Training and Triumph
With one quick click of a button, I registered online for my first sprint triathlon, a race that involves a 500 yard swim, 13 mile bike ride, and 3.4 mile run. One minute later, I googled, "how to train for a triathlon in eight weeks" and printed out a schedule. Two minutes later, I convinced a friend of mine, Jessica, to do it with me.
So we bought some gear, put on our swimsuits, and loaded up our bikes for one of our very first workouts.
"Swim thirty minutes?!" I exclaimed when I looked at the calendar for that day's training. "That's a long time!" Needless to say, that first week I barely swam five laps without getting out of breath and taking a break.
Now, six weeks later and only 10 days away from race day, I can swim double the traithlon distance without stopping. For the first time last week, I did a mock run of the triathlon, and I was able to complete the entire race in a little over an hour and a half.
We've come a long way in only six weeks! And we are excited and ready for race day.
The race day will certainly be fun, but the process of training has also been thoroughly enjoyable. I work three days a week, and whenever I am not working, I am training.
Some days, I wake up and look outside my window at the beautiful autumn day, and I can't wait to get outside to bike and run. Other days (to be completely honest), I don't feel like training at all. Can't I just take one day off? I ask myself, but then I remember the goal, and I am motivated once again to put my mind and body to work. It takes discipline and perseverance, but there is a lot of joy in working hard, finishing strong, and gaining a sense of accomplishment and victory.
On the days when it is hardest to train, I call Jessica and invite her to work out with me. Just having a buddy at my side makes it easier to go the distance with strength and optimism.
Every day that I train, I think about Paul when he wrote:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. (1 Corinthians 9:24-25)
And then I love 1 Timohty 4:8, which says, "Physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."
Finally, Hebrews 12:1-3 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
All this physical training for my triathlon has taught me several things about spiritual training:
Being a Jesus-follower is like participating in a race that requires daily training and perseverance. The prize is knowing Jesus Christ. The training is daily spiritual disciplines.
There will be days that you don't feel like training. Can't I just take a day off? On those days, reorient your gaze on the prize, Jesus Christ. Fixing your eyes on Him will empower you with strength and motivation to keep going.
With training (or practicing spiritual disciplines) comes incredibly great joy! As you train, you will get stronger and have more fun along the way. Training is never a burden, but always a joy as it brings you closer and closer to the finish line.
Training with a friend is so much better than training alone. In fact, you just can't do it alone. You need the support and encouragement from other believers to pace you, push you, cheer for you, and finish with you.
The parallels are endless. Maybe that's why so many Biblical writers used the racing analogy, and maybe that's why I love this whole sprint triathlon thing. God gives us pleasures in life that point to Him. As I have trained for my traithlon, I have been inspired to train for godliness with the same intensity and dedication. For physical training is only of little value, but spiritual training is of great, weighty worth as it brings us closer to Christ and His kingdom.
So we bought some gear, put on our swimsuits, and loaded up our bikes for one of our very first workouts.
"Swim thirty minutes?!" I exclaimed when I looked at the calendar for that day's training. "That's a long time!" Needless to say, that first week I barely swam five laps without getting out of breath and taking a break.
Now, six weeks later and only 10 days away from race day, I can swim double the traithlon distance without stopping. For the first time last week, I did a mock run of the triathlon, and I was able to complete the entire race in a little over an hour and a half.
We've come a long way in only six weeks! And we are excited and ready for race day.
The race day will certainly be fun, but the process of training has also been thoroughly enjoyable. I work three days a week, and whenever I am not working, I am training.
Some days, I wake up and look outside my window at the beautiful autumn day, and I can't wait to get outside to bike and run. Other days (to be completely honest), I don't feel like training at all. Can't I just take one day off? I ask myself, but then I remember the goal, and I am motivated once again to put my mind and body to work. It takes discipline and perseverance, but there is a lot of joy in working hard, finishing strong, and gaining a sense of accomplishment and victory.
On the days when it is hardest to train, I call Jessica and invite her to work out with me. Just having a buddy at my side makes it easier to go the distance with strength and optimism.
Every day that I train, I think about Paul when he wrote:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. (1 Corinthians 9:24-25)
And then I love 1 Timohty 4:8, which says, "Physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."
Finally, Hebrews 12:1-3 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
All this physical training for my triathlon has taught me several things about spiritual training:
Being a Jesus-follower is like participating in a race that requires daily training and perseverance. The prize is knowing Jesus Christ. The training is daily spiritual disciplines.
There will be days that you don't feel like training. Can't I just take a day off? On those days, reorient your gaze on the prize, Jesus Christ. Fixing your eyes on Him will empower you with strength and motivation to keep going.
With training (or practicing spiritual disciplines) comes incredibly great joy! As you train, you will get stronger and have more fun along the way. Training is never a burden, but always a joy as it brings you closer and closer to the finish line.
Training with a friend is so much better than training alone. In fact, you just can't do it alone. You need the support and encouragement from other believers to pace you, push you, cheer for you, and finish with you.
The parallels are endless. Maybe that's why so many Biblical writers used the racing analogy, and maybe that's why I love this whole sprint triathlon thing. God gives us pleasures in life that point to Him. As I have trained for my traithlon, I have been inspired to train for godliness with the same intensity and dedication. For physical training is only of little value, but spiritual training is of great, weighty worth as it brings us closer to Christ and His kingdom.
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