Monday a.m.

Good morning! You ready for this? Monday! We were talking in my life group last night about the sense of dread that so many people have on Sunday night. They dread the week ahead and all the busyness it holds. We talked about how when you break it down into single days and parts of days, then it's really not that bad. I think that's the essence of worry and dread: trying to pile everything together, when we really need to just take it as it comes, a little bit at a time. Didn't Jesus say something like that? Yes, he did!

 

Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble.

 

Now, if I could just do that more and better...

 

I hope your weekend went well. I had a nice one. We had a football game in Springs Valley Friday night. The game didn't go too well, but it is a game after all. Ben is learning to deal with disappointment in a lot of areas of his life. We talk to him about that and the opportunities for character formation and character revelation. He's 17.

 

Saturday I ran 14 miles, 12 of them with our group, which was a little smaller this week. The run went well, but it was a lot warmer and more humid than the previous 2 Saturdays. We had a nice breakfast after the run and then chose not to ride. I think that was a good choice, for me at least.

 

Yesterday was a good, busy day, as most Sunday's are. Ironman Louisville was yesterday. I know one of the participants, Brent V. We've run in the same events over the years and swam at Kenray once this summer. I talked to him then about his Ironman training. Swimming was his challenge. He did really well in meeting the challenge. He swam well yesterday, rode really well, and then, seemingly, survived the run, which is what you do, I think, in the heat and humidity of yesterday. He finished in a little over 13 hours.

 

We were talking about Ironman on Saturday's run. One in our group asked me if I was going to start training next year. I answered, "I'm training for Ironman right now." That's how I see it. I started right after Boston, actually even before Boston. That, in part, is why I rode RAIN, and it's mostly why I am running the Monumental Marathon. I want to keep my level of endurance high on the bike and on the run, hoping for a breakthrough in the swim this winter. My goal for Ironman is still 2014 and it impacts most of what I do between now and then.

 

OK, here we go. Let's take this week a day at a time. Monday, you're up.