Results are in. 2 years training = Same time

Unfortunately, I will not make the climb at Mt. Rainier. Fortunately, I am too busy to take the time off. The good news is that I was able to participate in the Harbor Lights Triathlon in Waukegan on the 19th of July. It was my first race of the season and the first Tri I ever raced last year. www.harborlightstriathlon.com/. My time this year was only 1 minute better than last year. Not much of an improvement for all of the training I've done but it is better than having a worse time.

Climb Rainier? Training Detour Alert

My Tri training this year is making progress though very slowly and has taken a very unexpected twist. I have now committed to climbing Mt. Rainier in Washington State this July! It's 14,411 feet which is about 600 feet higher than the last climb I did - the Grand Teton in Jackson Hole, WY. That was a beautiful, fun, two-day climb that included about 9 pitches of technical rock climbing. Mt. Rainier is more of a long hike over snow and glaciers. Should be interesting. An orthopaedic surgeon friend of mine and one of his patients has organized the trip as a fund raiser for Orthopaedic Research at Rush Hospital. One of them is climbing Everest right now! You can check out his progress at http://www.goldenexpedition.org/. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt_Ranier. I will keep you posted on the training progress!

Why Tri is addicting. The 2009 Tri Season

This year is my second triathlon season. I decided to get my training off to an early start but apparently the economy or the Tri-gods are conspiring against me. I started weekly swim training at my club when the pool was promptly closed for indefinite emergency repairs. Of course I could make other arrangements but I will probably just wait until it reopens. Instead I am taking a weekly running class on the track trying to improve my speed. I've found that there is a big difference from jogging, which is apparently what I used to do when I ran, and trying to run faster. The track workouts are extremely difficult but very fun and rewarding. I'd highly recommend a structured program. On the bike I typically do not start to ride until May when the weather is better. So I am trying to fit in a couple of spin classes every week. We'll see if that helps my biking this spring. Otherwise this year my goal is to do an Olympic distance race. I'll still try a few of the shorter sprint distances for training but it is time to kick it up a notch. Once ski season is over I should have enough time to train more this season and hopefully do better in the results. One thing is for sure, the training is a great relief from the current economic climate. Now is a great time to set your goals for the season or the year. But beware. Tri training is a part-time job and fairly addicting.

Why Tri? My 2008 Triathlon Season

For some reason this year I decided to train for and complete a triathlon. The season has gone relatively well since I actually completed 3 this season (all the short format Sprint distance) and have every intention of doing it again next year. It is a great sport and interestingly is for everyone and anyone. Here is why:

• Having a goal makes training more fun. Knowing there is a race coming up makes finding time to exercise much easier and is very motivating.
• You don't have to be a good athlete to enjoy the training or races. The races are filled with people of all levels and abilities and are generally fun, well run events that emphasize safety and enjoyment.
• Your lifestyle becomes more healthy. Training for 3 activities doesn't encourage you to stay out on Thursday night until midnight and makes you reconsider that second or eighth drink.
• Fun for the whole family. My wife has done Tris before and my 9 year old daughter did a Junior Tri this year so I look forward to training and sharing the experiences with them.

Triathlon is a relatively new sport. The races consist of three separate legs: 1) Swim; 2) bike and 3) run in that order. There are different race distances including: Olympic (or International) - 1.5K (.9 miles) Swim, 40K (24 miles) Bike, 10K (6.2 mile) Run. I have only done the shorter Sprint distance events which are half of the international distance and much less daunting for beginners. Then of course there are Ironmans and Half Ironmans but that is for another issue. To get started, I'd highly recommend the group training program at Well-Fit and I know several great personal trainers/triathlon coaches as well.