Hard sometimes

Some days it is hard to get moving. On others, it is impossible. Yesterday it was hard but possible. I got up around 5:30 and went for a 3 mile run. As you can see I was able to keep it in zone 3 almost the whole run. I feel like I am almost ready for the Smithfield Sprint. I won't be on the podium but I also won't finish last.

Vote for Me

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Making the Team: 2008

I am new to the sport of triathlon, and fairly new to athletics. If I were selected as the next team member, the coaches and other team members would be getting a blank canvas with a short but proven track record. I have successfully quit smoking, and lost up to 40 pounds. Unfortunately, I gained 20 of that back during the off season, so I have more work ahead. As a new triathlete, I am still searching. Searching for a better stride, better stroke, or training technique that works "best". I also a still searching for the way I can involve more people in this new sport that I enjoy. I have not found the best way to convey my passion and excitement that I have for the sport and people that I have discovered during this early stage of the journey.

The first steps

Several times in one's life, they get the opportunity to start something. We start school as a child, we start relationships, jobs, plans and journeys. This blog is about the journey I am currently in regarding triathlons and living a healthy lifestyle. I am a 43 year old married father of three. My journey started last year. I was an overweight, two pack a day smoker with a bad back. I was in horrible shape and considered a round of golf while riding in the cart exercise. After a business trip, I was in my office and started having chest pains. I had a pulmonary embolism and spent several days in the cardiac unit at the local hospital. I looked around and realized changes were in order. I started out by quitting smoking. For all of you out there fighting this issue, let me tell you: You.CAN.Quit. I also started to watch what I ate and began riding a stationary bike in the mornings. When the local pool opened, my children were on the swim team and I took them to practice. I realized I was sitting at the pool three nights a week and started to use that time wisely. Once I lost about 20 lbs, I started to run. I always hated running growing up...and now I was doing it for fun.

During these changes and additions to my exercise routines, I always said to myself, "it doesn't matter if you can swim fast, it's not like you are racing in a triathlon", or ""You can run slow, your not a triathlete". The seeds had been planted while I was not paying attention. I was having success losing weight with all of the exercising. My weight over many months went from 220 down to 200 down to 190, 185, 180. I really started to look and feel lots better. At some point, I decided to enter a triathlon. I chose the Sandman sprint in Virginia Beach VA.
I entered the race and trained for it. I was able to complete this race and met my goals. Now I am hooked. I am entering year two of my training and have the following goals:
1) complete two sprint races, the Smithfield Sprint at the end of March and the Sandman again this year while shattering my original times
3) race in and complete the Rock and roll half marathon.

Life is always about the journey, not the end. This was a very long first post, and I promise I will keep them shorter in the future. Follow along with me as I train for and live this new phase of my life. It ain't always pretty, and it might not always be funny, but it will always be from the heart.....