My First Blog

Well here goes nothing!!! I started in this wacky world of triathlon last year, and I have been reading personal blog after personal blog about training, tips, diet, etc. I thought it was time for me to join the conversation. I guess more so for myself than anything else, as I feel I can use this as a way to chart my training. Hopefully someone will read this blog and offer their own insights for me to improve performance, or just generally enhance the fun and entertainment I am already reaping from triathlon. For me that is the real key. I want to see steady improvement in my personal fitness, but I also want to enjoy every swim stroke, bike pedal, and running stride. That is not to say I don't want to endure the pain that goes with exercise, it just means I don't want my enthusiasm to wane or burnout. I like the way my training has made me feel, and probably more importantly I like that my son and daughter are aware of my interest in exercise. Hopefully, my modeling of this behavior will give them a lifelong interest in fitness and exercise.
Anyways to date I have 2 sprint triathlons and 64.3 miles of a 70.3 mile triathlon under my belt. The reason I DNF'd in the 70.3 had everything to do with in race nutrition. I had a fantastic swim for myself (I am a nonswimmer), I did what I wanted to do on the bike (except for the fact I ate a four course meal out there), then in my specialty I was unable to perform because of the solid food intake during the bike. Too many calories and electrolytes going in, body unable to digest and perform at the same time. I am over being upset about essentially training for an entire year to only screw it all up by eating when I knew the gels and gatorade were plenty to get me through. Chalk it up to rookie mistake. If anything it has made me more determined to attack that distance again.
My goals going forward are to make the swim less of a liability. I like swimming, I think I am a strong swimmer ie I can swim forever, but I just don't move through the water at a good rate of speed. I want to build on my improvement on the bike. I really have learned alot about cycling in one year (still much to learn) and want to continue that process. One of the things I truly enjoy about cycling is the opportunity to ride with friends either at a leisurely pace so that we can catch up on the gossip or at a rapid pace so we can see how fast we can go and for how long. Another interesting thing about cycling is meeting up with other cyclists and enjoying an almost instant comraderie. As far as the run goes I have averaged 7:14 per mile over 10 miles on a hilly course and 6:36 per mile for a 5k. By next year I would like to be at 7:00 flat on the same course and be under 20 minutes in the 5k. Most of all I want to do all that without compromising my duties as a husband, father, teacher, etc.