Third TRI

Its really strange how we only start finding crazy things to keep ourselves occupied when you get to a certain age. Perhaps its a form of denial of the fact that we are all getting older, and a need to prove to ourselves that "we can still do it".

What brought this train of thought on? Well, I did the Osim Triathlon again for the third year running. I took part in the Sprint event again, which is half the Olympic distance event, and I'm quite happy that I had a marked improvement on my time this year. I managed to shave a whole 10 minutes off my time from last year, and so clocked 1 hr 46 minutes. As always, the event was very well organised, with loads of photographers all around, so check out the photos of me here.

Several things I learnt from doing the Tri, which I find are just as applicable in my walk with God:
1. Practice makes perfect. I credit my much improved time to the fact that I was much better prepared for the race this year than last. Because I was much more aware of the way my body would feel during the event(since this was the second time I was doing the sprint), I was much more comfortable and knew what to expect. I was also able to shave precious seconds off each transition (swim-bike and bike-run) because I knew what to anticipate. Likewise in our Christian walk, often we forget that we need to condition our minds to know what to expect when we are faced with tough situations, so that we are able to react appropriately and not be found wanting, especially in times when we need to react quickly and do not have time to ponder.

2. It pays to be all rounded. One of the reasons I love triathlons is because it forces me to make sure that I am equally competent in the three very different disciplines of swimming, cycling and running. I bore easily, so long runs, or solo swims don't challenge me, so tris are perfect for "entertaining" me. And it requires me to be equally good in all three, otherwise the lack of one becomes very telling. I knew someone who was a weak swimmer, but was great in the other two, and for the last two years, he had to be hauled out of the water, because he would always run into difficulties. And naturally, that ruined his race, because he would be so dissappointed that it would affect his timings in the other disciplines. Similarly, I've realised that if one area of my Christian life is weak (for example, personally for me, it is in the area of prayer), it affects my whole walk with God. As a result, I don't experience the Christian life as fully as I could, unless I pay attention to strengthening this area of weakness, so that I live a more balanced Christian life.

3. Cheerleaders are important. I said it last year, and I will say it again, cheerleaders are important and vital. This year, my colleague was supporting her husband who was taking part in the same event, and everytime I passed the grandstand, I would hear her screaming loudly and cheering me on. It gave me an added spring in my step, or made me pedal that much harder. Even more telling was as I came into the last kilometer of the run, after I'd been on the go for 1.5 hours, and I saw Elena sitting by the side of the running track, and as I ran past, she was yelling, "Last km! And bacon wrapped sausages waiting for you when you are done!" My wife certainly knows how to motivate me, and I didn't realise I had it in me to pick up my pace and DASH for the finish line! Needless to say, those sausages were the best I've tasted! Who's your cheerleader in your walk with God, and do they know how to encourage you to keep your eyes on the goal? Find someone, they will make all the difference between finishing and finishing WELL.

4. Last but not least; you are only as good as your last race. I found that the last race has no bearing on the next race ahead. However well you did in the last race, it is over and done with and has no effect on the next race ahead. I will still have to train for the next event (it would be extremely foolish of me to go into another triathlon believing that just because I've done one, I can do it again without training for it), and I will still have to condition my body to meet the challenge. Oftentimes in our Christian life, we believe that we can live on our past "spiritual highs", and we fondly recall the last time God revealed Himself to us in thunder and lightning (even though these events might have been years or decades ago). Yet we forget to condition our minds and spirits to look forward to meeting God regularly, and we believe that just because we have prayed for someone and that prayer was answered, or because we shared Christ with someone and they prayed the sinner's prayer, that we are living holy lives. Don't get me wrong, these things are good and pleasing to God, but at the bottom of it all, are we conditioned to live the best lives we can for God? Are we, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians, running the race so as to get the prize? Or are we too comfortable basking in our past achievements and glories? Are we pressing on to the goal for which we have been called, and living daily for the glory of God?

Will I do it again next year? I probably will, since it seems that training my body for it is also good training for the soul!