Hi,
My name is Roger. I guess I should explain why I have started this blog - it's basically a selfish endeavor, so there's no reason why I should expect anyone to take any interest whatesoever unless I provide a little background and, hopefully, make things reasonably entertaining.
Me? Well I have a very big birthday just one week from tomorrow on Labor Day, September 6th. Yes, I was born in 1960 (in England) and have almost made it to the BIG 5-0! In part, reaching such a ripe old age - scratch that - reaching ripening middle age, is the reason I have started this blog at all.
I'm married to She Who Must Be Obeyed (credit to the late John Mortimer for that one) who I love dearly and we have two beautiful daughters aged eight and six. I live in Raleigh, NC and have a busy job in the biotech industry that features a lot of travel, often international. Yep, this is me:
So why have I started this blog? As I stated above, it's basically a selfish thing designed to help keep me motivated as I try to transform myself from "slightly too heavy middle aged dad" to "less heavy middle aged dad who has the energy to play with his kids; stays healthy; eats well and feels good" How am I going to achieve this remarkable transformation I hear you ask.... I'm going to become a triathlete. Yes, that's right, one of those lunatics that swims, bikes and runs until their legs drop off.
Now hold on just a minute... no, my aspirations don't include trips to Hawaii and participation in Ironman events (those are a 2.4 mile swim in open water followed by a 112 mile bike ride with a full 26.2 mile marathon thrown in for good measure on the back end!). Take another look at my picture... do I look completely insane? No, I'll leave the 140.6 mile Ironman to those much fitter than me and start with a couple of "sprint" events in the hope that I will build up to an "Olympic" event during 2011. Baby steps.....
Just so that I'm providing complete disclosure, I'm not actually starting my quest as I type this first post. I told She Who Must Be Obeyed last year that I would be "fabulous by fifty" (yes, I actually said that!). Well, that hasn't happened (again, reference photograph above!), but I did manage to run a half marathon last November on the Outer Banks of North Carolina in a time of around 2 hours 15 minutes. The problem was that immediately after that were the holidays, a bout of something that felt an awful lot like the flu, some international travel and, hey presto! I was very soon up to my old weight of around, gulp, 211 lbs.
A couple of months ago I decided to try again, but this time why limit things to sore legs? Why not throw in a better than even chance of drowning and the opportunity to skid down a length af asphalt at 25 or 30 miles an our wearing only a pair of skin tight shorts with something resembling a daiper between you legs and a garish shirt? Yes, it's triathlon or bust.
Stay tuned as I post my trials, tribulations and observations. I should have started writing sooner - I'm signed-up for my first event on September 19th! The Outer Banks Sprint distance event hosted by FS Series http://www.fsseries.com/index.php?action=event&event_id=50. It's a 750 m swim in the Pamlico Sound off Roanoke Island, followed by a 13.1 mile bike ride and a 3.1 mile (5k) run.
Wish me luck!
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