The Obligatory First Post

Everyone who has a blog claims to have never intended on writing one. I, cognoscente of that fact, will avoid said statement.

Rather than pretend to be embarrassed about chronicling my foray into the world of triathlons, I am proud to have the opportunity to share my experiences with anyone who logs on. You see, it has been a long road to be able to say that I am competing in my first triathlon on Saturday. After playing collegiate rugby (a sport which saw my weight balloon into the high 240's), I faced a stark lifechoice: (1) Continue being overweight (for a non-athlete) and lose mobility and decrease my overall healthy and at exponential rate until a middle-aged cardiac event, or (2) Aggressively (almost obsessively) undertake a fitness and wellness program that would lead me to a healthy body and brain. I chose the latter, and have not looked back.

My progression over the last four years began with me hiding behind large sweat suits in the gym (saddling up on the stairmaster for an hour at a time), finally gaining the confidence to join a group exercise class, running my first 5K, and finally putting my money where my mouth was and joining the Multnomah Athletic Club Triathlon Team.

I will be more proud than I will say I am when I cross the finish line on Saturday.

Am I concerned about finishing, no.

Am I worried about my ability to do myself proud, no.

I want to place in the Top 10 in my age group. My obsessive compulsive/anxiolytic personality drives me to be wildly competitive. While I am focusing on enjoying the experience of my first triathlon, I will enjoy it more if I meet or exceed my expectations. Some people are happy with just being there. That ain't me.

Saturday is the first adventure in my journey to competing in an Ironman Triathlon. There, I wrote it, pushed PUBLISH POST, and now I have to live up to it. This is going to be fun.