Sometimes God makes you swim.

In about 35 hours I will be plunging into the vacuous depths of Lake Erie in an attempt to begin and complete my very first triathlon. It's a sprint triathlon which means that it's shorter than your average, run-of-the-mill triathlon. The swim is 750 meters (1/2 mile), the bike is 20k (12 miles), and the run is 5k (3 miles). I have been loosely preparing for this for the better portion of 3 months.

I began by getting back into a disciplined gym routine. I would go about 4 or 5 times per week working mostly on weight training. I worked some cardiovascular activity into the mix but mostly focused on strength training. Through my workouts I was able to gain about 17 lbs. in this short period of time. I feel a lot stronger and better prepared. The past two weeks I have stayed away from the gym, however. I have spent my workouts either cycling, running, or swimming. The cycling and the running are, by far, the easy part if there is such a thing. The swimming; now that's another thing altogether.

For some reason, I had this idea in my mind that swimming would come naturally to me and that I would excel at it. Boy, was I wrong. Swimming is difficult. Now, I don't mean swimming in the way most people, myself included up to this point, swim. I'm talking about the real deal. Head in the water, even stroking, breathing every third stroke, rhythmic, full legs kicking swimming. The kind of swimming you see when you watch The Olympics. This kind of swimming is difficult to keep up for very long. This kind of swimming requires strength and stamina; two things that I have less of than I originally believed.

The first time I entered the water to practice for the upcoming event was last weekend, less than 6 days ago. I wanted to make sure that I had enough time to train properly. I rented a wetsuit from a local cycling shop for $50 because I was informed that it made the swimming easier. Also, you are supposedly more buoyant in a wetsuit and therefore less likely to encounter "trouble" out in the open water during the race. My advice on wetsuits to anyone interested is this: Don't believe the hype. Moving right along.....There I am in a wetsuit in the middle of a pond in Attica, NY at my wife's family's cottage. It took me several attempts to realize that you have to breathe out while your head is in the water in order to allow oxygen to enter your lungs when your head is out of the water every third stroke. I know, I'm not to quick on the uptake. I suppose I was so focused on the rhythm of it all that I didn't focus on the thing that is supposed to come natural to us humans; breathing. I eventually got past that obstacle only to encounter the next. As it turns out I could only swim the "proper" way for about 25 meters. After about 10 minutes of this exercise in futility I gave up for the night.

Since that fateful day last weekend I have swam three more times. The most recent outing was Wednesday night and I have to say that I did okay. I was able to swim properly for about 100 meters before tiring out. That's definitely a step in the right direction. My only regret is that I started swimming 6 days ago. If I would have started sooner I might be better equipped for this race on Sunday morning.

On a slightly related note, God has really been testing my faith lately. There have been circumstances, mostly buying our first house and anticipating the impending birth of our first child, that have been weighing heavy on my proverbial shoulders. While I am confident that God is blessing us and that our decisions are well within the scope of his will for our life there is still that element of anxiety that accompanies life's significant transitions. The sailing is not always smooth. Sometimes the waves swell and when they do we can express that tendency to wince or even flinch. It's normal.

Driving in my car this afternoon it dawned on me that my training for the triathlon and the challenges of my living are very much alike. When I am swimming or running or biking there are often times when I am physically exhausted and mentally taxed as a result. I just want to stop where I am. I just want the discomfort to cease. I keep going though because I know how good it will feel when I've completed the task strong. I keep going because I know that I have done this before and that I can go just a little bit farther. I keep going because I know that I am going to be alright and that the discomfort is temporary. I keep going because I know that it will make me stronger and more capable for the next physical challenge.

When the stuff of life seems overwhelming and my faith begins to falter I need to keep going. I need to keep going because I know that there is a better life on the other side of the situation. I need to keep going because I know that I have been through challenges before and that I can handle just a little bit more. I need to keep going because I know that the trials of this life are there to build my character and make me more capable for the next. I need to keep going because I know that sometimes God makes you swim, but he never lets you drown.

Weapons of Mass Distraction

Our computer desk is in the family room of our apartment. We did this mostly out of necessity. Apartments aren't known for their palatial square footage now are they? It works out though because Meredith and I like to listen to music. That's right. We like to listen to music and that is how it works out. Well that and the fact that we listen to music almost exclusively through our computer online. All of this matters to you because while I sit hear blogging I am just feet away from that glorious waste of time we affectionately call television. The television inspires me occasionally as I blog away and today happens to be one of those occasions.

Have you ever watched "The Insider"? It's one of those Entertainment Tonight type shows where they report on all the comings and goings of Hollywood's elite. Here are some of the stories tonight: Did JFK Jr. have same sex relations? Will Linda Carter (played Wonder Woman in the 70's) get plastic surgery? Here's a good one. They just showed a picture of Tiger Woods with his wife and newborn daughter. The woman who is the host of the show was describing the picture for us. Mind you, it was on the screen. So as we were looking at a picture of Tiger holding his daughter while his wife kisses the top of their daughter's head the host is telling us that we are looking at a picture of Tiger Woods holding his daughter while his wife kisses the top of her head. Shocking. Brilliant journalism. Shoot me in the face.

Which star baby fascinates you the most? How is Paris Hilton holding up in jail? Is Prince William back together with girlfriend Kate Middleton? I realize that these are the hard hitting issues of our time but I can't help but feel slightly nauseous watching. The truth is that people want to know this stuff. Plain and simple. If there wasn't a demand then you can bet that NBC wouldn't be airing these types of programs. So they're only guilty of one thing; giving us what we want. Why is it then that we want this stuff? On a side note, I just found out that the new Indiana Jones movie is being filmed right now in "a top secret location". Wow.

Where was I? Oh.....Why do we crave connection with the rich and famous? I have some theories but I won't waste time laying them out here. Well, maybe just one. I think it's a lot like entertaining a baby. There isn't a whole lot of substance to what you do early on, is there? You just make cool sounds and maybe wave things in the baby's face to keep it occupied. Maybe a mobile for the crib with colorful, shiny things to stimulate. While this is good for an infant I can't imagine that it would work very well as the child grew both physically and mentally. I believe that we seek out the rich and famous and the products of our American entertainment industry to be stimulated. I mean, a majority of people will admit that they watch tv to distract them from reality from time to time. It can be a nice escape. I just think that it's a chilling indictment on our society when we become so wrapped up in the lives of people that have no purchase on the significance of OUR LIFE. I think we need to break the addiction of wishing we were somebody else and be who we were created to be and be okay with that.

Eat my shorts.

That's me running in the 2007 Buffalo Marathon that took place last Sunday. It's a beautiful view of my toned and trained body. If you look real closely you can see the people I'm passing staring at my prowess in awe while questioning their very existence. Well, at least that's what it looked like to me.

Truth be told, I only ran the first leg of a relay, 6.2 miles. I was pleased with the outcome. I was able to keep about an 8 minute mile pace. My friends Jim, Matt, and Sean ran the other legs. They all did very well in my opinion. Combined, we finished the marathon in 3:39:00 approximately. The winner of the marathon finished in 2:17:00, all by himself. Nasty. Just when I was feeling good about my accomplishment I realize how much of an amateur I really am. Oh well.

I had the privilege of lining up at the starting line for the start of the race. It was a cool experience being surrounded by all the other runners. You could really feel the energy and the anticipation. A lot of training and preparation all culminating at this moment. One guy standing to my left was barefoot. He ran the entire 26.2 miles throughout the city of Buffalo without any shoes on. My friends call me Janet, Miss Jackson if you nasty.

One lady who was lined up in front of me had pen all over her arms. She must have written some motivational messages to herself to reflect on throughout the race. One that I was able to read was "Breathe out negative, Breath in positive". That struck me as a little intense at first. Probably because she was uber serious, obviously, and that level of tenacity frightens at first blush. Most likely, what really happened was that I realized at that moment exactly what I was getting myself into. Thankfully, I only had to run 6.2 miles. Phew.

Well, I feel like I've said enough about my marathon experience. I think I'll just finish up and let you all enjoy the picture some more. Who wears short shorts?.......