A couple of weekends ago I completed a triathlon at Blue Lake Park. This was an accomplishment for me and consisted of an 800 meter swim, a 20K bike ride and a 5K run. Don’t confuse it with the Ironman in Kona. That is about 8 times these distances.

For me it is all about having the motivation to train. Knowing I have a triathlon coming up motivates me to run when it is raining, to bike when it is cold, and to go to the pool when I am tired. My ultimate goal is improved health, particularly cardiac health, as I have a family history for cardiovascular disease. However, that goal is harder to get my arms around. Sure I can measure my triglycerides, blood lipids, and blood pressure, but that doesn’t motivate me like knowing that on a certain morning in the near future I will be standing in the water with a bunch of others getting ready to swim, bike, and run as fast as I can.

Greg, the husband of our hygienist, Deon, completed the Olympic distance which is twice as long. I now have a new goal for August. I’d better go train–I only have two months to go.