Beagle's Blog: (Re)-Introduction

Seeing as it's been a few months, I thought it might be helpful if I provided some background on what this Blog (weB LOG) is all about for those readers who are new to this site. You see, last year my lovely fiance (now wife) talked me into training for and running in a duathlon -- a 2 mile run and 10-mile bike ride, followed by another 2-mile run. So really, if we want to be honest with ourselves, all that follows is really her fault.

I enjoyed the training and getting in shape, and got quite a kick out

of the biking, although still can't say as I'm a fan of running. But as I started using the bike to get in shape, we made a deal -- if I stuck with it, ran the duathlon, and put in a certain number of miles on my flat-bar bike, I was allowed to buy a road bike. Well, we did, and I did, so I did, and ended up purchasing an end-of-year demo-unit Felt F75 road bike.

On to 2008. Since 2007's goal was to compete in the duathlon, I decided I wanted to set an

ambitious goal for 2008. My twin brother has run a marathon (a very impressive feat, but as mentioned before, I don't like running unless it's to chase down the ice cream truck). What could I do that would be the equivalent on the bike, something I enjoy? A century, of course! And as much as I wanted to pick the metric century (100 km), which is quite an achievement in its own right, goal setting after New Year's is all about setting truly challenging goals, so I decided I'd do an imperial century. (Not to mention my little brother just completed his first imperial century today... sneaky little goober!)

Next question was, how would I accomplish this... initially I planned on doing a solo century toward the end of the summer after I'd had all summer to ride and get in shape. When I learned about the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure here in Rochester, however, I saw an opportunity to not only help the community and fight a disease that affects several members of my family, but also a chance to pull in my friends and family as we worked toward a common goal. Since then, our Tour de Cure team, "Beats Running," has grown to 10 riders, with team members signing up for the whole range of distances, from 15 miles all the way to two of us attempting the 100-mile route! This blog, then, is my training journal to prepare for the event, including fund-raising, team training, nutrition, and other 'excitement' that pops up in our quest. I'm proud to say that I can already feel a difference in my overall health since I started the program back in January, having lost 14 pounds (out of a goal of 21 lbs.), re-acquainted myself with the weight set at the local gym, and had a great time doing it.

For those who are interested, the actual ride is on Sunday, June 8, starting from Mendon Park, NY (south of Rochester). Our team is still looking for riders who would like to join us for a fun day of biking and community service, as well as sponsorship (see link here to join our team.)

To date, we have raised $2370 for the American Diabetes Association, which I consider an excellent achievement from a team of complete rookies, and I'm quite proud of every single team member as they've truly stepped up to the challenge. As part of my training, I've already completed the metric century (actually went about 67 miles), and am starting to believe I may actually be able to finish the 100-miler in a few more weeks!