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9Aug/100

Time Trial Update

I promised that I would update everyone on how the time trial went. Well the short answer is that it could have gone better. However, it could have gone much, much worse.  My team-mate and I rolled up to the line to find out we had 22 seconds left before we were supposed to start.  I had been watching the clock on my bicycle computer, but evidently it is 4 minutes slow.

We started and ended with a decent time.  Did the 20 kilometer course (that's 12.4 miles for you here in the US) in 30 minutes 50 seconds.  Our goal had been to get under 3o minutes.  Overall it was a fun adventure and definitely something I would like to do again.

Filed under: Sports No Comments
28Jul/101

Injury and Preparation

Lately I have been preparing for a race.  More specifically a time trial.  I have been cycling for about 4 1/2 years and this year I decided that it was time to do a couple races.  My first race was a Triathlon at the end of May, which was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it immensely.  However, since cycling is my strong sport I wanted to do a road race as well.  So I decided that I wanted to enter a time trial and see how well I could do against other cyclists.


Training for a time trial is a little different than training for any other type of bike race.  A time trial is a specified length of road and the racer needs to complete that length in as fast a time as he or she can.  There are individual and team time trials and I will be competing in a team time trial with a good friend of mine.


Well all that training almost came to nothing the other day.  My friend and I were doing laps around the Andrews University Campus, interval training.  On our cool down lap just before we were going to ride home we entered the final roundabout and I was watching to make sure the car on our right realized that we had the right of way.  Before I knew it my wheel got caught in the gap between the cobblestone and the asphalt and my bike slipped out from under me.  My full weight landed on my arm and I went spinning wildly on the ground.  First crash in 4 1/2 years of cycling!


Thankfully, I didn't break any bones or get seriously injured, only a deep gash on my arm and some road rash on my upper thigh.  It definitely could have been much, much worse.  I have been running the events through my head over and over trying to figure out what I could have done different.  I could have made sure I was on the asphalt instead of the cobblestone, I could have slowed down a bit, and I could have just watched where my wheel was going.


However, I realized something.  As Christians we compare our Christian walk to a race, Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:7, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race.  However, many times we forget that to be in a race, one must prepare for the race.  No Olympic champion ever just entered the race unprepared.  There were many hours of practice behind their entry into the race.  And something that goes along with practice is pain and injury.


You see, while we practice, and while we race, we go through trials and tribulations.  These things are to help us understand and do better in the future.  I will never take that roundabout in the same lazy way that I took it that day.  You bet that I will be careful and more assertive in what I am doing.  The same is with the Christian walk.  We make a mistake, we get an injury, we get back up and make sure we don't do it again.


Oh, and my time trial is August 8, I'll let you know how it goes.
Filed under: Modern Christianity, Sports 1 Comment
3Feb/090

Wisdom or No Wisdom?

"Fearing the LORD is the beginning of moral knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." --Proverbs 1:7

As an avid sports fan I watched as much of the 2008 Summer Olympics that I could and I witnessed Michael Phelps attain his 8th gold medal and made history.  It was a glorious day, celebrations abounded in the streets, Michael Phelps was held as a hero in the minds of millions of US citizens.

It was last week that a picture and a story surfaced of Michael Phelps inhaling marijuana from a pipe at a party at the University of South Carolina. 

 He spent the night drinking and partying while during a quiet time of his swimming regimen.

After the picture surfaced Phelps proceeded to apologize for his behavior and promise that he would not make the same mistake again.  Phelps said:

“I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment,” Phelps said. “I’m 23 years old and despite the successes I’ve had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again.”

The New York Times covers the apology here.  This is not the first time Phelps has gotten in trouble.  A few years ago he pleaded guilty to a charge of drunk driving.  

I have not brought this up to say that Michael Phelps will make another mistake.  I bring this up as an example of wisdom.  Phelps definitely has not used good judgment in his choice of friends and associates when it comes to his party habits.  As Christians we are held to a higher standard.  King Solomon, the wisest man who has ever lived on the earth recognized how important it is to "Fear the LORD."  By having a relationship with God, by learning His ways, we learn and gain wisdom.

Phelps showed very little wisdom during this time.  Let's hope that we ourselves will show more wisdom when we are in situations where our reputations as Christians could be compromised.

Filed under: Sports No Comments
   

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