On Finishing...

Kailua Bay in Kailua-Kona

I've had a little extra time on my hands this week, so I went for a swim yesterday in Kailua Bay.  =o)  The picture shows where I started my swim.  This also happens to be the starting point for the Ironman World Championships.  I wanted to swim the course and I wanted "christen" my new tri shorts for the upcoming season.

As you can see the water is beautiful and clear.  You get out about 15 feet and you find yourself surrounded by fish and coral that are just spectacular.  I set my sights on a floating platform in the distance and swam.  To make sure that I swam in a straight line, I would line up the platform in the distance and then pick a spot out on the ocean floor that was in line with that distant spot.  I repeated this over and over and made steady progress out to the platform.

I later learned that the platform was about 3/4 of a mile out to sea.  The guy on the platform was a little surprised to see me so far out all by myself.  (He was also kind of a jerk since he wouldn't let me board the platform momentarily to clean and adjust my goggles due to what he called "liability reasons."  Whatever dude!)

On the way back to the pier, the strap on my swim goggles broke and the goggles came off my head.  There was no way I could fix them them in the open water, so I stowed them and kept working towards my landmark on the shore.

Without my goggles, however, I became essentially blind.   I could no longer spot landmarks on the floor of the bay and I couldn't really sight landmarks on the shore because my eyes were burning from the salt water.  I felt like I wasn't making the progress that I should have been making and a knot of panic began pushing its way up into the back of my mind.

I worried that I wasn't making progress because I was caught in a rip current and my insecurities about swimming made me worry whether I had the strength to make it to the shore.  The fact that I was nearly blind and alone in the water did not help.

My kids were waiting for me to finish

I managed a quick prayer and realized that I was strong enough--I just had to finish.  And I was determined to make that happen.  I picked out a closer, more achievable landmark on the shore and began to swim for that.  In short order, because my new landmark was closer, I realized that I was making progress.  I finished by swimming up to my kids who were busy snorkeling in the protected harbor.

I figure that my swim was probably a total of 1.5 miles and I did it in 1 hour and 10 minutes.  I have never swam that far or that long before.  I know that my time is slow, but to me the important thing was that I finished.  And I bet that the next time I do this swim (hopefully as an official participant?), I'll be faster than I was yesterday.

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Tonight, I went for a run along a portion of the Ironman course on the Queen K Highway.  I had mapped out a 10k course for myself.  What I hadn't mapped out were the seemingly gale-force winds that I ran into for the first half of the run.

A portion of the Queen K during daytime hours

It was late, dark, and I was all alone as I ran past the lava fields the line the sides of the Queen K Highway.  There were few cars and even fewer street lights.  The wind was so strong that for the first half of my run I had to strain to even hear the melody on my iPod.  Fortunately, there was nearly a full moon to guide me and a white stripe that marked the edge of the roadway.  There was actually enough moonlight for me to catch a glimpse of the massive, snow-capped peaks of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.  (Mauna Kea is actually taller than Mt. Everest, if measured from the sea floor.)

I hit the turnaround a little behind the pace that I had set for myself--no doubt due, in part, to the strong headwind that I faced.  As soon as I turned around, however, I felt the tailwind pushing me.  Though I was tired, it was exhilarating to run with the wind--particularly after having fought it for the first part of the run.

I thought that if I ever do get to be a participant in Kona, I will likely be finishing the race late--after nightfall and I may have to face some of the same conditions (i.e. darkness, strong winds, etc.).  It may sound hokey, but it was inspiring to think about being able to finish that type of race.  If I am ever fortunate enough to participate in Kona, I know that I will not "win" the race.  But the important thing is that I will finish the race.

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Every Kona competitor wants to cross the finish line.

I've always considered myself a finisher.  Going for a swim workout or a run are not really all that important in the grand scheme of things in their own right.  But I like to think that if we practice at doing our best and finishing the little things, we will build up our confidence and increase our faith that we can finish the "big" things--the things that really matter in life.

I like what the Apostle Paul said: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:" (2 Timothy 4:7).  I thought about that scripture tonight as I ran (and a few others as well).

Finishing can be hard when it feels like you are blinded (whether by darkness, salt water or oncoming headlights), are not making any progress, are caught in a rip current, or are physically running into headwinds. But I believe that if we set worthy goals and have good landmarks to guide us (literally and metaphorically), we will be able to finish.  And finish strong.