Pop quiz: What's the best beer in the world? (Hint: Look at the picture at the right.)Answer: Well, I do enjoy Singha beer (local Thai beer), but I am not sure if it is the best beer in the world. In my "el cheapo" books, the best beer is always FREE BEER! ;) In this case, free beer at the Bangkok Airport Lounge - one of the few perks of a frequent traveller - enroute home to Singapore before heading to India again tomorrow. Such is the life of the modern day travelling salesman. I hav actually stopped unpacking my bags. :(
Last week was one of those weeks I call an "accidental" recovery week. I am glad that I am not alone - seems Chris just went thru one too. ;) As you can see from the side bar, I finally managed to squeeze in a Swim/Ride brick on Sunday before my flight, so here's to my accidental recovery food of beer and nuts!
On a slightly more serious note... Have you ever had a "Gideon" moment? The account of Gideon is recorded in Judges 6-7. It is a pretty long and detailed account, and it starts with a picture of Gideon quietly (fearfully) trying to thresh grain in the wine press (Judges 6:11). I was told that threshing is usually a noisy affair, done with lot's of noisy activity like beating the grain stocks, tossing the grain/husts into the air (so the wind will blow the husks away), and usually with much celebration as it is done at harvest time. But Gideon was living in a time when the Israelites were hiding in "moutain clefts, caves and strongholds" (Judges 6:2), because the Midianite hordes had descended upon the land "like swarms of locusts", destroying/taking everything (Judges 6:3-6).
Gideon was desperately (sheepishly?) trying to save some of the grain by using the wine press to quietly seperate the grain from the husks. Yet, when the angel of the Lord came to Gideon at the winepress, he called Gideon a "mighty warrior" (Judges 6:12)!
Gideon certainly did not acknowledge that he was a "mighty warrior" - instead he doubted the message from the angel, claiming to be the least of the least (Judges 6:15), and asking for confirmation upon confirmation - including the famous dry/wet fleece miracles (Judges 6:36-40). The rest of the story should be is familiar - the short of it is that Gideon was brought to greater and greater faith in the Lord (and hence greater confidence in his appointment as a mighty warrior) and in the end, his simple, yet tactically brilliance plan enabled his 300 elite troops (Judges 7:2-7) to route the entire Midianite army of 135,000 (Judges 8:10)! Let's pause for a minute and think about this - this means each one of Gideon's elite troops felled 450 enemy swordsmen! Please step aside "Lord of the Rings", this is REAL stuff!I confess to having a "Gideon" moment in my last post. The Midianite hordes was the Singapore Triathlon (Olympic Distance) on 1/2 July, and I was anxious about signing up and being so slow that I will come in after the organisers have packed up and left. :D
Believe me when I say that I am telling myself this as much as I am sharing this with the blogsphere: If you (like me) are having a "Gideon" moment, listen to what God is calling you to. Is he calling you to be a
"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)
That is not to say that I have signed up. ;) But, I am less worried now because I know our Lord is able to give me the strength to complete this. Now if I can only get over the mental block of the sign-up fee. :D
Train safe everyone and God Speed!
13 comments:
Your swim-bike and bike-run bricks seem to indicate that you could complete an Olympic distance triathlon.
You may not be breaking any records, but who cares. I presume you want to participate and experience the fun.
If you're worried about going any faster, do some of those bricks at shorter distances like 20k ride followed by 5k runs at a quicker pace than you plan to do the longer race. Just be sure to regularly ride 40-50k and run 10k+ to maintain your endurance as well. To actually train just for Olympic distance events, I will rarely run the whole 10k off the bike except in the races.
Olympic Distance in Singapore? I have been trying unsuccessfully to find the route online.
What are they going to do? Cycle 250 times up and down East Coast Park?
war? you gotta relax man! inject some fun into your training.
Ahh, I don't miss life on the road, but I miss traveling with all the little perks that were given to those frequent travelers. No more first class upgrades for me =(
You'll do just fine in your Oly Tri. We are all given talents to succeed. We are told to go out and use them. Just remember to keep "dancing" with Him.
Good luck!! Great post.
sign up! sign up! I've started signing up for all the races I want to do b/c I'm terrified of not getting a slot!
I love accidental recovery weeks. That's why I don't budget them in; I'll know I'll take an unexpected one. Is that so bad?
The best beer in the world is an ice cold one right after a long hard ride/run.
There is almost no better motivator in the world than money spent on a registration fee. Those races that concern me are the ones I either decide against immediately, or sign up early.
And until you're racing for prize money, the only one to really please is yourself. And we all know there is a greater prize than any cash purse. Run to win that prize.
Ohhhh the mental block of the sign up fee that I know so well. I just overcame one yesterday!
Great picture of the kid ...hilarious! Where'd he get those sandals I gotta get some.
Recovery weeks just happen like that sometimes, I guess. :)
All this LSD stuff is some great time for long talks with the Man, I've found. As always, thanks for sharing a more spiritual perspective.
The best beer is always free beer??? Come on... let's raise the bar just a little bit..we're worth it! ;)
We are wll warriors... everyday we walk out our doors with a shield of grace and a sword of faith.
travel safely!
I wonder if the key to Gideon's success was that once he accepted the Lord's plan for him, he never questioned, he just pressed forward in obedience. I mean the whole jar, torch, scream strategy...it's in the same realm as you want me to bike how far? Just keep moving through it one step at a time-your faith will grow as you move along-as far as the money goes, your Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills, if this is His will, he'll provide what you need to accomplish it-even if it means fishing for a couple of coins to pay a tax.
Not sure that anyone comes back but can't seem to email reply to some of the comments so here goes...
TriFrog, u're right of course. Aim is to complete. :) Will try the shorter bricks.
Tryathelete, that's cruel! :P Actually there is some truth in what you said - last year it was 4 loops! ;)
qcmier, 1st class?!?! We are talking about cattle class here, bro! :(
DGC, thanks!
rachel, you are probably right. Nuthing wrong with accidental recovery week for us amateurs.
(Hope you don't mind me adding you into my blog roll.)
Dawn, betta yet if it is free. ;)
ironpol, well said and thanks for the reminder!
sean, those are "Bangkok roadsie specials" - USD$1.50 per pair. I have FOUR of em. Shows u how cheap I am. :D
Chris, yup LSDs are a great time for reflection and prayer. My problem is that after the 1/2 way point, my prayers turn into "Lord, please help me to complete this run.." :)
Susan, we are SO in sync! ;)
Deb, thanks for the reminder & encouragement!
(Hope you don't mind me adding you into my blog roll.)
Tri-Mama, as usual your wisdom totally blows me away! WELL SAID!
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