"Tri"ing new things

So my lovely wife has been encouraging me for the last 6 months or so to try a tri...by that I mean participate in a triathlon. Well I kind of joked at the idea, for several good reasons. 1 being I had only been on my road bike for a short time and had not had many opportunities to log very many miles. Well excuses right...you all know the saying "they are the same as ______ everyone has one and they all stink". So my second excuse was that I am a horrible swimmer, that though is fact. I am able to swim, I do not drowned but my skill is not anywhere near Micheal Phelps, actually I am probably more like a stick drifting in the water, whatever happens happens.

Well she did it, she broke me. I am going to attempt my first triathlon on September 25th. I am excited, nervous and worried altogether. I am very nervous about the swimming. I know I can do the biking and am the least worried about the running. However I am worried about the swimming.

If you have any advice I would appreciate it.

Second of all I have decided that I am going to pursue my personal training certification, once again thanks to my beautiful bride. Megan seems to think I would enjoy assisting people with their fitness goals and healthy lifestyles.....I think she is on to something.

I am excited about it. I enrolled in a two day course at the end of August and at that point will take my certification test and hopefully pass. Megan and I hope to be able to work with couples who want to pursue a more active and healthier marriage as well as lifestyle through group fitness sessions.

I will be talking more about this I would imagine, also my training for the marathon is coming up. August second is my start date.

Have you participated in a triathlon before, or do you hope to?

Random Two!!

I wanted to follow up with something from my last post. I wasn't really sure how well it would go over but I think it went pretty good. So I wanted to share this with you as well. Last week I was walking out of my building on campus headed to drop a letter off at the post office, as I was walking back into the building I noticed two gentlemen sitting out on the porch of the building. they were both facing each other and one was obviously interviewing the other. There was a camera there as well to capture the conversation. Then I noticed a bicycle next to the two and on the back of the bike was a sign that read http://www.fightobesityride.com/. So once I returned to my office I took a quick minute and checked out the website.

Scott Poindexter is a Chiropractor from Denver. He has lived quite an active lifestyle and has promoted that amongst those he is around. Now he has taken it a step further and is in the middle of a Summer long campaign to prevent childhood obesity. He is riding his customized bike 3500 miles across the country to raise significant awareness and hopefully change when it comes to fighting childhood obesity. I don't want to tell you too much about him, I think you should check out his site for yourselves, but he started his ride in San Francisco and will end in Washington D.C. He plans to meet with political leaders at that time.

Check it out, click on the link above.

Second thing: My wife who desires to run with me and participate in races has a minor set back in her training, she has a rare situation where her legs all of a sudden start itching and itching uncontrollably. I have seen it make her scratch her legs until they are raw......My reason in mentioning this is to see if anyone knows what maybe causing that and if there is a solution.

Weighing in so young!!

So today I want to apologize, this post is not going to be about my training routine, or about a workout that I came across and would like to share with you. It's not even going to be about running as a primary topic. Today I want to share with you something that absolutely breaks my heart and continues to do so every time I come across it. So you might just say I am standing tall upon my soapbox.

I will start by sharing a story with you that happened last Sunday afternoon. My lovely bride Megan and I decided to spend an hour at the swimming pool we like to splash around in. We had been there for probably 20 minutes when all of a suddenly the pool was overtaken by a group of about 200 teenage boys. Apparently there was a camp taking place in the area and they had all decided to spend the hot summer afternoon thrashing around at the pool, understandably so.

Megan and I were watching as these teenage boys just continued to file in one at a time, we made a couple comments and laughed mainly about how awkward those days were, I recalled to her some of my strange happenings as teenager. Well just as the group was dying down, these four boys trailed in, they were definitely a little different than the rest of the group. Then I noticed the one in the back of the group. He probably weighed no less than 300lbs, my heart just sank. I just looked at that poor kid, who had to be no older than 15. His life is already headed towards the grave and he is only 15. He struggled to get around, I was surprised when he took his shirt off and stumbled into the pool.

What has happened to our youth, why are we just sitting back and watching them kill themselves. Why have we let our lives become so busy that the best option for dinner is the drive-thru. Why have we let video game units, 3-D movie experiences, home theater systems, and On-Demand TV keep us from riding bikes, playing catch, going to the Zoo, or having a picnic at the park. Why are we allowing our future generations to kill themselves before they have a chance. .

(Good Read http://dean.runnersworld.com/2010/07/the-great-outdoors.html )

Last night we made a quick trip to Wal-mart (as if that can really happen) to pick up a couple of things, Megan had stopped to pick up some fabric that was discounted and I was standing there observing people around me when a middle aged woman walked by pushing a cart in which a young boy was riding in. The boy was probably 6 years old, and I am not going to exaggerate by any means to make this more dramatic, but I would almost guarantee that he weighed between 140-150lbs. I was in shock, my stomach was in knots and my heart dropped. The worst thing about it the boy was sitting on a 24 pack of Coke. Come on lady, why are you doing this to your kids!!! That is what I was silently screaming at the lady.

Our nation is in a huge situation, no pun intended, if we don't work to change. Like I ranted on earlier, we have to get away from being a fast food nation, and we need to get our active lifestyles back. Please encourage those around you and your loved ones to change their lifestyles if you see them in a deadly situation.

I would love to hear thoughts..Sorry today's post is longer but it is such a sad situation for so many youth. We have to do something about it.

Setbacks....they happen

My 4 month training start date is quickly approaching. I am starting to put my training schedule together and mapping out my distance runs as well as putting together my plans for cross training and bad weather days. If you are training for the first time or looking into running a race, these are good things to have in mind so that when you are getting started you have no question as to what you are to do on a specific day and also how to handle days that the weather won't let you be outside.

So I have a day in mind when my training will begin (August 2nd) and I am starting to get my schedule put together. I am getting really excited because this race will allow me & Megan to travel to Boston next April if I qualify. I am getting anxious, nervous and excited all at the same time.

Just a couple of weeks ago we found out that my cousin is engaged and plans to get married in early November, we are so excited for them and look forward to adding to our family. They are a great couple and will do some amazing things for God throughout their marriage. Lately I found out they are looking to move the date due to some of the bride's friends who cannot attend the original date. Now it looks like the date they are planning on getting married is the evening before my qualifier. I was so excited to hear they are getting married and then felt very torn in my stomach about what we should do.

I am still having a difficult time determining what Megan and I should do. A large part of me wants to be at the wedding because my cousin means so much to me. However my selfish side says this could be your only chance to qualify for the Boston. So today my post is not so much advice (if I truly ever give advice) but it is more of me putting my thoughts down.

I believe there are many times that we put plans in place and we work to achieve something that we desire, however our desires and God's desires are rarely the same. I encourage you to look at maybe some setbacks in your life not in disgust but in true curiosity, and start asking God what it is he is using that setback to teach you.

I know we will make our decision and life will go on, but I truly believe that sometimes setbacks get thrown in front of us for better and not just to ruin our plans, but possibly to better them.

KEEP TRAINING!!!! GOD BLESS!!!


Have you experienced a setback?

Am I sweating or is that the humidity?

So yesterday morning, I set out on a quick little before church, jog. No real expectations in mind, just planned on running a few miles and calling it a decent workout. Well half way through the run, I had to stop for a a minute or so I was gasping for air but all it seemed I was getting was moisture. By the time I got back to my house I knew I was sweating but was not sure how much of the moisture on my body was sweat and how much was the humidity.

I can't stress enough how much water you need to be drinking during this type of weather. If you are training or running on a regular basis, your body is using more fluids than you normally would and therefore you need to replenish.

With our Staycation at a close it was tough to go back to work today, What an amazing week Megan and I had working on projects at home and spending time with our friends at their new coffee shop they are now running. It is truly amazing to me how God works and how he places people in your life that you have no idea will be such an influence on you. I hope to be that way for others.

Happy Monday and welcome back to training if you took the weekend off.

Staycation....more like GOcation!!

So I think when Megan and I decided to have a staycation this summer, we assumed we would sleep in late every morning, have these incredible workouts at the gym, go to the pool everyday, see a movie or two, spend time with our friends at a coffee shop, cook some good food at home, and maybe even read a book or two......Haha....reality check!!

So far our staycation has been very busy and almost a GO GO!!! feel to it. We were able to spend a great day in Canton, TX digging through flea market treasures in the rain. We also had a good fourth of July with my family and some good home cooked, Mom food. Other than that it has felt like we have been going and going and going. 

Today we volunteered at the coffee shop that our friends are operating, it was a blast we helped with the lunch shift. I was in charge of the guts of the sandwich while Megan, in her designer fashion, was responsible for dressing up the sandwich and making it presentable. It has been a lot of fun. I really do enjoy being able to get away from work while also being able to enjoy the things in my everyday life that I don't get to spend as much time doing. 

My prayers lately have been for God to reveal to me a way to pursue the things in my heart and for me to be obedient to his timing. I have a lot of expectations and anticipation towards the marathon that I am training for but I am asking God to use me in a new way while training to reach those who need his grace. Sounds strange I know, but I feel as though I have been blessed with a passion towards this sport but not for my own benefit. 

I want to encourage those of you out there who are looking at planning a staycation, it will be tough at times to see the vacation part in it, you may overwhelm yourself with plans that you want to accomplish, I strongly encourage you to make sure and take some time for rest. Allow God to speak to you, and have fun!!

Going on a Staycation.............day 21

Where do you want to go on vacation this year? Well we could go to Hawaii, or we could check out Myrtle Beach. I heard that Bora Bora is really nice, or what if we just went back to our place in Italy? Okay so this was a dialog that took place in a dream of mine one night. See I love to travel but more times then not I am left to my imagination such as this dream.

Being newly weds and living on a minimal budget, Megan and I are left to being quite creative for our vacation this summer, or "We could just have a staycation" as quoted by my beautiful wife one day as we were driving back from church. You might be asking yourself what is a staycation? Well it is just that....you stay where you are and spend some vacation time together. It's cheap I know but how many times do we go on vacation only to return more exhausted than before.

What do you do on a Staycation? Well we are actually going to my family's 4th of July celebration this weekend, but we are also going to Canton, TX for the "First Monday Flea Market" (Meg's idea).....should be fun!! But the rest of the time is really up in the air, probably lots of time in the swimming pool, and of course training. Most of all catching up on sleep, remember what I said about sleep and training, hopefully I can catch up over the next 9 days.

I will be posting throughout, because I definitely want to help with ideas & experience on what to do while on vacation. Stay Fit!! Also I want to highly recommend the staycation if you are on a minimal vacation budget. Make plans to do stuff locally, it can also help you stay in your training routine.