Stay on Your Bike

Back in April, I participated in a triathlon. It was not a serious one where you swam a mile, rode a bike for twenty, and ran thirty; in fact, any of you hard core athletes or triathlon trainees would probably laugh at the demands of this race. However, it was to be fun, and it was. We swam 75 meters (in freezing cold water might I add), rode our bikes 6 miles, and ran approximately 2 miles. So you see, nothing Olympic, but a little difficult, nonetheless. As the weeks went on and the closer we got to the time of the race, I began to think more about what it was going to be like and how hard it was going to be.

 I was a member of my schools track team and had been training with them for at least two months. There was no doubt in my mind that I was in shape; I ran everyday and I was fairly strong. I wasn't concerned about the swim portion of the triathlon but began to be nervous about the two mile run. I was a hurdler, not a distance runner, this last leg would surely kill me!! However, amid my preparation, I completely disregarded the biking portion. I was in shape and I knew how to stay on top of a bike; it was, or so I thought, going to be the easiest part of all the race. Oh how badly I had miscalculated that.

As I pulled myself out of that freezing pool and jogged back to where my bike was, I felt drained of my strength. The cold water made it difficult to swim efficiently and made it even harder to breathe. So, as I jumped on my bike, I didn't know that these next six miles would be so difficult. My quads burned as I made it up the slowly increasing slope. I couldn't dig hard enough and my legs felt like they couldn't will themselves to pedal me any further. I began to doubt I would have the endurance to finish this course and wanted to quit so badly as more and more bikes passed me. I was so frustrated! This was supposed to be the easiest part! The wind blew in my face, biting my cheeks and requiring extra effort to push through it. To top it off, as I got closer to the half way mark to turn around, signaling an easier ending to the biking, there was one steep hill to climb. I couldn't do it. There was no way I could climb this hill. Despite myself, I persisted in pedaling.

Pushing, digging, and regretting I hadn't biked more prior to this triathlon, I slowly and painfully inched up the hill. I began to pass many people that had hopped off their bikes and began walking up the hill. How easy that would've been, to step off my bike and walk the remainder of the hill, but I was not going to give up. I wanted to relieve my legs so badly, but I knew giving in would only hurt me in the end. The hill eventually ended and so did the biking, but I was still amazed at how physically grueling it all was. I felt pathetic, I was riding a bike! How hard could that be! Why had I not been able to do this so easily? I had underestimated this challenge.

Although I had been training, I was training for running, not biking. I was in shape for the wrong race. This happens a lot in life. We'll get caught up in the wrong things in this world, and that doesn't always mean they are "bad" things. We'll train in order to get jobs or money or status. We give our time and effort to things we think will help and prepare us for the future, like my track training, but we'll often forget things that will truly strengthen us, like riding my bike. 
For example: I could go to school, and I could devote all my time to studying and working in order to achieve success for my future. Like my training for track, I wasn't doing anything bad and I was preparing myself for some of the challenges I would face, but not all of them. Furthermore, because my days are so long, I come home and forget to read my scriptures or say my prayers or countless other things. I leave out a huge part of life preparation that I'll need, spiritual preparation, by disregarded how important such simple things could be. Therefore, when the time comes when I do need the Lord or when the real trial hits, it'll demand more of me from my weaker areas. It'll require from me things I never consider to be significant in the first place because I didn't acknowledge them. If I, or anyone us, forget that the most important thing is to be spiritually fit, when that real race begins, we aren't ready for it and it will be harder for us. As important as "track training" is in our lives whether it be school or work, we must never forget to "ride our bikes" and do the things the Lord would have us do.

Sometimes the hardest battles we will have to face are disguised as the easiest and too often underestimated.

I learned on that day that trials are never what we plan for them to be, but as long as we remain faithful, or on that bike, our loads are eventually lightened and we will gain strength and knowledge. Preparation is huge; whether it be preparing for a test, preparing for a career, or preparing for our eternal salvation, we must never underestimate a trial, for Satan loves nothing more than to distorted our view. Stay on your bike.

 

 

"Your mission is PREPARATION, it is your school to eternity." - President Spencer W Kimball