Just try it.

I am chronicling my experience as a newbie triathlete in an effort to motivate people to just get out there and do it. What is "it"? It is something. It is anything more than what you are doing now. It is a step in the right direction.

Ten years ago I had consistenetly hit 212 lbs and my blood pressure was climbing. I believed heart disease was just around the corner. I was weight training, but doing little to no cardiovascular exercise. I was stuck in the bodybuilding types of exercise that I always had done. I had been doing them for 20 years. So that's when I started running. And it felt good. It felt like a meditation. Like I could think more clearly. I decided to see if I could run a marathon. I trained way longer than anyone else I talked to. I trained for a year. And I did it. And I was satisfied with that.

Then I got bored again. I needed a change. I knew that I always stunk at swimming. So I challenged myself to do a triathlon. It probably sounded more absurd to me than to anyone else. In the eyes of some people, it seemed a natural progression. I was already considered "athletic" by some. But it certainly did not come natural to me. The first year I did not train long enough. I only gave myself 5 months. I did not come close to being able to do the swim. So I did not even register. The second year I trained for 10 months. But this still did not prepare me for shock that my lungs would go through. The 43 degrees air temperature was too much and I swam to a lifeboat. I decided it was not a good day to die.

This time I trained - well I don't know how long. If you count the previous attempts, you could say I trained 2 or 3 years. And I did it! I stunk at the swimmimg. NOBODY passed me on the bike! Three people passed me in the run, but I passed a dozen others easily.

But you do not have to do triathlons. You do not have to do marathons. Maybe you will one day. Never say never. You can start by walking around the block. Join a gym. They are alot cheaper than they used to be. And there are alot more options. Yoga. Pilates. Orange Theory. Fit Body Boot Camp. Spinning. Barre (ballet?). Maybe Jazzercise? Instead of just do it, I would suggest just try it. If you don't like it, try something else. What is the best exercise you ask? It's the exercise you LIKE THE MOST. Then again, maybe it's the one you hate the least.