Well, Zinnia and I have decided to take Nike up on its slogan and “Just Do It”. We have decided to train for a sprint triathlon here on Guam. The event is July 17, 135 days from now (4 months 14 days). We are doing it for lots of reasons…..get in shape, lose weight, competitive instincts, boredom, challenge, etc. We are both looking forward to the journey and hopefully the success of completing a 750 meter swim, 20K bike and 5K run.

I should tell everyone right off the top that I am not a triathlete. As of today I can probably run a 5K in about 25 minutes, swim 100-200 meters in a pool before having to stop to get air in my lungs, and as for biking, well I have only done the stationary bike and I can do about 6 miles in 20 minutes. I recently purchased my first road bike last weekend and have yet to actually ride it (although I hope to get out tomorrow). So, I need a lot of work on the swim, a fair amount of work and experience on the bike and just a little bit of work on the run. I am currently 5’11” and weigh 170 pounds.

I have been running a bit the past few weeks, mainly to keep in shape for the upcoming fitness test I have scheduled with the Navy. I feel pretty comfortable now running 3 miles in 24-25 minutes and hope to keep building on that over the next few months. I am already scheduled to run in a 10K on St. Patrick’s Day and am hoping to be able to break an hour (50 minutes would be great). Today I hit the pool for only the third time in the past month. I plan on stepping that up once I complete the 10K in 2 weeks, but for now I will be going 1-2 times a week. Today I was able to swim 100 meters straight and then had to rest for about 20 seconds before swimming a few more laps. Overall I ended up swimming 500 meters in 19 minutes, but pretty much needed to rest every 50 meters for the last 250 meters or so. It’s a work in progress and right now I am just happy I am not drowning. As I said, I haven’t even been on the road bike yet. We’ll see how that goes tomorrow.

I plan on using this blog to provide daily (or semi-daily) updates on my activity, diet, and  plans. These will be mainly to hold me accountable for sticking to my goals, but if anyone else finds inspiration or humor in it, then that is a bonus. Feel free to comment, provide advice or feedback, or just sit back and enjoy the ride. I hope to be able to show you that a 41 year-old, somewhat out-of-shape man with degenerative disc disease in his neck can get to a point in 4 short months where he can finish a sprint triathlon and compete with folks half his age.

By the way, the pic above was taken by me at Gab Gab Beach on the Naval Base here in Guam. This is one place where we plan to do some open water swim training.