Tuesday a.m.

Hello Tuesday! You, my friend, are becoming one of my favorite days of the week. (Please don't tell the others.) Why do I like you so much? One reason is because you are a day that I can think about Sunday in a relaxed way; no pressure to be prepared yet.  Another reason is that at the end of the day I get to ride with a bunch of good friends. It's my favorite ride of the week, followed by some time at Wendy's.

Yesterday was a good day! The poor weather forecasters sure messed up, didn't they? Of course people messing up always makes us feel better about ourselves. Right? I started my day with a 10 mile run in nearly perfect conditions for late spring. It was in the 60s, no wind, no sun, and little traffic. I cruised through it and felt good the whole time. I ran the last half faster than the first. None of the miles were in blazing speed, but they weren't supposed to be. I'm happy with my running right now. I think all the cycling is helping it a lot.

Meetings dominated the day yesterday. They are an essential part of life and progress, it seems to me. Capstone Ministries continues to be blessed in lots of ways, and we strive to be a blessing to others with the revenue with receive.

I spent some time yesterday with a guy who is looking for his "mission in life." He's had an interesting and difficult life. Loneliness has dominated most of it, loneliness forced upon him by an abusive step father from an early age. He is struggling to figure out and find faith. I shared with him my favorite expression regarding faith.

The essence of faith is trusting God with all the unanswered questions.

Having faith means that we follow God and his ways while walking through this world. And what does that mean? I'm pretty sure that means knowing and following Jesus, striving to love as he loved, etc.  And this brings me to sighing. Sorry about the hard transition -- ha ha!

Anyway, I'm still focused on sighing. Surprisingly, at least to me, Scripture mentions it a few times. How about this one from good ole Job:

. . .sighing comes to me instead of food; my groans pour out like water.

Or this from Psalm 5:1:

Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing.

OK, enough of that for now. Backing to biking, running, and swimming. Presently I am focused on the bike, ramping my miles way, way up. Why? RAIN! I want to make it all the way across Indiana this year! (If you don't know what I'm talking about, the go back and read this.) I am in so much better shape already, so I am on track. I hope to get at least 2, if not 3, 100 mile rides in before July 21.

Running is in a holding pattern. I hope to keep a 10 miler going each week, along with a little speed work, hoping to run 25 miles a week or so. The focus of running involves the sprint triathlon at Cicero on August 11 and then the Monumental Marathon the first Saturday in November. I hope to requalify for Boston 2014, whether I go or not.

Swimming is the issue. I have to figure out a way/pattern of getting to the pool and into open water. I think this will all come, but it is going to take some work.

Today is going to be a busy one, so I need to get after it.