In the beginning...

Well I’ve decided that at the age of 33 and with a belly that won’t seem to leave town (despite spending 3 or 4 days a week in the gym) that I am finally going to commit to getting that illusive six-pack that is the barometer of fitness enthusiasts worldwide.

The purpose of the blog is to document my training, diet and lifestyle in order to make myself accountable to the outside world (a bit of worldwide peer pressure if you like!!).

The method that I have decided upon to complete my quest is by training for and participating in one of the fastest growing sports in the world – the triathlon.

The triathlon is a multisport event (swimming, cycling and running) run over various distances depending on the race. The more popular distances are:

Sprint – 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run
Olympic – 1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run
Ironman – 3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42.2km run!!!!!

I intend doing a sprint triathlon in early summer 2009 so am looking at a six to seven month training plan. In order to gauge my progress over the coming months I intend to take part in a number of single sport races e.g. 5km run.

When starting out on any training plan it is important to set goals so here goes:

Long Term Goal – Summer 2009

1.Compete in (and finish!!) a Sprint Triathlon (possible Try-Athlone in June 2009)
2.Get body fat percentage to 12% to see abs

Short term goal – December 2008

1.Train in each discipline (swim, bike, run, strength) at least once a week
2.Update blog once a week
3.Take B-vitamins and Omega 3 oils daily

Here’s a link to a good article on goal setting over the Christmas period:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/weik37.htm

Equipment

Obviously to complete a triathlon you need some basic equipment – wetsuit for the swim (if in open water), goggles, swim hat, bike, helmet, runners. If you look at the web you could go to town buying equipment however I'm only going to buy a bike. I have looked at a few bikes on the web and have decided to wait until after christmas to buy (hopefully pick something up in the sales). This means that I have to train on the stationary bike in the gym rather than on the road but with the state of the roads where I live that's probably no bad thing. I plan on renting the wetsuit for the race and if I get the bug to do more (which I'm told I will!!!) then I will look to purchase one later in the year.

Well that's all for now but stay tuned as I attempt to tri and get a six pack!!!