Repeat triathlete starts new way of life

Shortly after completing my first triathlon a few weeks ago, a question started bouncing around the inside of my head.

And it wasn't: "So, where's the nearest Chuck-A-Rama?"

While thrilled to achieve something I really never considered possible for me — voluntarily and consecutively swimming 360 yards, biking 12 miles and running a 5K without police chasing me — I asked myself: "Is this something cool I did, or is this what I do now?

"Will this go down as a fun accomplishment I once did back in the spring of '08, or is this who I am now and who I'll continue to be?

"Am I a triathlete or just a dude who sucked it up long enough to do one triathlon?"

OK, so that was actually three questions. I guess I'm still in three-for-one mode. The point is, I really want to make this new focus on exercise a major part of my life. Chances are, if I continue down this healthy road, I won't end up back on the frustrating diet path that seems to eventually detour me back into 300-plus-pound territory.

I definitely prefer life in the fast lane — or at least the slow-but-steady, nonfat lane — over that dead-end road.

But I've found myself also asking: "Am I capable of doing this, of getting down to a healthy and normal weight, of breaking my fat cycle (not talking about my bike here) and of losing so much flab I can actually fit into ridiculously small Banana Republic clothes my wife dreams about?"

The key, of course, will simply be to "keep on keeping on." That's why instead of just celebrating my first triathlon, I signed up for another one. After a brief resting and recuperating period (translation: "a couple of lazy days"), I went back to work.

I'm now a repeat triathlete. That's right. Last Saturday, I completed the Pleasant Grove Triathlon, including its beast of a mile-long hill that tortured me on the 5K run and again twice on the nearly 9-mile bike ride. But, hey, at least the refreshing 500-meter outdoor pool swim wasn't uphill.

Next up: the Echo Triathlon on July 12. (I'm still looking to see if being pulled by a boat in a lake swim is legal or not.)