Well… It’s the middle of winter and to avoid the ominous potential of expanding the waistline with inactivity I have made a habit of eating better, visiting the gym, getting regular bike rides in on the trainer and a few jogs here and there. So far this year I have lost 20 pounds, getting me nearly back to September of last year weight wise. This is all encouraging and I hope the weight keeps dropping as the intensity keeps rising.

In an effort to have goals and make fun of the workouts I have thought of raising the bar and making them Training. I am currently looking to enter a Duathlon where I can -  run / bike / run.  This differs from a Triathlon where one swims, bikes, and runs. The swimming would be the most challenging for me, I have shoulder tightness and no wetsuit which is really needed for the cooler waters. The most basic of these events is a Sprint distance which is like 1/2 mile swim, 12.4 mile bike and 3 mile run. The Sprint events typically finish with times a little over an hour and 10 minutes. The next major race lengths are Olympic, Half (70.3), and Full or Ironman with each race being about twice the distance of the previous. A Ironman is 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run.

I am no fool, and don’t intend on being the first overall or even first in my age class. To me it is a more personal journey of being healthy and living healthy. This is something I would have never really done in my early days, but I have really wanted to do it the last few years. I see it as a way to focus my workouts to training and I am competitive, so it all kind of fits.  If I survive and have some success I probably would do another.

Presently I am leaning to starting with the Pirate Tri held on Sebago Lake at the Point Sebago Resort June 13, 2010. It is a sprint length with proceeds going to benefit Sunshine Camp. A camp for kids that are less fortunate. Here is a Link to their information.

I will post my progress here as I head down this path to competition..