First Post

My name is Eric Phillips and this is my blog. I am 34 years old and live in Louisville, KY. I am an aspiring triathlete. I did my first triathlon in September of last year and have been training throughout the winter getting ready for the 2007 season. I am planning on participating in six or seven triathlons this year with my big race being a Half Ironman in September. I also plan on running in the Kentucky Derby Half Marathon in April.

I am married with two sons and another child on the way. My family and I just recently moved to Louisville from Savannah, Georgia. I am originally from Kentucky, but had moved away for job opportunities. My family and I had looked for opportunities to return to Kentucky and last summer the opportunity presented itself. We are all happy to be back in Kentucky and are settling into living in a new city.

As you might imagine from the title of this blog (Triathlete’s for Christ), I am a Christian. I am not a super saint by any stretch, as a matter of fact most of the time I just blend in with the rest of the supposed “Christians”. I grew up in church and accepted Christ as my savior when I was eight years old. My dad was a pastor, so I spent a lot of time in and around church.

Unfortunately, as my physical body matured my spiritual being did not keep up. I continued to go to church, but was never taught how to mature as a Christian. I was taught all of the “do’s” and “don’ts” of living a “Christian” life, but was never taught the “why’s” of living that way. Being an inquisitive kid, I set out on my own to find out “why” for myself. Of course in order to successfully understand “why”, I had to try out most of the “do’s” and “don’ts”, especially the “don’ts”.

So coming full circle, how did I get to this point in my life? After years of not taking care of myself both physically and spiritually I decided enough was enough. In the past year, I have improved my health 100%. I have done this through training for triathlons. I have turned a curiosity I had for the sport into a full blown addiction. A good portion of my time is spent training, reading, or thinking about triathlons. Even though I have only competed in one event, the affect it has had on me has been life changing.

What does any of this have to do with being a Christian or a “Triathlete for Christ”? For many years of my life, I have felt unfulfilled as a Christian. I am secure in my faith, but have never really known how I can share it. I am hoping this site can be a way of doing that. By merging who I am both athletically and spiritually. I hope to be able to chronicle my daily walk as a slowly maturing Christian and my training as an aspiring triathlete.