Lent Day 38 (Weekend)

Exercise:  None (Weather).

Verse: 

Romans 6:15-23
New International Version (NIV)

Slaves to Righteousness
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thoughts:  This weekend weather wise is about as bad of a weekend as I've had to deal with this year from an exercise perspective.  Cold is an issue;  Wet is an issue.  Cold and Wet are just plain yuck for dealing with the bike.  From a family perspective it wasn't a lost cause, though.  We were able to get a bunch of stuff sorted out in the garage;  we played some Rock Band; we got some rest and family time.  I really struggle with keeping balance in all things together, and I've been training hard right now.  Mitchell is less than 2 months away, and I need to be ready both mentally and physically.  I was looking forward to a really long training ride this weekend to flesh out my fueling strategy.  I knew I need to keep up the miles to be prepared.  The issue is that pushing too hard will also lead to overtraining and burning out, and I really don't want to hit a wall.  The mountain is calling, I know the challenge is there.  I look forward to overcoming it, enjoying the adventure and the call.  God has more challenges in store for me, and more triumphs to enjoy, but the goal isn't to rush through just to face the next.  We're creatures of time, while we are in our mortal bodies.  We are to enjoy the time, and seek to further our walk with Him in all that we do.  Even in a wet, cold weekend where we clean the garage and play Rock Band.   

Lent Day 37 (Friday)

Exercise:  Rest (Planned/weather).  Tommorrow was supposed to be a long training ride, but the weather has not been such that it's feasible.  High in the 40's and a 50% chance of rain isn't good for playing around in the mountains on a road bike.  Hopefully next weekend will be better and they'll get the ride in.  

Verse:

Psalm 90:4
New International Version (NIV)
4 A thousand years in your sight
    are like a day that has just gone by,
    or like a watch in the night.

Thoughts:  Patience is not a virtue that I have an abundance of.  Earlier this week I made mention that I know the wheels that I have planned to get for my bike, but right now I'm having to wait on getting them because the higher spoke count (for a Clydesdale like myself) are out of stock currently.  It's not a huge issue, and in some ways it's actually better that I wait.  There is nothing negative, in general, with me waiting until they are in stock at this point.  My first big event of the year is the Assault on the Carolinas, which isn't until April 13th.  My current wheels are still okay (they aren't broken), so I can ride on them for as long as I need to in order for the new ones to come in.  That said, once I make up my mind on something it's difficult for me to not get anxious to just get it over with.  I had my eyes on these wheels late last year, and told myself that I'd have to wait until at least the first part of April to get them because of the budget.  I rationalized using the OEM wheels I have now during the off season would help me be stronger for the events.  


In a very similar light, I'm dealing with the training ride being canceled.  I had made plans for the weekend, figured out the fueling strategy I wanted to try, got the food, and was mentally and physically prepared for the work to be done.  My wife and I had even talked about her bringing the girls up to Landrum for the day while I ride, then spending the rest of the day together.  It would have been a family trip, and something that I think everyone would have enjoyed.  All of the sudden, we have to wait a week to see if we can do the event.  I'm having to tell myself to be patient, and by the ride being pushed a week there's a chance I can use this training ride as a proof out of the new wheels on a long ride prior to the AOTC next month.  That doesn't help that once I've set a course I'm ready to go quickly.

So while I'm  I'm excited to check these new wheels out, and to find out for myself what the real differences in using them, and I'm ready to be going out for a training ride, I need to be patient.  I will be ready for the events, and I will get the new wheels.  It may not always follow the schedule that I set up in my own mind, but it will work out.  

Lent Day 36 (Thursday)

Exercise: Rest (planned).  With a proposed 75 mile training ride on Saturday, I have planned to take today and Friday off in preparation.  The weather is looking iffy at best for the ride Saturday which may mean a less than optimal ride total for the week, though.

Verse:

Psalm 139:13-15
New King James Version (NKJV)
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;[a]
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

Thoughts:  With another big training ride coming up, my thoughts are definitely on that. The big challenge that I have in front of me is dealing with fueling needs.  I have done several ~60 mile rides, and a few 70+ mile rides.  How I fuel my body for these definitely determines the outcome.  If you wanted to take the metaphor into the realm of cars it's knowing how much fuel to add when to keep the engine running for 5+ hours.  Unfortunately, that's where the metaphor stops being relevant.  Our bodies are so much more wonderfully made than any engine crafted by man.  The type of fuel, and how our bodies digest it and deliver it to the muscles, is so complex.  Just looking at the specialty food line at any sports store is a great indication of the confusion:  I was at REI last night, and they have a huge lineup of all different types of gels, gummies, tablets and powders to help fuel you on an endurance event.  There are enough different types of bars with all sorts of ingredients, and that's not even taking into account natural foods like bananas and raisins.  

There are times that I wish that there was a simple formula for how to fuel my body so I could stay lean and have the nutrition that I need without all of the variables.  It's extremely challenging to figure out how much of what to eat of this type of macronutrient  .  My overly controlling OCD side wants to figure it all out and have a plan, knowing that if I plan it out ahead of time that I don't have to think so hard about it when it's time to eat.  The problem is that the planning can be daunting, and there are times when you just want to go out and have a big juicy cheeseburger, or a plate of wings (even when you know it's totally off your nutritional plan).  There in comes the kicker with any simple plan for a complex solution.  While keeping it stupidly simple works for creations of man, I believe it's because man's grasp on otherworldly things is likewise simple.  When we keep it simple our brains can manage it.  God on the other hand is complex and wonderful, well beyond our comprehension.  His creations can be complex and wonderfully made, adaptable and sustainable.  They are able to just "be", and work as intended.  

So maybe having a complex meal plan that is able to handle the wing bar every so often isn't such a bad thing.

Lent Day 35 (Wednesday)

Exercise: Cycling 19 miles.  Either my heart rate monitor didn't work real well, or I actually managed to ride with my heart rate constantly in Zone 2/3.  I managed to somehow leave the car without putting my gloves on, but it really wasn't a major factor in the ride overall.  Between the weather on Thursday (it's supposed to be chilly again) and the planned training ride Saturday (75 miles including a big climb on Green River Cove!), this is my last ride for a couple of days.  Glad I didn't make excuses.

Verse:

Jeremiah 17:7-8
New King James Version (NKJV)
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear[a] when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

Thoughts: Last week at work we had a meeting to discuss the company's Net Promoter Score, often times referred to as NPS.  For companies it's a way to determine what their customer's opinion of them, and the overall strength of the brand.  In a nutshell it compares the number of people that love their service (called promoters) versus the number of people that despise it (the detractors).  You cannot please everyone, but the overall object is to have more people that will recommend your products to others than folks that will recommend that you don't use the company.  This concept, on a general level, is relevant not just for large companies, but for individuals and small businesses as well.  

What reminded me of this outside of the corporate scenario was going through my social media feeds.  There are folks out there that live on their brand, like actors, comedians, and independent artists.  These people are "always on":  if they pull a bone-head maneuver it can make or break future deals.  Some of them make a living by the negative hype, as it creates a brand for themselves that a certain number of people will gravitate to.  Others, who I believe are truly more Internet and Tech savvy  have developed their "brand" online and made sure that their communications on all social media always project the brand and image that they wish to portray.  Some of these artists just attempt to "be themselves" as they are marketing their product, but the danger is they are always one rant away from converting a promoter to a detractor.  They need to be sensitive, and ultimately aware, of their actions.

That said, even in our non-online interactions we create promoters and detractors in our personal lives.  Whether it's with my co-workers, folks I ride with, or just friends that I keep in touch with over various mediums (including social media), what I say and how I say it determine the course of my personal life.  I am the first to admit that I've made ill-informed comments on subjects that I really should have just kept out of, or smiled and nodded.  There are many topics that I'm very passionate about, but as I get more informed I've had to completely re-think my stance.  My best example on this is in regards to cycling:  The more I've been involved in the scene, the more I've understood all of the nuances that I simply couldn't have understood before.  It's not that I wasn't aware of the laws, or that wasn't really informed on the issues per se.  It's that experience and tolerance is critical to making a truly informed stance.   I have seen some of the comments I made years ago, and look at them and go "wow, I was a real dufus".   It's hard to realize that the uninformed idiot that was potentially ruining something that I now love, was myself.  In this case specifically I could have, and probably did, create detractors from my own personal "brand" based on my stances on something that I now really love to do. 

The danger here is twofold:  First is that I do not wish to spend the energy to engineer my own "brand" that I have to sell in my personal and professional life.  I specifically mean engineer in the same aspect that a self-employed artist like I mentioned above has to create a brand.  Their image ends up being their life;  they have to leave their face in a jar by the door all the time.  Second is that whether I like it or not, I am create a brand with every interaction that I make.  My verbal and non-verbal communications with people directly influence their opinion of me as a person and as a professional.  I need to be acutely aware of how my actions impact other people and make sure that my overall actions are creating a person that I wish to portray to the world.  My goal should always be to be a reflection of Christ.   

Newsboys - Take Me to Your Leader

They don't know why we care
They don't know what's out there
They don't know how it's done
Let's take 'em to our leader son

They see we've got the joy
They see us live it, oi
It's real, it's free, it's fun
Let's take 'em to our leader son

Lent Day 34 (Tuesday)

Exercsise: Cycling 32 miles.  Since Daylight Saving Time started, Tuesdays is the defacto big ride day in town.  Folks will start showing up on Tuesday at the old Donaldson Center Airport (now known as SC-TAC) and rides will go out 32 miles or so.  The official rides do not start until next month, but many of us are going out there now and getting in the ride early.  It was a windy ride out there, and we weren't in a big group, but we still had a lot of fun.  I'm looking forward to the official rides to start.

Verse:

Galatians 5:22-23
New King James Version (NKJV)
²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Thoughts: Today was an interesting sequence of events that I can only relate as being from God.  The back story to today is that I've been really desiring new wheels for the bike for months now.  And by months, I mean since around October.  Instead of just going out and spending money I don't have, I've been attempting to keep my cycling to a budget, however.  I've been putting a little bit away into a savings account every paycheck, and using that for my cycling expenses.  The issue has been that as my cycling habit has increased, so has the costs to keep it going.  The fact that I've had to replace my cycling clothes twice in the past year doesn't help, and cycling clothes aren't cheap (that plus baggy spandex isn't comfortable on rides).  

Fast Forward to last Thursday - the local bike shop has merged with a larger corporation, and they have been running a huge clearance sale on all of the back stock of bikes as a promotion.  It started up  more questioning on affording bike upgrades between my wife and I, but we decided that we would pray on it and see if they get more bikes in.  If they did, and what they got in would be a good long term upgrade for me, then we'd try to afford getting it and then we'd use my current bike for her or our oldest.  Neither of them are all that interested in riding a road bike at this point, but it would be available to use.  I started really praying over if it was a good move, as it would be a cost we really didn't need, and really the only major upgrade I currently need on my current bike is wheels.  For a lot less I could get wheels I really wanted and buy or build a hybrid bike for Christy to use so we could all ride.  

Monday after work I stopped by the bike shop and talked to the owner for a few minutes, and poked around.  He told me that even though he had been hopeful that more bikes would come in, the supply of 2012 bikes was exhausted and they were done with the promotion.  This wasn't a real big shock to me, and unless a completely unbeatable offer was going to be available with major component upgrades I had already decided it wasn't worth jumping at a new bike, but I should focus on wheels.  I already knew that I wanted Boyd wheels, which are assembled here locally, I just wasn't sure which of the two tiers of aluminum wheels would be the better of the two.  The lower tier would probably work, but I wasn't sure if the upper tier wouldn't be more of what I wanted.  Again I prayed over it and let it not consume me, and I had rationalized that if I could fit the base tier into the budget with the sale of some of my Star Wars stuff that I had intended to sell anyway.  

This morning I was checking my personal email, and I had an invite from someone to connect on LinkedIN.  I typically screen this connection list to only be folks that I really want to be connected to, as I use it mostly for networking in my professional life.  I went into LinkedIN and verified the person, I didn't recognize her last name right off hand because I only really knew her by her married name when we worked together.  I approved the request and checked my inbox (which I rarely do on LinkedIN).  In there was a message from late last year from a friend of mine that was looking for a referral to the company I work for now.  I didn't remember hearing if he got the job or not, so I went on the internal job postings and saw that several positions that he would have applied for were still open, so I shot him a message to see if he was still looking or if he had landed somewhere else.  Come to find out he had gotten the job at the company, and used me as a referral so I'd get the bonus.  I did some checking on the procedure and contacted the person in HR that handles the requests, and lo and behold I was supposed to be credited for the referral, and I'll get the bonus sometime next month.  And that bonus will cover the difference in price between the base level and the higher end wheels!  

Through all of this, all I could feel was that there was a plan in play since October for all of this.  Me trying to hold to a budget, working through the needs, not just doing whatever I felt was right, and working in harmony with my wife on the household needs.  The move up here has been challenging in so many ways, and so much of what we thought would not be a big change has turned into massive changes for us to handle.  We're still not in a church home, but I know that we put the effort in to walk with Christ daily, and do the best we can to stay faithful.  We're not always perfect, for me often it's far from it.  What we are is forgiven, and loved.  As long as we can keep sight on that, we can see the blessings that we get as such and not think too highly of our own abilities and try to be faithful with all of our gifts.

Lent Day 33 (Monday)

Exercise:  Planned Rest day.  It was a good thing too, as it has been an unpleasant day out.  Rainy and cooler (mid 40's) all day.  The weather is supposed to improve tomorrow, so hopefully I can get a good ride in.

Verse:

Romans 15:1-6
New King James Version (NKJV)
Bearing Others’ Burdens15 We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. ² Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. ³ For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”^[a] 4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. ⁵ Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, ⁶ that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thoughts: Today wasn't the most restful day at work, I had to deal with a customer situation that many could have dealt with, but instead it was left unattended for entirely too long.  Honestly it made me miss the days of the smaller integrators and internet providers when you could just  hop in a car and go help the customer.  Not that I'm going to be looking to go back to that life, but sitting there with a feeling of helplessness as a customer, who is obviously upset, is without service while you cannot impact change is a difficult place to be in.  I'm glad we were able to resolve the issues, and I feel like we can work through them better now.  I just wish folks would put themselves in the place of the customer more.  I'm sure folks that were pushing the problem off to other groups would have been one of the first ones to rant and rave if they had problems themselves.  Sometimes ownership of another person's problem isn't the most pleasant thing, but I do get a sense of accomplishment when I know that I've done the right thing and I was able to help someone.

Lent Day 32 (Sunday)

Exercise: Cycling 35 miles.  This was the normal Brookwood Cycling ride.  I really do like going on this ride, because of the people that are a part of it.  It was really windy out today, but the weather really did welcome Spring in a little early.  Soon we'll get past the cool Spring days and be back to the heat of Summer.  From a cycling perspective I will welcome the warmer weather while hating dealing with the sunscreen and the excessive amounts of sweat.  Then by about August I'll be ready for the weather to change again.  

Verse:

Psalm 23:1-3
New King James Version (NKJV)
The Lord the Shepherd of His People
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

Thoughts: It's amazing how the little things really make a difference some days.  Sometimes it can be the little things that get you frustrated, like running out of milk when you really just want to have a bowl of cereal.  Other times, the little things remind you of just how much you are blessed with.  In the last two years so many big things have happened in my life, and the life of my family, that it's amazing some of the little reminders are really the most powerful.  In March of 2011 we were still in Florida, I knew that things had to change, and we were trusting in God that his will would be done.  In the next 6 months we'd be apart for a while, I'd be starting a new job, and we were preparing for a move 600 miles from the only home that my girls ever knew.  We are in a new home, we have met new people, and we've had new experiences.  Through my time with Rob's Big Losers I found fitness, I've found cycling, and I've manged to be able to ride almost as often as I'd like to.  I wouldn't have fathomed saying that I was signed up for the Assault on Mount Mitchell 2 years ago.

That said, the little things remind me of how much I'm blessed.  Last Spring I went on a ride hosted by the GHS Every Women's team.  I had been on group rides prior to this, but this was definitely a bigger ride for me.  On the way out I managed to not keep my line, but instead of being crazy and hurting others I ended up crashing into some bushes.  I was okay, outside of some scrapes that needed a bandage or two, and the bike was okay after a few minor repairs.  I finished that ride, and then later for the little thing that reminds me of how much I'm blessed.  Buried in the heel of my cycling shoe was a splinter of wood.  It was big enough to actually damage the shoe slightly, but the shoe is what took the damage.  That piece of wood could have found it's way just inches higher and been wedged in my leg.  It could have meant an end to so many other things in our lives, but instead it ended up in the heel of my shoe.  I've kept it there as a reminder of how blessed I was that and every other day for the gifts that I've been given.  I know that the opportunities that I enjoy today aren't by my own doing as much as by my faith in God.  I don't always manage to honor Him with my actions, but I know that I'm loved, forgiven, and saved.  I just do my best to show his love in the little things, not just in grand shows that everyone can see.  Because sometimes the little things have the biggest impact.