Canal Rd.

Wow....I am not doing very well at this blogging thing. Here I go with some catch up again, though it isn't much to talk about. I went running on Monday and Wednesday. I have been lucky enough that they weather hasn't been horrible for either of these runs. Monday it was really windy, I went out with Julie. She is a great motivator for me, if there is anything I can suggest if you start running for something, besides having your goals, have supporters. Julie really supports me and helps give me encouragement to run and workout.

I have found a great run that I love to do, and only with that it could be extended out longer. Canal Rd, has become one of my favorite runs and I usually hate running up hills. It's a nice 2 and 1/2 mile run round trip. The road starts literally right across the road from our house. It starts out with a nice flat section that last about a 3/4 of a mile. This then turns into a gentle climb that doesn't let up until you get to the top where there is a fence blocking your way from going any further (hence the reason I wish it could be longer). This places you and a wonderful view of the whole valley and the mountains all around.

This was my run for both Monday and Wednesday. I am going camping this weekend, so Friday will get missed. Once at the camp location, I should be able to get a great Saturday run in. I will post this weekend about that run, it should be quite the adventure.

Well....It's been over a week from my last post, so let me bring you up to date on what's been going on. If you are hoping for an exciting update, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Last Saturday, April 24th I went on a 4 1/2 mile run. It felt really good, I started feeling some pain in my arches around 3 miles. I think that good arch support is going to be very important for me, so I've got some new insoles ordered (Thanks Cynthia!) that I'm counting on to save my feet. So that's good, right? 4 and 1/2 miles? I'm all excited that I am off to a good start! Sunday was a good recovery day, then Monday comes around and the worst thing ever happens!
I'm SICK!!!! It seems like every time I start something like this, once I get going determined to accomplish it...I get sick! This happened when I started P90X the first time, I got on a roll then get sick for a week and ended up quiting to start it over again later. So I've been sick and thinking I'll be better by Saturday so I can get some kind of run in, but I was wrong. Still have this sickness lingering in me. It won't take the boot! I've tried hitting it with Emergen-C, vitamins and lots of sleep...WHAT THE HECK! It started with just a sore throat and now it's a stuff your nose up, snot every where, I can breath kind of lingering sickness. Why won't it go away!
I'm going to take this as a challenge from my lazy body, trying to get me to stop exercising and to sit at home and eat peanut M&M while I watch TV or play xbox. NO WAY! As soon as my nose clears up so I can breath again... I'm going running! I'll update once I can get back into my running shoes and shake this sickness from me.

Here we go!

All right! For some reason I got this crazy itch this year to do a Triathlon...crazy, I know! I don't even have a clue why I would want to do such a thing, I can't even swim! Well, let me correct my self, I can swim. When I swim though, I get maybe 30 yards and I am huffin' and puffin' for air cause I've swallowed half the pool while I was flailing my arms and kicking my legs trying to do what I call swimming.

Just a little background on myself, I'm a nerd! Haha! I graduated from BYU-I with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and I currently work in Logan, Utah as a design engineer. So in short I sit at my desk on a computer most of the day. There is not much exercise in clicking a mouse. I have always enjoyed running throughout my life. I ran track in high school which consisted of the 800, 1600 and 4 X 400 meter races. I love running! The bike is fun as well! I served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and during a lot of the mission, my bike was my main source of transportation. I had a blast riding my bike all over. When I got home, I never really got into biking like I would have liked, road bikes are expensive and I was trying to get through school. One day, in the not too far distant past, I was thinking about how I would like to ride a bike (maybe enter into some races for fun or just do the cruising around town thing) but also how I like to run and don't want to stop doing that. This put that crazy idea in my head that I can do them both and that it would be fun to do a triathlon (if I can learn how to swim).

So here is the goal, on August 28th, 2010 is the Bear Lake Brawl and I will be participating in the sprint triathlon. This consists of a 750 meter swim (hopefully I don't drown), a 12.5 mile bike ride and a 3.1 mile run. This is the event that I have set as my primary goal but I might change my first event to something sooner or I may add more events as I get a feeling for what I feel I can do. Here on this blog I plan on sharing anything and everything to do with getting ready for this event. I am open to any comments on suggestions on anything and everything from good workouts or swimming tips to good meals to eat.
I invite anyone and everyone to join with me in following my journey from a sitting in my cubicle engineer to becoming a triathlete.