I began this blog almost a year and a half ago, as a way of keeping track of my training and fundraising efforts, ahead of doing my first triathlon for Team In Training.

The good: I completed the damn thing, and quickly enough for a first-timer, too, I thought.
The really good: Maybe it was the acute lack of oxygen to my brain, but seconds after I crossed the finish line, I was thinking, "I've got to do more of these." And so I have.
The great: Friends, family, and strangers helped raise a lot of money for a very important cause.
The bad to downright ugly: I made it to what, four posts here? Like most of the half-dozen-and-counting blogs I've started over the last couple years, good intentions haven't matched by good blogging.

Now I'm looking to start this thing back up, as a running account of what I'm doing, how I'm doing, thoughts I'm having, stuff I'm reading, crap I'm desiring, things I'm learning about and from this triathlon thing. A log, a record, a place for notes and whatnot. Feel free to care. Or not.

To reintroduce myself:
I hate such introductions; they come across all dull and showy. At least they do when I write them. You can learn a bit more by reading here. Or you can look up there in the corner, at "about me," and glean a little bit there. I'll let on more as I go along, no doubt.
I've seen a few of these blogs begun by people who are totally obsessive, very knowledgeable, and intimidatingly accomplished athletes. Their entries have 3% body fat and are done at a 6:30 pace. That's not me. I've also seen some put together as a sort of self-improvement chronicle - the prototypical "From Fatso To Ironman" story. That's not me either.

I'm not a born swimmer, or biker, or runner; I've never done any of those things competitively, though I've done plenty of biking, running and swimming in my life. Sports are in my background - most often, the kind involving a ball or a puck. So as far as triathlon goes, I slot right into the middle of the pack. This is the continuing story of me looking to work my way a little higher, to get a little better, and to have a good time while doing it.


Here's the rundown of my 2007 tris so far, in a sentence or two.

Ohio Sprint Duathlon, Columbus, Ohio, 5/6/2007
Duathlons hurt.

Place Time
17/110 1:09:57

USAT Collegiate National Championships, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 5/21/07:
My first Olympic distance race. No world-beating performance, but a decent start.

Place Time
355/498 2:34:31


Wendy's International Triathlon, Columbus, Ohio, :
Back to the scene of my first triumph (ha), to take 10 minutes off that debut time.

Place Time
43/535 1:23:53

Scarlet and Gray Collegiate Triathlon, Columbus, Ohio, 6/12/07:
Kind of suffered through this one, nibbled a few seconds off that 1st Oly time.

Place Time
31/38 2:34:26


Evergreen Lake Triathlon, Normal, Illinois, 07/21/07:
Getting (a little) better all the time.

Place Time
113/295 2:33:34

Lots of little improvements in this first spring/summer of racing; many more to make.
I've got two races coming up in the next 4 weeks, a sprint and an Olympic. I've gone on long enough already, so I'll write a little more about them tomorrow.