Oct 5

After preaching on Sunday at Upland Bible Church, a great Free Grace church pastored by Dick Olsen, I drove 2 hours to St. George, UT for the Huntsman World Senior Games.

On Monday I competed in the 3,000 meters racewalk (1.8 miles) and had a mediocre time. But at least I competed. I did get a silver medal. Of course, there were only 2 of us in 55-59.

Then yesterday I competed in the 1,500 meters (nearly 1 mile). I had a fairly good time and got another silver. Then 2 of the competitors invited me to go to Mt. Zion Natl Park for a supposedly easy hike.

We hiked to a place called Observation Point, looking over a mountain called Great White Throne. Anyhow the “easy hike” was anything but. We went fast and before long my pulse was maxing out. We climbed nearly 3,000 feet, which is over a half mile vertically. And instead of 4 total miles as I had thought, we hiked NINE MILES. Yikes. Nine miles up a mountain and then back down. It took us 4 hours. It was almost like doing a marathon.

Today I still had a 5K (3.1) to complete. I finished, but with another mediocre time (and another silver). I drove back to Las Vegas and everything is sore now (as I wait standby hoping to get back early).

The two guys I went up the mountain with also were in all the races I was. One of them, Tom, actually won first overall in all 3 races even though he is 60, two age groups above the lowest one (50-54). I was amazed to see how fit he and the other guy are. It gave me something to shoot for in the future.

The Hodges trilogy (called A Free Grace Primer, consisting of The Hungry Inherit, The Gospel Under Siege, and Grace in Eclipse) is nearly ready to go to the printer. A fresh copy is being printed now and I will give it a final proof tomorrow and hopefully it can be sent off on Friday.