487 From Rustman To Ironman
Several years ago I announced that when I turned 50 I would complete an Ironman Triathlon - a competition that begins with a 2.5 mile open water swim, followed by a 112 mile bicycle ride and ends by running a marathon (26.2 miles).
Prior to this cockamamie announcement I had been treating the body God gave me like a redneck treats his back yard. Kids came along, my job got really busy and I gradually ceased to eat right, sleep right or exercise right. I was cluttered and overgrown. Clothman became Rustman.
I honestly didn’t think much of how I was treating myself at the time. My 30-something mind and body were so resilient that I had absolutely no clue that neglecting them had activated a ticking time bomb. I’ll never forget the fateful week in my early 40’s when the bomb exploded and I crashed with a terrible thud. Overnight I became a mental, emotional and spiritual zombie. It took me months to recover. I still think with a limp.
Jesus talked about overgrown, weed infested people like me. “The seed cast in the weeds,” he explained, “is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it” (Matthew 13:22).
I had to change. I wouldn’t survive another meltdown. I had to weed out my pathetic, strangled life.
Such was the context from which I made the bombastic declaration that I would complete an Ironman when I turned 50. At the time I swam like our 1971 American Motors Gremlin when my brother drove it into the Moyie River and I couldn’t run more than 10 minutes without hyperventilating.
Today my Ironman is a mere 10 weeks away – I turn 50 in 14 weeks. Between work and dinner I put in a 50 mile bicycle ride followed by a 7 mile run. A quick swim at the pool these days is 40-50 laps. I’ve completed three Half-Ironman Triathlons, two marathons and a gazillion other races. I’ve run in nearly a third of the states in the country. I’ve trained when it was below zero and above 100. I rarely eat junk food, radically changed my job expectations, live at my ideal weight and sleep like a rock (except to depressurize my 50 year old bladder around 3am).
In the process I found myself and God in ways I never dreamed possible before. Without nearly as many weeds I produce more fruit with a fraction the labor. I pray from deeper within, smile more, take time to soak in sunsets and continue to make up for lost time with my family.
I’m much more like the seed Jesus told about that feel on good soil. “The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.”
I’m not trying to brag, I’m just trying to point out what happens when we simply live as Jesus showed us to. It is a dramatic contrast our self-destructive ways.
That said, as my full Ironman is drawing near, I have to occasionally battle fear. It seems preposterous that a run-of-the-mill, middle-aged, formerly overgrown dude could accomplish this. However, Lord willing, in 10 weeks Clothman will go from being Rustman to Ironman. I’ll keep you posted.
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