 40 miles last week but because of my work scheduled i could only hit 34.97... i know i know .03 short of 35.. ha ha. that's what happens when you Mile tracker is in you pants and not mounted on your bike.. so for your newbies out there... the soon you can get it mounted on to you bike, the less time you will have recorder like i have of being short of a goal you were trying to reach.. my mistakes may become your wisdom :)
         Advertise something:... Ha ha Check out Map my Fitness it is a great place to log you work outs, it can sync with you heart rater monitors, smart phones, and you can edit from a Real web site when you get back home to you computer. I really like the app end of it..
      
               Experience: The Past two weeks i have experienced two days of late nights for Good reason, (Having a Foxy wife) spending quality time with the family, but in the process it left me with 2 consecutive weeks of no activity, bummer? actually not really... yes i didn't get any work out it, but when i picked up the Day after those 2 extra days of rest.. i felt incredible and picked up major momentum in my Times in what i did.  but i really had to push my self on that third day, and with the help of my wife sometimes, "as i hit the floor" to get out of Bed and really keep after it. It was easy to think, "what am i doing, should i get up?"  the answer is Yes...  yes get you lazy bum out of that bed an push your self to get dressed, quit draggin you bottom and hurry get some protein in you body and some water and start on time...
      
My Tips: one of the biggest things helping me right now is getting ready the night before.... laying out the clothes, checking my bike my, my shoes, my coat, my heart strap.. checking the weather for the next morning...Getting food & Drink ready.... Ect....  I also encourage you to start taking some time of looking out what morning foods are best for you before you start your work out.. for me peanut-butter & honey... just as is.. i use do at least a table spoon of each mixed to gather really good, and eat it just like that.. mmmmm
      
  Spiritual:  last but not least.. prayer time has been great...  i pray about what i should pray about.. i know it sounds weird right, but how else are you suppose to pray when you want to pray about the things you want God for you to pray about???? you ask him.. so that is what i do...  one of the things for me lately that i have really enjoyed focusing on is God himself.. the 4 angels around the throne.... "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty who was, and is, and is to come"  there is something about saying that phrase out loud.....
         i am  not going to lie to you... i don't start glowing, and i don't sprout wings when i say that.. matter of fact my mind usually can not stay focused for long and i start fighting my sinful thoughts about things that same to race into my head even more so then my ability to take time and just Focus on God... it gets down right  sad some times... how in one minute i be really wanting to worship my Creator of the heavens and earth, and in the next flash be so consumed with thoughts of selfishness, sinfulness, failures...  The War within ourselves continues to rage on right... just know as i continue to battle to through these things in my own life, that your not alone..  we all have things we have to fight against, things we have to try to work through and prayerfully some day overcome.. i know, i know, it seams like we never will be able to but we will, and if for some reason we always struggle with it.. when God calls us home we can rest in peace knowing for sure, God will not allow to pursue us any more.. it will be finished.. and prayerfully our not giving up in the small battles even though we get whipped some times... we will not loose the war..  we know this.. God has show us the end.. he over comes and makes a place for us.. so don't give up, don't give in, and continue to push for another day to fight, to love, to give joy, to give assistance too, to empower, and to change the lives of those who are around us through the mercy & grace that has been so compassionately bestowed upon us the sinners. 
   come on get up, lets not quit, one more Lamp post we can make it, one more mile you can do it, one more mail box before we got to walking, one more lap in the pool, one more person that receives that can find the gift of mercy & forgiveness in you.... in us.. with God's help we can do this.. don't....... give...... up...... come on............................................