Ironman Devotion from Mom

-I was just updating my blog thinking about the various events of the past few months in my life. Then, I browsed the blogs of several of my friends. I had some funny thoughts in the process about how my blog seems kinda silly in some ways, filled with pictures of me running and doing triathlons. Most of my friends are writing about the joys of their children and their daily discoveries. As much as I love training and racing, my blog seems a little more self-centered than most of my other friends who are at a different stage in their lives. Anyway, my mom sent me this devotion the other day, and it inspired me to think about my faith and really think about shaping my character with these races and events that I focus on. I feel in some ways God has enlightened some self-discoveries and helped me to become a better person in these past several months of training and in these moments I feel at peace with my current focus. However, I know this is not a permanent phase in my life. In some ways, I look forward to the day of possibly posting pictures of my own children and their events rather than pages and pages of my own race stories. BUT-for now I don't have kids, and I truly do feel my training and racing can produce life changing character in me if I allow God to do so. It is a delicate balance though. Of course I am competitive, of course I get obsessed about my next event, and in some ways this is how God made me...but in the grand scheme of life, there are much grander things to focus on. I hope that as I train to complete my Ironman, that I can think about some life parallels that are more important than my next race. I hope that God can use these experiences to help me for whatever the next phase in life will bring. For now, I will enjoy checking all the cute pics of my friend's kids and continue to be more than a bit "obsessive" about my upcoming challenge of the Ironman, my gear, and my competitive nature. But, as my mom's devotion lays out a beautiful prayer below, may it be my prayer for suffering in competition as well as my prayer for life after Ironman training. May any suffering I endure, produce endurance, character, and ultimately Hope, as I continue on in my journey of life.

Here is the entire devotion that my mom sent:
"Read Romans 5:1-5

Paul’s poetic logic goes like this:

Rejoice in suffering,
Since suffering produces endurance,
Which produces character
Which produces hope.

We once thought that Paul’s poetic words were really more rhetoric than reality. Beautiful, but more lines of poetry than means of production. Then we became distance runners. And in distance running we found that Paul describes a basic dynamic of life, the actual dynamic of human growth. Suffering – putting in the miles – really does produce endurance. And when you have built endurance, it changes your character. And the new renewed character does produce hope.

Some disciplined and joyful runners who inspired us often ran rejoicing in their sufferings. Paul, Porter, and Terrell would call out, perhaps five or even ten miles into a run, “I feel happy! I feel healthy! I feel terrific!” Their enthusiasm was contagious.

One of the most surprising scenes of hope and joy is an Ironman Triathlon finish line. After 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking, and 26.2 miles of running, triathletes finish with huge smiles. The suffering has produced endurance that produces character, which produces hope.

One of us coaches cross country; the other runs cross country. High school students struggle to run at 6:00 AM before school. Some come and stick with it. Others do not. The difference so often between those who keep on running and those who don’t is learning to rejoice in the suffering, to rejoice in the effort that eventually leads to hope. And hope does not disappoint us, “because God’s love has been poured into our hearts.”

PRAYER: O God who goes the distance, help us embrace the suffering, knowing that you will transform it into endurance into character into hope – and your hope does not disappoint. Amen."

By Roy and John Herron

Vacation!

We loved Seattle in February 2007 for our anniversary trip, so we decided to head back for 2008, but this time in the summer. I had signed up for a litte Half Ironman, which took up a good chunk of our time in the middle of the trip, but Ted was glad that he was able to get a spot on a fishing charter the day after my race! He is a creature of habit, so we enjoyed revisiting our favorite restaurant, Chandler's, where he had some great Crab! It was beautiful eating there, the weather was about 70ish and we sat out on the patio enjoying the great view of the water and boats going by. Ted was able to fish with our same guide from last trip, and he enjoyed that quite a bit. I personally enjoyed the Salmon that he caught and grilled for me on the night of our return! :) For those of you that know about Ted's grilling, know that I am definitely spoiled when it comes to getting good meals from his passion as a grillmeister! I was pretty good before the race about trying to eat pretty well and keep my alcohol consumption to a minimum. But, the day after the race we enjoyed a nice patio meal consisting of popcorn "fried" shrimp, chicken strips, french fries, and my favorite beer, "blue moon." It was nice to kick back and enjoy "the day after!" But, I must say my stomach did not feel so great after that meal, but it tasted great!

Lake Stevens 70.3 Half Ironman! July 6, 2008

I completed my 2nd Half Ironman this past Sunday near Seattle, WA at Lake Stevens. All in all it was a great experience and a challenging race for me. The scenery was beautiful and the hills were abundant! Thanks to the kind listening ears/emails of some friends and my coach, I have now finally stopped obsessing over the many minute details of the race and I won't bore you with them all here. I consider myself more of a runner by experience, so this whole long distance tri thing is a whole different game for me. It is a different form of mental focus that I am still learning. I was a little freaked about the thought of having to complete double the distances for the Full Ironman in just about two months after finishing this challenging race, but as the days pass, I am forgetting the struggles and just focusing on training one day at a time for that "double"distance race coming up! I'm "Going for Gavin" as he fights Cancer month after month, I hope to endure just one day of hardship and complete an Ironman!

As for this Lake Stevens Race, I swam 1.2 miles, biked 56, and ran a half marathon. My overall time was 5:26, which was faster than my last Half race in Orlando in 2006, so that was a good thing! I made this goal and signed up way back in January, so it is definitely great to have completed it! Now onto training for the Full - Yikes!!!

My own "Mini Retreat"

June 20-21st Some people like to get away every once and awhile and enjoy a little retreat. Well, I had my own sort of mini-retreat in June as I attended "Triathlon Camp" in Oklahoma. To me it seemed like a great idea to help get me prepared for my upcoming Half Ironman and to enjoy some nice time away in a cabin along with some good time in the great outdoors with other fellow triathletes. Well, I quickly realized that this whole concept was a little strange as I tried to explain it when first requesting time off at work, then to other friends. You should see the funny faces people made, when I mentioned "Triathlon Camp!!" I still remember a text message I received from my good buddy Janice, that said something like, "I did not know you were headed off to triathlon camp, you are such a NERD!" Anyway, it was some great riding, lake swimming, and a little running. I hung out with the Fit2Train group, and I was glad to find out that although I was amongst some very "hard core" athletes who are competitive about their triathlons, they were also a great group who knew how to mix in some good "clean" fun and not get too uptight about the ins and outs of proper training, nutrition, etc. I especially enjoyed indulging in some high calorie snacks and beverages with them post-workouts. (Braums, Burgers, Beer, etc.) I had started getting a little burned out with my training in early June, and this little weekend getaway came at a great time for me. I am a pretty big NERD, so I enjoyed staying in a cabin by myself, cooking my own chocolate chip pancakes, obsessing over my triathlon gear/bike, cliff bars, gus, etc., and talking alot of "Tri" talk with other Triathlon enthusiasts! We covered two 60 mile rides, two long lake swims, and a 10 mile run....what else could you ask for a "mini-retreat"??

Wine Party for Gavin

June 14, 2008 We had a great time at the Wine party for Gavin. I posted the note from evite below, mostly to remind myself to continuously pray and remember Gavin and the Smith family as I continue to train for various races and prepare for my first ever Ironman! Thanks to all of you that were able to come to the event and/or donate! It was greatly appreciated! The address is listed below if anyone else would like to donate to the Medical Fund for Gavin!

SUMMER WINE BENEFIT FOR GAVIN Please join us for an evening of wine to raise money for The Gavin Smith Medical Fund.

My friends, Stacie & Jeff, and their sweet little Gavin are fighting hard to Cure Gavin's cancer. As many of you know, the last few months have been extremely tough for their family. I'm in the midst of training for an Ironman and I feel my training is a way for me to remember the Smith family and all of the trials and tribulations they are going through... So I am dedicating my efforts to Gavin. I told Stacie it is like they are having to make it through an Ironman and Many Marathons each and every day with all the daily challenges that Gavin has to endure.. I am blessed that I have time and my good health to train for these big events, and any minor pain that I experience along the journey is nothing at all compared to living in the world of Cancer.... I am inspired each and every day by Gavin and all that he has endured and battled, he is one tough litte fighter, and I pray that he can fight and win this battle! So in my races these next few months, I'm gonna keep "Going for Gavin"

So, Join me for a Night to Raise our Glasses to a Cure and Victory for Gavin! Feel Free to Invite Your Friends!**All proceeds from this event will benefit the Gavin Smith Medical Fund If you are unable to come but would like to donate to Gavin's cause,

mail a check to:

Gavin Smith Medical Fund

Bank of AmericaTX 2-551-01-014023

Cedar Springs RoadDallas, Texas 75219

Chris Graduated!

May 25, 2008 Well, as you know, I like to sometimes fit as many events as possible in the span of one day in my sometimes crazy life. My triathlon choice in Austin was strategically located to allow me to also make it just in time to my brother's graduation from Austin Presbyterian Seminary. So, after finishing the tri, I quickly showered, changed into a dress, and even Heels! (Later, I was regretting the heels decision) I headed off with my mother to attend his graduation ceremonies and festivities. Very proud of my big bro! Way to go Chris!

Long Time No Blog

It's July now...crazy how time flies. My life has slowed a little this week after a nice relaxing vacation to Seattle along with the completion of a Half Ironman, so I am going to attempt to recap some of the important moments in the past few months of the Martins!

May 25, 2008 - I completed the Cap Tex Tri in Austin and had great fun hanging out and sharing the race experience with my training buddy Robin. I had not done an Olympic tri in over two years, so it was a little nerve racking. It was great experience though and overall a fun day. I had a great bike that day, the fastest ever clocked in a race for me. The run was tough, a little side cramping...or maybe alot...but I thought about Gavin and I tried to push on through! I clocked 2:36 that day, which was about 15 minutes faster than my Cap Tex tri 3 years ago with the same course. In 2005, I did a little pre-race waterskiing and hanging out in the sun for 3 days straight with buddies, but for 2008, I decided to forgo the prerace water ski trip, so I guess that was a good decision!

As I wrote before my marathon, I have decided to try and dedicate all of my racing efforts to my friend Stacie's son, Gavin, who is battling cancer. I happened to visit Stacie at Children's for a while the Friday before leaving town for Austin for the race. It was very inspiring to quickly be reminded of their current life circumstances and the daily battles they were fighting. It was good timing for me. During the race, when I had those stomach issues and started to walk during the run, I quickly remembered how much stomach trauma poor little Gavin had been through with all the chemo, etc. I knew my suffering was pretty minor in comparison, and I was able to get running again as I thought about it. I remembered I was gonna keep "Going for Gavin!" Overall it was a fun day! My mom took the shots for me, it was great having her there! I may have lost a little time as I made sure to wave each and every time I saw her like a total cheese ball, but it was great to have her as a fan! My running shot is pretty glamorous if you take a close look... you could possibly use that for blackmailing purposes...