Who am I and how did I get here?
Well I'm 40 years old. I work full time for a computer consulting company as a managing consultant. That means I sit for a living. Plus, I live about a 2 hour commute from work. So, I sit another 4 hours a day just getting to work and home again.
On top of this, I'm overweight. Ok I'll stop pussyfooting around. I'm fat! over 100 lbs over my 'goal weight' to be exact. A few years ago, in my quest to lose weight I started working out, and soon discovered that it was much easier to workout when you had a specific goal, so I signed up to do a sprint triathlon in my area. Why a triathlon? Well because I figured it would be a bit more interesting to train for three sports then just one, and I love to swim.
And thus began the training. There's a lot of great websites for those beginner triathletes out there and some great training programs. I plowed through and did alright, but as the race data approached I panicked. I realized that while I had trained to do the 'sport' I had no idea about the logistics. What gear would I need, how do I go from Swimming to biking to running? What's a transition? WTF am I doing? I've never even WATCHED a tri before! And so I didn't show at race day.
Since then I've only half heartedly trained (and gained a bunch of weight back). But at the back of my mind was this feeling that this was something I wanted to do... I wanted to do it bad!
In searching for tri training programs I stumbled across a website of a place I had heard of before. "Team in Training". It seemed like a neat idea but I found excuse after excuse as to why I 'couldn't' do it. And yet the thought kept coming back to me. Here was something that would not only show me all those parts that sent me packing last time, but an accountability system that would really kick my training (and thus my weight loss) back into gear!
Behind all of this was also the idea that TNT supported a VERY worthy cause. About 20 years ago we got the news that my 6 year old cousin had Leukemia. We fretted as she was treated and celebrated when she went home in remission. Nine years later it came back, and we all sat helplessly as her body lost the battle against this terrible disease. Any age seems 'too young to die' but 15? I look at my now 15 year old daughter and all the life that's ahead of her left to live - to think I could lose her to something that there may be a cure for!...
And so, a few days ago I went to a TNT informational meeting. The quality of the people there and comradery astounded me! There was no doubt in my mind that this was an organization that I wanted to be a part of... and so here we are.
It doesn't hurt that TNT is taking everyone to Hawaii either! I've never been to Hawaii!! :) Not that I think you'll donate to the "Send Shawn to Hawaii" fund :) But you could do it for that reason too!
Oh! and I've been thinking that maybe I would offer a print of one (or more) of my photos as a 'thank you' for people who donate. Any ideas or suggestions on what people would consider an appropriate and motivating 'thank you' are highly welcome!!
